Saturday, May 08, 2010

Genealogy and Food

I came across an episode of Chef Michael Smith's show, Chef at Large, about an Acadian Reunion. One of the people featured in the episode was having a hard time finding his connection to his Acadian roots but Smith commented towards the end that he must be from the family he was researching, because he cleaned his plate of all of the delicacies prepared for the reunion. It reminded me that we all have some sort of connection to specific foods that are part of our heritage. For me, it's certain dishes at Christmas that connect me to my French-Canadian heritage: tourtière, boeuf bourguignon, and ragoût de boulettes come to mind. So, when you're researching your family tree, why not take a look into the food of your ancestors if you're not already familiar with it?

Bon Appétit!

Labels: , ,

Monday, May 03, 2010

Obituary: Donald Whyte

Sadly, the genealogy world has lost another member: Donald Whyte, founding member of The Scottish Genealogy Society and author of a fundamental Scottish-Canadian resource: A Dictionary of Scottish Emigrants to Canada before Confederation (4 vols) died at the age of 84 on April 23, 2010. To read his obituary, please click here. My sincere condolences to his family and friends.

Labels: , ,

Sunday, May 02, 2010

Researching Canadian Graves

There are three websites that are helpful when researching Canadian graves/headstones that I've learned about and have had good things said about them: Canadian Headstones Photo Project, the Canadian Gravemarker Gallery, and CanadaGenWeb's Cemetery Project. You definitely need to explore each of them to see which one might be most useful to you. I'm also certain that if you have headstone photos to share, each would be pleased to have your submission.

Now, where did I put those photos from Galt (Cambridge, Ontario)?

Labels: , ,

Saturday, May 01, 2010

Gifts for Family

Mother's Day is coming up, and a recent email from Geni gave me the idea for this post. Are you looking for an idea for a gift for a family member, perhaps a soon-to-be Mom, a bride/groom, or an significant anniversary or birthday? Give them a copy of the family tree! There are all sorts of charts out there for free or fee. You can buy a poster through Geni, or you can print and fill out an online chart and include it as part of a gift. Or, you can buy a chart through a store like Global Genealogy and have it filled in by someone who does calligraphy.

(Hint: if you can't find someone to do calligraphy, buy a bunch of see-thru labels and start playing with your printer and add the names yourself!)

Labels: ,