Friday, January 13, 2012

Booklet #2 – Migration: Canada and the United States


To continue from yesterday's post on my newly-published booklets, the second one in the "Canadian Series" has been published.

"Migration: Canada and the United States" discusses the exchange of people who have crossed the borders even before the borders were set, as they are today.

The first two pages of the booklet concentrate on Canadians who went to the States. Headings include - The Acadian Migration; Migration to the "Boston States"; French Canadian Migration; Migration to the Midwestern and Southwestern States; and Migration from Canada to the United States Due to War.

The second part of the booklet is about the migration of Americans to Canada. Headings include - New England Planters to Nova Scotia; The United Empire Loyalists; The United States Migration to Central Canada; The United States Migration to Central Canada; The US Migration to the Prairie Provinces & the Yukon; Migration from the US to Canada as a Result of Wars; and Migration of Blacks from the US to Canada.

These headings offer good examples of those who came to Canada, or of Canadians who left for the US, and why.

The booklet gives a synopsis of what records to look for, the books written on the subject, where to find online resources, and a bonus list of some famous Canadians who migrated to the US.

Both the Migration and the War of 1812 booklets can be purchased from Global Genealogy www.globalgenealogy.com and the National Institute for Genealogical Studies www.genealogicalstudies.com.

The next booklet to come "off the presses" will be about Ontario's genealogical societies and groups, including some lesser-known "hidden gems", all of which may have the resources you need to help flesh out the Ontario branch of your family tree.

For more on our first booklet, "The War of 1812: Canada and the United States", go to www.genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2012/01/booklet-1-war-of-1812-canada-and-united.html.

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Booklet #1 - The War of 1812: Canada and the United States


If you've wondered why you haven't seen me around much the past few months, I've been busy writing laminated 4-page research guides on topics of interest to genealogists tracing their Canadian roots.

Why did I write booklets instead of a book? It's because I wanted to present the information clearly in a compact format that you could take on research trips without having to worry about adding yet another bulky book to your (probably) overstuffed tote bag.

The guides provide a basic understanding of the subject, as well as listings of relevant books and online information. In short, it's a primer that covers sources from Canada, the United States, and the UK.

For example, the booklet, “The War of 1812: Canada and the United States”, gives a synopsis of the causes of the War, and details the battles that took place (who, where, and when), and which included British forces, Blacks, and Aboriginal warriors who fought on both sides of the conflict.

For a list of the contents, please visit the following blog and websites -

The booklets were mentioned on John D. Reid's Anglo-Celtic Connections blog yesterday (Jan 10th), and I thank him for the review.

The booklets are available for sale through Global Genealogy's website, www.globalgenealogy.com, and are listed on their Facebook page, www.facebook.com/pages/GlobalGenealogycom-Inc/168601933226521?sk=wall, and in their free online newsletter, http://globalgenealogy.com/newsletter/2012-001.htm. You can also write them at sales@globalgenealogy.com, or call them toll-free at 1-800-361-5168.

They are also available at the National Institute for Genealogical Studies website at www.genealogicalstudies.com, by email at info@GenealogicalStudies.com, or call the Institute toll-free at 1-800-580-0165.

I am happy to say that the booklets are selling briskly!

Tomorrow Post: Booklet #2 – Migration: Canada and the United States

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Sir John A. Macdonald Dinner



Wednesday, January 11 is the 196th birthday of Sir John A. Macdonald in Scotland – Canada's first prime minister.

The Kinston Hisorical Society http://kingstonhistoricalsociety.ca/index.html has held, for the past 12 years, the dinner on his birthday at the Royal Military College's Senior Staff Mess.

The dinner's guest speaker this year is Mr. Peter Milliken, retired MP for Kingston and The Islands, and former Speaker of the House of Commons. His talk will be "Sir John A. Macdonald and the Kingston Heritage".

To find out more about Sir John A. (as he is called in Canada), here are some informative websites -  

Sir John A. Macdonald: Canada's Patriot Statesman www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/sir-john-a-macdonald/index-e.html


Bellevue House National Historic Site of Canada  www.pc.gc.ca/eng/lhn-nhs/on/bellevue/index.aspx

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

The Street Arab – The Story of a British Home Child

On January the 12th there will be a meeting of the Waterloo Genealogical Society at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 10 Lorraine Ave (corner of River Road) Kitchener, Ontario at 7:00 p.m.

Sandra Joyce will give a talk on her novel called The Street Arab – the Story of a British Home Child which is about a boy from a small mining town in Scotland, whose family is torn apart by the First World War, and resulting poverty.  

On her website http://www.sandrajoyce.com it says that "The after foraging for food one day, Robbie returns home to find his family missing and suffers a horrific accident. With strength and determination, he forges ahead and is sent, along with countless other British Home Children, to Canada to begin a new life".

To check meetings at Waterloo Genealogical Society, their website is at http://www.waterlooogs.ca/upcoming_meetings.htm

Monday, January 9, 2012

New/Improved Canadian Websites and Blogs Week 16

Here are some of the websites and blogs that I have come across the week ending January 8, 2012. 

Toronto 1861 http://toronto1861.blogspot.com The "Old Census Scribe" continues her work in transcribing the 1861 Census, but she does more than that, she includes her "method and organization, and the social and geographical details of the area at that time". She started the blog on January 9th, 2009.

Christopher Moore's History News http://christophermoorehistory.blogspot.com If you want an interesting view of Canada's history, then read Moore's blog.

Toronto Public Library http://torontopubliclibrary.typepad.com/local-history-genealogy/2012/01/jewish-genealogy.html The blog has been online since 2011, and it discovers "the history of your family, your Toronto neighbourhood, or places in Ontario and across Canada".


Diane Lynn Tibert – Handling Over the Reins http://dianetibert.com/2012/01/02/handing-over-the-reins This blog discusses history and genealogy of Nova Scotia.

Kent County GenWeb http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~onkent As the site says "Kent County is located near the South-Western tip of Ontario, between London and Windsor. It was created in 1792 and from 1792 to 1849 was part of the Western District". There are lots of resources here for you to use.

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Anglo-Celtic Roots - Winter 2011



The first article in the Winter 2011 edition of Anglo-Celtic Roots, the newsletter of the British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa (BIFHSGO) www.bifhsgo.ca, belongs to Sharon Callaghan.

While reading through "Genealogy Clues – Know Your Sources", I discovered that it is the first time I have seen Quebec records explained in this way. (This is important to me. Although my husband has had his genealogy done as far as BMDs are concerned, the article goes way beyond that, with additional records).

She divides records into four distinct categories – Most Common Searches, which includes directories, censuses, and BMDs; Less Common Searches, which includes obituaries, coroner's reports, and wills; Uncommon Searches, which includes groups, institutions, and photographers; and Most Uncommon Searches, which includes newspapers, and notaries.

I will be taking this copy of Anglo-Celtic Roots with me when I go to Quebec City later this year to do more research on my husband's genealogy.

Other articles include "What Happened to the Hodge Home Children?" by Bryan D. Cook; "'Hugh' Wouldn't Thought It?" by Christine Jackson; "The Cream of the Crop" by John D. Reid; and "The Bookworm" by Betty Warburton.

As usual, another great issue!

Saturday, January 7, 2012

Newspaper Vital Statistics Indexing Project - GANS


I see where the Genealogical Association of Nova Scotia (GANS) www.chebucto.ns.ca/Recreation/GANS has put out a call for volunteers for the Newspaper Vital Statistics Indexing Project.


They have already indexed vital statistics from 1769 to 1856, and now they need help to index and proofread the years up to 1864 because that is when the provincial government required that vital statistics be kept.

If you can help, please contact them at gans@chebucto.ns.ca.

They have published their Fall 2011 Newsletter, and some of the stories highlighted in this issue are "Between the Lines: The Story of Harry G. Cooke in World War I" by H. Day; "The Private Log of William Ackhurst, Jr., 1867-1868" by K. Lamb; "The Braines of Queens County, Nova Scotia" by D. Cochrane; and "Collins Family Bible, Digby County" by J. Fralic-Brown.