Sunday, January 11, 2015

Canada’s first prime minister records

It has been 200 years since the birth of Canada’s first prime minister, Sir John A. Macdonald, and our interest in him and his life has never diminished. And since we are now celebrating the 200^th anniversary of his birth on January 11th, the interest is higher than normal.

The Library and Archives Canada (LAC) has an extensive and varied collection of records related to him, including a virtual exhibition that includes personal papers, photos, artwork, and publications. Within the LAC’s holdings are over 100,000 letters to and from family and close friends, which gives researchers a rare glimpse into his personal life.

You can listen to a podcast Let us be Canadians: Sir John A. Macdonald at http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/news/podcasts/Pages/sir-john-macdonald.aspx, or you can go to the fonds at http://collectionscanada.gc.ca/pam_archives/index.php?fuseaction=genitem.displayItem&lang=eng&rec_nbr=104008 .

If you haven’t done so already, remember to check the Canadian Week in Review Monday morning for the latest in Genealogy, Heritage, and History news in Canada.

If you missed last week’s edition, it is at http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/01/canadian-week-in-review-05-january-2015.html

It’s the ONLY news blog of its kind in Canada!

Saturday, January 10, 2015

Provincial Archives of New Brunswick birth, marriage and death records

I have done quite a bit of work through the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick website http://archives.gnb.ca/Archives/?culture=en-CA over the past years, and one thing that I recommend if you are researching the births, marriages, and deaths records (BMD) is that you read the Finiding Aid at http://archives.gnb.ca/Documents/FindingAids/GovernmentRecords/RS141-EN.pdf and the Information page at http://archives.gnb.ca/Search/VISSE/Introduction.aspx?culture=en-CA.

They have added the 1919 birth and death records to the search engine in November and December of last year, and have added digitized images of the originals for that year, as well.

So good luck in researching, and let me know how you have done using theses records.

If you haven’t done so already, remember to check the Canadian Week in Review Monday morning for the latest in Genealogy, Heritage, and History news in Canada.

If you missed last week’s edition, it is at http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/01/canadian-week-in-review-05-january-2015.html

It’s the ONLY news blog of its kind in Canada!

It has been a regular post every Monday morning since April 23, 2012.

The Archives Association of Ontario offers online courses

The Archives Association of Ontario (AAO) is an organization that supports archival associations, those working in archives, as well as users and supporters of archives. It is made up of 300 members from across the province. It involves itself in a network of archives and archivists providing programs, education, and advocacy.

They are offering online courses, some of which may interest you.

The courses are -

Caring for Paper-Based Collections
January 20

Creating Access to Your Collections
January 27

Exhibiting Your Collections
February 10

Caring for Oversize Paper Artifacts
February 17

Caring for Scrapbooks
February 24

Writing Your NEH Preservation Assistance Grant (Free)
February 25

Spring sessions include new webinars on digital topics as well as caring for photographs, and emergency preparedness.

Registration is at https://www.nedcc.org/preservation-training/training-calendar/

Friday, January 9, 2015

National Genealogy Conference in Canada

A travel agency from Guelph, Ontario is where you will register if you want to go to the National Genealogy Conference in Canada at Historic Pier 21 in Halifax, Nova Scotia on July 17 - 19, 2015.

The registration fee of $895.00 (Canadian Funds) per person includes the following -

All taxes
Full conference program with exceptional genealogy keynote and workshop speakers
All food and beverage within the conference schedule
The opportunity to submit personal information to have The Scotiabank Family History Centre research immigration information for your family prior to arriving at the conference.
Guided tour plus additional on-own time at the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21, immigration portal of Canada from 1928 - 1971
A professionally guided tour of Halifax, including a visit to the Titanic Graveyard. Experts will be on hand to enhance your experience. Following the tour will be dinner at the Five Fishermen Restaurant, housed in a historic building with ties to the Titanic story.
Networking opportunities and information sharing with genealogy enthusiasts from near and far.

Of course, your registration fee does not include the airfare to Halifax, or accommodation.

I am interested to know if any of my readers are going. What is your opinion on the cost of the conference? Is this a reasonable price to pay for a genealogical conference in Canada?

To register, go to http://www.visiontravel.ca/heidiwilker

If you haven’t done so already, remember to check the Canadian Week in Review Monday morning for the latest in Genealogy, Heritage, and History news in Canada.

If you missed last week’s edition, it is at http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/01/canadian-week-in-review-05-january-2015.html

It’s the ONLY news blog of its kind in Canada!
It has been a regular post every Monday morning since April 23, 2012.

new.FamilySearch.org Will Be Turned Off on 01 February 2015

WARNING! This does not mean that FamilySearch.org is closing down!

I think there has been confusion over the closing of new.FamilySearch.org as has been evident of Thomas MacEntee's Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/tmacentee?fref=ufi&pnref=story. Only this site will be disabled and closed down. FamilySearch.org will remain open. This is planned to take place on 01 February, 2015.

As the website says, “On February 1, all public APIs (application programming interfaces) will be turned off, as will be the ability to access the program. This step is necessary as we enter the final phase, which is to transfer and synchronize all of the remaining data from new.FamilySearch.org to FamilySearch Family Tree. It is anticipated that this final phase of data testing, transfer, and retesting will require a year to complete. Once this phase is completed in early 2016, new.FamilySearch.org will be completely shut down”.

To read the rest of the press release, go to https://new.familysearch.org/

If you haven’t done so already, remember to check the Canadian Week in Review Monday morning for the latest in Genealogy, Heritage, and History news in Canada.

If you missed last week’s edition, it is at http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/01/canadian-week-in-review-05-january-2015.html

It’s the ONLY news blog of its kind in Canada!

It has been a regular post every Monday morning since April 23, 2012.

Thursday, January 8, 2015

Kent Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society "virtual" meeting

Just a reminder of the Kent Branch monthly meeting this coming Friday night in Chatham. They would like you to join them, and if you are not in the area, then please join them "virtually" via live streaming.

Here are the details -

The meeting will held January 9, 2015 Friday at 7:00 PM on the topic "CK Library - Digital Collection". The Chatham-Kent Public Library recently launched its new digital collection. Staff from the library will tell the attendees all about this valuable resource.

Public is welcome at St Andrews Residence at 99 Park St, Chatham. Please join us live online at this link http://ogs.on.ca/kent/?page_id=688

The society’s website is http://ogs.on.ca/kent/

Their Facebook page is at https://www.facebook.com/groups/kentbranchogs/

I will be joining the meeting by live streaming because I want to learn about the Chatham-Kent Public Library's new digital collection.

The genealogy page (which is great, by the way) of the Chatham-Kent Public Library is at http://www.chatham-kent.ca/PublicLibraries/Genealogy/Pages/Genealogy.aspx.

Dear Myrt’s Beginning Genealogy - Session 1

As I promished in my blog on 06 January 2014 at http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/01/beginning-genealogy-study-group.html, I watched Dear Myrt’s Beginning Genealogy yesterday. It passed my test of ‘Was it worhwhile?” with a resounding “Yes!”. I will continue to watch the rest of the study group as it proceeds.

There were a couple things that I learned, and they were -

She is taking the FamilySearch Wiki as the basis of the study. The Wiki is at https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Principles_of_Family_History_Research and is called Principles of Family History Research. She went through Step 1, gave examples, and had good interaction between herself and the comments that were made on Dear Myrt’s Genealogy Community at https://plus.google.com/communities/104382659430904043232

She went over how she organises her computer folders by colors using the program Folder Marker at http://foldermarker.com/index.php. I think that I wll use that method because right now I don’t use any method. For example, I have my genealogy divided into surnames starting with Andrew Barclay, George Barclay, John Barclay, Cecil Barclay, and my father, Harold Barclay. But I will start to use file folders now. She also has a folder of paper which she had yet to put into appropiate surname folders.

So if you want to watch this seesion, it is on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UskxuqHfJ4I

Remember to make yourself a member of Dear Myrt’s Genealogy Community before watching the YouTube Google+ Hangout on Air at https://plus.google.com/communities/104382659430904043232

If you haven’t done so alreay, remember to check the Canadian Week in Review Monday morning for the latest in Genealogy, Heritage, and History news in Canada.

If you missed last week’s edition, it is at http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/01/canadian-week-in-review-05-january-2015.html

It’s the ONLY news blog of its kind in Canada!

Wednesday, January 7, 2015

The Toronto Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society

The Toronto Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society is pleased to announce that registration is now open for the following family history courses and workshops in the winter of 2015 -

Publish Before You Perish

Saturday, 21 February, 9:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

This half-day course is intended for those who have already done a lot of family history research. It will outline the steps required to publish your family history in a printed book format.

Instructor: Nancy Conn

Where: Toronto Reference Library, 789 Yonge Street, Toronto

Welcome to Our World: A Day with Top Toronto Genealogists and Family Historians

Saturday, 21 February, 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.

This interactive forum is intended for people who are thinking of getting involved in genealogy or who are beginners in this fascinating field. Some of Toronto's top genealogy and family history experts will share their perspectives and experiences.

Speakers: Carol Nichols, Janice Nickerson, Guylaine Pétrin and James F.S. Thomson

Where: North York Central Library, 5120 Yonge Street, Toronto

Using Digital Newspapers for Genealogy Research

Wednesdays, 4, 11 and 18 March 2015, 6:15 – 8:15 pm

This three-week hands-on course will examine the uses of historical newspapers for genealogy research as well as where to find them online.

Instructor: Marian Press

Where: Toronto Reference Library, 789 Yonge Street, Toronto

Introduction to Genealogy and Family History

Saturday, 28 March 2015, 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.

This fast-paced one-day course will introduce some of the types of records and techniques needed to research your family tree, with a focus on vital records, census and probate records, and how to extract and evaluate data.

Instructor: Linda Reid

Where: North York Memorial Community Hall, 5110 Yonge Street, Toronto

Registration is also now open for the first course in our spring 2015 lineup:

Hands-On Early Ontario Land Records

Tuesdays, 31 March, 7 and 14 April 2015, 4 - 7 p.m.

This three-week course is being offered in partnership with the Archives of Ontario. Designed for both family and local historians, it will provide a hands-on introduction to the land granting process in Ontario and the main types of Crown Land records. Participants will work in small groups following actual case histories through the records.

Instructor: Jane MacNamara

Where: Archives of Ontario, York University, 134 Ian Macdonald Blvd., Toronto

For program details, speaker biographies and information on how to register for these events, visit http://torontofamilyhistory.org/learn/courses.

Their Facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/TOFamilyHistory

Relatively Speaking "Stories"

On the Alberta Genealogical Society (AGS) website at http://www.abgenealogy.ca/, there is an intriguing webpage called Stories, that I had to take a look at to see what it was all about.

Stories is series of 12 different articles from their Relatively Speaking magazine which includes—according to their website—“fact-finding and methodical articles for the gumshoe genealogist - the opportunity to purchase issues singly or by volume.’’

In addition to the specific article, sometimes they also give three or four related articles for you to read on the subject in the other editions of Relatively Speaking.

Some of the twelve articles are -

“Beware of Oral History” by Ken Millions (February 2012). Unverified oral history should always be taken with a grain of salt by the budding genealogist. How true that statement is!

"The Payzants of Edmonton” by Allen Jess (May 2006). A bloody hand print in Falmouth Township, Nova Scotia, the family’s migration route to Alberta, and the history of the ‘penny farthing’ ridden in Edmonton’s Exhibition parades. Wow! All of this in one article!

"Searching for Charlotte” by Marilyn Lappi (February 2012). Read more about “Searching for Charlotte” by Marilyn Lappi in Relatively Speaking, a three-part sequel featured in the February, May, and August 2012 issues. What an interesting read!

So if any of these stories interest you, you can receive Relatively Speaking as part of your membership to the AGS. The membership page is at http://www.abgenealogy.ca/memberships

They take a yearly research trip to Salt Lake City, they have the Homestead Index onsite, branches, the bi-annual GenFair, a yearly conference, workshops, and educational courses.

Tuesday, January 6, 2015

New Book at the Genealogy Services Collection

Library and Archives Canada (LAC) has released the titles of new Family Histories and Ethnic and Local Histories of the Genealogy Services Collection, and they are available at the LAC.

You can go to the Genealogy and Family History Room located on the 3^rd floor at 395 Wellington in Ottawa.

Family Histories

De nos ancêtres Houallet en France aux descendants Ouellet-te en Nouvelle-France, de François Houallet et Isabelle Barré, à leur fils René et son rêve américain by Jeannine Ouellet

Généalogie ascendante de Maurice Fortier by Lise Lefebvre

La descendance de Pierre Gilbert, capitaine de vaisseau: Petite-Rivière-Saint-François à partir de 1756 by Jules Garneau

André Marsil dit Lespagnol: l'ancêtre des Marcil et Mercille d'Amérique (1642-1725) by Denis Marsil

La famille Miville-Dechêne, Julie: l'arrivée en Nouvelle-France et les pérégrinations à Québec et dans les environs du 17^e au 21^e siècle by Michel Émond

Larocque family by Charles G. Clermont

L'histoire de la famille acadienne des Lejeune dit Briard: les sept premières générations et plus by André-Carl Vachon

Looking back: a history of the Robert and Hannah (Swinton) Williamson family, 2013-1783 by M. Yvonne Brown

The Amos B. Weber family history by Tim Campbell

The legacy of Peter Martin by Tim Campbell

The Noah B. Martin family history by Tim Campbell

The scent of oil: a Nicklos/Perkins family saga by Gary May

Ethnic and Local Histories

Atlas généalogique de la France ancestrale: pays des migrants vers la Nouvelle-France by Micheline Perreault

Dictionnaire des souches allemandes et scandinaves au Québec by Claude Kaufholtz-Couture and Claude Crégheur

Irish presence: the protestant religious history, volume 1: Villages et visages en Lotbinière (includes cemetery transcriptions), research and writing by Sylvie Bernard; translation by Claude Crégheur and Mélanie St-Jean

La colonie nantaise de Lac-Mégantic: une implantation française au Québec au XIXe siècle by Marcel Fournier

Le pays des filles du Roy... au confluent du Saint-Laurent et de la Richelieu by Louise Biron, Danielle Mailloux and Louise Pelletier

Les Filles du roi au XVIIe siècle: orphelines en France, pionnières au Canada by Yves Landry

Les sépultures du coteau des Cèdres, 1750-1780 by Jean-Luc Brazeau and Isabelle Aubuchon

Patriotes, reformers, rebels & raiders: tracing your ancestors during the troublous times in Upper and Lower Canada, 1820-1851 by Kenneth Cox

Pour que rien ne s'efface: Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes, 2014 by Robert Charbonneau, Mario Cyr and Huguette Plourde

Répertoire des naissances, des mariages et des décès de la paroisse de Saint-Émilien, Desbiens, 1926-1941 by Société d'histoire du Lac-Saint-Jean

The Irish Catholic families of Puslinch Township, Wellington County, Ontario: a genealogy by Marjorie Clark

The website of the LAC is http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/genealogy/Pages/introduction.aspx

Remember to check the Canadian Week in Review every Monday morning for the latest in Genealogy, Heritage, and History news in Canada.

If you missed this week’s edition, it is at http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/01/canadian-week-in-review-05-january-2015.html

It’s the ONLY news blog of its kind in Canada!

It has been a regular post every Monday morning since April 23, 2012.

Beginning Genealogy Study Group

Dear Myrt, of the Dear Myrtle Your Friend in Genealogy website, https://plus.google.com/u/0/+DearmyrtlePage/posts/Y2MgdSmFpqi?cfem=1uis, will be hosting the Beginning Genealogy Study Group, a 20-week genealogy class starting on.

Wednesday, 07 January 2015.

The class will use an online syllabus and materials, with sample documents from each record group discussed. Sounds like a good idea!

I have known Dear Myrt when I was first on the Internet in 1995, and have wondered why she hasn’t done this before, because she is certainty capable of leading a study group in this regard.

So if you are just starting genealogy, go to the site at noon on Wednesday (there is a time zone converter on her site), or if you have been at it a long time, take a look because I find that there is always something new to learn.

I will be there on Wednesday. Will you?

British Columbia and Ontario Cemetery Finding Aids

Although these two sites have been on the Internet since 1998, were last updated in 2000, and have been surpassed by Find-A-Grave and other cemetery sites, they still hold information that these other sites may not have.

The reason why I go back to them is because Ron Demaray—who was the webmaster for these two sites—and his many volunteers went through the cemetery transcriptions that the genealogical societies had, and put the name of the deceased on the internet, plus the name of the cemetery, where it is located, and a reference number of the genealogy society.

For example, the British Columbia Cemetery Aid can tell me that there is an Agnes Barclay buried in the Royal Oak Burial Park (Section J) on Falaise Drive, in Victoria, on Vancouver Island, and the reference is VCS-ROBP-MRK, which is the Victoria Genealogical Society. Unfortunately, it does not tell me the dates of the burial, but it does give me the reference where it can be looked up.

The British Columbia Cemetery Finding Aid is found at http://bccfa.islandnet.com//homepage.html

And for the Ontario Cemetery Finding Aid, it is found at http://ocfa.islandnet.com

From this information, you can then see exactly what’s available to you in their resources.

So the two sites can give you a clue to search further … and that is what we are looking for, right?

Monday, January 5, 2015

Canadian Week in Review - 05 January 2015

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

History

In 1727, James Wolfe, commander of the British expedition that captured Quebec in 1759, died of his wounds during the battle of the Plains of Abraham at Quebec.
To read more about James Wolfe, go to http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/646548/James-Wolfe

In 1872, Canada and the U.S. exchanged telegraphic weather reports for the first time.
For more on the history of telegraphy, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telegraphy

In 1884, a railway collision at the Humber River, just west of Toronto, took 31 lives.
To read more about the Toronto streetcar system, go to
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toronto_streetcar_system#Early_history_.281861.E2.80.931945.29

Social Media

(Video) Quebec man on a mission to save barns
http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/quebec-man-on-a-mission-to-save-barns-1.2167507#ixzz3NZhBY5Cq
Roger Brabant of Rigaud, Que, a town on the road from Ottawa to Montreal, has started to take apart barns which have been slated for demolition, and uses the wood for his products – like cupboards.

Articles

Nova Scotia

Memory Lane Heritage Village goes high tech to boost tourism
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/memory-lane-heritage-village-goes-high-tech-to-boost-tourism-1.2882752

The Heritage Village includes a dozen buildings set in the style of the 1940s and 1950s, and depicts the typical life of a coastal Nova Scotia community.

Nova Scotia music contest honours Viola Desmond’s legacy
http://thechronicleherald.ca/artslife/1259921-nova-scotia-music-contest-honours-viola-desmond%E2%80%99s-legacy
   The contest pays tribute to Viola Desmond and her contributions to Canada’s civil rights movement, and raises awareness of Nova Scotia’s Heritage Day
holiday honouring her on February 16th.

New Brunswick

Last official event held at Royal Canadian Legion Branch 28
http://www.chathamdailynews.ca/2015/01/01/last-official-event-held-at-royal-canadian-legion-branch-28
   A long-time military tradition capped off the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 28's history on New Year's Day.
   The branch hosted its stand-to levee, with more than 250 people in attendance. It was the last official event before it will merge with Branch 628 to create a new organization in February.

Ontario

Ross rifle maligned due to misinformation
http://www.mykawartha.com/opinion-story/5234631-ross-rifle-maligned-due-to-misinformation
   Terry Wieland, from St. Louis, Missouri (formerly of Peterborough, Ontario), a professional gun writer, writes a letter to the editor, in which he defends Lt. Ross Ackerman, by saying that he did not die from rifle malfunction.

Remembering the dead at Huronia Regional Centre
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2014/12/29/remembering_the_dead_at_huronia_regional_centre.html
   Remember Every Name, a committee of survivors and community members, is working on a plan to mark some 1,440 unmarked graves of former patients at the notorious centre for people with developmental disabilities.

Canada's history not always so 'strong, proud, free'

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/canada-s-history-not-always-so-strong-proud-free-1.2884928

The federal government's recent ad campaign distorts history, say some critics of the process.

Saskatchewan

What will Saskatoon look like in the future?

http://www.thestarphoenix.com/entertainment/What+will+Saskatoon+look+like+future/10695207/story.html

Saskatoon could be on the precipice of getting a new look, say city officials, architects, and designers. But what that look will be is still open for debate.

Stories of the Year

One of the biggest stories of the year was the news that the Library and Archives Canada was going to digitize the service files of the First World War men and women, and put them online.

One suggestion that I would like to see as a researcher, in addition to being kept up-to-date, is that the LAC tells us where they are - up to which letter have the files been digitized? It would be easier to judge the rate at which they are doing the scans.

Another story has been the realignment of the Ontario Genealogical Society. They declared two branches “inactive” - Haldimand and Norfolk - and there were financial concerns for the organization, both due to lower levels of membership. It seems that they have stabilized themselves as a society, but time will tell.

The OGS has also transformed the publication of their journal, Families, from one that is a high-quality, paper-based magazine, into an electronic format, starting with the February 2015 issue.

A bit of good news for the Genealogical Association of Nova Scotia, as it moved to its new headquarters in the wider Halifax area. See their website, http://www.novascotiaancestors.ca.

They will be starting a new eight-week course in February 2015 for beginners.

And the third news story of the year was the Canadian societies that are going online with Webinars, Live Streaming, and putting genealogy topics on YouTube.

And sites like Ancestry.ca who have put on 24 new databases and have updated 5 more this past year, and FamilySearch.org, who has put on or updated their databases covering Canada (thanks to the indexers).

So, it has been a good year.

And we just got word that Louis Kessler, a genealogist from Winnipeg, Manitoba, has just released his GenSoftReviews for 2014.

To read who won the best reviews of 2014, go to http://www.gensoftreviews.com.

In 2015, the big news, as Thomas MacEntee says, is doing the Genealogy Do-Over.

It involves a 13-week exercise where you look at your genealogy and decide if you need to go back and do parts or all of it over again, because the first time, you may missed putting in sound citations, or do exhaustive research, and now you have a chance to correct it.

You can follow the progress at a Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/genealogydoover or add a comment at http://www.geneabloggers.com/tag/genealogy-do-over

So, we wish everyone a Happy New Year, and let’s make 2015 the best ever year we have had for genealogy!

Reminder: Check the Canadian Week in Review next 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 on 12 January 2015.

Sunday, January 4, 2015

Reminder: Canadian Week in Review

Check the Canadian Week in Review tomorrow morning for the latest in Genealogy, Heritage, and History news in Canada.

If you missed last week’s edition, it is at http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2014/12/canadian-week-in-review-29-december-2014.html

It has the most up-to-date news items covered in New/Updated Websites, History, Social Media, and Newspaper Articles.

It’s the ONLY news blog of its kind in Canada!

It has been a regular post every Monday morning since April 23, 2012

Centenary Club

While reading George G. Morgan’s Facebook entry today at

https://www.facebook.com/george.g.morgan?fref=tl_fr_box&pnref=lhc.friends on the going to a meeting of the Florida Genealogical Society - Tampa—where a plaque and pin would be presented to the first recipient of the Hillsborough County Century Families program—reminded me of a similar program that the Ontario Genealogical Society (OGS) has called the Centenary Club.

If you have ancestors who lived in the province of Ontario, you can apply for the Centenary Club and receive a certificate.

There are three levels to the Centenary Club –

Bronze – Over 100 years
Silver – Over 150 years
Gold – Over 200 years

You can read about this certificate and application form at http://www.ogs.on.ca/pdfs/Centenary-Club-Application-2014.pdf

Congratulations to Gayle Guyardo, co-anchor of News Channel 8 Today (WFLA) and her family for this honour!

Saturday, January 3, 2015

Top Seven Free Canadian Genealogy Sites

In keeping with the number 7, as in my 7th blogiversary I celebrated yesterday at http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/01/genealogycanada-is-now-seven-years-old.html, the sevens continue on today ...

... so (and not in any particular order) here are my Top Seven FREE Canadian Genealogy Sites:

Library and Archives Canada – In addition to having the census online, they are publishing the service files of the Soldiers of the First World War: 1914-1918 at http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/military-heritage/first-world-war/first-world-war-1914-1918-cef/Pages/canadian-expeditionary-force.aspx.

They also have Facebook, Twitter, as well as announcements on their website about their collections, upcoming events, and news on the release of digital material.

Héritage – You can also go to the Héritage Site at http://heritage.canadiana.ca/?usrlang=en to see many digitized images of records and other fonds that have been published online over the past year. The one big drawback is that they aren’t currently indexed, but if you have plenty of time, it may be well-worth your effort to browse the site. I've been lucky enough to find some interesting material here.

Nova Scotia Archives – This site has come a long way since it first appeared online, and they keep adding to it.

They are most famously known for the Nova Scotia Historical Vital Statistics at https://www.novascotiagenealogy.com/.

To see what they have in the Virtual Archives site, go to http://novascotia.ca/archives/virtual/

The Alberta Family Histories Society and the Alberta Genealogical Society – Both societies have free databases that you can search.

The AFHS at http://www.afhs.ab.ca/ has a cemetery and BMD databases, and the AGS http://www.abgenealogy.ca/ has the 1885‒1897 Applications for Alberta Land Patents, 1870‒1930 Alberta Homestead Records, and the Post‒1930 Alberta Homestead Records.

FamilySearch – Canada and the provinces and territories have resources that you might find helpful and they are free at https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Canada.

Be sure to check the catalogue, as they are starting to put scanned books onsite.

The Prince Edward Island Public Archives and Records Office – They have a free database of such records as vital statistics records (including the former P.E.I. Baptismal Index), census records, and material from their archival collections, including photographs, maps, architectural plans, and textual records.

The database is at http://www.gov.pe.ca/archives/parosearch/index/index

And, of course, if you haven’t been following my weekly Canadian Week in Review (CWR) blog posts published every Monday morning http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2014/12/canadian-week-in-review-29-december-2014.html over the past three years, maybe you should. It provides a weekly review of the news stories on Canadian genealogy, heritage, and history.

You can sign up to receive it your mailbox, FREE of charge, and it’s a good way to keep up-to-date with what’s happening in Canada.

Friday, January 2, 2015

GenealogyCanada is now seven years old!

It has been seven years now that I have been doing this blog, and although there have been days this past year that I have been super busy, I have always managed to post my Canadian Week in Review (CWR) every Monday morning.

This past year, the most popular post was Ancestry.ca is offering FREE access at http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2014/12/ancestryca-is-offering-free-access.html, and the next popular posts were the CWRs.

The people who are accessing the blog through their iPads, iPhones and other mobile devices are increasing, and I am proud to say that I have people from all over the world who come for a visit. So thank you for dropping by!

If you missed any of the other 1,865 posts published since 2008, drop by the archive (to the right-side of the page) to pick any ones you may have missed. Or, just use the search box.

As we, and the country, head into 2015, I will once again be offering my Canada Day Brick Wall Contest on July 1^st, and I have some other surprises planned throughout the coming year.

So 'Thank you!' once again for your support, and we'll see you throughout 2015!

Elizabeth