Royal Navy Burying Ground - Halifax

CBC News had a story on their website http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/story/2011/07/18/ns-royal-navy-burying-ground.html yesterday of a Royal Navy Burying Ground in Halifax in CFB Stadacona. It appears it has been there since 1759.

The news that caught my eye was that "Underneath another marker lie five sailors who served aboard the HMS Shannon — the British ship that captured the American frigate, Chesapeake, during the War of 1812".

It reminded me to spend some time doing the research of Henry BLADES, a United Empire Loyalist who was supposedly pressed into naval service by the British, and served on the HMS Shannon.

He had come from Long Island in 1784,and settled in Barrington, Shelburne County, Nova Scotia. He is the maternal ancestor of mine, but I have yet to do much work on this side of the family.

It is also interesting to note that the Americans gave as one of their reasons that they went to war with Britain was because they accused the British of pressing 10,000 Americans into naval service.

New Canadian Blog

Kate Tivoli is a Canadian librarian who has started a blog called Genealogical Resource Reviews at http://ktivoli.blogspot.com/2011/07/welcome.html.

She says in her first post on July 10th that "I will be reviewing resources for genealogical research.Over the past few years, I have been researching family history, using different resources, many of which may be found online. The scope of content, technological ease of use and accessibility of these tools will be examined, along with specific examples of queries they may help to answer".

I am really excited, and interested to see what resources she will list, and review.

Gene-O-Rama 2012 Cancelled

The Ottawa Genealogical Society has put a note on it's site at http://ogsottawa.on.ca/ that they will not hold a Gene-O-Rama in 2012. The reason is because the Ottawa Branch will be co-hosting the annual OGS Conference 2012 in Kingston on 1-3 June 2012.

They also say that "Ottawa Branch will also be hosting the 2012 Region VIII Genealogy Day. It’s on a smaller scale with three lectures, the Regional Annual General Meeting and a small Marketplace on a Saturday in March or April 2012. We’ll start planning it later this year and details will be available on the website."

The Conference 2012 site is at http://www.ogs.on.ca/seminar/conference2012.php

"Janet the Researcher" Blog

Another Canadian blog is celebrating a birthday. The name of the blog is "Janet the Researcher" and it is 4 years old today! Congratulations, Janet!

Go to her blog at http://researchergal.blogspot.com/

Janet is a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists and the Ontario Chapter, Markham Berczy Settlers Association, Grey County Historical Society, the Ontario Genealogical Society and the National Genealogical Society.

She is a busy lady!

Among other topics of interest, she writes about the Billy Bishop Home and Museum, several blogs on Bruce County, the Johnston Family, and the Marham Berszy Settlers Association.

Tech Forum Launched

The latest news from the Ontario Genealogical Society is -

"The newly formed Technical Support and Innovations Committee has launched a new forum on the OGS website. The Tech Forum is available to all OGS members and will provide a place to go to for Technical Advice and Support.

Whether you want to know more about a computer program you are using or what kind of equipment you should purchase for your branch this is the place to ask your questions. The answers will be provided by other members who have some experience or knowledge in the area you are looking for more information on.

It is hoped that this forum can also serve as a venue for members to suggest new ideas involving technology and how it can benefit the genealogical community.

To access the forum sign in to the Members Only section of the OGS website. The link to the Technical Support Message Board will appear in the green menu on the left hand side".

Steve Fulton
Technical Support and Innovations Committee
His email is tsic@ogs.on.ca
The website of the Ontario Genealogical Society is http://www.ogs.on.ca/

The Swedish American Genealogist

The Swedish American Genealogist has been put online, and it is now available to search for free of charge.

The "Swedish American Genealogist is a quarterly journal devoted to Swedish American biography, genealogy, and personal history. The journal was founded in 1981 by Nils William Olsson and is currently edited by Elisabeth Thorsell. This online collection is free to the public and contains issues published as recently as 2007. Newer issues and paper subscriptions are available from the Swenson Center".

There are many articles in the journal by Canadian and American genealogists covering the close relationship between the US and Canada as far as Swedish setters are concerned.

They ask you to note that "the digital version of the journal does not include Peter Stebbins Craig's copyrighted articles on New Sweden".

You are to contact the Swenson Center at sag@augustana.edu for information on how to access these articles.

It is online at http://collections.carli.illinois.edu/cdm4/index_aug_sag.php?CISOROOT=/aug_sag

Anglo-Celtic Roots Summer 2011

The Summer 2011 edition of Anglo-Celtic Roots has just been issued, and it contains the 2010 Reports which were given at the AGM in June meeting as well as papers written by various members.

For instance, An Introduction to Researching Your Roots in Northern Ireland by William Roulston talks about such records as Census Records, Church Records, Irish Family History Foundation, and gives a very good examples of Administrative Divisions – Barony, County, Parish, Poor Law Union, Province, and Township.

The second article is He Wore His Buttons Well by Barbara Tose in which she relates the true story of the SS Antinoe, a freighter which was carrying wheat from New York to Ireland when she ran into a storm in the Atlantic off of the coast of Halifax, Nova Scotia. The story in interesting because her great-uncle Harry Tose was the captain of the ship.

The last paper in this issue is Harry Gray's Pub by Brenda Turner in which she talks about finding out the story behind a pub that her uncle Harry used to own in London during the Second World War. She describes the help she got from the Guildhall, and the experiences her uncle witnessed during the war.

One item I found interesting to read was Stars of the 2011 BIFHSGO Conference by John D. Reid in which he talks about some of the people who will be presenting at the Conference this fall in Stars of the 2011 BIFGSGO Conference. People like Audrey Collins, Sherry Irvine, Helen Osborn, Linda Reid, and Gary Schroder have their bios in this issue of the journal.

You may contact BIFHSGO by going to http://www.bifhsgo.ca/

August 1st - Colonel By Day

Join us on Monday, August 1st at the Bytown Museum to celebrate Colonel By Day as part of Ottawa's Rideau Canal Festival.

There will be heritage lace making and rug braiding demonstrations, musketry demonstrations, blacksmithing, tabletop exhibits from local heritage groups and museums, a Celtic Cross Commemoration Ceremony, costumed characters, and the Colonel By Day Bistro.

A number of genealogical groups will be there including the Ottawa Branch of the Ontario Genealogy Society, so be sure to drop by and say "Hello". Admission to the museum is free.

For more information on the museum go to http://www.bytownmuseum.com/en/main.html. For more information about the Rideau Canal http://www.rideaucanalfestival.ca/site_bytown.html

A New Website for The OGS British Home Children

This afternoon I checked the Ontario Genealogical Society site http://www.ogs.on.ca/ to see if there were any new items, and I saw where the British Home Children now has a website at http://www.ogs.on.ca/SIG-BHC/index.htm.

As the website says "From 1869 to 1939 various workhouses, sheltering homes, orphanages and child care organizations in Great Britain immigrated over 100,000 orphaned, abandoned, pauper children ages 1 to 18 to Canada. Known as the British Home Children (BHC), life for these children coming alone to Canada to work as domestics and farm labourers forging ahead in a new land was not always easy."

They have a Resources Link, and are going to have a "Members Only" page in the future.

The cost to join the SIG is $5.00. If you are already an OGS member just mail in your $5.00 cheque to the OGS provincial office indicating that it is for 2011 membership in the BHC SIG. You may also call the office or email Marsha, our Membership Co-ordinator at membership@ogs.on.ca to add this branch.

The email address for the British Home Children is BHC@ogs.on.ca.

BCGS Walter Drayton Library Open House

The British Columbia Genealogical Society (BCGS) celebrates it's 40th anniversary this year, and as part of the celebration is to hold an Open House at the library on Sunday July 17th.

The library will be open from 2-4 pm, and everyone is welcome. Door prizes will be given including a 3 one year membership to GenealogyBank courtesy of www.GenealogyBank.com.

One thing to note is that the BCGS is giving out their first-ever book awards on Sunday, and they tell me a couple of the authors will be there.

The winner this year is Bruce McIntyre for his three-volume series, Lives Lived West of the Divide: A Biographical Dictionary of Fur Traders Working West of the Rockies, 1793-1858.

The library is located at Unit 211, 12837-76th Avenue, Surrey.

If you want more information, their website is www.bcgs.ca. The email is bcgs@bcgs.ca

Day Pass Offered at Saskatchwan Genealogical Society

This caught my eye this afternoon on the Saskatchewan Genealogical Society website this afternoon. They are now offering a $10.00 day pass for non-members to access "members only" databases!

The Burial Index, the Obituaries Index, and the Cummins Rural Directory Index are now offered.

Go to their website at http://www.saskgenealogy.com/ or contact sgslibrary@sasktel.net

Genealogy Week 2011

The reason I haven't put on a post in the past couple of days is because my husband, and myself have been busy hosting Genealogy Week 2011 at the Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa.

Part of the Genealogy Week Reception Sunday evening was that we passed out cards which said "This year's GenealogyWeek participants are researching the following people and places in various venues in Ottawa-Gatineau. If you have any tidbits of information to pass along, please do so. You may have a common ancestor!"

Janis Carter is looking for Archibald Trew (Ireland) Hope Twp; Thomas Carter (England) Pickering Twp; Samuel Bryson (Ireland) Clarke Twp; Charles Hood (England) Pickering Twp; Thomas Tweedie (Scotland) Pickering Twp

Nancy Cunningham is looking for William Cunningham (Ireland) Whitechurch Twp, County of York; William Fahey (Ireland) Chatham, New Brunswick; David Wilson (England) Toronto; Thomas Metcalf (England) Toronto

Kellie Love is looking for Bertrim/Bertam, William (Ireland) Lanark Twp; Cox, Thomas (Ireland) Quebec; Sharpley, David (Ireland) Quebec; Lyons, Lawrence (New York) Prince Edward County; Smith, Hamilton (USA) Erin Twp.

Ted McChesney is looking for Louis Labelle (French) Massey (ON) and Allumette & Montreal; Thomas Mousseau (France) Massey (ON) and Montreal; , (France) Allumette; Samuel McChesnay (Scotland) ???; Richard Pettifer (England) ???; Calumet Island.

If you have any of the ancestors that are being researched, please send your information to me at genealogycanada@aol.com, and I will forward your information to the people concerned.

Open House at the City of Ottawa Archives

Here is where we plan to be tomorrow afternoon -

"The City of Ottawa’s Central Archives invite you to its open house on Saturday, July 9 from noon to 4 p.m. at 100 Tallwood Drive, corner of Woodroffe Avenue.
Hands on family activities include genealogy workshops, clay tablet creation, building tours and magical fun. The public is also invited to view a new sculpture titled Archive in the exterior garden and meet artist Don Maynard during the open house. Mr. Maynard will be available from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. in the lobby to discuss his work.

The Archives’ premiere exhibit, entitled, “An Archives Odyssey: making a home for the history of our communities,” will be open for viewing. The exhibit provides “a history of the City of Ottawa Archives from its humble beginnings to this beautiful state of the art facility.”

The new Central Archives has a vault that provides sufficient space for 10 years of growth, and enough space on-site to build a second vault to provide for 25 years of growth, an environmentally controlled on-site exhibit to showcase the City’s treasures, and a 200-square foot triage room to temporarily house collections that could potentially harm existing holdings.

The new building also has classroom and workshop space for school and public programming, on-site space for the Archives’ community partners, as well as a gift shop to promote public awareness of the importance of archives and generate revenue.

Background:

With its first settlement dating back to the 1790s, Ottawa is one of the oldest cities in Canada. Its archival collection is one of the most valuable holdings of information that document the development and evolution of municipal government in this area. As mandated by the provincial government, the City of Ottawa must collect and preserve its municipal records in a secure manner for public access, as well as future generations.

The collection contains photographs, microfilm, film, magnetic tapes, video and audiotapes, computer records, drawings, as well as some artefacts. Researchers, historians and the general public rely on the City’s archives as a resource for civic records, genealogy, construction history and photographs".

For more information, please visit http://www.ottawa.ca/archives

Society for German Genealogy in Eastern Europe Conference

A conference for people of German origin who are interested in the genealogy, culture and history of their ancestors who migrated through Russian, Poland, Volhynia, and surrounding area will be held in Winnipeg, Manitoba from August 12-14, 2011.

"From Whence We Came" is the theme of this year's conference, and there will be lectures given by Kathleen Kufeldt "Conducting Family Interviews and Documenting the Results", Bill Remus will give a lecture on "The German Migration to Volhynia", and Jim Blanchard will give a talk on "The Winnipeg German Community before the Great War"

The website of the society is http://www.sggee.org/. The email is convention@sggee.org

Relatively Speaking

An Index and Summary for the May 2011 Relatively Speaking newsletter of the Alberta Genealogical Society are now online at http://abgensoc.ca/relativelyspeaking.html.

In fact, the Index and Summary have been been put online since 2008.

Relatively Speaking is published four times a year, and you can get the full publication if you are a member of the Alberta Genealogical Society.

The email of the newsletter is rseditor8@abgensoc.ca.

The website of the Alberta Genealogical Society is http://abgensoc.ca/

Toronto Trust Cemeteries Update

FamilySearch Centers has released the latest update on July 6th, and one of the projects they have been working on is the Toronto Trust Cemeteries, 1826-1935.

Index and images to the records of several Toronto cemeteries (York General Burying Ground (also called Potter’s Field), 1826-1855; Necropolis Cemetery, 1850-1912 (the index will continue to 1935); Mount Pleasant Cemetery, 1876-1933; Prospect Cemetery, 1890-1935) have nearly doubled from 7,234 to 14,864.

They say that "Currently this collection is 22% complete and includes records from Necropolis Cemetery. Additional records will be added as they are completed. This is a cooperative project with the Toronto Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society."

You can contact them at fsi@torontofamilyhistory.org if you would like to volunteer to assist in this ongoing effort. Or you can go to https://familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://hr-search-api:8080/searchapi/search/collection/1627831 and search the records.

Manitoba Genealogical Society Conference

This year the Ontario Genealogical Society celebrated it's 50th Anniversary with a Conference in May, and now the Manitoba Genealogical Society is celebrating it's 35th Anniversary with a Conference in September.

"It's All Relative" will be held Friday Sept. 30 and Saturday Oct. 1, 2011 at the Silver Heights United Church, 199 Garrioch Ave. in St. James in Winnipeg. You can register now at the early bird fee of $100.00 if you do so before August 31st.

On Friday evening, there will be a lecture given by Jim Blanchard "The Role of the Family", and Dave Obee will be giving a talk “The Search for Frank Liddell: A Case Study” to close out the evening.

There will be a full day of lectures on Saturday, as well as a Marketplace.

To register, please go to http://www.mbgenealogy.com/

Community Heritage and Family History Blog

In a blog that the Calgary Public Library has called the Community Heritage and Family History Blog, there are posts on The Story of the Big Ditch, City Hall Celebrates its 100th Anniversary, What's in a name?, Calgary, Alberta in 1962, and Islands in the Stream - Heritage Roundtable to name a few.

While you are there you can also go to Calgary Public Library’s Community Heritage and Family History Digital Library.

At their site, they have the Alison Jackson Photography Collection, Postcards from the Past, and the Judith Umbach Photography Collection.

You can go to http://blog.calgarypubliclibrary.com/blogs/local_history_and_genealogy/archive/2011/07/05/the-story-of-the-big-ditch.aspx

Guysborough Historical Society

On Saturday, July 16, 2011, the Guysborough Historical Society, in Guysborough, Nova Scotia will host a reception at the Old Court House Museum from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. to celebrate the opening of the Research Centre.

The Research Center houses many genealogical items such as births, deaths, marriages, baptisms from Boylston, Canso, Guysborough, Manchester, Melford, New Harbour and Whitehead. There is a large selection of books and reference materials such as census records (1817, 1838, 1861, 1871, 1881, 1891 and 1901), and books such as A.C. Jost’s Guysborough Sketches and Essays, John Grant’s Historic Guysborough, and Christopher Cook’s Along the Streets of Guysborough.

The Guysborough Historical Society also offers genealogical research services for a fee of $10.00 plus copying charges ($.25 per page), and they also offer free self-directed research for members.

The renovations to the basement at the Old Court House Museum and development of the interpretive panels were made possible with funding from the Municipality of the District of Guysborough, the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, and the Nova Scotia Office of Economic and Rural Development and Tourism.

Visit their website at http://www.guysboroughcountyheritage.ca/

The Canadian Jewish Heritage Network

The Canadian Jewish Heritage Network www.cjhn.ca says that more than 25,000 database records of the Canadian Jewish community dating back to the 18th century are now available online.

I just used the search feature, and found a family in Montreal that my father knew in the late 1940s.

The new website features the vast repositories of the Canadian Jewish Congress Charities Committee National Archives (CJC) and the Jewish Public Library Archives (JPL).

There is more than 2,000 digitized photographs and documents, as well as more than 50,000 genealogical records,and 5,000 associated images. There are also sound recordings and moving images.

The site says that the "Genealogical resources include online posting of family history resources such as Jewish Immigrant Aid Services client name lists from 1922-1952, individual farm settler reports from Western Canada and Quebec (1906-1951), translated Yiddish obituaries from the Keneder Adler (1908-1931), and Hebrew Sick Benefit Association of Montreal's membership book listings (1897-1905)".

There is also information about Jewish servicemen casualties in the Canadian armed forces during World Wars I and II.

The project was funded by the Samuel and Saidye Bronfman Family Foundation (SSBFF).

VICTORIA GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY YOUTH PROGRAM

Here is an interesting post from the Victoria Genealogical Society (VGS) at
http://www.victoriags.org/

"In December 2010 the Victoria Genealogical Society endorsed the development of a genealogical / family history program for school aged children. Two primary goals for the Youth Program have been accepted as recommended by the project’s Design Committee.

They are:

To introduce young people to the world of genealogy and family history research in a fun and engaging way;

and,

To introduce young people to the tools and techniques they can use to initiate their own research.

To meet these goals the Design Committee developed a series of recommendations which were adopted by the Victoria Genealogical Society Executive Committee. Key amongst these recommendations was “that the programs developed be age appropriate and welcoming to all family types and origins in the world - allowing young people to explore their family in any form they'd like”.

One program which is slated for this summer is Detective Adventure which starts on July 13th. It is a hands-on genealogy program for kids in grades 4 and 5. Summer registration now open. Call 250-360-2808. You can also download the 2011 poster (PDF format) by clicking on the detective image on the website.

Limited space so register early to avoid disappointment:

Detective Adventure 1: July 13, 20, 27 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Detective Adventure 2: August 3, 10, 17 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Location: Resource Centre of the Victoria Genealogical Society
947 Alston Street, Victoria
Fee: $ 35, detective tools included
To Register: Email vgsprojectdirector@gmail.com

Red River Colony

On Thursday, Library and Archives Canada (LAC) released a new version of the online database Immigrants to Canada. They have added 4,000 names to the database. Settlers who went to the Red River Colony (or Selkirk Settlement) in Manitoba are found in the Thomas Douglas, Earl of Selkirk fonds (MG 19 E1). The database celebrates the 200th Anniversary of the foundation of the Colony.

The database can be found at http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/immigrants-canada/index-e.html

If you want to read more about the Red River Colony, there are some websites you can go to -

The Red River Colony: Lord Selkirk has a Plan
http://www.canadiana.ca/hbc/stories/colony1_e.html

The MÉTIS & THE RED RIVER SETTLEMENT
http://firstpeoplesofcanada.com/fp_metis/fp_metis_redriver.html


Red River Colony
http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/scotsandcanada/redrivercolony/index.asp

QFHS Conference 2011

On Saturday, June 4th, we went down to Montreal to take in a day with our “genealogical friends” from the Quebec Family History Society, as they put on their semi-annual conference at McGill University.

It is just a two hour drive down to Montreal from Ottawa. We took Route 148 on the Quebec side down to Grenville, and then we joined Hwy 50 to Lachute, and then on to Hwy 15 right down into Montreal, where we spent an hour navigating downtown Montreal traffic and then finding the building, and once we had found the building – then we had to find a parking spot. We finally did find underground parking (there isn't as much as you would think there would be), and then we tried to get out of the building.

As some of you know, I am in a wheelchair, and after 'wheeling” me around for what seemed like hours (there were only steps UP to Sherbrooke Street), we stopped into the shops in the complex, and found the helpful manager of the local print shop, who promptly led us through the maze of shops and hallways back to the parking area, and with a sigh of resignation, my husband pushed me up the steep ramp to the street.

So with that, we were ready, and we finally made our destination.

The first place we went to was the Marketplace.

After bumping into Gary Schroder (the QFHS President), we headed over to the Ontario Genealogical Society's table, which was manned by the recently-retired Executive Director, Fraser Dunford. He reported very good sales, and he said the crowds were steady throughout the day.

Fraser Dunford, of the OGS, talks with a potential book buyer.

Next, we went to the Moorshead Magazines http://www.moorshead.com table to see Rick Cree and his wife, Jennifer, and we had a really nice talk, as we hit them right as the people went on to hear another lecture. Ed Zapletal — usually the other half of this dynamic duo, alongside Rick — didn't come down to Montreal, as he was home in Toronto, helping his mother celebrate a very special birthday.

We then joined the crowd for lunch. It was a buffet over at l’Hotel Le Cantlie across the street, and was it ever good!

We sat with a couple of people from Ottawa who were there also, including Evelyn Burke and her friend — and after eating our tasty chicken sandwiches, lovely cream of broccoli soup, delicious brownies, and a nice cup of coffee or two — we went back to the conference, and ran into Glenn Wright signing copies of his latest book, Canadians at War 1914-1919: A Research Guide to World War One Service Records, which I reviewed in the OGS' journal, Families, (November 2010 edition), and on this blog at http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2010/12/to-continue-overview-that-i-started.html.

Glenn Wright signs a copy of his newest book, Canadians at War 1914-1919: A Research Guide to World War One Service Records, for this lucky lady.

We also dropped in to see saw Louise St. Denis of the National Institute for Genealogical Studies http://www.genealogicalstudies.com, and her husband, Michael, at their display. They reported very good sales, and the people were interested in the Social Media course she was giving away for free, and she seemed pleased with the conference. I also took the opportunity to buy the book recommended for this course, which is Social Networking for Genealogists, by Drew Smith.

We stopped to chat with Derek Hopkins of the QFHS, and then went to see his and Bob Dunn's lecture on cemeteries. It was one of the better lectures I have attended at a conference.

Derek Hopkins (left) and Bob Dunn present a lecture on Quebec Cemeteries at QFHS Conference 2011

As participants filled up the classroom, a PowerPoint presentation of Quebec Protestant Cemeteries in the Eastern Townships was shown, accompanied by soothing music– a very relaxing few minutes before the lecture began.

Both Derek and Bob made the point that they have only started to put in the transcriptions of the cemeteries into the “Members Only” section of the QFHS website http://www.qfhs.ca, and it has proven very popular with the membership.

While there, we saw more Ottawa people, including John D. Reid, of Anglo-Celtic Connections blog fame http://anglo-celtic-connections.blogspot.com, Malcolm Moody and his lovely wife of Archive CD Books http://www.archivecdbooks.ca, (where we heard more parking horror stories), Lesley Anderson from Ancestry.ca, and we said “Hi!” to people from Quinte Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society, and to people we knew from Montreal.

Since we had already had planned to go back to Ottawa for Sunday, we sadly left the conference and headed back to Ottawa.

After missing our turnoff, and getting lost near Concordia University in Montreal's west end, we stopped for directions at a local pizzeria, and got some great pizza at the same time. Then we got back on Hwy 15 to head out of the city, stopped at Blainville for supper, crossed over to Hawkesbury on the Ontario side, and came up on Hwy 417, where we stopped on the side of the road to take pictures of one of the best sunsets we had seen in many a moon, and then we were safely home around ten or so.

Sunset near Casselman, Ontario. It was even more beautiful live.

Happy 144th Canada Day!

Canadian Heritage, a department of the Canadian federal government, is celebrating Canada Day!

Visit http://www.pch.gc.ca/eng/1292265752243/1292265752246

If you would like to read about the evolution of Canada Day, go to http://www.pch.gc.ca/pgm/ceem-cced/jfa-ha/canada-eng.cfm

And as the site notes -

"Don't miss the Canada Day Noon Show, live on July 1, 2011, at noon. Check out the preparations with the Hill Cam!"

Museum Newsletter

If you are coming to Ottawa this summer, be sure to visit both the Museum of Civilization, and the Canadian Museum of War. And if Ottawa is not in your vacation plans, then you should subscribe to their newsletter.

This month, some of the topics covered are the Halifax Explosion, which occurred on December 6, 1917- in an article called “Fire and Water”.

The article says that there was “A fireball 1.6 km high. A tsunami and a blazing inferno. Sixteen hundred buildings destroyed and twelve thousand damaged. Shattered windows in a village situated a full 100 km from the explosion. Thousands of dead and wounded. Images of Japan or Indonesia come to mind...and yet, this drama unfolded right here at home. Revisit the tale of an unprecedented catastrophe and recall the courage of those who braved impossible odds to save the lives of others.”

One of the other articles called “Digging up the Past” goes back 11, 000 years in Southern Ontario to the Early Paleo-Indian period. The article says that "A few hundred people are scattered across Ontario in small communities of nomadic hunters. The glaciers around them have begun to melt, revealing numerous pockets of land and creating enormous lakes - including the vast Champlain Sea to the east".

If you want to receive the newsletter, go to http://www.civilization.ca/cmc/general-pages/newsletter/newsletter and fill out the contact page.

The two museums are absolutely fabulous! You can get a real sense of the country as you go through the two museums, and they are close enough that you can walk between the two. One suggestion: Take the walkway in back of the Civilization Museum over to the Canadian Museum of War. Across the Ottawa River you will pass by the Parliament Buildings, and you will see the Supreme Court Building, and the Library and Archives Canada. There are plenty of plaques along the way which will explain everything, and the flower gardens are absolutely wonderful.

Ancestry.ca is FREE for Royal Visit

From June 30th through to July 8th, 2011 when the Royal Couple are in Canada, Ancestry.ca will be offering free access.

To explore the free records and to sign up for a free 14 day trial, please visit www.ancestry.ca/UK.

The Armenian Boys' Farm Home, Georgetown, Ontario

Today, the Ontario Heritage Trust and the Armenian Community Centre of Toronto has unveiled a provincial plaque to commemorate The Armenian Boys' Farm Home, Georgetown.

"The arrival of Armenian child refugees at Cedarvale Farm in Georgetown helped to lay the groundwork for this country's international humanitarian efforts throughout the 20th century," said Dr. Thomas H.B. Symons, Chairman of the Ontario Heritage Trust. "We are proud to honour this significant event in our history with this provincial plaque."

In part the plaque reads as follows:

THE ARMENIAN BOYS' FARM HOME, GEORGETOWN

On July 1, 1923, a group of 50 Armenian boys arrived at this farm site from an orphanage in Corfu, Greece. The 'Georgetown Boys,' as they came to be known, arrived in Canada between 1923 and 1927 - 109 boys in all. The orphans were survivors of the Armenian Genocide (1915-1923). Their plight touched the hearts of thousands of Canadians, who raised significant funds and lobbied the Canadian government to bring them here. Under the care and supervision of the Armenian Canadian Relief Fund's Farm and Home Committee, the children lived at Cedarvale Farm located on this property and were taught English and farming skills. By 1928, the orphans were placed with farm families in Southwestern Ontario. As adults, most of the Armenians became Canadian citizens and chose to remain in this country. By providing assistance to non-British Commonwealth refugees, the Armenian Boys' Farm Home was the first humanitarian effort of its kind in Canada.

The unveiling ceremony took place at the Armenian Youth Centre - Hamazkayin Theatre in Toronto. The plaque will be permanently installed at Cedarvale Park in Georgetown, the site of the Armenian Boys' Farm Home.

"Canada's humanitarian efforts in aiding the 109 orphaned Armenian children who survived the Armenian Genocide of 1915 must be remembered and commended," said Armenian Community Centre President Vatche Kelebozian. "This provincial plaque will immortalize the memory of the Georgetown Boys and act as a permanent reminder of Canada's proud humanitarian tradition and its unyielding commitment in aiding Armenians."

A book has been written on the Georgetown Boys by Jack Apramian, and is featured in a 1976 article in “The Georgetown Independent" on http://www.creditvalleyartisans.ca/history.html

Miramichi Irish Festival

The 28th annual Canada's Irish Festival will be held in Miramichi, New Brunswick from July 14th-17th, 2011

The Miramichi Branch of New Brunswick Genealogical Society will be there, as well the as Provincial Archives of New Brunswick

In the information package on the website, they say they will be “Focusing on Northumberland County, we will use the Census for the years 1851, 1861, 1871, 1881, 1891 and 1901; there will be transcriptions of every cemetery in No. Co. (over 130), thousands of obituaries (16,000), vital stats from local newspapers, some church records, complete family histories and much, much more. We also have several of our publications available for sale. Be sure to visit us at while attending the festival”.

According to the Festival information, The Provincial Archives of New Brunswick will have a “special digital film archive will be launched as part of the Provincial Archives exhibit. The North West Digital Film Archive created by Derry City Council’s Heritage & Museum Service, the Donegal Regional Cultural Center, Donegal County Museum & Archives and the Nerve Center will be available”.

They will also have a collection of almost 100 hours of searchable material including the census records, land grants information, historical photos and other research documents.

Some of the other events that will take place will be the The Red Hair Contest and Running of the Green Race

For more information, please visit their website at http://www.canadasirishfest.com/index.html

The Acadian Museum Recovers

I first made the acquaintance of Warren A. Perrin of Layfayette, Louisana in the aftermath of Hurricane Rita when the museum he runs called the Acadian Museum of Erath, Louisana was damaged – almost beyond repair. The genealogical material had to be reconstructed, and with the help of Stanley LeBlanc, most of the records have been repaired.

They were dark days for Warren, and the people who work at the Museum. But through hard work, and support from the Acadian descendants in Louisiana, and Acadian people who live in Canada, the Museum has come back to be better than it was before.

If you go to www.acadianmuseum.com you will see three rooms dedicated to history and genealogy (the Erath Room, the Acadian Room, and the Prairie Bayou Cajun Room), The Photo Gallery, and a list of family names held at the museum.

Another way you can keep track of the museum is by subscribing (free) to his newsletter called La Parole which is sent out on a regular basis. There is lots to read, and keep up on in the newsletter.

His email is info@acadianmuseum.com

Upper Canada Village is 50 Years Old

This past Saturday, the historic Upper Canada Village in Morrisburg, Ontario celebrated its 50th Birthday!

Opened in 1961, it consists of building rescued from the flooded land when the St. Lawrence Seaway was built in the late 1950s. It has seen over 12-million visitors since it opened.

The village contains a sawmill, gristmill, cheese factory, farm and agricultural shops, furnished homes, churches, a general store, tavern and other historic buildings depicting a typical 19th century village along the water.

I visited the Village a number of years ago, and found it to be so interesting. I especially remember seeing the woollen mill, the cheesemaking building, and the church. I can say from a personal point of view, if you wish to see what Ontario was like in the 19th Century, and the kind of life your ancestors lived, a trip to Upper Canada Village should be the one place to visit this summer.

The former visitor center (Crysler Hall) was opened Saturday as the new exhibit area, and a new visitor centre is being built, and expects to be open in July.

The website is http://www.uppercanadavillage.com.

Newfoundland and Labrador Discovery Day

Discovery Day is a provincial holiday in Newfoundland and Labrador, celebrated on the Monday nearest June 24th - and this year, it's the 27th of June – today!

It is a commemoration of the discovery of the province in 1497 by John Cabot. Since 1997, it has also been known as Cabot 500 Day.

Cabot left Europe on May 20, 1497 with one ship, the Matthew. He landed on the American east coast on June 24, 1497. We do not know exactly where he landed (could have been Cape Breton, or Maine), but he went ashore, and took possession of the land. He left on or about July 20.

On his return to England, he was given a patent for a new voyage to North America the next year, and he left in 1498, this time with five ships. But he was never heard from again, and except for one of the ships, (which landed in an Irish port), the exploration was lost.

The Matthew legacy site today is tourist attraction in Bonavista, Newfoundland and Labrador. A replica was built in Bristol, UK, in 1996, and it made the journey to Bonavista in 1997.

The official website of Bonvista is http://www.bonavista.net/ourhistory.php, and the website which some of the history of John Cabot is written is http://www.win.tue.nl/~engels/discovery/cabot.html