Tuesday 31 January 2017

Canada 150 - Dominion Police





During our country's 150th anniversary celebration of confederation I will write posts titled Canada 150 with a link to a publication or website I find that may help you tell the story of your Canadian ancestors.
Click on the Canada 150 label on the right or at the bottom to see all the posts.

Today I have for you...



Tomorrow in Canadian history - 1 February 1920 the Dominion Police were merged with the Northwest Mounted Police to become the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

The Dominion Police was created on 22 May 1868 after the assassination of Thomas D'Arcy McGee.  The men that numbered under a dozen were to guard the federal government buildings and naval yards. Their responsibilities, and the force, grew with time.  They were Canada's secret service. In May 1918 the Dominion Police became a civilian force under the Military Police.

More information and the commissioners names can be found here. Looking in Sessional Papers of Canada, their reports were never printed. But payments to constables and others providing services to the Dominion Police are in the Auditor General's Reports. 





The service records of the Dominion Police are with the records of the Northwest Mounted Police at Library and Archives Canada.


Relevant Links

Dominion Police Records with NWMP record search at LAC

Dominion Police - Fallen Officers




Monday 30 January 2017

Coffee, Tea or.... More Coffee!




It is not known exactly when people started drinking coffee, but there are theories.
I am a coffee drinker.  Always have been.  When I was young my Mom would make hot chocolate for my brothers and sister, but I had Mom's version of Café au Lait... heated up milk with instant A&P coffee stirred in.






And I'm with Juan, I don't like flavoured coffees. I like my coffee to taste like coffee. With lots of cream, probably from my Café au Lait days. My family and friends know not to talk to me in the morning until I've had my coffee.





I also like my Coffee.. crisp (Canadian joke)



Relevant links

The tea & coffee trade journal

Coffee: its history, classification and description, 1894

All About Coffee. 1922

How to make Perfect Coffee, 1922

Coffee Planters Manual, 1880

Coffee: production, trade and consumption by countries, 1912

Coffee and Substitutes, 1918

The Mexican Gulf agricultural company. Inc under laws of Missouri, 1896

Presented with compliments of Chase & Sanborn: Importers of and wholesale dealer in teas and coffees, 1882

Kato Coffee: souvenir of the Pan-American Exhibition, 1901

Patent - tea or coffee pot, E E Crook, 1898

All patents on file at Canada Patent Office for a Coffee Pot





Sunday 29 January 2017

Canada 150 - The Lunar New Year





During our country's 150th anniversary celebration of confederation I will write posts titled Canada 150 with a link to a publication or website I find that may help you tell the story of your Canadian ancestors.
Click on the Canada 150 label on the right or at the bottom to see all the posts.

Today I have for you...

In honour of the Lunar New Year



People from all Asian countries now call Canada home.

Yesterday was Chinese New Year. My husband and I went to our favourite Chinese restaurant for dinner last night and the owner and our waitress were surprised when I wished them a Happy New Year. I guess the locals don't think of it. We were given extra special almond cookies for dessert, as well as the traditional fortune cookies.

We call it Chinese New Year but it is actually the Lunar New Year, as Vietnam and Korea also celebrate New Year on January 28th this year.  The Japanese also celebrated the Lunar New Year up until 1873, when they switched to the Gregorian calendar and now celebrate on Jan 1st.

Mongolia and Tibet celebrate their New Year on February 27th this year. Other Asian countries don't celebrate their New Year until April.  You can see a list here. 



Relevant Links

The Chinese in Ontario







Thursday 26 January 2017

Canada 150 - County of Halton, Ontario





During our country's 150th anniversary celebration of confederation I will write posts titled Canada 150 with a link to a publication or website I find that may help you tell the story of your Canadian ancestors.
Click on the Canada 150 label on the right or at the bottom to see all the posts.

Today I have for you...


Records and memories of Boston Church in the "Scotch Block", 
Esquesing Township, County of Halton, Ontario, Canada, 1820-1920




Includes an appendix of Original Land Holders and list of pew holders towards the back.
There are two other publications naming residents of Halton.



Relevant Links

Monday 23 January 2017

Focus on Photography




Some professional and amateur photographers would rather still use film and develop their photographs themselves. Our high school had a dark room where the camera club developed their photos. I couldn't understand why they didn't just get their film developed at the drug store like everyone else!  Now I know, it's a thing.




Newspapers often noted which members attended meetings of the local camera club...




There were published  photographic magazines and periodicals. Some held lists of Photographic Societies and some were written and published by Camera Clubs.





Before 1901 when the Kodak Brownie was introduced photography was pretty much a specialized field. But that didn't stop some enthusiasts from starting a Camera Club or Photographic Society in many cities around the world. If you search "camera club history" you will see that some were established in the early days of photography.
Check the local library or historical society for info on a camera club in your area.



Relevant Links


Timeline of Photography Technology

Famous Photographers

Toronto Camera Club Exhibit, 1904

Portrait - Photography Magazine

Anthony's photographic bulletin

The American annual of photography

The Focus

Camera craft:  Photographers' Association of California

The Photographic News; various 1858-1869

West Kent Natural History Microscopical and Photographic Society

Portland Camera Club exhibition:  Portland Maine, 1892

Los Angeles Camera Club, exhibit May 1902

Brush and Pencil

The Photographic Times

Wilson's Photographic Magazine

Camera Notes: Camera Club of New York

Catalogue of apparatus and materials used n the art of photography, sold by Harvey and Reynolds, Leeds UK 1855 

1907 Price list of materials for orthochromatic and colour photography, UK

Photographer's pocket reference book and dictionary, USA 1873

List of Photographic Societies in the UK and in the Colonies (also in almanacs below)

The British Journal Photographic Almanac



Sunday 22 January 2017

Canada 150 - Women's Canadian Club




During our country's 150th anniversary celebration of confederation I will write posts titled Canada 150 with a link to a publication or website I find that may help you tell the story of your Canadian ancestors.
Click on the Canada 150 label on the right or at the bottom to see all the posts.

Today I have for you...



The Women's Canadian Club




Try looking at a local library for other Women's Canadian Club - Vancouver, Ottawa, Fort William, Edmonton, etc



Relevant Links


Women's Canadian Club of Toronto 1911-1912

Constitution of the Women's Canadian Club of Montreal 1907

Constitution of the Women's Canadian Club of Montreal 1912

Women's Canadian Club of ST John, NB 1911-1912



Monday 16 January 2017

Fun and Games




When my husband and I go camping in our RV we head north to the many beautiful free camping spots we have on the Island. There is no TV, no cell service, no internet. I like to read and knit and my husband likes to kayak. We both go walking with our dog Sadie.

After dinner or if it's a rainy day we play games.  He mostly beats me at backgammon and I mostly beat him at cribbage.  At dominoes it's just about a draw.





My husband just got an email with his certificate that he is now a Junior Master in Bridge. He's so proud to have reached that status, lowly as it is, as he takes his game very seriously, going to lessons and playing at the Bridge Club as often as he can.




Growing up my parents often played bridge with friends, and my Mom belonged to a local bridge club (which included my Latin teacher.. aack!). Before there was television people liked to play games, some being more serious than others and perhaps joining a club. Most every city had a chess club, a checkers club, a whist club and/or a bridge club.

Check newspapers for results of games played at clubs. Perhaps none of my ancestors in Ellon, Scotland played whist but some of his neighbours did.





Do you think your ancestors may have belonged to a club?  It seems the most popular were checkers, chess and whist, although loo and euchre were also mentioned in newspaper columns. Check newspapers for members standings in their club. Your local library or historical society may have journals from what clubs there were in your area.


Relevant Links


Australian parlor and club room games: draughts, euchre, solo whist, whist, cribbage, nap, chess; 1887

Chess Checkers & Whist Club of New Orleans

History of Kansas state checker association, 1915

The International draughts magazine, 1888

International match. Complete record of the [checker] games played between plaers of Great Britain and the United States, at Boston 1905

The Manhattan Chess Club of the City of New York, organized 1877

Souvenir of the Bristol Chess Club: Containing 100 Original Games of Chess 1845

The Games of the Intercolonial Chess Match, Melbourne vs Adelaide, 1868

The Bristol Chess Club, its history, chief players, 1883

Liverpool Chess Club

Westminster Chess Club, London

Annals of the Brookline Whist Club, 1873-1907

Proceedings of the... American Whist Congress

Whist sketches and review of the First American Whist Congress, held in Milwaukee,1891




Sunday 15 January 2017

Serendipity Sunday - Farriers and Horseshoers




I came across one of these magazines and it interested me because I have a friend whose husband is a farrier...




A farrier doesn't just put shoes on horses, they have to know what kind of shoes to put on a horse for the job he does. The farrier is like a pedicurist and podiatrist in one - a total hoof specialist.

A farrier in the British Army in 1899 was of a higher rank and was paid more than a shoeing-smith.





Did you have an ancestor that was a farrier or a horseshoer?



Relevant Links

International Horseshoers' monthly magazine (1900-1923)

The American farrier and horseman's companion, 1865

Farrier School Directory





Friday 13 January 2017

Luck or Fate?




Have you ever had your future foretold by a Fortune-telling Machine? There was once everything from table top Swami fortune telling napkin dispensers at the local drug store to mechanical exotic gypsy fortune telling machines at carnivals and fairs.





Do you believe something happened to you because it was luck, good or bad, or because it was fate?   If you lost your job was it because you walked under a ladder, or because you were destined to get a better job?

What does your future hold?


Relevant Links


The Universal Fortune Teller, 1860

True Fortune Teller; or universal book of fate, Glasgow 1800s

Everybody's Book of Luck, 1900



Related post:  Enter if you Dare!




Monday 9 January 2017

Canada 150 and Other Celebrations




By now most people know that Canada is celebrating 150 years since confederation in 1867. Special Canada 150 tulips were developed by Holland for our sesquicentennial and were available for purchase in the fall in time for planting. I can't wait to see mine bloom in the spring! Parks Canada is giving away free park passes for the year 2017 to anyone who wants one, not only Canadians, to encourage visitors to our beautiful parks and heritage sites. There are special events being held all year long all across the country.



I was 17 years old when Canada had their 100th anniversary celebration and Montreal hosted the World's Fair titled Expo '67. I was just at the right age that I could make tons of money babysitting for neighbours who wanted to spend whole days at the fair, and I was old enough to spend days there with just my friends.

Throughout Canada there have been other celebrations over the years that our ancestors may have attended, a few of which I have listed below.




What local celebrations might your ancestor have attended or perhaps worked on the committee? In your search also try keywords "sesquicentennial", "bicentennial" etc.

Click on the Canada 150 label on the right or at the bottom to see all the articles posted about Canada during this 150th year.


Relevant Links


Foundation of Montreal 250th anniversary celebration 1892

Historical souvenir and book of pageants of the 300th anniversary of the founding of Quebec City, the ancient capital of Canada - 1908

Troisième centenaire de la fondation de Québec, berceau du Canada 1908 

Toronto old and New: memorial volume to mark 100th anniversary of the Constitutional Act of 1791, creating Upper Canada and Lower Canada.

Souvenir of the 150th Anniversary of the City of Halifax, 1899

Memorial of the 121st and 122nd anniversary of the settlement of Truro, 1882

Newfoundland in 1897; being Queen Victoria's diamond jubilee year and the 400th Anniversary of the discovery of the Island by John Cabot.

 Fiftieth anniversary of the selection of Ottawa as the capital of Canada 1907

The centennial of the settlement of Upper Canada by the United Empire Loyalists

Galt centennial and Old Home Week, Galt Ontario 1927

Hamilton Canada, it's history, commerce, industries, resources.  Issued under the auspices of the City council in the centennial year 1913

Red River, 1812-1912;  Lord Selkirk's centennial, Winnipeg

The fiftieth anniversary, 1858-1908; Nerlich & Co, Toronto

London Board of Trade; fiftieth anniversary, 1857-1907 (Ontario)

The 100th anniversary of T. Rankine & Sons Limited biscuit manufacturers, Saint John NB

Golden Jubilee 1869-1919; a book to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the T. Eaton Co Limited

Fiftieth anniversary of the Royal Bank of Canada, 1919

The High School Magazine, Montreal 1916 - the hundredth anniversary of the Royal Grammer School


OTHER 150th CELEBRATIONS

150 years in Australia  official souvenir for National Celebrations 1938

Celebration of the 150th anniversary of Gorham, Maine 1886

Celebration of the 150th anniversary of the town of Danvers, Mass, 1907

City of Tecumseh, Michigan sesquicentennial, 1824-1974   

Celebration proceedings of the 150th anniversary of New Ipswich, NH 1900

Celebration of the 150th anniversary of the settlement of Baltimore, 1880

Book of Words, the pageant of Thetford, VT, in celebration of the 150th anniversary, 1911





Friday 6 January 2017

The Twelve Days of Christmas


Original post date: 21 Dec 2016


Christmas Special

Tune in to see what gifts I have for you on the Twelve Days of Christmas
It all starts Christmas Day, 25 December 2016



The Twelve Days of Christmas...




                ... start on Christmas day and go to January 5th, the eve of Epiphany.



The Twelfth day of Christmas
My true love sent to me
Twelve lords a leaping
Eleven ladies dancing
Ten pipers piping
Nine drummers drumming
Eight maids a milking
Seven swans a swimming
Six geese a laying
Five gold rings
Four colley birds
Three French hens
Two turtle doves, and
A partridge in a pear tree!





Thursday 5 January 2017

The Twelve Days of Christmas - Day 1


Original post date: 25 Dec 2016


"The first day of Christmas my true love sent to me
A partridge in a pear tree."




At one time a farmer gave part of his land to growing an orchard. Usually a census that has agricultural information, or in the UK the Apportionment Rolls, will tell you how much of a persons land he used for orchards.


My gift to you this first day of Christmas is....





....where to find your orchard and fruit growers.




Orchard Notes, Maine periodical








Related Post:
My Ancestor was Just a Farmer - early censuses




Wednesday 4 January 2017

The Twelve Days of Christmas - Day 2


Original post date: 26 Dec 2016



"The second day of Christmas my true love sent to me
two turtle doves..."





Turtle Doves are one of the few in the animal kingdom that mate for life. They are emblems of love and faithfulness.


My gift to you this second day of Christmas is...




                      ...registers and indexes of Marriage Licenses. Let's hope these couples did indeed wed and had a long, lasting, happy marriage!




Register of marriage licenses granted, South Carolina Dec 1765 to Aug 1766

Liste de licenses de mariages émises pour le Haute Canada et Bas Canada - at LAC

List of marriage licenses issued in Upper and Lower Canada - at LAC


Hampshire allegations for marriage licenses granted by the Bishop of Winchester 


Henry County - Marriage license bonds, VA 1913


Abstracts of marriage license bonds York County, USA (from William & Mary Quarterly)


Marriage licenses and bonds as recorded in William and Mary Quarterly

Wright County, MO - marriage license records as published in Hartville newspapers

Index to Green County, PA marriage record books 1885-1929

Marriage records, Marion County, IN: Minister's returns for the Board of Health reported to the clerk, Indianapolis, IN 1929-1944

Names of persons for whom marriage licenses were issued by the secretary of the proince of New York, previous to 1784

New York marriage licenses; originals in the archives of the NY Historical Society


Supplementary list of marriage licenses, NY

Abstracts of Leicestershire marriage licenses and bonds




Explanation of marriage allegations and bonds





Tuesday 3 January 2017

The Twelve Days of Christmas - Day 3


Original post date: 27 Dec 2016


"The third day of Christmas my true love sent to me
three French hens..."



Saint Marguerite Bourgeoys, chaperone of the Filles de Roi 
Saint Marguerite d'Youville, founder of the Grey Nuns
Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, first Native American to be canonized.


To find more about when my husband's aunt became a nun I emailed the order and my request was forwarded to the archivist.  They replied with more information than I expected, with all the important religious dates of her life. 

My gift to you this third day of Christmas is... 





              ... information and names of Nuns











Monday 2 January 2017

The Twelve Days of Christmas - Day 4


Original post date: 28 Dec 2016


"The fourth day of Christmas my true love sent to me
four colly birds..."



"Colly (or colley) is an Old English term for 'black,' from the word 'colliery,' meaning coal mine. And colly birds, therefore, refer to the common blackbird."

Whatever kind of bird it was, and whether or not it was calling, I've found that some of our ancestors were bird lovers. I have cousins that are bird watchers or photographers, and perhaps they get that passion from someone in our history.

My gift to you this fourth day of Christmas is....





Audubon Society and Ornithologist periodicals usually have lists of members and some have lists of those who have contributed articles.



South Australian Ornithologist

National Audubon Society

The Gull - Golden Gate Audubon Society, California

Audubon Society of North Carolina

The Bulletin of Massachusetts Audubon Society

The Iowa Ornithologist

The Illinois Audubon Society

The New Jersey Audubon Society

The Aviculture Society

Check other Societies in a local library or at WorldCat (list of Authors on left)




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