NewsLeaf Goes Electronic

GenealogyCanada has just received this news -

"Starting in 2012, the Ontario Genealogical Society will publish NewsLeaf in electronic format. This "green initiative" will save the environment while providing members with alternate means of receiving and storing their issues".

NewsLeaf is the newsletter of the Ontario Genealogical Society, and word is that the journal Families will still be in paper format.

The website of the OGS is http://www.ogs.on.ca

Saskatchewan Probate Estate Files, 1887-1931

FamilySearch.org has just released it's update on one of the Canadian records it is putting online.

On December 22, 2011, it reports that there are now 1, 591, 193 records of Saskatchewan Probate Records Index (1887-1931) at  https://familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://familysearch.org/searchapi/search/collection/1918293

These index, and images are of estate files from Saskatchewan judicial districts. The website says that the  "estate records contain loose papers relating to the settlement of estates including such matters as provision for heirs including minor children as well as distribution of funds, land and property. This project was indexed in partnership with the Saskatchewan Genealogical Society".

Happy 4th Blogiversary!

GenealogyCanada.blogspot.com is now 4 years old!

Thank you to all who have followed this blog over the years, and those who have posted links.

A special invitation goes out to new visitors to stop by and take a few minutes to enjoy the 600+ posts.

Besides myself, there are two others who have their Blogiversary on this day -

Mary's Musings http://musingmary.blogspot.com Mary is from Phoenix, Arizona, and she started the blog in 2010. She is on google+ as Mary Warren, and she says that she is on Facebook as Mary Post Warren, if you would like to go there to see her latest news.

The Rippers www.gyrippers.blogspot.com Another blogger from Arizona, she is a Graveyard Rabbit! She has had the blog since 2009, and there are cemeteries from all over the US.

Congratulations to all my fellow bloggers who are celebrating a Blogiversary this year!

New for 2012, you can now reach me on Facebook. This is where I'll be posting extra material and photos not seen on the blog.

I invite you to drop by for a visit www.facebook.com/GenealogyCanada, and if you wish, join me as a Friend.

Thanks again for your support. It's appreciated!

Elizabeth

Happy 2012!

The past year of 2011 was great as far as Canadian Genealogy was concerned!

For the Ontario Genealogy Society (OGS) www.ogs.on.ca, it was their 50th Anniversary (which was celebrated in Hamilton), the OGS and the National Institute for Genealogical Studies www.genealogicalstudies.com started a partnership, and TONI (The Ontario Names Index) www.ogs.on.ca/home/TONI.php was started.

It was also the year of the 17th Conference of the British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ontario (BIFHSGO) www.bifhsgo.ca, and the beginning of covering the Conference using Social Media tools (I was one of their Official Bloggers, which included John D. Reid of Anglo-Celtic Connections blog fame http://anglo-celtic-connections.blogspot.com, and Susan Davis, BIFHSGO's Director of Communications, and presenter of her excellent and informative lecture, “A Social Media Primer for Family Historians”).

My blog was very successful this year: I published 326 posts, and I made many new friends over the year through the blog. It was the first year that I tried a series of blog postings for Remembrance Week www.genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2011/11/blogger-showcases-canadas-veterans-week.html, and it was extremely well-received.

Another year has past as Editor of Families, the journal of the Ontario Genealogical Society, and I had a year of exceptional papers submitted and published. And it doesn't look like it will slow down ...

So I wish everyone a Very Happy, Healthy, and Prosperous New Year, and may all of those Genealogy Wishes (and you know what they are) do come true for you!

Elizabeth

Monday's Post: 4th Blogiverary

Most Popular Pages of 2011

The most popular blogs that I posted in 2011 (in order of popularity, according to online stats) represent a cross-section of topics, ranging from "Some Canadian Archival Resources" on December 29 to "Holiday Sale!" on December 27 to "War of 1812 Meetings", posted on December 22 -

December 29, 2011 - Some Canadian Archival Resources www.genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2011/12/some-canadian-archival-resources.html

December 28, 2011 - French-Canadian Societies www.genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2011/12/french-canadian-societies.html

December 27, 2011 - African-Canadian Societies www.genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2011/12/african-canadian-societies.html


December 27, 2011 - Holiday Sale! 
www.genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2011/12/holiday-sale.html

December 1, 2011 - The Archive CD Books Project
www.genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2011/12/archive-cd-books-project.html

 December 30, 2011 -  Some Other Ontario Genealogy Groups www.genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2011/12/some-other-ontario-genealogy-groups.html

 July 4, 2011 - Red River Colony genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2011/07/red-river-colony.html

November 29, 2011 - Historical Online Newspapers in Canada www.genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2011/11/historical-online-newspapers-in-canada.html

April 22, 2011 - Easter Treats from Ancestry.ca www.genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2011/04/easter-treats-from-ancestryca.html

December 23, 2011 - War of 1812 Meetings www.genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2011/12/war-of-1812-meetings.html  

If your favourite page is not listed, I'd like to hear about it - please send me an email at genealogycanada@aol.com. I appreciate hearing from my readers.

Thank you for following me in 2011, and I look forward to having you follow me again in 2012!

Elizabeth

Some Other Ontario Genealogy Groups

Besides the ever-popular Ontario Genealogical Society (OGS) www.ogs.on.ca and the British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa (BIFHSGO) http://bifhsgo.ca, you will find other groups of interest in Ontario, such as -

The Upper Ottawa Valley Genealogical Group http://uovgg.ca They have the Timberline Newsletter Index (1990-1999), Renfrew County Cemetery Transcriptions, and a project on The Canadian Wends (German/Polish) immigrants.

The Manitoulin Genealogy Club www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~onmanito/club.html This group, located on Manitoulin Island in Northwestern Ontario, is interested in collecting family histories of Howland Township.

Lanark County Genealogical Society www.globalgenealogy.com/LCGS They are located outside of Perth in Eastern Ontario. Many people from Lanark County went to Bruce, Huron, and Grey Counties in the 1850s, and later, to Manitoba and the Dakotas.

Temiskaming Genealogy Group www.nt.net/~timetrav This group is located in Northeastern Ontario on the border with Quebec, and they have many records on the English and French fur traders.

Sioux Lookout Genealogical Society www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~onslgc Located in Northern Ontario, they have burial records, as well as the Tax Assessment Roll for 1913.

The Muskoka Parry Sound Genealogy Group www.mpsgg.com Covering the Central Ontario areas of Muskoka and Parry Sound, this group has the Cemetery Surname Database, which gives the date of death plus date of birth (where available), and other resources of the area.

Tomorrow's Post: Most Popular Pages of 2011

Some Canadian Archival Resources

Douglas Brymner (Dominion Archivist) July 3, 1823 - June 18, 1902

Douglas Brymner became Senior Second Class Clerk in 1872, and was responsible for the creation of a national archives in Canada. The government had voted for $4,000 to be spent in overseeing the collection of records, and in undertaking "general archival responsibilities".

Two archives that I use on a regular basis are the Nova Scotia Archives www.gov.ns.ca/nsarm and the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick http://archives.gnb.ca/archives because I have relatives in both Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

The NS Archives astounds me every time I go to it – there is always something new. I have searched their vital records and have found births, marriages, and deaths there; I have searched through one of their virtual archives, 'Seeing Yarmouth': Celebrating 250 Years of Community Life, and have found areas there that interest me; and I have spent hours reading the Nova Scotia Historical Newspapers from Shelburne, finding my family name (Barclay) in them.

Go to www.gov.ns.ca/nsarm/virtual to get a complete listing of their Virtual Archives.

The archives in New Brunswick holds Nova Scotia newspapers, and I found things here that I couldn't find anywhere else, especially in their Daniel F. Johnson's New Brunswick Newspaper Vital Statistics webpage at http://archives.gnb.ca/APPS/NewspaperVitalStats/?culture=en-CA. So it is well-worth a look, as they are adding to it all the time.

If you go to the Archives of Manitoba website at www.gov.mb.ca/chc/archives looking for estate records, take a look at the Winnipeg Estate Indexes, 1870-1983 webpage at www.gov.mb.ca/chc/archives/probate/wpg_estate.html.

I was lucky to find what I was looking for (for many people did go "Out West" when it was opened to find their fortune), and you just may be lucky enough to find your people listed in the estate indexes.

And, of course, I always come back to the Library and Archives Canada's (LAC) website at www.collectionscanada.gc.ca

One area that is worth a look on their website is the Search All search box, found in the upper right-hand corner of the page. Just put the name of the person you are looking for in the box, and you can search through four of their portals - "Library", "Archives", "Ancestors", and "Website" to see if there's a match.

You may be as surprised as I was when I discovered that a relative in the Boer War received a land grant from Canada, even though he had fought with the British in South Africa instead of with the Canadians!

So there is lots of information to find at these archives, either through the Internet, or by inter-library loan. All that one has to do is ask!

Tomorrow's Blog: Ontario Genealogical Groups