Online registration ends May 17 for OGS Conference

The OGS Conference has let us know that at the end of the day on May 17, the online registration for the OGS Conference will be closed.

At that point, the OGS Conference committee will be letting the caterers and banquet hall know the amount of food to order.

We’ll reserve a few extra tickets, but the number will definitely be limited. Between May 18 and 24, registrations will be taken by phone, and the office staff will be able to tell you whether there are any food or banquet tickets left.

After May 24, no new advance registrations will be accepted.

Those who aren’t able to plan ahead can still register for the Saturday and Sunday lectures upon arrival at the conference, but will find most of the Friday events sold out, and should be prepared to make other arrangements for food in case there are no tickets left.

The Conference website is at www.ogs.on.ca/conference2013/home

Voices from the Dust – Family History Conference

I know this is a bit late, but if you live in the Ottawa area, and if you would like to attend a family history seminar this afternoon, there will be session from 1:30 pm to 5:30 pm, at the Ottawa Ontario Stake Family History Centre of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1017 Prince of Wales Drive, Ottawa.

Some workshop speakers share their thoughts, feelings and stories about their ancestors:

1. Joseph Auclair - by Sylvie Tremblay

2. Ronald McGregor Warrener - by Ken McKinlay

3. Florence Crofts Carr – by Lesley Anderson

4. Helene Wright - by Glenn Wright

5. Mary Ann Booker – by Shirley-Ann Pyefinch

Or you can drop-in to see displays in the Cultural Hall by Ancestry.ca, British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa (BIFHSGO), Gloucester Historical Society, Lanark County Genealogical Society (LCGS), Ottawa Branch – Ontario Genealogical Society (OGS), Ottawa Public Library, Ottawa Stake Family History Centre, Pepper Mintz – Scrapbooking, Ukrainian Genealogy Group (UGG)

To view the full program, go to www.ottawastakefhc.on.ca

Brome County Historical Society (BCHS)

They will be holding the opening of the Brome County Historical Society Museum, in Knowlton, Quebec, on May 19th at 12:00 noon.

They will be celebrating the opening of the new season and the introduction of this year’s Scottish theme.

Live entertainment on the museum grounds, guided museum tours, refreshments plus, wine tasting from three local vineyards. Bring your family and friends for an afternoon at the museum to launch our 2013 Season and feel the winds of change.

There will be also be Wine Tasting at 4:30 p.m. until 7:00 p.m.

They are located at exit 90 off the AutoRoute 10, follow route 243 into Knowlton (Lac Brome) 130 Lakeside, Knowlton, Quebec.

They have been in existence since 1919, and they have a collection of books, manuscripts, photographic images, newspaper clippings, obituaries and an index of of 225,000 names are maintained in the
Local History and Genealogy Center.

The website is at www.bclibrary.info/brocohist.htm

Mapping The Mosaic

Have you been to this site yet? I visited it today, and recommend that you take a minute to look at it, because it holds some interesting stories.

Here is what the press release says -

"This easy-to-use, community-driven site is designed to chart the collected memories of English-speaking communities in the Greater Montreal Area.

Users can share experiences of where their history happened by pinning stories, photos or video to an interactive map of neighbourhoods around Montreal and its suburbs.

No point is too small! Educators, historical and cultural groups, and interested individuals are invited to explore, discover and contribute.

Childhood memories of life on your street? Archival photos of lost buildings? Little-known episodes in the life of a neighbourhood school, place of worship or local hangout? Memories of colourful characters or local sports heroes? The grand achievements of entrepreneurs, artists, or innovators?

Mapping the Mosaic is a “people’s history” that welcomes all these and more".

Visit Mapping the Mosaic to begin telling your favourite Montreal stories!

Click here for the website http://mapping.montrealmosaic.com

The Facebook page is www.facebook.com/mapping.montrealmosaic

UPDATE: Ancestry.ca - Canada, Soldiers of the First World War, 1914-1918

R.F.C. Canada. Machine Gun Practice, Camp Mohawk, Desoronto, Ont. 1918 Credit: Canada. Dept. of National Defence/Library and Archives Canada

Ancestry.ca has updated this database which contains an index to the Attestation papers of men enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) of the First World War.

Information contained in the database includes:

•Name of enlistee

•Address

•Birthplace

•Birth date

•Age

•Name of next of kin

•Relationship to next of kin

•Regimental number

Additional information about the enlistee, such as their occupation, marital status, religion, and/or physical description may be found on the original record. Be sure to view the corresponding image in order to obtain all possible information about the individual.

The website is at http://search.ancestry.ca/search/db.aspx?dbid=1086

There are now 598,682 images online.

For more information about the collection, please see the follow page on the Library and Archives Canada website at www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/cef/index-e.html

UPDATE: Release of a new version of the Census of Canada, 1871 database

The Library and Archives Canada has just released a new version of the Census of Canada, 1871 database. This first general census covered the four provinces that were then part of Confederation: Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.

The new version includes suggestions for corrections received from users in recent months, as well as revised district and sub-district information.

If you want to check the 1871 Census, go to www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/census/1871/Pages/1871.aspx

What's New in Genetic Genealogy?

On May 18th, 2013, there will be a meeting of the Quinte OGS Branch at which John D Reid from the blog Anglo-Celtic Connections, will present a talk about What's New in Genetic Genealogy?

The DNA we each carry in trillions of cells of our body is a natural genealogical record waiting to be read. Understanding based on new discoveries is becoming available to us all through personal DNA tests at ever more reasonable cost offered on a commercial basis.

The presentation will discuss how you can find connections to cousins back a few generations and gain insight into your deep ancestry through autosomal DNA tests, which can be taken equally by men and women.

The talk will take place at Quinte West City Hall Library, 7 Creswell Drive, Trenton, Ontario

The website is at www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~canqbogs/index.htm