Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Holiday Sale!

In the spirit of providing readers of this blog with some great news about a terrific product, here is the latest news from Malcolm Moody of Archive CD Books Canada Inc. -

"WE HAVE CAUGHT SALES FEVER!

We have marked down ALL of our Canadian made CDs by UP TO 50%.  

Some CDs are only $7.00 each!

Sale prices are shown in the catalogue and will apply in the Shopping Cart.

(Sorry sale does not apply to Gleanings. They are ALWAYS at the minimum price.)

Don’t know how long we can keep this sale up. Shop early!"

Hurry to our Canadian Catalogue at:
http://www.archivecdbooks.ca/index.cfm?fuseaction=store.viewCatalog&lstCtl=8&lstCat=&lstSCat=#cat8

Archive CD Books Canada Inc.
President:  Malcolm Moody
PO Box 11,Manotick
Ontario, Canada K4M 1A2
Tel:(613) 692-2667 or 1-888-692-2660 - Toll-free
WEB SITE: http://www.ArchiveCDBooks.ca
FACEBOOK: http://tinyurl.com/ACDB-Can-on-Facebook

And here is a link to a review I recently did on them at http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2011/12/archive-cd-books-project.html

African-Canadian Societies


Josiah Henson (June 15, 1789 – May 5, 1883). He escaped to Dresden, Ontario in 1830, and founded a settlement and labourer's school for other fugitive slaves from the United States. He became the main character in Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin. You can visit the Uncle Tom's Cabin website at www.uncletomscabin.org.

It is thought that the first Black person to live in Canada was Mattheu Da Costa in 1605. He had come to Acadia with Samuel de Champlain (commonly referred to as the “Father of Canada”) on the ship, Jonas, from France.

Da Costa was the interpreter for the French with the Mi’kmaq natives of Nova Scotia, having been in Canada on previous occasions.

Here are some of the websites of Blacks in Canada -

Africville: The Spirit Lives On www.africville.ca This was a settlement of people of African descent who were former slaves, escaped slaves, and free people. In the 1960s, the community was destroyed in the theme of “urban renewal", but as the website says, “the community spirit continues to thrive today through annual gatherings and in the stories and photos of an aging generation”.

The Black Loyalist Heritage Society www.blackloyalist.com They are in the process of building a new centre to display the Black Heritage of Birchtown, Nova Scatia. There is also the Old School House Museum on site.

Black Cultural Centre for Nova Scotia www.bccns.com They just celebrated their 28th Anniversary this year, and they have just completed the 2011 Museum Renovation.

The Ontario Black History Society www.blackhistorysociety.ca. A genealogy webpage, www.blackhistorysociety.ca/genealogy_en_239cms.htm, offers leads in Black genealogy.

The Chatham-Kent Black Historical Society www.ckblackhistoricalsociety.org. The Chatham-Kent Black Historical Society has a current exhibit called “The Black Mecca in the Heritage Room“.

Tomorrow's Post: French-Canadian Societies

Monday, December 26, 2011

My List of Books for the Holidays

These are five books Canadian books that I have found particularly helpful to me during the past year, and which I have used in doing my own genealogy. I would suggest that you may find them helpful, too -

British Home Children: Their Stories. Compiled by the British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa (ISBN 978-1-926797-47-2). A compilation of personal essays in which 36 children tell their life stories of how they came to Canada, and the life they lived here between 1869 and 1948.

The book is available from Global Genealogy at http://globalgenealogy.com/countries/canada/home-children/resources/101189.htm


Tracing Your Irish Roots is published by Moorshead Magazines (ISBN 978-0-9781592-6-9). A great collection of fifteen articles previously printed by the publisher since 2005.

It is available through Moorshead Magazines at http://familychronicle.com/Best_of_Irish.htm


And as part of a series, her sister publication, Tracing Your English and Scottish Ancestors also has fifteen articles in it about English and Scottish genealogy.

It is available from http://familychronicle.com/best_of_engscot_contents.htm


One of the best books published in 2010—and which I use as my "go to" book on immigration, citizenship, and naturalization—is Dave Obee's book, Destination Canada: A Genealogical Guide to Immigration Records. (ISBN: 978-0-9735143-3-9)


For any questions that I am asked about immigration, I always include Obee's book in my searching for the answer because I want to make sure that I am aware of all of the facts surrounding immigration to Canada.

To read the rest of the review, go to http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2011/04/destination-canada.html.

The book is available from http://globalgenealogy.com/countries/canada/general/resources/319005.htm

Glenn Wright's Canadians at War 1914-1919, A Research Guide to World War One Service Records (ISBN13: 978-1-926797-45-5). This is a very detailed book on the resources available to a researcher on the Canadians who fought in the First World War.


A military archivist at Library and Archives Canada (LAC) before his retirement a number of year ago, he has left no stone unturned in his description of the resources available to the researcher. You can read the full review in Families, the journal of the Ontario Genealogical Society (a membership in the organization is required), or from Global Genealogy's listing at http://globalgenealogy.com/countries/canada/military/resources/101160.htm

Sunday, December 25, 2011

Holiday Season 2011

(Ottawa, December 25, 2011) Elizabeth Lapointe, editor of GenealogyCanada.blogspot.com, is publishing significants posts on Canada's genealogy, history, and heritage during the holiday season, from Boxing Day, December 26, until January 2, 2012.

Lapointe says, "Since the Holidays are festive in Canada, GenealogyCanada wants to share with all of its readers special postings highlighting some of the country's best genealogical resources, and at the same time, celebrating the blog's 4th blogiversary on January 2.

The Holiday postings will feature the following topics -

Dec 26 – List of Books for the Holidays
Dec 27 – African-Canadian Societies
Dec 28 – French-Canadian Societies
Dec 29 – Canadian Archival Societies
Dec 30 – Ontario Genealogical Groups
Dec 31 – Most Popular Pages of 2011
Jan 1 – Happy New Year!
Jan 2 – Our 4th Blogiversary!

It is hoped that you will enjoy all of the Holiday postings, and if you see something you like, be sure to pass the word of the blog and tell your friends that GenealogyCanada.blogspot.com welcomes everyone to drop by to say 'Hello!' My email is genealogycanada@aol.com.

Happy Holidays to you and yours, and all of the very best for a Happy and Prosperous New Year!"

About GenealogyCanada

GenealogyCanada.blogspot.com is a Canadian blog covering genealogy, heritage, and history. Over 600 posts have been published since January 2008.

At its sister website, www.genealogycanada.com one will find are numerous newsletters, columns, and other articles of interest, dating from 2002 to 2007, covering genealogy, heritage, and history, including the popular webpage, "Website Pick of the Month".
-30-

Saturday, December 24, 2011


This illustration was done for a Toronto newspaper by W. Bryce, who lived in the 1880s.

May I take this time of year to wish everyone a "Happy Holiday, and a Merry Christmas!"

I will be back on Monday with a regular posting, and it will cover my Christmas Reading List in place of my usual "New/Improved Canadian Websites and Blogs" post, which will be back in the new year.

Friday, December 23, 2011

War of 1812 Meetings

The War of 1812 will be a popular subject at the meetings of the OGS different Branches this winter and spring leading up to the OGS Conference in June at Kingston which features lectures on the subject.

Some of the upcoming meetings are -

On January 7, 2012 at 2:00 pm there will be a meeting at the Simcoe County Branch located at the LDS Church, 79 Ferris Lane, in Barrie, and title of the talk will be "The War of 1812: Why Canada is Not a U.S. State" by Ken Weber.

And then there will be a meeting on February 4, 2012 at 2 pm where Gwen Patterson will talk about "The Effect of the War of 1812 and of its Veterans on the Subsequent History of North Simcoe".

Contact information is available at http://www.simcoebogs.com

On Sunday 15th April 2012 there will be a meeting of the Hamilton Branch OGS at Hamilton Room, Hamilton Main Public Library, 55 York Boulevard, Hamilton.

The title of the talk is “The War of 1812 at the Head of the Lake: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Times”and the speaker will be Cheryl MacDonald

Contact information is available at http://www.ogs.on.ca/hamilton/contact1.html

On April 28, 2012 from 9:30 to 4:00 there will be a Spring Workshop of the Brant County Branch at the Branch Library at 118 Powerline Rd, Brantford.

In the morning, the speaker will be Roger Chrysler about "Britain in War of 1812".

Afternoon the talk will be about computer sites and military record resources.

Register by April 24 and $25 includes lunch. At door $30+$5 lunch.

For more information go to the website http://brantcountybranchogs.ca/Events.html


Thursday, December 22, 2011

Gaspesian British Heritage Village


This is a 'Living Village', a museum located in the Gaspe Region at the far eastern end of Quebec.  

There will be a course starting in the new year at the village, and it is called Cooking the Traditional Way in which a team of guest cooks will show how to make a range of dishes and baked goods using “real” food.

Participants take the food home.

It will be held on January 14, 21 and 28 at the New Richmond High School. The cost is $5.00 per session, Equipment available and ingredients provided.

To see the GBHV museum, please go to http://www.gaspesianvillage.com.


The Gaspe Peninsula http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~qcgaspe/index.html You can check the online resources such as Civil Registration, Church Records, Census Records, and Cemetery Records.

GoGaspe Genealogy http://www.gogaspe.com/index_en.php?page=genealogy.php There is a list of family sites called Gaspe Families, and Gaspe Links.