Thursday, June 18, 2009

Ontario Archives have moved

The Ontario government has partnered with York University to create a new home for the Archives of Ontario. A new and modern facility for the Archives was opened yesterday on the main York University campus, at 4700 Keele Street, in Toronto. 
The Ontario Archives collections have:
over 1.7 million photographs
more than 200,000 architectural plans
approximately 40,000 maps
over 40,000 audio, video and film recordings
And almost 2,500 historical and contemporary works of art in the Government of Ontario Art Collection administered by the Archives.
For those of us who do not live in Toronto York University is far more accessible than was downtown Toronto. Also the Ontario Archives has been developing a strong online presence, http://www.archives.gov.on.ca , a must see web site for genealogists.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Famous Hillman's

Many eagerly research their family tree hoping to find a famous person. Personally, I tend to follow the line- " we are looking at who to point the finger at!" After years of looking I have found tailors, stone masons, store clerks, one drain inspector, one railroad engineer, and dozens of farmers. No entertainers, no movie stars, no princes or kings, no N.H.L. players(although if I could find the link to Larry Hillman I would be in the money). Equally, I haven't found a hanging or jail sentence yet either. It seems that I belong to a family that has been basically salt of the earth. Not so bad after all.