Showing posts with label Research. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Research. Show all posts

Friday, March 14, 2014

Mocavo offer free access

Cliff Shaw in his blog at Mocavo is offering all Mocavo Basic members free access to all of the premium Mocavo Gold features until Sunday at midnight. 

Over the past few months, he says, “we received so much positive feedback about our free access weekends is offering that we decided to do it again!

Back by popular demand, all Mocavo Basic members can now access all of the premium Mocavo Gold features for free until Sunday at Midnight. This means you can search our entire collection to your heart’s content, upload your tree to receive new discovery alerts, download and print any document you find, and much more”!

During their last free offer, I found a marriage notice of my g-g-aunt Aunt Louisa Barclay (daughter of Andrew Barclay from Shelburne, Nova Scotia) to Caleb Haley of California (formerly of Yarmouth, Nova Scotia) in a New York newspaper. I had been looking for a notice of her marriage for years, because I had been lead to believe they were married in Yarmouth, even though I had known she had taken frequent trip to New York. There is a lesson here - 

Thursday, March 13, 2014

OGS Conference 2014

Steve Fulton U.E., on behalf of the OGS Conference 2014 Committee, has sent out an invite and a reminder that the conference is almost most here! 

The Conference is between May 1 to 4th at Brock University in St Catharines, and here are some of the activities - 

  • Hank Jones Jr - Banquet Speaker - Coming from California

  • Chris Paton - Houston Lecture Speaker - Coming from Scotland

  • Saturday Morning Plenary - International Panel on Social Media

  • Thursday Board Meeting & Greet at Donnelly's Pub in Thorold


They are also providing an opportunity for those who can't come for whatever reason. They will be streaming 7 speakers onto the Internet so you can view them in your home. 

Three Speakers will be streamed in from their locations (England, Salt Lake City & British Columbia). 

Other amazing Speakers and opportunities to meet other genealogists!


Tuesday, March 11, 2014

FamilySearch Online Training is NOW a Click Away

Kudos to FamilySearch because now you can now get training through the use of  their online manuals. 

Some of the manuals which are available are - 

The Family Tree Reference Manual 

The FamilySearch Learning Center (on this site is the 2014 RootsTech live streaming talks) plus other videos – and they are all FREE)

The Training Link

The Family Tree Quick Start Guide

Friday, March 7, 2014

Family History Library: Orders for Microfilm and Fiche Will Be Restricted During April, 2014


FamilySearch posted this notice on their blog Mar 6th –

“The Granite Mountain Vault will be shifting a large amount of films into their newly renovated space. This entails moving half a million rolls of film, and numerous cabinets of fiche and digital media. Since it will be risky to pull items during this time, the Family History Library will not be able to order microfiche or any microfilms above 1,881, 705. Film and fiche with numbers less than 1,881,704 and lower can still be ordered.

This move is scheduled for early April of 2014 and will last about two weeks. Another update will be posted as soon as we have more information.

We are sorry for the inconvenience”.

Thursday, March 6, 2014

The Times are A-Changing!


Sunday, March 9, the GANS Office Open from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm located at 3258 Isleville Street, Halifax, NS

The time is changing this weekend, but don't be sad! If you're tired on Sunday because you lost an hour's sleep, you can just come into the GANS office in your PJs. We don't mind!

The Office is open to everyone. Stop by to chat, do some internet research, check out our library or buy a publication or membership. Bring a friend!

Web: http://www.NovaScotiaAncestors.ca
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/NovaScotiaAncestors
Twitter: @NSAncestors

The book catalogue of the OGS is on VITA

The Book Catalogue and the Cemetery Locator of the OGS has been moved to VITA, a division of OurOntario (a site which tells the story of Ontario) at http://vitacollections.ca/ogscollections/search

Some feature are –

Family Histories

You can now search our Family History Collection at VITA

Periodicals

The entire Periodical Collection is easier to search. They have now been able to provide more info for their Branch Newsletters, i.e., location information for branch libraries and contact information.

Mystery Photos

They have had the Mystery Photos site on their OGS Old Photos flickr site for a while, and now they have moved them over to the new VITA site and have them all accessible in one place.

WWI Memorial Wall

I know that the OGS has wanted to do something like this for a number of years. If you have a WWI vet in your family and you would like to share their photo and a bit about their life, the OGS would be honoured to include your WWI vet on our Memorial Wall.

Where are your Ontario Roots?

This is brand new for OGS, an interactive feature where you can share a bit of history about your family and your Ontario roots! You will find this located on the top right hand corner of the page.

Contact librarian@ogs.on.ca if you have any questions.

Editor’s Note: Your editor has used this new service and has found it to be very good. I had a series of surnames, and place names that I wanted to check, and the search feature worked very fast and was complete. Have you tried it yet? How did you find it? Was it a good finding research tool, or could it be improved?

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Was your ancestors buried in Ottawa between 1828 and 1845?

I first became aware of this story at the end of last year, while doing the Canadian Week in Review, my weekly online newspaper summary.

As it turned out, the construction crew with the Light Rail Tunnel who has been digging beneath Queen Street in downtown Ottawa, came upon burials in the area.

Subsequently, it was determined that they were the remains in the Barrack’s Hill Cemetery, and that they would have to be removed and reburied elsewhere.

So Ontario's Registry of Cemeteries is looking for descendants of persons buried in the Barrack’s Hill Cemetery which existed near Elgin & Queen Streets in Ottawa between 1828 and 1845.

Descendants will have a say in where the remains are placed if they contact the Registrar by March 21, 2014.

You can contact the registry by going to http://www.omba.com/contact_government.php

For a history of the Barrack’s Hill Cemetery, you can go to the http://www.ottawagraphy.ca/bayfkeyword/cemeteries

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

A Kensington Market Childhood

There will be an upcoming event at the Lillian H. Smith Library at 239 College Street Toronto called A Kensington Market Childhood on March 20th, 2014 at 6:30 pm.

Leslie McGrath, Head, Osborne Collection of Early Children’s Books will present a talk on the programs for children run by the Toronto Public Library from Boys and Girls House on St. George St., and Lillian Butovsky will talk about growing up above the family grocery store at 45 Bellevue Avenue, the youngest child and only daughter of Joe and Sadie Winemaker. Lillian will share memories of growing up in Kensington Market with her five older brothers in the 1940s.

Information is available at http://www.kmhs.ca

The Toronto Public Library has an on-going series of lectures Finding Your Roots at the Library, as well as Grace: A Teacher’s Life, One Room Schools, and a Century of Change in Ontario on March 19th, 2014 at 7:30 p.m. at the North York Central Library, Room 1.

Join Millie Morton as she talks about her book. Hear about how it was to grow up on a farm, teach in one-room schools, and live in small rural Ontario communities

Go to the Toronto Public Library genealogy website at http://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/programs-and-classes/categories/history-genealogy.jsp

Friday, February 28, 2014

RootsTech 2014 Wrap-up


FamilySearch has put on a wrap-up of the Roots Tech Conference 2014 on their blog at https://familysearch.org/blog/en/rootstech-2014-wrapup.

They say that nearly 13,000 people attended this year’s conference, and there will be another 130,000 people are expected to attend local history fairs as they are held throughout the world in the months ahead.

I was interested to read that Dennis Brimhall, CEO of FamilySearch, talked about “the dash,” - the line between the date of birth and the date of death on a person’s tombstone or genealogical record. 

The blog says that “He described how traditionally genealogy tends to focus on names, dates, and places in a family tree. However, the expanding interest in family history today, where the vast majority of people are drawn into their ancestors’ lives, focuses on the countless stories represented by the dash”. 

I have been working on a column for an online magazine in which I discuss the question Is Family History morphing into Life Stories? I layout the process which I think has spurred the subject forward from genealogy, to family history (social history) and finally to life stories (personal history). It is now a combination of all three disciplines – ending with the life story of an ancestor. 

I will let you know when the column is published.

Thursday, February 27, 2014

Seafarers of the Atlantic Provinces, 1787 - 1936

This is an interesting index to me on a personal notes, because my ggg uncle James Barclay is in the database as well as his son Andrew from Shelburne, Nova Scotia. They owned ships - James owned a schooner called the Superb in 1842, and Andrew owned three ships – a brigantine called the Argus in 1837, a brigantine called the Ina in 1851, and a schooner called the Surprise in 1862. They were in the trading business and carried lumber and fish from Shelburne to the Caribbean, and fruit from the Caribbean back to such eastern American ports as New York, then back to Shelburne for more lumber and fish.

They were descendant from the Loyalist Andrew Barclay (1738-1823) from Scotland, Boston and New York. This was rewarding to me because I had looked for these records for years, and had not expected to find them, although I knew about the records at the Maritime History Archives in St. John’s Newfoundland. So this time Ancestry.ca brought them to me! Thank you, Ancestry for putting this index online!

Here is the announcement -

“This is a fully searchable database containing data on the vessels, captains and crews of Great Britain and Atlantic Canada, 1787-1936. This index-only collection contains records of crew members, masters, and ship owners for vessels registered in Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island. The collection comprises several sources from the Maritime History Archive in Newfoundland & Labrador. It is fully searchable by name, and other particulars and the records include a wealth of information including birth and residence, rank, voyage departure and arrival places and dates, vessel name and registration, and even wages and deaths at sea.

Records for the following ports are included:

· Miramichi, New Brunswick (1828–1914)

· Richibucto, New Brunswick (1880–1914)

· Saint John, New Brunswick (1820–1914)

· St. John’s, Newfoundland (1820–1936)

· Halifax, Nova Scotia (1812–1889)

· Sydney, Nova Scotia (1820–1914)

· Pictou, Nova Scotia (1820–1914)

· Windsor, Nova Scotia (1849–1914)

· Yarmouth, Nova Scotia (1840–1914)

· Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island (1787–1914)

Details you may find in the records include:

· name

· age

· birth year

· birthplace

· residence place

· voyage departure date & port

· voyage arrival date & port

· date joined present ship

· discharge date

· rank

· wages

· discharge description

· vessel name, type, registration place, year constructed

The Maritime History Archive will research some of the records in its custody and provide reports and/or copies of documents on request for a fee. For more information on this collection and the Archives’ research services, visit the MHA website.

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

FamilySearch has designated 2014 as “The Year of the Obituary’’

Now here is an exciting announcement that FamilySearch.org made at RootsTech 2014 -

The year 2014 has been designated as “The Year of the Obituary” for FamilySearch. We know that many family history centers have clipped obituaries from newspapers and we’d like to place these collections online on the FamilySearch website. FamilySearch will scan and digitize the collections. They will then be indexed and placed online. Digitizing obituaries will make these valuable collections easier to access and simpler to attach to FamilyTree. Information gathered from obituaries will help users to add people and data to Family Tree.

Here are some guidelines for what FamilySearch wants to collect:

· These records should be actual obituaries, not indexes.

· They must be camera-ready which means the obituaries should be attached to the same-sized cards (3×5, 4×6) or to 8 1/2 by 11 inch paper.

· If you have already indexed the collection and it is in paper format, please include that with your submission.

After the obituaries are scanned, you may request that they be returned to you or discarded.

If you have a collection you would like to submit to FamilySearch, please contact Nathan Murphy at murphynw@familysearch.org

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Newfoundland Index of Birth, Marriage & Death Notices from Newspapers, 1810–1890

Ancestry.ca has announced a new database –

“This collection from the Maritime History Archive in St. John’s, Newfoundland & Labrador, includes an index to birth, marriage, and death notices from 42 Newfoundland newspapers. Entries from 1825 through 1890 were originally compiled in 13 volumes by Gertrude (Murray) Crosbie and then added to by the Maritime History Archive from newspapers dating back to 1810.

Almost all the entries are for eastern Newfoundland since the newspapers are primarily from St. John's, Newfoundland. The Newspaper notices collection can corroborate what you already know, or adds new names and/or details. It is an easy source to use to search for a family name or an individual. The database can also include disasters such as fire, outbreaks of disease and death by suspicious circumstances as well as trace the careers for members of the clergy, coroners, justices of the peace, surveyors and other government officials. People had to pay for an entry in the BMD column, so they may not include those individuals of lesser means”.

There are more than 40,000 records in the collection, which can include:

· name

· newspaper title and date

· age

· gender

· residence

· event type, place, and date

· place of burial for some deaths

· church

· cause of death

· spouse’s name and residence

· parents’ names

· comments

The website is at http://search.ancestry.ca/search/db.aspx?dbid=9275

Sunday, February 23, 2014

MyHeritage and a BillionGraves Announcement



MyHeritage and a BillionGraves have a new imitative to announce  -

Dear friends

I'm delighted to share with you that MyHeritage has teamed up with BillionGraves to launch a global initiative to digitally preserve the world's cemeteries.

As we know, gravestones are very important for genealogy due to the rich information they contain, such as names, dates and biographical details. But there are thousands of cemeteries worldwide whose gravestones have never been documented nor has their information been made available or searchable online.

In addition, time is chipping away at the gravestones and many are becoming unreadable over the years.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll be working with our global community to preserve and document gravestones worldwide, for future generations, using the BillionGraves app. The app uses patent-pending technology to let users photograph and document gravestones, and, with the help of MyHeritage, the app will be available in 25 languages, and will support Gregorian, Hebrew and Julian dates. The app also records the GPS locations of gravestones to make them easy to find, and volunteers can easily see which areas of any cemetery remain undocumented, to maximize efficiency and avoid duplication.

The records will be available free on BillionGraves' website, and MyHeritage's search engine for historical records, SuperSearch. MyHeritage's Record Matching technologies will ensure that our users will receive notifications whenever a gravestone matches their family tree.

Best regards

Daniel Horowitz
Chief Genealogist and Translation Manager

At the same time they issued a news release in which they said –

“We’re thrilled to embark on this global initiative with BillionGraves", said Gilad Japhet, Founder and CEO of MyHeritage. “Gravestones are among the most valuable information sources for family history research, and although there are many thousands of cemeteries worldwide, most of them have never been documented, and their information is not available online. Time is chipping away at the gravestones and many are becoming unreadable over the years, so it’s up to our generation to preserve them.”

“We’re delighted to work with MyHeritage on digitizing the world’s cemeteries”, said Hudson Gunn, President of BillionGraves. “At BillionGraves we are working to provide a comprehensive family history database for records and images from the world’s cemeteries—but it’s not something we can do alone.With MyHeritage’s support in mobilizing its massive user community and working with us to launch in 25 languages, we’ll be able to provide incredible value for millions of families and preserve this valuable data for generations to come.”

Over the coming weeks, MyHeritage users will receive documentation about the project and will be able to download the application via a special website designed for this project.

MyHeritage is available at www.myheritage.com

Friday, February 21, 2014

THE BEAUREPAIRE-BEACONSFIELD HISTORICAL SOCIETY


 The Beaurepaire-Beaconsfield Historical Society meets for lectures each 3rd Thursday of the month. Everyone welcome. Free for members and $2 for non-member. Become a member for just $5 per year.

For 2014, our theme is The United Empire Loyalists

There will be a lecture entitled The United Empire Loyalists: an overview and it will be presented by Robert Wilkins.

A general overview of the United Empire Loyalists, what made them who they were, their diversity(religious, linguistic and racial), and their heritage in Canada today, with a couple of specific examples, just to illustrate what they lived through and experienced during the Revolutionary War and afterwards when getting re-established in what remained of British North America (now Canada).

Lecture in English, bilingual question period.

WHEN: Thursday, March 20, 2014, at 7:30 p.m.

WHERE: Centennial Hall, 288 Beaconsfield Blvd, Beaconsfield, H9W 4A4 

Information: 514-695-2502 or http://www.hist-beaurepaire-beaconsfield.com

They have a very interesting website which tells the history of the BEAUREPAIRE-BEACONSFIELD area of Quebec. There are many on-going projects, exhibits, and histories of  people who use to live in the area.

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Early Bird pricing for Conference 2014 will end on Feb. 28th, 2014




Until Feb 28th a full weekend package (covering Friday night, Saturday and Sunday lectures) is only $120 for members and $150 for non-members.

The price increases on March 1st, 2014.

Check out the prices and register at https://www.ogs.on.ca/conference2014/register.php

Conference 2014 committee is making arrangements for shuttle buses to operate between the Conference at Brock University and accommodations at the Niagara-on-the-Lake campus of Niagara College. More details on the shuttles and costs will be available shortly.

Registrants who will not be bringing their own vehicle to Conference are advised to book their accommodations at the Niagara on the Lake location: http://www.stayrcc.com/properties/view/index/Niagara-on-the-Lake

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Tools to help you tell the Story of Your Family

Pierre Clouthier of Progeny Genealogy will give a talk at the Genealogical Association of Nova Scotia on Saturday, February 22, 2014 at 2:00 p.m. in the Akins A/V room at the Nova Scotia Archives on University Avenue, Halifax.

They say that "Pierre has been programming computers since 1965, learning FORTRAN at the University of Montreal. He has programmed for the life insurance industry, computer manufacturing and sales, electronic publishing, food, transportation, telecommunications, paper, petroleum, banking, electric utilities, provincial and municipal governments. His grandfather got him interested in genealogy in the 1970s.

Progeny Genealogy was founded in 1995, to develop and distribute graphics software to genealogists in over 50 countries. Progeny has partnered with Ancestry.com, Corel, Mindscape, The Learning Company, Individual Software, and the LDS Church. Their mission is to help you tell the story of your family".

And he will be offering a 40% discount on sales of his software CDs at the meeting.

The general public is invited to join us for this free lecture!

For more information on our lecture series visit
http://www.NovaScotiaAncestors.ca or you can phone 902.454.0322 or email them at Info@NovaScotiaAncestors.ca

Saturday, February 15, 2014

Statement by the Prime Minister of Canada on National Flag Day


February 15, 2014

Ottawa, Ontario

Prime Minister Stephen Harper today issued the following statement to mark National Flag of Canada Day:

“The Canadian flag is an inspiring and endearing symbol that unites Canadians from coast to coast to coast. It is equated both at home and abroad with a peaceful and progressive country of enormous natural beauty, prosperity and generosity of spirit. At no time is national pride in our flag more evident than during the Olympic Games, and it is certainly on prominent display in Sochi over so many podiums and around so many of our magnificent athletes. We could not be more proud.

“In keeping with the recent tradition of presenting a Peace Tower flag to deserving Canadians, I am deeply honoured to present this symbol of our country to Gordon Burke and Jan Phelan, parents of the late Sarah Burke, who are accompanied today by widower Rory Bushfield. Sarah was a gifted athlete, a trailblazer in freestyle skiing, and one of the principal reasons why the half pipe was introduced as an Olympic sport this year in Sochi, Russia. She was a great Canadian whose efforts have had a remarkable impact on the world of sport, and whose story has touched the nation. Her legacy will live on in the many athletes who take up the sport she so championed.

“On this day, I invite all Canadians to take a moment and reflect on our national icon and what it means to be Canadian.”

February 15 was declared National Flag of Canada Day in 1996. To celebrate this special day in Canadian history, each year the Peace Tower flag is presented to a Canadian who has exemplified the values our country holds most dear.

To read about the history of National Flag Day, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Flag_of_Canada_Day and go to http://www.pch.gc.ca/eng/1359736104513


FUNDING FOR GENEALOGICAL PROJECTS

 

The Ottawa Branch of the Ontario Genealogical society is offering grants of up to $2,500 each to support genealogically related projects within the geographical area under the Ottawa Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society, which includes the amalgamated City of Ottawa, the United Counties of Prescott & Russell, the County of Lanark and the County of Renfrew. The total grant money available for 2014 is $5,000.

Acceptable projects will contribute to the knowledge of genealogical techniques and to the knowledge of genealogy relating to names, places, dates and family histories. This can include creating publications, developing databases, digitization of archival material collections, hosting training sessions and workshops, and the preservation of archival material collections. This grant is not meant to fund employees, or other in - house labour wages , but can be used to contract services and goods.

Only non - commercial entities may apply for this grant money including, genealogy societies, museums, archives, libraries, schools, historical societies, and community groups. An eligible applicant may submit more than one project proposal in any given year, and may apply in any year the grants are offered regardless of previous proposals or grants issued.

Successful applicants will be required to prepare and deliver a presentation related to their funded project at either a Branch Meeting or Ottawa Branch Conference. The support and funding given by the Ottawa Branch must be acknowledged with the logo, web address, and name of the Ottawa Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society appearing on all promotional material and/or physical aspects related to all projects receiving funding. Successful applicants must agree in writing to these conditions.

Application Deadline: March 15, 2014

Their website is at http://ogsottawa.on.ca/grants

Thanks to Gail Dever, Special Correspondent to Canadian Week in Review, for bringing this to our attention.

Friday, February 14, 2014

Heritage Day in Saskatchewan

The Yorkton Branch of the Saskatchewan Genealogy Society invites you to join them at “Heritage Day” on Sunday, February 16 at the Western Development Museum in Yorkton from 2 PM – 5 PM..

The theme of Heritage Day is “Have Fun with Heritage: Historic Places Made for Play”, with the goal of seeing the historical value of places designed for play.

The press release says that "Guest speakers will talk about interesting locations in the area that have special memories for them. You can take your genealogy work one step further and record special family stories and memories as part of your family archives.

Every family has a story: make this the year to discover yours with the Yorkton Branch of the Saskatchewan Genealogy Society”. 

The website is at http://www.saskgenealogy.com

The Western Development Museum where Heritage Day is being held is in the city of Yorkton. The website is http://wdm.ca

And they have a Family History File at http://www.wdmprairiegamble.com 

All Saskatchewan-based stories of family, community, organization and business history are welcome. The Family History Album is a perfect celebration of anniversaries, birthdays and family milestones like becoming a Century Farm.

Thursday, February 13, 2014

Montreal’s endangered buildings



Gail Dever, Special Correspondent to the Canadian Week in Review sends us this story -

The Montreal Gazette's two-page report about the city's top 10 endangered buildings will interest genealogists whose ancestors lived in Montreal.

The first one listed is Huguenot trader Pierre du Calvet's home that was built in 1770- 71 and is located in what is known today Old Montreal. He emigrated to New France in 1758 , one year before the battle of the Plains of Abraham, and rose to prominence under British rule as a merchant and justice of the peace.

The full story is on http://www.montrealgazette.com/Montreal+endangered+landmarks/9494291/story.html

Family historians researching their Huguenot ancestors should visit Michel Barbeau's bilingual website Huguenots Database at
http://pages.infinit.net/barbeaum/fichier, where he has identified 321 Huguenotswho emigrated to New France and established residence in New France from 1604 to 1763.

Thank you, Gail.