If you are a family historian who lives in Ottawa or plans to visit this month, there are plenty of learning opportunities — and several of them are free.
Friday and Saturday, April 13 and 14
The Ottawa Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society will host Gene-O-Rama.This event begins with an all-day Genealogy for Beginners Workshop on Friday for a modest cost of $15. The Friday evening lecture is free and open to the public. On Saturday, you can attend all the lectures for $42 or just a half day for $23. The Marketplace features more than two dozen vendors and organizations, and it is free and open to the public. (I believe Ancestry will be selling DNA kits at a discount.)
Gene-O-Rama will take place at the Confederation Education Centre, 1645 Woodroffe Avenue. Although online registration has closed, walk-in registrations will be welcomed for the beginners workshop and the Saturday lectures. Inquiries can be made by email at ottawaconference@ogs.on.ca.
Saturday, April 14
Down the road from the Gene-O-Rama location, the British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa‘s monthly meeting begins with the Before BIFHSGO Education talk at 9:00 a.m. when Sheila Dohoo Faure will talk about the ongoing research society members are doing on the WWI No.1 Canadian Casualty Clearing Station database.
At 10:00 a.m., Dr. Sarah Lockyer, from the Directorate of History and Heritage at the Department of National Defence, will talk about the Casualty Identification Program and its aims to identify the newly discovered skeletal remains of Canadian service members.
Both of these presentations are free and open to the public and will take place at Ben Franklin Place, 101 Centrepointe Drive.
Saturday, April 21
Drop in to the free Genealogy and Local History Fair from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Sponsored by the Ottawa Public Library and BIFHSGO, the fair features genealogy and local history presentations, displays by community organizations, and genealogy specialists on hand to answer questions.
Free presentations
Discover your Roots: Getting Started – Barbara Tose and Glenn Wright, BIFHSGO
Finding Your Roots with DNA – John Reid, BIFHSGO
Building and Sharing Your Family Tree – Leanne Cooper, BIFHSGO
“I have my DNA results. What do I do now?” – Susan Courage, BIFHSGO
Lost Ottawa – David McGee
The fair is open to the public and takes place at the Ottawa Public Library, Ben Franklin Place, 101 Centrepoint Drive. The presentation times are available on the library website in the link above.
