Monday, February 16, 2015

Canadfian News in Review 16 February 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.

This Week in Canadian History

In 1894, Canadian fighter pilot Billy Bishop was born in Owen Sound, Ontario. He was given credit for shooting down 72 enemy aircraft in the First World War, and was the first Canadian airman to win a Victoria Cross for a 1917 solo attack on a German airfield. Bishop died in Florida in 1956.

For further information, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Bishop

In 1995, Roméo LeBlanc was sworn in as Canada's 25th Governor General, the first Acadian to hold the post.

For further information, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rom%C3%A9o_LeBlanc

Social Media

For all the Canadians who were at RootsTech 2015, for the keynote speakers online, and for those interviewed by Dear Myrt’s AmbushCAM http://blog.dearmyrtle.com/2015/02/fgsrootstech-2015-myrts-ambushcam.html, here is a summary of the blog posts -
For a listing of Dear Myrt's AmbushCAM from the the National Genealogical Society (NGS) 2014 Conference, visit Randy Seaver's Genea-Musings blog post at http://www.geneamusings.com/2014/05/did-you-watch-dearmyrtles-ambushcam.html

Articles

Nova Scotia

Howe, Lewis among next 7 Heritage Day honorees
http://thechronicleherald.ca/novascotia/1267791-howe-lewis-among-next-7-heritage-day-honorees
   As the province prepares for the first official day to celebrate its history, the government unveiled the focus of celebration for future years.

Ontario

70 years After the Second World War: Remembrance Endures
http://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/70-years-after-world-war-two-remembrance-endures
   This year marks the 70th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, and important historic dates are dotted across the calendar.

Petrolia man finds a piece of family history
http://www.sarniathisweek.com/2015/02/10/petrolia-man-finds-a-piece-of-family-history
   Petrolia’s Don Gibson is a man with a keen interest in Canadian military history. And he’s recently solved a military mystery of sorts that involved his great-grandfather, the Fenian Raids, and a missing medal.

Navan's St. Mary's Anglican Church pleads for return of records
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/navan-s-st-mary-s-anglican-church-pleads-for-return-of-records-1.2950881
   Although no money was taken, the safe stolen from church contained birth and death records of parishioners.

Find haute and history in Toronto’s Distillery District
http://www.daily-journal.com/life/travel/find-haute-and-history-in-toronto-s-distillery-district/article_7b91fadb-2f40-5f60-9342-fcc4388b3fed.html
   At the core of the District is the history of the Gooderham and Worts Distillery, whose predecessor company started in 1831. Established in 1837 as a distillery on the shores of Lake Ontario, 50 years later it had evolved into the largest distillery in the British Empire.

How black Canadians fought for liberty in the American Civil War
http://www.thestar.com/opinion/commentary/2015/01/31/how-black-canadians-fought-for-liberty-in-the-american-civil-war.html
  Many black Canadians headed to the U.S. to join the fight against slavery in 1863. Nearly 1,000 of them came from Canada West.

Discover the Moving History of the Holocaust with Insight Vacations
http://globenewswire.com/news-release/2015/02/11/705489/10119776/en/Discover-the-Moving-History-of-the-Holocaust-with-Insight-Vacations.html#sthash.e7W2EYCT.dpuf
   Dr. Jody Perrun will host Insight guests on an exclusive two-week journey starting June 4th through Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Austria, Czech Republic, and Germany to explore the locales where the events of the Holocaust unfolded in a tour named the History of the Holocaust.

GENEALOGY WITH JANICE: Genealogist Janice Nickerson shares her passion in new column
http://www.insidetoronto.com/news-story/5338473-genealogy-with-janice-genealogist-janice-nickerson-shares-her-passion-in-new-column
   Ontario genealogist and Association of Professional Genealogists member debuts a new column in Inside Toronto. As she says, “Genealogy is my life”.

Manitoba

Manitobans don kilts, skates to celebrate Canada’s first prime minister
http://winnipeg.ctvnews.ca/manitobans-don-kilts-skates-to-celebrate-canada-s-first-prime-minister-1.2215088#ixzz3RCEMQWlU
   To celebrate the bicentennial birthday of Sir John A. Macdonald, Canada’s first Prime Minister, hearty Canadians in five cities across the country donned kilts – and headed outdoors.

Saskatchewan

Archives Week shows Humboldt history
http://www.humboldtjournal.ca/news/local-news/archives-week-shows-humboldt-history-1.1760931
   A variety of photos showing fundraising efforts and other events were donated to the museum by City Hall, and museum staff is inviting people to check them out and part with any information they may have about them.

Alberta

History on display at City Hall
http://www.meridianbooster.com/2015/02/06/history-on-display-at-city-hall
   The walls of City Hall are displaying the region’s history as part of a special visual display provided by the Lloydminster Regional Archives.

Galt exhibit on the money
http://lethbridgeherald.com/news/local-news/2015/02/07/galt-exhibit-on-the-money
   “Voices from the Engraver” will open today, and showcase more than 60 artifacts dealing with the creative process—behind the scenes, as well as the technical skill and the sheer artistry—that goes into every series of Canadian stamps and bank notes.

British Columbia

Chinese made big contribution to pioneer B.C.
http://www.vicnews.com/news/290721701.html
   In the spring of 1858, news of gold in the Fraser Canyon transformed Fort Victoria from a quiet fur trade outpost of the Hudson’s Bay Company into a booming town. Hop Kee & Co. of San Francisco played an instrumental role in the first wave of Chinese to Victoria.

Clyde Duncan: Black history is central to the beginnings of B.C.
http://blogs.theprovince.com/2015/02/01/clyde-duncan-black-history-is-central-to-the-beginnings-of-british-columbia
   Sir James Douglas, who in 1858 became the first governor of the colony of British Columbia, and who is known as the “Father of British Columbia,” was born in British Guiana (now, Guyana) to a mixed-race mother with African ancestry.

Black artist a trailblazer in Victoria's early days
http://www.timescolonist.com/life/islander/black-artist-a-trailblazer-in-victoria-s-early-days-1.1756470
   Grafton Tyler Brown became the first professional artist in the province when he reinvented himself in his move to British Columbia in 1882.

Stories of the Week

National Flag Day

Poster for the 50th Anniversary of the Flag

The 50th anniversary of Flag Day was celebrated yesterday in Canada (February 15th). The (new, then) Canadian Flag was first raised over Parliament Hill 50 years ago in 1965, replacing the beloved Canadian Red Ensign http://tmg110.tripod.com/canada_flag.htm

I can remember watching the ceremony on TV, and wondered if I would ever get to see Parliament Hill in Ottawa from a small town in Nova Scotia. Now I can see this place every day in person if I want to because I live in the area.

The represents the county - strong, proud and free. It represents we have accomplished together over the years - the historical moments that have shared, and the served to define us, and to the promising future of this great country.

Share your Moment with the Flag!

Did you celebrate the 50th anniversary of the National Flag of Canada by taking part in the “Share your Moment with the Flag” Challenge.

This challenge gives us an opportunity, as Canadians, to honour the National Flag of Canada, by putting your memory on the Internet. You can go to #flag50 https://twitter.com/hashtag/flag50 and #drapeau50 https://twitter.com/hashtag/drapeau50 on Twitter to see the photos and videos of everyone who took part in the challenge.

The Library and Archives Canada also put on a special page which celebrates the flag. There is a Flickr page, podcasts, and a history of the flag which can be seen by reading the Lester B. Pearson fonds. He was the prime minister of the time.

This is all available on their blog, Celebrating 50 years of Canada’s national flag, at http://thediscoverblog.com/2015/02/12/celebrating-50-years-of-canadas-national-flag

Additional blog posts about the Canadian Flag are available here -

John Matheson, 'Father' Of Canadian Flag dies at age 96 - http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2014/01/canadian-week-in-review-06-january-2014.html

Statement by the Prime Minister of Canada on National Flag Day - http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2014/02/statement-by-prime-minister-of-canada.html

May 9th will be a National Day of Honour - http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2014/03/canadian-week-in-review-24-march-2014.html

Red Ensign flag protected for future generations - http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2014/09/canadian-week-in-review-01-september.html

Hope Restored announced as theme for Heritage Week 2015 - http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2014/11/canadian-week-in-review-03-november-2014.html

How social media is being used so that Canadian flags can be placed on soldier’s graves in Italy - http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2014/11/ogs-first-world-war-heritage-society.html

Blackwell & Beddoe Lawrence: The maple leaf has symbolized Canada for 50 years, but its origins are still misunderstood - http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2014/12/canadian-week-in-review-22-december-2014.html

In 1924, the Canadian Red Ensign was given official recognition as Canada’s official flag until the Maple Leaf was adopted in 1965 - http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/01/canadian-week-in-review-19-january-2015.html

Feds spend $50K on Canadian flag birthday celebration- http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/01/canadian-week-in-review-19-january-2015.html

The federal government has allotted $50,000 for celebrations for the upcoming 50th birthday of the iconic Maple Leaf flag - http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/01/canadian-week-in-review-19-january-2015.html

Canadian MP offers excellent primer on the Canadian Flag, and its history - http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/01/canadian-week-in-review-19-january-2015.html
and http://www.mauril.ca/the-canadian-flag

==========
As well, I recently reported on the Canadian Flag on my weekly Canadian Week in Review (CWR) blog post, dated 26 January 2015 http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/01/canadian-week-in-review-26-january-2015.html

In addition to news stories from television and Canadian newspapers, there is a link to the history of the flag (including a free PDF download of a Canadian Flag poster depicting its chronology and historical background) from a Canadian Member of Parliament, the Honourable Mauril Bélanger, representing the a local riding of Ottawa East http


Celebrations around Heritage Day/Family Day and Flag Day has broken out all over Canada.

Heritage Day is a nationwide celebration that encourages all Canadians to explore their local heritage, and this year the theme is Our Main Streets and traditional downtowns are a heritage worth celebrating. As venues for commerce, entertainment, worship, shopping and more, they demonstate the community's social and economic history.

For instance, Heritage Day has been  to Heritage Week in British Columbia this week and the theme is Main Street: At The Heart of the Community. The week kicked off with the national Heritage Day designated by Heritage Canada The National Trust.

In Toronto, a plague has been unveiled honours Chinese-Canadian association
http://www.canadianarchitect.com/news/heritage-torontos-first-plaque-unveiling-of-2015-honours-chinese-canadian-association/1003450245/?&er=NA
The plaque commemorates the Wong Association of Ontario (Wong Kung Har Wun Sun Association). The Wongs have been part of the historic fabric of Toronto and Chinatown for over 100 years and the Wong Association of Ontario is the first Chinese-Canadian family association to receive a coat of arms.

That was the Canadian genealogy, history and heritage news in Canada this past week.

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Need help in finding your Canadian Ancestors?

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If you do, go to Elizabeth Lapointe Research Services and see how I can help you find that elusive Canadian ancestor.

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The next Canadian Week in Review will be posted 25 February 2015.

Sunday, February 15, 2015

RootsTech 2015 - Day 5

This was the last day of RootsTech 2015.

I would say that, from a distance, it has been a success from the keynote speech of the first day to the keynote speech of the last day with A.J. Jacobs and Donny Osmond, it shows that genealogy is not an isolated, staid activity, but is an active, engaging hobby and profession.

Conferences, get-togethers, and meetings can be exciting, and it is up to us to see that they are "people pleasers", something that people want to come to, and be a part of the community. So let’s engage our community, and bring everyone to genealogy and family history!

There was the rest of Dear Myrt’s AmbushCAM—little five minute interviews—and the first two aren’t the greatet quality (there were camera and sound issues), but there were four to watch -

Myrt's AmbushCAM: Friday #1 - Matthew Faulconer of GenMarketplace www.genmarketplace.com/roots

Myrt's AmbushCAM: Friday #2 - Thomas MacEntee of Geneabloggers www.geneabloggers.com

Myrt's AmbushCAM: Saturday #1 - Jennifer Smith of Family Search Indexing https://familysearch.org/indexing

Myrt's AmbushCAM: Saturday #2 - Hilary Gadsby (our gal in Wales) of The Edge of Snowdonia www.genemeet.blogspot.com, and Mastering Genealogy Software http://masteringgenealogysoftware.blogspot.com

It’s best to watch all of these interviews at Dear Myrt’s Genealogy Community at https://plus.google.com/communities/104382659430904043232

I watched the keynotes yesterday – A.J. Jacobs and Donny Osmond, and found them delightful in the family history message that they delivered.

I found out more about A.J. Jacobs’ passion over the past year, and that it has been a journey to his "I am a cousin" reunion that he will hold in New York City on June 6 2015. It sounds like one big party, and all should attend. From what he said yesterday, it will only be $20.00 for the day.

The website is Global Family Reunion at http://globalfamilyreunion.com

And I ask you, what can one say about Donny Osmond?

He was on stage a lot longer than I thought he would be, and he gave a really good testimonial about family history, and what it has meant to him over the years.

He said that he is on Facebook, all the social media stuff, so if you have a question about Donny’s family history, just ask him at https://www.facebook.com/donnyosmond.fb.

His website is http://donny.com

I spent the rest of the day watching the other sessions that they had at RootsTech, and capped my evening off by watching Dear Myrt's After Party, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7lFu--YBic, where she invited 50 of her closest friend who were at RootsTech to partake in her Saturday night gameshow, Who's in my Line?

So I will see you next year from the beginning to the end! The Innovator Summit will be held on the 2nd of February 2016, and the RootsTech conference will be from 04 to 06 February 2016.

The postings I have put on about RootsTech 2015 will be on the week’s news posting, Canadian News in Review on Monday morning in case you didn’t have time to read them.
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/2015/02/canadian-week-in-review-09-february-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.

Saturday, February 14, 2015

RootsTech 2015 - Day 4


This morning, before I logged on to RootsTech 2015 to watch their live streaming, I checked in with Dear Myrt’s AmbushCAM—little five minute interviews with attendees—and I had seven to watch -

Myrt's AmbushCAM: Thursday #1 - Rosemary Morgan from London Roots Research www.londonrootsresearch.blogspot.co.uk

Myrt's AmbushCAM: Thursday #2 - Cyndi Ingle of Cyndi's List www.CyndisList.com

Myrt's AmbushCAM: Thursday #3 - Jeff Haddon, founder of History Lines www.Historylines.com

Myrt's AmbushCAM: Thursday #4 - Wiki Chicks www.Wiki-Chicks.wiki

Myrt's AmbushCAM: Thursday #5 - A. J. Jacobs of Global Family Reunion www.GlobalFamilyReunion.com

Myrt's AmbushCAM: Thursday #6 - Tim Firkowski of The Genealogy Assistant
www.thegenealogyassistant.com

Myrt's AmbushCAM: Thursday #7 - Bernice Alexander Bennett, Sherri Camp, Shelley Murphy, and Angela Y Walton-Raji from the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society www.aahgs.org

It’s best to watch all of these interviews at Dear Myrt’s Genealogy Community at https://plus.google.com/communities/104382659430904043232

Not to be late for the RootsTech 2015 live streaming session, I scurried to get ready for my day of taking in the keynote speakers, and to see who would win the Innovator Summit at 12:00, my local time. I had a few minutes to spare, so I checked out the Facebook page and found that some people were complaining about not receiving the first part of the live streaming session yesterday, but I didn’t have any difficulty. Today, I did have a bit of a problem, even after refreshing, but eventually got back on the site.

I watched the Innovator Summit Challenge Event http://rootstech.challengepost.com, and it was conducted something like Dragon’s Den, a television show in Canada http://www.cbc.ca/dragonsden, where the prizes were given by the voting of the audience and judges. There were 51 new ideas presented, and the final four were ArgusSearch, GenMarketplace, Lucidpress, and the winner – StoryWorth.

Because of technical difficulties, mine or theirs, I missed most of the keynote speech today, but did get a chance to watch Thomas MacEntee on Research Toolbox, and Ring Your Ancestor Back to the Future by Anne Leishman.

Tomorrow will be the last day for RootsTech. The day will start at 10:30 (local time), and, as usual, will be worth watching.

See you tomorrow!


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/2015/02/canadian-week-in-review-09-february-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.

Friday, February 13, 2015

RootsTech 2015 - Day 3

I had a busy day keeping up to snuff with everything going on with RootsTech 2015.

Dick Eastman, in his blog post, http://blog.eogn.com/2015/02/11/the-innovation-summit-and-the-first-day-of-the-fgs-conference-in-salt-lake-city, wrote a very good summary of The Innovation Summit and the First Day of the FGS Conference, which was held on Wednesday.

He heard Nathan Furr, PhD, talk about his new book, The Innovator’s Method (Harvard Business Review Press, September 2014). Dick was also present for Curt Witcher, Senior Manager for Special Collections at Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and his talk about how we should think of the society we belong to, and how we can help to push it into the 21st century.

Jill Ball presented two RootsTech videoblogs summarizing her day at RootsTech, and she talked about the Media Supper as well as people that she met through her blog, http://geniaus.blogspot.com.

I listened to the keynote talks given by Dennis Brimhall. He discussed the “museum of me” in the new Discovery venue over at the Family History Library. He also talked about what collaboration has gone over the past year, and the indexing project that they are now embarked on, which will index all Mexican religious and civil vital records by this year, with their partnership with Ancestry.

I also took in the following talks - Josh Taylor, 30 Pieces of Tech I Can't Live Without; Karen Auman's You've Mastered the Census and Basic Search, What Next?; and What's New at FamilySearch by Devin Ashby.

All of the talks have been good so far: the speakers are enthusiastic, and I will guarantee that you will get something out of each talk.

Tomorrow's RootsTech will present the Innovator Summit Challenge Event in which they will choose the best new website. The announcement is due to take place at 10:30 a.m., local time.

This general session starts at 8:30 in the morning (local time), and the sessions will be on the main page at https://rootstech.org


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/2015/02/canadian-week-in-review-09-february-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, February 12, 2015

RootsTech 2015 - Day 2

This is the first official day of Rootstech 2015, starting with three keynote speakers. They are -
  • Dennis Brimhall, Chief Executive Officer, Family Search International. Currently, he is Managing Director of the Family History Department for the LDS Church.
  • Mike Mallin is the Chief Product Officer at MyHeritage. He is responsible for leading product strategy and product management.
  • Tan Le is the founder and CEO of Emotiv Lifesciences, a bioinformatics company that developed a breakthrough interface technology for digital media taking inputs directly from the brain.
This general session starts at 8:30 in the morning (local time), and the sessions will be on the main page at https://rootstech.org


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/2015/02/canadian-week-in-review-09-february-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.

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Red Deer (Alberta) Residents in 1913

I know this project is over, but the Red Deer Branch of the Alberta Genealogical Society has put online the names of people who lived in that city in 1913, so that is why I decided to spotlight it today.

The project is the Centennial Family Project, and it asks the question - Are you a descendant of a person who lived in Red Deer (area) in 1913?

If you check the Surnames and Families of 1913 website at http://rdgensoc.ab.ca/SurnamesFamiliesof1913.pdf you may be able to find your ancestors.

The website of the Red Deer Branch is at http://rdgensoc.ab.ca


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/2015/02/canadian-week-in-review-09-february-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.

News Flash! - RootsTech 2015 live streaming schedule now available

Andrew Hatchett from User2User Live! community on Google+ has just found the schedule for RootsTech 2015 live streaming events.

Live streaming starts tomorrow, and the schedule is at
http://www.rootstech.org/streaming-help?lang=eng

Thank you, Andy!

I will be watching. Will you?


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/2015/02/canadian-week-in-review-09-february-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.