Tuesday, August 16, 2011

National Acadian Day

August 15th was National Acadian Day.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper said yesterday that “The Acadian people endured early hardships with great resolve and courage to emerge a proud and determined community that continues to make significant contributions to Canada, in every area of endeavour. Their customs, traditions and way of life have become a distinctive part of Canada’s social fabric”.

They have just finished the Acadian Festival and Cyr Family Reunion http://www.acadianfestival.com/

Read about the Congress in 2014 The Acadian World Congress http://www.acadian.org/congres5.html

Acadian Arts & Crafts in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia http://www.yarmouthandacadianshores.com/

They have just had the festival The Acadian Festival of Caraquet http://festivalacadien.ca/en

Former Titles for Canadian Forces

There is news in Ottawa this morning that Canada will return the titles of the Maritime Command, Air Command and Land Force Command to their former title of the Canadian Army, Royal Canadian Air Force, and Royal Canadian Navy today.

It will happened 100 years to the day that the British granted Royal Consent to the Naval Service of Canada that it could call itself the Royal Canadian Navy.

Defence Minister Peter MacKay is announcing the name changes in Halifax today.

If you want to read of their history, the websites are -

Canadian Forces http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Forces

The History and Heriitage of the Royal Canadian Air Force http://rcaf.com/

Royal Canadian Navy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Canadian_Navy

Monday, August 15, 2011

Tall Ship “Pride of Baltimore II” in Amherstburg, Ontario

The "Pride of Baltimore" will make its grand arrival at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday, August 27, 2011, and will stay overnight until Sunday, August 27, 2011 in Amherstburg.

The 157-ft "Pride of Baltimore II" is a reproduction of an 1812-era Baltimore-built topsail schooner privateer. The original "Pride", Chasseur, defended America's freedom during the War of 1812 by serving as an offensive weapon of war and blockade-runner, capturing or sinking 35 British vessels. The British attacked Baltimore in 1814 in an attempt to destroy the Fells Point shipyards where privateer ships were built. During the September 13, 1814 Battle of Baltimore, Francis Scott Key wrote the words that became the United States national anthem, "The Star-Spangled Banner”.

Amherstburg welcomes the "Pride II" as part of the celebration of the Bicentennial of the War of 1812.

Complimentary tour times are as follows at Duffy’s dockside -

Saturday, August 27, 2011

Dockside Deck Tours: 2 p.m. to 7:00 pm

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Dockside Deck Tours 11:00 am to 7:00 pm

You can go to the website http://www.1812amherstburg.com

Stories of a Canadian Family

A new blog appeared yesterday, and it is named “Stories of a Canadian Family”.

It is by Lianne Lavoie, and it explores her “French, English, Scottish, and Swedish ancestry”. Genealogy is right up there with the things she likes to do (right after computer science, languages, and philosophy), and she says that most of her “research so far has been on my dad’s side of the family, simply because it is the French Canadian side, and there are ample resources available. However, I do plan to discover as much as I can about my mom’s side, which is English, Scottish, and Swedish, as well. There are many gaps still in my family tree, and I intend to fill them in”.

She has the surnames of her paternal side, which are -

Bard
Daineault
Deshaies
Ducharme
Gagne
Lavoie
Levasseur
Ouellet
Paradis
Richard
Voyer

And the surnames of her maternal side, which are -

Angus
Aspinal
Fretwell
Jackson
Johnson
Pehrsson/Peterson
Prince
Watts

So if you have any of these names in your family, be sure to drop Lianne a note, and help her along the way.

The website is http://storiesofacanadianfamily.blogspot.com/

Friday, August 12, 2011

Late Summer Reading

The August issue of Families has just out, and in it, five books were reviewed. They are -

Education and Ontario Family History: A Guide to Resources for Genealogists and Historians by Marian Press.

This book is for the person who had ancestors in the educational system in Ontario, from the earliest days to the 1960s.

The six chapters range from Chapter One: "Where the Resources Reside" to Chapter Six, which covers the topic of post-secondary education.

The website is at http://ogs.on.ca/ogscart/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=722

Tracing Your English & Scottish Ancestry Moorshead Magazines Ltd.

This is a collection of nineteen articles previously published by the company in their magazines, and include "British WWII Merchant Vessel Cards", "35 Top Sites for Scottish Research", and "Cornish Online Parish Clerks".

Each of the nineteenth subjects are written by such writers as Davis A. Norris, George G. Morgan (one of the Genealogy Guys), and Alan Stewart.

The website is www.moorshead.com

Some Early Scots in Maritime Canada, Volume 1 by Terrence M. Punch.

Here, he follows the history of the emigration of Scots from the mid-1700s to the 1800s.

He even partly reconstitutes passenger lists for the ships William Tell and Harmony.

The website is <www.genealogical.com/products/Some%20Early%20Scots%20in%20Maritime%20Canada%20%20Volume%201/4713.html>.

An Index to the Articles Referred to in Genealogy in Canada 4th Edition by Brenda Dougall Merriman.

This book lists 167 articles about genealogy in Ontario. Among the headings are "Afro-Canadian Ancestry", "Loyalists", and "Vital Statistics".

The website is at http://ogs.on.ca/ogscart/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1085

Perseverance, Pranks & Pride by Joy V.C. Forbes.

There are over 1,700 personal names listed in this book about one-room schoolhouses in the Ottawa Valley.

Over 120 schools are listed, and photos are available.

You can go to her website to see more about one-room schoolhouses at www.oneroomschoolhouses.ca

Family History Society of Newfoundland and Labrador

Have you been to the Family History Society of Newfoundland and Labrador site lately?

They have recently put new slides and audio recordings on the site from their April and May lectures, and Members can access these on their "Meetings & Lectures" page.

All 25+ years worth of back issues of The Newfoundland Ancestor have been digitised and put on their website for their members. For non-members they have made available a free sample issue that you can download and read.

And their website now has an interactive forum where they invite you to post genealogical queries, etc.

To go to the website, click om http://www.fhsnl.ca/

Camrose Founders Days Festival

Celebrations at Camrose Founders Days Festival, Camrose, Alberta, August 12th to the 14th. It will mark 100 year milestones for many Camrose organizations. Daily activities take place Downtown on Main Street, Camrose Centennial Museum and the Camrose Railway Station Museum & Park.

On Friday, August 12 at 12:30, a "promenade" down Camrose's Main Street will take place before arriving at Founders Square for the honouring ceremony of the three founders - Rev. Thomas Torger Carlson, Mr. M.A. Maxwell and Mrs. Carla Didrickson-Hoyme.

After the ceremony, the public is invited to the Bailey Theatre to take in a reception, "meet" the founders, tour the 100-year-old theatre and visit the City of Camrose historical inventory.

On Saturday evening there be a graveyard expedition through Poplar Grove cemetery. Following that, you can meet Glenys Smith at the Railway Station for a ghost tour through the city.

On Sunday, a display at the Camrose centennial museum will highlight another groundbreaking member of the Hoyme family, this time featuring the millinery of Miss Hoyme, a relative of Carla Didrickson-Hoyme. A Mad Hatters fashion show at 1 p.m. will be held to recognize her accomplishments.

If you wish to go to the website, the address is http://www.camrosefoundersdays.com/