War of 1812 Meetings

The War of 1812 will be a popular subject at the meetings of the OGS different Branches this winter and spring leading up to the OGS Conference in June at Kingston which features lectures on the subject.

Some of the upcoming meetings are -

On January 7, 2012 at 2:00 pm there will be a meeting at the Simcoe County Branch located at the LDS Church, 79 Ferris Lane, in Barrie, and title of the talk will be "The War of 1812: Why Canada is Not a U.S. State" by Ken Weber.

And then there will be a meeting on February 4, 2012 at 2 pm where Gwen Patterson will talk about "The Effect of the War of 1812 and of its Veterans on the Subsequent History of North Simcoe".

Contact information is available at http://www.simcoebogs.com

On Sunday 15th April 2012 there will be a meeting of the Hamilton Branch OGS at Hamilton Room, Hamilton Main Public Library, 55 York Boulevard, Hamilton.

The title of the talk is “The War of 1812 at the Head of the Lake: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Times”and the speaker will be Cheryl MacDonald

Contact information is available at http://www.ogs.on.ca/hamilton/contact1.html

On April 28, 2012 from 9:30 to 4:00 there will be a Spring Workshop of the Brant County Branch at the Branch Library at 118 Powerline Rd, Brantford.

In the morning, the speaker will be Roger Chrysler about "Britain in War of 1812".

Afternoon the talk will be about computer sites and military record resources.

Register by April 24 and $25 includes lunch. At door $30+$5 lunch.

For more information go to the website http://brantcountybranchogs.ca/Events.html

Gaspesian British Heritage Village

This is a 'Living Village', a museum located in the Gaspe Region at the far eastern end of Quebec.  

There will be a course starting in the new year at the village, and it is called Cooking the Traditional Way in which a team of guest cooks will show how to make a range of dishes and baked goods using “real” food.

Participants take the food home.

It will be held on January 14, 21 and 28 at the New Richmond High School. The cost is $5.00 per session, Equipment available and ingredients provided.

To see the GBHV museum, please go to http://www.gaspesianvillage.com.


The Gaspe Peninsula http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~qcgaspe/index.html You can check the online resources such as Civil Registration, Church Records, Census Records, and Cemetery Records.

GoGaspe Genealogy http://www.gogaspe.com/index_en.php?page=genealogy.php There is a list of family sites called Gaspe Families, and Gaspe Links.

Christmas Wishes

Diane Lynn Tibert, a genealogy writer from Nova Scotia, has made a number of wishes in her regular column, and some of them are -

• I wish for you to find a wrecking ball in 2012 that knocks down a major brick wall blocking your path to unearthing a piece of information that exposes a branch of your tree that has been kept buried for years. May the opening be large enough to see into several generations.

• I wish for you to take a trip to a place you've never gone and discover a long lost headstone you've been seeking for years. May it still stand with a flawless inscription that provides all the vital information, including the deceased's country of origin and a wee tale of why they came to Canada. I wish you clear passage to it and an insect bite-free visit.

• I wish for you to come into possession of a stack of letters. The yellowing envelopes contain love letters between your great-grandparents when during the First World War he was a soldier serving overseas and she was living at home with her parents.

Read the rest of her Christmas wishes in the Times & Transcript newspaper at  

http://timestranscript.canadaeast.com/entertainment/article/1464390

And submit a query to her column. It's free! Her email address is tibert@ns.sympatico.ca.

Parks Canada Heritage Gourmet App

A press release from Parks Canada this week invites you to develop an app for an orginal story "that links history, cuisine and technology together".

Parks Canada Heritage Gourmet goes on to say "smartphone app will allow your audience or readers to find, through a selection of more than 60 recipes, one that will please everyone who sits at their table".

Go to http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/media/gourmand-gourmet/app-intro.aspx

New/Improved Canadian Websites and Blogs Week 16

Here are some of the websites and blogs that I have come across the week ending December 18, 2011.

This week is about blogs only -

Robineau Family Genealogy www.robineau.ca/page/4 The website says that most of the blogger's family is from Eastern Ontario, Quebec, and France. The surnames are Sauve, Cartie, Lavimodiere, Powell, and White.

After They Left Antrim: A Peacock Family History http://ulsterpeacocks.blogspot.com Hugh Peacock (Ellen Waggot) and Thomas Peacock (Sarah Smith) left Ulster and immigrated to King Township, York County, Ontario in the mid-nineteenth century.

Etobicoke Cemeteries http://torontocemeteries.blogspot.com There are some cemeteries of Etobicoke, Toronto onsite here, with tombstone data online.

Forsyth Family History http://eastlothianforsyth.blogspot.com This blog covers the "ancestors and descendants of John Forsyth who was born in Dirleton, East Lothian, Scotland in 1835. He came to Canada about 1855 (perhaps with his brother, Charles) and appears in the 1861 Census in King Township, York County".

The Kelowna & District Genealogical Society www.kdgs.ca There is some information on this blog about the society.

Loom to Lumber: Family History of Robert Gavin and Sarah Miller http://lanarkgavins.blogspot.com This blogs covers the family of "Robert Gavin and Sarah Miller and their descendants. The 1841 Scottish census records that Robert was a hand loom weaver born in Ireland. The couple and their young family emigrated from Lanarkshire after 1841, taking up land in Poland, Dalhousie Twp in Lanark County, Ontario".

Missisquoi County Canada Genealogy Research http://missisquoicanadagenealogyresearch.blogspot.com  Started in 2008, the blog is the "Roll Call of familes being researched in the Missisquoi area", which is in Quebec.

Prairie History Blog www.reginalibrary.ca/blogs/index.php?blog=7&tempskin=_rss2 New editions of magazines are discussed. The blog is part of the Regina Public Library.

The Hillmans Of Elgin County www.hillmansofelgin.blogspot.com A look at the Hillman family who immigrated from Wiltshire to Ontario, and then spread throughout North America.

Ukrainian Genealogy Group - Prince Edward Island, Canada http://uggpei.blogspot.com Started in 2004, this blog interests people who have a Ukrainian ancestry.

Next Week's Blog (Dec 26th) – Canadian Genealogy Books for the Holidays

BCGS Blog

The British Columbia Genealogical Society now has a blog!


It went online December 10 with the “BCGS TOUR – Vancouver City Archives – April 12, 2012”, and has continued with what is new in their library, and on December the 15 they celebrated the 40th anniversary of BCGS.


So keep posted on what is happening by going to their blog at http://www.bcgs.ca .

War of 1812 Celebration at Winterlude

This year at the annual winter festival called Winterlude in Ottawa will be held on the weekends from February 3 to 20, 2012. There will be a number of events which will celebrate the War of 1812.  

“Portraits on the Ice” presented by Library and Archives returns again this to mark the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812 featuring portraits of British officers, First Nations allies, and French-and English-speaking militia and colonists.

As part of a longstanding relationship with Veterans Affairs Canada, a majestic ice sculpture will commemorate the 20th anniversary of Canadian military service in the Balkans and to pay tribute to the brave Canadians who lost their lives during the mission.

At Snowflake Kingdom in Jacques-Cartier Park on the Gatineau, Quebec side of things Parks Canada will re-create the way of life of our ancestors in 1812. Maison Charron will be transformed into barracks from the war of 1812;

Also, celebrating their 50th anniversary, the Canadian Coast Guard will be at Snowflake Kingdom to demonstrate a day in the life of a Coast Guard employee through exciting activities and a unique display of water safety equipment.

For more information about Winterlude and the Rideau Canal Skateway, the public can contact the NCC at 613-239-5000, 613-239-5090 (TTY), 1-800-465-1867 (toll-free) or 1-866-661-3530 (toll-free TTY), or visit the website at http://www.Winterlude.gc.ca.