FREE Ancestry.ca

Good news everyone - Ancestry.ca announced on May 1^st that they will have FREE access to Canada's Immigration Records over the May 21st holiday!

This weekend is known in Canada as Victoria Day Weekend (when we celebrate Queen Victoria's birthday as well as Queen Elizabeth's official birthday), there will be free access to passenger arrival records, naturalization records, border crossings, emigration records, passports, and convict transportation records.

Good luck in researching your ancestors!

Canadian PoW's of War of 1812

Michael Dun has has a website on which he accounts for the British, Canadian, and American PoW's of the War of 1812.

There are some 15,000+ names covered on this website.

For example, in the Canadian section, he takes the book by C.H.J.Snider, Under the Red Jack: privateers of the Maritime Provinces of Canada in the War of 1812, and he gives a brief history of the ship, and lots of names, so it is worth a read.

In the bibliography, beside listing books which may interest you, there is also the Niles Weekly Register from Baltimore which gives an account of the American side of the war, and the Lloyd’s List, which covers the British part of the war.

The site is located at http://www.1812privateers.org/index.html

Free Lecture - Sinking of Empress of Ireland

The Quebec Family History Society writes to say that there will be a special lecture on the sinking of the Empress of Ireland. It will be a FREE public lecture.

'To mark the 98^th anniversary of the Empress of Ireland's tragic sinking, join us on Saturday, May 12 at 10:30 a.m. to listen to Anne Renaud, author of the book, Into the Mist, deliver her illustrated, one-hour presentation on the sinking of the ship.

From 1906 to 1914, the Empress of Ireland, one of the fastest and most elegant liners of the Edwardian era, graced the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. Remembered primarily for sinking in only 14 minutes in the St. Lawrence River and for having a greater loss of passenger life than the Titanic, the Empress’s true legacy is the significant role she played in the building of Canada."

Members, and non-members are invited. Light refreshments will be served.

They also say that they have a special promotion for Mother's Day!

For Mother's Day, give your mom a $65 gift membership to the Quebec Family History Society. 

For more information, and to take advantage of the Early Bird Special for new members, go to website of the society at http://www.qfhs.ca

Walking Tour In Morriston

The Puslinch Historical Society invites you to a Walking Tour in Morriston on Sunday May 27 2012 at 2 pm.

Exploring the history and architectural features of certain houses in the village of Morriston, Ontario. They point out that interiors not included in the tour. You are to meet everyone at the stoplight in the centre of the village.

There will also be a Spirit Walk in Crown Cemetery this fall. You can tour the cemetery, and hear the life stories - the words of people who are buried here. The tour is Monday September 17, 2012 at 7 pm.

Take Nicholas Beaver Rd (at Tim Hortons south of Aberfoyle) to the cemetery side entrance.

Both of these events are sponsored by Puslinch Historical Society, and The Wellington County Historical Society.

For info call 519-658-9923, or contact Betty Anderson at b.anderson@sympatico.ca.

Take a minute to look at the Puslinch Township site at http://www.puslinch.net/index.html.

New/Improved Canadian Websites and Blogs Week 23

English Research from Canada http://kippeeb.blogspot.ca/ Not a new blog, but Elizabeth Kipp from Ottawa has tons of information which you should look at to see if your family is included in her extensive research.

Meehan My Family http://mymeehanfamily.blogspot.ca/ Started in March of this year, the blog states - "My great grandfather George Thomas Meehan was born in Kingston, Ontario in 1851 and died in Toronto in 1919. He is the son of Patrick Meehan of Donegal Ireland and Elizabeth "Bessie" Magee also of Ireland. Between 1851 and 1861 the family moved from Kingston to Belleville."

Philip Norcross Gross http://norcross.ca/ Read about the Norcross, Gross, Fleming, and Drake families of Germany, England, Scotland, the United States, and Canada.

Morrow Family Tree http://morrowfamilytree.com/ The Morin family from Morin-Heights, Quebec and early records from Mackinac Island, Michigan.

Ohlhausen/Koenig (König) Family History Website www.ohlhausen.ca/index.htm This Germans from Russia website gives the family histories for Ohlhausen, Koenig, Wonnenberg, Jerke, Jans, Bauch, and Gill. All people with the last name of Ohlhausen across Canada today are the descendants of three brothers that immigrated to Canada from Russia in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The Koenig side of the family immigrated to the USA through several ports but mainly Ellis Island, and the descendants today are mainly in Colorado and Idaho, with some in Alberta, Canada. You will also find family trees and pictures of these families as well as Littau, Wonenberg, Quast, and Litke.

Hastings County Cemeteries www.angelfire.com/wa3/greenwoodontario/HastingsCountyCemeteries.html This site contains a listings of the cemeteries and transcripts thereof for Hastings County, Ontario, Canada. It includes the towns of Bancroft, Madoc, and Marmora.

Talpash Family http://www.talpash.com/ Talpash family genealogy and history describes a family tree extending from a Talpasz family in Europe of the 1700s to the 1900s in USA and Canada. Tawpash, Talpas, Talpaz, Towspasz, and Tolpash are variant spellings.

Ancestry Sisters http://www.ancestrysisters.com/ $ Comprehensive genealogy research. Ancestry Sisters is your go-to source for researching your family history. Covering the US, Canada, England, Ireland, and more.

The Métis National Council (MNC) Historical Online Database http://metisnationdatabase.ualberta.ca/MNC The Métis Archival Project (MAP) research team at the Faculty of Native Studies, University of Alberta, has provided the data and digital images for the Métis National Council Historical Online Database. Since 1999, MAP has taken an innovative digital approach to archival records. MAP researchers have specialized experience with databasing, microfilm, microfiche, digital scanning and photography, and image enhancement. Over the past several summers, groups of MAP researchers have traveled to Library and Archives Canada (formerly the National Archives of Canada and before that, the Public Archives of Canada), located in Ottawa, to conduct exhaustive archival searches for relevant scrip and Métis historical materials.

2012 Vintage Wings of Canada Flight

Yesterday, a press release was received by this blog, and it says -

On behalf of the Honourable Steven Blaney, Minister of Veterans Affairs, the Honourable Laurie Hawn, Member of Parliament for Edmonton Centre, took part this evening in the launch of the 2012 Vintage Wings of Canada flight season at the Gatineau Airport. The aviation enterprise is dedicated to promoting and preserving the history of Canadian aviation

"Vintage Wings of Canada does important work in preserving and better enabling us to understand the role and history of Canadian aviation in the development of our country," said Honourable Blaney.

Vintage Wings of Canada brings together aviators and aviation enthusiasts, who maintain a fleet and participate in flight activities and the promotion of Canada's aviation heritage. The organization offers educational programs and guided tours (by reservation only) of its collection, exhibited in their hangar at the Gatineau Airport. Veterans and members of the Canadian Armed Forces are welcome at all times. 

Veterans Affairs Canada maintains on its Web site at www.veterans.gc.ca archived videos that capture the personal experiences of women and men who have served Canada in times of conflict, including Canadian aviators.

Earlier this month, Minister Blaney and MP Hawn announced a $100,000 contribution toward the creation of a new Bomber Command Memorial to be unveiled this June in London's Green Park in the United Kingdom.

During the Second World War, while the Royal Air Force Fighter Command defended the United Kingdom against aerial attacks, approximately 50,000 Canadian service men and women were part of the Bomber Command, which attacked the enemy's military strength by bombing key targets in an attempt to weaken its military and industrial capabilities.

To see Vintage Wings of Canada's calendar of events, visit www.vintagewings.ca.

Canadian Funeral Home Records Online

Steve Fulton, Chairperson of the Niagara Peninsula Branch of the OGS, writes that the Morse & Sons Funeral Home Records Index is now online.

He would like to thanks the volunteers who have spent countless hours working on this project. You can visit their website http://ogs.on.ca/niagara. Please click on the Index Button to do a search.

Finally, he would like to reintroduce the Surname Index on our website as well, and he says you will find it under the Index Button also. Over the next month, the Surname Index will be changed over to work and appear like the Morse & Sons Funeral Home Records Index.

So please visit their website often, as many things will be changing over the next couple of months relating to various indexes.