2 comments about Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland.

1. Seary's in-depth study of nearly three thousand family names of Newfoundland, arose from his work on the study of place names of the island. As his study progressed, Seary became fascinated with tracking families as they migrated along the coast or changed their names to avoid detection by Britain and France. His pursuit of the rise of Newfoundland surnames illustrates that relationships, place of origin, occupation, and even nicknames played very important roles.

   The core of his research comes from the Official List of Electors 1955 chosen because it was the most comprehensive list of names and the communites to which they were linked before the massive resettlement programs of the 1960's. The sources of his information are vast as he quotes from scholarly works from England, Wales, Ireland, Scotland, France and the Channel Islands as well as the many censuses taken in Newfoundland since 1675 in his attempt to get at the origin of the name.

   Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland attempts to trace each name to a geographical origin in England, France, Ireland, etc. as well as trace its linguistic origin. This will provide the reader of this text with answers to such questions as; What does the name mean? Where is the name found in Newfoundland? When was the first recorded incidence of it in a particular region? Of course, this information is invaluable to any researcher of family history.

   The real value to the student of genealogy, is that as Seary lists the early instances of each name in various places in Newfoundland, he provides us with all kinds of tidbits of information about the person - how they were killed, where they worked, their father, etc. And as expected from a scholar such as Seary, all of this information is referenced back to an original source document!




2. Excellent source of Genealogical information on family surnames, helps you find the places that you should be looking for your family. Doesn't do your genealogy for you but most certainly helps.
   Names are listed in Alphabetical order, no index necessary
   There are 4 editions available but the 1988 corrected Edition is the best

1 comments about Chilkoot Trail: Heritage Route to the Klondike.

1. If you want to learn about the gold rush and have fun doing it, read The chilkoot trail.This book, by Dave Neufeld and Frank Norris, will allow you to explore the facts about the gold rush, including the affect it had on the first nations of the yukon and women, whether they are wives of miners or Yukoners. Once you start this book, you won;t be able to put it down.You'll read about the 1896 Gold rush and the miners, each wanting their share of gold, the trail they had to pass to get there for not only was it a long and tiring steep trail, it was also a test of courage, a battle each miner had to fight before reaching their goal: gold. This is a great book for any adult, whether you're fro the Yukon, going to the Yukon or just wanting to read a great book. It's wonderful book to be used for reasearch.

No comments about English Adventurers and Emigrants, 1609-1660 Abstracts of Examinations in the High Court of Admiralty With Reference to Colonial America.

No comments about The Quadra Story: A History of Quadra Island.

1 comments about The Family Tree Guidebook: Everything You Need to Know to Trace Your Genealogy Across North America.

1. I have to be suspicious of a book subtitled "Everything You Need to Know to Trace Your Genealogy Across North America," because that's patently untrue. The Introduction by Emily Anne Croom, "Getting Started Tracing Your Ancestors," is well-written and touches all the methodological bases - documenting your sources, "clustering," continuing education, etc. - but it's simply not possible to compress a useful discussion of genealogical techniques into seven pages. David A. Fryxell (with whom I'm not familiar) contributes another brief chapter on "Finding Your Family Tree Across the U.S. and Canada," which covers much of the same material and adds advice on planning a research trip, whether to a rural courthouse or to Salt Lake City. The great bulk of this volume, though, is a state-by-state outline of where to find the public and academic libraries, state archives, state and local societies, Family History Centers, and other information sources, with a more detailed discussion of resources in selected major cities in each state. Major genealogical periodicals and web sites for each state are included, as are a detailed list of available federal censuses (state censuses, important for filling in the gaps, when they exist, are only summarized, as "1846 to 1925" Iowa), a list of city directories available at the Family History Library in Salt Lake (though most local libraries have these, too), and other assorted information. The too-brief city chapters are more like "civilian" travel guides, highlighting sightseeing attractions, downtown hotels and ethnic restaurants. (Do vacationing genealogists hot on the trail of a missing probate file actually stay at the Adolphus in Dallas and eat at Commander's Palace in New Orleans?) Each regional section opens with a rather superficial history essay which suffers from lumping too many states within each region. Comments on the historical roots of "the South" mean quite different things in Delaware and Texas. Like many guides in our field, this one tries to be all things to all genealogists, in a single not-too-expensive volume, but it ends up being inadequate (or merely insufficient) in most areas for most people much of the time. This is especially true with the recent publication of the completely revised and hugely expanded _The Source,_ which generally succeeds in those grand goals. I suggest you buy that (on CD, if you carry a laptop on your research trips) and go to AAA for maps and travel guides.

No comments about After the Hector: The Scottish Pioneers of Nova Scotia and Cape Breton, 1773-1852.

No comments about Cougar Annie's Garden.

1 comments about Finding Your Canadian Ancestors: A Beginner's Guide.

1. "Finding Your Canadian Ancestors: A Beginner's Guide" is a superbly written and organized introduction for novice genealogists on tracing and recording their ancestry using Canadian genealogical resources. The information on Canadian genealogical records is organized by record type and then again according to province. Both government and ecclesiastical records, as well as Aboriginal, Acadian, and Loyalist records, are discussed. Of special note is the information provided about online resources, including the extensive holdings of Library and Archives Canada. Co-authored by genealogical research experts Sherry Irvine and Dave Obee, "Finding Your Canadian Ancestors" is the perfect introduction for aspiring and practicing genealogists wanting to utilize Canadian resources and records for their genealogical researches. Also very highly recommended for personal and genealogical library reference collections are two other specialized genealogical research guidebooks from Ancestry Publishing: David S. Ouimette's "Finding Your Irish Ancestors: A Beginner's Guide" (9781593312930, $14.95) and Kip Sperry's "A Guide To Mormon Family History Sources" (9781593313012, $16.95).

5 comments about The Lonely Land (Fesler-Lampert Minnesota Heritage Book Series).

1. After I read this book I had a burning desire to visit the Canadian Shield and paddle a wood and canvas canoe on the Churchill River. I only wish I could have done it in 1960, when this book was written. It is a much different place today. This is an excellent book about a canoe trip of 500 miles by six friends. I only hope I will be as lucky to do such a trip someday.



2. I was looking on information on old canoe routes of the voyageurs and I came upon this book. It tells the experiences of Olson, a famous naturalist of the 50's and 60's, and 5 of his friends, as they paddle three wood and canvas canoes down 500 miles of the Churchhill River in Saskatchewan in 1960. Olson describes the setting and experience so completely, including diary entries of famous fur trappers who traveled the same route, that I have thought of nothing else but going to see the country he describes, the Canadian Shield of Northern Saskatchewan. It is a different place now than it was 40 years ago, less lonely I imagine, but still something I must do. I would recommend this book to anyone who longs to experience this land, North America, before it became overpopulated.



3. It's a great book. I haven't paddled the Churchhill River yet, but rivers closeby, and you still find the wilderness and the loneliness that Sig Olson describes. After reading this book and others by Sig Olson I just want to go out paddling and enjoy the wilderness.



4. I first obtained this book in my youth through the old Outdoor Life Book Club (which also introduced me to other classics such as John J. Rowlands' Cache Lake Country). I'm not sure I read The Lonely Land all the way through at that first encounter, but I recently rediscovered it when cleaning out a family home. I picked it up out of nostalgia, but I soon found that I couldn't put it down.
   
   Apart from the inherent interest of its subject matter -- the majestic wilderness of central Canada's Churchill River drainage -- I was quickly taken by the immediacy of Olson's account. The wind, the waves, the thunder of approaching rapids all spill off the page in vivid detail, as do the detailed descriptions of each night's camp and its routines. As compelling is the exuberance of Olson and his five companions as they explore pristine lakes, shoot the Churchill's wild water, and find refuge time and again on the solid, reassuring outcrops of the Canadian Shield.
   
   Finally, at each stage of the journey, Olson quotes from the journals of those who came before him, the "bourgeois" who led the brigades of voyageurs into the heart of the Lonely Land in search of furs. Men like Alexander MacKenzie, George Simpson, and David Thompson, who worked for the Hudson's bay Company or its competitors: the record of their observations informs Olson's account with vivid descriptions of the land as well as a sense both of how much and how little had changed over the one hundred and fifty years since they had last paddled, poled, and lined their way up the same great river system.
   
   I know that Olson has many well-regarded books to his credit, but a new reader could do worse than enter this world of woods and water by way of The Lonely Land.



5. This book is an account of Olson's canoe journey down long stretches of the Churchill and Sturgeon Weir rivers in Saskatchewan. Olson was a leading popularizer of the notion of wilderness, associated with the North Country of Minnesota and Canada.
   
   The story of someone else's canoe journey risks being mind-numbingly boring: "we paddled, portaged falls, and then paddled some more." Olson's story isn't any different than that basic narrative, but he manages to make the journey more lyrical. Observations about the empty land they traverse, the comraderie of the company of six, reminiscences of the voyageurs of old, and occasional encounters with other people leaven the basic narrative.
   
   It's a great read, and I literally didn't put it down (I was stuck on a transatlantic flight, but even so). Heartily recommended.

5 comments about The Researcher's Guide to American Genealogy, Third Edition.

1. Everyone seems to agree that this book is the standard text in genealogical research. The reason for this is the inclusion of sufficient detail to be useful without sacrificing scope and breadth of coverage. Prior editions gave short shrift to the computer revolution in genealogy. The third edition remedies this. Why not five stars? The writing fails to inspire. Granted this is a textbook on a sometimes dry and technical topic. The author also provides the right approach to the topic by focusing on story telling, basic research and avoiding beginners pitfalls. But I am still looking for the genealogy book that takes the topic to a high level. Genealogy is not just about correct principles, accurate research or even the stories that Val Greenwood encourgages us to write. Genealogy is about identity, individual, familial and national. If we are satisfied merely to explore our curiosity and to get the facts straight, then this is a dead science. No one seems more qualified than Val Greenwood to lead us into this deeper meaning. Perhaps a next edition or thinner separte volume will take us there.



2. Since its first edition in 1972, and especially with the completely revised and greatly expanded 2nd edition in 1990, this comprehensive work has become the standard guide and textbook in the pursuit of U.S. genealogical research. Beginning with the background to research -- what "research" actually means, specialized terminology, basic principles, library fundamentals, and all the rest -- Greenwood teaches you, with great clarity and many examples, how to identify what information you need, how to go about locating it, and how to organize it once you've found it. The second, much larger part of the book, leads the reader through the use, analysis, and interpretation of all the major sorts of documents and records out there: Compiled sources (including a discussion of the nature of compilations), vital records, census returns, wills and probate records (and how to become comfortable with legal terminology), local and federal land records, civil and criminal court records, church records, records relating to immigration, military records, and cemetery and burial records. He discusses the nature of abstracting, clears up common misconceptions about court records, points out the limitations of the census, and presents a largely rewritten discussion of the standards of evidence. When the 2nd edition came out a decade ago, the author thought his book would probably never need another major revision, just minor updates. But that was before the personal computer and Internet revolutions forced him to rethink his position, and this edition includes an entirely new and rather lengthy chapter on the appropriate use of the computer in genealogical research and also on its built-in limitations. He also took the opportunity to add a chapter on the legal issues relating to women's property rights, and (of course) made all those minor corrections and updates he had expected. Bluntly, if you can afford only one how-to book for your home genealogy shelf, get this one.



3. This book was purchased as a textbook for a research class. Had I known this valuable and helpful information, much of my past research time would have been shortened and to the point. Especially great is the rational behind the suggestions and the reviews of important points.



4. This is a great primer for researchers. Basic research techniques are explained and detailed. Lots of tips and tricks. Some of the techniques are a little too detailed like how to compose a letter and create a manual filing system but all in all a very worthwhile book. Also some of the information is a bit dated but most of it is timeless. I'm certain that I'll be referring to it for many years to come.



5. I look forward to putting this reference book to good use. It has a lot of good information.