How To

Using Alternative Methods to Find Names on Ancestry

Gerry Tordiff

In Ancestry, when searching for an elusive surname or first name, consider using an ASTERISK or a QUESTION MARK. An Asterisk replaces any number of characters ( zero or more ) e.g. fran* = frances, frank, franny etc. ( also, *ell = Mitchell, Bell, Bothwell etc. ) and a Question Mark replaces only ONE character. e.g. Johns?n will bring up Johnson and Johnsen but not Johnston. REMEMBER, there must be at least 3 characters BEFORE or AFTER a wildcard.

London Leaf Vol 34 #1

Quakers In Your Background?

Gerry Tordiff

If so, Canadian Friends Historical Association, cfha info , would be an organization well worth joining. They publish an excellent annual Journal, and since Quakers settled in our area, many of their descendants still live here. These include Norwich Twp in Oxford Co., Sparta in Yarmouth, Elgin Co, and Coldstream in Lobo, Middlesex Co. The Quaker Archives is at Pickering College, Newmarket. A sample of topics covered in one of the CFHA Journals included:
Pacifism in Practice: Remembering Peter Brock, A Parcel of Quakers and the War of 1812-14 in Upper Canada, Working for Peace in a Time of War: Canadian Friends in World War 11, and The MooreHouse, Sparta. Check out their website!

London Leaf Vol 39 #1

Do You Have Cornish Ancestors?

Gerry Tordiff

If you do, the following will be of great interest to you: The Toronto Cornish Association was formed to provide a forum for those interested in the County of Cornwall, UK. The objective of this group is to preserve the Cornish heritage, and to stimulate interest in Cornish genealogy, history, traditions and culture. They publish a newsletter and have a website: Check it out!

London Leaf Vol 39 #1

Mennonite Brethren In Your Family Tree?

Gerry Tordiff

Many of us have family who were members of the Anabaptist churches. If some were Mennonite, check out “Mennonite Brethren Herald Obituaries at Here. Although published in western Canada, the Mennonite Brethren Herald has national coverage. In Ontario, check Conrad Grebel University in Waterloo Here for back copies.

London Leaf Vol 39 #1

Website Documents World Wars

Western News, February 15, 2012

A website launched by Western University and King’s University College is believed to be the first to document popular culture artifacts and ephemera from the First and Second World Wars.

Wartimecanada.ca , led by Western professor Jonathan Vance and King’s professor Graham Broad, explores life during the World Wars through items that were never intended to be preserved. The site features nostalgic material covering all aspects of the frontline and home-front military experience, including training manuals, photo albums, posters, advertisements and greeting cards, which cover a wide variety of topics including wartime diet, leisure activities, and the many ways of supporting the troops overseas.

“We see this site being useful and of interest to history buffs, students, journalists, researchers and teachers,” said Broad. “We have gone so far as to design lesson plans to assist teachers in using the pieces found on the site.” The bilingual site is a window into the Canadian experience during the World Wars and currently includes more than 600 pieces, carefully scanned and organized into categories. The team has plans to include a further 3,000 items currently being catalogued. Donations or loans of pieces from the community are encouraged. “This is a way for people to see the wars in a different way, through the kind of things that Canadians encountered on a daily basis – from the bubble gum cards that children collected, to the programs for fund-raising concerts,” said Vance.

The project received support from partner institutions the University of New Brunswick, University of Ottawa and Wilfrid Laurier University, and funding from the Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council. Here

Ontario Military Deaths

The deaths of Ontario Military in WW II are in the “Ontario, Canada, Deaths, 1869-1938 and Deaths Overseas, 1939-1947” available at websites of Familysearch Ancestry.ca/Ancestry.com