As a part of the Irish Symposium which took place at the LAC Monday and Tuesday at the beginning of this month, the LAC has put 84 images of the Irish-Canadian connection on www.flickr.com/photos/28853433@N02.
"The objective of the project is to explore new ways to improve access to Canada's documentary heritage," said Ian E. Wilson, Librarian and Archivist of Canada. "Library and Archives Canada is excited about the opportunities that social media sharing communities provide for Canadians to discuss and contextualize an important selection of our collective history."
Visitors to Flickr.com can comment and tag the content of the pictures, and can explore history in the context of their surroundings by navigating the album on a virtual map of the world.
I was on the exhibit twice in the past few days, and find it to be very good. It gives both the Irish and Canadian view of each other from the turn of the 19th century, and it rounds out the perception of the Irish-Canadian had of each other of that time.
LAC is planning to put videos on YouTube later in the year.
A daily blog about Canadian genealogy, heritage, and history
Monday, November 17, 2008
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Joint Initiative Provides Online Access to Canadian Censuses
Ancestry.ca and FamilySearch International made an announcement on Nov 11th that they will partner on the digitized and indexing of the Canadian census.
The press release says that the "joint initiative will allow the organizations to improve online access to a comprehensive collection of Canadian censuses".
As apart of the agreement, FamilySearch.org will provide images and index to Ancestry.ca for censuses 1861, 1871, 1881, and 1916, and Ancestry.ca will provide images and index to FamilySearch.org for the 1851, 1891, 1901, and 1906 Census.
Notice that nowhere is the Library and Archives Canada (LAC) mentioned. The LAC originally held the census records on microfilm (being transferred to them by StatsCan), but through agreements with Ancestry.ca and FamilySearch.org, they seemed to have lost control over them in how they are used.
And it looks like the "free" search on FamilySearch.org is about to come to an end. The press release says that the images "will be free to all qualified (those people who have done transcription work for FamilySearch.org) FamilySearch members and at all FamilySearch family history centers".
The press release says that the "joint initiative will allow the organizations to improve online access to a comprehensive collection of Canadian censuses".
As apart of the agreement, FamilySearch.org will provide images and index to Ancestry.ca for censuses 1861, 1871, 1881, and 1916, and Ancestry.ca will provide images and index to FamilySearch.org for the 1851, 1891, 1901, and 1906 Census.
Notice that nowhere is the Library and Archives Canada (LAC) mentioned. The LAC originally held the census records on microfilm (being transferred to them by StatsCan), but through agreements with Ancestry.ca and FamilySearch.org, they seemed to have lost control over them in how they are used.
And it looks like the "free" search on FamilySearch.org is about to come to an end. The press release says that the images "will be free to all qualified (those people who have done transcription work for FamilySearch.org) FamilySearch members and at all FamilySearch family history centers".
Saturday, November 15, 2008
The "Ottawa Branch News" is here!
The Nov/Dec issue of the Ottawa Branch News arrived yesterday and it's a good one - at 52 pages!
The FEATURES articles include "Early Carleton County Settlers", sub-titled 'Early Medical Practitioners in Carleton County' (note that in 1847, the total number of people looked after by the doctors was 664 - the largest number to date); "Early Residents of Ottawa's Sandy Hill Neighbourhood"; and "Irish Threads - A New Look at the Tapestry of Life".
The NEWS section includes "Upcoming Events"; "OGS Conference 2009"; and a "Message from the Chair". DEPARTMENTS includes "Electronic Notebook"; "Conferences, Meetings, Workshops"; and "Historic Plaques and Monuments".
The Ottawa Branch News—along with the website <www.ogsottawa.on.ca>—is an excellent addition to your membership. It takes many volunteer hours to put together, and Ottawa has one of the better newsletters. It is published five times a year.
On the title page is a photo of the monument erected in Beechwood Cemetery, listing the 26 Canadians who were killed September 11, 2001.
The FEATURES articles include "Early Carleton County Settlers", sub-titled 'Early Medical Practitioners in Carleton County' (note that in 1847, the total number of people looked after by the doctors was 664 - the largest number to date); "Early Residents of Ottawa's Sandy Hill Neighbourhood"; and "Irish Threads - A New Look at the Tapestry of Life".
The NEWS section includes "Upcoming Events"; "OGS Conference 2009"; and a "Message from the Chair". DEPARTMENTS includes "Electronic Notebook"; "Conferences, Meetings, Workshops"; and "Historic Plaques and Monuments".
The Ottawa Branch News—along with the website <www.ogsottawa.on.ca>—is an excellent addition to your membership. It takes many volunteer hours to put together, and Ottawa has one of the better newsletters. It is published five times a year.
On the title page is a photo of the monument erected in Beechwood Cemetery, listing the 26 Canadians who were killed September 11, 2001.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Ancestry.ca and the Library and Archives Canada
This is a story that's turning into a soap opera of sorts - it's becoming "the continuing story of LAC and Ancestry.ca".
In 2007, a partnership was drawn up between the LAC and Ancestry.ca, and it was announced at the 2007 Ontario Genealogical Society Seminar. I was there to hear it as well as were about 500 other people. It was as if the air had been sucked out the room - people were astounded by the news! "We didn't know that this was going on" - was the complaint of the people. It had come as a complete surprise!
Ancestry.ca said at that time that the release of the Quebec City Immigration Records was Number One on its list of things to do, and that they would make it available online at Ancestry.ca as well as the free LAC website. It is not on the LAC site - yet.
Then the Passenger Lists (Canada's Immigration Lists) from 1865 to 1935 was made public the first part of September on Ancestry.ca. That sort of caught me by surprise because I was expecting it to be released early in 2009 - but there it was - much to everyone's surprise. And it was not released at the LAC in Ottawa - but at Ancestry.ca headquarters in Toronto. It is supposed to be on the LAC site - but so far, it hasn't appeared.
And now, another press release in which Josh Hanna, a Senior VP of Ancestry International, and Ian Wilson, Chief Librarian and Archivist of Canada, are saying that Ancestry.ca will "digitize and index microfilm and original records (my italics) held by LAC and make these available to Ancestry.ca members." It goes on to say that "all of the digitized records will eventually be available free of charge to users of the LAC website". Notice that they say "digitized" records, and not "indexed" records.
Mr. Hanna says that "This is a win-win relationship for Ancestry to offer a wide range of Canadian collections to its members and in turn LAC will receive the expertise, experience and person hours that are required for imaging and indexing these records."
We all know that the LAC, being a government department, doesn't have the money to hire people (as the National Archives of Ireland has found out in its transcription of the 1901 and 1911 Irish census, and now has put it out to transcription companies to bid on it - they have said that they have chosen the company - but wouldn't say who it is at the Irish Symposium in Ottawa in November).
But I believe that this is the crux of the matter - the LAC simply does not have the money. So it has turned to Ancestry.ca to do the digitization and indexing of the microfilm and original records - and the LAC will take whatever it has agreed to put onsite. We will see what that is as time goes by.
In the meantime, were you as surprised as I when you opened the Globe and Mail newspaper yesterday morning, and read where Ancestry.ca had made a major mistake by putting a German soldier where there should have been a Canadian soldier in its Remembrance Day advertisement in the paper the previous day?
Ancestry.ca issued an apology and it said it will never happen again.
In 2007, a partnership was drawn up between the LAC and Ancestry.ca, and it was announced at the 2007 Ontario Genealogical Society Seminar. I was there to hear it as well as were about 500 other people. It was as if the air had been sucked out the room - people were astounded by the news! "We didn't know that this was going on" - was the complaint of the people. It had come as a complete surprise!
Ancestry.ca said at that time that the release of the Quebec City Immigration Records was Number One on its list of things to do, and that they would make it available online at Ancestry.ca as well as the free LAC website. It is not on the LAC site - yet.
Then the Passenger Lists (Canada's Immigration Lists) from 1865 to 1935 was made public the first part of September on Ancestry.ca. That sort of caught me by surprise because I was expecting it to be released early in 2009 - but there it was - much to everyone's surprise. And it was not released at the LAC in Ottawa - but at Ancestry.ca headquarters in Toronto. It is supposed to be on the LAC site - but so far, it hasn't appeared.
And now, another press release in which Josh Hanna, a Senior VP of Ancestry International, and Ian Wilson, Chief Librarian and Archivist of Canada, are saying that Ancestry.ca will "digitize and index microfilm and original records (my italics) held by LAC and make these available to Ancestry.ca members." It goes on to say that "all of the digitized records will eventually be available free of charge to users of the LAC website". Notice that they say "digitized" records, and not "indexed" records.
Mr. Hanna says that "This is a win-win relationship for Ancestry to offer a wide range of Canadian collections to its members and in turn LAC will receive the expertise, experience and person hours that are required for imaging and indexing these records."
We all know that the LAC, being a government department, doesn't have the money to hire people (as the National Archives of Ireland has found out in its transcription of the 1901 and 1911 Irish census, and now has put it out to transcription companies to bid on it - they have said that they have chosen the company - but wouldn't say who it is at the Irish Symposium in Ottawa in November).
But I believe that this is the crux of the matter - the LAC simply does not have the money. So it has turned to Ancestry.ca to do the digitization and indexing of the microfilm and original records - and the LAC will take whatever it has agreed to put onsite. We will see what that is as time goes by.
In the meantime, were you as surprised as I when you opened the Globe and Mail newspaper yesterday morning, and read where Ancestry.ca had made a major mistake by putting a German soldier where there should have been a Canadian soldier in its Remembrance Day advertisement in the paper the previous day?
Ancestry.ca issued an apology and it said it will never happen again.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Virtual War Memorials
With news this weekend that they have found the remains of another unknown solider in Europe—and that he has been buried at a Remembrance Day Ceremony at Vimy this past weekend—brought home the fact that the wars in which they have fought will never die. It is our duty to remember them.
Canada now has 5,890 Vitual War Memorials that you can visit online on the Canada's Veteran Affairs website. Go to <www.vac-acc.gc.ca/remembers/sub.cfm?source=memorials/memcan>.
On a personal note, Mario Lapointe, my husband and a full-time reservist in the Air Force, will be in the Remembrance Day Parade tomorrow at the National War Memorial in Ottawa.
I will be there, too, and afterwards we will go to a reception at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier Hotel to mingle with the veterans and with fellow sailors, soldiers, and airmen/airwomen who marched in the ceremony that morning.
There also won't be a blog on Wednesday because it will be Mario's birthday! I've got a full day and evening of activities planned for him, so I won't be home at all on that day.
If you wish, you can go to the Juno Beach Parade article that both of us wrote for that day five years ago <www.genealogycanada.com/Juno%20Beach.htm>.
So I'll see you Thursday when I will talk about the "partnership" between the Library and Archives Canada (LAC) and Ancestry.ca!
Canada now has 5,890 Vitual War Memorials that you can visit online on the Canada's Veteran Affairs website. Go to <www.vac-acc.gc.ca/remembers/sub.cfm?source=memorials/memcan>.
On a personal note, Mario Lapointe, my husband and a full-time reservist in the Air Force, will be in the Remembrance Day Parade tomorrow at the National War Memorial in Ottawa.
I will be there, too, and afterwards we will go to a reception at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier Hotel to mingle with the veterans and with fellow sailors, soldiers, and airmen/airwomen who marched in the ceremony that morning.
There also won't be a blog on Wednesday because it will be Mario's birthday! I've got a full day and evening of activities planned for him, so I won't be home at all on that day.
If you wish, you can go to the Juno Beach Parade article that both of us wrote for that day five years ago <www.genealogycanada.com/Juno%20Beach.htm>.
So I'll see you Thursday when I will talk about the "partnership" between the Library and Archives Canada (LAC) and Ancestry.ca!
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Peace Tower & Books of Remembrance
On Friday evening, my husband and myself attended a Mixed Mess Dinner at the Rideau Canal Junior Ranks Mess in Ottawa, Ontario, during which we welcomed and feted Second World War and Korean Conflict (War) veterans as guests of the mess.
It gave me time to reflect on what I had done during that day (reading the First World War diary entries on the Library and Archives Canada website) as the veterans were introduced, and as they said a few words to the assembled.
It was the first mixed mess I had been to, and when they stood—and drank toasts to the Queen and the three branches of service with their dram of port—it felt as if I was back in the olden days of the armed forces.
We weren't that far from Parliament Hill that evening, and as part of the Parliament Buildings, the cornerstone for the Peace Tower was laid by His Royal Highness Edward, Prince of Wales (King Edward VIII) in 1919 as a salute to the soldiers who had died in the First World War.
The Tower contains the Books of Remembrance - all seven of them* - and a page is turned each day at 11:00 a.m. <www.vac-acc.gc.ca/remembers/sub.cfm?source=collections/books/listing>.
The Memorial Chamber is where the books are located, and there is an observation gallery where one can see different views of the city.
*The seven books are:
- First World War
- Second World War
- Newfoundland
- The Korean War
- South African War/Nile Expedition
- The Merchant Navy
- In Service of Canada
It gave me time to reflect on what I had done during that day (reading the First World War diary entries on the Library and Archives Canada website) as the veterans were introduced, and as they said a few words to the assembled.
It was the first mixed mess I had been to, and when they stood—and drank toasts to the Queen and the three branches of service with their dram of port—it felt as if I was back in the olden days of the armed forces.
We weren't that far from Parliament Hill that evening, and as part of the Parliament Buildings, the cornerstone for the Peace Tower was laid by His Royal Highness Edward, Prince of Wales (King Edward VIII) in 1919 as a salute to the soldiers who had died in the First World War.
The Tower contains the Books of Remembrance - all seven of them* - and a page is turned each day at 11:00 a.m. <www.vac-acc.gc.ca/remembers/sub.cfm?source=collections/books/listing>.
The Memorial Chamber is where the books are located, and there is an observation gallery where one can see different views of the city.
*The seven books are:
- First World War
- Second World War
- Newfoundland
- The Korean War
- South African War/Nile Expedition
- The Merchant Navy
- In Service of Canada
Saturday, November 8, 2008
The Library and Archives Canada Releases a New Guide
Today, the LAC has released a new research guide called "Canada At War: A Guide to Library and Archives Canada's Website Recalling the Canadian War Experience".
For the first time, this guide brings together the complete compendium of resources regarding the First World War available at the LAC ranging from Exhibitions such as Aboriginal Soldiers to Research (Digital Collections/Bibliography) which feature such online databases as Court-Martials of the First Word War, the Soldiers of the First World War, and Canadian Historical Sound Recordings of the First World War Era.
The last item that is mentioned in this itemized list of resources is the "War Diaries of the First World War", and they are very interesting. <www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/veterans/025001-4000-e.html>.
They are not diaries written about the individuals in the war, but diaries of the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF), where they were required to keep a daily account of their "Actions in the Field" <www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/archivianet/020152_e.html>.
I checked the establishment of the 1st Canadian Stationary Hospital as it mobilized in Quebec City in September, 1914, and the Cyclist Division with the Canadian Reserve Cyclist Company as they set up their operations.
If you know what unit your ancestor served in during the war, these are very helpful diaries, and offer a bit of reflection into the war. I got the feeling while reading them that they understood what was at hand, and they prepared the best they could for what the four years of the war would bring to them - reward, misery, and death.
For the first time, this guide brings together the complete compendium of resources regarding the First World War available at the LAC ranging from Exhibitions such as Aboriginal Soldiers to Research (Digital Collections/Bibliography) which feature such online databases as Court-Martials of the First Word War, the Soldiers of the First World War, and Canadian Historical Sound Recordings of the First World War Era.
The last item that is mentioned in this itemized list of resources is the "War Diaries of the First World War", and they are very interesting. <www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/veterans/025001-4000-e.html>.
They are not diaries written about the individuals in the war, but diaries of the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF), where they were required to keep a daily account of their "Actions in the Field" <www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/archivianet/020152_e.html>.
I checked the establishment of the 1st Canadian Stationary Hospital as it mobilized in Quebec City in September, 1914, and the Cyclist Division with the Canadian Reserve Cyclist Company as they set up their operations.
If you know what unit your ancestor served in during the war, these are very helpful diaries, and offer a bit of reflection into the war. I got the feeling while reading them that they understood what was at hand, and they prepared the best they could for what the four years of the war would bring to them - reward, misery, and death.
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