Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Fergus Scottish Fesival & Highland Games

From August 12th to the 14th, Fergus, Ontario will be the place to be if you have an interest in things Scottish.

There will a full genealogy program at the The Record & Guelph Mercury's Genealogy and Education Venue, which is situated beside the Heavy Events field within the picturesque Avenue of the Clans.

The site says it "Lectures from our featured author, book signing, Scottish musicians, The Chieftain, dance, Scottish and Celtic related lectures given by top Canadian academics, featured athletes, tartan and kilt making, weaponry, battles, geography, sculptor, croft display, the distillation of Scotch, the many uses of Highland heather and much more".

There is a Historical Research Centre, Genealogy Research Centre and Tartan Research Centre within the venue. The Scottish Athletic Hall of Fame is the only comprehensive exhibit in the world illustrating the recorded history of indigeneous Scottish sport.

The exhibit is interpreted by historian-author Lynn Boland Richardson and renowned sports author and Commonwealth official Mr. David P Webster O.B.E. Photo opportunities and athlete autographs are available.

To go to their website http://www.fergusscottishfestival.com/
or contact them at info@FergusScottishFestival.com

Monday, August 8, 2011

Saint John Branch Genealogical Fair

On October 1, 2011, from 9:30 am to 3:30 pm, at The St. Joachim’s Church Hall, 603 Loch Lomond Road, Saint John, New Brunswick the Saint John Branch of the NBGS Inc. will be hosting a Genealogical Fair.

Several exhibitors will be in attendance, and it will feature the NB Archives Road Show which includes research material from the New Brunswick Provincial Archives.

I understand that Dave Obee, genealogist from Victoris, British Columbia will be there giving talks.

This fair will be of interest from the beginner to the experienced researcher.

They say that you will be able to "Learn the first steps in the lifetime journey of family research, perhaps find that small piece of information that chinks away at that brick wall you've encountered or make connections with researchers that are on the same trail as you are".

There will be a small entrance fee, and refreshments will be available to purchase.

Plenty of free parking is available.

Their site is http://www.nbgssj.ca/GenealogicalFair_October12011.asp

PoW Camp in Winnipeg

The Whitewater PoW Camp Archaeology Project http://whitewaterpowcamp.com/ is the site where German prisoners of war spent much of the Second World War in Manitoba.

The archaeology dig is at Riding Mountain National Park, located about 300 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg, where the Whitewater PoW camp was located.

The camp housed about 500 people. About 450 German Afrika Korps soldiers were sent to the camp after their capture in October 1943 during the Second Battle of El-Alamein in Egypt. They were kept at the camp until October 1945.

There is a list of some of the POW camps in Canada (There were some 40 camps)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_POW_camps_in_Canada

Sunday, August 7, 2011

Articles for "The Toronto Project"

I came across this notice today in the "Loyalist Trails" UELAC Newsletter 2011-31 Aug 7, 2011 -

"The Toronto Project, which is an online museum of the history of Toronto and its' people, will launch publicly on October 12th at The Art Gallery of Ontario. Amongst a number of initiatives, The Toronto Project is creating a wiki history of the city. This will eventually be an interactive forum open to everyone's contribution. Prior to the public launch of the wiki history, The Toronto Project is looking for contributions of some core articles with which to seed the wiki.

We have been asked to submit stories of our Loyalist ancestors and their contributions to the city of Toronto and the area around. Please submit your story to torontouel@bellnet.ca. We will review and edit, if necessary, and forward them on to the project co-ordinators".

Karen Windover UE,President, Toronto Branch

Shelburne County (Nova Scotia) Archives and Genealogical Society Newsletter



The summer issue of their newsletter arrived with some sad news – the retirement of Canadian genealogist, Eleanor Smith.

I have known Eleanor since the early 1990s, and she was always been most helpful in my many projects (especially the Port Roseway Associated Loyalists). She was always willing to explain Shelburne County genealogy to me, and I will always be grateful for that.

She wrote a number of books - Loyalist Foods in Today's Recipes; Land of my Fathers, Vol 1 & 2; and Descendants of Alexander and Agnes (Hamilton) Hogg Family of Nova Scotia. She edited Lost Mariners Vol 1, and co-authored The Veterans of Shelburne County: A Memorial Vol One and Two. They are available at the SCA&GC website at http://nsgna.ednet.ns.ca/shelburne.

I interviewed her in 2009, and it was published in the May/June 2010 issue of Internet Genealogy under the title of "Going Back to Her Roots: Eleanor Robertson Smith".

In the Family Bible section of the newsletter, they have reprinted marriages, births, and deaths from the King family of Shelburne, and in the article, "News from Yesterday", they have excerpts from The Coast Guard, Clark's Harbour and Yarmouth, 5 May, 1809 newspaper.

The last article is an excerpt of the book by Gerald MacApline called "Mason's Division Stories of Jordan Bay and Jordan Ferry in Shelburne County" in which he talks about the great forest fire that swept through the village of Roseway in August, 1911, and how the Halifax newspapers spearheaded donations to the county.

Saturday, August 6, 2011

The Tracer



The August edition of The Tracer from the Oxford County Branch of the OGS arrived this week, and as usual, is a very "newsy" newsletter.

In "Governor's House or Turnkey's House?", an article written by D. Gregory in which he explores the question about the original destination of the house, was it either the governor's house of the jail, or did it belong to the jailer (turnkey) himself? This question is still up in the air. But as the article points out, it will soon be the home to the Oxford County OGS, the Oxford County Historical Society, and the top floor will be the home to the Oxford County Archives.

Another article, "Margo Kidder – The Oxford Connection"wonders when the episode of "Who Do You Think You Are?" (Canadian version) program aired a couple of years ago featured Margot Kidder. They followed her maternal grandparents, John "Jack" Wilson and Ruth Pyne Wilson, but the writer wonder why they didn't follow her great-grandfather, Charles A. Pyne and Ruth Helen Pyne, for they would have led the viewers to Oxford County, instead of to British Columbia.

Conference 2011 are covered in pictures, Fall Meetings are in the newsletter, and they are starting a new feature called "The Treasure Chest: A look at the family heirlooms of our members". The first person which brought in pictures of her family was Marilyn Whyley.

The website is http://www.oxford.ogs.on.ca, and the email is oxford@ogs.on.ca.

The Ontario Genealogical Society is offering a half-year membership for $35.00 until the end of 2011. You can find out more by going to http://www.ogs.on.ca/membership/types.php

Friday, August 5, 2011

Ottawa Genealogical Society Changes It's Meeting Place

As a result of the opening of the new City of Ottawa Central Archives, the Ottawa Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society will now hold their meetings at the new location starting this fall.

The meeting will take place at 7:00 pm, 3rd Tuesday monthly except July and August at the City of Ottawa Central Archives, 100 Tallwood Drive, Ottawa.

The library of the OGS can be accessed at the Resource Centre, City of Ottawa Central Archives, 100 Tallwood Drive, Ottawa. The hours are 9:00 to 4:00 Tues to Fri, 10:00 to 5:00 Sat (Sep to May, closed holiday weekends)

There has also been an expansion to the coverage of the Region. It now includes Prescott & Russell Counties.

The first meeting will be Tuesday, 20 September 2011 at 7:00 p.m. The topic will be "The Eyes That Shone: From Ireland to Canada" and the speaker will be Phil Donnelly, an author who will speak about his book, and a program titled Heritage Tierworker which encourages, and helps people write their stories

The website is http://ogsottawa.on.ca/