Genealogy à la carte

This week’s crème de la crème — April 1, 2017

Posted on April 1, 2017 by Gail Dever

Some of the bijoux I discovered this week.

Blogs
Religious Records Part 3 – Nova Scotia and New Brunswick by Candice McDonald on Finding Your Canadian Story.

Resource Guide to Canadian Genealogy on Ancestral Findings.

100th Anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge: Trench maps on Archives of Manitoba Blog.

“The Story of Us” Is Not Quite Our Story… by Joseph Gagné on Curieuse Nouvelle-France.

The Real First Permanent European Settlement in Canada: Port Royal, Nova Scotia by Diane Tibert on Roots to the Past.

Blog Surfing Research Toolboxes, Part 2 — Professional Sites by Linda Stufflebean on Empty Branches on the Family Tree.

Ten Years Blogging by Brenda Dougall Merriman on Brenda Dougall Merriman.

How a Professional Genealogist Approaches Brick Wall Problems by Amy Johnson Crow on Amy Johnson Crow.

Why Did Mom Save That Recipe? by Denise Levenick on The Family Curator.

Arthur’s Baby Book by Janice Hamilton on Writing Up the Ancestors.

Articles
Trent Valley Archives: Where the history of Peterborough and area lives on by Elwood Jones, Peterborough (Ontario) Examiner.

Cape Breton Genealogy Help Centre getting more reference materials by Norman Macdonald, Cape Breton (Nova Scotia) Post.

Exhibit provides taste of social history by Peter Hendra, Kingston (Ontario) Whig-Standard.

Champlain settled here first, N.S. mayor says after mini-series snub by Michael Macdonald, Canadian Press.

100 years ago today, Canada’s black battalion set sail for WWI and made history by Carolyn Ray, CBC, Nova Scotia.

How Canada’s bloodiest day at Vimy defined Great War sacrifice by Brian Bethune, Maclean’s, Toronto.

A century later, what should the battle of Vimy Ridge mean for Canada? by Jake Edmiston, National Post, Toronto.

Hôtel-Dieu’s last rites: Film captures the dying days of ‘the soul of Montreal’ by T’Cha Dunlevy, Montreal Gazette.

‘I feel an obligation to re-engage and better understand what it is to be Irish’ by Michael Collins, Irish Times, Dublin, Ireland.

Beausoleil’s bones by Corey Vaughan, The Daily Iberian, Iberia, Louisiana.

Consider joining the Genealogy à la carte Facebook group where I post other blog posts and articles like these throughout the week. After submitting your request, check “Message Requests” in your Facebook messages for an inquiry about your interest in joining.

Posted in Crème de la crème | Tagged blogs, brick walls, Cajun, Canada, Cape Breton, family history writing, Jeanne Mance, Louisiana, Montreal, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, research toolbox, Vimy, WWI | 1 Comment

Calgary in 1889

Posted on March 31, 2017 by Gail Dever

A photo of Calgary taken in 1889 by William Notman’s son, William McFarlane Notman, shows what newcomers saw when they ventured into the Canadian West. Today, the city is one of the largest in Canada with a population of more than 1.2 million.

Calgary, Alberta from Elbow River, 1889. Photographer: William McFarlane Notman. Source: McCord Museum, Montreal, Quebec, VIEW-2032.

When @thisiscanadiana tweeted the photo, this was the accompanying text:

“What Calgary looked like in 1885. Population 500. By then, Montreal was home to more than 150,000 people.”

The growth of Calgary began after the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) reached the area in 1883, and a rail station was constructed. But it wasn’t until the oil boom in the 1970s and 1980s that the city saw enormous growth.

William McFarlane Notman made eight trips to western Canada, from 1884 to 1909, to photograph along the CPR line, documenting the early growth of towns and capturing dramatic views of the Rockies and Selkirks. The railway supplied him with a rail car equipped with a darkroom.

Posted in Alberta | Tagged Notman, William Notman | Comments Off

Webinar — Finding Scottish ancestors online — April 1

Posted on March 30, 2017 by Gail Dever

The Southern California Genealogical Society will host a free webinar, Finding Scottish ancestors online, presented by Nancy E. Loe, on Saturday, April 1, at 1:00 p.m. Eastern time.

This session teaches you how to find and use digital resources for Scottish ancestors. Essential to little-known records here and in Scotland are covered. Church and civil records, censuses, mapping and geography, organizations, and cultural resources help you find more Scottish ancestors.

Ms. Loe is an archivist and genealogist, who managed archives her entire career. She presents and writes genealogy guides on genealogy organizing and archival research.

Posted in Lectures, Conferences, Online Learning, TV, News | Comments Off

St. Andrew’s Society presents Montreal with symbolic tartan

Posted on March 29, 2017 by Gail Dever

Earlier this week, the St. Andrew’s Society of Montreal presented Mayor Denis Coderre with the new Montreal 1642 Tartan to celebrate the city’s 375th anniversary. The Scottish played an important role in the founding of Montreal, and are represented on the city’s flag with a thistle.

The Montreal 1642 Tartan is a gift to the city and citizens of Montreal from the St. Andrew’s Society to mark the 375th anniversary of the city’s founding.

The St. Andrew’s Society described the meaning of the tartan’s colour scheme. “The blue and white, red and green represent the founding peoples of Montreal. The Scots by white and blue of St. Andrew, our Irish brethren by the green of St.Patrick, the English by the red of St. George and the French by the blue of St. Jean, and the white of the Fleur de Lys. Blue is shared between Scots and French, and recalls the long-held Auld Alliance between Scotland and France.

“The interlocking shades of the tartan express the peaceful integration of these original founding peoples with those of many other nations and cultures that have arrived here from around the globe.

“The green is of the forests of Mount Royal and underscore our reawakened respect for the environment and for the First Nations peoples who have loved this land since time immemorial and whose values have helped to shape us.”

The mayor was also presented with a Montreal 1642 blazer, which matched a tartan tie he had worn to an afternoon council meeting.

The presentation ceremony began with the sound of bagpipes and concluded with some fine Scotch.

Montreal 1642 Tartan accessories are available to purchase through the St. Andrew’s Society of Montreal website.

Posted in Montreal | Comments Off

Webinar about AncestryDNA’s new Genetic Communities

Posted on March 29, 2017 by Gail Dever

Ancestry yesterday rolled out a new beta experience for AncestryDNA called, Genetic Communities™. The new experience is supposed to give you a more detailed connection to the people, places, cultures, and stories that led to you.

In its news release, Ancestry said there are more than 300 Genetic Communities around the world. “We will compare you to all of them and list the ones you have a connection to based on your DNA. These Genetic Communities dot the globe and are often more specific than what’s possible to discover with an ethnicity estimate, providing a more recent connection to your past.”

Confused?

If you are trying to figure out what this is all about and how it will benefit your genealogy research, you will want to watch Blaine Bettinger’s webinar for Legacy Family Tree Webinars, called Exploring AncestryDNA’s New Genetic Communities, at 2:00 p.m. Eastern time, Thursday, March 30. Register here.

In his blog post, AncestryDNA’s Genetic Communities Are Finally Here!, Mr. Bettinger writes about Genetic Communities and shares a PDF he complied of the 300 Genetic Communities, with the associated hierarchy. He also mentions the new Facebook group, Genetic Genealogy Tips & Techniques.

Posted in Lectures, Conferences, Online Learning, TV, News | Comments Off

Nova Scotia Archives works on next release of vital stats records

Posted on March 28, 2017 by Gail Dever

A new year means Nova Scotia Archives is digitizing a new crop of historic vital statistics records that were released December 31, 2016.

By June, the archives plans to upload to its website births registered in 1916 (including delayed registrations), marriages registered in 1941, and deaths registered in 1966. This represents more than 25,000 new records, or as the archives says on its website, “Over 25,000 new research possibilities!”

If you think an ancestor’s vital statistics record is among this soon-to-be released set of records, start counting the days. In the meantime, you can search for other ancestors’ names on the digitized records currently available on the Nova Scotia Archives website.

Posted in Nova Scotia | Comments Off

Savoir faire — Manitoba Genealogical Society branch redesigns website

Posted on March 28, 2017 by Gail Dever

The Southwest Branch of the Manitoba Genealogical Society (MGS) in Brandon has redesigned its website, and they have done a nice job. The Home page is appealing and easy to navigate. It highlights key points and is mobile friendly.

The website layout has been changed from a vertical format to a modern, horizontal format. The site is powered by WordPress.

The Southwest Branch of the Manitoba Genealogical Society’s new website design is mobile friendly.

While browsing the site, I noticed the Celebrating Our Roots workshop, taking place on April 22. These are some of the highlights:

Keynote – Favourite Methods for Researching Family Roots: Using Online and Offline Resources – Gordon Goldsborough

Break-out Sessions
A) A Beginner’s Guide to East European Genealogy – Lisa Haji Abbasi
B) United Empire Loyalists – Barb Andrew
C) Looking Back at the Footprints of My Ancestors; Looking Ahead, A Vision for My Grandchildren – Deborah Tacan

Using DNA and Online Family Tree Furthering Your Family History Research – Lesley Anderson

Break-out Sessions
D) Back to Baba’s Village – Eastern European – Lisa Haji Abbasi
E) Métis Genealogy Research – Les Branconnier
F) British Home Children – Ralph Jackson

Keeping Musical Traditions Alive” Drummers – Susie McPherson-Derendy
Register Now

Annual Heritage Dinner – Gordon Goldsborough will talk about his new book, Abandoned Manitoba.

The Southwest Branch was chartered as part of MGS in 1978 as the Brandon and District Branch and was later renamed Southwest Branch to reflect the geographical area of Manitoba that is represented by the branch. The branch’s boundaries are the US border in the south, the Saskatchewan-Manitoba border in the west, Riding Mountain National Park to the north, and a line to the east running north/south, west of the city of Portage La Prairie.

Nice work, Southwest Branch!

Savoir faire is an occasional feature about genealogists and genealogical societies that are doing good things. To read about other creative and inspirational ideas, click on the ‘Savoir faire’ category in the right margin.

Posted in Savoir faire | Tagged Manitoba Genealogical Society | Comments Off

Red Deer RootsTech Family History Fair

Posted on March 27, 2017 by Gail Dever

The all-day Red Deer RootsTech Family History Fair in Alberta on Saturday, April 8 offers an opportunity to attend three genealogy presentations — and there is no cost for registration or lunch.

There are three sessions with two topics for each one.

1a. Genealogy Research in Ireland and Northern Ireland by Mary Joan Cornett
This is a presentation on how to trace your Irish ancestors. Specific topics covered will be based on the most important Irish genealogy collections: civil registration, church records, census records, census substitutes, land records, and court records. Examples will be given on how to use the records and where to find them.

1b. Successfully Navigating FamilySearch by Roxanne McCue
Do you know how to use FamilySearch Family Tree? What is the “Memories” section all about? Have you ever searched for your ancestors among the 325,000 plus digitized books? Do you know you can watch live webinars from the Family History Library in Salt Lake City? Many of them are recorded and they are later made available to watch in the comfort of your own home. Do you know how to effectively search the historical records, both those that have been indexed and those that have only been digitized? We will cover these topics and more…as time permits during this class.

2a. Danish Research 101 for Beginners by Annette Ellingson
This session will provide information for people beginning research on Danish ancestors. This will include discussion of the best sites on the internet to help begin your research in Denmark.

2b. Comparing the Big 4…Ancestry, FamilySearch, FindMyPast & MyHeritage by Roxanne McCue
Each of these websites have tools and records to help you with your family history work. Do you really need to use more than one of these sites? This class will compare some important features of each site. We will discuss subscription and free access options, family tree options within each site, searching strategies and some hidden gems.

3a. Who Were the Germans From Russia? by Diane Lewis
Do you know why your German-speaking ancestors came to North America from Russia over 125 years ago? It is definitely puzzling when one realizes that your German great great-grandparents actually lived in Russia during the 18 and 19th century. WHAT historical events were happening in Europe in the 1700’s to cause a massive migration from their homeland eastward to an unknown country? This power-point presentation will help answer some of the questions of WHO, WHEN, HOW, and WHY. It will also cover many aspects of an ancestor’s life in Russia, and why many emigrated again, looking for a better life in USA and Canada, whether they were Catholic, Protestant, Mennonites or Hutterites. A major aspect of this talk will also reflect on a number of genealogy records available on the Internet and introduce you to a number of German/Russia genealogical organizations and websites in Canada and United States

3b. Getting the Most from the Wiki at FamilySearch – and other hidden gems at FamilySearch by Peter and Linda Darby
What records are there for my ancestor in that country? Where can I find them? Did you know that there is a free online encyclopedia on how to do family history research? This session will show you how to get the most from the FamilySearch Wiki, and then share with you other hidden gems from FamilySearch.

Location, time, registration
The Red Deer RootsTech Family History Fair will take place at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Bower building, 3002 – 47th Avenue, Red Deer, from 9:30 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. The registration desks will open at 8:45 a.m. You are advised to go early if you would like a 20-minute one-on-one in Coaches’ Corner. The sign up sheet will open at 8:45 a.m. More info and the link to register here.

Posted in Lectures, Conferences, Online Learning, TV, News | Comments Off

One week left to take advantage of #OGSConf2017 early-bird registration

Posted on March 26, 2017 by Gail Dever

If you’ve been thinking about attending the Ontario Genealogical Society’s conference in Ottawa this June and you like to save money, now would be the time to register.

Until Friday, March 31, you can take advantage of the reduced-price, early-bird conference registration fee. The rates and online registration are available on the conference website.

Workshops and sessions are filling up and a few already have wait lists.

Wall of Ancestors
You don’t have to wait for the conference to start networking with conference registrants who may be your distant cousin. The online Wall of Ancestors is now up and active. The wall provides an opportunity for registrants to display some of the ancestors they are researching in the hope of making contact with others looking for the same family. To enter your ancestors’ names and see the names already posted, visit the Wall of Ancestors.