Roots, Branches & Twigs

The summer issue of the Kent Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society is out, and there are two major articles in the newsletter.

The first article, entitled “My Great-Grandfather – Jean-Baptiste LANOUE”, is about a French-Canadian who moved to the town of Tillbury. In 1835, the family moved from Lacadie, Quebec to Hamilton, and then moved up to Chatham.

The second article is about “The RICHARDSON family of Tilbury” traces a family who moved from Roxbury, Scotland to Tilbury in the middle 1850s.

They list the books that nave been added to the Kent Branch OGS Library, Queries, Member's Surname Interests, and an short article on the Ridge House Museum.

If you wish to contact the Kent County OGS, go to http://ogs.on.ca/kent/.

BRANTches Newsletter

I read the newsletter of the Brant County Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society (August 2011 issue) with great interest because it is packed full of news about the Branch.

On the front page is an article by Joan Johnson. She was a War Bride, and writes about her first few years in Brantford in "Arrival in Canada". In “A New Look at an Old Online Resource” is a review of the Archives Database, and Al Adams writes about the “Niagara District Map of Upper Canada”.

On page 4 is a short article on “Additional records found in Dumfries Street Presbyterian Church, Paris ON: Baptism for 1858”, in which there were names listed that were not part of the previous published article, “Brant Branch OGS #229 Dunfries Street Presbyterian Church, Paris ON Baptisms 1823-1857”. Al Adams has another article on the May 2011 meeting in which he talks about Wayne Messecar, who has done research on the Messecar surnane.

If you wish to contact the Brant County, they may be reached at brantogs2bellnet.ca or you can go to http://brantcountybranchogs.ca/.

Got an Old Work Uniform? Call the Museum of Civilization!

Just received this press release from the Museum of Civilization today -

"The Canadian Museum of Civilization and the Canadian War Museum are developing a collection of material related to industrial production work in the 1940s and would like to acquire period civilian uniforms.

The new material will enrich the collection of objects connected with the social history of war and will fill gaps related to 20th-century women-and-labour history. The items will be added to the Canadian Car and Foundry (CCF) collection, which is currently being developed.

The Museums are interested in everything people may have kept from that period, such as items from Canadian Car (uniform smock, hat, photographs, books, awards, commemorative ashtrays, pay stubs, lunch box, ID badge) and items that were used during the war (clothing, keepsakes, hair ornaments, household items, kitchen or gardening tools, children’s items, etc.)”.

They would have been employed at airplane plants which would have produced airplane parts such as the Canadian Car and Foundry (CCF) during the Second World War. CCF had numerous plants in the Montreal area—Turcot, Longue Pointe, Saint-Laurent, Pointe-Saint-Charles, Propeller, Dominion—as well as a few in Ontario

For more information about the project or to donate an item, please contact Krista Cooke, Archaeology and History Division, at 819-776-8366 or krista.cooke@civilization.ca.

Emancipation Day

August 1st, 1834 slavery was abolished throughout the British Empire. The government of Upper Canada (Ontario) thereby formally enacted the Emancipation Proclamation. Today, it is known as Emancipation Day. It is, as the website says, http://www.emancipation.ca/a day which is “promoted as a great celebration in Upper Canada. It encouraged thousands to escape slavery in America, and follow the North Star to freedom in Canada”.

There will be picnics held throughout the province, and one of them will be at Harrison Park which is in Owen Sound.

The Bruce and Grey Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society http://tiffanyweb.bmts.com/~bgogs/will hold a picnic on July 30, 2011 from 1:00 p.m. to 10 p.m.. It will mark the 144th Emancipation Festival. There will be a Celebration of Family History, Fellowship, Oral History, Documented History, Community Culture and Roots.

The Top Five for Canadian Family History Research

Ruth Blair of The Passionate Genealogist posted 'The Top Five for Canadian Family History Research” in her blog on July 22nd.

She gave the nod to five books, blogs and websites that as she put it “can assist you with your family history research in Canada”.

If you have any that you would like to add, she asks that you leave a comment on her blog at http://blog.familyhistorysearches.com/?p=1169

The Memory Project Speakers' Bureau

The following press release came from the Veterans Affairs Canada yesterday -

"The Honourable Steven Blaney, Minister of Veterans Affairs, announced today that the Government of Canada will provide up to $675,000 over the next three years to the Historica-Dominion Institute to support an initiative allowing Canadian Veterans to share their stories of service and sacrifice with young people across the country.

"Hearing stories first-hand from Canada's Veterans—whether they are about peacekeeping operations and other important missions of today, or stories going back to Korea or the Second World War—makes a tremendous impact that will help inspire Canada's youth to take an even greater interest in remembrance," said Minister Blaney.

The Memory Project Speakers' Bureau is composed of Veterans who visit classrooms and community groups to share their stories with youth. This bilingual educational program connects Veterans and students on-line and in classrooms across the country.

A total of $600,000 in funding to the Memory Project Speakers' Bureau is provided jointly through Veterans Affairs Canada's Community Engagement Partnership Fund and the Canadian Studies Program of the Department of Canadian Heritage. An additional $75,000 is being provided this year by Canadian Heritage for the production of an educational DVD.

"For 10 years, Memory Project Veteran speakers have been sharing a legacy of service and their powerful perspective on Canadian history with students from coast to coast," says Jeremy Diamond, Director of Development and Programs with the Historica-Dominion Institute. "We hope that these stories can continue to humanize our history and teach Canada's youth about what it was like for someone, not much older than themselves, to serve their country."

Visit the website at http://www.thememoryproject.com/

Genealogy in Canada Survey

There is a new survey online http://www.genealogyincanada.blogspot.com/ lead by Professor Leighann Neilson of the Sprott School of Business, and Emeritus Professor Del Muise of the History Department, both at Carleton University, Ottawa.

I was made aware of the survey by John D. Reid's blog "Anglo-Celtic Connections" http://anglo-celtic-connections.blogspot.com/ this morning, and I took the survey this afternoon. They said it would take about half an hour, and it did.

They say “The objective is to secure accurate information concerning the resources engaged with by family historians/genealogists".

It is a wide ranging survey, and they have put in their opening remarks that it will be “the first stage of a broad national project“ What does this mean? I will be interested to see what their next “project” will be...