29 December 2008

Anglo-Celtic Connections year in review

A quick look back at 2008 on Anglo-Celtic Connections, via the first item published each month.

January - Canadian roots of the British holiday camp
February - A major expansion at World Vital Records
March - Capital collections
April - Do you You Tube?
May - A model for LAC accountability to users
June - Live and in person
July - Happy Canada Day
August - Canada features in the British Library Annual Report
September - Why the conference?
October - Canadian Census of Industrial Establishments 1871
November - Safely stored but not forgotten
December - LAC, where are the podcasts?

23 December 2008

Time out to enjoy the season

Genealogy news drops off at this season so expect postings here to be light while I enjoy an extended family Christmas and New Year holiday.

Best wishes for 2009.

22 December 2008

Year end interview with Else Churchill

As the Genealogist with the Society of Genealogists in London Else Churchill has her finger on the pulse of genealogy in England and Wales

Asked what has been the biggest advance in genealogy in Britain in 2008 she suggested, after some thought, the appearance online of nonconformist registers from TNA (RG 4 and 5) and Fleet marriages. I'd expected her to mention new databases from SOG, which she did, but indicated they are only just getting started -- much more to come next year.

The led into a question on 2009. Without hesitation she named the launch of the indexed 1911 UK census as the most anticipated event. It will be especially helpful for those struggling in the post 1901 census period where the mother's maiden name was not yet recorded in the birth indexes. Else mentioned a short term beta test of that census for the counties of London/Middlesex, Witshire and Warwickshire. See: http://betav3.1911census.co.uk

Else anticipates there will be a gradual rollout of counties to avoid the painful experience of database crashes experienced when 1901 was released.

SOG has a number of new publications in the series My Ancestor Was A ... to appear in 2009, including servants, firemen, shopkeepers, miners and taylors. Else also mentioned a new book on the UK census by Peter Christian and David Annal which she has reviewed.

2009 will be no less challenging a year for genealogy than for any other discretionary business in this period of economic upheaval. Companies will need strong financial backing to survive and some amalgamations and even failures might be expected. Else was too discrete to name names.

19 December 2008

More Cornish parish records added to findmypast.com

The following is a press release from findmypast.com:

Nearly two million more parish records have been added to the Parish Records Collection on findmypast.com. 1.8 million baptism, marriage and burial records from the County of Cornwall have now gone live and can be searched at
http://www.findmypast.com/parish-records-collection-search-start.action?redef=0&event=B. The records have been compiled by Cornwall Family History Society.

The Parish Records Collection brings together in one easy-to-search central place the disparate records from local parishes, which members of local family history societies have been compiling since 1994, under the guidance and encouragement of the Federation of Family History Societies (FFHS). It includes records from parish registers, non-conformist registers, Roman Catholic, Jewish and other registers as well as cemetery and cremation records.

Thanks to the cross-database search facility at findmypast.com, you can search for your ancestor by surname across all the records on the site without needing to know where in the country they came from.

LOCAL CORNISH CELEBRITIES

Among the famous names that can be found in the new Cornish parish records at www.findmypast.com is Sir Humphry Davy, chemist and inventor of the miner's safety lamp, whose baptism is recorded on 22 January 1779 in Penzance.

There are now over 22.4 million parish records online at findmypast.com, with more to follow in the coming months.

18 December 2008

Great Moments in Genealogy

In recent years the annual pre-Christmas "Great Moments in Genealogy" presentations by BIFHSGO members have become a part of local holiday tradition. This year's line-up of speakers and topics, on Saturday, 20 December at Library and Archives Canada, is one I'm very sorry to be missing:

Irene Ip "Doors Open and There Is My Great-great-grandfather."
Hugh Reekie "Some Welsh Surprises".
Robert Brown "My Great-great-grandfather Fought With General Sir Rowland Hill".
Arthur Owen "An Uncle's Legacy?".
Glenn Wright "Finding Cousin Tony -- A Real Great Moment"

17 December 2008

Quebec City Passenger Lists Index 1865-1900

The first benefit to LAC's online clients of their agreement with Ancestry.ca has just been posted, indexed passenger lists linked to original passenger lists for arrivals at Quebec from 1865 to 1900. This is a real benefit for those who don't have ancestry.ca access, either through their own or an institutional subscription.

There is also a link to send comments, although it isn't clear if these will be shared.

16 December 2008

Diving into the past of Ottawa

Check out this fascinating posting at The Ottawa Project showing images of the downtown area around the Rideau Canal since 1920. You can see how the local economy has changed, even since I first arrived in the City in 1966.

15 December 2008

Trillium Grant allows OGS to Preserve At-Risk Heritage Documents

The following is a press release from the Ontario Genealogical Society, dated 12 December 2008:

The Ontario Genealogical Society has received a grant of $179 400 from the Ontario Trillium Foundation as starter funds for a project to help Ontario heritage organizations digitize parts of their collections. The funds, granted over two years, will enable OGS to hire a technician, obtain equipment, and travel to the heritage organizations to scan the material.

This project will:
  • provide a digitized version of one-of-a-kind records, increasing security
  • allow small organizations access to digitizing they otherwise could not afford
  • increase the exposure of small organizations
  • increase access to records significant to Ontario's heritage
  • allow an income stream to heritage organizations if they wish
    provide a Canadian not-for-profit portal as an alternative to foreign commercial portals

OGS is working in partnership with Ristech Company Inc, a Burlington, Ontario company that specializes in scanning equipment. Additionally the funds will enable OGS to make improvements to its website so that it can put some of the digitized material online. If it is genealogical material, the heritage organization can choose one of three options on the OGS website: free to everyone, free to OGS Members only, or pay-per-view, the last permitting a royalty stream back to the heritage organization. Non-genealogical material could go on the heritage organization's own website or they could get assistance from Knowledge Ontario.

OGS President, Don Hinchley said "I believe this grant will give many more genealogists throughout Ontario and the world access to materials without the necessity of traveling to the museum or local archive."

This project will help protect the culture and heritage of Ontario some of which is in delicate condition and could be lost if it is not copied.

This project makes the programs and services of many Ontario heritage organizations more accessible to the world. By placing material on a website well-known for Ontario genealogical material, small heritage organizations will themselves become better known. This is particularly true for heritage organizations that are currently little known, such as those relating to specific cultures, religions, or ethnic groups, or those in more remote parts of the province. The OGS website can act as a portal leading to an organization's website. The presence of material on the OGS website makes the heritage organization more interesting to the public.

For more information about the Ontario Genealogical Society, the services available online, or to find one of the 30 local Branches near you, please visit the OGS website.

The Ontario Trillium Foundation is an agency of the Government of Ontario. For over 25 years, the Foundation has supported the growth and vitality of communities across the province. It continues to strengthen the capacity of the volunteer sector through investments in community-based initiatives. For more information, please visit www.trilliumfoundation.org.

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How to use the Ancestry Card Catalog

Do you find there's so much on Ancestry you find it difficult to isolate a particular database you need to search? I do.

Ancestry Weekly Journal has a useful article this week by regular contributor Michael John Neill on finding specific databases in Ancestry using the card catalog.

The article covers the Filter by Collection and Filter by Location features as well as warning of a pitfall. He also mentions filter by date and language.

I had difficulty finding the starting page he refers to .. it's copied here. You may want to bookmark it separately.

14 December 2008

LAC collaborative agreements with Ancestry.ca

The terms of Library and Archives Canada's agreement with Ancestry.ca which, in summary, will see Ancestry providing digitization and indexing services for certain LAC datasets in exchange for time-limited exclusive online access by Ancestry are released here.

Of particular interest is the schedule for release of Canadian census records.

Note that this information relates to the agreement between these parties only. No other LAC agreements with organizations, such as with familysearch.org and automatedgenealogy.com are documented.

13 December 2008

Snow and the roads in 1880s Ottawa

Now that the first major snowfall of the year has come to Ottawa let's look back to the 1880s when City streets weren't cleared of snow.

A January 1967 Ottawa Citizen article, found in the clipping collection in the Ottawa Room of the Ottawa Public Library, describes how horse-drawn street cars were taken off their wheels and mounted on sleds, with plenty of straw piled inside the cars to keep passenger's feet warm.

The 1880s mechanism of clearing sidewalks was the pride of the city engineering department. A vee-shaped plow was jerked along by a team of Clydesdales, the driver holding onto the handle and shouting instructions.

"A short distance behind came another team, this time with a driver mounted on a little machine. Sticking out one side was a long board - a wing plow -- which smoothed the snow bank out onto the roadway so sleighs, bread and milk wagons could drive up to the sidewalk.

Then half a block behind came the third team, snorting and blowing steam from their nostrils as they hauled along a huge wooden snow roller to pack the snow remaining on the sidewalk so a person could walk. The weighted roller, five feet in diameter and six feet wide often did such a thorough job that it was well into the summer before all the ice disappeared from the sidewalks."

Ah, the good old days! At least they had public transport.

12 December 2008

Michael Grant Ignatieff ancestry

New Liberal leader Michael Grant Ignatieff, b 12 May 1947 in Toronto, has a diverse and socially elite ancestry.

He is the son of Canadian immigrant and diplomat George Ignatieff (1913-1989), the grandson of Count Pavel Ignatiev (1870-1945) who was Minister of Education to Tsar Nicholas II and his wife Princess Natasha Mestchersky. His great-grandfather, Count Nikolay Pavlovich Ignatyev, was the Russian Minister of the Interior under Tsar Alexander III.

His mother, (Jessie?) Alison Grant (1916 - 1992) had high profile Canadian roots stretching back several generations in the Maritimes.

Her father William Lawson Grant (1872-1935) was principal of Upper Canada College, and his father, George Munro Grant (1835 -1902) principal of what was to become Queen's University. His father, James Grant, was a immigrant from Scotland. George Munro Grant's wife, Jessie Lawson (1838-1901), was descended from William Lawson (1772-1848), one of the founders of the Bank of Nova Scotia.

His mother's younger brother was the political philosopher George Grant (1918-1988), author of Lament for a Nation. His mother's mother, Maude Erskine Parkin was sister to Alice Parkin the wife of Canada's first native-born Governor General (Charles) Vincent Massey. The sisters father, Sir George Robert Parkin (1846-1922), also served as headmaster of Upper Canada College. He was son of John Parkin who was an immigrant from Middleton-in-Teesdale, England.

George R Parkin's wife was Annie Connell Fisher whose Loyalist grandfather, Peter Fisher (1782-1848), was the first historian of New Brunswick.

In his book The Russian Album first published twenty years ago Ignatieff writes in the context of his own family's history that "life now moves so quickly that some of us feel that we were literally different people at previous times in our lives. If the continuing of ourselves is now problematic, our connection with family ancestry is yet more in question."

How much more so twenty years later?

Now we have the prospect of a Prime Minister who not only knows about his family history but has also thought about it.

11 December 2008

www.britishcolonist.ca

December 11th, 1858 saw the launch of Victoria's newspaper The British Colonist. It became the leading paper in the colonies of Vancouver Island and British Columbia until the emergence of Vancouver and competitors in the 1890s. The successor paper, still publishing, is The Victoria Times Colonist.

150 years later digitized and OCRd archives of the paper, from 1858 to June 1910, are online. Another year will be added soon. You can browse by date or use the search feature to mine the contents of the paper.

Dave Obee, who along with University of Victoria history professor John Lutz, was a driving forces behind the initiative to get this facility online, cautions that the search feature is only as good as the 60 year old microfilm. Even the best software had a hard time reading this old paper. Searching any given term will certainly miss some instances and insert others, so you may also want to refer to the index to the paper on Victoria’s Victoria.

A basic search strategy is to click on the link to show a bit of info before clicking on the page. A glance will indicate whether the page will be of interest. There is an advanced search option.

Further background is here and here.

Congratulations to the sponsors of this initiative, Victoria Times Colonist, University of Victoria Libraries, University of British Columbia Library, Greater Victoria Public Library, BC Electronic Library Network, Public Library Services Branch.

10 December 2008

Researching British military ancestors

If you've researched ancestors who served with the British military you'll likely recognize the name Simon Fowler. Maybe you have one of his guides, Tracing Your First World War Ancestors, Tracing Your Second World War Ancestors, Tracing Your Army Ancestors.

You may also recognize him as the editor of Ancestors, the family history magazine of the National Archives which I frequently mention. He was an archivist at the Public Record Office for 20 years.

His most recent (2007) military book is A Guide to Military History on the Internet published by British military publisher Pen and Sword. They retail the book for £9.99. Amazon.co.uk have it on sale for £7.04.

Since the book's publication I've blogged British military-related items: TNA's Digital Microfilm Pilot, British WW1 Medal Cards on Ancestry, and New Gazettes Online in beta. With changes in internet resources occurring at a sprinter's pace any internet focused book has reached its before date before it appears.

The folks at Pharos Teaching & Tutoring Limited have a way around that, as announced in the following press release.

09 December 2008 – For Immediate Release
Military Historian Simon Fowler joins Pharos

Top military historian Simon Fowler joins Pharos’ roster of family history experts to lead a Pharos online course on researching military ancestors. Starting on 20 January 2009, the five-week course will look at the major resources available online and in record offices, such as The National Archives and the Imperial War Museum.

“I’m looking to forward to working with Pharos. Their courses and tutors are highly regarded,” said Simon, “Military genealogy is something which has really started to appear on the web over the past couple of years. And I think students on the course will be surprised by what they find.”

Simon has published many guides to researching military history, particularly on Army genealogy and the First World War, for The National Archives, Pen & Sword and Countryside Books: “In researching these books I have found many great resources which I have enjoyed sharing with readers.” He is also an experienced lecturer and tutor. “I’ve always enjoyed the interaction with students in lecture rooms, but it will be a fascinating challenge to recreate this buzz through chatrooms and forums.”

09 December 2008

Good news for Ottawa

Those of us in the genealogy community in Ottawa can celebrate as City Council Committee of the Whole voted for a budget which rejected the staff recommended cuts to culture, reinstated the entire amount, and included the full planned increments to the museums, arts and festivals plans. This includes funding for the City Archives which houses the libraries of local genealogical and family history societies.

The fate of about $1M in capital funding is still to be decided, but the votes seems to be there to approve it and to confirm the full culture package when Council votes on the total budget package.

08 December 2008

British Cabinet papers online

If you're interested in the social background to your family history, then read on.

More than half a million pages of key British Cabinet papers, from 1915 to 1977 are now available to search and download for free at www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/cabinetpapers. The digitised records comprise: Cabinet conclusions; Cabinet memoranda; precedent books and available secretary’s notebooks.

Chances of finding an ancestor named are slim. You could get lucky if, say, your family member is mentioned as having taken up employment in a government agency, perhaps even as a secretary.

More likely is finding mention of a major event or movement in which your family member was involved. You may also find information on a wartime incident that was not covered in a timely manner, or at all, in the newspapers owing to censorship, for example, detailed lists of ships sunk. I was surprised at how often Canada is mentioned.

There is detailed supporting material on the website including a short podcast Cabinet by Laura Withey (Project Manager) and Dr. Ed Hampshire (Records Specialist.)

It's quite a rigmarole to order and download the papers through the Documents Online facility. At present there's no charge to do so. Making the documents available through Documents Online suggests that could change.

07 December 2008

FreeBMD updated

The FreeBMD Database, containing index entries for births, marriages and deaths registered in England and Wales since mid-1837, was updated on Thursday 4 Dec 2008 and currently contains 159,249,033 distinct records (205,394,884 total records). The indexers are now breaking ground in the 1930s as well as filling in gaps in earlier years.

Ancestors in the Attic -- overseas roots

History Television broadcast two episodes on 6 December, one new, one a repeat.

Missing Pieces, from the new series III, documented a man of Japanese ancestry, whose father died when he was still a baby, returning to the ancestral home town to find a cousin and his father's name inscribed on the family grave. The episode helped explain why this man's father journeyed to Canada.

There was brief mention of the sources used in the search, both in Canada and Japan, and mention that the search in Japan using a local researcher took several months. When dealing with unfamiliar records in another language employing a local professional genealogist is usually a good strategy.

Roots, the repeat episode from series II, followed a Toronto woman's journey to a village in Cameroon identified as one in the area associated with her mitrochondial DNA. Although clearly an emotional journey for her it was less satisfactory genealogically as the particular village appeared to have been selected only because it was where the guide was from. Apparently the program was unable to help her with her paternal ancestry, her initial interest.

06 December 2008

Findmypast.com announce new records online

Oxfordshire, Middlesex, Buckinghamshire, Huntingdonshire, and Northamptonshire have been added to the findmypast.com 1901 census. That's over 1.1 million new 1901 census records giving the company over 10.6 million 1901 census records online.

Middlesex will be particularly welcome to those looking for a second opinion on the census for the East End of London.

The company also announce the availability of 1.8 million Cornish parish records. The Parish Records Collection now contains over 22.4 million parish records, dating from 1538, and featuring baptisms, marriages, and burials. I was able to quickly add a couple of extra pieces of information to a peripheral branch of my family tree with these Cornish records.

05 December 2008

Ancestors in the Attic seeks staff genealogist

Want to be a genealogy TV personality? Know someone who fits the role? The following is a call for applications from Ancestors in the Attic.

Ancestors in the Attic – History Television’s Gemini-nominated family history documentary series – is searching for a staff genealogist for its fourth season.

Part personal drama, part forensic investigation and part historical revelation, Ancestors in the Attic provides unexpected, emotional and often life-changing answers to the genealogical questions of ordinary Canadians.

Using the tools of genealogy and family history, the program takes ordinary Canadians on a journey of discovery to solve family mysteries and make emotional connections with relatives, family members or ancestors. In the process, we also examine Canadian history from a very personal and intimate perspective.

The role of the staff genealogist is twofold: assist our research team with the extensive genealogical and historical investigations required to solve the stories we air each season; and appear on-camera with our host, Jeff Douglas, to help our submitters solve their family mysteries.

To succeed, candidates must have experience in the field of family history, be skilled in advanced historical research methods and have experience with online and primary genealogical resources both here in Canada and also, preferably, in the United Kingdom.

Candidates must have an intense curiosity, be highly organized, computer literate and capable of thinking outside the box. The successful candidate must also be passionate about family history and genealogy, a talented communicator, and excited about conveying detailed genealogical findings in a simple, accessible and credible way to a television audience.

While experience as a genealogist is an advantage, Ancestors in the Attic is also interested in hearing from anyone in related fields that meet the criteria. And, while our preference is to find one person to fill both research and on-camera roles, we are flexible.

If you are interested in becoming part of the successful Ancestors in the Attic team please send your resume by mail to: Dugald Maudsley Producer, Ancestors in the Attic Primitive Entertainment 585 Bloor Street West Toronto, ON, M6G 1K5 Or via email to: dugald@primitive.net

Ottawa's loss is LAC's gain

You know change is bound to happen, but it still comes as a surprise.

Christine Tessier has been a major presence on the Ottawa city heritage scene. To mention just some of her roles, for six years Christine has been Executive Director of The Bytown Museum, is a former President of the Council of Heritage Organization of Ottawa and current President of the Ottawa Museum Network . The vitality of those organizations is due in large measure to Christine`s leadership.

Christine recently announced that Friday 5 December will be her last day with the Bytown Museum. She received thanks and best wishes for continued success in her new job from Ottawa City Councillors on Tuesday when she appeared at budget hearings and made them aware, yet again, of the disruptive and demotivating impact of threats of annual City funding cuts for heritage.

Christine`s not moving far. If she wanted a scenic move to her new job she could follow the path below Parliament Hill, being careful to avoid the bodies of politicians and their aides falling or pushed from the turmoil above, to the Library and Archives Canada building at 395 Wellington Street. She will join LAC`s Portrait Gallery of Canada to work on marketing and communications.

It`s a challenging time for the Gallery as it organizes, in collaboration with the Canada Science and Technology Museum, a series of events and activities in 2009 celebrating the centennial of the birth of Canada`s premier portrait photographer Yousef Karsh.

My best wishes to Christine as she takes on this new challenge.

04 December 2008

Ancestry expansion?

Times like these are times of opportunity. Companies that are overextended, or suffering a drop in clientele as consumers become more selective, become takeover targets.

The Generations Network, parent of Ancestry, seems to be well placed to benefit from such opportunities. It's the biggest player in the online genealogy sector. An article Family history company may make acquisitions, go public in the Salt Lake Tribune reports company CEO Tim Sullivan as saying the company is extremely profitable, has more than a million paid subscribers to its family history services and $190 million in yearly revenue.

The article also reports that "former CFO David Rinn has been tapped to run a new corporate group focusing on developing partnerships with other companies and potential acquisitions."

Statements from privately held companies must always be treated with caution, but I'd be keeping my eyes on second tier companies, such as WorldVitalRecords.com. WVR
has come in for some negative comment recently as additions are rather thin, for example, the recent addition of The Windsor Herald (Windsor, Ontario, Canada) only has years 1855 - 1856, and some databases previously offered are no longer available.

03 December 2008

Nearest Book Meme

"Brinton. It nestles in lovely trees, a little place where the Saxons chose to build their church because the hollow offerred shelter from the winds."

Arthur Mee in The King's England: Norfolk

Rules:
* Get the book nearest to you. Right now.
* Go to page 56.
* Find the 5th sentence.
* Write this sentence - either here or on your blog.
* Copy these instructions as commentary of your sentence.
* Don't look for your favorite book or your coolest but really the nearest.

It turned out the first book to hand had a full page picture on page 56.

02 December 2008

Interesting times in Ottawa

With the possible overthrow of the Conservative Federal Government for a Lib-NDP coalition, and hearings at Ottawa City Hall on the City 2009 budget, these are interesting times in the Nation's Capital. They don't have much of an Anglo-Celtic Connection, but the City budget means I haven't had much time for genealogy.For those interested, below is the text of my remarks to City Council on December 1st. As heritage is one of the areas being targeted for major budget cuts the issue is of interest for local genealogists.

Remarks to Ottawa City Council Committee of the Whole on Budget 2009
John D Reid

I’m Chair of your Arts, Heritage and Culture Advisory Committee which has a mandate to provide you thoughtful advice and advocacy.

In joining the committee I sought to represent the interests of local and family history. In serving it’s been my privilege to experience and learn how arts and heritage build our community, economically as well as socially.

To start on a positive note; a milestone was reached this year.

You approved a new city archives building, and twenty million dollars in provincial funding followed.

The building will be a legacy for this Council and for Colleen Hendrick whose leadership will be missed.

A year ago you all agreed to renew your commitment to your Museum Sustainability Plan, Arts Investment Strategy and Festivals Sustainability Plan. You recognized that cutting all funding for arts, heritage and festivals, a one third of one percent anorexic sliver of the city budget pie, wasn't going to save the day.

You sat here and heard repeatedly of the public support.

Now, here we go again.

People get passionate about arts and heritage.

Tap into that passion and marvellous things happen.

A little City funding brings communities together, releases hundreds upon hundreds of thousands of hours of volunteer time, and primes the pump for other funding.

It isn't natural resources that drive our economy as with so many Canadian communities; our economy isn't based on manufacturing as in Windsor and Hamilton.

For Ottawa it's knowledge workers in government, technology innovation, tourism, education and health -- industries that depend on a highly educated workforce.

Knowledge workers need to continually upgrade their skills, are mobile and seek a high quality of life for themselves and their families.

The Canadian Council on Learning recognize availability and proximity to arts and heritage facilities as important for knowledge workers and their quality of life.

Similar evidence for the role of cultural infrastructure comes in a recent report, "Valuing Culture" from the Conference Board of Canada.

They find that residents of Ottawa-Gatineau ranked number one in spending on culture goods and services in 2005, averaging one thousand and sixty-four dollars per person.

The Conference Board conclude that "an important challenge for governments is to ensure communities have the means necessary to support creativity and diversity, and to build a thriving culture sector."

Cutting isn’t building. Again this year cutting culture wouldn’t be the salvation of the budget, but would damage the City economy.

It would even reduce income to City government from tourism, something the City Treasurer chooses to marginalize.

The budget proposals target culture, eliminating many programs and imposing 54% cuts overall. They renege on your Museum, Arts and Festivals plans, the results of extensive community consultation and negotiation. The cultural community feels victimized.

What would be the impacts? I’ll give an overview for arts, heritage and festivals in turn. You’ll hear detail from others.

You can hear from a wider range of citizens by visiting the protest rally in Marion Dewer Festival Plaza in support of Arts, Heritage and Culture, and more broadly for social investment, at noon.

Cuts to the Arts proposed are total elimination of multiple programs, 42% to the Three Year Operating Funding Program and 10% to Service Agreements.

Some familiar names on the hit list include Opera Lyra, GCTC, Odyssey Theatre, the Ottawa School of Art, Galley 101, SAW Galley and Video, MASC, The School of Dance, Théâtre de la Vieille 17, et Théâtre du Trillium.

Some organizations including Le Groupe Danse Lab and Propeller Dance have already stated they would close.

Some, like the Ottawa Symphony, would cut back the number of performances.

Others would continue, suffer from discouraged volunteers and fade away. Similar cuts in the 1950s resulted in the loss of a theatre company. It moved to Stratford and founded the Stratford Festival. What a lost opportunity.

What does it say about us if we cut the seven thousand five hundred dollar Karsh Award in the very month of the centennial of Ottawa's, and Canada's, greatest photographer?

Can we really claim to believe in multiculturalism if we eliminate funding for the celebration of ethnic cultures?

Turning to heritage, overall cuts proposed are 43% despite the commitment in the September 2005 four-year Museum Sustainability Plan.

For the 11 local museums the Plan has been a success with enhanced programming, more outreach and community involvement. Visits to the museums are up 19% this year, 14% in ‘07. More staff meant increased revenues from other sources.

Cuts and deferrals would mean the end of The Workers Heritage Centre Museum. Elsewhere there would be job losses, less programming, conservation and capability to find other funding. Elimination of capital would mean museums falling short of the requirements of the Ontario Disabilities Act.

Local historical societies outside the Greenbelt would be especially hard hit.

Meg Hamilton tells me that a 100% cut for the Council of Heritage Organizations of Ottawa and the Ottawa Museum Network would force both organizations to close their doors with the lay-off of four full-time staff. Services to the community would cease.

David Flemming informs me that a 100% cut to Heritage Ottawa's grant would close its office, reduce its educational and advocacy activities, and lessen its ability to leverage other funding. Heritage Ottawa’s volunteer contribution of over sixteen hundred hours of community service supporting the work of the City's Heritage Planning Section would be reduced.

Turning to Festivals, key drivers of Ottawa's tourist trade and an important source of employment, they are targeted for a 100% cut.

The Festivals Plan has bought stability -- we no longer read the horror stories of problems with festivals.

If the City shows a loss of faith by totally eliminating their first tier funding other sponsors would inevitably fall away.

Julian Armour tells of his experience where every dollar the city provides brings in twenty-one dollars from other sponsors. More generally perhaps one city dollar leverages ten from other sources. Arguably City tax revenues from festivals exceed the funds being cut - not to mention the much larger benefit to the city economy as a whole.

With over 1.6 million participants having enjoyed a day at one of our festivals this year continuing with the Festivals Plan is a no brainer.

In Conclusion

Statistics show Ottawa at the bottom when it comes to per capita cultural funding amongst Canada’s major cities.

Others understand the economic value of culture. But in Ottawa there’s a perception problem evident in the draft budget.

We need to break out of this annual cycle of destructive debate and threats to long term plan commitments, which are a matter of trust. This reflects the governance concern found in the 2008 Citizen Satisfaction Survey.

It’s time to find a way to better engage the community earlier in the annual budget process. Peter Honeywell points to the idea of an Arts Commission broached in the 20/20 Arts Plan. Other models, both locally and in other municipalities, should be explored.

The City has made progress thanks to the virtuous circle created by your Museum, Arts and Festivals Plans. The programmed increase, six hundred and thirty thousand dollars operating, should proceed. The cultural community stands ready to fulfill their part of the bargain.

The community reject proposed extraordinary cuts of 54% to culture, that’s down four point one million dollars. And now the 2008 Citizen Satisfaction Survey doesn’t justify the targeting.

The city needs to move ahead, not stand transfixed by the status quo. People with a vision of the cultural potential, and its economic advantage, for this city, including the wiser heads on Council, should prevail.

The cultural community is ready for constructive dialogue, but never again do they want to feel so victimized. Thank you.

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Delivered 1 December 2008

01 December 2008

LAC, where are the podcasts?

This blog frequently mentions podcasts from The (UK) National Archives, and occasionally from the British Library. I've been hoping occasional prodding here would encourage LAC to get in on the action.

It's not as LAC doesn't have equally good stuff. Last week I attended a Political Junkie Café event in the series Pin-Up Prime Minister, part of LAC's continuing Forum on Canadian Democracy. With the title "War Rooms. Battlefields. Borden." it featured Dr. Jack Granatstein, one of Canada's foremost political and military historians, and Dr. Robert Jackson who served as a senior policy advisor to two former Canadian Prime Ministers.

The presentations were insightful and the discussion stimulating. AND it was being videoed. So why aren't these and previous sessions available as podcasts, or if they are why are they so well hidden?

We can't all be in Ottawa to participate, but it would be well to remember that it's not just those in Ottawa who pay the taxes that fund LAC.

29 November 2008

Books as History

A short podcast from the British Library set me thinking. It's an interview with David Pearson who discusses his book ‘Books as History: The Importance of Books Beyond Their Texts.’ It covers the importance of the physical book as an object and the changing environment of book publishing, including the growth of online content and e-readers.

Most family historians are bibliophiles to at least some extent. The attraction goes beyond the printed content.

I have a book "The Heart of London" which I only have to open a little too close to my nose to receive a prompt reminder of how much my ancestor smoked.

Another small volume "Daily Light on the Daily Path" has annotations by my great grandfather, a Church of England Minister. It has his signature and the year 1883, while he was studying divinity, on the front flyleaf.

There are annotations for January 6, 7, 15, 18, 22, 23, February 5, 15, 17, 19, 20, 21, 22, March 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 13, April 15, May 27, 28, July 6, 12, August 6, September 11, October 5, November 5, 13, 25, 29, December 5, 6, 25. Do the concentration of these dates tell me anything about his studies?

What is the significance of the notation "Mrs Greaves" against February 21st? Greaves is a name that appears in the family tree of his wife to be in 1885. Does it hint they had already met?

28 November 2008

In praise of a genealogy business

Margaret (O’Shea) Jordan writes in her Cork Genealogy blog about a deal to digitize all Irish records.

“Well done to private enterprise (Eneclann, the well-known Irish Genealogical research company) who saw the business opportunity and presumably took advantage of the dithering in other groups, to strike a deal with the Mormons.”

Read the complete posting under the title Pragmatism and Business in Genealogy.

Thanks to Marian Press for bringing this to my attention.

27 November 2008

1916 Census of the Prairie Provinces Indexing

FamilySearch is currently indexing the 1916 Canadian Census. The project is 43% complete with a goal of finishing by December 3rd. That's a tremendous rate of progress thanks to the worldwide network of indexers.

If you have some time available during the next week please download, index (or arbitrate), and submit at least one batch from this project.

If you have not indexed recently, the indexing application and help resources are available on the FamilySearch indexing Web site (www.familysearchindexing.org). Click here to read instructions specific to this project. Updates to the instructions and frequently-asked-questions are also available on the project revisions page.

To learn more about the 1916 Census, including a few fun facts, click here.

26 November 2008

RSS feed for LAC

Library and Archives Canada have just made it easier for us to keep up with what's happening there without having to visit the LAC website.

Their new RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feed provides links to news on new content on the LAC website as well as updates to existing pages. Additions, such as new finding aids and new descriptions in databases are also highlighted.

Mostly these are items that will also be highlighted on the LAC front page, and many are mentioned in this blog.

If you don't use RSS you're missing a great convenience. It may seem a bit confusing at first, but LAC has a guide, including how to find a RSS reader, here.

25 November 2008

Published by Authority

I'm turning again to the January 2009 issue of Internet Genealogy and another article that attracted my attention.

David A Norris is described as a regular contributor to various of the Moorshead Magazines publications. His second article in this issue takes a look at "The London Gazette" with the sub-head "Published by Authority" reflecting the official nature of the publication.

A full archive of the London Gazette back to the reign of Charles II is free online at www.gazettes-online.co.uk. Chances are any family with long-time roots in England will have some member mentioned in the Gazette, if not for an award or military promotion then for a change of name, notice of claims against an estate, or bankruptcy.

The article makes brief mention of colonial gazettes, especially Australia, but not a word about the Canada Gazette. That's surprising for a magazine published in Toronto.

The history of the Canada Gazette is described here.

Issues of the Canada Gazette after 1997 are available online at the website of the Canada Gazette Directorate: http://canadagazette.gc.ca/index-e.html

Library and Archives Canada are working on digitizing earlier issues. Currently approximately 30% is searchable online, including:

  • Part I - 1983-1997
  • Part II - 1950-1976, 1983-1997
  • Part III - 1985-1997
LAC "expects to have more than 90% in the database by early 2009."

24 November 2008

Family Networking Websites

The January 2009 issue of Internet Genealogy landed in my mailbox on Friday. It contains several informative articles, starting on page 8 with Janice Nickerson, Toronto-based genealogist and colleague on Library and Archives Canada's Services Advisory Board, evaluating sites that offer "an online place to store, develop, share and collaborate on your family tree, while keeping in touch with your relatives."

Janice found 18 such sites, but choose only four to review in any depth. These she evaluated according to the criteria: privacy, matching/merging, individual profiles, multimedia, GEDCOM Compatibility, Trees and Reports, Networking Features, Source Citations, Support, Special Features, and Price.

The only one of her top four picks with which I am at all familiar is Geni.com which she rates as extremely easy to use and comments it is free "so far." At the time Janice wrote the article Geni did not accommodate importing a GEDCOM, a capability now included. She comments that Geni's matching/merging capability limits the amount of privacy you have in your tree.

The top rated site is termed the "most sophisticated, full-featured", but I was struck by how features were mentioned as "takes a little more work", being not clear, or "it appears that."

None of the sites receives a ringing endorsement.

22 November 2008

A Genealogical Day in Ireland

People with Irish ancestry are always searching for some way around the lost records.

Next Saturday, November 29th 2008, Gary Schroder, one of BIFHSGO's most popular presenters from last September's conference, is offering a seminar that will examine what’s new and exciting in the world of Irish Family History and how to find your ancestors lost in Ireland.

The location is the Quebec Family History Society Library, 173 Cartier Ave., Pointe Claire

The session runs from 10 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

The fee for QFHS members is $30 - $40 for non-members

21 November 2008

The Parish: Administration and Records

What's the Avowson? What's the difference between the duties of the Parish Clerk and the Churchwardens? Can a Rector and a Vicar be the same person?

Find out about these, and a lot more information on parish officials, their duties, records they may have created or in which they be found in a recent TNA Podcast presentation by Reader Information Services specialist Mark Pearsall.

20 November 2008

Welsh Family History Archive

A good site for find out more about Wales and exploring your Welsh ancestry, especially for those who have just found a family link into Wales, is John Ball's Welsh Family History Archive.

Frequently Asked Questions
Glossary of Welsh Place-Names: Learn how to interpret Welsh place-names.
Images of Wales
Keturah's Diary:Accompany a Welsh girl on her ocean voyage to Australia in 1860
Links to On-line Resources
Llangar Parish Records
Maps of Wales
Sounds of Wales: Listen to the pronunciation of over 220 Welsh place-names.
Tallis's Topographical Dictionary
Wales of Old: Welsh family histories illustrated with fascinating old photographs.
Welsh Ancestor List
Welsh Gravestone Inscriptions: How to interpret

19 November 2008

London (England) Cemeteries


View Larger Map

I'd meant to post the address of the custom Google map of locations of London cemeteries that I used in my recent presentation in Toronto. It includes most of the burial grounds, except for the old ones in the City of London. The yellow pins are for Jewish cemeteries.

Using the My Maps facility of Google Maps you can produce a map of the locations at which your ancestor lived and where he or she died. By electronically overlaying the two you can pick out likely cemeteries.

The address is http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=102822060546051659926.00044fcedc59b4d57f997&z=10 or http://tinyurl.com/4suwfs

18 November 2008

Unlocking the riddles of Welsh Ancestry

Tonight's (18 November) OGS Ottawa Branch meeting at Library and Archives Canada, Room 156, is Unlocking the riddles of Welsh Ancestry - A Set of Keyes. It will presented by Helen Whyte, a professional genealogist who has done extensive research on the Social, Historical and Geographical links to Welsh Ancestors. The meeting starts at 7:30 pm.

The (UK) Coal Mining History Resource Centre

Bills itself as the UK's largest and most comprehensive website concerning the history of coal mining - including a name searchable database of over 164,000 recorded accidents and deaths.

The data includes extensive statistics, the youngest person in the database is age 1, the oldest age 95.

There are lists of mining disasters from 1658 to date, extensive reports for the larger incidents, maps, a scrapbook, poems and more.

17 November 2008

LAC consultation

Much earlier this year Library and Archives Canada held two open consultation sessions, afternoon and evening. Any client could come and express views on LAC abd its operations. It was a welcome initiative but hasn't been repeated. Why not?

Part of the reason may be that it was quite costly, including the need for simultaneous translation. Also, some people are reluctant to speak in a public forum.

So, would LAC consider borrowing an idea from The (UK) National Archives, a much less costly 'meet the Chief Executive' day? Here's the announcement from their website.

"On Tuesday 18 November, Natalie Ceeney will be holding surgeries in each of the main reading rooms. This is your chance to put your views or questions about the management and future direction of The National Archives directly to her.

The surgeries will be held on a first-come, first-served basis - no advance booking needed."

16 November 2008

Ancestors in the Attic - Cenotaph

Ancestors in the Attic aired a one hour episode on November 15 for remembrance week that told the story of finding the fate of two WW2 Canadian servicemen in Europe through the eyes of two students investigating names on their school war memorial.

The stories were well told and although History Television includes only a single paragraph on their website the story is covered by a article in The Oakville Beaver, a news release and another from the Halton District School Board.

The fate of one of the servicemen, Major Robert Gordon Slater of the Royal Highland Regiment of Canada, was revealed when a German death certificate was discovered at Library and Archives Canada. The certificate stated he died in a hospital from shrapnel wounds after several days in captivity. I wonder if such a statement can be relied on?

15 November 2008

Family History Library Favorites

One of the websites new to me from the London in Toronto conference last Saturday, drawn to my attention by Phillip Dunn from FamilySearch.org, was fhlfavorites.com. It's a collection of resource bookmarks for genealogy.

I was a bit turned off at first as the main page was full of instructions about how to use it with Internet Explorer, and I use Firefox.

Clicking on Link to Individual Bookmarks files however brings up a panel that starts you on the road to pay dirt.

The categories are:

British Bookmarks.htm
Canada & USA Bookmarks.htm
International Bookmarks.htm
News Bookmarks.htm
Search Engines Bookmarks.htm
World Bookmarks.htm

The organization is a bit odd with British Bookmarks including Australia, Europe, India, Ireland, Jamaica, New Zealand, South Africa and West Indies, but not Canada. Perhaps its the world as seen from Utah!

Drilling down further for England leads to a categorization by county. For Norfolk there are categories for: Archives & libraries; Cemeteries; Census; Church records; Directories; Genealogy; Land & property; Manor records; Military records; Occupations; Probate records; Taxation; Visitations. Many of the census and church links are to parish level data.

The main page makes clear it's not an official Family History Library, or FamilySearch site. The website is registered to Stephen Bobowski in S Jordan, Utah. A Google search indicates he's involved with FamilySearch Wiki.

Although a bit idiosyncratic you could do worse than spend an hour on a rainy November day exploring this rich site.

14 November 2008

Google's take over of PaperOfRecord.com

The Ottawa Citizen carries an article by business writer Bert Hill Google expected to take over Ottawa data firm.

It includes the information from PaperOfRecord CEO Bob Huggins, confirming a rumour that was circulating, that late in 2003 the company was close to selling its newspaper database to Library and Archives Canada for $1.2M. The deal fell apart and the sale to Google is for "much less than $3M."

It remains unclear from the article as to the terms under which the papers will be available to history and genealogy researchers going forward.

This would make an interesting case study for one of the local university business schools.

LAC puts Miscellaneous Immigration Index online

Many a Canadian with early immigrant, pre-1865, ancestors exploring his or her genealogy has longed for a passenger list to turn up. Mostly the search is fruitless, but Library and Archives Canada (LAC) has just launched an online database, Immigrants to Canada, containing early Canadian immigration records. Many relate to immigrants from the British Isles arriving in Quebec and Ontario.

Through this new database, formerly a card index known as the Miscellaneous Immigration Index, researchers can access references to lists of immigrants and other types of records created before 1865, such as declarations of aliens and names of some Irish orphans.

The coverage is far from complete as records were not systematically saved.

There are 23,482 entries in the database with arrivals from 1750 to 1854. The peak year is 1825; there are more than 2,000 entries for 1846 and 1847. Note that there are a few false values in the graph owing to multiple dates, or a range of dates, being given, e.g. 1793-1808.

13 November 2008

More on the LAC Ancestry.ca partnership

Earlier in the week I blogged on the LAC - Ancestry.ca partnership. It was also announced at LAC's web site.

Several people, myself included, have had questions about the nature and terms of the partnership. The following, from Doug Rimmer, LAC's Assistant Deputy Minister, Programs and Services Sector, provides some clarification.

"We are very excited about this partnership which will allow us to provide much greater access to records than if we simply worked alone.

From the perspective of the census records (which is the starting point for the partnership but not the exclusive focus), we intend that over a three-year period ALL of the publicly available Canadian census records will be digitized, and put online with a nominal index both on LAC's website, free of charge, and on Ancestry.ca's website. It won't all happen at once and some material will show up first on our website (such as the 1881 census) and some will show up first on the Ancestry.ca website. The agreement specifies how and when material (both images and indexes) are to be exchanged between the partners. Each partner is then free to put the material on their site as and when they choose. The reality for us is that LAC might not always post it as soon as possible due all of the other material that is being digitized and put online. We have to balance our priorities and that may mean some material has to wait. Of course, we will be making best efforts to ensure that any wait is minimized but we know that we have a lot of material coming on stream and finite resources.

This agreement meets LAC's goals of free access, non-exclusivity and value to the taxpayer. It is a non-cash agreement in which we are both sharing digital resources but neither of us is paying the other for work that is done. LAC will retain full ownership of its original records (in microfilm and any other format). This agreement will not prevent LAC from continuing to work with other genealogical partners."

BIFHSGO November Monthly Meeting

10:00 a.m., 15 November 2008 at Library and Archives Canada 395 Wellington Street

"Why History is Important",
Presented by George Laidlaw, President, Independent Writers Group.
The speaker is the author of numerous books and speaks regularly at schools and dinner clubs. He is president of the Ottawa Independent Writers Group.

Also on the 15th, at 9:00 a.m. "Searching Library and Archives Canada Collection on line", presented by Lesley Anderson, BIFHSGO Associate Education Director, Ancestry.ca Consultant.

12 November 2008

Our Ottawa still includes Culture!

It's budget time again in the City of Ottawa and staff are proposing funding cuts for heritage, festivals and the arts, from $7.5 million in 2008 to $4 million in 2009.

That's nearly half the funding in an envelope that comprises only 0.35% of the city budget.

Family history is an integral part of the heritage community in Ottawa. We need to hang together, or we'll hang separately.

Show your support by sending a clear message to the Mayor and City Councillors. There's further information in the message below from the Council of Heritage Organizations of Ottawa.




November 12, 2008

le 12 novembre 2008


Dear CHOO/COPO Members and supporters of our local heritage,

URGENT ACTION REQUIRED! A STRONG VOICE FOR HERITAGE!
The City of Ottawa is yet again proposing massive cuts to funding for heritage, festivals and the arts. City staff has recommended a 42% cut to all cultural funding!

  • 100% cut in funding to all 3 heritage service organizations (CHOO/COPO, Heritage Ottawa and the Ottawa Museum Network),
  • 100% cut to historical societies and all heritage project grants!
  • 100% cut in funding for festivals, special events and fairs
  • 24% cut to budgets at all eight community museums
  • Funding commitments for addressing crucial preventative maintenance work in the city's Archives will not be honoured!

IMPACT ON HERITAGE COMMUNITY

  • 9 people within the community museums and heritage sector will lose their jobs
  • Heritage service organizations will shut down and no longer provide service to members and the community
  • Capacity of museums to provide programming for schools, children and seniors will decrease dramatically
  • Workers' Heritage Museum will be forced to close
  • Museum artifacts and archives collections will not receive adequate levels of care

KEY MESSAGES

  • Of the $9 Million in proposed service cuts, arts, heritage and festivals make up almost 45% of the cuts - totaling $4.1 million. This is an unfair and disproportionate burden on our local cultural community
  • Loss of funding from municipal government means no more leveraging of funds from federal, provincial and private sources - If our own municipality does not support heritage other levels will not pick up the slack
  • ANY cuts to arts, heritage and festivals programs and organizations are unacceptable. We want 100% of funding to arts, heritage and festivals to be reinstated
  • ALL proposed increases to funding already committed should be followed-through on (the Museums Sustainability Plan, preventative conservation care for city's archival collections, Arts Investment Strategy)
  • The City of Ottawa urgently needs to develop a budgeting process to ensure that community organizations are not crippled by the annual "budget crisis"

A UNITED APPROACH


We must make our individual and collective voices heard, The cuts proposed by the City of Ottawa to heritage programs and organizations, arts and festivals are unacceptable.

On Monday, November 10, 2008, a meeting was held with representatives from festival, arts and heritage organizations in attendance.

It was agreed:

  • that we will move forward together with a strong, united voice;
  • that we are not willing to let the City split up cuts as line items on their budget sheet, essentially dividing us; and
  • that we are only willing to discuss budget implications to the entire culture portfolio.

We all must work collectively with our partner and member organizations, supporters, sponsors, volunteers, arts and cultural groups, participants and audience members to contact their ward Councillor and the Mayor to get our message through loud and clear - Our Ottawa still includes Culture!

WE NEED YOUR HELP. Your voice can make a difference!

Write to your Councillor by e-mail or letter and speak to the key messages we have outlined

  • Customize the letter to your own personal experience and contribution to the heritage sector
  • REMEMBER to ensure that your mailing address is included - Councillors need to know that you live in their ward - otherwise your message will be ignored!
  • Unsure who your councillor is? Click here and simply enter in your address to find out. (Councillors' contact info are listed at the bottom of this message)
  • Share and forward this message within your networks, friends and colleagues and other supporters of arts and heritage and urge them to voice their support by writing to their councillor

Attend a Public Consultation

  • Make your voice heard during the 2009 draft budget public consultations.
  • A list of dates and instructions is available on the City of Ottawa website here.

Register to Speak to Committee of the Whole

  • Make a five-minute presentation at a Committee of the Whole meeting.
  • Monday December 1st or Tuesday December 2nd, 2008, possibly Wednesday December 3rd.
  • To register call 613-580-2424 ext. 12487

It is time to take action.
It is time to speak with a united voice.
Our Ottawa still includes Culture!


Best regards,

Meg Hamilton, Executive Director,
CHOO/COPO
manager@choocopo.ca
www.choocopo.ca
(613) 562-0405

Ottawa City Councillors - Contact Info

When writing your city councillor -
MAKE SURE TO INCLUDE YOU NAME & ADDRESS AT THE VERY TOP OF YOUR EMAIL/LETTER
If you do not include your mailing address your email/letter will be deleted

Mayor Larry O'Brien
Tel: 613-580-2496
Fax: 613-580-2509
Larry.OBrien@ottawa.ca


Councillor Georges Bédard
Ward 12 - Rideau-Vanier

Tel:613-580-2482
Fax: 613-580-2522
Georges.Bedard@ottawa.ca

Councillor Michel Bellemare
Ward 11 - Beacon Hill-Cyrville
Tel:613-580-2481
Fax: 613-580-2521
Michel.Bellemare@ottawa.ca

Councillor Rainer Bloess
Ward 2 - Innes

Tel: 613-580-2472
Fax: 613-580-2512
Rainer.Bloess@ottawa.ca

Councillor Glenn Brooks
Ward 21 - Rideau-Goulbourn
Tel: 613-580-2491
Fax: 613-580-2531
Glenn.Brooks@ottawa.ca

Councillor Rick Chiarelli
Ward 8 - College
Tel: 613-580-2478
Fax: 613-580-2518
Rick.Chiarelli@ottawa.ca

Councillor Alex Cullen
Ward 7 - Bay

Tel: 613-580-2477
Fax: 613-580-2517
Alex.Cullen@ottawa.ca

Councillor Diane Deans
Ward 10 - Gloucester-Southgate
Tel:613-580-2480
Fax: 613-580-2520
Diane.Deans@ottawa.ca

Councillor Steve Desroches
Ward 22 - Gloucester-South Nepean
Tel: 613-580-2751
Fax: 613-580-2761
Steve.Desroches@ottawa.ca

Councillor Clive Doucet
Ward 17 - Capital

Tel: 613-580-2487
Fax: 613-580-2527
Clive.Doucet@ottawa.ca

Councillor Eli El-Chantiry
Ward 5 - West Carleton-March
Tel:613-580-2475
Fax: 613-580-2515
Eli.El-Chantiry@ottawa.ca

Councillor Peggy Feltmate
Ward 23 - Kanata South
Tel: 613-580-2752
Fax: 613-580-2762
Peggy.Feltmate@ottawa.ca

Councillor Jan Harder
Ward 3 - Barrhaven
Tel: 613-580-2473
Fax: 613-580-2513
Jan.Harder@ottawa.ca

Councillor Diane Holmes
Ward 14 - Somerset

Tel: 613-580-2484
Fax: 613-580-2524
Diane.Holmes@ottawa.ca

Councillor Peter Hume
Ward 18 - Alta Vista
Tel: 613-580-2488
Fax: 613-580-2528
Peter.Hume@ottawa.ca

Councillor Gord Hunter
Ward 9 - Knoxdale-Merivale
Tel: 613-580-2479
Fax: 613-580-2519
Gord.Hunter@ottawa.ca

Councillor Rob Jellett
Ward 19 - Cumberland

Tel: 613-580-2489
Fax: 613-580-2697
Rob.Jellett@ottawa.ca

Councillor Christine Leadman
Ward 15 - Kitchissippi

Tel: 613-580-2485
Fax: 613-580-2525
Kitchissippi@ottawa.ca

Councillor Jacques Legendre
Ward 13 - Rideau-Rockcliffe
Tel: 613-580-2483
Fax: 613-580-2523
Jacques.Legendre@ottawa.ca

Councillor Maria McRae
Ward 16 - River

Tel: 613-580-2486
Fax: 613-580-2526
Maria.Mcrae@ottawa.ca

Councillor Bob Monette
Ward 1 - Orléans
Tel:613-580-2471
Fax: 613-580-2511
Bob.Monette@ottawa.ca

Councillor Shad Qadri
Ward 6 - Stittsville-Kanata West
Tel:613-580-2476
Fax: 613-580-2516
Shad.Qadri@ottawa.ca

Councillor Doug Thompson
Ward 20 - Osgoode
Tel: 613-580-2490
Fax: 613-580-2530
Doug.Thompson@ottawa.ca

Councillor Marianne Wilkinson
Ward 4 - Kanata North
Tel:613-580-2474
Fax: 613-580-251
Marianne.Wilkinson@ottawa.ca

11 November 2008

Memorial of the Great War, 1914-1918 : a record of service

During the First World War 1409 employees of the Bank of Montreal "deliberately closed their ledgers, laid aside pen and pencil, left the calm routine of a great institution, the security of a well-ordered business life, and went forth ... to fight for King and Empire."

At the end of the war 230 were missing from the Roll Call. Others were war-worn, some broken and recovered and recovering from grievous wounds.

In 1921 the bank published a memorial volume with portraits and biographies of those who died, and shorter summaries of the war experiences of those who returned. The volume has now been digitized by the University of Toronto and just been made available through the Internet Archive.

Here are two examples of the entries:

Sydney Harris
Sergeant, 8th Battalion, C.E.F.

Was born at Ely, Cambridgeshire, England, in 1888. He was educated at Framingham College, Suffolk, where he was one of the prefects of the college. After four years of service with the Capital and Counties Bank, Limited, in Great Yarmouth, he came to Canada and joined the staff of the Bank of Montreal, first in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and later in Winnipeg. He enlisted in August, 1914, as a Private in the Canadian Infantry, and arrived in France with the First Canadian Contingent early in 1915. He took part in all the operations in which his battalion was engaged in 1915 and 1916. During the severe fighting on the Somme he was wounded at Courcelette on September 26th, 1916, while advancing to the enemy trenches, and a few hours later he was instantly killed by shell-fire while waiting to be taken back to the dressing station.

James Francis Peachey
Corporal, 23rd Reserve Battalion, C.E.F.

Enlisted in April, 191 5, as a Corporal in the 5th Battalion, Canadian Mounted Rifles, and arrived in France with his unit in October, 1915. He was severely wounded by enemy fire at the taking of Regina Trench on the Somme in October, 1916. He subsequently served in England with the 22nd and 23rd Reserve Battalions.

Remembrance Day

Ottawa's Second World War killed in action

ABELSON, LAWRENCE BALFOUR (DUKIE)
ABRAMSON, MARK LESLIE
ACHESON, GEORGE ROBERT
ADAMSON, ANDREW
ALBERT, JOSEPH HENRY YVON
ALLEN, FRED
ANDERSON, PETER GORDON
ARMSTRONG, EDWARD LAWRENCE
ARMSTRONG, GEORGE ERNEST
ARMSTRONG, GERALD HENRY
ARNEIL, DOUGLAS JAMES
AULT, ARTHUR WELLINGTON
BAILLIE, THOMAS
BALDWIN, WILLIAM HENRY
BARBER, JOSEPH LOUIS
BEASLEY, JOSEPH RONALD
BEASLEY, WILLIAM HAROLD
BELEC, GORDON
BEATTIE, HAROLD JAMES
BENNETT, THOMAS LLOYD
BENSON, ROBERT LOWELL
BLACKLER, ROBERT STANLEY
BLAKE, RICHARD BARNETT
BLANE, JOHN DONALD
BLUE, DONALD ARCHIBALD
BOEHMER, ALBERT EDWARD CHARLES
BONELL, WILLIAM STEWART
BOOTH, GEORGE ARNOLD
BORDELEAU, JOSEPH JACQUES BERNARD
BORDELEAU, JOSEPH OSCAR ROGER
BORDELEAU, PIERRE PAUL ENEE
BOUCHARD, JOSEPH ALPHONSE CAMILLE
BOUCHER, THOMAS GERALD
BOUDREAULT, JOSEPH EDOUARD ROCH
BOURDON, GREGORY ROSS
BOURQUE, JOSEPH HERBERT
BOUTIN, JOSEPH LOUIS PAUL
BOX, PETER WILLIAM BISSET
BRADLY, ALBERT THOMAS
BRADLY, WILLIAM STANLEY
BRAZEAU, JOSEPH PHILIPE RENE FERNAND
BREADNER, DONALD LLOYD
BRIGGS, FRANCIS EVAN ROBERT
BROWN, JAMES HERBERT
BUCHANAN, JOHN DONALD
BULLIS, EDMUND HOLMES
BURNSIDE, LLOYD WELDON
BURPEE, LEWIS JOHNSTONE
BURT, HENRY ANDREW
CALDERONE, DOMINICO GUISEPPE
CALDWELL, CARLETON ERNEST
CALDWELL, DONALD F.
CAMERON, ROBERT JOEL
CANN, JOHN OSMOND GILBERT
CANTIN, JOSEPH EDWARD LEO
CAOUETTE, JOSEPH EARL WALTER
CAREY, JOHN JOSEPH
CARRUTHERS, FORD ROSS
CASEY, RAYMOND FRANCIS
CASHEN, PETER HENRY
CHALLIS, ALBERT CLIFFORD
CHEETHAM, GERALD HARRY
CHEQUER, GEORGE JOSEPH
CLOUTIER, JOSEPH FERNAND OSCAR
COBBETT, CHARLES HOWARD
CODE, PETER BRYSON
COFFEY, JAMES CARLETON
COLE, SAXON MILLIS
COLFE, WILLIAM KENNETH
COLLINGWOOD, JOSEPH VINCENT
COWAN, EMERSON WELDON
COWAN, HENRY HUGH
CONNACHER, STUART MCINTYRE
CONNOR, DONALD DAUBNEY
COTE, JOSEPH JOHN EDWARD
COWLEY, ROBERT HENRY
CRAIG, STANLEY MAYNARD
CRAWFORD, GEORGE HAMILTON
CULLEN, JOSEPH PATRICK LEONARD
CUMMINGS, KENNETH GEORGE
DALE, KENNETH LYLE
DALGLISH, WILLIAM LOGAN
DARRAGH, FRANCIS WILLIAM
DAVIS, JOSEPH
DEAVY, ARTHUR WILLIAM
DELONG, ROBERT WILLIAM
DONAGHY, ROBERT BERTRAM
DRAKE, EDWIN
DUBROY, WILLIAM EDMOND
DUQUETTE, MYLES EDWARD
EAGLESON, JAMES LYMAN
EASTMAN, DONALD MERVYN
ELLIS, ALBERT
ELLIS, RONALD OBERLIN
FAHEY, AMBROSE SYLVESTER
FARLETTE, JOSEPH RODOLPHE GASTON
FARLEY, ARTHUR RODOLPHE ROLAND
FARMER, KENNETH ALBERT
FERRIS, RICHARD NICHOLAS
FINLAY, WILLIAM ROBERT
FLANAGAN, THOMAS EDWARD
FLETCHER, GRANT ALEXANDER
FOLEY, JAMES DONALD ALEXANDER
FOLLOWS, SIDNEY WALLACE
FOXTON, JAMES HEDLEY
GALBRAITH, JAMES REGINALD
GALLAGHER, GORDON JOHN
GARDINER, JOHN EDWIN
GARLAND, STEWART FOSTER
GARLAND, WILLIAM ABSALOM
GARRETT, ERIC THOMAS
GELDART, DOUGLAS EMERSON
GENNIS, MAX
GILCHRIST, DONALD ROSS
GIROLAMI, ADRIANO RICHARD
GLEASON, MICHAEL ARNOLD
GOLDING, JOSEPH HAROLD
GOOLD, GEORGE CLARENCE
GORDON, HUGH LOCKHART
GRAHAM, ROBERT MACFARLANE
GRANGE, EDWARD ALEXANDER MCDOUGALL
GRANT, GEORGE
GRAVES, WILLIAM DONALD
GRAY, ROBERT JAMIESON
HAGUE, ALAN
HALCRO, JAMES ANGUS FRANCIS
HALL, ALFRED HENRY BENBOW
HALL, CLEMENT WILLIAM
HALL, CYRIL ROLAND
HAMMOND, RICHARD NEILAND
HARRISON, FRANCIS ARTHUR
HART, GORDON GERALD
HAY, GORDON DOUGLAS
HEENEY, ROBERT TILTON
JAMIESON, JOHN BOURNE
HERVEY, ROBERT GIBSON
HICKS, ORVILLE WESLEY
HODGINS, EDWARD HINCHEY
HOGAN, FRANCIS JOSEPH
HOLLOWAY, DONALDSON RENDAL
HOWE, LORNE MEREDITH
HULL, WILLIAM FRANCIS
HUNTER, CALVERT HAMILTON
HUTT, DUNCAN STUART
HYDES, HARRY GEORGE
IDE, DOUGLAS GORDON
IVEY, HARTLEY SAMPSON
IZZARD, AUBREY FENWICK
JARVIS, LEONARD FITZGERALD
JEFFREY, GEORGE WILBERT
JOHNSON, DONALD WILFRED
JOHNSON, JOHN ALFRED
KNIGHT, MARTIN ALLAN
JOLICOEUR, FERNAND LEO
JOYNT, JOHN MILLAR
KELLY, JOHN LOMER
KELLY, LEONARD THOMAS JOSEPH
KELLY, RICHARD MARTIN
KEYES, THOMAS ERIC EDMOND
KIGHT, LESLIE JOHN
KIMMINS, GORDON PATRICK JAMES
KINSELLA, WILLIAM JAMES
KIRCHIN, CLARENCE GORDON
KOZLOWSKI, STANLEY JOHN
LABARGE, BERNARD HENRY
LABARGE, LEO JOHN
LACASSE, FLORIAN MERCIER
LACELLE, JOSEPH HARVEY MILTON
LAFLEUR, GEORGE LEO
LALONDE, JOSEPH MOISE GASTON
LANE, HERBERT MITCHELL
LAPOINTE, JOSEPH HENRI DOSITHEE
LARKIN, DONALD JAMES
LARKIN, JAMES MEYRICK
LAVALLEY, DAVID HENRY
LAWRENCE, RICHARD CHILROSE
LEAVER, FRANCIS HENRY
LEVESQUE, EDMOND JOSEPH VITAL
LONG, HENRY MAYNARD
LOUGH, WILLIAM HERBERT
LOWE, RICHARD BROCKWELL
MACALLISTER, GORDON DALE
MACDONALD, IAN ALISTAIR
MacDONALD, LOUIS JOHN
MACFARLANE, DONALD JOHN
MACLEAN, ANDREW KENNETH
MACLEAN, GEORGE MURRAY
MacLEOD, ALLAN ALLISTER
MacLEOD, JOHN DONALD
MACMILLAN, DAVID JOHN
MacMILLAN, EDGAR
MAGLADRY, HAROLD ERNEST
MANSFIELD, RICHARD GERARD
MARTIN, VERNON DUMARESQ BOWDEN
McCRUM, CHARLES JOHN FREDERICK
MATTHEWS, JOSEPH HENRY GABRIEL
McCALLUM, ROBERT JOHN
McCANN, ERIC WILLIAM
McCARTHY, BENEDICT JOSEPH
McCARTHY, PHILIP WILLIAM
McCARTHY, WINSTON FRANCIS
McCLATCHEY, HERBERT HENRY
McCLEERY, RAYMOND NORMAN
McCLOSKEY, RICHARD SCOTT
McCORKLE, DONALD FREDERICK
McFARLANE, ALEXANDER IAN
McGUIRE, MICHAEL JAMES DORAN
McINTYRE, LYNDEN ARNOLD
McKENNA, DONALD JOSEPH
McKENNA, GERALD LEWIS
McKENNA, JOHN ANDREW
McKERNS, CHARLES
McKHOOL, GEORGE JOSEPH
McLACHLAN, RODERICK JAMES
McLACHLIN, WILLIAM MCINTYRE
McLEAN, DONALD RAE
McLEAN, THOMAS BEGLEY
McLEOD, HUGH NORMAN
McMAHON, BERNARD LAWRENCE
McNAUGHTON, IAN GEORGE ARMOUR
MEERS, FRANK EDWARD
MELVILLE, ROBERT LEARMONTH
MERKLEY, HARRY DWAIN
MILLAR, KENNETH ROBERT GRANT
MINARD, ALLAN MURRAY
MISON, CHARLES DONALD
MITCHELL, ALEXANDER JAMES
MORRISON, VINCENT MERRILL MACDONALD
MORRISON, WILLIAM ROBINSON
MOFFIT, FRANCIS WILFRED
MOIR, CORSON STEWART
MONAGHAN, RICHARD JOHN JOSEPH
MONCK, RUSSELL McINTYRE
MORIN, WILLIAM FRANCIS
MORRIS, ALAN HUBERT ANDREW
MOULD, GORDON CHARLES
MOULDS, DONALD LAWRENCE
MOULE, WALLACE ALFRED RICHARD
MULLIGAN, JOHN
MUNRO, JOHN WELLESLEY
OLLETT, RALPH WILLIAM
NADON, JOSEPH EDMOND GILLES
NADON, JOSEPH YVES JULIEN
NETTLETON, THOMAS GORDON
NEVINS, JOHN EDMUND
NEWMAN, DAVEY WILLIAM
NIBLOCK, ZINA MANFORD
NOLAN, THOMAS HAROLD
NOLET, CYRILLE HENRY
OLMSTED, CHARLES ROBERTSON
ORME, FRANK KERR
PALSEN, GEORGE JOSEPH HERMAN
PARKER, DOUGLAS RENDALL
PARRY, THOMAS CAMPBELL
PARSLOW, HARRY WILLIAM HERBERT
PATTERSON, JOHN RICHARD
PAVELY, WILLIAM GEORGE
PEPPER, ARTHUR HENRY
PICHE, JOSEPH LAURENCE
PICKERING, WESLEY ALEXANDER
PLAYER, JAMES KELLEHER
POST, ERIC JAMES
POST, WILLARD IRVING
POULIN, VERNE ARTHUR JOSEPH
POWELL, DAVID HAYNES BARCHAM
POWERS, HUGH ALLAN
POWIS, RALPH EDWIN
PRICE, DAVID MAYSON
PRITCHARD, GORDON FEATHERSTONE
PROSSER, ROBERT HAROLD
QUINN, FRANCIS PAUL
QUINN, THOMAS PHILLIP
RALPH, HOWARD PEARSON
RANKIN, RONALD WILLIAM ALEXANDER
RATH, HENRY ERIC
REDPATH, JOHN NORMAN RALSTON
REID, STANLEIGH LOWRY
RENAUD, JOSEPH HARVEY
RETALLACK, GARNET GRAHAM
RIDDELL, RAYMOND REID
ROBERT, JOHN ERNEST
ROBERTS, DAVID ERIC
ROBERTSON, DAVID BROWNLEE
ROBERTSON, JOHN DONALD
ROBINSON, LOUIS EBER ELDRED
ROCHE, NORBERT
ROMBOUGH, JOHN NOBLE
SCHWARTZ, ABRAHAM ALBERT
SCHWERDFAGER, JAMES ELLIOT
ROULEAU, DAVID FRANCIS
ROUTHIER, JOSEPH LOUIS PHILIPPE
ROWE, GORDON HARRY
ROY, WILLIAM FRANCIS
SABOURIN, JOSEPH JEAN PAUL
SASLOVE, EDWARD LEWIS
SAUVE, JOSEPH IVES AURELIEN
SCHRYBURT, JOSEPH THEODORE ARTHUR
SCRUTON, ALBERT CECIL
SEEMAN, THEODORE ALWYN
SEGUIN, JOSEPH MARC
SEVIGNY, ARTHUR JOSEPH
SEYDOR, WALTER
SHATTOCK, ROY FREDERICK
SHAVER, HOWARD BRUCE
SHAW, REGINALD JOHN
SIGOUIN, JOSEPH EUGENE SYLVIO
SIMARD, JEAN JACQUES MARCEL
SMITH, G. B. (DON)
SMITH, DONALD MURRAY
SMITH, LEONARD IAN
SMYTH, KENNETH MALCOLM
SNELL, ARTHUR EVANS
SNOW, GERALD BARCLAY
SNYDER, GERDAN FREDERICK
SOMERS, DANIEL JOSEPH
SOPER, WALTER YOUNG JAMES
SPENCER, GEORGE DOUGLAS
STANDING, NORMAN KENNETH
STANZEL, ROSS SAMUEL
STATA, FREDERICK IRWIN
STERLING, DONALD JOHN
STERNS, WILLIAM MEREDITH
SULLIVAN, CLIFFORD ROY
TAGGART, JAMES HAROLD
TASSE, JOSEPH HECTOR GEORGES
TAYLOR, LEO JOFFRE
TAYLOR, WILLIAM MOSSOP
THOMPSON, ROBERT JOHN
THOMPSON, WILLIAM HECTOR
TINKESS, DONALD GUTHRIE
TREADWELL, JOHN NATHAN
TRIPP, WARRINGTON WADE
TURNER, JOHN ALLAN RYERSON
VINCENT, JOSEPH ANTHONY EDWARD
WARE, JAMES
WARREN, GEORGE RICHARD MARR
WATTS, WILLIAM CHARLES
WETMORE, LINLEY DOUGLAS
WHALEN, JOHN HAROLD
WHITE, GODFREY PHILLIP
WHITHAM, JAMES
WILCOX, LEONARD RUSSELL
WILLETT, DONALD ARTHUR
WILSON, JAMES BENNETT
WINDELER, WILLIAM JAMES
WOLF, HERBERT IRWIN
WOLFF, JAMES FITZGERALD
WOOD, DONALD ZACHARY TAYLOR
WOOD, JOHN WALTER
WOODBURN, JAMES DOUGLAS
WRIGHT, STUART MARSTON
DAY, GORDON ROBERT
HEENEY, CECIL GEORGE
CARREAU, PAUL EUGENE
MACKAY, JAMES GARFIELD
RENNIE, DAVID ALEXANDER
MURDIE, ROSS THOMAS
VAN VLIET, WILBUR DENNISON
KILEEN, ORVILLE MARTIN
JUNEAU, ALFRED ROGER
DU BROY, JOSEPH WILLIAM
HILL, WALTER ALEXANDER
O'LEARY, ROBERT JOSEPH
LAFLAMME, JOSEPH YVES CAMILLE CHARLES A.
BARSALOU, JEAN PAUL
HEANEY, ALLAN
HAINES, VICTOR YELVERTON
DESLOGES, JEAN PAUL JOSEPH
THOM, WILLIAM CRAIG
D'AMOUR, GERALD ROCH
O'LEARY, OWEN ARTHUR
KENNEDY, ROY
KENNY, WALTER ROBERT
O'HEARE, ROBERT ERNEST
DU BROY, THOMAS EDMUND
TURNER, CHARLES BRUCE
O'BRIEN, LAWRENCE FRANCIS
EUSTACE, WILLIAM STUART
GEDDES, ROBERT SLESSOR
CARSON, RODNEY AUSTIN
McWHINNEY, ALBERT RICHARD
O'REILLY, HAROLD MATTHEW
HAZELTON, WILLIAM MESSINGER
CUTHBERT, MAURICE CROSBY

Based on a list supplied by Library and Archives Canada from Second World War Service Files: Canadian Armed Forces War Dead where the word Ottawa appears in the comments column.