Spring workshops to be held at local library

Oakville Public Library in Oakville, Ontario will hold workshops in the coming month, starting with a workshop today. It starts at 10:00 am.

The title of the workshop will be Genealogy Resources and the talk will be given by Heather Martyn who will introduce you to Ancestry Library Edition and other library resources that will help you get started. This will be a “hands on” presentation.

It will be free, but you must register.

The second workshop will be held on February the 18th from 7:00 to 8:20 pm and the workshop will Capture Your Family Story: Book Making With Blurb

You’ll discover how easy it is to create and self-publish a book of photos and stories that your family will treasure. We’ll share examples of published books, and demonstrate how to design your own. If you can imagine it, you can make it with Blurb.

The cost will be $7.00 per class, and you must register.

The third workshop will be Movie Night! And it will be held on February 25, 2014 from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm, and the cost will be $5.00.

The movie will be Seeking Salvation: A History of the Black Church in Canada in which this documentary will profile slavery in Canada from the 1600s to the Underground Railroad in the 1800s.

Written by Oakville native Lawrence Hill, this documentary has been screened at film festivals around the world, and won numerous awards.

The last workshop will be Taking Your Irish Ancestors Back Over the Pond by Ruth Blaie who will shows you the best ways to begin researching your Irish family history in Canada and show you how to use the information to help you go back over the pond to Ireland.

It will start on March 11th, at 7:00 pm, and will cost will be $7.00 per class.

You can go to the Oakville Public Library at http://www.opl.on.ca/blog/type/genealogy/

The Family History Writing Challenge

Have you ever thought about writing a family history book?

If you have, but have been waiting to have some instruction to follow, you should go to Lynn Palmero of The Armchair Genealogist, because she can help you put your family history book together.

Lynn tells us that “Learning to write your family history stories is a fantastic vehicle for compiling your years of research into a shareable format to leave as a legacy for future generations.

The Family History Writing Challenge is a 28-day focus. As a registered member, you'll receive daily emails with inspiration, motivation and education all centred around writing your family history stories. You'll have access to our writer's resources, a collection of article archives to help get you started. We have industry professionals joining us and lending their expertise and you can join us in the writer's forum where you can learn from others struggling with the same issues as well as sharing their successes along the way".

Later this week, she will be delivering some exciting news about The Companion Guide to the Family History Writing Challenge, a workbook dedicated to getting you ready to write. Watch your inbox for that information coming your way in a few days.

To get more information, go to http://www.thearmchairgenealogist.com/

The Windmill Point lighthouse, a site of a bloody battle in Upper Canada (Prescott, Ontario), has been named as a heritage lighthouse under Canada's Heritage Lighthouse Protection Act (HLPA).

In 1838, it was the place where a four-day battle in 1838 between British troops and local militia defeated an invasion force of 300 American "Hunters" and Canadian rebels. It brought an end to the Rebellion of 1837-1838.

Windmill Point Lighthouse was first built as a windmill before it was used as a lighthouse in 1874.

Battle of the Windmill National Historic Site http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Windmill_National_Historic_Site

BIFHSGO meeting on January 11th

The British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa (BIFHSGO) will meet on Saturday January 11th 2014 at the Library and Archives Canada.

9:00 a.m. — During the Before BIFHSGO Education Talk, learn from Ken McKinley about how to protect and save information stored on your computer.

10:00 a.m. — In Bibles and Bugs: My Welsh Ancestors In and Out of Africa, Gail Roger will talk about how an uncle's posthumously published autobiography about his missionary days in Africa helped and hindered her search for her Welsh ancestors. Gail will talk about her great-great-uncle and her maternal grandfather and some of the circumstances about their life in two very different parts of Africa

Come early to browse our Discovery Tables and meet with family history experts. Open to members and visitors. Free admission. Free parking is available in the lots east of the building only on Saturday and Sunday. Do not use the lot west of the building

Also, BIFHSGO has called for speakers for their 20th Annual Conference to be held in Ottawa, September 19 - 21, 2014.

The deadline is January 31, 2014, and the Conference will focus on three main topics -

• English family history;

• Immigration from the British Isles, including Home Children; and

• Genetic genealogy.

The interview with Gail Roger is at http://www.bifhsgo.ca/cpage.php?pt=106

The website is at http://www.bifhsgo.ca/

Canadian Week in Review 06 January 2014

I have come across the following Canadian websites, social media websites, and newspaper articles this past week that were of interest to me, and I thought you might be interested in them, too

WebsitesNo new websites this week.

Social Media
No new site this week.

News Articles
Artist brings area history to mural at Galt http://lethbridgeherald.com/news/local-news/2014/01/artist-brings-area-history-to-mural-at-galt/ At the Galt Museum in Lethbridge, Alberta, Alex Pavlenko, a local artist, has installed a series of murals in a classroom onsite dedicated to education.

The Land Conservancy to accept deal to sell heritage Vancouver Island farm http://www.vancouversun.com/Land+Conservancy+accept+deal+sell+heritage+Vancouver+Island+farm/9343001/story.html The Land Conservation of British Columbia may be selling the Keating Farm, located about 60 kilometres north of Victoria near Duncan, because the Land Conservation is running out of money, according to an article in the Vancouver Sun.

What you didn’t know about Canada’s Parliament Hill http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/lifestyle/article/2000101348/what-you-didn-t-know-about-canada-s-parliament-hill A writer for the Ottawa Citizen write about parliament Hill, and tells us some things we may not know about it.

Story of the Week

John Matheson, 'Father' Of Canadian Flag dies at age 96

February 15th is the National Flag of Canada Day in Canada. Next year it will celebrate its 50th anniversary, but this year, the day will be different, because the man who lead the committee which was responsible for choosing the winning design, has died.

Beside fighting and being wounded in Italy during the Second World War, Matheson also served as an MP and judge and helped found the Order of Canada.

Social Media has played its part in reporting the death because you have a chance to see the 149 designs that were submitted for the new flag by ordinary Canadians on this news site. Plus, there are videos.

The website is http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/12/30/john-ross-matheson-dead-canadian-flag_n_4519659.html?utm_hp_ref=tw

If you want to read more about the flag, you can go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Canada

If you want to read about the National Flag of Canada Day, you can go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Flag_of_Canada_Day

Reminder: Check the Canadian Week in Review next Monday for the latest in Genealogy, Heritage, and History news in Canada. It’s the ONLY news blog of its kind in country! The next post will be on 13 January 2014.

Coburg Public Library closed until further notice

Brian Gilchrist, Reference Archivist at the Peel County Museum and Archives in Brampton (Ontario), has informed us that the main branch of the Coburg Public Library has suffered major water damage due to a broken pipe, and will be closed until further notice.

He says that there has been significant damage to books, videos, DVDs and so forth, but there is no damage to the Local History Collection and Archives. Which is good news!

They do have the Coburg Newspaper Index and Archival Image Database at their webpage.

The webpage is at http://www.cobourg.library.on.ca/library_newsletter.html

Their Facebook page is at https://www.facebook.com/Cobourgpubliclibrary?ref=mf

OGS Open Forum

The Ontario Genealogical Society invites members and non-members to join in an online discussion with President, Shirley Sturdevant. Ask questions and make comments about the changing face of OGS and volunteer opportunities with the Society.

The date that the forum will be held will be Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2014 at 7:00 p.m.

This forum is open to anyone who is interested but you may express your interest and receive a reminder and your own copy of the login information by contacting the OGS provincial office at provoffice@ogs.on.ca.

Please use the subject line “OGS Open Forum.”

The website of the OGS is http://www.ogs.on.ca/