Four branches at Ontario Ancestors will host a virtual presentation this week. Three are free, and one has a fee for its two-part series. All are open to the public.
The times are in Eastern time.
Monday, June 5, 7:00 p.m. — Leeds & Grenville Branch
Cornwall Community Museum by Brent Whitford
Senior Curator Brent Whitford will talk about the collections of the Stormont, Dundas, and Glengarry Historical Society (SDGHS) which cover 1784 to present day, including a large assembly of photographic negatives, maps, historical documents, and materials about individuals, families, businesses, congregations, community organizations, and associations that contributed to the rich history of Cornwall and the SD&G area.
The Cornwall Community Museum and Archives has operated since 1956 in a heritage house, known as the Wood House, which in 2000 was re-located to 160 Water Street West in Lamoureux Park in Cornwall. In 2022 the United Empire Loyalists Association of Canada (UELAC) moved their Dominion Office into the premises. Register.
Tuesday, June 6, 7:30 p.m. — Durham Region Branch
Four Proven Strategies for Overcoming Research Obstacles by Janice Nickerson
Are you stuck? Have you tried everything to solve your genealogical puzzle? Professional genealogist Janice Nickerson will share four proven strategies she uses every day to overcome her clients’ research obstacles. These strategies apply to any family history problem, whether you’re seeking living relatives or long-dead ancestors, in Whitby or Wuhan. This is a hybrid meeting. Register to watch online or attend in person at the branch’s library on the upper floor at Northminster United Church, 676 Simcoe St. N., Oshawa.
Wednesday, June 7, 7:30 p.m. — Huron County Branch
Highlanders, Islanders, Outlanders and Y-DNA’: A One-Name Scottish Genealogical Research Adventure Back in Time by John Maguire
This Y-DNA case study presentation will focus on the family of one local Ontario family with the surname Campbell which emigrated from the Island of Tiree, Scotland, in the Inner Hebrides, to Greenock Township, Bruce County, Ontario in 1851. The presenter, John Campbell Maguire, is one of many descendants of the head of that pioneer family, a man named Duncan Alexander Campbell (1828-1911). That man’s father and grandfather had been identified but the paper trail ended abruptly with the latter’s 1770 Tiree baptism.
After exhausting conventional genealogical record sources, this Y-DNA research initiative commenced in 2019 with a male Campbell cousin’s Y-DNA test sample and the seemingly impossible goal of trying to verify further generations at the top end of the paternal surname line. In addition to this primary genealogical goal, the researchers also hoped to either prove or disprove a longstanding, and seemingly fanciful, family history origin myth.
John is one of three researchers who has been working collaboratively to advance this particular surname study’s goals over the past three years. Employing cutting edge scientific tools to compare our volunteer tester’s Y-DNA results with hundreds of others in the Clan Campbell Society’s DNA Project database, it has already led to some remarkable preliminary discoveries concerning previously unknown forbears, the family’s connection to Clan Campbell and their early wanderings elsewhere in Scotland. The research, which is still ongoing, is now pointing to additional family groupings as likely ancestor candidates even ‘further back’ in time, as well as to certain documentary sources that might be used to verify these distant, theorized, familial connections. None of this would have been possible but for the Y-DNA results and analysis.
This is a hybrid meeting. Register to watch online or attend in person at the Huron County Museum, 110 North St., Goderich.
Thursday, June 8 and Thursday, June 15, 7:30 p.m. — Toronto Branch
From Cornwall to Ontario in the 19th Centure: Two-Part Online Series
Our two speakers will explore the journey of 19th century emigrants from Cornwall to Ontario. This series is designed to appeal to all genealogists following an ethnic group who came to the new world and created new communities here. Although the program is focused on Cornwall, the themes and research techniques discussed are applicable to those without Cornish ancestry.
June 8: Cornish Settlers in East Whitby Township: 1830s and 1840s
Many families from St. Blazey, Cornwall, emigrated together and settled in the east half of Whitby Township. Historian Wesley Johnston will look at the conditions leading to emigration, then follow the story of one family’s journey from St. Blazey to Whitby, the focus of the English Corner’s Project. He will explain the strategy he used to untangle these “Family Thickets” and how it can be applied to other immigrant groups. Wesley will also talk about what resources he expects will further his research.
June 15: The Bible Christians of Ontario
Many of the Cornish immigrants were Bible Christians. Author and researcher Sher Leetooze will describe how exploring the roots of Bible Christians led to her writing three books about them. We’ll learn where they came from, why they left, and where they settled and built their chapels. Sher will describe some of the original sources she used to understand how the Bible Christian preachers became the glue binding these Cornish immigrant communities together.
Registration for both presentations is $20 for non-members and $15 for OGS members. The webinars will be recorded, so that registrants who can’t attend the live presentations may watch at a more convenient time. Learn more and register here.
