OGS Blog Poll #2

The first poll of the OGS blog has taken place, and now it’s time for Poll # 2.

The subject of this poll is Records. You can choose as many choices from the list as you wish. To view the results after you have voted, simply refresh the page.

Aside from Census, Birth, Death and Marriage records, what other records have you found useful in building your family tree?

So far, the poll has shown that Cemetery Records as the first choice, Church and Parish Records in second place, and Wills and Probate in the third place.

Go to www.ogs.on.ca/ogsblog, and put in your choice!

70 Years Since the Dieppe Raid

It has been 70 years since the Dieppe Raid of the Second World War, and Canadians are taking part in the ceremonies -

“Prime Minister Stephen Harper today announced that His Excellency, the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General and Commander-in-Chief of Canada, will attend ceremonies in Dieppe, France, from August 19 to 20, to mark the 70th Anniversary of the Dieppe Raid.

The Governor General will join the Honourable Steven Blaney, Minister of Veterans Affairs, who will lead an official delegation to France from August 17 to 21, which includes Veterans who participated in the Dieppe Raid.

While in France, the Governor General, Minister Blaney and the Canadian delegation will attend a number of commemorative ceremonies including the Government of Canada’s signature event at Canada Memorial Square on August 19 and a ceremony at the Pourville Memorial on August 20.

In addition to the ceremonies taking place in France, there will also be a ceremony at the National War Memorial in Ottawa, as well as a number of events in communities across the country.

The raid on Dieppe, France, on August 19, 1942, was a pivotal moment in the Second World War. With virtually all of continental Europe under German occupation, the Allied forces faced a well-entrenched enemy. A method had to be found to create a foothold on the continent, and the raid on Dieppe offered invaluable lessons for the successful D-Day invasion in 1944, saving countless lives in that momentous offensive.

The Dieppe Raid was particularly devastating to the Canadian military. Of the nearly 5,000 Canadians who embarked on the operation, less than half returned to England, many of whom were wounded. There were 1,946 prisoners of war and 913 who lost their lives.

The Canadians who fought in the Dieppe Raid sacrificed much in their efforts to help bring freedom and democracy to the people of France and Europe. Their task was a difficult and costly one, but their effort was not in vain.

Lest we forget”

To read more about Canada and the Dieppe Raid, go to www.canadaatwar.ca/page53.html

Family Tree Magazine Picks Best Canadian Genealogy Sites

The sites that they have picked are -

Automated Genealogy - I use this site quite often to check the census of 1901, 1906 (Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba) and 1911. As is pointed out, they have a "Link Centre, which has already connected 2 million records of individuals between censuses as well as other sources, such as WWI soldiers and the Dictionary of Canadian Biography".

This is very important, if you want to make to a connection between the First World War and the 1911 Census.

The website is at http://automatedgenealogy.com

Canadian - This site I use every so often, maybe not as much as I should for there is 60 million-plus pages from libraries, museums, universities and government agencies.

I have just found it to be so frustating because I get lost in the Early Canadiana Online collection. But I understsnd that it is going through a "a makeover" with improved searching and navigation facitilty.

The website is at www.canadiana.ca/en/home

Library and Archives Canada - The LAC came in third place, and it appears that the biggest mark against it is "not searchable by surname". That is the thing isn't it - there are all of these records online - but the majority are not searchable by surname.

They have a new website at www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/Pages/home.aspx

Our Roots/Nos Roots - I agree - this is a good site! They have put online over 5,000 local history books, and if you haven't gone there before, it does deserve a look because I have found many refernces which has helped me in my reserarch.

The website is at www.ourroots.ca

Le Programme de recherche en démographie historique (The Research Program in Historical Demography) - I have used the database when I have had ancestors in Quebec. They have as their objective to collect every bit of information on all "biographical files on all individuals of European ancestry who lived in the St. Lawrence Valley". They charge to do full research - although nothing is charged to see if a name is listed in the database.

The website is at www.genealogie.umontreal.ca/en/leprdh.htm.

That's My Family/Voici Ma Famille - I have used this database to check to see if a marriage (specially in Quebec) is there. This was a database put together by the Bibliothèque et Archives Nationales du Québec and Library and Archives Canada sometime ago, but it is still worth a look.

The website is www.thatsmyfamily.info

New to the OGS Blog

This is an exciting development in blogs - they are instituting the use of Polls on the OGS blog at www.ogs.on.ca/ogsblog/?p=1389.

There are going to be a new one each week.

This week they asked the guestion - What regions have you been searching to build your family tree?

The results so far are -

Canada 81%

England 73%

Scotland 63%

United States 61%

The poll has been set up to allow you to choose as many answers from the list as you wish. Missed something or having second thoughts on your choices? No worries, simply refresh the page, and you can vote again!

Give it a try and have some fun!

Update of Quinte Finding Aid

Bob Dawes just wrote me a note to say that the Quinte Branch of the OGS has just issued over 100,000 records to it's online finding aid -

PRESS RELEASE

Quinte Branch - OGS announces an update of its online finding aid available at www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~canqbogs

Originally intended for use within the Quinte Genealogy Centre Research Library located in the Quinte West Public Library, it was added as an online resource in 2007. While the finding aid is primarily used to locate collateral surnames in the large collection of genealogies and other documents it also provides a lot of relevant information if you know where to look. A guide to using the finding aid and library catalog is provided on the above website.

The latest update adds over 100,000 records to the database bringing the total number to 1,120,000. Information on how to use the online Finding Aid to obtain additional information on search results from research volunteers is also available on the website.

2012 PEI Highland Games

The Caledonian Club of Prince Edward Island was formed on June 2, 1864, and on August 4th and 5th, they will present The PEI Highland Games at the Lord Selkirk Provincial Park, Eldon, PEI.

The Highland Dancing Competitions will be held on August the 4th at 8:30 a.m., as well as the junior heavy and track and field competitions (under 16). At 1 pm the ladies heavy competitions, and at 2 p.m. there will be men's heavy Scottish competitions.

Lots of food and entertainment including three Mass Bands on August the 4th, step-dancing competitions at 2 p.m. on August the 5th, followed by afternoon concert in the park with fiddler Richard Wood accompanied by Gordon Belsher.

There will also be a Gathering of the Clans Maclean and Ramsay where you can ask questions, and find out about Scottish enigration to PEI.

The website is www.caledonianclubofpei.ca

New Canadian Blog

We congratulate Betty on staring a new blog that is going to contain Canadian content, and it is called The Pye Plate at http://thepyeplate.blogspot.com.

Since she is a Mayflower Descendent, she will discuss ancestors who travelled from England to New England, and from there to the Canadian provinces of Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and to New Brunswick.  

She promises that the blog will be mostly about her family, but she will post for anyone who is seeking assistance in researching their family.

Welcome aboard Betty!