Canadian Week in Review 09 December 2013

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

Websites

No new websites this week.

Social Media

South Peace Regional Archives http://southpeacearchives.org/ It was founded in 2000 and is the first regional archives in Alberta. It covers the district of Alberta - the City of Grande Prairie, the County of Grande Prairie, the Municipal District of Greenview, and the Municipal District of Spirit River.

Who’s Your Grandaddy http://whosyourgrandaddy.ca/A genealogical research service specializing in the acquisition of documents relating to Canadian research for the following provinces - British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec.

News Articles

Poster contest draws on military history http://lethbridgeherald.com/news/local-news/2013/12/poster-contest-draws-on-military-history/ Read about how the entrants are down this year in the student poster contest for Remembrance Day at the Lethbridge Legion, Alberta.

St. Louis: Ship of Fate exhibit at Museum of Industry http://www.ngnews.ca/News/Local/2013-12-06/article-3532713/St.-Louis%3A-Ship-of-Fate-exhibit-at-Museum-of-Industry/1This exhibit tells of the St. Louis, a ship of Jewish refugees from the Second World War who were not allowed to enter into Canada.

Local’s search for family history leads to university degree at age 76 http://www.lucknowsentinel.com/2013/12/04/locals-search-for-family-history-leads-to-university-degree-at-age-76 This article is about Carolyn Helfenstein, the editor of The Teeswater News from Bruce County, Ontario who went to university to earn her diploma at age 76. Her thesis was called “In Search of an Identity,” which she intends to turn into a book called “Rock Solid: The people of Newfoundland.”

Rose Murray updates classic Christmas cookbook with more history, new recipes http://www.brandonsun.com/lifestyles/breaking-news/rose-murray-updates-classic-christmas-cookbook-with-more-history-new-recipes-234464131.html?thx=y With so many cookbooks out at Christmas, it’s often hard to choose which one to buy, but here is one that combines Canadian history and cooking.

Harrietsfield man helps re-create history http://globalnews.ca/news/1005211/harrietsfield-man-helps-re-create-history/ Global News reports that Blair Higgins is the president of Loyalist Arms and Repair, a company in Harrietsfield (outside of Halifax) that specializes in recreating historical props inspired by the 17th or 18th century.

More bones found during Queen Street road work. Workers stumbles on old Methodist cemetery, an early 19th century burial ground http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/more-bones-found-during-queen-street-road-work-1.2455001This is the third finding on human bones under Queen Street since September. People think they are connected to the 19th century Methodist Cemetery that once was on the site.

Story of the Week

Christmas Lights Across Canada

For the past 29 years, Ottawa has led to country in the Christmas Lights Across Canada.

As in past years the official illumination ceremony took place on Thursday, December 5, 2013 at 6 p.m. on Parliament Hill and was hosted by Benoit Huot, Paralympic gold medalist, and Jean-Luc Brassard, Olympic gold medalist and Assistant Chef de Mission of the Canadian Olympic Team for Sochi 2014

They were joined The Honourable Shelly Glover, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages, and a representative of Manulife Financial.

Adding to the festive mood of the evening, the celebration included performances by the Dunlop Public School Choir and Big Soul Project, a community gospel and groove choir.

The ceremony was broadcasted live on Rogers TV, Cable 22, in Ottawa, and an edited version will be re-broadcast throughout the holiday season on community cable stations across Canada.

Those in attendance were invited to indulge in some favourite winter treats: BeaverTails® pastries, hot chocolate and roasted marshmallows (free while supplies last).

For more information on the Christmas Lights Across Canada program, members of the public can contact 613-239-5000, 1-800-465-1867 or visit www.canadascapital.gc.ca. TTY (text telephone for the hearing impaired) is available at: 613-239-5090 or toll-free 1-866-661-3530.

You can also go to http://www.pch.gc.ca/eng/1379447340362

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 16 December 2013.

Connections Journal Autumn 2013 Issue

The fall issue of the Connections journal has been sent out by the Quebec Family History Society located in Montreal.

There are many short articles in this issue, and they are –

The Farnsworth/Phaneuf Connections by Rene E. Peron in which the author writes about the connections between the two families going back 300 years.

Captives Carried to Canada During the French and Indian Wars by Dawn Miller Quellette in which she talks about the Farnsworth family as it is related in the book New England Captives Carried to Canada – 1677 – 1760 by author Emma Lewis Coleman.

Pilgrimage for Bert: Remembering the 1^st Anti-Tank Regiment, 1^st Canadian Divison by Shelia Snow Wilkins in which Wilkins writes about the trip she and her husband took to Sicily this past summer to visit the places where her father fought in the Second World War.

Filles du Roi: Brides of New France by Dawn Miller Ouellette writes about the young women who came to New France looking for a husband. One thing new I learned that if they did not find a suitable suitor in Quebec City, they would travel on to Three Rivers, and then to Montreal, if they did not find a man to marry.

Ouellette also has written an article on The Battle of Chateauguay (the cover has the photo of the painting of the battle) as it has been 200 years since the Canadians fought the Americans on the shores of the Chateauguay River in October 1813.

 If you want to see what else the QFHS offers, you can go to http://www.qfhs.ca/ http://www.qfhs.ca/          

IMPORTANT: Ontario Genealogy Society Open Forum

This notice has just come into the office –

The Ontario Genealogical Society invites members and non-members to join in an online discussion with President, Shirley Sturdevant. Ask questions and make comments about the changing face of OGS and volunteer opportunities with the Society.

Date: Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2014

Time: 7:00 p.m.

More information will follow.

This forum is open to anyone who is interested but you may express your interest and receive a reminder and your own copy of the login information by contacting the OGS provincial office at provoffice@ogs.on.ca.

Please use the subject line “GS Open Forum.”

I will be there. Will you?

The website is http://www.ogs.on.ca/index.php

The Nova Scotia Genealogist

The Spring 2013 edition of The Nova Scotia Genealogist with the lovely photo of the painting of the West Hants Historical Society Museum in Windsor, Nova Scotia is on the cover.

An article entitled Visit to West Hants Historical Society by J. Fralic-Brown on page 19 of the edition tells you all that you want to know what the museum holds on its shelves and in filing cabinets.

The main article is The Putman Family of Massachusetts and Nova Scotia by D. Armauda. 

The author says that the complete Putman family history has never been written to his knowledge, and we just get a glimpse of his work in this article.

He has everything sourced, and a very good genealogy explained in very easy to understand terms as he traces them from England, to Massachusetts to Nova Scotia.

They have included the latest books in the Reference Department of the Spring Garden Road Memorial Library, at the GANS Office Library, and the Scotiabank Family History, Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 in Halifax.

To see more about GANS, visit http://www.novascotiaancestors.ca/ and their Facebook page at

https://www.facebook.com/NovaScotiaAncestors

Halifax Regional Municipality Archives

One of our readers recently sent me information about the Conversion List from the old street numbering system to the new street numbering system on the Halifax Regional Archives.  

Already the reader says that he has found it very useful and have already looked at several ancestors' houses on Google Street View using the modern address.

He continues on to say that “A lot of my family research focuses on Halifax. Whether using City directories, deed indexes, or death certificates, the civic address of my research subject is often listed and can be used for many helpful purposes. Between 1958-1965 however, the City of Halifax renumbered all civic addresses from a 2-digit to a 4-digit number, so if you're interested in locating the current site of a pre-1958 ancestor's residence you were out of luck”. 

So take a look at the site and the list.  

I had fun this afternoon looking at their Virtual Exhibit which featured photographs, maps, and anniversary events that have taken place in Halifax-Dartmouth over the years.

Thanks to Neal for sending me information on this site.

The website is at 

http://www.halifax.ca/archives/CivicAddressHistory.html

Global Genealogy Bookstore has put out their Holiday newsletter full of new products for you to check out.

To subscribe to their FREE newsletter, go to http://globalgenealogy.us6.list-manage1.com/subscribe?u=559c438b50304777bf726446b&id=1b3ab7d22a

Kingston Penitentiary: Home to Canada’s most notorious criminals

The four men are Albert McKeowan, James McDonald, Philip Benoit, and George Marles. These photos were taken in 1915.  Credit: Library and Archives Canada, RG73-C-6 

The Library and Archives Canada has just released the ledgers from the Kingston Penitentiary for you to research if your ancestor spent time there when it opened in 1835.   

Located in Portsmouth, now part of Kingston, this institution was designated for the incarceration of prisoners from both Upper Canada and Lower Canada.

Kingston Pen, as it is commonly known, closed its doors on September 30, 2013.

These ledgers, which have been digitized and can be viewed on the Library and Archives Canada (LAC) website at http://collectionscanada.gc.ca/pam_archives/index.php?fuseaction=genitem.displayItem&lang=eng&rec_nbr=4292048

You will have to know the name of the person you are looking for in this instant.    

The ledgers provide photographs (mug shots) of inmates and information such as name; alias; age; place of birth; physical description; occupation; crime committed; and date, place and length of sentence.