Thursday, September 18, 2014

Kirsty Gray, UK Genealogist, will talk at two workshops in Canada




Kirsty Gray will be in Toronto on November 1st where she will give lectures on Industrial England. She will explore the Industrial Revolutions of the 18th and 19th centuries transformed the world and dramatically changed the lives of our ancestors in many ways. 

This one-day workshop will be co-sponsored by Toronto Branch and the Canadiana Department of North York Central Library, and will be held in the Library’s Auditorium. 

Early-bird rates apply until today and members of the Ontario Genealogical Society enjoy a further discount on the workshop fee. 

For additional details and to register on-line go to http://torontofamilyhistory.org/learn/workshops/industrial-england-workshop/  

Then she will come to Ottawa the next day where she will appear from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm, and she will give two lectures at the Woodroffe United Church Banquet Hall, 207 Woodroffe Ave., Ottawa ON. 

She will talk on two subjects - 

1. Searching for Names: Challenges, Pitfalls and the Downright Ridiculous 

2. Solving Problems Through Family Reconstruction 

The lectures will be sponsored by the Ottawa Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society and the British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa (BIFHSGO). Admission is $10 per person at the door. 

A break with light refreshments will be held between the two lectures.

Contact information is available at http://ogsottawa.on.ca/ 

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Immigration Conference: Getting Here


Kawartha Branch, The Ontario Genealogical Society will have a special one-day conference on Saturday, October 4 from 9 am to 3:15 pm at the Northminster United Church, 300 Sunset Blvd, Peterborough.

The speakers and the topics will be -

  • Archivist Col. John Carew New Life, New Hope, and a New Land 

  • Alan Brunger Corsley Immigration to Canada, 1830s 

  • Elwood Jones The Cumberland Emigration 

  • Peter McConkey The Robinson Emigrations 

Cost: $35 and includes snacks and lunch. 


Italian Canadians and World War II


A special travelling exhibition organized by the Columbus Centre of Toronto/Villa Charities will visit Windsor’s Community Museum from September 19th to December 13th. 

It says in the press release that “This exhibit explores the experiences of Italian Canadians following Italy‘s entry into World War II on the side of Germany. The political consequences within Canada of Italy‘s declaration of war in June 1940 deeply affected all spheres of ordinary life for Italian Canadians. Through video, audio, and text, the travelling exhibit puts a human face to this little-known period in Canadian history”. 

The exhibit will open September 19th, with a special screening of Piazza Petawawa (Director Rino Noto), a documentary telling the story of Italian-Canadians during World War II. The event runs from 4 – 6 pm. Refreshments will be available and admission is free. 

In addition, Dr. Walter Temelini, Professor Emeritus of the Italian Studies Department of the University of Windsor will hold a lecture entitled “The Italian Canadian Experience during World War II.” This event takes place at Windsor’s Community Museum on September 27th beginning at 2:00 pm and admission is free. 

The museum is located at 254 Pitt Street, Windsor, Ontario.The website is at http://www.citywindsor.ca/residents/culture/windsors-community-museum/Pages/Windsors-Community-Museum.aspx

More microfilm put online

Canadiana.org has put on more microfilm online at the Héritage website.

I have picked out some of the microfilm that you may find interesting, Please be advised that none of these records have been indexed, although some of them may have internal indexes.

Canadian Army Courts Martial documents 

Census of the township of Augusta
Census of the City of Montreal, 1831
Census returns 1842: Canada West
Central registry files created by the Northwest Territories and Yukon Branch

Department of Militia and Defence: Yukon Garrison, nominal rolls and paylists
Department of Militia and Defence: 1903 Army Central Registry, subject files
Department of Militia and Defence: Contracts Branch letterbooks, 1895-1912
Department of Militia and Defence: Correspondence of the Deputy Minister’s office
Department of Militia and Defence: Register of correspondence of the Deputy Minister’s office, 1867-1903
Department of Militia and Defence: Special Forces nominal rolls and paylists
Department of Militia and Defence: Yukon Mortar Machine Gun Batteries

Department of Railways and Canals: Records related to Welland Canal
Department of Railways and Canals: Records related to the St. Lawrence Canals
Department of the Interior: Dominion Lands Branch: North-West Territories, Metis scrip applications
Department of the Interior: Dominion Lands Branch: North-West Territories, Index to Metis scrip applications

Parish archives for Richelieu County
Parish archives for Saint-Pierre de Sorel: baptisms, marriages and burials
Perth [Ontario] Military Settlement fonds
Peter Hunter collection and papers
Peter Robinson Collection
Port of Saint-Servan Archives 

The Héritage Portal is at http://heritage.canadiana.ca/ 

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Tour of Nova Scotia Archives and Its Holdings


On Wednesday, September 24, 2014 the Genealogical Association of Nova Scotia is inviting everyone to a Tour of Nova Scotia Archives and Its Holdings from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm. The Nova Scotia Archives, Akins Room (wheelchair accessible) is located at 6016 University Avenue, Halifax, Nova Scotia

The guest speaker will be Garry Shutlak, Senior Archivist, Public Archives of Nova Scotia

Garry will talk about the website and the genealogical resources found there followed by a tour of the 3rd Floor holdings.

Open to the general public. All are welcome.


Ancestry.ca - Campbell River, British Columbia newspaper database



Ancestry.ca has put on another database and this one concerns the index of birth, marriage, and death information from three newspapers serving the Campbell River, British Columbia, area in central Vancouver Island, and they are -

Campbell River Courier, 1947–1974

Comox Argus, 1917–1945

Campbell River Upper Islander, 1964–1990


Details vary depending on the paper and type of event, but you may find the following:

· name

· birth date and place

· christening date and place

· father’s name

· mother’s name

· spouse’s name

· marriage date and place

· death date and place

· age at death

· burial date and place

Information for this index was extracted by members of the Campbell River Genealogy Society.

The website is at http://search.ancestry.ca/search/db.aspx?dbid=2492

Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/Ancestry.ca

Monday, September 15, 2014

Quebec City's Museum of Civilization is on fire



The CBC has reported that Quebec City's Museum of Civilization is on fire. 

Apparently, the fire started around one o’clock, and the museum had been undergoing repairs at the time. 

There are no reported injuries. 

The website for the Museum of Civilization is at https://www.mcq.org/fr/ 

The Facebook page is at https://www.facebook.com/mcqorg