Calling all Commonwealth Genealogists

Jill Ball, the GeniAus blogger, http://geniaus.blogspot.com, is calling on all genealogists from Canada who are going to RootsTech 2015 in Salt Lake City to meet her for supper Tuesday evening on February 10th. 

She, along with other genealogists, will be at The California Pizza Kitchen in The Gateway Center. Jill has provided a map to show you where it is at http://geniaus.blogspot.com/2015/01/aussies-and-commonwealth-cousins-at.html.

Jill is asking that if you are able to join her, to please drop her an email at jillballau@gmail.com (or to message her via the Rootstech App) so she can get an approximate idea of numbers.

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

If you missed this week’s edition, it is at http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/01/canadian-week-in-review-19-january-2015.html

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

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

Those pesky nicknames ...

I listened to Legacy’s 200th Webinar last week called "Expanding Your Research from a Single Fact" given by Marian Pierre-Louis. The Webinar is FREE until 23 January 2015 at http://www.familytreewebinars.com/download.php?webinar_id=280

One thing she said which caught my ear was that people went by names other than their given name in the 19th century. It was the century of ‘nicknames’, although that is a modern interpretation - most people recognized them as their ‘family name’.

In fact, there are whole sections devoted to these names on the Internet that you may find helpful in breaking down those brick walls, because today we may know a person by their “nickname”, but they will still use their given name when asked for it on an official document.

In fact, when I was growing up, I was known as ‘Beth’ and not Elizabeth, because there were two other Elizabeth’s in the neighbourhood, and one of them lived directly across the street from me. I wasn’t known as Elizabeth until I went away to university.

There are two site that I use quite frequently, and they are -

Useful English: Women's Names and Nicknames
http://usefulenglish.ru/vocabulary/womens-names

Useful English: Men’s Names and Nicknames
http://usefulenglish.ru/vocabulary/mens-names

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

If you missed this week’s edition, it is at http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/01/canadian-week-in-review-19-january-2015.html

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

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

Canadian Week in Review - 19 January 2015

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.

History

In 1891, famed Montreal heart surgeon, Dr. Wilder Penfield, was born in Spokane, Washington, USA.
   Read about him and his work at http://osler.library.mcgill.ca/archives/index.php/detail/?fondid=4661

In 1924, the Canadian Red Ensign was given official recognition as Canada’s official flag until the Maple Leaf was adopted in 1965.
   Read a chapter from the book, The Canadian Ensigns, at http://fraser.cc/FlagsCan/Nation/Ensigns.html

Social Media

Gnarly Roots
https://gnarlyroots.wordpress.com
   Mariana Pickering is transcribing from a 1927 diary that her 2x grandmother had written while living in Arlington, Massachusetts, outside Boston. She had been born in Nova Scotia.

Articles

Newfoundland

Database will recognize Mi’kmaq ancestry of soldiers who served in the First World War
http://www.thewesternstar.com/News/Local/2015-01-13/article-4004687/Database-will-recognize-Mi%26rsquo%3Bkmaq-ancestry-of-soldiers-who-served-in-the-First-World-War/1
   Maura Hanrahan, award-winning author, is putting together an online database of all the Mi’kmaq soldiers who served in the First World War.

Nova Scotia

MacNeil clan shocked as DNA checks force rewrite of history
http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/macneil-clan-shocked-as-dna-checks-force-rewrite-of-history.116231580
   Modern-day MacNeils have revealed their roots actually lie with the Vikings,and not the Irish.

Don Reid has been known as the ‘keeper of the cliffs.’
http://atlantic.ctvnews.ca/nova-scotia-s-keeper-of-the-cliffs-boasts-impressive-antique-bottle-collection-1.2184132#ixzz3OtU3kMp567
   Reid’s large collection of fossils helped make Joggins, Nova Scotia, a World Heritage Site, but Reid also boasts a collection of more than 2,000 antique bottles.

MORE ABOUT THIS LATER: The thread of a family
http://www.novanewsnow.com/Opinion/Columnists/2015-01-16/article-4010215/MORE-ABOUT-THIS-LATER%3A-The-thread-of-a-family/1
   Read about the Pratt family of Wolfville, Nova Scotia, and their influence on the cultural life in Canada.

Quebec

History students at Montreal university on strike
http://www.torontosun.com/2015/01/16/history-students-at-montreal-university-on-strike
   A history program at L'Université du Québec à Montréal is in limbo because the students went on strike, demanding full authority to determine the curriculum and pick their professors.

Ontario

Feds spend $50K on Canadian flag birthday celebration
http://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/feds-spend-50k-on-canadian-flag-birthday-celebration-1.2190708#ixzz3P60zZLeI

The federal government has allotted $50,000 for celebrations for the upcoming 50th birthday of the iconic Maple Leaf flag
http://news.nationalpost.com/201501/15/fifty-thousand-dollars-allotted-to-celebrate-50th-aniversary-of-the-iconic-maple-leaf-flag

Canadian MP offers excellent primer on the Canadian Flag, and its history

   For more on Canada's national flag, and to download a bilingual PDF poster on the history of the flag, visit Member of Parliament (for Ottawa-Vanier) Mauril Bélanger's webpage at http://www.mauril.ca/the-canadian-flag.

Museum gets the royal treatment
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/our-communities/metro/Museum-gets-the-royal-treatment-288692721.html
   Deanne Crothers recently had the opportunity to speak as the MLA of St. James to the designation that Queen Elizabeth II has given the Aviation Museum of Western Canada. The museum will now be known as the Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada, an honour that is not given lightly.

Saskatchewan

Turning the Tide closing, owner fears demolition of historic Saskatoon buildings
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon/turning-the-tide-closing-owner-fears-demolition-of-historic-saskatoon-buildings-1.2887448
   Turning the Tide has been located in a small, old house at 525 11th Street East, just off of Broadway Avenue, for the last 11 years. The shop, which sells books about social justice and environmental sustainability, was given until January 31 to vacate, store owner Peter Garden said.

Alberta

Alberta community loses piece of history in fire
http://globalnews.ca/news/1772718/alberta-community-loses-piece-of-history-in-fire/
   One of three old Alberta Wheat Pool grain elevators in the town of Sexsmith was destroyed by a blaze Tuesday evening. No one was hurt. Residents said the building wasn’t in use.

British Columbia

Historic church part of downtown’s heritage
http://www.timescolonist.com/opinion/letters/historic-church-part-of-downtown-s-heritage-1.1733290
   Ven. Ron Corcoran, co-rector of the Church of Our Lord, wonders why the church was not mentioned in an article about downtown Victoria, British Columbia.

Stories of the Week

There are free apps at FamilySearch.org now at the AppGallery.

There are 50 apps to find those that meet their specific need, platform, operating system, and price. For example, if a patron is looking for a highly-rated app that will help them find specific records in their family tree, the app gallery will allow them to filter and find several relevant partner apps to choose from.

Dennis Brimhall, FamilySearch CEO, says “We’ve had partners for many years, and now we want to make it easier for our patrons to know about them and to find the apps they need”.

So spend a few minutes and look around the site. It is very pleasantly arranged, and I found it easy to use.

The AppGallery is at https://familysearch.org/apps/?et_cid=48528295&et_rid=839174644&linkid=https%3a%2f%2ffamilysearch.org%2fapps%2f&cid=em-1830

Tim Sullivan, President and Chief Executive Officer of Ancestry.com, has recently published his “state of the Union” address to Ancestry.com users, about what has been accomplished in 2014, and what new databases are coming in 2015.

But as I read the letter to the users ― he says that we can “Look for exciting additions like 170 million searchable images of probate records and wills that might reveal your ancestor’s dying wishes, all vital records from Virginia since 1900, substantial releases from Germany, and a milestone collection of almost 80 million Mexico Civil Birth, Marriage and Death records spanning from 1860 to modern day”, ― I don’t see any mention of new collections for Canadians.

Ancestry.ca offered 26 new collections and four updated collections during 2014, but we are left wondering what will be added to the list this year.

To read the letter, go to http://home.ancestry.com

And that was the week in Canadian genealogy, history, and heritage news!

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!

If you missed last week's post on 12 January 2015, visit http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/01/canadian-week-in-review-12-january-2015.html

The next post will be published 26 January 2015.

The OGS wants to know...

Mike More, of the Ontario Genealogical Society and the OGS Conference Advisory Committee, has put on a survey about their yearly conference.

They are looking for your input.

This survey is open to members and non-members, as well as those who have not yet attended the annual Conference. Please take a few minutes and fill it out online.

The survey conference is at http://ogsottawa.blogspot.ca/2015/01/ontario-genealogical-society-conference.html

I just took the survey, and it seems pretty inclusive in what they want to know – meal prices, conference venues, tours, and accommodations. It looks like they are trying to keep up to the times to make the conference as relevant as possible.

So spend a few minutes and take the survey. I am sure that they would appreciate it.

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

If you missed this week’s edition, it is at http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/01/canadian-week-in-review-12-january-2015.html

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

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

Gene-O-Rama 2015

Ontario's first genealogical conference of the year — the ever-popular "Gene-O-Rama" — is once again being hosted by the Ottawa Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society (OGS) at the Confederation Education Centre, 1645 Woodroffe Avenue, Ottawa, Ontario (at the corner of Hunt Club Road) in Ottawa's west end.

This 31st edition of Gene-O-Rama will be held March 27th and 28th, and will feature Janice Nickerson as both the keynote speaker and lecturer.

She will give the address Friday evening, plus two lectures on Saturday, including Putting the Flesh on the Bones of Your Upper Canada Ancestors.

This would be an excellent opportunity to come to Ottawa to conduct research on your ancestors with a variety of societies and vendors, all for a very reasonable price.

This event is being held near the Ottawa City Archives on Tallwoods Drive, which is open on Saturday.

If staying another day in Ottawa, be aware that the Reading Room of the Library and Archives Canada (LAC) is open on the weekend (both Saturday and Sunday) as is the Canadian Museum of History (located across the river, in Gatineau, Quebec) and the Canadian War Museum, both a short walk from the LAC.

The brochure and registration form is at http://ogsottawa.on.ca/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/GOR2015.pdf

The website of the Ottawa Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society is http://ogsottawa.on.ca/

Janice Nickerson’s website is http://www.uppercanadagenealogy.com

The website of the Ottawa City Archives is http://ottawa.ca/en/liveculture/archives

The website for Library and Archives Canada is http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca

The website for the Canadian Museum of History is http://www.historymuseum.ca

The website for the Canadian War Museum is http://www.warmuseum.ca

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

If you missed this week’s edition, it is at http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/01/canadian-week-in-review-12-january-2015.html

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

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

LAC's Soldiers of the First World War: 1914-1918 Database Online

As of Thursday, January 14, 2015, 110,260 of 640,000 files of the Soldiers of the First World War: 1914-1918 database are now online at the Library and Archives Canada website at http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/military-heritage/first-world-war/first-world-war-1914-1918-cef/Pages/canadian-expeditionary-force.aspx.

These are service files which can consist of pay records, injury reports, discharge certificate, the names of the places where the person served, and of course, the enlistments papers.

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

If you missed this week’s edition, it is at http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/01/canadian-week-in-review-12-january-2015.html

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

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

Acadian Museum of Prince Edward Island receives grant

The Association of the Acadian Museum of Prince Edward Island will receive $25,000 through the Development of Official-Language Communities Program.

The Museum will launch the Causeries du mardi 2015 series to explore the cultural richness of the Island’s Acadians as part of a project called “Le Musée acadien de l’Île-du-Prince-Édouard, gardien du patrimoine acadien depuis 50 ans, continue sa mission” [The Acadian Museum of Prince Edward Island, the guardian of the Island’s Acadian heritage for 50 years, continues its mission].

The funding will also be used for the production of a multimedia exhibition.

The Acadian Museum of Prince Edward Island website is at http://museeacadien.org

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

If you missed this week’s edition, it is at http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/01/canadian-week-in-review-12-january-2015.html

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

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