Customer Appreciation Week in April at the Archives of Ontario

Mark this event on your calendar, and attend as many of the events as you can, because from Tuesday, April 7th to Saturday, April 11th, the Archives of Ontario will be celebrating Customer Appreciation Week at the Archives of Ontario, 134 Ian Macdonald Blvd., Toronto.

One of the events will be Finding Your Upper Canada Ancestors Workshop which will take place on Saturday, April 11th, 8:45 am to 4:00 pm at the North York Central Library, 5120 Yonge Street, Toronto, ON, M2N 5N9.

This workshop will be hosted by the Toronto Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society, and learn more about how our amazing resources and services can help you in your family history research. Get advice on using our Second Heir and Devisee Commission Case Files Database, and be sure to pick up our free research guides and Archives of Ontario souvenirs.

If you want to see this exciting week of events, read about them at the Archives of Ontario site, and be sure to register at the website http://www.archives.gov.on.ca/en/about/archives_week.aspx

 

 
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/2015/03/canadian-week-in-review.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.

American residents serving in Canadian Expeditionary Forces, 1917-1918

Source: War Department. Office of the Provost Marshal General. Lists of United States Residents Serving in the Canadian Expeditionary Force and Australian Imperial Force [1917–1918]. Series PC-26 21

It has always intrigued me about Americans who enlisted in the Canadian army in the First World War. Why would they do that? But I slowly discovered that most likely one of their parents, or both of their parents had come from Canada down to the United States, with many of them leaving cousins, aunts and uncles back in Canada. And, further still,  and many of them had been born in England, Scotland, and Ireland. So they felt a certain loyalty to their country of birth, I suppose. 

But now, Ancestry.ca has put the record group online, and it is called U.S. Residents Serving in Canadian Expeditionary Forces, 1917-1918.

Each entry contains the name of the resident, his address in the United States, date and place of birth, nationality, marital status, occupation, and place and date of entering service.

So, if you find that an American ancestor has disappeared between 1914 and 1919, check this database. Maybe he is here at http://search.ancestry.ca/search/db.aspx?dbid=9177

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/2015/03/canadian-week-in-review.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.

You help is needed!

One day, while doing research on British Home Children in past issues of the Ontario Genealogical Society`s journal, Families, I came across an article about the children who were British Second World War evacuees to Canada. In the article, they had come to Port Colbourne, Ontario, and had stayed there while the war was raging in the UK and in Europe. They went to school while staying together in a house, and most of them seemed to have adjusted very well to their situation. They were a part of Operation Pied Piper.

That article stuck with me, because I hadn’t known about this before reading about them. But now there is a post-graduate student at the University of Western Ontario who is doing a project on the children, and her name is Claire Halstead.

Her thesis work, by its completion, will account for more than 3,000 children who came to Canada, of which 1,500 came by way of the Children’s Overseas Reception Board (CORB). They were all part of Operation Pied Piper.

If there is any information that you might have on this subject that you would like to share, please get in contact with Clare at chalstea@uwo.ca.

You can read the story in the Western News at http://news.westernu.ca/2015/01/student-returns-identity-to-british-war-evacuees/http://news.westernu.ca/2015/01/student-returns-identity-to-british-war-evacuees/  

To get some background information, you can read Children's Overseas Reception Board at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children%27s_Overseas_Reception_Board

There is also an article on the web called “Guests” not “Refugees” Child Evacuees to Canada During World War II at http://www.cst.ed.ac.uk/Events/Conferences/documents/SmerdonCPaper.pdf

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/2015/03/canadian-week-in-review.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 tourism photos on Flickr

How many photos do you have in your family genealogy of Canadian vacations? Did you know the the Library and Archives Canada has travel photod too, and now are putting some of them on Flickr.

The press release says that -

The concept of Canadian tourism emerged during the early nineteenth century. Improved modes of transportation, such as new railways stretching across the country, facilitated leisure travel and offered people the chance to witness some of the nation’s greatest marvels and modern achievements.

'Photographs were the ideal medium with which to attract potential visitors, and photographers were hired by transportation companies to produce images of majestic scenery that would promote destinations. Later rivaled by amateur picture-takers, eager to create their personal holiday mementos, these photographs were a vital component of the burgeoning tourist industry. The imagery created during this period helped to characterize the country, establishing a sense of national identity by introducing viewers to iconic images of Canadian scenery'.

The website is at https://www.flickr.com/photos/lac-bac/sets/72157650719659971/

And for people who will travel to Ottawa in the coming months, visit the National Gallery of Canada to see the photos exhibit from March 6 to August 30, 2015.

Toronto Time Capsule online

Metroland Media, a newspaper company in Ontario, has launched a new history project, complete with stories, columns and resources called Toronto Time Capsule . 

This online treasure of columns, articles and resources will be dedicated to Toronto’s history and  genealogy. This collection bring Toronto's history to life.

On the site, you’ll find these sections -

- In ‘Flashback’ you can peruse articles on heritage news and events written by Metroland Media news staff.

- In ‘Local Tales’ read interesting columns from local historical associations and expert historians.

- In ‘Genealogy’ you’ll find insider tips from local genealogists and resources to help you with family history research.

As the project grows, so do the opportunities for the public to contribute. They want local historical groups, heritage groups, and genealogical socities to contribute.

Anyone wishing to contribute can email gpeacock@insidetoronto.com

Go to the site at www.insidetoronto.com/history

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/2015/03/canadian-week-in-review.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.

Findmypast has just gone FREE for the weekend!

 

 

Just received word that Findmypast has just gone free for the weekend!

 

From now until midday on Monday, March 9th (GMT), they are giving you the chance to bring your past to life for FREE, with unlimited access to over 2-billion records from all over the world on Findmypast.

Throughout our FREE Weekend, you’ll be able to access everything you need to build an incredible family tree, including:  Census records Birth, marriage and death records Travel and migration records Military records Crime and punishment records, and much more, all absolutely free.

There is no need to do anything to your account to get started this weekend, just sign in as normal and you’ll be able to explore our record sets from around the world. To find out how you can get the most from our Free Weekend visit findmypast.co.uk/freeweekend

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Historic train and train stations in Mississauga, Ontario

Kathy Baker, a member from the Halton-Peel Genealogical Society of the Ontario Genealogical Society sent in a newspaper article about the train stations that were built on the Mississauga line at the turn of the 20th century.

In 1856, the Great Western Railway was completed though Port Credit and Clarkson, connecting Toronto and Hamilton.

The article says ‘The railways were built through historic Mississauga: the Grand Trunk Railway arrived through Malton in 1854, which allowed Malton to develop into a major wheat exporting centre, and the Credit Valley Railway in 1878-81, which was built through Cooksville, Erindale and Streetsville. The last railway, of sorts, to come was the Toronto-Guelph Radial Railway, which operated from1917-1931’.

Read the rest of the story on http://www.insauga.com/historic-train-stations-in-mississauga

The website of the Halton-Peel Genealogical Society is at http://www.haltonpeel.ogs.on.ca/

Their Facebook page is at https://www.facebook.com/groups/774317655963454/

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/2015/03/canadian-week-in-review.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.