Saturday, June 16, 2012

Toronto Branch Letter and Resolution - The LAC

Gwyneth Pearce from the Toronto Branch of the OGS sent this announcement to me the other day, and it says -  

"I am writing on behalf of the Toronto Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society to let you know about our response to the recently announced cuts to funding and staff at Library and Archives Canada.

At its annual general meeting on 28 May 2012, the Toronto Branch approved a resolution to send a letter to both the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages and the Prime Minister of Canada expressing our serious concerns about the cuts.

The letter, signed by Branch Chair Diana Thomson, urges the government of Canada to consider alternatives to the planned service reductions and elimination of programs at LAC so that Canada’s precious documentary and published heritage will be preserved and remain available for future generations".

The Toronto Branch letter and resolution are both posted on our website at www.torontofamilyhistory.org.

Friday, June 15, 2012

Cuts at Library and Archives Will Affect Genealogists

In May of this year, the OGS put this on their blog. It reads - 

Cuts at Library and Archives Canada will Affect Genealogists
May 18th, 2012

Recently several cuts were announced by Library and Archives Canada (LAC). These cuts will affect the ability of LAC to provide a high level of service to researchers and will affect the public’s ability to access records housed at LAC. Additionally, LAC has announced cuts to programs that support archives throughout Canada, which will affect the ability of these organizations to continue to make Canada’s documentary history accessible.

What do these cuts mean?

Our access to Canada’s documentary history, as well as its continued preservation, has been put in jeopardy.

How will these cuts affect genealogical researchers?

1. LAC will be reducing their hours, restricting the public’s access to knowledgeable archivists and reference staff, and genealogical inquiries will require appointments.

2. The inter-library loan program will be cancelled as of February 2013. Previously researchers could request that documents be sent to their local library, free of charge. Examples of these documents included microfilms of passenger lists and census records, or published books held in the library collection. The cancellation of this program means that researchers must travel to Ottawa to view these records, or hire a researcher in the Ottawa area to access the records for them.

3. The number of staff employed at LAC is being reduced by approximately 20%. Not only does this mean a reduction in service to researchers, it will also affect LAC’s ability to catalogue books, describe archival collections, and digitize the collection.

4. LAC’s collection mandate is changing. Previously LAC’s role was to preserve Canada’s cultural and historical heritage, but now the focus has shifted to preserving the documents of the federal government. This means that private business records and the documentary history of ordinary Canadians are no longer being actively collected. Already several important pieces of Canada’s Aboriginal and military history have been acquired by private collectors both inside and outside of Canada.

5. Small and medium-sized archives throughout the country have been dependent upon funding administered through LAC. The elimination of this funding puts their ability to preserve their collections at risk. This funding, in the past, has allowed these institutions to properly describe archival records, digitize collections, create archival exhibitions, and hire new archival professionals.

If these changes concern you:

Write a letter to: your MP, the Minister of Canadian Heritage & Official Languages, the Prime Minister, and/or your local newspaper. Outline how these cuts will affect your ability to research and access Canada’s documentary history.
Members of Parliament:
http://www.parl.gc.ca/MembersOfParliament/MainMPsCompleteList.aspx?Language=E

Have you written your letter today?

 

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Live Streaming at SCGS


Did anyone else try to go to the Streaming Video, called Live Streaming, from the Southern California Genealogical Society this past weekend?
Well, I was successful in watching five lectures. But I had problems with the others - I just couldn’t log on for some reason, and I joined others who had the same problem as I according to the message page.
You had to register for each session separately, and that seemed to be the root of the problem.  Having  to  register for each one. Hopefully, they will get it fixed by next year.
However, the five I did hear were –
Steve Luxenberg – His talk was about a family secret (his mother had a secret that no one knew about – a sister), and the method he used to find out about her. Quite thought provoking!
Kerry Bartels – He is an archivist at the Pacific National Archives on the West Coast, and took us through his own journey of privately archiving his own personal family papers that were found in the family home in the mid-west.  The family was originally from Switzerland.
Warren Bittner – This lecture was really interesting on establishing relationships within a family. He took the case of his grand-mother , and tried through census records, city directories, obituaries etc to find her family in New York City. He showed how to work with complex evidence to find the family when they didn’t appear on the census at first glance.  
D. Joshua Taylor – I try never to miss him – he is that good! He talked about using Compiled Genealogies, and how you can use them to work on your own genealogy.
Examples of Compiled Genealogies are journal articles, local history books, Family Associations.
Kerry Bartels – I heard him again. And this time he talked about military records.
I was bemused by the parallels of the National Archives in Washington and our own LAC – the lack of indexes by name of digitised records. This is exactly what we don’t like about the LAC as they put on more, and more of the records without providing a name index. Example, the War of 1812 record!
Unfortunately, the Live Streaming won’t be repeated for Free, but will only be available at the site on the member’s page. Too bad – because it was good what I saw of it!
But they do put on Webinars on a bi-weekly basis. I have listened to them, and the topics are very good.
And there was a 27 page Syllabus (which was available as PDF), and it is full of information for people who have ancestors in the States. The information on William Bittner’s talk was really helpful.
But in spite of everything, I would like to thank Pat Hinkle, the 1st Vice-President  of the SCGS, for all the work she does in making the Jamboree a worthwhile event.
The next one is on June 20th, and it will feature Rick Crume, and his topic will be “Genealogy Hacking: Tricks to Crack Genealogy Web Sites”.
Go to www.scgsgenealogy.com to register for the Webinar.

Sunday, June 10, 2012

May 2012 Families



Being the editor, I am really proud of this issue, because it is all about Sharing Your Family History!

The first article is Four Women and Four Legacies by Dr. Joseph Wearing.

The paper tells the history of the four Thompson women who were from Ireland, and who eventally lived in London, and Petrolia, Ontario.

Dr. Wearing shows us how to research and use wills, and property transcripts to trace female ancestry of our family. A thoughtful, exciting read!

Guylaine Petrin comes back with another paper entitled Who Was Jane Ross Kingston?, and she takes us to court and burial records in Upper Canada to prove who she really was - or wasn't.

As I noted in my editoral "Once again, she shows that using court records can bring much of family history to life, and goes a lomg way in proving the existance of a person".

Another paper in this issue is Of Buttermilk and Banjos: A Glimpse into the History of Blacks in Norfolk County in which the former archivist of the Eva Brook Donly Museum and Archives,  Scott Gilles, takes us to daily like as it was lived by Black Canadians in the mid-1800s.

Gwen Patterson in her column Where Are Those Records? writes about George Gordon, the earliest merchant- in Penetanguishene, and Brooke Skelton in her paper The English Settlement Examination Record for William Bennett of Chedzoy, Somerset in which a chance reading of a certain document in an archives solved a huge genealogical problem.

The next issue of Families will be released the first week in August, and it will feature the First Prize winner in the Keffer Essay Contest - Virginia Reid with the paper How an Old Handkerchief Helped Me, the First Prize of the Dr. Don Brearley Student Essay Award which is William Vollmer with his paper A Mastery Like No Other, and a real exciting paper The Family of Jacob Phillips and Sarah "Sally" Kaaka of Etobicoke: An Overview by Dave Phillips.

The site of the Ontario Genealogical Society is http://www.ogs.on.ca/.

Friday, June 8, 2012

Events in Canadian Genealogy


A few meetings have come across the desk lately, and they are -

The Kitchener Ontario Stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Later-day Saints will be holding a one day seminar One World - One Family on August 25, 2012 from 9 am to 4pm, 1250 Strasburg Road, Kitchener Ontario. 

The guest speakers include J. Brian Gilchrist, Darryl Bonk, Paul F. Smart, Noel Elliot – check out the website for more speakers and the excellent workshops.

$15.00 for early registration by 30th June 2012, and from July 1, 2012, the registration will be $20.00. Lunch cost is included with registration.


       The website is at www.oneworldonefamily-theevent.com

Quebec Family History Society

Members and non-members are invited to attend the all-day seminar, A Genealogical Day in Ireland, on Saturday, June 9. President Gary Schroder and member Lorraine Gosselin will explain how to find Irish ancestors in Quebec and in Ireland. They will discuss the major genealogical resources that are available in Ireland and on the Internet.

$30.00 fee for members and non-members. Bring your lunch or you may purchase one at the bakery next door. Reservations required: 514-695-1502.

Go to the website www.qfhs.ca

BIFHSGO AGM

BIFHSGO is holding their AGM tomorrow morning at 9:00 along with their Great Moments in Genealogy featuring the following four talks -

Finding Uncle Percy’s Naval Service Record by Betty Warburton

My Journey to the Middle of Nowhere by Judy Thamas

Scottish and English Architects of the Chateau Laurier and Union Station by David Jeanes

Not so Hidden Treasures at the BIFHSGO Library and Ottawa City Archives by Ann Burns.

The meeting will be held at Library and Archives Canada, 395 Wellington Street, Ottawa.


Genealogy Workshop 

The June meeting of the Quinte OGS Branch will be a workshop covering how to use Quinte Branch Library and Online Resources such as the Names Index Database finding aid and Cemsearch.

They will explain the library catalog reference codes and how to interpret them to gain additional information. Some members have asked for a review of genealogy software so they will demonstrate some popular programs too. The members and guests are asked to bring to bring along their research problems which we will try to answer.

The meeting will be held at
1 pm at 7 Creswell Drive, Trenton.

Thursday, June 7, 2012

Keffer Writing Contest


Every year, the Ontario Genealogical Society sponsors a writing contest called the Keffer Writing Contest – and this year – it was something special. We had 14 entrants!

From the 14 essays – four were chosen as winners, and they are -

First Place goes to Virginia Reid, and her essay "How an Old Handkerchief Helped Me"

Second Place goes to Debra Butler Honor UE, and her essay "The Stain Glass Mystery"

Third Place goes to Anne Rahamut, and her essay "Mrs. Teepell's Tale"

and

Fourth Place goes to David Harper, and his essay "Tracing 19th Century Homesteading"

If you want to see the rules for entry, go to www.ogs.on.ca/home/essay.php

If you aren't a member, they have a special offer where you can join for $35.00 for a six month period, and be eligible to submit an essay. Plus, there is lots of records on the OGS Members Site.

There will be one essay published per issue of Families, starting with the August 2012 issue.

The deadline for the 2013 contest is November 1, 2012.






Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Some Notes From the OGS Conference


As you know, I didn't attend the OGS Conference in Kingston this year, but there has been some news that has come from the conference -

Shirley Sturdevant has been chosen OGS President for the 2012 -2012. Shirley is from Chatham, and she has worked with the Kent Branch, held the position of Region 1 Director for three years, and served in the role of Society Vice-President for the past two years.

Mike More has assumed the position of the new Vice-President for the OGS. Mike has served with the Ottawa Branch since 1992 in a variety of positions including Chair for several years and has also held the position of Region 8 Director for the past two years.

Congratulations to both!

Thanks to John D. Reid at www.anglo-celtic-connections.blogspot.com for passing along the news that the Ontario BMD will be released in a couple months – and they will be online - digitized and indexed for the first time on the Archives of Ontario website!

They will add an extra year for births (the year 1915 will be added), marriages (the year 1930 will be added), and deaths (the year 1940 will be added).

John says it will be a couple of months before they appear at www.archives.gov.on.ca/english/archival-records/interloan/vsmain.aspx