Summer issue of QFHS Connections

The summer issue of the journal of the Quebec Family History Society called Connections have just been released, and it’s full of articles, and other newsy bits of information.

In this issue, there is an article by Mark W. Gallop entitled Downton Abbey and Its Predecessors in which Mark discusses the role that the Whiteoaks of Jalna and Downton Abbey has played in convincing him to follow the life of a genealogist.

Henry’s Story by Peter Sampson tells of how he found Henry Sampson from Quebec City who has died in a shipping accident along the coast of Portugal in 1913.

The news in this issue is that the QFHS can now announce that they have signed an agreement with FamilySearch to become an affiliate with the library. You can now order microfilm and microfiche from the LDS library in Salt Lake City, and can read them at the QFHS library.

They have the latest books that have been received at the library, genealogical software, and the latest events in their public lecture series.

To go to their website, go to http://www.qfhs.ca

Q&A: What does an archive have for me?

Tony Spears, a writer with the Ottawa Citizen, asked Dr. Ian Wilson, the former Head of the Library and Archives Canada, (he retired in 2009), and University of Toronto’s Wendy Duff - what do people want from an archives.

It seems that Wilson said it was genealogy related materials (for instance, like census, immigrant records), and Duff said local history is popular with people.

Dr. Wilson, who gave the 2012 Houston Memorial Lecture at the OGS Conference in Kingston last year, entitled In Reflections on Archivists and Genealogists, in which he took us “through his early years at Queen’s University, his career as the Provincial Archivist of Saskatchewan and Ontario, and describing his tenure as the National Archivist of Canada at Library and Archives Canada in Ottawa ..." is a good read. Families Vol 52 No 1

If you would like to read the Q & A, go to  www.ottawacitizen.com/What+does+archive+have/8522832/story.html#ixzz2WBy6jLYA 

The website of the Ontario Genealogical Society is www.ogs.on.ca

Automotive Heritage Month in Nova Scotia

Did you know Nova Scotia manufactured its own car, the MacKay Touring Car, in   Kentville and later in Amherst, in 1911?

Or that the first Toyotas assembled in Canada was at Point Edward, Cape Breton?

It’s easy to see that “the automobile has had a significant impact on the Province of Nova Scotia over the last century”.

To celebrate this impact, the Provincial Government of Nova Scotia has proclaimed July as Automotive Heritage Month.

Hobby car clubs across the province will be celebrating during the month at show and shines across the area.

To see what the National Association of Automobile Clubs of Canada does, go to their website www.naacc.ca/home.html

To see a picture and short history of the McKay 7-seat touring car, go to

http://ns1758.ca/auto/automobiles.html

History of Automobiles: The Early Days in Nova Scotia: 1899-1949

http://museum.gov.ns.ca/moi/en/home/collectionresearch/automobiles/mckay.aspx

UPDATE: Census of Lower Canada (Quebec), 1825 now available online at LAC

Just received this notice from the LAC - 

"Library and Archives Canada is pleased to announce that Canadians can now access the Census of Lower Canada, 1825 online. The Census of Lower Canada, 1825 is partly nominal and therefore only contains the names of heads of family, their occupation, and the number of residents for each family.

Users can search this new database by the names of heads of family, as well as by geographical information such as district and sub-district names".

They are available in JPG, and PDF, and there are 74,322 records.

The surname, given name(s), occupation, number of residents (classed by age – not name or relationship to head of the household), district name, sub-district name, volume number, page number, microfilm, and reference are listed in the census.

To suggest a correction, click on the Suggest a Correction link to access an electronic form

To search the census, go to www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/census/1825/Pages/1825.aspx

UPDATE: LAC Paywall??

According to a “leaked” document which suggests that there may be a “10-year plan to digitize documents” and we may have to pay to get access to them. Up until now, document that have been digitized have been free e.g. the land petitions of Upper and Lower Canada are free. Will we now have to pay a fee this fall to gain access to them? 

Read about the CBC report at http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/story/2013/06/11/ottawa-library-archives-canada-paywall.html 

New Heritage Minute

Remember the Heritage Minutes that we use to see on TV back in the 1990s? They were sixty second shots about important moments in Canadian history.

  

Heritage Minutes have returned to our televisions this year, and for the month of June, "First Nations warriors who were instrumental in the Battle of Queenston Heights, a crucial fight in the War of 1812, has been released to mark National Aboriginal History Month".

To view the Heritage Minute, go to Your Community Blog at the CBC

www.cbc.ca/news/yourcommunity/2013/06/new-heritage-minute-spotlights-queenston-heights-six-nations-warriors.html and read the story.

If you want to read about the history of Heritage Minutes, go to  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heritage_Minute

Canadian postal system celebrates 250 years of service

The following is an explanation which accompanies the Benjamin Franklin anniversary stamp - 

“In 1753, Philadelphia Postmaster Benjamin Franklin was promoted to joint deputy postmaster general for the British colonies and opened the first Canadian post office in Halifax to link the Atlantic colonies with Britain. But eventually, Franklin’s involvement with the growing revolt against the British Empire made it necessary for him to leave his post.

Hugh Finlay was confirmed as postmaster general at Québec on June 10, 1763. The ambitious Finlay arranged for a courier from Montréal to New York to reach the monthly packet sailing to Britain. By 1771, weekly service was available year round. His innovations earned a profit for the British Post Office Department, which paid Finlay a fifth of gross receipts.

In 1833, the Quebec-built Royal William was the first steamer to carry mail across the Atlantic. Canada’s first railway line was established in 1836, and became quickly recognized as a way to carry mail faster and farther. In 1840, Samuel Cunard’s new steamer Britannia transported mail between Liverpool and Halifax. Following Confederation on July 1, 1867, postal systems from Halifax to Fort William, on Lake Superior, amalgamated. And on April 1, 1868, An Act for the Regulation of the Postal Service officially created Canada’s uniform postal system”.

To read more about Canada Post, there is an article about it on the O Canada site -

Benjamin Franklin featured on Canada Post’s 250th anniversary stamp  http://o.canada.com/2013/06/07/benjamin-franklin-featured-on-canada-posts-250th-anniversary-stamp

and  

The Library and Archives Canada has a database of Post Offices and Postmasters at www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/post-offices/index-e.html

UPDATE: Canada GenWeb Updates Cemeteries

The following cemeteries have been updated in Alberta, Manitoba, and Prince Edward Island -

ALBERTA

Beaver:

- Kinsella God's Acre Cemetery

Edmonton:

- Westlawn Memorial Gardens & Edmonton Crematorium

Smoky Lake:

- Victoria Park Cemetery

MANITOBA

Armstrong RM:

- Immaculate Heart of Mary Roman Catholic Cemetery

Emerson Town:

- Emerson Cemetery

Franklin RM:

- Friedensthal Lutheran Cemetery

- Ridgeville / South Ridge Cemetery

Rhineland RM:

- Rosenfeld Village & District Community Cemetery

PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND

Queen's County:

- North Wiltshire United Cemetery

All on the cemeteries on Canada GenWeb have been indexed and photographed by volunteers.

Pass along your thanks to Patricia Green & Marilyn Whiting for their help indexing. And to Olga Steinke, Cheyenne Kepke, Patricia Green, Marilyn Whiting, Jim Spence, and Elizabeth Warwick for their photographs.

Go to the website http://canadacems.blogspot.com/2013/06/alberta-manitoba-prince-edward-island.html

UPDATE: Restore Canada’s Local Archives

This notice just came in from Canadian Association of University Teachers. They have been following the developments at the Library and Archives Canada -   

“In the wake of enormous public pressure, the Minister of Heritage, James Moore, is considering reinstating the National Archival Development Program (NADP).  This would be an important victory for local and regional archives across the country; CAUT unequivocally supports the restoration of the NADP.  However, funding for the program is not yet confirmed. Especially troubling is that, Minister Moore has indicated that any money for the NADP would have to come from within the already depleted Library and Archives Canada (LAC) budget.

Read more:

www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2013/06/09/pol-james-moore-funding-to-library-and-archives.html

The Canadian Association of University Teachers calls on all Canadians to contact the Heritage Minister and voice support for restoring the NADP, insisting that the $1.7 million annual cost of the program be added to the current LAC budget”.

To let your feeling be known, you can write to The Hon. James Moore, Minister of Canadian Heritage & Official Languages, House of Commons, Ottawa, Ontario

K1A 0A6

Find out more about the NADP see www.canadaspastmatters.ca/local-archives

For more information contact Rosa Barker: barker@caut.ca or (613)726-5166

UPDATE: FamilySearch adds more images

FamilySearch has added more images to the British Columbia, Crown Land Pre-emption Registers, 1860-1971.

Pre-emptions are purchased land that has not been fully surveyed. The pre-emption registers summarize the information from the pre-emption certificates. The pre-emptions are listed in registration number order, with an alphabetical index in the back of each volume.

A full description is give on the Wiki at https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/British_Columbia,_Crown_Land_Pre-emption_Registers_(FamilySearch_Historical_Records)

And they have added more images to the Quebec, Notarial Records, 1800-1900.

You can go to the Wiki at https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Quebec_Notarial_Records_(FamilySearch_Historical_Records) to get a full description of the records.

These records are made available because of the work by thousands of volunteers from around the world. These volunteers transcribe (index) information from digital copies of handwritten records to make them easily searchable online.

Thanks to the volunteers!

Heritage Minister not happy with the cuts at the LAC

It appears that the Federal Heritage Minister James Moore isn’t too happy with the way that the layoffs at the Library and Archives Canada has turned out.

One impact that the cuts have had is that the digitization program has been severely cut as the staff has been cut – and the digitization of records was suppose to take the place of inter-library loans, for example.

All of this is in a story carried by the Huffington Post this morning. The online newspaper says that “The heritage minister says speeding up the digitization of records will be a priority for the new head of Library and Archives”.

Read the full report at the Huffington post is at www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/06/10/heritage-minister-conside_n_3414200.html

Canadian Week in Review

10 June 2013

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

Websites

Mennonite Archives of Ontario A new, and improved    Mennonite Archives of Ontario, will be debuted to the public in September 2013, when it is scheduled to double its floor space.

If you go to the Genealogical Resources Online, they have an index to family histories available at the archives.

The archives are located at the Conrad Grebel University College, at the University of Waterloo, in Waterloo, Ontario.

The website is at https://uwaterloo.ca/mennonite-archives-ontario

Blogs

There are no new blogs this past week.

Facebook- YouTube – Video

Canadian Heritage https://www.facebook.com/CdnHeritage The Canadian Department of Heritage has a Facebook page with very good information on it.

Newspapers

Museums take up crowd funding: Smithsonian in Washington appeals for funds for yoga exhibit  www.cbc.ca/news/arts/story/2013/05/31/crowd-funding-museums.html Is this a new way to raise money to keep museums open?

The wharf in Riverside-Albert is in danger of collapsing into the Bay of Fundy http://atlantic.ctvnews.ca/historic-wharf-in-danger-of-crumbling-into-bay-of-fundy-1.1312800

The Atlantic CTV News reports that “The wharf in Riverside-Albert (New Brunswick) is in danger of collapsing into the Bay of Fundy due to recent heavy rains. The Shipyard Heritage Park had been built in 2006 as a tribute to the community’s shipbuilding past and thousands of tourists visit the park each year”.

The Royal Canadian Mint celebrates the 300th anniversary of Louisbourg with collector coins

www.sacbee.com/2013/06/04/5469768/the-royal-canadian-mint-celebrates.html#storylink=cpy 

As of June 11, 2013, the coins will also be available at the Royal Canadian Mint's boutiques in Ottawa, Winnipeg and Vancouver, as well as through the Mint's global network of dealers and distributors, including participating Canada Post outlets

Opening hours restricted at Green Cables http://atlantic.ctvnews.ca/p-e-i-tourists-disappointed-to-find-green-gables-closed-on-sunday-monday-1.1311008 Parks Canada has decided to restrict operating hours at Green Gables, closing on Sunday and Monday during the month of June

Tracing and celebrating Irish ancestry easier than ever

www.calgaryherald.com/travel/Tracing+celebrating+Irish+ancestry+easier+than+ever/6599552/story.html The Canadian 2006 census shows that Irish is the fourth largest ethnic group in Canada — about 14 per cent of the total population or 4.4 million people.

Groups submit plans to save 128 surplus lighthouses

www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/story/2013/06/05/ns-surplus-lighthouse-plans.html

Community groups and municipalities in eight provinces have come forward with business plans to save 128 lighthouses.

Story of the Week

The Internet was busy with blogs about the 1921 Canada Census this past week.

It all started on June 4^th, when the Library and Archives Canada released a notice on their blog at www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/news/Pages/2013/1921-census.aspx which said the census would be available to research in the ‘next few weeks’.

They told us all about the census, for instance, “The almost 11,700 commissioners and enumerators recorded by hand nearly 8.8 million individuals in thousands of communities across the country” – but not when it would be ready for us to research. So we wait...

Meanwhile, the blogs have been, and still are, busy - 

1921 Canadian Census Countdown - Get Involved!   http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com/2013/05/1921-canadian-census-countdown-get.html

1921 Canadian Census http://carletonplacelocalhistory.wordpress.com/tag/1921-canadian-census

1921 Canadian Census Update http://jimsgirlfamilyhistoryblog.blogspot.com/2013/06/1921-canadian-census-update.html?showComment=1370652530311

Census Sunday: I’m ready http://yvonnesgenealogyblog.blogspot.com/2013/02/census-sunday-im-ready.html

The next Canadian Week in Review will be issued Monday June 17, 2013

Tracking down Francophones across America

The Morrin Centre will host Professor Dean Louder as he presents his first bilingual talk in which he will discuss the traces of French-Canadian settlements across the continent. 

Reading from his book and sharing photos from his travels, Louder will tell the stories of these little-known communities while illustrating the fact that Francophones here in Quebec are not the only French speakers to whom their roots, history and heritage are important in an ever-growing global society.

This presentation will take place on Wednesday, June 19 at 7 p.m., at the

Morrin Centre, 44 Chaussée des Écossais, Quebec City, Quebec.

Admission is free. To reserve, please contact us at 418-694-9147 or info@morrin.org.

GenealogyCanada has done it again!

Mentioned as one of the Top 25 blogs of 2013 in the July issue of Internet Genealogy Magazine, my blog has hit the big time once again.

In Blogged: 25 Top Genealogy Blogs to Help Speed Your Research! author Tony Bandy says “In particular, the outbound links to LOTS of great resources and digital resources makes this blog invaluable for your current family project”.

Thank you Tony, and the people at Moorshead's Magazine.

To read more of what he said about GenealogyCanada, and the other 24 blogs he chose to write about, go to www.internet-genealogy.com

Quinte OGS Branch Meeting

On 15 Jun 2013 at 1:00 pm, the Quinte OGS Branch will present the talk Why Can't I Find It Online? Other Resources to Help with Your Search. The talk will be presented by Ruth Blair, from The Passionate Genealogist blog.

A good deal of research can be done online, and many believe this is all we need, but only about 1% of genealogical data has been digitized and been made available on the Internet. Great strides are being taken to get more data online, but it is a costly process and sometimes what is available is only a small reference to a certain record group, and not the actual image.

Libraries and archives are still the main sources of information for the genealogical researcher, especially when you want to dig deeper. Ruth Blair will present case studies using such resources.

The talk will take place at Quinte West City Hall Library, 7 Creswell Drive, Trenton, Ontario

The Quinte OGS Branch web site is at www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~canqbogs/index.htm

The Passionate Genealogist web site is at http://blog.familyhistorysearches.com 

10th Anniversary of Canada's Juno Beach Centre

For a look back at the ceremony on 06 June 2003 of the opening of Canada's Juno Beach Centre, please visit our website for the original post - http://www.genealogycanada.com/Juno%20Beach.htm

69th Anniversary of D-Day

 The Men Are Ready...Only You Can Give Them Wings

  Credit: Library and Archives Canada, Acc. No. 1983-30-106 (Copyright: is expired) 

Today is the 69^th Anniversary of D-Day – the Normandy Invasion on the northern beaches of France.

As the Prime Minister of Canada, Stephen Harper, said today in an official statement -

“The 109 vessels and 10,000 sailors of the Royal Canadian Navy helped keep the German fleet bottled up in ports, cleared mines across the English Channel, silenced enemy batteries on the shoreline, and carried Canadian troops and landing craft to the battle.

“Finally, the soldiers of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division and 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade through raw courage, grit and determination engaged in fierce combat on the beaches and in the small towns of Normandy helping smash the first line of German coastal defences.  In fact, by the evening of June 6, 1944, Canadian troops had progressed further inland than any of their Allies – a proud and remarkable accomplishment.

“The day took a heavy toll.  To secure victory on D-Day, 340 Canadians gave their lives, 574 were wounded and 47 taken prisoner.

“Let us pause on this day to recall and honour the noble sacrifices of these heroes who with other Allied forces turned the tide of the war, rid Europe of the Nazi scourge, and paid a price so that we and so many others might be able to enjoy peace and freedom with our families. While it is an impossible debt to repay, we honour their memory". 

Lest We Forget

D-Day: Canada's role http://www.cbc.ca/news/dday CBC give a very comprehensive retelling of  Canada’s role in D-Day, with video, photos, and excellent timelines that you might find useful in writing family history.

Juno http://junobeach.stormpages.com A site which describes the Canadian participation of the 3rd Canadian Division which landed on Juno Beach. 

Experience Aboriginal History Month at the Canadian Museum of Civilization

If you are planning to come to Ottawa during your summer vacation, stop by the Canadian Museum Of Civilization to take in their new Aboriginal exhibit - Indigenous and Urban.

Indigenous and Urban is a summer-long program featuring visual and media arts, music, dance, film, readings and interactive workshops.

Come see the new outdoor sculpture created by Mary Anne Barkhouse of the Nimpkish band, Kwakiutl First Nation for the Canadian Museum of Civilization. The sculpture of a life-size copper canoe and bronze wolf will be installed outside in the pond adjacent to the Grand Hall.

You can also walk through the six Native houses and explore the newly-redesigned First Peoples of the Northwest Coast exhibition. You can also see the brightly coloured ceiling mural by Dene Suline artist Alex Janvier  and Bill Reid's well known sculpture, The Spirit of the Haida Gwaii.

In addition, you can also visit the Grand Hall and the towering totem poles of the Northwest Coast. And you can continue on to the First Peoples Hall for an overview of the  history and culture of Native Peoples across Canada.

Join the people on June 27 at 5 p.m. for Indigenous and Urban, and see the new sculpture by acclaimed  Kwakiutl First Nation artist Mary Anne Barkhouse.

As the press release says “MAKE JUNE your month to connect with the songs and stories, history and present day of the Peoples who have inhabited this land for thousands of years”.

The exhibit will be open from June 27, 2013 to September 2, 2013 

To see more about the museum, you can go to www.civilization.ca

UPDATE: 1891 Canada Census

There is still more census news today - 

"Library and Archives Canada is pleased to announce the release of a new version of the Canadian Census of 1891. This third general census covered the seven provinces and one territory that were then part of Confederation: British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and the Northwest Territories.

The new version includes suggestions for corrections that were received from users in recent months, as well as revised district and sub-district information".

You can go to www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/Pages/home.aspx

Update on 1921 Census

Here is the press release we have been waiting for -

"Library and Archives Canada took custody of the Census of the Canadian population, 1921 from Statistics Canada on June 1st, 2013, and is beginning work to make it discoverable for Canadians. Closed for 92 years under the Statistics Act to protect individuals’ private information, the census data is being indexed so it can be mined for historical and genealogical research as soon as possible.

Information for the census was collected on the following five subjects: population; agriculture; animals, animal products, fruits not on farms; manufacturing and trading establishments; and supplemental questionnaire for persons who were blind and deaf. This represents a total of 565 questions. The population questionnaire contained only 35 questions.

Library and Archives Canada is committed to making the 1921 Census’ rich and complex information accessible and available to all Canadians, no matter where they live, in the next few weeks. Further details on the 1921 Census’ availability will be shared once they are available".

So there we have it – the 1921 Census has been transferred from Statistics Canada to the Library and Archives Canada.

Now, the LAC isn’t saying who the indexers are, right now. Will we learn, as they say, in the next few weeks? Who are these “mysterious indexers”?

The website is www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/Pages/home.aspx.

OGS Branch Anniversaries in 2013

Crest of the Ontario Genealogical Society (OGS)

This year, the following branches of the Ontario Genealogical Society (OGS) will be celebrating their respective anniversaries (in chronological order) since becoming an organized branch of the OGS -

 

London & Middlesex County Branch - They will be celebrating their 45th anniversary this year. They are presently reworking their website, which already contains many resources online.

 

Their website is www.londonmiddlesex.ogs.on.ca

Kingston Branch - It will be 40 years since they first met in Kingston to form a genealogical society.
 

They have interesting speakers at their monthly meetings, and have extra resources available on their "Members' Only" webpage.

 

Their website is www.ogs.on.ca/kingston

 

Kent County Branch - It will be 35 years ago this year that Kent County formed a genealogical society to be a part of the Ontario Genealogical Society.

 

Their website is www.ogs.on.ca/kent

 

Leeds & Grenville Branch - It will be 35 years since the Leeds and Grenville Branch was formed, and they have made great progress since then.

 

They publish a great newsletter four times a year, and have interesting programs. They also have a very good resource centre.

 

Their website is www.leedsandgrenvillegenealogy.com

 

Simcoe County Branch - The Simcoe County Branch was formed 30 years ago, and they have a great website, with many programs highlighted.

 

The website is www.simcoebogs.com

 

Perth County Branch - The Perth County Branch was also formed 30 years ago, and they have many of the township resources online.

 

Their website is www.ogs.on.ca/perth

 

Irish Palantine SIG - The Irish Palantine Special Interest Group (SIG) was first formed five years ago. They have a history of the Irish Paltines online, and are always conducting tours of Ontario, plus tours of Ireland.

 

The website is www.ogs.on.ca/SIG-IP

 

The website of the Ontario Genealogical Society is www.ogs.on.ca

Canadian Week in Review

03 June 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 is none available this past week.

Blogs

My Ain Folk The Faunt & Fants of Ireland  http://myainfolkfantofireland.blogspot.com The blogger’s family were mostly in Cork/Tipperary/Limerick for 600 years when they left Ireland in 1869 and came to New Jersey. Other lines ( Fant) are in Colonial Virginia c. 1671 and Canada and Australia ( Font and Faunt) Few are left in Ireland.

Facebook- YouTube – Video

At Park Canada, they have over 40 videos to view, and over 4,000 people have spent time at this site. 

Some of the videos are not what you would expect to see, but they are interesting, nevertheless.

An example is the Whitewater German Prisoner of War Camp, The Vikings of L’Anse Aux Meadows, and The Battle of Fort George.

They are available at http://www.pc.gc.ca/media/index_e.asp

 

Newspapers

'Lest We Forget' - launched at Algoma U www.sootoday.com/content/news/details.asp?c=57444

A new collection, the "Lest We Forget" Remembrance and Military Library (LWFRML), which houses a special collection of books focusing on Canada's vast military history and peacekeeping activities is now at Algoma University at Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.

Upper Fort Garry heritage park development set to begin www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/story/2013/05/27/mb-upper-fort-garry-heritage-park-winnipeg.html Work is starting this week on a heritage park at Winnipeg's Upper Fort Garry site, an area known as the birthplace of Manitoba.

Rescued murals now at U of S: Saskatoon's Perehudoff paintings on display http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon/story/2013/05/29/saskatoon-mural-130529.htmlMurals that William Perehudoff painted at the now demolished Intercontinental Packers building are on display at the University of Saskatchewan. Art historians painstakingly removed the murals before the building was torn down.

Classic cars rev up the ultimate car show at Reynolds-Alberta Museum

http://beaconnews.ca/blog/2013/05/reynolds-alberta-museum-hosting-ultimate-car-showOn June 8 and 9, over 550 cars, trucks and motorcycles will be on display at the Reynolds-Alberta Museum west of Wetaskiwin, Alberta.

Canadian history on a brick wall: Three cameras will synchronize for War of 1812 video screening www.winnipegfreepress.com/our-communities/metro/Canadian-history-on-a-brick-wall-209257921.html A free showing of Flames of War — An 1812 Experience will take place at The Historical Museum of St. James-Assiniboia on Sat., June 8 at  3180 Portage Ave, Winnipeg.

Irish delegation coming to West Prince (Prince Edward Island) www.journalpioneer.com/News/Local/2013-05-23/article-3257682/Irish-delegation-coming-to-West-Prince/1The Tignish Municipal Council and the Irish Heritage Festival committee meant with a delegation from County Monaghan, Ireland during the last week in May.

The lonesome beauty of Nova Scotia’s Eastern Shore: The coast between Halifax and Cape Breton is rugged, rich in history and largely unexplored www.montrealgazette.com/travel/lonesome+beauty+Nova+Scotia+Eastern+Shore/8425394/story.html Follow along with Elin Miller as she travels Route 7 along the Atlantic Coast of Nova Scotia.

Pictures and Story of the Week

Have you decided where you are going on vacation this year? Ever thought about our national parks, and what Canada Parks have to offer?

The 2013 season, called Reboot, Escape, Discover, they have many programs that you can visit at their National Parks of Canada, National Historic Sites of Canada, or at National Marine Conservation Areas of Canada.

The site where you can visit is at www.pc.gc.ca/eng/index.aspx   

The next Canadian Week in Review will be issued Monday June 10, 2013

Families - Spring Edition

Vol  52 No 2 May 2013

The spring edition of the Ontario Genealogical Society Families has just been published, and there are five papers in this issue.

The first paper is the 4^th place winner of this year’s Keffer Writing Contest Tracing 19^th Century Homesteading with 21^st Century Google Earth by David Harper.

He demonstrates how one can use Goggle Maps to trace land grants so that you can see the land grants actually owned by your ancestors.

The surname covered by this paper are HARPER, GRAHAM, WHITBY, MCCONNELL, TABER, WALKER. The  places are KITCHENER, PICKERING, WHITBY, COUNTY KILKENNY, IRELAND.

The second paper is by Sarah Coates named Identifying a Photograph’s Age Based on Women’s Fashion, in which she gives excellent examples of the photos taken of her family to illustrates the point.

Sarah Ann and Her Daughters by Sandra Lewis tell the life of her great-grandfather’s sister Sarah Ann Argyle, and her four daughters, two of whom were sent to Canada as Home Children by the Church of England Waifs and Strays Society.

Discovering the Enigma of “James Boyer” by Partrick Boyer is a true to life turn of the 19^th century mystery story of a man who emigrated from England, to New York, and then to Muskoka, Ontario.  

The keywords are BOYER, JEFFS, BILLINGSLEY, SAVAGE, WILLIAMS THE PLACENAMES ARE MORTON-IN-MARSH, STRATFORD-UPON-AVON, BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, BRACEBRIDGE, MUSKOKA.

And the last paper is The Courtice Family from Devonshire to Darlington and Their Bible Christian Connection by James M. Bowen in which he tells of a a brief history of the children of John and Mary Courtice, who has immigrated to Canada from England.

Some of the keywords are ANNIS, CONANT, ASTON, COLLEY, CORY, COURTICE, FAWCETT, FREEMAN, HOLLWAY, JENKINS, JENNINGS, LANE, MASON, PHILLIPS, RUNDLE, SCORE, TENEYCK, THORNE, TREMEIRE, VENEY.

If you would like to receive Families, you must be a member of the Ontario Genealogical Society.           

To join the OGS, go to the website  www.ogs.on.ca/membersonly/mem_membership_order.php    

UPDATE: 1921 Canada Census

It looks like June 2, 2013 will come and go without any news on the 1921 Canada Census from the LAC. And what about indexing of the census? Will it or won’t it be indexed? Question, questions, questions.

While we are waiting for the answers, we can read John D. Reid’s posts on the 1921 Canada Census at

http://anglo-celtic-connections.blogspot.com/2013/06/alls-quiet-on-census-front.html

Disbanded soldiers of the War of 1812-1

A cavalcade of cars from The Richmond Community Historical Society are planning to review the legacy left by the disbanded soldiers of the War of 1812-14 who settled first in Drummond County.  Later, many of these settlers moved to areas such as L’ Avenir, Ulverton and South Durham. It will take place on Saturday, June 8.

Cars will depart from the Museum, 1296 Route 243 in Melbourne Township at 1:30 p.m. and the United Church parking lot in Ulverton at 1:50 to visit various points of interest near the St. Francis River, and Major General Frederick George Heriot’s final resting place in Drummondville.

This tour coincides with the annual barbeque at St. Georges’ Anglican Church. 

For reservation or inquiries about this guided trip, contact Don Healy at 819-826-2793 by Thursday, June 6. 

All are welcome.

The web site of The Richmond Community Historical Society is www.richmondcountyhistoricalsociety.com

LAC Update: How to make the most of your reference appointment

Here is the latest update from the Library and Archives Canada -

Reference librarians and archivists at Library and Archives Canada (LAC) are happy to assist you by:

• showing you how to make the best use of our research tools
• directing you toward suggested resources

You may wish to take a proactive approach to your research project before making a reference appointment. Being better prepared in the following ways will allow you to maximize your time with a LAC professional.

Have you laid the groundwork using sources near you?

Local municipal and university libraries provide a wealth of resources to researchers. These resources are an important first stop for anyone embarking on a historical research project.

Read everything you can about your subject. Books and journal articles provide important background and context for your research project. Verifying the bibliographies and source citations of such published items can often help identity additional research resources, which may or may not be held at LAC.

Take notes! When consulting any source, be sure to take well-organized notes and to fully transcribe all references. For published sources, you will need to have the complete title, the author’s name, and the place and date of publication. For archival sources, be sure to note the name of the archives that holds the records, the collection name, collection code, box or volume number, file titles and dates. Bring these references to your appointment at LAC along with the tools necessary for taking additional notes.

Do you have the right archive or library?

LAC holds a wealth of archival material of national and federal significance relating to Canadian history. However, we do not hold everything. Provinces, universities, counties, cities, corporations and social organizations all maintain their own unique archival and library collections. Depending on your topic, these may prove to be not only the most relevant but possibly the only resources available to you.

For example, information relating to land grants, local land titles and lot history is generally held at the provincial level. If you are interested in the history of a local arts festival or business, then the city archives or local historical society will likely be the best resource to consult. Please note that in the case of corporations and social organizations, their unique historical records may not be open for public research. In the case of some unique provincial resources, a fee for use may be required.

The website of the LAC is www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/Pages/home.aspx

Conference 2013 - Footprints Through Time

Mark your calendar - The  Moose Jaw Branch of the Saskatchewan Genealogical Society will be hosting the  2013 Saskatchewan Genealogical Society Conference, October 4-5-6, at the Heritage Inn, 1590 Main St N Moose Jaw SK. 

New This Year is the Brick Wall Story.

We will print your Brick Wall Story in our syllabus at no charge. 

Email us a detailed account of your Brick Wall. Who or what you are looking for? When & where your wall went up? What you’ve already found and where you’ve looked?

You must put your contact name and email address with the submission of this you give us permission to print it in the Conference Syllabus. Entries MUST be EMAILED to twg@canwan.com no later than September 15th 2013.

On Friday Evening C.C.S.G. will "Breakdown one of these walls!"

The web site for the conference is http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~skmjbsgs  

Spirit Walk at the Crown Cemetery

A Spirit Walk will be held on Tuesday June 11th at 7 p.m. at the Crown Cemetery at Aberfoyle, Ontario.

Join them as they tell the life stories of five people buried in Crown Cemetery

two pioneer settlers

a World War Two soldier

a travelling music teacher

a  pioneer storekeeper in Morriston

A 'tailgate lunch' will follow, and you are asked to meet at the rear entrance to the cemetery off Nicholar Beaver Road (at Tim Hortons on Brock Road), Aberfoyle, Ontario.

The web site for the Puslinch Historical Society is at www.puslinchhistorical.ca/Mtgs.shtml

Open Doors – Ottawa

 Open Doors – Ottawa will be held June 1 and 2, and it is a FREE event.

The doors will be open to the buildings which “celebrates our community’s built heritage, allowing access to functionally, culturally, and historically significant buildings.  Held during the first weekend in June, Doors Open Ottawa has witnessed the annual attendance rate rise to over 80,000 visitors, and include the participation of over 125 of the city’s finest buildings”.

Some of the buildings which will be open this year will include the Billings Estate National Historic Site, All Saints Cathedral, and the city transit building.  

If you go to the website, there is a map, where the parking will be, and there will be shuttle buses to take you to each of the buildings.

The web site is http://ottawa.ca/cgi-bin/doors/list.pl?lang=en 

Calgary Nurses in the Great War

A meeting will be held on Monday, June 3, 2013 at 7:00 pm by the Alberta Family History Society at the  River Park Church, 3818 - 14A Street, Calgary where the speaker will be Marjorie Norris, and her topic will be Calgary Nurses in the Great Wars.

Noted Calgary author Marjorie Norris will give a presentation on the contribution of Calgary nurses in the Great War, based on her years of research in often hidden resources.  Copies of her book Sister Heroines will be available for purchase.

 The Annual General Meeting will also be held.

For more information, go to www.afhs.ab.ca

If you want to read a review of the book Sister Heroines: The Roseate Glow of Wartime Nursing, 1914-1918, you can read a review by Cynthia Toman in The Canadian Historical Review, Volume 85, Number 1, March 2004.

The review is on the website at http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/can/summary/v085/85.1toman.html

Historical Maps of Toronto

Nathan Ng would like to share with us his newest site. His blog is called Historical Maps of Toronto.

The site is an easy site to use, online collection of notable pre-1900 maps of Toronto. Specific maps that researchers may find of utility include the 1858 Boulton Atlas of the City of Toronto and Vicinity, and the 1860 Tremaine Map of the County of York, Canada West.

He says that “I hope the site will facilitate discovery and exploration, as well as serve as a convenient resource for casual research [It's also enormously fun to randomly browse through]. The site is intended to serve as a companion resource for my previous mapping project, Goad's Atlas of Toronto -- Online!

I would be delighted if you could please share this with anyone who would enjoy it or find it useful as a resource...

I will be using the site when I am called to do research in Toronto. 

The site is at www.oldtorontomaps.blogspot.com If you go to the website and like what you see, drop him a line at nathan.ng@gmail.com