Archive CD Books Canada NEWSLETTER V6#6 - 19 October, 2009
Contents:
1 WELCOME
2 WHAT’S IN THE NEWSLETTER
3 NEW CANADIAN RELEASES (3)
4 COMING SOON
5 NEW PARTNER RELEASES (15)
6 NEWS & GOSSIP
7 FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETY AND OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS:
8 PREVIOUSLY RELEASED BOOKS
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1 WELCOME:
The thanksgiving holiday may be just a happy memory but we still have some new genealogy resources to be thankful for.
Newsletters work best when they get a good circulation. We’re doing our best to let people know about it but you could help us along by mentioning it to your genealogy buddies and generally spreading the word. Feel free to pass this copy along, but only in its complete form please.
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2 WHAT’S IN THE NEWSLETTER:
- 3 new Canadian releases.
- 15 new Australian releases.
and the news, gossip and announcements.
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Alternatively you can browse through the catalogue using the drop down headings lists. We have tried to multi-list books where they correspond to more than one category but consider the possibility that the subject you are looking for may be under a related heading.
There is frequently more information about the books available on the web site than that which is included in the following descriptions. All prices in $Cdn.
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3 NEW CANADIAN RELEASE
* Pioneer Life in Zorra - 1899
CA0170: $19.00:
The author, Rev. William Alexander MacKay (1845-1905), himself the son of a Zorra pioneer family and a Presbyterian minister, set out to capture not just the factual history behind the establishment of this enclave of expatriate Scots in Canada West*, but to create a record of the more ethereal and hard to record essence of the life and times of these pioneers as they fought to build a new life for themselves. They were mainly dispossessed farmers, the results of the "Highland Clearances" of the early 1800's. These ex-Sutherlandshire natives came to Canada in a desperate attempt to regain the ability to "win" enough food to keep and raise their families without the specter of starvation forever looking over their shoulders.
Carving farms - and a new life - out of the virgin forest was not without its hardships, of course, but being part of a community with a common heritage meant that they could maintain much of the social life and customs they were used to. For many this included the continued use of their Gaelic language and this helped to cushion the cultural shock resulting from the new physical and environmental forces that they had to adapt to.
As a Presbyterian minister the author devotes a fair amount of his book to the subject of religion but usually as it applied to the pioneer life of his congregation. He identifies members of the early community as they become relevant to his story of the township's development (although sometimes he only identifies them by an initial.) The book contained 20 old photographs - mainly portraits of pioneer, some collages of individuals in an age class - but the photograph of the Tug of War team is missing from this copy. We will be looking for a copy of this picture and will make it available through our web site when we have found it. The other 19 plates are in fine condition however and provide some very early photographic records.
This book is of obvious interest to those whose origins lie in this area of Oxford County but we would also recommend it to anyone who wanted to experience the life of a Scottish pioneer faced with the opportunities and trials of making a new life in the untamed backwoods of Ontario.
We tend to select the books we make into digital editions for the information they contain so we rather consider it a bonus when the book is also "readable." We know this book IS readable because the scanner operator kept on stopping to read it out loud to us!
The author did not provide an index for the original so our computer search-ability, enhanced with our FastFind search acceleration, is a significant improvement on the original and will be invaluable to those using the book for research rather than for general reading.
* This was part of the area known as both Canada West and Upper Canada before the name Ontario was finally settled on.
* Historical Sketch of Markham Township 1793 - 1950
CA0339: $9.50
Published in 1950 to mark the 100th anniversary of the existence of Municipal Government in Markham Township, this book tells the history of the area since the earliest European settlers started to carve themselves a farm - and a living - out of the virgin forest, in 1793. The book is the work of many authors but it was assembled by the Historical Committee of the Markham Municipal Corporation led by Alex. D. Bruce.
Markham is indeed fortunate that the history of at least one of its first settlers is so well recorded and the tales of Nicolas Millers family are truly fascinating. Following these primary settlers the book goes on to describe the arrival of the "Berczy Settlers," as well as those who followed giving accounts of their community activities, pastoral, social and municipal. The first part of the book is completed with an annual diary of significant events in the development of the township up until 1950.
The second part of the book is composed of a collection of interesting, but diverse, articles providing such information as the names of "Pioneer Medical Men" and the Development of the Township Roads, to give just two examples.
A concise, no-nonsense, book of about 106 pages includes copies of many nice old photographs and provides a great grounding in the history of the first 157 years of Markham township's existence and commemorates the memory of many of the area's pioneers and its more publicly visible citizens.
The original book has a table of contents but no index. In this digitized edition, together with the clear, high resolution scans of every page you get full computer search-ability, i.e., an index, of every word in the text with the search speed enhanced by the use of our FastFind technology.
• The Clergy of Canada - 1919 (A Gleaning - see NOTE below)
CAG068: $6.50
A listing of the “Clergy” practicing in the following Canadian Churches and related institutions in 1919 (including many on active service):
-BAPTIST CONVENTION OF ONTARIO AND QUEBEC.
-BAPTIST UNION OF WESTERN CANADA.
-UNITED BAPTIST CONVENTION OF THE MARITIME PROVINCES.
-CONGREGATIONAL DENOMINATION.
-CHRISTIAN CHURCH OF ONTARIO.
-CHURCH OF ENGLAND.
-DISCIPLES OF CHRIST.
-EVANGELICAL ASSOCIATION.
-METHODIST.
-METHODIST DEACONESSES.
-BRITISH METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
-FREE METHODIST.
-CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM.
-PRESBYTERIAN.
-ROMAN CATHOLIC.
-SALVATION ARMY.
-EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN.
-CANADIAN UNITARIAN.
-UNITED BRETHREN ASSOCIATION OF CONGREGATIONAL CHURCHES.
And Missionary Societies of:
-THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND IN CANADA.
-CHINA INLAND.
Not only an extensive listing of churchmen (and women) in Canada, but also a checklist of many of Canada’s churches - from city cathedral to village church. Fantastic resource! Fully searchable.
Based on a page by page assessment I estimate there are the names of 13,500 “Clergy” from Atlantic to Pacific in this Gleaning.
(NOTE: This is a Gleaning product and is normally delivered as a digital download directly to your computer. If you live outside Canada our shopping cart will add a mailing charge which we WILL refund. If you wish to receive this (and any other) Gleanings on a CD you must include one "Gleanings Container" ($5.00) in your order and you WILL be charged for mailing if you live outside Canada.)
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4 COMING SOON:
Our gigantic Montreal directory project continues but, as I said before, we expect that to be on-going for several weeks / months yet. There are several other Gleanings to be extracted from the 1919 Canadian Almanac, which was the source of the "Clergy of Canada" above. For technical reasons they are a little long winded to master but I shall be working on them during the upcoming weeks.
I also have one school yearbook on loan which is well overdue for scanning so that must be next. Hopefully that should be a short project so we will be looking for something "meaty" and tempting for the upcoming Christmas season.
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5.0 NEW RELEASES:
In this section we provide an - often abbreviated - description of each of the newly released books on CD we have received from our International Archive CD Books partners. This month we are featuring new materials from our Australian partner.
5.1 AUSTRALIAN TOPICS
* Birdwood High School Magazine 1993-2006
AU5053-3: $28.20:
A compilation of Birdwood High School year books from 1993 through to 2006 on one CD.Reminisce over old times at school, the fun times, the great friends, the hard work, the trying times, the successes. Browse through the magazines, at photo’s of your class mates, art work, portraits of teachers, poetry, sports reports, Group photos of the school cricket team, or tennis team, excursion reports, stories and much much more.Search the whole period for friends and family members who went to the School between 1993-2006.
* Birdwood High School Magazine Compendium 1931-2006
AU5053C: $45.70:
Do you remember when...The first class graduated?The new library was built?We went on the first excursion to Bright?Etc., Etc.
A compilation of Birdwood High School year books from 1931 through to 2006 in one set as well as Reg Butlers book Birdwood High School 1931-1981, a history of the school published for the schools Jubilee. .........See web site for more ..........
Search the whole period for friends and family members who went to the School between 1931-2006.
* Brands Directory of South Australia 1901
AU5058-1901: $28.20:
Did your ancestors in South Australia own horses, cattle or sheep? Have you thought of looking in the Brands Directories for more information on them? These are a unique, but most useful source for family historians. Local historians will also find them a great resource, with the ability to easily reconstruct lists of stockowners in their region.What is a horse or cattle brand? Those who had horses, cattle or sheep, branded them with a unique symbol or combination of symbols and/or letters. This identified who the animal/s belonged to. This volume contains tens of thousands of such brands for those in South Australia as at 31 December 1901..What information can be found from a brand directory? You will find an image of the brand registered, certificate number, former brands, name of proprietor, run where the brand is to be used (address), and nearest post town to run.Divided into several sections including: • Arrangement of Brands • Horse and Cattle Brands • Pound Brands • Sheep Brands • Alphabetical List of Names of Owners • Cancellations and TransfersThis publication has been scanned at high quality, and is fully searchable, which allows the users to find a person or place of interest.
* History of the First Fifty Years of Freemasonry in South Australia 1834-1984
AU5060: $28.20:
Authored by Charles Glover, this was the first book to be written on the history of Freemasonry in South Australia. It is a highly regarded and authoritative work.In his Introduction Glover states "the main object which I had in mind when undertaking the work was that of preserving, in a permanent and concise form, the existing evidence which relates to the early history of the Craft in South Australia, and which, being largely contained in documents scattered throughout the State, is on that account peculiarly liable to loss or destruction". He continues "... it must be regarded merely as a compilation of the records of the various Lodges in this state".Covering the period 1834-1884, this book of over 470 pages is one that all with an interest in, or families involved with, Freemasonry in the colony of South Australia will welcome.
• South Australian Government Gazettes:
In each annual volume of Government Gazettes, you will find information on tens of thousands of ordinary people and on places, small and large. You will find details on land transactions, court notices, notice of acts, tenders and contracts, dissolutions of partnerships, local government meetings, criminal activity (names, dates and if apprehended), statistics, unclaimed letters, reward notices, impoundments of cattle and horses, insolvent and bankruptcy notices, police auctions of stolen property, and much more.Individual years content varies with the activity during the year and the specific events occuring.
A vast resource, now readily available in an easy-to-use format on searchable CD. This is a valuable tool for anyone researching South Australia and its people in the mid 1800s.
See individual descriptions on the web site for more detail and for "special" content of that year.
* South Australian Government Gazette 1841 - 5 issues missing
AU5100-1841: $24.10:
* South Australian Government Gazette 1846
AU5100-1846: $28.20:
* South Australian Government Gazette 1847
AU5100-1847: $28.20:
* South Australian Government Gazette 1848
AU5100-1848: $28.20:
* South Australian Government Gazette 1850
AU5100-1850: $32.30:
* South Australian Government Gazette 1853
AU5100-1853: $36.40:
* South Australian Government Gazette 1856
AU5100-1856: $40.50:
* South Australian Government Gazette 1857
AU5100-1857: $40.50:
* South Australian Government Gazette 1858
AU5100-1858: $40.50:
* South Australian Government Gazette 1859
AU5100-1859: $40.50:
* South Australian Government Gazette 1860
AU5100-1860: $40.50:
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6 NEWS & GOSSIP:
If any of you have genealogy related questions of a general nature - or something specifically related to Archive CD Books - we'd be glad to publish your question in this newsletter to tap into the enormous fund of knowledge which I know is out there.
WE'RE ON FACEBOOK:
Our count of "Fans" of our Facebook page is steadily growing which we take to mean that we are posting the sort of news and tips that you want to hear. We are also now inviting fans to post their own comments there - although we still need an icebreaker.
If you are already joined up to Facebook simply type "Archive CD Books Canada" into the "search" box in the upper right corner, click the magnifier and select us from the drop down list. You can browse the current content of the page and if you like what you see you can click the "Become a Fan" link to add us to the other pages you receive new posts from.
You can see that we only post when we have something we believe is relevant to Canadian Genealogy research. And if you think we're off the mark we invite you to put us straight!
INDEX OF CAPE BRETON CEMETERIES.
I have started to construct an Index of people buried in those Cape Breton County cemeteries appearing on the Cape Breton GENWEB site.
I have already done about five cemeteries, but when I ran into the first ~2,000 person cemetery, it dawned on me that, if I do this all by myself, it will take a while. But it also occurred to me that, if some number of eager volunteers would be willing to help, perhaps a Cape Breton County Burial Index could get done before I become totally senile. So, the purpose of this note is to ask if any would be willing to help produce said index.
The way it works is that, for a given cemetery, I would provide an Excel spreadsheet that has a given inscription in each row. What a volunteer would do is extract the surname and given name for each individual in the inscriptions in the cemetery listing and create a row entry for that person and then return the completed spreadsheet to me.
The end product: An index of persons buried in Cape Breton County (who appear in the various cemetery listings on the Cape Breton GENWEB site) would be placed on the Cape Breton GENWEB site and would be freely downloadable. So, if you would be interested in helping, please advise. Thanks. Bob H
BIFHSGO FAMILY HISTORY CONFERENCE, OTTAWA - 2009
Last month's newsletter had hardly left our computers when we were running off to meet you all at the British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa annual conference. Always a great experience and almost worth Summer being over for.
IMPORTANT NOTICE:
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7 FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETY AND OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS:
(We can include your Family History Societies announcements if you tell us what they are. Please give us AT LEAST one month's notice.)
NEW _____________
25 October, 2009 @ 2:00 PM The Ontario Genealogical Society, Halton-Peel Branch Family History Meeting:
Speaker: David Beasley, Author, Topic, “From Bloody Beginnings: Richard Beasley’s Upper Canada” (Richard Beasley was the first Assembly representative for Halton)
At the Oakville Public Library (lower level), 120 Navy St., Oakville, (Lakeshore Rd. & Navy St. east of the Harbour.) Visitors Welcome!
For more info contact: Bob Crawford 905-877-1183 or Mike Payne 905-877-7627
NEW_____________
28 October, 2009 @ 6:30 pm "We are offering a new program at the Musquodoboit Harbour Public Library":
Death Records: A Genealogist's Bonanza. Join reference librarian Joanne McCarthy to learn about the different kinds of death records including newspaper announcements, death certificates, funeral home records, probate/wills
and cemetery monuments. Registration required, call 889-2227.
REVISED_____________
14 November, 2009, BIFHSGO Meeting, 10:00 a.m. at Library & Archives Canada, 395 Wellington Street, Ottawa. Topic; Ships, Masters and Mates, Presenter: Barbara Tose.
NEW_____________
22 November, 2009 @ 2:00 PM The Ontario Genealogical Society, Halton-Peel Branch Family History Meeting
Speaker: Brian Gilchrist, Region of Peel Archives. Topic: Digging For Gold On The Internet – Finding The Buried Treasure Through Alternative Thinking. (This Month is our Annual General Meeting.)
At the Four Corners Public Library (Auditorium), 65 Queen St. E., Brampton, (East of Queen 7 Main St., parking access from John St. or Mary St.) Visitors Welcome!
For more info contact: Ann Logan 905-845-7755 or Mike Payne 905-877-7627
NEW_____________
12, December 2009, BIFHSGO Meeting, 10:00 a.m. at Library & Archives Canada, 395 Wellington Street, Ottawa. Topic; Great Moments in Genealogy, Presenter(s): BIFHSGO members.
DON’T FORGET WE CAN HELP YOUR GROUP TO SPREAD THE NEWS. E-MAIL US.
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8 PREVIOUSLY RELEASED BOOKS:
Archives of this newsletter showing all the previous release announcements are available in the newsletter archive which can be reached through,
All our newly released books are listed on our web site in the "New Releases and Special Offers" page. Go to:
for an instant update on our new products or look through the "New Releases" category in the on-line catalogue.
Archive CD Books Canada Inc.
Attn.: Malcolm Moody - President
P.O. Box 11,
Manotick, Ontario, K4M 1A2, Canada.
(613) 692-2667