About the blog
Genealogy à la carte is a daily blog about genealogy news, resources, and issues facing the genealogy community across Canada, as well as in the United States and elsewhere around the world — all written from a Montréal point de vue.
Like an à la carte menu, I try to write articles that will please the palate of most genealogists.
Seven days a week, I write about the latest collections of online records, cemeteries, free webinars, genealogy presentations, books, military resources, family history writing, and in my Savoir faire series, I share genealogical societies’ projects that may help other societies.
Every Saturday, I compile the crème de la crème of genealogy blog posts — the gems I find during the week.
Visit my Contact page to follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest and to send me an email.
About the blogger
I’m Gail Dever, a Canadian family historian, genealogy news blogger, DNA enthusiast, family photo collector, and member of several genealogy societies in Canada, the United States, and Britain. In 2016 and 2017, I was named top Canadian Rockstar Genealogist. In 2017, the British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa inducted me into its Hall of Fame.
Growing up in Toronto, I believed in a bilingual Canada, and I still do. To improve my French, I moved to Quebec City after my first year of university at York University’s bilingual Glendon campus.
For the next four years, I totally immersed myself in the French language and culture, living with a family and even sharing a bedroom with one of the daughters. As a result of many sleepless nights, writing, reading, and studying, I earned a degree in French literature at Université Laval in Quebec City. They told me I was the first Anglophone to earn a degree in French literature, which I still find it hard to believe, but that’s what they told me.
After graduation, I moved to Montreal to work in communications. For many years, I held senior positions in public affairs, from external communications and advertising to scriptwriting and sponsorship, for a major Canadian corporation. As luck would have it, I was the company representive for Library and Archives Canada.
Today, I lecture about Quebec genealogy, Canadian family history resources, and how to use social media for your family history research. (See the list of my presentations here.)
I sometimes write on this blog about Irish genealogy because many of my ancestors, including the Dever, Melody, Haire, Noble, and Halley branches, came from Ireland. My Scottish Young and Fyvie ancestors came from Perth and Aberdeen. My English ancestors lived in Suffolk and Essex. Their names were Gooderham, Burrows, Haddock, and Jones.
My interest in the American civil war is because my Scottish-born great-great-grandfather James Young from Montreal was one of more than 30,000 Canadians who fought during that war. He served with the Sixth Connecticut Volunteers, K Company, was captured at Drewry’s Bluff near Richmond, Virginia, and spent several months in the Confederates’ Andersonville prison in Georgia.
You can read about my great-great-grandfather James Young’s experience in the civil war in:
How my Scottish-Canadian great-great-grandfather was captured during the US Civil War
Maggots, shinplasters, and spooning at Libby prison
We have been adding and sharing for a couple of years now and have accumulated many family histories, old pics, etc. I would be happy for you to check out our site and add us to your list!
We concentrate on the Mackinac area but have families from all over the Great Lakes area. We are a sharing bunch with our research and photos, happy to help with translations and look ups. Please feel free to shoot me an email with any questions!
Thanks,
Terry Weller
St. Ignace, Michigan
What is the address of your Facebook group/page?
Me again. I started a Facebook website called Ancestry Hook ups where people searching their roots can access free sites your site was added after I found photos of my grandpas stone I cannot thank you enough for that
Please share your Facebook group address here. I cannot find Ancestry Hook ups. Thanks.
Please add Seventh Town Historical Society/Marilyn Adams Genealogical Research Centre to the Ontario list. We are in Prince Edward County (for 45+ years). Thanks.
Great blog, Facebook and Pinterest pages. You are doing a great job.
The civil war story sounds fascinating! I would love to hear more.
Thanks for expressing interest in my gr-gr-grandfather’s civil war story. You made me realize I should add the blog posts I have written about him. They are now on this page.
On your on line site’ Genealogy a la Carte’ you say that access to the Scotlanspeople is free. Then you proceed to state the free for access once you try to enter. What does free mean to you?
You fell into the trap.
You have free access to the index on ScotlandsPeople, something we had to pay for a month ago.
Is it possible to subscribe to your website?
thanks
Wilma Kenny
Yes, you can subscribe to receive emails every day. In the right margin on the Home page, toward the top, you will see where you can “Follow this blog by email,” by entering your email address in the box underneath.
Hi Gail,
There are several additional FB groups you don’t appear to have included in your list.
Wayne Conrad Serbu has created the “It’s Retro Galt, Preston, Hespeler, Kitchener Entertainment” at https://www.facebook.com/groups/1488782868046115/. His description is: “Description
A neat site gathering of old images, places, friends and acquaintances bringing back the good memories in a series of collected pictures for group members to enjoy. My research was mainly looking for information about the early formation and business activity in the surrounding areas. I lived and worked in several hiway connected cities at one time or another spent fun times doing the road trips. The purpose is to show a collection of retro images that have been collected and the past memories. Some old time residents now live all over the world and I hope these group members will share some photos and a little about where they now live. I hope you find this site entertaining and interesting. This is not a site to make a political platform or sell stuff and remember, its only for entertainment. I have a built quite a collection of great images and know that will transport us back to the good old days or to present day. Share the fun times and don’t forget to invite your friends to join in also.
Cheers!
Wayne Conrad Serbu
Group Type
Group Type
Neighbors”
Dolly Rellinger has “memories of galt, preston or hespeler – those were the days, my friends!” at https://www.facebook.com/groups/56427749805/. Her description is: “Description
I just thought I would create a site where you could jot down memories of old Galt, Preston or Hespeler! If you have some old pics of the town or anything. We are the last generation that know and remember Galt, Preston and Hespeler as their own separate entities. This is just a place to give us a chance to go down memory lane!
Dolly Rellinger
(Site Creator – 2009)
Group Type
Group Type
Neighbors”
Daryl Bonk, who is also involved with http://generations.regionofwaterloo.ca/ has created “waterloo region heritage” at https://www.facebook.com/groups/354486074600548/.
“Description: Waterloo Region Heritage group is hoped to encourage discussing, sharing and recording local heritage. Associated with the website Waterloo Region Generations http://generations.regionofwaterloo.ca/ this group will be able to present interesting new items linked in the website, as well see timely news items about heritage and heritage events. ”
Toni Anthony has “if you grew up in cambridge, on you remember….” at https://www.facebook.com/groups/RememberingCambridge/
“Description ***YOU MUST HAVE AN INVITE BY A MEMBER ALREADY IN THIS GROUP IN ORDER TO BE ACCEPTED AS A MEMBER*** Reminisce about all the exciting and not so exciting things and places you grew up with while you lived in Cambridge….they don’t have to be Cambridge specific! Add your friends you grew up with as well, it makes it all more fun.”
On these sites, I’ve usually found comments and/or photos of places, structures, and people I’ve known much of my life. While they are not strictly about genealogy names, dates, places, they do help fill in social history information for me since I was born and raised in Galt, now part of Cambridge.
You’ve done a great job with your list of Canadian FB groups and thought you might wish to add these groups.
While there is a FB page for the Northern Ontario Railroad Museum and Heritage Centre in Capreol, Ontario, there is little of genealogical interest on it. However, the Museum does house extensive information about railroaders, lumber industry people, and mining people from northern Ontario. There is a reference library covering such people and the associated railroading, lumbering, and mining industries, especially in the Sudbury/Capreol region. The Museum’s URL is http://normhc.ca/. They also have links to Sudbury Heritage Museums (http://www.sudburymuseums.ca/) and the Voyageur Heritage Network, a group of local museums in northern Ontario. See http://www.visitamuseum.com/en/museums.asp?alpha=yes for a list of links to VHN museums. Some of these museums may also have FB pages and/or information of genealogical interest.
Great suggestions for the Facebook for Canadian Genealogy list. Thanks!
Hi, would love for you to add my Facebook group “Newfoundland Gedmatch” to your list. It’s just for people who have had DNA tested and uploaded to Gedmatch. We are approaching 300 members and lots of people have found cousins and broken down some of those brick walls we all have.
Thanks. I added your suggestion and updated the list.
I think you may enjoy it.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/314284268927605/
I invite you to join a new closed Facebook group “Loyalist in depth study”.
Shannon Johnson and myself realized that there was a need to help those who wish to discover more about their Loyalist ancestors. Finally, at the beginning of October we just bit the bullet and began the group. We have approximately 120 members.
Consider it a complimentary group to Revolutionary War Research (of which I have just recently been added as an Administrator).
I invite you to please join in the discussions, post your thoughts and theories and realize that we wish to maintain a serious, educational and helpful environment.
Hoping to see you there.
Sandra McNamara UE
Thanks. I added your suggestion and updated the list.
I think Parry Sound Historical Photographs would be a great addition to your list, which already includes Parry Sound-Muskoka Genealogy Soc.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/172080842916324/
I have several groups that I created for certain French pioneers descendants to share family stories and photos for those who have French Canadian roots. May you get my French Canadian groups to include for more French Canadians with these ancestors to join my groups please? Since many of them needs more members or Facebook French Canadian cousins can join. I will include the websites for each one here in my comment.
1. https://www.facebook.com/groups/St.Pierre.descendants1664/
2. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1479879255471911/
3. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1207859295901183/
Thanks! I’ll add them to the next update of Facebook for Canadian Genealogy.
I’m curious if you know anything about the William Hopkins who purchased lot 26 on Oak Island, Nova Scotia in 1787. My Hopkins ancestor married a Haddox, spelled Haddock many generations earlier.
Thanks,
Lee
Hi …my name is Judy Wilson and I am 72 yrs old. I started to search my family tree 5 years ago and am loving it (when things go right). I need all the expert advice I can get. Thank you for creating this site and for letting me join. Judy
I am making a presentation on Internet resources and would like to include your list of “Facebook for Canadian Genealogy”. I tried to use the link on your website but it takes me to a page of “Goobley gook”. Is there something wrong with the link? Please help me as I am giving the presentation on Saturday. Thanks for your help.
Janice Butcher, MB Genealogical Society Facebook editor
Thanks! Click on the tab on the top, Facebook for Canadian Genealogy. It works for me. On the page, you will see the list of Canadian groups and pages, plus other lists. http://genealogyalacarte.ca/?page_id=10169 When I update the list twice a year, the link remains the same.