Live Streaming at SCGS

Did anyone else try to go to the Streaming Video, called Live Streaming, from the Southern California Genealogical Society this past weekend?

Well, I was successful in watching five lectures. But I had problems with the others - I just couldn’t log on for some reason, and I joined others who had the same problem as I according to the message page.

You had to register for each session separately, and that seemed to be the root of the problem.  Having  to  register for each one. Hopefully, they will get it fixed by next year.

However, the five I did hear were –

Steve Luxenberg – His talk was about a family secret (his mother had a secret that no one knew about – a sister), and the method he used to find out about her. Quite thought provoking!

Kerry Bartels – He is an archivist at the Pacific National Archives on the West Coast, and took us through his own journey of privately archiving his own personal family papers that were found in the family home in the mid-west.  The family was originally from Switzerland.

Warren Bittner – This lecture was really interesting on establishing relationships within a family. He took the case of his grand-mother , and tried through census records, city directories, obituaries etc to find her family in New York City. He showed how to work with complex evidence to find the family when they didn’t appear on the census at first glance.  

D. Joshua Taylor – I try never to miss him – he is that good! He talked about using Compiled Genealogies, and how you can use them to work on your own genealogy.

Examples of Compiled Genealogies are journal articles, local history books, Family Associations.

Kerry Bartels – I heard him again. And this time he talked about military records.

I was bemused by the parallels of the National Archives in Washington and our own LAC – the lack of indexes by name of digitised records. This is exactly what we don’t like about the LAC as they put on more, and more of the records without providing a name index. Example, the War of 1812 record!

Unfortunately, the Live Streaming won’t be repeated for Free, but will only be available at the site on the member’s page. Too bad – because it was good what I saw of it!

But they do put on Webinars on a bi-weekly basis. I have listened to them, and the topics are very good.

And there was a 27 page Syllabus (which was available as PDF), and it is full of information for people who have ancestors in the States. The information on William Bittner’s talk was really helpful.

But in spite of everything, I would like to thank Pat Hinkle, the 1^st Vice-President  of the SCGS, for all the work she does in making the Jamboree a worthwhile event.

The next one is on June 20^th, and it will feature Rick Crume, and his topic will be “Genealogy Hacking: Tricks to Crack Genealogy Web Sites”.

Go to www.scgsgenealogy.com to register for the Webinar.

May 2012 Families

Being the editor, I am really proud of this issue, because it is all about Sharing Your Family History!

The first article is Four Women and Four Legacies by Dr. Joseph Wearing.

The paper tells the history of the four Thompson women who were from Ireland, and who eventally lived in London, and Petrolia, Ontario.

Dr. Wearing shows us how to research and use wills, and property transcripts to trace female ancestry of our family. A thoughtful, exciting read!

Guylaine Petrin comes back with another paper entitled Who Was Jane Ross Kingston?, and she takes us to court and burial records in Upper Canada to prove who she really was - or wasn't.

As I noted in my editoral "Once again, she shows that using court records can bring much of family history to life, and goes a lomg way in proving the existance of a person".

Another paper in this issue is Of Buttermilk and Banjos: A Glimpse into the History of Blacks in Norfolk County in which the former archivist of the Eva Brook Donly Museum and Archives,  Scott Gilles, takes us to daily like as it was lived by Black Canadians in the mid-1800s.

Gwen Patterson in her column Where Are Those Records? writes about George Gordon, the earliest merchant- in Penetanguishene, and Brooke Skelton in her paper The English Settlement Examination Record for William Bennett of Chedzoy, Somerset in which a chance reading of a certain document in an archives solved a huge genealogical problem.

The next issue of Families will be released the first week in August, and it will feature the First Prize winner in the Keffer Essay Contest - Virginia Reid with the paper How an Old Handkerchief Helped Me, the First Prize of the Dr. Don Brearley Student Essay Award which is William Vollmer with his paper A Mastery Like No Other, and a real exciting paper The Family of Jacob Phillips and Sarah "Sally" Kaaka of Etobicoke: An Overview by Dave Phillips.

The site of the Ontario Genealogical Society is http://www.ogs.on.ca/.

Events in Canadian Genealogy

A few meetings have come across the desk lately, and they are -

The Kitchener Ontario Stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Later-day Saints will be holding a one day seminar One World - One Family on August 25, 2012 from 9 am to 4pm, 1250 Strasburg Road, Kitchener Ontario. 

The guest speakers include J. Brian Gilchrist, Darryl Bonk, Paul F. Smart, Noel Elliot – check out the website for more speakers and the excellent workshops.

$15.00 for early registration by 30th June 2012, and from July 1, 2012, the registration will be $20.00. Lunch cost is included with registration.

       The website is at www.oneworldonefamily-theevent.com

Quebec Family History Society

Members and non-members are invited to attend the all-day seminar, A Genealogical Day in Ireland, on Saturday, June 9. President Gary Schroder and member Lorraine Gosselin will explain how to find Irish ancestors in Quebec and in Ireland. They will discuss the major genealogical resources that are available in Ireland and on the Internet.

$30.00 fee for members and non-members. Bring your lunch or you may purchase one at the bakery next door. Reservations required: 514-695-1502.

Go to the website www.qfhs.ca

BIFHSGO AGM

BIFHSGO is holding their AGM tomorrow morning at 9:00 along with their Great Moments in Genealogy featuring the following four talks -

Finding Uncle Percy’s Naval Service Record by Betty Warburton

My Journey to the Middle of Nowhere by Judy Thamas

Scottish and English Architects of the Chateau Laurier and Union Station by David Jeanes

Not so Hidden Treasures at the BIFHSGO Library and Ottawa City Archives by Ann Burns.

The meeting will be held at Library and Archives Canada, 395 Wellington Street, Ottawa.

Go to www.bifhsgo.ca

Genealogy Workshop 

The June meeting of the Quinte OGS Branch will be a workshop covering how to use Quinte Branch Library and Online Resources such as the Names Index Database finding aid and Cemsearch.

They will explain the library catalog reference codes and how to interpret them to gain additional information. Some members have asked for a review of genealogy software so they will demonstrate some popular programs too. The members and guests are asked to bring to bring along their research problems which we will try to answer.

The meeting will be held at 1 pm at 7 Creswell Drive, Trenton.

The website is at www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~canqbogs

Keffer Writing Contest

Every year, the Ontario Genealogical Society sponsors a writing contest called the Keffer Writing Contest – and this year – it was something special. We had 14 entrants!

From the 14 essays – four were chosen as winners, and they are -

First Place goes to Virginia Reid, and her essay "How an Old Handkerchief Helped Me"

Second Place goes to Debra Butler Honor UE, and her essay "The Stain Glass Mystery"

Third Place goes to Anne Rahamut, and her essay "Mrs. Teepell's Tale"

and

Fourth Place goes to David Harper, and his essay "Tracing 19th Century Homesteading"

If you want to see the rules for entry, go to www.ogs.on.ca/home/essay.php

If you aren't a member, they have a special offer where you can join for $35.00 for a six month period, and be eligible to submit an essay. Plus, there is lots of records on the OGS Members Site.

There will be one essay published per issue of Families, starting with the August 2012 issue.

The deadline for the 2013 contest is November 1, 2012.

Some Notes From the OGS Conference

As you know, I didn't attend the OGS Conference in Kingston this year, but there has been some news that has come from the conference -

Shirley Sturdevant has been chosen OGS President for the 2012 -2012. Shirley is from Chatham, and she has worked with the Kent Branch, held the position of Region 1 Director for three years, and served in the role of Society Vice-President for the past two years.

Mike More has assumed the position of the new Vice-President for the OGS. Mike has served with the Ottawa Branch since 1992 in a variety of positions including Chair for several years and has also held the position of Region 8 Director for the past two years.

Congratulations to both!

Thanks to John D. Reid at www.anglo-celtic-connections.blogspot.com for passing along the news that the Ontario BMD will be released in a couple months – and they will be online - digitized and indexed for the first time on the Archives of Ontario website!

They will add an extra year for births (the year 1915 will be added), marriages (the year 1930 will be added), and deaths (the year 1940 will be added).

John says it will be a couple of months before they appear at www.archives.gov.on.ca/english/archival-records/interloan/vsmain.aspx

New/Improved Canadian Websites and Blogs Week 27

PEIAncestors.com http://peiancestry.com/home Art Lockhart from Summerside told me not to forget to mention PEIAncestors, and the great resources that they have in their online collections, oral histories, cemeteries, and newspapers. Personal note - it seems that not only is Mr. Lockhart a prolific headstone photographer, he was also my husband's mechanic when he was posted there (and a very good one at that, so I'm told). For more on his important new work, go to www.journalpioneer.com/News/Local/2011-07-20/article-2668071/Local-couples-hobby-to-benefit-local-historical-records-/1

Genealogies of Valcartier, Quebec (also includes Ste-Catherine, Riviere aux Pins, and Stoneham) www.pbalkcom.com/valcartier Patricia Balkcom wrote me last week to tell me about her page. I went and took a look, and she has census, church, cemetery, and civil records for the area. There are also biographies and information on several thousand people from this area. It is a very nice site, and personally, I look forward to doing some research for my in-laws (Jobin and Bédard), who came from that area, including Shannon and Tewkesbury!

Ingersoll Tribune Online Database www.ocl.net/tribune This is a searchable index of all the birth, death, and marriage notices found in the Ingersoll Tribune newspaper of Ingersoll, Ontario, Canada, from 1897–1970.

St. Paul's Cemetery: Wisbeach, Warwick Twp., Lambton Co., Ontario, Canada http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~jaiwilliams/Wisbeach There is a surname index to transcriptions, and a list of church histories online.

Carmichael Family Online http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~carmichaelfamily/00-search/canada.htm This is a really interesting site, where the oldest Carmichael settlers are shown for each of the Canadian provinces.

FamilySearch.org - Canada, Births and Baptisms, 1661-1959
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://www.familysearch.org/searchapi/search/collection/1520604
This index contains 1,529,089 records. Due to Canada's privacy laws, some of the recent records may not be displayed. The year range represents most of the records.

FamilySearch.org - Canada Deaths and Burials, 1664-1955
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://www.familysearch.org/searchapi/search/collection/1520609
This index contains 101,189 records. Due to Canada's privacy laws, some of the recent records may not be displayed. The year range represents most of the records.

FamilySearch.org - Canada, Marriages, 1661-1949
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://www.familysearch.org/searchapi/search/collection/1520608
This index contains 268,014 records. Due to Canada's privacy laws, recent records may not be displayed.

From Montbéliard to a New World http://web2.uwindsor.ca/library/leddy/people/art/resource.html
The history of about 420 French-speaking Protestants who were brought to Nova Scotia by a Dutch shipping agent named John Dick. 

Library and Archives Canada RIP?

Over the past few months, some disquieting news about the future of Library and Archives Canada (LAC) has drifted through the genealogy community in Ottawa, and now - worldwide.

Last weekend, I wrote an article about federal government cutbacks at the LAC for Columns, the newsletter for ISFHWE http://www.isfhwe.org/ (International Society of Family History Writers and Editors), of which I am the International/At-Large Director.

In the article, I mentioned that the LAC is promoting the digitization of the microfilm that the LAC holds. This is a laudable idea, making the records available for everyone online so that you won't have to go to the LAC in Ottawa. But on the other hand – it is not indexed!

So you will have to spend hours in front of your computer (instead of a microfilm reader) trying to find the person you are looking for. And they are cutting back on the number of people digitizing the microfilm – so what now?

To read the latest posts on the LAC, here are some blogs and websites that you can check -

On to Ottawa Trek, in photos Blogger John D. Reid has been keeping his eye on the LAC ever since he started his Anglo-Celtic Connections blog, http://anglo-celtic-connections.blogspot.ca/2012/05/on-to-ottawa-trek-in-photos.html. He, as well as his readers, have seen the LAC go through its many revisions over the years until it has come to this – a mock funeral held on its doorsteps on May 28, 2012.

Archivists Protest in Ottawa Over Federal Cuts The CBC has a write-up of the mock funeral held in Ottawa www.cbc.ca/news/arts/story/2012/05/28/archivists-protest.html.

Ottawa Citizen Photos and Video Another story on the mock funeral held in Ottawa. www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Photos+Video+attend+funeral+archival+funding+cuts/6691237/story.html

May Was Asian Heritage Month in Canada

The month of May recognized the long and rich history of Asian Canadians, and the incredible contribution to the history of Canada.

In December 2001, the Senate adopted a motion proposed by Senator Vivienne Poy (the former patron of the Ontario Genealogical Society) to officially designate May as Asian Heritage Month in Canada

In May 2002, the Government of Canada signed an official declaration to designate May as Asian Heritage Month.

If you wish to learn more about Asian Heritage Month in Canada, here are some of the websites -

Ottawa Asian Heritage Month Society Website http://www.asianheritagemonth.net/ They have an events page, profiles, and news.

Edmonton Asian Heritage Month www.asian.ca/heritagemonth/index.html They have an events page, and they give a short history Asian Heritage Month in Edmonton.

Calgary Asian Heritage Month http://asianheritagecalgary.ca/ They have an events calendar, and a photo gallery.

Winnipeg Asian Heritage Month http://www.asianheritagemanitoba.ca/ They have an events page,

and Asian-Canadian history on the website.

Asian Heritage Society of New Brunswick http://ahsnb.org/ They have a photo and video gallery onsite, and an events page.

New/Improved Canadian Websites and Blogs Week 26

Acadian Memorial http://www.acadianmemorial.org/ They have the Ensemble Encore (Together Again) Database of Acadian Genealogy onsite, plus workshops and a guide to sources.

Down East: A Maritime Heritage http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~downeast There is something for everyone here - families genealogies; birth, marriage, and death records; photographs; and links to related sites.

Genealogy of the Rose family of Ochre Pit Cove, Conception Bay, Newfoundland http://freepages.history.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~jordain The site has a surname list and family trees.

Parkdale-Maplewood Community Museum http://parkdale.ednet.ns.ca/ Visit their Memories Not Forgotten display, the Research Centre, and their Newsletter – there seems to be something of interest to everyone.

The P.E.I. Ships Database! - Index www.islandregister.com/ship_data.html Check out the ship's database for passenger lists, diaries of voyages at sea of the people from Prince Edward Island.

Grand Falls Genealogy Club (New Brunswick) www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nbgfgc This is a bilingual site (F/E), and is full of genealogical tid-bits to feast upon – from biographies, to Facebook, to early church histories.

Fraser Family Tree (Manitoba Branch) www.kenora.net/frazer The history of the Frazer family immigration to Ontario Canada in 1869, and moving on to Manitoba about 1886.

Sidney Museum and Archives http://www.sidneymuseum.ca/ This museum is operated by the Saanich Museum, and follows the history of the people who settled there.

Book Review: The Beginner's Guide to Genealogy

Fraser Dunford, the former executive director of the Ontario Genealogical Society, wrote a small yet delightful and very informative book  a few years ago on what to do as a beginner genealogist. It is to be noted that the book, The Beginner's Guide to Genealogy, is written from the point of view of Ontario records.

In the "Introduction", he says, “This book starts with some of the basic concepts used in genealogy, shows you how to start on your family tree, then looks briefly at two huge topics, evidence and ethics.”

In "How To Do the Basics", he discusses such topics as Family Tree (difference between Ancestor and Descendant trees - with examples), Family Record, BMD, and Dates.

The section, “Where to Find It”, covers Maps, Census, Religious Records, Civil Registration, Municipal Records, Land Records, Newspapers, Immigration/Emigration, and Wills.

Also included is a Glossary, and a Relationship Chart, in addition to other material not mentioned here.

You may also wish to read his companion book, Beginner's Guide to Ontario Genealogy (Toronto: OGS, 2006).

Both books are available from the bookstore at www.ogs.on.ca.

Canadian Webinars

 Although it's has taken awhile, there are now some Canadian Webinars which are coming to the Internet.  

 I came across Lisa Alzo's Webinar Canadian Genealogy for Americans to be given Tuesday, June 5, 2012 at 8 p.m. Eastern (7 p.m. Central, 6 p.m. Mountain, 5 p.m. Pacific).  

You can register at http://blog.familytreemagazine.com/insider/2012/05/23/CanadianGenealogyForAmericans.aspx.

It is sponsored by Family Tree Magazine, and there is a fee.

 And there are a series of Canadian Webinars given by Canadian genealogist Kathryn Lake Hogan about Mapping Your Ancestors' Footsteps to be given in June, and Canadian Ports of Entry: Ship Passenger Lists, Immigration Records and Border Crossing Records to be given in October.

 The Webinars given by Kathryn will be free.

To register, you can go to http://www.looking4ancestors.com/p/appearances.html

A Genealogical Day in Quebec (Seminar)

On Saturday, June 9, 2012 from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm at the Quebec Family History Society Library, 173 Cartier Ave, Pointe-Claire (Montreal), QC H9S 4H9, Lorraine Gosselin and Gary Schroder will present a seminar called A Genealogical Day in Quebec.

This seminar will explain how to find your Irish ancestors in Quebec and Ireland, including Northern Ireland. All the major sources and major genealogical resources for research in Ireland and on the internet will be discussed.

The fee is $30.00 , and reservations necessary. You can call 514.695.1502, or visit their website is

www.qfhs.ca.

2014 Will Be The Centennial of the First World War

One place where Canada is starting to plan commemoration of the First World War in 2014 is Kenora, Ontario.

Canada declared war on Germany August 5, 1914 following Britain who had declared war a day earlier.  

Over the next four years, 620,000 Canadians, and over 400,000 would serve overseas on the battlefields of France. 67,000 Canadian servicemen, and women died, and 173,000 were wounded. There were over a thousand local men from Kenora who joined the Canadian Expeditionary Force.

The Lake of the Woods Museum, in conjunction with the Kenora Public Library, and local genealogy group Ancestor Seekers of Kenora are undertaking a huge project of producing a data base where they will list every local man and woman who served in the First World War. They will also make biographical sketches on the soldiers, and put any other information that can be supplied by the public for each man and woman.  

Right now, there are over two dozen people who are working on the project, but more are needed.

Tomorrow at 7 p.m. the museum will be hosting an information, and training session for volunteers who would like to help with research.

If you want more information, you can go to the Ancestor Seekers of Kenora webpage at http://askgen.ning.com to read more about the project.

Indexing [Part B] Ontario Marriages, 1869–1927 Now Complete

FamilySearchh.org has told us that the Ontario Marriages 1869-1927 [Part B] is now complete.

The project have been removed from the available online indexing batches, and will now go through a final completion check process. Once this is completed, it will join the regular search feature.

To bring yourself up-to-date with the projects the FamilySeach is indexing, go to

https://indexing.familysearch.org/projtab/current_projects.jsf

30th Anniversary Party – Durham Branch OGS

Garry R. Holland, in charge of the publicity for the Durham Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society (OGS) http://www.ogs.on.ca/durham/index.htm, writes and tells us that Durham Branch will hold it's 30^th Anniversary party on Tuesday June 5^th at 7:30 pm.

At the Anniversary Celebration there will be Nancy Trimble, the former president of the OGS, and she will talk on "Look to the Future - Social Networking", and Janis Carter who will talk on the history of the branch, and will present a slide-show. And there will be the all important CAKE to celebrate the 30^th Anniversary!!

Bring along your family trees, for you may find unexpected ancestor connections to others while at this meeting/celebration.

The meetings are held at the Main Branch of the Oshawa Library (basement auditorium). They hold meetings on the first Tuesday of each month, in the basement auditorium, 65 Bagot Street, just south of City Hall.

The OGS 2013 Conference will he held in Oshawa next year.

New/Improved Canadian Websites and Blogs Week 25

City of Vancouver Archives http://vancouver.ca/ctyclerk/archives/digitized/EarlyVan/index.htm All seven volumes of Major Matthews' Early Vancouver photos are now online.

The Children of Fort Langley www.fortlangley.ca Information on the descendants of the Hudson Bay Company employees who worked at Fort Langley between 1827 and 1895.

The First Newspapers on Canada's West Coast: 1858-1863

http://hughdoherty.tripod.com/victoria.htm Newspapers from Victoria, British Columbia in the years 1856-1863.

Prince of Wales: Immigration List 1813 http://tmsnyder.tripod.com/PW_LIST.htm List of Scottish passengers who in 1813 arrived from Stromness, Orkney, Scotland at York Factory. They arrived two months later at York Factory in Manitoba.

War of 1812 History www.1812history.com You can read about such items as period newspapers, military uniforms, weapons and documents, business records, letters, and clothing. There is also a blog at www.1812history.com/blog.html.

Acadia Parish, Louisiana https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Acadia_Parish,_Louisiana Although this is a parish in Louisiana, there are plenty of references made to the Acadians of Nova Scotia.

The Upper St. John River Valley www.upperstjohn.com Transcriptions of early censuses, surveys, land grants, and maps. If you go on the "What's New" webpage, you will see where the author has added many new records.  

Welcome to Al Beagan's "Genealogy Notes" http://members.tripod.com/~Al_Beagan/start.htm

Genealogy Notes of PEI, NFLD, and those that went to the "Boston States".

Nova Scotia Historic Notes... www.twrsoft.com/trivia/hist08.htm Notes from Nova Scotia from 1398 to 1995.

Montcalm Passenger List, July 16, 1936 www.daveobee.com/resources/pilgrim.html The Montcalm sails for Europe, July 16, 1936 on the "Vimy and Battlefields Pilgrimage". Dave Obee has put the passengers' names on this site.

Genealogy Research Toolbox

This has been my week for webinars! I listened to two of them from Ancestry.com, and another one sponsored by the Southern California Genealogy Society at www.scgsgenealogy.com,which featured Thomas MacEntee from Geneabloggers www.geneabloggers.com called Genealogy Research Toolbox.

First of all, i It must be said that Thomas' Genealogy Toolbox is FREE to take from his site at http://genealogytoolbox.weebly.com/index.html. I have just been to his site, and there were a few links that I am interested in, and will add to my site, and you can do the same thing.

But not to get ahead of myself, a Genealogy Research Toolbox (GRT) is a list of links that you have decided is key to your research. After you have made your choices, you can organize them in either a website, a “wiki”, a blog, or maybe by using Favorites or Bookmarks in your browser, for instance. The choice is yours.

The first to do this was visit Cyndi's List at www.cyndislist.com to see what links are there which would interest you, take them, and add them to your own Genealogy Research Toolbox.  

One site I will be adding to my list is RootsWeb Search Thingy at http://searches.rootsweb.ancestry.com. I have used this before and found it useful, but haven't use it lately, so I will add that to my list.

Another site is the FamilySearch Family History Books on Beta http://books.familysearch.org/primo_library/libweb/action/search.do?dscnt=1&dstmp=1337256808838&vid=FHD_PUBLIC&fromLogin=true. FamilySearch is putting the books that they have online (most are books that were published before 1923), and I will add it to my list, and read the books later.  

If you want more help setting up your own personal research list, you can go to Genealogy Research Toolbox at www.genealogy-research-tools.com to get excellent advice on how to set one up, and how to use it to your advantage.

So if you haven't set one up already, take some time to do it so that you can find sites very easily, saving you time and aggravation in trying to find them in the wide-open Internet world.  

My thanks go to the Southern California Genealogical Society and Thomas MacEntee for putting on this webinar.

Ancestry.com Webinars

Monday night, I listened to a webinar given by Ancestry.com called “Ready, Set, Go! Family History How-To Everyone Should Know”.

Although I don't usually write on Ancestry.com (I try keep my remarks to their Canadian website, Ancestry.ca, on my blog), I made an exception this week, and listened to an introductory webinar. I wanted to hear what they had to say about researching, and Crista Cowan (the girl who lead the webinar – she is behind The Barefoot Genealogist's blog on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/notes/crista-cowan/why-am-i-called-the-barefoot-genealogist/3140686791615) gave some good tips that anyone can use – be they a beginner or an experienced genealogist.

She gave a list of what she calls “Genealogy Conventions”. I picked three conventions to write on -  

When dealing with a married couples, always put the woman's maiden name with her married name in the family tree. I always put (if I know it) her maiden name in the family tree, or in the search box. That is, if I know what it is. If you don't know what it is when searching, leave that field blank. In French-Canadian genealogy, it is preferable (because of Quebec civil laws listing all of a female's records under her birth name) to use the woman's maiden name when looking up civil records, as it will greatly increase your chances of finding her records vice finding them under her married name).

In a family tree, put the surname that you are researching in CAPS (capital letters), and leave all other names in non-caps. Now this is interesting, but it make perfect sense. The surname will leap out at you when it is in caps, and you can easily find the name you are looking for. An excellent idea!  

The trouble with place names — which seems to be a constant complaint I hear with my research work in Canada — is, how do I approach this? Crista says that it is a problem everywhere – just think about the problems in Europe!

But we have problems in Canada, too. Right now, I am researching a place in Ontario that had a name change in 1800s, plus a township name change.  

So, you must put the exact name where the event took place.  

Remember that in order to find out all the information which is on the 1851 Canada Census, you must check with the Library and Archives Canada (LAC) website www.lac-bac.gc.ca – and you must have the correct name in the search box, or else the search engine will say, “No Results Found”. Ancestry doesn't show everything on a record, so you will have to go to the LAC to find the information.

I must say that it was very good. If you missed it on the 14^th, it is going to be placed in their onsite archives in the Learning Center at www.ancestry.com/cs/HelpAndAdviceUS.

Postscript: One place to check first on Ancestry.ca to see if they have a certain record is the Card Catalog http://search.ancestry.ca/search/CardCatalog.aspx#ccat=hc%3D25%26dbSort%3D1%26sbo%3D1%26. They have all the records there, and you can check that first before deciding to subscribe to Ancestry.ca. And it's FREE!

Genealogy “Summer Camp” in Toronto

"Have you ever wondered what you can do this summer? Go to the Toronto Summer Camp for genealogists from August 12 to the 17^th!

Genealogy "Summer Camp" is a unique program (for adults) that brings out-of-town family historians to Toronto for an intensive week of tutorials and hands-on research at the many archives and reference libraries in the city. If you have ancestors from Toronto or other parts of Ontario, there are many resources here for you. Local family historians are also welcome to participate as “day campers”. We take full advantage of Toronto’s great public transit system, and we keep the group small to allow lots of help from our local experts.

We’ll help you spend more time finding information about your ancestors—and less time finding the archives.

This will be our 16th Summer Camp. More than 125 participants from England, right across Canada and many US states have attended the 15 previous Summer Camps—some more than once!

Genealogy “Summer Camp” 2012 will take place from August 12-17. The Summer Camp fee for 2012 is $230 (CDN), which covers approximately 7 hours of lectures and tutorials, 25 hours of hands-on instruction and all worksheets and handouts.

For details as to venues, resources, tutorials and accommodation, and to download an application package, visit www.torontofamilyhistory.org/summercamp.html, or contact Jane MacNamara at info@torontofamilyhistory.org.

Applications should be received by 11 June 2012."

Canada Supports Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial Site

On May 14, 2012, the Canadian government announced that it is supporting Holocaust education, research and remembrance by announcing a $400,000 grant to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation in Poland. Prime Minister Stephen Harper made this announcement during the visit of Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk to Canada.

The press release said that “Canada’s support for the Memorial Site will help with the conservation of the buildings, grounds, and the thousands of historical objects that are endangered by erosion and deterioration. The memorial is almost 200 hectares, and includes 155 buildings, 300 ruins, including those of the gas chambers and crematoria, over 100,000 personal items that belonged to the people who were killed, archival documents, and works of art by prisoners. The Auschwitz death camp is the only place of its kind entered on the UNESCO World Heritage List, and more than 1.3 million people from all over the world visit the site every year.

The Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation is a Polish non-governmental organization that seeks to preserve the former Nazi concentration and extermination camp by raising €120 million for the Perpetual Fund, whose sole purpose is to cover the conservation costs of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial Site. The Foundation was created in January 2009 by Professor Władysław Bartoszewski, a former Auschwitz prisoner and current chairman of the Auschwitz Council”.

To do more reading about the Polish people in Canada, here are some websites which may interest you - 

Poles www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/022/022-905.007-e.html Dominik Barcz was the first Polish person in Canada, and he came in 1752. Read about the impact the Polish people have had on the history of the country.

Resources for Polish-American and Polish-Canadian Genealogical Research www.tc.umn.edu/~brand050/books/bookpolish.htm Ed Brant gives the researcher a overview of books and articles.

Polish Canadians http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polish_Canadians Gives a brief history of the Polish people in Canada, and a long list of notable Polish Canadians.  

Wilno www.wilno.com Visit Canada's oldest Polish community, Wilno, located in Eastern Ontario, having been settled in the 1800s.

Two Golden Rules of Researching Documents

I have been re-reading a great resource, a book by Ottawa's own Althea Douglas, called Time Traveller's Handbook: A Guide to the Past.

In Chapter 2, "Dealing with Documents", she has two rules of research. The first one is -

"Never trust a transcript made by someone else. Wherever you can, check the original document."

I once came across a census return which said that the person I was researching was born in Canada, and his marriage certificate (which took place in Canada) said that he was born in Ireland.  

Which is true? The same person – but two different countries. What was I to do? It was important to determine that I find the correct country in which he was born because the immigration date of the family depends on it.

Possible Solution: I have decided to visit a nearby genealogical society later this summer to see if they have any primary evidence which can support the proof I need to show one country or the other.  

Conclusion: I guess I could say that I have the very beginnings of a "brick wall". Gosh, I hope not – but I have a "feeling", since the immigration took place in the middle 1800s ... 

The second rule is -

"Always remember that clerks and clergymen, census takers and directory compilers, write down what they heard – what people said to them".

And isn't this statement true! 

Once again, in researching my own family (Haley) that went from Nova Scotia to California in the 1870s, I was confused by the different names of the places where they lived (or didn't live) – Centerville, Newark, Fremont, Washington Township, etc.  

I knew that these places were in Alameda County, across he bay from San Francisco – but were they the same place?

Possible Solution: I never have really answered the question. I have looked at many maps of the area, newspapers, and land records to get a good understanding of the area, but I am in somewhat of a quandary.

Conclusion: I have decided that the lived in Centerville (later known as Newark) in Washington County, California.

The book lists the following chapters -

Chapter 1 – A Time Traveller's Frame of Reference

Chapter 2 – Dealing with Documents

Chapter 3 – Dealing with Family Tradition

Chapter 4 – What Every Schoolchild Used to Know

Chapter 5 – Money

Chapter 6 – The Value of Money: It's Not What it Used to Be

Chapter 7 – Travel in the Past

Chapter 8 – Trades and Their Tools

Chapter 9 – Work Away From Home

Chapter 10 – Family and Connections

Chapter 11 – Home Sweet Home

Chapter 12 – How We Lived Then

Chapter 13 – Health in the Past

Chapter 14 – Our Heritage

Chapter 15 – Our VIP Heritage

Chapter 16 – Our Seafaring and Military Heritage

There is an Appendix (Date of Historical Events), Notes, a Bibliography, and an Index.

In case you are interested in the book, it is available from the Ontario Genealogical Society's e-Bookstore on their website at www.ogs.on.ca.

New/Improved Canadian Websites and Blogs Week 24

Brenna Pearce - History Research Matters http://brennapearce.wordpress.com  $ Brenna Pearce is the Chief Family Historian at Pearce Heritage Research Associates, located near Kingston, Ontario. She does research for a fee, but also has interesting and informative information freely available on her blog.

French-Canadian (Québécois) History and Genealogy www.craftconn.com/genealogy/homepage.htm Linda Jones goes through the differences in French-Canadians and Acadians. She has a query page, and there is a list of surnames.

SaskResearch www.saskresearch.com/index.html This researcher, Joe, uses Internet researching, plus newpapers, to help you find your ancestors.

Sacred Spaces http://graveyardrestoration.com $ Professional historical graveyard restoration services - serving the U.S and Canada.

Roots: Understanding Family Photos www.canadashistory.ca/Magazine/Online-Extension/Articles/Roots--Understanding-family-photos.aspx A very good article written by a Toronto genealogist, Paul Jones, on family photos. It appears in the March/April issue of Canada's History Magazine.

Wesleyan Methodist Baptisms http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~wjmartin/wesleyan.htm Ida Reed has transcribed 101,461 records of the Wesleyan Methodist Baptisms (1860-1910) in Canada.

Canada Genealogical Sleuth http://www.progenealogists.com/canada/sleuth.htm&affiliate=cyndihow&merchant=cottrill The ProGenealogiststs website offers a variety of other websites by which to do Canadian research.

Family Stories http://oldfamilystories.com/surnames-im-researching Another new blog, this one follows the families of Beaudoin (Ste Henedine, Quebec, Canada), Comartin (Ontario and Quebec, Canada), Berubé, Dupuis, Duquet, Gagnon, Barette, and Mailloux. Also, researching a variety of ethnically German and Jewish surnames from Germany (Prussia), Poland, and Austria, such as Postler, Schulz, Richter, Wenorski/Wensorski, Weizenbaum, Ormann, Friedländer, and Gänger.

The Genealogy Corner

I have started writing a genealogy column called "The Genealogy Corner" in The Review – a weekly newspaper in Vankleek Hill, Ontario. The column is geared towards beginning genealogists, but I think anyone can gain a new insight in the views that I have put forward in the column.

The column appears every two weeks in print, but unfortunately, doesn't appear on the website, so if you are interested, you will have to buy the paper or get an online subscription. The website is www.thereview.on.ca.

The columns that have been printed so far this year are -

• March 14 - Finding Your Canadian Roots
• March 28 - A Genealogical Society Is Not Just Another Society
• April 11 - It's Time to go Back to School – Year Round
• April 25 - It’s Time to Start Your Research!
• May 9 - The Year Genealogy Was Reborn In Canada

 The next column on May 23 will be all the changes that are taking place at FamilySearch.org.

MGS Celebrates Manitoba Day

Today, the Manitoba Genealogical Society http://www.mbgenealogy.com/ is holding an Open House to celebrate Manitoba Day!


They want to make their fellow residents aware of the birth of their province of Manitoba 142 years ago, on May 12th.


The open house will be at 1045 St. James Street, Winnipeg, and it will feature a resource centre tour, and advice in tracking down family histories. It will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., with free admission.


In addition to the hourly tours of MGS Resources, there will be demonstrations of online sources of information, and special emphasis will be spent on how to break down “brick walls”.


Other places that will celebrate Manitoba Day are -


The Manitoba Museum www.manitobamuseum.ca/main/2012/05/07/celebrate-manitoba-day-with-us-free-admission-plus-lots-more Free admission to the galleries and planetarium, plus a foray into the world of famous Manitobans.


Western Canada Aviation Museum wcam.mb.ca “Fit For Flight” guided tour showcases made-in-Manitoba aviation innovations – including the Bush Plane.


Transcona Historical Museum http://www.transconamuseum.mb.ca/ Hands-on archeology workshop for families, held between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m.


New Iceland Heritage Museum, Gimli http://www.nihm.ca/ Free admission and a talk by Johanne Kristjanson on the evolution of Manitoba.


Manitoba Agricultural Museum, Austin http://ag-museum.mb.ca/ Free admission and loads of family-friendly activities, including a picnic, horseshoe tournament, and more.

York County and the 1837 Rebellion

The York County Branch of the OGS www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~onyrbogs has a new project of collecting a list of participants in the 1837 Rebellion.

The information being collected is -

• Date of birth
• Place of Birth
• Date of Death
• Place of Death
• Rebel or Volunteer
• Time in Prison
• Prisoner's Boxes Made
• Exile
• Transport to Diemen's Land
• Banished
• Escaped

They are asking if you have an ancestor involved in the rebellion, please send in the information to Patricia Blackstock at pblack-stock@sympatico.ca.

If you want a bit of information of the Rebellion of 1837, go to
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upper_Canada_Rebellion.

LAC Announces New Digitized Reels for War of 1812 Records

I received this announcement from Library and Archives Canada -

"We are pleased to announce that you can now access 73,000 new images of War of 1812 records on its website.

Discover these valuable resources and other miscellaneous records for the War of 1812 with the Microform Digitization research tool. This tool allows you to browse these records page by page.

Library and Archives Canada (LAC) holds a unique and vast collection of records about the Canadian men and women who were involved in the War of 1812. Muster rolls, paylists, claims, certificates of service, medal registers, maps, paintings, and published sources are featured in LAC holdings that document this key event.

With these images now online, you have easy access to records for:

• Board of Claims for War of 1812 losses, 1813–1848, Series RG19 E5A
• Lower Canada militia nominal rolls and paylists, Series RG9 1A7
• Upper Canada militia returns, nominal rolls, and paylists, Series RG9 1B7

For more information on recent announcements at LAC, visit “News” .