Archive CD Books Canada Inc. joins FindMyPast to bring Canadian Content online

Malcolm Moody has written to tell us that he has reached an agreement between his company - Archives CD Books Canada Inc. and the FindMyPast people in England, which will “make the content of a large number of digitized, genealogical, and historical,  document “on line” for consultation through the excellent data delivery services of FindMyPast.

The newly available Archive CD Books Canada collection consists of over 200 documents yielding almost 70,000 pages of select information.  “We carefully chose the documents we digitize on the basis of their usefulness to Family Historians, Genealogists, and Historians” says Malcolm Moody, the president of Archive CD Books Canada.  “We believe people will appreciate the care we take to provide accurate, clear, readable, images of every printed page and to hand edit the (invisible) OCRed text to provide researchers with the best chance of finding every occurrence of their searched for words.” Continued Moody, “We also make sure that all illustrations and maps in our source documents are visible in the digitized edition and are included in the correct location, no mater what size they are.”

Malcolm says that you can still go to his site at Archives CD Books Canada Inc. if you want to buy the complete book, but you can go to FindMyPast if you just want a page or portion of a book that has been digitized .

The collection can be accessed on FindMyPast website (subscription site) at

http://search.findmypast.com/search/canada-documents, or you can go to the Archive CD Books Canada Inc. web site at http://www.ArchiveCDBooks.ca

Tracing Forward ‒ Searching for Relatives in Recent Times

Gwyneth Pearce, Secretary of the Toronto Branch, Ontario Genealogical Society, let us

know this morning that registration is now open for Tracing Forward - Searching for Relatives in Recent Times, a special fall event co-sponsored by the Toronto Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society and the Canadiana Department of North York Central Library.

She says to “Join expert speakers and fellow family history enthusiasts for a full day of lectures designed for researchers interested in expanding their family trees to find living relatives. Find out why we all should build “tracing forward” into our family history research, and discover new tools, techniques and strategies for tracing people who are either still alive or recently deceased. Learn how to navigate privacy and access rules and how to connect with “DNA cousins”, pick up tips from professionals who locate people for a living, and prepare to be inspired by stories of how family history mysteries have been solved”.

It will be held on Saturday, 26 October 2013 at the North York Central Library, 2nd floor Auditorium, 5120 Yonge Street, Toronto.

For full program and speaker information and to register online, visit http://www.torontofamilyhistory.org/TracingForward.html. OGS members pay reduced fees, and an additional early-bird discount applies for those who register before 30 September.

Your photos could have a snowball effect!

The deadline to get your photos on Canadians and snow in to the Museum of Civilization has been extended to September 15^th, 2013.

The Museum has already gathered 200 photos from across Canada. The objective: 300 colour and black-and-white photos, new and old, showing such activities as tobogganing, skiing, snowstorms and shovelling, etc. 

New deadline: September 15, 2013.

Your photos could be included in the Museum’s upcoming special exhibition on snow in Canada, scheduled to open December 6, 2013.

Do you have any such photos?* If so, please send them to the Museum following the instructions at http://www.civilization.ca/snow/photo.

High resolution photos are required (minimum 300 dpi).

*Excludes photographs showing activities or sports related to ice.

New deadline: September 15, 2013


And let us know if you are planning to send a photo in for the exhibit.

OGS questions are answered by LAC

This morning, Shirley Sturdevant, President of the OGS, has put the answers to her questions she asked the LAC last Saturday in an open letter. 

The morning, her letter was answered by M. Fabien Lengellé, Director General, Content Access Branch of Library and Archives Canada (LAC).

So what do you think? Are these the answers you were waiting for – has he answered her concerns completely? 

You can read my blog at http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2013/08/what-is-partnership-between-lac-and.html where she asked the questions.

You can read the answers at http://www.ogs.on.ca/ogsblog.


   

Ancestry.ca Clarifies Access to 1921 Canada Census

Jeri Brown, Senior Consultant with Ancestry.ca, has written to me to make sure that everyone understands that -

“Under the terms of the partnership with Library and Archives Canada, Canadians will be able to access the 1921 Census of Canada images free of charge through the Ancestry.ca website. If you currently do not have an account or registered login with Ancestry.ca, you will be prompted to register (for free) to access the images. Registration requires the entry of a name and email address only. As the images are free for Canadians only, those attempting to access the 1921 Census via the other sites (ie: Ancestry.com, Ancestry.co.uk, etc…), will be prompted to sign up for a 14-day free trial”.

Meanwhile, how is everyone finding the census? Is it easy to work with? Any problems?  

I have heard from some people that the census itself is rather “marked up” and some writing is difficult to read, and that the names are difficult to decipher.  

Other people have said that they have had no problems, everything has gone as planned, and that they found the people they were looking for, without delay.

Remember, the "every name index" will be available in 2 -3 months on Ancestry.ca

Canadian Week in Review 12 August 2013 Special Edition: The 1921 Census

Websites

The 1921 Census Remember that this census is in “browser mode only” at the current time, not an “every name index” Go to http://www.ancestry.ca

Blogs

This week the OGS came out questioning the partnership between the Library and Archives Canada and Ancestry. Read the full blog at www.ogs.on.ca/ogsblog

The 1921 Canadian Census is now Available Online http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2013/08/the-1921-canadian-census-is-now-available-online.html There are some helpful hints on Eastman’s blog, in the comments section, for finding your ancestor.

1921 Canada Census - Browsable at Ancestry.com  

http://blog.dearmyrtle.com/2013/08/1921-canada-census-browsable-at.html

Dear Myrt has a question about why Ancestry would put on “browsable images” when, according to her; they usually wait until the index is finished before they put it online. (I think the answer is in the agreement between Ancestry and the LAC). 

John D. Reid has all sorts of census information on his site at www.anglo-celtic-connections.blogspot.com,  and Lorine McGinnis Schulze in her Olive Tree Genealogy Blog at http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com/2013/08/loving-1921-canadian-census-images.html.

There is a statement on the Library and Archives Canada site at http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/news/Pages/2013/08-1921-census.aspx

Facebook, Videos, You Tube

The Library and Archives Canada Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/LibraryArchives The conversation continues....

Newspapers Articles of the Week

1921Canadian Census data released online, to genealogists’ delight 

http:// www.thestar.com/news/gta/2013/08/09/1921_canadian_census_data_released_online_to_genealogists_delight.html

Story of the Week

Release of the 1921 Census

It’s been quite a week.

Wednesday morning, there were rumors swirling around Ottawa about the immediate release of the census, either on Wednesday afternoon or Thursday.

And then later on Wednesday, the word was that it would be released on Thursday at around 2 pm. And the census was released by Ancestry – which have upset some people. Some people are upset because it isn't an “every name index” – it is only available by district and sub districts, at the present time.

So the fallout (good and not so good), has followed on the weekend. There have been statements made on the pro and con side of the argument of the partnership between the Library and Archives Canada and Ancestry which will go on for years to come, I suspect. And the basic partnership arrangement was made some years ago when the LAC was starting to feel the budget crunch, and realized they couldn't sustain such a large undertaking as indexing the census or the passenger list – but it has raised its ugly head once again.

And that brings up all sorts of questions. For instance, should there be one genealogy society in Canada to speak for genealogists in such matter as to who handles such delicate data as that found in the country’s census? Questions like this one were asked back when the 1911 Census was being delayed, but nothing came from it, except a few scattered meetings.

So that leaves the census in a limbo of browsing by districts and sub districts until the “every name index” is put online by Ancestry, 2-3 months from now. It is a   subscription site, although you can view for free if you take advantage of their 14 day or 30 day offer, or have a subscription with Ancestry.ca, or Ancestry.ca is included in your package, or you can go to a library which has access to Ancestry - the library edition.

So it’s onto our next census challenge – the 1926 Prairie Provinces (Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta) census which will be released in 2018.

Reminder: Check out Canadian Week in Review every Monday for the latest in Genealogy, Heritage, and History news in Canada. It’s the ONLY news blog of its kind in country! The next post will be 19 August, 2013

Canadian Week in Review - SPECIAL EDITION

Reminder: Check out Canadian Week in Review every Monday for the latest in Genealogy, Heritage, and History news in Canada. It’s the ONLY news blog of its kind in country! 

A special edition of the events which surrounded the release of the 1921 Census will be covered.

The Canadian Week in Review will be posted at midnight tonight.

What is the partnership between the LAC and Ancestry?

Yesterday, the president of the Ontario Genealogical Society, Shirley Sturdevant offered the opinion of the society on the release of the 1921 census.  This was done by releasing a statement on their blog, entitled Library and Archives Canada and Ancestry Partnership Results in Release of 1921 Canadian Population Census.

In part, the statement says -

“Although The Society is very pleased that these images are finally available to the public, we are concerned about its release through a subscription site. The lack of consultation with Canadian heritage organizations ignored their skills, experience and offers of assistance. Details of the arrangement are still unfolding and we hope that answers to our questions will be forthcoming regarding the arrangement between Library and Archives Canada and Ancestry.

• Was there no Canadian organization that could handle this?
• Is this deal exclusive to Ancestry?
• Has LAC given away its rights to use the digitized images later on their own web page, indexed or not?
• Might other organizations have access to the images and produce their own indexes as has been done successfully in the past, perhaps then making the information free to all?
• For how long will there be free access to the raw images or indexed information on the Ancestry.ca site?
• Is there a limit to the number of years Ancestry will have the sole rights before the census might appear elsewhere or is this material solely in their hands?
• What of access to the other census schedules?
• Why have the microfilms or images not been available at Library and Archives Canada until now?

There are many unanswered questions being asked by our members and others in the heritage community. We look forward to more details”.

To read the full statement, go to the web site at www.ogs.on.ca/ogsblog

So what is the nature of the partnership between the LAC and Ancestry? Does it give such societies, as the OGS, any room to have their say? Or are they looked upon as outsiders? Interesting questions, to say the least.

The waters on releasing the census issue is starting to get muddy. Let us hope that the OGS receives answers to their questions.

Disclaimer: Although I am employed by the OGS as editor of their journal Families, the views expressed in this statement are strictly by the OGS.   

Newfoundland is NOT in the 1921 Census

I have had a number of people ask what has happened to Newfoundland. It’s not in the 1921 Canada census on Ancestry.ca.

No, it isn’t there because it didn’t become a province until 1949.

However, they did have a 1921 census of Newfoundland and Labrador, and it has been opened for a number of years. 

You can access it at the Library and Archives Canada on microfilm , and the transcript is at the Newfoundland Grand Banks website at http://ngb.chebucto.org/C1921/121-dist-idx.shtml

The districts of Bay de Verde, Bonavista, Fogo, and Labrador have not survived.

1921Census updates

There have been a number of questions on the 1921 Census  -

First of all, please be reminded that it is FREE, either as a fourteen day or a month trial period at Ancestry. It is free to Ancestry subscribers (if they have a subscription to Ancestry.ca in their package), and is free to people who go to a library - if the library subscribes to Ancestry services. 

On http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/news, you can read the press release at Library and Archives Canada, and that should answer some of your questions. 

The National Registration File of 1940

Here is something else that could help you to fill in your family history during the 1940s from the Library and Archives Canada -

"Are you looking for a Canadian ancestor or someone who was living in Canada during the Second World War?

Since most sources for that time period are still subject to access or privacy restrictions under Canadian legislation. However, it is a  census records that can provide you with some answers. This very valuable source for genealogists and family historians is the result of the compulsory registration of all persons, 16 years of age or older, between 1940 and 1946.

If the person has been dead for more than 20 years, and you can provide proof of death, you can order a search of these Statistics Canada records. Please note that research fees, based on an hourly rate, apply.

If you cannot provide a copy of a death certificate, other types of documents indicating the date of death are accepted, such as obituary notices published in newspapers.

The registration included all persons who were 16 years of age or older, except for members of the armed forces and religious orders, or those confined to an institution. If a person died between 1940 and 1946, their questionnaire might have been destroyed. A different form was used for men than was used for women.

The questionnaires provide particulars such as address, age, date and place of birth, general health, and occupation. For immigrants, key details such as the year of arrival in Canada and their parents’ country of birth are given.

A similar national registration was undertaken during the First World War, in June 1918; however, those records have not survived".

Information is at http://www5.statcan.gc.ca/bsolc/olc-cel/olc-cel?lang=eng&catno=93C0006

The hourly rate is $72.68!

The Mystery Quilt

The Argyle Shore Women's Institute was presented with a quilt that had a number of names embroidered from the years 1903 – 1904.  

The mystery is to find out why all the names appeared on the quilt and    for what was the purpose.  If anyone has a clue to this mystery please contact Beverley MacHail at 902.675.2851 or e-mail macphailbr@hotmail.com

Belle Campbell, Boston, Mass.
Grace Melinda Campbell,  Argyle Shore
Mary Campbell, Argyle Shore
R.W. Deamon, Birmingham, England
Samuel Deamon, Birmingham, England
Annie Gordon, Appin Road
John A. Hains, R.C.H.I. - SA, Charlottetown
Rosslin McDougall, Summerside
Mack McKenzie
Aussie McLean, Boston City Hospital
Grace MacLean, Argyle Shore
Katie Murchison, North River
Bessie Jemina McNeill, 9 Mile Creek,
Josephine Alexandria McNeill, 9 Mile Creek
Neil MacNevin,    Argyle Shore
Euphemia Eliza McPhail, Argyle Shore
Goodwill MacPhail, Argyle Shore
Harry MacPhail
Lulu Grace McPhail, Argyle Shore
Malcolm MacPhail, Brookville, Mass.
Portia MacPhail, Bonshaw
Selina MacPhail, Argyle Shore
Cassie McRae, Bonshaw
Jemina McRae, Bonshaw,
Maggie Martin, Brookville, Mass.
E.B. Robertson, North River
Archibald Steward, Argyle Shore
Lulu Stewart, Westville
Isabel Stewart, Westville
James Earnest Smith, Argyle Shore
Eliza Webster, French Fort
Archie Vessey, Little York
Eliza Vessey, Little York

Note:  Teachers:  Lulu Sewart 1903 and Cassie McRae 1904

1921 Census is finally here!

It’s finally here!

Have you taken a look at it yet? What do you think?

The 1921 Canada Census was the first census taken after the end of the First World War, and Canada was not in the best of shape. There was a mini-depression after the war was over, and in a few years, the Great Depression would take hold. Many of the soldiers could not find work, and so many of them were hired as enumerators of the 1921 census. Maybe your ancestor was an enumerator.

So the census was put on www.ancestry.ca/cs/ca/census?o_iid=55940&o_lid=55940&o_sch=Web+Propertyline 

But you will not be able to search an every name index, only browse the census district and sub districts. It will continue this way until the index is ready, in as much as three months, so that would make it the middle of November.

And you will have to be a subscriber to Ancestry to get access to it, too. After three years, the Library and Archives Canada will put it on their site for free.

District and sub-districts are defined as “the districts for the representation of the people in the House of Commons at Ottawa, and Census subdistricts to the cities, towns, incorporated villages, townships and parishes which constitutes an electoral district”. ¹

So you will have to know the district and sub-districts in which your ancestor lived in 1921. If you know those two things, then you should be able to find them.

Let me know what you think

1. Instructions to Commissioners and Enumerators in the Sixth Census of Canada, 1921 Government Printing Bureau, Ottawa 1921 p. 4

The 1921 Canada Census will be released August 8th

I have just received notice at 3:07 this afternoon (Aug 7th) from the LAC that the 1921 Canada Census will be released to Ancestry.ca tomorrow afternoon at around 2 pm Eastern Time. At first, it will be available, with the geographic index ONLY, free of charge, on Ancestry.

Ancestry should be releasing a FULL NOMINAL INDEX this fall. This index will be available to Ancestry.ca subscribers for 3 years. At the end of three years, the  LAC will get a copy and will make it available for free off of our census platform that was entirely redesigned recently.

So folks, that is the story.

It will appear tomorrow afternoon at http://www.ancestry.ca/census

I would like to thank everyone for all the letters that were written to the Heritage Department, and the petition that was signed with over 2,000 signatures, and were sent to the office of Minister Moore. Thank you all.  

I can hardly wait ...

NEWS FLASH! 1921 Canada Census may be released soon

A fellow genealogist has just written to me to let me know that the 1921 Canada Census may be released by the Library and Archives Canada today or tomorrow.

Dog Days of Summer Sale!

This exciting notice just came into the office - 

Save 15% from now until midnight August 15th 2013 off all products listed on the Global Genealogy website at http://globalgenealogy.com

Purchase as many items as you want -- order as often as you want!

Enter the COUPON CODE 'Summer Sale' into the COUPON CODE blank in our online shopping cart and click APPLY, or say the code when you phone in your order (1-800-361-5168).

FamilySearch.org reaches 100,000 mark

FamilySearch has announced a milestone in its collection of Family History Books.

One hundred thousand books have now been scanned by the partnership of the Family History Library, Allen County Public Library, and several other important family history libraries in the world.

These books are online and available to search and use on the FamilySearch.org website. You can reach the collection by clicking Search and then Books or by simply clicking the link above.

The majority of the books online are family histories, with a smaller portion made up of cemetery records, local and county histories, genealogy magazines, and how-to-books, gazetteers, and medieval histories and pedigrees.

These valuable aids are viewed by more than 100,000 people a month.


To view the books, go to https://books.familysearch.org/primo_library/libweb/action/search.do?dscnt=1&dstmp=1375809771058&vid=FHD_PUBLIC&fromLogin=true 

Protecting Ontario’s cemeteries

Have you read this invitation from the OGS?

“Do you have a GPS system? Would you like to assist the Ontario Genealogical Society and the  Ontario Historical Society in protecting Ontario’s cemeteries? If you do, then we have the job for you!

This is what you can do to help.

The Registrar of Cemeteries requires accurate location information to help identify the cemeteries that are not registered.  If you pass an entrance to a cemetery in your travels, could you record the GPS location? We are asking you to be especially mindful of the county and township where the cemetery is located. Therefore, when you send the information to the Society, we kindly request that you list the following information:

• The name of the Cemetery

• The County in which the cemetery is located, if known (i.e., Durham, Niagara, Carleton etc.)

• If possible, the Historical township (as listed on the OGS Ontario Cemetery Locator),

• The street name

• And of course, the GPS co-ordinates

Some of our volunteers have advised us that they take the GPS readings at the entrance of the cemetery as this provides the most accurate location information.

To date we know of 12 Riverside Cemeteries around the province, 48 St. John’s Anglican Cemeteries and 11 Zion Cemeteries just to name a few. Don’t worry if you find that a cemetery has been registered, someone else will have the benefit of your work”.

All GPS information you gather may be forwarded to cemeteries@ogs.on.ca

The OGS web site is at www.ogs.on.ca/index.php


The OHS web site is at www.ontariohistoricalsociety.ca

Canadian Week in Review 05 August 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

Eagle River History http://eagleriverhistory.ca  Eagle River, Ontario is located in Northwestern Ontario, and the origin of town goes back to the late 1800s.

The website says that “The town has a varied background including being a Canadian Pacific Railway stop for coal and water in the steam engine period.  Logging, power generation, tourism are some of the other principal mainstays of the town”.

Blogs

Canadian History Association Blog (CHA) www.cha-shc.ca/en/Other_useful_links_68/0/2.html The site has a list of all Canadian historical blogs in the country, and an Historian Database, where historians put in their profile, so that you may contact them if they are researching the same area as you.

Facebook, Videos, You Tube

Newspapers Articles of the Week

Social media buffs help find heirs of property lost in Holocaust on the Internet www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/social-media-buffs-help-find-heirs-of-property-lost-in-holocaust-on-the-internet/article13472564 Read how Gilad Japhet, CEO and founder of Israel-based MyHeritage.com is helping descendants claim their property lost in the Holocaust.

The dark history of the Old Prison of Trois-Rivieres is brought to light in guided tours www.ottawacitizen.com/travel/dark+history+Prison+Trois+Rivieres+brought+light+guided+tours/8666219/story.html A glimpse into early penal life in Canada

NovaStory…bringing light to your stories www.ngnews.ca/Community/2013-07-28/article-3331396/NovaStorybringing-light-to-your-stories/1 Read how the Pictou County, Nova Scotia library, and how they have an online database of maps, histories, and cemeteries.  

Fire Destroys Canadian Library, Archive http://lj.libraryjournal.com/2013/07/industry-news/fire-destroys-canadian-library-archive Read how the Lac-Mégantic library, destroyed by fire in the train derailment a month ago, will move to a new facility in November.

Heritage designation sought for St. Charles Church in Vanier www.ottawacitizen.com/entertainment/preserve+Charles+Church+Vanier+local+resident+applied/8723095/story.html St. Charles Church in Vanier may soon be on the market as a "tear down" to make way for condos. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Ottawa says that the church lacks historic value, a Vanier resident is seeking heritage designation for the 105-year-old building.

Welcome to Internment Camp B70, a little known piece of New Brunswick's history www.theprovince.com/news/Welcome+Internment+Camp+little+known+piece+Brunswicks/8745969/story.html Read the article about Camp B70, a internment camp for 700 Jewish people during the Second World War.

Gore Park buildings likely to receive heritage status, councillor says hwww.cbc.ca/hamilton/news/story/2013/07/23/hamilton-gore-park-heritage-building-status.html Hamilton industrial neighbourhood most likely will receive Heritage Status

Story of the Week

Operation Husky 2013

In July and August of 1943, 25,000 Canadian soldier took part in the liberation of  Sicily.  My uncle, Perley Arnold BARCLAY, was a member of the 1^st Canadian Division that landed in Sicily in July that year.

Operation Husky has been formed to help honour the memory of those people who died in the operation, and they have definite plans to remember the liberation  of Sicily.

They have a new war memorial to the memory the Canadians who landed there on that date 70 years earlier, and they are looking for support to erect markers to the men who dies there. Each one of the markers will carry the name of a soldier who died there. 

In so doing, they feel that they can “visually represent the loss suffered by so many Canadian families in the liberation of Sicilian soil while funding the legacy initiatives”.

There are videos onsite at www.operationhusky2013.ca/latest-news/the-latest-videos

For more information, go to http://www.operationhusky2013.ca

Reminder: Check out Canadian Week in Review every Monday for the latest in Genealogy, Heritage, and History news in Canada. It’s the ONLY news blog of its kind in country! The next post will be posted 11 August, 2013

Canadian Week in Review

Reminder: Check out Canadian Week in Review every Monday for the latest in Genealogy, Heritage, and History news in Canada. It’s the ONLY news blog of its kind in country! 

New workshop at Toronto

They are planning a full day of lectures on Saturday, 26 October on Tracing Forward – Searching for Relatives in Recent Times – a day designed to provide researchers with new ideas, strategies and tools to help them trace members of their expanded family trees, people who might still be alive or recently deceased.

This is a brand-new workshop topic for Toronto Branch and we’re quite excited about it – we expect to have program and registration details available on our website in the very near future.

Their website at www.torontofamilyhistory.org

BIFHSGO Conference next month

Conference time (Sept 20 - 22) is nearly here, and are you ready to attend a full-day of workshops, and two days of lectures by people from Ireland, and local genealogical experts on Irish roots?

One thing which BIFHSGO does, and has done for the past two years, is to present interviews with the conference speakers.

This year, some of the interviews are -  

Lesley Anderson Previews her Pre-conference Seminar  Lesley talks about her lecture on Ancestry.ca and how it can help you with your Irish family history research.

Interview with Linda Reid Toronto genealogist Linda Reid will be presenting "Around the Brick Wall: Tracing Back an Irish Family through Collateral Lines" and "Are They Really My Ancestors? Using Autosomal DNA Tests to Confirm (or Deny) Relationships and Ancestors."

and

Success through One Name Studies Sandra Adams, Bill Arthurs and Elizabeth Kipp along with John D Reid talk about the successes they have had by pursuing their one-name studies and what you can expect to learn if you attend the Saturday afternoon session "Success through One Name Studies"

If you want to listen to these interviews, go to www.bifhsgo.ca/cpage.php?pt=62

If you still haven’t registered, you can register online at http://www.bifhsgo.ca/cpage.php?pt=109

The website for BIFHSGO is www.bifhsgo.ca

LAC Update: 1861 Canada Census available online

Once again, the Library and Archives Canada has released a census – this time, its the 1861 census. Information was collected for people living in Canada East, Canada West, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.

You can search this new database by nominal information, such as the surname, given name(s) and age of an individual, as well as by geographical information such as district and sub-district names.

This wasn’t a uniform census – the questionnaires were different in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and in the Canadas (Canada West – Ontario and Canada East – Quebec).

Also, the enumeration day in the Canadas was January the 14^th, March 30^th in Nova Scotia, and August the 15^th in Prince Edward Island.

The census was also divided among rural and urban centres of the country.

So if an ancestor lived in Toronto (an urban centre), the enumerator would drop off the form for the inhabitants to fill out themselves, and then they would stop by a couple of days later to pick up the form, or if your ancestor lived in a rural area, the enumerator would fill out the form.

Districts and sub-districts did not all survive. To see which district survived, go to www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/census/1861/Pages/census-districts-sub-districts.aspx

To search the census, go to www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/census/1861/Pages/about-census.aspx

Sword family pioneer cemetery, Gatineau, Quebec

A meeting will be held in Gatineau, Quebec, sponsored by the City of Gatineau, Saturday, Aug. 17, 2013, 2 pm at the Alonzo-Wright House (College Saint-Alexandre), 2425 rue St-Louis, Gatineau, on the Sword family pioneer cemetery.

The speakers will be Suzanne Bigras and Jean-Guy Ouimet’

At least 46 members of a family are buried in the heart of a residential area of modern day Gatineau. The oldest family cemetery lies in the undergrowth, wedged between two single family homes! So far, a total of eight headstones have been found of the Barber, Davidson and Langford families in the Sword family pioneer cemetery.

The web site of the Société de généalogie de l'Outaouais is at  http://genealogieoutaouais.com

First Ever Video Streaming IAJGS Confernce LIVE!

Mark the date August 4 – 9th on your calendar! It will be the  live streaming of 50 sessions at the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Society Conference (IAJGS) in Boston, Massachusetts.

The International Association of Jewish Genealogy Society (IAJGS) brings the best minds and knowledge in the field of Jewish genealogy to its conference. More than 1,000 attendees from 17 countries will attend. 

Anyone in any location with the desire to learn more about their Jewish family history will be able to tap into this knowledge and attend the event via the Internet.

To learn more, go to web site at www.live.iajgs2013.org