The following virtual presentations are hosted by Ontario Ancestors’ branches. They are free and open to the public.
The times are in Eastern time.
Wednesday, February 21, 7:00 p.m. — Thunder Bay District Branch
More Thrilling Stories from New France by Carol Ufford and Dawn Kelly
Carol Ufford and Dawn Kelly return with more fascinating stories from New France — unusual deaths, illegitimate children, and of course a little witchcraft and murder. As they tell the stories, Carol and Dawn will show some of the resources they used to trace their family histories. Register to watch online.
Thursday, February 22, 7:00 p.m. — Waterloo Region Branch
William Dickson’s Settlement Scheme: Finding Ancestors in Dumfries Township 1820s-1840s by Dianne Brydon
In 1816 William Dickson purchased over 90,000 acres in the area between Galt and Brantford, east and west of the Grand River, and he set about settling his surveyed lots with fellow countrymen from the Borders area in Scotland. Over the following decades he, and his son after him, allocated land to hundreds of immigrants who took up his offer in what he named Dumfries Township (later North and South Dumfries Township, Counties of Waterloo and Brant). Although little has been written about this settlement scheme, records abound with rich detail about each immigrant family’s experience. The full picture is difficult to piece together as the records are distributed among archives and among collections within archives. This lecture will briefly describe William Dickson’s settlement scheme; use examples to show the types of land records he kept and the information they contain; show where to find the records; offer tips for searching within the collections; showcase useful ancillary records; and highlight gems found in historical secondary sources. Register to watch online.
Sunday, February 25, 2:00 p.m. — Halton-Peel Branch
Getting the Most from Online Newspaper Collections in OurDigitalWorld by Jess Posgate
Online newspaper collections vary a lot depending on the original material, the date range, and how well the content has been processed or indexed for searching. This session will walk you through how to find your best search results and what’s available via OurDigitalWorld’s newspaper collections. It will include search tips, capturing your results, and how to contribute to local history collections for everyone’s benefit. Register to watch online.
