2014 Eastern European Family History Conference

The Foundation for East European Family History Studies is presenting The Eastern European Family History Conference which will be held from August 11-15, 2014 at the Plaza Hotel, Salt Lake City, in Utah.

This year’s program will provide two and one-half days of presentations, preceded by optional workshops, and followed by time to research in the nearby Family History Library. The presentations will be Wednesday through Friday, August 12-15, and the pre-conference workshops will be Monday and Tuesday, August 10-11.

Some of the speakers will be Canadian genealogist Dave Obee, in addition to Thomas K. Edlund, Joe Everett and Nathan Murphy, just to name a few of the top-notch speakers that will be at Salt Lake City. .

To see the full program, go to http://feefhsworkshop.org

There is also a blog at http://feefhsworkshop.org/blog

Canadian Week in Review 26 May 2014

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

Websites

The Battle of the Atlantic
http://www.navy-marine.forces.gc.ca/en/navy-life/history-boa.page
The battle of the Atlantic is called “A century of sacrifice at sea”, and it was the longest and largest battle ever fought during the Second World War.

Events in History

In 1535, French explorer Jacques Cartier left St-Malo on his second voyage to Canada
http://www.historymuseum.ca/virtual-museum-of-new-france/the-explorers/jacques-cartier-1534-1542
This virtual website of the voyages of Jacques Cartier brings the details of his trips to Canada alive.

From the first solo flight of Charles A. Lindbergh on May 8, 1927 to Paris—to Amelia Earhart, the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic to Northern Ireland in May 21, 1932—they both made their last North American stop in Newfoundland.

And why did they stop in Newfoundland? Because it was the closest landmass to Europe where they could stop and refuel the plane for the trip.

Read about Lindberg’s flight at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Lindbergh#The_Orteig_Prize.2C_Spirit_of_St._Louis.2C_and_New_York-Paris_flight

Read about Earhart’s flight at http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news/on-this-day/May-June-08/On-this-Day--Amelia-Earhart-Embarks-on-Solo-Atlantic-Flight.html

Newspaper Articles

Derksen drops plan to turn Dalnavert Museum into Candace House http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/derksen-drops-plan-to-turn-dalnavert-museum-into-candace-house-1.2651842
The long and contentious fight to rename the Dalnavert House and turn it into a home for victims of crime and their families has ended with the house to remain a museum.

Canadian province apologizes for historical wrongs against Chinese immigrants
http://english.cntv.cn/2014/05/22/VIDE1400740204186805.shtml
The province of British Columbia has officially apologized to the Chinese government for “historical wrongs against Chinese immigrants”. Although the Canadian government apologized in 2006, British Columbia is the first province to do so.

Museum mixup: War museum plans fall under 'Museum of History' mantle
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/entertainment/Museum+mixup+museum+plans+fall+under+Museum+History+mantle/9855768/story.html
In case you did not understand the role of the two museums in the 150th celebration of the birth of Canada—the Canadian War Museum, and the Canadian Museum of History—has been explained in Parliament! The Canadian War Museum will concern itself with the wars that Canada has been involved with, and the Canadian Museum of History will concern itself with everything else!

Museum is commemorating military milestones
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/entertainment/Canadian+Museum+commemorating+military+milestones/9856175/story.html
Here is how the Canadian War Museum is commemorating Canadian military over the next few years.

Library and Archives Canada Acquires Important Artwork and Maps Related to Rupert's Land
http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/1936704#ixzz32XWjb2uW
The LAC now has maps of Rupert's Land which was originally owned by the Hudson's Bay Company and included most of the western prairies and parts of what are now northern Quebec, northern Ontario, and Nunavut. The land was sold to the Government of Canada in 1869 for $1.5 million.

To read about Rupert’s Land, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rupert's_Land

D-Day: Help Canadians mark the 70th anniversary of June 6, 1944

http://www.cbc.ca/newsblogs/yourcommunity/2014/05/d-day-canadians-mark-the-70th-anniversary-of-june-6-1944-1.html
On June 6, 1944, more than 24,000 Canadians took part in D-Day, the first step in liberating Europe from Nazi Germany and the beginning of the end of the Second World War.

Prince Charles, Camilla reflect on Canada’s history, achievements on second day of tour
http://o.canada.com/news/royals/prince-charles-camilla-reflect-on-canadas-history-achievements-on-second-day-of-tour
Charles commented on Canada’s contribution of so many soldiers, sailors and airmen to the liberation of Europe as the 75th anniversary of the start of the war approaches, calling it “an extraordinary contribution” from a country with a small population.

Web documentary sheds light on Inuit relocation in Arctic Canada
https://www.alaskadispatch.com/article/20140518/web-documentary-sheds-light-inuit-relocation-arctic-canada
A documentary website called "Iqqaumavara" (“I remember” in Inuttitut), the project is a co-production from the National Film Board of Canada and Makivik Corp., the Inuit land-claims organization in the Canadian province of Quebec.

Their Facebook page is at https://www.facebook.com/iqqaumavara

To read more about the forced relocation, read https://www.alaskadispatch.com/article/forced-relocation-canadian-inuit-village-memorialized-56-years-later

Statement by the Honourable Shelly Glover, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages, on the Occasion of International Museum Day
http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/1925128#ixzz329qzWXB2
Minister Glover said that “As we head toward Canada's 150th birthday in 2017, I encourage all Canadians to visit museums, to learn from them, and to reconnect with their history.”

Seeking a history I never knew
http://www.asianpacificpost.com/article/6179-seeking-history-i-never-knew.html
Learn the history behind the non-landing of Indian immigrants from a ship, the Komagata Maru in Port Alberni, British Columbia in 1914, and the way it was never covered in Canadian history until now.

There is now a website at http://komagatamaru100.com, and a Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fkomagatamaru100.com%2Fabout-us%2F&t=About+Us

Electronic Library Up And Running For Canadian National Parks
http://www.nationalparkstraveler.com/2014/05/electronic-library-and-running-canadian-national-parks25100
You can now go to the www.ParksCanadaHistory.com website and read electronic editions of publications with the aim of showcasing the rich history of the Canadian National Park System.

An oral history of the Newfoundland seal hunt

http://www.nlnewsnow.com/Columnists/Burton-K.-Janes/2014-05-20/article-3731274/COLUMN%3A-An-oral-history-of-the-Newfoundland-seal-hunt/1
Read a column on The Last of the Ice Hunters: An Oral History of the Newfoundland Seal Hunt.

Kids aged 12, 13 go on rampage in Kemptville cemetery
http://www.ottawasun.com/2014/05/20/kids-aged-12-13-go-on-rampage-in-kemptville-cemetery
Three teenagers will have to pay by doing community service after they damaged 17 headstones in a cemetery near Kemptvillt (near Ottawa) last week.

Heritage Village to celebrate black history with new cabin http://blogs.windsorstar.com/2014/05/20/heritage-village-to-celebrate-black-history-with-new-cabin
Essex County’s Heritage Village is adding a replica of the residence of Esther Malawice Banks, who was—according to family lore—the daughter of Major General Sir Isaac Brock and his cook, Almania Malawice.

Celebrating Chilliwack's Unique Agricultural Heritage: Parliamentary Secretary Mark Strahl Announces Funding for the Chilliwack Fair

http://www.marketwired.com/press-release/celebrating-chilliwacks-unique-agricultural-heritage-parliamentary-secretary-mark-strahl-1912787.htm
The Chilliwack Fair is the second oldest fair in British Columbia, and their website is at http://chilliwackfair.com

Author sharing family history
http://www.westernwheel.com/article/20140521/WHE0302/305219992/-1/whe03/author-sharing-family-history#CommentsArea
Lorraine Lohr Cathro is bringing to life more than 60 years of family history in a collection of short stories she hopes will captivate Alberta readers.

The Alberta Railway Museum in Edmonton opens doors again for the summer

http://www.edmontonexaminer.com/2014/05/21/the-alberta-railway-museum-in-edmonton-opens-doors-again-for-the-summer
The Alberta Railway Museum held an unofficial grand reopening over the long weekend in May inviting the public to view the outdoor displays mainly focus on Canadian National Railway and Northern Alberta Railway equipment and vehicles.

Exhibit captures dark part of our history

http://www.thesudburystar.com/2014/05/24/column-exhibit-captures-dark-part-of-our-history
There is a travelling exhibit travelling Ontario this summer that has been put together by Toronto’s Columbus Centre called Ordinary Canadians, Extraordinary Times: Italian Canadian Experiences during World War II, and this weekend it will be at the Anderson Farm Museum, Sudbury.

The exhibit is about some 31,000 Italian Canadians that were designated enemy aliens by the Canadian government, and approximately 600 of these individuals were sent to internment camps, like Camp 33 in Petawawa, Ottawa during the Second World War.

Story of the Week

Aboriginal Awareness Week

Aboriginal Awareness Week was started in 1999 “to provide national leadership and support within Parks Canada on matters relating to Aboriginal peoples and to facilitate the strengthening of relationships with Aboriginal Peoples”.

Canada recognizes three distinct people are they are the First Nations people, the Inuit and the Métis, and according to Statistic Canada, there are a total of 1,172,790 people who identify as Aboriginal.

Aboriginal Awareness Week was held the third week in May, and in June, there will be National Aboriginal History Month, and a National Aboriginal Day to be held on June 21st.

There is a video called Working Together: Our Stories at http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/agen/aa/video.aspx

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 June 2, 2014.

Canadian Week in Review

Check the Canadian Week in Review tomorrow morning for the latest in Genealogy, Heritage, and History news in Canada. 

It has the latest news covered in New/Updated Websites, Social Media, and Newspaper Articles.

It’s the ONLY news blog of its kind in country! 

It has been a regular post every Monday morning since April 23, 2012.

The Empress of Ireland - May 29, 1914

The sinking of the RMS Empress of Ireland at the mouth of the St. Lawrence River in 1914 had a great affect on the people of Canada, as more than 1,000 people lost their lives when the ship was stuck by the SS Storstad on that fateful foggy morning.

While I was at a Canada Post kiosk the other day, I picked up their May 2014 magazine called Details with a photograph of the Empress of Ireland on the front, as shown in the picture above. The story of the sinking is on pages 12 to 14, and you should pick up this excellent pocket-sized magazine the next time you are in the post office.

The story of the Empress of Ireland is at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RMS_Empress_of_Ireland

Gail Dever of the Genealogy à la carte blog from Montreal has sent me articles about the Empress of Ireland from Canadian newspapers, such as -

The Empress of Ireland: Remembering ‘Canada’s Titanic’ http://www.thestar.com/news/insight/2014/05/16/the_empress_of_ireland_remembering_canadas_titanic.html

Doomed liner to be commemorated in coming days with stamp, coins, monuments and more
http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/national/Empress+Ireland+sinking+Canada+Titanic+finally+getting/9870408/story.html

British Columbia Birth Registrations, 1854-1903

The LDS has updated the registration of births for British Columbia. . .

Birth registrations usually include the following information -

• Date of birth

• Place of birth

• Name of child

• Gender of child

• Name of father

• Name of mother, including maiden name

• Residence of parents

• Occupation of father

• Birthplace of parents

• Age of parents

• Date and number of registration

Native birth records generally contain the following information:

• Name of child

• Place of birth

• Gender of child

• Date of birth

• Single, twin, triplet, or other

• Marital status of parents

• Name of parents

• Tribe of parents

• Age of parents

• Occupation of father

• Birthplace of parents

• Number of children

• Residence

• Name of doctor and date of registration

To begin your search, it would be helpful if you knew the names of parents, and the approximate year of birth for the child.

For more information, go to https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1307731?ET_CID=46886537&ET_RID=genealogycanada@aol.com

Southern California Genealogy Jamboree will be offering FREE Lectures

Southern California Genealogy Jamboree will be held from June 6th to the 8th, 2014 and there is going to be 14 streamed sessions over three days, and these sessions will be FREE! Like they say "All Class. No Travel"

The cost of doing this is partially underwritten by Diamond Sponsor Ancestry.com, but they will be free to people like myself who don’t go to the conference. Many sessions will be available in the SCGS webinar archive for viewing by members of the SCGS. 

Here are the sessions - 

Friday, June 6 - 1:00 pm to 6:30 pm PDT

· Judy G. Russell JD, CG, CGL - "Dowered or Bound Out: Records of Widows and Orphans"

· Blaine Bettinger PhD, JD - "DNA and the Genealogical Proof Standard"

· Paula Stuart-Warren, CG, FUGA - "Manuscript Finding Aids: Locating Migrating Family Records"

· F. Warren Bittner, CG - "Proof Arguments: How and Why" 

Saturday, June 7 - 8:30 am to 6:00 pm PDT

· F. Warren Bittner, CG - "Elusive Immigrant!"

· Judy G. Russell, JD, CG, CGL - "Staying out of Trouble: The Rights and Responsibilities of Today's Genealogist"

· Michael Leclerc - "Researching Your New England Ancestors"

· Bennett Greenspan - "The Future of Genetic Genealogy"

· Dr. Maurice Gleeson - "Researching Your Irish Ancestry"

· Cyndi Ingle - "The Internet: A Genealogist's Printing Press" 

Sunday, June 8 - 8:30 am to 3:30 pm PDT 

· D. Joshua Taylor - "Resources of the DAR: Beyond Revolutionary War Soldiers"

· Dawn Thurston - "How to Write a Personal History that Captures your Interesting Life"

· Dr. Maurice Gleeson - "Ireland and the Slave Trade"

· Denise Levenick - "Dirty Pictures: Save Your Family Photos from Ruin"

So I am going to read the pre-conference handout list, and then I will decide which ones I will watch. 

Go to http://www.scgsgenealogy.com

Family History Libraries offers FREE scanning

You can now take your photos and other documents to your nearest Family History Library and scan them for FREE! 

They have recently installed a customized Lexmark multifunction product (MFPs) which quickly scan photos or significant documents and transfer them online to your personal genealogical space. The scanning system produces high-quality digital images in both .jpg and .png file formats and will accommodate up to 5 MB in size. Items may also be scanned and saved to a thumb drive, all FREE of charge.  

You can then identify people in the photos and connect them to respective ancestors in your FamilySearch Family Tree, and you can post links and share the information with other family members and encourage them to share as well. 

To see if there is a Family History Library in your area, go to https://familysearch.org/locations/centerlocator