My List of Books for the Holidays

These are five books Canadian books that I have found particularly helpful to me during the past year, and which I have used in doing my own genealogy. I would suggest that you may find them helpful, too -

British Home Children: Their Stories. Compiled by the British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa (ISBN 978-1-926797-47-2). A compilation of personal essays in which 36 children tell their life stories of how they came to Canada, and the life they lived here between 1869 and 1948.

The book is available from Global Genealogy at http://globalgenealogy.com/countries/canada/home-children/resources/101189.htm

Tracing Your Irish Roots is published by Moorshead Magazines (ISBN 978-0-9781592-6-9). A great collection of fifteen articles previously printed by the publisher since 2005.

It is available through Moorshead Magazines at http://familychronicle.com/Best_of_Irish.htm

And as part of a series, her sister publication, Tracing Your English and Scottish Ancestors also has fifteen articles in it about English and Scottish genealogy.

It is available from http://familychronicle.com/best_of_engscot_contents.htm

One of the best books published in 2010—and which I use as my "go to" book on immigration, citizenship, and naturalization—is Dave Obee's book, Destination Canada: A Genealogical Guide to Immigration Records. (ISBN: 978-0-9735143-3-9)

For any questions that I am asked about immigration, I always include Obee's book in my searching for the answer because I want to make sure that I am aware of all of the facts surrounding immigration to Canada.

To read the rest of the review, go to http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2011/04/destination-canada.html.

The book is available from http://globalgenealogy.com/countries/canada/general/resources/319005.htm

Glenn Wright's Canadians at War 1914-1919, A Research Guide to World War One Service Records (ISBN13: 978-1-926797-45-5). This is a very detailed book on the resources available to a researcher on the Canadians who fought in the First World War.

A military archivist at Library and Archives Canada (LAC) before his retirement a number of year ago, he has left no stone unturned in his description of the resources available to the researcher. You can read the full review in Families, the journal of the Ontario Genealogical Society (a membership in the organization is required), or from Global Genealogy's listing at http://globalgenealogy.com/countries/canada/military/resources/101160.htm

Holiday Season 2011

(Ottawa, December 25, 2011) Elizabeth Lapointe, editor of GenealogyCanada.blogspot.com, is publishing significants posts on Canada's genealogy, history, and heritage during the holiday season, from Boxing Day, December 26, until January 2, 2012.

Lapointe says, "Since the Holidays are festive in Canada, GenealogyCanada wants to share with all of its readers special postings highlighting some of the country's best genealogical resources, and at the same time, celebrating the blog's 4^th blogiversary on January 2.

The Holiday postings will feature the following topics -

Dec 26 – List of Books for the Holidays
Dec 27 – African-Canadian Societies
Dec 28 – French-Canadian Societies
Dec 29 – Canadian Archival Societies
Dec 30 – Ontario Genealogical Groups
Dec 31 – Most Popular Pages of 2011
Jan 1 – Happy New Year!
Jan 2 – Our 4^th Blogiversary!

It is hoped that you will enjoy all of the Holiday postings, and if you see something you like, be sure to pass the word of the blog and tell your friends that GenealogyCanada.blogspot.com welcomes everyone to drop by to say 'Hello!' My email is genealogycanada@aol.com.

Happy Holidays to you and yours, and all of the very best for a Happy and Prosperous New Year!"

About GenealogyCanada

GenealogyCanada.blogspot.com is a Canadian blog covering genealogy, heritage, and history. Over 600 posts have been published since January 2008.

At its sister website, www.genealogycanada.com one will find are numerous newsletters, columns, and other articles of interest, dating from 2002 to 2007, covering genealogy, heritage, and history, including the popular webpage, "Website Pick of the Month".

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This illustration was done for a Toronto newspaper by W. Bryce, who lived in the 1880s.

May I take this time of year to wish everyone a "Happy Holiday, and a Merry Christmas!"

I will be back on Monday with a regular posting, and it will cover my Christmas Reading List in place of my usual "New/Improved Canadian Websites and Blogs" post, which will be back in the new year.

War of 1812 Meetings

The War of 1812 will be a popular subject at the meetings of the OGS different Branches this winter and spring leading up to the OGS Conference in June at Kingston which features lectures on the subject.

Some of the upcoming meetings are -

On January 7, 2012 at 2:00 pm there will be a meeting at the Simcoe County Branch located at the LDS Church, 79 Ferris Lane, in Barrie, and title of the talk will be "The War of 1812: Why Canada is Not a U.S. State" by Ken Weber.

And then there will be a meeting on February 4, 2012 at 2 pm where Gwen Patterson will talk about "The Effect of the War of 1812 and of its Veterans on the Subsequent History of North Simcoe".

Contact information is available at http://www.simcoebogs.com

On Sunday 15th April 2012 there will be a meeting of the Hamilton Branch OGS at Hamilton Room, Hamilton Main Public Library, 55 York Boulevard, Hamilton.

The title of the talk is “The War of 1812 at the Head of the Lake: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Times”and the speaker will be Cheryl MacDonald

Contact information is available at http://www.ogs.on.ca/hamilton/contact1.html

On April 28, 2012 from 9:30 to 4:00 there will be a Spring Workshop of the Brant County Branch at the Branch Library at 118 Powerline Rd, Brantford.

In the morning, the speaker will be Roger Chrysler about "Britain in War of 1812".

Afternoon the talk will be about computer sites and military record resources.

Register by April 24 and $25 includes lunch. At door $30+$5 lunch.

For more information go to the website http://brantcountybranchogs.ca/Events.html

Gaspesian British Heritage Village

This is a 'Living Village', a museum located in the Gaspe Region at the far eastern end of Quebec.  

There will be a course starting in the new year at the village, and it is called Cooking the Traditional Way in which a team of guest cooks will show how to make a range of dishes and baked goods using “real” food.

Participants take the food home.

It will be held on January 14, 21 and 28 at the New Richmond High School. The cost is $5.00 per session, Equipment available and ingredients provided.

To see the GBHV museum, please go to http://www.gaspesianvillage.com.


The Gaspe Peninsula http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~qcgaspe/index.html You can check the online resources such as Civil Registration, Church Records, Census Records, and Cemetery Records.

GoGaspe Genealogy http://www.gogaspe.com/index_en.php?page=genealogy.php There is a list of family sites called Gaspe Families, and Gaspe Links.

Christmas Wishes

Diane Lynn Tibert, a genealogy writer from Nova Scotia, has made a number of wishes in her regular column, and some of them are -

• I wish for you to find a wrecking ball in 2012 that knocks down a major brick wall blocking your path to unearthing a piece of information that exposes a branch of your tree that has been kept buried for years. May the opening be large enough to see into several generations.

• I wish for you to take a trip to a place you've never gone and discover a long lost headstone you've been seeking for years. May it still stand with a flawless inscription that provides all the vital information, including the deceased's country of origin and a wee tale of why they came to Canada. I wish you clear passage to it and an insect bite-free visit.

• I wish for you to come into possession of a stack of letters. The yellowing envelopes contain love letters between your great-grandparents when during the First World War he was a soldier serving overseas and she was living at home with her parents.

Read the rest of her Christmas wishes in the Times & Transcript newspaper at  

http://timestranscript.canadaeast.com/entertainment/article/1464390

And submit a query to her column. It's free! Her email address is tibert@ns.sympatico.ca.

Parks Canada Heritage Gourmet App

A press release from Parks Canada this week invites you to develop an app for an orginal story "that links history, cuisine and technology together".

Parks Canada Heritage Gourmet goes on to say "smartphone app will allow your audience or readers to find, through a selection of more than 60 recipes, one that will please everyone who sits at their table".

Go to http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/media/gourmand-gourmet/app-intro.aspx