Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Nova Scotia Genealogy Website Available in French

The website with nearly a million possibilities for people to search for their Nova Scotia roots is now available in French.

The Historical Vital Statistics website, maintained by the Nova Scotia Archives, has a searchable database containing nearly one million personal names. Each is linked to a corresponding birth, death or marriage registration, digitized and available online. The earliest records date from the mid-1700s and the most recent from the 1960s.

"One of the ways the province is making life better for Acadian and francophone families is by creating more access to bilingual services online," said Communities Culture and Heritage Minister Leonard Preyra. "The Historical Vital Statistics website is an invaluable genealogical tool for Nova Scotians to explore our family history and learn more about our culture and heritage."

The website is the only one of its kind in Canada that people can browse for records about their genealogy free of charge. The website is a popular destination for family history researchers and community historians from Nova Scotia and around the world.

To search for records on the Historical Vital Statistics website go to www.novascotiagenealogy.com. People can also purchase electronic or paper copies of the documents by ordering online and paying via secure credit card transaction.

The Historical Vital Statistics website includes records transferred from Vital Statistics after 100 years for births, 50 years for deaths and 75 years for marriages.

Monday, March 25, 2013

The United Church of Canada’s Toronto Archives Is Moving

This is a press release that was released on their website on March 6, 2013, and may be of interest to my readers -

Toronto: The United Church of Canada announced today that its Toronto-based archives will be moving this summer from its current location at the United Church’s national office in west-end Toronto to the Toronto Christian Resource Centre in the Regent Park neighbourhood of downtown Toronto.

In announcing the decision on the new location for the archives, Nora Sanders, General Secretary of the General Council, said, “I am pleased that this move will mean not only that we will be saving a considerable amount of money but also that as a tenant we will be financially supporting a local United Church ministry.”

Sanders says that in addition to being able to house the United Church’s archival collection now located at the General Council Office at 3250 Bloor Street West in Toronto, the new location at 40 Oak Street offers more than enough space to accommodate records that are currently stored off-site at an archival facility.

She explains the decision to move the archives ahead of the anticipated relocation of the General Council Office to Bloor Street United Church in 2018 was an opportunity that made financial sense for all parties to the five-year lease agreement.

The United Church of Canada supports a network of archives situated in eight different locations throughout Canada. The archives in Toronto manages the records of the General Council and the Central Ontario Conference records of Bay of Quinte, London, Hamilton, Manitou, and Toronto Conferences and their respective presbyteries and pastoral charges. The church’s archives outside of Ontario are not affected by the move.

The United Church’s Toronto archives moved to its current location in 2008, after more than 50 years on the campus of the University of Toronto’s Victoria University. No decision has been made about whether the Archives will move again when the General Council Office relocates to Bloor Street United Church.

Nichole Vonk, General Council Archivist, will oversee the monumental task of moving close to 20,000 boxes of records to the new site. The church will be contracting specialized movers, the new location will meet the institutional standards set by the Canadian Council of Archives, and all the records will continue to be administered by professional staff.

Although not located directly on a subway line, the Archives’ new location at 40 Oak Street is easily accessible by public transit, will have on-site parking, and is closer to the United Church’s theological school at the University of Toronto.

While planning and preparations are underway to move the collection from its current location,

•the Archives will remain open during regular public hours until June 6, 2013.

•the Archives will not receive any records deposits after April 30, 2013. Records can be donated to the Archives when it reopens in September 2013.

•the Archives will be closed to all researchers June 10–September 15, 2013, reopening in the new location September 16, 2013.

•the Archives will continue to provide reference service for certificates or legal requests while it is closed to the public.

Vonk emphasizes that, throughout the transition, the church remains committed to providing continued uninterrupted, open access to its archival records related to residential schools for the purposes of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

For up-to-date information about The United Church of Canada’s archival programs and on the move, see the Archives webpage. Questions and concerns about the move should be directed to Nichole Vonk, General Council Archivist.

The archival website is at www.united-church.ca/local/archives/on

New/Updated CANADIAN Websites, Blogs, Facebook, and Newspaper Articles - 25 March 2013

I have come across the following Canadian websites, blogs, Facebook, and newspaper articles this past week that were of interest to me, and I thought you might be interested in them, too –

Websites

There were no new/improved websites this past week.

Blog

If you want to get the Canadian viewpoint of RootsTech 2013, John D. Reid was there and reported on the events is his blog Anglo Cektic Connections at
www.anglo-celtic-connections.blogspot.com

And Diane Rodger was there also, and you can check her blog at CanadaGenealogy, or, 'Jane's Your Aunt' at http://canadagenealogy.blogspot.com/2013/03/canadagenealogy-at-rootstech-2013.html

Facebook - Video – You Tube

Have you been to DearMrytle Facebook page yet, and seen her Genealogy Community? Lots of Canadians listen every Monday to DearMyrt.

Today at noontime (Eastern), she will have her weekly meet-up, and if you want to be up-to-date on genealogy happening around the world, she will have it. As she says, it is “A newsy, "across Myrt's desk" event, exploring all types of genealogy research techniques, challenges, technology and such”.

Go to her Facebook page to catch up on the latest news, www.facebook.com/DearMYRTLE, and her YouTune page to hear her Monday at noon (Eastern) www.youtube.com/user/DearMYRTLE

Newspaper Articles

Public Libraries Under The Gun: Long-time neglect is catching up, say advocates
http://halifax.mediacoop.ca/blog/robert-devet/16796 Read how the libraries in rural Nova Scotia are struggling to maintain service to sparse and dwindling populations.

Rare Manitoba photos of Louis Riel found in Aus www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/story/2013/03/08/mb-rare-photos-louis-riel-austrialia-manitoba.html Rare, historic photographs of Louis Riel and Manitoba, taken in the 1860s and 1870s, were found amongst civil war memorabilia at a recent auction in Australia!

Discovering Sudbury's history http://www.thesudburystar.com/2013/03/23/ent--discovering-sudburys-history Nancy Vaillancourt of the OGS Sudbury Branch has written a column about the town’s history.

Rosa Harris-Adler: Listen carefully to heed call of long-gone forebears www.timescolonist.com/life/rosa-harris-adler-listen-carefully-to-heed-call-of-long-gone-forebears-1.96655 Learn how the writer sees her grandmother in the story she tells of her life.

Pictures and Story of the Week

The story this week has been RootsTech 2013 in Salt Lake City.

You can re-visit RootsTech and watch Live Streaming of some of the talks that were given at the conference. Go to www.RootsTech.org

You can see all three Keynote addresses, and two panel discussion session that I particularly liked which were The Future of Genealogy with Thomas MacEntee and panel, and The Genealogists Gadget Bag - Jill Ball and panel.

Both of these sessions really honed in on the “genealogy community” by discussing what genealogists would be looking for over the next five years (more records, ‘how-to-do’ websites, more crowd sourcing projects), and Jill Ball and her crew gave a good run through of what the genealogists carries with them when they go to cemeteries, reunions, and meetings.

The next conference will be held February 6, 7, and 8th, 2014 in Salt Lake City.

Look for more articles next Monday April 1st.

Sunday, March 24, 2013

CANADIAN Newspaper Articles Every Monday

Don’t forget to check my blog every Monday morning for my New/Updated CANADIAN Websites, Blogs, and Newspaper Articles.

This week in the section Pictures and Story of the Week, I have put RootsTech 2013. So be sure to read the Canadian happenings at RootsTech.

So don’t miss the New/Updated Websites, Blogs, and Newspaper Articles blog on Monday March 25th.

It has been a regular blog since April 23, 2012.

Elizabeth

The Nova Scotia Genealogist Fall 2012 Issue




This will probably be the last printed The Novas Scotia Genealogist, as they are going to electronic newsletter shortly.

In this issue, they have Immigrants and Newcomers Married at St Johns Church, Lunenburg, 1817-1851 by Terry Punch. The church was founded in 1753, and is an Anglican Church.

There have been additions to the 42 marriages that were put on index cards by Heather Long. The additions include children who were baptised in the church.

Andrew White the Planter – an Update by W. Warner to an article submitted in 2011, in which he discussed the problem between Andrew White of Sudbury, Massachusetts and Andrew White of Marshfield, Massachusetts. Who was the Planter in Nova Scotia?

The writer disproves through the Massachusetts Archives that Andrew White of Marshfield was not the Planter who settled in the Annapolis Valley.

The third article in the newsletter is The Hillcrest Mine Disaster and the Nova Scotia Connection by M. Bole .

The mining disaster occurred in Hillcrest, Alberta, and 189 miners were killed in 1914. Twenty-three miners were from Nova Scotia and the author gives a brief history of each of the minters.

The names of the miners were –

BARBER, James (Barbour)

BAINBRIDGE, Sidney H.

BINGHAM, Frederick Seymour

EMERY, David

GREY, James F.

HOOD, John

HUNTER, Hugh

JOHNSTON, Alfred and William

McISAAC, Roderick

McKAY, Angus H.

McKINNON, John B.

McKINNPON, Stephen

McNEIL, Pius

McQUARRIE, John A.

MEGENCY, Nicholas (Megeney)

MOORHOUSE, Frederick (Moorehouse, Muirhouse)

NEATH, William Henry

QUIGLEY, James S.

QUIGLEY, Thomas

ROBERTSON, George

WALKER, John (Donald John)

WALLACE, Rod

The writer has three other name of miners who may hace spent time in Nova Scotia, and they are Frank Bostock, Prosper Days, John Pearson, and she needs information on the following – August Fougere, William Miller, and William G. Miller.

The website for GANS is http://www.NovaScotiaAncestors.ca

Saturday, March 23, 2013

FamilySearch Indexing Update – Who will index or arbitrate the billionth record?

Here is a message from FamilySearch -

Since the launch of FamilySearch indexing in September of 2006, over 984 million records have been indexed and arbitrated! The advances of technology and the dedication of our volunteers have increased the speed with which we can process and deliver records for publication. We are so close to reaching one billion records indexed and arbitrated! Join us in a global effort to reach this goal. Who will be the one to index or arbitrate the billionth record? Will it be you? Start indexing today!

Special prizes will be given to the indexers and arbitrator of the billionth record.

To view a list of currently available indexing projects, along with their record language and completion percentage, visit the FamilySearch indexing updates at www.familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/FamilySearch_Indexing_Updates. To learn more about individual projects, view the FamilySearch projects page at https://indexing.familysearch.org/projtab/current_projects.jsf

Anglo-Celtic Connections Spring 2013 Issue

Once again, the BIFHSGO’s journal is full of news about the society, and the articles in this issue are of interest to me because two of them take place in Halifax, Nova Scotia, my home city and province.

The first article is by Faye Kert and is entitled Prize-making in the War of 1812, Relatively Speaking.

It concerns the privateers who lurked around the Nova Scotia coast to catch ships that plied cargo and people (immigrants) back and forth to England. And one of the ships that was caught in the war was the Magnet on their way from Ireland to New York, and it was a ship full of Irish immigrants.

The ship was captured, and had to put into Halifax, where it was auctioned in April 1813.

It so happen that a person in Nova Scotia, Amanda Lightbody, who saw Faye’s notice about the talk that she gave at BIFHSGO’s monthly meeting on exactly the same topic that was covered in Spring edition of Anglo-Celtic Roots. Amanda got in contact with BIFHSGO, and another article was born - The Search for James Lighbody and the Magnet’s Passesger List.

She couldn’t find any information on the ship Magnet until she saw the BIFHSGO notice on the website, and then it all fell into place.

James Lightbody, one of the 100 immigrants, who landed in Halifax, spent most of his time between Maine and Nova Scotia, but other members lived in the Truro area of the province.

The remainder of journal include In Search of Hugh by Christine Woodcock, and Genealogy: the Motivations, the Investments, the Rewards by Leighann Neilson and D.A. Muise.

To go to BIFHSGO, click on to the www.bifhsgo.ca