Keffer Writing Contest

Every year, the Ontario Genealogical Society sponsors a writing contest called the Keffer Writing Contest – and this year – it was something special. We had 14 entrants!

From the 14 essays – four were chosen as winners, and they are -

First Place goes to Virginia Reid, and her essay "How an Old Handkerchief Helped Me"

Second Place goes to Debra Butler Honor UE, and her essay "The Stain Glass Mystery"

Third Place goes to Anne Rahamut, and her essay "Mrs. Teepell's Tale"

and

Fourth Place goes to David Harper, and his essay "Tracing 19th Century Homesteading"

If you want to see the rules for entry, go to www.ogs.on.ca/home/essay.php

If you aren't a member, they have a special offer where you can join for $35.00 for a six month period, and be eligible to submit an essay. Plus, there is lots of records on the OGS Members Site.

There will be one essay published per issue of Families, starting with the August 2012 issue.

The deadline for the 2013 contest is November 1, 2012.

Some Notes From the OGS Conference

As you know, I didn't attend the OGS Conference in Kingston this year, but there has been some news that has come from the conference -

Shirley Sturdevant has been chosen OGS President for the 2012 -2012. Shirley is from Chatham, and she has worked with the Kent Branch, held the position of Region 1 Director for three years, and served in the role of Society Vice-President for the past two years.

Mike More has assumed the position of the new Vice-President for the OGS. Mike has served with the Ottawa Branch since 1992 in a variety of positions including Chair for several years and has also held the position of Region 8 Director for the past two years.

Congratulations to both!

Thanks to John D. Reid at www.anglo-celtic-connections.blogspot.com for passing along the news that the Ontario BMD will be released in a couple months – and they will be online - digitized and indexed for the first time on the Archives of Ontario website!

They will add an extra year for births (the year 1915 will be added), marriages (the year 1930 will be added), and deaths (the year 1940 will be added).

John says it will be a couple of months before they appear at www.archives.gov.on.ca/english/archival-records/interloan/vsmain.aspx

New/Improved Canadian Websites and Blogs Week 27

PEIAncestors.com http://peiancestry.com/home Art Lockhart from Summerside told me not to forget to mention PEIAncestors, and the great resources that they have in their online collections, oral histories, cemeteries, and newspapers. Personal note - it seems that not only is Mr. Lockhart a prolific headstone photographer, he was also my husband's mechanic when he was posted there (and a very good one at that, so I'm told). For more on his important new work, go to www.journalpioneer.com/News/Local/2011-07-20/article-2668071/Local-couples-hobby-to-benefit-local-historical-records-/1

Genealogies of Valcartier, Quebec (also includes Ste-Catherine, Riviere aux Pins, and Stoneham) www.pbalkcom.com/valcartier Patricia Balkcom wrote me last week to tell me about her page. I went and took a look, and she has census, church, cemetery, and civil records for the area. There are also biographies and information on several thousand people from this area. It is a very nice site, and personally, I look forward to doing some research for my in-laws (Jobin and Bédard), who came from that area, including Shannon and Tewkesbury!

Ingersoll Tribune Online Database www.ocl.net/tribune This is a searchable index of all the birth, death, and marriage notices found in the Ingersoll Tribune newspaper of Ingersoll, Ontario, Canada, from 1897–1970.

St. Paul's Cemetery: Wisbeach, Warwick Twp., Lambton Co., Ontario, Canada http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~jaiwilliams/Wisbeach There is a surname index to transcriptions, and a list of church histories online.

Carmichael Family Online http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~carmichaelfamily/00-search/canada.htm This is a really interesting site, where the oldest Carmichael settlers are shown for each of the Canadian provinces.

FamilySearch.org - Canada, Births and Baptisms, 1661-1959
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://www.familysearch.org/searchapi/search/collection/1520604
This index contains 1,529,089 records. Due to Canada's privacy laws, some of the recent records may not be displayed. The year range represents most of the records.

FamilySearch.org - Canada Deaths and Burials, 1664-1955
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://www.familysearch.org/searchapi/search/collection/1520609
This index contains 101,189 records. Due to Canada's privacy laws, some of the recent records may not be displayed. The year range represents most of the records.

FamilySearch.org - Canada, Marriages, 1661-1949
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://www.familysearch.org/searchapi/search/collection/1520608
This index contains 268,014 records. Due to Canada's privacy laws, recent records may not be displayed.

From Montbéliard to a New World http://web2.uwindsor.ca/library/leddy/people/art/resource.html
The history of about 420 French-speaking Protestants who were brought to Nova Scotia by a Dutch shipping agent named John Dick. 

Library and Archives Canada RIP?

Over the past few months, some disquieting news about the future of Library and Archives Canada (LAC) has drifted through the genealogy community in Ottawa, and now - worldwide.

Last weekend, I wrote an article about federal government cutbacks at the LAC for Columns, the newsletter for ISFHWE http://www.isfhwe.org/ (International Society of Family History Writers and Editors), of which I am the International/At-Large Director.

In the article, I mentioned that the LAC is promoting the digitization of the microfilm that the LAC holds. This is a laudable idea, making the records available for everyone online so that you won't have to go to the LAC in Ottawa. But on the other hand – it is not indexed!

So you will have to spend hours in front of your computer (instead of a microfilm reader) trying to find the person you are looking for. And they are cutting back on the number of people digitizing the microfilm – so what now?

To read the latest posts on the LAC, here are some blogs and websites that you can check -

On to Ottawa Trek, in photos Blogger John D. Reid has been keeping his eye on the LAC ever since he started his Anglo-Celtic Connections blog, http://anglo-celtic-connections.blogspot.ca/2012/05/on-to-ottawa-trek-in-photos.html. He, as well as his readers, have seen the LAC go through its many revisions over the years until it has come to this – a mock funeral held on its doorsteps on May 28, 2012.

Archivists Protest in Ottawa Over Federal Cuts The CBC has a write-up of the mock funeral held in Ottawa www.cbc.ca/news/arts/story/2012/05/28/archivists-protest.html.

Ottawa Citizen Photos and Video Another story on the mock funeral held in Ottawa. www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Photos+Video+attend+funeral+archival+funding+cuts/6691237/story.html

May Was Asian Heritage Month in Canada

The month of May recognized the long and rich history of Asian Canadians, and the incredible contribution to the history of Canada.

In December 2001, the Senate adopted a motion proposed by Senator Vivienne Poy (the former patron of the Ontario Genealogical Society) to officially designate May as Asian Heritage Month in Canada

In May 2002, the Government of Canada signed an official declaration to designate May as Asian Heritage Month.

If you wish to learn more about Asian Heritage Month in Canada, here are some of the websites -

Ottawa Asian Heritage Month Society Website http://www.asianheritagemonth.net/ They have an events page, profiles, and news.

Edmonton Asian Heritage Month www.asian.ca/heritagemonth/index.html They have an events page, and they give a short history Asian Heritage Month in Edmonton.

Calgary Asian Heritage Month http://asianheritagecalgary.ca/ They have an events calendar, and a photo gallery.

Winnipeg Asian Heritage Month http://www.asianheritagemanitoba.ca/ They have an events page,

and Asian-Canadian history on the website.

Asian Heritage Society of New Brunswick http://ahsnb.org/ They have a photo and video gallery onsite, and an events page.

New/Improved Canadian Websites and Blogs Week 26

Acadian Memorial http://www.acadianmemorial.org/ They have the Ensemble Encore (Together Again) Database of Acadian Genealogy onsite, plus workshops and a guide to sources.

Down East: A Maritime Heritage http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~downeast There is something for everyone here - families genealogies; birth, marriage, and death records; photographs; and links to related sites.

Genealogy of the Rose family of Ochre Pit Cove, Conception Bay, Newfoundland http://freepages.history.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~jordain The site has a surname list and family trees.

Parkdale-Maplewood Community Museum http://parkdale.ednet.ns.ca/ Visit their Memories Not Forgotten display, the Research Centre, and their Newsletter – there seems to be something of interest to everyone.

The P.E.I. Ships Database! - Index www.islandregister.com/ship_data.html Check out the ship's database for passenger lists, diaries of voyages at sea of the people from Prince Edward Island.

Grand Falls Genealogy Club (New Brunswick) www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nbgfgc This is a bilingual site (F/E), and is full of genealogical tid-bits to feast upon – from biographies, to Facebook, to early church histories.

Fraser Family Tree (Manitoba Branch) www.kenora.net/frazer The history of the Frazer family immigration to Ontario Canada in 1869, and moving on to Manitoba about 1886.

Sidney Museum and Archives http://www.sidneymuseum.ca/ This museum is operated by the Saanich Museum, and follows the history of the people who settled there.

Book Review: The Beginner's Guide to Genealogy

Fraser Dunford, the former executive director of the Ontario Genealogical Society, wrote a small yet delightful and very informative book  a few years ago on what to do as a beginner genealogist. It is to be noted that the book, The Beginner's Guide to Genealogy, is written from the point of view of Ontario records.

In the "Introduction", he says, “This book starts with some of the basic concepts used in genealogy, shows you how to start on your family tree, then looks briefly at two huge topics, evidence and ethics.”

In "How To Do the Basics", he discusses such topics as Family Tree (difference between Ancestor and Descendant trees - with examples), Family Record, BMD, and Dates.

The section, “Where to Find It”, covers Maps, Census, Religious Records, Civil Registration, Municipal Records, Land Records, Newspapers, Immigration/Emigration, and Wills.

Also included is a Glossary, and a Relationship Chart, in addition to other material not mentioned here.

You may also wish to read his companion book, Beginner's Guide to Ontario Genealogy (Toronto: OGS, 2006).

Both books are available from the bookstore at www.ogs.on.ca.