Genealogy à la carte

Four branches of the Ontario Genealogical Society will this week hold a virtual presentation, including one that is also in person. As usual, these presentations are free and open to all.

The following take place in Eastern time.

Tuesday, April 21, 2:00 p.m. — Sudbury District Branch
Spanish River Derailment – A Biography of a Tragedy by Robbie McCauley

This is a hybrid presentation. Attend in person at the Greater Sudbury Public Library, 74 Mackenzie St., or register to watch online.

Tuesday, April 21, 7:00 p.m. — Nipissing District Branch
The Role of Remembrance and How to Research Your Ancestors’ Wartime Histories by Vanessa Kirtz

Register before April 21 to watch online.

Thursday, April 23, 7:00 p.m. — Ottawa Branch
Logging Experiences on the Ottawa River by Gord Black

Gord dives into the bottom of the Ottawa River to reclaim logs that sank during the Pontiac log driving era from almost 100 years ago. Back in those times, logging was a primary economic force that brought many workers into the community. After being cut down, logs were “driven” down the rivers to be transported to the lumber companies. But not every log made the journey. “My guess is between two to three per cent of every log that was put into the river, sank,” says Black. Register to watch online.

April 26, 2:00 p.m. – Halton Peel Branch
Planning and Preparing Your Genealogy Legacy by Heather McTavish Taylor

When you’re no longer here to tell the stories, will anyone be able to understand your documents and family tree? Join us as Heather discusses how to prepare and plan your genealogy legacy. You will learn how to organize your papers, files, photos, and what you can do to engage others to make sure it is all not lost along the way. Register to watch online.

The Genealogical Association of Nova Scotia (GANS), which will host the Nova Scotia Genealogy Virtual Conference on May 2 and 3, has added a new session to the schedule.

The new session, Researching Indigenous Genealogy at Library and Archives Canada, will be presented by LAC staff members, Kirstei Abbott and Meaghan Bulger.

Tracing Indigenous roots requires a specialized methodology and an understanding of specific record sets held at the national level. Kirstei and Meaghan will provide essential guidance for those navigating these complex and deeply important family histories.

The society has also added additional details about other sessions, including Mark Thompson’s on Using Artificial Intelligence to Research Family Photographs.

The conference, under the theme, Explore Your Ancestral Ocean Playground, features a number of well-known speakers.

The registration fee is $39 for GANS members and $69 for non-members.

For an additional cost, there is also an all-day virtual conference, called Virtual Workshop: An Introduction to Using Legal Records for Nova Scotia Genealogy, 1749-1900, led by Neal Cody.

Sessions will be recorded and available to registrants for 60 days.

Learn all about the conference speakers, topics, and schedule at www.nsgenconference.ca.

Legacy Family Tree Webinars this week kicks off the first webinar in its 2026 O Canada series with Researching Métis Ancestors: Origins, Scrip, and Red River Records, presented by Christine Woodcock on Friday, April 17, at 2:00 p.m. Eastern time.

In the late 18th century, Scotsmen traveled to York Factory to work with the Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC). Women and children were not allowed to travel with the men. Being indentured for three to five years, these men often coupled with Cree women, creating the Métis Nation. HBC’s rival, the Quebec-based Northwest Company, sent their men to the Red River area to trap over the winter months. These men also coupled with the Cree women, adding French blood to the Métis. In this presentation, we will discuss 1) Who are the Métis? 2) Researching Métis Scrip 3) Researching ancestors from the Red River 4) Resources for research.

A four-page syllabus for this webinar is available for members to download.

To watch the live webinar, you must register. It will likely be available to watch for free for up to seven days afterward in the Webinar Library. After that, only members will be able to watch it.

Four other webinars will complete this year’s O Canada series, although one of them is about researching in the UK.

June 12
Land Records of Upper Canada: Part 1 Crown Land Petitions, Part 2 Heir & Devisee Commission Files, Part 3 Land Registry Office Records by Janice Nickerson

August 21
Migration Pathways Between Canada and the United States You Haven’t Considered by Kathryn Lake Hogan

October 16
Fleet Marriages: Tracing Clandestine Weddings in the UK by Sarah Pettyfer

December 18
Famine Migration to Quebec: 1845-1865 by Mary-Alice Wildasin

There’s also a Canadian topic in the MyHeritage series.

June 23
Top 10 Canadian Collections at MyHeritage by Kaye Prince-Hollenberg

It’s going to be a good week at the Ontario Genealogical Society with seven virtual presentations, including one that is hybrid. All are free and open to members and non-members.

The following will take place in Eastern time.

Monday, April 13, 7:00 p.m. — Oxford County Branch
Own the Room – Writing Your Family Stories and Memoirs by Elaine Cougler

A former high school English teacher, a lifelong performer, singer and speaker who survived all of that to take up writing in a serious way. Descended from Loyalist and Pennsylvania Dutch ancestors, Elaine is one of thirteen children, and was raised in a post-war Ontario farming community by parents who expected the best from their children and consistently helped them to achieve it. Her historical fiction and her biographical books praise the indomitable spirit of amazing human beings both in our time and through the annals of history. Join Elaine to hear about her journey of writing, publishing, marketing and selling books. Register to watch online.

Tuesday, April 14, 7:00 p.m. — Essex County Branch
Rum Runners in Essex

Step back in history to learn about the history of the rum runners of Essex County, including some memorable characters and events. Register to watch online.

Tuesday, April 14, 7:00 p.m. — Lambton County Branch
An Introduction to the Little-Known Pension Records in Ireland by Ron Gilmore

These records, now available online, can serve as a strong support to genealogists. In 1908, the British government introduced legislation to provide highly modest pensions to the senior citizens of the UK. However, most folks were lacking proof of birth documentation and so an audit process was implemented. This process used the extant 1841 and 1851 Ireland Census records, which were still available at that time. The disastrous fires in the Four Courts buildings during the Civil War in June of 1922 destroyed those records. However, the auditor’s reports survived, providing a secondary source to the census records of that period. (Intended audience – Intermediate.) Register to watch online.

Wednesday, April 15, 7:00 p.m. — Thunder Bay Region Branch
“Herstories” – Listening to Women’s History by Sara Janes

Long-forgotten recordings, boxed away for nearly 50 years, capture the voices of Northwestern Ontario’s grandmothers and great-grandmothers. This special presentation explores a remarkable collection of recorded interviews with Northwestern Ontario women, voices and memories preserved for future generations.

Are you connected to one of the surnames listed on the poster? This may be your opportunity to discover a meaningful piece of your own history. Register to watch online.

Thursday, April 16, 1:00 p.m. — Ireland SIG
 Finding Your Ancestors in Irish Land Valuation Records by Natalie Bodie

The Tithe records, the Townland Valuation, and Griffith’s Primary Valuation records are used as census substitutes for 19th-century Ireland. Griffith’s Valuation was also updated on a regular basis up to the 1930s, and we’ll look at those records too.

This webinar will cover the key elements of each record, teasing out valuable information, along with where you can access these records. We’ll include search tips and techniques and use a case study to trace a family home from the early 19th century up to the present day, including how to pinpoint your ancestors house on a map and discover if it is still standing today. Register to watch online.

Saturday, April 18, 10:00 a.m. — Kingston Branch
Migration to Wolfe Island and on to Minnesota by Jannet L. Walsh

Join Minnesota-based writer, photographer, and educator Jannet L. Walsh as she traces her family’s remarkable immigration journey from County Kilkenny, Ireland, during the Great Famine of the 1840s, to Dublin Township in Minnesota. Along the way lies a mysterious thirty-five-year stopover on Wolfe Island in the St. Lawrence River — a place her father spoke of, but about which little was known.

Through meticulous research and vivid storytelling, Jannet brings to life a powerful tale of migration, community, and resilience. Blending family “detective work” with creative non-fiction, she invites audiences to walk with her from Ireland to Canada to Minnesota in what she calls her immersive, “you are there” narrative style — rooted in her family’s oral tradition.” Register to watch online.

Saturday, April 18, 1:00 p.m. — Quinte Branch
Brighton Digital Archives, Historic Images and More by Ralph de Jonge

Ralph will tell us about the Archives in Brighton and what they are doing to preserve historic images of the area, about the volunteer team, the collections, the scanning and editing software, hardware and processes. He’ll also discuss the technicalities of metadata management and how Brighton Digital Archives knowledge could help Quinte Branch.

This is a hybrid meeting. To attend in person at the Quinte Family History Research Centre at St. Matthew’s Church, 25 Holloway Street, Belleville, send an email soon to quintemembership@ogs.on.ca. Or register to watch online.

If you’re in Montreal and have Scottish ancestry and/or are interested in history, you may want to attend the Chair in Canadian-Scottish Studies’ Colloquium at McGill University tomorrow, Friday, April 10, from 1:00 to 6:00 p.m., followed by a reception.

This event is free, and it will also be livestreamed on YouTube.

Here’s the lineup of topics and speakers:

1:00-2:30: New Work in Scottish Studies
Dana Graham Lai (Simon Fraser University), “The Art of the Weak”: Place and Placelessness in the Autobiography, poems and songs of Ellen Johnston

Katherine Wilson-Smith (McGill), Political culture and Scottish-Catholic identity in Glengarry County, Ontario, 1860-71

Grant Schreiber (Guelph), Discipline, Education, and Correction: Social Control of the Poor in seventeenth-century Aberdeen

Chair: Eben Prevec (Queen’s University)

3:00-4:30: The View from the Archives: Montreal and Beyond
Michael Vance (Saint Mary’s University)

Gillian Leitch (St. Andrew’s Society of Montreal)

Heather McNabb (McCord Stewart Museum)

Moderator: Don Nerbas (McGill)

5:00-6:00: Keynote
Rob Dunbar (University of Edinburgh), “Commanding, valiant men”: Encounters between Scottish Gaels, First Nations and Francophones in Canada

This event will be held at McGill’s beautiful Faculty Club in the 139-year-old Baumgarten House at 3450 McTavish Street.

The St. Andrew’s Society/McEuen Scholarship Foundation Chair in Canadian-Scottish Studies in the Department of History and Classical Studies at McGill University was established to advance research and learning about Scots and the Scottish influence in the history of Canada, Quebec and Montreal.

Lots of good topics this week at the Ontario Genealogical Society, including a four-and-a-half-hour family history writing workshop. All of these virtual presentations are free to everyone, with the exception of the workshop, which is free to members, but $25 for non-members.

The following take place in Eastern time.

Monday, April 6, 7:00 p.m. — Leeds & Grenville Branch
Our American Neighbours: Brockville’s Relationship with the United States by With Alice McMurtry

Alice’s presentation will be an overview of the economic, industrial, and transportation connections between Brockville and the United States (upper New York State in particular), and how this relationship has changed over time. Register to watch online.

Tuesday, April 7, 7:30 p.m. — Durham County Branch
The Ontario Land Records Index by Jane MacNamara

Jane MacNamara will introduce the newly digitized version of an old friend to family historians — the Ontario Land Records Index. This was a long-term project for the Toronto Branch, and it is finally accessible from your own home. The Ontario Land Records Index (OLRI) is an index to those settlers who were allocated Crown land in Upper Canada/Canada West/Ontario. Its coverage ranges from the earliest grants of the 1780s, to acquisitions administered by the Canada Company and Peter Robinson, to grants for military service in the Fenian Raids and South African War in the 20th century. Register to watch online.

Wednesday, April 8, 6:30 p.m. — British Home Children Special Interest Group
Home Children Scheme

An overview of the British Home Children Scheme followed by an in-depth look at a Barnardos child. Register to watch online.

Wednesday, April 8, 7:00 p.m. — York Branch
The Toronto Book of Love by Adam Bunch

This presentation explores the history of the city through fascinating tales of romance, marriage and passion. Register to watch online.

Saturday, April 11, 10:00 a.m. — Kent Branch
De Langhe Family: Belgium to Kent County by Pascal De Langhe

Join us to hear the story of the emigration of a branch of the Delanghe family from the Flemish village of Koekelare to the USA and the Ontario region in Canada in the early 1900s. Register to watch online.

Saturday, April 11, 10:00 a.m.-3:30 p.m. — Ontario Ancestors
Family History Writing Workshop Day

Join this introductory course designed to help you turn your family research into clear, engaging written narratives. Whether you are just starting or looking to improve your storytelling, this session will guide you through practical techniques for organizing information, developing structure, and writing with purpose.

10:00 a.m. – Ross Petty – Publishing Journal Articles Involving Ancestors

11:30 a.m. – Kate Penney Howard – Facts and Fables: Crafting Your Family Narrative

12:30 – 1:30 p.m. – Lunch

1:30 – 3:30 p.m. – Lynn Palermo – Ancestors Profiles Writing Workshop

This event is free for members or $25 for non-members. For more information or to register, visit: https://ogs.on.ca/family-history-writing-course-april-2026.