The Mystery Quilt

The Argyle Shore Women's Institute was presented with a quilt that had a number of names embroidered from the years 1903 – 1904.  

The mystery is to find out why all the names appeared on the quilt and    for what was the purpose.  If anyone has a clue to this mystery please contact Beverley MacHail at 902.675.2851 or e-mail macphailbr@hotmail.com

Belle Campbell, Boston, Mass.
Grace Melinda Campbell,  Argyle Shore
Mary Campbell, Argyle Shore
R.W. Deamon, Birmingham, England
Samuel Deamon, Birmingham, England
Annie Gordon, Appin Road
John A. Hains, R.C.H.I. - SA, Charlottetown
Rosslin McDougall, Summerside
Mack McKenzie
Aussie McLean, Boston City Hospital
Grace MacLean, Argyle Shore
Katie Murchison, North River
Bessie Jemina McNeill, 9 Mile Creek,
Josephine Alexandria McNeill, 9 Mile Creek
Neil MacNevin,    Argyle Shore
Euphemia Eliza McPhail, Argyle Shore
Goodwill MacPhail, Argyle Shore
Harry MacPhail
Lulu Grace McPhail, Argyle Shore
Malcolm MacPhail, Brookville, Mass.
Portia MacPhail, Bonshaw
Selina MacPhail, Argyle Shore
Cassie McRae, Bonshaw
Jemina McRae, Bonshaw,
Maggie Martin, Brookville, Mass.
E.B. Robertson, North River
Archibald Steward, Argyle Shore
Lulu Stewart, Westville
Isabel Stewart, Westville
James Earnest Smith, Argyle Shore
Eliza Webster, French Fort
Archie Vessey, Little York
Eliza Vessey, Little York

Note:  Teachers:  Lulu Sewart 1903 and Cassie McRae 1904

1921 Census is finally here!

It’s finally here!

Have you taken a look at it yet? What do you think?

The 1921 Canada Census was the first census taken after the end of the First World War, and Canada was not in the best of shape. There was a mini-depression after the war was over, and in a few years, the Great Depression would take hold. Many of the soldiers could not find work, and so many of them were hired as enumerators of the 1921 census. Maybe your ancestor was an enumerator.

So the census was put on www.ancestry.ca/cs/ca/census?o_iid=55940&o_lid=55940&o_sch=Web+Propertyline 

But you will not be able to search an every name index, only browse the census district and sub districts. It will continue this way until the index is ready, in as much as three months, so that would make it the middle of November.

And you will have to be a subscriber to Ancestry to get access to it, too. After three years, the Library and Archives Canada will put it on their site for free.

District and sub-districts are defined as “the districts for the representation of the people in the House of Commons at Ottawa, and Census subdistricts to the cities, towns, incorporated villages, townships and parishes which constitutes an electoral district”. ¹

So you will have to know the district and sub-districts in which your ancestor lived in 1921. If you know those two things, then you should be able to find them.

Let me know what you think

1. Instructions to Commissioners and Enumerators in the Sixth Census of Canada, 1921 Government Printing Bureau, Ottawa 1921 p. 4

The 1921 Canada Census will be released August 8th

I have just received notice at 3:07 this afternoon (Aug 7th) from the LAC that the 1921 Canada Census will be released to Ancestry.ca tomorrow afternoon at around 2 pm Eastern Time. At first, it will be available, with the geographic index ONLY, free of charge, on Ancestry.

Ancestry should be releasing a FULL NOMINAL INDEX this fall. This index will be available to Ancestry.ca subscribers for 3 years. At the end of three years, the  LAC will get a copy and will make it available for free off of our census platform that was entirely redesigned recently.

So folks, that is the story.

It will appear tomorrow afternoon at http://www.ancestry.ca/census

I would like to thank everyone for all the letters that were written to the Heritage Department, and the petition that was signed with over 2,000 signatures, and were sent to the office of Minister Moore. Thank you all.  

I can hardly wait ...

NEWS FLASH! 1921 Canada Census may be released soon

A fellow genealogist has just written to me to let me know that the 1921 Canada Census may be released by the Library and Archives Canada today or tomorrow.

Dog Days of Summer Sale!

This exciting notice just came into the office - 

Save 15% from now until midnight August 15th 2013 off all products listed on the Global Genealogy website at http://globalgenealogy.com

Purchase as many items as you want -- order as often as you want!

Enter the COUPON CODE 'Summer Sale' into the COUPON CODE blank in our online shopping cart and click APPLY, or say the code when you phone in your order (1-800-361-5168).

FamilySearch.org reaches 100,000 mark

FamilySearch has announced a milestone in its collection of Family History Books.

One hundred thousand books have now been scanned by the partnership of the Family History Library, Allen County Public Library, and several other important family history libraries in the world.

These books are online and available to search and use on the FamilySearch.org website. You can reach the collection by clicking Search and then Books or by simply clicking the link above.

The majority of the books online are family histories, with a smaller portion made up of cemetery records, local and county histories, genealogy magazines, and how-to-books, gazetteers, and medieval histories and pedigrees.

These valuable aids are viewed by more than 100,000 people a month.


To view the books, go to https://books.familysearch.org/primo_library/libweb/action/search.do?dscnt=1&dstmp=1375809771058&vid=FHD_PUBLIC&fromLogin=true 

Protecting Ontario’s cemeteries

Have you read this invitation from the OGS?

“Do you have a GPS system? Would you like to assist the Ontario Genealogical Society and the  Ontario Historical Society in protecting Ontario’s cemeteries? If you do, then we have the job for you!

This is what you can do to help.

The Registrar of Cemeteries requires accurate location information to help identify the cemeteries that are not registered.  If you pass an entrance to a cemetery in your travels, could you record the GPS location? We are asking you to be especially mindful of the county and township where the cemetery is located. Therefore, when you send the information to the Society, we kindly request that you list the following information:

• The name of the Cemetery

• The County in which the cemetery is located, if known (i.e., Durham, Niagara, Carleton etc.)

• If possible, the Historical township (as listed on the OGS Ontario Cemetery Locator),

• The street name

• And of course, the GPS co-ordinates

Some of our volunteers have advised us that they take the GPS readings at the entrance of the cemetery as this provides the most accurate location information.

To date we know of 12 Riverside Cemeteries around the province, 48 St. John’s Anglican Cemeteries and 11 Zion Cemeteries just to name a few. Don’t worry if you find that a cemetery has been registered, someone else will have the benefit of your work”.

All GPS information you gather may be forwarded to cemeteries@ogs.on.ca

The OGS web site is at www.ogs.on.ca/index.php


The OHS web site is at www.ontariohistoricalsociety.ca