Tuesday, July 19, 2011

GeneaBloggers Radio - Family Reunions and Genealogy

"Until We Meet Again! – Family Reunions and Genealogy" will be the topic on GeneaBloggers Radio http://www.geneabloggers.com/ on July 22. One of the guests will be Canadian blogger Lorine McGinnis Schulze of the Olive Tree Genealogy Website at http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com/.

Thomas MacEntee says that the show will be a discussion about "how to plan your next family reunion, how to include fun activities for all ages, and how to include your genealogy research to share with family reunion participants".

The show will start at at 10pm EDT, 9pm CDT, 8pm MDT, and 7pm PDT.

Toronto Public Library

Just had an email from Brenda Dougall Merriman on the OCAPG mailing list saying that Marian Press just forwarded the following notice to the Toronto Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society.

The message reads -

"If you love the Toronto Public Library, you need to come to her defense right now!

The cost cutting agenda of Toronto City Council could target the TPL within weeks. Local branches could be closed and some or all of the Library’s operation could be privatized, unless we act now.

I have just signed a petition at http://ourpubliclibrary.to/. I hope you will sign the petition too and forward it to your friends".

Royal Navy Burying Ground - Halifax

CBC News had a story on their website http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/story/2011/07/18/ns-royal-navy-burying-ground.html yesterday of a Royal Navy Burying Ground in Halifax in CFB Stadacona. It appears it has been there since 1759.

The news that caught my eye was that "Underneath another marker lie five sailors who served aboard the HMS Shannon — the British ship that captured the American frigate, Chesapeake, during the War of 1812".

It reminded me to spend some time doing the research of Henry BLADES, a United Empire Loyalist who was supposedly pressed into naval service by the British, and served on the HMS Shannon.

He had come from Long Island in 1784,and settled in Barrington, Shelburne County, Nova Scotia. He is the maternal ancestor of mine, but I have yet to do much work on this side of the family.

It is also interesting to note that the Americans gave as one of their reasons that they went to war with Britain was because they accused the British of pressing 10,000 Americans into naval service.