Canadian News in Review - 09 March 2015

 

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.

This Week in Canadian History

In 1875, the Hospital for Sick Children opened in Toronto with six beds and one nurse. A group of women led by Elizabeth McMaster rented an 11-room house and declared the hospital open for "the admission and treatment of children."
   To read more, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hospital_for_Sick_Children

In 1888, parcel post between Canada and the United States was established
   To read more, go to http://www.historymuseum.ca/cmc/exhibitions/cpm/chrono/chs1868e.shtml#yr-1881

In 1917, the Alberta Provincial Police Force was established.
   To read more, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alberta_Provincial_Police

In 1939, Trans Canada Airlines, now Air Canada, inaugurated the trans-continental airmail service.
   To read more, go to http://www.lib.uwo.ca/programs/companyinformationcanada/cr-transcanada.htm

Articles

Nova Scotia

Black Halifax project a ‘labour of love’ as African Nova Scotian heritage brought to life
http://metronews.ca/news/halifax/1303550/black-halifax-project-a-labour-of-love-as-african-nova-scotian-heritage-brought-to-life
   Black Halifax: Stories From Here is a new video project and website telling the stories of people, places and events significant to African Nova Scotian history, including Davis, Dixon, Rocky Jones, William Hall, and the 15 ships that left Halifax carrying hundreds of Black Loyalists to Sierra Leone in 1792.

Make the most of a Nova Scotian staycation
http://thechronicleherald.ca/go/1271668-make-the-most-of-a-nova-scotian-staycation
   While many of these events may appear to be designated for tourists and out of province visitors, Patrick Sullivan, CEO of the Nova Scotia Tourism Agency, says that isn’t the case. These events are fpr Nova Scotians, too.

Grade 9 students share African Heritage studies at Academy
http://www.ngnews.ca/News/Local/2015-03-05/article-4067023/Grade-9-students-share-African-Heritage-studies-at-Academy/1
   North Nova Education Centre Grade 9 students went back to elementary school on Thursday, making presentations to New Glasgow Academy students based on their studies during African Heritage Month, which was celebrated in February.

Prince Edward Island

North Rustico gets $446K to promote Acadian heritage
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/north-rustico-gets-446k-to-promote-acadian-heritage-1.2978462
   North Rustico will receive funding to continue developing the town as an Acadian tourism destination.


Quebec

Snowman welcomes guests to Quebec and biggest winter carnival in the world
http://www.dailynews.com/lifestyle/20150302/snowman-welcomes-guests-to-quebec-and-biggest-winter-carnival-in-the-world
   Since it began in 1894, the Carnaval de Quebec has grown into the largest winter carnival in the world. Since then, the inhabitants of New France have enjoyed getting together just before Lent to eat, drink and be merry.

Canadian History Ehx: Looking back at the Grenfell School
http://www.grenfellsun.sk.ca/Community/2015-03-01/article-4061327/Canadian-History-Ehx%3A-Looking-back-at-the-Grenfell-School/1
   The children who were in the community were educated in the Agricultural Hall. This was in 1888 and one year later, council passed an order to form the Grenfell School District. The school would be built on the future site of the United Church.

Ontario

Key genealogy resources for researching your family tree
http://www.insidetoronto.com/news-story/5451559-key-genealogy-resources-for-researching-your-family-tree
   Plenty of resources available in Toronto to help you uncover your family’s past.

TORONTO ROOTS: Into genealogy? Talk to your relatives and join your local family history society
http://www.insidetoronto.com/news-story/5458645-toronto-roots-into-genealogy-talk-to-your-relatives-and-join-your-local-family-history-society
   There are a few key pieces of advice that most of us who take the plunge into researching our family history receive early on: start with what you know and work back in time.

Grimsby receives three Ontario Heritage Awards
http://www.niagarathisweek.com/news-story/5461512-grimsby-receives-three-ontario-heritage-awards/
   John and Josie Dunstall, Allan Smith, and Town of Grimsby recognized.

Manitoba

Winnipeg's human rights museum bans selfie sticks
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/winnipeg-s-human-rights-museum-bans-selfie-sticks-1.2978092
   The Canadian Museum for Human Rights has banned the use of selfie sticks.

Heritage status sought for Armstrong's Point neighbourhood
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/heritage-status-sought-for-armstrong-s-point-neighbourhood-1.2978606
   The City of Winnipeg is looking at giving heritage designations to entire neighbourhoods.

Saskatchewan

Saskatoon says farewell to Lydia's building; Historic Broadway Avenue building set to be demolished
http://cjme.com/story/saskatoon-says-farewell-lydias-building/539382
   The new owners say the century-old brick structure is too expensive to renovate. The building was last home to Lydia's bar.

Alberta

Proposed power line threatens iconic views in southern Alberta
http://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/proposed-power-line-threatens-iconic-views-in-southern-alberta
   The iconic scenery in southwestern Alberta featured in tourism commercials and Hollywood movies could soon be criss-crossed with power lines, according to landowners in the area.

British Columbia

Breathing life into B.C.’s ghost towns
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/breathing-life-into-into-bcs-ghost-towns/article23225716/

News Stories of the Week


MooseRoots.com, an new American genealogy site, hit the airwaves this week, with their PR people saying what an innovate site it is - new and exciting!

As I watched their publicity, I wondered why Canada companies and individuals don’t make a bigger effort to break into the American market, such as the Innovator Summit held at RootsTech every year.

MooseRoots has two Canadian record sets on their site – Canadian World War I Enlistment Records and Canadian World War II Casualties.

These site are already available on other sites like Library and Archives Canada, and Ancestry.com – so it isn’t a big deal, but what about other record sets that can’t be seen right now? What about those local records that haven’t digitized? Who is taking care of them?


Let us see Canada represented at next years Innovator Summit at Rootstech 2016, to be held February 3–6, 2016. To check out the site, go to https://rootstech.org/About/FAQ?lang=eng

That was the Canadian genealogy, history and heritage news in Canada this past week!

Check the Canadian Week in Review every Monday morning for the latest in Genealogy, Heritage, and History news in Canada.


If you missed this week’s edition, it is at http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/03/canadian-week-in-review.html

It’s the ONLY news blog of its kind in Canada!

It has been a regular post every Monday morning since April 23, 2012.

Need help in finding your Canadian Ancestors?

Michael D. from Florida says that “Ms. Elizabeth Lapointe is an experienced professional with a broad-based detailed knowledge of the available genealogical documentary resources, together with an understanding of the colonial and modern history, economy, and sociology of the French and English aspects of Canada. For a client, she is both a teacher and a guide into the field of genealogy."

If you do, go to Elizabeth Lapointe Research Services and see how I can help you find that elusive Canadian ancestor.

Great service. Reasonably priced.

Website: www.elrs.biz

 

The next Canadian Week in Review will be posted 16 March 2015

Customer Appreciation Week in April at the Archives of Ontario

Mark this event on your calendar, and attend as many of the events as you can, because from Tuesday, April 7th to Saturday, April 11th, the Archives of Ontario will be celebrating Customer Appreciation Week at the Archives of Ontario, 134 Ian Macdonald Blvd., Toronto.

One of the events will be Finding Your Upper Canada Ancestors Workshop which will take place on Saturday, April 11th, 8:45 am to 4:00 pm at the North York Central Library, 5120 Yonge Street, Toronto, ON, M2N 5N9.

This workshop will be hosted by the Toronto Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society, and learn more about how our amazing resources and services can help you in your family history research. Get advice on using our Second Heir and Devisee Commission Case Files Database, and be sure to pick up our free research guides and Archives of Ontario souvenirs.

If you want to see this exciting week of events, read about them at the Archives of Ontario site, and be sure to register at the website http://www.archives.gov.on.ca/en/about/archives_week.aspx

 

 
Check the Canadian Week in Review every Monday morning for the latest in Genealogy, Heritage, and History news in Canada.

If you missed this week’s edition, it is at http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/03/canadian-week-in-review.html

It’s the ONLY news blog of its kind in Canada!

It has been a regular post every Monday morning since

April 23, 2012.

American residents serving in Canadian Expeditionary Forces, 1917-1918

Source: War Department. Office of the Provost Marshal General. Lists of United States Residents Serving in the Canadian Expeditionary Force and Australian Imperial Force [1917–1918]. Series PC-26 21

It has always intrigued me about Americans who enlisted in the Canadian army in the First World War. Why would they do that? But I slowly discovered that most likely one of their parents, or both of their parents had come from Canada down to the United States, with many of them leaving cousins, aunts and uncles back in Canada. And, further still,  and many of them had been born in England, Scotland, and Ireland. So they felt a certain loyalty to their country of birth, I suppose. 

But now, Ancestry.ca has put the record group online, and it is called U.S. Residents Serving in Canadian Expeditionary Forces, 1917-1918.

Each entry contains the name of the resident, his address in the United States, date and place of birth, nationality, marital status, occupation, and place and date of entering service.

So, if you find that an American ancestor has disappeared between 1914 and 1919, check this database. Maybe he is here at http://search.ancestry.ca/search/db.aspx?dbid=9177

Check the Canadian Week in Review every Monday morning for the latest in Genealogy, Heritage, and History news in Canada.

If you missed this week’s edition, it is at http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/03/canadian-week-in-review.html

It’s the ONLY news blog of its kind in Canada!

It has been a regular post every Monday morning since

April 23, 2012.

You help is needed!

One day, while doing research on British Home Children in past issues of the Ontario Genealogical Society`s journal, Families, I came across an article about the children who were British Second World War evacuees to Canada. In the article, they had come to Port Colbourne, Ontario, and had stayed there while the war was raging in the UK and in Europe. They went to school while staying together in a house, and most of them seemed to have adjusted very well to their situation. They were a part of Operation Pied Piper.

That article stuck with me, because I hadn’t known about this before reading about them. But now there is a post-graduate student at the University of Western Ontario who is doing a project on the children, and her name is Claire Halstead.

Her thesis work, by its completion, will account for more than 3,000 children who came to Canada, of which 1,500 came by way of the Children’s Overseas Reception Board (CORB). They were all part of Operation Pied Piper.

If there is any information that you might have on this subject that you would like to share, please get in contact with Clare at chalstea@uwo.ca.

You can read the story in the Western News at http://news.westernu.ca/2015/01/student-returns-identity-to-british-war-evacuees/http://news.westernu.ca/2015/01/student-returns-identity-to-british-war-evacuees/  

To get some background information, you can read Children's Overseas Reception Board at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children%27s_Overseas_Reception_Board

There is also an article on the web called “Guests” not “Refugees” Child Evacuees to Canada During World War II at http://www.cst.ed.ac.uk/Events/Conferences/documents/SmerdonCPaper.pdf

Check the Canadian Week in Review every Monday morning for the latest in Genealogy, Heritage, and History news in Canada.

If you missed this week’s edition, it is at http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/03/canadian-week-in-review.html

 

It’s the ONLY news blog of its kind in Canada!

 

It has been a regular post every Monday morning since

April 23, 2012.

Canadian tourism photos on Flickr

How many photos do you have in your family genealogy of Canadian vacations? Did you know the the Library and Archives Canada has travel photod too, and now are putting some of them on Flickr.

The press release says that -

The concept of Canadian tourism emerged during the early nineteenth century. Improved modes of transportation, such as new railways stretching across the country, facilitated leisure travel and offered people the chance to witness some of the nation’s greatest marvels and modern achievements.

'Photographs were the ideal medium with which to attract potential visitors, and photographers were hired by transportation companies to produce images of majestic scenery that would promote destinations. Later rivaled by amateur picture-takers, eager to create their personal holiday mementos, these photographs were a vital component of the burgeoning tourist industry. The imagery created during this period helped to characterize the country, establishing a sense of national identity by introducing viewers to iconic images of Canadian scenery'.

The website is at https://www.flickr.com/photos/lac-bac/sets/72157650719659971/

And for people who will travel to Ottawa in the coming months, visit the National Gallery of Canada to see the photos exhibit from March 6 to August 30, 2015.

Toronto Time Capsule online

Metroland Media, a newspaper company in Ontario, has launched a new history project, complete with stories, columns and resources called Toronto Time Capsule . 

This online treasure of columns, articles and resources will be dedicated to Toronto’s history and  genealogy. This collection bring Toronto's history to life.

On the site, you’ll find these sections -

- In ‘Flashback’ you can peruse articles on heritage news and events written by Metroland Media news staff.

- In ‘Local Tales’ read interesting columns from local historical associations and expert historians.

- In ‘Genealogy’ you’ll find insider tips from local genealogists and resources to help you with family history research.

As the project grows, so do the opportunities for the public to contribute. They want local historical groups, heritage groups, and genealogical socities to contribute.

Anyone wishing to contribute can email gpeacock@insidetoronto.com

Go to the site at www.insidetoronto.com/history

Check the Canadian Week in Review every Monday morning for the latest in Genealogy, Heritage, and History news in Canada.

If you missed this week’s edition, it is at http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/03/canadian-week-in-review.html

 It’s the ONLY news blog of its kind in Canada!

It has been a regular post every Monday morning since

April 23, 2012.

Findmypast has just gone FREE for the weekend!

 

 

Just received word that Findmypast has just gone free for the weekend!

 

From now until midday on Monday, March 9th (GMT), they are giving you the chance to bring your past to life for FREE, with unlimited access to over 2-billion records from all over the world on Findmypast.

Throughout our FREE Weekend, you’ll be able to access everything you need to build an incredible family tree, including:  Census records Birth, marriage and death records Travel and migration records Military records Crime and punishment records, and much more, all absolutely free.

There is no need to do anything to your account to get started this weekend, just sign in as normal and you’ll be able to explore our record sets from around the world. To find out how you can get the most from our Free Weekend visit findmypast.co.uk/freeweekend