Canadian Week in Review - 13 April 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 1922, fire destroyed the great basilica of Ste-Anne-de-Beaupré, Quebec. The shrine was built in 1658 by sailors who were saved from shipwreck.
   The website is at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilica_of_Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupr%C3%A9

In 1918, conscription riots broke out in Quebec.
   The website is at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conscription_Crisis_of_1917

In 1809, the Labrador Act gave Labrador to Newfoundland. This was later disputed by Quebec, and a final decision was not made until 1927.
   The website is at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labrador

Social Media

(Photos) Historic note
http://www.newsoptimist.ca/community/local-culture/historic-note-1.1812346
   The former Beth Israel Synagogue in North Battleford at the corner of 105th Street and 14th Avenue was renovated as a residence in the 1990s.

(Photos) Machine gun restoration project under way
http://www.insidebelleville.com/news-story/5533760-machine-gun-restoration-project-under-way/
   A pair of 100-year-old German guns, taken as souvenirs at the end of World War I, will be temporarily removed from the cenotaph on Highway 14 to be refurbished thanks to the efforts of the local branch of the Royal Canadian Legion and the Stirling-Rawdon Historical Society.

(Photos) An old bell’s real story may never ring out
http://www.therecord.com/news-story/5533473-an-old-bell-s-real-story-may-never-ring-out/
   In Bob Steward's Guelph living room is a storied relic from a disaster that occurred on the Irish Sea more than 130 years ago.
   It is also associated with a ship that played an important role in the history of Newfoundland. Stamped into the metal is the name "Solway" and "1881".

Articles

Nova Scotia

Celebrating Easter
http://halifaxbloggers.ca/noticedinnovascotia/2015/03/celebrating-easter/
    More Easter pictures!

Heritage Trust recognizes Corkum
http://www.kingscountynews.ca/News/Local/2015-03-29/article-4093986/Heritage-Trust-recognizes-Corkum/1
   Richard Corkum of Kings County has been congratulated by the Heritage Trust of Nova Scotia for his commendable stewardship and understanding of the special needs of heritage buildings.

Breton students invited to take part in Heritage Day design contest
http://www.capebretonpost.com/Living/2015-03-30/article-4094969/Cape-Breton-students-invited-to-take-part-in-Heritage-Day-design-contest/1
   The Department of Communities, Culture and Heritage is looking for unique and original submissions. One or more designs could be used to inspire the creation of an official Nova Scotia Heritage Day flag. Designs may be subject to modifications and the final design will be revealed for Nova Scotia Heritage Day 2016.
   Deadline for submissions is June 1st.
   Guidelines, registration and consent forms are available at http://heritageday.novascotia.ca

Heritage Council approves heritage designation for Schmidtville
http://globalnews.ca/news/1917076/heritage-council-approves-heritage-designation-for-schmidtville/
   Heritage Council voted unanimously Wednesday to ask regional council to designate Schmidtville as a heritage conservation district.
   The area, which sits south of Spring Garden Road, is roughly bordered by Queen Street, Clyde Street, Dresdon Row, and Morris Street.

New Brunswick

Sackville residents worry church demolition will disturb graves
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/sackville-residents-worry-church-demolition-will-disturb-graves-1.3015560
   Sackville Heritage board approved demolition of the United Church on Main Street.

Quebec

Vacation adventures
http://www.theenterprisebulletin.com/2015/04/01/vacation-adventures
   After a week vacation visiting our eastern neighbour of Québec, I’m back to cover all the news and events here in the Georgian Triangle.

Ontario

Courtroom artist David Louis Wall is in session
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/visualarts/2015/03/27/courtroom-artist-david-louis-wall-is-in-session.html
   For 13 years, David Louis Wall has painted in Toronto’s courthouses. Nearly everything he creates is donated to the Archives of Ontario. He earns no money for this work.

Truth and Reconciliation Commission: churches plan supportive events
http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/dennis-gruending/2015/03/truth-and-reconciliation-commission-churches-plan-supportive
   On June 2, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) will release its report on the legacy of residential schools. The TRC was appointed by the federal government to examine the legacy of the schools back in 2008. It’s documented what happened there and held events at which survivors came forward to tell their stories.

Historic Mary Reid house to receive Ontario Heritage Act designation
http://www.insidetoronto.com/news-story/5534247-historic-mary-reid-house-to-receive-ontario-heritage-act-designation/
   Mary Reid House will be designated under the Ontario Heritage Act.
   Toronto City Council passed a motion on Tuesday, March 31 to designate the three-quarter-century-old property.

Exploring historical dresses and the women behind them
http://www.kingstonregion.com/news-story/5531542-exploring-historical-dresses-and-the-women-behind-them/
   It is possible to learn about a person’s personality and their history simply by analyzing a person’s garments. This is what dress historian Elaine MacKay and textile conservator Emma Neale learned a lot over the past three months.

BLACK IN TORONTO: Anderson Ruffin Abbott was the first Canadian-born black doctor
http://www.insidetoronto.com/news-story/5535574-black-in-toronto-anderson-ruffin-abbott-was-the-first-canadian-born-black-doctor/
   Born in Toronto, Abbott cared for dying President Abraham Lincoln in Washington.

Manitoba

Winnipeg artist brings his paintings of historic grain elevators to Neepawa
http://www.neepawapress.com/news/local-news/winnipeg-artist-brings-his-paintings-of-historic-grain-elevators-to-neepawa-1.1810735
   An artist born in rural Manitoba before moving to Winnipeg, Joel Bouchard travelled to Neepawa this past Friday to exhibit his collection of paintings of an important part of Manitoba's farming history during a gallery showing at the Viscount Cultural Centre.

Saskatchewan 

A bit o’ England on the Canadian prairie
http://www.leaderpost.com/England+Canadian+prairie/10932879/story.html
   But if one could magically go back in time, say, 125 years, the large house was impressive indeed. Twenty-two rooms, a colony of madcap expat Britons plus fox hunting, cricket and lawn parties.

Saskatoon's Broadway Theatre to undergo facelift
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon/saskatoon-s-broadway-theatre-to-undergo-facelift-1.3018422
   The lobby of Saskatoon's Broadway Theatre is going back to its roots. The executive director of the theatre, Kirby Wirchenko, said the renovations will improve service and restore the lobby to its original look when it opened in 1946.

Alberta

Alberta government and City of Edmonton find money for the preservation of the McDougall United Church
http://www.edmontonsun.com/2015/04/01/alberta-government-and-city-of-edmonton-find-money-for-the-preservation-of-the-mcdougall-united-church
   The 105-year-old church, located on 101 Street just south of Jasper Avenue, served as the first seat of the provincial legislature and first home of Edmonton's symphony and opera, and more recently has fallen into disrepair.

News Stories of the Week

The Canadian nation celebrated Easter last weekend, but there were other celebrations taking place recently.

April 6th was Tartan Day

The Maple Leaf Tartan was created in 1964 by David Weiser in anticipation of the 100th anniversary of Canada's confederation in 1967.

As you can see by the photo, it is a very beautiful tartan as the colours of the maple leaf through the changing seasons became the basis for the design. The pattern incorporates the green of the leaves' summer foliage, the gold which first appears in the early autumn, the red which appears with the coming of the first frost, and the brown tones of the fallen leaves. It was made an official national symbol by ministerial declaration on March 9, 2011.

For more information on the Maple Leaf Tartan, please visit http://www.pch.gc.ca/eng/1363631111199

I can see why this design proved to be very popular throughout Canada.

To learn more about Canada's provincial and territorial tartans, visit http://www.pch.gc.ca/eng/1363695584755/1363695729960

If we ever needed anyone to show true Canadian grit it was Terry Fox, the young man who ran across Canada from Newfoundland to Ontario in the summer of 1980 - his leg having been amputated because of cancer. This year, the Canadian Museum of History in Ottawa has an exhibit of him and his Marathon of Hope, entitled Running to the Heart of Canada, which will run until January 24, 2016.

The goal of the Marathon of Hope was to raise money for cancer research by running across Canada. He started by filling a jug with water from the Atlantic Ocean, near St. John’s, Newfoundland. He intended to dump it into the Pacific Ocean at the end of his journey, which was tragically cut short 143 days later in Thunder Bay, Ontario.

The exhibition also features two of Terry’s prosthetic legs, the camper van that his used as his home as he ran across Canada, and a database containing the scans of some 60,000 cards and letters that supporters sent to Terry during his run, which visitors can search through. Isn’t that neat?

To read more about the exhibit, go to http://www.historymuseum.ca/terryfox/

Check the Canadian Week in Review every 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/2015/03/canadian-week-in-review-30-march-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.

Need help in finding your Canadian ancestors?

Susan I. of Toronto, Ontario says –

"With her wonderful suggestions, including provincial and local archival holdings, books, and local church records, I was delighted to uncover a marriage certificate naming my paternal great, great grandparents and their original county in Ireland.

Elizabeth also mentored me regarding further educational opportunities. I was delighted with her services."

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

The next Canadian Week in Review will be posted 20 April, 2015.

BC Provincial Heritage Fair Society

The BC Heritage Fair Society is a non-profit organization that supports their Heritage Fairs Program throughout the province of British Columbia.

They hold 12 regional fairs per year, involving about 6000 young people.

The highlight of the Fair will be the showcase of student projects to the public at the Royal BC Museum on Sunday, July 5, from 12:00 to 3:00 pm

The website is at http://www.bcheritagefairs.ca/

Their facebook page is at https://www.facebook.com/bcheritagefairs

The Story of Grosse Île – Canada’s Ellis Island

On Saturday, April 25, 2015, there will be a meeting of the Quebec Family History Society at the Briarwood Presbyterian Church Hall, 70 Beaconsfield Blvd, Montreal. Anne Renaud will present the Story of Grosse Île, and the lecture will start at 10:30 am.

From 1832 to 1937 more than four million people sailed across the Atlantic to the port of Quebec with the dream of creating better lives for themselves in the new world. During this period, a tiny island called Grosse Île, known also as the Irish Memorial National Historic Site, located fifty kilometers downstream from the port, served as a quarantine station, its mission was to prevent ship passengers from spreading diseases to the mainland. This is the story of the island, which served both as gateway and graveyard for thousands of people, and of the caring island workers who welcomed them to its shores.

The website of the Quebec Family History Society is at http://www.qfhs.ca/

 If you want to learn more about Grosse Île you can go to Immigrants at Grosse Île Quarantine Station, 1832-1937 at the Library and Archives Canada website at http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/immigration/immigration-records/immigrants-grosse-ile-1832-1937/Pages/immigrants-grosse-ile.aspx.

You can slso check the database at http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/immigration/immigration-records/immigrants-grosse-ile-1832-1937/Pages/search.aspx





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

If you missed the last edition, it is at http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/03/canadian-week-in-review-30-march-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.

Branching Out Spring Seminar at Campbell River

The Branching Out Spring Seminar of the Campbell River Genealogy Society of British Columbia will be held on Saturday 25th April at the CR Maritime Heritage Centre from 9:30-3:00 pm.

The speaker will be Dave Obee and he will present four seminars and they will be -

Travel Smart with Technology: Visiting an ancestral community is one of the greatest thrills. The presentation is designed to help travellers, both real and virtual, to maximize their research into family connections outside Canada.

Beyond the Online Basics: A genealogical guide to digital collections. This session provides ideas on how to find the documents that will help you learn more about your families, or the local histories of the areas where they lived.

A Fresh Light on old Newspapers: Thanks to the many digitization projects, there are millions of newspaper pages on the Internet. What are the pitfalls? This presentation takes you through the digitization process, from hard copy to your computer screen. It is designed to help you achieve the best results from your work.

Trinkets & Treasures: Things Your Ancestors left Behind - Items that your ancestors used or created will help you to gain a better understanding of the lives they lived and serve as a reminder of times past. Think of the stories they can tell.

The cost of the seminar is $50.00.

A Save-On bag lunch can be pre-ordered for an added fee. Refreshments will be available and there will be a draw for door prizes.

To register, contact Janice Wilkin before April 17 at wilkin1@telus.net or phone (250) 203-0585. A registration form can be downloaded from www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~bccrgc/

Their website is at http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~bccrgc/

The Facebook page is at https://www.facebook.com/groups/179838535426731/

The Conference has been cancelled!

On the website of the National Genealogy Conference in Canada at http://www.visiontravel.ca/heidiwilker it says that the Conference has been CANCELLED!

They say that “Regretfully, we must cancel the National Genealogy Conference in Canada for July 17-19, 2015.

Many thanks to the planned speakers for their willingness to support an inaugural national genealogy conference in Canada, to the companies and organizations who were willing to support the conference through sponsorship, and to those who generously helped to spread the word to their network of genealogists”.

So the Conference saga has come to an end. It wasn’t unexpected. Because the cost was too high for most people, and having lived in Halifax for 20+ years, I would go for an outdoors vacation where I could visit the sights, rather than stay indoors at a conference.

So maybe they can come back to underwrite another Comference at some future date. We shall see.

Meanwhile, here are two blogs I wrote on the Conference -

January 9, 2015 National Genealogy Conference in Canada http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/01/national-genealogy-conference-in-canada.html

January 27, 2015 The conference lowers its price – sort of ... http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/01/the-conference-lowers-its-price-sort-of.html

Do you know that PEI has a surname list?

Prince Edward Island has a surname list at http://www.islandregister.com/surnames/surname.php?

The surname list has grown by leap and bounds since it was first started in 2002.

1516 surnames have been listed to date.

There is also a list of surname by lot (of land) at http://www.islandregister.com/surnamelist.html

Surnames submitted to the original Prince Edward Island Surname List are from Prince Edward Island Genealogical Society (1891 Census Index),  Lovell's Province of prince Edward Island Directory for 1871, and National Archives microfilm #M-896 (1841 P.E.I. Census for Lots 21, 22)

Both of these list are housed on Dave Hunter on his The Island Register site http://www.islandregister.com/

Ontario Jewish Archives

What a complete, and useful archives this is – full of records, and you can research the following topics at the archives -

marriage records

family histories

newspapers and periodicals

cemetery records

synagogue and Jewish fraternal society records

immigration case files created by the Jewish Immigrant Aid Society (JIAS) and the Canadian Jewish Congress (CJC)

ledgers from Jewish shipping agents

military records

Who's Who of Toronto Jewry

Go to their wesite at http://www.ontariojewisharchives.org/

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

They have put on another Talbot Times!

The Elgin County Genealogical Society has put another article from the Talbot Times, the society newsletter, on it’s blog at http://elgincountyogs.blogspot.com/. 

The first article is Scots Coming to Canada, and it can be found at http://www.elginogs.ca/Home/talbot-times-newsletters/talbot-times-1987-september

The second article is Travels of Moses Bevans in the Talbot Times 1988 March and can be found at
http://www.elginogs.ca/Home/talbot-times-newsletters/talbot-times-1988-march

The third article is from the 1988 June of the Talbot Times, and it is entitled A Tragic Accident: The Blacks of Sparta – Buried Alive and tells us about the Black family and a well in a nearby quick sand pit that was on the property, three miles east of Port Stanley.

There are also two articles entitled St. Thomas - The Railway City, and Hodgkinson's Corners to Troy to Aylmer in the newsletter.

As I have written before, this is an excellent idea to get people interested in your society.Treat it as a “lost leader’, like milk in a grocery store. Think of your webpage as a store, and put these articles your front page, so that people can see what you can offer them.

And don’t leave the same articles there, change them around to make it interesting to people.

The website for the June 1988 article is http://www.elginogs.ca/Home/talbot-times-newsletters/talbot-times-1988-june

April 9 - Vimy Ridge Day in Canada

Vimy Ridge was a battle in which Canadians fought in the First World War. It was part of a larger battle of Arras in northern France. It began on Easter Monday, and about 30,000 Canadians fought at Vimy Ridge and claimed victory. 3,600 Canadians were killed, with many wounded.

There is a special exhibit in London right now until September 2015, and then will travel across the country, and it is called the Souterraine Impression.

This exhibition illuminates the lives of Canadian veterans through the deeply personal carvings and drawings made by soldiers concealed in the allied caves and trenches near Vimy Ridge, France.

Organized by Zenon Andrusyszyn, Souterraine Impressions “will bring reproductions of site-specific artifacts to Canada through contemporary 3-dimensional printing, allowing audiences a rare glimpse at these personal documents created while Canadian soldiers awaited orders to join the now legendary Battle for Vimy Ridge. While not a great military success, the battle has subsequently become for Canada a symbol of national unity, achievement and tremendous sacrifice”.

Visitors will see “a series of "tableaus” containing one of the reproduced carvings, a photograph of the soldier who created it and a short biography. While many of the carvings feature regimental or battalion badges, there are also carvings of hearts, animals and names’.

You can go to the museum in London at http://www.museumlondon.ca/exhibitions:115 to get particulars on the exhibit.

Meanwhile, there are news articles today in the papers, and some of them are -

Honouring the memory of Vimy Ridge
http://www.melfortjournal.com/2015/04/07/honouring-the-memory-of-vimy-ridge

New Vimy Foundation poll reveals majority of Canadians believe 100th anniversary of Vimy Ridge in 2017 should be focus of Canada's Sesquicentennial
http://www.newswire.ca/en/story/1514029/new-vimy-foundation-poll-reveals-majority-of-canadians-believe-100th-anniversary-of-vimy-ridge-in-2017-should-be-focus-of-canada-s-sesquicentennial

Three Quarters of Canadians (74%) Believe 100th Anniversary of Vimy Ridge in 2017 Should Be One of Canada’s Most Important Celebrations During Sesquicentennial 
http://www.northumberlandview.ca/index.php?module=news&type=user&func=display&sid=33787

Ninety-eight years later, historian finds ‘missing’ soldiers from the Battle of Vimy Ridge 
http://news.nationalpost.com/news/world/ninety-eight-years-later-historian-finds-missing-soldiers-from-the-battle-of-vimy-ridge

Dear Myrt’s Beginning Genealogy - Sessions 11

As I promised 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 Session 11 on Wednesday. I will continue to watch the rest of the study group as it proceeds.

The major topic which was discussed in Sessions 11 was a subject which was easy to discuss because Dear Myrt has researched in these records before – American Military Records – Revolutionary and Civil War Military Records.

I, of course, research in both Canadian and American records, and I notice there is a difference. The Canadian records are based on the British system (ranks, for example), and the American are strictly American (my grandfather Lester John BLADES enlisted in the American Army in the First World War although he was from Barrington, Nova Scotia, but was living in Boston, Massachusetts at the time).

If you wish to refresh yourself on American Military Records, you can go to https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/United_States_Military_Records

If you wish to refresh yourself on Canadian Military Records, you can go to https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Canada_Military_Records

If you want to refresh yourself on British Military Records, you can go to https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/England_Military_Records 

The website for Session 11 is at https://plus.google.com/communities/104382659430904043232

Session 1 - http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/01/dear-myrts-beginning-genealogy-session-1.html

Session 2 - http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/01/dear-myrts-beginning-genealogy-session-2.html

Session 3 - http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/01/dear-myrts-beginning-genealogy-session-3.html

Session 4 - http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/01/dear-myrts-beginning-genealogy-session-4.html

Session 5 - http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/02/dear-myrts-beginning-genealogy-session-5.htm 

Session 6 & 7 - http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/03/dear-myrts-beginning-genealogy-sessions_5.html

Sessioin 8 - http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/03/dear-myrts-beginning-genealogy-sessions_13.html

Session 9 - http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/03/dear-myrts-beginning-genealogy-sessions_20.html

Session 10 - http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/03/dear-myrts-beginning-genealogy-session.html

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

Its time for the 4th Annual Genealogy Fair!!!

The 4th Annual Genealogy Fair will be held at the Kitchener Public Library, 85 Queen St N on Saturday, April 25, 2015 from 9:00 am to 3:30 pm.

It will be an all-day affair, beginners and experts alike are invited to Kitchener Public Library’s 4th Annual Genealogy Fair. Attend workshops and lectures, speak with experts, browse exhibits, and connect with vendors.

The keynote speaker will be Lynn Palermo of the blog The Armchair Genealogist at http://www.thearmchairgenealogist.com/, and she will offer attendees down-to-earth advice on researching and writing their family history.

For a full-day of speaker, go to http://www.kpl.org/ref/gsr/genealogyfair.html

FREE ADMISSION! Just simply drop by. There is no registration required.

Brant County Branch of OGS will hold a Spring Workshop

On Saturday April 18, 2015, the Brant County Branch of OGS will hold a SPRING WORKSHOP from 9:30 am to 4 pm at the site at 14-118 Powerline Road in Brantford, Ontario. There is a map on the homepage at http://www.ogs.on.ca/brant/index.html

The morning Guest Speaker will be Geoffrey Moyer, a librarian and local historian who has long held a passionate interest in the World Wars and their impact on his hometown. His topic will be the First World War World.

The afternoon speaker will be Terri Hunter, who is an expert on how the Facebook works , and she can tell you how to use it for personal and genealogy research.

The cost to hear these two speakers is $30.00 with lunch, or $35.00 at the door plus $5.00 for lunch.

Please pre-register for the workshop by April 11, 2015.

For your convenience you can pay through Paypal.