Thursday, February 5, 2015

Dear Myrt’s Beginning Genealogy - Session 5

As previously promised in my blog on 06 January 2015 at http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/01/beginning-genealogy-study-group.html, I am reporting on Dear Myrt’s Beginning Genealogy study group as it proceeds. I watched Session 5 yesterday, and the two top things that were discussed were -

1. Software – We need some sort of tree to keep the information that we find, and Dear Myrt asked us take a Google or an Excel sheet and make four columns – 1) Online trees 2) Software 3) Analysis 4) Family Search Certified.

Then fill in the spaces with the different trees that are available.

For example, there are Ancestry Trees, MyHeritage trees available for column #1; there is Family Tree Maker and RootsMagic for column #2; Evidenta and GenSmarts for column #3; and then find out which is FamilySearch Certified for column #4.

She emphasized that no matter which one of ones you chose, go with the one that your nearest genealogical group uses so that if you run into problems, or you have questions to ask, there is somebody in your group that you can go to. Very sage advice.

2. The second part of the class was devoted to the Research Records, and she briefly touched on Country of Origin, and how they would affect your method of research. The website is at https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/United_States_Naturalization_and_Citizenship

Please remember that there will not be a class next week (11 February 2015) because Dear Myrt will be at RootsTech 2015 in Salt Lake City. Class will return on 18 February 2015 with Lesson 6.

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

Remember to make yourself a member of Dear Myrt’s Genealogy Community before watching the YouTube Google+ Hangout on Air by going to https://plus.google.com/communities/104382659430904043232


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-02-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 4, 2015

The Home Front, 1917 exhibit

Library and Archives Canada Photographer: W.J. Topley Studio PA-042857

The Canadian War Museum will open an exhibit to the public on February 19, 2015 called The Home Front, 1917. It will how the war changed Canadian society by delving into the themes of politics, economy, industry, and family life.
 
The press release says, “Among other things, The Home Front, 1917 examines the conscription crisis, explaining how Prime Minister Sir Robert Borden initially promised not to introduce the draft, but changed his mind in 1917, when the number of Canadian soldiers killed in Europe vastly outstripped the number of voluntary recruits. It outlines the bitter debate that led to riots in Quebec, pockets of resistance elsewhere in the country and Borden’s decision to grant the vote to women whose next of kin were serving in the war in the hope they would bolster his electoral fortunes”. 
 
Two lasting legacies of the war at home were the women’s suffrage (extended in 1918 to all adult women British subjects), and income tax!!! 
 
The Canadian War Museum website is at http://www.warmuseum.ca/home
 
 

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-02-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.

"Tracks through Time" - OGS Conference 2015

Online registration is now open for this year's Ontario Genealogical Society annual conference Tracks through Time from 29-31 May 2015 at Georgian College Campus, Barrie, Ontario, Canada.

The conference theme originates from the 130th anniversary of the completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway across Canada. Many family historians have their roots in the immigrant labourers who built this railway across our vast country. Other ancestors were tempted by the transportation routes and migration opportunities allowed by its completion. Still others worked for the railway company itself, over the years to follow.

Shirley Sturdevant, past-president of the OGS, says “As researchers, we 'track' our family history through time in many ways, always attempting to ensure we are 'tracking' the right people from the right line. The variations on 'Tracks through Time' are endless”.

View program and registration details at http://www.ogs.on.ca/conference and join hundreds of other family historians seeking new methods and record groups for tracking their families though time.

Follow updates on the OGS website, http://www.ogs.on.ca, as well as Facebook and Twitter, and watch for video interviews with some of the conference speakers on the OGS YouTube channel.


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-02-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.

Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Update: FamilySearch.org Newfoundland Census


 
FamilySearch has made the following update to Newfoundland records as follows -
 
 
 
 
Newfoundland is different from the rest of Canada because it did not become a province until 1949. Before that time, it was a colony of Great Britain, and the normal rules for the releasing of census records did not apply until they became a province. 
 
Also, if you want to learn more about Newfoundland and Labador, you can read up on the records at the FamilySearch Wiki page at https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Newfoundland_and_Labrador_Genealogy 
 
The two genealogy websites for Newfoundland and Labador are Newfoundland's Grand Banks Genealogy Site at http://ngb.chebucto.org/index.html, and the Family History Society of Newfoundland and Labrador at http://www.fhsnl.ca/
 
 
 
 
Check the Canadian Week in Review every Monday morning for the latest in Genealogy, Heritage, and History news in Canada.
 
 
It’s the ONLY news blog of its kind in Canada!
 
It has been a regular post every Monday morning since April 23,  2012. 

FREE Conference to be held in Toronto


Mike Wilcox, of the Dictionary of Canadian Biography, has sent this news along about the one-day conference to be held in Toronto on 07 February 2015.

The Dictionary of Canadian Biography and the Department of History, University of Toronto, are pleased to invite you to our upcoming
Biography and Fiction Conference.

This one-day conference will be taking place at Alumni Hall, Victoria College, at the University of Toronto on Saturday, February 7th, from 9:30-4:00.

There are four esteemed and engaging speakers, including:

Margaret Atwood - “Whose Life Is It Anyway?”

Natalie Zemon Davis - “Marguerite de Roberval: Biographies of a Legend”

Renée Hulan - “Biography, Fiction, and the Historian’s Craft”

Mark McGowan - “When Biography Meets Clio’s Imagination: Michael Power and a Cast of Characters”

Please visit the website http://biographi.ca/en/article/biography_and_fiction.html for conference details. This is a FREE event, and there is no need to register.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact Michael Wilcox at michael.wilcox@mail.utoronto.ca


Check the Canadian Week in Review every Monday morning for the latest in Genealogy, Heritage, and History news in Canada.
It’s the ONLY news blog of its kind in Canada!

It has been a regular post every Monday morning since April 23, 2012.

Monday, February 2, 2015

Canadian Week in Review - 02 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

February 1, 1799 - Royal Assent is given by the British government to change the name of ÃŽle St- Jean to Prince Edward Island. It was named after George III’s son – Prince Edward Augustus.
   To read more, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Prince_Edward_Island

February 1, 1854 - Fire destroys Parliament Buildings at Montreal, Québec. The government is transferred to Toronto, and from there, it will be transferred to Ottawa in 1867.
   For more, visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burning_of_the_Parliament_Buildings_in_Montreal

February 2, 1800 - Massachusetts farmer Philemon Wright—attracted by offers of free land in Canada—leaves Woburn with 25 men, their wives, and 15 children to travel by sleigh to the Chaudière Falls on the Ottawa River. They founded Wrightstown, later known as Hull, and today, it is known as Gatineau, Quebec.
   To read the full story of Gatineau, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gatineau

Social Media

Toronto Custom House Records
http://wherethestorytakesme.ca/toronto-customs-house
   Jane MacNamara writes about the records of the Toronto Custom House Archives (fond 214) that are found in the Archives of Ontario.

Articles

Ontario

Fiona McKean and Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke buy Opinicon Resort
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/fiona-mckean-and-shopify-ceo-tobi-l%C3%BCtke-buy-opinicon-resort-1.2933662
   Short-term plans include reopening the Opinicon restaurant and ice cream shop for this summer.

Second bid launched to dub Manitoba-Ontario area world heritage site
http://www.sunnewsnetwork.ca/sunnews/politics/archives/2015/01/20150126-192214.html
   Ontario, Manitoba, five First Nations, and the federal government have teamed up again to have land on the east side of Lake Winnipeg declared a world heritage site.

The man who pointed the way to the Erebus: Louie Kamookak on searching for the Franklin expedition
http://news.nationalpost.com/2015/01/23/the-man-who-pointed-the-way-to-the-erebus-louie-kamookak-on-searching-for-the-franklin-expedition
   Louie Kamookak, an amateur historian from the hamlet of Gjoa Haven, spent 30 years collecting oral histories from Inuit elders and comparing them to the journals of subsequent expeditions. He came up with a theory of where the ships might be found, one that gave the Parks Canada explorers a much better idea of where to start looking.

Portrait of Simcoe County's first judge ready to be unveiled after months of restoration work
http://www.orilliapacket.com/2015/01/25/portrait-of-simcoe-countys-first-judge-ready-to-be-unveiled-after-months-of-restoration-work
   Sir James Robert Gowan's portrait is primed for its grand unveiling. Restoring the oil painting, which measures four feet by five feet, has been a costly venture for the Barrie Historical Association (BHA) – at nearly $18,500, including tax.

On Vimy Ridge, mighty oaks will grow again — thanks to a Canadian soldier
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2015/01/24/on-vimy-ridge-mighty-oaks-will-grow-again-thanks-to-a-canadian-soldier.html
   No trees were left standing in the aftermath of a bloody battle that defined the Canadian effort in the First World War. Thanks to a Canadian soldier and his passionate friend, that’s about to change.

Saskatchewan

Canadian History Ehx: A look back at St. Andrews Ceylon
http://www.grenfellsun.sk.ca/Community/2015-01-25/article-4019979/Canadian-History-Ehx%3A-A-look-back-at-St.-Andrews-Ceylon/1
   The church was officially built in 1889, and was consecrated by Bishop Anson. Donations to build the church came from across the area, and as far away as England.

British Columbia

Chinese historical sights sought in Richmond
http://www.richmond-news.com/news/chinese-historical-sights-sought-in-richmond-1.1740876
   Do you know of a historically significant place in Richmond connected to the Chinese community? If the answer is "yes", the B.C. government wants to know so it can be formally recognized for its heritage value.

Stories of the Week

Black History Month

Canada joins other countries celebrating Black History Month in February every year.

This year, the Governor General has declared 2015 as the Year of Sport in Canada, and Black History Month has taken the opportunity to spotlight Canada’s black athletes as they have performed on the international stage.

I have a bit of common history with one of the people that Heritage Canada highlights at
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/multiculturalism/black/photo-sports.asp#a10, and that is Marjorie Turner-Bailey, who won two bronze medals at the 1975 Pan American Games in Mexico City (100 metres, 4x100-metre relay) in track and field, and went on to represent Canada at the 1976 Olympic Summer Games in Montreal.

How many people know that she used to train in the summer by running on the mile-long Crescent Beach that is part of the causeway that leads to her hometown of Lockeport, Nova Scotia? I grew up in the area, and it was always a proud thing to know Marjorie, and follow her career.

You can read all about Black History Month at http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/multiculturalism/black/index.asp



And for something completely different, I would like to wish everyone a Happy Groundhog Day!

Did you know that the tradition of our Groundhog Day comes to us from Germany? The Germans believed that the badger (their version of our groundhog) had the power to predict the coming of spring. They even watched the badger to know when to plant their crops.

February 2 is Groundhog Day in Canada, and although we don’t use it to predict when to plant our crops, we use it to “indicate’ if there will be six more weeks of winter (if he sees his shadow), or six week to spring (if he does not see his shadow).

Groundhog Day became popular in Canada, as it is today, when, in 1956, Wiarton Willie, from Wiarton, Ontario, became a household name. A festival grew up around him, and today, it is one of the largest winter festivals in Bruce County, Ontario.

Since then, other celebrity groundhogs have popped out and joined Willie from other parts of Canada, including Schubenacadie Sam from Nova Scotia, Gary the Groundhog in Ontario, Brandon Bob in Manitoba, Fred la Marmotte in Quebec, and Balzac Billy in Alberta.

And I forgot to mention last week that on 25 January 1791, the British Parliament approved the Constitutional Act which separated the old province of Quebec into Upper and Lower Canada. Before 1791, Quebec was a colony from Labrador down to the present-day border with the United States at Detroit. After 1840, Lower Canada became Quebec, and Upper Canada became Ontario.


Need help in finding your Canadian ancestors?

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

Great service. Reasonably priced.

Website: www.elrs.biz

Email: genealogyresearch@aol.com


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

Reminder: Check the Canadian Week in Review next Monday for the latest in Genealogy, Heritage, and History news in Canada. It’s the ONLY news blog of its kind in country!

If you missed last week's post on 26 January 2015, visit http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/01/canadian-week-in-review-26-january-2015.html

The next Canadian Week in Review will be posted 08 February 2015.

Sunday, February 1, 2015

OGS class handouts now online



The Ottawa Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society has started offering classes called Genealogy: Back to Basics. The handouts that will be used for each class has been put online at http://ogsottawa.on.ca/genealogy-back-to-basics

There is no charge for the sessions, and all are invited to return at 1:00 p.m. for the monthly presentation.

This is the current schedule for Genealogy B2B. For updates on the classes (with instructor), check back regularly.

28 February 2015 - Are You a Trust Me Genealogist? (Heather Oakley)

15 March 2015 - No meeting due to conflict with Gene-O-Rama 2015

25-April 2015 - Genetic Genealogy (Richard McGregor)

06 June 2015 - Lineage Societies (Dorothy Meyerhof)

27 June 2015 - Ottawa Resources (Mike More)

12 September 2015 - Getting Started (Mike More)

24 October 2015 - Genealogical Resources in Eastern Ontario (John Patton)

28 Nov 2015 - TBA

19 Dec 2015 - TBA

For more information, visit the announcement page at http://ogsottawa.on.ca/home/announcements

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If you haven’t done so already, remember to 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/2015/01/canadian-week-in-review-26-january-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.