OH NO - We Missed Our Blogiversary!

In all of the busy-ness of the last couple of weeks, I missed sharing our Blog's first birthday. In the Blogosphere, the anniversary of the start of a blog is called a Blogiversary!


Last Sunday, April 22, the Brant OGS blog turned one. In just one short year, we have had over 7,000 visitors to the blog. They have come from all over the world and have resulted in an increase in our query requests as well as an increase in attendance at some of our talks.

I have made 185 posts - that's a lot of knowledge! Ok, it's not all about me, but the posts have allowed the Branch to share information about our Library, our workshops, our speakers and some unidentified family heirlooms. We have also promoted local happenings, new publications and genealogy events around the region. As we have learned of new resources, we have passed them along to our blog followers.

The blog would be lost in cyberspace if it weren't for our readers (through RSS feeds) and followers, so thank you to each and every one of you.

We are looking forward to the next year and sharing all of the exciting news in the genealogy world.

Happy (Belated) Blogiversary!

Our Newest Publication

Our newest publication is a memoir of  Reta Maguire Wooffinden, a woman who was born and raised in Brantford. She chronicles her early life and shows how carefree life "back when" was compared to life today. Reta talks about growing up on Maitland St, her school days, her antics, her first job and how she met and later married her husband, Harold. Reta also chronicles life as a new wife and mother.

The book is available for sale at the Brant OGS Library and can be purchased for $9.95

You can also call the library to order the book and ask for it to be shipped (shipping charges will be added to your order) The number is 519-753-4140

Happy Reading!

Free Access to the 1940 US Census

The 1940 US census went live on April 2. There was a great deal of hub-bub leading up to the census release. There were also a number of glitches and crashes on April 2 as everyone clamoured to get online to see where their ancestors were 70 years ago.

Now that the dust has settled, but while the excitement is still alive, you can access the 1940 census for free at FamilySearch and at Ancestry.com. The free access at Ancestry is only available until April 10th.

Happy searching!

Titanic Records Now On FindMyPast

Find My Past has launched new record sets for those searching for ancestors who were passengers on the titanic. One record set is the White  Star Line's Officer's Books. These are the official employment records of the commanders and officers onboard. The second set are the maritime BMDs. These, of course, are not limited to the Titanic, but list the BMD records for anyone with a maritime occupation as well as the passengers who died at sea. If you do not have a subscription to FindMyPast, it will cost you 5 credits to view the transcriptions of the BMD records and another 5 to view the image. For the Officer's Books, it will cost 5 credits to view the transcription and 10 credits to view the image. You can purchase 60 credits for £6.95 ($11). These are good for 90 days. You can also purchase 280 credits for £24.95 ($40) and these are good for a year

Region 2 Annual Meeting

The Annual Meeting for Region 2 (Elgin, London-Middlesex and Oxford) will be hosted by the Oxford branch and will be held at St. David's United Church,

190 Springbank Avenue N in Woodstock on Saturday April 21st from 9:00m - 3:30.

The topic for the AGM is British Isles Genealogy with guest speakers Ruth Blair and James Thomson. Ruth Blair will be speaking on "The Whys and Wherefores of Scottish Emigration" in the morning, and James Thomson will be speaking on "Coming in Waves: British and Irish Emigration to Canada"

Cost of attending the AGM is $25 and that includes lunch. It promises to be a great day.

Happy Learning!

BIFHSGO Conference 2012

The British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa is gearing up for their fall conference. The dates are September 15 & 16 at Library and Archives Canada, 395 Wellington St, Ottawa.
This year, the topic for the presentations is Scotland. The final details are being ironed out, but we do know that Chris Paton will be the keynote speaker. There will be pre-conference sessions on Friday, September 14. For those details, check John Reid's blog Anglo-Celtic Connections.

Hope to see you at the Conference!