Vote for OurDigitalWorld

We have received this news from the OurDigitalWorld people -

“Recently, ODW has applied for the EMC Heritage Trust Project grant and were informed this weekend that we are finalists in the grant process!

The proposal we put forward is to develop and enhance our newspaper portal which will be a one-stop search and free access to the largest collection of online Ontario newspapers and newspaper index records.

The Heritage Trust Project will select three winners from the list of finalists through a Facebook voting campaign available here: www.facebook.com/emccorp?v=app_222471081145150

I was wondering if you could ask your readership to vote for the OurDigitalWorld proposal and support the promise of more, free, easily searchable newspaper pages and index records to improve their research.

Many thanks for your consideration”.

Jess

Pioneer History of Anderdon Township, Ontario

A new book Anderdon; Some Folks Down the Road has been published about the pioneer history of Anderdon Township 1790-1920. Samples of the book are online at www.anderdon1812.com.

The township is in the southwest corner of Ontario, generally in the Amherstburg and Windsor area.

The author Mark Warren says that “The book itself is 429 pages of adventures, disasters, heartbreak and stories of great courage and determination. Images are from many local and international archives, including the Smithsonian Institution and Library of Congress in Washington, the Museum of Civilization in Ottawa, the Stark Museum in Texas, and the Archives of Ontario. These are matched by intriguing photos from family albums… over 100 of them! There are many newspaper clippings from (among others) the Essex Free Press, the Amherstburg Echo, the Windsor Evening Record and the Canadian Emigrant and Western Advertiser.

This is history, as well as genealogy. Anderdon had been a First Nations Reserve, so its gradual demise and the enfranchisement of its band members receive special treatment. The War of 1812 is covered, along with the Patriot Rebellions, and the American Civil War. Seventy-four immigrant families are traced in detail, and hundreds of surnames are mentioned in the text. The appendices contain official government documents, personal letters, accounts of land auctions, a list of homesteaders, crown patents that were issued and census information. There is a strong 32-page index”.

You can look at the surnames mentioned in the book, there are area maps available for viewing, as well as samples from the book itself.

Bay of Quinte UEL Genealogy Workshop

Brian Tackaberry UE, President of the Bay of Quinte UEL Branch, has informed us of an up-coming workshop -

“The Bay of Quinte Branch will be presenting a workshop to help people find their Loyalist Roots on Saturday April 21st, 2012 at the Adolphustown Township Hall in Adolphustown, located on old Highway #33, the Loyalist Parkway. 

We invite anyone doing research on their Quinte area ancestors to come out for help with their Loyalist links, and to bring along any other individuals who may be interested to discover their Loyalist connections.

The program begins at 10:00AM and runs throughout the day until 3:00PM.  People may feel free to come at any time throughout the day.  Those in attendance will receive several handouts, including application forms and tips for Loyalist Lineage, a list of UEL names for the Bay of Quinte area, examples of acceptable proofs and where to find them, and a certificate of participation.  There will also be tours of the UEL Museum, research library and the park including a visit to the UEL Cemetery and site of the original Loyalist Landing.

There will also be a series of short talks on researching your links during the morning by Linda Corupe, Peter and Angela Johnson, and Brian Tackaberry.  We will also have them available later to give you one-on-one assistance with your family search.  There will also be books for sale to help with your Loyalist research.

 The cost for the day is $10 which will include the handouts, coffee/tea/water and certificate.  You are asked to bring along a bag lunch for the day.  If you wish to attend the workshop, please complete the registration form and send to Angela Johnson, or email myself  btackaberry@trytel.com or Angela johnsonue@xplornet.com. To find the registration form, go to the Bay of Quinte website, www.uel.ca.

Brian Tackaberry UE, President, Bay of Quinte Branch”

 

Ancestry.ca Offers FREE Access to French-Canadian Records

Ancestry.ca is offering FREE access to more than 14.5 million records of millions of people in Quebec, and France, and they will be available free from April 17-22.

Among the free collections is the Drouin database. This database spans 346 years from 1621 to 1967,  and includes  37 million names in baptism, marriage and burial records, plus a summary of church records from Ontario, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and various New England states.

The free access also includes the Tanguay collection. This large, seven-volume collection was published by the French-Canadian priest and genealogist Father Cyprien Tanguay from 1871 to 1890.

The collection includes Quebec, the Maritimes, Ontario and old French settlements in the United States and France. Tanguay traced ancestors of many early French-Canadian colonists back to Normandy, and other parts of France.

Entries in this collection details family pedigrees with baptism, marriage, and burial dates, and places.

Go to http://www.ancestry.ca/

Genealogy Association of Nova Scotia Events

This note comes to us from GANS - 

"Since we don't have a monthly lecture planned for April, we've been busy
planning a number of other ventures that will take us out into the community.

Tomorrow, Bob Davison, VP; Dawn Josey, Membership and Correspondence Secretary
and I will be attending the Kings County Genealogy and Family History
Committee meeting at the Kings County Museum in Kentville at 1:30 pm to
promote the August 25 30th Anniversary event.

As well, we will be at the West Hants Historical Society monthly meeting in
Windsor at 7:30 tomorrow night.  We will again provide information about the
30th Anniversary event and Dawn Josey will be giving her "Research to Artwork"
presentation.  If you missed Dawn's presentation in January, come and join us
tomorrow night.  Here is a little bit about the presentation and Dawn:

  Dawn Josey, a visual artist, has taken her family research from paper to
works of art telling the story for generations to come. Come hear how your
story can be told visually.

  Dawn Josey is a mixed media artist living in Enfield, Nova Scotia. For 17
years she practiced Biomedical photography first in Life Science then Biology
at Dalhousie University. She is an elected member of the Society of Canadian
Artists and a board member of Visual Arts Nova Scotia who exhibits her work in
group and solo shows throughout the province. She is currently continuing
studies at NSCAD.

On Saturday, April 14 and Sunday, April 15, GANS will have a table at the
Shearwater Spring Hobby Show held at the Aviation Museum in Shearwater outside
of Dartmouth.  You'll be able to purchase our publications, register for the
30th Anniversary event or pick up some handouts.  We could use some help
during those two days.  The show is open from 10:00 to 4:00 both days.  So
far, four members of the executive have volunteered, but it would be nice to
have at least two people at the table at all times.  If you'd like to spend a
half day with one of us, it would help us immensely.  Send me a quick email
and let me know which half day you are available. As a bonus, the company is
pretty good too! :)

If you can't help out, please consider coming to the show - drop by to
introduce yourself and say hello.  The show is wonderful entertainment and at
$3.00 per person/$10 per family, is an excellent bargain.  Proceeds are
donated to the Aviation Museum."

Hope to see you at any or all of the above events!

Regards,

Pamela Wile
Programme Convener
https://www.facebook.com/NovaScotiaAncestors

Ancestry.com Has Canadian Titanic Records

As a lead in to the 100th Anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic on April 15th, Ancestry.com has added more than 200,000 records to the collection at www.ancestry.com.

Among the records are two collections from Nova Scotia, and they are – headstone photographs of 121 victims buried at Fairview Cemetery in Halifax, N.S. and coroner inquest files and 330 records about bodies that were recovered from the wreck The collection includes the vessel's passenger list of the Titanic, information about crew members, and coroner files, and records about recovered bodies. Access to the records is FREE until May 31.

95th Anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge

One just has to say "Vimy Ridge" to any Canadian, and we think of the sacrifices that our fellow countrymen have made in the First World War. And this year. Major Arthur William Currie, grandson of  famed Canadian commander, General Arthur Currie, will lead Ottawa-area cadets on a pilgrimage to Vimy Ridge.

The cadets are from the Ottawa unit of the Royal Canadian Dragoons Cadet Corps, and they will see Vimy Ridge today. They will participate in a Remembrance Ceremony organized by the government.

To find out more about the Memorial, please visit http://veterans.gc.ca/eng/feature/vimy-ridge/history.

To learn more about Vimy Ridge, visit the following websites –

Canadian National Vimy Memorial Stone Display www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/memorials/cbmr/wall_stone_display See if your ancestor is on the Memorial.

Canadian War Museum www.warmuseum.ca/home See the events and displays at the museum on Vimy Day.

If you want to find out more about your ancestor in the First World War, Glenn Wright has written an excellent book, Canadians at War 1914-1919: A Research Guide to World War One Service Records. I have used this book many times to help me answer the questions that my clients have about their ancestors in the First World War.

It is available from Global Genealogy at http://globalgenealogy.com/countries/canada/military/resources/101160.htm