The Friends of the Fort Frances Museum

The Friends of the Fort Frances Museum, ontario is hosting a meet-and-greet from 2-6 p.m. on Wednesday September 21st at the museum.

The group is looking for more members to get involved with The Friends of the Fort Frances Museum, form an executive, establish bylaws, and undertake the process of becoming a registered charity.

So everyone is encouraged to drop by and see what the “Friends” are all about, as well as bring along their questions or suggestions.

Everyone is welcome, with coffee, tea, and goodies to be served.

The website http://museum.fort-frances.com, and the email is ffmuseum@fort-frances.com

Under the heading of WHAT WE DO…, it says that the “The Fort Frances Museum contains a vast collection of photographs and artifacts related to the history of Fort Frances and the Rainy River District. These artifacts and specimens depict the past and the development of the area in terms of natural resources, first nations, exploration, settlement and people, industry and cultural achievement”.

Family in a Mural

In the village of DeGrau in Port au Port Peninsula in Newfoundland, there is a mural which shows two people in a brightly painted dory in the harbour in their home town.

To read the story, and to see the mural that Kassandra Simon painted, read the article on http://www.thewesternstar.com/News/Local/2011-08-29/article-2730628/Artist-documents-family-history/1

Getting Ready for the BIFHSGO Conference Sept 16th to 18th

Remember those days when all you had to do to get ready for a conference was register and read over the pamphlet to see who was giving talks? Those days are GONE!

Now you have to do pre-conference homework!

I don't mind doing homework, and this is what I done -

Over the past few days, I listening to their podcasts at http://bifhsgo.ca/cpage.php?pt=59 where Brian Glenn interviewed John Reid (a fellow blogger at http://anglo-celtic-connections.blogspot.com/), and this year's Program Co-Chair of the 2011 Fall Conference Committee; Brian Watson, the Co-Chair for Administration for the 2011 Conference Committee; Kathy Wallace, the Registrar for the 2011 Fall Conference; and Lesley Anderson, Director of Education all talking about the Conference 2011.

I have read about the BIFHSGO Fall Conference Speakers at http://bifhsgo.ca/cpage.php?pt=54 and listened to 10 interviews with the speakers at http://bifhsgo.ca/cpage.php?pt=62. I have kept up-to-date with John D. Reid's BIFHSGO Blog at http://bifhsgo.ca/blog/2011/06/13/welcome/.

There will be 21 exhibitors this year, and they are at http://bifhsgo.ca/blog/2011/09/08/returning-to-the-conference-marketplace, and I plan to visit each one so that I can bring you news about new holding, new books, and new courses etc.

I read their "Getting the most out of the conference" at http://bifhsgo.ca/blog/2011/09/01/getting-the-most-out-of-the-conference to make sure I covered everthing, and I think I'm ready for the Conference Friday morning!

BTW, I have been invited to blog, and tweet at hashtag #BIFHSGO about the Confernce – so stayed tuned!

If you are in the Ottawa area this weekend, please drop in to the Conference. Many people have worked a huge amount of hours to make it the best conference ever, and they would like to see a large crowd there to take in this event.

To see what is available at the Conference, go to http://bifhsgo.ca/cpage.php?pt=22 http://anglo-celtic-connections.blogspot.com/

Descendants of Roger Billings, Milton, Massachusetts to Ottawa, Canada

Mike More, a Director of the Ontario Genealogical Society was asked by the City of Ottawa Archives to research the Billings family from Milton, Massachusetts to Ottawa, Canada in the 1800s.

Mike says "The City of Ottawa Archives holds the Billings Family fonds containing over 7 metres from 1796 to 1988. MG2 contains the notes of Charles Murray Billings who considered himself the family genealogist about a hundred years ago".

He tells us that Braddish BILLINGS, a son of Dr Elkanah BILLINGS was one of the first settlers in what is now Ottawa, the capital of Canada. Braddish's house was left to the city by one of his descendants and has become the Billings Estate Museum. There is considerable interest in the genealogy of the BILLINGS family by visitors to the City Archives, and this is an attempt to compile a reference chart of the family.

There are over 800 people in the Surname Index. The Master Index shows the date of birth and death of some of the people listed in the Surname Index, and a Legend which tells you who have been excluded because they are still living, or because research is still ongoing.

If you have any information, please contact Mike at mikemore@rogers.com. The website is located at http://www.ogsottawa.on.ca/billings/index.htm

New/Improved Canadian Websites and Blogs Week 2

Here are some of the websites and blogs that I have come across for the week ending September 11th, 2011 -

British Home Child SIG http://www.ogs.on.ca/SIG-BHC/index.htm The Ontario Genealogical Society, at this year's Conference in Hamilton, recently started a new SIG. The group has just published their first newsletter, and I covered it at http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2011/09/british-home-children-newsletter.html

Newfie Roots http://newfieroots.blogspot.com A blog about William & Eliza (nee Battery) Scott (including the Kettle, Lomond, and Nebucett families) from Newfoundland.

Lieutenant Charles William Pearson (1912-2000): The Lincoln and Welland Regiment's WWII Campaign http://spiritbay.yolasite.com/lieutenant-pearson.php A new blog that recounts his life in the Second World War – where he served, and what he did.

The REVIEW - VanKleek Hill Newspaper http://thereview.ca/Archive_Landingpage.html They have put online their newspaper from 1893 to 1904. The years 1904 to 1920 are coming soon. $

Genealogy Twitter Reader
http://www.genealogyintime.com/GenealogyResources/Tools/genealogy_twitter_reader.html I was kept busy reading the recent Tweets from the FGS Conference held last week in Springfield, Illinois.

The Family History Hound http://www.familyhistoryhound.com Ellen Thompson is from Alberta, and she does family history research as a business. $

That's Relative! Finding Yourself in Your Family Tree http://thatsrelative.wordpress.com A blog by Krista Moore about the MOORE family of Lanark County, Ontario, and Down, Ireland.

Looking 4 Kin Genealogy & Family History Network Chat:
Helping hands helping one another with our family history & genealogy research .
http://www.looking4kin.com This is a relatively new website created by a blogger and genealogist who goes by the non-de-plume of "Just M" from Saskatchewan, with 60 Canadian members from all the provinces and territories.

Townshippers' Day http://www.tday.ca This website takes in all the Townships in Eastern Quebec. Townshippers' Day will take place in Stanstead, Quebec, on Saturday, September 17th.

Grand Réveil Acadien/Great Acadian Awakening http://english.gra2011.org A new site which promoted Louisiana for the World Acadian Congress 2009, it is now the place to go to see what is on for this year's event, to be held from October 7th to the 16th.

September 11, 2001

There were at least 24 Canadians who died (or who are still missing, and presumed dead) on 9/11, and A. Knight has small biographies of them on his site at
http://members.shaw.ca/kcic1/cdnwtc.html

There is a YouTube video which shows the 9/11 memorial at the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa this year at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qxdx2ZhqmMI

Haldimand's Volunteers

A very good write-up appears in THE CHRONICLE, a newspaper that serves the
Haldimand area of Ontario. It is entitled “Haldimand OGS thanks volunteers”

Their website is http://www.dunnvillechronicle.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3290550

Congratulations to all of our volunteers!

The Haldimand County Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society website is http://www.ogs.on.ca/haldimand