Thursday, July 16, 2015

Extra news items 16 July 2015


Here are some news items which have come across my desk this morning

Now they have put the Halifax area in Lego at the Halifax Central Library, and there are tons of photos of the display at http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/lego-versions-of-halifax-area-buildings-on-display-at-central-library-1.3152240

I looked at the photos, and I recognize everyone of the landmarks. Nice to see Gail Meagher, the local artist, included the Quinpool Road Theatre – it used to be my favorite movie theatres when I lived in the city.



The Toronto Public Library has put on a display of the 2015 PanAm Games being held in the city. They say it is “an exciting and colourful display showcasing Ontario’s fascinating summer sports and games history”.

There are also books on display, and you can click on the photos to access their catalogue records for these books on display.

To read more about the exhibit, go to http://torontopubliclibrary.typepad.com/local-history-genealogy/2015/07/canadiana-display-celebrates-the-2015-pan-amparapan-am-games.html

We see that Olive Tree Genealogy has made the top ten list of Twitter influencers! That surely is a feat for a Canadian when Twitter is so popular with genealogists these days worldwide. So congrats, Lorine McGinnis Schulze!

To see the list, go to http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com/2015/07/the-top-10-genealogy-influencers-you.html


Until next time, this is what crossed my desk this morning.

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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/2015/07/canadian-week-in-review-13-july-2015.html

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

Wednesday, July 15, 2015

LAC Update: Digitization of First World War Service Files



Library and Archives Canada has busy digitizing the service files of the First World War veterans.

They have sent out this press release -

 As of today, 171,771 of 640,000 files are available online via our Soldiers of the First World War: 1914-1918 database at http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/military-heritage/first-world-war/first-world-war-1914-1918-cef/Pages/search.aspx.

Library and Archives Canada is digitizing the service files systematically, from box 1 to box 10686, which roughly corresponds to alphabetical order. Please note that over the years, the content of some boxes has had to be moved and, you might find that the file you want, with a surname that is supposed to have been digitized, is now located in another box that has not yet been digitized. So far, we have digitized the following files:

A to Dagenais (boxes 1 to 2257)

Free to Gorman (boxes 3298 to 3658)

Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances, the following boxes were skipped in the digitization process, but will be done in the next few months.

Dagenais to Fredlund (boxes 2258 to 3297)

Please check the database regularly for new additions and if you still have questions after checking the database, you may contact us directly at 1-866-578-7777 for more assistance

Extra news items 15 July 2015


Here are some news items which have come across my desk this morning -

The news comes to us that the Samuel Holland map of Prince Edward Island which dates back to 1765 is on display at the Confederation Centre in Charlottetown.

The exhibit is called Imperial Designs: Samuel Holland's 1765 Map and the Making of Prince Edward Island and will be at the Centre until January 2016.

The website is at http://www.confederationcentre.com/en/exhibitions-current-read-more.php?exhibition=102

The Holland 250 website is at http://www.samuelholland250pei.ca/book

A newspaper article by Joy Neighbours entitled THE JOY OF GENEALOGY: When you unearth a family secret, tells us to be careful what we do with the subject and explores the effects that family secret have on genealogy.

To read the article, go to http://www.insidetoronto.com/news-story/5731234-the-joy-of-genealogy-when-you-unearth-a-family-secret-be-careful-what-you-do-with-it/

The Library and Archives Canada has posted a blog on the subject of do you want to know who your first French ancestor was and when he or she left France and arrived in Canada? Are you curious about your French origins?

If so, their website is a great place to begin your research. Here you will find a page dedicated to genealogical research on the French. This page provides you with historical information, archival documents and published material from the Library and Archives Canada collection, as well as links to other websites and institutions.

Library and Archives Canada holds a vast collection of census material at , from 1666 to 1916, in which you can find names of your French-Canadian ancestors http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/immigration/history-ethnic-cultural/Pages/french.aspx

Until next time, this is what crossed my desk this morning.

=====================================================================


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/2015/07/canadian-week-in-review-13-july-2015.html

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

Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Extra news items 14 July 2015

Here are some news items which have come across my desk this morning -

Just a reminder that the exhibit named Ordinary Lives Extraordinary Times at the Guelph Museum will be closing August 9th.

Columbus Centre explores the experiences of Italian Canadians following Italy’s entry into the Second World War. Through video, audio and text, the exhibition puts a human face to this little-known period in Canadian history.

To set the times that the museum is open, go to
http://guelphmuseums.ca/event/ordinary-lives-extraordinary-times-italian-canadian-experience-world-war-ii/


They have discovered an error in the written tribute to Tom Longboat, the Aborginal runner from the Six Nations and 1907 Boston Marathon Winner. The misspelled word - Persistence is spelled as Persistance.

The statue of the Onondaga long-distance runner is in Ontario’s Celebration Zone near Harbourfront Centre

To read more the story, go to http://www.thestar.com/news/crime/2015/07/12/a-typo-for-tom-longboat-on-pan-am-games-sculpture.html

A blog posting called the Railway Sleeping Car Porters has been put on by Library and Archives Canada, which is good news for those who have Canadian ancestors.

It gives their stories, plus photos, and the Stanley G. Grizzle fonds at http://collectionscanada.gc.ca/pam_archives/index.php?fuseaction=genitem.displayItem&lang=eng&rec_nbr=3728356, and the Railway Employees (Employees Provident Fund) at http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/railway-employees-provident-fund/Pages/railway-employees.aspx

Prince Edward Island Railway, 1899, cover and map


And finally, Dick Eastman has put on the Index to French Canadian Revolutionary War Patriots

I must admit, I haven't hears of this before, and I see where there are two people by the same surname as my husband's ancestors  – Audet dit Lapointe. I will have to take a look.

Debbie Duay of Fort Lauderdale, Florida has compiled an index to French Canadian Revolutionary War patriots from Quebec that appear in the Baby, Taschereau, and Williams journal and/or Virginia Easley DeMarce’s Canadian Participants in the American Revolution – An Index.

Her index appears at http://www.learnwebskills.com/patriot/frenchcanadianpatriots.htm.

Until next time, this is what crossed my desk this morning.

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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/2015/07/canadian-week-in-review-13-july-2015.html

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

Monday, July 13, 2015

Canadian Week in Review - 13 July 2015

I have come across the following Canadian genealogy, history and heritage websites, social media, 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


Joseph 'Joe' Schuster (1914-1992), a cartoonist in Toronto, moved to Cleveland, Ohio at the age of nine. Later, he met Jerome Siegel, and together, they co-created Superman, which first appeared in the June 1938 edition of Action Comics.

To read more, go to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Shuster




On July 8, 1917, three Canadian pilots in Britain’s Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) were awarded military decorations. The pilots – Raymond Collishaw, John Sharman, and Ellis Reid – were members of the Black Flight, whose successes in the First World War were legendary.

To read more, you can go to http://www.pc.gc.ca/apps/cseh-twih/index_e.asp

Social Media

Ontario Genealogical Society Conference 2015 – Barrie Ontario
http://blog.familyhistorysearches.com/2015/07/ontario-genealogical-society-conference-2015-barrie-ontario/
Ruth Blair has written a summary of the recent OGS Conference.


Newspaper Articles

Newfoundland

Caribou badge: St. John's street signs changed to honour WW I history
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/caribou-badge-st-john-s-street-signs-changed-to-honour-ww-i-history-1.3135524
In a project to honour the soldiers and wartime service of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment, the image of the caribou on the regimental badge — is now affixed to the signs of more than three dozen of the city's streets.

Nova Scotia

READER’S CORNER: Nova Scotia must mark Black Battalion centenary
http://thechronicleherald.ca/letters/1297855-reader%E2%80%99s-corner-nova-scotia-must-mark-black-battalion-centenary
In a little less than a year, one of the most significant dates in Nova Scotia black history will be upon us: the centennial of the commissioning of Canada’s first and only black battalion, the No. 2 Black Construction Battalion of the First World War.

New Brunswick

Heritage wharves along St. John River running out of cash
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/heritage-wharves-along-st-john-river-running-out-of-cash-1.3144645
More than 60 people turned out to a public meeting in Long Reach on Wednesday evening to discuss the future of two heritage steamboat wharves in the area.

Quebec

Quebec City nuns find business solutions
 http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2015/07/02/quebec-city-nuns-find-business-solutions.html
Compared to founding the province’s health system, the current project of the Order of the Augustinian Sisters of the Mercy of Jesus of Quebec — setting up a boutique hotel on the grounds of their monastery — shouldn’t be a problem.

St Sixte Catholic Church destroyed in Monday evening fire near Thurso, Quebec
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/st-sixte-catholic-church-destroyed-in-monday-evening-fire-near-thurso-que-1.3140925
A 130-year-old church was destroyed by fire north of Thurso, Quebec, on Monday evening.

The St. Sixte Catholic Church, established in 1885, was in the village of Saint Sixtus, north of Thurso, in the Outaouais.

Montreal Jazz Fest entrusts private archives to BAnQ
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/montreal-jazz-fest-entrusts-private-archives-to-banq-1.3132031
Montreal's Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec announced on Monday that it has acquired the archives of the Montreal International Jazz Festival.
   It is one of the library's largest private collections, with 2,660 videos and upwards of 1,800 hours of listening material.

Ontario

Renovation of Senate's temporary home $29M over budget
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/renovation-of-senate-s-temporary-home-29m-over-budget-1.3135855
Fixing up a temporary home for the Senate has gone over budget by at least $29 million, and Public Works wants to squeeze office-relocation costs for senators to make up the difference.

Oliver Anderson: Canoeing into Ottawa history
http://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/oliver-anderson-canoeing-into-ottawa-history
Spring log drives were once the defining activity on rivers in the Ottawa watershed, because the city we think of as a government town was the logging centre of the world in the 19th and into the 20th century. Canoe trippers have a unique opportunity to see this history first-hand on the landscapes of Ottawa’s tributary rivers.

126-year-old Brantford-built bike salvaged by collector
http://www.brantnews.com/news-story/5709516-126-year-old-brantford-built-bike-salvaged-by-collector/
At the 14th annual Canadian Vintage Bicycle Show – hosted at a farm on Tutela Heights Road on Sunday – Rick Wolfe proudly displayed an 1889 Goold Bicycle Company bike that he saved from the landfill in Ottawa this past December.

GENEALOGY WITH JANICE: Discover the scoundrels, criminals and black sheep in your family tree
http://www.insidetoronto.com/news-story/5702358-genealogy-with-janice-discover-the-scoundrels-criminals-and-black-sheep-in-your-family-tree/
No one wants a criminal at the dinner table, but finding one in your family tree can add pizzazz to an otherwise boring list of names and dates.

Wilfrid Laurier to house 22 life-size statues of Canadian PMs
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/wilfrid-laurier-to-house-22-life-size-statues-of-canadian-pms-1.3132952
A controversial proposal to erect 22 life-size statues of Canada's prime ministers has found a home on Wilfrid Laurier University's Waterloo campus after being rejected for Kitchener's Victoria Park over a year ago.

British Columbia

Canadian Mosaic Project: Picture this
http://www.comoxvalleyrecord.com/news/310799891.html
Forty-six-year-old Tim Van Horn visited Vancouver Island in June for the second time in the past seven years, adding more touches to his Canadian Mosaic Project, which will be unveiled during Canada’s 150th birthday celebrations, in 2017.

The Stories This Week


This week's news came to us that the St Sixte Catholic Church and all of its archives had burnt to the ground. (see Quebec - St Sixte Catholic Church destroyed in Monday evening fire near Thurso, Quebec.

I have seen that church a number of times that I have driven the Quebec countryside, and now it and it's archives are all gone. Just think of the memories that went up in smoke.

And how many genealogies have been lost in the fires that have ripped through the provinces of Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia? We dare not think.

There are lots of commercial companies that can help you to keep your genealogy safe once it is finished, but don't forget to put it in the cloud while you are working on it at home.

That way it stays safe and secure while you are working on it. If your hard drive should fail, it will be held for you.

I work mostly in Goggle now. It took awhile to adopt it, but I have accepted it now, and anytime you visit me, you will see that I am using Google to do almost everything.

So give it a try.

Go to http://google.com to see how you can use it. The service is free to everyone who uses it.

And that was the Canadian genealogy, history, and heritage news in Canada this past week!


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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/2015/07/cwr-06-july-2015.html

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

Sunday, July 12, 2015

Muskoka Heritage Place, Huntsville, Ontario

There are many genealogy, history and heritage things to do at the Muskoka Heritage Place since it was first envisioned in 1958. It comprises of a museum, a village and a train which can take you around the village. 

There is an exhibit on site "War: What is it Good For?" It is an exhibit of locally-pertinent First World War artifacts, featuring several items specific to Muskoka's own 122nd Battalion, information panels and historic images, to honour the 100th anniversary of "The Great War".

The temporary exhibit will be on display until 2018.

The homepage is at http://www.muskokaheritageplace.org/en/index.asp

Their Facebook page is at https://www.facebook.com/MuskokaHeritagePlace?ref=hl

=====================================================================
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/2015/07/cwr-06-july-2015.html

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

Saturday, July 11, 2015

Extra news items 11 July 2015


Here are some news items which have come across the desk this morning -

Isn't this a neat idea from Canada's heritage!

Cheryl Horgan, a local St. John's artist, is making jewellery from a church's copper roofing. And she is using the copper roofing as it is stripped off the 160-year-old Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, so that the copper roofing can be replaced.

Cheryl is donating two third of the sales to the restoration effort of the roof of the church.

To read the rest of the story, go to http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/cheryl-horgan-is-making-jewellery-from-church-s-copper-roofing-1.3147264


And her come another neat idea.

To the Revitalizing Indigenous Agriculture Project, methods of indigenous culture will be used to plant the seeds and help the garden grow at the Wanuskewin Heritage Park in Saskatoon.

And they are using Mohawk traditions using the idea of growing for sustenance.

To see the pictures of the garden, go to http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon/saskatoon-community-garden-grows-thanks-to-aboriginal-culture-1.3147407


And finally, there is the project called A Flanders Field in London, Ontario, a remembrance project that about a dozen local volunteers has been busy planing a garden of poppies.

The garden will be on the city-owned park on the southwest corner of Veterans Memorial Parkway and River Road. Over the past two years, they’ve been developing a large poppy garden to honour veterans, remember soldiers who have fallen and provide information about Canada’s military history.

Here is the story in the paper http://www.thelondoner.ca/2015/07/10/remembrance-gardens-nearly-ready-for-dedication

Here is their website at http://remembernovember11.com/

Until next time, this is what crossed my desk this morning.

=====================================================================


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/2015/07/cwr-06-july-2015.html

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