It has been 15 years since the Icelandic Emigration Center opened. Is is estimated that between 20 to 25% of the total population of Iceland emigrated to North America in the early 1900s.
Nelson Gerrard, a write from Eyrarbakki, Manitoba has been in Iceland this summer assisting in answering genealogical inquiries, and in helping at putting together exhibits at the Emigration Center.
He specializes in recording the history of Icelandic emigrants in North America, and his books include Icelandic River Saga and The Icelandic Heritage, and he is currently researching Gimlunga Saga, a 3-volume history of pioneers in the Gimli area.
The museum is at http://en.hofsos.is/, and their email is hofsos@hofsos.is
In Canada, Gimli, Manitoba was where many of the Icelandic people settled, and there is the New Iceland Heritage Museum (NIHM). It was founded in Gimli in 1973.
There is archival photos and local history research material, free audio tours, and there is the Gimli Webcam.
Go to the website http://nihm.ca/museum/about.html. You can contact them at nihm@mts.net
A daily blog about Canadian genealogy, heritage, and history
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Free Access - Canadian Immigration Records
Just got notice this morning that Ancestry.ca is announcing FREE online access to 200-million immigration records.
The access is from right now to Sept 5th!
The press release says that “This unprecedented access will allow Canadians to 200 million immigration and travel records from around the world, including 13.5 million records specific to Canada. This includes the complete Canadian Passenger Lists, 1865-1935, the official records of the arrival of the majority of people accepted as immigrants in Canada during this key immigration period".
They also say that “An estimated 11.6 million Canadians or 37 per cent of its current population have ancestors included in this collection[, which also includes records for many vacationers and travellers, business people, crew members and historical figures such as foreign leaders, scientists and celebrities”.
Go to http://www.ancestry.ca/immigration
The access is from right now to Sept 5th!
The press release says that “This unprecedented access will allow Canadians to 200 million immigration and travel records from around the world, including 13.5 million records specific to Canada. This includes the complete Canadian Passenger Lists, 1865-1935, the official records of the arrival of the majority of people accepted as immigrants in Canada during this key immigration period".
They also say that “An estimated 11.6 million Canadians or 37 per cent of its current population have ancestors included in this collection[, which also includes records for many vacationers and travellers, business people, crew members and historical figures such as foreign leaders, scientists and celebrities”.
Go to http://www.ancestry.ca/immigration
The Buxton Homecoming Weekend
Buxton National Historic Site & Museum located in North Buston, Ontario will be holding their 14th Annual US/Canadian History Genealogy Conference on Friday Sept 2nd.
The event will be co-hosted by The Harriet Tubman Institute of York University & Buxton Historical Society, and there will be a full day of lectures.
There will be a youth panel, and genealogists such as Adrienne Shadd, Henry Natasha, and Irene Moore Davis will be there giving lectures and answering your questions.
Pre-registration is required
To find out more about the activities that will take place at The Buxton Homecoming from Friday to Monday (Sept 2 to the 5th) go to http://www.buxtonmuseum.com/hcoming/hc-event.html
The event will be co-hosted by The Harriet Tubman Institute of York University & Buxton Historical Society, and there will be a full day of lectures.
There will be a youth panel, and genealogists such as Adrienne Shadd, Henry Natasha, and Irene Moore Davis will be there giving lectures and answering your questions.
Pre-registration is required
To find out more about the activities that will take place at The Buxton Homecoming from Friday to Monday (Sept 2 to the 5th) go to http://www.buxtonmuseum.com/hcoming/hc-event.html
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Launch of "Census of Canada, 1871"
The LAC has just released a press release this afternoon -
"Ottawa, August 30, 2011— The 1871 census marked the first regularly scheduled collection of national statistics, and Library and Archives Canada is now pleased to make its results available online. Researchers can access digitized images of original census returns featuring the name, age, country or province of birth, nationality, religion, and occupation of Canada's residents at the time.
The information covers the four provinces that were part of the Dominion of Canada in 1871: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario and Quebec.
Access to the digitized images of the 1871 census is available online in two different ways:
Through a database that is searchable by nominal information such as Name, Given Name (s) and Age, and/or geographical information such as Province, District Name, District Number, and Sub-district Number.
The database is available at: http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/census-1871/index-e.html
Through the "microform digitization” research tool, you can browse the microfilm reels page by page.
The tool is available at: http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/microform-digitization/006003-110.02-e.php?&q2=26&interval=30&sk=0&&PHPSESSID=f0v3thhcgqvau3vslaruumn2a7
For more information, please contact webservices@lac-bac.gc.ca.
"Ottawa, August 30, 2011— The 1871 census marked the first regularly scheduled collection of national statistics, and Library and Archives Canada is now pleased to make its results available online. Researchers can access digitized images of original census returns featuring the name, age, country or province of birth, nationality, religion, and occupation of Canada's residents at the time.
The information covers the four provinces that were part of the Dominion of Canada in 1871: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario and Quebec.
Access to the digitized images of the 1871 census is available online in two different ways:
Through a database that is searchable by nominal information such as Name, Given Name (s) and Age, and/or geographical information such as Province, District Name, District Number, and Sub-district Number.
The database is available at: http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/census-1871/index-e.html
Through the "microform digitization” research tool, you can browse the microfilm reels page by page.
The tool is available at: http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/microform-digitization/006003-110.02-e.php?&q2=26&interval=30&sk=0&&PHPSESSID=f0v3thhcgqvau3vslaruumn2a7
For more information, please contact webservices@lac-bac.gc.ca.
Free Access – Immigration to the US
Yesterday, I had the post about "Free Access - Immigration from the UK", today there is more news, and it is free access (August 29th to September 5th)to "Immigration to the US". One of the areas to check is the “Border Crossings: From Canada to U.S., 1895-1956”.
I spent the morning working on my grandfather Lester John BLADES from Barrington Passage, Nova Scotia. There were at least 17 trips he made to New York from 1925 to 1935. While in New York, he worked on yachts that travelled around the world, and while in Boston, he worked in factories.
Do you have Canadian ancestors who went to the States looking for work, or ancestors going on vacation to visit their relatives?
If you do, using Ancestry.com until Sept 5 is an excellent way to discover the trips they made from 1895 to 1956.
The website is at
http://www.ancestry.com/immigration?cj=1&o_xid=0004887102&o_lid=0004887102
I spent the morning working on my grandfather Lester John BLADES from Barrington Passage, Nova Scotia. There were at least 17 trips he made to New York from 1925 to 1935. While in New York, he worked on yachts that travelled around the world, and while in Boston, he worked in factories.
Do you have Canadian ancestors who went to the States looking for work, or ancestors going on vacation to visit their relatives?
If you do, using Ancestry.com until Sept 5 is an excellent way to discover the trips they made from 1895 to 1956.
The website is at
http://www.ancestry.com/immigration?cj=1&o_xid=0004887102&o_lid=0004887102
Call for Papers
The Toronto Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society have issued a call for speakers to take part in a one-day Branch workshop on Finding Your Great War Ancestors, to be held in Toronto on 31 March 2012. It will be co-hosted by the Canadiana Department of North York Central Library.
To read about the Call for Papers, please go to http://www.torontofamilyhistory.org/GreatWarCall_2012.html
The deadline for proposals is 18 September 2011
To submit your proposal, please contact the workshop coordinator, Paul Jones, at announcements@torontofamilyhistory.org
To read about the Call for Papers, please go to http://www.torontofamilyhistory.org/GreatWarCall_2012.html
The deadline for proposals is 18 September 2011
To submit your proposal, please contact the workshop coordinator, Paul Jones, at announcements@torontofamilyhistory.org
Monday, August 29, 2011
Free Access – Immigration Records
A reader of the blog wrote to me yesterday to tell me that the British arm of Ancestry.com is offering free access to immigration records from today up until the 5th September.
You can search and view all of the immigration records for free.
I will be checking my Barclay, and Hitchens names to see if there is anything new.
Thank you Craig for passing along the word.
If you want to check them out, they are at http://www.ancestry.co.uk/immigration?o_iid=48750&o_lid=48750&o_sch=Inbound&AID=10402952&PID=1793701
You can search and view all of the immigration records for free.
I will be checking my Barclay, and Hitchens names to see if there is anything new.
Thank you Craig for passing along the word.
If you want to check them out, they are at http://www.ancestry.co.uk/immigration?o_iid=48750&o_lid=48750&o_sch=Inbound&AID=10402952&PID=1793701
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