Canada Celebrates St. Patrick's Day

GenealogyCanada's Blog Search - Yes, using our very own search box (at the top right), just type in "Irish" or "Ireland", and see what resources or news items have been posted here. (This also works for other topics of interest).

The Irish Canadian Society http://www.irishcanadiansociety.net/ - This website etablished a connection between Canada and Ireland, and gives an account of how to search for Irish immigants.

Irish Resources at Library and Archives Canada (LAC) www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/genealogy/022-905.005-e.html - Canada's most recent census returns list the Irish as the fourth-largest ethnic group in Canada, with almost 4.5 million Canadians claiming either some or full Irish lineage.

Irish Ships Passenger Lists www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ote/iriship.htm

Canadian Immigration Records: Irish Immigrants www.irish-genealogy-toolkit.com/Canadian-immigration-records.html - Canadian immigration records on Irish immigrants.

Grandma's Family Tree http://judycorbettbarker.com/index.html - Judy Barker is tracing the surnames of CORBETT, HAWCO, COSTIGAN, FUREY, KENNEDY, LACOUR, MURPHY, QUINLAN, CRAIG, HEALEY, and SULLIVAN from Ireland. They emigrated to Chapel`s Cove, Harbour Main, and Holyrood in Newfoundland.

Emigration From Cork Island to Upper Canada: The First Peter Robinson Settlers http://webhome.idirect.com/~obrienr/cork1823.html - The website explains the reasons behind emigration to Canada, and lists other websites.

Discover Your True Irish Roots in our New Historical Records www.ancestry.ca/irish?o_iid=50529&o_lid=50529&o_sch=Web+Property - Ancestry.ca has Irish Records that you can check online. Their 14-day FREE access offer is available.

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Books

I have just published two booklets - The War of 1812: Canada and the United States, and Migration: Canada and the United States.

They are available for purchase through Global Genealogy at http://www.globalgenealogy.com/, the National Institute of Genealogical Studies at http://www.genealogicalstudies.com/, and now, in the U.S., from the Family Roots Publishing Company at http://www.familyrootspublishing.com/.

For more on the booklets, go to http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2012/01/booklet-1-war-of-1812-canada-and-united.html and http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2012/01/booklet-2-migration-canada-and-united.html

Genealogical Day in England and Wales (Seminar)

Gary Schroder, QFHS President, will give a talk on Sa turday, March 31st 2012 from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the Quebec Family History Society Llibrary, 173 Cartier Avenue in Pointe-Claire.

The purpose of this seminar will be to A) examine the basic structures of family history research in England, Civil Registration of BMD's 1837-2005, Censuses 1841-1911, Wills 1858-2011, etc., and B) examine how to find your ancestors for the period prior to 1837 and how to make the best use of the English databases to found to be found on Ancestry and other commercial websites.

Reservations are necessary: call 514.695.1502, or you can visit the society online at http://www.qfhs.ca/. The fee $30.00.

Canadian Air and Space Museum Set to Close

Anna-Louise Richardson, a videographer from Toronto, has written me about the closure of the Canadian Air and Space Museum. She wrote to say that the museum has recieved notice from developers that the museum will be evicted from the old DeHavilland Building at the old Downsview airforce base in Toronto.

She noticed that this blog had posted a press release from the North York Central Library's Canadiana Department about an appearance by Keith Hyde and his talk on the DeHavilland Mosquito (Wednesday March 7, 2012) www.genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2012/03/dehavilland-mosquito.html, and Anna-Louise said that reading it had compelled her to write me about the closure of the CAS Museum.

There is more information available about the museum here - www.casmuseum.org/home.php

She said that the developers plan to demolish the building to put up a hockey arena. She goes on to say that it is "So sad....I have started to interview one WWII vet who volunteers there and hope to interview another who has written a book about his WWII experiences as a pilot. This place is rich in history and they need our help."

I checked the website the other day, and was impressed by the amount of information that they have made available. There is a full account of the closing of the museum, the awards that they have received, a history of the mueum, and a video and photo gallery.

She produces vidoes at http://www.treeoflifevideo.com/. There you can see interviews from two WWII pilots that volunteer at the CAS Museum. One is Philip Gray, who has written the book, "The Ghosts of Targets Past", about his time as a Lancaster pilot.

New/Improved Canadian Websites and Blogs Week 21

Here are some of the websites and blogs that I have come across the week ending March 11, 2012.

Family History Alive http://www.familyhistoryalive.com/ Sue Fenn has had this site for about a year now, and she sees the site as a 'where to find it' resource, providing information on what's available, and where to find it, in Canada, the UK, and to some extent, the US. You should go to the site to see what is there because it is absolutely fabulous!

Rowe Families of Newfoundland www3.sympatico.ca/john.rowe A website which follows Edward Rowe (1699-1754) of Trinity, Newfoundland; Benjamin Rowe (1786-1850) of Carbonear, Newfoundland; and Henry Rowe (1780-1833) of Carbonear, Newfoundland.

St. Columban-Irish: Our Mission: Honour Our Irish Ancestors http://www.stcolumban-irish.com/ Settlers came in the early 1820s and settled in the Village of St. Columban, Québec. In July 2010, the descendants and friends of St. Columban unveiled the cemetery monument dedicated to the original Irish settlers.

Wyemen – McKay http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~raeb Researching WYSEMAN, WISEMAN, HAMILTON, ROBERT, OGILVIE, GAIR, JAMIE, MORRICE, TIMMON. They are primarily from Scotland and the Dundee area but the WISEMAN/WYSEMAN name is originally from Essex, England.

Cape Breton Genealogy: Point Edward Grants http://charlesgrantcb.blogspot.com/ Douglas Grant has taken the Charles Grant family of Point Edward, Cape Breton County, Nova Scotia, Canada and has put the research notes on a blog. I have read though them, and they are most interesting.

 Pardon Me: A genealogy blog by Tamara Tillinghast Haskett http://pardonmetammy.wordpress.com/ Another blog just started in March which traces the family of Hasketts from Ireland that emigrated to Ontario.

Where The Story Takes Me http://wherethestorytakesme.ca/ Jane MacNamara, from the Toronto Branch of the Ontario Genelogical Society, has started a blog in which she has put handouts of the talks she has given to people who have attended her Family History Library Lectures in Salt Lake City; has given her thoughts on RootsTech Conference 2012; and has posted lots of research on the site that she has come across along the way.

Canadians Who Fought in the Boer War

Forces War Records (a British website) has just added an additional 250,000 searchable military records.

Boer War records have been added to the Forces War Records database, and these records contain data about members of the British and Commonwealth Forces who were issued campaign or gallantry medals during the second Anglo Boer War 1899-1902.

The war ended with the Treaty of Vereeniging, signed on 31 May 1902.

The website is at http://www.forces-war-records.co.uk/default.asp

Canada sent 7,368 soldiers and 12 Nursing Sisters to the Boer War.

The personnel records include medal registers, land grant applications, and correspondence relating to those who served.

One interesting thing I found was that L. Beverly Webster from Kentville, Nova Scotia (a distant relative of mine), served with the British Army, and he is recorded in the Forces War Records as having died in England.

But a legal reprensentative made an application for land grantis on his behalf, but he didn't live long enough to enjoy the benefit of being awarded the grant of land. His body was sent back to Nova Scotia, and he is buried in Kentville.

The website at the Library and Archives Canada is www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/south-african-war/index-e.html

Simon Fowler is Coming to Canada!

Gwyneth Pearce, of the Toronto Family History Branch, sent this reminder to me to send out to everyone about a workshop to be held on March 31st called "Finding Your Great War Ancestors"in Toronto.

She says that "This day-long workshop is jointly presented with the Canadiana Department of North York Central Library, and will take place on Saturday 31 March 2012 at the North York Memorial Community Hall, with convenient access from the North York Centre subway station.

Participants can choose one of three concurrent lecture streams - British Research, Canadian Research and "Case Studies and Curios" - or mix and match the topics that interest them the most. It will be an opportunity to learn from some of the world's leading Great War experts, including Simon Fowler, one of Britain's top family history teachers, writers and researchers.

Full program, speaker and registration details are available on the Toronto Branch website at http://www.torontofamilyhistory.org/GreatWarWorkshop2012.

The early registration deadline has now passed but OGS members are still eligible for reduced rates - a full day of learning for just $55.

And then on Monday, Simon Fowler will be speaking in Ottawa at the Auditorium at the Library and Archives Canada at an event sponsored by the British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa.

He will present "An Evening with Simon Fowler" from 7 until 9:30 in which he will give two FREE lectures on "Researching your Military Ancestors Online", and "British Emigration Records".

Simon Fowler is one of Britain’s most experienced family history teachers, writers and researchers. He specializes in military family history, with a particular focus on the First World War, and is the author of numerous well-regarded research guides and articles. Simon worked on and off for The National Archives/Public Record Office at Kew for over thirty years and edited their family history magazine Ancestors. He also teaches online military history courses for Pharos Tutors.

The BIFHSGO site is at http://www.bifhsgo.ca/events.php.

Dave Obee Gives Two Talks

His first talk, entitled “Destination Canada”, will be given on Saturday, March 24th from 12:30 to 2:00 p.m. at the West Vancouver Memorial Library.

More than seven million people arrived in Canada from Europe, the United States, and Asia between 1815 and 1930.

This talk discusses the wide variety of sources that deal with immigration to Canada, including ship passenger lists (available from 1865 through 1935), border-crossing records, and naturalization and citizenship documents.

The second talk, “Writing Your Family History”, will be held from 2:30 to 4:00 p.m. in the Welsh Hall, and touch upon the reason for writing a family history, and how a well-written story will make other family members more interested in the research that you are doing. He will also discuss ideas that will help you get over writer's block.

For more information, visit the West Vancouver Memorial Library at http://www.westvanlibrary.ca/, or write info@westvanlibrary.ca.