New/Updated Websites, Blogs, and Articles – 12 November 2012

Here are some websites, blogs and articles that I have come across this past week that were of interest to me, and I thought you might be interested in them, too –

Latest news about the Library and Archives Canada The LAC is going ahead with the cancellation of the inter-librarian program next month, not in February 2013, as was reported earlier this year. Budget cuts has forced the change, and what used to be borrowed by inter-library loans (microfilm/books, for example) will now be digitized. There is no word on the indexing of the material, although.

Read about the change in the inter-library loan system at
Library and archives interlibrary loans soon eliminated: Loan requests dropped 75 per cent in last 12 years, according to library officials www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/story/2012/11/06/ottawa-library-and-archives-canada-interlibrary-loans-cancelled.html

Federal government to honour workers who died building Rideau Canal
http://www.ottawasun.com/2012/11/02/federal-government-to-honour-workers-who-died-building-rideau-canal Jessica Beddaoui of the Ottawa Sun writes that the federal government will commemorate the construction workers (primarily Irish immigrants and French-Canadians), who built the Rideau Canal between 1826 and 1832 by putting a plaque beside the canal.

Your thoughts needed on Canadian History Museum: Staffers are in Vancouver for your suggestions www.news1130.com/news/local/article/420874--your-thoughts-needed-on-new-canadian-history-museum They are starting to travel across the country to hear what Canadians want to see in the Canadian History Museum (it will replace the Museum of Civilization) when it debuts in 2017.

Acadianeire's Heritage: Discovering my Cape Breton and County Down ancestors through sepia photographs, anecdotes and poetry http://acadianeire.blogspot.com Kat Mortensen has a really nice blog, showing pictures of her family, and putting comments on the website about the photos.

Conference Keeper http://conferencekeeper.weebly.com Jen Baldwin, genealogist and family historian, and owner of Ancestral Journeys in Breckenridge, Colorado, will post your conference - free of charge. Quite an interesting site!

Historic Lectures Given in PEI www.pc.gc.ca/eng/pn-np/pe/pei-ipe/activ/activ10/activ10i.aspx Prince Edward Island is celebrating 75 years of its national park, and they are having free lectures.

On November 20th, there will be a lecture by Dr. Claire Campbell, and she will talk on the subject “From Sea to Sea to Sea: National Parks and the Story of Canada” , and another lecture on the 27th which will feature Barbara MacDonald, and she will talk on “The Colorful History of Green Gables”.

For more information, visit www.upei.ca/history. For more information about this lecture series or Parks Canada on PEI, call us at 902.566.7050 or visit us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/PEInationalpark.

© Elizabeth Lapointe All Rights Reserved

Remembrance Day: Who are you remembering?

Your Community Blog, found on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's (CBC) website, www.cbc.ca/news/yourcommunity, is asking you to send in a remembrance of a person and a photo to the  blog on this Remembrance Day.

The blog asks - "Is it a grandparent who served in World War I? Or a brother or cousin who served in Afghanistan? Share your memories in three to four lines, if possible - along with a picture of the person you'll be thinking of”.

CBC Remembrance Day Program Guide - Tune to CBC for full television, radio, and online coverage of Remembrance Day services in Canada www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2012/11/07/f-remembrance-day-program-guide.html

Question of the Day: The series of Question of the Day for Remembrance Week has ended for this year. I would like to thank everyone who took the time to send in their answers, and I hope that you have enjoyed the posts. The list of the winners will be posted on Monday.

Please take the time to thank a veteran for his or her service, even if they are not yet familiar. You never know - they may be someone who can illuminate a part of your family history research, or they may even be one of my own relatives (both blood and in-laws) who—along with countless other Canadian military members and their families—had, or have, spread themselves across the country and overseas in their dedicated and selfless service to Canada and her allies.

Lest We Forget ...

© Elizabeth Lapointe All Rights Reserved

"For King and Country" Project in Toronto

Gwyneth Pearce, of the Toronto Family History Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society, has just sent me the following press release -

“I am writing to share some news from the Toronto Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society that I hope will be of interest…

The Toronto Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society has added 3,000 more names and ten more schools to its on-line database of school memorials commemorating Toronto students and staff who volunteered for active service in the two World Wars and other military conflicts.

The newest schools in the For King and Country database are Brock Avenue, Hodgson, Jesse Ketchum, King George, Lambton Park, Long Branch Continuation, Oriole Park, Plains Road, R.H. McGregor and Sackville Street. The latest additions bring the total number of names in the database to just under 30,000. But that’s not all – the database also includes transcriptions and photographs of school war memorials, as well as information about the history of the schools themselves and links to other useful school and community websites.

As we all pause to mark Remembrance Day, take a few moments to explore this growing collection at www.torontofamilyhistory.org/kingandcountry

To find out more about the For King and Country project, and how you can help, contact co-ordinator Martha Jackson at kingandcountry@torontofamilyhistory.org”

I first heard about this site at the OGS Conference in Toronto in 2010, and it was just starting, and they encouraged every one to go and take a look. You may discover your ancestor there.

War of 1812 Issue of OGS' Families

Cover page from the November 2012 issue of Families, the journal of the Ontario Genealogical Society (OGS) www.ogs.on.ca

As most of you know, this year is the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812, which involved British, Canadian, American, Black, and Aboriginal forces, as well as both Army and Navy personnel, in both Canada and the United States.

The papers in this issue include –

• Six Degrees of Separation from the War of 1812 by Fred Blair

• QMSSgt Joseph Legare/Legary: War of 1812 Veteran by Bill Amell

• The War of 1812 and Its Influence of North Simcoe County by Gwen Patterson 

In fact, Fred Blair of the OGS has a resource on the Resources webpage of the OGS website at www.ogs.on.ca/services/1812-militia.php. Here, he talks about “Ontario Records and Resources - War of 1812 Documents”, and has published such transcriptions as the 2nd Regiment of York Militia – Payroll, and the 2nd Regiment of York Militia and 5th Regiment of Lincoln Militia - Flank Companies and Others.

You may contact him at fredblairorillia@hotmail.com

You can also check the name of your War of 1812 ancestor on The Ontario Name Index (TONI) of the OGS. It is upgraded monthly, and may reach as high as fifty million entries when it is finished. Note that this is an index – it does not contain the information; it just tells you where to find the information.

The website for TONI is www.ogs.on.ca/integrated/toni_database1.php

The Borrow/Buy button on the website may take you to a screen which gives you purchase options - to buy the whole book of cemetery transcripts through the e-Store, or to buy that particular tombstone transcription  through Pay-Per-View (PPV).  

Question of the Day: The York Regiment recruited young men of a certain age to be in the regiment. Between what ages were the recruits mustered? Send your answer to Elizabeth at genealogycanada@aol.com by midnight, Eastern Standard Time. Please put “booklet” in the title, and remember to submit your full name and postal address. A winner will be chosen by random draw from every eligible entry received.

For details on the contest and the booklet prize—a research guide on both sides of the War of 1812 entitled The War of 1812: Canada and the United States—please visit http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2012/11/one-booklet-to-be-won-every-day-during.html

Good luck with the draw, and happy researching!

© Elizabeth Lapointe All Rights Reserved

Animals in War

 Animals in War - http://veterans.gc.ca/eng/gallery-index/gallery/477

 http://aiwdedication.ca/news

Animals—such as mules who carried artillery; carrier pigeons who delivered messages; horses who hauled field guns; and dogs who worked as medical assistants, mine detectors, and in search and rescue—have always served in wars, and they had a monument dedicated to them on November 3rd in Confederation Park in Ottawa, Ontario. Dogs are still used today by the Canadian Armed Forces.

For more information, please go to the Animals in War Dedication Project website at http://aiwdedication.ca. Laureen Harper, wife of the Canadian prime minister, The Right Honourable Stephen Harper, is the Project's Honourary Patron. Both Mr. and Mrs. Harper are well-known animal lovers.

New Monument Honours War Contributions of Animals - http://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/new-monument-honours-war-contributions-of-animals-1.1023339 CTV Ottawa’s Natalie Duddridge covered the dedication on Nov 3rd.

Mascots and Pets - www.warmuseum.ca/cwm/exhibitions/guerre/mascots-pets-e.aspx The Canadian War Museum has a short history on mascots and pets that Canadian soldiers had in the wars that they fought.

At the end of Valiant, an animated family movie about carrier pigeons in the Second World War, a list of recipients of animals who have won a Dickin Medal for wartime service is shown. Essentially, the Dickin Medal is the equivalent of the Victoria Cross Medal, but for animals, and it has been awarded to pigeons, horses, dogs, and a cat.

There is a Canadian connection to one of the recipients, and it refers to a pigeon named Beach Comber (Pigeon - NPS.41.NS.4230, Date of Award: 6 March 1944) “For bringing the first news to this country of the landing at Dieppe, under hazardous conditions in September, 1942, while serving with the Canadian Army.”

For more on the Dickin Medals, including a list of the animals and their citations for bravery, please visit www.pdsa.org.uk/about-us/animal-bravery-awards. A civilian equivalent, the PDSA Gold Medal, is also available.

Question of the Day: Winnie the Pooh, one of the most famous of animal mascots, was a young Canadian black bear cub that travelled overseas with an army unit in the First World War. What was his real name? Send your answer to Elizabeth at genealogycanada@aol.com by midnight, Eastern Standard Time. Please put “booklet” in the title, and remember to submit your full name and postal address. A winner will be chosen by random draw from every eligible entry received.

For details on the contest and the booklet prize—a research guide on both sides of the War of 1812 entitled The War of 1812: Canada and the United States—please visit http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2012/11/one-booklet-to-be-won-every-day-during.html.

Good luck with the draw, and happy researching!

© Elizabeth Lapointe All Rights Reserved

Article for Veterans' Week on Geneabloggers

If you have Canadian or American ancestors, you will be interested in my article on GeneaBloggers called “Canadians in the American Civil War" at www.geneabloggers.com/canadians-american-civil-war.

In part, I discuss lists of people who  went to the United States to fight on both sides of the war – with the Union and Confederate troops.

I hope to write an article every two weeks, concentrating on Canadian genealogy and the cross-migration between Canada and the United States.

Library and Archives Canada has published a blog post, “From Enlistment to Burial Records: The Canadian Expeditionary Force in the First World War”, and in it, they discuss how to use their finding aids, and offer research tips. For example, you can find how to access attestation (enlistment) papers, war diaries, service files, and published histories.

A new LAC Podcast Episode called, “Lest We Forget: Guide to Sources Relating to Units of the CEF”, is now available online at http://thediscoverblog.com/2012/11/06/from-enlistment-to-burial-records-the-canadian-expeditionary-force-in-the-first-world-war.


Question of the Day: How many Canadian received the American Medal of Honor? Send your answer to Elizabeth at genealogycanada@aol.com by midnight, Eastern Standard Time. Please put “booklet” in the title, and remember to submit your full name and postal address. A winner will be chosen by random draw from every eligible entry received.

For details on the contest and the booklet prize—a research guide on both sides of the War of 1812 entitled The War of 1812: Canada and the United States—please visit http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2012/11/one-booklet-to-be-won-every-day-during.html.

Good luck with the draw, and happy researching!


© Elizabeth Lapointe All Rights Reserved

Canadian Museum of War Finally Has Victoria Cross Medals

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8d/ValourRoadMonument.jpg/800px-ValourRoadMonument.jpg

(Source: Photo taken by Gabriel Hurley (Munchkinguy) on 11 November, 2011). 

Valour Road (a west-end street in Winnipeg, Manitoba) was originally known as Pine Street, and three men from the 700 block of the street—Corporal Leo Clarke, Sergeant-Major Frederick William Hall, and Lieutenant Robert Shankland—all received Victoria Cross Medals as a result of the First World War.

Recently, the Canadian War Museum received all three medals, and they are on display at the museum. They will be on loan to Manitoba in 2014 when Canada commemorates the 100th  Anniversary of the beginning of the First World War.

The Valour Road Website http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valour_Road gives a short history of Valour Road.

Valour Road Victoria Cross Medals Find New Home at War Museum - www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/Valour-Road-Victoria-Cross-medals-find-new-home-at-war-museum-177329951.html The online edition of the Winnipeg Free Press reports that the collection was completed with the recent acquisition of the medal awarded in 1915 to Company Sergeant-Major Frederick William Hall.

War Brides of the First World War - Annette Fulford has a very good blog on the Canadian War Brides of the First World War at ww1warbrides.blogspot.com. As she says, “This web page was created to promote and preserve the history of the war brides who made Canada their home during this era”.

By reading the information, I learned where many English women came to Canada after the First World War, which I never knew about before seeing this website.

Question of the Day: In what year was the name of Valour Road given to Pine Street in Winnipeg? Send your answer to Elizabeth at genealogycanada@aol.com by midnight, Eastern Standard Time. Please put “booklet” in the title, and remember to submit your full name and postal address. A winner will be chosen by random draw from every eligible entry received.

For details on the contest and the booklet prize—a research guide on both sides of the War of 1812 entitled The War of 1812: Canada and the United States—please visit http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2012/11/one-booklet-to-be-won-every-day-during.html.

Good luck with the draw, and happy researching!

© Elizabeth Lapointe All Rights Reserved