Showing posts with label Ontario. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ontario. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

History Matters: Canada’s Aboriginal Peoples Past and Present

Heritage Toronto is pleased to present an exploration of the latest archaeological insights into the lives of Indigenous people in Southern Ontario prior to contact with Europeans.

A panel discussion called Before Ontario: Archaeology and the Province’s First Peoples will take place on Wed Apr 02, 2014 at 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. at the Toronto Reference Library Atrium, 789 Yonge Street, Toronto, ON Phone: 416-395-5577.

Join the editors and some of the contributors to Before Ontario: The Archaeology of a Province (2013) for a panel discussion. Panelists include:

· Dr. Marit Munson

· Dr. Susan Jamieson

· Dr. Anne Keenleyside (Trent)

· Dr. Ron Williamson of Archaeological Services Inc.

· Chief Kris Nahrgang of the Kawartha Nishnawbe First Nation

· Dr. Neal Ferris (Western Ontario)

· Dr. Andrew Stewart of Strata Consulting

The panel will be moderated by Shawn Micallef, a noted journalist and Toronto Public Library’s Writer-in-Residence in Fall 2013.

This panel discussion is presented in collaboration with http://activehistory.ca and Heritage Toronto at http://heritagetoronto.org

Thursday, March 6, 2014

The book catalogue of the OGS is on VITA

The Book Catalogue and the Cemetery Locator of the OGS has been moved to VITA, a division of OurOntario (a site which tells the story of Ontario) at http://vitacollections.ca/ogscollections/search

Some feature are –

Family Histories

You can now search our Family History Collection at VITA

Periodicals

The entire Periodical Collection is easier to search. They have now been able to provide more info for their Branch Newsletters, i.e., location information for branch libraries and contact information.

Mystery Photos

They have had the Mystery Photos site on their OGS Old Photos flickr site for a while, and now they have moved them over to the new VITA site and have them all accessible in one place.

WWI Memorial Wall

I know that the OGS has wanted to do something like this for a number of years. If you have a WWI vet in your family and you would like to share their photo and a bit about their life, the OGS would be honoured to include your WWI vet on our Memorial Wall.

Where are your Ontario Roots?

This is brand new for OGS, an interactive feature where you can share a bit of history about your family and your Ontario roots! You will find this located on the top right hand corner of the page.

Contact librarian@ogs.on.ca if you have any questions.

Editor’s Note: Your editor has used this new service and has found it to be very good. I had a series of surnames, and place names that I wanted to check, and the search feature worked very fast and was complete. Have you tried it yet? How did you find it? Was it a good finding research tool, or could it be improved?

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

A Kensington Market Childhood

There will be an upcoming event at the Lillian H. Smith Library at 239 College Street Toronto called A Kensington Market Childhood on March 20th, 2014 at 6:30 pm.

Leslie McGrath, Head, Osborne Collection of Early Children’s Books will present a talk on the programs for children run by the Toronto Public Library from Boys and Girls House on St. George St., and Lillian Butovsky will talk about growing up above the family grocery store at 45 Bellevue Avenue, the youngest child and only daughter of Joe and Sadie Winemaker. Lillian will share memories of growing up in Kensington Market with her five older brothers in the 1940s.

Information is available at http://www.kmhs.ca

The Toronto Public Library has an on-going series of lectures Finding Your Roots at the Library, as well as Grace: A Teacher’s Life, One Room Schools, and a Century of Change in Ontario on March 19th, 2014 at 7:30 p.m. at the North York Central Library, Room 1.

Join Millie Morton as she talks about her book. Hear about how it was to grow up on a farm, teach in one-room schools, and live in small rural Ontario communities

Go to the Toronto Public Library genealogy website at http://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/programs-and-classes/categories/history-genealogy.jsp

Saturday, January 25, 2014

The Ottawa Genealogist – Winter 2013 Edition

The most recent edition of The Ottawa Genealogist has just been released, having received my copy in the mail the other day. It is the newsletter of the Ottawa Branch of the OGS.

Of the articles, George Neville submitted a list of names in his article, Petition of Inhabitants of North Gower for Magistrates in Johnstown District No. 3, in which the men of the township are asking that a magistrate be appointed. Meanwhile, Jim Stanzell provides readers with his Early Bytown Settlers Index, in which over 450 names are listed, and all surnames start with the letter ‘M’.

Gloria F. Tubman’s Question Answered, More Questions Posed outlines the questions posed by a previous article which showed the relationship between people from Bistrol Township and North Onslow Township in the Pontiac area of Quebec.

Edward Kipp has two articles in this newsletter, and they are – Cemetery Shunpiking 2011 & 2013 and Rathbun-Rathbone-Rathburn Family Reunion 2013.

In the first article, he takes us on a tour of the gravestones of his great-grandparents in New York, Massachusetts, and Connecticut.

He provides a history of the people on the gravestones, as well as a photo of the gravestones.

And the second article, he and his wife, Elizabeth, go to Newport, Rhode Island for the latest family reunion of the Rathbun-Rathbone-Rathburn Family.

He always writes such interesting travel logs that are intertwined with family history. It keeps my interest throughout.

Plus, there’s lots of other interesting and informative stuff to read in this issue, as there is in the other issues.

This afternoon, my husband and I will be listening to the live streaming of the Branch’s regular monthly meeting – another plus for belonging to the Ontario Genealogical Society, and one of its many branches!

The website of the Ottawa Branch is http://ogsottawa.on.ca

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

The Almonte Gazette Archive

The Ottawa Branch of the OGS will hold its regular meeting on Saturday January 25th from 1 pm – 3 pm at the Ottawa Archives, Room 115, Tallwood Drive, Ottawa and from 1:00-1:30 there will be Networking , 1:30-2:15 "Using the Almonte Gazette online database", and 2:15-3:00 "RetroReveal for Genealogists, a Digital Forensics Tool".

Matthew Moxley from the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum will give the first talk on how to use the free online database of digitized of The Almonte Gazettes, and Kyla Ubbink, who will be talking about how to use a free software called RetroReveal to uncover hidden text, see faded inks and photographs, and discover what may lie beneath.

Details are on their website at http://ogsottawa.on.ca/ .

This meeting will be webcast for those who can’t attend in person at: http://genealogicalstudies.adobeconnect.com/ottawaogs/

The website of the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum is at http://mvtm.ca/mvtm/

The website for The Almonte Gazette Archive is at http://mvtm.ca/mvtm/?page_id=2759

This archive has been made available to the museum from the Almonte Public Library who had previously imaged the town’s newspaper. During 2012 the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum digitized these images and created an archive of searchable content that has been made available online.

Friday, January 17, 2014

90 schools now in Toronto war memorials database

Gwyneth Pearce. the Secretary of the Toronto Branch, Ontario Genealogical Society has sent us the following message -

"Volunteers with the Toronto Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society have added about 3,000 new names since the fall of 2013 to For King and Country – the growing online Branch database of school memorials commemorating Toronto students and staff who volunteered for active service in the two World Wars and other military conflicts.

This searchable collection now contains 90 schools and more than 35,000 names, with transcriptions and photographs of school war memorials, along with historical background and links to other useful school and community websites. The newest schools in the database are Oakridge Public School and Danforth Technical School. Danforth Tech holds the distinction of being the alma mater of a staggering 2,235 volunteers—students, graduates, teachers and other staff—more than any other school in the British Commonwealth—and it maintains an impressive archive of records, housed in its War Memorial Library".

Explore For King and Country now at www.torontofamilyhistory.org/kingandcountry/, and contact co-ordinator Martha Jackson at kingandcountry@torontofamilyhistory.org if you would like to get involved with this project.

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Search Your Chinese Roots

The Toronto Family History Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society has just announced that they will be holding a special lecture on Chinese Roots on Saturday, March 22, 2014, 2 – 3:30 p.m.

This special lecture will present an overview of how Chinese family history has been recorded over the centuries and what people living today need to know if they want to find information about their ancestors in China and elsewhere in the world. Please note that this lecture will bein Chinese with English explanations as needed.

The instructor will be Grace Chan, and it will be held at North York Memorial Community Hall, 5110 Yonge Street, Toronto.

For further details, visit our website at http://torontofamilyhistory.org/learn/courses.

Their Facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/TOFamilyHistory

Chinese-Canadian Genealogy http://www.vpl.ca/ccg/Migration_ON.html

TORONTO ST. PATRICK'S DAY PARADE

Are you making your plans for St. Patrick’s Day yet? If you live in Toronto, Sunday March 16th is a day to circle on your calendar, because there will be a parade!

TORONTO ST. PATRICK'S DAY PARADE

Everyone is Irish on St. Patrick's Day (and the day before)!

On Sunday, March 16, all eyes will be smiling in downtown Toronto for the St. Patrick's Day Parade. Enjoy a family friendly celebration of Ireland and St. Patrick with colorful floats, bands, dancers and marching groups. There will be a golden touch at the green celebration with Olympic gold medalist Irish boxer Katie Taylor acting as Grand Marshal.

The procession starts at noon from St. George and Bloor, heading east before turning south along Yonge to Queen where it makes a final turn to finish at Nathan Phillips Square. TTC access and parking are available at several points along the parade route.

For more information, please visit www.topatrick.com.

Thursday, January 9, 2014

Spring workshops to be held at local library

Oakville Public Library in Oakville, Ontario will hold workshops in the coming month, starting with a workshop today. It starts at 10:00 am.

The title of the workshop will be Genealogy Resources and the talk will be given by Heather Martyn who will introduce you to Ancestry Library Edition and other library resources that will help you get started. This will be a “hands on” presentation.

It will be free, but you must register.
The second workshop will be held on February the 18th from 7:00 to 8:20 pm and the workshop will Capture Your Family Story: Book Making With Blurb

You’ll discover how easy it is to create and self-publish a book of photos and stories that your family will treasure. We’ll share examples of published books, and demonstrate how to design your own. If you can imagine it, you can make it with Blurb.

The cost will be $7.00 per class, and you must register.

The third workshop will be Movie Night! And it will be held on February 25, 2014 from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm, and the cost will be $5.00.

The movie will be Seeking Salvation: A History of the Black Church in Canada in which this documentary will profile slavery in Canada from the 1600s to the Underground Railroad in the 1800s.

Written by Oakville native Lawrence Hill, this documentary has been screened at film festivals around the world, and won numerous awards.

The last workshop will be Taking Your Irish Ancestors Back Over the Pond by Ruth Blaie who will shows you the best ways to begin researching your Irish family history in Canada and show you how to use the information to help you go back over the pond to Ireland.

It will start on March 11th, at 7:00 pm, and will cost will be $7.00 per class.

You can go to the Oakville Public Library at http://www.opl.on.ca/blog/type/genealogy/

Tuesday, January 7, 2014

The Windmill Point lighthouse, a site of a bloody battle in Upper Canada (Prescott, Ontario), has been named as a heritage lighthouse under Canada's Heritage Lighthouse Protection Act (HLPA).

In 1838, it was the place where a four-day battle in 1838 between British troops and local militia defeated an invasion force of 300 American "Hunters" and Canadian rebels. It brought an end to the Rebellion of 1837-1838.

Windmill Point Lighthouse was first built as a windmill before it was used as a lighthouse in 1874.

Battle of the Windmill National Historic Site http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Windmill_National_Historic_Site

Saturday, January 4, 2014

OGS Open Forum

The Ontario Genealogical Society invites members and non-members to join in an online discussion with President, Shirley Sturdevant. Ask questions and make comments about the changing face of OGS and volunteer opportunities with the Society.

The date that the forum will be held will be Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2014 at 7:00 p.m.

This forum is open to anyone who is interested but you may express your interest and receive a reminder and your own copy of the login information by contacting the OGS provincial office at provoffice@ogs.on.ca.

Please use the subject line “OGS Open Forum.”

The website of the OGS is http://www.ogs.on.ca/

Sunday, December 22, 2013

TONI Update

24,541 records have been added to The Ontario Name Index (TONI) bringing the total number of entries to 2,514,931.

The index now includes records from the following Ontario Heritage Organizations:

- Millbrook Cavan Historical Society

-Bruce Township Historical Society

-Westminster Historical Society

-Upper Ottawa Valley Genealogy Group

-Northumberland County Archives

You can search these records at https://www.ogs.on.ca/integrated/toni_database1.php

Postscript: December is membership month at the OGS. For the yearly rate of $61.20, you can join the provincial society. Go to http://www.ogs.on.ca/ogsblog/





Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Burleigh Papers Online

Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario and its archives has just announced the public launch of their latest digital initiative - the digitization of the Dr. Herbert Clarence Burleigh fonds.

I took time and checked certain family names, and found quite a bit of information - especially Loyalists families of the area. For example, it just doesn’t pertain to people in Kingston, there was information on the townships of the Bay of Quinte area too.

They say that “Through the Burleigh Family, and in particular, Peter and Evelyn Burleigh, whose generous donation has made this exciting initiative a reality, and in collaboration with the Internet Archives of Toronto the research amassed by Dr. Burleigh on approximately 1,000 families, who have roots in the Kingston region, is now available on-line”.

You can go to the website at http://archives.queensu.ca/databases/genealogy/burleigh.html

Friday, December 13, 2013

CrowdSourcing: OGS and The Ontario Heritage Fairs Association



The OGS and the Ontario Heritage Fairs Association (OHFA) are teaming up to CrowdSource to see if they can continue to offer provincial heritage fairs for students in Grades 4 to 10.

“The OGS supports this initiative by providing a prize for the best genealogical project at each regional fair, with the aim of encouraging our future genealogists and historians.

This year’s Provincial Fair is in need of funding and to this end, the OHFS is running a CrowdSourcing campaign". 

If you wish to support the work of the Association and to fund another Provincial Heritage Fair in the spring of 2014, please visit them at https://chimp.net/groups/ontario-provincial-heritage-fair

Thursday, December 12, 2013

Gwyneth Pearce, Secretary of the Toronto Branch, Ontario Genealogical Society, has sent the winter meeting schedule, and it is -

Tracing Your African Heritage in the British West Indies
Saturday, February 1, 2014, 1 – 5 p.m.
This half-day course will cover the basic principles of research, how to read and interpret slave registers, what to look for in vital records, church records, parish registers and much more.
Instructor: Pooran Bridgelal
Where: North York Central Library, 5120 Yonge Street, Toronto

The Social History of Medicine in 19th Century CanadaTuesdays, February 4 & 11, 2014, 2 – 4 pm
This two-part lecture series will examine life and death and the role of medicine in Canada in the nineteenth century, as well as the revolution in Canadian medical education from 1875 to 1920 that extended life span and professionalized medicine and medical training.
Instructor: Dr. Marianne Fedunkiw
Where: North York Central Library, 5120 Yonge Street, Toronto

Making the Internet Work for GenealogyWednesdays, February 12, 19 & 26 & March 5, 2014, 6:15 – 8:15 pm
This four-week course is aimed at those who have considerable experience already with using the Internet for genealogy, but who are interested in learning how to fine tune their search abilities and how to take advantage of the social networking opportunities the Internet provides.
Instructor: Marian Press
Where: Toronto Reference Library, 789 Yonge Street, Toronto

Tracing Your East Indian Heritage in the British West IndiesSaturday, February 15, 2014, 1 – 5 pm
This half-day course will cover the basic principles of research, how to understand indenture contracts, what to look for in vital records, church records, parish registers and much more.
Instructor: Pooran Bridgelal
Where: North York Central Library, 5120 Yonge Street, Toronto

The Social History of Dress in 19th Century CanadaTuesdays, February 18 & 25, 2014, 2 – 4 pm
This two-part lecture series is intended as a primer to the social history of dress seen in 19th century photographs, with a special emphasis on Canadian history. The course will cover the period from 1840 to 1910.
Instructor: Ingrid Mida
Where: North York Central Library, 5120 Yonge Street, Toronto

Introduction to Genealogy and Family History
Saturday, February 22, 2014, 10 am – 3 pm
A fast-paced one-day course that introduces some of the type of records and techniques needed for researching your family tree. It highlights vital records (civil and church), census records and probates (wills), showing how to extract and evaluate data.
Instructor: Linda Reid
Where: North York Central Library, 5120 Yonge Street, Toronto
They are parented by the OGS and the North York Central Library.
To learn more, you can go to http://torontofamilyhistory.org/

Saturday, December 7, 2013

IMPORTANT: Ontario Genealogy Society Open Forum

This notice has just come into the office

The Ontario Genealogical Society invites members and non-members to join in an online discussion with President, Shirley Sturdevant. Ask questions and make comments about the changing face of OGS and volunteer opportunities with the Society.

Date: Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2014

Time: 7:00 p.m.

More information will follow.

This forum is open to anyone who is interested but you may express your interest and receive a reminder and your own copy of the login information by contacting the OGS provincial office at provoffice@ogs.on.ca.

Please use the subject line “GS Open Forum.”

I will be there. Will you?

Friday, December 6, 2013

Thursday, December 5, 2013

Kingston Penitentiary: Home to Canada’s most notorious criminals

The four men are Albert McKeowan, James McDonald, Philip Benoit, and George Marles. These photos were taken in 1915.  Credit: Library and Archives Canada, RG73-C-6 

The Library and Archives Canada has just released the ledgers from the Kingston Penitentiary for you to research if your ancestor spent time there when it opened in 1835.   

Located in Portsmouth, now part of Kingston, this institution was designated for the incarceration of prisoners from both Upper Canada and Lower Canada.

Kingston Pen, as it is commonly known, closed its doors on September 30, 2013.

These ledgers, which have been digitized and can be viewed on the Library and Archives Canada (LAC) website at http://collectionscanada.gc.ca/pam_archives/index.php?fuseaction=genitem.displayItem&lang=eng&rec_nbr=4292048

You will have to know the name of the person you are looking for in this instant.    

The ledgers provide photographs (mug shots) of inmates and information such as name; alias; age; place of birth; physical description; occupation; crime committed; and date, place and length of sentence.


Thursday, November 28, 2013

Location! Location! Location!

Have you been involved in doing Ontario research lately, and have come across a town, and you are having a hard time to find what county it is in - where it is located?

Now, you can go to the Ontario location website at http://www.ogs.on.ca/branches/ontariolocator.php It lists every municipality in Ontario (city, town, village, township, regional municipality) and all of the geographic townships which have belonged to a municipality.

You can find the township, and there are two types of townships –

1.     A geographic township (G Twp) is a piece of land. You need to know this to find land records and to find where people lived.

2.     An administrative township (A Twp) is a form of government, often administering several geographic townships. You need this to find local records.

And you can find out what county you are in, and the Ontario Genealogical Society Branch the municipality is in.

Saturday, November 23, 2013

York Region Ancestors Newsletter

The York Region Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society (OGS) has just issued its November newsletter, and in this issue they have an article A View of Markham Township in 1799 in which Surveyor Augustus Jones lists the people in the township and the land they held.

There is also an article on the Early Lutheran Deaths in the Twp of Markham (1834 – 1841), and Confirmations in the Lutheran Church 1834 and 1836.

There is the family tree of John Stiver and Mary Ann Shutz, and a list of
Tavern Licenses Granted from 1855 to 1860, and a list of innkeepers for Whitchurch Township from 1803 to 1841.

Please be reminded that they have all the back issues of Ancestors from 1996 to 2006 which includes a subject index for sale, in addition to over 150 cemetery transcripts on their publications page at http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~onyrbogs/pub_001.htm

You can visit their webpage at www.rootsweb.com/onyrbogs

Postscript: December is the yearly membership drive by the OGS. This year the basic membership is $61.20 which is a deal for all the benefits that you can receive from the Members Only pages at http://www.ogs.on.ca/index.php