Top LAC job up for grabs

It appears that the government is starting to look for a person to assume the LAC top archivist and librarian job in the near future. Who will they pick, and more important, what will be the qualifications for the job?

If one looks at the requirements for the job, as people from the archivist and librarian community has done already, the news is not good for the Canadian genealogical community.

It says that it will be an “asset” and not a “requirement” for the successful person to have experience in the library and archivist field.

So, does this leave us with another person like the former LAC head Daniel Caron who was a career bureaucrat and not an archivist or librarian?

To read the story, here is a newspaper article, and a statement by The Canadian Association of Law Libraries -

Joint Statement on Qualities of a Successful Librarian and Archivist of Canada
http://www.callacbd.ca/en/content/joint-statement-qualities-successful-librarian-and-archivist-canada

Top librarian job up for grabs; head of Library and Archives Canada could bag a $226,500 salary http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/national/librarian+grabs+head+Library+Archives+Canada+could/9034221/story.html

Postscript: I would like to thank two of my readers for sending me the news story and the job description.

This is an interesting press release because it shows an alliance has been struck between MyHeritage and FamilySearch. They say it will benefit all family historians. What do you think?

TEL AVIV, Israel & SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – October 9, 2013 – MyHeritage, the popular online family history network, and FamilySearch.org announced today the signing and commencement of a strategic partnership that forges a new path for the family history industry. Under this multi-year partnership, MyHeritage will provide FamilySearch with access to its powerful technologies and FamilySearch will share billions of global historical records and family tree profiles spanning hundreds of years with MyHeritage. This will help millions of MyHeritage and FamilySearch users discover even more about their family history.

FamilySearch will provide MyHeritage with more than 2 billion records from its global historic record collections and its online Family Tree. These records will be added to SuperSearch , MyHeritage’s search engine for historical records, and will be matched with family trees on MyHeritage using its matching technologies. MyHeritage users will gain access to an unprecedented boost of historical records and family tree profiles, which are key to researching and reconstructing their family histories. This reinforces MyHeritage's position as an international market leader, with gigantic assets of family trees and records, which are the most globally diverse in the industry.

FamilySearch members will benefit from MyHeritage's unique technologies which automate family history discoveries. Smart Matching™ automatically finds connections between user-contributed family trees and Record Matching automatically locates historical records relevant to any person in the family tree. By receiving accurate matches between FamilySearch’s Family Tree profiles and historical record collections, such as birth, death, census, and immigration documents, FamilySearch members will be able to more effectively grow their family trees in size and in depth and add conclusions supported by historical records.

“For more than a hundred years, FamilySearch has been dedicated to working with the world’s archives to preserve their records for future generations” said Gilad Japhet, Founder and CEO of MyHeritage. “Their massive undertaking has made family history more accessible to everyone. This partnership highlights MyHeritage’s technology leadership and our firm commitment to adding historical records on a massive global scale, accelerating our vision of helping families everywhere explore and share their legacy online. We look forward to a fruitful future working hand in hand with our friends at FamilySearch.”

“FamilySearch values collaborative partnerships that enable more people, in more places, to discover their family history” said Dennis Brimhall, CEO of FamilySearch. “MyHeritage is an innovative company that has a fast growing, global online audience. We are excited to commence this partnership which enables FamilySearch to better serve the global family history community.”

Postscript: I would like to say thank you to the reader who sent me notice of this press release.

Chatham-Kent library week

There are many events planned for Chatham-Kent Library Week from October 20 to the 26th.

Ontario Public Library Week began in 1985 and has become the annual focus for promoting and recognizing public library service in the province. This year's theme is "libraries connect,"

One event which caught my eye, are the talks given by Jerry Hind at the different branches of the library. Jerry and the local International Order Daughters of the Empire (I.O.D.E) “have been working on an ambitious project to compile all the information they can find on Chatham-Kent’s World War I and World War II veterans. Some of this information has been found in the library materials!”

Their research has culminated in a federally sponsored website Gathering Our Heroes and it’s at http://www.gatheringourheroes.ca/

Tillbury Branch Tuesday, October 15 at 6:00 - 7:00 PM

Ridgetown Branch Tuesday, October 22 at 6:00 - 7:00 PM

Dresden Branch Tuesday, October 29 at 6:00 - 7:00 PM

Wallaceburg Branch Tuesday, November 5 at 6:00 - 7:00 PM

Blenheim Branch Wednesday, November 13 at 1:00 - 2:00 PM

One thing to note in the Ontario Genealogical Society (OGS) is that an article which will appear in the November issue of the journal Families. The article is called Blacks in the Great War (First World War) is written by Jerry Hind where he writes about the Blacks in Chatham-Kent.

While you are at the library site, they have a Genealogy Room where you can spend time Tracing Your Roots in Chatham-Kent.

It is at http://www.chatham-kent.ca/PublicLibraries/Genealogy/Pages/Tracing%20Your%20Roots%20in%20Chatham-Kent.aspx

Canadian Week in Review 14 October 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

The Provincial Archives of New Brunswick. http://archives.gnb.ca/archives/default.aspx?culture=en-CA In addition to the vast databases that they have put on during the previous years, they have added 1918 births to their online places to check.

Blogs

Understanding Your DNA Results: Comparison Charts
http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com/2013/10/understanding-your-dna-results.html Lorine, on her blog, Olive Tree Genealogy, discusses the role that DNA plays in genealogy.

Facebook, Videos, You Tube

No new websites this week

Newspapers Articles of the Week

David Chuenyan Lai: He has visited more than 40 Chinatowns and mapped their history http://www.theprovince.com/life/David+Chuenyan+visited+more+than+Chinatowns+mapped+their+history/8998098/story.html Imagine that when David Chuenyan Lai came to the University of Victoria in 1968, he couldn’t find a single book in Chinese in its library.
Today, the retired geography professor has written nearly a dozen books on Chinese-Canadian history, and has visited nearly 40 Chinese communities in Canada.

Finding family roots may mean finding yourself - Metis genealogists search through family myths http://www.stalbertgazette.com/article/20131006/SAG0801/310069999/finding-family-roots-may-mean-finding-yourself Read how a person is finding her roots, and herself through her ancestors.

Greber family donates records to South Peace Archives http://www.dailyheraldtribune.com/2013/10/08/greber-family-donates-records-to-south-peace-archives The Hodgson family from Hythe have donated family archives to the South Peace Archives, Alberta. Also watch for a blog about Edna Greber’s scrapbook by her daughter-in-law, Patricia Greber.

Designs Unveiled of the Sir John A. MacDonald Heritage Building http://dcnonl.com/nw/34709/gc The former Bank of Montreal building, at 144 Wellington Street, in Ottawa, is being redesigned to permanently house the Confederation Room (Room 200), formerly in the West Block, across the street, on Parliament Hill.

BRIDPORT: Memory walk will rediscover forgotten West Bay heritage http://www.viewfrompublishing.co.uk/news_view/28571/7/1/bridport-memory-walk-will-rediscover-forgotten A ‘memory walk’ around West Bay hopes to rediscover some of the heritage of Bridport’s harbour in Newfoundland.

Story of the Week

Call for presenters at 2014 Webinars

The Ontario Genealogical society is joining other societies in presenting Webinars so that it’s members can be better educated and knowledgeable in the business of the society.

In 2014, the Webinars will be presented on a monthly basis, and they are looking for new and experienced speakers with topics about Canada, in particular Ontario, as well as ethnic groups such as Irish, Scottish, English, French, German. Presentations about DNA, methodology, and technology/social media in family history will also be considered

Please send individually up to four topics including your most requested, and new presentations.

What to include:
• Your name
• Mailing address
• Telephone number
• Email address and website
• Audience Level
• Name of Presentation
• Summary of your presentation (250 characters maximum)
• Short Bio (50 words maximum)
• Speaking experience within the last 18 months

Each submission should have a unique subject heading (i.e. kathrynlakehogan1)
Email your submissions no later than 11:59 pm ET, October 31, 2013 to:
Kathryn Lake Hogan, Ontario Genealogical Society Webinar Coordinator at webinar@ogs.on.ca

The next Webinar will be in November, and All OGS members are invited to sign to hear Thomas MacEntee.

Title: You Use WHAT for Genealogy? Wonderful Uses for Unusual Tools

Date: Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Time: 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM EST

Space is limited. Reserve your Webinar seat now at https://www4.gotomeeting.com/register/706504023.

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

Reminder: Check out Canadian Week in Review every Monday for the latest in Genealogy, Heritage, and History news in Canada. It’s the ONLY news blog of its kind in country! The next post will be on 21 October, 2013

York Region Ancestors Fall Issue

The fall newsletter of the York Region of the OGS has two articles about the Upper Canada Sundries, New Research opportunities from the Library and Archives Canada, Aliens in the Township of Markham, and the Vaughn Memorial Project.

The first two articles involve land records in Upper Canada, and gives very good advice in finding people within the microfilm.

We are reminded that there are two places to check (FREE) and they are Janice Nickerson’s website at http://www.uppercanadagenealogy.com and Michael Stephenson’s website http://www.ontariogenealogy.com/uppercanadasundries.html for sundries files.

If you have had difficulty finding aliens in the 19th century in the Township of Markham, maybe you should look at the list in this newsletter. There are fifteen names on the list for the year 1815, and they were taken from the sundries list.

The City of Vaughan Archives are putting together a Memory Project and Exhibit, and are asking people who use to live, or are living in the area to collect oral histories, and send them to the archives once finished.

The person in charge of this project is Brenda Hicock and she can be reached by Brenda.hicock@vaughan.ca

If you would like to receive this newsletter four times a year, you can join the York Region by going to the http://www.rootsweb.com/~onyrbogs

Fall 2013 Anglo-Celtic Roots

The British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa (BIFHSGO)has issued the fall edition of its journal the Anglo-Celtic Roots.

There are a number of articles in this issue, and they are –

The Cowley Family Saga: From Sherwood Forest to the NHL – Part I by Christine Jackson which talks about the role that the Crowley family (they arrived in the Ottawa area from England in the 1830s) played in the development of the Ottawa Valley, and of Champlain Park, a housing development in the west end of Ottawa in the 1950s.

Found in a Monastery? by Brian D. Cook is a summary of what happened to tracing his maternal great-grandfather – Cuthbert Baker – from help by the BIFHSGO society, and genetic genealogy. .. and the records of the Benedictine Monastery in Europe.

The Cutler Genealogical Odyssey by Gillian Leitch tells of she successfully traced John Cutler from Eton, England who was employed as a clerk at the Tower of London. It is a fascinating story!

In the From the President message, Glenn Wright, says that they have imitated two projects that will result in two databases – the pre-Confederate immigrants from the British Isles (which will hold important names for researchers), and the second one will concern the First World War. So stayed tuned for developments on that front.

Betty Warburton keeps us up-to-date on the happenings at the library at the Archive of Ottawa, this month she tells us of the books on Ireland; John D. Reid talks about Canadiana.org, and the 1921 Census in The Cream of the Crop, and Ian White writes about The Ottawa City Archives: a Treasure Chest for Genealogists.

The Anglo-Celtic Roots (ACR) is available as a member benefit of BIFHSGO when you join the organization.

To join as a member, go to http://www.bifhsgo.ca

Canada Passenger Lists, 1881-1922

They have added new index records and digital images to the ships' passenger lists (also known as ships' manifests or seaport records of entry) at FamilySearch.

It contains records for the ports of Quebec City, 1900-1921; Halifax, 1881-1922; Saint John, 1900-1912; North Sydney, 1906-1912; Vancouver, 1905-1912; Victoria, 1905-1912; New York, 1906-1912; and Eastern US Ports, 1905-1912.

The lists for United States ports include only those names of passengers with intentions of proceeding directly to Canada

Hint: If you have a surname that you suspect was spelled differently in the immigrant records, this record at FamilySearch is a good way to catch those surnames...

Go to the website at https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1823240?ET_CID=45596243&ET_RID=genealogycanada@aol.com