Statement by the Prime Minister of Canada on National Flag Day

February 15, 2014

Ottawa, Ontario

Prime Minister Stephen Harper today issued the following statement to mark National Flag of Canada Day:

“The Canadian flag is an inspiring and endearing symbol that unites Canadians from coast to coast to coast. It is equated both at home and abroad with a peaceful and progressive country of enormous natural beauty, prosperity and generosity of spirit. At no time is national pride in our flag more evident than during the Olympic Games, and it is certainly on prominent display in Sochi over so many podiums and around so many of our magnificent athletes. We could not be more proud.

“In keeping with the recent tradition of presenting a Peace Tower flag to deserving Canadians, I am deeply honoured to present this symbol of our country to Gordon Burke and Jan Phelan, parents of the late Sarah Burke, who are accompanied today by widower Rory Bushfield. Sarah was a gifted athlete, a trailblazer in freestyle skiing, and one of the principal reasons why the half pipe was introduced as an Olympic sport this year in Sochi, Russia. She was a great Canadian whose efforts have had a remarkable impact on the world of sport, and whose story has touched the nation. Her legacy will live on in the many athletes who take up the sport she so championed.

“On this day, I invite all Canadians to take a moment and reflect on our national icon and what it means to be Canadian.”

February 15 was declared National Flag of Canada Day in 1996. To celebrate this special day in Canadian history, each year the Peace Tower flag is presented to a Canadian who has exemplified the values our country holds most dear.

To read about the history of National Flag Day, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Flag_of_Canada_Day and go to http://www.pch.gc.ca/eng/1359736104513

FUNDING FOR GENEALOGICAL PROJECTS

 

The Ottawa Branch of the Ontario Genealogical society is offering grants of up to $2,500 each to support genealogically related projects within the geographical area under the Ottawa Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society, which includes the amalgamated City of Ottawa, the United Counties of Prescott & Russell, the County of Lanark and the County of Renfrew. The total grant money available for 2014 is $5,000.

Acceptable projects will contribute to the knowledge of genealogical techniques and to the knowledge of genealogy relating to names, places, dates and family histories. This can include creating publications, developing databases, digitization of archival material collections, hosting training sessions and workshops, and the preservation of archival material collections. This grant is not meant to fund employees, or other in - house labour wages , but can be used to contract services and goods.

Only non - commercial entities may apply for this grant money including, genealogy societies, museums, archives, libraries, schools, historical societies, and community groups. An eligible applicant may submit more than one project proposal in any given year, and may apply in any year the grants are offered regardless of previous proposals or grants issued.

Successful applicants will be required to prepare and deliver a presentation related to their funded project at either a Branch Meeting or Ottawa Branch Conference. The support and funding given by the Ottawa Branch must be acknowledged with the logo, web address, and name of the Ottawa Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society appearing on all promotional material and/or physical aspects related to all projects receiving funding. Successful applicants must agree in writing to these conditions.

Application Deadline: March 15, 2014

Their website is at http://ogsottawa.on.ca/grants

Thanks to Gail Dever, Special Correspondent to Canadian Week in Review, for bringing this to our attention.

Heritage Day in Saskatchewan

The Yorkton Branch of the Saskatchewan Genealogy Society invites you to join them at “Heritage Day” on Sunday, February 16 at the Western Development Museum in Yorkton from 2 PM – 5 PM..

The theme of Heritage Day is “Have Fun with Heritage: Historic Places Made for Play”, with the goal of seeing the historical value of places designed for play.

The press release says that "Guest speakers will talk about interesting locations in the area that have special memories for them. You can take your genealogy work one step further and record special family stories and memories as part of your family archives.

Every family has a story: make this the year to discover yours with the Yorkton Branch of the Saskatchewan Genealogy Society”. 

The website is at http://www.saskgenealogy.com. 

The Western Development Museum where Heritage Day is being held is in the city of Yorkton. The website is http://wdm.ca

And they have a Family History File at http://www.wdmprairiegamble.com 

All Saskatchewan-based stories of family, community, organization and business history are welcome. The Family History Album is a perfect celebration of anniversaries, birthdays and family milestones like becoming a Century Farm.

Montreal’s endangered buildings

Gail Dever, Special Correspondent to the Canadian Week in Review sends us this story -

The Montreal Gazette's two-page report about the city's top 10 endangered buildings will interest genealogists whose ancestors lived in Montreal.

The first one listed is Huguenot trader Pierre du Calvet's home that was built in 1770- 71 and is located in what is known today Old Montreal. He emigrated to New France in 1758 , one year before the battle of the Plains of Abraham, and rose to prominence under British rule as a merchant and justice of the peace.

The full story is on http://www.montrealgazette.com/Montreal+endangered+landmarks/9494291/story.html

Family historians researching their Huguenot ancestors should visit Michel Barbeau's bilingual website Huguenots Database at
http://pages.infinit.net/barbeaum/fichier, where he has identified 321 Huguenotswho emigrated to New France and established residence in New France from 1604 to 1763.

Thank you, Gail.

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.