Bill S-18 Update

Collections Canada has posted the following notice on their website stating that they have received the official transfer of the 1911 census records from StatsCan and the information should be available to the public by early August.

Bill S-18 passed in the House of Commons

If you haven't yet heard the news, Bill S-18 has been passed in the House of Commons paving the way for the 1911 census data to be released. You can read about the details here or via the Post 1901 Census Project website. It sounds as if CollectionsCanada has already completed the scanning of the census records and it shouldn't be too long before they are available to us. Congratulations to all those who fought hard for this bill to be passed!

Canadian City Directories For Sale

Looking for some old city directories to round out your collection? Heritage Creations currently has some Historical City Directories for sale including 135 from Canada.

Researching Home Children

The British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa indexes the names of those migrant children found in the passenger lists held by the Library and Archives Canada. While the database is not yet complete, it is worth a visit.

Database of Canadians Who Served in the American Civil War

With over 3500 names, this database lists the names of those Canadians who participated in the US Civil War. All the sources are cited at the end of the list, which can be books or websites. The creator does indicate that his list is a "work in progress" but continues to add to it as more documentation is found.

St. Albans Lists: US Ports of Entry in Canada

Taken from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website:
"Under a US-Canadian agreement signed in 1894, immigrants destined to the United States were inspected and recorded by US immigrant inspectors at Canadian ports of entry. Ship passenger manifests listing those passengers stating their destination as the United States were filed in the INS Canadian Border District headquarters in Montreal, later moved to St. Albans, Vermont."
Access to these lists and their Soundex Index is available on microfilm via NARA: US National Archives and Records Administration for a fee.

Global Genealogy: A little closer to home

If you ever have the opportunity to visit Campbellville, Ontario, stop by Rick and Sandra Roberts' store, Global Genealogy. If you are looking for articles written by the pros about family history topics, visit them online here. With articles about all facets and areas of research by Fawne Stratford-Devai, Ryan Taylor and many others, its a goldmine! Before you leave, be sure to sign up for their e-newsletter as well.

Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter

Dick Eastman is to genealogy and technology what David Suzuki is to Environmental Activism. He publishes a daily newletter (which is in fact a blog) about everything genealogy. It's search feature is truly amazing, and you can even sign up to be notified once a week of the headlines for that day.

Field of Stones & TheShips List Updates

Both the Field of Stones and The Ships Lists websites have been updated.

16 Cemeteries have been added to Field of Stones.
16 Ship lists have been added to The Ships Lists, all of which are for Quebec to Montreal in the early 1820s.

Genealogy Podcasts

For those of you interested in podcasts, Genealogy Today has a couple of free podcasts available for download in Windows Media (WMA) format or MP3 format.

Two new databases at the Canadian Genealogy Centre

The Canadian Genealogy Centre has released two new databases: Divorce in Canada (1841 - 1968) which contains references to acts published in official publications of the Government of Canada, and Upper and Lower Canada Marriage Bonds containing references to marriage bonds held at the Library and Archives Canada. Bonds in the database include marriage bonds issued in Upper Canada (Ontario) between 1803 and 1865 and bonds issued in Lower Canada (Quebec) issued between 1779 and 1858.