Archives Awareness Week

Archives Awareness Week will be held from April the 2th until April the 4th.

This year, members of Durham Region Area Archives Group (DRAAG) are working together to host their first joint event.

On April 4th, they will be hosting the first Preserving Your Family History Event. Join us at the Northview Public Library, 150 Beatrice Street, East in Oshawa from 2 pm until 8 pm.

The website says that “Members of DRAAG institutions will be on hand to assist you with repairing and preserving precious documents and photographs from your collection.  Members will also be available to assist with digitizing items and providing the most up-to-date methods for digitally preserving your family archives.  The event will have several other information stations so check back here for further information in the coming weeks”

Residents are encouraged to bring along their family photos and documents.

Durham Region Area Archives Group (DRAG) was formed in June 2011, and is made up of archives, libraries, and galleries from across the region.

For more information visit http://www.durhamregionarchivesgroup.com/ or contact the Oshawa Community Museum and Archives at 905-436-7624 ext. 100.

Discover Mail Order Catalogues

The Library and Archives Canada (LAC) says it's like going on a journey where you “Time Travel” back in time to research in mail order catalogues. They have been available in Canada since the 1880s. The LAC has them from 1880 to the 1970s.

They say “These department store catalogues provide a detailed record of many aspects of everyday life over the last century. They contain everything from household furnishings and furniture, to all manner of clothing and accessories, kitchenware, patent medicines, toys, tools, and sporting equipment.

These catalogues can be used to identify and date collectables and memorabilia; to price household items from a certain time period; to establish the approximate dates of photographs by studying fashion trends; or to research props, sets and costumes for theatre and film. The possibilities are endless”.

I put in the search for women's hats, and I got a 28 returns - everything from Eaton's Spring and Summer 1916 Ready-to-wear Hats - women's, misses', children's to Eaton's Spring and Summer 1965 Hats - women's.

You can search at http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/mailorder/029006-100.01-e.php

Stone Family Gathering 2012

The descendants of George Stone & Mary Doody will meet for a family reunion July 19^th to the July 22, 2012 at Bras D'or Lakes Inn, Cape Breton in Nova Scotia.

They have a full days planned with a Ceilidh on Thursday, a “Meet and Greet” on Friday evening, a full day of activities on Saturday, including a church service at 11:00 AM at the Ecumenical Church Service at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Barra Head,  and they will have a  Family Gathering Meal at St Peter's Lions' Hall on Sunday

 It is believed that George & Mary Stone and their one year old son Jonas arrived at Sydney CB, aboard a vessel from Trepassey NL, named "the Elizabeth" on the 21st of July, 1800

 If you can’t go to the Gathering, they have various articles on their website, with photos, and a Guest Book on their website  at http://stonefamilygathering2012.webs.com/weekendschedule.htm

Canada Celebrates St. Patrick's Day

GenealogyCanada's Blog Search - Yes, using our very own search box (at the top right), just type in "Irish" or "Ireland", and see what resources or news items have been posted here. (This also works for other topics of interest).

The Irish Canadian Society http://www.irishcanadiansociety.net/ - This website etablished a connection between Canada and Ireland, and gives an account of how to search for Irish immigants.

Irish Resources at Library and Archives Canada (LAC) www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/genealogy/022-905.005-e.html - Canada's most recent census returns list the Irish as the fourth-largest ethnic group in Canada, with almost 4.5 million Canadians claiming either some or full Irish lineage.

Irish Ships Passenger Lists www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ote/iriship.htm

Canadian Immigration Records: Irish Immigrants www.irish-genealogy-toolkit.com/Canadian-immigration-records.html - Canadian immigration records on Irish immigrants.

Grandma's Family Tree http://judycorbettbarker.com/index.html - Judy Barker is tracing the surnames of CORBETT, HAWCO, COSTIGAN, FUREY, KENNEDY, LACOUR, MURPHY, QUINLAN, CRAIG, HEALEY, and SULLIVAN from Ireland. They emigrated to Chapel`s Cove, Harbour Main, and Holyrood in Newfoundland.

Emigration From Cork Island to Upper Canada: The First Peter Robinson Settlers http://webhome.idirect.com/~obrienr/cork1823.html - The website explains the reasons behind emigration to Canada, and lists other websites.

Discover Your True Irish Roots in our New Historical Records www.ancestry.ca/irish?o_iid=50529&o_lid=50529&o_sch=Web+Property - Ancestry.ca has Irish Records that you can check online. Their 14-day FREE access offer is available.

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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://www.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

Genealogical Day in England and Wales (Seminar)

Gary Schroder, QFHS President, will give a talk on Sa turday, March 31st 2012 from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the Quebec Family History Society Llibrary, 173 Cartier Avenue in Pointe-Claire.

The purpose of this seminar will be to A) examine the basic structures of family history research in England, Civil Registration of BMD's 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 found to be found on Ancestry and other commercial websites.

Reservations are necessary: call 514.695.1502, or you can visit the society online at http://www.qfhs.ca/. The fee $30.00.

Canadian Air and Space Museum Set to Close

Anna-Louise Richardson, a videographer from Toronto, has written me about the closure of the Canadian Air and Space Museum. She wrote to say that the museum has recieved notice from developers that the museum will be evicted from the old DeHavilland Building at the old Downsview airforce base in Toronto.

She noticed that this blog had posted a press release from the North York Central Library's Canadiana Department about an appearance by Keith Hyde and his talk on the DeHavilland Mosquito (Wednesday March 7, 2012) www.genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2012/03/dehavilland-mosquito.html, and Anna-Louise said that reading it had compelled her to write me about the closure of the CAS Museum.

There is more information available about the museum here - www.casmuseum.org/home.php

She said that the developers plan to demolish the building to put up a hockey arena. She goes on to say that it is "So sad....I have started to interview one WWII vet who volunteers there and hope to interview another who has written a book about his WWII experiences as a pilot. This place is rich in history and they need our help."

I checked the website the other day, and was impressed by the amount of information that they have made available. There is a full account of the closing of the museum, the awards that they have received, a history of the mueum, and a video and photo gallery.

She produces vidoes at http://www.treeoflifevideo.com/. There you can see interviews from two WWII pilots that volunteer at the CAS Museum. One is Philip Gray, who has written the book, "The Ghosts of Targets Past", about his time as a Lancaster pilot.

New/Improved Canadian Websites and Blogs Week 21

Here are some of the websites and blogs that I have come across the week ending March 11, 2012.

Family History Alive http://www.familyhistoryalive.com/ Sue Fenn has had this site for about a year now, and she sees the site as a 'where to find it' resource, providing information on what's available, and where to find it, in Canada, the UK, and to some extent, the US. You should go to the site to see what is there because it is absolutely fabulous!

Rowe Families of Newfoundland www3.sympatico.ca/john.rowe A website which follows Edward Rowe (1699-1754) of Trinity, Newfoundland; Benjamin Rowe (1786-1850) of Carbonear, Newfoundland; and Henry Rowe (1780-1833) of Carbonear, Newfoundland.

St. Columban-Irish: Our Mission: Honour Our Irish Ancestors http://www.stcolumban-irish.com/ Settlers came in the early 1820s and settled in the Village of St. Columban, Québec. In July 2010, the descendants and friends of St. Columban unveiled the cemetery monument dedicated to the original Irish settlers.

Wyemen – McKay http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~raeb Researching WYSEMAN, WISEMAN, HAMILTON, ROBERT, OGILVIE, GAIR, JAMIE, MORRICE, TIMMON. They are primarily from Scotland and the Dundee area but the WISEMAN/WYSEMAN name is originally from Essex, England.

Cape Breton Genealogy: Point Edward Grants http://charlesgrantcb.blogspot.com/ Douglas Grant has taken the Charles Grant family of Point Edward, Cape Breton County, Nova Scotia, Canada and has put the research notes on a blog. I have read though them, and they are most interesting.

 Pardon Me: A genealogy blog by Tamara Tillinghast Haskett http://pardonmetammy.wordpress.com/ Another blog just started in March which traces the family of Hasketts from Ireland that emigrated to Ontario.

Where The Story Takes Me http://wherethestorytakesme.ca/ Jane MacNamara, from the Toronto Branch of the Ontario Genelogical Society, has started a blog in which she has put handouts of the talks she has given to people who have attended her Family History Library Lectures in Salt Lake City; has given her thoughts on RootsTech Conference 2012; and has posted lots of research on the site that she has come across along the way.