Author Lucille Campey will deliver two presentations at the British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa’s (BIFHSGO) virtual monthly meeting on Saturday, March 13.
Ms. Campey has been a popular speaker at BIFHSGO’s conferences, and now you can attend two of her presentations for free via Zoom.
At 9:00 a.m. Eastern time, Ms. Campey will present Numbers not Names: Using British Government Publications to Locate Ancestors.
Although census returns, customs records and the British Parliamentary Papers may seem like unlikely sources to use in tracking down a British ancestor who immigrated to Canada, they do hold nuggets of data that can provide vital clues. Ms. Campey will demonstrate how such sources can sometimes reveal the geographical origins of immigrants and/or their places of settlement in Canada. This can be achieved by analyzing numeric data rather than hunting down a particular surname.
At 10:30 a.m., Ms. Campey will present Canada’s Irish Pioneers: Their Story.
As pioneers, the Irish bestrode Canada. They were the largest immigrant group during Canada’s formative years. They dug its canals, built its roads, chopped down its trees and established many of its early farming communities.
They were ambitious, self-funded people with big dreams who were desperate to escape from the poverty in their homeland. And yet, despite their great pioneering successes, some politically-motivated people continue to depict them as sad and helpless exiles.
Ms. Campey will debunk this negative imagery by revealing the facts underlying their immigration saga. She will demonstrate how the Irish were able to fund their own sea crossings, find out about the availability of prime locations and make tremendous strides as pioneers. She will conclude that Canada’s Irish pioneers deserve our admiration and gratitude — not our pity.
You only need to register once to attend one or both of the presentations. Ms. Campey draws a large crowd, so register soon.
Dundurn Press has published 14 of Ms. Campey’s books. Her latest book, Canada’s Irish Pioneers: Their Story, was self-published in September 2020, and John D. Reid reviewed it on his blog, Canada’s Anglo-Celtic Connections. You can also “look inside” this latest book on Amazon.
