Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Toronto Heritage Lecture

The 2013 Toronto History Lecture, titled Mary Mink: The Making of a Myth, will explore the sometimes blurred line between historical fact and historical fiction. James Mink was a successful Black businessman in Toronto in the 1840s and 1850s. His story is one of the best known tales of Black Torontonians in the 19th century, told and retold many times in newspapers and books.

In the 1990s, his story was made into a TV movie, Captive Heart: the James Mink Story, which was broadcast in Canada and the United States. In the screen version of events, Mink arranges for a white man to marry his daughter Mary and then stages a daring rescue when her husband whisks her off to the American South and sells her into slavery. The movie is said to be “based on historical records”, but as Guylaine Pétrin found out through her research, records can lie.

Admission is free, but reservation is required.

Please join us again this year in spreading the word about the Toronto History Lecture. It will be held on August 7th at 7:30 pm at the City of Toronto Archives and is presented jointly by the Archives and the Toronto Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society.

For further details, including a map and driving directions to the Archives at 255 Spadina Road, visit http://conta.cc/187ZUcY. Questions may be directed to info@torontofamilyhistory.org  or Paul Sharkey (City of Toronto Archives) at 416-392-5561.

We look forward to unravelling the true story of Mary Mink with you on August 7th.

Monday, July 15, 2013

Canadian Week in Review 15 July 2013

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

Websites

No new web sites this week.

Blogs

Doukhobor Photos http://doukhoborphotos.blogspot.ca  Yvonne Demoskoff , a  Canadian blogger, has a new blog which is “ showcasing vintage "orphan" photographs of Doukhobor people in Canada”.

Facebook, Videos, You Tube

Conference 2014 is being hosted by Niagara Peninsula Branch of the OGS and will run from May 1-4, 2014 at Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario.

Prepare for your visit by checking out their video at www.ogs.on.ca/conference2014/index.php

Newspapers Articles of the Week

A couple of weeks ago, I made note of a bylaw in Brant County (Ontario) which did not allow etchings on the back of gravestones, this is the way that Koreans mark their genealogy of the departed.  

News has come now that the Brant councillors have approved a revised cemetery bylaw that will allow genealogical writing on the reverse of headstones.


New Maryland Historical Trust sign to recognize Acadian heritage on the shore http://maryland.newszap.com/crisfieldsomerset/123293-92/new-maryland-historical-trust-sign-to-recognize-acadian-heritage-on-the-shore?printerfriendly=true  Nearly 260 years ago, a small group of Acadians
refugees landed on the shores of Maryland.  On Sunday, July 28 at 3:00 p.m, in the Manokin River Park, a Maryland Historical Trust Sign will be unveiled to recognize this fact.

One woman’s passion for genealogy www.gulfnews.ca/Community/2013-06-26/article-3293227/One-woman&rsquos-passion-for-genealogy/1  See how Claudia Lawrence from Port aux Basques, Newfoundland has put her family history together back to her great-great-grandfather. 

Story of the Week

Museums, library and archives facilities in Canada have been having a hard time lately.

First was the flood in Alberta which completely wiped out the Museum of the Highwood in High River. Now I hear that the people of High River are getting first class help from the conservation people from Calgary. They have come down to help the staff at the High River museum decide what to keep and what to throw away, and to get the museum back on its feet again.

Go to the www.museumofthehighwood.com to read the latest update on the Museum of the Highwood.

Then we had the news of the terrible disaster at Lac Megantic, in the Eastern Townships in Quebec, with the runaway train accident that occurred early Saturday morning last week. In addition to the astounding loss of life, there has been the fact that the town’s library and archives has been lost in the fire which engulfed the town. 


And then just yesterday, I heard that the Thistalalh Memorial Library at Bella Bella, a British Columbia remote First Nations village on the province’s northwest coast, has been destroyed by fire. The library was housed in a building which also was home to the village’s general store, Alexa's restaurant, and the Koeye Cafe.



Reminder: Check out Canadian Week in Review every Monday for the latest in Genealogy, Heritage, and History news in Canada. The next post will be posted 22 July, 2013

Sunday, July 14, 2013

OGS Conference 2014




The OGS Conference 2014 will be held at Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario (near Niagara Falls) May 1st to May 4th. It will be sponsored by the Niagara  Peninsula Branch OGS.

And already there is a video on the site www.ogs.on.ca/conference2014/index.php, and you can see what is available in the immediate area.

Watch for more news on the conference. It sounds as if it is going to be exciting! 

Saturday, July 13, 2013

Canadian Week in Review

Reminder: Check out Canadian Week in Review every Monday for the latest in Genealogy, Heritage, and History news in Canada. The next post will be Monday 15 July, 2013

First military draft of the Second World War

On July 13, 1940, the Canadian government announced the first conscription of the Second World War for 40 days' compulsory military training on or before September 15 by the first draft under the National Mobilization Bill.

The National Mobilization Bill arose because of the stunning German victories in Belgium and France, and we felt, that as a nation, we should get ready to repel the German Forces, if they ever decided to invade out shores. The act enabled the government to requisition the property and services of Canadians for home defence.

Single men between 21 and 34 would be called up first for training. This would affect approximately 800,000 Canadians.

It was modified in August 1942 to permit the government to send conscripts overseas via an order in council after a plebiscite in April 1942. In 1944, the government passed such an order.

To read about the National Mobilization Bill in the newspapers of the day, go to www.warmuseum.ca/cwm/exhibitions/newspapers/canadawar/conscription_e.shtml

The individual forms are available but they cannot be released until the person has been dead for 20 years. It will cost $40.00 to get access to the record. You also need a death certificate, or an obituary notice can be accepted.

You can send inquiries to Census Pension Searches Unit, Census Operation  Division, Statistics Canada, B1E-34 Jean Talon Bldg, Tunney’s Pasture, Ottawa, ON K1A 0T6  

Friday, July 12, 2013

Bayfield Library Grand Opening

A press release was just received by this office -

Bluewater, Ontario - Please join the Municipality of Bluewater and the Huron County Library in celebrating the Grand Opening of the new Bayfield Library. This event will take place on Saturday, July 13, 2013, with ribbon cutting taking place at 11 AM.

The new library, located at 18 Main Street, was designed by Skinner & Skinner Architects, and build by D&G Construction. A large program room, comfortable reading space with a fireplace, and computer stations are features included to make this an inviting space for the community.

Friends of the Bayfield Library will be providing FREE hot dogs and refreshments during the day. They will also be unveiling their plans for a new reading garden for the library.

For further information please contact: Jennifer Zoethout, Branch Services Librarian, Huron County Library at 519.482.5457 ext. 3


ISLANDS AND HIGHLANDS Concert in PEI


This special concern will be held Wednesday, July 17, 7:30 p.m. at St John's Presbyterian Church, Garfield Road, Belfast, Prince Edward Island.

Join the Belfast Historical Society (BHS) and the Belfast community in celebrating the 210th anniversary of the 1803 landing of the Selkirk Settlers.

The group Dàimh (pronounced “Dive” in Gaelic) is coming from Scotland to Belfast's acoustically brilliant St. John’s Church for one night only.    Of late, BHS concerts at this venue have been consistently sold out.   To show Dàimh PEI's Scottish roots, attendees are encouraged to wear their kilts and tartans.

Dàimh are a 5 piece band based in Lochaber in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland; an area as much renowned for its scenic beauty as for its rich musical and cultural heritage. A long established favourite at folk festivals in Scotland, Ireland and across Europe, twice nominated for Folk Band of the Year at the Scots Traditional Music Awards, Dàimh are also regulars on BBC television.

Angus MacKenzie of Dàimh figured prominently on the Belfast Historical Society’s CD commissioned in 2003 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Selkirk Settlement. The CD entitled simply “The Island” was beautifully composed around the Selkirk story.    Copies will be available for $ 15 the night of the concert.


Advanced tickets for this very special concert are $ 20 and $ 22 at the door, and will be available from BHS President Hazel Davies by phone (905.659.2276) or from BHS Directors Donald and Doris MacDonald by email: dorism@pei.sympatico.ca  For details, photos, and updates of this -- and all of our events -- check the Belfast Historical Society Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pages/Belfast-Historical-Society/137470232958298