St. Patrick’s Society of Richmond & Vicinity, Quebec

This year the St. Patrick’s Society of Richmond & Vicinity is celebrating its 135th anniversary with the publication of a book on local Irish history called Irish Settlement and National Identity in the Lower St. Francis Valley. It is written by Peter Southam, a retired history professor from University of Sherbrooke.

The book describes 200 years of Irish presence in the Lower St-Francis Valley, a section of Quebec’s Eastern Townships that surrounds the Town of Richmond. Much of the information for the book was provided by local families. Part I deals with Irish rural settlements and Part II focuses on the Richmond’s St-Patrick’s Society.

Books are available at Townshippers’ Association (819-566-5717), Black Cat Books in Lennoxville, and Papeterie 2000 or Loretta at 819-826-2658 in Richmond.

Visit www.richmondstpats.org for information on the society, and the book.

Canada Book Day

To mark Canada Book Day, the Library and Archives Canada takes a closer look at the collection of early 20th-century Canadian publications available in the Electronic Collection of Library and Archives Canada.

The website address is www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/electroniccollection/index-e.html

71st Annual National Volunteer Week Apr 21 - 27

National Volunteer Week pays tribute to the millions of Canadian volunteers who donate their time and talents to our communities.

This special event began in 1943 to draw attention to the vital contribution women made to the war effort on the home front. Although this week was largely forgotten after the war ended, it experienced a revival in the late 1960s, when organizations stressed the importance of thanking volunteers across Canada.

This is the largest celebration of civic participation in Canada.

CanadaGenWeb www.facebook.com/pages/CanadaGenWeb-Cemetery-Project/150618738362392?fref=ts On their Facebook page, CanadaGenWeb's Cemetery Project publicly says ‘Thank you” to its volunteers.

The Cemetery Project is a program is run entirely by volunteers, and it would not be able to offer a cemetery directory, transcripts, indexes and photos without their commitment and support.

Canadian Week in Review

22 April 2013

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

Websites

Wesleyan Methodist Baptisms http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~wjmartin/wesleyan.htm I have been to this place many times over the years, and it is still valuable site to search for baptisms. The index has been compiled by Ida Reed in 2001.

There are 101,461 records included here on almost 1800 pages. They are Vol. 1, baptisms, 1825-ca. 1860; Vol. 2, baptisms, 1840s-ca. 1870; Vol. 3, baptisms, 1850s-1870s; Locality index to vol. 3, and Vol. 4, baptisms, 1860s-1910.

Storytelling www.cyndislist.com/storytelling A new Category Index has been put on Cyndi’s List entitled Storytelling on April 1st. Currently, it is divided into General Resources, Photographs & Memories, and Vendors.

Blog

Canadiana Blogs In addition to the excellent article byJohn D. Reid called Ontario Local and Family History at Canadiana.org on his blog http://anglo-celtic-connections.blogspot.com/2013/04/ontario-local-and-family-history-at.html about the Canadian site, they also have blogs at the  site.

Some of the blogs are Daniel Velarde's write about New collections coming to Canadiana, and there is Beth's blog who write about Improving access to Canada's digital heritage.

These blogs are at www.canadiana.ca/en/blog

Good blogs!

Facebook - Video – You Tube

YouTube Timeline of Quebec History www.youtube.com/watch?v=c70_b83YXUU There is a Timeline of Quebec’s History on a YouTube video. The one I watched was the granting women the vote, in Quebec and I found it worth looking at.

Newspaper Articles

Book review: A home child attempts to reconnect with her family www.timescolonist.com/entertainment/book-review-a-home-child-attempts-to-reconnect-with-her-family-1.110493 A review of a book which recounts the life of a home child at the Prince of Wales Fairbridge Farm School, a home for children from the British Isles who had been orphaned or given up because of financial hardship

Chinese restaurant exhibit in Royal Alberta Museum http://beaconnews.ca/blog/2013/04/chinese-restaurant-exhibit-in-royal-alberta-museum Chop Suey on the Prairies, the title of the exhibit at the Royal Alberta Museum, will run until April 27 next year. It will “provide detailed knowledge surrounding ownership and patronage of Chinese restaurants in Alberta, and more importantly, the cultural lessons behind their Chinese character”.

Transforming Canada's Parliament Hill www.cgw.com/Press-Center/In-Focus/2013/Transforming-Canadas-Parliament-Hill.aspx I saw this last summer and it is a show that should not be missed. It is entitled "Mosaika - Canada Through the Eyes of Its People", and it begins July 10 and ends September 7 this year.

How Avonlea Village brings Anne Shirley to life every summer www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/small-business/sb-growth/day-to-day/how-avonlea-village-brings-anne-shirley-to-life-every-summer/article10864971A Q & A about how Avonlea bring Anne Shirley to life every summer.

Pictures and Story of the Week

FamilySearch Launches New Site

FamilySearch put on several “site enhancements” to their website this past week.

The announcement says the site enhancements will "allow visitors to collaboratively build their family tree online, preserve and share precious family photos and stories, and receive personal research assistance—all for free."

Besides the recently released FamilySearch Family Tree, new FamilySearch.org features include -

Photos and Stories, a Fan Chart, and Live Help site. You call or chat with a FamilySearch volunteer online, or find a FamilySearch Center/Family History Center nearest your home.

So far, not everyone is pleased with the “site enhancements”, especially the more experience genealogists. There has been a problem with what is perceived as the “setting back” of research records to a secondary role. The researchers say that it appears that FamilySearch is going for a younger audience, pointing out the stories of their ancestors is first in their minds rather than researching Family History per se. What do you think? 

A good summary of Monday evening’s discussion about FamilySearch is on Dear Myrt’s blog Thursday, April 18, 2013 called Thoughts on FamilySearch Redesign http://blog.dearmyrtle.com/2013/04/thoughts-on-familysearch-redesign.html

They also have a series of videos on the site, which act as the introduction to FamilySearch, and the emphasis on family stories.

On Wednesday, April 24, Legacy Webinars is having What's New at FamilySearch by Devin Ashby at http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/webinars.asp

The website says “What are the latest tools from FamilySearch and how can I use them in my research? Come learn about new products and initiatives that are making a difference in the genealogy community. Learn how to save time and money in order to get the job done”.

I will be listening!

Look for more articles next Monday April 29th.

Name Changed to The Canadian Week in Review

On April 23, 2012, I started a new post called the New/Updated CANADIAN Websites, Blogs, Facebook, and Newspaper Articles.

But the title of the post was too long and cumbersome. So for the first anniversary of the post, I have decided to change the title to a more easily remembered one. The new title will be The Canadian Week in Review.

It will still cover great Canadian genealogy, heritage, and history news from across the country, and it will still appear each Monday morning.

Elizabeth

UPDATE: OGS Conference 2013

There are two updates to the Conference 2013 agenda, and they are –

There will be free access to online databases at OGS Conference 2013.

The OGS Conference is opening up three online organizations to research. They have agreed to allow OGS Conference registrants to access their databases free of charge in the Research Room during the conference.

These are Ancestry.ca, Find My Past, and the British Newspaper Archives.

And the second update concerns the workshops on Friday.

The workshop by Richard Doherty called The Scots-Irish: Origins, Emigration, Religion, and Research Sources to be held on Friday afternoon is full.

So, a second session will be designated as A-5, and it will be held Friday morning from 9:30 to 12:00. If you have already registers for Friday afternoon, but would like to change it to the afternoon, please e-mail the OGS Provincial Office at provoffice@ogs.on.ca or phone 416-489-0734.

The conference information is at www.ogs.on.ca/conference2013/home

“Thank You” to my readers

I would like to say a heartfelt “Thank You” to all of my readers who passed on their kind words to me when my blog was named as one of the Top 40 Blogs of 2013 by the FamilyTree Magazine.

There are many things planned for 2013 with the blog, so keep  checking my blog every day.

To check all of the blog which were named by FamilyTree Magazine, click http://familytreemagazine.com/article/Top-40-Genealogy-Blogs-2013

Elizabeth

Changes Coming to Archives of Ontario Reading Room

They are calling it an “enhancement” to their Reading Room, as they will be greening their print services and adding internet access to all public computer stations in the Rotunda.

They will be

reducing the number of printers in the Reading Room and placing a 20 page limit on printing. Patrons are asked to support the Green Initiative by emailing the materials to a personal email or saving the research materials to a USB stick

But, all printing charges will remain the same. All printing will be picked up and paid for at reception.

Enhanced Internet Access:

With internet access available at all computer stations in the Reading Room, researchers will now be able to

•access the new Vital Statistics data base for 1915 Birth Records, 1940 Death Records and 1930 Marriage Records (in-house only)

•send research material via email attachments (e.g., VS database images, microfilm images, and information from webpages and web documents)

•save large size images and other research materials to an USB stick - free of charge. (You must supply your own USB stick.)

*Size limits may apply

The Archives of Ontario website is at www.archives.gov.on.ca/en