Welcome to the British Columbia Genealogical Society

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Our members have been researching and preserving and publishing their own families and British Columbia’s families since 1971. In 2011, our Society celebrated its 40th anniversary.

The British Columbia Genealogical Society has been on the World Wide Web since 1996. This is now our updated website. There’ll always be something new here.

And here is the link to the BCGS mobile site, although if you have a smartphone or other mobile device, you likely can use this website as is ‘on the go’.

We welcome new members and visitors and invite you to see what we offer on-line and at our BCGS Walter Draycott Library in Surrey, BC and at our monthly meetings, the second Wednesday of every month at 7:30 pm in the Downstairs Hall at the Danish Lutheran Church, 6010 Kincaid St., Burnaby, BC.

Please note that we are no longer meeting at the Edmonds Community Centre.

Please visit our Research, Walter Draycott Library and Membership sections to see what resources are available to you here.

 

Coming up – Genealogy and Family History events and offers

There’s a lot going on in genealogy right now -

This weekend, see the BCGS at the European Festival in Burnaby at Swanguard Stadium, both Saturday and Sunday. Great food and entertainment – fun for all.

And Monday night, May 27th, 2013 at 7 pm right here at the BC Genealogical Society website, there will be an on-line chat with the BC Genealogical Society’s Editor, M. Diane Rogers. Do you have a question about the BC Pioneer or the BC War Memorial projects, or about British Columbia research in general, or maybe how you can submit an article to the BCGS journal or website? Do join her. This is an experiment in offering more communication choices for BCGS members and friends, so don’t be shy.

Next month there’s a genealogy summer camp here in the Lower Mainland – the Family Historian Summer Camp in North Vancouver with Brenda L. Smith, Monday June 10 to Friday, June 14, 2013, 1:00pm – 3:00 pm daily. This is a Capilano University Continuing Studies course. For details and registrations, call 604 984 4901 or see the website.

This weekend is Memorial Day weekend in the USA and both Ancestry.com and FindMyPast have free offers.

FindMyPast has free military record searches from May 24-27. FindMyPast has added many international records lately. Here’s a recent FindMyPast list for new UK, US and Australia and New Zealand additions.And just in the last two weeks, UK Royal Naval Volunteer reserve records covering 1914-1920 and English parish records for Northumberland, Durham, Ryedale, Sheffield, Wiltshire and Suffolk (1538-2009) have been added to FindMyPast.

Ancestry.com is offering free access to draft, enlistment and service records to May 27. And Fold3 now has the complete compiled military service records of the United States Colored Troops (USCT)  – free through May 31st.

And the US (NGS) National Genealogical Society’s conference was this month and the Ancestry Insider has notes for one NGS session where the question was: “If you could see Ancestry.com or FamilySearch fix just one thing during the next year, what would it be?” Lots of comments there already!  In the latest issue of the BCGS Editor’s second favourite genealogy newsletter, the LostCousins Newsletter, Peter Calver has information about one UK collection that Ancestry has corrected lately. And FamilySearch has new records but also a whole new look and new opportunities to add your family tree and photos to the site. (Also a very cool FamilySearch fan chart. Now printable.)  What would you like to see at both these genealogy sites in the future?

BCGS ‘BRING-A-FRIEND’ MEMBERSHIP CONTEST – deadline June 1, 2013

BCGS ‘BRING-A-FRIEND’ MEMBERSHIP CONTEST – the deadline is coming up – June 1, 2013.

All current BCGS members are eligible for one entry for each full membership (not associate memberships) they sign up from August 2012 to June 1, 2013.  See the BCGS Bring-A-Friend Membership contest details and on-line application form here.

Three Prize Baskets will be awarded at the June 12, 2013 meeting by draw.

Questions? Contact the BCGS Membership Committee now – membership@bcgs.ca or call the BCGS Walter Draycott Library: 604 502 9119.

Researching Genealogy in Scotland – July 11, 2013 – Vancouver, BC

Dunnottar castle, Aberdeenshire area of Scotland, 2009. Copyright by Moyan Brenn http://earthincolors.wordpress.com Dunnottar castle, Aberdeenshire area of Scotland, 2009. Copyright by Moyan Brenn (CC Attrib.No.Deriv.). See the photographer’s website: http://earthincolors.wordpress.com

 

Researching Genealogy in Scotland Talk – July 11, 2013, Vancouver, BC

George Caldwell. Scottish Group Facilitator for the BC Genealogical Society (BCGS), will be giving a talk on Researching Genealogy in Scotland, Thursday, July 11th from 2:00 – 3:30 pm on the Vancouver Public Library’s Central Branch Lower Floor in the Alma VanDusen and Peter Kaye rooms.

Free. Co-sponsored by the BCGS and the Vancouver Public Library.

Vancouver Public Library (VPL) offers other free genealogy and history related events and activities. See the VPL’s event calendar for details. Coming up:

What’s Up, Doc? Series: The Mystery of Mazo de la Roche, Canadian novelist, a feature documentary screening, Monday May 27, 7:00 pm-8:30 pm.

Wired for Learning, Google Beyond the Basics, Wednesday June 12, 2:30 pm-4:00 pm.  Registration required.

Wired for Learning, How to Research your Vancouver Home Using Online Resources, Wednesday June 19, 2:30 pm-4:00 pm. Registration required.

BCGS Library closed on holiday weekends

Just a reminder that the BCGS Walter Draycott Library is closed on holiday weekends so that our volunteer may celebrate the holidays. .

For 2013, the remaining holiday Saturdays are:

May 18th, for the Victoria Day weekend

June 29th, for the Canada Day weekend

July 27th for the BC Day weekend

August 31 for Labour Day weekend

October 12th for Thanksgiving weekend

November 9th for the Remembrance Day weekend

Usually we are closed for 10 days over Christmas and New Year’s Day. Those dates will be announced soon.

If you have questions, or if you notice any errors or omissions on the BCGS calendar, please contact the webmasters at: webmaster@bcgs.ca

 

Reminder – BCGS General Meeting – June 12, 2013 – Strawberry Tea! BCGS Book Awards! Displays!

The next BCGS General Meeting will be Wednesday, June 12, 7:30 pm – 10:00 pm at the Danish Lutheran Church, Downstairs Hall, in Burnaby.

This will be our BCGS Strawberry Tea night and Announcement Night for the BCGS Family History Book Awards. Authors will be there to talk about their books and books will be for sale too. Join us for an educational and fun night.

And members are invited to bring their own displays to show. Please contact Eunice Robinson at 604 596 2811 to ensure space.

Location: Danish Lutheran Church, Downstairs Hall, 6010 Kincaid St., Burnaby, BC. Download BCGS- Location Change-April 2013  (.pdf) for a prinable map of the Danish Church’s location with directions.

The books submitted for this year’s BCGS Family History Book Award included (alphabetically by author’s last name):

Baile, Lisa—John Clarke, Explorer of the Coast Mountains (Madeira Park, BC: Harbour Publishing, 2012).

Bentley, Peter, with Fowler, Robin—One Family’s Journey: CANFOR and the Transformation of B. C.’s Forest Industry (Vancouver, BC: Douglas and McIntyre, 2012).

Hawthorn, Tom—Deadlines: Obits of Memorable British Columbians (Madeira Park, BC: Harbour Publishing, 2012).

Hope, Sharon—The English Travelers: Three Narratives (Sidney, BC: 2011).

MacLean, Albert Mair with Margaret Anne Hume—My Life: Adventures of an RCAF Flying Officer, Eaton’s Manager, and Family Man (Vancouver, BC: Caissie Cape Publications, 2012).

Martin, Elinor—The Kurrajong Tree: Loves and Lives of Three Women in Colonial Australia (West Vancouver, BC: Eastcot Publications, 2012).

McBride, Sam—The Bravest Canadian – Fritz Peters, VC: the Making of a Hero of Two World Wars (Vancouver, BC: Granville Island Publishing, 2012).

Pavlik, Janet, and Smith, Desmond, and Smith, Eileen—Echoes Across Seymour: a History of North Vancouver’s Eastern Communities Including Dollarton and Deep Cove (Madeira Park, BC: Harbour Publishing Co. Ltd, 2012).

Young, David Esson—The Uchuck Years: A West Coast Shipping Saga (Madeira Park: Harbour Publishing, 2012).

BCGS Irish Group – Notes from 8 May 2013

The Ireland Reaching Out website was discussed by Mary Cooper, BC representative: http://www.irelandxo.com  

See the website’s feature, Find My Parish – by Province or County: http://www.irelandxo.com/where-do-i-start

The Peter Robinson settlers from Ireland 1823, 1825 were mentioned. The following is a sampling of websites with information, indexes and databases

The Archives of Ontario, see particularly the Land Records research guide, “From Grant to Patent: A Guide to Early Land Settlement Records, ca.1790 to ca.1850″, pages 11-12: http://www.archives.gov.on.ca/en/tracing/the_records.aspx

Peterborough Museum and Archives: http://www.peterboroughmuseumandarchives.ca/Browsing/archivalcollections.htm

Peter Robinson Ships’ Lists, Trent Valley Archives: http://www.trentvalleyarchives.com/resources/online-resources/census-registries-directories/peter-robinson-ships-list

Emigration From Cork Ireland to Upper Canada, 1823, The First Peter Robinson Settlers by Roberta M. O’Brien: http://webhome.idirect.com/~obrienr/cork1823.html

Peter Robinson Settlers of 1823 and 1825, Joe Kenny: http://kennytree.com/links/peter_robinson.htm

Peter Robinson Settlers from Cork to Canada 1823 & 1825, The Ships List: http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/passengerlists/peterrobinsonindex.shtml

Peter Robinson Settlers – 1825, Peterborough County GenSearch: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~peterborough/probinsn.html

Extracts from 8 of the Robinson ships, Surgeon-superintendent Reports for 8 of the 1825 vessels, Olive Tree Genealogy: http://www.olivetreegenealogy.com/ships/canada/PeterRobinson.shtml

Survey of Robinson’s Irish Settlers, Robinson’s Papers and Correspondence, Ships Lists, Medical Journals, etc. Transcription project: http://peannairi.com

See also -

The book, Peter Robinson’s Settlers by Carol Bennett (originally published by Juniper Books Ltd.: Renfrew, 1987, latest edition published by Global Heritage Press: Milton, Ontario, 2011).

1825 Robinson Settlers website for information on the 2025 Celebration planned and to contribute to a new book on Robinson settler families. Contact the Kawartha Ancestral Research Association Inc.: http://www.karagen.org/robinson.html

also mentioned -

Irish Centre for Migration, ERIN, The Centre for Migration Studies (CMS) at the Ulster-American Folk, Co. Tyrone, Northern Ireland and the Irish Centre for Migration Studies (ICMS) at the National University of Ireland, Cork : http://migration.ucc.ie/indexemigration.htm

Centre for Migration Studies, Ulster-American Folk Park: http://www.nmni.com/uafp/Collections/Emigration

Irish Petty Sessions Courts were another topic. Some on-line resources are -

Irish Petty Sessions Courts, Irish Genealogy Toolkit: http://www.irish-genealogy-toolkit.com/irish-petty-sessions.html

Irish Petty Session records, Republic of Ireland only, Find My Past (FindMyPast.ie or .com or co.uk – World Search), see list of all Irish indexes and databases at Find My Past: http://www.findmypast.co.uk/help-and-advice/international-records/irish-records

Irish Petty Sessions records, Republic of Ireland only, see the FamilySearch catalog for films: https://familysearch.org/catalog-search

Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, petty sessions for the 6 northern Ireland counties only: http://www.proni.gov.uk/index/family_history/family_history_more_sources/family_history_19th_century_sources.htm