Friday, September 19, 2014

Ontario’s oldest genealogy fair this Saturday


Eva Brook Donly Museum hosts the 38th annual Norfolklore family history fair this Saturday in Simcoe, Ontario. 

An afternoon lecture at 1 p.m. will discuss the ins and outs of researching United Empire Loyalist ancestors and will be hosted by the Grand River branch of the United Empire Loyalist Association.

For the more experienced family history hunters, there’s a chance to book a 10-minute personal consultation with archives co-ordinator Robin Dickson. 

A historical walking tour through downtown Simcoe will also be offered. The tour is at 1 p.m. and is an additional $10.00. 

The Norfolklore fair runs Saturday, Sept. 20 from 9:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m at the Eva Brook Donly Museum, located at 109 Norfolk St. S. in Simcoe.

General admission is $10 ($5 for historical society members) and includes access to lectures, genealogist consultation, exhibitors’ hall and a book sale.  

For more information or to book a consultation, visit www.norfolklore.com 

Thursday, September 18, 2014

GANS - 5th Annual Brick Wall Busters




If you have Nova Scotian ancestors, you should be interested in this notice I received from the Genealogy Association of Nova Scotia (GANS) this morning.

On Tuesday, November 25th, there will the 5th Annual Brick Wall Busters from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm at the Akins Room, 6016 University Avenue, Halifax, NS. 

Ginny Clark, CG(C), Dr. Allan Marble, CG(C) and Doug Cochrane CG(C) will provide information found on submitted brick wall questions. 

Please include all pertinent available information such as surname and given name, approximate dates, area of Nova Scotia, the piece of information you would like to find, sources you have already checked, and your contact information. You should present a specific question in which you require an answer or are most interested. We must receive adequate information in order to properly assist you with your query otherwise it may not be accepted. 

The query must be of a length that can be read within two minutes.

The deadline for receiving the queries is midnight October 25th, 2014

Eight queries will be selected to be addressed at our lecture on November 25, 2014: four from local members who will be attending the meeting and four from members outside of the Halifax Regional Municipality who are not able to attend the meeting. 

At the event, the local members will read their queries for the benefit of other attendees. A member of the GANS Executive will read the queries from the members from “away”. 


Kirsty Gray, UK Genealogist, will talk at two workshops in Canada




Kirsty Gray will be in Toronto on November 1st where she will give lectures on Industrial England. She will explore the Industrial Revolutions of the 18th and 19th centuries transformed the world and dramatically changed the lives of our ancestors in many ways. 

This one-day workshop will be co-sponsored by Toronto Branch and the Canadiana Department of North York Central Library, and will be held in the Library’s Auditorium. 

Early-bird rates apply until today and members of the Ontario Genealogical Society enjoy a further discount on the workshop fee. 

For additional details and to register on-line go to http://torontofamilyhistory.org/learn/workshops/industrial-england-workshop/  

Then she will come to Ottawa the next day where she will appear from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm, and she will give two lectures at the Woodroffe United Church Banquet Hall, 207 Woodroffe Ave., Ottawa ON. 

She will talk on two subjects - 

1. Searching for Names: Challenges, Pitfalls and the Downright Ridiculous 

2. Solving Problems Through Family Reconstruction 

The lectures will be sponsored by the Ottawa Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society and the British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa (BIFHSGO). Admission is $10 per person at the door. 

A break with light refreshments will be held between the two lectures.

Contact information is available at http://ogsottawa.on.ca/ 

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Immigration Conference: Getting Here


Kawartha Branch, The Ontario Genealogical Society will have a special one-day conference on Saturday, October 4 from 9 am to 3:15 pm at the Northminster United Church, 300 Sunset Blvd, Peterborough.

The speakers and the topics will be -

  • Archivist Col. John Carew New Life, New Hope, and a New Land 

  • Alan Brunger Corsley Immigration to Canada, 1830s 

  • Elwood Jones The Cumberland Emigration 

  • Peter McConkey The Robinson Emigrations 

Cost: $35 and includes snacks and lunch. 


Italian Canadians and World War II


A special travelling exhibition organized by the Columbus Centre of Toronto/Villa Charities will visit Windsor’s Community Museum from September 19th to December 13th. 

It says in the press release that “This exhibit explores the experiences of Italian Canadians following Italy‘s entry into World War II on the side of Germany. The political consequences within Canada of Italy‘s declaration of war in June 1940 deeply affected all spheres of ordinary life for Italian Canadians. Through video, audio, and text, the travelling exhibit puts a human face to this little-known period in Canadian history”. 

The exhibit will open September 19th, with a special screening of Piazza Petawawa (Director Rino Noto), a documentary telling the story of Italian-Canadians during World War II. The event runs from 4 – 6 pm. Refreshments will be available and admission is free. 

In addition, Dr. Walter Temelini, Professor Emeritus of the Italian Studies Department of the University of Windsor will hold a lecture entitled “The Italian Canadian Experience during World War II.” This event takes place at Windsor’s Community Museum on September 27th beginning at 2:00 pm and admission is free. 

The museum is located at 254 Pitt Street, Windsor, Ontario.The website is at http://www.citywindsor.ca/residents/culture/windsors-community-museum/Pages/Windsors-Community-Museum.aspx

More microfilm put online

Canadiana.org has put on more microfilm online at the Héritage website.

I have picked out some of the microfilm that you may find interesting, Please be advised that none of these records have been indexed, although some of them may have internal indexes.

Canadian Army Courts Martial documents 

Census of the township of Augusta
Census of the City of Montreal, 1831
Census returns 1842: Canada West
Central registry files created by the Northwest Territories and Yukon Branch

Department of Militia and Defence: Yukon Garrison, nominal rolls and paylists
Department of Militia and Defence: 1903 Army Central Registry, subject files
Department of Militia and Defence: Contracts Branch letterbooks, 1895-1912
Department of Militia and Defence: Correspondence of the Deputy Minister’s office
Department of Militia and Defence: Register of correspondence of the Deputy Minister’s office, 1867-1903
Department of Militia and Defence: Special Forces nominal rolls and paylists
Department of Militia and Defence: Yukon Mortar Machine Gun Batteries

Department of Railways and Canals: Records related to Welland Canal
Department of Railways and Canals: Records related to the St. Lawrence Canals
Department of the Interior: Dominion Lands Branch: North-West Territories, Metis scrip applications
Department of the Interior: Dominion Lands Branch: North-West Territories, Index to Metis scrip applications

Parish archives for Richelieu County
Parish archives for Saint-Pierre de Sorel: baptisms, marriages and burials
Perth [Ontario] Military Settlement fonds
Peter Hunter collection and papers
Peter Robinson Collection
Port of Saint-Servan Archives 

The Héritage Portal is at http://heritage.canadiana.ca/ 

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Tour of Nova Scotia Archives and Its Holdings


On Wednesday, September 24, 2014 the Genealogical Association of Nova Scotia is inviting everyone to a Tour of Nova Scotia Archives and Its Holdings from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm. The Nova Scotia Archives, Akins Room (wheelchair accessible) is located at 6016 University Avenue, Halifax, Nova Scotia

The guest speaker will be Garry Shutlak, Senior Archivist, Public Archives of Nova Scotia

Garry will talk about the website and the genealogical resources found there followed by a tour of the 3rd Floor holdings.

Open to the general public. All are welcome.