Thursday, October 23, 2014

Library and Archives Canada: Announces two new guide



The following is the notice that I received from the Library and Archives this morning –

“Canada is pleased to announce the launch of two new guides: Guide to Sources Relating to the Canadian Militia, 1855–1988 and Guide to Sources Relating to Canadian Naval Vessels, 1909–1983. The guides were originally compiled over many years by the late Barbara Wilson (1931–2014), an archivist with the former National Archives of Canada, now Library and Archives Canada. 

Guide to Sources Relating to the Canadian Militia, 1855–1988 

This guide is an indispensable starting point for researching the records that document Canadian militia units. It is a unique finding aid that brings together, by militia unit name, references to records and files scattered throughout several different archival fonds held at Library and Archives Canada.

Guide to Sources Relating to Canadian Naval Vessels, 1909–1983

This guide is an indispensable starting point for researching the records documenting Canadian naval vessels that served with the Royal Canadian Navy. It is a unique finding aid that brings together—by ship’s name—references to records and files scattered throughout several different volumes of archival fonds of the Department of National Defence."

The Website is located at http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/military-heritage/Pages/guide-sources-canadian-naval-vessels.aspx 

Extreme Explorers – Sea to Space

The Canadian Museum of History has a special exhibit on Canada’s leading-edge science and exploration over the years called Extreme Explorers – Sea to Space.

An interesting part of the exhibit will the Arctic Medal 1818–1855. Authorized by Queen Victoria in 1857, it was awarded to individuals around the world who participated ― during the years 1818 to 1855 ― in discovery missions to find the North Pole or the Northwest Passage, or in search expeditions to locate Sir John Franklin’s missing ships.

This exhibit will be from the present to January 4, 2015, and you can read more about the exhibit at http://www.historymuseum.ca/event/extreme-explorers-sea-to-space/?cm_mid=4030473&cm_crmid=76c38def-186a-e211-9333-005056a35e1c&cm_medium=email 

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Ancestry.ca offers FREE access


Ancestry.ca has released the results of a survey which shows a puzzling result – while 94% Canadians feels that knowing their family history is important, only 42% know where their grandparents were born. In light of this, Ancestry is offering free access to Canadian Passenger Lists until 11:59 October 23, 2014. 

That causes genealogist to think, doesn’t it? Maybe it is part of the answer as to why there isn’t a great ground swell for Family History Month that I wrote about in last week’s Canadian Week in Review (CWR). If you haven’t my editorial yet, you can go to http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2014/10/canadian-week-in-review-13-october-2014.html

Meanwhile, Ancestry.ca says - 

Canada may pride itself on being a nation built on immigration but according to a new survey from Ancestry, the world’s largest online family history resource, some of us know very little about our own family history – including where our ancestors originated from and when they first came to Canada. 

In a survey of 1,025 Canadians*, Ancestry discovered that 47 per cent don’t know when their ancestors first arrived in Canada. This is despite the fact that 94 per cent feel that knowing one’s family history is important. 

Additionally, the research revealed that 42 per cent of Canadians don’t know where their own grandparents were born. 

“Immigration is one of the foundations of Canada, so it is surprising how many Canadians don’t know where their ancestors came from, or when they first arrived in the country,” said Lesley Anderson, family historian for Ancestry. “There are so many wonderful historical records available for people to discover their ancestors’ immigration stories, such as Passenger Lists or border crossings, that give you clues as to why your ancestors may have left their homelands or how they came to Canada. The stories you can discover about your forebears are often fascinating and can help to inform your own sense of identity.” 

Ancestry is currently offering free access to its collection of global immigration records including the Canadian Passenger Lists, a collection of more than 7 million records detailing the people who came to Canada by ship between the years of 1865 and 1935, the key growth period in immigration to Canada. The free access lasts until 11:59 on October 23, 2014. 

* Conducted in June 2014

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Fall workshop in Toronto

Gwyneth Pearce, Secretary of the Toronto Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society has sent us a reminder from the Branch that their fall workshop, "Industrial England", is coming up in less than two weeks - on Saturday 1 November.

This full-day workshop, co-sponsored with the Canadiana Department of North York Central Library, will explore the social, economic and cultural effects of the Industrial Revolutions on the lives of English people from 1750 to 1900. Author and professional genealogist Kirsty Gray will be our keynote speaker.

Spaces are still available, but we encourage you to sign up soon to ensure a spot. OGS members are eligible for a fee discount.

Full details about the program, speakers and how to register, are available on our Branch website at http://torontofamilyhistory.org/learn/workshops/industrial-england-workshop/.

Their Facebook page is on https://www.facebook.com/TOFamilyHistory

Monday, October 20, 2014

Canadian Week in Review - 20 October 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.

History Week in Canada (October 14 – October 20, 2014) 


In 1937, public schools in Toronto opened after a six-week delay caused by a polio epidemic which claimed 150 lives.

To read more about the polio epidemic, go to http://www.cpha.ca/en/programs/history/achievements/02-id/polio.aspx
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In 1923, Canada’s “Bluenose” defeated the “Columbia” in an international boat race.

To view a Heritage Minute video of the Bluenose, go to https://www.historicacanada.ca/content/heritage-minutes/bluenose
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In 1967, Expo 67, which opened in Montreal on April 27, closed with a final attendance total of more than 50 million.

To read about Expo ’67, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expo_67

Social Media


(Video) Maritime artist Canada's iconic Heritage Minutes into works of art
Christopher Hemsworth says he is such a big fan of the Heritage Minutes vignettes that his friend bought him the complete set of commercials on DVD.
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Researching Relatives - A Genealogy Blog about Searching for Ancestors
http://researching-relatives.blogspot.com

Joanne Cowden, a new blogger, has ancestors in various US states, Canada, France, and Germany, and now she is starting to share these ancestors with follow genealogists.

Nova Scotia

Memorial planned for Nova Scotia woman murdered in domestic violence case a century ago
More than 100 years ago, the name of Theresa (Balsor) McAuley Robinson was on the lips of many Kings County residents. Her husband, William S. Robinson, was judged guilty of her murder and sentenced to death. He was the last person publicly hung in Kings County.

Legacy of local Springhill Veterans preserved
http://www.newswire.ca/en/story/1428894/legacy-of-local-springhill-veterans-preserved
Scott Armstrong, Member of Parliament for Cumberland–Colchester–Musquodoboit Valley, today announced Government of Canada funding for the restoration of the Springhill Soldiers' Monument, which honours the achievements and sacrifices of Veterans from within the community.

Libraries: Presenting history in a different way
http://www.ngnews.ca/Community/2014-10-13/article-3901804/Libraries%3A-Presenting-history-in-a-different-way/1
Discover history can be approached in a new ways at Nova Scotia libraries, such as storytelling and writing your own history.

Vandals can’t stop work on Black Loyalist Heritage Centre
http://thechronicleherald.ca/novascotia/1243763-vandals-can-t-stop-work-on-black-loyalist-heritage-centre
What promises to be one of Nova Scotia’s star attractions in 2015 is nearing completion in Shelburne County, despite a setback caused by vandalism.
During the 1780s, Birchtown had the largest population of free blacks outside Africa, when some 3,500 arrived there after the American Revolution.

Hundreds attend Halifax powwow, celebrate Mi’kmaq History Month
Hundreds of aboriginal people and non-natives celebrated First Nations heritage and culture on Saturday at an indoor powwow in Halifax.

History: Hantsport was flourishing 98 years ago
When a New Brunswick-based magazine published a feature on the  Annapolis Valley in 1916, Hantsport was one of the towns profiled.

Prince Edward Island

Bonavista honoured with Prince of Wales prize
http://www.nlnewsnow.com/News/Local/2014-10-14/article-3902869/Bonavista-honoured-with-Prince-of-Wales-prize/1
Heritage Canada award recognizes town for preservation of building.

New Brunswick

Historic Edmundston church will soon be rebuilt
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/historic-edmundston-church-will-soon-be-rebuilt-pastor-says-1.2797817
Anglican St. John the Baptist Church was destroyed in a suspicious fire on September 20th.

Ontario

The First World War: Excerpts from the diary of Woodman Leonard 
http://www.ottawasun.com/2014/10/16/the-first-world-war-excerpts-from-the-diary-of-woodman-leonard
Follow Lt. Col. Leonard during the weeks he travelled from battleground to battleground.

Quiz: Can you pass this Canadian citizenship test?
http://metronews.ca/news/ottawa/1184269/quiz-could-you-pass-a-canadian-citizenship-test
About 140 students from across the country were put to the Citizenship Challenge on Wednesday when they played a bingo-style game at the Chateau Laurier in Ottawa.

The Musées de la Civilisation de Québec to be honoured in Ottawa for their exhibition dedicated to Aboriginal peoples
http://www.newswire.ca/en/story/1427006/the-musees-de-la-civilisation-de-quebec-to-be-honoured-in-ottawa-for-their-exhibition-dedicated-to-aboriginal-peoples
Inaugurated in November 2013, This Is Our Story: First Nations and Inuit in the 21st Century, is the latest addition to the Musées de la Civilisation de Québec's (MCQ) permanent exhibits. This ambitious project offers a contemporary vision of the cultural diversity and Aboriginal realities within Quebec.

Manitoba

Stuart Stuart Murray out as head of Canadian human rights museum
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2014/10/15/stuart_murray_out_as_head_of_canadian_human_rights_museum_1.html
tuart Murray, a former Manitoba Progressive Conservative leader who oversaw the construction of the museum in Winnipeg since 2009, is leaving on November 1st, and another chief executive officer is being sought, the board of trustees said Wednesday.

Alberta

The First World War: Excerpts from the diary of Woodman Leonard
http://www.ottawasun.com/2014/10/16/the-first-world-war-excerpts-from-the-diary-of-woodman-leonard
Follow Lt. Col. Leonard during the weeks he travelled from battleground to battleground.

City recognized for efforts in historic preservation
http://medicinehatnews.com/news/local-news/2014/10/16/city-recognized-for-efforts-in-historic-preservation
The City of Medicine Hat is gaining new recognition for a program to protect its history.

British Columbia

Touring BC's 'Hidden' History Shared by Chinese and Indigenous People
http://www.thetyee.ca/News/2014/10/13/Shared-Chinese-Indigenous-History
Every year for the last five years, Bill Chu has conducted treks along the Fraser Canyon, up to Lytton, Lillooet, and Mount Currie. His purpose: to educate Canadians about the "real" shared history of Indigenous and Chinese people in British Columbia.

Story of the Week

Credit: Library and Archives Canada / C-029399

The Great Depression 

Starting in 1929, the Great Depression swept over the world, and it affected Canada greatly because of our dependence on exporting natural goods to countries that no longer needed them since their own industrial capacity was reduced because of the Depression.

Between 1929 and 1939, the gross national product dropped 40% (compared to 37% in the US). Unemployment reached 27% at the depth of the Depression in 1933! Many businesses closed, as corporate profits of $398 million in 1929 turned into losses of $98 million, due to falling prices.

It was a terrible time for our country.

When I was a child, I can remembers stories that my family use to tell of how they coped with the Depression, and of how my father took “to the rails” as a young man looking for work on the farms in Ontario . He found work on the fruit farms in the Niagara region of Ontario.

One of the imitative which brought my father back to Nova Scotia was the paving of roads that I wrote about in the post Nova Scotia Paving Programme in 1934 the government undertook http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2014/08/nova-scotia-paving-programme.html, and eventually the breakout of the Second World War.

If you have the occasion to research a person who was trying to come to Canada during the Depression years from the United states, for instance, do not be surprised if you find they were denied entry, unless they could prove that they wouldn’t take jobs away from Canadians.

If you want to learn more about the Great Depression, read this article - http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/great-depression/

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 27 October 2014.

Sunday, October 19, 2014

New Digitized Ontario Patent Plans

We now have more than 4,100 recently digitized patent plans on the Archives of Ontario’s Visual Database. 

The images are fully accessible and in high-resolution in a zoomable format that allows you to view fine details – and some of the details are very fine detail indeed! 

Most, but not all of the Patent Plans are available, although looking through them, I would say that most of them are available. You can check to see if the AO have an original plan at the Archives Descriptive Database. 

You can read more about the Patent Plans at http://www.archives.gov.on.ca/en/about/patent-plans.aspx, and it gives the list of township or town that are available to view. I was looking for Elzivir Township and I found it. It was a list of names, showing where they were located in the township at the time. 

Just another tool that you can use to find out exactly where your ancestor was located!

Saturday, October 18, 2014

Oxford County Branch is now on Facebook!

Another Ontario Genealogical Society Branch has joined Facebook and it’s the Oxford County Branch in Southwestern Ontario. 

And it’s looks like they are of to a rousing start! 

They have lots of events to attend, and on their website, there are lots of information, for instance, there are wills, directories, and there is an index to obituaries online. So check them out!