Monday, August 29, 2011

New Blog – AFGS Acadian Heritage News

The tag line is “Focus of this blog is to provide news and information regarding Acadian Heritage”.

It is a Heritage Blog by the American-French Genealogical Society, and although it is not strictly a Canadian blog, it is about the Acadians – and there are genealogical societies on both sides of the border, so the blog caught my eye over the weekend as something I would like to read..

One of the blogs is “As tough as her ancestors” which the blogger tells about the being interviewed by his niece about what it is like being Acadian, and shows pictures of her exhibit and video of the process – very interesting! The exhibit “Nova Scotia - Acadian”

Another blog was the 34th Annual Acadian Festival which was held at
Madawaska, Maine on August 11th, and a visit to the The Acadian Historic Village – Caraquet, NB.

The blog is at http://afgs-acadian-heritage-news.blogspot.com/

Saturday, August 27, 2011

London Leaf Newsletter

The August London-Middlesex Newletter August 2011 edition is out, and this edition is all about lists of names.

It contains articles such as “Women Who Were Entitled To Vote In London For The First Time” contains over 400 names of local women in 1885; a list of 80 Glencoe And Wardsville High School Entrans 1900, and a list of the people who offered their help to the inhabitants who were living in Michigan and were affected by the fire of 1881 under the title of Strathroy Request for Help – 1881.

The London-Middlesex County Branch will meet on September 6th at 7:30 pm at the Westmounth Branch of the London Public Library, 3200 Wonderland Road, in which Dennis Mulligan will talk about “Don't Believe Everything You Read: Research Using Internet and Other Sources”.

Their website is http://www.londonmiddlesex.ogs.on.ca

Oxford County Library Databases & Indexes

I came across a webpage in the Oxford County Library, Ontario the other day, and there is a huge amount of genealogy for those who have ancestor's in the county.

For example, they have -

Newspaper Indexes of the Ingersoll Chronicle (birth, death and marriage index), and also of the Ingersoll Tribune.

Oxford County Genealogy Records (1793 - 1858)

Cemetery Records of the Index of Ingersoll and Area Cemeteries, and some headstone photos

Land Records of Oxford County Land Patents (1798-1852)

Local History Books & Indexes including -

Index to History of North Oxford Township 1867-1967
Index to Ingersoll: Our Heritage by Henry W. Whitwell
Index to The Axe and the Wheel: a history of West Oxford Township, 1790-1974
Index to With Mortar and Pine: a collection of the architectural heritage in the Township of Norwich
Autobiography of Thomas Brush Brown, 1804-1893 : a pioneer of East Nissouri Township
From the Roaring 20s to Y2K by Elsie McSpadden
Zorra Boys at Home and Abroad or How to Succeed by William Alexander McKay
Pioneer Life in Zorra by William Alexander McKay
Musings on the Banks of Canadian Thames by James McIntyre
Zorra by William M. Campbell
Souvenir Manual of the Embro Congregational Church

Directories, Gazetteers & Voters' Lists -

1852 Oxford Gazetteer by Thomas S. Shenston
1857-58 Directory of Oxford
1871 Gazetteer of Oxford County : Ingersoll (11 MB)
1877 Town of Ingersoll Voters' List NEW
1883 Town of Ingersoll Voters' List NEW
1894-95 Town of Ingersoll Directory
1908 Union Publishing Company's Directory of the Town of Ingersoll(12 MB)
1911 Town of Ingersoll Directory NEW
1927 Town of Ingersoll Telephone Directory NEW

History of the Town of Ingersoll including -

Town of Ingersoll Historical Photo Gallery
Industrial Ingersoll Illustrated, February 1907
Industries of Canada : Ingersoll, 1887
Ingersoll in the Eighteen Seventies : excerpts from the Ingersoll Tribune
Index to Ingersoll: Our Heritage by Henry W. Whitwell
The Ingersolls of Hampshire in the line of John Ingersoll of Westfield, Massachusetts by Charles Stedman Ripley
History of the Town of Ingersoll by James Sinclair, 1924
1947 Ingersoll Fall Fair Souvenir Program

The amount of information here is astounding!

If you wish to read some of these histories, directories, newspapers go to http://www.ocl.net/genealogy/.

Friday, August 26, 2011

Abbotsford Sikh Temple

From 1901 until 1911, about 5,000 Sikhs (the majority who were young single men), came to Canada. They mostly settled in British Columbia to work in the logging, farming and railway industries.

In 1911 they built the Abbotsford Sikh Temple or Gurdwara. It is the oldest surviving Sikh temple in Canada.

In 2002, Parks Canada designated it as National Historic Site of Canada.

Parks Canada website http://www.pc.gc.ca/culture/ppa-ahp/itm1-/page04_e.asp

East Indians http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/genealogy/022-905.015-e.html

A Walk to Remember

On the 24 & 25 of September there will be a tour of St. Ann's Cemetery (established 1835) in Penetanguishene, Simcoe County, Ontario.

The press release says to “Join Deb and Pam for a walk through this historic cemetery and meet sinners and saints, the famous and infamous. We've uncovered some fascinating and interesting facts about the citizens of Penetang and we'd like to share them with you.”

The Walk starts at 2 PM each day.

Tickets are limited to 25 for each day and must be paid for in advance.

Tickets are $8.00 each, and you call the museum at 705-549-2150.

All proceeds are for the Cemetery Board for the upkeep of the grounds.

The Penetanguishene Centennial Museum and Archives website is http://www.pencenmuseum.com/events-exhibits/

Thursday, August 25, 2011

The 35th Norfolklore Genealogy Fair

Simcoe is a town located in the southwestern part of Ontario, and every fall it hosts the oldest genealogy fair in Ontario – The Norfolklore Genealogy Fair.

The resource providers/exhibitors for 2011 included Colonel John Butler Branch UELAC, Elgin County OGS, Grand Erie Education Archives, Grand River Branch UELAC, Haldimand County OGS, Hamilton Branch OGS, Heronwood Enterprises, Kent County OGS, Kinfolk Finders, Log Cabin Publishing, Mayholme Foundation, Niagara Branch OGS, Norfolk Historical Society, Norfolk County OGS, Norwich and District Historical Society, Oxford County OGS, Ruthven Park National Historic Site, Waterford Townsend Historical Society.

It will be held on September 24th, and tickets will be available for $5.00, and this includes admission to both the Norfolklore Fair as well as to the Eva Brook Donly Museum and Archives where you can do some local research with volunteer help. Usual admission to the Archives is $10.00.

It will be held ay the Simcoe Seniors Centre, 89 Pond Street, Simcoe from 10 am to 4pm.

The website is http://www.norfolklore.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=23&Itemid=20

Biographical Research for Ontario Genealogists

Do you need help in learning the stories behind your ancestor's life? What was the historical events in their life at that time?

Then you need this course to help you answer the questions -

This course is for experienced genealogists who want to learn the stories behind their Ontario ancestors’ names, places and dates. Whether your ancestors were county farmers or city merchants, you can learn more about their lives using the records and techniques taught in this class. This class is ideal preparation for writing the family history book.

Schedule: Tuesdays, 6:15-8:15 PM, September 13,20, 27 and October 4, 2011 (a four week course)

Location: Toronto Reference Library, Learning Centre 1.

Instructor: Janice Nickerson

Janice is a professional genealogist based in Toronto. In addition to her private client work, she assists the Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee in locating missing heirs, was the “behind the scenes” genealogical researcher and coordinator for the CBC’s genealogical TV program, Who Do You Think You Are? and is the author of the recent OGS/Dundurn publication, Crime and Punishment in Upper Canada: A Researcher’s Guide (For readers of Families, an excerpt, and review of the book was published in the February 2011 edition.)

Fee: $66 ($60 for OGS members.

Their website is at http://www.torontofamilyhistory.org/courses.html

For further information, to discuss prerequisite equivalents and to check before mailing a late application: email: courses@torontofamilyhistory.org or call (416) 733-2608 (voicemail)