More movement at LAC

Late word, so far unconfirmed, is that Doug Rimmer, who has filled the post of Assistant Deputy Minister Programs and Services for Library and Archives Canada, has been reassigned to the Senior ADM post formerly occupied by the new Librarian and Archivist of Canada, Daniel J. Caron.

Brenan’s Funeral Home, Saint John, NB

Earlier this month the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick added an online database of records from Brenan’s Funeral Home from 1901 to 1959.

The amount of information available varies, and is often sparse in the early years. Below is a record from mid-period. Note the mention of a notice in the Times and Telegraph. It would be nice if all funeral homes made their records similarly available.

Date	1931.03.12
Name of deceased	Arthurs, Myrtle V.
Age	26
Sex	F
Marital status	Married
Spouse	Arthurs, Daniel
Residence	76 Exmouth Street
Place of Death
Place of Birth	Saint John, NB
Date of Birth
Occupation
Mother	Bassett, Agnes
Place of Birth	Saint John, NB
Father	Train, Lewis D.
Place of Birth	Saint John, NB
Interred	Fernhill Cemetery
Physician	Nugent & Peat, Drs.
Length
Notice	Times & Telegraph
Clergy	Philpots, Rev.
Comment	Ordered by husband, Daniel Arthurs
Cause of death

Ottawa Family History Fair

As a community we value the facilities provided for genealogy by the LDS year-round. Next Saturday the good folks at the Ottawa Ontario Stake Family History Centre are going the extra mile with Discovering Our Ancestors, a great opportunity to learn more and upgrade our skills.

There are three parallel sessions and a total of nine presentations, plus displays from several local organizations.

Full information for this free event is here.

The speakers, in three time slots, are: Richard Lelièvre, Barbara Berry, and Olivier Bilodeau; Lesley Anderson & Glenn Wright, Kyla Ubbink and Olivier Bilodeau (again); and Hariette Fried, John D. Reid and Diana Hall.

I'm having a hard time deciding between hearing Lesley & Glenn or Kyla, who's restoring a book for me. In the final time slot Hariette and Diana are both knowledgeable speakers either of whom I'm reluctant to miss. I'm offering an extra incentive to come hear me instead on Making the Most of Newspaper Archives, some free gifts!

That's this Saturday, 2 May 2009, 1:30 pm - 4:30 pm at 1017 Prince of Wales Drive, Ottawa, Ontario.

Irish Family History Workshop - call for proposals

The following is posted for the Toronto Branch of OGS

CALL FOR SPEAKERS

Irish Family History Workshop
8 August 2009
North York Central Library Auditorium
5120 Yonge Street, Toronto

The Ontario Genealogical Society, Toronto Branch and the Canadiana Department of the North York Central Library will be co-hosting a one-day workshop on Irish family history research.

We are looking for speakers who would like to be part of the workshop. Unfortunately the lead-time is short.

You are invited to submit brief proposals for lectures on any aspect of genealogical research about the Irish in Ontario, in Ireland, or in any part of the world.

Workshop attendees will be most interested in lectures emphasizing sources and research techniques that might be useful in their own research. We are looking for both very focused, and more general presentations, at various skill levels. Each session will be one hour long, including five or ten minutes for questions. Presentations should be accompanied with visual material—we can provide a computer projector or an overhead projector. Speakers will also be expected to provide a handout of supporting material (up to four pages) which we will photocopy for all registrants.

Speakers will be paid an honorarium of $100 per lecture, plus modest expenses for travel and accommodation.

Please submit your lecture proposals by e-mail. Please keep them brief and informal, at this point. (We may ask for more details later.) Be sure to include your mailing address, phone number, and a brief bio.

DEADLINE FOR PROPOSALS: 15 May 2009.

For more information about the Ontario Genealogical Society, Toronto Branch, please see: www.torontofamilyhistory.org.

To submit proposals or ask a question about the event, please contact the Irish Workshop Committee at info@torontofamilyhistory.org.

Access "Find My Past" at LAC

Quietly LAC has made the major UK database service Find My Past available free through one of the public computers in the Canadian Genealogy Centre.

The major database of interest for Canada is UK outbound passenger lists from 1890. Although these often don't contain as much information as the corresponding Canadian inbound lists they give you a second chance to find a passenger when the Canadian list is missing or illegible. They can also act as a finding aid for the Canadian lists, this assisted by the passenger number being the same on both lists.

For those with British, especially English, ancestry access to Find My Past is also useful for the census data. Some find it a better index that that provided by Ancestry. It also has some other unique databases including for London burials and the national Burial Index. Check them all out at findmypast.com.

Scottish Research Online and other new courses from Pharos

British based Pharos Teaching and Tutoring have announced some new courses.

According to a blog post by Chris Paton "Ruth Davies will be offering a course entitled Old Handwriting for Family Historians; Barbara Baker will be teaching Organising Your Genealogy; Kirsty Gray will be offering Discover Your Devon Ancestors; and yours truly also joins the team with Scottish Research Online."

On his course Chris writes "The Scottish Research Online course provides a detailed introduction to the key online databases used in Scottish family history research, as well as instruction on the most effective techniques to help you structure a plan for your research."

Find out about all the courses Pharos offers here.

US to Canada border crossings

Last week I copied here a press release from Ancestry.ca on a new database just made available containing the names of 1.6 million people crossing from the US to Canada between 1906 and 1935.

Graphed to the left are the year by year figures. When your ancestor crossed was it as part of a large movement, or against the tide?

I wasn't surprised to see the peak in 1912, the year of the greatest ever immigration to Canada, but was by the smaller peak at the start of the Depression. Does the sharp peak in 1917 may reflect the US entry into the Great War and men rushing to Canada to join up, or to avoid the US draft?

LAC's French language newspaper digitization

As regular readers know, perhaps all too well, I've been unhappy with Library and Archives Canada's approach and lack of action on newspaper digitization. Governments of several other countries are recognizing the value of newspapers as an historical resource and making good progress in putting digitized newspapers available online. Canada is not.

One of the bright spots I thought I detected was a commitment to digitization of some French language newspapers. Thanks to Pierre Gamache, Director General, Care of Collection, at LAC I recently received a list of what's being digitized. It's long, but mostly a single issue of each paper, often the first. The digitization is part of the Canadian Culture On-line program, which appears to be more focused on demonstration and exhibition than providing a substantial resource for the researcher. Pity.

Here's the list, with format: name of paper, location, issue(s):

L'abeille canadienne Montréal, QC 11 août 1843
L'alliance Hull, QC 2 oc 1886
L'alliance St-Jean, QC 30 mars 1893
L'ami de la religion et de la patrie Québec, QC 28 f 1849
L'ami de l'ouvrier Québec, QC 11 mars 1911
L'ami du peuple Joliette, QC 29 n 1889
L'ami du peuple Trois-Rivières, QC 21 f 1901
L'ami du peuple Chatham, ON 1 oc 1908 (V.1, n. 1)
L'ami du peuple Montréal, QC 17 n 1838
L'ami du peuple, de l'ordre, et des lois Montréal, QC 28 n 1838; 6 et 24 jl 1839, 24 ao 1839; 11 avril 1840
L'annonceur Trois-Rivières, QC 2 mars 1901
L'annonceur : commercial, industrie, agriculture, colonisation Joliette, QC 23 jl 1898 (V.1, n. 1)
L'annonceur : commercial, industrie, agriculture, colonisation Joliette, QC 23 juillet 1898 L'artisan Québec, Qc 28 mai 1844
L'artisan Québec, Qc 5 ja , 9 ja 1888
L'artisan St-Hyacinthe, QC 31 jl 1890 (V.1, n. 1)
L'association Québec, QC Prospectus, 10 mai, 5 juillet 1890
L'avant-garde Québec, QC 13 av 1898
L'avenir Québec, QC 27 mai 1893
L'avenir Saint-Boniface, MB 1 mars 1916 (V.1, n. 1)
L'avenir de Hull Hull, QC 7 av 1917 (V.1, n.1)
L'avenir de Jonquière Jonquière, QC 18 mai 1911 (V.1, n.1)
L'avenir de l'ouest Winnipeg, MB 31 ao 1905 (V.1, n.1)
L'avenir de Maisonneuve Montréal, QC 6 juin 1896 (V.1, n.1)
L'Avenir de Maisonneuve Montréal, QC 6 juin 1896
La Bataille Montréal, QC 14 d 1895
La Bataille Québec, QC 28 n 1906
La Beauce Ste-Marie, QC prospectus 19 d 1891, 31 d 1891
La Beauce : journal politique et littéraire Ste-Marie, QC Prospectus, 1er, no.1, 19,31 déc.1891 Le bourdon Saint-Hyacinthe, QC 14 jl 1866 (V.1, n.1)
Le Bourdon St-Hyacinthe, QC 14 juillet 1866
Le bourru Québec, QC 2 s 1859
Le bourru Longueil, QC 8 aoû 1885 (V.1, n.1)
Bulletin de Mardi-Gras Québec, QC 28 oc 1911 (V.1, n.1)
La campagne St-Jérôme, QC 25 ao 1885 prospectus
Le canadien Montréal, QC 13, 15, 18, 22, ao 1856
Le canadien Chatham, ON 4 juin 1906 (V.1, n.1)
Le canadien Montréal, QC 14 mai 1808 v.2, n. 26 ; 2 jl 1808 v.2, n. 33 ; 3 mars 1810 v.4, n. 14 ; 10 mars 1810 v. IV, n. 15 treated ; 14 mars 1810 v.4, n.16 (2 copies); Mr 16, 1810 Special with seal, 12 mars 1823 v.4, n. 8 pp. 58-62.
Le canadien Montréal, QC 19 f 1834; 16 mai 1834; 17 n 1834; 16 f 1835; ; 25 oc 1839; 30 oc 1839; 6 d 1841; 4 mars 1842; 23 s 1843
Le canadien indépendent Québec, QC 21 mai 1849 (V.1, n.1)
Le Canayen Québec, QC avril 1918 (V.1, n.1)
Le Canayen Québec, QC avril 1918
Le castor Québec, QC 8 mai 1845
Le citoyen Saint-Boniface, MB 23 ja 1919 (V.1, n.1)
Le clarion Montréal, QC 7 d 1889 (V.1, n.1)
Le clarion Québec, QC 30 ja 1897 (V.1, n.1)
Le collégien Saint-Hyacinthe, QC 1 oc 1875
Le colon Saint-Sauveur, QC 23 jn 1884
Combat Montréal, QC 1 f 1896 (V.1, n.1)
Concorde L'Orignal, ON 5 oc 1899 (V.1, n.1)
Concorde Ottawa, ON 25 mai 1912
Corneille du nord St-Lin, QC v.1.n.1 d 1877
Courrier Montréal, QC 10 s 1899 (V.1, n.1)
Le courrier : journal du dimanche Montréal, QC 10 sept. 1899
Courrier canadien Saint-Jérôme, QC 3 n 1892 (V.1, n.1)
Courrier canadien : journal du dimanche : politique, littéraire, artistique, mondain, sportique Montréal, QC 11 mars 1900
Courrier canadien : journal du dimanche : politique, littéraire, artistique, mondain, sportique Montréal, QC 11 mars 1900
Courrier de Fraserville Rivière-du-Loup, QC 16 n 1887 (V.1, n.1)
Courrier de Montmagny Montmagny, QC 15 oc 1881 (V.1, n.1)
Courrier de Saint-Hyacinthe Saint-Hyacinthe, QC 7 juillet 1863
Courrier de Saint-Jean Saint-Jean, QC s 1887 prospectus
Le courrier de Saint-Jean : journal politique, commercial, agricole et historique : organe des comtés de Saint-Jean, d'Iberville et de Napierville Saint-Jean, QC Prospectus, sept. 1887 Courrier de Valleyfield Valleyfield, QC 31 ja 1907 (V.1, n.1)
Courrier des Laurentides St. Lin, QC 1 oc 1887 (V.1, n.1)
Courrier du Canada Québec, Qc 27 mr 1863 ; 14 s 1864 ; 1 ao 1870 ; 8 s 1875 ; 26 jl 1876 ; 22 jl 1885 ; 5 oc 1892
Courrier du Canada Québec, QC
Cravache Lévis, QC 29 jl 1899 (V.1, n.1)
Cri de l'est Matane, QC 26 mai 1911 (V.1, n.1
Les débats Québec, QC 22 mr 1862 ; 3 d 1889
Défricheur L'Avenir, QC 27 n 1862 (V.1, n.1) ; 24 mai 22 n 1865
Défricheur de Lac Saint-Jean Roberval, QC 24 oc 1901 (V.1, n.1)
Les dépêches Montréal, QC 28 av 1907 (V.1, n.1)
Le devoir Montréal, QC 10 ja 1910
Le devoir Montréal, QC 5 avr 1913
Le drapeau libéral Montréal, QC 9 d 1893 (V.1, n.1)
Le drapeau national Ottawa, ON 28 f, 2,3,4 mars 1891
Le drapeau national Windsor, ON 10 n 1891 (V.1, n.1)
Le droit Ottawa, ON 27 mars 1913 (V.1, n.1) + prospectus (digitized)
L'Echo de Fraserville Rivière-du-Loup, QC 8 mai (prospectus) 15 mai (V.1, n.1)1884
L'Echo de la Gatineau Pointe-Gatineau, QC 6 juillet, 7 s 1889 (first and last issues)
L'Echo de Québec Québec, QC 7 ja 1905
Echo des deux-montagnes Sainte-Scholatique, QC 6 n 1890 (V.1, n.1)
L'Echo d'Ottawa Ottawa, ON 6 juin 1896 (V.1, n.1)
L'Echo du peuple Québec, QC 29 n 1880 (V.1, n.1)
L'Éclaireur Saint-Boniface, MB 24 f 1908 (V.1, n.1)
Ere nouvelle Trois-Rivières, QC 2, 13, 16, 20, 23, 27, 30 oc; 6, 10, 13, 17, 24, 27 n; 4 d 1885 Étendard Montréal, QC 1 mai 1883 (V.1, n.1) ; 24 jn 1884 Spécial Saint-Jean Baptiste
Montréal, QC
L'Étincelle Québec, QC 4 s 1909 (V.1, n.1)
L'étudiant Québec, QC 20 n 1915
Évangéline Digby/Moncton Paraît depuis le 23 nov. 1887; ne paraît plus après le 29 juillet 1937.
Évangéline Digby, NS
L'Événement sportif Québec, QC 23 d 1911 (V.1, n.1)
Feu-follet, journal qui blage Lévis, QC 23 avril 1892 (V.1, n.1)
Le feuille d'érable Montréal, QC 1 mai 1880 perspectus
Franc parleur Québec, QC 5 oc 1913 (V.1, n.1)
Gazette d'Arthabaska Victoriaville, QC 23 n 1907 (V.1, n.1)
Gazette de Québec Québec, QC 22 s 1900 (V.1, n.1)
Gazette de Sorel Sorel, QC 1 mars 1859
Gazette des Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières, QC 25 juin 1817 prospectus
L'Hebdomadaire Lévis, QC 16 f 1882 (V.1, n.1)
Impartial Longueuil, QC 22 ja 1885 (V.1, n.1)
Impartial Tignish, PE 22 jn 1893 (V.1, n.1)
L'impartial Laprairie, QC d 1834; [1 ja 1835]
Indépendance canadienne Trois-Rivières, QC 13 oc 1894 (V.1, n.1)
Indépendant Montréal, QC 3 jn 1890 (V.1, n.1)
Interprète Montebello, QC 20 ao 1886 (V.1, n.1)
Le Jean-Baptiste Montréal, QC 9, 11, 27 n 1840
Journal de Fraserville Rivière-du-Loup, QC 4 d 1884
Journal de Gracefield Gracefield, QC 24 oc 1904 ( ?) (V.1, n.1)
Journal de l'exposition Trois-Rivières, QC 15 ao 1896
Journal de Longueil Longueil, QC 22 ja 1892
Journal de Rimouski Rimouski, QC 10 jn ; 6 juillet 1899
Journal des campagnes: édition hebdomadaire Québec, QC ? 1882
Journal des campagnes: édition hebdomadaire Québec, QC ? 1883
Journal des étudiants Montréal, QC 12 oc 1895 (V.1, n.1)
Journal des rivières Bedford, QC 20 s 1895 (V.1, n.1)
Journal du peuple Montréal, QC 2 f 1895 (V.1, n.1)
Journal officiel de la Garde Indépendante Champlain Québec, QC 24 d 1898 perspectus Journal populaire Montréal, QC [29 mars 1894] (V.1, n.1)
Québec, QC Justice : organe officiel de l'ouvrier = workman's official organ Québec, QC 8 avril 1916 Justice : organe officiel de l'ouvrier = workman's official organ Québec, QC 8 avril 1916 (V.1, n.1)
Lac Saint-Jean Roberval, QC 14 ja 1898 (V.1, n.1)
Le Liberal Montréal, QC 17 jn -14 n 1837
Libre parole illustré Montréal, QC 22 ao 1896 (V.1, n.1)
Loup-garou Montréal, QC 6 f 1882 (V.1, n.1)
Le loup-garou : journal qui court les villes et les campagnes Montréal, QC 6, 20 févr.-26 mars 1892 ; 18 mars 1893
Luten Montréal, QC 11 f 1897 (V.1, n.1)
Matin Montréal, QC 13 ja 1892 (V.1, n.1)
Messager comique Ottawa, ON 6 n 1885 (V.1, n.1)
Le messager de Sorel Sorel, QC 21 févr. 1872
Le messager de Sorel Sorel, QC À vérifier
Métis Montréal, QC 2 mai 1885 (V.1, n.1) ; 23 mai 1885 photo dernier numéro
Mineur Thetford Mines, QC 23 avril 1910 (V.1, n.1) ; 30 ja 1912
La Mitraille Québec, QC 28 oc 1907 (V.1, n.1)
Moniteur acadien Shédiac, NB 1 jl 1892
Le Moniteur de Lévis Lévis, QC 5 mai 1893 (V.1, n.1)
La nation Saint-Jérôme, QC 18 jl 1901 (V.1, n.1)
La nation Montréal, QC 13 s 1911 (V.1, n.1) et aussi dernier numéro
La nation Montréal, QC [11/13] sept.1911
Le Nôtre Montréal, QC 10 ao 1895 (V.1, n.1)
Le nôtre Montréal, QC 10 août 1895
Le Nouveau Monde. Journal Catholique Montréal, QC 12 n 1867; 12 ja, 22 s, 1868
Le Nouveau Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières, QC 17 jl 1908 (V.1, n.1)
Nouvelle France Montréal, QC 18 avril 1896 (V.1, n.1)
Nouvelles Montréal, QC 1 s 1895 (V.1, n.1)
Nouvelles politiques Ottawa, ON 14 mai 1914 (V.1, n.1)
Nouvelliste de Saint-Boniface Saint-Boniface, QC 14 mai 1907 (V.1, n.1)
Observateur Montréal, QC 6 mai 1899 (V.1, n.1)
L'observateur : journal indépendant hebdomadaire illustré Montréal, QC 6 mai 1899 Observateur municipal Montréal, QC 21 juillet 1894 (V.1, n.1)
L'Observateur municipal Montréal, QC 21 juillet 1894
Ontario français Ottawa, ON 2 mai 1902 (V.1, n.1)
L'opinion Montréal, QC 12 oct. 1905
L'opinion Montréal, QC 12 oct. 1905
L'Opinion : politique et littérature Montréal, QC 7 - 21 octobre 1908
L'Ouest Canada Winnipeg, MB 28 f 1906 (V.1, n.1)
L'Ouest canadien Edmonton, AB hebdomadaire 3 f 1898 (V.1, n.1)
L'Ouest canadien Edmonton, AB 2 fois par semaine 7 jan 1911 (V.1, n.1)
Edmonton, AB
L'Outaouais Hull, QC 10 oc 1892
L'Outaouais Hull, QC 10 octobre 1892
L'ouvrier Montréal, QC 29 n 1883 (V.1, n.1)
L'ouvrier Québec, QC 20 oc 1888 (V.1, n.1)
L'ouvrier Montréal, QC 19 ja 1908 (V.1, n.1)
La paix Lac Megantic, QC 21 jn 1902 (V.1, n.1)
Prince Albert, SK
Patriote de l'Ouest Prince Albert, SK 22 août 1910 (V.1, n.1)
Petit journal Québec, QC 24 mai 1881 (V.1, n.1)
Le petit journal Québec, QC 24 mai 1881
Petite presse Sherbrooke, QC 15 mars 1899 (V.1, n.1)
Le Peuple Sherbrooke, QC 18 n 1890 (V.1, n.1)
Le peuple Rivière-du-Loup, QC 2 s 1897 (V.1, n.1)
Pionnier Nominingue, QC 8 juin 1906 (V.1, n.1)
Pionnier canadien Hull, QC 3 f 1904 (V.1, n.1)
Le pionnier de Sherbrooke Sherbrooke, QC 13 oc 1866
Sherbrooke, QC
Polichinelle Montréal, QC 22 ja 1858 (V.1, n.1)
Polichinelle Montréal, QC 22 janv. 1858
Le populaire Montréal, QC 7 mai 1838; 18 jn 1838
La presse Montréal, QC prospectus 15 s, 2 oc 1863
La presse Québec, QC 23 avr 1883 (V.1, n.1)
La presse régionale Repentigny, QC 4 ja 1900 (V.1, n.1)
La Presse-bulletin Montréal, QC 4 janv. 1900
La Presse-bulletin Montréal, QC 4 janv. 1900 (1re année, no 1)
Le Progrès Ottawa, ON 7 ao 1858
Le Progrès Nicolet, QC 17 août 1900 (V.1, n.1)
Le Progrès Hull, QC 7 ja 1911 (V.1, n.1)
Progrès Montréal, QC 26 n 1898 (V.1, n.1)
Le progrès de Louiseville Louiseville, QC 26 s, 3 oc 1899
Le progrès municipal Montréal, QC 29 ja 1891 (V.1, n.1)
Le Progrès municipal Montréal, QC 29 janv. 1891
Le progrès, journal du commerce Montréal, QC 27 jn 1846
Le progrès: journal dévoué aux intérêts municipaux de la ville de Hull Hull, QC 7 janv. 1911 Le progrès: journal dévoué aux intérêts municipaux de la ville de Hull Hull, QC 7 janv. 1911 Le protecteur du Saguenay Chicoutimi, QC 17 s 1896 (V.1, n.1)
Protectioniste St-Jean, QC 7, (V.1, n.1)14, 21, 28 jl, 4, 11, 18 août 1882
Le protectionniste : journal politique, littéraire, agricole et commercial St-Jean, QC 7 juil.-18 août 1882
La province Québec, QC 4 mai 1917
Provincial Québec, QC 2 d 1879 prospectus
Le Québec Québec, QC 28 oc 1899 (V.1, n.1)
Le Québécois Québec, QC 20 n 1909 (V.1, n.1)
La Quotidienne Montréal, QC 30 n (V.1, n.1), 13, 16, 19, 21, 28 d 1837 ; 31 mai, 7, 6, jn, 7, 10, 12, 14, 17, 20, 24, 28, 31 jl, 2, 4, 7, 9, 11,14, 17 août, 14 s 1838 ; 19, n 7, 10, 14, 24 jl, 7 août, 28 s, 5, 18, 20 oc 1838
Le ralliement Québec, QC 3 s 1910 (V.1, n.1)
Le ralliement Saint-Joseph-de-Beauce, QC 29 f 1912 (V.1, n.1)
Ralliement Clarence Creek, ON 11 n 1895 (V.1, n.1), 11 mars 1897
Le ralliement : journal ouvrier Québec, QC 3 sept. 1910
Le rappel Montréal, QC 14 s 1902 (V.1, n.1)
La réforme Québec, QC 14 jn 1882 (V.1, n.1)
Le régional Brampton, ON printemps 1900
Le répos du travailleur Montréal, QC 1 s 1890
Le reveil Hull, QC 29 d 1892 (V.1, n.1)
Le réveil : journal hebdomadaire [Hull] Hull, QC 29 déc. 1892
Une revue politique Ottawa, ON 15 avril 1896 (V.1, n.1)
Richelieu Sorel, QC 2 jl 1873 (V.1, n.1)
Semaine agricole Ottawa, ON 14 août 1900 (V.1, n.1)
Semaine canadien Montréal, QC 17 n 1854
Semaine politique Québec, QC 7 mr 1894
Sentinel de Prescott Hawkesbury, ON 17 f 1911 (V.1, n.1)
La sentinelle Québec, QC 1885
La sentinelle Nosbonsing, ON 23 juin 1894 (V.1, n.1)
La sentinelle du peuple Québec, QC 9, 26 amrs, 5 avril 1850
Le signal Montréal, QC 14 n 1896 (V.1, n.1)
Le soir Montréal, QC 2 ja 1883 (V.1, n.1)
Le soir Québec, QC 19 s 1884 ((V.1, n.1)
Le soleil Québec, QC 28 d 1896 (V.1, n.1)
Le sourire Québec, QC 3 mai 1904 (V.1, n.1)
Le spectateur Hull, QC 4 mai 1889 (V.1, n.1)
Montréal, QC
Spectateur canadien, gazette française de Montréal, journal de littérature, de politique et de commerce Montréal, QC 14 oc 1813; 1 jn 1822; 6 jl, 12 oc 1822
Le temps Ottawa, ON 3 n 1894 (V.1, n.1)
Le temps Montréal, QC 25 n 1898 ; [14] 15 sept 1899
Touriste La Malbaie, QC 3 juillet 1885 (V.1, n.1)
Le touriste : journal quotidien Murray Bay [La Malbaie] QC 3 juil. 1885
Trait d'union Montréal, QC 1 f 1887 (V.1, n.1)
Trappeur Saint-Boniface, MB 13 avril 1887 (V.1, n.1)
Travailleur Chicoutimi, QC 25 mai 1905 (V.1, n.1)
Travailleur Québec, QC 4 avril 1912 prospectus
Travailleur de Lévis Lévis, QC 19 f 1890 (V.1, n.1)
Tribune Québec, QC 6 n 1886 prospectus
Tribune Saint-Hyacinthe, QC 16 mars 1888 prospectus
L'union de Cantons de l'est Arthabaska, QC 14 d 1916 (50 ième anniversaire)
L'union libéral Québec, QC 3 mars 1888 prospectus
Union nationale Montréal, QC 7 oc 1855 ; 9 oc 1865
L'Unioniste Québec, QC 19 mai 1917 (V.1, n.1)
Vallée de la Chaudière Ste-Marie Beauce, QC 29 ja 1891 (V.1, n.1)
La vallée de la Chaudière Ste-Marie, Beauce, QC 29 janv. 1891
La vallée de l'Ottawa-Hull Hull, QC 20 oc 1884 (V.1, n.1); 21 mai 1890
Vérité Ottawa, ON 14 s 1878 (V.1, n.1)
Vérité Québec, QC 14 jl 1881 (V.1, n.1)
Québec, QC
Vidette Broadview, SK Mr 29, 1894
La vigie Québec, QC 30 jn 1906 (V.1, n.1)
La voix de l'Outaouais Hull et Bryson, QC 16 jl 1902 (V.1, n.1)
La Voix de l'Outaouais Hull et Bryson, QC 16 juil. 1902
Voix du Golfe Rimouski, QC 25 jn 1867 (V.1, n.1)
Voix du Golfe Rimouski, QC 17 ao 1869 fragments
Voix du peuple Louiseville, QC 24 mars 1890 (V.1, n.1)
Voix du peuple Longueil, QC 30 oc 1900 (V.1, n.1)
Voix du peuple Hull, QC 14 ja 1905 (V.1, n.1)
Voix du peuple Québec, QC 21 d 1907 (V.1, n.1)
La voix du peuple : [Hull] journal libéral hebdomadaire, paraissant le samedi Hull, QC 14 janv. 1905
La voix du peuple : journal des ouvriers et des familles Québec, QC 21 déc. 1907
Voix libre Québec, Qc 5 jan 1901 (V.1, n.1)
Le voleur Québec, QC 2 jn 1881 (V.1, n.1)
Vrai canadien Ottawa, ON programme nationale ; juin 1896 (V.1, n.1)
Vrai loup-garou Montréal, QC 14 mai 1892 (V.1, n.1); 2 oc 1897

FreeBMD Updated

The FreeBMD Database was updated on Fri 24 Apr 2009 and currently contains 166,567,856 distinct records (214,353,985 total records). Progress is now being made into the 1930s.

Remember, if you don't find an index record for an event you think took place it may in a section not yet extracted; there are still significant gaps in the 1920s, and several earlier.

Wrapup - 10th New England Regional Genealogical Conference

I stayed for only one of the three Saturday afternoon presentations, and am glad I did. James L. Hansen, who had been the Banquet speaker, a reference librarian and genealogical specialist at the Library of the Wisconsin Historical Society since 1974, spoke on newspapers.

His was the only talk I attended which did not use any visuals. Everyone else used PowerPoint. Unlike most of the talks on newspapers I've been at he emphasized the use for vital events, especially deaths. I'll borrow a couple of his ideas for my newspaper presentation next Saturday afternoon at the Ottawa Family History Centre on Prince of Wales Drive.

No doubt things went wrong at the conference, they always do, but they`re usually much more visible to the organizers than the attendees. That was the case in Manchester, it was a most enjoyable conference.

Some lessons for conference organizers I picked up:

1. I liked the way door prizes were handled. Too often the prize session is dragged out and people end up with a prize they don`t want. In Manchester each registrant was issued with a sheet of tickets on which they wrote their name and contact information. At the stand of each exhibitor who was offering a prize was a plastic tub where you could deposit a ticket. That way you only enter for the draw for a prize you want.

2. The organizers took evaluation seriously. There was an evaluation sheet for each session including commenting on the presenter`s performance. There was also an overall conference evaluation, and the option to complete that online.

3. The only refreshment included with the registration was water, which kept the registration cost down and avoided mess. As the conference was in a hotel and adjacent conference facility, and convenient to downtown, there were lots of refreshment and meal opportunities. Extra cost options included hosted lunches and a banquet.

4. For those of us not staying at the hotel there was discount daytime parking on site.

5. Each day there were opportunities to peruse the exhibits without sessions at the same time. This was good in encouraging people to visit the marketplace. However, it started at 11am, and was followed by lunch. It meant there was only time for two morning presentations. I`d prefer an additional morning presentation and one less in the afternoon.

6. Although there were printed versions of the conference syllabus I took a CD version and used a small booklet to help select presentation to attend.

7. There was a news sheet published each day including conference presentation changes, lists of prizewinners and the weather forecast.

10th New England Regional Genealogical Conference - Saturday

I celebrated a birthday, not mine, by attending two talks by Colleen Fitzpatrick.

The first, Hand in the Snow, was a forensic investigation of the identity of a frozen arm found in a snow bank, thought to be the victim of a 1944 Alaska air-crash. It involved DNA identification, fingerprints, genealogy and a healthy helping of luck.

The second, CSI meets Roots, was an overview of squeezing the juice out of photographs, traditional database records and DNA.

Then there was an hour for the marketplace, which was a bit quieter than the first two days. LAC's Sylvie Tremblay (not her birthday) continued to be busy. I never passed her stand without seeing someone picking Sylvie's brain, usually with someone else waiting in line. It was a surprise to me that so many of the conversations I overheard at the meeting involved Canadian ancestry.

There are three sessions in the afternoon, two of which I may not stay for. I've been very impressed by the organization of the meeting and the general quality of the presentations.

10th New England Regional Genealogical Conference - Friday pm

Conference sessions resumed after a dedicated hour for the marketplace and either a long lunch break, or the option of one of several hosted lunches.

Her background as a former university lecturer was evident in Donna Walcovy's relaxed approach to her topic "Symbolism on Gravestones." These included skulls, winged skulls, crossed bones used by early Puritan settlers. The sunburst symbol was said to have been popular around the War of 1812; followed by weeping willows; urns; flowers, ferns, vines and wreaths, with a broken flower indicating a child; trees and shafts of wheat; fingers pointing at a book or to heaven (or in one instance the other direction); shaking hands; ships, anchors, chains and flags, human and animal forms; and various symbols used by fraternal societies and the military.

I then ventured into a presentation by Thomas W Jones, one of the most respected Certified Genealogists in the US, on "What is the Standard of Proof in Genealogy?" He reviewed the five components of the standard and illustrated them with four examples. While the presentation was not as entertaining as the previous ones I'd attended he held the audience with the examples, despite it being a challenge to keep track of all the information presented.

Another presentation by Colleen Fitzpatrick, who was substituting for a colleague, was the final one I attended on Friday. "Lying with Wolves: the Misha Defonseca Holocaust Fraud" was the story of a woman who invented a story of wandering through Europe during WW2, and how the truth was discovered. For more of the story Google "Misha Defonseca". The maxim "There's a bit of truth in every story" was amended to add "if you can't find the truth check out the storyteller." The presentation was insightful and compellingly told.

Daniel J Caron Canada's new Librarian and Archivist

According to a release from Library and Archives Canada on behalf of departing Librarian and Archivist Ian Wilson "The Prime Minister of Canada has just announced the appointment of my successor, Daniel J. Caron.
......
As announced by the Prime Minister of Canada, I have been named Librarian and Archivist of Canada Emeritus. In this role I will continue my work as the President of the International Council on Archives."

Mr. Daniel J. Caron is a native of Sainte-Foy, Quebec. He has a Bachelor's degree and a Master's degree in Economics from Université Laval, and a Doctorate in Applied Human Sciences from Université de Montréal (public law and strategic management). Over the course of his career, Mr. Caron has gained extensive experience as a researcher, speaker, professor and manager working with large operations teams within the federal government.

Mr. Caron began his career as an economist with Québec City Hall. In 1982, he joined the federal public service, working first in Ottawa with the Bureau of Competition Policy and the National Museums of Canada, and then in New Brunswick with the Regional Office of Employment and Immigration Canada. Upon his return to Ottawa in 1987, he worked for the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and in 1995, joined the Economic Development Agency for the Regions of Quebec in Montreal. In 1999, Mr. Caron returned to Ottawa and assumed the position of Director, Innovation and Quality Services Division, for the Treasury Board Secretariat, before joining Human Resources Development Canada as Director General of Administrative Services. In April 2002, he joined the Treasury Board Secretariat's Leadership Network to serve as its Executive Director of Operations and Implementation. Since April 2003, Mr. Caron has been with Library and Archives Canada.

10th New England Regional Genealogical Conference - Friday am

Friday morning saw two sessions. Starting at 8:30 am 300 people were in a packed ballroom listening to Daniel M Lynch speaking on "Google Your Family Tree." He is author of a book by the same title that sells in Canada through Moorshead Magazines.

The talk covered the first 1-1/2 chapters of the book. He dissected the Google results page, and the result for a particular hit. His three favourite tips for searching were to examine the cached version of a page where the search terms are highlighted which makes it easier to spot the relevant segments; use the quotation format "search term" to obtain more exact results; use wildcards like "John * Reid" which will find John D Reid as well as John Reid; and use the ~ which finds synonyms, so ~genealogy finds hits with "family history", ancestry, roots and similar.

Another of his suggestions was to start with a broad search, then refine using progressive filters.

The second talk was by Megan Smolenyak on "Reverse Genealogy", techniques for moving forward in time. She gave a prioritized list of the most useful resources, census index, phone directories, online images, online newspaper archives (the most rapidly rising in utility), the SSDI (US only), online vital records, search engines, and other online sources.

I had a chat with her later, and she declined to say whether she was involved with the US version of Who Do You Think You Are?

10th New England Regional Genealogical Conference - Thursday

This regional genealogy meeting got fully underway on Thursday afternoon. As a meeting in New England can conveniently draw on a population larger than that of Canada it's no surprise that more than 700 people registered. A full registration of $135 US for two and a half days makes the conference a bargain.

On Thursday afternoon there were three slots with a choice of six presentations in each slot. I chose three informative and entertaining looking presentations and wasn't dissappointed.

First I listened to Utah genealogist Barry Ewell on "How to Research and Write Personal Histories That the Family Will Want to Read." The presentation was from the heart, he spoke about researching his mother's life, with numerous hints on interviewing family and friends. His best tip was to use what he called Reversals, asking an open question, then following up twice with Oh!, "Ah!, Tell me More, Which Means, Meaning! -- designed to seek further elaboration on the subject.

Second I attended a talk by Sandra MacLean Clunies, a Certified Genealogist from Washington D.C. and former winner of a genealogy writing contest. She spoke on "Writing Family History - adding texture to text." Again the talk was full of anecdotes from her own family history.

Finally, prior to the opening of the exhibit hall, I listened to Colleen Fitzpatrick on "You Will Never Look at Your Old Photos the Same Way." The information she and her colleagues can squeeze out of a photograph is amazing, and the presentation is simply fun. You had to be there. Attendees at the BIFHSGO conference in September will have the chance to hear Colleen who will be giving several presentations.

Electronic magazine distribution followup

This is further to my recent posting suggesting OGS provide an electronic distribution option for Families and NewsLeaf, and so eliminate the need for a fee increase.

Dick Eastman has a post, referring to a post by Randy Seaver, advocating the benefits of not having the all those old magazines cluttering up your house.

Yes, you can always recycle them, but it makes more environmental sense not to print them in the first place. Keep the burden of storing them where it belongs, in a library, an electronically accessible library.

1000 for St George

Today, 23 April is St George's Day, patron Saint of England, and also the 1000th posting on this blog.

I'm heading off to a conference, about which I hope to blog if the the Internet Gods so will it. Maybe St George will intercede on my behalf. To mark the the day here is a link to a previous post on Ottawa's St George's Society.

The following is a press release from Ancestry.ca

ANCESTRY.CA RELEASES BORDER CROSSINGS FROM U.S. TO CANADA FROM 1908-1935

More than 1.6 million names indexed of immigrants who moved across the U.S. border to Canada

(Toronto, ON – April 22, 2009) Ancestry.ca, Canada’s leading family history website, today launched online the indexed and fully searchable Border Crossings: From U.S. to Canada, 1908-1935, which contains more than 1.6 million names from border crossing documents captured at almost 200 entry points over a 27-year period.

The release of this collection is of great significance to many Canadians whose ancestors immigrated to Canada through the U.S. in the early 20^th century. Border crossing records are the official and only immigration records for those individuals who crossed from the U.S.

Along with the Canadian Passenger Lists, 1865-1935, which were launched in September 2008 and contain more than 7.2 million names, the Border Crossings: from U.S. to Canada, 1908-1935 represent the most comprehensive collection of Canadian immigration records ever assembled online.

Now for the first time Canadians will be able to search for relatives online by first and/or last name, date and port of arrival, date and place of birth, gender and also by keyword.

Movement between the U.S. and Canadian borders wasn’t always as a sophisticated as it is today, with security teams closely monitoring border movement and new immigrants formally declaring their entry to Canada with numerous documents.

Prior to 1908, the Canadian government didn’t keep track of who entered Canada from the U.S. and people could move freely between the borders undetected. However, as movement between the neighboring countries increased, the Canadian government formed the Border Inspection Service and began recording the names of people entering Canada to live permanently.

A variety of factors would have lured people living in the U.S. to Canada; the promise of a better life, potential job opportunities, available land and reuniting with relatives. The period between 1901 and 1911 saw the Canadian population increase by 35 per cent, with immigration being a key growth factor.

Karen Peterson, Marketing Director, Ancestry.ca, comments: “Detailed records were kept of those immigrating to Canada by ship from around the world, but movement from across the large open borders it shared with the U.S. was largely ignored until 1908.These records could provide the missing link for family history researchers looking to find when and where their ancestors came and settled in Canada via the U.S.”

It is important to note, that the Border Inspection Agency did not capture all movement of people across the U.S. and Canadian borders. Some crossed when the ports were closed or where no port existed.

Additionally, many families were not registered because one or both parents had been born in Canada or previously resided here, and they were considered Returning Canadians rather than immigrants.

The records include the passage of people at close to 200 entry points in 13 Canadian provinces and U.S. states, including:

· Alberta

· British Columbia

· Manitoba

· Ontario

· New Brunswick

· Nova Scotia

· Quebec

· Saskatchewan

· Yukon

· Maine, USA

· Massachusetts, USA

· New York, USA

· Vermont, USA

The Border Crossings: from U.S. to Canada, 1908-1935 collection is available through a 14-day Free Trial at Ancestry.ca.

Progress on digitizing the Canada Gazette?

First LAC promised it for 2008, then early 2009, now we read "By the end of 2009, visitors to this site will be able to access all issues of the Canada Gazette, from its beginning in 1841 until 1998."

Why should we believe this statement anymore than the previous ones?

LAC would have a lot more credibility if there were intermediate posts of new material so we could see progress.

The final Recordkeeping

It's not about an imminent day of reckoning and judgement, but an announcement that the April issue of TNA's quarterly publication Recordkeeping for archivists, records managers, and all involved and interested in archives and records will be the last.

There's lots of good material included in this final issue.

I enjoyed browsing the self-assessment of how various local authority archives assess themselves.

Living the poor life, by Paul Carter and Natalie Whistance, describes TNA's project, working with local archivists, local studies librarians and around 200 family, local and other historians will see over 100 large volumes of poor law union correspondence from 22 areas across England and Wales catalogued, made key word searchable and their collective 126,000 pages digitised and made available for free to download via The National Archives’ website. This is the project described in the presentation I was fortunate to hear while a Kew recently.

There's much more. You can download the issue here.

The editor's welcome explains why this is the final issue, and what will replace it. Food for thought for all trying to balance the books and with a hefty publishing expense.

"However, we are finding that considerably more people are choosing to download the online version rather than receive the paper magazine, making it a very costly way to distribute news. At the same time, the Society of Archivists’ magazine, ARC, has seen a vibrant redesign and offers a similar platform for many of the news stories we have carried in Recordkeeping in the past. In response to this and after much consideration, we have decided to replace the magazine with an online newsletter. This will allow us to meet the demand for online news, but also, in these challenging economic times, it will be a more cost effective way of reaching those interested in archives and records. Although we are aware many people will be saddened by the closure of Recordkeeping we hope that the online newsletter will fill much of the gap and ensure that people do not feel they are missing out on any vital news relating to The National Archives."