Friday, March 13, 2015

Royal Canadian Mint wants you!


To celebrate Canada’s 150 birthday in 2017, the Royal Canadian Mint is offering you the chance to see your work imprinted on a coin that will be in regular circulation from coast to coast to coast.

Five winning designs will be minted on coins that will be released into circulation to commemorate Canada’s 150th in 2017. In addition, the winning designers will earn a trip to the coins’ unveiling in Ottawa and $2,000 in cash.

There will be 5 unique categories that the Royal Canadian Mint will be looking for -

 Our wonders: From coast to coast, Canada has vibrant landscapes, flora, fauna, and defining monuments. This coin is inspired by the majesty of Canada’s natural beauty.

Our character: Canada is woven together by its shared values and cultural diversity. This coin illustrates the Canadian spirit.

Our achievements: Canada has contributed much to the world. This coin is drawn from a rich history that includes medical innovations and space exploration, from valour in combat to social advances.

Our passions: Canada boasts some of the world’s best sports, music, literature, arts, and food. This coin reveals the source of Canadian pride.

Our future: Open exclusively to Canadians age 12 or younger, this theme encourages young artists to imagine Canada’s future. What will Canada be and of what will its future leaders be most proud?

To find out more about the contest, go to http://www.mint.ca/store/template/home.jsp



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

If you missed this week’s edition, it is at http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/03/canadian-news-in-review-09-march-2015.html

It’s the ONLY news blog of its kind in Canada!
It has been a regular post every Monday morning since
April 23, 2012.

Dear Myrt’s Beginning Genealogy - Sessions 8



As I promised my blog on 06 January 2014 at http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/01/beginning-genealogy-study-group.html, I watched Dear Myrt’s Beginning Genealogy Session 8 yesterday. I will continue to watch the rest of the study group as it proceeds.

The major topic which was discussed in Sessions 8 was -

How to Search – Do you search by record group eg death records, birth records, newspapers, or do you search by following those ‘bright shiny objects’ - those records that sort of fall your way?

I have got a secret to share. Most professional genealogists search by record groups, and we usually start a new genealogy project by searching census record group. 

So follow that advice, and I think you will find it will become more enjoyable to do family history.

The website for Session 8 is at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFEXmyVfQNY

Session 1 - http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/01/dear-myrts-beginning-genealogy-session-1.html 

Session 2 - http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/01/dear-myrts-beginning-genealogy-session-2.html 

Session 3 - http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/01/dear-myrts-beginning-genealogy-session-3.html

Session 4 - http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/01/dear-myrts-beginning-genealogy-session-4.html

Session 5 - http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/02/dear-myrts-beginning-genealogy-session-5.html 

Session 6 & 7 - http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/03/dear-myrts-beginning-genealogy-sessions_5.html 

Remember to make yourself a member of Dear Myrt’s Genealogy Community before watching the YouTube Google+ Hangout on Air at https://plus.google.com/communities/104382659430904043232




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

If you missed this week’s edition, it is at http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/03/canadian-news-in-review-09-march-2015.html

It’s the ONLY news blog of its kind in Canada!
It has been a regular post every Monday morning since
April 23, 2012.

Thursday, March 12, 2015

Notice of MGS Membership Fee Increase

Has your genealogy society increased it’s membership fees this year? How do you feel about this? If they have increased their fees, have they done this because the cost of doing business has become "increasingly expensive”.

 It looks like most Canadian societies have increased their fees by $10.00 a year.

 Well, the Manitoba Genealogy Society is just the latest society to do so.

 Thus, effective April 1, 2015, the beginning of their new fiscal year, the Individual and Institutional fees will be increased from $40.00 to $50.00 per year. The Associate member fee will remain at $20.00. Branch fees are set by the individual branches. They say that they “trust that our loyal membership will understand our financial situation and continue to support the Society”.

To go to the society, go to http://www.mbgenealogy.com/

To go to their Facebook page, go to https://www.facebook.com/pages/Manitoba-Genealogical-Society-Inc/7054423205



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

If you missed this week’s edition, it is at http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/03/canadian-news-in-review-09-march-2015.html

 
It’s the ONLY news blog of its kind in Canada!
It has been a regular post every Monday morning since
April 23, 2012.

Wednesday, March 11, 2015

Help an Alberta woman find her birth mother




Adoption always presents a difficult and often unique problem of its own in genealogy. Many times, it is often difficult to secure the records needed, and it can be especially true when you are looking at different jurisdictions across Canada, or different countries around the world.
 
Or if you didn’t know that you were adopted, and this is exactly what has happened to Susan Cockle of Alberta who was born on 28 January 1966 at The Moncton Hospital, New Brunswick. 
 
She and her sister found the paperwork which said that she was adopte at birth. She never knew!
 
She has been trying very hard to find her natural parents, but the New Brunsick government has yet to unseal the adoption records.
 
So if you could read the newspaper article at http://news.lokalee.com/alberta-woman-seeks-help-in-n-b-to-find-birth-parents/ and remember back to 1965-1966 in Moncton, New Brunswick, and help Susan find her birth mother.
 

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

If you missed this week’s edition, it is at http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/03/canadian-news-in-review-09-march-2015.html
It’s the ONLY news blog of its kind in Canada!
It has been a regular post every Monday morning since
April 23, 2012.

UPDATE: New Brunswick Provincial Marriages 1789-1950



FamilySearch.org has put new additions to their New Brunswick Provincial Marriages 1789-1950.
 
When complete, the collection will contain marriage records from New Brunswick, including:
 
Marriage Registers — 1789-1889
 
Marriage Certificates — 1887-1950 
 
Delayed Registration of Marriages — 1920-1945
 
Returns of Marriages — 1887-1950
 
The provincial government of New Brunswick began recording births, marriages, and deaths in 1888. For 1810 to 1887 records, there is a "Late Registration" compilation which is indexed. These records were registered after 1888.
 
 
You can also go to the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick at http://archives.gnb.ca/Archives/?culture=en-CA
 


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

If you missed this week’s edition, it is at http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/03/canadian-news-in-review-09-march-2015.html
 
It’s the ONLY news blog of its kind in Canada!
It has been a regular post every Monday morning since
April 23, 2012.

Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Saskatoon Light Infantry World War II Diaries





Secreted away at the University of Saskatchewan is a rare collection of the Second World War Diaries of the Saskatoon Light Infantry! And they have a Search Name Index at http://scaa.sk.ca/gallery/sli/search.php. What a find!

Once again, you have to drill way down in their Digital Project before you discover this, because they only have the Saskatoon Light Infantry as the title, and you may overlook this resource.

But once you go to the site, you will be astounded by what you will find there, which includes -

Summaries and Highlights from January 1940 and July 1941

The names of the officers, and other ranks

The World War II casualties.

So this might be just the resource you have been looking for to complete the history of a veteran in the Second World War.

Go to http://scaa.sk.ca/gallery/sli/


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

If you missed this week’s edition, it is at http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/03/canadian-week-in-review.html

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

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

Historical Highway Maps of Manitoba

When you drill down, past the Online Services section of the Archives of Manitoba, you will find yourself at maps. And guess what is there/ The Historical Highway Maps of Manitoba!

 Here is part of what they say -

 ‘The vast ancient migrating herds of bison and other wildlife carved the earliest paths into the rolling prairie landscape, following the ingrained instincts of uncounted centuries. These trails, along with the rivers and streams, soon became the routes of the first Aboriginal peoples, later European explorers, adventurous fur traders and pioneering settlers as they spread across the countryside in the discovery of an unknown world.

The foot worn paths and rutted dirt trails have evolved into the modern network of roads, highways and bridges that bring our neighbours- and the world- to our doorstep every day. From only 700 miles of trails at the birth of Manitoba in 1870, the highway network is now a 19,000 kilometres in length’.

The maps start is the 1920s, and they go right through to the 2000s, and all are downloadable from the site which is at http://www.gov.mb.ca/mit/maparchive/index.html

So has this site helped you to bring your immigrant ancestors closer to their home? Does it help to explain part of the reason why they settled in a particular part of the province?



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

If you missed this week’s edition, it is at http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/03/canadian-news-in-review-09-march-2015.html

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

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