We’re starting to see more in-person meetings, bit by bit, at Ontario Ancestors, but fortunately they’re also online, which is very generous of them to do so for those of us who live far away.
Ontario Ancestors and five of its branches are hosting virtual presentations this week, including two that are hybrid. As usual, all are free and open to the public.
Worth noting, in particular, is the hybrid event to celebrate Simcoe County Branch’s 40th anniversary. While the entire event can be attended in person, the branch is also inviting people from afar to join them online for an hour.
The following times are in Eastern time.
Monday, May 1, 7:00 p.m. — Leeds & Grenville Branch
Finding Them on the Ground by Ken McKinlay
Records such as censuses and maps can often give us the lot, concession, and township information for where our rural Ontario kin resided. However, finding those details can sometimes be a challenge. In this presentation, genealogist Ken McKinlay will be diving into those various online resources and showing us how to find those nuggets with the records. With that information we have a much better chance of finding the various Ontario land records related to their property. Register.
Tuesday, May 2, 7:00 p.m. — Durham County Branch
Old Brock Township: Origin & Key Events by Larry Doble
Were your ancestors from Brock Township in the historic Ontario County? Come and join us as historian Larry Doble explores the settlement story of this area. This presentation will describe the history behind the creation of Brock Township and wars, battles, and events which determined who settled there.
This will be a hybrid meeting. Register to watch online. In-person will be at Northminster United Church, 676 Simcoe St. N., Oshawa, ON (NW corner of Simcoe Street North and Rossland Road West). Parking can be limited.
Wednesday, May 3, 7:30 p.m. — Huron County Branch
Decoding the Dash: Build the Stories of Their Lives by Dave Obee
Grave markers often show the birth and death dates, with a dash in between the two dates. Those dates are usually the least interesting aspects of a person’s life, because it is what is in between that counts. Lives are not measured by start and end dates; if so, they would have no meaning. This session uses examples to show what might happen when we start digging on the Internet, on the standard family history sites and beyond, and then dive into records in archives and libraries. It is easier than ever to tell the stories of your ancestors’ lives. Register.
Thursday, May 4, 7:30 p.m. — Ontario Ancestors
Always Get Your Man: Researching the Men of the Mounted Police, 1873-1920 by Glenn Wright
The Northwest Mounted Police (NWMP) was established in 1873 to ensure law, order and Canadian sovereignty in the recently acquired western prairies and to prepare the way for large-scale land settlement. As agents of the federal government, the men of the Mounted played a significant role in the history of this vast region consisting of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and the northern territories. No local history can be written without reference to the Mounted Police and their presence across the west and in the north.
For those of us interested in family history and genealogy, we are fortunate that most members of the Mounted Police who served between 1873 and 1920 can be documented, and many of these men had Ontario connections. This presentation will explore individual service and related records, various archival and published resources, websites and more, sources that can be marshalled to research and understand the history and career of an individual Mounted Policeman in the years before 1920. Research suggestions for the post-1920 period will also be provided. Register.
Saturday, May 6, 10:00 a.m. — London & Middlesex Branch
Introduction to Evernote for Genealogy by Lisa Louise Cooke
Evernote puts all your notes right at your fingertips no matter where you are. In addition to super fast and easy note taking and retrieval, you’ll learn how to clip items from the Internet (rather than saving entire bulky web pages!) and use OCR technology to search your digitized documents like newspaper articles. Evernote harnesses the power of the Cloud to allow you to work across all your computing devices (including your iPad and smartphone.) Best of all, it’s free!
This is a hybrid meeting and registration is required for both in-person and online attendance. Register.
Saturday, May 6, 1:00 – 3:30 p.m. — Simcoe County Branch
40th Anniversary Celebration
Join us along with our partners, the various historical and genealogical groups from Simcoe County, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Simcoe County Branch. Come on out and see in person what these local groups have to offer and how they can impact your family history research project. There will be opportunity to purchase publications from these groups and door prizes will be drawn throughout the afternoon.
While we would love to see everyone in person, we realize many do not live close enough to make that possible. In order to accommodate all, we will be using our Zoom webinar time from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. to introduce each group, hear about their current projects and how they can help the genealogical community. For online viewing only, please register for Zoom.
The line to register for online viewing and details about the in-person event, which runs from 1:00 to 3:30 p.m., are here.
