Saturday, October 8, 2011

The Cloverdale Library, Surrey, BC

Do you know that The Cloverdale Library has one of the largest Canadian family history collections in the country?

The Cloverdale Library Canadian Family History Collection is located on the second floor of the library. The Family History department includes seven microfilm/fiche reader/printers, a photocopier, three dedicated computers for Ancestry Library Edition and Heritage Quest, 1 CD ROM station, and a general use meeting room where Family History programs are conducted.

On October the 15th, there will be a "Finding Your Roots Tri-Stake Seminar" at the Surrey Family History Centre on Saturday, October 15, 2011 from 8:30am – 4:00pm at 6270-126 St. Surrey, BC.

Be sure you look at the Family History Programs at
http://www.surreylibraries.ca/programs-services/4815.aspx


They have courses such as the following this fall and winter -

Cloverdale Library Genealogical Collection Orientations

Start Searching Your Family History - A Beginners' Workshop in 5 Lessons

Discover Your Past, Discover Yourself!: An Introduction to Family History

Third Annual Family History Show & Tell!

Were Your People Really Irish?

Start Writing Your Family History: A Communications Workshop in 5 Lessons

Friday, October 7, 2011

Life Stories on "The Island Register"

There are life stories (with various names) on The Island Register this morning from Prince Edward Island.(PEI) – http://www.islandregister.com.

The first story is by Kay Lamb in Tennessee "Skype Bringing Families Together" where she tells how she uses Skype to talk to her 98 year old cousin 2,000 miles way in PEI.

The second story is about a diary entry from "Diary From Weds. Oct 12, 1927 To Weds. Feb 5, 1941 - My Grandfather, Samuel Beaton, Bonshaw, P.E.I." by Eardley Beaton.

In the diary he talks about Beaton's neighbours, and their daily life in Bonshaw.

Another story is about William Franklin Knox, the Secretary of the Navy under President Franklin D. Roosevelt by Dennis Taylor

The story starts with some Island roots of William Franklin Knox. He was the son of Sarah Collins Barnard. Sarah was born Aug 9 1849 in Charlottetown. She was the daughter of Jabez Alder Barnard, born Jan 10 1820 in Charlottetown. Jabez Alder was the son of Jabez Barnard, the builder, and Catherine Hawkins.

It goes on to tell how he bought the newspaper in Sault Ste. Marie, eventually becoming the general manager of Hearst newspapers, and his exploits in the Second World War.

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Genealogy Trivia

The Southeastern Branch of the New Brunswick Genealogical Society will hold its October Workshop on Saturday, Oct. 15, from 1-4 p.m. at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Roman Catholic Church, 4 Fatima Dr., Riverview (next to Riverview Town Hall, use basement entrance at the back of the main entrance).

Alice Garner will present an ancestor profile, and David Laskey will hold a rousing session of Genealogy Trivia.

All are welcome

The website is http://www.nbgs.ca/southeast.html

Toronto Office Assisted Immigration Registers

The Ontario Archives has a database which is an index to the four volumes of assisted immigration registers created by the Toronto Emigrant Office between 1865 and 1883.

The chronological breakdown of the volumes is as follows: -

Volume 1
January 3, 1865 to September 20, 1870

Volume 2
September 26, 1870 to July 31, 1873 and October 2 1874 to Dec. 29, 1876

Volume 3
January 1, 1877 to January 31, 1883

Volume 4
May 24, 1873 to Oct. 2, 18

The first emigrant office in Upper Canada (Ontario) was opened in 1833 in Toronto, headed by AB Hawke.

It is not totally clear which communities other than Toronto, Kingston, and Hamilton had proper "offices" as such, but Hawke received reports from agents in Ottawa, Port Hope, Peterborough, Cobourg, Prescott, and other locations at various times.

Fields such as Date of Application, Nationality, Trade, Destination are filled in when you put a person's name in the database.

The website is http://www.archives.gov.on.ca/english/db/hawke.aspx

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

The Leduc Genealogy Club

The Leduc Rep, the online newspaper which serves the town, has a story in it that the Leduc Genealogy Club is asking the city to preserve it's history by looking out for the cemeteries that are in the city.

the Group says that the cemeteries have trees and weeds growing out of -- in the summer, and now it is clear that the grave are stating to sick into the ground.

Read about what the city father's said when this was brought to their attention last month http://www.leducrep.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3290214

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

The Nova Scotia Archives Asks for Your Help

I recently received from the Nova Scotia Archives a notice that they have digitized a large number of old, and fragile nitrate negatives, and they need your help!

A selection of 150 negatives of "turn-of-the-last-century black-and-white photos showing Nova Scotians having fun at home and far away, including the Canadian West, Italy, Japan, maybe Russia and some places we cannot identify. Perhaps you can help us?"

They can be seen on Flickr at http://www.flickr.com/photos/nsarchives/

They are looking for details such as locations, landmarks, the identity of those photographed, the year or decade, and other pieces of information that will add useful context.

We look forward to your contributions! Tags added to the photos will be
screened by Archives staff for accuracy, and then used in the next few
months to create a permanent virtual exhibit.

Monday, October 3, 2011

New/Improved Canadian Websites and Blogs Week 5

Here are some of the websites, and blogs that I have come across the week ending Ocotber 2nd, 2011 -

Sherratt Family - From England to Canada http://sherrattfamily.com As the website says, "The main focus is on the paternal side, surname, SHERRATT dating back to the mid 1700s from Brown Edge, Norton in the Moors and Talke Pitts, Audley, Staffordshire, England to Ontario and British Columbia, and Hillcrest, Alberta area, Canada".

1837 Toronto - Home District Directory www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~onyork. You can search the surnae database of The Home District - that is the old name for the area - and it covers not only York County but also much of Simcoe, Peel and Ontario (now Durham) Counties.

Canadian Great War Project www.canadiangreatwarproject.com The website says that this site is "The Canadian Great War Project is intended to promote interest in Canada's participation in World War 1, commonly referred to as the Great War, to research the Canadians who participated in the Great War 1914-1919 or other nationalities who served in the CEF".

Provincial government has legislated Sept. 28 as British Home Child Day www.innisfilscope.com/news/2011-09-28/Front_Page/KIDS_Up_to_70000_children_settled_in_Ontario.html A news story about the British Home Children, and how they served in the First World War.

Eagle River Ontario Historical Image Gallery www.spruce.ca/eagleriverpic/gallery The Eagle River Ontario Historic Gallery has a collection of images and other items from the early settlers and their families of the Eagle River area.

Kahn Family Genealogy:A History http://kahngenealogy.wordpress.com "This is about the history of our line of the Kahn family. Our roots are in Germany, but branches spread to Luxembourg, France, England, Canada, the USA and, perhaps, elsewhere. "

The Forest City: A look at the history and genealogy of London, Ontario www.forestcity.blogspot.com I came across this blog the other day, and what a nice blog it is about the history of London, Ontario.

Updates – The Canada Gazette (1841-1997) www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/canada-gazette/index-e.html As the website says, the "Library and Archives Canada (LAC) commemorates the 170th anniversary of the Canada Gazette by making accessible the digitized back issues, from 1841 to 1997, on its website dedicated to this official publication."
I wrote about this site on Saturday http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2011/10/update-canada-gazette-1841-1997.html, and gave examples of genealogy you can find within The Canada Gazette.

Durham Genealogical Resources www.durhamgen.com The website says that they are starting to digitize all the cemeteries in the area, and you are advised to check back often.

Upper Canada Genealogy www.uppercanadagenealogy.com/index.html A commercial site offering research services by Janice Nickerson, as well as some free Upper Canada resources. She also has a new book, Crime and Punishment in Upper Canada: A Researcher's Guide. $