One thing about genealogists - we mostly love lists. First of all, lists of people, of course, but for some of us, almost any list will do. I was therefore happy to pick up The Maclean's Book of Lists, Volume 2 - full of useful lists - from spooky Halifax ghosts, Elizabeth May's picks for greatest national treasures, uses for the (recently obsolete) Canadian penny, to even 12 ways to cook a beaver (no way!).
The list that caught my eye though was one of "6 foreign places called Canada". Mentioned are Canada in Hampshire, England, Canada in Kansas, USA, Canada Glacier in Antarctica, Canada Park (Israel-West Bank), Little Canada in Minnesota and Czech Canada in the Czech Republic.
I knew that there was also once an area called Canada on Islay, Scotland1 though, and a Canadian County in Oklahoma (named for the Canadian River, sometimes called the South Canadian River).
Turns out there are many Canadas in 'foreign' places. Just a quick look at Scottish, British and USA place name indexes turned up these.
USA - Geographic Names Information System (GNIS)
Canada in Kansas and Kentucky and Cañada (Spanish, not Canadian) in New Mexico, a Little Canada in New York, and a Canada in Guam. (And one Canada in Uknown, Uknown!)
England - Gazetteer of British Place Names, British Counties
Lower and Upper Canada in Somerset, and a Canada in both Wiltshire and Lincolnshire.
Gazetteer for Scotland
In Scotland there's Canada Hill on the Isle of Bute and another in the Borders (near Peebles) and apparently also a Canada West and an Upper Canada.
Which others do you know?
1. Letter from John Ramsay to Highland Relief Committee, [1847], as quoted in John Ramsay of Kildalton, pp. 23-25by Freda Ramsay (Toronto: Peter Martin Associates Limited, c. 1968).
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