Ontario Jewish Heritage Month

On February 23, 2012, the Ontario Legislature passed Bill 17, making the month of May Jewish Heritage Month in the province. The Bill, presented yesterday at Queen’s Park by Eglinton-Lawrence MPP Mike Colle, was co-sponsored by Thornhill MPP Peter Shurman and Parkdale-High Park MPP Cheri DiNovo.

The President & CEO of UJA Federation of Greater Toronto, Ted Sokolsky, and UJA Federation’s Board Chair, Elizabeth Wolfe, issued the following joint statement:

"On behalf of UJA Federation of Greater Toronto, we are proud and grateful to the Members of the Ontario Legislature for passing Bill 17, making May Jewish Heritage Month a reality in Ontario. Building - and contributing - to community and to society has always been a top priority for Jews since their arrival in Canada, and this honour recognizes those contributions as we continue to add to the diverse multicultural mosaic that has made Ontario a place envied by many around the world. This announcement will call for an extra celebration at this year’s UJA Walk with Israel, which for 45 years has taken place in May."

It was supported by many leading Jewish organizations in Toronto, along with the National Congress of Italian Canadians–Toronto District, the London Jewish Federation, Ontario Jewish Archives, and the Toronto and Hamilton chapters of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Canada.

Community Archives May be Closing

Word has it that the Mitchell Archives located in Logan Township in Perth County, Ontario may be closing. There has been a petition in the community, and so far, 276 people have signed it to keep the archives open.

Michell is a small community located just outside of Stratford, and it was settled in 1837 by William Hicks, and his son John, near the Thames River.

To read more of the history of Mitchell, go to
 http://www.westperth.com/communitylife/history/westperthhistory.html

The Mitchell Archives is a small branch of the The Stratford-Perth County Archives which has recently been upgraded, and the branch could be folded into the main archives. A date for the possible closing has yet to be announced.

The Stratfor-Perth Archives is at http://www.perthcounty.ca/stratford_perth_archives

QFHS - Seminars and Public Lecture Series

News has been received from the Quebec Family History Society (QFHS) in Montreal that they will host two events in March, and they are -

The War of 1812 (Free Lecture)

It will take place on Saturday, March 10, 2012 at 10:30 a.m. at the Briarwood Presbyterian Church Hall, 70 Beaconsfield Blvd, Beaconsfield, QC, H9W 3Z3.

The talk, given by Luc Lépine, will be a lecture about the War of 1812 and will focus on events that took place in Lower Canada (now Quebec) and the Battle of Châteauguay. Luc Lépine is one of the leading experts on the War of 1812 and author of the book, Lower Canada's Militia Officers, 1812 - 1815.
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A Genealogical Day in England and Wales (Seminar)

It will be held on Saturday, March 31, 2012, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the Quebec Family History Society Library, 173 Cartier Ave., Pointe-Claire, QC H9S 4H9, and will be presented by Gary Schroder.

The purpose of this seminar will be to a) examine the basic structures of family history research in England, Civil Registration of BMDs, 1837-2005; Censuses, 1841-1911; Wills 1858-2011, etc.; and b) examine how to find your ancestors for the period prior to 1837 and how to make the best use of the English databases to be found on Ancestry and other commercial websites.

Reservations are necessary. Please call 514.695.1502

For details, visit them online at http://www.qfhs.ca/

LDS and Nova Scotia Church Records

The LDS Church is making available church records for the Anglican, Baptist, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, and United Church of England denominations.

As their website says, "The Public Archives of Nova Scotia has many original church registers as well as microfilm copies. The Protestant registers generally cover 1780–1914. There are Catholic records 1679–1914. A list of these holdings can be found in Genealogical Research in Nova Scotia, by Terrence M. Punch.

Parish registers of baptisms, marriages, deaths and other records for some Catholic and Church of England in Canada parishes from Nova Scotia. These records cover 1720-2001, and dates vary for each parish. Some parish registers are written in French or Latin".

They have put on a Wiki to explain the church records, and Citation for This Collection.

The website is https://www.familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Nova_Scotia_Church_Records_(FamilySearch_Historical_Records)

Louis Riel Day

Yesterday was Louis Riel Day in Manitoba. The Library and Archives Canada just put more pictures on Flickr at www.flickr.com/photos/lac-bac/sets/72157628221185477

Louis Riel Day: Remembering Manitoba Founding Father http://louisrielday.com/ You can go on the Louis Riel tour, a very good timeline of events in his life, and a video.

Louis Riel http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Riel#Execution There is a history of Louis Riel from his birth on the 22 October, 1844 to his execution on 16 November, 1885. It reviews his life in Parliament in Ottawa, and as a Métis leader of his people in Manitoba, to his involvement in the Red River Rebellion, and the North-West Rebellion.

A Biography of Louis Riel http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/riel/rielbio.html The biography discusses his education in Montreal, and as a voice of the Métis of the prairie provinces, and of his trial for treason.

Riel, Louis www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/articles/louis-riel A very good review of Riel’s life and times.

Louis Riel www.metisnation.org/culture--heritage/louis-riel.aspx His life is examined from the Métis point of view. He is referred to a “the Father of Manitoba”.
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Books
I have just published two booklets - The War of 1812: Canada and the United States, and Migration: Canada and the United States.

They are available for purchase through Global Genealogy at http://globalgenealogy.com/, the National Institute of Genealogical Studies at http://www.genealogicalstudies.com/, and now, in the U.S., from the Family Roots Publishing Company at http://www.familyrootspublishing.com/.
For more on the booklets, go to http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2012/01/booklet-1-war-of-1812-canada-and-united.html and http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2012/01/booklet-2-migration-canada-and-united.html

Ontario Heritage Week 2012

The Ontario Heritage Trust has been celebrating Heritage Week since 1985. This year, it celebrates Heritage Week from February 20th to the 26th. Even if you can’t get out to visit the events, the website itself, www.heritagetrust.on.ca, has a wonderful array of things to see, such as the exhibit on Samuel de Champlain; Ontario’s Places of Worship; and Heritage Matters - the organization’s magazine.

You can also see what is happening this week in the following communities - Ajax, Aurora, Brampton, Cambridge, Cayuga, Fergus, Guelph, Harley, Jordan, Kitchener, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Oakville, Smiths Falls, Thornhill, Thunder Bay, and Toronto.

They also opened the new Parliament interpretive centre on February 16th with an exhibit called, Foundations & Fire: Early Parliament and the War of 1812 Experience at York.

The interpretive centre is located at 265 Front Street East, Toronto, and it comprises the site of Ontario’s first purpose-built parliament buildings.

The press release goes on to say that they were “Opened in 1797, the buildings were burned by invading American forces during the War of 1812. They were later rebuilt, but were destroyed by fire again in 1824. Today, the site is both historically and archaeologically significant for its association with the beginnings of our representative government”.

Books

I have just published two booklets - The War of 1812: Canada and the United States, and Migration: Canada and the United States.

They are available for purchase through Global Genealogy at http://globalgenealogy.com, the National Institute of Genealogical Studies at www.genealogicalstudies.com, and now, in the U.S., from the Family Roots Publishing Company at www.familyrootspublishing.com.

For more on the booklets, go to http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2012/01/booklet-1-war-of-1812-canada-and-united.html and http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2012/01/booklet-2-migration-canada-and-united.html

Genealogy Show and Tell (GANS)

From Pamela Wile, the Programme Convener for GANS (Genealogical Association of Nova Scotia), comes this press release -

"Our society encourages those interested in their family history to participate in the social aspect of genealogy. This is our 2nd event of this type. The Show and Tell last year was fabulous and brought together people with many different research interests. As well, we heard some great stories and saw some interesting family heirlooms.

Please join us on February 25, 2012 at 1:00 p.m. for our 2nd Annual Genealogy Show and Tell.

Come and meet other folks who may share your genealogy interests.

Members have been invited to take ten minutes to tell us about their research, show us an heirloom or talk about a book they've written. Attendees will have an opportunity to ask questions or make suggestions on how they can further their research. As well, members that aren't in the area have been invited to email in their research interests so you'll have an opportunity to look through those and possibly "meet" a cousin or two!

Are you new to genealogy? Browse our publications, pick up some handouts and research tips and get to know some fellow genealogists.

Don't forget to wear your family t-shirts, hats or buttons!

There will be a door prize and light refreshments will be served.

All lectures are open to the public and will be held unless otherwise noted in the Akins A/V Room, Nova Scotia Archives, Public Archives Site, 6016 University Avenue, Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Many of our publications are normally on display and available for purchase at our regular monthly meetings.

Hope to see you there.

Regards,

Pamela Wile
Programme Convener
http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/Recreation/GANS/
https://www.facebook.com/NovaScotiaAncestors
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