Boxing Day

Borrowed from Britain, and adopted in Canada as a Christmas holiday, Boxing Day is the day after Christmas Day.

 In Britain, it was customary for employers to give their employees "Christmas boxes" of money or presents as thanks for good service throughout the year.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Aboriginal Heritage Portal

Library and Archives Canada (LAC) is pleased to announce updates to the Aboriginal Heritage Portal at http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/aboriginal-heritage/Pages/introduction.aspx

And there you will find a variety of sources for the researcher including the archived version of the School Files Series - 1879-1953, Research Guides and Finding Aids, Researching Your Aboriginal Ancestry at Library and Archives Canada, and a special Genealogy and Family History site at http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/genealogy/022-607.002.01.01-e.html.

There is enough material here to keep you busy for days.

NOTICE: Canadian Week in Review

The next Canadian Week in Review will not be published for the next two weeks because of the Holiday Season. 

The Canadian Week in Review has 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 Monday 6 January 2014.

TONI Update

24,541 records have been added to The Ontario Name Index (TONI) bringing the total number of entries to 2,514,931.

The index now includes records from the following Ontario Heritage Organizations:

- Millbrook Cavan Historical Society

-Bruce Township Historical Society

-Westminster Historical Society

-Upper Ottawa Valley Genealogy Group

-Northumberland County Archives

You can search these records at https://www.ogs.on.ca/integrated/toni_database1.php

Postscript: December is membership month at the OGS. For the yearly rate of $61.20, you can join the provincial society. Go to http://www.ogs.on.ca/ogsblog/

Tallest Lighthouse in Atlantic Canada Protected

Point Amour Lighthouse (Newfoundland and Labrador) has been designated as a heritage lighthouse under the Canadian Heritage Lighthouse Protection Act. (CNW Group/Parks Canada)

The Honourable Leona Aglukkaq, Canada's Environment Minister and Minister responsible for Parks Canada, has designated an iconic landmark of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Point Amour lighthouse, as a heritage lighthouse under the Canadian Heritage Lighthouse Protection Act (HLPA).

The HLPA, which was adopted in 2008, allows for the protection of federally-owned lighthouses on Canada's coastal and inland waters that have significant heritage value. Administered by Parks Canada, the HLPA helps ensure Canada's maritime history is protected for the benefit and enjoyment of present and future generations.

Canadians have nominated hundreds of lighthouses to be considered for designation under the Act

Quick Facts

Point Amour Lighthouse is the tallest in Atlantic Canada, and the second tallest in the country.

Located at L'Anse Amour, on the Strait of Belle Isle, this lighthouse was built in 1857 to increase the safety of transatlantic shipping.

The lighthouse is associated with the most famous marine disaster in the history of the Strait of Belle Isle, the wreck of HMS Raleigh, a British warship, in 1922.

The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador has agreed to acquire this lighthouse and protect its heritage character.

There are two sitye you may like to check, and they are

HeritageLighthouses of Canada
http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/progs/lhn-nhs/pp-hl/index.aspx

Designated Lighthouses http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/progs/lhn-nhs/pp-hl/page01.aspx

Meagham's Atlas (1880) of PEI

 

The P.E.I. Museum and Heritage Foundation has commissioned a reprint of Meagham's Atlas (1880), the most comprehensive property atlas ever published on Prince Edward Island. It goes on sale today at various museums, and bookstores around the island.

Meanwhile, you can search the atlas by surname and town/lot number online at the following websites -

Names Appearing in Meagham's Atlas (1880) http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~mvreid/pei/35atl80.html

Searchable database of the Patron's List/Directory of the 1880 "Meacham's Illustrated Historical Atlas of Prince Edward Island". Searchable by town/lot and surname http://www.islandregister.com/meachams/patronindex.html