Genealogy à la carte

The folks at Legacy Family Tree Webinars will kick off this year’s O Canada series with Christine Woodcock’s presentation, Soldiers, Squatters and Settlers, on Friday, February 21, at 2:00 p.m. Eastern time.

Following the Revolutionary War, many British subjects were eager to get onto British soil and Canada was the nearest colony. Land was granted to soldiers who had remained loyal to the Crown and with the success of settlements such as Glengarry, colonizers soon realized that there was success to be had in getting immigrants to settle in the huge swath of untapped land in Upper Canada.

In this presentation we will discuss: Military Settlements, Crown & Clergy Reserves, Queen’s Bush Settlement & Wilberforce Colony, Quaker Settlements, Mennonite Settlements, Talbot Settlement, Peter Robinson Settlement, Huron Tract. We will also look at sale of treaty lands, and emigration societies in Scotland.

To watch the free live webinar, you must must register. For up to seven days afterward, the recording will be available to watch for free in the webinar library. You won’t need to register during this seven-day period. After that, the recording will be available to members only.

The next webinar in the O Canada series will be Invaded! The Fenian Raids and the Canadian Response by Kathryn Lake Hogan on April 30.

Legacy Family Tree Webinars first launched the O Canada series in 2021.

Both Ancestry and MyHeritage have temporarily reduced the Canadian prices of their DNA kits.

Ancestry’s DNA kit is on sale for $79, down from $129, until February 20 at 11:59 p.m. The price excludes taxes and shipping. The same sale price is available on Amazon where shipping is free.

For a limited time, the sale price of MyHeritage’s DNA kit is $49, down from $139. Taxes and shipping are extra. The date of the last day of the sale is not provided.

Once again, the folks at Ontario Ancestors don’t disappoint. This week, four of their branches and a special interest group are hosting five free virtual presentations that are open to the public. The topics cover New France, slavery, maps, family history writing and genetic genealogy.

Tuesday, February 18, 7:00 p.m. — Nipissing Branch
The Davenports of Simcoe County: A Story of Freedom by Pam Tessier

The information for this presentation will be taken from Pam’s book on the Davenports which contains the compiled history of the first generations of the family – from slavery to freedom and settlement in Simcoe County, Ontario. This is a hybrid event. Attend in person at the North Bay Public Library or register to watch online.

Wednesday, February 19, 7:00 p.m.
Stories From New France – Part 3 by Carol Ufford and Dawn Kelly

Get ready for tales of scandal, smuggling, survival and slavery. Carol and Dawn will entertain you and also reveal the resources they used to discover these little-known stories. It’s the prefect mix of history, drama, and a dash of the bizarre. Register to watch online.

Friday, February 21, 7:00 p.m. — Niagara Peninsula Branch
Tremaine’s Maps with Graham Segger

For years, Graham Segger used the 1862 Tremaine wall map of the Counties of Lincoln and Welland in his local history and genealogical research, as well as many other similar maps of various different counties throughout Ontario. He became curious about who the Tremaine family were and how they came to publish their maps of 14 different Canada West counties between 1856 and 1864. This research resulted in two articles published in the November 2024 issue of OGS Families journal about the Tremaines and how to use their maps as genealogical evidence. Graham will expand upon the information in those articles using the Lincoln and Welland map as an example, though he will also touch on maps of other counties in the province. Register to watch online.

Saturday, February 22, 10:00 a.m. — Genetic Genealogy SIG
Hybrid Drop-In Session with the SIG Co-Chairs

Ben and Heather, the co-chairs of the Genetic Genealogy special interest group will host a drop-in session. Bring your questions, regardless of your level of expertise, and be prepared to discuss with the co-chairs and your fellow participants. This a free session and is open to the public, but you must register to attend.

Sunday, February 23, 2:00 p.m. — Halton Peel Branch
Creating an Ancestor Sketch — A New Approach to Genealogy by Thomas MacEntee

Face it: most genealogists never get around to publishing that family history book based on their genealogy research. How about a different approach: producing short three to five-page “sketches” about an ancestor? You’ll learn how to include a cover, photos, facts, family stories, source citations and more. And guess what? Once you get a few of these ancestor sketches done, you can compile them together for one big book! Thomas will outline:

• • • Basic Elements of an Ancestor Biography Sketch
    • Ancestor Sketch Formats
    • Importing Genealogy Research Information
    • Source Citation, Copyrighted Material, and Credits
    • Documenting Family Stories
    • Tips, Tricks, and Tools
    • Resource List

Register to watch online.

The largest newspaper archive, Newspapers.com, is offering free access to Publisher Extra papers until Monday, February 17, at 11:59 p.m. Mountain Time.

This offer will give you access to everything on the website, and a chance to kick the tires to see if this site will help you with your research.

I search almost every day for newspaper articles about ancestors and relatives. Newspapers.com is one of my favourite sites to use for my research.

To take advantage of this free access offer, you must register. After the free access period ends, you will only be able to view Publisher Extra papers using a Newspapers.com Publisher Extra subscription.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Until February 16, MyHeritage is offering free access to 279 marriage record collections, containing a total of 881,960,760 historical records from around the world. These records hold the key to your ancestors’ love stories, revealing details about their unions that may have been forgotten with time.

No subscription required
Typically, accessing these records requires a Complete, Data, or Omni subscription, but today and throughout this weekend, you can explore them completely free. Simply create a free MyHeritage account, and you’re ready to start your search.

Quebec collection worth exploring
One of my favourite collections available on MyHeritage is Quebec Marriage Returns, 1926-1997. These are not marriage registrations, but records created for statistical purposes by the provincial health department.

These statistical returns (forms), numbering almost eight million, are unique to Quebec. They were completed by members of the clergy or officiants who conducted a marriage in order for the government to compile statistics.

From 1926 to 1997, the provincial government of Quebec introduced four or five different statistical return forms, each with its own set of questions. Some years, more information was required than others.

The information provided included the bride and groom’s date and location of birth, place of residence before and after marriage, occupation and employer’s name, religion, citizenship, racial origin, father’s location of birth, and where the marriage took place. Some forms also include the names of the witnesses and whether or not the bridal couple could read or write.

Quebec collection — Search tip
Sometimes names are misspelled in the indexing, so try variations and also try searching by only the surname or first name. And remember not every officiant submitted a form for every marriage performed, although almost all did.

Quebec collection — Researcher beware
As with a number of records genealogists research, the information in these statistical returns is only as accurate as what the informant provided. In the case of my brother-in-law’s marriage return, he indicated his father was born in Hearst, Ontario. While his father did move to Hearst with his parents and siblings when he was about five years old, he was born in Montreal.

The Provincial Archives of Alberta will host on Monday, February 17 two online sessions to introduce attendees to its genealogical resources, such as vital statistics records, probate files and court records.

During the session, some federal records and other resources, such as local histories, will be discusssed.

If you want to attend, register for either the 10:00 a.m. or 1:00 p.m. Mountain time session. Register for Family History Day on the provincial archives’ What’s New page.