The passing of Bob Crawford of the OGS

Late yesterday, I received the sad news of the passing of Bob Crawford of the OGS on November the 13th.

Bob was the Past-President of OGS, having served in that role from 2006-2008, as well as Past-President of the Halton-Peel Branch. He was also the Corporate Secretary since 2010.

Services will be held at the Jones Funeral Home in Georgetown, Ontario, 11582 Trafalgar Road, Georgetown, ON L7G 4Y5 Phone: 905-877-3631

Viewings are scheduled for Friday November 15, 2013, 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm and 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm.

Funeral Services will be held Saturday November 16, 2013 at 2:30 pm.

Expressions of sympathy may be sent to the OGS Provincial Office to be forwarded to Bob's family.

I have known and worked with Bob since 2005 in my capacity as editor of Newsleaf, and Families. He was always most helpful, and he had a vast knowledge of the daily workings of the OGS. We are all appreciative his service in the work that he did in the preservation of cemeteries in the province.

He will be missed.

Another Free Service at FHL

The Family History Library of FamilySearch recently announced a FREE SERVICE where you can send a limited preview of Google Books page and get them to scan the entire page and email it to you for free.

All you have to do is to fill out their Online Photoduplication Request Form, and send it to Salt Lake City by email, and you will get the full page back as soon as possible.

This is a great idea!

They walk you through the process on their blog at https://familysearch.org/blog/en/google-books-free-copies-pages-family-history-library-books/

Two workshops at the Windsor Public Library

The Central Branch of the Windsor Public Library in Windsor, Ontario invite people who have an interest in family history at two workshops presented by Tom Vajdik, WPL Genealogy and Local History Librarian.

The two workshops are –

Introduction to Genealogy will take place at 7:00 pm on Monday, October 28 in WPL’s Fred Israel Auditorium (lower level of Central Branch, 850 Ouellette Avenue) This workshop will be an introduction to the methodology and cover the basics of genealogy as well as offer resources that assist in learning to trace your family history.

Genealogy on the Internet will be offered at 7:00 pm on Monday, November 18, in WPL’s Computer Lab (main floor near Dufferin Entrance at Central Branch, 850 Ouellette Avenue). This workshop will examine the many free web sites devoted to genealogy.

“At Windsor Public Library, we have noticed there’s been a resurgence in people’s desire to know their ancestors as people and learn more about their roots,” says Vajdik. “People visit us from far and wide to avail themselves of our resources. Solving puzzles and being the Sherlock Holmes of their own family stories satisfies a desire to tie their past to their present. Windsor Public Library is pleased to offer these genealogy workshops. All are welcome to attend and there is no fee to register.”

For more information and to register for either of these free workshops, please call 519-255-6770, ext. 4434 or email tvajdik@windsorpubliclibrary.com.  

Please register early for the November 18 workshop to ensure you get a seat!

Canadian Week in Review 11 November 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

This is an abbreviated edition of the Canadian Week in Review.

Newspapers Articles of the Week

UPDATED: Huge exhibition of Greek artifacts coming to Gatineau http://blogs.ottawacitizen.com/2013/11/01/huge-exhibition-of-greek-artifacts-coming-to-gatineau/ The exhibit - The Greeks — From Agamemnon to Alexander the Great - will be at the Canadian Museum of Civilization (by then it will be known as the Canadian Museum of History) from June 5th to October 15th. It will be the largest exhibit of ancient Greece that has ever visited North America.

Plans to mark 250th anniversary of Samuel Holland’s survey of P.E.I. http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/Living/2013-10-31/article-3456631/Plans-to-mark-250th-anniversary-of-Samuel-Holland%26rsquo%3Bs-survey-of-P.E.I./1 This year marks the 250th year that Samuel Holland surveyed Prince Edward Island as the first surveyor general of British North America.

New Canada Post stamp series will feature Africville http://thechronicleherald.ca/metro/1164190-new-canada-post-stamp-series-will-feature-africville Africville, a former community in the north end Halifax, and Hogan’s Alley in Vancouver will be featured on Canada Post’s 2014 Black History Series.

Bill to create new Canadian Museum of History passes http://www.ottawacitizen.com/travel/Conservative+government+used+closure+Wednesday+push+through/9134544/story.html The government has passed the bill that will change the name of the Museum of Civilization to the Canadian Museum of History. Now it has to go to the Senate, and receive royal assent (sometime in 2014, it is believed), and there will be a new museum in the country!

Historical society fights to save remaining Alberta Provincial Gaol building http://www.edmontonjournal.com/news/Historical+society+fights+save+remaining+Alberta/9133505/story.html The Fort Saskatchewan Historical Society is seeking signatures on an online petition to convince Fort Saskatchewan city councillors to preserve and restore the 99-year-old jail’s facility shop.

Story of the Week

Here are three more articles about the Canadian military -

Ottawa casualties from the First World War: CBC Ottawa has mapped the local addresses of soldiers who died overseas http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/ottawa-casualties-from-the-first-world-war-1.2418617 Read how the original Ottawa Senators Hockey team was impacted by the First World War.

Caribou war memorial returns to Bowring Park
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/caribou-war-memorial-returns-to-bowring-park-1.2421664 The famous Caribou monument was returned home to Bowring Park on Saturday, after undergoing repairs for damages caused by vandals.

How to Find the Military Heroes in Your Family http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/iman-sheikh/military-ancestry_b_4242270.html Do you know that almost one-third of Canadians do not know if any of their ancestors fought in either the First or Second World Wars. There is lot of work for genealogists to do!

Reminder: Check the Canadian Week in Review next Monday for the latest in Genealogy, Heritage, and History news in Canada. It’s the ONLY news blog of its kind in country! The next post will be on 18 November 2013.

Remembering the Fallen in Canada

A new app for the iPad has been created for Remembrance Day as an interactive experience, giving Canadians a way to remember those who have given their lives in service to our country.

Click on the red poppy (I clicked on the poppy on Halifax, and discovered the story of The Sisters of Mercy – the Canadian Nursing Sisters, part of the Canadian Army Medical Corps of the First World War), but they have graves from the Boer War, through the World Wars, Korean War, our Peacekeeping Missions and Afghanistan.

The website is http://www.thefallen.org/

Canada Remembers – 30 Ways to Remember

A fellow Canadian blogger has started a new blog called The Rising Village and it’s about her family – John and Lizzie McCluskey who settled in the St. Andrews East area of Quebec in the 1800s. Today the area is known as Saint-André-d'Argenteuil - just south of Lachute.

And she has started a new project to coincide with Canada Remembers – 30 Ways to Remember, and she is taking one person per day who is listed on the Honour Roll at Veterans Affairs Canada and is telling their story.

She is asking anyone who has more information on the people she has put on the blog to write her, and if you have information on her family to do the same – she would like to hear from you.

The address is http://therisingvillage.blogspot.ca/

Contribution of Aboriginal Peoples in the First World War (1914-1918)

Above is the Attestation Paper of Private Henry Norwest, a Métis from Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, was one of the most famous snipers.

The Library and Archives Canada has sent this email to me so that I could alert my readers that they have a new post called the Contribution of Aboriginal Peoples in the First World War (1914-1918).

In part, the post says that “Aboriginal peoples have a long tradition of military service in Canada dating back several centuries. Although not legally required to participate in the war, an estimated 4,000 Status Indians, and an unrecorded number of Métis and Inuit enlisted voluntarily and served with the Canadian Corps in the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF).

Almost all of the young men on many reserves enlisted for service. For example, approximately half of the eligible Mi’kmaq and Maliseet from New Brunswick and Nova Scotia volunteered for overseas duty. In other provinces, the number was even higher. In the small Saskatchewan community of File Hills, nearly all of the eligible men signed up to fight.

The exact number of Aboriginal soldiers who lost their lives during the First World War is not known. It is estimated that at least 300 men were killed during battles or died from illness, such as tuberculosis”.

Read the full blog post at http://thediscoverblog.com/tag/aboriginal/

Postscript: Am I correct in thinking that the LAC is changing the design of its website again? I am starting to get frustrated as I flip back and forth between the old-old site and the new site. Some records are still at the old-old site, and then some are on the new site, and …