Three branches at Ontario Ancestors will host a free virtual presentation this week. All are open to the public.
In addition to these presentations, Ontario Ancestors is hosting the second webinar in its three-part series, Researching Your UK Ancestors. The series is free to members. Non-members can watch one webinar for $15 or purchase the series for $30.
The times are in Eastern time.
Wednesday, September 18, 7:00 p.m. — Lambton County Branch
A Childhood Interrupted: A Child Migrant’s Journey by Kathryn Adams
Kathryn shares the life experiences of her mother Evelyn Donnelly Tomes, a British Home Child, who migrated from England to Canada in 1945 at age 11. (Postponed from last week.) Register to watch online.
Thursday, September 19, 7:00 p.m. — Sault Ste Marie and District of Algoma Branch
Trace Your French-Canadian Ancestors to France and Find Records by Jean-Yves Vanier-Verbeek
The session is structured in four steps:
1. Discover a French ancestor that emigrated to New France
2. Identify the date of birth (or baptism), the département and the parish of origin in France of the French ancestor
3. Find the website of the archives départementales (of the place of origin of the ancestor) which offers digitized records
4. Find the digitized record of the ancestor in the archives départementales website.
For Step 1 and Step 2, I show the most effective printed and online resources available to search for French Canadian ancestors and trace the lineage to the first French pioneer in New France. I engage the participants by asking for volunteers to provide the names of a French-Canadian ancestor they would like to trace back to France. I then demonstrate how to trace their lineage and locate the French-Canadian records along the way, to finally determine the place of origin in France for their furthest ancestor. For Step 3, I demonstrate the various methods to find the website of the archives départementales which offers digitized records (of the place of origin of the French ancestor found). Finally for Step 4, I demonstrate how to best navigate the archives départementales websites to locate the digitized record of the ancestor. Register to watch online.
Saturday, September 21, 10:00 a.m. — Kingston Branch
Researching Indigenous Ancestors in Ontario by Jenna Lemay
Jenna, who works in the archives of a former Residential School and specializes in First Nations and Métis ancestry research, will teach you the basics of researching Indigenous ancestors in Ontario. Some common problems will be discussed, along with tips for how to deal with these issues. A case study of a Northern Ontario Indigenous family will be used to illustrate these methods. Register to watch online.
Saturday, September 21, 3:00 a.m. — Ontario Ancestors
Understanding Welsh Church Records by Eilir Daniels
Church records are an excellent source for accurate information on names, dates, and places of birth, marriage, and burial. Most people who lived in Wales before the mid-nineteenth century are in a church record. In this presentation, Eilir will show us how to use both Church and Chapel records and will give us some insight into understanding the Welsh words contained within the documents.
This is the second presentations in the three-part webinar series, Researching Your UK Ancestors. The series is free to members. Non-members can purchase the series for $30 or individual webinars for $15. Register to watch online.
