Hogs Back Dam

A favourite spot in Ottawa at this time of year is Hogs Back Falls. The spring runoff is near a peak and the rush of water attracts locals and visitors to view, hear and feel the spectacle of rushing water.

180 years ago, on April 3rd, 1829, this was the site of a setback for the Rideau Canal when the first dam was washed out. Col John By reported that "at about ten o'clock in the morning the water began to flow over the top (of the dam) without carrying off any of the coping stones. ... I felt it (the dam) tremble, and instantly ordered the men to run. I stood and looked at it for a few seconds, when the stones fell from under my feet as I ran off.

Bytown or Bust

I was surprised at Gene-O-Rama to find that one of our long time BIFHSGO members, with roots in the Ottawa Valley, was not aware of the Bytown or Bust website. It's a local treasure of a resource, over 1,100 pages of information, for migration and settlement in the Ottawa area in the 1800's, especially for the Irish.

If you visit often enough you'll either learn to love or hate the background music "When You and I Were Young, Maggie" that plays on the main page.

Four genealogy magazine hot tips

I had a good conversation at Gene-O-Rama with Ed Zapletal, editor of Moorshead magazines: Family Chronicle - the longest established, History Magazine, Internet Genealogy, and the newest - Discovering Family History.

Tip 1. According to Ed about half their sales are at newsstands, half by subscription. Subscribers save. The cover price for Discovering Family History is $6.95, that's $41.60 for six issues during a year. A one year subscription is $28, $22.50 for the online special advertised in the February issue, and sometimes less if you subscribe at their stand at a conference.

Tip 2. We're advised not to judge a book by its cover, but it's certain you're more likely to pick up a magazine that has an eye-catching cover. Ed told me that when the cover features a "best websites" or "hot tips" article it's usually a sales winner. Think about that when you're choosing the title for your next presentation or article.

Tip 3. Moorshead magazines are always looking for article proposals. Information for prospective authors, which should be read carefully, is at http://discoveringfamilyhistory.com/anotes_dfh.htm

Tip 4. The company have recently moved to less expensive offices and renegotiated their printing contract. Has your society asked for a rebid on your magazine printing costs recently? With the recession your Society may be paying too much. Keeping costs under control should be just as important for a genealogy society, especially one where membership is declining, as for a company like Moorshead.

Manitoba newspaper online archives

Earlier in the month M. Diane Rogers wrote an informative posting in her CanadaGenealogy or "Jane's Your Aunt" blog about Manitoba newspapers online. It was prompted by the Winnipeg Free Press now offering a pay service for its archive - back to 1874.

The part of Diane's item that caught my attention, and impressed me when I tried it, is the site for free historical Manitoba newspapers available through Manitobia.ca

Genealogy Canada at Gene-O-Rama

Elizabeth and Mario Lapointe, pictured with friend Evelyn Burke, at the Ottawa Branch OGS Gene-o-rama meeting on Saturday. Elizabeth was busy gathering material for her Genealogy Canada blog, for the OGS NewsLeaf and E-NewsLeaf and her writing for Ancestry.ca. Mario wields a mean camera -- this is by way of getting my own back!

I only got to one of the presentations, Friday evening's Pat Horton lecture by Bruce Curtis, although heard good reports on others. No doubt Elizabeth will have something to say on the presentations.

I was helping out in one or other of the computer rooms at different times. It's a thrill to help someone find information they've been seeking, especially when the search is successful.

Expect posts on news and new items I discovered at some of the vendors in coming days.

Guess who's missing?

JSTOR is a British "not–for–profit organization dedicated to helping the scholarly community discover, use, and build upon a wide range of intellectual content in a trusted digital archive. Our overarching aims are to preserve a record of scholarship for posterity and to advance research and teaching in cost–effective ways. We operate a research platform that deploys information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. We collaborate with organizations that can help us achieve our objectives and maximize the benefits for the scholarly community."

At the JSTOR web site you can read about the contents.

Someone, or more likely a committee, has judged that JSTOR isn't relevant for Canadian researchers who use Library and Archives Canada.

Testimony to this lack or relevance is given by this list of Canadian institutions that do subscribe.

• Acadia University
• Alberta College of Art and Design
• Alexander College
• Alliance and Nazarene University College
• Athabasca University
• Atlantic Baptist University
• Bank of Canada
• Bibliotheque et Archives nationales du Quebec
• Bishop's University
• Booth College
• Brandon University
• Branksome Hall
• Briercrest College & Seminary
• British Columbia Ministry of Forests
• Brock University
• Camosun College
• Canadian Agriculture Library
• Canadian Centre for Architecture
• Canadian Forces College
• Canadian Forces Virtual Library
• Canadian Forestry Service - Pacific Forestry Centre
• Canadian Forestry Service - Great Lakes Forestry Centre
• Canadian Forestry Service - Laurentian Forestry Centre
• Canadian Forest Service - Pacific Forestry Centre
• Canadian Mennonite University
• Carleton University
• College Sturgeon Heights Collegiate
• Colonel By Secondary School
• Columbia Power Corporation
• Concordia University
• Concordia University College of Alberta
• Dalhousie University
• Dawson College
• Department of Finance/Treasury Board Secretariat
• Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade
• Douglas College
• Ducks Unlimited Canada
• École de Hautes Études Commerciales
• Fort Frontenac Library
• Grande Prairie Regional College
• Grant MacEwan College
• Hill Crest Community School
• Human Resources and Social Development, Seniors and Pensions Policy Secretariat (HRSDC)
• Humber College Institute of Technology & Advanced Learning
• John Abbott College
• Keyano College
• Kwantlen University College
• King's University College
• Langara College
• Laurentian University
• Lakehead University
• Lakeland College
• Lester B. Pearson College
• Library of Parliament
• Malaspina University-College
• Marianopolis College
• McGill University
• McMaster University
• Memorial University of Newfoundland
• Michael Power / St. Joseph High School
• Mount Allison University
• Mount Royal College
• Mount Saint Vincent University
• National Gallery of Canada
• Newfoundland and Labrador Inland Fish & Wildlife Division
• Nipissing University
• Northern Lakes College
• Nova Scotia Agricultural College
• Okanagan College
• Ontario College of Art and Design
• Ontario Ministry of Finance
• Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Science and Information Resources Division
• Ontario Securities Commission
• Parks Canada
• Public Safety Canada, Library and Information Centre
• Privy Council Office
• Queen's University
• Quest University
• Red Deer College
• Redeemer University College
• Royal Conservatory of Music
• Royal Military College
• Royal Roads University
• Ryerson University
• Seneca College of Applied Arts & Technology
• Saint Mary's University
• Saskatchewan Legislative Library
• Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute
• Sheridan College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning
• Simon Fraser University
• St. Francis Xavier University
• Statistics Canada
• Thompson Rivers University
• Toronto French School
• Trent University
• Trinity Western University
• Tyndale University College & Seminary
• Université de Moncton
• Université de Montréal
• Université du Québec - École Nationale d'Administration Publique
• Université du Québec - Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique
• Université du Québec à Chicoutimi
• Université du Québec à Montréal
• Université du Québec à Trois-Riviéres
• Universite du Quebec en Abitibi-Temiscamingue
• Université Laval
• University College of Cape Breton
• University College of the Fraser Valley
• University of Alberta
• University of British Columbia
• University of Calgary
• University of Guelph
• University of Lethbridge
• University of Manitoba
• University of New Brunswick
• University of Northern British Columbia
• University of Ottawa
• University of Ontario Institute of Technology
• University of Prince Edward Island
• University of Regina
• University of Saskatchewan
• University of Toronto
• University of Victoria
• University of Waterloo
• University of Western Ontario
• University of Windsor
• University of Winnipeg
• Upper Canada College
• Vanier College
• Wilfrid Laurier University
• York House School
• York University

Search The Irish Times Archive FREE

To celebrate the paper's 150th anniversary search the archive of The Irish Times for free until April 5th.

More on the Ancestry/LMA database release

Chris Paton on his always informative Scottish Genealogy News and Events blog has an item coming out of the official launch event for the new London historical records series from Ancestry.

Apparently Ancestry senior vice-president Josh Hanna claims that when the Ancestry/LMA collaboration is complete in late 2010 one in two Britons will find a connection.

I was surprised it isn't much larger, but it depends what constitutes "a connection."

Adding to the confusion is the following from background material sent by Ancestry "In order to estimate the percentage of the population with London roots in four major countries (Australia, Canada, U.S. and the UK), more than 9,000 people who had researched their family history were surveyed using Zoomerang International. The percentages of people who found London ancestors (more than three generations back) in each country was as follows: Australia (70.8%), UK (60%), U.S. (55.6%) and Canada (59.6%). "

"Do you have London ancestors more than three generations back?" seems like an unlikely question to ask. Why the restriction? What about cousins? I've asked Ancestry for clarification on the question.

Death or Canada survivor?

The following is from Charmaine Lindsay

The City of Toronto Archives is sponsoring a panel discussion on the famine migration to Toronto in 1847 on Tuesday April 7th at 7 p.m.

Robert Kearns, Chairman of Ireland Park, would like to enlist the help of genealogists in determining the fate of the mother of the family portrayed in the docudrama "Death or Canada".

A newspaper article from the Toronto Globe, dated July 28, 1847, describes the sad case of the Willis family in which the mother was the sole surviving member of a family of 7. She ended up in Brantford and was the subject of a letter by the Reverend Mr. Usher.

If anyone can trace what happened to Mrs. Willis from this point onward I'm sure our panelists would greatly appreciate hearing about it. The article does not mention Mrs. Willis' first name but I believe it was Mary. Also, the film mentions that Mrs. Willis was taken into the family of an Anglican minister which may be the Rev. Mr. Usher mentioned above.

If anyone is able to find out anything about Mrs. Willis we would be thrilled to be able to mention it at the panel discussion on the 7th.

Gene-o-Rama reminder

Ottawa Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society holds its annual Gene-o-Rama event, starting on the evening of March 27th and continuing on Saturday the 28th, 2009

This year's speakers are Louise St Denis, Bruce Curtis, Mel Wolfgang, and Terry Findley in the main hall, and Elizabeth Kipp, Doug Hoddinott, Robert Wilkins and Sara Chatfield in the seminar room.

As usual the marketplace will be a significant attraction so bring a credit card. I shall be helping out some of the time in one of the computer/internet demonstration rooms.

The event, co-sponsored by the Ottawa Public Library is at Ben Franklin Place, 101 Centrepointe Drive in Ottawa (Nepean). The official website is here.

Ancestry.co.uk posts first LMA records

The first fruits of Ancestry's digitization agreement with the London Metropolitan Archives, three records sets, are now online for subscribers. They are a valuable addition for anyone with London ancestors who found themselves in need of the help of the Poor Law system.

London, England, Poor Law Records, 1840-1938
For the boroughs of Camden, Islington, Lambeth, Southwark, Tower Hamlets, Wandsworth and Westminster there are records from various poor law unions. For Camden, for example, there are records for Hampstead, Holborn and Saint Pancras Unions. Drilling down one step further, for Hampstead there are registers of Admission and Discharge, Apprenticeship Papers and Miscellaneous Register of Children.

Dipping into the Admission and Discharge register you might find a scan of a page showing that on September 16, 1911, a Saturday, at 6 (am?) Susan Withers was admitted, she was age 62 and a charwoman. She had slept at Notting Hill the previous night, had one penny in her possession, and was discharged three days later at 7:30 (am?).

These records are not (yet?) name indexed.

London, England, Births and Baptisms, 1834-1906
These are Board of Guardian Poor Law records from the boroughs of Camden, Islington, Lambeth. Southwark. Tower Hamlets. Wandsworth and Westminster. You can read a scan of a page showing that on the 4th of August 1868 at St Giles Workhouse a daughter was born to James and Elizabeth Adams. The daughter was named Elizabeth and baptized into the Church of England at Christ Church on the 30th of August. The father was a porter.

These records are name indexed.

London, England, Deaths and Burials, 1834-1934
These are also Board of Guardian records from the boroughs of Camden, Islington, Lambeth, Southwark, Tower Hamlets, Wandsworth and Westminster; fully name indexed with good quality images. You might read that on 22 January 1901 (the same day Queen Victoria died) James Sullivan, age 61, died at St Pancras workhouse and was buried at Finchley Cemetery.

Labourers on the Rideau Canal

The launch of this new book took place on Tuesday evening, accompanied by a generous helping of Irish music, poetry and good humour.

Labourers on the Rideau Canal tells the story of the people involved in its construction, not the engineering achievement it represented which has been Parks Canada's normal approach.

It's in three main parts. William Wylie from Parks Canada contributes a chapter "Poverty, Distress and Disease: Labour and the Construction of the Rideau Canal 1826 - 1832." Katherine McKenna writes on "Working Life at the Isthmas, Rideau Canal, 1827-1831." Bruce Elliott's chapter is "Tracing Your Rideau Canal Ancestors: Records of Labourers, Squatters and Tenants on the Rideau Canal."

It's the final chapter that will be of most interest to those researching their Rideau Canal ancestors. Although many people claim canal workers as ancestors most of those employed on the project, including more than 1,000 thought to have died, remain unidentified. But this chapter goes beyond the construction phase to cover records for people involved with the canal, or who lived adjacent to it, after construction. There is an amazing wealth of records, including some that mention Bruce's ancestors and that he only found out about after years working in the field.

It seems clear that the majority of workers on the Canal were not of Irish origin, although the Irish probably suffered disproportionately.

The book, which contains some nice reproductions of early canal watercolours by Thomas Burrowes, is published by Borealis Press. There's more information here.

Wills and Grants for England and Wales could be online

One of the most significant sources for English and Welsh family history not widely available are the Probate Calendar Indexes to Wills and Grants, issued since 1858.

Now John Briden HMCS (Her Majesty's Courts Service) is hoping to get the Probate Calendar Indexes to in England and Wales online. Immediate action is needed.

The index includes the full name and address of the deceased and date of death. See

http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/cms/1226.htm

He has put together a short questionnaire and would like to receive as many responses as possible by Friday 27th March.

Copy and paste the questions below into an email, add your answers and send your responses to john.briden@justice.gsi.gov.uk

Q1. If the probate calendar was available on the internet, would you use it?
Q2. If you would use it - how often would you use it?
Q3. What probate information would you be interested in seeing online, and why that particular information?
Q4. Would you like to order copies online, and be prepared to pay for them online?
Q5. Would you prefer to access the calendar online, but order and pay for copies by post, or by telephone?
Q6. Would you be prepared to pay a premium to the fee, in addition to the normal cost for a more immediate service?

via FFHS

Chickens in Newcastle

Google books has made available a scan of "A Descriptive and Historical Account of the Town and County of Newcastle Upon Tyne: Including the Borough of Gateshead" published in 1827. It's full of names starting with a six-page subscriber list, definitely worth a look if you have roots going in that direction.

One of the names in my family tree with links to that part of the world is Chicken. Mary Chicken was the daughter of Robert Chicken, much before the time for which the situation of St. John's Poor-house is described in this volume.

"This house occupies a remarkably airy and pleasant situation, near to the Lunatic Asylum. It was built by the parish upon a plot of the Warden's Close, for which a. small ground-rent is paid to the corporation. It has lately been enlarged and improved, and now contains every necessary convenience. The rooms and beds are uncommonly clean, and admit of a free circulation of air. Behind is a large flagged yard, with wash-house, bake-house, coal-house, dead-house, and every other requisite office. Further back is a lumber-yard, piggery, and three rooms, below which are two cells, the illegal use of which is discontinued. The paupers seem to be treated with proper humanity by Mr. Robert Chicken, the master, and also by Mrs. Chicken, who is evidently well adapted for the management of such an establishment. The present number of inmates is only 28 ; but 54 have been in the house at one time. The children are sent to the Sunday-school, and, during the week, to St. Nicholas* Enlarged Charity-school. The master reads on Sundays to those old or infirm people that cannot attend the church ; and the Methodists frequently visit the house. The " Bill of Fare" is as follows :—

Breakfasts, — Hasty pudding, and one gill of milk. Those whose stomachs are too delicate for this food get bread and milk, and the sick coffee.

Sunday, Dinner, — Boiled beef or mutton, with potatoes or vegetables, and broth.
Supper, — Broth and bread.

Monday, Dinner, — Cold meat, with potatoes, and occasionally broth.
Supper, — Bread and milk.

Tuesday, Dinner, — Plum puddings.
Supper, — Bread and milk.

Wednesday, Dinner, — Boiled mutton, with mashed potatoes, and broth.
Supper, — Bread and broth.

Thursday, Dinner, — Cold meat, with potatoes, &c.
Supper, — Bread and milk.

Friday, Dinner, — Bullock's head stewed, with potatoes.
Supper, — Bread and milk.

Saturday, Dinner, — Plum puddings,
Supper, — Bread and milk.

The bread used is a mixture of wheat flour and lye. The diet is occasionally varied with fish ; and the beef and mutton used are of the best kind. The house has been entirely exempted from any contagious disorders during the last ten years."

An archive of Pat Wohler's newspaper columns

Most of us have an organization we consider our "home." For the late Pat Wohler it was the Arnprior & McNab/Braeside Archives.

You can access all 228 of his Family Historian series of newspaper columns directly on line or through the main Archives homepage.

Thanks to Don Pounder for pointing out this valuable resource.

Prohibited degrees of kinship and autozygosity

The Table of Kindred and Affinity in the Church of England's Book of Common Prayer was probably one of the early influences responsible for my interest in family history. According to Wikipedia the table states that:

A Man may not marry his mother, daughter, adopted daughter, father's mother, mother's mother, son's daughter, daughter's daughter, sister, wife's mother, wife's daughter, father's wife, son's wife, father's father's wife, mother's father's wife, wife's father's mother, wife's mother's mother, wife's daughter's daughter, wife's son's daughter, son's son's wife, daughter's son's wife, father's sister, mother's sister, brother's daughter, sister's daughter.

A Woman may not marry with her father, son, adopted son, father's father, mother's father, son's son, daughter's son, brother, husband's father, husband's son, mother's husband, daughter's husband, father's mother's husband, mother's mother's husband, husband's father's father, husband's mother's father, husband's son's son, husband's daughter's son, son's daughter's husband, daughter's daughter's husband, father's brother, mother's brother, brother's son, sister's son.

Figure all that out and you've learnt a lot about family trees.

I don't recall that the reason for these prohibitions was explained to me. Perhaps vague talk of the dangers of inbreeding.

This came back to me, although not the detail, while reading, or attempting to read, the article Measures of Autozygosity in Decline: Globalization, Urbanization, and Its Implications for Medical Genetics published PLoS Genetics.

It shows that for two groups of Americans of European origin their DNA exhibits more genetic diversity the younger they are. As they put it, genetic changes occurring over the past century ... have been likely brought about by recent increases in mobility, urbanization, and population admixture. This "may help to slightly reduce the burden of rare recessive diseases in the future."

Remembering Pat Wohler

Genealogy is richer and poorer. Poorer as John Patrick (Pat) Wohler passed away on March 14 in his 70th year. Richer for the contributions he made to family history and his community.

Pat was a BIFHSGO member, had given a Society monthly meeting presentation and only last September chaired a session at the Society annual conference. He practically accused me of high-jacking him to fill that role, which he performed with accustomed dispatch and good humour!

For several years Pat published a genealogy column in a local paper. He was always ready to boost local family history. In January I noticed the column was not appearing and enquiries told me he was not well. Contacted by email he wrote "I have had a great time and have no regrets."

My condolences to his wife and family.

The following is extracted from the notice in the Ottawa Citizen.

WOHLER, John Patrick
Pat returned to God, exactly as he wished, peacefully at home, in the loving arms of his wife, Judy on Saturday, March 14, 2009, after more than 44 years of the most beautiful marriage. He embraced the end of this life with us as he had always lived-with faith, dignity and grace we can only hope ourselves. Born in Montreal, July 24, 1939, son of the late John and Hilda (Hannan) Wohler, he met his bride one fateful evening when a table was moved and so was he; together they lived in Yellowknife, St. John's, Fredericton and Nepean, before settling outside Carp, near Almonte, raising their loving family all the way. From the Museum of Man to Signal Hill to Algonquin College he was always a man who did what was right, not what was easy or fashionable. He was a scholar, curator, woodworker, author, beekeeper, genealogist, columnist, ("The Family Historian"), farmer, historian, volunteer, philosopher, and so much more...yet always, a teacher. As his physical abilities changed to the end, so did his pursuits to match; baking sprang into his day and his recipes are already treasured by his family, his spice cake is swiftly approaching legend. But to him, his most important roles were husband and father, followed so closely by brother and son. Pat was a man you couldn't measure easily; he was full of contradictions of the best kind, the kind that make you think about yourself, what you believe and what you should believe. Though he is remembered for his intelligence, compassion, faith, integrity, wit and profound wisdom, it is love for which he will always be known. His legacy is foremost, not in the works he created, but in the hearts of those who had the privilege of knowing him. He has been, and remains, a beacon for that which guided his life

Labourers on the Rideau Canal book launch

Black Country Burials

The March issue of Ancestors magazine has an article on resources for researching Black Country ancestors online. The Black Country is the area around Wolverhampton, including Dudley.

I found several people in my local Northwood surname one name study in an index of burials in seven Dudley cemeteries at www2.dudley.gov.uk/burial_records/regenq.asp. The cemeteries are: Brierley Hill, Dudley, Halesowen, Stourbridge, Gornal wood, Lye / Wollescote and Cradley.

Exceptionally, of the 14 Northwoods eight died at less than one year of age, the remainder in their 80s and 90s with the earliest of these burials in 1952. However, other names show dates much earlier with burials having started in 1859 at Cradley and Halesowen.

More nice online newspapers - but not in Canada eh!

Dick Eastman points to a new US newspaper site, for the state of Wyoming -- here. It appears to work very well -- I found far too many hits for several of the names I research, a number than could be reduced by more selective searching.

The Wyoming site "was made possible by the Wyoming Legislature, the support of Governor Dave Freudenthal, and the Library Services Technology Act federal program." Wyoming has a population of 522,830, less than that of the City of Ottawa, yet they can take this initiative where Canada, Ontario and Ottawa remain paralysed.

It's getting increasingly frustrating that Canada is falling so far behind. As was commented by the speaker at Tuesday's OGS Ottawa Branch meeting, the loss of the Canadian papers in Paper of Record, despite its technical problems, is a national disgrace.

LAC, which by mandate has the national lead role, continues to be missing in action. The Ontario Archives, with the mandate to lead for Ontario papers, seems to be totally preoccupied with their move -- the same seems to be the case locally for the Ottawa City Archives and Ottawa Public Library. And OGS seems not to care about the issue -- at least I've read nothing in the material that comes my way.