New LAC Database - "Upper Canada Land Petitions"

Just received within the hour from Sylvie Tremblay of Library and Archives Canada -

Launch of "Upper Canada Land Petitions"

Ottawa, 23 September, 2010 - Library and Archives Canada (LAC) is pleased to announce the launch of a new online database, "Upper Canada Land Petitions (1763–1865)".

Through this online database, researchers can access more than 77,000 references to petitions for grants or leases of land created done by individuals who lived in present-day Ontario between 1763 and 1865.

The database is available at: www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/upper-canada-land/index-e.html.

About Library and Archives Canada

The mandate of Library and Archives Canada is to preserve the documentary heritage of Canada for the benefit of present and future generations and to be a source of enduring knowledge accessible to all, thereby contributing to the cultural, social and economic advancement of Canada. Library and Archives Canada also facilitates co-operation among communities involved in the acquisition, preservation and diffusion of knowledge, and serves as the continuing memory of the Government of Canada and its institutions.

The Genealogy Services www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/genealogy include all physical and online genealogical services of Library and Archives Canada. They offer genealogical content, services, advice, research tools and opportunities to work on joint projects, all in both official languages.

The contributions of many LAC staff were instrumental in the success of this project, and their efforts are much appreciated.

For more information, please contact webservices@lac-bac.gc.ca.

OGS Announces New Editor of "Families"

Note: The Ontario Genealogical Society (OGS) is the largest genealogical society in Canada. And I am proud to have been appointed (and to serve) as the editor of its journal, Families. - Elizabeth

"As released to OGS members in an e-Announce, August 14, 2010

The Board of the Ontario Genealogical Society is pleased to announce the appointment of Elizabeth Lapointe as editor of the Society’s journal Families.

A graduate of Acadia University, Elizabeth is an author, journalist, and blogger. She has been editor of the OGS newsletter NewsLeaf since 2006 and is the founding editor of its electronic sister publication e-NewsLeaf. She is a Past President of the Ottawa Chapter of the Professional Writers Association of Canada, and a Director of the International Society of Family History Writers and Editors. She is the author of several books on genealogy and of hundreds of newspaper and online articles on genealogy and local history.

She is the guest editor for the August issue of Families and will assume full editorship with the November issue. "

QFHS Office Closure

A recent notice from the QFHS -

Dear QFHS Members,

The Office and Heritage Centre of the Quebec Family History Society will be closed from Thursday, August 26, 2010 and will reopen Tuesday, September 7, 2010.

Regards,

Jackie Billingham

jbillingham@sympatico.ca

I'm Back!

Hello, Dear Readers!

I'm back from my sojourn, and what a trip it was!

But that's for later - I still have to write it.

For now, I have a press release from my good friend, Gwyneth Pearce of the Toronto Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society, about an upcoming workshop on Scottish family history in June next year.

One thing to note is that Scottish genealogy expert, Dr. Chris Paton, will be coming to speak. The organizers are also looking for other presenters, so if Scotland is an area of interest of yours, you may wish to answer their call.

On a personal note, it's good to be back. I look forward to bringing you more news from the Canadian genealogy front.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Elizabeth

=========================

Saturday, 6 November 2010

The Toronto Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society and the Canadiana Department of the North York Central Library have joined together to sponsor "The Women in our Past: Strategies and Resources for Researching Female Ancestors", an all-day workshop to explore new and varied approaches to researching those often elusive women in our families. With expert speakers from across Ontario, this event will offer participants a deeper understanding of the circumstances that governed and shaped the lives of our female ancestors – from family relationships, domestic service and the justice system to the fur trade, migration and world war. Find out how and where to search for relevant records and learn about the latest developments in maternal-line DNA analysis. The workshop will be held in the Auditorium of the North York Central Library, 5120 Yonge Street, at the North York Centre subway station. Early registration rates are available until 30 September 2010. For program and registration details, visit www.torontofamilyhistory.org/women.html. To check availability, call 416-733-2608 (voice mail) or e-mail info@torontofamilyhistory.org.

Saturday, 18 June 2011

The Ontario Genealogical Society, Toronto Branch and the Canadiana Department of the North York Central Library will be co-hosting a one-day workshop on Scottish Family History. The principal speaker will be Chris Paton from Scotland who will give presentations on the Scottish church, Scottish land records/house history and the use of guild records (specifically the handloom weaving industry in Perth). A call has been issued for other speakers who would like to be part of this workshop. Proposals are invited for both full-length presentations on topics related to Scottish genealogy and shorter case study presentations. The submission deadline is 1 November 2010. For further information about the workshop program and the call for speakers, visit www.torontofamilyhistory.org/Scottish-Call.html.

Dear Readers

As you have seen from my infrequent postings to this blog as of late, I have been busy doing other "genealogical" things, and I really haven't had the time to post on a regular basis.

Plus, I have just taken on another job.

John Becker, the editor of Families (the journal of the OGS) has taken ill, and is unable to complete the August issue. So I have taken over the editorship of the August issue as Guest Editor.

Those of you who have been involved with publications know that it is very intensive work, and since I am also the editor of NewsLeaf (the newsletter of the OGS), I don't imagine I will see too much of the summer from now until the middle of July, when the two publications go to the printer.

So if you will bear with me while I work on these three OGS publications (yes, I also edit e-NewsLeaf, the e-mail newsletter), I will be posting a bit less during the next few weeks.

Of course, you can always read me in NewsLeaf, e-NewsLeaf, or Families by simply joining the Ontario Genealogical Society at www.ogs.on.ca. NewsLeaf and Families are issued four times a year (Feb, May, Aug, Nov), while e-NewsLeaf is issued eight times a year (Jan, Mar, Apr, June, Jul, Sept, Oct, Dec).

But I have more good news for my readers - if you were not aware, there are over 200 previously posted blogs in the archives to keep you company in this dry time - see the section marked "Blog Archive" at the right side of the page. You can search by date, or if a more direct approach is desired, use the custom search box for the site, powered by Google.

In any event, I look forward to getting back to the blog, and in the meantime, I wish to say -

"Thank you for your patience, and continued support!"

Regards,

Elizabeth

Glenn Wright Interview

As some of you may have noticed, I have conducted an in-depth interview with a Canadian genealogist in the June 2010 issue of Family Chronicle that just came out the other day.

The person I interviewed was Ottawa's own Glenn Wright, who is retired from Library and Archives Canada (LAC), and has now taken up genealogy as his second career. He is the first of what I hope will be a regular feature for Moorshead Magazines (either Family Chronicle or Internet Genealogy). I interviewed him in October at the LAC just before a BIFHSGO meeting and found him to be an interesting fellow, full of genealogy tidbits - which he shares with everyone in the interview.

He is the first genealogist I have interviewed in this exciting and innovative new feature, and there will be others coming out in the near future. Notable genealogists I have interviewed include Boston's David Allen Lambert of NEHGS (the Online Genealogist), and Shelburne, Nova Scotia genealogist Eleanor Robertson Smith of the Shelburne County Archives and Genealogical Society, both of whom will appear in future issues.

FamilySearch Adds 300M Records

Over the past week, I've been keeping an eye out for what's been happening in Salt Lake City at the NGS Conference, and I have been reading Dick Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter and Randy Seaver's Genea-Musings blogs, as well as Thomas MacEntee's Geneabloggers, the Mormon Times newspaper, and of course, the NGS blog.

A few Canadians (that I know of) have been down to the conference including Alison Hare (she gave two lectures there, and will appear at the upcoming OGS Conference 2010), Ed Zapletal and Rick Cree from Moorshead Magazines, and Louise St. Denis from the National Institute of Genealogical Studies.

As well, Chris McPhail from the British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa (BIFHSGO) was there to pick up first prize in the Anglo-Saxon Connection newsletter category, for their newsletter, Anglo-Celtic Roots. Congratulations to BIFHSGO, and to Chris, as editor!

If I missed any fellow Canadians there, please send me an email, and I will mention you here.

One thing which we can check on at home is the new beta version of the FamilySearch website, FSBeta.FamilySearch.org.

FamilySearch president, Jay Verkler, says that this is the result of the Worldwide Indexing Project, and that they will add about 300-million more names to it.

He said "the flow of names to the Web will continue as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints seeks to index all of the approximately 3.5-billion names stored on microfilm in the Granite Mountain Records Vault. It will take about 10 years to index all the records, a task previously projected to take more than a century to complete."

I spent this afternoon putting in the names of my genealogy, and although nothing was added to my search, there are million of names left to go, so the BARCLAYs, HALEYs, WEBSTERs, MORTONs and so on will show up somewhere in time, I am sure.