Mapping Surnames of Immigrants

The FamilySearch blog on Genealogy Resources has a post about using the surname of your immigrant through the use of surname distribution maps to discover where they may have originated.

The blog says that “These maps graphically display locations where surnames occurred at different periods in time. This strategy provides genealogists with a starting point for research in the birth country, when that information cannot be discovered through sources recorded in the new country of settlement. It works particularly well for less-common surnames and among families that have stayed in the same European locations for centuries”. 

They have a list of countries, with links to maps, including Canada, and a world-wide map. So give it a try. 

Did it work for you?

The website is https://familysearch.org/blog/en/map-surname

UPDATE: GenWeb Cemetery Project

GenWeb Canada has posted updates to the following cemeteries in the provinces of Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Quebec.

NOVA SCOTIA

Digby County

Waterford Cemetery

PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND

King's County

Peters Road Cemetery

QUEBEC

Huntingdon County

Hillside Cemetery

Labelle County

Chute-St-Philippe Cemetery

Kiamika Cemetery

Lac Saguay Cemetery 

Lac St-Paul Cemetery n

Ste Anne-du-Lac Cemetery 

 

Val Barrette Cemetery

Gatineau County

East Templeton Cemetery 

St Raphael Cemetery

Papineau County

Notre Dame-de-la-Salette Cemetery

Our thanks go out to Deb Belcher, Jim Anderson & Brenda Marchese for their help in the indexing, and to Angie Garant, Carol, Sharon Sireci and Cheyenne Kepke for taking the photos.

The full list is at http://canadacems.blogspot.com/2014/01/nova-scotia-prince-edward-island-quebec.html

Canadian Week in Review 10 February 2014

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

Dwayne Meisner Website http://www.dwaynemeisner.com. Dwayne says that the 1921 census transcriptions for all of Halifax County, Nova Scotia are now complete. If you are interested in viewing the records, visit http://www.dwaynemeisner.com/census/novascotia/index.php and click on "Halifax". Then in the dialog window, click "Halifax County - 1921". (Please note that if you are not already a member of his site, you will have to complete a FREE registration form and become a member before accessing the links.)

He also says to let him know if you spot any corrections that need to made. He is also looking for more volunteers to help with the transcriptions of the other counties. Many of the counties are already started, including Annapolis, Lunenburg, Queens, Cape Breton, Cumberland, Colchester, and others.

If you are interested in volunteering, even if it is for only one sub-district, please visit
http://www.dwaynemeisner.com/census/volunteer.php for more information.

Can you help Dwayne?

Social Media

RootsTech 2014 Videos https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdrGGq4qym0 There are at least a dozen videos here. Everything from Judy Russell talking about her Scots-Irish genealogy, to Dr. Spencer Wells talking about how genealogy is taking over from gardening as the Number 1 hobby in North America. So there is something for everyone. 

News Articles

Work to begin Black History Loyalists Centre http://thechronicleherald.ca/novascotia/1184489-work-to-begin-next-month-on-black-loyalist-heritage-centre?from=most_read&most_read=1184489 A new Black Loyalist Heritage Center will be built in Birchtown, outside of Shelburne, Nova Scotia. Building is scheduled to begin next month. 

Canadian military imposter turns in uniform after years of pretending to be officer http://www.torontosun.com/2014/02/05/canadian-military-imposter-turns-in-uniform-after-years-of-pretending-to-be-officer I brought you story last week, and now it seems that the imposter has turned himself in to authorities.

The Big Move: Historical barn hits the road to be relocated http://globalnews.ca/news/1128907/the-big-move-historical-barn-hits-the-road-to-be-relocated This barn was moved last week to Heritage Acres Farm Museum near Pincher Creek, Alberta. There is video at the site.

Canada's Online Archives Expand with Digitization Project, NFB Content Deal http://www.mediacastermagazine.com/news/canadas-online-archives-expand-with-digitization-project-nfb-content-deal/1002902422/?&er=NA Library and Archives Canada is expanding its digitization project with additional National Film Board collections.

Gift for all Manitobans - Books preserve First Nations teachings based on interviews with elders http://www.brandonsun.com/breaking-news/gift-for-all-manitobans-244172611.html?thx=y A new series of books released in Manitoba will bridge the gap between what has been taught in schools and the reality of aboriginal culture with the Oral History Project.

Prince Edward Island Genealogy http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/Living/2014-02-08/article-3607713/Project-delves-into-descendants-of-P.E.I.s-Fathers-of-Confederation/1 See how PEI genealogists are uncovering records of those families most closely related to the Fathers of Confederation. 

How Jewish ‘enemy aliens’ overcame a ‘traumatic’ stint in Canadian prison camps during the Second World War http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/02/07/how-jewish-enemy-aliens-overcame-a-traumatic-stint-in-canadian-prison-camps-during-the-second-world-war Read how Canada housed 2,300 men of German and Austrian origin during the Second World War who had been shipped over here from Britain as “enemy aliens”. 

Music to be central theme of first National Capitol History Day http://www.ottawacitizen.com/Music+central+theme+first+National+Capital+History/9483273/story.html The first National Capital History Day will be held in Ottawa on April 4th. It is based on th National History Day in the US.

New Story of the Week

As you know, FamilySearcvh held its third RootsTech this week at Salt Lake City to astounding crowds, both those onsite, and those of us who watched it offsite, through live-streaming.

I mentioned that there were also interviews, and other bloggers who were there.

The interviews are covered in the Social Media Section on this post, but the bloggers have been summarized by Randy Seaver in his blog post, RootsTech 2014 Genealogy Blog Compendium, dated Sunday February 9 2014. 

Even M. Dane Rogers and myself are in the compendium, so be sure to take a look.

You can visit his blog at http://www.geneamusings.com/2014/02/rootstech-2014-blog-compendium.html 

Next year, from February 12-14, 2015, Salt Lake City will host the Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) together with RootsTech. 

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 the country! The next post will be published on 17 February 2014.

Day 3 - Rootstech 2014

Yesterday, I only had time to view only two sessions, and they were “Information Overload: Managing Online Searches and Their Results” by Josh Taylor, and “Five Ways to Do Genealogy in Your Sleep” by Deborah Gamble.

First of all, the handout by Josh should be read, because he gives a good summary of what he has talked about in the lecture.

The subject of the talk was that we must have an online research plan just like we do for our offline work. He talks about using Yippy.com because it is a more focused search than Google, and the five principles in doing online research is laid out in his handout.

I ended my day by watching the talk given by Deborah, and she told us how to use the Internet to do the searching for us while we sleep. The five ways are Google Alerts, Ancestry.com's Shaky Leaf, eBay Reminders, FamilySearch Reminders, and Find A Grave.  

Although I use some of them already, there are a couple of them I shall try.

Once again, her talk is in the handouts section on RootsTech.

Remember that you can always watch these at a later date because FamilySearch will put them on the RootsTech site after the conference ends today at https://rootstech.org.

If you would like to read about the talks given yesterday, there are hand outs at https://rootstech.org/about/syllabus-materials

I will give a summary of blogs and videos tomorrow in my weekly post, Canadian Week in Review.

Happy viewing!

Elizabeth Lapointe

genealogycanada@aol.com

Day 2 - RootsTech 2014

Yesterday, I only had time to view only one session, and it was entitled “Tweets, Links, Pins, and Posts: Break Down Genealogical Brick Walls with Social Media” by Lisa Alzo.

Lisa was her usual friendly self as she led us through the world of social media, and told us of her life as a writer of genealogy.

I got the impression that sometimes she was harried by all of the things that are out there these days as far as social media is concerned, but she said that if we pick two or three platforms to work with, we will become more comfortable to work with them.

For myself, the three platforms that I use are blogs, Goggle+ Hangouts On Air, and Facebook.

So what do you use?  

Today, I will watch two sessions, and they are -

At 3:00 p.m. EST, “Information Overload: Managing Online Searches and Their Results” by Josh Taylor.

At 8:00 p.m. EST, “Five Ways to Do Genealogy in Your Sleep” by Deborah Gamble.

Remember, you can always watch these at a later date because they will be posted on the RootsTech website after the conference ends today at https://rootstech.org.

If you would like to read about the talks given yesterday, there are handouts available online at https://rootstech.org/about/syllabus-materials

And even though I’m not there in person, it’s still great to be able to participate from afar!

So, Happy Viewing to all, and thank you, RootsTech, for making this possible!

Elizabeth Lapointe

genealogycanada@aol.com

Day 1 – RootsTech 2014

Thursday, I listened to two live-streaming sessions from RootsTech, and one Google+ Hand Out on Air on YouTube.

The first thing I watched at 12:30 p.m. EST was “Top 10 Things I Learned About My Family From My Couch” by Tammy Hepps.

What a delightful story she had to tell of doing research from her couch. She was entertaining, energetic, and full of enthusiasm as she told us about the ancestry trip she took from her couch via the research facilities she visited online.

Then, 3:00 p.m. EST, I watched Rob Tanner’s “FamilySearch Family Tree: What’s New and What’s Next”.

I never miss his talks because they are about FamilySearch, and I am always interested to hear what he has to say. And, they are humourous.

One interesting thing he mentioned was that 80% of the information that a person submits to family trees is already there. There is duplication! It is getting better, but it is still problem.

The last thing I watched at 4:30 p.m. EST was Dear Myrt’s “Google Hangouts 101a: The Panelist's View”, where she took a computer class through the “how-tos” on producing a video on-air. She had helpers - Cousin Russ was there, along with her friends, Barry Kline and Jenny Lanctot.

If you would like to read about the talks given yesterday, there are handouts available online at https://rootstech.org/about/syllabus-materials.

Today, I won’t have as much time to watch as many sessions, but one session I will be watching will be at 3:00 p.m. EST, when I will watch “Tweets, Links, Pins, and Posts: Break Down Genealogical Brick Walls with Social Media”, given by my friend, Lisa Alzo.

 

One thing I did notice was that the keynote speakers are not being live-streamed this year. So we won’t be hearing first-hand (except through bloggers and interviews) what to expect insofar as the latest developments in family history.

One blogger you may want to follow is M. Diane Rogers. She writes the popular CanadaGenealogy blog, and she is at RootsTech.

The blog is at http://canadagenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/02/rootstech-2014-first-day.html

Elizabeth Lapointe

genealogycanada@aol.com