Family Heritage Day

There will be an open house at the Brant Branch OGS, 118 Powerline Rd in Brantford on February the 18th from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm.

All our facilities will be available for examination and research.

No admission charge.

There is adequate parking.

For details and directions please call 519-753-4140 or e-mail brantogs@bellnet.ca

To go to the website, click on to www.ogs.on.ca/brant

Turner Valley Oilfields Death Index

The Alberta Family History Society announces that their Our Projects Committee has been at it again!

This time, they have created a NEW searchable database of over 2,500 records, called the Turner Valley Oilfields Death Index, 1998..

You just put in the surname in the search box, and if your ancestor is there, it will return the surname, given name, date of death, date of burial, the place where the person died, the cemetery where he/she is buried, and the source for the information eg obituary, newspaper article

A big “Thank You” goes out to Florence Denning, and the Our Project Committee for the amount of work in this project, and bringing it to its completion.

To go to the database, click on http://afhs.ab.ca/data/announcements/turner/search.php

Library and Archives Canada Update: Census of the Prairie Provinces, 1916 Database

The Library and Archives Canada has just released this piece of news –

“In 1916, the Canadian government enumerated, for the second time, the Prairie Provinces (Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta) in order to track the high rates of population growth in western Canada.

Previously, users could search only by geographical information such as province, district and sub-district. It is now possible to also search by nominal information such as name, given name(s) and age for an individual.

Previously, users could search only by geographical information such as province, district and sub-district. It is now possible to also search by nominal information such as name, given name(s) and age for an individual”.

Go to www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/census/1916/Pages/1916.aspx

Panel Discussion and Roundtable About the New Canadian Museum of History Will Be Held in Gatineau, Quebec

The Museum of Civilization has issued a press release about a meeting to be held at the museum in Gatineau, Quebec Thursday evening January the 31st. I will be listening in on the webcasts to see what is being said -

“After visiting nine cities, the Canadian Museum of Civilization will hold the last panel discussion and roundtable of its cross-country tour back on home soil at the Museum on Thursday, January 31 to invite the public to participate in the creation of the new Canadian Museum of History.

The new exhibition gallery, which will be inaugurated in 2017, will present the national history of Canada and its people. Representatives from the Museum are travelling the country asking Canadians what they would like to see in this new exhibition.

And now, people in the Ottawa/Gatineau area will be able to give their opinions on the themes, personalities, events and milestones that tell the Canadian story, and choose the objects that they would include in the new Canadian Museum of History.

The public is invited to attend panel and roundtable discussions on Thursday, January 31, from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Grand Hall of the Canadian Museum of Civilization, at 100 Laurier Street in Gatineau, Quebec.

The evening will kick off with a dynamic panel discussion—My History Museum: A to Zed —where special guests will be asked what they would put in a Canadian history museum of their making. It will be followed by a roundtable discussion where the public will be asked how they would like to engage with their national history museum. How can the Museum meet their needs and interests, and what would they like to see included in it?

For those who cannot attend the evening event in person, a virtual roundtable discussion will take place simultaneously. The panel discussions will also be webcast live. To participate in the virtual roundtable and watch the panel discussions, the public will be able to log on during the event through the Museum's website at www.civilization.ca.

Visit the "My History Museum" website to confirm your attendance at the panel and roundtable discussions. If you cannot attend the session in person or virtually, you can also share your ideas with us on the website by participating in a range of activities and by completing the online survey”.

© Elizabeth Lapointe All Rights Reserved

A New Genealogical Society is Born

The Western Genealogical and Historical Association of Newfoundland and Labrador held its first meeting this Saturday at the Grenfell Campus of Memorial University in Corner Brook.

They elected their executive, launched their website (which is very good, and I believe will get better once they put more material on, such as the history of St. Barbe, Ship Registers etc), and it looks like they are off to a fantastic start.

For the news report on the society, go to the website of The Western Star at http://www.thewesternstar.com/News/Local/2013-01-25/article-3163603/First-meeting-of-genealogy-group-set-for-Saturday/1

And to go to their brand new website, it is at www.boigenealogy.com

© Elizabeth Lapointe All Rights Reserved

New/Updated Websites, Blogs, and Newspaper Articles - 28 January 2013

I have come across the following websites, blogs, and newspaper articles this past week that were of interest to me, and I thought you might be interested in them, too –

Canadian Expeditionary Force Study Group http://cefresearch.ca Dedicated to the Study of the Canadian Expeditionary Force of The Great War of 1914 – 1919. If you are looking for an ancestor who fought in the First Would War, this may be the place you have been searching for to place your query.

Grimsby’s pioneer history attracts a wide audience www.niagarathisweek.com/opinion/columns/article/1569117--grimsby-s-pioneer-history-attracts-a-wide-audience Grimsby’s Annals of the Forty, a 10-volume book set written in the 1950s by Ruby Janet Powell, a local descendant of the Pettit family, is being updated by the Grimsby Historical Society.

Five free things to do in Salt Lake City: Take a break from the ski hills and discover museums, Mormon temple www.calgaryherald.com/travel/Five+free+things+Salt+Lake+City/7802881/story.html  A fun piece to read before you go to Salt Lake City.

Tasha Kheiriddin: The problems with the Daniels decision http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2013/01/10/tasha-kheiriddin-the-problems-with-the-daniels-decision The National Post newspaper reports that even though the judgment may be appealed to the Supreme Court, it is likely to have an immediate effects on genealogy websites, as Canadians track down potential native ancestors.

York group helps you learn about your past www.yorkregion.com/news/article/1570197--york-group-helps-you-learn-about-your-past The York Region newspaper repots that Ken Ackles has just been elected as president of the York Region Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society.

To go to the York Region Branch of the OGS, go to www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~onyrbogs

© Elizabeth Lapointe All Rights Reserved

They Have Sold Canada Post Building in Vancouver

The CBC reports that Canada Post has sold its building in Vancouver to a developer, and there one person who is not pleased with this news, and it  is Donald Luxton, president of the local heritage group.

He is afraid the building will be lost forever because it is not officially designated as a heritage building.

Next year, Canada Post will start moving into a new facility being built at Vancouver International Airport

Read about the concern the Luxton has about the building in the CBC story at www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2013/01/26/bc-heritage-concerns-canada-post.html

© Elizabeth Lapointe All Rights Reserved