Saturday, April 13, 2013

Ottawa Genealogy Day

I am going to the Ottawa Genealogy Day on Saturday May 4th to be held at James Bartleman Centre, 100 Tallwood Drive, Ottawa, known locally as the City Archives.

It will start at 8:00 am with registration. The marketplace will open at that time, as well as the Computer Research Room.

It will officially start at 9 am, and I am going to spend that hour doing research in the Ontario Genealogical Society Branch Library which is onsite. I went to their library-holding catalogue, which they have online at http://ogsottawa.on.ca/library and checked the books they had for Leeds and Granville County, and they have books that I will check when I am there. (I I have just been informed by Mike More, that the reference room where the OGS library is located, does not open until 10:00 am on Saturdays. So I will do my library work between 12:00 and 1:00 pm, and visit the Marketplace at 9:00 am. Thanks, Mike.)

At 11:00, I will listen to Marthe Sequin-Muntz of the LAC give a presentation called Genealogy: the “Facebook” of the past: a look at Library and Archives Canada “Wall”.

I will have to ask if she had to “vent” her talk with the LAC management before she gave her talk to us. It seems the employees must now do that in order to give public addresses these days.

The second talk will be given by Shirley Ann Pyefinch called Utilising FamilySearch.org Information Resources.

The question I want to ask is about RootsTech 2014. Is a conference going to be held in Ottawa in February next year? And if it is going to be held in Ottawa, exactly what will it entail?

And the third talk I definitely want to hear is Glenn Wright’s talk about Great Revelations: Canada, Canadians and the 1921 Census. I want to ask if we have anyone in Canada to index the census as they did with the 1940 census in the States? Does he know if there are any groups who are organized to take on such a task?

As John D. Reid said in his blog yesterday at http://anglo-celtic-connections.blogspot.com/2013/04/50-days-to-go.html, there are only 50 days left before the 1921 census is released. We had better mobilize and organize a lot of indexers quickly if we plan to do something about this.

Are there any questions that you would like me to ask on your behalf? Just write to me at genealogycanada@aol.com with your questions, and I will endeavor to ask them.

So I will report on the "day" during the week of May 7th.

The website is at http://ogsottawa.on.ca

Friday, April 12, 2013

Cemetery Walking Tour – Vancouver's Mountain View Cemetery

On Saturday, April 27 from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm, there will be a Walking Tour, and it will focus on Mountain View’s 1919 Section. Meet at the Celebration Hall, 5445 Fraser Street (enter at 39th Ave.). The cost is $10 per person (cash only please).

Join Lorraine Irving from the BC Genealogical Society for a walking tour of the 1919 section of the cemetery. Located on the south side of 41st Avenue, this section is the last resting place for Joe Fortes, the best loved Vancouver lifeguard, and Janet Smith whose murder has never been officially solved. As well, there are other murder victims, those that died in the sinking of the S.S. Sophia and Britannia Mine disaster, there’s the first memorial for the Sons of Italy, a memorial for firemen, and much more.

On Monday, June 10 from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm, there will be a Walking Tour which will focus on Food Traditions at Mountain View. Meet at the Celebration Hall, 5445 Fraser Street (enter at 39th Ave.). $10 per person (cash only please).

The walking tout will be conducted by community historian Chris Mathieson as he takes you on a tour exploring the history of Vancouver’s relationship with food, through introductions to fishermen, farmers, hunters, shopkeepers, brewers and more. There will also be a discuss food traditions associated with death and cemeteries.

On Sunday, July 14th, from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm, there will be a Walking Tour of the Chinese, Japanese and Jewish Sections of Mountain View Cemetery. Meet at Celebration Hall, 5445 Fraser Street (enter at 39th Ave.). The cost of $10 per person (cash only please).

Historian Maurice Guibord leads a walk exploring the Chinese, Japanese and Jewish sections of Mountain View Cemetery. These sections are fascinating examples of the segregation that existed even in cemeteries during the 19th and 20th centuries. Each of these three areas evokes cultural traits of communities that were seeking a foothold in Vancouver’s society. We will discuss the disinterment of Chinese remains, until 1937, to be repatriated to China for reburial with their ancestors; the self-segregation of a burgeoning Jewish congregation; and the survival of an impressive swastika-decorated Japanese obellist through the Second World War.

On Sunday, August 4, there will be a Women’s History Walking Tour of Mountain View with Lorraine Irving, M. Diane Rogers and Jolene Cumming, co-sponsored by the BC Genealogical Society and the Herstory Cafe. Watch for details soon.

Vancouver’s Mountain View Cemetery tour information is at http://vancouver.ca/your-government/visit-mountain-view-cemetery.aspx

You can e-mail them at mountain.view@vancouver.ca, or phone them at 604. 325. 2646

Some other posts that I have put on over the years include –

Wednesday, February 27, 2013
UPDATE: Vancouver, British Columbia, Mountain View Cemetery Index, 1887-2007http://search.ancestry.ca/search/db.aspx?dbid=70665

Friday, October 26, 2012
All Souls Event at Vancouver’s Mountain View Cemetery An archived list of burials at Mountain View Cemetery is available here http://former.vancouver.ca/commsvcs/NONMARKETOPERATIONS/MOUNTAINVIEW/burials/index.htm

Find a Grave - Mountain View Cemetery and Crematorium
www.findagrave.com/php/famous.php?page=cem&FScemeteryid=1968309

Thursday, April 11, 2013

Nerses Photo Studio at the Niagara Peninsula Branch monthly meeting

Steve Fulton U.E., the Chair of the Niagara Peninsula Branch of the OGS, tells us the Branch will be hosting the Nerses Photo Studio this evening as they talk about photo restoration.

The topics will include photo restoration, storage and handling of old photographs. Please feel free to bring a couple of your photographs along with you to the meeting to either share or get a professional opinion of them from our speaker.

The Niagara Peninsula Branch is using the new streaming software (Adobe Connect) that supports MACs, tablets, PC and other devices.

Please visit them at www.ogs.on.ca/niagara and click on the Video Stream Button to join us.

The Nersess Photo Studio website is at www.nersesphoto.com

Military Records - Discover your ancestor's service


The Genealogical Association of Nova Scotia will hold its monthly meeting on April the 20th entitled Military Records - Discover your ancestor's service. The meeting will from 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm at the Akins A/V Room, Nova Scotia Archives, University Ave, Halifax, NS

The talk will be presented by Col. John Boileau, CD (Ret'd, a noted historian and acclaimed author, Colonel John Boileau, CD (Ret'd), will deliver a lecture on how to locate, decipher and learn about military service records and what they can tell you about your ancestor's life.

And the office will be open on Sunday, April 14th and Sunday, April 21st from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm - 3258 Isleville Street, Halifax, NS . The office is open all afternoon! Drop in to chat, do some research or purchase a publication.

Hope to see you there!

Their website is at http://www.novascotiaancestors.ca

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

UPDATE: The Ontario Name Index (TONI)

The latest news from the Ontario Genealogical Society, and the people who are working on the TONI database, is that they have 1,813,773 records online. As they reach the 2,000,000 mark - they find that they need more coordinators.

Anyone can use TONI. It is open to members and non-members alike, and they would look forward to hearing from you.

So if you can help, that would be great!

The records are available through the website, and Pay-Per-View (PPV) at www.ogs.on.ca/integrated/toni_databasesearch.php

The person to contact is Mike More, TONI Provincial Coordinator at toni@ogs.on.ca

Celebrating Our English Roots Day

Join us for this month's "Celebrating Our Roots Days," our theme is England! Drop by anytime during the afternoon for a cuppa tea, coffee, sweets and a "chin wag" about England and our ancestors who came from there.


Come browse the display of books from our English collection. If you are new to genealogy, talk to our members about how to start researching your family history.

Bring a coffee mug, a friend, your own favourite books and resources on Ireland that have helped you in your research, or just bring yourself.

Drop in from 1:30 pm to 4:00 pm at the QFHS Heritage Centre and Library, 173 Cartier Avenus, Pointe-Claire, Montreal.

Open to our members and the public. Admission is free.

Visit www.qfhs.ca/events.php
Thanks to Susan Gingras Calcagni, Director of Public Relations of the QFHS for letting us know.


Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Quinte OGS Branch Meeting

Sher Leetooze will talk about Scottish Research when the Quinte OGS Branch has their meeting on Saturday at 1:00 pm on April 20th, 2013.

Sher has been working to get her family from Ulster back into Scotland and in preparation for that day, Sher went to see just what Scottish records would tell her. Today, Sher will share with us some of that information for the lowlands and borders of Scotland, how it is divided up, where the records are kept, and how to access them.

The meeting takes place in the Christ Church Hall (ample parking available) 770 Trenton Frankford Road, Glen Miller, Ontario.

The website is at http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~canqbogs

Sher will also be at the OGS Conference (May 31, June 1, 2 in Oshawa where she will give a talk on Saturday morning Building Yout Family Story Using Maps.

The OGS Conference site is at http://www.ogs.on.ca/conference2013/home