Author Archives: DRogers

About DRogers

M. Diane Rogers is a Director and Editor and Co-webmistress of the British Columbia Genealogical Society, teaches genealogy and family history year round, and blogs at CanadaGenealogy, or, Jane's Your Aunt. She's been doing her own family research since the 1980s in Canada, the UK and the United States, Sweden and further afield. She has a lifelong interest in Canadian and women's history and is a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists, the Genealogical Speakers Guild and the International Society of Family History Writers and Editors

Reminder – BCGS Seminar – 31 May, 2014

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A reminder that early bird prices for the Saturday, May 31st, 2014 BCGS Seminar with Audrey Collins and Geoff Doherty are in effect only till April 30th.

Topics:

  • The National Archives of the UK – Audrey Collins. Researching English and Welsh records from a distance, including those records for Scotland and Ireland held at the National Archives
  •  The London Gazette – Audrey Collins.
  • Finding Your Australian Cousins –   Geoff Doherty

Seminar Registration: Early Bird Prices until April 30, 2014 – Tickets $45.00 for BCGS & Affiliate Society members; $55.00 for non-members. Refreshments and lunch included. Download the revised BCGS Seminar 2014 brochure. (.pdf)  Great door prizes too, including a Find My Past membership.

After May 1st, the prices increase to $55.00 for BCGS & Affiliate Society Members and to $65.00 for non-members.

Registration options: on-line with PayPay on this website, or by phone or e-mail, or at a BCGS meeting or event.

For details, including contact info and PayPal links see the 2014 BCGS Seminar webpage: http://www.bcgs.ca/?page_id=2511

Genealogy & related events -in Surrey & in Castlegar & Parksville, BC

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Events coming up in Crescent Beach in Surrey, March 19th and in Castlegar, May 3rd, 2014 and at Parksville, May 24th.

Alexandra Neighbourhood House hosts Lit Cafe 2 – Histories: Our Community, Ourselves, an evening of readings showcasing the work of five talented, award-winning local authors reading from their works of biography and history.

The event is Wednesday, March 19, 2014 from 7-9 pm in the newly-inaugurated Reading Room at Alexandra Neighbourhood House, 2916 McBride Ave. in Crescent Beach.

Confirmed readers so far: Julie Ferguson, Andrea Lister (editor of British Columbia History), and Robert Mackay.

In addition to the readings, the evening includes opportunities for questions and answers, and an open mic portion for any who might want to share their own works. Refreshments will be available, and there will be an opportunity to purchase works published by the authors.

For more information, please contact Neil Fernyhough, Coordinator of Community Programs, at 604 618 2357 (ext 236) or at communityprograms@alexhouse.net.

The West Kootenay Family Historians Society`s 25th anniversary genealogy workshop, “Tracing Your Family Tree“ will be at Selkirk College in Castlegar on Saturday, May 3, 2014   Registration for the workshop is through Selkirk College.

Topics for beginners and experienced researchers.

  • Did you glean all there was from the Census record?, Donna Fraser
  • Local history as viewed through historic West Kootenay postcards, Greg Nesteroff
  • Aboriginal issues in genealogy. Jackie Cole
  • Planning a successful family history research trip, Donna Fraser

Details of the“Tracing Your Family Tree“ seminar can be viewed at: www.wkfamilyhistorians.wordpress.com

The Qualicum Beach Family History Society’s seminar, Unlocking the Past, is Saturday, May 24, 2014 at the Tigh Na Mara Seaside Spa Resort and Conference Centre in Parksville, BC.

Speakers are:

1. Merritt (Biff) Barnes of California, USA
2. Nancy Barnes of California, USA
3. Audrey Collins of London, UK
4. Lyn Meehan of Edmonton, AB
5. James Tanner of Arizona, USA

For Unlocking the Past details, see the Qualicum Beach Family History website: http://qbfhs.ca/events-education/2013-05-31-18-50-43

BCGS Research Tip – March 2014

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The BCGS Members’ Research Tip for 1 March 2014 is: Change Things Up!

Or as Grandma (born in 1884) used to say, “A change is as good as a rest.” 

Sometimes when a genealogy research path seems blocked, adding something ‘new to you’ to the research mix saves a lot of frustration. Do you use mostly the same ‘big’ databases, the same search engine, or even the same library? Plan for a few changes and see what happens.

A few suggestions might be to try

- Cyndi’s List for newer smaller websites in your area of interest. Many volunteers are putting up their own collections of family or local data and images. CyndisList.com is over 15 years old, and better than ever: http://www.cyndislist.com You can check out the newest links directly by following this Cyndi’s List What’s New link.

- the MillionShort search engine gives you results minus the top one million most popular web sites: https://millionshort.com Can’t hurt to try and you may be pleasantly surprised with new results for your usual genealogy search terms.

- and even if the library you usually use, perhaps the BCGS Walter Draycott Library, is almost perfect, another may have a collection of research files or indexes that could benefit you. (And if you aren’t regularly looking at the BCGS Library, make a change here.) Nowadays you may not even have to visit to take advantage of special collections so look for one that’s in your geographical area of interest and find out what’s there. If you want to visit a library that’s not too far away, arrange with other local genealogists to make a field trip out of it. You’ll all benefit from the companionship and genealogy talk you’ll share.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

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n The Tunnel

 

In The Tunnel, coloured postcard.Bamforth & Co., Publishers, Holmworth (England) and New York. Series No. 1266. Published in England.

 

 

 

 

 

Not a romantic message, alas, but could be very interesting to someone.

Mailed from Moncton, NB to Miss Harriet Russel, c/o Mrs. Helen Russel, B-Ville, N. Y.  Postmarked Moncton, Aug 14 8:30 AM 1908.

Message: To J. H. Corbett

Moncton, N. B. August 13, 08

Well Hello Hattie and how are all of the people there we are all well. I suppose you hear from Geo. Blaurer but we have not saw him yet. Good Bye.

From Chas. & Harry. P.