BIFHSGO Monthly Meeting

On Saturday, May 11, The Bitish Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa  (BIFGSGO) will hold a pre-meeting which will feature Comparing FTM, Legacy and Rootsmagic - An Overview which is a part of Before BIFHSGO Education Talks at 9:00 am, and it will be presented by Ken McKinlay.

The main presentation called Building a One-Name Study: The Influence of Computers, The Internet, and DNA will be held from 10:00 am to 11:30 am, and it will be presented by Bill Arthurs.

This presentation will feature the Titus One-Name Study from its inception before the era of computers, through its progression with the advent of the internet, construction of a website, and the use of DNA research.

You can go to and listen to Bill at http://bifhsgo.ca/cpage.php?pt=106 as he talks with Brooke Broadbent about his start in genealogy and One Name Studies.

If you are interested in certain surnames, you can check the surnames on http://bifhsgo.ca/surname.php. There are 1, 293 Internet pages onsite.

The website of BIFHSGO is http://bifhsgo.ca

The Ottawa Genealogist

The Spring/Summer 2013 edition of The Ottawa Genealogist has been released, and it contains an interesting article, and index. It is published by the Ottawa Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society.

The article is by John Patton and it is called the Ballad of Syd and Annie: A Genealogical Mystery, and it is a story of two people, whose story is totally unbelievable. Sydney Frank LEWER (1892- c.1925), is an Englishman who immigrated to Canada in 1909. He gave so many birthdates, it is difficult to understand exactly when he was born. And the plot thickens when he meets Annie HOSKO. There was apparent deception in an adoption process of a son, unusual evidence in a his First World War military record, prison sentence because of a bigamy charge, and on and on it goes. Their life together was turbulent, to say the least, ending with the fact that he possibly may have died in 1925 – at least his wife declared herself a widow at that time.

This article shows that good research can go a long way in resolving these genealogical mysteries such as this.

The index of Early Bytown Settlers Index in this issue go from the letter D to the I. It gives the name, reference and page number, and some information, such as where they lived, their occupation, their age.

The reminder of the journal is filled with news of the Ottawa Branch of the OGS, Interesting Web Sites, Branch Library Additions, and Gleanings from Newsletters in the Ottawa Branch Library.

To go to the website of the Ottawa Genealogical Society, the website is at http://ogsottawa.on.ca

Friends of Laura Secord Historical Walk

Friends of Laura Secord have arranged for just about everyone to commemorate Laura by doing the War of 1812 historic walk on June 22nd.

You can chose one of eight different options - There are shuttle busses for those who can’t walk and even an option for those who can’t travel to Queenston for the day.

Option 1: Walk the FULL walk! (32.3 km)

Option 2: Laura Secord Experience (22.4 km)

Option 3: Heroic Endings (8.6 km)

Option 4: Cross and Climb (4.4 km)

Option 5: A Little Walk, A Little Wine (13.8 km)

Option 6: Beginnings and Endings (11.7 km)

Option 7: The Secord Shuttle Tour

Option 8: Join Us In Spirit!

There are shuttle busses for those who can’t walk and even an option for those who can’t travel to Queenston for the day

There will be the unveiling of the new Laura Secord Stamp and Coin – a joint event by Canada Post and the Royal Canadian Mint on Friday, June 21 at 9 a.m. at the Laura Secord Homestead.

A Toast to Laura Secord is a ticketed VIP event, and will be held Friday, June 21, 4-8 p.m at Queenston Heights Restaurant.

If you would like to attend any of these events, you can register at www.niagaragreenbelt.com/fls/walkintohistory.html

May is Jewish Heritage Month in Ontario

The “Jewish Heritage Month Act” (Bill 17) was passed unanimously in the Legislature on February 23, 2012. JHMO provides an opportunity to appreciate and learn about the history and culture of Ontarians of Jewish heritage who have made an impact in communities across the province.

Two of the many events taking place in Mat, include

May 5 at 11am (Est. Walk Time 1.5 hrs)

Jane’s Walk: A Sense of Spadina (Toronto, ON)

Did you know that Kensington Market, the epicenter of Toronto hipsterdom, was once a thriving Jewish village teeming with kosher bakeries, synagogues, and social clubs? Through the Ontario Jewish Archive’s “Sense of Spadina” Walking Tour, the Jewish life of the past—biographies of its former inhabitants; the sounds; the smells; Yiddish language; religious, social, and political attitudes—is brought to life.

And

Tracing Our Jewish Roots: Selections from the Jewish Genealogical Society of Toronto Library Collection

Bathurst Clark Resource Library, 900 Clark Avneue W., Thornhill, ON

JGS Toronto’s Librarian, Elaine Cheskes, is curating a special exhibit on view for the entire month of May at The Bathurst Clark Resource Library.

For more information, go to http://jewishheritagemonth.wordpress.com/2013-events

Heritage Toronto announce the launch of its 2013 Tours program!

They say that many Torontonians know how great their walking tours are – they have been putting them on for 19 years! Heritage Toronto Tours in 2013 will be a bit different. It’s not just walking tours that they will be offering – they are excited to be expanding their usual walking tour program to include bus, bike, family and boutique tours too!

This year’s Tours program will run from the end of April until October and have 58 in total, including 26 new tours.

You will be able to reserve a spot for our new paid and pre-registered tours via our website www.heritagetoronto.org

Join them on a tour – they would love to show you some hidden gems, tell you about some fascinating stories and share with you Toronto’s amazing heritage!”

For info, go to http://heritagetoronto.org/sample-page/contact-us

The tours are listed on the followimg page at http://heritagetoronto.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/HT_TourBrochureelectronics.pdf

There are many postings to the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/HeritageToronto

There are countless YouTube Videos on www.youtube.com/user/heritagetoronto on various heritage walks in Toronto

Second Annual Genealogy Workshop

On Saturday, May 11, 2013 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM, there will be the Second Annual Genealogy Workshop at 536 Wellington Road 18, between the villages of Fergus and Elora.

Presenters include:

Gwen Armstrong, Family History Centre, Getting the Most out of FamilySearch.org

Rick Roberts, Global Genealogy, Beginning a Family History Project: 12 Steps for Success and Researching Your Ontario Roots Using Traditional and Online Resources

Susan Dunlop, Curator, Wellington County Museum and Archives, Exploring Lesser Known Resources: A Case Study of the Hollinghead-Everson Family of Wellington County

Registration: $35.00, light lunch included

Call 519.846.0916, X 5225 or Toll Free 1.800.663.0750 X 5225 to register.

Email at karen@wcm.on.ca, and the website is at http://www.wellington.ca/museum

Inheritance in Ontario: Estate Files and Beyond

On 27th of May 2013, at 7:30 p.m., there will be a meeting at the Burgundy Room, North York Memorial Community Hall, 5110 Yonge Street, Toronto, and the topics will be Inheritance in Ontario: Estate Files and Beyond, and the speaker will be Jane E. MacNamara.

She will review how to find an estate file and how it can lead to other, and she will explain sources both inside and outside the court system.

This will be a warm-up lecture to her workshop at the OGS Conference on May 31st staring at 9:30 Friday morning when she will talk about wills and her her new book Inheritance in Ontario - Wills and Other Records for Family Historians

There will be an additional short presentation by Jean McNulty A Photographic Puzzle

For more info, go to www.torontofamilyhistory.org

May Events at the Quebec Family History Society

My thanks go to Susan for letting me know about these following events.

On Wednesday, May 8, at 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm there will be a meeting on Brick Wall Solutions (Special Interest Group) QFHS Heritage Centre and Library, 173 Cartier Avenue, Pointe-Claire.

New and experienced genealogists are invited to join us at our monthly meeting to discuss brick wall problems in a friendly and informal setting. This month, we will learn how to improve our online research skills to find family trees, newspapers, and books. We will also review how to use wild cards when searching for ancestors on websites, such as Ancestry, Family Search, and Free BMD.

On Saturday, May 11th, there will be a Guided Tour of the Chateau Ramezay (Tour) at 10:30 am at 280 rue Notre-Dame est, Montreal.

This guided tour is $8 per person and open to QFHS members and non-members. To attend, you must register and make your payment at the QFHS Heritage Centre and Library.

The Château Ramezay is the province's oldest private history museum. It was built in 1705 as the residence of the Governor of Montreal Claude de Ramezay and his wife Marie-Charlotte Denys, whom he married in 1690 in Quebec. Their home changed hands over the years and has had an interesting history. The building was enlarged in 1756.

The Château Ramezay Historic Site and Museum was selected by a team of experts, in collaboration with UNESCO, as one of the 1001 historic sites you must see before you die.

On Wednesday, May 15th, there will be Celebrating Our Female Roots Day (Roots Day) from 1:30 pm to 4:00 pm at the QFHS Heritage Centre and Library, 173 Cartier Avenue, Pointe-Claire.

Half of our direct ancestors are women, and since Mother's Day takes place this month, this is a good time to celebrate our female ancestors and learn how our ancestors lived.

Join us to chat about how to learn what life was like for your female ancestors. What was home life like during the time they lived? Do you own any letters or diaries? Share with others the challenges you face when researching your female ancestors.

On display will be books from the QFHS collection about social history that help us better understand our ancestors’ lives.

Drop by for coffee, tea, and informal conversation to talk about some of the favourite women in your family and how our ancestors may have lived. Bring your own books, resources and memorabilia on social history that have helped you in your research, a friend, or just bring yourself.

Before Roots Day, please drop off copies of photos of your female ancestors for the display with Joan Benoit at QFHS. Remember to caption the photo with name, date, and description. If you live out of town, please send your photos by email at qfhs@bellnet.ca.

Open to members and the public. Free admission.

On Wednesday, May 22th Family History Writing (Special Interest Group)

To be held from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm at the QFHS Heritage Centre and Library, 173 Cartier Avenue, Pointe-Claire.

Join us any month! Together, in a friendly and informal setting, we encourage each other to write and discuss each month's mini-project.

This monthly meeting is open to QFHS members. We meet the fourth Wednesday of each month. If interested in joining, call 514.695.1502 or email qfhs.web@gmail.com.

More info: http://qfhs.ca

LAC issues a report on itself

Late Friday afternoon, on April the 26th, the LAC put on its website a report entitled Library and Archives Canada makes Canada’s documentary heritage more accessible than ever.

Through this report, it expresses how the LAC is helping Canadians to access their heritage through different programs that have been instituted by the LAC.

For instance, it says that “To this end, LAC has developed a suite of tools that have efficiently contributed to this unparalleled access to Canada’s heritage. In fact, Canadians showed great interest in accessing LAC’s collections on their computer screens and handheld devices, as observed by the popularity of its Flickr sets (over 350,000 views), its podcasts (over 149,000 listens) and the size of the readership of its blog (over 63,000 views). In addition to these new tools, LAC’s website receives an average of 500,000 visits monthly. The popularity of these channels, enabled by modern technology, demonstrates how promising LAC’s approach is in reaching Canadians, regardless of where they live”.

So what do you think? Is the LAC fulfilling its mandate?

To read the full report, go to http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/news/news_releases/Pages/2013/documentary-heritage-more-accessible.aspx

Celebrating the Heritage of Cascapedia Bay, Quebec

This is a press release from The Chaleur Bay Military Museum, the Cascapedia River Museum and the Gaspesian British Heritage Village telling us of a video project which they are undertaking -

'The Chaleur Bay Military Museum, the Cascapedia River Museum and the Gaspesian British Heritage Village are working together to produce a series of videos focusing on the history of the Cascapedia Bay area. These videos will tell the story of the community and the magnificent countryside, and will be available as four downloadable video podcasts.

Each bilingual “vodcast” will take the viewer on a drive through the modern-day landscape while highlighting important sites and events from the past. Photos and descriptions of former landmarks will take the viewer back in time - the Dimock Creek ferry, logging and fishing on the Cascapedia River, one-room schoolhouses, inns and hotels, sawmills, blacksmith shops and military history, cemeteries and residences - will all be showcased. In addition, interviews previously carried out with community members will be included.

The project is financially supported by the Fonds de soutien à la mise en valeur du patrimoine culturel, a partnership between the Conférence régionale des élus Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine and the Ministère de la Culture et des Communications.

It is part of the ongoing work that the Military Museum, River Museum and Gaspesian Village carry out to ensure that the important heritage and history of the community is preserved, shared and celebrated. The three partners are very excited about this initiative and are looking forward to increased collaboration in the future.

It is anticipated that these vodcasts will be available for viewing in October 2013. If you have any photos or videos you feel should be included, please bring them by the Cascapedia River Museum or the Gaspesian British Heritage Village during opening hours".

The website of the Cascapedia River Museum is at www.cascapediariver.com/museum.shtml and the email is cascapedia_museum@globetrotter.net.

The website of the Gaspesian British Heritage Village is at www.gaspesianvillage.org, and the email is info@gaspesianvillage.org

The website of the Chaleur Bay Military Museum is at
 www.chaleurmilitarymuseum.com

Alberta Family History Society

There will be a meeting of the Alberta Family History Society at the River Park Church, 3818 - 14A Street SW in Calgary Monday, May 6, 7-9 p.m. at which Frances Swendsen will speak about Family Tree, a new feature at the FamilySearch.org website.

If you would like to view the new website before going to the meeting, you can watch a webinar on the Legacy FamilyTrees website which has given by Devin Ashby at www.familytreewebinars.com/presenter_details.php?presenter_id=39. Although one has to pay to view these webinars, this one will always be FREE because it is sponsored by FamilySearch. (I watched it Wednesday and it is very good.)

Alberta Family History Blog is at http://afhs.ab.ca/blog

Alberta Family History Facebook page is at http://www.facebook.com/AlbertaFHS

And their website is at www.afhs.ab.ca

UPDATE: CanadaGenWeb - Yukon Cemeteries

The following updates have been put online –

Dawson City

Bet Chaim Jewish Cemetery

St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery

Hillside Cemetery (Old Public)

Hillside Cemetery (New Public)

Whitehorse

Grey Mountain Cemetery

Our thanks go to Rod Carty for his volunteer work on the Yukon cemeteries, and for his work at "Find A Grave"!

You can go http://canadacems.blogspot.com/2013/04/yukon-update.html

Saskatchewan Archives Changes Their Hours

On April 1, 2013, Saskatchewan Archives changed its public hours at their reading room locations in both Regina and Saskatoon. The reading rooms will now be open from 10 am to 4 pm on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. Both the Regina and Saskatoon reading rooms will be closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.

So the hours are –

Monday - CLOSED

Tuesday, CLOSED

Wednesday, 10 am to 4 pm, no retrievals from 12-1 pm or after 3:45 pm

Thursday, 10 am to 4 pm, no retrievals from 12-1 pm or after 3:45 pm

Friday, 10 am to 4 pm, no retrievals from 12-1 pm or after 3:45 pm

If you require clarification about their current hours, please contact either the Saskatoon or Regina reference offices at:

Saskatoon reference office

Phone: (306) 933-5832

Regina reference office

Phone: (306) 787-4068

Email: info@archives.gov.sk.ca

For more information, go to www.saskarchives.com/using-archives

East European Genealogical Society 2013 Seminar

On Saturday, June 1, 2013 (full day and evening), the East European  Genealogical Societies will hold a full-day seminar at Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS), 45 Dalhousie Drive, Winnipeg, Manitoba, where the speaker will be Kahlile Mehr, MA, MLS, AG (Salt Lake City).

Kahlile worked thirty-five years at the LDS Family History Library in Salt Lake City, most recently as Slavic Collections Manager. He visited archives throughout Eastern Europe on nine separate acquisition trips and has published over twenty articles and books, as well as presented papers at numerous international genealogical conferences.

The East European Genealogical Society includes Russia, Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, parts of Poland and Ukraine, and other former Soviet Republics.

The cost is

•Members $60.00 (includes lunch)

•Non-members $65.00 (includes lunch)

•Dinner $28.00 each

For more info, please go to www.mbgenealogy.com/news/56/15/East-European-Genealogical-Society-2013-Seminar

St. Patrick’s Society of Richmond & Vicinity, Quebec

This year the St. Patrick’s Society of Richmond & Vicinity is celebrating its 135th anniversary with the publication of a book on local Irish history called Irish Settlement and National Identity in the Lower St. Francis Valley. It is written by Peter Southam, a retired history professor from University of Sherbrooke.

The book describes 200 years of Irish presence in the Lower St-Francis Valley, a section of Quebec’s Eastern Townships that surrounds the Town of Richmond. Much of the information for the book was provided by local families. Part I deals with Irish rural settlements and Part II focuses on the Richmond’s St-Patrick’s Society.

Books are available at Townshippers’ Association (819-566-5717), Black Cat Books in Lennoxville, and Papeterie 2000 or Loretta at 819-826-2658 in Richmond.

Visit www.richmondstpats.org for information on the society, and the book.

Canada Book Day

To mark Canada Book Day, the Library and Archives Canada takes a closer look at the collection of early 20th-century Canadian publications available in the Electronic Collection of Library and Archives Canada.

The website address is www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/electroniccollection/index-e.html

71st Annual National Volunteer Week Apr 21 - 27

National Volunteer Week pays tribute to the millions of Canadian volunteers who donate their time and talents to our communities.

This special event began in 1943 to draw attention to the vital contribution women made to the war effort on the home front. Although this week was largely forgotten after the war ended, it experienced a revival in the late 1960s, when organizations stressed the importance of thanking volunteers across Canada.

This is the largest celebration of civic participation in Canada.

CanadaGenWeb www.facebook.com/pages/CanadaGenWeb-Cemetery-Project/150618738362392?fref=ts On their Facebook page, CanadaGenWeb's Cemetery Project publicly says ‘Thank you” to its volunteers.

The Cemetery Project is a program is run entirely by volunteers, and it would not be able to offer a cemetery directory, transcripts, indexes and photos without their commitment and support.

“Thank You” to my readers

I would like to say a heartfelt “Thank You” to all of my readers who passed on their kind words to me when my blog was named as one of the Top 40 Blogs of 2013 by the FamilyTree Magazine.

There are many things planned for 2013 with the blog, so keep  checking my blog every day.

To check all of the blog which were named by FamilyTree Magazine, click http://familytreemagazine.com/article/Top-40-Genealogy-Blogs-2013

Elizabeth

Call for Speakers – OGS Conference 2014

The Conference 2014 at Niagara Branch are looking ahead to line up speakers for Conference 2014 in St. Catharines at Brock Universit. The conference will be held May 1st to 4th, 2014.

The conference theme will be GENEALOGY WITHOUT BORDERS.

They say, in part, that “Although borders are an important aspect in defining a country, they also often delineate an area of genealogical study. In the past, genealogists often had to travel across borders to complete family histories in their genealogical area. Today's genealogist can often cross these borders while sitting at a desk. We can trace the movement of settlers from European countries and from the American states and other provinces to Ontario. We invite seminar proposals with this theme in mind.

Our Saturday and Sunday, May 3rd and 4th seminar sessions are generally fifty minutes length with ten minutes for discussion. We also have workshops on Friday, May 2nd, which are of three hours duration. We invite lecture and workshop submissions on a broad range of genealogical topics which will help to solve family history problems by any of the following methods

Use of technology in genealogy (DNA, internet, software etc.)

Records at a distance (especially Eastern USA and European)

War records, 1812, W.W. 1

Land Records, census, directories

Early Ontario records, prior to 1869 and their repositories

Proposals are also solicited for the broader genealogical categories including the histories associated with the War of 1812, methodology, analysis and problem solving used in genealogy

If your proposal is accepted, you will be notified early summer and we will request that you provide a 4 page summary of your talk or workshop for our syllabus by Dec. 31st, 2013. This should include references and web addresses mentioned, sample screen images etc. It will be submitted electronically (in Word, RTF or PDF format).

Please include your approximate travel costs, economy class to St. Catharines, Ont. Canada. Besides remuneration, food and lodging will be based upon the number of lectures given and transportation expenses will depend upon the speaker's home address. Workshop fees may be negotiated.

We are looking for speakers who would be open to being streamed out from the conference to those members who cannot travel but still wish to join us. As well we are looking for speakers who may be interested in speaking but cannot travel as we can stream you in to the conference”.

Questions can be directed to conference2014@ogs.on.ca

The website is at www.ogs.on.ca/niagara

UPDATE: Ancestry.com has FREE Marriage Records

I usually don’t write about Ancestry.com (I just concentrate on Ancestry.ca), but if you want to find marriage records of your immigrant ancestors (especially if they were married in the United States before they came to Canada), you have free access until the 21st.

The site is at www.ancestry.com/cs/us/family-marriages

GENWEB UPDATE: Alberta, Quebec, and Ontario Cemeteries

The Canadian GenWeb has issued an update to the Alberta, Quebec, and Ontario cemeteries as follows -

ALBERTA

Lacombe:

-  Bentley Cemetery

QUEBEC

Huntingdon County:

- Tallen Family Burial Ground

ONTARIO

Brant County:

- Farringdon Cemetery

- Mount Hope Cemetery

Bruce County:

- Douglas Hill Cemetery

- Queen Hill Cemetery

Elgin County:

- St Thomas Cemetery

Essex County:

- Victoria Memorial Gardens

Grey County:

- Cookes Presbyterian / Orange Valley Presbyterian / Old Presbyterian Cemetery

- Mennonite Brethren In Christ Cemetery

Lambton County:

- Hillsdale Cemetery

- Point Edward Veterans Memorial Park

Manitoulin District:

- Michael Bay Cemetery

Norfolk County:

- Barton Family Cemetery

- Bethel Brethern in Christ / Tunkard Cemetery

Peel County:

- Brampton Pioneer / Harrison-Hewgill Pioneer Cemetery

- Cheyne Cemetery

Simcoe County:

- St Mary's Catholic Cemetery

Wellington County:

- Abandoned / Old Anglican Cemetery

The Canada GenWeb have given it thanks to Alison Mitchell-Reid, Anne Chamberlain, Bonnie Lee Breadner, Brenda Marchese, Giselle Loder, Jim Anderson, Joanne Krywko, Kate Ford, Marilyn Whiting, Nancy Ross-Hill, Sharon Mattiuz, Tom Thompson, and William Cooke for help indexing, and to Alison Mitchell-Reid, Anne Chamberlain, Bonnie Lee Breadner, Carolyn Bechtel, Doug Tracey, Joanne Krywko, Kate Ford, Linda Doran, Marilyn Mallet, Nancy Ross-Hill, Penny Gallagher, Pete Carell, Sharon Mattiuz, Thomas Rowe, and William Cooke for photos of the cemeteries.

To view the site, go to http://canadacems.blogspot.com/2013/04/alberta-quebec-ontario-update.html