British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa

Anglo-Celtic Roots

This page lists the contents of each Anglo-Celtic Roots issue. An on-going project is creating summaries for each article. The summaries created so far are included in the list. Some articles have been re-published on the web, these are indicated as links; a summary of such articles can be found on our Classic ACR Articles page.

RefVolNumDateTitle / Author
111Winter 1995 The Lanark Society Settlers by Carol Bennett McCuaig
During 1820 and 1821, more than 4000 adults and children emigrated from Scotland to settle in Canada. They were members of more than 40 emigration societies and known collectively as the Lanark Society Settlers. The British government gave each adult male 100 acres of free land in Lanark County, bedding, seeds, construction tools, farming equipment, and instalments of money that was to be paid back when the settler got established. Nearly all the settlers were Protestant. Many had some education, and they soon founded a library in Dalhousie Township. Although some families moved to Renfrew County and elsewhere during the 1830s, many remained in Lanark.
Celtic Connection Documentary by Anthony James Kelleher
A Celtic Connection Documentary by Anthony James Kelleher. The author planned a documentary film about Celtic settlers who came to the Ottawa Valley and eastern Ontario during the early nineteenth century. He has contacted several family history researchers living in the area who have relevant information about their Irish ancestors. Some of the information collected is outlined, including items about the Galvin family who came to Canada in 1825 from County Kerry, William Switzer, Michael Delaney, Cornelius O'Keefe, and the Farrell family of Farrelton, Quebec.
Photo Finds Family by Paul Murray
The author and his mother Eleanor Hickey visited Ireland in 1990 in search of Richard Doyle's birthplace. Richard Doyle, Eleanor's father, emigrated from Ireland in 1911, married, and had two children. He was gassed at Ypres and died when Eleanor was a child; his widow died soon after. When Eleanor Hickey went to Ireland, she took an old photograph of her father's home in Cork with her. She knew that the house had been on Douglass Road. The search for the property along a six mile stretch of road and some of the help received during chance encounters are described. A small sign appears in the photograph that offered a valuable clue about the location of the property. An Edward Doyle lived nearby; he turned out to be Eleanor's uncle. Edward Doyle welcomed the Canadians warmly and introduced them to several Irish cousins.
Surnames by Ken Collins
Surnames were not used in England until after the Domesday Book Survey. They came into general use during the 12th century. Surnames were taken from sources such as place names, nicknames, trades or professions, topography, and animals. Often son or its equivalent was added to the father's name. The spelling of the same family name varies, since when most people were illiterate, tax assessors and other record keepers recorded names based on how they were pronounced.
Why Greater Ottawa? by Brian O'Regan
The founders of the British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa decided that the society needed both a geographic identifier and focus and an outlook. They did not want to limit the society to precise boundaries. They selected Greater Ottawa as the society's geographic identifier and focus. Greater Ottawa comprises the City of Ottawa and surrounding area. It covers about 1800 square miles and extends along both sides of the Ottawa River. Greater Ottawa includes the City of Ottawa, most of Carleton County and parts of Russell and Lanark Counties in Ontario and parts of Hull, Gatineau, Pontiac, and Papineau Counties in Quebec. The outlook of the society was broadened to include the origins of migrants from the British Isles. The article includes a chronology of 30 settlers and location for the period 1790 to 1830.
212Spring 1995 The Hidden Welsh of the Ottawa Valley by Carol Bennett McCuaig
The number of Welsh descendants in Canada has been underestimated, because many records list the Welsh migrant's place of origin as England. Most Welsh settlers came to Canada alone or in family groups. Many went to Ireland, England, or the United States first, and some of these families or their descendants later settled in Canada. Some Welsh surnames are versions of a man's first name, e.g. Evans, and this can provide a clue to Welsh ancestry. Many place names were anglicized when the county structure in Wales was reorganized in 1974. Researchers need to know both the old and new county names.
Welsh Genealogy by Rev. Howard R. Rokeby-Thomas
The Reverend Rokeby-Thomas offers advice to Canadians of Welsh descent about ways to research their Welsh ancestry. The researcher must understand that Wales exists in two lineages: Welsh and English. The best methods of approach to the National Library of Wales and the Honourable Society of Cymmrodorlon are described. The religious nonconformity commonplace in Wales makes genealogical research more difficult. Two reference books on Wales are recommended.
Loyalists & the British Connection by Norman K. Crowder
At the time of the American Revolution, the population of the American colonies was about 2.5 million people. Roughly a third of these were Rebels and up to a third Royalists. Between 70,000 and 100,000 Royalists are estimated to have left the colonies at the end of the war. Several British regiments came to Central Canada. Roughly 35,000 refugees went to the Maritimes, some later relocating to Ontario. About 10,000 in two groups came to Quebec. About half the Loyalists were of British origin. Most of the remainder came from German, Dutch, or French lineages. Resources for locating Loyalist ancestors are described.
Coming of the Loyalists by Canniff Haight Summarized by Brian O'Regan
This article is condensed from a 20-page paper that was printed privately in 1899. At the end of the American Revolution, British sympathizers had to leave the American colonies. Thousands escaped to large coastal towns, boarded British ships, and escaped to the Maritimes, England, or the West Indies. Many who remained behind were maltreated or killed. Sir Guy Carleton, the British general commanding New York, delegated Captain Michael Grass to escort a group to Canada. Five ships carried the refugees to Sorel, Quebec. They arrived in October 1783 and spent the winter in shanties. In mid-May they travelled up the St. Lawrence River to Cataraquai. The Surveyor General measured out six townships and divided each into 200-acre parcels of land that were distributed by drawing lots. The government provided the Loyalist settlers with food, clothing, and tools for three years, until they could clear sufficient land for survival.
The Great Irish Famine by Brian O'Regan
The famine years in Ireland commenced in August 1845 when a fungus destroyed the potato crop. About one million people died, and two million left Ireland. Between 1845 and 1849, 230,094 Irish emigrants came to Canada. Many died of fever and dysentery at sea or at one of the quarantine stations at Grosse Isle, Middle Island, or Partridge Island. In 1847 alone, 17,645 people died while under quarantine.
313Summer 1995 The Snedden Saga by Marilvn Snedden
James Snedden, his wife Christina Montgomery, and Jane and Samuel, their youngest children, were among the more than 1200 Scottish settlers who came to Canada in May 1821. The Sneddens were from the Parish of Alloa in Clackmannanshire and belonged to the Rutherglen Emigration Society, one of the societies collectively known as the Lanark Society Settlers. Alexander, David, and Janet Snedden, three of the couple's older children, had been in Canada since 1819 and were living in Beckwith Township. The terms that the government set out for the 1821 settlers and the land granted to the Snedden family are described. Excerpts from the diaries of two other 1821 settlers are included to depict the travel conditions and land issues that the new immigrants faced.
I Found My Irish Ancestry in Canada by John Middlebrook
The author's maternal grandmother Margaret Kearns was descended from Irish settlers from Counties Armagh and Mayo. They came to Perth, Ontario about 1840, where they opened a buggy factory. Margaret Kearns died in Minnesota in 1935. The author obtained a birth certificate for her that identified Margaret's parents as James Kearns and Margaret Grogan. According to a Quebec book of Roman Catholic marriages, that was available in the Minnesota Genealogical Library, the couple were married in Perth, Ontario in 1859. The author visited Ottawa, and with help from the BIFHSGO president and others, he traced his ancestry to his g g grandparents, Patrick Kearns and Mary Traynor. The couple were married in Upper Craggan parish in 1826 and came to Canada with their children about 1840.
Canucks in the U.S. Civil War by Brian O'Regan
Foreign enlistment was illegal, but thousands of Canadians fought in the American Civil War, and hundreds died. Several books and collections of official records about Civil War armies and navies are recommended. The Civil War Soldiers System (CWSS) is a new computerized data base containing information about 3.5 million soldiers and 7,000 Union and Confederate regiments and units. The data base can be searched by surname alone.
The Change of Calendar 1752 by Kenneth F. Collins
The Julian calendar was used in Europe from 46 BCE until the sixteenth century. In 1577, Pope Gregory XIII initiated a reform to correct an error in the Julian calendar that amounted to roughly eleven minutes per year and a cumulative error of ten days over the centuries. The Pope decreed that the vernal equinox would occur on 21 March and the ten days between 5 October and 15 October 1582 would be abolished. England did not accept these changes until 1752. Then, by Act of Parliament, the year 1751 was shortened by three months to allow the following year to start on 1 January 1752. Eleven days were removed by making 3 September 1752 into 14 September 1752. Some people used both old style and Gregorian dates; so apparent discrepancies in dates appear in some family records.
Book Reviews by Ken Collins & Others...
British Army Pensioners Abroad, 1772-1899 by Norman K. Crowder is about British Army pensioners (or Chelsea pensioners) who settled outside Great Britain. Many came to Eastern Canada. More than 8900 names and the military unit on discharge are listed. The military unit is important to obtain a pensioner's service record.
414Fall 1995 1851 County Sligo Letter by Jim Heal
The article contains the contents of a letter written by Richard Golden in Rathscanlon, Ireland to his brothers and sisters in America. The letter, dated 19 May 1851, provides a rich source of news about family and friends, their health and relationships, and farming back in County Sligo. Apparently Richard Golden and his parents plan to join Jasper, Maria and Sarah Golden and an aunt and cousins who have settled in Canada, probably in or near Essex County, Ontario.
Canuck Pensioners of U.S. Civil & 1812 Wars by Brian O'Regan
In 1883, the U.S. government published the Roll to provide the names of each person, or his widow, receiving a pension as of 1 January 1883 for service in the U.S. Civil War or the War of 1812. The Roll includes certificate number, pensioner's name, address, cause of injury, amount of payment, and date the pension commenced. This list comprises the Canadian pensioners on the Roll, about 700 in all. Part 1 runs alphabetically from Adams to Demers. The rest of the Canadian names will be published in three future issues of Anglo-Celtic Roots.
My Ahnentafel 1340-1995 by Frank Miller
This ancestor table covers 20 generations and lists approximately 160 individuals, many with year and location of birth included. Ancestors for generations 1 to 5 were mostly Irish Protestants who settled in Canada. Nearly all the ancestors listed for generations 6 to 10 lived in New England. Generation 11 consists of Captain Thomas Bradbury from Wicken Bonhunt, England and Mary Perkins (b 1620) of Salisbury, Massachusetts. Thomas Bradbury is traced back to Thomas Heigham I, who was born around 1340.
Our First Year by Board of Directors
Occupations by Jack Moody
Archaic terms for trades, professions, and occupations are listed and defined. For example, a malender was a farmer. A small child who worked underground opening and closing trapdoors to provide ventilation in a mine was known as a trapper. Approximately 140 terms are included.
521Winter 1996 I Am My Own Emigrant by Lesley Huppert
This is an account of the family history of the Gent family who came to Canada from London in 1966, when the author was a child. The information was obtained from genealogical searches, visits to England, and interviews with relatives. The author's great grandparents were William John Gent and Annie Parker of London, Frederick Charles Pope and Ellen Taylor of Brighton, William Fletcher and Mary Ann Pepper of Dover, and William Frank Hardie and Selina Sutton of Deal. Information is provided on some of the g g grandparents, as well.
Adventures of Eve: A Mother's Castoff by Helen Coward
Winifred (later known as Eve) Fifield was born in 1891 in Westbury, Wiltshire. She was the illegitimate daughter of Clara Harriet Fifield and raised by her grandmother Laura, the widow of William Fifield, a gamekeeper for the Earl of Northbrook. In 1903, Clara falsely declared that there was no one able to provide for her daughter. Dr. Barnardo's Home accepted the child and sent her to Canada. She lived with two farm families near Kingston, Ontario under very harsh conditions. After Winifred's disappearance from her grandmother's home, the Fifield family tried to trace her. They finally located her in 1910, and then, Winifred was sent to live with a Hamilton family who treated her well and oversaw her education. In 1919, Winifred went to China as secretary to a missionary writer. Two years later she married Arthur Joseph Heal, an employee at Thomas Cook & Son. The couple had two children. When the Japanese invaded China in 1937, the Heal family was in England, where they remained except for a few years in Malaya after WW II. Winifred was active in charity and volunteer work throughout most of her life. But she had few inner resources because of her early abandonment. She suffered from depression and heart problems in later years and died in 1977, followed by her husband three years later.
My Ancestor: A Very Special Woman or Witch? by Frank Miller
Thomas Bradbury was born in England in 1610 and settled in Salisbury, Massachusetts, where he married Mary Perkins. The couple had 11 children. Thomas occupied several positions including constable, schoolmaster, and Associate Justice. Records describe Mary as charitable and peace loving. Nevertheless, in 1692, Mary Bradbury was charged with witchcraft based on circumstantial evidence. Despite a defence by an excellent lawyer, testimonies by Mary and her husband, and many character references, Mary was convicted of witchcraft along with four other women. She escaped execution.
British Directories by Gwen Kingsley
Directories were published in England to provide salesmen with a list of potential customers. Directories first appeared in the 17th century and were available for most large towns by the late 18th century and for most counties soon after. Trade directories provide addresses, alphabetical listings of the more prominent residents, town histories, and a wealth of other information about our ancestors and how they lived.
So You Think You are Irish by Jack Moody
The first people arrived in Ireland about 6000 BCE. Later invaders overpowered these early inhabitants. The Fomhoire were overthrown by the Firbolgs, followed by the Tuatha De Danann (according to legend the source of the "little people"), and the Gaels. The Celts arrived about 1000 BCE from central Europe or Spain. Vikings and Anglo-Normans followed. These successive waves of invaders, each in turn, overpowered the native Irish population, but then were absorbed to become part of it.
Genealogy of the World Wide Web by Edward Kipp
Monoghan, Cavan & Louth Names In Canada by Alan Rayburn
Canuck Pensioners of U.S. Civil & 1812 Wars: Part 2 by Brian O'Regan
622Spring 1996 Family History Research and Writing by WE (Ed) Walker
Two approaches to writing a family history are described: commence with the present generation and trace your ancestry back as far as possible or begin with an early ancestor and attempt to identify all his or her descendants. Practical advice is provided about record-keeping, organization of material including maps and photographs, planning for publishing, and computerization. In writing the Walker family history, information was collected from family and family connections, oral histories, census records, cemetery records, Belden's Historical Atlas with township maps, newspaper articles, Loyalist records, land grants, and wills.
Discovering My Irish-Scotch Ancestry by Elizabeth Stuart
John Stuart and Jane McNab, the author's paternal great grandparents, were born in Scotland. All her other great grandparents were thought to be Irish. But a search showed that her great grandfather John MacDonald, who is listed in Ontario census records as Irish, was actually born about 1794 in Trannent Co of Haddington, Scotland. MacDonald married a Margaret Cogeil in Edinburgh. No later record about this first wife was uncovered. In 1822, MacDonald enlisted in the Royal Engineers and was posted to Ireland. When he was discharged in Canada in 1831, MacDonald was married to Elizabeth McMullen. Their children William and Jane were born in 1829 and 1831 respectively. The MacDonalds lived in Osgoode Township.
My Most Remarkable Relative by Gordon M. Taylor
Saxon Arnoll Sydney-Turner (1880-1962) was the author's third cousin once-removed. Both are descended from Joseph Davis (1753-1828) and Ann Arnoll (1755-1824). Sydney-Turner graduated from Cambridge and worked at the Treasury department in London. He was a classical scholar who wrote fine poetry and music, but did not publish. Sydney-Turner was a member of the Bloomsbury Group. He is discussed in detail in several books written by or about other Bloomsbury Group members.
Canuck Pensioners of U.S. Civil & 1812 Wars: Part 3 by Brian O'Regan
My Ancestor: Traitor or Patriot by Frank Miller
Edward Gove, an officer in the New Hampshire militia was impetuous when he drank. In 1683, Gove and his friends decided to abduct New Hampshire Governor Edward Crandall, who was widely disliked. The governor was alerted, and Gove and his followers were captured instead. At the ensuing trial, Gove was convicted of treason and sentenced to be hanged, drawn and quartered. Because of the severity of the punishment, Governor Crandall stayed the death penalty and sent Gove to the Tower of London. After three years of incarceration, Gove was granted a full pardon and allowed to return to his commission in the New Hampshire militia.
My Ahnentafel 1330-1996 by Ken Collins
This ancestor table covers 18 generations and lists approximately 350 individuals. Generation II consists of Bernard Ira Collins (1885-1967) of Danville NH and Louise Eleanor McPherson (1893-1957) of Grand Valley ON. Nearly all those listed for generations III through X were born in New Hampshire or Massachusetts. Those in generations XI through XVIII were English. Generation XVII includes King Edward IV. Eleven individuals are listed for generation XVIII.
Writing: Journals and Inquiries by Jack Moody
Keeping a journal is recommended an excellent method for informing descendants about one's life, thoughts, and personal views about current events. There are basic rules to follow in writing letters requesting information. Inquiries should be legible, clear, and complete with inclusion of known information to help the researcher. Enclose a self-addressed stamped envelope or, for foreign inquiries, International Reply coupons (IRCs) or a money order. For Internet inquiries, offer to pay all reasonable costs for copies of the information requested.
723Summer 1996 The Baynes of Bytown by Margaret Moffatt
George Bayne (1790-1876) was born in Perthshire, Scotland. In 1819, he married Elizabeth Robertson (1792-1881). George was a shoemaker, but he was advised to seek work out-of-doors, because he suffered from asthma. In 1827, the Baynes emigrated to Upper Canada with their three children; four children were born later in Canada. The stormy voyage across the Atlantic and travel by steamer and stage coach or ox-cart from Montreal to Bytown are described. Bayne found employment as a timekeeper at the Rideau Canal construction site at Entrance Bay. Later, he became a pathmaster, an assessor for Nepean township, and a highly successful dairy farmer. Bayne bought parcels of land in Bytown and along Richmond Road. The terms of his will and the eventual disposal and sales of some of these valuable properties are outlined.
The Bairds of Torbolton by John A. Lougheed
Daniel Baird (1786-1892) was born in Dunning, Scotland. During the Napoleonic wars, Lieut. Baird (usually called Captain) served with distinction in the Royal Navy. He married Helen Macara and the couple emigrated to Canada in 1822 in response to an offer of free land for officers, 500 acres in his case. They stayed at a military settlement in Richmond and moved to Torbolton in 1824: the township's first settlers. Details are provided about problems with land-clearing, including several letters of complaint written by Lieut. John Grierson in 1824 and 1826 to the Wrights of Hull about the failure of Wright's workmen to fulfil an agreement to clear portions of Baird's land and about the non-delivery of food supplies. Baird was active in providing accommodation and setting up the first school in Torbolton township. There were 11 Baird children. Two daughters married Maclarens and one married a Grierson, sons from two other early settler families living nearby. Data from the 1842 census about Baird's farm, produce and animals and from the 1851 enumeration listing 13 Baird family members are included.
First Train Through Canadian Rockies by Frank Miller
Louis Patrick, the author's Great Uncle Lou, was a Canadian Pacific Railway locomotive engineer for 32 years. He drove trains from Winnipeg into the Rocky Mountains while the railway was being completed and was present at Craigellachi, BC for the driving of the last spike in November 1885. He drove the first passenger train through the Rockies, from Canmore, NWT (now Alberta) to Donald, BC. One time Patrick stopped a runaway railcar that was coming down the mountain track by stopping and putting his train into reverse to allow the descending car to hit his engine with as little impact as possible. Patrick's wife Minnie Hood also worked for the railway as a telegraph operator and as the station agent at Laggan, NWT. After Louis Patrick retired from the CPR, he operated a swing bridge on the Fraser River.
Yorkshire Names in Canada by Alan Rayburn
Canadian Heroes in U.S. Civil War: Part 3 by Brian O'Regan
824Fall 1996 Canada in 1814-1815 by Samuel Holmes
This article contains excerpts from a journal that is among papers pertaining to the Holmes family of Coleraine County, Londonderry. The Holmes family papers, dated 1782-1876, are held in Northern Ireland's Public Records Office. The journal was composed by army surgeon Samuel Holmes during his stay in Canada during 1814 and 1815. Holmes describes his voyage from Ireland to Quebec and his travels upriver to Montreal and then through Glengarry, Stormont, Kingston and Toronto to join his regiment at the Niagara campaign. Holmes offers his opinions about issues that include Canadian history and society, immigration, farming, politics, and war.
The Rideau Canal by Margaret Moffatt
The construction of the Rideau Canal is described. Colonel John By of the Corps of Royal Engineers came to Canada to supervise the construction of a canal extending from the confluence of the Rideau and Ottawa Rivers to Kingston. The canal was intended to provide a safe route for transporting military supplies from Montreal to Lake Ontario. Colonel By arrived in the area (later named Bytown after him) with two companies in June 1827. Work started at both ends to build the123-mile canal. When completed in 1832, the navigable channel consisted of 18 miles of short canals, 105 miles of rivers and lakes, 24 dams, and 47 locks that were required to lift traffic 277 feet to the Upper Rideau and from there to descend 162 feet to Kingston. The cost of the canal was double the original estimate. Half the 4000 workers died from accidents or disease, in particular the malaria they contacted through working in swamps.
Memoirs by Daniel O'Connor by Daniel O'Connor
Daniel O'Connor was born in Clonmel, County Tipperary about 1796. O'Connor and his wife immigrated to Canada and arrived in Bytown in May 1827 after travelled from Kingston by raft. Their first child died soon after arrival. Their daughter Mary Ann was born in 1827, the first child born in Bytown. The couple had six additional children: Charles, John, Daniel, Margaret, Roderick Edward, and Catharine. Daniel O'Connor was one of the first Justices of the Peace and was appointed Judge of the Court of Requests. He ran in the first Russell County election to the Upper Canada parliament, but was defeated by Thomas McKay of New Edinburgh.
Researching Hull Pioneers by Diane Proc
The author thought her great grandfather J. Robert Dunlap was born in Ireland, but she found he was born in Ontario, according to the 1871 Ontario census. Robert's father William was born in Ireland and was living with his son William in Hull in 1871. Not many records about the early Hull settlers survived the Great Fire of 1900. Roman Catholic parish records for the Hull/Chelsea region are also scarce, since many early settlers depended on missionaries, not all of whom kept good records. A book about early settlers in the Upper Ottawa Valley by A.A. Gard provided some information about g g g g grandparents Gabriel Dunlop and Catherine Hoban, who immigrated to Canada with five children. A family of Dunlops is listed in a table found among the Philemon Wright papers. The table (A Statistical List for the Township of Hull, Lower Canada, from its first settlement in 1800 to 1820) is reproduced with this article. It lists 27 families with data about number of children, settlement date, and profession.
Emigrant's 1836 Letter to Scotland by Robert Squair
This letter was written by Robert Squair of Whitby, Upper Canada to his brother-in-law John Grant who lived in Forres, Morayshire, Scotland. The letter offers advice about trans-Atlantic travel and items to bring on the voyage to America, in particular food for the voyage and tools. Good occupations include carpentry in Canada and masonry in New York. Barn construction, buying land, farming, family health, and relatives and friends are discussed.
Searching a Foggy Past by Abe Lipson
Joseph Young Patrick, the author's father-in-law, came to west Carleton from Castlederg, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland in 1889, when he was 18. He became a successful grocer, butcher, and home builder in Westboro. His first wife died in 1933; there were no children. Patrick soon married a Renfrew woman, and the couple had two sons and a daughter. Joseph Young Patrick died in 1937. The author describes how he traced the Patrick family history back three generations with help from the Family History Centre, BIFHSGO, and the National Library of Canada.
Making Dull Relatives Sparkle Again by David Mishkin
A commercial technique for enhancing faded photographs is described. Different developers, filters, and film are used in the enhancement process. Several genealogists agree that the process improved the quality of photos that had previously been so faded, they could not be scanned.
British Armed Forces Ancestors by Iain Kerr
Sources of information about those who served in the British armed forces before 1913 are described. For commissioned officers in the Royal Navy and the Royal Marines, the first place to search is the Navy List, published since 1814, and its predecessor, Steele's Navy List. Many other types of records are available. Before 1853, central records were not kept for seamen. Samuel Pepys introduced a system for Royal Navy ships that was used over the period 1668-1878. For each ship, seamen are listed in alphabetical order. The War office maintains lists of army officers classified by regiment. Attestation and discharge papers are the main source of information for individual soldiers. Pension records and some pay lists are available for some, but soldiers who died in service are difficult to trace.
Britain's Reivers: Border Surnames by Graham Heathcote
The Border Reivers terrorized and plundered the border regions between England and Scotland during the 14th to 17th centuries. They operated on both sides of the border. Eventually they were subdued, deported, or killed. Many went to Ireland. A list of the Border Reivers is kept in Carlisle. Researchers have identified 74 family names that are listed in this article.
931Winter 1996-97 Reference Sources for Canadian Genealogy at the National Library of Canada by Mary Bond
The National Library of Canada has an excellent genealogical reference collection. Reference Sources for Canadian Genealogy cites more than 200 reference sources for individuals searching for Canadian ancestors. These references were selected from Canadian Reference Sources: An Annotated Bibliography, which contains more than 4000 entries about Canadian institutions, history, art, humanities, religions, and society. Most of these publications are held in the library's Reference Collection. Several Canadian handbooks, records of various types, and directories of interest for genealogical research are suggested. Reference works in the international collection are available for those searching for ancestors who lived in other countries. Items held in the general collection are available on inter-library loan. The library also offers an inquiry service. Details such as hours of operation and regulations for visitors to the Reference Room are outlined.
Using Military Records for Family History by Carol White
The military and personnel records of Canadians who fought in the South African and First and Second World Wars are described. For family historians, the service files, medal registers, and land grant applications are the main records of interest about the volunteers in the South African War. The Canadian Expeditionary Force personnel records provide a rich source of information about those who served in the First World War. Other records available include Records of Service, medical documents, pay sheets, War Diaries, Daily Orders and Pay Lists, cards about receipt of medals, burial locations and addresses of next-of-kin, and sailing lists. The personnel files for Canadians who served in the Second World War are not yet classified as archival records. Access to these records is regulated by the federal Access to Information and Privacy Acts. Many archival records are available that contain information about daily activities. All Army units maintained War Diaries; the RCAF kept operation books and the RCN ship logs. Not many individuals are named in these records, but they contain useful information about military life. Most records are held at the National Archives of Canada, including the RCAF Daily Routine Orders and Army Part II Orders.
I Thought I was Scottish, But.... by Liz Carter
The author was born a McLeary in Scotland to Scottish parents and always considered herself as Scottish only. When she started to research her family tree from Canada and later during a visit to Ireland and Scotland, she discovered many ancestors who were Irish. Her grandfather Kirkpatrick was born in Antrim, Northern Ireland. G g grandfather Kirkpatrick is listed in the 1864 Griffith's Valuation. Grandmother Kirkpatrick's ancestry was traced to a g g g grandmother Dalgleith, who lived in Leith, Scotland, and to the Docherty family. Although g grandfather Docherty was born in Scotland, his mother was born in Ireland and his father in England. The McLeary grandparents were both born in Scotland, but all McLeary's g grandparents (McLeary, Hunter, Roseman and Houston) and his wife's grandparents (Shields, Park, Higgins and Carter) were born in Ireland. This last name came as a surprise. Now research is continuing on the Carter family (Carter, Glassford, Edwards and Anderson).
Gleanings from the National Archives of Canada by Mary M. Nash
The Catalogue of Pamphlets in the Public Archives of Canada, or Casey catalogue, contains items published between 1493 and 1877. Four items are described here. Casey No. 1378 is a brochure published in 1832 to inform United Empire Loyalists, military officers, soldiers and seaman about the procedures to follow when applying for land grants. Casey no. 1725 describes emigration from the Scottish Highlands to North America and the establishment of the Catholic Diocese of Upper Canada in the late 1830s. Bishop MacDonnell was appointed its first bishop. Information is included about Bishop MacDonnell and the role he played in finding employment for Scots who lost their livelihoods during the Highland clearances and later the founding of the Fencible Corps and the 2nd Glengarry Fencible Regiment. Casey no. 1814 is a broadsheet about the founding of the Bytown and Ottawa Emigration Society of Canada in 1841. Information for Emigrants to British North America, 1842 (Casey no. 1857) describes the roles of colonial land and emigration commissioners and emigration agents. It includes practical information, such as the average duration of the voyage from the UK to Quebec, costs of accommodation onboard, geography and climate, population of several provinces, coinage, opportunities for those arriving in Canada with capital, and advice for the labouring class.
Rare Names are a Blessing by Douglas A. Hill
The article compares the frequency of surnames and given names in the Index of Civil Registrations of Births for England and Wales. A search of the Index for 1857 for the exact name "Rosina Woodland" yielded no results. The frequency of this name is compared to a representative list of three surnames (Smith, Turner, and Woodland) and three first names (William, Emma, and Rosina). The results are shown in a table. The search results show 387 hits for William Smith, 81hits for William Turner, and one hit for William Woodland. There are five hits for Rosina Smith but no hits for either Rosina Turner or Rosina Woodland. The first name Emma appears under all three surnames, but much less frequently than William. Rosina Woodland was located in the 1856 Index.
Fishing Expedition Successful by Gloria F. Tubman
A search for the descendants of Mary Jane Tubman Costello is described. Mary Jane Tubman was born in Cavan, Ireland in 1855. She came to Canada with her parents Thomas and Lily Telford Tubman the following year. The family settled in Caldwell, Bristol Township, Quebec. Seven additional children were born in Caldwell including the author's grandfather Thomas Albert Tubman. According to census records, Mary Jane Tubman left Bristol Township after 1881. An obituary notice for Lily Telford Tubman, in Equity in March 1922, mentions a daughter, Mrs. Robert Costello from Gladstone, Manitoba. The author wrote to ten people with the surname Costello who were living in Manitoba during the mid-1990s. Three replied, all relatives. A reply from Murene Garton, a granddaughter of Mary Jane Tubman, included an invitation to attend a Clarke family reunion, organized by Alexander and Christena Costello, in Rivercourse, Alberta. At the reunion, the author met many cousins. Two Clarke cousins visited the Tubman family and the Shawville area later that year. They saw the old Tubman homestead and visited local cemeteries where relatives are buried.
1032Spring 1997 Family Albums: Memories in Photos by Jim Shearon
The article traces the history of photography and includes information from a recent exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Photography in Ottawa that covered more than 150 years of photography. The first commercial photograph was the daguerreotype, which came into use in 1839. In this process, a single image is etched on a metal plate. This method requires an exposure of up to 20 minutes and immediate development in a darkroom of each detailed photograph. With the discovery of collodion, a light-sensitive chemical, in 1848, negatives and production of multiple copies from the same image became possible. Dry gelatine plates, that could be developed some time after taking photos, came into use during the late 1870s. A decade later, Kodak introduced a camera that was loaded with gelatine roll film, sufficient for 100 circular-shaped photos. The entire camera had to be returned to the factory for processing and reloading. Colour photos were introduced in 1941. Home movies date to the 1920s, with the 8-mm. colour videocamera following in the 1950s. Since 1990, photos can be stored on compact disks and downloaded and edited on a computer.
Home Children Passenger List for the Year 1870 (Special Announcement)
During the period 1869 to 1930, about 100,000 children from British workhouses or homes were sent to Canada and placed in Canadian households to start a new life. Volunteers from BIFHSGO and the Ottawa Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society have been searching passenger lists, held on microfilm by the National Archives of Canada, for the names and details about these children. Two lists are being searched. One identifies the child by surname and given name, age, gender, year, code for cross-reference to the Ship List, and the position of the entry on the film. The second listing identifies the ship, ports of departure and arrival and relevant dates. Information about 869 home children who arrived in Canada in 1870 will be published in the Summer issue.
Desktop Publishing: Advice from an Expert by Jim Shearon with David Sherwin
It is important to plan and design the finished product, before you start work to publish a family history. An overall plan will help you start the history and organize the various stages involved in its creation. Desktop published has changed markedly over the past decade with the development of new software for scanning, handling of photographs and graphics, and repair of images. Word processing programs such as Word and WordPerfect are suitable for basic and intermediate page layouts. Other programs allow more complex layouts. It is possible to complete a family history from beginning to end using desktop publishing. Some family historians contract parts of this work to service providers, such as freelance designers and printers. It is important to obtain firm estimates and a clear understanding of the work that will be done for the price quoted.
Conservation and Preservation of Photographs and Documents by Louise Anderson
Methods for proper storage, preservation and display of photographs and documents are described. A 14-part procedure is described, that includes preparing an inventory, sorting, labelling, removal and temporary storage in plastic bags of any records that are water damaged or emitting a chemical odour, grouping of records in envelopes or files, separation of negatives from photos, selection of items for copying or display, and selection of items to be restored by a specialist. The photographs and documents should be stored in a safe environment that is well ventilated and away from external walls, radiators and direct light.
More Gleanings from the National Archives of Canada by Mary M. Nash
Three items selected from the Catalogue of Pamphlets in the Public Archives of Canada are summarized. Casey no. 1828 describes a 60-page brochure published in 1841 about emigration to Upper Canada, after the Canada Company was established in 1824 to colonize Upper Canada. To carry this out, the Canada Company purchased 2.5 million acres, half lying in the Huron Tract and the remainder scattered in Crown reserves. Statistical information is provided about the financial status of householders who had arrived in Upper Canada with capital of 100 to 500 pounds sterling and of others who arrived with no capital. Data are given about families living in 78 townships in the Goderich, Guelph and Huron County area. A map of the province is included. Casey no. 3355 contains a lecture presented by Henry J. Morgan of the NY Historical Society about the place of British Americans in history. People discussed include Joseph Brant, other aboriginals, French Canadians, and noteworthy British scientists, artists, and military officers. Casey no. 3301 is a 55-page almanac published as a supplement to the December 15, 1865 issue of the Ottawa Citizen. It includes information about the city, school trustees, public companies, societies, newspapers, business sketches, government department officials, and gardening.
An Interesting Index (pedigrees, some pre-dating the Norman Conquest of England) by W. Slack & J. Moody
A family history prepared by a civil servant in India is described. The history includes 107 different bloodlines, some dating to before the Norman Conquest. Almost 800 British surnames extracted from the general index of the document are listed here.
A MacDonald and Macintyre Family Story: From Scotland's Hebrides to Western Ontario by Donald E. Read
In 1849, several hundred poor farmers left South Uist in the Outer Hebrides, after they were evicted. The lands they had farmed were converted to sheep ranges. They sailed from Lochboisdale and disembarked in Quebec at the end of August. Lachlan MacDonald, his wife Catherine MacMullin and their eight children and James MacIntyre, his wife Catherine Bowie and their seven children were two of the families in the group. The immigrants travelled to Montreal by steamship, to Prescott by Durham boat, and by lake steamer to Hamilton, bypassing Toronto because of a cholera epidemic there. A group of 300 travelled overland to London by stagecoach and wagon. The last six miles of the journey to Williams Township was on foot through the forest. The MacDonald family settled in concession 13 and the MacIntyres in concession 12. They quickly built log shelters. Mrs. MacDonald died that first winter, and the settlers established a burial ground in concession 12. Nearby a log school was built. James MacIntyre was the teacher. Two of the children, John MacDonald and Mary MacIntyre, married in 1863 and raised their children on the MacDonald homestead. The descendants of the Lachlan MacDonald and James MacIntyre families number about 300. A database is being constructed containing more than 12,000 individual names of the descendants of these two families and of 14 other families in the same group from South Uist.
1133Summer 1997 New Gatineau Building Houses Archives Collections by Jim Shearon
The Gatineau Preservation Centre was opened 6 June 1997. The facility was built to provide one central location for the collections of the National Archives of Canada and for their proper storage, preservation and copying. The building consists of a central core of storage vaults within an outer covering that contains an artificial climate. The perimeters outside this artificial environment are used as public spaces, suitable for exhibits. There are 48 concrete vaults for storage and preservation. Since a variety of materials are stored, the conditions differ within each vault. Temperature, humidity and other factors are regulated to suit the material stored. For example, colour film is stored at -18 degrees. The hundreds of oil paintings that record more than 300 years of Canadian history require a different environment. The conservation laboratories are above the vaults, on the fourth floor.
Important Changes at the Family History Centre
The Ottawa Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has a new president and directors and is undergoing some changes. The Ottawa Family History Centre will continue to fulfil its commitment to conduct research and provide information about family history to the Family History Center in Salt Lake City. The Ottawa Centre will continue as a community resource offering public access to those interested in family history research. Certain new procedures have been introduced with regard to advanced reservations for ordering and consulting records and Church use. Some areas are dedicated solely for religious use and other areas for cultural and recreational activities.
U.E. Loyalist Records Available on Diskette
Records about United Empire Loyalists from New York are available on three diskettes from the UEL Sir Guy Carleton Branch. Under the King's Name Project, started in 1984,researchers transcribed microfilm records from British Headquarters Papers, New York City, 1774-1783 to index cards and then to a computerized data base. The records include people who passed through New York City during the American Revolution, refugees who came to Canada, British and German soldiers discharged in Canada, rebels who wrote letters to Headquarters, and the Book of Negroes, which contains information about 2372 individuals of whom 1200 came to Nova Scotia.
Rooting Around in Grade Four: Genealogy as a Learning Experience by Jim Shearon & Liana Brittain
A genealogy project that one of the authors, a primary school teacher, introduced to her grade four class in Almonte, Ontario is described. The project commenced at the start of the school year and continued over an 8-10 week period. Some of the teaching materials used are based on a children's kit developed by the Ontario Genealogical Society, Kingston Branch. The children learned and developed their skills in many areas: interviewing and delivering oral presentations, record keeping, report writing, editing, art, and computer use. They used geography to make maps, mathematics to calculate ages and prepare timelines, and history. The children found they had to work hard on their genealogy projects, but most reported that they enjoyed the course.
Plaque Honours Colonel By as Founder of Ottawa
The Canadian High Commissioner unveiled a bronze plaque on 28 May 1997 in honour of Lieutenant Colonel John By, the founder of Ottawa, at St. Thomas' Hospital, London. The site is near the Church of St. Mary-at-Lambeth where John By was baptized in 1779. After By retired from a distinguished military career, the Duke of Wellington dispatched him to Canada to construct a series of canals to open the waterways connecting the Ottawa River and Lake Ontario to ships. The 200-km long Rideau Canal was completed in 1832. The Historical Society of Ottawa commissioned the erection of this commemorative plaque. Attendees at the ceremony included the Duke of Wellington, the Commandant of the Canadian Military Engineers, the commanding officer of the Royal Engineers, the president of the Ottawa Historical Society of Ottawa, and the BIFHSGO Vice-President of Programs and Conferences.
More Gleanings from the National Archives of Canada by Mary M. Nash
Two brochures selected from the Catalogue of Pamphlets in the Public Archives of Canada are described. Casey no. 2171 contains documents and affidavits submitted by Ruggles Wright during the 1840s to protest slides and chutes that the federal government built at Chats Falls and Chaudiere Falls. Wright already had installed slides at his own expense and was close to bankruptcy, because users now had to pay for the slides actually used and for the government slides, as well. Later, Wright complained about road construction leading to the Chaudiere Falls Union Suspension Bridge. In Casey no. 1116, John McDonald describes his experiences during his first year in Canada in 1821-22. He describes his voyage from Greenock, Scotland to Quebec, the journey upriver to Prescott and overland to New Lanark, the settlers' fears of Canadian winters, and the hardships he endured. He identifies three main problems: the long distances to markets, the scarcity and high price of draft animals, and the scarcity of corn mills.
Country of Birth: Sumatra by Donald H. Lennox
The author's g grandfather George Whitaker was born in Wiltshire and came to Canada in 1851 as the first provost of Trinity College in Toronto. Whitaker remained in this position for 30 years. His ancestry is well documented, but the background of his wife Arundel Charlotte Burton was obscure. The Ontario 1861 and 1871 census records show that she was born in Sumatra. At the time of her birth, the British occupied a trading station at Fort Marlborough on the southwest coast of Sumatra. Family History Centre records show no records of any Burtons at Fort Marlborough, but report that a John Burton died in 1825 on Prince of Wales Island. A professional genealogist identified a marriage entry for George Whitaker and Arundel CharlotteBurton in the General Register Office, Bath district. Arundel Charlotte's father is listed as Richard Burton, a dissenting minister. Further research established that Richard Burton trained as a Baptist missionary and married Mary Mansford in Somerset in 1818. The next year, the couple sailed to Sumatra as missionaries. They fled to India in 1824 when the British handed the island over to the Dutch. The couple had four children, but only two survived. Shortly after Mary Mansford Burton's death in 1826, Richard sent Arundel Charlotte, then four, and her younger brother Joseph Mansford to live with their mother's family in Somerset. Richard Burton died in Bengal in 1828, at age 31.
Finding Ancestors in Northern Ireland by Jim Heal
The author visited Northern Ireland in June 1997 in search of information about his McAdoo and Weir ancestors, whom he had already traced to the late 1700s. In particular, he wanted to visit the farms where they had lived. His g grandfather John McAdoo died at Lammy in County Tyrone. With the help of an Ordnance Survey map and advice from a Lammy farmer, the author went to Lammy House, now owned by a Davidson family. G grandfather McAdoo had lived there until his death in February 1892. Two of his sons died that same week. The tombstone for the three McAdoos is in the Carland cemetery (not at Cookstown as expected). The old stone McAdoo house, now used as an outbuilding, stands beside the modern Davidson house. The Davidsons had some old documents about property ownership, among them a copy of g grandmother McAdoo's will. Two other McAdoo homesteads were located, one at Knockadoo, where g grandfather James McAdoo was born, and one at Killybasky, where he moved after his marriage to Ruth Weir and where the author's grandfather was born.
Home Children Passenger List for the Year 1870
Information is provided about 869 home children who arrived in Canada in 1870.The Home Children Ship List includes the ship name, departure and arrival ports and dates, and brief details about each of the 34 parties of children transported that year. A code for each party and the relevant microfilm reel number is included. The Home Children Passenger List provides surname, given name, age, gender, and a cross reference to the ship list.
1234Fall 1997 How do Changes to Copyright Act Affect Your Genealogical Research? by Jim Shearon
The article summarizes a lecture presented to BIFHSGO by Wanda Noel, advisory counsel to the Parliamentary committee that was formed to revise Canada's Copyright Act. The revised Act will come into force on January 1, 1998. The impact of the revisions on genealogical research is discussed. A powerful lobby group of historical researchers has helped to guarantee that authors' works will be protected from unauthorized publication, but there are some exceptions for users. These exceptions include the right of archives and museums to copy rare and fragile works and to make a copy for on-site consultation if the original is unavailable. The Act protects authors and photographers. Unauthorized publishing is prohibited for the life of the author or photographer plus 50 years.
National Genealogical Society Conference Was Worth Attending: A Member's Report by G. Bagley & L. Webb
More than 2300 people attended the 1997 National Genealogical Conference (NGS) at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. There were tours, four days of lectures presented at five or six sessions each day with each session offering nine or ten choices, and an excellent market place. Many lectures had a distinct American content, but many lectures such as those on computer skills, research techniques and methodology were of interest to all.
Land Records in Danger: We need your Help Now! APOLROD
The Association for the Preservation of Ontario Land Registry Office Documents (APOLROD) was created, to prevent the planned destruction of the land records of Ontario. APOLROD is asking for a complete inventory of all Land Registry Office (LRO) documents before their dispersal or destruction and is prepared to start work on the inventory. An inventory will inform interested parties of the diversity of the records, provide a complete list of what needs to be preserved, and make certain that these essential documents are preserved for future generations. The LRO records include land transfer documents, registers of prior titles, Power of Attorney records, wills, applications and registers for marriage licenses, and Judgement Registers. The Ministry of Consumer and Commercial Relations has agreed not to destroy any LRO records for a two-year period. There are 15 land registry offices in eastern Ontario. More than 50 volunteers are helping with the inventory. The article is an appeal for more volunteers.
Let the Stones and Timbers Speak: Preserving Canada's Built Heritage by Douglas Franklin
The importance of buildings to Canada's history and identity and the role of the Heritage Canada Foundation in their preservation are discussed. Canada has approximately 15,000 heritage buildings protected by various levels of government. The preservation of railway stations is important, but difficult to accomplish. This article describes several British architects and builders and the historic buildings they designed or built in British Columbia. In 1856, Kenneth Mckenzie of the Hudson's Bay Company built Craigflower Manor. Four years later, George Hunter Cary built Cary Castle, which soon became the Colonial Governor's and later the Lieutenant Governor's residence. John Teague was the architect of Victoria City Hall, the Victoria Masonic Temple, and several Royal Navy buildings. J.C.M. Keith designed Christchurch Cathedral in 1891, but the cathedral was not completed until 1954. Francis M. Rattenbury was the architect for the Parliament Buildings, the Empress Hotel, and several Bank of Montreal buildings in Victoria.
More Gleanings from the National Archives of Canada by Mary M. Nash
Several brochures from the Catalogue of Pamphlets in the Public Archives of Canada are described. Three (Casey no. 1375, 1462, and 1560) were published in the 1830s by the British American Land Company. They describe the formation and activities of the Lower Canada Land Company, which was established to increase immigration to the Eastern Townships. Casey no. 2922, dated 1861, describes how the populating of Canada can best be accomplished. The author, a Royal Engineers captain, stresses the importance of using standard lock sizes and railway gauges in the construction of transportation routes. He claims that telegraphy will be the communication system that unites Canada and that the monopoly held by the Hudson's Bay Company should be removed. In Casey no. 3656, dated 1870, John Cabot and his son Sebastion are discussed. A book published about them in 1869 evidently contains many errors.
BIFHSGO Microfilm Transcriber Doesn't See Names; He Sees Stories by Jim Shearon
Len Grummett, one of 15 volunteers, is transcribing microfilm records of passenger lists that record the names of the 100,000 home children sent to Canada between 1869 and 1930 to work as farm labourers or domestics. Most of these children were not orphans. They were sent to Canada, because their parents could not support them or abused them. Grummett spends three or four hours per week working on the project at the National Archives of Canada. Over a little more than two years, he has transcribed records for 1884, 1894, 1903, 1906, 1909, and most of 1907.
The Search for Jeanie Brown: A Discussion of Methodology by Gordon D. Taylor
The author describes in detail several research methods he used to find the ancestry of Jeanie Masterton, his maternal grandmother. Jeanie married Percy Boyer Brown in 1892 in Essex. A copy of their marriage certificate and a newspaper article about the wedding provided the only information initially available about her. According to the 1891 census of Essex, Jeanie was born in Scotland, age 25 and living with a Coubrough family. There is no record of either Jeanie or the Coubroughs in the 1881 Essex census. Family History Centre records show that Jeanie Masterton was born 1 July 1865 in Dundee. The marriage of her parents, John Masterton and Jeanie Simpson, was on 24 February 1863 in Bothkennar, Stirling. Their marriage certificate, obtained from the General Register Office in Edinburgh, provides the names of Jeanie's grandparents. The Old Parish records and the 1851 and 1861 Censuses of Scotland were searched, through the Family History Centre, for the grandparents' baptismal records. The paternal grandparents are not listed in Dundee or Angus, but a systematic search of neighbouring counties located their baptismal records in Falkirk, a parish near Bothkennar. The baptismal records for the maternal grandparents were easier to locate, since their ancestors had lived in Bothkennar from the early 1700s. Other records show that Jeanie's mother died in 1867 and her father remarried in 1870, but died two years later. A county by county search of the 1881 Census of Scotland shows Jean Masterton as living with a Coubro family in Perthshire and listed as a scholar and boarder.
Researching Jane Elliott by Willis Burwell
Jane Elliott (the author's great grandmother) married Edward Bulmer in Ross Township, Renfrew County about 1860. Jane is listed in the 1861 Canadian census as a single unattached female living in a rooming house in Renfrew County. The inscription on Edward and Jane Bulmer's tombstone in Ross Cemetery gives her name as Eliza Jane Elliott. She died in 1900 at age 63. Edward Bulmer is listed in the 1851 Pakenham Township census, but Jane Elliott is not. A Bulmer family history, located through an Ontario Genealogical Society index, provided additional information: Jane Elliott's parents were William Elliott, born 1808, and Margaret Anderson, born 1810, and Jane had a sister, Sarah Ann, who married a John Coxford. A search of the Lanark County Civil Marriage Register for this marriage record was unsuccessful, but two other significant items dated 1858 show marriages for a Mary Elliott and for William Elliott. According to the Register, Mary was born in Hoxbury, Ontario. The Elliott family was finally located, in the 1851 census, living in West Hawkesbury. There were three children: Eliza J., age 15 and a dressmaker born in Canada, Saryann and Mary. Information from subsequent searches shows that, between 1851 and 1861, Eliza Jane Elliott's mother Margaret Anderson died, William Elliott remarried, Sarah Ann and Mary both married, and Mary died soon after. Apparently Jane Elliott moved to Renfrew County to start a new life. All the records searched are available in the Ottawa area.
"I Couldn't Write That" by John W Moody
During the American Revolution, Lieut. James Moody (the author's g g g g grandfather) and his younger brother John were members of the New Jersey Volunteers, a Loyalist regiment. In 1781, British forces captured Addison, a clerk at the Continental Congress in Philadelphia. In return for his freedom, Addison agreed to help the British confiscate the papers of Congress. John Moody and Laurance Marr, a British soldier, crossed the Delaware River to meet Addison. James Moody crossed by a different route and hid in the building where the meeting was to take place. Addison betrayed the Loyalists. John Moody and Marr were captured, court-martialled and executed as spies. James Moody escaped and rejoined British forces in New York. The evening before he was executed, John Moody wrote a letter to his brother James. The letter, dated 12 November 1781, is reproduced here. The original has been donated to the Public Archives of Nova Scotia.
1341Winter 1997-98 Coming to America 1497-1997 by Althea C. Douglas
The article discusses transportation, geography, land distribution and division, and immigration and other records. Until the end of the Second World War, most immigrants came to British North America by ship. Quebec City, Halifax and Saint John were the main ports of arrival. Passenger arrivals at American ports on the Atlantic were recorded and are well indexed, but the Canadian government did not record passenger arrivals until the late 19th century. There are no passenger manifests for those who arrived by air, the main mode of travel after 1950. Within North America, most travel was by water until the 1850s, when railways became important. Thousands of young men immigrated to Canada as railway labourers, but, until the end of the century, most immigrants headed for areas where land still was available. Land records were well kept and provide an excellent source of information about early settlers. Land transfer is controlled by the provinces. The various land division methods are outlined. A National Archives of Canada information sheet (Post 1918 Immigration Records and Naturalization Records) lists aliens, but not British subjects. Other sources of information include family papers and artefacts, city and business directories, telephone directories, cemetery burial records, newspaper articles, and voters' lists.
The National Library of Canada Opening doors for Genealogists by Jim Shearon
Some of the many genealogy information sources held at the National Library of Canada are described, including some on Scottish and Irish genealogy. For those who have an ancestor's name, but have come to a dead end because of missing official documentation, marriage, parish and cemetery records are available for consultation. These include the Drouin collection of French-Canadian marriages covering the period 1760 to 1935. Other information sources available include regional guides, family histories, funeral records, records of movements of British settlers to Canada, lists of naturalized persons and arrival dates, divorce records, a register of those who died at sea or at Grosse Ile in 1847, British official publications, and British war graves registers. Many city directories and newspaper microfilms covering every province and territory are available for consultation at the National Library, without charge.
Hong Kong Soldiers Remembered by Percy Bateson with Derrill Henderson
The Royal Rifles of Canada was sent to reinforce the British garrison in Hong Kong during the Second World War. Most of the soldiers in the Regiment came from the Eastern Townships, including several members of the Henderson family among 34 soldiers from the small town of Richmond, Quebec. The Royal Rifles, the Winnipeg Grenadiers and some support troops reached Hong Kong mid-November 1941. Japan attacked Hong Kong on 7 December. The garrison surrendered on Christmas Day. Japanese troops entered Stanley Hospital and killed those who could not get out of bed and many nurses. Ten thousand prisoners were forced into an abandoned factory without food or medical supplies and later forced to work in return for a meagre amount of rice. Others were sent to Japan as slave labour. Of the 1846 Canadians imprisoned, 1459 survived until the end of the war.
Weather Can Add Colour to Your Family History by John D. Reid
Weather observations were not recorded before the end of the 16th century with the exception of a series of British observations for the period 1337 to 1344. Weather information can be deduced from accounts about extreme conditions, such as crop failures or unusual freezing of bodies of water. The English Sweating Sickness, now linked to the hantavirus, seems more prevalent under certain weather conditions. Sweating Sickness epidemics occurred in England in 1485, 1508, 1517 and 1551. After the inventions of the thermometer and barometer, weather records were kept. These include, since 1659, a compilation of monthly mean temperatures for central England. The first weather observations in Canada were taken in Quebec in 1765, and a station for continuous observations was established in Toronto in 1839. Federal weather recording commenced at the Observatory in Ottawa in March 1872. There are 300 to 400 locations across Canada that report hourly readings. In addition, the National Climate Archive contains once or twice a day readings from 10,000 locations. Weather information is useful to family historians. For example, a detailed weather map can be ordered for a specific location, date and time. Historical weather information is available from Environment Canada and from the British Meteorological Office.
A Devonian Died in Canada by James A. Heal
The article is an example of the wealth of information that can be found in a newspaper article. The author knew very little about John Carroll Hele Jr. (1834-1887) apart from what is available in the Ontario Death Index. Hele died 27 May 1887 in North Norwich Township, Oxford County. In response to the author's inquiry about an inscription on the Heal/Hele tombstone in Oxford County, the Ontario Genealogical Society Oxford Branch provided copies of the obituaries of John Carroll Hele, from the Stratford Recorder, and of Hele's widow, who died in 1912 in Woodstock. Hele's obituary, reproduced here, describes Hele's departure from England in 1856 aboard the John and the subsequent shipwreck of the John off the Cornish coast. Hele was one of the few passengers saved. Two months later, Hele again sailed for Canada. In 1857, Hele married Anne Kingsford and purchased a small farm in South Norwich. The couple remained in Canada until 1863 and then moved to England, probably because of the deaths of Hele's older brother, who bequeathed Hele the Harkstow estate in Lincolnshire, and of his father, John Carroll Hele, Sr., a ship owner in Devon. John Carroll Hele, Jr. and his wife returned to Canada a month before Hele's death.
The Search for Tamar Tweats by Wayne W. Walker
The author's great grandmother Tamar Tweats (1856-1925) was born in North Staffordshire. She married Arthur Hollinshead, and the couple moved to Collingwood, Ontario in 1912. The author needed Tamar Tweats' birth certificate for LDS temple work. Despite the unusual name, no record of Tamar Tweats could be located in the Somerset House birth records. In 1983, a decade after starting the search for Tamar Tweats, the author was in London with very limited time to search the Somerset House records. On his last day in London, after he had searched all possible spelling variations of Tweats, an inner voice prompted him to try Sweats. Tamar Tweats was found listed as Tamar Sweets. The clerk filing the original entry had mistaken the handwritten data and indexed the birth record incorrectly.
Great Progress on Home Children Project by Jim Shearon
The Family History and Account Books of Philemon Wright by Diane Proc
Philemon Wright from Woburn Massachusetts made several trips to Hull Township and then settled in the area that became known as Wright's Town and later Hull. Several of Wright's employees and their families accompanied him. Wright recorded his business transactions in a series of account books. The names found in Wright's first account book (1801 to 1809) are listed chronologically, with transaction dates and page numbers. About 150 entries are listed. The list is an informal directory of early Hull settlers. The account books provide information about the sort of items the settlers needed, for example, cloth, thread, writing paper by the sheet, salt, sugar, and kitchen utensils. Tobacco and spirits were popular purchases. Other entries are for work completed, such as threshing or fanning hemp seed and mill work.
1442Spring 1998 Lesser Known Ontario Family History Collections by Wayne W. Walker
Many family history collections are used infrequently, although they contain a treasure trove for a dedicated researcher. These collections include probate records, Ontario vital records, maps, local histories, published genealogies, Ontario land and property collections, U.S. immigration and naturalization service records, Ontario naturalization returns for the period 1828-1850, Ontario immigration records (1862-1897), the Ontario biographical and genealogical card index for 1780-1869, Ontario census records, and Loiselle's card index. In addition to marriages in Quebec and northern New Brunswick, the Loiselle index covers Roman Catholic marriages in parishes in the Dioceses of Ottawa and Pembroke. The pre-Confederation records available include the 1842 and 1851 censuses (both incomplete) for parts of Canada West, the 1848 partial census for Ontario, and 1861 returns for Upper and Lower Canada.
Using and Making Submissions to the Ancestral File by Anne Marie Johnson
The LDS Church produces and maintains the Ancestral File, which is one of the computerized collections available for genealogical research at the Family History Center. The Ancestral File contains a huge collection of names organized into family relationships and pedigrees with dates and locations of births, marriages and deaths. Individuals and genealogical societies are invited to provide their family records for inclusion. The procedures for submitting these records to the Ancestral File and for making corrections are outlined.
Researching in London by Norman K. Crowder
Some of the research institutions in London holding information of interest to genealogists are described. The article includes a map of central London pinpointing some of these and a list of addresses and web sites. The Public Record Office (PRO) at Kew holdings include historical records back to the Domesday Book, census records, colonial records, emigration records, military records up to the First World War, and professional records. The Family Records Centre (FRC) contains indexes of English and Wales births, marriages and deaths since 1837, census records, and some wills. Indexes for Scottish vital records are accessible over a computer link to the General Register Office in Edinburgh. Other sites include several branches of the British Library, the Society of Genealogists, and the London Metropolitan Archives. The article offers tips about procedures and proper conduct at some of the sites, prices and fees in effect October 1997, and travel by underground.
Great Moments in Genealogy by June Coxon
Several BIFHSGO members describe highlights in their genealogy research. Jim Heal visited Northern Ireland to research his McAdoo and Weir relatives and was well rewarded. He met several cousins, visited his great grandfather's homestead, and found some old family documents. In her search for information about her maternal grandparents, Pat Morley discovered a suitcase under her aunt's bed that contained birth certificates, records of awards and a copy of her great grandmother's will. An acquaintance loaned Ted Small a copy of a Ruttan family history containing information about Small's maternal grandparents and a record of his mother's lineage back seven generations. Alan Rayburn describes a website containing millions of inscriptions from headstones in Ontario cemeteries. Unusual middle names can be useful in searches, according to John Reid. He searched for Digby, the middle name of four generations of Reid men, and discovered ancestors in Norfolk, England. June Coxon describes discoveries about the Hale family, her father's grandmother's line.
More Gleanings from the National Archives of Canada by Mary M. Nash
Three brochures selected from the Catalogue of Publications in the Public Archives of Canada are described. Casey no. 1-1485, published in 1835, contains a speech presented in the British House of Commons about required improvements to navigation on the River Shannon and the need for more money for Ireland. The money spent on the River Shannon is compared to the costs incurred by the Rideau Canal. There is concern that British tax support will allow Canada to undersell Irish produce. The value of transatlantic steam packets and some proposed navigation routes are considered. Casey no. 2-3929 and no. 2-3930, dated 1912, describe Canada's canal problem, enlargement of the St. Lawrence waterway, concerns about competition by the Panama Canal, and a possible canal linking Montreal and Georgian Bay.
The Townesend-Warner Letters by John F. Townesend
The author is descended from the Reverend George Townsend (1755-1837), a Nonconformist. There are 70 Townsend-Warner letters dating back to 1803 covering seven generations. The collection was started by Susan Townsend, the Reverend Townsend's oldest daughter. Susan, a schoolmistress, married John Warner, a West India merchant who died leaving her sick and impoverished. TheTownsend-Warner letters provide a remarkable picture of family life in 19th century England and include details about noteworthy nonconformist families. Sylvia Townsend Warner (1893-1978) was the last Townsend Warner. The collection is being published in collaboration with the author's fourth cousin, Timothy G. Brierly, a descendant of Susan Townsend Warner. This article includes recommendations about reading and interpretation of 19th century correspondence, preservation and storage of manuscripts, addition of endnotes, distribution of published family histories, copyright permission, and the importance of networking with other family historians.
1543Summer 1998 Communicating with Your Computer by Bob Davis
A computer with a modem is an important communications tool for sending and receiving e-mail and fax messages, searching remote databases and surfing the World Wide Web. The technology behind digital communication is explained with regard to bits and bytes, ASCII, bus connections, serial communications, modems and modem speeds. Access to the internet is acquired through an Internet Service Provider (ISP). The various features available on the internet are described: e-mail, list servers, newsgroups, TELNET, File Transfer Protocol (FTP), the World Wide Web, and search engines.
The Voyage of Patrick Burns and Margaret Burns by Paul J. Burns
Patrick Burns and his sister Margaret sailed from Sligo on 27 May 1847 aboard the Ellen. Shortly after their ship left Ireland, an epidemic of ship fever broke out killing about a third of the 350 passengers. Sick passengers were detained in quarantine when the Ellen reached Quebec on 11 July 1847. Margaret and Patrick Burns were allowed to continue. They remained in Quebec for two weeks, before taking a steam boat upriver to Montreal. There, Patrick worked for three weeks at a Lachine Canal lock, while Margaret stayed at a lodging house. They sailed for Kemptville, but, at Beckwith Landing, Margaret and later Patrick became sick with typhus. Both recovered. Patrick continued on to Prescott, crossed the St. Lawrence River, and continued to Watertown. Patrick describes his work at several odd jobs in construction in the Kemptville area and in New York State. In 1849, Patrick and Margaret brought their parents to Watertown, where the Burns family settled. At one time, many Burns descendants lived in the Watertown, New York area.
How Old? by Gordon Morley
The author uses data from his own pedigree to calculate the average age at death of some of his ancestors, generation by generation over 10 generations. Most of these ancestors came from Gloucester, Kent and Somerset. Only individuals for whom both year of birth and year of death are available are included. The results are presented in a table. The average age at death for each generation varies between 63 for generation 5 and 82 for generation 3.
Genealogical Resources at the Ottawa Public Library by Thomas Rooney
The genealogical services that the Ottawa Public Library's reference department provides are described. Some of the resources are a card index of local area births, marriages and deaths over the period December 1885 to January 1922, a Biobase with a master index to entries in biographical dictionaries, and Archives of Ontario land records. The Ottawa Room is a special room within the reference department that holds biography, history and genealogy collections relevant to the Ottawa Valley.
A Special Find: Story about Norman Sulis' family by Wayne Walker
The author discusses the significance of family history research to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and the importance of his own search for information about the ancestors of Norman St. Clair Sulis, his paternal grandmother's father. The Sulis family were Loyalists and Baptists. They settled in Smith's Cove, Digby County, Nova Scotia. No information was found about the Sulis family in either the 1871 census or in church records. In 1976, while searching for information about Norman Sulis, the author visited his uncle in Smith's Cove. There, he examined an old metal box that appeared empty but contained one piece of paper, folded beneath a tight metal tray. The sheet lists Frederick Soulis (1808-1884), his wife Eliza Sophia Riley (1818-1882), and their ten children. These names have been included in the International Genealogical Index.
The 1851 British Census for the Counties of Devon, Norfolk and Warwickshire by John D. Reid
A CD released by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is evaluated. The CD contains information extracted as a test for the 1851 British census. A 486DX66 processor running Windows 3.1 or Windows 98 with 8 MB of RAM is sufficient for running the software, which is easy to install and use. There are three choices for searching: individual search, household search, and alphabetical using an A to Z listing. The CD costs $5US and is highly recommended for family historians who have ancestors in Devon, Norfolk or Warwickshire counties.
Review of Ancestral Quest: Family History and Album Maker (for Windows) by John C Nash & Mary M. Nash
A software package "No Frills Software (TM) Family History and Album Maker" purchased for $14.95 at a local bookstore is evaluated. The package (Custom Edition Version 2.0) contained a CD, produced by Incline Software. The program, Ancestral Quest, was simple to install and use. Ancestral Quest allows a family historian to create a new family history database and to attach digital files to it. The program can work with existing PAF-compatible and GEDCOM files. A problem was discovered: Ancestry Quest crashes when the user attempts to check or repair the database. Despite this, the CD offers many attractive features. The authors include advice on installing media files to the database and preparing ZIP cartridges.
Preserving Your Records: photographs, slides, and negatives by Wayne Hunt
Methods for proper storage of photographs and some methods that cause accelerated deterioration of old photographs and records are discussed. Photographic slides are frequently stored in slide pages. Slide pages, especially those made before 1985, are often composed of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), an acidic gas emitter and should be replaced by pages of archival quality. Acetate sleeves are not suitable for storing negatives. Since bare wood or painted wood cabinets can emit harmful vapours, enamel-coated metal or polypropylene containers are preferable for storage. The quality and durability of paper is important, since photographs are printed on paper and attached to paper for storage and viewing. Avoid unknown chemicals such as those found in many glues, cements, and tapes. Mylar hinges are suitable for photo mounting.
1644Fall 1998 Using Computers for Genealogy by Bob Dawes
The benefits that computers offer family historians for organization and formatting of genealogy information are discussed, in this second of three articles about computer applications. A first computer can be purchased second hand and upgraded later. Computer selection, memory requirements for basic operations, hard disk drives for permanent storage, monitors, software, applications programs, word processors, spreadsheets, and database programs including specialty genealogy programs are described.
Fourth Annual Conference: Speakers by Percy Bateson & Jim Shearon
About 140 people attended the BIFHSGO Fourth Annual Conference held 18 to 20 September, 1998. Keynote speaker Michael Gandy of the Federation of Family History Societies presented several lectures. The topics covered include tracing colonial ancestors, validity of existing information, availability of records, records before 1538, records about Catholics and Non-conformists, and finding Irish records in London. The other principal speaker was Ryan Taylor, the genealogical librarian at Allan County Public Library, Fort Wayne, Indiana. Ryan Taylor spoke about enhancing your family history by adding material from local histories, marriage registration in Ontario, and an interesting Lancashire family. Presentations by other speakers dealt with the Ontario Cemetery Finding Aid, genealogical research procedures, planning a trip overseas, Scottish and Irish information sources, preparing a family history, and computer usage including hands-on demonstrations.
Resources for Genealogical Research at the Anglican Diocese of Ottawa Archives by Carol Radford-Grant
The archives were established in 1944 to document the history of the Anglican Church in the Diocese of Ottawa, which has administrative jurisdiction over Anglican congregations in eastern Ontario and western Quebec. The records date from the late 1790s to the present. They include synod journals, property and financial records, parish registers, vestry records, newsletters and service bulletins, photographs and audiovisual material. The parish registers are the records most frequently consulted by family historians. The contents of the parish registers have been entered into a computerized database and indexed. Printed copies of the indexes are arranged by parish and then by name, alphabetically. Certified copies of baptism, confirmation, or marriage certificates are available at a small fee.
Radio Requests by Brian O'Regan and Percy Bateson
BIFHSGO Past President Brian O'Regan appeared on a live CBC talk-show in July 1998 to discuss genealogy and family history. There were too many calls to answer them all during the program; so callers were provided with an e-mail address. More than 60 e-mails have been received from people searching for basic information about starting a family history and from genealogists searching for ways around roadblocks. This article contains an edited version of eleven of the questions received and Brian O'Regan's e-mail answers. The replies contain recommendations about research methods and information sources, including documents, books and e-mail addresses.
More Gleanings from the National Archives of Canada: Casey Catalogue by Mary M. Nash
Four pamphlets selected from the Catalogue of Publications in the Public Archives of Canada are summarized. Casey 1-1364 describes a petition submitted by John LeBreton in 1832 to His Majesty'sTreasury that contains several complaints about problems LeBreton has with the 400-acre parcel of land that he purchased in 1818, near the Chaudiere Falls. Information about house accommodation and rents in Ottawa in 1864 is provided in Casey 1-3113. Casey nos.1-3757 and 1-3810, both published in 1872, describe the agricultural, mineral, and manufacturing resources in the Ottawa district and the Ottawa Valley lumber trade, respectively.
Northeastern Scotland Names in Canada by Alan Rayburn
Place names from northeastern Scotland are well represented in Canada, particularly in Ontario and the Maritimes. Perth and Perth County in Ontario and Perth-Andover in the St. John Basin, Aberfoyle, Callander, Invermay, Blair Athol, Breadalbane, and Abernethy were named after places in Perthshire. Angusshire has contributed Dundee, Montrose, and Brechin. Kincardine and Stonehaven were named after places in Kincardineshire. Balmoral, Ontario and Belmore, NB took their names from Balmoral Castle in Aberdeenshire. Most of the Aberdeens in Canada were named, not after the county, but the Earl of Aberdeen, Canada's Governor General from 1893 to 1898.
1751Winter 1998-99 Publishing Your Family History by Bob Dawes
Nehemiah Hubble was born around 1750 in Connecticut and married Lucretia Welton in 1774. The couple were patriots and came to Ontario after the American Revolutionary War. They settled in Rawdon Township and had ten children. The Nehemiah Hubble Family Heritage Association was formed in the 1970s to collect and document family records. The association tracked down and recorded more than 15,000 direct descendants and another 2000 spouses and their parents. The records were stored on index cards and later typed and stored in binders. In the late 1980s, the association decided to publish the records using a computer database program. By 1994, it had become obvious that they must use genealogy software with GEDCOM capability, if they wanted to produce more than an index of names. The association's experience with the Roots IV and GED*Mate programs is described. The final product consists of 786 pages of genealogical data, 224 index pages, and an additional 18 pages for table of contents, acknowledgements, and background information. The process of publication including selection of cover type and paper quality, obtaining an ISBN number, marketing and printing is outlined. The book was published in early 1997.
Going Astray by Roger G. Woodhouse
Most strays come from a mobile population: they move away, either voluntarily of forcibly, and lose contact with their homeland. During the period 1770-1830, many individuals left North East England, Yorkshire and Lincolnshire and settled in Canada. Many typical English migrants had skills and money for investment. Little is known about this group. Some published data is available in Yorkshire, and Canadian academics have started to study immigrants who arrived during the 18th century. The author suggests that genealogists and historians would both profit if the surviving archives and records in England and in Canada are identified and brought together. He uses his own family as an example. Several family members left North East England in 1775 and later. Some came to Canada and were active in the development of agriculture in Upper Canada. Robert Wade was a North Yorkshire farmer. He and other family members wrote many letters that have survived. In 1819, Robert Wade, his wife Mary Hodgson and their eight children were among the 40 passengers aboard the William and Mary bound for Quebec and then Upper Canada. Robert kept a diary of the voyage and his fellow passengers. He mentions a James Lowes, Robert Albson (a farmer), Richard Oughtred with his wife and nine children, Mr. Taylor (a gardener) with his wife, John Brannar, George Richardson (a miller), and George Thompson from Broughton with his wife and two sons. William Bulison (a shoemaker) and John Dunn (a mason) were travelling together, headed for the United States. They intended to send for their families when they got established. Some of individuals may be strays that a descendant is trying to trace.
A Genealogical Trip to Scotland by George Bushell & Percy Bateson
A recent trip to Scotland by George and Joanne Bushell is described. To make best use of their time abroad, they searched the Scottish records available at the Family History Centre and the National Library and Archives. In Scotland, they went to Inverary , where Joanne had Campbell relatives, Oban, Benderloch, Glencoe, and the Clan Donald Centre at Armadale and Uig on Isle of Skye. In Benderloch they visited the house where George's great great MacDonald grandparents had lived before leaving for Canada in 1851 and settling in Bruce County. The Bushells also visited the Scottish Record Office of Scotland in Edinburgh and the nearby Government Registry Office where civil birth, marriage, and death records from are held.
The Royal Canadian Legion by Percy Bateson
The Royal Canadian Legion has nearly half a million members across Canada. After the First World War, The Great War Veterans' Association was organized. This led to the formation of the British Empire Service League from which came the Royal Canadian Legion, The War Amps and the Army, Navy and Air Force Veterans of Canada. The aims of the Legion are the care of veterans and of ex-military members, the perpetuation of remembrance and community service. Some of the Legion's achievements include the War Veterans Allowance Act of 1928, the Veterans Land Act of 1943 and an amendment to the Armistice Act to establish November 11th as Remembrance Day. There are also provincial and local branches of the Legion with their own programs.
Bombadier Rintoul's Letters by Eileen Winterwerb
When Rosie and Sandro Urbani visited Sandro's grandmother's home in Camarda, near L'Aquila in central Italy, they discovered a packet of letters hidden in the attic. The letters were written on Prisoner of War Post stationery and addressed to a Bombardier Douglas F. Rintoul. They came from his wife Eva and his mother in Scotland. Rintoul had been imprisoned at the Settore Prisoner of War Camp in Italy, where he developed pneumonia, escaped and went to Camarda. Sandro's grandparents hid him in their attic. Rintoul's pneumonia returned, and he died. He was buried in the garden, and at the end of the war removed and buried somewhere else. The author's search for Rintoul's family in Scotland is described. A nephew, Richard Hollingsworth living in Kirkaldy, Scotland was located through the British Genealogical newsgroup. Eva V. Rintoul has not been located. Through records at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, the author learned that Bombardier Douglas Forgan Rintoul died on 26th of April 1944 at age 36. He was a member of the Royal Artillery, 97th Field Regiment. Bombardier Rintoul is buried in the Moro River Canadian War Cemetery in Italy. His parents were George Miller Rintoul and Jemima Henderson Rintoul of Burntisland Scotland.
Radio Requests by Brian O'Regan & Percy Bateson
This article, the second of three, contains the e-mail replies to nine questions received after a call-in CBC radio show on the topic of genealogy and family history. Each answer provides a detailed description of relevant information sources and websites where the answer to the question might be found. The queries concern the Huguenot Society London, the maiden name of Eileen Wallace, a law graduate who lived in Belfast, the arrival date of the Towsons in Ireland, an ancestor living in Ulvaston, Umbria around 1840, the surname distribution of the name Vance, information about the Taylors in Ireland, the Wells from Somerset and a Methodist minister named Fox in Yorkshire, and tracing a Syrian brother through his Argentinian wife. One query was for recommendations about buying a genealogy computer program for a family member. In answer to a query about distribution of a large amount of information, it was suggested that starting a newsletter is an excellent method for sending genealogical information to other family members. Ways to do this are outlined.
From Near and Far by Helen Garson
Three articles are summarized. An article that appeared in the Archivist, no.16, 1998 emphasizes the importance of understanding the lives of our ancestors and our need for all sorts of records to do this: census records, passenger lists, land records, photographs, diaries, and histories. In an article in the Scottish Genealogist, September 1998, Judith Eccles Wight describes her use of the British Parliament Papers to find background material about her ancestors who lived in the Paisley area of Scotland during the early 19th century. She provides examples of pertinent background information that she selected from the Papers about religion, trades, poor relief, the 1851 census and education. The third article describes the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission; From the Archivist; The British Parliament Papers
The War Graves Commission was formed in 1917 and its name changed to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission in 1960. The Commission's mandate is to honour the memory of armed service members who were killed during the First and Second World Wars, mark and care for their graves, build memorials for those with unknown graves and maintain records and registers of military casualties. Each of the dead are treated equally with regard to grave headstones or memorials; there was no repatriation. After the Second World War, the commission included the commemoration of civilians killed. The commission has three departments: Horticulture and Works to care for the graves and Records. In 1995, the records were transferred to a computerized database. In November 1999, the database went online to provide information about the graves of casualties of the First and Second World Wars.
More Gleanings from the National Archives of Canada by Mary M. Nash
Four items from the Catalogue of Publications are included. Casey 1-3775 contains statements about immigration that were submitted to the 1872 annual meeting of the Dominion Board of Trade that suggest that certain classes of skilled workers, schoolmasters and clergymen should be encouraged to come to Canada. The labour requirements in different areas of Canada are described in a Department of Agriculture publication dated 1873 (Casey 1-3848). About 175,000 workers are needed, in particular agriculture workers and domestic servants. The requirements are listed by province and then by county and occupation. Casey 1-2763 is a letter dated 1859 about the union of the British North American provinces and the expected outcome. Remarks from the London Times about subsidies to ocean steamships and the St. Lawrence River and Great Lakes route to western Canada are included. (Casey 1-3767) is a copy of a speech by the Hon. Alexander Mackenzie that was delivered in the Ontario Legislative Assembly in 1872 describing the financial position of Ontario. The financial estimates for 1872 for education, roads and bridges and the administration of justice are used to show that Ontario bears an unequal burden of expenses in comparison to Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. Public institutions are responsible for the largest source of expenditures. A large sum of money is requested for opening up the back country, building a new railroad, and increasing opportunities for settlers.
Transportation by Steamboat and Road by Doris Grierson Hope
Transportation by steamship and road and the postal service in Torbolton Township during the early 19th century are described. The Lady Colborne carried passengers, freight and mail between Aylmer and Fitzroy Harbour over the period 1833 to 1846. The 100-foot long paddle boat was steam-powered and had a dining salon and cabins. The Lady Colborne stopped at designated ports on both sides of the Ottawa River. Passenger arrivals and departures were sometimes noted in local newspapers. Settlers in the northern part of Torbolton used the Fitzroy Harbour post office. The southern area used the March Post Office. Travel overland improved very slowly. The settlers had to provide their own labour for road construction. This was especially difficult in Torbolton with its low population. A road from Goulbourn to March Township was laid out in 1822. Attempts were made to obtain funding for a road along the Ottawa River's south shore to connect the south shore settlements to Bytown and for a bridge over the Constance River. In 1832, the Ontario government provided some funds for road construction from Torbolton to Goulbourn Township. Road travel in the Constance River area remained difficult for many years.
Names from the South Coast of England by Alan Rayburn
The counties of East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Dorset have been the source of several eastern Canada place names. Southampton occurs as a place name in four Canadian provinces. Ontario place names from Hampshire include Winchester, Portsmouth, Alvinston (after Alverstone on the Isle of Wight), and Ventnor. Wareham, Newfoundland and the townships of Blandford and Sherborne in Ontario are named after places in Dorset. East Sussex has provided names to Brighton and Brighton Township in Ontario, Brighton parish in New Brunswick, and the community of Brighton in Nova Scotia. In Newfoundland, Dark Tickle was renamed Brighton, when the older name was deemed inappropriate. Goodwood Marsh in Lanark County and the community of Goodwood in the Durham region were named after the Duke of Richmond's home near Chichester, West Sussex. Other names taken from West Sussex include Arundel and Chichester townships in Quebec and Storrington Township, Parham and Midhurst in Ontario.
1852Spring 1999 Preserving Family History Making Sense out of the Pile of Old Photographs by Bruce Whitehead
The author acquired many records when he took custody of the Sudlow-Whitehead family history. In this first of three articles, he describes a system he developed to identify, organize and preserve records and photographs. The family tree information about the Sudlows, who came to Canada from Hyde c1904-1906, covers three or four generations. The author's father came from Acton in London, Middlesex in 1929. Information about the Whiteheads consists of photograph albums and a collection of family letters and postcards. Methods for dating photographs by sequence, topic, a child's age, events or by the photographer's address are discussed. Oral histories provided by family members are always the best method for obtaining details about photographs.
Coming to Canada in the Forties by Doreen Wyatt
In 1940, the invasion of Great Britain seemed likely. The British Government provided school children with application forms to be signed by parents who wanted their children evacuated overseas. Against her mother's wishes, the author's father signed evacuation applications for her and for her brother. Sometime later, with two days notice, the children were instructed to gather at the Darlington train station. There, they were sorted into groups and escorted by train and bus to a school gymnasium in Glasgow for medical examinations and vaccinations. Those headed for Canada embarked on the Duchess of York. The dangerous two-week voyage to Halifax in a convoy, train ride to Toronto, and placement in foster homes are described. The author and her brother were sent to Napanee, Ontario where they were separated. She says she found that Canadians were very kind, but homesickness and anxiety about family back in Britain were overriding concerns. She completed her schooling and worked in a bank before returning to Britain after the war ended.
190 Graves Lie Forgotten in the Heart of Ottawa by Dave Brown
Macdonald Gardens north of Rideau Street in downtown Ottawa is now a municipal park covering the site of a large cemetery that served Presbyterians, Episcopalians, Methodists and Roman Catholics from 1800 to1871. The federal government purchased the land in 1911. Families were invited to pay for moving their plots to Beechwood Cemetery. All but 190 graves were moved. Some of these graves had been moved before from an old cemetery near the intersection of Queen and Elgin Streets. During the 1940s, the federal government returned the four-block site to the City of Ottawa.
Great Moments in Genealogy by Percy Bateson
Nine speakers describe some highlights of their family history research. Margaret Burwell searched the GRD for the name Bonney for several years without success. Then she found two Bonney cousins and met with them in Kingston to trade photographs and information. Jim Heal displayed a large paper roll of a hand-drawn family tree containing 1400 names of descendants of Thomas Carter (born c1690) and Elizabeth Coles (1695-1765) of Devon. Don Trebel discussed record searching, difficulties with reconciling various records, and the need to double-check all sources. Elizabeth Stuart described her search for her great grandfather's twin, the Reverend Donald McNaughton Stuart, who emigrated from Scotland to Dunedin, New Zealand in 1860.The mother of the Stuart twins was Janet McNaughton, b. 1796 in Druimintuirk to John McNaughton and Catherine Campbell. Joan Broadfoot visited the site of her great grandparents' homestead at Blacks Landing near Georgian Bay, met a distant cousin living on the property and examined the contents of a tin box containing original land sale documents which were signed by her great grandfather David Black. Hugh Reekie described a recent visit to the Auchtertool parish church in Fife, Scotland that many of his ancestors had attended. He discovered that communion attendance books are a valuable reference source. Jim Lynn talked about his wife's g g grandparents John McLean and Flora McInnes who came from Isle of Mull before 1821 and settled in Finch Township. According to obituary notices, Campbells travelling from some distance attended McLean funerals. An 1898 photograph in a family album provided a clue for finding the relationship between the Campbells and McLeans. The presentations by Betty Warburton and Bernice Severson are published in this issue and the Fall 1999 issue of Anglo-Celtic Roots, respectively.
Problem Solving Kicks off first Meeting of 1999 by June Coxon
Those with expertise in various areas of family history answered questions from the audience. Topics covered include the Ontario Cemetery Finding Aid, word processing typesetting commands, production of a publication for a family reunion, tracing Irish ancestors and American information sources.
Radio Requests by Brian O'Regan & Percy Bateson
This third and last of three articles contains edited replies to five e-mail queries received in response to a CBC talk show program about genealogy and family history. Information sources and research methods that should enable the recipient to find answers are suggested in each case. The requests are about researching the ancestry of Harry Warner and Catherine Green who came to Canada from Sunderland, England in the early 1900s, tracing Nace ancestors who lived in Virginia in the mid 1700s, finding descendants of two Hine grand aunts, information about an uncle killed in the First World War, information about an institution in Essex where great grandmother Alice Ellen Shere lived as a child, passenger lists and tombstone transcriptions.
Searching Cemeteries for Family History Clues by Betty B. Warburton
Visits to three cemeteries are described. The first was to Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto where cemetery records and headstone inscriptions provided information about ancestors Thomas (c1863-1896) and Rebecca Bliss (c1867-1920) and led to the discovery that Rebecca's parents George and Rebecca Parker and other family members are in a plot close by. According to their headstone inscription, George Parker (1822-1903) was born in Gosport England. Years later, before visiting England, the author requested records from the Register of Kiddermaster Cemetery about her Gale and Morris grandparents who are buried there. This advance preparation helped with easier location of the Gale and Morris plots and then of graves of Gale and Swan great grandparents and other relatives. The author did not find the grave of great grandfather Thomas Jones in either Kiddermaster Cemetery or St. George Parish churchyard, Kiddermaster. Visits to all three cemeteries provided information about family history, but the two planned visits were more rewarding.
Lyndhurst H B H McADOO (1880-1918): A McAdoo Stray in Cataraqui Cemetery, Kingston ON by James A. Heal
The life of Lyndhurst Howard Barry Henderson McAdoo and how he came to be buried in Cataraqui Cemetery are described. Lyndhurst was born in Australia, the eldest child of Robert McAdoo, a merchant from County Donegal Ireland, and Julia Morrow Gordon of Geelong, Victoria, Australia. Lynhurst migrated to Ireland. He is listed in the 1901 census as an assistant farmer living with an uncle and aunt, James and Margaret McAdoo, tenant farmers in County Donegal. Lyndhurst married Roberta Donnell Todd in Ardstraw Presbyterian Church, County Tyrone on 20 October 1909. Soon after, Lyndhurst and his wife left their ancestral tenant farm and moved to Errington on Vancouver Island where Lyndhurst became a rancher. The couple had two daughters. In January 1916, Lyndhurst joined the army and served in France with the 10th Brigade, Canadian Field Artillery. He was diagnosed with a lymphatic tumour in July 1917 and treated in several military hospitals before being invalided back to Canada. Lynhurst McAdoo died in the Queen's Military Hospital, Kingston on 22 January 1918 and is buried in Cataraqui Cemetery. McAdoo Lane in Saanich, British Columbia was named in his honour.
British Isles Place Names in Canada: Names from the SW of Ireland by Alan Rayburn
The counties of Cork, Kerry and Waterford have provided several Canadian place names. In 1842, destitute Irish workers founded Cork, west of Fredericton. The Cork post office there was open from 1870 until 1967. For 15 months during the mid 1880s, there was another Cork post office in New Brunswick, as well. Alberta had a Cork post office from 1910 to 1956. Cloyne, north of Napanee, Ontario, was named after an Irish village east of the city of Cork, Ireland. There is a Waterford in Ontario and a Waterford River in Newfoundland. During the 1850s, Almonte, Ontario was known as Waterford, but the name was changed because of duplication. The County of Waterford provided names for the Dungarvon River in New Brunswick, Mount Dungarvon in Alberta, Lismore in Nova Scotia and Tramore in Renfrew County. County Kerry provided names for Killarney on Georgian Bay, Killarney Lake in Manitoba and Listowel and Valentia in Ontario.
Gleanings from the National Archives of Canada by Mary M. Nash
Five pamphlets selected from the Catalogue of Publications in the Public Archives of Canada are described. The value and importance of the North American Colonies are discussed in Casey 1 1630, dated 1838. Halifax as a naval station and harbour, Atlantic fisheries, agricultural produce, timber, and coal, gypsum and other minerals are important to the British economy, with construction of the Rideau Canal the only costly public work. Casey 1 2520 is a collection of nine letters written to the Warden of St. Augustine's College in Canterbury by a college member during an 1853 visit to Church establishments in North America. The letters describe crossing the Atlantic, travelling from New Brunswick to Maine, meeting Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, visits to several U.S. cities, Niagara Falls, Hamilton, Toronto, Kingston, Montreal, Quebec City, and Grosse Isle and the return trip to Liverpool. Casey 1 1487 is an 1835 Special Sanitary Committee of Montreal report about cholera, immigration and passenger facilities on ships. Letters from Sussex emigrants who sailed from Portsmouth in 1832 aboard the ships Lord Melville, Eveline and England to settle in Upper Canada, various accounts about emigration, and instructions to emigrants are contained in Casey 1 1407. The Petworth Committee supervised a total of 767 passengers. Most came from Petworth and elsewhere in Sussex, Hampshire, Cambridgeshire and Surrey and settled in York, Upper Canada. Casey 1 1423, dated 1833, consists of three letters written by settlers, one letter each from the Huron Tract, Guelph and Goderich. They discuss the price of land, hardships of pioneer life, standard of living, crops, animals, houses and town growth.
1953Summer 1999 Uncovering Photo Inscriptions by Bruce Whitehead
Many old photos are glued into albums. Steps for taking a photograph album apart to copy the pages are outlined. Number the pages to preserve the sequence and handle each as little as possible. Make photocopies of each page and number the copies by page number and the photos by placement on the album page. Send copies to family member for possible identification and ask that they write what they know about the subject on the back of the copy and return it. Basic information includes date, name of subject, location, event and comments. Some of the photos on the album pages may have a caption on the back. An eight step process for removing photos from the page with minimum damage is described.
General Register Office of Scotland: Online Access to Vital Records by Linda Jonas
The database Scots Origins went online in April 1998. It contains Scottish indexes to births, marriages and death. Scots Origins comprises both the Old Parochial Registers for 1553-1854 and Civil Registration for 1855-1897. There is a fee for using the database and a separate charge for obtaining certificates. Many of the records found on Scots Origins are available through Family History Centers. Advice is offered about how to reduce search costs by using FHC resources before searching Scots Origins.
It's Not in the Family History Catalog! What do I do Now? by Linda Jonas
The organization and use of the National Inventory of Documentary Sources in the United Kingdom and Ireland (NIDS) is described. The inventory, which is available on microfiche, is a collection of aids for locating information held in British libraries and archives. Indexes and other finding aids to more than 100 repositories have been filmed and distributed. Compilation is ongoing. NIDS is organized by repository. Each repository contains various finding aids that provide detailed information about locating records held. Each repository and document therein is assigned a Chadwyck-Healey (CH) microfiche number. To use NIDS, find the CH number for the document of interest, convert this number to a FHL microfiche number and order the FHL microfiche. The steps for doing this are described.
The History of Highland Dress by June Coxon
This article summarizes a presentation by Paddye Mann and Dave Harrington to a BIFHSGO Saturday morning meeting. Cloth has always been special to Highland Scots. In early times, the clan chief burned a piece of blood-dyed cloth atop a cross to summon his clan in times of danger. This signal was last used in Canada during the eighteenth century, when American raiders threatened to invade Glengarry County. The pleated kilt started as a wrap (called a brat) that was worn around the shoulders. Both Scotsmen and women wore a tunic (called a leine) extending to the knees. Scots probably brought the leine from Ireland. It consisted of about 23 metres of linen that was finely pleated and sometimes embroidered at cuffs and collar. As linen became more expensive, the woollen brat became larger and extended to cover the legs. Around 1600, the brat replaced the tunic and became the kilt. The method the Highlander used to make a kilt is described. Early plaids or tartans were specific to location rather than clan. In 1822, when King George IV visited Scotland, Sir Walter Scott helped organize the present system of tartans, making them specific to Highland clans. But anyone can obtain and wear a tartan from material that is designed, woven and produced to order.
Beechwood Cemetery by Percy Bateson
The historic and genealogical importance of Beechwood Cemetery was described at a BIFHSGO Saturday morning meeting by Tom Graham and Roger Boult, the General Manager and Assistant General Manager of Beechwood Cemetery, respectively. The cemetery is one of the largest in Canada. Early cemetery records are entered in five handwritten burial books that contain every interment from 1873 until 1990 when a computerized database was started. Records include name, birthplace, last residence, age or date of birth, date and cause of death, funeral home name, date of interment, grave location, name of parents, and name and relationship to deceased of the information provider. The cemetery also maintains a record of lots, a card index giving the name of the deceased, a burial registry showing location of interment, ownership cards of registered owners of lots and an account book. Cemetery staff is compiling Great Canadian Profiles, an index of well known Canadians buried in Beechwood.
The Irish in Osgoode Township by Percy Bateson
Michael Daley has deep roots in Osgoode Township. Michael described his family background and told many stories about early Osgoode settlers to BIFHSGO members at a Saturday morning meeting. Michael Daley's g g grandparents Michael Daley and Elizabeth McGuire came from King's County, Ireland in 1826 and settled in Osgoode Township in 1840. Their son Michael married Beatrice Thompson, a descendant of early settlers Alexander Thompson from County Cork and Eleanor Casserley, who came to Osgoode in 1834. Michael's grandparents were Michael Daley and Catherine Keough and his parents were Michael Daley and Mary Ida Leahy, a descendant of Timothy Leahy from Limerick and Mary Downs. Among the first settlers of Osgoode were Archibald McDonell and William York and their families, who travelled 55 miles over frozen rivers from Cornwall in 1827. Thirty-four family heads were living in Osgoode by 1831. They soon cut a trail through the forest to Bytown, which was growing rapidly with the building of the Rideau Canal. Hugh McKenna, of Tyrone Ireland (b. 1790), walked from Prescott to his military claim on Long Island. A widower, he married Catherine Duffy from County Louth, Ireland. McKenna and James Telford, who lived nearby, shared the use of oxen. Other stories are about Timothy Keough who was murdered when he tried to break up a drunken brawl in the Four Corners; Father Ambrose Madden who won the MC and DSO for bravery during the First World War; and Bernard (Barney) Dewan, a wanderer and poet. As the Assistant Historian of the Osgoode Township Historical Society, Michael has helped many with their genealogical research, e.g., genealogists in Kansas and Montana who were searching for information about Edmund McEvoy and Edward P. McEvoy and their wives Mary Kelly and Catherine Conway. The two families moved from Osgoode to Iowa in 1871.
Canadian Participants in the South African or Boer War by Norman Crowder and Mary M. Nash
Canada sent 1000 men to South Africa to support Great Britain at the start of the Boer War (1899-1902). The second battalion of the Royal Canadian Regiment, formed from companies from across Canada, embarked from Quebec City in October 1899. Later several more battalions were sent bringing the total to 7300 Canadians serving in 12 regiments or units. The National Archives of Canada holds the service records of 6000 of these soldiers. A group of Friends of the NAC has compiled a computerized database from the NAC's card file of these Boer War records. The database contains 5939 names and is available on diskette. Each entry includes surname, given names or initials, rank, regimental name and number, and volume and reel.
2054Fall 1999 Lessons Learned in Researching English Ancestry by Kenneth G. Aitken
English research sources and the underlying principles of a genealogy research strategy are discussed. Fifteen concepts from the classic 3-volume reference "Genealogical Research in England and Wales" by David Gardiner and Frank Smith are outlined. Probate, parish, Nonconformist, birth, christening and burial records and censuses, wills, bishop's transcripts, marriage registers and local economic conditions all need to be considered in family history research. To illustrate each of these concepts, the author draws on his own research on the Hambrook family in eastern Kent County.
Preserving Family History Making Sense of the Pile of Old Photographs by Bruce Whitehead
Storage of loose photos and methods for identifying old photos are described. The physical characteristics of an old photograph, such as size, shape, width of margin, uniformity with other photos, photographer's imprint, batch number and numbering of negatives, can help to approximate the date of the photo. To copy photographs, it is best to prepare an inter-negative by photographing the old print. Copying of negatives and slides is best done by a custom photo company, but a photocopy shop is adequate for running off copies from an inter-negative.
My Visit to General Register House by Willis Burwell
General Register House in Edinburgh is one of two research facilities of the Scottish Registry Office. The General Registry House contains church records, early Court of Session records, valuation roles, registers of deeds and sasines, and private estate records. The author's primary interest was to search the Kirk Session minutes for information about his g g grandmother Agnes Bryson (1808-1902). At Kirk Sessions, Church of Scotland matters at parish level are determined by the minister and church elders. The Kirk Session records include communion rolls, lists of heads of families, details about illegitimate births, payments to the poor and financial matters related to the parish. Notations about Agnes Bryson were found in two different places in the Kirk Session minutes. She and the author's g g grandfather James Black immigrated to Canada about 1842 with their six children. They settled in Renfrew County where four more children were born.
Appraisal of the Brian O'Reagan Donation by Alan Rayburn
Brian O'Regan donated his family history library of nearly 1100 items to BIFHSGO. The appraisal shows 925 books, 91 runs of periodicals, 33 manuscripts and files, 23 maps and atlases, and 20 compact discs, diskettes and tapes. More than 100 of the books are on Irish history. Some were published in the early 1800s. In addition, there are 35 books about Irish family history and another 35 on Irish-Americans. These books and records will form the core of the BIFHSGO library, which will be dedicated to Brian O'Regan. Jack Moody donated 125 books (including a full run of the 1871 Ontario census), and 28 runs of periodicals. Procedures to follow for donating family history items to BIFHSGO library are outlined.
Planning Your Research Trip by Margaret Giacomelli
Four steps to follow before undertaking a research trip are described. Before you leave home, determine what you want to know, familiarize yourself with your topic or individual, exhaust local resources, and anticipate setbacks. It is recommended that you keep a log book to record the subject and time spent on research, a source card file, and a travel folder containing various charts and forms. Familiarize yourself with your subject by preparing a reading list, reading relevant books and articles, examining photos and searching the internet. Wherever you go, stick to your plans as much as possible, but remain flexible. When a problem occurs, break it into small steps, and work on one step at a time.
Lt. Col. John By, RE by Percy Bateson
The June BIFHSGO meeting included a presentation by Herb Sills and a video "John By, Hero Without Honour" by Josephine MacFadden. Colonel By was recalled from retirement to duty in the Royal Engineers and sent to Upper Canada to plan, design and build a canal from the Ottawa River to Kingston. He encountered many problems during construction, because of the difficult terrain. About 2000 men worked on the project at any one time. The video shows some of the important sites along the Rideau Canal, such as Entrance Bay with eight locks to accommodate the 68-foot drop at the Rideau Falls, the dam at Hog's Back and the Arch Dam at Jones Falls on the Cataraqui River. Many workers died from swamp fever (malaria) or in accidents. Construction was completed in five years rather than the six anticipated. The Lord of His Majesty's Treasury accused Colonel By of spending over 80,000 pounds sterling without proper authority. Although By claimed that he did have the authority to spend the money, he was recalled. This disgrace and the malaria he contacted during canal construction probably contributed to his early death. Today the Rideau Canal stands as a memorial to Colonel By's engineering abilities.
John By, Hero without Honour by Herb Sills
John By (1779-1836), the son of George and Mary By, was born in London. He joined the Royal Artillery as a Lieutenant and then transferred to the Royal Engineers. By married Elizabeth Johnson Baines in 1802. Later that year, he was posted to Canada to work on construction of the Soulanges and Cascades canals. In 1811, By was posted to the Duke of Wellington's army in Portugal. John By, now a widower, married Esther March, an heiress, in 1818. They purchased property at Frant, East Sussex, which By farmed. Their daughters were born in 1819 and 1821. By was recalled from retirement to active duty in March 1826 and sent to Canada to build a canal linking the Ottawa River and Lake Ontario. The canal was successfully completed, but the Board of Ordnance accused Lieut. Col. By of the misappropriation of funds, as alleged by a clerk who had been fired from By's office for drinking. Colonel By was recalled. In 1834 he suffered a stroke at his home in East Sussex and died two years later. Colonel By goes down in history as the founder of Bytown (now Ottawa) and the builder of the Rideau Canal. In 1971, the Historical Society of Ottawa erected a statue in his honour in Majors Hill Park. Ottawa celebrates the August Civic holiday as Colonel By Day.
Soldiers of the Rideau Canal by Norm Crowder
This is a copy of a letter from "Copies of Despatches and Correspondence Relative to Chelsea Pensioners in Upper and Lower Canada" held in the Archives of Ontario. The letter was written by Lieut.-Col. John By 28 July 1834 about the entitlement of non-commissioned officers and men of the 7th and 15th companies to 100-acre grants of land in Canada in return for their services during the construction of the Rideau Canal. Two lists of claimants are attached: a nominal list of 71 non-commissioned officers, privates and buglers of the Company of Royal Sappers and Miners who were disbanded at the Rideau Canal in December 1831 and a second list of 52 men who had returned to England after their companies were disbanded.
Kingston Holds First Capital Celebrations by June Coxon
Kingston celebrated its 158th anniversary as the first capital of the United Province of Canada on 15 June 1999. The Act of Union of February 1841 united Upper Canada and Lower Canada. Kingston was named the capital of the two sections, which were renamed Canada West and Canada East and given equal representation in the first parliament. On 28 May 1841, Lord Sydenham, the new governor, arrived on the steamer "Traveller" and docked at Commercial Wharf, where he was greeted by John A. MacDonald, members of St Andrew's Society, the Kingston public and a Royal Salute from Fort Henry. A procession followed Lord Sydenham to Alwington House, the Governor's official residence. The first Parliament opened on 15 June 1841 in a converted hospital building on the site of today's Kingston General Hospital. Within three months, Lord Sydenham was injured in a riding accident and died. Without his leadership, Kingston lost its status as capital in 1844. The capital was moved to Montreal, York and finally to Ottawa.
A Tale of Two Mothers by A. Bernice Severson
The author describes the conditions that her mother Elizabeth Govan and her mother-in-law Olga Berg encountered as children and as immigrants during the early 1900s. Both came from large, impoverished families and left home at age 15 without their parents. Elizabeth Govan was born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1893. Her father died when she was two, leaving her mother to raise six children aged two to 12. Elizabeth's oldest brother immigrated to Saskatchewan and the other children followed. In 1908, Elizabeth, her sister Nellie and her brother Eben came to Canada aboard the "Hisparion." Eben went to Saskatoon, where work was available. The two young women took the immigrant train from Montreal to Winnipeg. Here, Nellie found work as hired help, and Elizabeth lived for a year with a Presbyterian minister's family. She then moved to Saskatchewan where she found employment. Olga Berg left her home in Norway in 1904 by way of Southampton, New York, Ellis Island and immigrant train in search of her older brother in South Dakota, where there was a Norwegian community. When Olga reached Sioux Falls, she discovered that her brother had returned to Norway. Olga found employment as second cook on a ranch. She married Nels Severson. When Nels quarrelled with his family in 1910, the couple disappeared and moved to Saskatchewan. Contact with their families was not re-established until 1958, when Nels was dying. The article provides many interesting stories that the two women told the author about their lives in Europe, Saskatchewan and South Dakota.
Books by Jean Portugal Tell Human Story of World War Veterans by June Coxon
Jean Portugal completed "We Were There", a history of the Second World War, in November 1998. Over a 13-year period, she interviewed 750 Canadian veterans who had participated in D-Day and the march into Germany. The history is based on the stories that these veterans told in their own words. The seven-volume history has been published by the Royal Canadian Military Institute (RCMI). The books are arranged by Armed Forces branch: Volume 1 on the Canadian Navy, Volumes 2-6 on the Canadian Army, and Volume 7 on the RCAF and Others. The books are well illustrated and include many photographs and aerial shots not previously published. The books are indexed with inclusion of the names of the veterans who contributed their stories.
2161Winter 1999*. The South African War-The Shape of Things to Come by Brian Reid
The reasons for and Canada's role in the 1899-1902 South-African War are described. The political situation in Canada and the state of Canada's military forces at the time are discussed. After the Anglo-Boer War (1880-81), South Africa consisted of two British colonies and two landlocked Boer republics: Orange Free State and the Transvaal. After gold was discovered in the Transvaal, the large influx of foreign workers, most of them English-speaking, caused political tension in the Boer republic. The British sent 10,000 troops to reinforce its South African garrison. On 11 October, 1899, the Transvaal government declared war against Great Britain. Canada offered to send 1000 troops, and eight companies were recruited from across the country to form the Royal Canadian Regiment. The troops were dispatched to South Africa. There, they were placed within British companies. The demographics of this first contingent and the troops' military background and training are described in detail. Special emphasis is placed on the men from Eastern Ontario of D Company, 2RCR. Additional troops were sent to South Africa later in the war. After the war ended, Canada dispatched another contingent to serve in the South African Constabulary.
The Irish Featured at BIFHSGO's Conference 99 by June Coxon
BIFHSGO's Annual Fall Conference, 24-26 September 1999, attracted 205 attendees. Kent Betit of Salt Lake City gave the keynote lecture, "Finding the Place of Origin of your Irish Ancestors." Other sessions by Kent Betit described Griffith's valuation of Ireland, the internet for Irish research, Irish estate papers and wills, and new developments in Irish research. Other sessions covered finding your Scottish ancestors, home children, Grosse Ile, using a computer for genealogy, creating a personal genealogy web page, and The Master Genealogist genealogy program. Other speakers described family history resources and genealogy and military collections held by the National Library and Archives.
Gleanings from the National Archives of Canada by Mary M. Nash
South African War materials are found in Casey II No. 2458, 2551-2567, 2730, and 5445. Casey II includes an 1892 report to the Select Standing Committee of Agriculture and Colonization by the Reverend Leonard Gaetz that describes his experiences as a farmer for six years in the Red River District. Casey II No. 3764, 3765, and 3766 describe opportunities in Alberta in 1910 in agriculture, finance, fisheries, mining, and hunting. Alberta game laws are outlined. Towns with populations greater than 400 are listed. Pamphlets on opportunities in British Columbia in 1911 and in Ontario in 1910 are bound with the Alberta brochure. Casey II no. 5485 describes opportunities in Canada in 1928 for house-workers. Demand for house-workers, the differences between city and rural work, wages, passage assistance, emigration regulations, women's hostels, hotels, and advice to travellers are discussed.
Public Library's Genealogist-in-Residence Program a Huge Success by June Coxon
Alison Hare, a Certified Genealogist Record Specialist, was hired as Genealogist-in-Residence at the Ottawa Public Library for October-November 1999. During that period, she conducted 69 individual one-hour interviews with public library users to answer their genealogical questions and help them with their genealogical research. In addition, she presented 10 free lectures at various Ottawa Public Library branches about genealogy, the internet, how to prepare a family tree, and basic sources in genealogy.
The Montreal Public Library: "Salle Gagnon" by Gary Schroder
The Salle Gagnon is located in the Montreal Municipal Library at 1210 Sherbrooke Street East. Library hours, ambience, finding aids and available equipment are described. Salle Gagnon holdings include 15000 books on-site and an additional 35000 that are available on short notice. Salle Gagnon has purchased nearly all books related to Quebec genealogy published over the last 25 years as well as thousands of books and documents related to family history elsewhere. Holdings include Quebec marriage indexes, Quebec index to statistical returns of marriage and death registrations 1926-1991, Quebec statistical return of marriage registrations 1926 to 1991, Quebec censuses 1825-1901, Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery burials 1855-1988, all Catholic Registers prior to 1900, and many non-Catholic Registers prior to 1900.
Notarial Records-An Overlooked Resource by Marlene Simmons
In addition to church and census records, Quebec keeps notarial records. These records are based on French law where notaries handled all civil matters. Notaries drafted many commercial transactions, such as land sales and purchases, mortgages, leases, powers of attorney, loans, marriage contracts, wills, bequest discharges, and applications for tutor-ships for the insane or for minors. Under the Quebec Act of 1774, the British retained French civil law, except for land grants. Quebec patriarchy and the role of women are discussed. Most notarial records from before 1900 are available on microfilm at Les Archives Nationales du Quebec (ANQ) regional branches. They are grouped by district. Notarial records are being indexed. The Parchemin Data Base Index containing records for 1635-1765 is available for consultation at ANQ regional branches.
Solving Some Common Family Research Problems by Willis Burwell
Methods for solving five problems that frequently crop up in family research are discussed. To start, the correct family must be identified. To do this, find an early family record, such as a census or marriage record. A marriage record should provide the bride's maiden name and usually the names of her parents and the witnesses, who may be family members. If you are not certain whether you have identified your ancestor's family, check obituaries and grave markers, and if you are still in doubt, decide how much circumstantial evidence is sufficient for probable identification. Next, identify where the ancestor came from and then the date of birth. The best source for this information is a baptism record, family Bible, gravestone, or the 1901 census. Fourth, determine place of marriage. There were not many churches or local newspapers available to pioneers. Search local records for marriages in other denomination, as well. For family photographs, a fifth problem occurs: identification of the people in the photo. The author applies these methods to trace the history of his great-grandmother, Elizabeth Crozier. The first record found for her was the 1851 census for Horton Township. Elizabeth Crozier was Irish. Most Irish census records no longer exist. Many parish records in Ireland are held locally. Two sets of Irish tax records are available, the "Tithe Applotment Rolls" from about 1830 and "Griffith's Valuation" from about 1860. For these records, there is a Householder's Index that identifies the parishes where a surname is found. When you locate the specific area of interest, the "Ordnance Survey Memoirs of Ireland" provide excellent information. Elizabeth Crozier's father was located in the parish of Derryvullan, County Fermanaugh. His 1821 census record had survived; so more information was available on microfilm at the FHC. The record for Elizabeth Crozier's marriage was elusive. She is listed in the 1861 census as married to John Burwell with an eight year old son. Church of England records showed the couple had married across the Ottawa River in February. Like many other couples living near the river at that time, they crossed over the ice to marry. To identify the people in old family photographs, try to narrow down the branch of the family and what is happening, look for a studio name or date, and examine the size and mix of the group for clues. An example is given.
Wealth of Copyright Facts by June Coxon
Wanda Noel, a lawyer specializing in copyright law, spoke to BIFHSGO members about the new copyright regulations that concern photocopy and internet use. Copyright protects works and other subject matter in seven categories. Authors, or creators, are given legal protection over their works, but there are exceptions where use of these works is permitted without the author's permission. Protection of the works is for a limited period. There are penalties for infringement or violation of the rules of the Copyright Act. On September 1st 1999, a new exception became law: the right for to make a single copy for research purposes of an unpublished work in an archive.
2262Spring 2000 Mr. Goad's Marvellous Maps by John Digby Reid
Several large fires devastated parts of Canada during the 1870s and 1880s. In August 1870 a forest fire that swept down the Ottawa Valley was stopped by flooding Richmond Road with water from Dows Lake. These disasters showed that fire-fighters and fire-fighting equipment were essential. Charles Edward Goad, a civil engineer from England, started a fire insurance mapping business in Montreal in 1875 to provide large-scale maps for fire-fighters. Between 1876 and 1910, Goad and Sons produced more than 1000 plans and map editions for many of Canada's urban centres. The Goad maps show every structure including construction and height of building, street numbers, property lines, potential fire hazards, and locations of fire hydrants and alarms. Goad's first survey of Ottawa consists of 50 fire insurance maps, dated 1878. An example is provided to show the use of Sheet 25 of this map series to locate the site of a house at 237 Daly Avenue belonging to Ezekiel Stone Wiggins, Ottawa eccentric and weather forecaster. Many of the Goad maps are available on microfilm at the National Archives and the University of Ottawa.
Gleanings from the National Archives of Canada by Mary M. Nash
Selected pamphlets and brochures from the Catalogue of Publications in the Public Archives of Canada (Casey Catalogue) are described. Casey 1-2109 is a prospectus of the College of Bytown that was established in 1848 by Joseph Eugenius Guigues, Roman Catholic Bishop of Bytown. Casey 1-2585 dated 1856 is a 205-page brochure for tourists to Canada. It describes travel in Canada, in particular to Niagara Falls, Toronto, Collingwood, Lake Simcoe, Kingston, Montreal, Ottawa (then with a population of about 12,000), Quebec City, the Saguenay, and Richmond and the Eastern Townships. Included are a map of the British American Provinces and information about census records, agricultural statistics, imports and exports, customs revenues, shipping, canals, and railways. William Pittman Lett describes his recollections of Bytown and its old inhabitants in Casey 1-3956 dated 1874. Written in verse, the chapters cover Bytown, Upper Town, Corkstown, and the 1829 Fair. The Burgess' Hand Guide to Ottawa (Casey 1-4099) was published about 1875. It contains a map and information about public conveyances, fire alarm boxes, major buildings, city services, banks, churches, schools, clubs, institutions, and the annual exhibition.
Great Moments in Genealogy by Percy Bateson
Six BIFHSGO members spoke at a Saturday morning meeting about some of their breakthroughs in family history research. Elizabeth Taylor, with no known living relatives as far as she knew, had several family certificates, but research at the FHC yielded little additional information. By chance, during a visit to the Family Research Centre in London, she obtained two issues of Family Tree Magazine and later found, in the Readers Interests column of the April 1999 issue, the names of her great-grandparents along with year of marriage and location. The information had been submitted by Sue Haywood Daniel, who turned out to be a second cousin once removed, whom Elizabeth met in a subsequent visit to London along with several other family members.
John Bathurst spoke about his search for his paternal grandfather's ancestry. In 1952, he established that his grandfather was John Bathurst, son of Thomas Bathurst of Yalding, Kent. Unable to locate Thomas' records in Yalding parish records, he worked around this brick wall by researching the Bathurst family as a whole and then tracing it back to Richard, born about 1390. During a subsequent visit to Kent in 1959, he was successful in finding the baptismal record of great-grandfather Thomas Bathurst, son of John and Mary Bathurst, in the Hormonden, Kent church registers.
Mary M. Nash illustrated her family history with a series of photographs taken by her grandfather, a professional photographer. The photos show her paternal grandparents Anthony and Margaret Frohn in 1891 shortly after their marriage near Amsterdam, their growing family (18 children) including Mary's father, her parents' wedding, and some business photos.
David Jeanes spoke about railway navvies and how he solved the mystery of his great-grandfather, who came from a farm in West Sussex and later turned up in Brighton with many children who had been born in several different places throughout southern England. The author visited some of these towns and established that the births had coincided with railway construction in the area. The baptismal certificate of one of the children listed her father as John Johnson, Labourer (Rail Road).
Millicent Kavanagh let others in her family research their family tree, but they reached a dead end with the Bedford branch. Her great grandfather Timothy Fisher married Margaret Bedford in 1842. Searches for Bedford families near Port Hope and Oshawa showed that David Bedford who had married Alley Harris seemed a likely candidate. Then a prayer book belonging to Margaret Bedford Fisher that contained a letter by Abby Harris turned up. The author explains how she telephoned a Harris friend in search of information about Alley or Abby Harris. She succeeded in establishing that Abby Harris, the letter-writer, was a niece of the Alley Harris married to David Bedford. The Harris family was then traced back to 1664 Rhode Island.
Patricia Morley describes her latest book The Mountain is Moving, an introduction to Japanese culture and the role of women in Japan. The author lived in Japan for most of 1961.
Computers, the Internet and the Family History Centre by Richard St John and Percy Bateson
Computers in general, you and your computer, and computers at the Family History Centre in Ottawa are discussed. It is explained that you require only a simple computer for family history research, but you must learn the basics of its use. You need a genealogical program and the capability of transferring data from one program to another using Genealogical Data Communication (Gedcom). Some useful sites on the World Wide Web are suggested. Genealogical software and the Personal Ancestral File are described. Files available for consultation at the Family History Centre include Ancestral File, the UK Ordnance Survey, and the 1881 census of Great Britain.
The Fairbairn Family History by George E. Fairbairn
The author describes aspects of the lives of his great-grandfather, grandfather, father, and himself. William Fairbairn, a millwright and master carpenter, of Yetholm Scotland married Jean Wanless. The couple came to Canada around 1818 and settled in St. Andrews West. Their children were Archibald b. 1815 in Scotland, John b. 1819 in St. Andrews West, Ellen b.1823 and George b. 1823 in Calidonia Springs, Ontario, William b.1826 in Yetholm Scotland , Francis b. 1829 in Bytown, Aylsie b.1829 in Wakefield, and Mary b.1831 in Bytown. William Fairbairn died in Wakefield in 1867. His son George (1823-1907) was a farmer. He married Eleanor Mullen. George lived in Wakefield all his life except for a brief period during the 1849 gold rush when he prospected in British Columbia. He was mayor of Wakefield for many years. His son William George Fairbairn sold the family homestead to an uncle and, with his nephew William, went west to settle. William George Fairbairn died in Weepily, Saskatchewan in 1939. His son, George E. Fairbairn was born in 1875 on a farm in the Township of Wakefield, Quebec. In 1901, George worked as an apprentice clerk in a general store in North Wakefield and later in Kazubazua. He married Winnifred Joynt of Lascelles, Quebec in 1903. George organized the first Government Rifle Association in the Gatineau. In 1909, George travelled to Elk Lake and remained in northern Ontario for 20 years. He worked as a store manager, fire engineer, policeman, assessor, and tax collector in Porcupine and was elected to municipal council for two sessions in South Porcupine where he was the first fire chief. He worked at a Dome Mines mill for a period, but left after suffering from mercury poisoning. George moved to Ottawa in 1929 and worked in the Mines Department and the Museum. After the federal government retired George at age 65 in 1940, he worked at the Ottawa Die and Tool Company as an inspector and at the Hughes Owen Company.
James Sharpe aka Charles Perry. My Grandfather's Double Identity by Frank Perry
James Sharpe, a 20-year old labourer, enlisted as a private in 1870. According to his attestation papers, he was born in the Parish of Clerkenwell, Middlesex, England. He served with the 2nd and the 3rd Battalion Rifle Brigade and the Army Hospital Corps. In 1877, James Sharpe used the name Charles Perry to marry Izet Vincent in Somerset. The couple had seven children, two born in Ireland and the others in England. In 1879, James Sharpe went into the Cork Police Office, produced a baptismal certificate, and declared that he was in fact Charles Perry. Perry retired from the army with the rank of staff sergeant in 1889 for medical reasons. He died the following year of pneumonia and tuberculosis. No record of Charles Perry before his enlistment has been located. Why he used the name James Sharpe remains a mystery.
2363Summer 2000 Gleanings from The National Archives by Mary M. Nash
Several brochures or pamphlets selected from the Catalogue of Publications of the Public Archives of Canada (the Casey Catalogue) are summarized. Casey 1-4100 is an 89-page history of Bytown and vicinity that was published about 1875. The main subjects covered are early settlers, Congregationalists, Baptists, Episcopalians, Methodists, Presbyterians, Roman Catholics, mills and foundries, governors of Upper and Lower Canada from 1815 to 1838, Governors-General from 1840, sundries, lawyers, Corkstown, physicians, judges, the Ottawa Field Battery, garrison artillery with a list of officers, education, Members of Parliament, hospitals, Government Hill (a poem), homes for orphans and indigents, names of old settlers, the Press, railways, the No. 1 Rifle Corps, the Footguards with officers' names, the mayors of Ottawa, and New Edinburgh. A few obituaries and an undertaker's advertisement are included. Casey II-2890, a medical memoir of Bytown, contains the 1903 address to the Ottawa Medico-Chirurgical Society by its president. Physicians, hospitals, and diseases including outbreaks of Asiatic cholera in 1832 and typhus in 1847 are discussed. The Board of Health was established that year, the General Hospital in 1851 and then Protestant Hospital. Casey II-3673 and 3779, published in 1911, contain Richard William Scott's recollections of Bytown. Scott was a member of council in 1851 and mayor in 1852. He then entered provincial politics. Construction of a railway to Prescott, a proposed canal to Georgian Bay, the timber trade, house construction, industry, the Atlantic Cable Bill, and the establishment of a normal school, churches, societies and Beechwood Cemetery are discussed.
Researching E Stone Wiggins: Ottawa's Weather Prophet by John D. Reid
Ezekiel Stone Wiggins (1839-1910) was born in New Brunswick. He was well educated, worked as a teacher and superintendant of schools, wrote several books, and ran for Parliament as a Conservative. When he lost the election, Wiggins was rewarded with a position in Ottawa as a second class clerk in the Finance Department. Wiggins called himself an astronomer. He started predicting storms in 1881 and published an almanac. Apparently, he based his methods on a combination of astrology, moon-lore, and weather statistics. Wiggins gained some prominence in Canada and the United States when he predicted a violent storm for the day the steamship Asia sank on Lake Huron with the loss of 120 lives including two members of the Sparks family from Ottawa. Later, Wiggins fell into disrepute. With most of his predictions, no storm occurred, and he failed to predict major storms. Wiggins claimed that the government weather service suppressed his prediction techniques. Wiggins married a cousin, but there were no children. He died in Britannia Village in Arbour House which he had designed. The house was designated as of architectural interest in 1994.
Publishing My Irish Family History by Garvin Boyle
The Boyle family tree covers approximately 2000 descendants (including spouses) of two half-brothers who emigrated from Ireland to in 1823 with the Peter Robinson group and settled on Pakenham Mountain. The author's grandmother Mary Taylor spent more than thirty years working on the Boyle family history and included work on the Taylor, McAlister, Davis and McIntyre families of the Bancroft area. She based her research on oral histories, correspondence with family members, and data from tombstones. Starting with his grandmother's work, the author expanded the research to Ireland. He has traced the Boyle line to Ludowick Boyle of Scotland, who moved to northern England about 1200. About 1600, Richard Boyle moved to Bandon, County Cork. He was the first Earl of Cork and an ancestor of Thomas and Henry Boyle, the two half-brothers who came to Canada. Highlights of this research and several family stories are outlined. The Perdue and Lampinen families were studied, as well. The publishing and distribution of a family newsletter on the internet called BOYLE BULL-etin are described in detail.
Confederation Square and a Barbershop with a Past by June Coxon
Randall Kemp entertained BIFHSGO members at a Saturday morning meeting with stories about Ottawa's past. Kemp, an amateur historian and fifth-generation native of Ottawa, is co-owner of the Imperial Barbershop on Sparks Street near Elgin Street in central Ottawa. Kemp bought the barbershop in 1994 and completely renovated it to recreate the look and feel of the original Imperial Barbershop opened in 1888. Kemp describes the history of Ottawa from the 1800s and some of the city's founding families. The presentation was illustrated with maps and photos of the Confederation Square area and some of the individuals discussed.
Dedication of the Brian O'Reagan Memorial Library by Jim Shearon
Mrs. Jean O'Regan, O'Regan family members, and BIFHSGO librarian Judith Madore were present at the dedication of the Brian O'Regan Memorial Library on 11th March 2000 in the Royal Canadian Legion. The family history library is based on the donation of Brian O'Regan's collection of books, journals, files, and reference materials on genealogy and Irish and British history. Members of the BIFHSGO Library Committee have catalogued and organized 600 titles. Other publications now available in the library include books and journals donated by Jack Moody, also a founding director of BIFHSGO.
War Art and Genealogy by June Coxon
Canvas of War: Masterpieces from the Canadian War Museum opened at Museum of Civilization in February and will continue until January 2001, then travel to galleries across Canada. The exhibit comprises 72 works of art from the War Museum's extensive collection. Featured are works by Alex Colville, Charles Comfort, Molly Lamb Bobak, members of the Group of Seven, and three large sculptures by Walter Allward that are models for the Vimy Memorial in France. Two other exhibits featuring war art are running concurrently at the National Art Gallery and the National Archives.
Special Programs Mark Heritage Month at City Hall by June Coxon
Ottawa City Hall marked Heritage Month by offering several history and genealogy programs. The events included a one-day genealogy program and an exhibit of photos and artefacts featuring a large Bible that contains the history of the Billings family. Both events were very popular.
Unravelling the Mystery of the Mathews of Sligo by J David Roger
The author explores a romantic story passed down in his family about a wicked uncle who sent away two young orphans, heirs to a rope manufacturing business in Ireland, the boy to war and the girl to America. The author used old family documents to construct a family tree for the descendants of his g g g grandparents Elizabeth Mathews (born about 1770) and Peter Smith. The couple married in New Jersey. Their one child William Smyth was born in 1794. The family moved to Osnabruck Township about 1801. Family papers show that William Smyth made legal attempts to retrieve his mother's property in Sligo, Ireland. The old Parish records in Sligo were lost, and no record of Elizabeth Mathews' birth in Ireland could be found. Some of the descendants of Thomas Mathews of Sligo and his four sons are shown in a table. The author examines the relationship between Elizabeth Mathews, the Mathews family in Sligo, and the rope manufacturing business. The results are inconclusive, but research is continuing.
2464Fall 2000 Who Were the Loyalists? by Brenda Dougall Merriman
The requirements to become a member of the United Empire Loyalists' Association of Canada are outlined. The following adjectives, which are found in historical documents to describe Loyalists, are defined: Pre-, First, Maritimes, Associated, Treasury, Late, Simcoe, Black, and American Loyalists. For example, the First Loyalists escaped to the British zone of North America before the end of the Revolutionary War. In most cases, regular British Army soldiers, those with real property in an American state after 1783, Quakers, and women were not considered as Loyalists.
An Almost Unknown Genealogical Resource the British Library's Electoral Registers by William Reid
The British Library holds many electoral registers and poll books, back to 1832 and even earlier in the case of some poll books. These holdings, 65,000 volumes in all, are omitted from the British Library's General Catalogue of Printed Books. Electoral registers are organized by address. The early holdings are patchy, but complete from 1847. Only those entitled to vote are listed. The registers include some women rate-payers who could vote in local government elections as early as 1869. The franchise is discussed with regard to the Great Reform Act of 1832, the Reform Acts of 1867 and 1884, and the Representation of the People Act of 1918. The author describes his search of several electoral registers for County Durham. "Parliamentary Constituencies and Their Registers Since1832" by Richard H. A. Cheffins, published in 1998, contains valuable information about searching the registers.
Parish Records of The Anglican Diocese of Ottawa by John D. Reid and Fred Neal
Anglican congregations in Eastern Ontario and Western Quebec are under the administrative jurisdiction of the Anglican Diocese of Ottawa. The Diocese Archives in Cathedral Hall on Queen Street holds the diocese records for 100 parishes from the 1790s to the present. An index of parish register entries to 1960 is searchable by computer. A listing is provided of the location of each parish and the years for which records are available of baptisms, confirmations, marriages, and burials.
The Tide of Emigration to the United States and to the British Colonies, The CHIS Bulletin
This article comprises extracts from the July 6, 1850 Illustrated London News. The emigration procedures followed at the Port of Liverpool are described. The emigrants, the Medical Inspector's Office and procedures, ships, fares, steerage passengers, embarkation, dancing between the decks, the departure, searching for stowaways and roll-call of assembled passengers are described. A table is provided to show the number of emigrants headed to the North American colonies, the United States, and Australia and New Zealand for the years 1825 to 1830. The total number of British emigrants increased progressively from 1825 to1850, totalling 91,407 for the 25-year period.
Gleanings from the National Archives of Canada by Mary M. Nash
Selected pamphlets or brochures from the Catalogue of Publications in the Public Archives of Canada (Casey catalogue) are described. Casey 1-4029 is a collection of notes and sketches from a journey by a Sister of Charity from the Motherhouse in Montreal to the North-West in 1871 to 1873. The Sister of Charity went to St. Boniface by train and visited missions at Isle a la Crosse, Fort Edmonton, Lac La Biche, and St. Albert. She describes some of the work of the Sisters of Charity in the North-West and their plans for a new mission in Athabaska. The brochure, intended for benefactors and sponsors of the Sisters of Charity, appealed for funds. The country from Upper Canada to Vancouver is described in Casey 1-3832, dated 1873. Rupert's Land and the NWT have prairie and timber lands and a fertile belt for raising crops. British Columbia is described in detail, including crops and minerals. The author pleads for settlement of the western fertile belt and emphasizes the importance of extending Canada to the Pacific, but warns against a U.S. takeover. Casey 2-1899 consists of two letters about Manitoba and the Canadian North-West that were published in the Times in 1894. The letters describe mixed farming, the relevance of the railway to wheat production, the landscape between Calgary and Edmonton, and the shipment of chilled beef from Calgary eastwards to supply the U.K. Although Winnipeg, Brandon, Regina and Calgary have grown because of the railroad, a larger population is still needed.
Irish Resources at the Family History Library by Kyle Betit
The largest collection of Irish records outside Ireland is held by the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. The records include cemetery records, censuses, church records, civil registration indexes, and copies of registers, directories, estate records, genealogies, inventories, land records, military records, occupational and guild records, freeholders' indexes, place name indexes, reference materials, taxation records, and wills and administration indexes. Many of these records are available in microform at Family History Centres throughout the world. Methods for accessing the FHL Irish collection and some of the finding aids available are described.
History Through Dolls by June Coxon
"Timeless Treasures: The Story of Dolls in Canada" opened at the Museum of Civilization on 1 February 2000. The exhibit contains more than 400 dolls, including dolls from other countries, and portrays how clothing and technology evolved over the centuries. The importance of dolls as a reflection of our culture and history and as a unifying factor, particularly among women and children, is discussed.
A Visit to the Brian O'Regan Library by Percy Bateson
BIFHSGO established the Brian O'Regan Memorial Library in 2000. The library collection includes books about genealogy and Ireland. The 1881 British Census on computer disc and computers for searches are available. The Library Committee and volunteers have now catalogued 500 volumes and sorted dozens of periodicals. The library is open Saturday mornings.
Where's Isaac? by Tony Fletcher
The author is searching for records, after 1910, of his maternal grandfather, Isaac Dobinson. Isaac was born 1 February 1884 in Yorkshire and married Florence Emily Caine of Dalton-in-Furness in Burnley, Lancashire. Isaac was a fruitier and Florence a domestic. Their only child Clara Dobinson was born in 1905 near Burnley and brought up by Isaac's mother and unmarried sisters at Isaac's family home in Great Smeaton, Yorkshire. Florence died in 1910 of acute rheumatic fever. Isaac apparently went to Canada around 1911, possibly to the Sarnia area. A family photo shows him in a nautical uniform without insignia or badges, that is perhaps the uniform of a worker on day steamers. A second photo shows Isaac in a military uniform. Isaac apparently returned to the UK during the First World War with the Canadian Army Artillery, was gassed, fought at the Battle of the Canal du Nord, and died of influenza on the ship back to Canada in 1919. No record of Isaac can be found in Canadian military records or in British Military of Defence records.
Routes to Roots by Ryan Taylor
Genealogy has a responsibility to inform family members about genetic factors relevant to their health. One of the author's brothers and several cousins have faulty retinas. This defect has been traced to a blind ancestor descended from an Eynsham Oxfordshire couple who lived 300 years ago, according to a research study conducted by ophthalmologists at a London hospital. In Canada, a workbook "Family Health Trees: Genetics and Genealogy" has been published by the Quebec Family History Society. The Ontario Genealogical Society, Waterloo-Wellington Branch has published a study about genetically-linked illnesses.
Before Ottawa was Bytown: The Family of Samuel and Elizabeth Upton by Mrs Hazel Fry and Mrs Peter Grant
The article is a copy of a Kemptville newspaper clipping dated about 1897 that is in a scrapbook compiled by Mrs. George Tackaberry. Samuel Patterson (1800-1887) came to Canada alone from County Antrim, when he was 17. He worked in Montreal for three years, then moved to Upper Canada and settled in Beckwith Township. In 1822, Samuel Patterson married Elizabeth Upton (1801-1883) from County Wexford at Richmond, Ontario. The couple had ten children (Mary, Anne, John, James, Jane, Robert, Benjamin, Elizabeth, Samuel, and Charlotte) and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. They moved to Oxford Township in 1842. Elizabeth Upton's parents John Upton and Ann Warren, born about 1773 and 1782, respectively, in County Carlow, Ireland are buried in Frankford Cemetery.
Immigration Videos Might Liven Up Your Family History by June Coxon
The Canadian Immigration Historical Society has produced a record which spans the years of service 1947 to 1990 of six officers retired from the Department of Citizenship and Immigration. Oral history videos were produced about the lives and work of the following officers: Edna Whinney (a member of Nepean's Moodie family), Jack Manion, Bill Burton, Al Troy, Al Gunn, and Viggi Ring. These videos and a video about Pier 21 in Halifax can be borrowed on interlibrary loan. "A Scattering of Seeds" is a 39-part documentary history about immigration that was produced by White Pine Pictures. The documentary aired on the History TV Channel in 1998. Copies of individual episodes on VHS are available for purchase.
2571Winter 2001 Parish Records in England and Wales by Fawne Stratford-Devai
The history of keeping parish records in England and Wales is described. Since historic parish record-keeping and British historical events are directly related, a historical time line is provided. In 1538, Thomas Cromwell, the Vicar General of Henry VIII, ordered that the Church of England clergy keep written records of baptisms, marriages and burials. Until then, usually the only records kept were of the nobility and the wealthy. In 1598, clergy were ordered to send copies of the previous year's records to the bishop (the Bishop's Transcripts) and to keep all records on parchment. Large gaps are found in records during the Commonwealth gap and Cromwell's Protectorate, until Charles II's restoration in 1660. Legislation in 1667-1668 required all burials be in woollen shrouds; some parishes kept "Burials in Woollen" records. A tax levied in 1694 on each birth, marriage and burial was short-lived, as was the Stamp Act of 1783. Other legislation was passed to ensure better and more complete record-keeping: use of proper register books (1711), Hardwicke's Marriage Act (1754) regarding banns and marriage bonds, and the Parochial Register's Act of 1813 requiring the use of specially printed registers and more detailed records. Civil registration started in 1837. After 1837, marriage in registry offices and Roman Catholic Churches were permitted. Methods for locating parish boundaries and finding parish registers and parish register transcripts and indexes are described. Other sources of family history information including Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints records, family history societies, online resources, published resources, and online indexes and data are outlined. The article includes information about records for the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.
Gleanings from the National Archives by Mary M. Nash
Four pamphlets about North West Canada selected from the Catalogue of Publications of the Public Archives of Canada (the Casey catalogue) are summarized. Casey 1-3833, published in 1873, describes the North West and some possibilities for the future development of the Arctic Basin, Queen Charlotte Island, and mineral deposits in the Rocky Mountains. British Columbia's potential for lumber, mining, fishing, and cattle-raising is considered. Casey 2-528 is a copy of a speech delivered to the Senate in 1893 which discusses homesteaders, land grants, building the railway, Hudson Bay ports, and settling the North West. Casey 2-646 is a paper presented to the Royal Colonial Institute in 1884 on seventeen years in the Canadian North West. The North West then consisted of the province of Manitoba and five judicial districts: Keewatin, Assiniboia, Saskatchewan, Alberta and Athabasca. The history of the area back to 1670, Hudson's Bay Company, North West Company, fur traders, hunters, the Dominion Land Act of 1872, the telegraph which came in 1871, the development of Manitoba and growth of Winnipeg, and the establishment of Banff National Park are described. North West Administration is described in Casey 2-234, published in 1885. The North West Rebellion, claims of half-breeds, land claims, land surveys, land registration and settlement of claims are discussed.
Old Medical Terms
The modern equivalents of more than 225 old medical terms are given. For example, "Stranger's fever" was an old term for Yellow fever, "long sickness" for tuberculosis, "crop sickness" for an overextended stomach, and "horrors" for delirium tremens.
The 1881 British Census and National Index CDs: for information and amusement by John D. Reid
The BIFHSGO Library hold a copy of the 1881 British census in a packaged set of 25 computer disks obtained from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The article describes the census process, information available in the 1881 census records and its limitations, how to search the CDs, and some of the oddities and errors found due to name variants and poor handwriting.
Sixth Annual BIFHSGO Conference Places Focus on the United Empire Loyalists by Gordon D. Taylor
The 6th Annual Conference of the British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa was held 22-24 September, 2000. The National Archives of Canada co-sponsored the event. The conference theme was the influence of the American Revolutionary War on the lives of our ancestors and the development of Canada. Presentations included an examination of historic events and records, diocesan archival information and the Anglican Diocese of Ottawa archives, the United Empire Loyalist movement, and probate records in Nova Scotia. A second session covered computers and genealogy, the Ontario Cemetery Finding Aid, and information available on websites. A third concurrent session centred on history and the impact of the American Revolution in Canada, transportation in the lives of our ancestors, and the impacts of the Royal Proclamation of 1763 on Canada.
BIFHSGO Beginners' Course Sets Newcomers on Right Path by Jim Shearon
Fifteen people attended the BIFHSGO Beginners' Course on genealogy held at the University of Ottawa in November 2000. Norman Crowder conducted the course. Attendees were told that to begin to research a family history, they need to start with at least a name and place and as precise a date as possible. Then search out any family records, such as birth certificates, wedding licenses, death notices, newspaper clippings, and photographs. How to prepare a pedigree chart was described. The places to find genealogical information include church and census records, civil registration of births, marriages and deaths, cemetery lists, land records, and ships' passenger lists. Visits to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Family History Centre in Ottawa and to the National Archives of Canada and the National Library were included as part of the course.
Census Campaign by Percy Bateson
In September 2000, a federally appointed panel recommended that Canadian law be changed to allow the release of personal census information to the public 92 years after its collection. Others, including the Privacy Commissioner, consider that the time period should be longer to prevent release of information about individuals still living, but there might be no objection to limited release for genealogical research.
2672Spring 2001 Home Children Canada - Update 2000. Whence and ... Oh Heavens! ... Whither? by Dave Lorente
Dave and Kay Lorente founded Home Children Canada. The article describes David Lorente's search for his father's family history, the evolution of Home Children Canada, and some of the political interference that the organization faced as it grew to more than a dozen branches across Canada. Fourteen years after his father's death in 1965, Lorente uncovered the well kept secret that his father came to Canada as a child migrant, or home-boy. For four years, Lorente searched through ship manifests at the National Archives and found that his father had come to Canada aboard the SS Virginian in 1914. This information was sufficient for him to obtain a copy of his father's birth certificate and then to locate family baptismal records in Wales. The Lorentes organized a first annual reunion of home children and their families and friends at the Renfrew Heritage Society's Annual Meeting in 1990. Many attendees asked for and received help with searches for their own family histories. More annual reunions followed. Home Children Canada was organized to help home children who wanted to uncover details about their family backgrounds. An added goal of the volunteer organization was to wipe out any negative connotations associated with the term, home child. The political response in Canada was very supportive, but many sending agencies abroad believed that it was wrong to assist home children to locate their family records. The 1997 British Parliamentary Committee on Child Migrants paid scant attention to Canadian home children and instead concentrated on those in Australia and New Zealand, even though many more child migrants had been transported to Canada than elsewhere. Committee recommendations included the setting up of a travel fund to help former child migrants visit close relatives in the UK and the requirement that former charitable institutions compile information for the British National Index about all the children they had sent abroad. The special interests of the Home Children Canada branches generally concentrate on the sending agencies for children sent to their particular areas. Some of their activities are described.
Gleanings from the National Archives by Mary M. Nash
Two brochures about early Western Canada from the Catalogue of Publications in the Public Archives of Canada (the Casey catalogue) are summarized. Casey 2-289, dated 1881, contains a copy of a speech delivered in Winnipeg by the Marquis of Lorne, Governor General of Canada, during a three-month trip across Canada by rail, road, and water. He discusses Winnipeg as a major centre, the lumbering and mining industries, start-up costs for pioneer settlers, the Manitoba climate, steamer transportation on the rivers, Aboriginals, and the differences between the Canadian and U.S. political systems. Other speakers considered the completion of the railway, then reaching to eight miles beyond Brandon with an additional 800 miles to be finished by the end of the following year. Casey 2-234, dated 1880, describes the extent and climate of Manitoba and the Northwest Territories, soil fertility, products, prices of cereals and farming equipment, land regulations, and land and water travel. A report by Archbishop Tache about the Northwest Territories in 1868 is included. The numbering of sections, regulations, and the price of land relative to its distance from the railway are discussed.
Review of the Panel on Access to Historical Records by Gordon D. Taylor
The Expert Panel was set up in November 1999 by the Honourable John Manley to answer two questions, namely, what are the differences in opinion between Canadians who want to protect personal information and those who want to examine personal and community historical records. The committee's mandate was limited to census records, including future records. The Panel's report, dated June 2000 and released 15 December 2000, describes how committee members analyzed these issues. They considered practices followed by other countries, the 92-year rule, and legal issues. The Panel Report recommends that individual records should be available after a 92-year period, the 1906 census be released immediately and the 1911 Census in 2003. The Expert Panel has done an excellent job, but it does not seem the government will implement its recommendations. When their report was released, the government announced that the matter must be considered within a broader context.
Great Moments in Genealogy by Marion Heaney, Cecil de Bretigny, George Ironmonger, Hugh Reekie, Judithy Madore, Audrey Stiles and Jim Heal
Presentations by seven BIFHSGO members describing some of their family history research are summarized. Marion Heaney and her husband moved back to Ottawa after many years. She describes her feelings when she first visited the National Archives, where she located records about her great great grandfather Moses Holt on her first visit.
Cecil de Bretigny described how he found family records about his brother-in-law, Albert Durbin La Rue, who was born and raised in the U.S. and unaware of his Canadian roots. Marrin La Rue, the son of Leander La Rue of Montreal, and Eliza moved to Belleville. Their son Marrin La Rue (1870-1902) married Annie Oretha Consaul (1873-1900). The couple had two daughters, Leota May and Vera Naomi. After Marrin's death, his brother adopted his two young nieces and took them to live in Detroit.
George Ironmonger discovered recently that his father was a homeboy who came to Renfrew in 1911 with his brother to live with their uncle. A small bible was inscribed with their father's name and birthday. Later, in the National Archives, he found the name of the ship on which George and John Ironmonger came to Canada from Lincolnshire. His research led to an unexpected letter from England from Donald Copp , a distant cousin of the Ironmonger family. Copp sent him a list of Ironmongers going back to 1480 as well as other family papers.
In 1947, Hugh and Mrs. Reekie searched for the gravesite of her grandmother, Mrs. Francis Chambers, in local cemeteries in the Rosyth, Scotland area. They were unsuccessful, but recently they tried again. This time they sought out burial details by visiting the registry in Edinburgh to confirm the details of Mrs. Chambers' death, and then calling up Dunfermline Cemetery Records for the name of the cemetery. The exact gravesite is marked on a large map in the cemetery office. Unfortunately, the gravestones in that part of the cemetery were missing or the inscriptions too weathered to read.
Judith Madore discusses the role of libraries in family history research taking the descendants of Charles Webb, b. 1850 in Peckham, England, as an example. Charles, the son of a gardener, was a taylor. He married Frances Coates. Their son George W. Webb was born in St. Petersburg, Russia in 1887. George married Lilian Fitzgerald, b. 1889 in Guelph, Ontario. Their son George F. Webb was born in 1916 in Grozny, Chechnya. George F. Webb married Mollie Hurley Thompson (b. 1919 in Carlyle, England) in 1943 in Portsmouth, England. Their three children were born in Londonderry, Washington and Sutton/Cheam, England, respectively. Libraries are invaluable for assisting family historians to put such wide-spread family events into a historical context.
Audrey Stiles describes a family tree that was created for the Robert Johnson (b. 1792) and Jane Weir (b.1799) family. They were born and married in Armagh Co., Ireland. About 1820, the Johnsons came to Quebec and, a decade later, settled in Matilda Township, Dundas County. The unique family tree was probably created between 1872 and 1886. The tree includes the names, birthdates, marriages, and some death dates for the eleven Johnson children and for some of their descendants.
Jim Heal describes his early education at Amethyst Public School No. 1095 near Mayfield, Saskatchewan. The one-room school was named after the HMS Amethyst, a Royal Navy cruiser during World War I.
Searching for Poor Ancestors by Betty Warburton
The history of the Poor Laws of England is outlined. Poor Law records are stored in the Public Record Office and at County Record Offices in England. The author visited Kew and the Public Record Office in London as part of a genealogy tour group, and then visited relatives in Kidderminster and spent a day each at the Hereford Record Office and the Worcestershire Work Office. Baptismal records show that the author's great-great grandfather Charles Allen and his wife Phebe were in the Workhouse in Kidderminister when five of their children were born in the 1820s. John (1832-1833) was born while the family was living on Queen Street. Phebe died in 1835 and Charles died in the Kidderminster Workhouse in 1866. Workhouse records show Charles was born in Stepney, Middlesex. At the Hereford CRO, records about other relatives, the William and Elizabeth Price (or Pryce) family, were found in a little-used Biographical Index. Two Removal Orders show that in 1775, William and Elizabeth Price were ordered removed to the Township of Norton, because they were likely to need parish support and, in 1817, William and Jane Price and their son John for were ordered removed to Norton. An Indenture dated 1830, apprenticed Elizabeth Price, then about ten years old, to a gentleman of the Parish of Bromward as a servant in animal husbandry.
Tips on How to Have a Successful Research Trip by Kathy Hartley
The author has led tours to Salt Lake City and several annual genealogical research tours to Britain. She sets out 15 guidelines for a successful research trip. Plan your research before you leave home, identify exactly what information you want to find, and determine where this information is likely to be stored. During your research trip, each evening record what you have found that day. Other advice includes: call libraries ahead to confirm their hours of opening and to book readers, make plenty of photocopies, ask for help when you need it, and get to know the surrounding countryside through sightseeing tours.
Carleton University to Acquire Upper Canada Immigration Records
The Carleton Centre for the History of Migration, Carleton University, was established in 2000 to serve as a focus for research on 18th and 19th century British immigration and settlement. In March, the Archivist of Ontario, Miriam McTiernan, presented microfilmed records of the RG11 Ontario Immigration Branch 1869-1901 papers and the Toronto Emigration Office Anthony B. Hawke papers for 1831-1892 to the Centre. The 23 volumes include seven of Anthony B. Hawke's letterbooks containing his business records as government emigrant agent at Kingston and Toronto. Sixteen volumes contain financial accounts of relief and travel assistance provided to immigrants moving to the interior of Ontario through centres such as Toronto, Ottawa, Kingston, Hamilton and Montreal.
2773Summer 2001 The Revolution is Over, Now What? by Norman K. Crowder
The American Revolution was unpopular and bitter. The war divided families, neighbours, communities and the Iroquois Confederacy of Six Nations. Out-and-out warfare commenced in 1775 with formation of the Continental Army. The British had difficulties recruiting soldiers; so they hired about 30,000 mercenaries. The fighting was practically over after Lord Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown in October 1781. But the war dragged on, because of concerns by each side. The Continental Army had no funds to pay its soldiers, who had been promised their wages on discharge. The British had problems with the evacuation of New York City, where there were many British and German troops, Loyalists, refugees and thousands of escaped slaves to whom the British had promised freedom. Peace was declared under the Treaty of Paris, signed on 3 September 1783. The outcome: the British lost the war and its 13 American colonies, the Americans lost about 100,000 citizens, and Canada gained thousands of settlers and two new colonies, New Brunswick and Upper Canada. Many Loyalists settled in Nova Scotia, on Lake Ontario and on the St. Lawrence River.
Phillimore's English Parish Records by John D. Reid
Phillimore and Company Ltd., founded in 1897 in Chichester, West Sussex, extracted and published records copied from many English parish registers. These records (primarily about marriages) are organized by county. Some counties require several volumes. Not all counties are covered. Many of these transcripts cover early parish records to 1812; others continue to 1837 when civil registration started. The transcripts are arranged chronologically under parish. The Phillimore records are difficult to access, since limited numbers were published. The Family History Library in Salt Lake City holds a good collection. Some Phillimore volumes are held by the National Library. A table is included listing the number of volumes of Phillimore Parish Registers issued for each English county. Those volumes held by the National Library are indicated.
Gleanings from the National Archives by Mary M. Nash
Three 1886 documents selected from the Catalogue of Publications in the Public Archives of Canada (Casey catalogue) concerning western Canada are summarized. Casey 2-901 describes the results of a survey about the experiences of farmers living in Manitoba and the Canadian North West with regard to settlement, work, prices, farming methods, crops, fertilizers, and sports. Casey 2-900 is a statement produced by the Canadian Pacific Railway based on a survey of the experiences of women in the Canadian North West. The statement covers whether the family should accompany the settler, what to bring, climate, setting up a new home, schools and churches, dairying and raising poultry, prices, demand for servants, trade openings, Indians, prospects and contentment with the pioneer lifestyle. Casey 2-9995 is the record of a speech presented by the Honourable Edward Blake at a Reform Association meeting in Owen Sound during the 1886 Dominion election campaign. It deals with North West affairs, government mismanagement, the Riel rebellion, land surveys and grievances by the Metis and others living in the North West.
The Role of the Library in Family History Research by Judith Madore
The importance of libraries for providing background information to flesh out a family history is discussed. General histories of the British Isles describe the world that our ancestors lived in and the political and economic conditions that influenced their occupational choices and movements. A family tree covering five generations of a fictitious family is presented as an example of a family's response to the economic forces it faced during the Industrial Revolution. The family moved from the land in Worchestershire to work in the pottery industry in Staffordshire. Subsequent generations included a master potter, a physician, and finally an emigrant to Canada.
Great-Great-Grandmother Had Green Thumbs by Betty Warburton
The author describes her research on the Price family, with particular emphasis on her great-great-grandmother Elizabeth Price Basey (1820-1907). Elizabeth was the daughter of William and Jane Price of Norton near Bromyard, Herefordshire. William, like his father Joseph Price, was a poor agricultural labourer with a large family to support. The author searched records at the British Newspaper Library at Colindale, London and the Hereford County Record Office for information about the Price family. There were two documents about Elizabeth: an 1830 indenture ordering the apprenticeship of Elizabeth Price, age ten, as a servant in animal husbandry and Elizabeth Basey's obituary. Background information to help flesh out Elizabeth's family history was found in the BIFHSGO Library, which contains books and articles about British history, Herefordshire, the Poor Law and apprenticeships. Searches of English parish registers and the census provided birth records for Elizabeth's children and her marriage to Benjamin Basey from Norfolk in 1850. Benjamin was an agricultural labourer. He worked as a gardener at Whitbourne Hall for the last thirty years of his life. Elizabeth Price Basey and her family were active in parish, school and county affairs and gardening. She was awarded a silver pendant for the best window plant at the 1902 Whitbourne Flower Show.
Using Books and Other Library Holdings to Identify Photographs by M. Bernadette Primeau
Some methods for identifying old photographs are described. The photographic process used, photographic mounting, the photographer's name and address, studio backdrops, and the style of the clothing and jewellery worn by the subject can provide useful information about the subject and the date. A bibliography lists several books and periodicals about dating and gleaning information from old photos. Some of these are available in BIFHSGO library.
Genealogical Research on the Internet by Margaret and Willis Burwell
During the 1960s, the Rand Corporation commenced development of the Internet as a military communications system. The first network (ARPANET) commenced operating about 1970 with deployment of four super computers interconnected by 56 kbps transmission lines. Scientific organizations and universities connected to the Internet during the 1970s and 1980s. About 1993 the Internet became accessible to the general public through commercial service providers. There are now millions of users world-wide. Popular services include e-mail, mailing lists, newsgroups and the World Wide Web, all important to the family researcher. Several web sites that provide genealogical information are described.
The Value of Ordnance Survey and Specialty Maps by June Coxon
The article is a brief summary of a lecture presented at a BIFHSGO Saturday morning meeting that describes the value of British Ordnance Survey Maps to family historians, the differences between maps published before and after 1930, what can be learned from the most useful maps, and how to obtain the maps. Inner city Victorian, Bartholomew and Goad or fire maps are discussed, as well. The author, a map collector, offers advice based on his own experience. He suggests that family historians use these maps and the census together to walk their ancestors' streets and study their lifestyles.
Genealogy Organization Tips by Norma L O'Toole
The author describes her system, based on her experience as an office administrator, for organizing, controlling and retrieving large volumes of genealogical information. She keeps several binders divided into tabs. To avoid the necessity of carrying all her research papers to libraries, she keeps a separate binder for each organization she visits. The documents and notes filed in each binder are marked by tabs, e.g. priority items, family names being researched, descendant charts, and timelines. Methods for managing electronic data include tabulating genealogy sites alphabetically by title with inclusion of address and any comments. The author provides an example explaining how she transcribed data (from a film containing baptismal entries) about children with a parent who had the family name McBean or McBain and lived in Moy and Dalarossie Parish, Inverness-shire. There were more than 300 entries for the period 1788 to 1854. The film also contained 1821 and 1831 census data. The census data relevant to the McBean/McBain clan were entered into a data base and then sorted by parent's name, date or location.
The History of Welsh Surnames by J.K. Wood
There are relatively few Welsh surnames, because until recently Wales followed the patrynomic system for naming children. Under this system, each child takes the father's first name with something added to indicate son of (e.g. mab which evolved to ab or ap) or daughter of (e.g. ferch or verch). Many Welshmen could recite their lineage back nine generations under this system. Gradually surnames became permanent as the patrynomic system was phased out over the period 1700-1850. There are a few surnames based on occupation or physical characteristics, such as Sears from Saer for carpenter and Gwnn or Wynne for fair-haired. Some older names have survived, as well.
The Book by Lesley Huppert
Lesley Huppert from Greenwich, London is writing a Gent family history. She traced her Gent ancestors back ten generations. Most of the Gents had not moved far from home, and it appeared there was little additional information about them to be found. The author commenced research on background geography and social history and set a deadline for publishing the Gent history. But then all sorts of pertinent information surfaced about the Gents, e.g. Charles Edward Gent (1882-1956) who served in the Canadian Expeditionary Force, William Gent (1799-1885) a butler whose sons and grandsons attended Oxford University, Gerard Edward James Gent (1895-1948) the High Commissioner to Malaysia when killed in an air crash, and a Gent baby boy (listed as one month old in the 1891 census) who subsequently married and fathered eight Gent children. The book will be delayed to allow inclusion of this new material.
Carleton Centre for the History of Migration Welcomes Volunteers by June Coxon
The Ontario Archivist, Miriam McTiernan, presented important 19th century Upper Canada records to the Carleton Centre for the History of Migration (CCHM) Director, Bruce Elliot. The microfilmed records were from the RG11 Ontario Immigration Branch (1869-1901) and the 1831-1892 Anthony B. Hawke Papers from the Toronto Immigration Office. CCHM was established in 2000 within Carleton University as a research unit to study 18th and 19th century immigration and settlement from the British Isles.
A Book Review by May Garson
The Ewes Valley in southern Scotland lies within the parish of Ewes in the northeastern corner of Dumfriesshire. "The Ewes Valley, An Historical Miscellany" by Brenda Morrison and Bruce McCartney (published by RB McCartney, Langholm, Dumfriesshire) covers the history of the Ewes Valley, folklore of the area, settling and early community development, church history, and writers and poets. Statistics, records and several lists are included about memorials in the Ewes and Unthank Churchyards, Ewes Parish Church ministers (1617-1973), testaments from 1657 to 1789 from the Commissariot Record of Dumfries County, amnesties and pardons dating back to 1585, notes on prominent community members during the 19th century, militia and those killed during the First World War.
2874Fall 2001 Loyal She Remains by Margaret Hall
The British Parliament passed several acts that angered the settlers in the Thirteen Colonies and led to the American Revolution. The repressive legislation included the Quebec, Declaratory, Townshend, Tea (1773) and Intolerable Acts. The Loyalists, who represented about one-third of the population in the Colonies and came from every economic and religious background, took up arms against the rebellious colonists. The Loyalists suffered greatly. They were imprisoned and lost their homes and livelihoods. Some were killed. Many Loyalists came to Canada. The stories of several prominent Loyalists are outlined: Private Nicholas Lake of the Queen's Loyal Rangers, Captain Justus Sherwood from New Haven who has many descendants in the Ottawa Valley, Sir John Johnson commander of the King's Royal Regiment of New York, and Sergeant George Murduff of the same regiment. The meaning of the letters 'UE', Loyalists today, and the United Empire Loyalist Association of Canada and its branches are described. (11 references)
Jennie McMeekin Comes to Manitoba by Kenneth G. Aitken
Jennie McMeekin immigrated to Canada from Belfast, Ireland in 1910, when she was 21. She was one of many domestic servants who were assisted with passage and placement by Mrs. Sarah M'Arthur of M & S M'Arthur Emigration and General Passenger Agents. Jennie was placed in the home of Mr. And Mrs. Downey of Cameron, Manitoba. Jennie McMeekin's impression of domestic service in Canada is reported in a letter written to Mrs. McArthur in 1911 that is reproduced with this article. Two other M'Arthur Irish domestics, Letitia Adams and Daisy Savage, found work in homes in Snowflake, Manitoba. Letitia and Daisy married members of the C.H. Sanders family and settled there. Charles H. Sanders and his large family had come to Snowflake from Truro, Cornwall, England in 1892-1893. The demand and wages for domestics in the Canadian West are described. The treatment of domestic servants in Canada and the British Isles are compared. (6 references)
Researching British Airmen of the Great War by Andrew Whitemarsh
By the end of the First World War, the number of men and women in the British flying services had expanded from a few thousands to nearly 300,000. This article describes the availability and location of service records for officers, non-commissioned officers and airmen, women in the Women's Royal Air Force, casualties, and those serving after 1920. When an individual's unit has been identified through service records, records useful for further research such as war diaries, unit casualty returns and combat reports are available at the PRO, the RAF Museum and the British War Museum. Several biographies and histories useful for research are described. Other information is available on the Internet. (9 references)
Finding Your Family in the Newspaper by Mary M. Nash
Members of the Moss, Roberts and Telford families emigrated from the SE London area to Gleichen, Alberta during the early 1900s. This article describes some of the information about these families found in the weekly newspaper, the 'Gleichen Call' (named the 'Bow Valley Call' for the years 1910-1913) based on a search of newspaper microfilm records for the period 1907-1937. George Moss married Elizabeth Emma Roberts. The search provided many details about George Moss (1866-1932), a bricklayer and plasterer, and their sons Charles Thomas, George Sylvester, Sampson, and John William and their families. Two of Elizabeth's brothers were Arthur Roberts (1885-1916) and Jack Roberts (1886-1937), who became Gleichen's fire and police chief.
Paper of Record by Percy Bateson
Bob Huggins, President and CEO of Cold North Wind, described the Cold North Wind process to BIFHSGO members at a meeting on May 12th, 2001. In the Cold North Wind process, microfilm archives are scanned and converted to electronic records searchable on the Internet. An image of a selected record can be retrieved online. Cold North Wind commenced in 1999 with the purchase of the complete history of the Toronto Daily Star from 1892 to 2000. The company has acquired the rights to 150 years of the New York Post and 252 titles from the Canadian Library Association and has contracts for other North American newspaper archives. The company is expanding rapidly. Planned capacity is 5 million pages or 120 titles over the next two years.
Lateral Search Experiences and the Lure of History by Judith Madore
The author started research on her family history with her paternal grandmother Fitzgerald. Some oral family history linked to the Fitzgeralds was available. 'The Fitzgerald Family Papers' (bequeathed to the Hamilton Public Library by an uncle) provided documentation about the Canadian branch of the Fitzgeralds and established that Lieutenant Colonel Lionel Charles Kirwan Fitzgerald (the author's g g grandfather) was the third son of Charles Lionel Fitzgerald, the incumbent of Turlough Park in County Mayo, Ireland during the mid-19th century. Colonel Fitzgerald was granted 2,447 acres of land in Portneuf, Quebec in 1867. He married Julia Anne Lemoine. Lateral research methods revealed other interesting details about the Fitzgerald family. The Irish government now owns Turlough Park House and has opened it to the public as a folklore museum. (8 references)
My First Trip by Joan Tattersall
The author describes a visit to Kent and Cornwall, England in search of her family history. She found relatives in the Bexleyheath, Kent area, the home her maternal grandfather's family, visited local cemeteries and scanned census and parish records at the Local Studies Centre of the Bexleyheath library. A search of the Archives at Canterbury, where her maternal g g grandfather was reputed to have been born in 1821, did not uncover his birth record. Her paternal great grandmother Susanna Webb was from Fowey, Cornwall. Searches at several cemeteries around Fowey for Webb family headstones were rewarded at The St. Wyllow Parish Church of Lanteglos by Fowey churchyard. Here there are three Webb family headstones, one that of John Webb (1731-1814), probably her g g g g grandfather.
Alfred deR Taylor, London, England to Ladner BC 1881 to 1901 by Gordon D. Taylor
No family papers and few facts were available about the Taylor family. English and Canadian census, Canadian immigration, death and marriage, land grant and church records, an autograph album, and newspaper accounts were searched. These provided considerable detail for adding substance to theTaylor family history. Alfred deR. Taylor, the author's grandfather and the sixth of seven children of the Reverend James Taylor and Frances Helen Davis, was born in Hereford, England in 1864. Rev. Taylor died the following year. The surviving family members immigrated to Canada in the early 1880s. By 1889, Alfred had settled in Delta, British Columbia (Ladner or Ladner's Landing post office). Alfred married Edith Owen around 1886. The couple had four children: Francis Marian, Vernon deRupe, Norah Irene and Eric Owen. Edith died after the birth of Eric in 1895, and the two daughters went to England to live with a friend of their mother. Alfred married Agnes Honeyman in 1897. Alfred was a Rector'sWarden from 1900 to 1906 and church secretary for several years at All Saints Anglican Church, Ladner.
Newsgroups, Mailing lists and E-Zines by Gordon D. Taylor
Three resources available on the Internet that are useful for family history research are described. Several examples are given for each. Newsgroups provide a way for genealogists to keep in contact with others having similar interests, such as of names or events. Mailing lists are similar to newsgroups. There are two forms of newsgroups: L or list where each individual posting is received as a separate e-mail and D or digest where the postings are collected and sent out periodically in batches. E-zines are online newsletters that can be subscribed to by e-mail.
Maple Leaf Project by Steve Douglas
The purpose of the Maple Leaf Legacy Project is to honour Canada's war dead by providing an archive in digital format of photographs of Canada's 20th century war graves. The number of photographs held on 4 August, 2001 was 32, 670. The war graves database will be freely available and searchable on the Maple Leaf Legacy Project's website.
2981Winter 2002 The National Burial Index for England and Wales, and Other Data CDs by John Reid
In April 2001, the Federation of Family History Societies released the National Burial Index (NBI) as a set of two CDs containing 5.4 million records of burials from 4,440 places in England and Wales. The data go back to 1538. Coverage is most complete for the ancient counties of Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Worcestershire, Warwickshire, and Suffolk. Some counties are not covered. The NBI is indexed and has a map display feature. Several other CDs containing U.K. records are described: the LDS version of the 1881 census, the LDS 1851 census for Devon, Warwickshire and Norfolk, the LDS British Vital Records Index, and releases by several county family history societies.
Gleanings from the National Archives by Mary M. Nash
Five selections from the Catalogue of Publications in the Public Archives of Canada (Casey catalogue) are described. Casey 1-2070 comprises six letters about free trade that William Hamilton Merritt, MPP sent to the residents of the Niagara district in 1847. Casey 1-4195, dated 1878 and addressed to the freeholders of Canada, discusses free trade, protection, trade with the US and UK, scandals in the transportation sector, and government expenditures. Casey 2-839 contains several of the Cobden Club leaflets that were published to inform voters about the dangers of free trade and protectionism. Casey 2-2812 and Casey 2-2879 (both dated 1903) consider free trade relative to the future of Britain and the colonies and free trade in Denmark. Casey 2-2934, published in 1904, discusses conditions in London and Lancashire before the repeal of the Corn Laws, the increase in exports since the introduction of free trade in 1842, lessons to be learned from the US and Germany, and a national policy for development of the colonies.
Archives of the City of Ottawa by Percy Bateson
Records at the City of Ottawa Archives include minutes of city council meetings, city bylaws, assessment rolls, annual reports of the City of Ottawa superannuation fund and the fire and police departments, lists of voters, registers of births, marriages and deaths, city directories, newspapers, photographs, and cemetery registers. There are manuscript collections for several Ottawa churches and schools. The Billings Family Papers (1802-1975) include a 4-volume Billings genealogy. A Lett family genealogy is included in the William Pitman Lett Papers (1840s-1900). The libraries of several genealogical societies are located at the City of Ottawa Archives.
Annual General Meeting by Percy Bateson
English Roots Conference a Big Success by Gordon D. Taylor
The seventh annual conference of the British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa was held September 21-23, 2001. The National Archives of Canada co-sponsored the event. The conference theme was English roots. Lady Mary Teviot, President of the Federation of Family History Societies of Great Britain, presented the keynote speech and several other lectures. Lady Teviot's lectures will be published in booklet form.
Conference Papers by Percy Bateson and Ken Wood
There are no proceedings for the seventh annual conference of the British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa. Lady Teviot's presentations will be published in booklet form. The following conference papers are summarized here: 'Underused Sources for Genealogical Research in the United Kingdom' by Lady Mary Teviot; ' Wills and Administration' by Lady Mary Teviot; 'Family Tree Maker' by Rick Roberts; 'Accessing and Using the National Archives for Family Research' by Lorraine Saint-Louis Harrison; 'Wales During the 1642-1648 Civil War and its Effect on Your Genealogy' by David Jeanes; 'Tracing Your Irish Ancestors from Canada' by Jim Lynn; and 'Tracing Your Scottish Family History from Canada' by John Hay.
Tracing John Smith by Valerie Monkhouse
John Smith was captain of the square-rigged, three mast sailing ship SV Naiad. Family records show that Smith was a mariner when he married, a mate in the merchant service when his daughter was born in 1867, and a master mariner when his daughter married in 1884. Smith and his wife were lost at sea during the 1880s. With this information, the author visited the Maritime History Centre in St. John's, Newfoundland. The Maritime History Archive there contains records about the maritime history of Newfoundland and Labrador and many crew agreements of British Empire Vessels from 1863 to 1976. 'Lloyd's Captains' Registers' record that John Smith was born in Lincolnshire in 1834 and captain of the SV Naiad from 1876 to 1884. Further information was available from Lloyd's List and from the crew agreements of the SV Naiad and the other ships John Smith commanded, e.g. ports visited to deliver or pick up cargo, provisions for the crew, wages, and lists of crew by name, age and birthplace. Smith was captain of the SV Cross Hill of Liverpool. The Cross Hill sailed from Astoria bound for Queenstown or Falmouth on November 17th 1885 and was reported missing July 28th 1886.
Out of Russia c1870s-1917 by Judith Madore
This is an excerpt from 'A Family Chronicle - Part I: 1870s' by George Watts Webb (1887-1967). The Webb family lived in Russia from the 1870s to 1917. Charles Webb (b. 1850), a gardener's son from Surry, moved to St. Petersburg to open a branch of a London tailoring firm that catered to the Russian nobility. He later became a sales manager and cloth designer for a New Zealand woollen factory that opened in St. Petersburg during the 1870s. Charles Webb married Frances Coates, who had come to St. Petersburg as English governess to Prince Usupoff's daughter. After 17 years with the Thornton Company, Charles Webb retired. He obtained a 99-year lease to a 2500-acre country estate through Prince Usupoff, the private secretary to the Dowager Empress Marie. When Price Usupoff died, his successor, Markovitch attempted to break the lease. When this could not be done legally, various acts of vandalism took place (fires, an assault, and the kidnapping of Charles Webb) that terrorized the Webb family.
3082Spring 2002 Home Children by John Sayers
Finding, Dating and Using Old Photographs by Mary M. Nash
Gleanings from the National Archives of Canada by Mary M. Nash
The Story of John & Peter: An Irish Story in the County of Leeds by The Reverend Canon Borden Purcell
Presentation on Behalf of the British Isles Family History Society by Gordon D. Taylor
Using Ships' Passenger Lists to find Records of Your Ancestors by Jim Shearon
3183Summer 2002 John Throgmorton Middlemore and the Children's Emigration Homes by Patricia Roberts-Pichette
Finding, Dating and Using Old Photographs by Mary M. Nash
Gleanings from the National Archives of Canada by Mary M. Nash
BIFHSGO Library Moves to City of Ottawa Archives by Jim Shearon
Archive CD Books by John Reid
Researching in Norfolk England by Bonnie Ostler
Searching for Saints by Nigel Saint
3284Fall 2002 "www.familysearch.org" by Wayne W. Walker
Accessing and Using the National Archives for Family Research by Lorraine St Louis-Harrison
Finding, Dating and Using Old Photographs by Mary M. Nash
Britains Gift that Keeps on Giving by John D. Reid
Gleanings from the National Archives of Canada by Mary M. Nash
Offer of Research by BIFHSGO Member by Bernadette Primeau
A Story of Two Lives Written by a Lunatic Nativity by Marjorie Page
A Million Forebears by Nigel Saint
3385Winter 2002 BIFHSGO Conference 2002: Something for Everyone by Terry Findley
BIFHSGO Conference 2002: Lectures by Tom Devine
Finding, Dating and Using Old Photographs by Mary M Nash
Fast Sailing and Copper-Bottomed, A Talk by Lucille Campey
Historic Census Records to Be Released by Gordon Taylor
Family History Radio by Gordon Taylor
Official Release of LDS Census Data
3491Spring 2003 BIFHSGO Conference 2002: Tartan: An Historical Puzzle and a Tale of the Unexpected?The Banquet Lecture by Tom Devine
Going Beyond Portraits in Your Family History by Mary Nash
L.D.S. Databases by Wayne Walker
Planning a Family History by Saxon Harding
Gleanings from the National Archives of Canada by Mary Nash
3592Summer 2003 The Use of Land Registry Records for Genealogical Purposes: II by Terry Brown and Bob Grainger
Ethics and Genealogy: Can They Co-exist? Part I by Marguerite Evans
Conference 2002: The Scots-Irish by James H. Lynn
3693Fall 2003 Technology for Genealogists: Tools, not Toys by David Walker
Ethics and Genealogy: Can They Co-exist? Part II by Marguerite Evans
Finding Your Ancestors on the Internet: One Approach to a One-name Study by Bill Arthurs
L.D.S. Databases Part 2 by Wayne Walker
Putting Flesh on the Bones of Your Devon and Cornwall Ancestors by Sherrell Branton Leetooze
The Ottawa Sharpshooters: Part 1 "To Action" by John D. Reid
[See also Ottawa Sharpshooters]
3794Winter 2003 BIFHSGO 2002 Annual General Meeting Report
BIFHSGO Conference 2003: The Basics and Beyond! by Terry Findley
Who Are We? The Changing Questions of Identity in Canadian Census Enumerations by Ruth Kirk
The Development of the Calendar and its Significance for Genealogists by Alex Milne
CD: The Ships List (TM): Passenger Ship Arrivals?Canadian Ports 1865-1899 by John Sayers
The Ottawa Sharpshooters: Part 2 ??Frustration, Tragedy and Triumph? by John D. Reid
Tec Cornelius Aubrenan: The First Irish-born Immigrant to Canada by Louise Aubry
38101Spring 2004 The Ottawa Sharpshooters: A Journey to the Northwest by Gordon Taylor
Searching Scottish Family History from Canada by John Hay
A Genealogical Trip to England by Cliff Quince
The Queen's Coachman? Our Only Claim to fame by Christine Jackson
39102Summer 2004 The Canadian Naval Heritage by Alec Douglas
Tracking a Loyalist: A Personal Experience by Susan Burgess Shenstone
Digital Library of Historical Directories by Gordon Taylor
Building Family Stories by Sher Leetooze
40103Fall 2004 The Bradleys: Thrice Hacking Through the Wilderness to Build a Country by Douglas Bradley
Researching the Ottawa Sharpshooters by Caroline Herbert, John D. Reid and Jamie Rimmer
An Irish Fling: Part I by Terry Findley
Is There a Federal Civil Servant in Your Family Tree? by Glenn Wright
The Prehistory of the British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa by Alan Rayburn
41104Winter 2004 BIFHSGO 2003 Annual General Meeting Report
BIFHSGO Conference 2004:
Genealogy Research Evolves: Ten Years of Growth and the Ten Years Ahead by Ruth Kirk
Combining Genealogy and Family History Research by Stanley Diamond
The Middlemore Project: Part I by Patricia Roberts-Pichette
An Irish Fling Part II by Terry Findley
42111Spring 2005 The Middlemore Project: Part II by Patricia Roberts-Pichette
John Heney & Son: Adventures in Tracking an Ottawa Commercial Family by John J. Heney
The Family History Library by Wayne Walker
Conference 2004:
Land, Estate and Freeholders? Records in Ireland by Chris MacPhail
Emigration Under the Poor Law by Marj Kohli
43112Summer 2005 The Middlemore Project: Part III by Patricia Roberts-Pichette
Heraldry: Signs and Sources by Darrel E. Kennedy
Soaking up Genealogy in Salt Lake City by Mary Anne Sharpe
Conference 2004: Genetics and Family History: Building a Better Pedigrees and Saving Lives by Susan Shenstone
44113Fall 2005 Bringing Life to History, Bringing History to Life by Charlotte Gray
The Middlemore Project: Part IV by Patricia Roberts-Pichette
John Rumble: Poor, Illegitimate, Orphaned Child, Forgotten Man by Bonnie Ostler
Catholic and Protestant Church Records in Ireland by Kyle Betit
45114Winter 2005 BIFHSGO 2004 Annual General Meeting Report
Weather and Family History by David Phillips
The Don Whiteside Memorial Lecture given by David Phillips. Reported by David Kent.
David Phillips, a senior climatologist with Environment Canada, described the importance of weather to our ancestors. The weather they faced helped determine whether our early settlers became rich or poor and sometimes whether they survived a Canadian winter. For example, the winters in Canada between 1800 and 1850 were so cold that the mortality rate was twice the norm before 1800. Our ancestors observed the weather, learned the meanings of wind directions and cloud formations, and passed this knowledge down through the generations to modern day weather forecasters.
Tools for the Travelling Genealogist by David Walker
Tools for the Travelling Genealogist by David A. Walker. Reported by Douglas Hill.
This is a summary of a paper that was presented at BIFHSGO Conference 2005. Some useful tools to take on a genealogical field trip are described. The most important is a good mapping program. A portable personal computer, a GPS receiver for displaying your precise location at a cemetery, a portable scanner, and a digital camera are some of other useful items suggested.
The Middlemore Project: Part V Voyage to Canada by Patricia Roberts-Pichette
Part V of this series on the Middlemore Project describes the transportation of Home children from Birmingham to Canada. The article is based on extracts from Annual Reports of Children's Emigration Homes over the period 1891 to 1930. Comments from letters written by the children themselves are included along with reports from the administrators and matrons. Usually one group of children came to Canada each year. The account describes the special training the children received, medical examinations required, clothing provided to each child, departing ceremonies held in Birmingham, the train trip for embarkation, and accommodation and activities aboard ship. The ships sailed from Liverpool or Glasgow to Quebec City or to Halifax. Once in Canada the children were divided into smaller groups and sent to Middlemore homes in Stratford, London, or Fredericton.
The Third Annual Reunion of British Home Children and Descendants Association by Patricia Roberts-Pichette
The third annual reunion of the British Home Children and Descendants Association was held in Rockingham, Nova Scotia on 25 August 2005. About 115 people attended including two Middlemore children. Patricia Roberts-Pichette was invited to make two presentations: one describing the conditions in Birmingham during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and the other about the Middlemore indexing project. Other conference highlights included an open microphone session during which several attendees described a home child's life and their own connection with that child. The Fairview Home Interpretive Panel was unveiled in Centennial Park by the two Middlemore children, now in their eighties. A copy of a letter of thanks for BIFHSGO's cooperation from the Association's Chair is included.
Looking for Family Homes in 18th Century Scotland by John Hay
A search for two Hay family homesteads in Scotland, where the Hays had been weavers during the 18th century, is described. The farms were located using parish and Ordnance Survey maps, Hearth Tax and Window tax records, and the will of a James Hays. During a visit to Scotland, the author visited both sites, one in Stirlingshire and the other in Dunbartonshire, but the land had been redeveloped. The partial reconstruction of an old thatch house that had been owned by John Hay of Croy, Dunbartonshire was found in the Museum of Scotland.
The Ragman's Children by Christine Jackson
This article provides a rich account of the upward mobility of a Dutch-Jewish immigrant family. Rebecca (Becky) Goldsmith, the author's paternal grandmother, was born in London in 1884 to Morris and Margaretha (Kitty) Goldsmith. The couple had migrated from Holland for economic reasons. Goldsmith and his sons worked in the cigarmaking trade in East End London, and later established a successful business in Brighton, England. The author traces the family back to 1867 through family and British census records. Although many records were destroyed and all contact with relatives in Holland was lost during World War II, the family was traced to 1700 based on information from an inventory of 18th century Ashkenazi-Jewish inhabitants of Amsterdam.
Following Great Uncle John by John D. Reid
The author knew that his Great Uncle John Alfred Derby Barnett was blinded while serving in the First World War. Barnett, then three years old, is listed as living in Lancashire in the 1891 Census. Searches for his war service records were unsuccessful. Barnett's mother had married twice. A search for information about this second marriage using The Times Digital Archive website produced several items about a John Alfred Derby Cochrane-Barnett who was connected with the Regional Association for the Blind. The author used the Cochrane-Barnett name to contact one of John's descendants, who verified that Cochrane-Barnett was indeed Great Uncle John. Surprisingly John Cochrane-Barnett had served with the Canadian Army. His attestation paper and service files were located through the Library and Archives Canada website.
Jerome and the Gallaghers: or How I Found (maybe) a Link Between a Rural Legend and an Ancestral Family by George Swift
This article about a severely disabled man is based on accounts that appeared in several New Brunswick and Nova Scotia newspapers dating back to 1863 and from other sources. The disabled man was known only as Jerome or Gamby. He probably came from Italy to work in the New Brunswick forest industry. Jerome fell into a frozen pond, and a surgeon amputated both his legs. Jerome lived with the Gallagher family in Queen's County, New Brunswick for a few years. The local taxpayers found his care too expensive. Jerome was put aboard a ship, but then was abandoned on a beach near Saint John on 8 September 1863. That city refused to look after him. Jerome was moved further down the Bay of Fundy and again abandoned, this time on the Maine shore, where some children rescued him. Jerome was returned to Canada, and the Government of Nova Scotia supported him in Meteghan, Nova Scotia until his death in 1912.
London Streets and Neighbourhoods by Irene Kellow Ip
Two books were found very helpful for locating old street addresses in London. The Oxford Dictionary of London Place Names by A.D. Mills provides the history of London streets, places and areas, and name changes. The kind of people that lived on these streets during the period 1889-1903 are described in The Streets of London, The Booth Notebooks, which includes 12 maps of London neighbourhoods. The local history centre for the borough of interest also is a good source of information about London.
FamilyHistoryOnline - An enhanced and Better Service by Geoff Riggs
FFHS (Publications) Ltd., a subsidiary of the Federation of Family History Societies, provides the FamilyHistoryOnline service. The number of records available on the website has increased almost 15-fold from 4,000,000 in 2002. Several new search features are described. These include wildcards, forenames and multiple forenames, variants, date ranges, and the capability of narrowing down the records from an initial search by adding the place name.
46121Spring 2006 The Not So Impossible John Smith by Alison Hare
Conference 2005:
William James Topley (1845-1930), Photographer by Andrew Rodger
The Middlemore Project: Part VI by Patricia Roberts-Pichette
Search for Sarah Jarvis by Wendy Croome
47122Summer 2006 Lee Blackadar: Searching for his Story by Ruth Kirk
The Middlemore Project: Part VII by Patricia Roberts-Pichette
A Special Squadron by Betty Warburton
Florence Field: Home Child by Dulcie I. McClure
An Introduction to English Manorial Records by Jane E. MacNamara
48123Fall 2006 Watts and Related Families of Dunfirmline by Robert Watt
The Middlemore Project: Part VIII by Patricia Roberts-Pichette
The Artic Expeditions of Dr. Seymour Hadwin by Nicola Hadwen
Canada's Invisible Immigrants by Murray Watson et al.
Searching for Elusive Eliza by Garfield Clack
49124Winter 2006 In Search of a Rogue by Tad Findley
Fall Conference 2006 by John Hay and Brian Glenn
More Delightful Irish Discoveries! Part 1 of Dr. Seymour Hadwin by Terry Findley
Scotland: The Records of a Nation Online
The Middlemore Project: Part IX by Patricia Roberts-Pichette
50131Spring 2007 Hurrah for Helpful Librarians by Gerry Glavin
Stop, Look and Linger by Robert D. Watt
Remembering St. Columban - An Early Irish Settlement by Fergus Keyes
Family Secrets Revealed By DNA Analysis by John D. Reid
Scottish Statutory Records by Chris MacPhail
The Middlemore Project: Part X by Patricia Roberts-Pichette
51132Summer 2007 Great Brits of Beechwood by Glenn Wright
The Citizen Casts New Light on Family History by Marg Burwell
Scottish House of Roger by David Roger
Tackling the Middlemore Project by Irene Kellow Ip
Bridging the Gap: Searching for Present Day Relations in Scotland by Trevor Butlin
The Middlemore Project: Part XI by Patricia Roberts-Pichette
Mull Genealogy Group Gathering 2006 by Chris MacPhail
52133Fall 2007 BIFHSGO 2007 Annual General Meeting by Roy Thomas
The Trials and Tribulations of Publishing A Family History by John Townsend
Some Offbeat Untapped Genealogy Sources by Patrick Wohler
Scottish House of Roger by David Roger
Over the Brick Wall to Bannockburn by Bill Arthurs
Hector McPhail's Enduring Legacy by Glenn Wright
More Delightful Irish Discoveries! Part II
Visiting an English County Record Office by Wendy Croome
53134Winter 2007 Baa-Baa, Black Sheep: Thinking Outside the Fold by Robert J Brown
Fall Conference 2007 by Willis Burwell
Canadian Immigration Records reported by Chris MacPhail
The Sons of England and Beechwood Cemetery by Glenn Wright
DNA Testing Answers a Key Question by Betty Burrows
Sarah (or Louisa) Fairbrother: Who Was She? by Andy Coates
54141Spring 2008 Genealogy and Copyright Law by Karin Keyes Endemann
Crossing the Atlantic During the Great Age of Sail by Willis Burwell
In My Father's Footsteps to the Western Front by Mary Anne Sharpe
John Edgar Birch: The Music Man by Glenn Wright
The Great-grandfather Cuthbert Enigma by Bryan Cook
55142Summer 2008 Grosse Ile and the Irish Memorial Historic Site by Israel Gamache
Finding My Leitrim Roots by Betty Burrows
Lunatics in the Family by Garfield Clark
The Davidson-McCabe Family: A Winning Historica Project by Katherine Davidson
The Reproduction of an Old Dictionary by Patricia Roberts-Pichette
56143Fall 2008 The BIFHSGO-LAC Home Children Program by John Sayers
Remembering Brockville's Scottish Orphans by Carol Annett
Henry Gilchrist: A Quarriers Home Child by Bryan D. Cook
John Harold Russell: A Home Child Success by Joyce C. Fingland
Edith Millwood Jeavons by Ron and Dianne Jeavons
The Poet and Princess by Glenn Wright
57144Winter 2008 Fall Conference 2008 by Willis Burwell and John D. Reid
Meeting the Whiz Kids of Genealogy by Lauren Crosby
Lieutenant John Henry Kennedy by Caroline Herbert
Lunghua, a Civil Assembly Centre by Valerie Monkhouse
An Emotional Moment in Genealogy by Bill Arthurs
Delving Into Deep Ancestry by My Personal Quest by Bryan D. Cook
A Tale of Two Families by Glenn Wright
58151Spring 2009 The Luck of the Scots by Carol Annett
Doors Open and There is My Great-great-grandfather by Irene Kellow Ip
Simplified Publishing of Military Research by Norma O'Toole
Don't Believe All You Read by John Sayers
Secret Secretaries by Ilana Reimer
59152Summer 2009 British Socio-Economic Revolution 1700-1900 by Bryan D. Cook
The Journeys of Annie Cromie by Wendy Croome
Chattie's Diary by Bill Arthurs
60153Fall 2009 Bert Morris's War by Betty Warburton
A Discovery in Brompton Cemetery, London, England by Caroline Herbert
My First Genealogical Post-nominal by John D. Reid
Push, Pull and Opportunity by Lucille Campey
2009 Annual General Meeting Report by Roy Thomas

Unfortunately some volumes are out of print. However, there is a full set at the BIFHSGO Library.