Genealogy à la carte

The British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa (BIFHSGO) in Canada’s capital announced today its 26th annual family history conference will be held virtually from September 19 to 26, 2021.

Irish Lines and Female Finds
Exploring Irish records, female ancestors and genetic genealogy

The conference themes of Irish records, female ancestors and genetic genealogy will be integrated into a range of presentations, including new Irish records, finding female ancestors in archives, the Irish diaspora, DNA in Irish ancestors, researching marginalized women, Irish famine orphans in Canada, and much more.

Fourteen international speakers — all experts in their own fields — will be featured in 15 presentations over eight days.

The speakers are Mia Bennett, Martin Curley, Brian Donovan, Dr. Janet Few, Mags Gaulden, Dr. Edmund Gilbert, Maurice Gleeson, Roz McCutcheon, Mark McGowan, Chris Paton, Gena Philibert-Ortega, Dr. Jim Ryan, and Kyla Ubbink.

BIFHSGO President Duncan Monkhouse said, “We hope you will be as excited by the topics chosen as we are, and that you will come away with great new research paths to explore.”

Whether you are brand new to genealogy or a seasoned family historian, this information-filled event will offer opportunities to further your research skills.

No matter where you live in the world, if you have a good internet connection, you can register and attend BIFHSGO’s virtual conference.

The CDN$45 registration fee includes access to all presentations, as well as access to the presentation videos/recordings and handouts for two weeks after the conference concludes. (Currency converter)

The conference will also feature a virtual Gathering Place (formerly the Marketplace), where you may make contact with organizations offering products to help your research.

Visit the conference website for program details and to register.

As many as 100 million people all over the world are believed to have Irish ancestors, and that’s probably a good reason why MyHeritage and Ancestry are both providing free access to their Irish collections for a week.

MyHeritage is opening all of its Irish records for free to the public for one week, from March 11 to 18.

 MyHeritage’s Irish record collection includes around 14 million records, such as census records, vital records, directories, and wills.

Ancestry’s Corporate Genealogist Crista Cowan announced yesterday during a Facebook Live presentation about Irish records that Ancestry is also providing free access to its Irish collections for one week, starting today.

It should be possible to find Ancestry’s records at www.ancestry.com/cs/stpatricksday.

The microform collection is now available for consultation at Library and Archives Canada (LAC) in Ottawa in a limited capacity.

LAC will start accepting reservations on Monday, March 15 at 10:00 a.m. Eastern time for the week of March 30 to April 2 (Tuesday to Friday only). You will be able to book up to four reservations per week, each for a duration of three hours.

To complete your booking, you will need your user card. If you do not already have one, you can register for a user card.

Once you receive your confirmation email, you will have a maximum of 24 hours to order the material you need to consult during your visit. This will allow the reference specialists time to prepare your requested material. If you do not order any material, your reservation will be cancelled. All of the details on how to order your material, along with general as well as health and safety instructions, will be included in your confirmation email.

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.