Tuesday, May 21, 2013

WHY AREN'T WE AMERICANS?

There will be an event Commemorating the 200th Anniversary of the action between H.M.S. Shannon and the USS Chesapeake, on June 2, 2013, 1:50 pm - 3:45 pm at St. Paul's Church and The Old Burying Ground - Halifax, Nova Scotia.

On June 1, 1813, USS Chesapeake, Captain James Lawrence, sailed out of Boston harbour to attack HMS Shannon, Captain Philip Broke. Certain of another British defeat, Bostonians anticipating the evening's victory banquet came out to sea to enjoy the fight. They were shocked to see that only fifteen minutes after the battle began, Chesapeake's ensign dropped. Up rose the Blue Ensign; below it, the Stars and Stripes appeared. His captain, severely wounded, his first lieutenant killed, it fell to 22-year-old Halifax born Provo Wallis, Shannon's second lieutenant, to command his ship. The third lieutenant, Charles Falkiner, took charge of the Chesapeake, giving special care to Lawrence, who lay in his wardroom, mortally wounded. The two frigates sailed eastward into the gathering darkness as the disappointed sightseers returned to Boston to report the unbelievable news. Chesapeake taken!

His Honour Brigadier General the Honourable J. J. Grant, CMM.ONS.CD (ret'd), Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia, will inspect the Maritime Forces Atlantic Honour Guard at the Grand Parade prior to the event commemorating ceremonies at St. Paul's Church.

Following the ceremony at St. Paul's we will continue on to the Old Burying Ground, on Barrington St. The Commemorative Service will take place from 3:00 pm to 3:45 pm.

For further information, please contact - Mr. Larry Camp-902-826-2630 or wendybrookpark@hotmail.com Chair of the Old Burying Ground Foundation.

Shannon vs. Chesapeake June 1813 http://ns1763.ca/hfxrm/shannon.html

Niagara Peninsula Branch Indexes Updates

Steve Fulton U.E., Chair of the Niagara Peninsula Branch OGS, tells us about the following indexes on the web site -

Surname Index - Contains over 24000 Pedigree Charts

Morse & Sons Funeral Home Records - Contains 19229 Funeral Records from 1828 to Sept 1963

Neff Young Index - Contains 19136 records of family histories, notes, newspaper clipping and memorabilia from Welland County

*NEW* Branch Publications Index - Contains 7998 various publication records for the Lincoln/Welland Area

Please check back often as indexes are being worked on.

Canadian Headstones Project - The Niagara Peninsula Branch continues to work on photographing headstones in the old Lincoln/Welland Counties. Just recently we crossed over the 20,000 mark and the number is continuing to climb.

Please visit http://canadianheadstones.com for your old Lincoln and Welland research needs.

For more information, please go to Niagara Peninsula Branch O.G.S. at www.ogs.on.ca/niagara