Call for Presentations - Tracing Forward - Searching for Relatives in Recent Times

This came in this morning from Gwyneth Pearce, the publicity person for the Toronto Family History Branch of the OGS -

"This is a quick reminder about a Call for Presentations issued by the Toronto Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society for our planned fall 2013 workshop titled Tracing Forward - Searching for Relatives in Recent Times. The deadline for proposals is Friday 31 May.

The aim of this workshop, to be held on Saturday 26 October, is to offer new ideas, skills or tools to help researchers trace members of their expanded family trees, people who might still be alive or recently deceased.

We are seeking proposals from professional genealogists, family historians, private investigators, legal experts and heir searchers”.

Go the Branch website at www.torontofamilyhistory.org

Welland Canal Workers’ Historical Exhibit

The following press release just came into the office –

“During the building of the Welland Canal from 1914-1932, 124 men tragically lost their lives while working in difficult and dangerous conditions. When the canal opened in 1932, the Federal Minister of Canals and Railways of the time committed to building a memorial to remember the sacrifice of those men. Unfortunately to this day, that memorial still does not exist.

Malcolm Allen – Member of Parliament for Welland is putting a call out to the community for photographs, letters, artifacts or historical pieces relating to the Canal workers. Items loaned to our office by community members/organizations will be displayed in our constituency office at 60 King St for the month of June in order to promote the need for a permanent memorial.

Your assistance or participation in the upcoming “Welland Canal Workers’ Historical Exhibit” is greatly appreciated.

For more information please contact Lisa Bastien, Constituency Assistant for Malcolm Allen at 905-788-2204”.

To read about the history of the Welland Canal, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welland_Canal

RootsTech 2014 - Call for Papers

This notice was released yerterday -

"Presentation proposals will be accepted online at www.rootstech.org/proposals from June 17—July 8, 2013. Due to the volume of presentation proposals we receive, please submit no more than five proposals per speaker. Limited, late-breaking technology submissions will be accepted, upon approval, until October 1, 2013.

Speakers selected to present at RootsTech 2014 will be notified by August 2, 2013. Syllabus materials (PDF file) for selected presentations will be due by November 1, 2013. Speakers who don’t submit syllabus materials on time may be removed from the schedule.

Presenters participating in RootsTech 2014 will receive a complimentary conference registration and access to all syllabus materials. Out-of-state speakers selected to present three or more presentations will also receive hotel accommodations. There is no monetary compensation for presenting at this conference".

Questions can be emailed to the attention of the RootsTech Speaker Selection Committee at info@rootstech.org

To see the full post, go to https://familysearch.org/blog/en/rootstech-2014-call-papers

Canadian Week in Review

13 May 2013

I have come across the following Canadian websites, blogs, Facebook, and newspaper articles this past week that were of interest to me, and I thought you might be interested in them, too

Websites

Randy Saylor: Family & Bay of Quinte Records Genealogical and Historical Research http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~saylormowbray/index.html What a gem of a site! There has been so much information added to it, since I first went to the site in 2010. New people, new information – it is added to every month.

Blogs

Where the story takes me http://wherethestorytakesme.ca A blog by Jane E. MacNamara in which she writes about Toronto, and its people.

Facebook- YouTube – Video

Museum explains history behind heirlooms www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/story/2013/05/06/nb-heirlooms-museum-1215.html People brought in their heirlooms to be assessed by the curators at The New Brunswick Museum last weekend.

Newspapers

Lorna Crozier, Sarah Ellis honoured at B.C. book prize http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2013/05/06/bc-book-prizes.html And the Bill Duthie Booksellers’ Choice Award went to Shelley Fralic, with research by Kate Bird, Making Headlines: 100 Years of The Vancouver Sun (The Vancouver Sun), and the winner of the Roderick Haig-Brown Regional Prize for contributing to the understanding of British Columbia was Derek Hayes, British Columbia: A New Historical Atlas (Douglas & McIntyre).

Manachaban students to get a taste of history when they visit Quebec www.rockyviewweekly.com/article/20130506/RVW0302/305069986/manachaban-students-to-get-a-taste-of-history-when-they-visit-quebec More than 60 Grade 8 students from Manachaban Middle School in Cochrane, Ontario will be in Quebec from May 12 to 18.

Durham history is one for the books: Oshawa teacher releases historical fiction about rebellion in Whitby area www.durhamregion.com/news/article/1614028--durham-history-is-one-for-the-books Mary Hosmar, a teacher in the Oshawa School System has written her first historical fiction novel, A Matter of Conscience, about a young boy and the Upper Canada Rebellion of 1837.

Online exhibit honours work of former curator, archivist Harry Piers www.halifaxnewsnet.ca/News/2013-05-07/article-3239281/Online-exhibit-honours-work-of-former-curator,-archivist-Harry-Piers/1He was known as the Museum Maker of Nova Scotia. Besides reading about him, there is a timeline on http://gov.ns.ca/nsarm/virtual/piers/timeline.asp of the development of the Nova Scotia Museum.

Nova Scotia's provincial flag confirmed 155 years later www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/story/2013/05/08/ns-forgotten-flag.html Read about how a school students recognized that the coat of arms that represents Nova Scotia has never officially been recognized as the provincial flag.

Pictures and Story of the Week

Korean War Armistice

This year marks the 60th anniversary of the Korean War Armistice, as well as the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Canada and South Korea.

Veteran’s Affairs have put together a virtual exhibit which has online ceremonies and events, events photos, The Books of Remembrance...The Korean War, Certificate of Recognition, and a video of the War called Land of the Morning Calm: Canadians in Korea 1950 – 1953 at www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/collections/korea.

To view the full exhibit, go to www.veterans.gc.ca/eng

The next Canadian Week in Review will be issued Monday May 20, 2013

Celebrating Our Female Roots Day

On Wednesday, May 15, 2013, at 1:30 to 4:00 p.m., Quebec Family History Society Heritage Centre and Library, 173 Cartier Avenue, Pointe-Claire will be open for a coffee, tea, and informal conversation to talk about some of the favourite women in your family. Bring your own books, photos, and memorabilia that have helped you in your research.

Bring a friend or just bring yourself.

You will have a chance to win two free tickets to visit the historic Maison Saint-Gabriel, acquired in 1668 by one of Montreal’s most well-known women, Marguerite Bourgeoys.

Chat with new and experienced genealogists about how to learn what life was like for your female ancestors. What was home life like during the time they lived? Do you own any letters or diaries? Share the challenges you face – and your successes – in your family history research.

On display for you to browse will be books from the QFHS collection about women and social history.

Remember, half of our direct ancestors are women. Since Mother's Day takes place this weekend, this is a good time to celebrate the women in our family tree.

Open to our members and the public. Admission is free. Visit www.qfhs.ca/events.php

Thank you Susan for the notice.

UPDATE: Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario & Quebec Cemeteries

Canadian GenWeb has reported the following updates to the cemeteries across the country -

ALBERTA

Cypress:
- Kin Coulee Cemetery

Stettler:
- Red Willow Cemetery

MANITOBA

Portage la Prairie City:
- Portage Hillside Memorial Cemetery

ONTARIO

Brant County:
- Fairfield / Fairfield United Cemetery
- Mount Pleasant Pioneer Cemetery
- St James / Old Anglican Cemetery

Elgin County:
- Fingal Cemetery

Haldimand County:
- Bethel Cemetery
- Gore / Clanbrassil / Dufferin Cemetery
- McGaw / Steele Cemetery

Lambton County:
- Lakeview Cemetery

Lincoln County:
- St Anne's Church Cemetery

Middlesex County:
- Robin's Hill / Brown's Hill Cemetery

Norfolk County:
- Bethel Methodist Cemetery
- Oakwood Cemetery
- Renew & McIntosh stones
- Teeterville United Church Cemetery
- Zion United Cemetery

Oxford County:
- Blenheim Mennonite Conference Cemetery

Perth County:
- First Lutheran Church Cemetery
- German Baptist Cemetery
- North Logan / Harvey's Cemetery
- Redeemer Lutheran / Monkton Cemetery

Wellington County:
- Hans Cemetery
- Rockwood Cemetery

Wentworth County:
- Westover Baptist Cemetery

QUEBEC

Bonaventure County:
- St Jules de Cascapedia RC Cemetery

Thanks must always go to Marilyn Whiting, Patricia Green, Alison Mitchell-Reid, Sharon Mattiuz, William Cooke and Tim Campbell for their help indexing these cemeteries.

And our “Thanks” must also go to Helen Braden, Angela M. Clatworthy, Beth Cotter, Todd Smith, Kate Ford, Bonnie Lee Breadner, Todd Lumley, J. Blackmore, Chris Pfeifle, Alison Mitchell-Reid, Sharon Mattiuz, William Cooke, Tim Campbell, and Leo Allen for taking photos of gravestones in these cemeteries.

The website is at http://canadacems.blogspot.com/2013/05/alberta-manitoba-ontario-quebec-update.html

Canada GenWeb is one of Canada’s oldest online resources having started in 1996 by Sherri Pettit. If you would like to volunteer in one of the many projects, contact Sherri through the Feedback page at http://canadagenweb.org/feedbackform.html

The site for Canada GenWeb is http://canadagenweb.org/index.html

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