Family Chronicle, Jan/Feb 2011 issue

The Jan/Feb. 2011 issue of Family Chronicle with its green cover, catches the eye immediately. If there's a shade of green for everyone this doesn't happen to be mine.

I turned immediately to a couple of articles by local Ottawa writer Elizabeth Lapointe.

"Discovering Family History Centers" likely sat in Family Chronicle's pending file a bit past its best before date. It mentions ordering films through the Family History Centre which is no longer possible in Canada, you have to do that online, and refers to an annual Family History Fair at the Ottawa Stake Family History Centre which occurred in 2009. There was no such event in 2010 in Ottawa

I was pleased to see "Crime and Punishment in Upper Canada: A Book Review." That book, in the OGS/Dundurn Press Genealogists' Reference Shelf series, has been in my reading pile.  Elizabeth gives it a favorable review noting the great care that the author, Janice Nickerson, took to get it right. She writes in conclusion, "Written from the historical perspective of a well-seasoned genealogist, the book is the first step in determining if any ancestors came in conflict with the law." A five page article by Janice which follows the review amply illustrates the validity of Elizabeth's review.

Elizabeth isn't the only Ottawa area author in this issue. Anne Moralejo has a short article giving advice on storing and handling old nitrate films. It gives very practical advice, in line with the magazine's billing as the "how-to" genealogy magazine.

There are several other interesting articles. I particularly enjoyed George Morgan's look at "US Records of the War of 1812" which starts out with a useful historical overview; and Richard Jordan's story of his research into his family history in "Murder at the Shingle Mill."

You can view the complete table of contents for this issue at www.familychronicle.com