BC Genealogical Society - Free Library Week this week

We are very busy this week at the British Columbia Genealogical Society's free Library Week. If you are in the Greater Vancouver area, do drop in!

Every day we are emphasizing a different area but come in any day to take a tour, do some research, or ask for some help. The volunteers will be glad to help. On Saturday, well be looking at Genetic Genealogy!


Here is a map showing the Library's location. This is from Mapme.com. I'm going to play around with this website's mapping some more. I just learned about this via WorldStart.

My upcoming genealogy classes and talks

For those who've asked for a list of my upcoming talks and classes, here they are: 

GENEALOGY / FAMILY HISTORY CLASSES

Beginner & Intermediate genealogy courses, 8 week sessions for each, beginning in January – Beginners, Fridays, 1:30-3:30 pm.; Intermediates, Wednesdays, 1:30-3:30 pm at the Community College for the Retired (CCCR) in Burnaby, near Kingsway and Sperling. Another set of classes will begin in April, then again in September.
To register, call 604 517 8732 or see the CCCR website: www.cccrburnaby.org

Introductory genealogy course, 4 weeks, Thursdays, 1-3 pm at Brock House in Vancouver.
To register, call 604 228 1461 or see the Brock House Society website: www.brockhousesociety.ca 

GENEALOGY / FAMILY HISTORY TALKS/SESSIONS

How To Use Facebook for Genealogy,  Tuesday, January 21st at 11:00 am to 1:00 pm and/or Saturday, January 25th, 2014 from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm. Both sessions at the BC Genealogical Society (BCGS) Library, 211-12837 76th Avenue in Surrey. Details on the BCGS website:  http://www.bcgs.ca/?p=3986
To register, contact Eunice Robinson eunice @ dccnet.com

Legacy Family Tree Software Group meeting, Tuesday, January 28, 10:30 am – 12:00 pm at the BC Genealogical Society Library, 211-12837 - 76th Avenue, Surrey. We'll be discussing the new Legacy version 8 and likely other aspects of Legacy use. All interested are welcome to attend. See the BCGS website: www.bcgs.ca/

"Only £8 worth of things left”— the case of Henry Parker's bankruptcy – how his financial woes helped my English family history research. January 30, afternoon, 1:00 pm, at the Abbotsford Genealogical Society's AGM at The Reach, 32388 Veterans Way, Abbotsford. The meeting starts at 1:00 pm; doors open at 12:30 pm.

DNA Group meeting, Wednesday, February 12, 7:30 pm – 10:00 pm at the BC Genealogical Society's  General Meeting, at the Danish Lutheran Church, Downstairs Hall, 6010 Kincaid St., Burnaby, BC. - Intro to using charts and an update on the new Big-Y test.  All interested are welcome to attend BCGS meetings. See the BCGS website: www.bcgs.ca

How to Use Twitter for Genealogy, Tuesday, February 18th, 11:00 am to 1:00 pm and/or Saturday, February 22nd from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm. Both sessions at the BC Genealogical Society (BCGS) Library, 211-12837 - 76th Avenue in Surrey. Details on the BCGS website:  http://www.bcgs.ca/?p=3986
To register, contact Eunice Robinson eunice @ dccnet.com

Finding your Scandinavian Roots, a genealogical journey through Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, and Iceland. Learn resources, techniques and tools to locate your Nordic ancestors and effective ways to overcome barriers like language and name changes. Saturday morning, March 1, 11:00 am – 12:30 pm at Cloverdale Library, 5642 - 176A Street, Surrey. For more info, see the Cloverdale Library's Family History web pages: www.surreylibraries.ca/programs-services/4921.aspx
Register in person at the Cloverdale Library, call 604-598-7327, or email familyhistory@surrey.ca

And more - 

I'll be attending the RootsTech 2014 conference in Salt Lake City, Utah early in February so watch for articles and comments here and on Facebook, and tweets too from me during the conference.

And yes, I'll be at the Vancouver Genealogy Group meetings January 8th, February 12th and March 12th too - all in the 7th floor Board Breakout Room at the Central Branch, Vancouver Public Library. Anyone interested in genealogy and family history is welcome to attend these discussion meetings. See the BCGS Vancouver Genealogy Group's Meetup web pages for more info: http://www.meetup.com/vancouver-genealogy

BC Genealogical Society Library Week - Geneabloggers visiting and volunteering in Surrey, BC

In case anyone's wondering where I am, I've been busy volunteering for the British Columbia Genealogical Society's annual Library Week. Still two days left to visit !

BCGS Walter Draycott Library   shelf, 2013

This is our free Library Week - anyone can come and see what BCGS has at its Walter Draycott Library in Surrey, BC, get some help if they are starting out with genealogy or have hit an obstacle in their research. Many stay all day and attend the classes we offer each day to learn something new. It's always great to meet and talk to both the newbies and others who've been doing genealogy a while. We all can learn so much from each other.

This week there have been two Canadian Geneabloggers here besides myself, Celia Lewis and Yvonne Demoskoff.

Celia blogs at Twigs and Trees. She has some great surnames in her family! (I'm a bit jealous.)  Her last post is about her GILLESPIE-ARMSTRONG families though. Do have a look in case you have a connection there.

And Yvonne, who writes Yvonne's Genealogy Blog, has just started Doukhobor Photos, featuring photographs from the Demoskoff family albums. She's hoping to identify some of the people and places in the photos which are from Saskatchewan and British Columbia, Canada. Drop by, have a good look and let Yvonne know if you can help.

BC Genealogical Society - Open House & Free Library Week - July 17-23, 2011 in Surrey BC

It's almost that time of summer - recharge your genealogical batteries with this annual event! (This year, there are door prizes too.)

The BC Genealogical Society (BCGS) is having its annual Open House this Sunday, July 17th, from 2-4 pm at the Walter Draycott Library. All are welcome. Free, refreshments. And, the very first BCGS Family History Book awards will be presented at this Open House - an author or two will be there. Come and chat, and see the Library.

The Library will be open all next week 10 am-3 pm, Monday to Saturday, July 18-23, 2011, free. Different research sessions each day for different geographic areas. The Library holds over 13,000 international genealogical publications, indexes, microfilms, etc. Access to Ancestry Library Edition and to the New England Historic Genealogical Society databases at the Library, as well as to all the BCGS own indexes and publications. And the Library is an affiliate of the FamilySearch Library so films may be ordered in from the Salt Lake City FamilySearch Library.

BCGS Walter Draycott Library - Unit 211, 12837 - 76th Avenue, Surrey, BC. Telephone 604 502 9119 or e-mail: bcgs@bcgs.ca

Directions, maps on the BCGS website: www.bcgs.ca

Have a look at the BCGS Library Week schedule on the BCGS website: www.bcgs.ca Look for the What's New page on the home page menu.

And, if you can't come this month, the Library is open all year, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from 10-3 pm. For special openings and group tours and visits, contact the Library.

BC Genealogical Society - Free Library Week - Surrey BC

Free BCGS Library Week continues - July 19th to 24th, 2010.

From July 19th to July 24th, the BCGS Walter Draycott Library will be open each day from 10 to 3 pm. Free.

Different geographic areas are featured each day, but visitors are welcome any day.

Monday was Scotland; Tuesday, Ireland; Wednesday, England, Thursday, Canada; Friday, USA; Saturday, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.

This year there are talks and demonstrations each day by BCGS Special Interest Group facilitators and volunteers.

For the week's schedule, see the BCGS 'What's New' page on-line or follow this link for a printable pdf file:
http://www.bcgs.ca/Documents/Archived%20files/Library%20Week%20Schedule%20July%202010.pdf

BCGS Walter Draycott Library: #211, 12837 - 76th Ave., Surrey, BC.
Telephone: 604 502 9119

BCGS website: www.bcgs.ca Library catalogues, information on Special Interest Groups, directions to the Library and a map link, etc.

Lady Mary Teviot, Genealogist, Speaking in Burnaby, May 12, 2010

The British Columbia Genealogical Society

Is pleased to present

LADY MARY TEVIOT, International Speaker and Genealogist

Speaking on: UNDER USED SOURCES FOR FAMILY HISTORY RESEARCH

Wednesday, May 12, 2010, from 7:30-10 pm, Burnaby, BC, Canada

Lady Teviot has been involved with Family History Research for over 35 years. She has undertaken lecture tours in Canada, Australia, South Africa, USA and New Zealand and is an accredited speaker for Surrey, East and West Sussex Women's Institutes. Her company is Census Searches Ltd. which undertakes research into family history, probate and media research.

She is President of the Federation of Family History Societies. She is also Vice Chairman of the Friends of East Sussex Record Office and a Member of the Council of the British Records Association.

BC Genealogical Society and Affiliate Members – free admission.
Non-members - $5.00 at the door.

At the Edmonds Community Centre,
7282 Edmonds Street (corner of Edmonds and Kingsway)
Burnaby, BC

Genealogy/Family History Events Coming Up in BC - Free Draw

The sun is shining, spring is almost here, and so many genealogical and family history events are coming up soon in British Columbia. All are reasonably priced or even free.

Since these will be great events (and I'm involved in a number of them - one way or another), I want to highlight them. And already there are several interesting events scheduled for the fall, so watch for more about those later.

The first event, sessions on using the One-Step Webpages for genealogy research with Stephen Morse, is SOLD OUT!

But I have two tickets to give away. If you're a local reader, and you comment on any of my blog posts, including this one, by Sunday, March 21, your name will go in this draw. No spam though! Let me know you're interested in attending the seminar, and let me know how to reach you too. (You can e-mail me at canadagenealogy@shaw.ca with contact info, but be sure to comment on the blog too.)

UPCOMING EVENTS

March 28, 2010, Sunday, Stephen Morse Seminar, BC Genealogical Society and the Jewish Genealogical Institute of BC, Vancouver, BC.

SOLD OUT! Afternoon seminar with Stephen Morse, creator of the One-Step Webpages searches for genealogy. His One-Step Webpages are a must for many kinds of genealogical research, for instance, passenger lists and census searches, as well as for more specialized searches, for example, in Eastern European research. Information: http://www.bcgs.ca/

April 8, 2010. Thursday, "Destination Canada", Victoria Genealogical Society.

"Destination Canada: A genealogist’s guide to immigration records". Dave Obee will discuss his new book, (now available from the BC Genealogical Society Boutique), and Victoria material not in the book. 7:30 pm. Visit Dave Obee’s website at http://www.daveobee.com/ and the Victoria Genealogical Society: http://www.victoriags.org/

April 13, 2010, Tuesday, Canadian Church Records, Central Branch, Vancouver Public Library.

Canadian Church Records - learn about a very useful source of information in Canada, especially for research before civil registration begins in Canadian provinces. Tuesday, April 13, 10:30 am-12:30 pm, Central Branch, Vancouver Public Library, Meeting Room 492, Level 4. Register ahead; telephone 604-331 3716. More information - www.vpl.ca/cgi-bin/api/calendar.cgi


April 10, Women’s History Fair, Vancouver, Women’s History Network of British Columbia. Free!

Over 20 displays illustrating British Columbia women’s history – with participation from museums and archives, women’s organizations, historical societies and cultural groups. The BC Genealogical Society will be there with a display on Researching Female Ancestors. Free; no registration needed. 1-4 pm. Promenade, Central Branch, Vancouver Public Library. Co-sponsored by the Vancouver Courier newspaper, the Special Collections Department of the Vancouver Public Library and the Herstory Cafe. More information: http://www.whnbc.ca/

April 10, 2010, Saturday, Ukrainian Cultural Afternoon, Cloverdale Branch, Surrey Public Library.

Ukrainian Roots session with speaker Vera Shpolyansky. 12:30 to 2 pm. Pre-register. Call 604-598-7328 or see more information at: www.spl.surrey.bc.ca/Programs+and+Services/Programs+and+Classes/Genealogy

April 17, Saturday, Finding Your Female Ancestors, Cloverdale Branch, Surrey Public Library.

Finding Your Female Ancestors: Paper Trails and DNA.

Morning seminar - speakers M. Diane Rogers and Laurie J. Cooke. Diane Rogers, President of the British Columbia Genealogical Society and Secretary of the Women's History Network of BC, is a well experienced sleuth when it comes to tracking down elusive female ancestors. Laurie J. Cooke, Cloverdale Genealogy Librarian, is quite obsessed with DNA for Genealogy – especially if it can help establish maternal lineage without the advantage of surnames.
Learn how to locate and honour your own female ancestors with some excellent research tips and the latest on using DNA for maternal lines. 10:30 am-12. Pre-registration required. Call 604-598-7328 or see more information at: www.spl.surrey.bc.ca/Programs+and+Services/Programs+and+Classes/Genealogy

April 17, 2010, Saturday, Family History Fair, Nanaimo Family History Society.

Family History Fair with speaker Else Churchill of the Society of Genealogists, London, England, and as well a session on Legacy Family Tree software. More than 20 exhibitors from BC including the BC Genealogical Society’s Boutique. All day, Beban Park Social Centre, Nanaimo. Register now – details: www.members.shaw.ca/nfhs

May 2-4, 2010, Family History Weekend with Dave Obee, at Painter's Lodge, Vancouver Island.

A three day course with Dave Obee, well known British Columbia genealogist and regional historian. Dave will teach you how to add to your family history with research in local history and social history, as well as how to use a wide variety of family history sources. At Painter’s Lodge on Vancouver Island near Campbell River. May 2 – 4. Register now – see www.painterslodge.com/specials/live-and-learn

May 6-8, 2010, BC Historical Federation Conference, Vancouver.

Family History in British Columbia Workshop, with Dave Obee.
Be better prepared to research the rich history of British Columbians. Of interest to
historical researchers as well as genealogists, this workshop will identify the most important sources for family historians, and help to explain some of the differences between British Columbia and the rest of Canada, as well as the differences between regions of the province. It closes with a session on how to compile information, making it more accessible to others.
To register, see the BC Historical Federation conference webpages: http://www.bchistory.ca/ or call 604-466-2636. See Dave Obee's website as well: http://www.daveobee.com/

Conference - May 6-8. Transportation is the theme! Streetcar tour, behind the scenes visits to museums and archives, Mountain View Cemetery tour. Plaza 500 Hotel, Vancouver. To register, see the BCHF conference webpages: http://www.bchistory.ca/ or contact Barbara Coles:
info@vancouver-historical-society.ca or 604-878-9140.

Free conference Book Fair, featuring authors, book sellers, publishers and heritage groups. Co-ordinated by the BC Genealogical Society, Thursday, May 6th from 6-10 pm and Friday, May 7th from 8 am-5 pm, Plaza 500 Hotel. See http://www.bchistory.ca/ for more details.

May 8, 2010, Saturday. Learn to make Digital Collages. Cloverdale Branch, Surrey Public Library.

Fast and Easy Digital Collages using Picasa, with Laurie J. Cooke, 10:30-11:30 am. Call 604-598-7328 or see more information at: www.spl.surrey.bc.ca/Programs+and+Services/Programs+and+Classes/Genealogy

May, 2010, Victoria Genealogical Society Seminar, Victoria.

Featuring Lady Teviot of Census Searches, and a Fellow of the Federation of Family History Societies. Details soon: http://www.victoriags.org/ Census Searches website: http://www.census-searches.co.uk/

June 3-6, 2010, United Empire Loyalists’ Association of Canada conference, Vernon, BC.

The UELAC conference includes a look at British Columbia’s pioneer history and the role of United Empire Loyalist descendants in the province. Conference webpage:
www.uelac.org/BTM2010.html

Vancouver House Historian James Johnstone on CBC Radio One - Jan 15 - Celebrating a Jazz Anniversary

Did you know that jazz great Jelly Roll Morton once lived and played at the Patricia Hotel in Vancouver? CBC Radio One's 'On The Coast' will be broadcasting from the hotel on January 15th, 2010 from 3 to 6 pm to commemorate the 90th anniversary of one of his shows. There's a concert in the evening too.

Vancouver's House Historian, James Johnstone, will be on this special edition of 'On The Coast' talking about the history of the city's East End. He's been researching the East End for years, but wanted to learn more about the Patricia Hotel before the show and now has a very useful, well illustrated post on his blog, When An Old House Whispers..., about the hotel, illustrating, in effect, how to start researching a Vancouver building.

There's a nice comment there about his use of the British Columbia Genealogical Society's book - Vancouver Voters, 1886: A Biographical Dictionary. This was the culmination of the Society's Vancouver Centennial project; society members researched everyone named on the first City of Vancouver Voter's List. It's a massive book, 892 pages of genealogical and historical information. If you're interested in the early history of Vancouver, or of the Lower Mainland, you should have a copy at hand. If you'd like to purchase one, please contact me or see the BCGS website: www.bcgs.ca as there are a limited number of copies still available.

Reminder - BC Genealogical Society Meets September 9 - Burnaby - Special Session 'Writing Your History'

Reminder - The next B.C. Genealogical Society General Meeting - Wednesday, 9 September, 2009, 7:30 pm.

Edmonds Community Centre, 7282 Kingsway (Kingsway & Edmonds), Burnaby V5E 1G3

2 Group Sessions:

- Scottish Group
- Writing Your History session with Moira Connor - Citing source information and "how to" do it easily using MS WORD. For more about Moira Connor, please see my previous post about her sessions.

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B.C.G.S. General Meetings: the second Wednesday of every month, 7:30 pm at Edmonds Community Centre, 7282 Kingsway (Kingsway & Edmonds), Burnaby V5E 1G3.

Reminder - November's meeting will be 4th November, due to the Remembrance Day holiday.

BCGS website: www.bcgs.ca

Coming up:

Moira Connor will be giving two more sessions on 'Writing Your History' at monthly general meetings.

-October 14th, 2009 - Indexing 101 and "how to" do it easily using MS WORD.

-November 4th, 2009 - Book design and layout suggestions for the
Do-It-Yourselfer using MS WORD.

To see other group sessions planned for the fall, go to the B.C.G.S. Event Calendar: http://www.bcgs.ca/Calendar.htm

THE HAMMOND STORY SO FAR... B.C. Genealogical Society General Meeting - July 8, 2009

The next B.C. Genealogical Society General Meeting -
Wednesday, 8 July, 2009, 7:30 pm

Edmonds Community Centre, 7282 Kingsway (Kingsway & Edmonds), Burnaby V5E 1G3

Our speaker will be Brenda Smith, well known in British Columbia as a genealogical speaker. Her topic will be:

THE HAMMOND STORY SO FAR...

The Hammond Family Project is an ongoing activity of the Family History Committee of Maple Ridge Historical Society.

Since 2002, the project has gathered and compiled information about the family of John and William Hammond, founders of the British Columbia community of Port Hammond.

Hear how this project furthers the community story, contributes to the
history of British Columbia, and helps participants develop and practice
research skills.

BCGS website: www.bcgs.ca

Also coming up at the BC Genealogical Society this month -

BCGS Annual Open House at the Walter Draycott Library,
July 19th, 1 -3 pm. Members, friends and relatives are welcome.

BCGS Annual Library Week at the Walter Draycott Library,
July 20-25, 10am - 3 pm daily. Free to all interested.
Plan now to bring a friend or relative to introduce them to our
genealogical collections and to the BC Genealogical Society.

During Library Week this year, you will be able to use databases for
England and Wales research, etc. at FindmyPast.com for free at our library as well as the on-line databases of the New England Historic Genealogical Society.

Findmypast: www.findmypast.com
New England Historic Genealogical Society: www.newenglandancestors.org


B.C.G.S. General Meetings: the second Wednesday of every month, 7:30 pm at Edmonds Community Centre, 7282 Kingsway (Kingsway & Edmonds), Burnaby V5E 1G3

Reminder - BC Genealogical Society Meeting June 10 Burnaby BC - Special session Writing Your History

The next British Columbia Genealogical Society General Meeting is -

Wednesday, June 10, 2009 7:30 pm. All interested are welcome to attend.

The Special Interest Groups meeting are:

Irish Group

English Group

Discussion Group - Parish Registers - What is available prior to Civil Registration? Where to find them? How to access them?

Also - Special Session - Writing Your History - presented by Moira Connor - Samples of good, bad and indifferent genealogy related books.
Open forum on what we like, don't like and why. Attendees can bring an example for discussion. Will cover the importance of citing source material and indexing.

This presentation is the start of a four part series by Moira Connor on 'Writing Your History'. The next sessions will be at the September, October and November BCGS meetings.

Moira Connor was born in Scotland and moved to Canada with her family when six years old. The family settled in the Hamilton/Burlington area of
Ontario, then moved to Vancouver in the mid 1960's. Moira began her career in Human Resources, and then moved to Information Technology and Project Management. She, and her husband Terry, have worked on projects across western Canada and the US.

Moira caught the genealogy "bug" after reading some family letters that her mother had from the late 1700's and early 1800's. One of them was written to an ancestor describing the death of his son after being hit with grapeshot while he breached the walls of Montevideo. Who was this ancestor? How was he related? What was a Scottish lad doing in Montevideo..and the questions went on! Moira was determined to get the answers. Ten years later, she just finished a 400 page family history book and is currently having it bound for presentation to her Mum.

While Moira and Terry lived in Seattle, WA, Moira started a business writing and publishing family histories, preparing for and documenting reunions, and scanning/restoring old photographs and textual material. After moving back to Canada in 2003, she decided to return to her career in Information Technology but has retained her passion for genealogy and related research.

Moira volunteered at the Fiske Genealogical Library in Seattle, and was responsible for their quarterly newsletter and for conducting a number of education sessions on topics related to the preparation of family
histories.

Moira will conduct similar sessions for the B.C. Genealogical Society in June, September, October and November 2009. Her pet peeve is genealogical histories that are lacking an index, so she'll be spending one full session on "how to" do this easily using word processing
software.

Please bring examples of family history books that you feel are well done,
not so well done and those that are poorly done. In the first session in
June, Moira will lead an open discussion on the "good, the bad and the
ugly" so that we can learn from each other. This will be an opportunity to share tips and best practices.

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B.C.G.S. General Meetings: the second Wednesday of every month, 7:30 pm at Edmonds Community Centre, 7282 Kingsway (Kingsway & Edmonds), Burnaby V5E 1G3

B.C.G.S. Event Calendar: www.bcgs.ca/Calendar.htm

After I'm Gone - I Want My Genealogy Research To Live On

Just a few minutes ago on Twitter, I noticed people posting ideas for their #finaltweet in answer to the question: If you could set up an auto-tweet to go out after you died, what would you want it to say? Tag it #finaltweet. I believe @nprpolitics was the first to ask this question today.

Many of the answers people are giving are flip or funny, but @nprpolitics was also pointing to an NPR article by Andy Carvin about a serious topic - especially for genealogists - "Dead Man's Switch: CC Me From The Other Side".

What provision have you made for access to your on-line genealogical information if you are incapacitated, or, dead?

Over at Gena's Genealogy last week, Gena Philibert Ortega discussed a 'Dear Abby' answer that prompted the same concerns about family heirlooms. Today she's posted a version of a 'genealogical codicil'.

What provision have you made for your family heirlooms, and of course, for all your photographs, and genealogical information?

Two years ago, I wrote an article about this very topic for The British Columbia Genealogist and a year ago I wrote up a handout for the British Columbia Genealogical Society with some starter links for people wanting to write their own obituaries, eulogies and epitaphs. I just read those over and since the information is quite relevant, I decided to post both here.

We also distributed blank copies of death registrations for British Columbia, Canada. Check for a blank form for your own jurisdiction and fill in the personal and family information as a guide for your executor/executrix.

You do want the correct answers to be available on your death registration and death certificate, don't you?

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PRESERVE YOUR GENEALOGICAL LEGACY:
A GENEALOGICAL CODICIL
by M. Diane Rogers

We’ve all spent considerable effort, time, and some money, on researching our families. We have family tree charts, binders, countless computer and paper files, websites, scrapbooks, photographs and other family documents and memorabilia we’ve collected and organized, as well as books, CDs, etc. Sometimes, in the back of our minds, we wonder who’ll take care of these after us.

Recently at the B.C.G.S., we’ve been made aware that one member’s years of work were accidentally disposed of by the family while clearing up the estate. Don’t let this happen to your genealogical legacy.

Discuss this issue carefully now with your family, chosen executors and legal representatives. Make sure your wishes are clear for both your ‘precious papers’, the original photographs and the family birthday book, for instance, and for your paper, electronic files and library collection. If items in your collection have significant monetary value, make sure these are listed separately and that your instructions for these are specific. If you have someone in mind to inherit your collection or part of it, speak to them first; then name them on paper. Give an alternate choice, perhaps the British Columbia Genealogical Society. On a practical note, make sure this information, along with an abbreviated copy of your family tree, relevant computer passwords, details of your e-mail accounts, domain registrations, etc. is easily accessible to the appropriate persons and keep this up to date.

Copies of various ‘genealogical codicils’ circulate periodically. We will have an example and links posted soon on our B.C.G.S. website. Basically a genealogical codicil asks family not to dispose of any research or other genealogical materials; and specifies who these should go to, or asks that the family take time to identify to which individuals or groups they might go to; or, to contact relevant genealogical and historical groups, archives or museums to see if the materials can be donated. A key comment in a codicil usually mentions that materials should continue to be available to others. You might include a provision to have your collection copied so a copy can be donated to your genealogical society before the collection goes to the new guardian.

DearMYRTLE notes that the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah may be willing to accept your work. Myrt suggests leaving some financial provision for your collection, if only for shipping or initial storage or preservation, and including a permission provision for microfilming (or nowadays, digitizing, or otherwise electronically copying).

In fact, the one sure thing we can all do now is to share our family information as we wish ahead of time. Choosing to make it available as well through one or two institutions or groups will be very valuable to future researchers.

Thank you to Maureen Hyde, Eunice Robinson and Marianne Soltau for comments on this issue.

©2007 B.C.G.S. This article appeared in The British Columbia Genealogist, March 2007, Volume 36, #1, p. 26 Reprinted here with the permission of the Editor.

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CONSIDER WRITING YOUR OWN OBITUARY, EULOGY, EPITAPH, AND EVEN DRAFTING YOUR DEATH CERTIFICATE.

HOW WOULD YOU BEST LIKE TO BE REMEMBERED?

RESOURCES

BOOKS
Check local libraries under these subjects: Funeral, Eulogies, Bereavement

For example, look at

The Last Word: The New York Times Book of Obituaries and Farewells: A Celebration of Unusual Lives by Marvin Siegel (New York: William Morrow & Company, 1997)

A labor of love: how to write a eulogy by Garry Schaeffer (San Diego: GMS Publishing, 1998).

SELECTED ON-LINE REFERENCES Google™ for many more.

Obituaries now can include photographs or if on-line, may include music and video. Who all do you want mentioned by name in your obituary?

Writing obituaries, from the Robert J Reid Funeral Home, Kingston, Ontario, Canada

“Want to Live Forever? Write Your Own Obit, Don Fry's how-to on preparing your own obituary”

“Eulogies” from About.com. Includes a .pdf form for listing useful information –work, family, beliefs and cherished values. (Don’t forget favourite verses, sayings or passages, too) for the eulogy.

“Eulogies, Elegies & Speeches of Remembrance: from About.com. Links to examples, appropriate poems.

Epitaph examples for headstones, from Everlife Memorials

‘The Epitaph Browser’

See how your epitaph might look on ‘The Tombstone Generator’

Would you like a remembrance on-line? View ‘The World Wide Cemetery’ [ June 2009 Note - now there are a good number of on-line memorial possibilities. Which ones do you like? ]

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Codicil to My Last Will and Testament Concerning Genealogy Materials

Preamble: I here mean to dispose of the materials owned or properly in my possession at death that have genealogical value, though have little or no worth on the market as personal property. My genealogical efforts have required no small measure of thought, time, travel, and money and may be of substantial value to other researchers. I would ask that my file cabinets, folders, materials in my desk, and any and all my research materials stored elsewhere be gathered together and included in this category. It is my hope that all such materials might be disposed of in the following manner.

Following my death, I request that any and all of my genealogical records, both those prepared or written by me, as well as all other family history records which may be in my possession, including all files, notebooks, books, correspondence, copies of documents, and such as computer programs or computer memory devices, or my websites, etc. remain together and protected for a period for eighteen (18) months or until a recipient is found for such materials, whichever comes first. (With your will and other important papers, place a list of these materials, and a list of relevant computer passwords, e-mail accounts, domain registrations or subscriptions, etc. along with an abbreviated family tree and this codicil and a death certificate ‘draft’.)

Further, I request that immediate efforts be made by my family to identify one or more persons or institutions that would have knowledge of AND be willing to take custody of such materials and assume the responsibility of maintaining and perhaps continuing the family histories and research.

I suggest that the persons and institutions to be contacted regarding their willingness to assume custody of these materials include:




(If additional room is needed here, list persons and institutions by their full names and attach a list of contact details.)

Further, in the event no person or organization named here is willing to preserve such genealogical materials, please contact the various genealogical organizations of which I have been a member, there to determine their willingness to accept some or all of these materials. (Here list the societies or organizations to be contacted; include local chapters, with their addresses, phone numbers and contacts known to you, if any, including websites and e-mail addresses)







In witness whereof and before witnesses, I have hereto affixed my name on the ___ day of ____, 200_


Signature ___________________________


Witness ____________________________
Date ___________

Witness ____________________________
Date ___________


Note: The original form of this Genealogical Codicil was posted for personal use on the VA-Roots Archives by Paul Drake, 25 February 2004 [ June 2009 - it appears the list now requires a password.: http://listlva.lib.va.us/cgi-bin/wa.exe?A2=ind0402&L=VA-ROOTS&D=1&T=0&P=13621
http://listlva.lib.va.us/cgi-bin/wa.exe?A2=ind0402&L=VA-ROOTS&P=R6306&D=0 ]

And, as Paul Drake writes, “if you have books, documents, or materials within your files that have considerable monetary value to other than yourself,” get legal advice to ensure these are listed properly and will go to named individuals.

For a discussion of these concerns, see “Preserve Your Genealogical Legacy: A Genealogical Codicil” in The British Columbia Genealogist, March 2007, p. 26

Handout prepared for the March, 2008 meeting of the British Columbia Genealogical Society
For personal use only. © 2008 B.C.G.S. Some copyrights may belong to individual authors or institutions.

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Were you wondering about my final tweet or my idea for an epitaph?

Check my posts at Twitter.com for my #finaltweet and see my Graveyard Rabbit of British Columbia blog for my tombstone. (My daughter was horrified to see that when I put it up, but hey, I'm a practical kind of woman!)

Jewish Genealogy Presentation - May 13 2009 - British Columbia Genealogical Society - Burnaby BC Canada

Jewish Genealogy Presentation, British Columbia Genealogical Society

May 13, 2009, Wednesday at 7:30 pm, Edmonds Community Centre, 7282 Kingsway (Kingsway at Edmonds), Burnaby B.C.
Visitors are always welcome.

Guest Speakers – Janine Johnston, Archivist, Jewish Historical Society of British Columbia and Catherine Youngren, President, Jewish Genealogical Institute of British Columbia

– Janine will outline JHSBC projects, collections and resources and Catherine will talk on Jewish genealogy and techniques for finding Jewish ancestors.

BCGS website: www.bcgs.ca
BCGS Library Telephone: 604 502 9119

BC Genealogical Society - March 2009 Meeting

Just home from the BC Genealogical Society meeting in Burnaby tonight - lots of good information and good news. Tonight we had some extra sweet treats at our refreshment break as a thank you to all the BCGS volunteers who keep our Library open, and our research, education and publishing programmes running.

Some of the good news concerned our own BCGS Library in Surrey, BC. We've had our old lights all replaced with energy efficient ones and we've had a water meter installed so our costs for both light and water will likely decrease. The light's so much better too.

And the Family History Library in Surrey now has access to The Genealogist website. This is very good news for those researching English families. We consider that Surrey has a genealogical research triangle - there's our BCGS Library, now with over 13,000 genealogical publications, the Cloverdale branch of the Surrey Public Library with its extensive collection of Canadian research materials and the Family History Centre with access to the Salt Lake City collections of the Family History Library there.

Some interesting activities coming up - a walking tour of Maillardville in Coquitlam May 3rd and group trips to both Scotland and Salt Lake City in the fall. See the BCGS blog for details of the Maillardville tour.

Tonight three BCGS Special Interest groups met - the Canadian, Scottish and Discussion group. I attended the Scottish session which was a very interesting one about looking for records on those who stayed or died or perhaps worked in a 'lunatic asylum'. This session was sparked by a discussion in a previous meeting.

The National Archives of Scotland holds Mental Welfare Commission records, including a "General Register of Lunatics in Asylum" which is open to access after 75 years.

One person mentioned that he is waiting to see records of the Tayside Health Board held at Dundee University. These aren't allowed to be released for 100 years and even then apparently must be transcribed, not copied.

The Scottish Records Association's Agony Aunt, R K Vyst, had a most useful answer to a question about mental health records. I will be following up on this information as a family connection did die in a private asylum in Scotland. One of his children came to Canada as a 'home child'.

BCGS Walter Draycott Library
Unit 211, 12837 - 76th Avenue, Surrey BC
Telephone: 604 502 9119
www.bcgs.ca
Open Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays 10-3 pm.
Call before visiting to check. The Library is not open on holiday weekends.

Surrey Public Library, Cloverdale Branch
5642 - 176A Street, Surrey, BC
Telephone 604 - 576-1384

Family History Center
6270 - 126th Street, Surrey, BC
Telephone 604- 597-9695
Call for hours before visiting.

British Research Seminar - Dr Chris Watts - May 10, 2008 - Burnaby, B.C., Canada

10 May 2008, all day - 8:30 am to 3:30 pm

The British Columbia Genealogical Society presents Dr. Chris Watts, International Speaker and Author

in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada

at the Eastburn Community Centre, Burnaby, B.C. (7435 Edmonds Street, corner of Edmonds & Humphries)

Dr. Chris Watts is the author of several books on tracing British military people and is The National Archives of the U. K's expert on the merchant navy. He is a well known speaker and a Fellow of the Society of Genealogists.

LECTURE TOPICS

- Some Underused Sources for English Genealogy
- Tracing Birth, Deaths & Marriages at Sea
- World War I Army Service Records at The National Archives of the U.K. & Elsewhere

Special early bird rate for B.C. G.S. & Affiliate Group members.

Lunch & refreshments included.

To register, please contact Susan Snalam at 604-273-8209 or Eunice Robinson: eunice@dccnet.com

For details,see the BC Genealogical Society website: http://www.bcgs.ca/
Click 'What's New' for the seminar brochure.