A cousin has found a birth record for an illegitimate child, born in 1897. The mother of the child is the older sister of our grandmother. The father of the child appears to be the mother's father! While I am not naive enough to suppose that incest did not occur in "those days", I question if the father would have named (branded!) himself in a public record. Is it possible that Dad's name was entered incorrectly? I have also received information that there was a nephew with the same name as Dad. Is there any way to find out if he might have been the father? Many thanks.

Tricky. If the family didn't care, and if they figured that the whole town knew about it anyway, then they might have recorded the birth truthfully. But it does sound suspicious. I'd look for more info - like a baptism or christening record, or an obit. I have one ancestor who had a child out of wedlock, and who was excommunicated from her church - and so, there is a record in the church records. (From Suzanne Schaller)

I believe that my ancestor, an agriculture laborer came from England to Ontario and that his may have been an assisted passage. I understand that the Ontario government around 1872 was paying these people to come if they would stay a specific time. Can anyone tell me if there are records existing of these passages and where I can access them.

The government did pay by assisting with the passage. However, I have researched this type of data and have not found any list of people. Usually they were sent over by some group or organization and the organization submitted the report to the government for payment (usually something like, 125 @$2.00/each). This was done with the home children as well. On my web page you will find a letter from a party in 1870 sent out by the Clerkenwell group. (From Marj Kohli)

In the 1901 census, most first nations people are listed as being "Cree f.b" or "Algonquin f.b." What does f.b. stand for?

The f.b. would stand for Full Blooded or Full Breed (from Joe Wilson & David Agar). According to the Library & Archives of Canada , F.B. referred to a person with a French parent and a Native parent (French Breed). Other forms used include E.B. (English Breed), S.B. (Scottish Breed), I.B. (Irish Breed), O.B. (Other Breed). "Cree F.B" would mean a person born from a Cree parent and a French parent.

Where can I find Militia Rolls and/or information about the East York Militia?

These rolls can be viewed at the Library & Archives of Canada (From David Agar)

What is the website for the Ontario Cemetery Project?

The Ontario Cemetery Finding Aid (OCFA) can be located at http://www.islandnet.com/ocfa