Mini-biographies of the pioneers of York County, Ontario

York County GenWeb, under the leadership of Sherri Pettit and Fred Appleton, started a place last year to put mini-biographies of early settlers in York County on the website at http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~onyork/early-residents.html

So far, the settlers who have been placed there are

Pioneer Residents of Georgina Township

EZRA SHERWOOD

ROBERT RIDDELL

ARCHIBALD RIDDELL

Pioneer Residents of Markham Township

William Robson

Pioneer Residents of Whitchurch-Stouffville Township

In the Whitchurch Township, there is a list of records of the land patents issued in the earlier years of the settlement, and there are mini-biographies of

CHRISTOPHER SMITH

CHARLES APPLETON

Although these are not in-depth biographical studies, there may be information there that could be treated as a clue, and it could lead to a new discovery in your family history.

OGS is seeking an individual for Publishing Committee

For many years, the OGS has had a publishing committee, and part of its mandate has been publishing genealogy resource books.

The Publishing Committee is now looking for “an energetic individual interested in the world of Canadian genealogy to chair the OGS Publishing Committee. We are looking for someone with an understanding of the publication process, and a vision for the future of OGS publishing”.

The volunteer would help to

- determine current needs with regards to genealogical publications and work to develop publications to fulfill these needs,

- receive and develop publication proposals with possible authors,

- establish and follow budgets for the titles being published,

- develop marketing plans for titles

If you are interested, please contact the OGS Executive Director at ed@ogs.on.ca to discuss your skills and ideas.

Voices of the Past

Merv Scott, Project Director of the Victoria Genealogical Society has sent this notice to me. It sounds like a good idea. Are there any other societies doing a program like this?

“Our not for profit and volunteer run society is proud to announce the
launch of a new and free community service called "Voices of the Past"
and we hope that you will help us to get the word out to seniors in
our community.

The website is http://www.victoriags.org/voices

These recordings are then published/posted on our new website for
Voices of the Past at www.victoriags.org/voices where family members,friends and others can enjoy them now and in the future, and from
anywhere in the world.

The first few stories have been recorded by our volunteers and are now available on the Voices of the Past webpages. Other upcoming recording sessions are scheduled at the Greater Victoria Public Library on November 15 and December 10 (see GVPL programs website) and at the Victoria Genealogical Society Resource Centre on November 21. Recordings are free but advance registrations is required by email to projects@victoriags.org

We hope seniors don't miss this limited time opportunity to have their story, or their loved one's story, recorded for posterity.

For more info check out our fhs website at http://www.victoriags.org
and if any fhs out there wants to know how we did this please email
direct”.

1921 Canadian Census

The every name index to the 1921 Canadian Census is now on Ancestry.ca at http://www.ancestry.ca/census

Global Genealogy – Used Book Sale

Global Genealogy tells us that they are having a 50% off sale until Oct 31st at midnight on all Used Book and Book-on-CD sale.

Rick Roberts says that “we acquired several collections of USED and antiquarian genealogy and history books that we are selling off at a deep discount”.

Include the following coupon code used-books-only when you order.

Their site is www.globalgenealogy.com  

Canadian Week in Review 28 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

Find a Family History Center

https://familysearch.org/locations/centerlocator?s=Alberta There are over 4,500 centres throughout the world, and everyone of them are on a map showing their location. This is a good thing to know because when RootsTech 2014 is held in February, it will be live streamed videos in various centers worldwide from Salt Lake City, Utah.

Blogs

Call for Bloggers: Canadianmilitaryhistory.ca Wants Contributions from YOU http://www.canadianmilitaryhistory.ca/call-for-bloggers-canadianmilitaryhistory-ca-wants-contributions-from-you/ Here is your chance to blog about Canadian military history.

Facebook, Videos, You Tube 

How did your street get its name? http://www.yorktonnews.com/article/20131024/YORKTONNEWS0101/310249996/-1/YORKTONNEWS01/how-did-your-street-get-its-name This is not only a column, but also a podcast which appears weekly with interesting stories about Canada.

Newspapers Articles of the Week

Heritage trades celebrated in Hamilton http://dcnonl.com/article/id57550/--heritage-trades-celebrated-in-hamilton The exhibit is entitled Building Our Futures, Preserving Our Pasts: A Celebration of Southern Ontario’s Heritage Building Trades and it is opening in Hamilton. 

History of slavery at Windsor heritage home being examined http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/history-of-slavery-at-windsor-heritage-home-being-examined-1.2224245 Camille Turner, a researcher from Toronto, is in Windsor, Ontario researching the role that slaves played in the life of Francois Baby and the Baby House, which was used as headquarters in the War of 1812.

Historical ghost walk in Windsor an enlightening good time http://www.novanewsnow.com/Community/2013-10-22/article-3435796/Historical-ghost-walk-in-Windsor-an-enlightening-good-time/1Windsor, Nova Scotia use to be called the Athens of Nova Scotia, and now is the home of ghost stories and walks. The events are put on by the West Hants Historical Society Museum and Quick As A  Wink Theatre Society. The next event will be November the 9^th at 7:30.

Governor General's Awards Recognize Five Canadian Women Marking the 84th Anniversary of the Persons Case http://www.sacbee.com/2013/10/21/5839187/governor-generals-awards-recognize.html#storylink=cpy Persons Day is celebrated annually during Women's History Month in Canada, and this year marks the 34th year of the awards.

The five women are

Constance Backhouse - Ottawa, Ontario

Nahanni Fontaine - Winnipeg, Manitoba

Susan Shiner - St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador

Julie Lalonde - Ottawa, Ontario (Youth Recipient)

Cherry Smiley - Vancouver, British Columbia (Youth Recipient)

Story of the Week

Glenbow Archives has Métis genealogy

Glenbow Library & Archives in Calgary has a wide variety of Métis genealogy on hand to research. The sources cover Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and some parts of the Northwest Territories, Ontario, and British Columbia.

They say that some of the genealogical sources unique to Glenbow are

§  Charles Denney Métis Genealogical Collection. Files on over 1,200 families with roots in the Canadian fur trade and the Red River Settlement.

§  Gail Morin Métis Database. A database consisting of pedigree charts of over 40,000 Métis individuals.

§  T. R. "Pat" McCloy Genealogical Collection. Includes a card file on Métis families.

§  Warren Sinclair's Metis Genealogy Collection. Well-documented files on over 900 Canadian Metis families.

§  Geoff Burtonshaw's Metis Genealogy Research Collection. Files created by well-known Metis researcher, who also published "The Metis Newsletter".

§  Métis Scrip applications. Records of the three Canadian Métis Scrip commissions, 1870-1902, and these original records are held at the National Archives of Canada.

The website is http://ww.glenbow.org

Reminder: Check the Canadian Week in Review next 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 04 November 2013.

Take a survey!

The OGS Conference committee wants to hear from you!

They have put a survey on their conference page at OGS, so that you can help them to decide.  

There are five tours for you to choose from, and they all look good.

The five tours are -

Half Day visit to Niagara Falls

Afternoon Historic Wine Tour

A visit to Fort George - Optional Visit to McFarland House & Tea Room

Old Fort Erie Battlefield Tour

A Historic Journey though Niagara on the Lake

To take the survey, go to http://www.ogs.on.ca/conference2014/tours_survey/tours.php