Thursday, February 16, 2012

Ancestry.ca Offers FREE Access to Records

I just received this press release from Ancestry.ca. In part, it says -

“Did you know that almost 40 per cent of Ontarians can’t trace their ancestry back more than 100 years, and 40 per cent don’t know when their family first arrived in Canada? Even more surprising, almost 35 per cent don’t know the maiden names of either of their grandmothers.

Family Day is an ideal time to spend with loved ones discovering the ancestors that came before you. With schools and shops closed, not to mention the chilly winter temperatures, there’s no better time to stay indoors and close to the ones you love, and to start to learn about your genealogy.

Lesley Anderson, genealogist for Ancestry.ca, is available to discuss:

· Why Family Day is the perfect time of year to begin your family research
· Tips on getting started and gathering information
.  How to use historic records available on Ancestry.ca to find your ancestors
· How to get family members – including your kids – involved in your family history project
. How to incorporate memories from this year’s Family Day into your family tree

In honour of Family Day, Ancestry.ca (http://www.ancestry.ca/) is providing free access to more than 28 million records. Those wishing to discover their family history this week will be able to explore all Canadian birth, marriage and death records free of charge until Monday, February 20th".

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Call for Papers the Ontario Genealogical Society

The Ontario Genealogical Society (the Durham Region Branch) will hold it's conference May 31 – June 2, 2013 at The University of Ontario Institute of Technology/ Durham College, Simcoe Street North, Oshawa, Ontario.

The deadline for Submissions is 31 July, 2012, and selected speakers will be notified in the late summer of 2012, and the Syllabus material (PDF files), due in late 2012, is require for...

The theme will be Pulling Up Stakes – Putting Down Roots

The press release says that “We invite lecture submissions on topics about migration from all over the world to Canada – to Ontario specifically from early times to the present.

They should include: why the people left their homeland, the method of transportation used and why and where they settled. Topics could also include movement from Ontario to other parts of Canada and the USA”.

If you have any questions, email the Programme Chair at <2013progcom@gmail.com>.

Books

I have just published two booklets - The War of 1812: Canada and the United States, and Migration: Canada and the United States.

They are available for purchase through Global Genealogy at http://globalgenealogy.com, and the National Institute of Genealogical Studies at www.genealogicalstudies.com.

For more on the booklets, go to http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2012/01/booklet-1-war-of-1812-canada-and-united.html and http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2012/01/booklet-2-migration-canada-and-united.html

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Manitoba Genealogical Society Sponsors Heritage Fair Award

The society is sponsoring the MGS Book Award for the Best Project Utilizing Family or Local History at this year's Red River Regional Heritage Fair, taking place in Winnipeg on May 3, 2012.

The website says that "The project must be based on research that deals with family or local history. The subject could be biographical; about someone who lived in or is living in what is now Manitoba (formerly Rupert’s Land/Northwest Territories). This person may be famous or not but, ideally, they should be related to the contestant. The subject could also deal with a historical topic concerning the student’s local Manitoba community or neighbourhood. The project should make use of primary source materials".

For other entry information see the Red River Regional Heritage Fair at www.redriverheritage.ca or the MGS site at www.mbgenealogy.com.

Books

I have just published two booklets - The War of 1812: Canada and the United States, and Migration: Canada and the United States.

They are available for purchase through Global Genealogy at http://globalgenealogy.com, and the National Institute of Genealogical Studies at www.genealogicalstudies.com.

For more on the booklets, go to http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2012/01/booklet-1-war-of-1812-canada-and-united.html
and http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2012/01/booklet-2-migration-canada-and-united.html

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Roots to Boots Festival War of 1812


The Bicentennial Signature Event in Amherstburg, Ontario to commemorate the War of 1812 will take place on the weekend of August 3, 2012.

They say that it will be a community “totally immersed in 1812” during the festival.

There will be a Genealogy Pavilion – Ontario Genealogy Society & Certificate Program on the Saturday, as well as a Grand Parade Downtown, a First Nations presentation at Kings Navy Yard Park, and a Destiny Art Exhibit, and much more!

Go to www.1812amherstburg.com to find out about the summer long program.

Books

I have just published two booklets  -

The War of 1812: Canada and the United States, and Migration: Canada and the United States.

They are available for purchase through Global Genealogy at http://globalgenealogy.com, and the National Institute of Genealogical Studies at www.genealogicalstudies.com

For more on the booklets, please visit these links -

War of 1812 - http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2012/01/booklet-1-war-of-1812-canada-and-united.html, and

Migration - http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2012/01/booklet-2-migration-canada-and-united.html

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Ancestry Search at Library and Archives Canada Blog

In their blog today, they had hints for doing ancestry research in their databases by simply using the ancestor’s name. I have used this method before on my Webster line, and it has worked for me, so give it a try, and see what you can find.

They also give hints under the title of "Did you know?", and some of them are -

Databases can have indexing errors because of poor handwriting, poor legibility, or the fading of ink over time in the original records. If you find an error in the index, use the “Suggest a correction” feature.

Some databases allow for wildcard searching, that is, you can substitute a letter with a symbol to allow for more search results. For example, use “Sm*th” for Smith or Smyth, or “Fred*” for Frederick or Fredrich.

In the past, many names were written phonetically by the person recording them, such as the priest for a Parish Register or an enumerator for the Census. This resulted in various spellings of the same name.

To read the rest of the hints, go to http://thediscoverblog.com

To search for your ancestor, go to www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/lac-bac/search/anc_adv .

============
I have just published two booklets -

The War of 1812: Canada and the United States, and Migration: Canada and the United States.

They are available for purchase through Global Genealogy at http://globalgenealogy.com, and the National Institute of Genealogical Studies at www.genealogicalstudies.com

For more on the booklets, please visit these links -

War of 1812 - http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2012/01/booklet-1-war-of-1812-canada-and-united.html, and

Migration - http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2012/01/booklet-2-migration-canada-and-united.html

Monday, February 6, 2012

New/Improved Canadian Websites and Blogs Week 19

Here are some of the websites and blogs that I have come across the week ending February 5, 2012.

Yukon Territory Online Historical Directories  http://sites.google.com/site/onlinedirectorysite/Home/can/yt Over a dozen directories, and you can search them online. They include telephone directoties, city directories, and Alaska-Yukon City and Business Directory.

GenDisasters: Events That Touched Our Ancestors' Lives http://www3.gendisasters.com/taxonomy_menu/6/80 News reports about Newfoundland and Labrador disasters.

Ancestral Notes: A family history blog with genealogy links, resources, ancestors, and related topics http://ancestralnotes.ebradt.org A blog wich talks about family history found in Southwestern Ontario in Essex County.

Madeline's Essex County: A History of Canada's Deep South http://alifeinessexcounty.wordpress.com/about  A completely blog to the piece just written in the previous post. It is a blog about Madeline Wallace, and her time in Essex County by her daughter Victoria Fenner.

Mining Accidents U.S., Canada and Australia http://www.genealogy.com/users/s/h/e/Jerry-Sherard There have been 485,000 mining accident records (fatal and nonfatal) covering most of the United States, and the provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, Nova Scotia, Ontario and Quebec in Canada

Family Names: Beck, Keffer, Kratochvil, Moore, Puterbaugh, Secor http://ks-gt.blogspot.com This blog covers the families of Beck etc as they moved to Ontario from Pennsylvanian.

Canadian Vital Stats Genealogy Canada: Births Deaths & Marriages Exchange
www.olivetreegenealogy.com/can/bdm/index.shtml Have you checked this resource lately? The Olive Tree Blog has the Canadian Births or Baptism, Deaths and Marriages Exchange on file.

Panoramic Maps Canadian Map http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/pmhtml/canmap.html Check out these panoramic maps of the provinces of British Columbia, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Quebec.

War of 1812 http://www.learnalberta.ca/content/sswetw/index.html?launch=true It gives a history of each of the topics covered as well as nifty graphics!

Rare list of P.E.I. Acadians intrigues N.B. researchers http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/story/2012/01/31/nb-acadian-list-pei.html They have found a "rare list" of PEI Acadians at l'Université de Moncton. The list is of 289 names of Acadians who were living on Prince Edward Island in 1763.

Books

 I have just published two booklets -


The War of 1812: Canada and the United States, and Migration: Canada and the United States.  

They are available for purchase through Global Genealogy at http://globalgenealogy.com, and the National Institute of Genealogical Studies at www.genealogicalstudies.com

For more on the booklets, please visit these links -

War of 1812 - http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2012/01/booklet-1-war-of-1812-canada-and-united.html, and

Migration - http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2012/01/booklet-2-migration-canada-and-united.html

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Rama-Mara History Website

On February the 16th, Rama-Mara History Society of Orillia, Ontario will meet at 7 o'clock at the Rama-Mara History Website

On February the 16th, Rama-Mara History Society of Orillia, Ontario will meet at 7 o'clock at the
Udney Community Centre at 2347 Concession Road 10, Rama Township at which Mike Crosby will conduct a "Genealogy 101 Workshop."

Recent acquisitions of the society are Fires of 1881, McKinnon Family Tree, Murphy-Heiztener Tree/genealogy site, Sebright United Cemetery, and St. John's Anglican Cemetery Atherly/Ramara Cemeteries.

They have records of 26620 individuals, 8694 families, 3759 Surnames, Photo of the Day, and 2136, Photos, and 126 Photo Albums online at www.ramarahistoricalsociety.net/index.php?module=pnTNG&func=main.

Books

I have just published two booklets: The War of 1812: Canada and the United States, and
Migration: Canada and the United States.

They are available for purchase through Global Genealogy at http://globalgenealogy.com, and the National Institute of Genealogical Studies at www.genealogicalstudies.com

For more on the booklets, please visit these links -

War of 1812 - http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2012/01/booklet-1-war-of-1812-canada-and-united.html,

and

Migration - http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2012/01/booklet-2-migration-canada-and-united.html