Spring Seminar Series - New Brunswick Genealogical Society

In April, the New Brunswick Genealogical Society is holding three Spring Seminars on the calendar, and they are –

Exploring the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick Website

On Saturday, April 13th, there will be a meeting at 10:00 am to 12:00 am at the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick, 23 Dineen Drive (UNB Campus) Fredericton, NB. The talk will be presented by Mary-Ellen Badeau. 

The Loyalist Collection (Harriet Irving Library UNB)

On Saturday, April 20th, there will be a meeting from 10:00 am to 12:00 am at the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick, 23 Dineen Drive (UNB Campus) Fredericton, NB, and it will be presented by Kathryn Hilder.

New Brunswick Court Records

On Saturday, April 27th, there will be a meeting from 10:00 am to 12:00 am at the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick, 23 Dineen Drive (UNB Campus) Fredericton, NB, and the talk will be given by Joanna Aiton-Kerr.

There is no registration fee for this seminar. There will be a donation basket in the room for donations to the Associates of the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick.

Bring your own lunch. Research time in the afternoon.

To read about other programs available in April, go to www.nbgs.ca/events.php

Bytown/Ottawa Settlers in the 1800s

Jim Stanzell, from the Ottawa Branch of the OGS, says today that he will post the settlers of three distinct settlements in the Ottawa area during the 1800s on the Ottawa Branch blogsite .

The settlements are –

1. Hull, Quebec settled by Philemon Wright in 1800

2. Richmond Military Settlement, mainly Goulbourn Twp, Richmond, Stittsville and Ashton area, which started in the fall of 1818 and consisted mainly of soldiers of the 99th/100th Reg't

3. Rideau Canal settlement started when Lt/Col John By came to the area [eventually Bytown ] in 1826/1827 to build the Rideau Canal

He says that he will post on alternate Wednesdays between visits to Ottawa City Archives where he will gather info/data to post and rotate thru the three settlements above.

In 2 weeks time, on the 10 Apr 2013, there will be data/info on Hull and Philemon Wright settlers.

To read the post, go to  http://ogsottawa.blogspot.com/2013/03/bytownottawa-settlers.html

Manitoba Genealogical Society is going to have online databases

The MGS recently made an announcement that they are planning to put online indexes of cemeteries, vital records information etc and it will be available to members and non-members alike.  The records will be on a pay-for-view basis.

They say that they will have indexes of historical records that even Ancestry.ca does not have!

Also, some time ago, I read that the Manitoba Genealogical Society was offering a discount on membership fees if you were also a member of the Ontario Genealogical Society and/or the Saskatchewan Genealogical Society.

I had an inquiry into the society about the amount of the discount before I reported it to my readers, and now I have the answer - the discount is $5.00 CDN.

Thank to the MGS for letting us know of their plans for 2013, and beyond. This sounds exciting, and I look forward to it as I have the family of Rev. Joseph Hogg from Nova Scotia in Manitoba at the turn of the 20th century.

To go to their website, go to www.mbgenealogy.com

2013 AGS Conference

The Alberta Genealogical Society invites you to join them in celebrating their 40th Anniversary Conference “Same Roots, Different Branches” at the Chateau Louis Conference Centre, Edmonton, Alberta on 20 & 21 April 2013.

The conference committee have the pleasure of bringing the most electrifying and diverse international, regional and local speakers to maximize your conference experience.

The lineup of presenters include:

Stephen Young

Lisa Louise Cooke

Dave Obee

Pat Ryan

Deanna Bullock

Lyn Meehan

John Althouse

Alison Freake

Vernon R. Wishart

The conference opens with Stephen C. Young, a project manager with FamilySearch. His topic will be FamilySearch: Genealogy at Your Fingertips. Stephen will explore features and services on FamilySearch, WIKI that provides valuable research guidance, and information about indexing—an opportunity to “pay-it-forward”.

Fot those who are new to genealogy, there will be A Beginner’s Track is recommended for those just starting, however all participants at any level are more than welcome to attend.

Numerous door prizes, vendor merchandise and publications from AGS Branches will be for sale. And attendees have the privilege of pre-conference tours to Edmonton’s diverse specialized libraries and archives on Friday, 19 April 2013.

Registrations are now being accepted at www.abgensoc.ca/events.html#agsconf

Early bird special will end soon!

Ealy bird registration will end on March 31st, 2013 at the OGS Conference in Oshawa this year.

For all other questions, please email Anne Delong, Conference Chair, at conference2013@ogs.on.ca and she will either answer your question or direct you to someone who can.

To read all about the conference, go to www.ogs.on.ca/conference2013

Nova Scotia Genealogy Website Available in French

The website with nearly a million possibilities for people to search for their Nova Scotia roots is now available in French.

The Historical Vital Statistics website, maintained by the Nova Scotia Archives, has a searchable database containing nearly one million personal names. Each is linked to a corresponding birth, death or marriage registration, digitized and available online. The earliest records date from the mid-1700s and the most recent from the 1960s.

"One of the ways the province is making life better for Acadian and francophone families is by creating more access to bilingual services online," said Communities Culture and Heritage Minister Leonard Preyra. "The Historical Vital Statistics website is an invaluable genealogical tool for Nova Scotians to explore our family history and learn more about our culture and heritage."

The website is the only one of its kind in Canada that people can browse for records about their genealogy free of charge. The website is a popular destination for family history researchers and community historians from Nova Scotia and around the world.

To search for records on the Historical Vital Statistics website go to www.novascotiagenealogy.com. People can also purchase electronic or paper copies of the documents by ordering online and paying via secure credit card transaction.

The Historical Vital Statistics website includes records transferred from Vital Statistics after 100 years for births, 50 years for deaths and 75 years for marriages.

The United Church of Canada’s Toronto Archives Is Moving

This is a press release that was released on their website on March 6, 2013, and may be of interest to my readers -

Toronto: The United Church of Canada announced today that its Toronto-based archives will be moving this summer from its current location at the United Church’s national office in west-end Toronto to the Toronto Christian Resource Centre in the Regent Park neighbourhood of downtown Toronto.

In announcing the decision on the new location for the archives, Nora Sanders, General Secretary of the General Council, said, “I am pleased that this move will mean not only that we will be saving a considerable amount of money but also that as a tenant we will be financially supporting a local United Church ministry.”

Sanders says that in addition to being able to house the United Church’s archival collection now located at the General Council Office at 3250 Bloor Street West in Toronto, the new location at 40 Oak Street offers more than enough space to accommodate records that are currently stored off-site at an archival facility.

She explains the decision to move the archives ahead of the anticipated relocation of the General Council Office to Bloor Street United Church in 2018 was an opportunity that made financial sense for all parties to the five-year lease agreement.

The United Church of Canada supports a network of archives situated in eight different locations throughout Canada. The archives in Toronto manages the records of the General Council and the Central Ontario Conference records of Bay of Quinte, London, Hamilton, Manitou, and Toronto Conferences and their respective presbyteries and pastoral charges. The church’s archives outside of Ontario are not affected by the move.

The United Church’s Toronto archives moved to its current location in 2008, after more than 50 years on the campus of the University of Toronto’s Victoria University. No decision has been made about whether the Archives will move again when the General Council Office relocates to Bloor Street United Church.

Nichole Vonk, General Council Archivist, will oversee the monumental task of moving close to 20,000 boxes of records to the new site. The church will be contracting specialized movers, the new location will meet the institutional standards set by the Canadian Council of Archives, and all the records will continue to be administered by professional staff.

Although not located directly on a subway line, the Archives’ new location at 40 Oak Street is easily accessible by public transit, will have on-site parking, and is closer to the United Church’s theological school at the University of Toronto.

While planning and preparations are underway to move the collection from its current location,

•the Archives will remain open during regular public hours until June 6, 2013.

•the Archives will not receive any records deposits after April 30, 2013. Records can be donated to the Archives when it reopens in September 2013.

•the Archives will be closed to all researchers June 10–September 15, 2013, reopening in the new location September 16, 2013.

•the Archives will continue to provide reference service for certificates or legal requests while it is closed to the public.

Vonk emphasizes that, throughout the transition, the church remains committed to providing continued uninterrupted, open access to its archival records related to residential schools for the purposes of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

For up-to-date information about The United Church of Canada’s archival programs and on the move, see the Archives webpage. Questions and concerns about the move should be directed to Nichole Vonk, General Council Archivist.

The archival website is at www.united-church.ca/local/archives/on