Monday, April 14, 2014

Canadian Week in Review 14 April 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.

 

Websites


Ancestor Seekers of Kenora
A very bright and lively website that just started this year.

A list of FREE Canadian databases online
Links to early Canadian documents at Canadiana.org.

The Friends of the Loyalist Collection at Brock University
A detailed, descriptive catalogue has been put on the site that covers the Loyalist Collection at Brock University.

Social Media


Deborah Morrison to leave as publisher of Canada's History magazine to run national youth travel exchange program
Congratulations, Deborah, as you embark upon a new venture!

Interviews on The Genealogist Professional Podcast – Such an Honour!http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/03/interviewed-on-genealogy-professional.html
One of own is interviewed by Marian Pierre Louis on her Blog Radio Show.

News Stories


Heritage Acres: We did credit the Boss
Heritage Acres Farm Museum moved a barn from a property to the award winning museum grounds at Pincher Creek, Alberta.

Black History Enriches Canadian History
Stouffville’s Claudette Zabsonre is on a mission to make the achievements of black people more commonly known.

100th Anniversary of Sealing Disasters
Two hundred and fifty-four Newfoundland sealers lost their lives in two separate disasters (1914), within the same few days. A memorial service was held this week at George Street United Church in St. John's to commemorate those who perished.

Cy Becker a part of local history
A new master-planned community in Edmonton’s north end is named after Cy Becker, a bush pilot and wartime flying ace.

Gas bar canopy under consideration for heritage designation
The canopy of the Canadian Tire gas bar at 304 Main St. E. as an entry on the city’s buildings of heritage interest list. We stopped at that gar bar when we were in Hamilton in 2011, and remarked on the uniqueness of the structure.

Bridgetown will file an application to dissolve town
Bridgetown in the Annapolis Valley in Nova Scotia will have a new governance structure in place by April 1, 2015. The town of 1,000 people was incorporated in 1897.

Story of the Week 



April is Sikh Heritage Month

Bramalea-Gore-Malton NDP MPP Jagmeet Singh’s Private Member’s Bill entitled, Sikh Heritage Month, has passed third reading in the legislature, and the month of April has been declared as Sikh Heritage Month.

April was chosen as the month to celebrate Sikh Heritage Month because it is the time that the community celebrate Vaisakhi, which marks the creation of the Khalsa and the Sikh articles of faith. Sikh Canadians widely celebrate Vaisakhi, also known as Khalsa Day, across Ontario.

The Sikh Heritage Museum of Canada (SHMC), located in Toronto, held the opening of the Gallery as a first major step forward towards its goal of having a permanent museum on Saturday, April 5th. 

Each family who attended the museum received a commemorative Sikh Heritage Month Poster. 

The museum is located at 2980 Drew Road, Unit 125, Mississauga, ON L4T 0A7 (It is at the Great Punjab Business Centre, next to Malton Gurdwara).

The website of the museum is at http://shmc.ca, and the Facebook page is at https://www.facebook.com/events/652770224758332 

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 21 April 2014.

Sunday, April 13, 2014

Reminder: Canadian Week in Review

Check the Canadian Week in Review tomorrow morning for the latest in Genealogy, Heritage, and History news in Canada. 

It has the most recent news about New/Updated Websites, Social Media, and Newspaper Articles.

It’s the ONLY news blog of its kind in the country! 

It has been a regular post every Monday since April 23, 2012.

N.B. The CWR was not published last Monday due to the fact that I was down in Toronto attending a full-day workshop conducted by Dr. Thomas Jones, and spent two days in the Archives of Ontario.

Mennonite Migration to Ontario

The Oxford County Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society will meet on Monday April 14th at 6:45 pm at the Woodstock Public Library, 445 Hunter St., Woodstock, and the speaker will be Laureen Harder-Gissing. 

Her topic will be Mennonite Migration to Ontario and Resources available in the Mennonite Archives. Ms. Harder-Gissing is the Historian of the Mennonite Church of Eastern Canada and is currently Archivist at the Mennonite Archives at Conrad Grebel University College in Waterloo.

Contact information is available at http://oxford.ogs.on.ca/eventspg.html

The Mennonite Archives is online at https://uwaterloo.ca/mennonite-archives-ontario

The Mennonite Historical Society of Ontario http://www.mhso.org/index.shtml

Saturday, April 12, 2014

Give a VIMY for Vimy Campaign

The 100th anniversary of the Canadian victory at the Battle of Vimy Ridge in France will take place in 2017. 
A foundation called The Vimy Foundation was started in 2006 to honor the remembrance of the battle. They have been involved in producing education resources for thousands of teachers and schools across Canada and been involved in more than 10,000 student ‘pilgrimages’ to Vimy. They also have plans to build a state- of-the-art Education Centre to be unveiled in France on April 9, 2017 on the grounds adjacent to the Canadian National Vimy Memorial. 
The Government of Canada has committed $5 million to the project, but The Vimy Foundation is committed to match that commitment through the generosity of Canadians, and they have come up with a rather unique was that this can be accomplished.
The back of a $20.00 dollar bill has an image of the towering Vimy Ridge battlefield memorial in France, so the foundation is asking Canadians to donate $20 to the VIMY for Vimy Campaign. 
In exchange for your donation, you will receive a Vimy Pin and your name will be added to the list of Vimy 2017 supporters. 
To go to their site, please click https://vimyfoundation.ca/vimy2017

Friday, April 11, 2014

The Sinking of the Empress of Ireland



The Empress of Ireland was in a collision with the Norwegian collier SS Storstad in the early hours of 29 May 1914. Of the 1,477 persons on board the ship, 1,012 died. 

The Beaurepaire-Beaconsfield Historical Society will meet on Thursday April 17th at 7:30 p.m. at the Centennial Hall, 288 Beaconsfield Blvd, Beaconsfield (Montreal). The lecture will be in English, but there will be a bilingual question period. 

The lecture will be on the RMS Empress of Ireland, and the speaker will be Derek Grout who has written a book on the ill-fated liner Empress of Ireland which sank in the Gulf of St Lawrence, in front of Pointe-au-Père, in a collision in 1914. 

The hundredth anniversary of the sinking is May 29 and the book's release in Canada is scheduled for early April, in advance of the anniversary. Canada Post is supposed to be issuing two stamps to commemorate the event, and various museums across the country have scheduled special exhibitions, most notably the Canadian Museum of History (formerly Canadian Museum of Civilization) in Gatineau, across from Ottawa. 

At this lecture, you will be able to buy the book RMS Empress of Ireland, Pride of the Canadian Pacific's Atlantic Fleet by Derek Grout, at the price of $35.00. 

Everyone welcome. Free for members and $2 for non-member. You can become a member for just $5 per year. 

You can call 514-695-2502 for information, or you can go to http://www.shbbhs.ca 

For more information about the Empress of Ireland, you can go to
RMS Empress of Ireland http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RMS_Empress_of_Ireland 

Although this is a pay site, there is the passenger and crew list (FREE) at http://www.sea-viewdiving.com/shipwreck_info/empress_home/passengerindex.htm

Thursday, April 10, 2014

Field Trip to the LAC



The Ottawa Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society is planning their second field trip to the Library and Archives Canada on May 3rd.

This field trip will take place on Saturday May 3, 2014 from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm and this time the LAC and OGS members will focus on the process of requesting retrieval of documents. After the meeting, members will be welcome to stay and do some research. The LAC is open until 6 pm on Saturdays

As part of this trip, attendees will obtain their LAC User Card (required for anyone wishing to undertake research or to consult the holdings at LAC facilities), there will be a tour of the resources on both the 2nd and the 3rd floor.

Although this trip is geared towards anyone who has never done any research at Library and Archives Canada, or to anyone who hasn't been to the LAC in a while

This special event is only open to a maximum of 15 people so reserve your spot early!

The Library and Archives Canada is located at 395 Wellington Street, Ottawa.

Also, there is a meeting on April 26 at the Ottawa City Archives on 100 Tallwood Drive, Ottawa, and the talk will be about the subject of Using Social Media for Genealogy Research and it will be given by Ken McKinlay.

The meeting will be live streamed, and details are available on their website at http://ogsottawa.on.ca

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Some OGS Branches Live Stream their meetings

More and more OGS Branches are Live Streaming their monthly meeting.

Niagara Peninsula Branch was the first one to try the new technology couple of years ago, then Ottawa Branch tried it, and then the Lambton County Branch, and the Kent County signed on so. Members at a distance can hear the meeting also, as well as members close at hand. And don’t forget the OGS Conference this year, as it will be Live Streaming some sessions as well. 

I attend the Ottawa Branch Live Streaming monthly meetings held on a Saturday of each month (except July, and August) especially in the winter time, because I can’t get to the meetings during the snowy season. But I don’t miss anything because I can see the PowerPoint presentation, hear the speakers, and have the ability to ask questions – so I am quite satisfied with the process. 

So, if you are a member of any of these societies, be sure to give it a try. 

Here are the meetings to be held in April – 

Niagara Peninsula Branch Meeting

Date: Thursday, April 10, 2014

Time: 7:00 – 9:00 pm

Location: First Grantham United Church, 415 Linwell Rd., St. Catharines

Speakers: Marjorie Stuart & Diane Clendenan

Topic: “Unregistered Cemeteries”

Brief Overview: Marjorie and Diane are the highly respected “Cemetery Ladies” for both the OGS & the Ontario Historical Society

Contact Info: http://www.ogs.on.ca/niagara 

Lambton County Branch Meeting

Date: Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Time: 7:30 – 9:30 pm

Location: 1400 Murphy Road, Sarnia, Ontario

Speaker: Lynn Clark

Topic: Adoption Update. Drop by and learn what’s new when searching for info regarding adoptions in Ontario.

Contact Info: http://www.ogs.on.ca/lambton/index.html 

Kent County Branch Meeting 

Date: Friday, April 11, 2014

Time: 7:00 pm

Location: St. Andrew’s Residence 99 Park St., Chatham, ON

Speaker: Elise Harding-Davis

Topic: BLACK MILITIA OF KENT COUNTY

Brief Overview: Elise Harding-Davis will discuss the involvement of the Black Militia in the War of 1812.

Contact Info: http://ogs.on.ca/kent 

Ottawa Branch Meeting

Date: April 26, 2014

Time: 1:00 pm

Location: City of Ottawa Archives, Room 115,

Topic: Using Social Media for Genealogy Research

Speaker: Ken McKinlay

Brief Overview: Ken will be talking about the various social media sites, such as Facebook, Google+, Twitter and blogs to name just a few places, that can be used to help in your own research through interacting online with others around the world via the world wide web.

Contact information: http://ogsottawa.on.ca