Genealogy “Summer Camp” in Toronto

"Have you ever wondered what you can do this summer? Go to the Toronto Summer Camp for genealogists from August 12 to the 17^th!

Genealogy "Summer Camp" is a unique program (for adults) that brings out-of-town family historians to Toronto for an intensive week of tutorials and hands-on research at the many archives and reference libraries in the city. If you have ancestors from Toronto or other parts of Ontario, there are many resources here for you. Local family historians are also welcome to participate as “day campers”. We take full advantage of Toronto’s great public transit system, and we keep the group small to allow lots of help from our local experts.

We’ll help you spend more time finding information about your ancestors—and less time finding the archives.

This will be our 16th Summer Camp. More than 125 participants from England, right across Canada and many US states have attended the 15 previous Summer Camps—some more than once!

Genealogy “Summer Camp” 2012 will take place from August 12-17. The Summer Camp fee for 2012 is $230 (CDN), which covers approximately 7 hours of lectures and tutorials, 25 hours of hands-on instruction and all worksheets and handouts.

For details as to venues, resources, tutorials and accommodation, and to download an application package, visit www.torontofamilyhistory.org/summercamp.html, or contact Jane MacNamara at info@torontofamilyhistory.org.

Applications should be received by 11 June 2012."

Canada Supports Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial Site

On May 14, 2012, the Canadian government announced that it is supporting Holocaust education, research and remembrance by announcing a $400,000 grant to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation in Poland. Prime Minister Stephen Harper made this announcement during the visit of Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk to Canada.

The press release said that “Canada’s support for the Memorial Site will help with the conservation of the buildings, grounds, and the thousands of historical objects that are endangered by erosion and deterioration. The memorial is almost 200 hectares, and includes 155 buildings, 300 ruins, including those of the gas chambers and crematoria, over 100,000 personal items that belonged to the people who were killed, archival documents, and works of art by prisoners. The Auschwitz death camp is the only place of its kind entered on the UNESCO World Heritage List, and more than 1.3 million people from all over the world visit the site every year.

The Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation is a Polish non-governmental organization that seeks to preserve the former Nazi concentration and extermination camp by raising €120 million for the Perpetual Fund, whose sole purpose is to cover the conservation costs of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial Site. The Foundation was created in January 2009 by Professor Władysław Bartoszewski, a former Auschwitz prisoner and current chairman of the Auschwitz Council”.

To do more reading about the Polish people in Canada, here are some websites which may interest you - 

Poles www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/022/022-905.007-e.html Dominik Barcz was the first Polish person in Canada, and he came in 1752. Read about the impact the Polish people have had on the history of the country.

Resources for Polish-American and Polish-Canadian Genealogical Research www.tc.umn.edu/~brand050/books/bookpolish.htm Ed Brant gives the researcher a overview of books and articles.

Polish Canadians http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polish_Canadians Gives a brief history of the Polish people in Canada, and a long list of notable Polish Canadians.  

Wilno www.wilno.com Visit Canada's oldest Polish community, Wilno, located in Eastern Ontario, having been settled in the 1800s.

Two Golden Rules of Researching Documents

I have been re-reading a great resource, a book by Ottawa's own Althea Douglas, called Time Traveller's Handbook: A Guide to the Past.

In Chapter 2, "Dealing with Documents", she has two rules of research. The first one is -

"Never trust a transcript made by someone else. Wherever you can, check the original document."

I once came across a census return which said that the person I was researching was born in Canada, and his marriage certificate (which took place in Canada) said that he was born in Ireland.  

Which is true? The same person – but two different countries. What was I to do? It was important to determine that I find the correct country in which he was born because the immigration date of the family depends on it.

Possible Solution: I have decided to visit a nearby genealogical society later this summer to see if they have any primary evidence which can support the proof I need to show one country or the other.  

Conclusion: I guess I could say that I have the very beginnings of a "brick wall". Gosh, I hope not – but I have a "feeling", since the immigration took place in the middle 1800s ... 

The second rule is -

"Always remember that clerks and clergymen, census takers and directory compilers, write down what they heard – what people said to them".

And isn't this statement true! 

Once again, in researching my own family (Haley) that went from Nova Scotia to California in the 1870s, I was confused by the different names of the places where they lived (or didn't live) – Centerville, Newark, Fremont, Washington Township, etc.  

I knew that these places were in Alameda County, across he bay from San Francisco – but were they the same place?

Possible Solution: I never have really answered the question. I have looked at many maps of the area, newspapers, and land records to get a good understanding of the area, but I am in somewhat of a quandary.

Conclusion: I have decided that the lived in Centerville (later known as Newark) in Washington County, California.

The book lists the following chapters -

Chapter 1 – A Time Traveller's Frame of Reference

Chapter 2 – Dealing with Documents

Chapter 3 – Dealing with Family Tradition

Chapter 4 – What Every Schoolchild Used to Know

Chapter 5 – Money

Chapter 6 – The Value of Money: It's Not What it Used to Be

Chapter 7 – Travel in the Past

Chapter 8 – Trades and Their Tools

Chapter 9 – Work Away From Home

Chapter 10 – Family and Connections

Chapter 11 – Home Sweet Home

Chapter 12 – How We Lived Then

Chapter 13 – Health in the Past

Chapter 14 – Our Heritage

Chapter 15 – Our VIP Heritage

Chapter 16 – Our Seafaring and Military Heritage

There is an Appendix (Date of Historical Events), Notes, a Bibliography, and an Index.

In case you are interested in the book, it is available from the Ontario Genealogical Society's e-Bookstore on their website at www.ogs.on.ca.

New/Improved Canadian Websites and Blogs Week 24

Brenna Pearce - History Research Matters http://brennapearce.wordpress.com  $ Brenna Pearce is the Chief Family Historian at Pearce Heritage Research Associates, located near Kingston, Ontario. She does research for a fee, but also has interesting and informative information freely available on her blog.

French-Canadian (Québécois) History and Genealogy www.craftconn.com/genealogy/homepage.htm Linda Jones goes through the differences in French-Canadians and Acadians. She has a query page, and there is a list of surnames.

SaskResearch www.saskresearch.com/index.html This researcher, Joe, uses Internet researching, plus newpapers, to help you find your ancestors.

Sacred Spaces http://graveyardrestoration.com $ Professional historical graveyard restoration services - serving the U.S and Canada.

Roots: Understanding Family Photos www.canadashistory.ca/Magazine/Online-Extension/Articles/Roots--Understanding-family-photos.aspx A very good article written by a Toronto genealogist, Paul Jones, on family photos. It appears in the March/April issue of Canada's History Magazine.

Wesleyan Methodist Baptisms http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~wjmartin/wesleyan.htm Ida Reed has transcribed 101,461 records of the Wesleyan Methodist Baptisms (1860-1910) in Canada.

Canada Genealogical Sleuth http://www.progenealogists.com/canada/sleuth.htm&affiliate=cyndihow&merchant=cottrill The ProGenealogiststs website offers a variety of other websites by which to do Canadian research.

Family Stories http://oldfamilystories.com/surnames-im-researching Another new blog, this one follows the families of Beaudoin (Ste Henedine, Quebec, Canada), Comartin (Ontario and Quebec, Canada), Berubé, Dupuis, Duquet, Gagnon, Barette, and Mailloux. Also, researching a variety of ethnically German and Jewish surnames from Germany (Prussia), Poland, and Austria, such as Postler, Schulz, Richter, Wenorski/Wensorski, Weizenbaum, Ormann, Friedländer, and Gänger.

The Genealogy Corner

I have started writing a genealogy column called "The Genealogy Corner" in The Review – a weekly newspaper in Vankleek Hill, Ontario. The column is geared towards beginning genealogists, but I think anyone can gain a new insight in the views that I have put forward in the column.

The column appears every two weeks in print, but unfortunately, doesn't appear on the website, so if you are interested, you will have to buy the paper or get an online subscription. The website is www.thereview.on.ca.

The columns that have been printed so far this year are -

• March 14 - Finding Your Canadian Roots
• March 28 - A Genealogical Society Is Not Just Another Society
• April 11 - It's Time to go Back to School – Year Round
• April 25 - It’s Time to Start Your Research!
• May 9 - The Year Genealogy Was Reborn In Canada

 The next column on May 23 will be all the changes that are taking place at FamilySearch.org.

MGS Celebrates Manitoba Day

Today, the Manitoba Genealogical Society http://www.mbgenealogy.com/ is holding an Open House to celebrate Manitoba Day!


They want to make their fellow residents aware of the birth of their province of Manitoba 142 years ago, on May 12th.


The open house will be at 1045 St. James Street, Winnipeg, and it will feature a resource centre tour, and advice in tracking down family histories. It will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., with free admission.


In addition to the hourly tours of MGS Resources, there will be demonstrations of online sources of information, and special emphasis will be spent on how to break down “brick walls”.


Other places that will celebrate Manitoba Day are -


The Manitoba Museum www.manitobamuseum.ca/main/2012/05/07/celebrate-manitoba-day-with-us-free-admission-plus-lots-more Free admission to the galleries and planetarium, plus a foray into the world of famous Manitobans.


Western Canada Aviation Museum wcam.mb.ca “Fit For Flight” guided tour showcases made-in-Manitoba aviation innovations – including the Bush Plane.


Transcona Historical Museum http://www.transconamuseum.mb.ca/ Hands-on archeology workshop for families, held between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m.


New Iceland Heritage Museum, Gimli http://www.nihm.ca/ Free admission and a talk by Johanne Kristjanson on the evolution of Manitoba.


Manitoba Agricultural Museum, Austin http://ag-museum.mb.ca/ Free admission and loads of family-friendly activities, including a picnic, horseshoe tournament, and more.

York County and the 1837 Rebellion

The York County Branch of the OGS www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~onyrbogs has a new project of collecting a list of participants in the 1837 Rebellion.

The information being collected is -

• Date of birth
• Place of Birth
• Date of Death
• Place of Death
• Rebel or Volunteer
• Time in Prison
• Prisoner's Boxes Made
• Exile
• Transport to Diemen's Land
• Banished
• Escaped

They are asking if you have an ancestor involved in the rebellion, please send in the information to Patricia Blackstock at pblack-stock@sympatico.ca.

If you want a bit of information of the Rebellion of 1837, go to
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upper_Canada_Rebellion.