Showing posts with label Ontario. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ontario. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Region One Annual Meeting

The Region One Annual Meeting of the Ontario Genealogical Society hosted by Lambton County Branch OGS will be held on October 19th, 2013 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the John Knox Christian School at 4738 Confederation Road, Wyoming, Ontario.

The title of the one-day conference will be On and Off the Internet Strategies for Effective Genealogical Research.

Steve Fulton, Technical Support and Innovations Committee Chair, OGS/Chair, Niagara Peninsula Branch OGS will talk on Searching the Past with the help of the .com

Alan Campbell, Newsletter Editor and Past Chair, Lambton County Branch OGS will talk about Going Totally Off-line-Almost/On-Site Researching in Libraries and Archives

Heather Lavallee, Archivist -Lambton County Archives, Wyoming, Ontario will talk about Finding the Secrets of the Archives

Advance Registration [Includes Lunch] OGS Members $30.00 CDN Non Members $35.00 CDN Registration at the Door $35.00

Register on-line at http://www.lambton.ogs.on.ca/Bulletinboard.html

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Nuit Blanche Ottawa-Gatineau


The Canadian Museum of Civilization in Ottawa has announced its first-time partnership with Nuit Blanche Ottawa-Gatineau.

It will be held this weekend on September 21, from 6:21 p.m. to 4:22 a.m., and it is Free!

Come enjoy the pop-up lounge, a temporary art installation and special exhibitions.

Too see what available, go to http://www.civilization.ca/event/nuit-blanche

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Wesleyan Methodist Baptismal Records

Starting in 1843, Wesleyan Methodist ministers kept a book of entries for births and baptisms. Each year, they submitted their book to the Conference Office.

Entries were then copied into the General Register, arranged by township, town, village and circuit. The records of the Wesleyan Methodist Church are from 1826 to 1910.

The United Church of Canada Archives who hold copyright on these records, but they have allowed the OGS to transcribe and sell these records through its thirty Branches located throughout Ontario.

To obtain copies of these baptismal record indexes, contact the Branch in the area in which you are doing your family research.

You can go to the list of Branches within the OGS at http://www.ogs.on.ca/branches.php


Postscript: Remember that these are copies of the original baptismal record. It is best if you can get the original record so that you can be sure that there are not any mistakes in transcribing the copies. 

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

UPDATE: Prince Edward Island/Ontario Cemeteries

The following cemeteries have been upgraded on the GenWeb site as of July 22, 2013 – 
PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND

Queen's County:

- Hyde & Crosby Pioneer Cemetery

ONTARIO

Brant County:

- Bethany Mission Cemetery

- Hatchley Cemetery

Bruce County:

- Chesley Cemetery

Carleton County:

- Beechwood Cemetery

Essex County:

- Annunciation Roman Catholic / L'Annonciation Cemetery

- Irwin Cemetery

- St William's RC Church Cemetery

- Tecumseh Historical Museum Cemetery

Frontenac County:
- Christ Church Anglican Cemetery

- Point Alexandria United / Horne Cemetery

- St Lawrence United / Foot Cemetery

- Trinity Anglican Cemetery

Grey County:

- Boyd Cemetery

- Mount Pleasant Cemetery

Halton County:

- Colling Cemetery

Hastings County:

- Abandoned (Purchase Farm) Cemetery

Huron County:

- Maitland Bank Cemetery

Kent County:

- Christ Church Anglican Cemetery

- Duart Cemetery

- Hyatt Cemetery

- Ridgetown (Old) Cemetery

- Smith & Hopper Burying Ground

- St Thomas Anglican Cemetery

Lambton County:

- Alvinston Cemetery

- St Matthew's Cemetery

- Thedford Baptist Cemetery

Lennox & Addington County:

- Glenwood Cemetery

- Pentland Cemetery

Middlesex County:

- Dorchester Union Cemetery

- Woodland Cemetery

Norfolk County:

- McQueen Cemetery

Oxford County:

- Tillsonburg Cemetery

Perth County:

- South Easthope / Shakespeare Cemetery

Waterloo County:

- Oswald / Hoffer / St Paul's Lutheran Cemetery

- Pioneer Tower / Doon Pioneer Cemetery

- Zion United Cemetery

Wellington County:

- St Martin's Roman Catholic Cemetery

Wentworth County:

- Christ's Church Cathedral Columbarium

These updates were not be possible if not for the volunteers, such as Alison Mitchell-Reid, Elizabeth Warwick, Kate Ford, Lorna Eggert, Marilyn Whiting, Robert Gevaert, Sharon Mattiuz, and William Cooke for indexing.


Thanks to Michael Stephens, Robert Gevaert & Ed McKeon, Doug Smith, Ron Spurr, Angela M. Clatworthy, Corinna Rumble, Alison Mitchell-Reid, Sharon Mattiuz, William Cooke, Carolyn Nordin, Lanny Robinson, Lorna Eggert, Beverly Fern McKenzie, Bonnie Philbin & Patt Preston, Bruce Nuckowski, Elizabeth Warwick, Ken Monk, and Doug & Donna Gammon for photos of the cemeteries.

Sunday, July 21, 2013

Muskoka Parry Sound Genealogy Group

On Thursday August the 15, 2013, there will be a meeting held by the Muskoka Parry Sound Genealogy Group from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. at the Huntsville Public Library, Huntsville, Ontario.

The topic will be British Home Children, and the speakers will be Bernardo Homes by Carol Black and Quarrier Homes by Dona Crawford.

The Muskoka Parry Sound Genealogy Group was formed in 1985, and it covers  both the Muskoka and Parry Sound Districts of Ontario, Canada .

On their site they have maps of Muskoka Townships, and Parry Sound Townships,
Cemetery Databases online.

Their website is www.mpsgg.com

Friday, July 19, 2013

Censuses of Canada West and Canada East, 1842

In this notice received yesterday, here are the 1842 Canadian Census for Canada West and Canada West -

“Library and Archives Canada is pleased to announce that Canadians can now access the Census of Canada West, 1842 as well as the Census of Canada East, 1842 online. In 1841, Upper Canada was renamed Canada West, whereas Lower Canada became Canada East. These two jurisdictions are now known as the provinces of Ontario and Quebec.

Each census is partly nominal and contains the names of heads of family, their occupation and the number of residents for each family.

For the Canada West (Ontario) Census, go to

Thursday, July 18, 2013

Special Interest Groups


The Ontario Genealogical Society has, at present, four Special Interest Groups (SIGs).

A SIG is a permanent group of OGS Members with an interest in some other topic, such as a geographic location outside Ontario (e.g. immigrants from a particular country), an ethnic or cultural group (e.g. natives or a particular fraternal organization), or an event (e.g. a particular emigration scheme).

Currently, the Special Interest Groups (SIGs) are



Scottish  - Currently, there isn’t a website for the Scottish SIG, but you can contact scottishsig@ogs.on.ca

British Home Child - www.ogs.on.ca/SIG-BHC/index.htm

If you are interested in joining this SIG or taking on a role of responsibility, please contact OGS President, Shirley Sturdevant president@ogs.on.ca.

There is an interest in establishing a Huguenot SIG and a Métis SIG; both are currently seeking the necessary 25 Members.

E-mail the Provincial Office http://provoffice@ogs.on.ca if you would like to see one of these formed.

Toronto Star Obituaries 1999 - April 2000, February 2001



The obituaries from the Toronto Star have recently been updated on Ancestry.ca.

Over 17,000 images have been added to the database, and the database contains more than 98,500 names

Sunday, July 14, 2013

OGS Conference 2014




The OGS Conference 2014 will be held at Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario (near Niagara Falls) May 1st to May 4th. It will be sponsored by the Niagara  Peninsula Branch OGS.

And already there is a video on the site www.ogs.on.ca/conference2014/index.php, and you can see what is available in the immediate area.

Watch for more news on the conference. It sounds as if it is going to be exciting! 

Sunday, July 7, 2013

Brant OGS Golf Fundraiser

This is a really neat idea!

On Saturday, August 31, 2013, there will be a golf fundraiser held at a local club called Fescue’s Edge, 18 Hagan Rd., Brant at 11:00 am Shotgun Start.

The cost will be $80 and it includes cart, lunch and donation to Brant OGS (Receipt for donation will be provided), and the deadline to register will be August 20, 2013.


You can contact brantogsgolf@gmail.com, or go to the web site at www.ogs.on.ca/brant

Saturday, June 22, 2013

UPDATE: TONI (The Ontario Name Index)


Since last reporting on TONI (The Ontario Name Index) earlier this spring, nearly 2 ½ million entries have been added.

TONI, as an index, is FREE for everyone the world over. In order to access information found in the databases you must pay a small fee. All proceeds from those fees support Ontario's heritage community.


Go to www.ogs.on.ca/integrated/toni_database1.php to read more about TONI, and to see if the name who are researching, is there.

Friday, June 7, 2013

Quinte OGS Branch Meeting

On 15 Jun 2013 at 1:00 pm, the Quinte OGS Branch will present the talk Why Can't I Find It Online? Other Resources to Help with Your Search. The talk will be presented by Ruth Blair, from The Passionate Genealogist blog.

A good deal of research can be done online, and many believe this is all we need, but only about 1% of genealogical data has been digitized and been made available on the Internet. Great strides are being taken to get more data online, but it is a costly process and sometimes what is available is only a small reference to a certain record group, and not the actual image.

Libraries and archives are still the main sources of information for the genealogical researcher, especially when you want to dig deeper. Ruth Blair will present case studies using such resources.

The talk will take place at Quinte West City Hall Library, 7 Creswell Drive, Trenton, Ontario

The Quinte OGS Branch web site is at www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~canqbogs/index.htm


The Passionate Genealogist web site is at http://blog.familyhistorysearches.com 

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Spirit Walk at the Crown Cemetery

A Spirit Walk will be held on Tuesday June 11th at 7 p.m. at the Crown Cemetery at Aberfoyle, Ontario.

Join them as they tell the life stories of five people buried in Crown Cemetery

two pioneer settlers

a World War Two soldier

a travelling music teacher

a  pioneer storekeeper in Morriston

A 'tailgate lunch' will follow, and you are asked to meet at the rear entrance to the cemetery off Nicholar Beaver Road (at Tim Hortons on Brock Road), Aberfoyle, Ontario.


The web site for the Puslinch Historical Society is at www.puslinchhistorical.ca/Mtgs.shtml

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

History and Importance of the Duff-Baby House

The Essex Branch of the OGS will be held on Monday June 10, 2013 from 6:00 pm at the Windsor Public Library, 850 Ouellette Ave., Windsor.

The talk will be entitled History and Importance of the Duff-Baby House, and the person giving the talk will be Evelyn McLean.

The meeting will be Free, and you can go to www.essex.ogs.on.ca for up to date info the meeting.

The Buff-Baby house was built between 1792 and 1798. It is considered to be the oldest building in Windsor. The house was built by Alexander Duff as a fur trade post, and bought in 1807 by James Baby. It  and was used as the headquarters of U.S. General Harrison. The British ravaged the building during the War of 1812.

The Duff Baby House is also one of the best-preserved and oldest Georgian-style houses in Ontario. Today the building is owned by the Ontario Heritage Trust and houses government offices.

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Niagara Peninsula Branch Indexes Updates

Steve Fulton U.E., Chair of the Niagara Peninsula Branch OGS, tells us about the following indexes on the web site -

Surname Index - Contains over 24000 Pedigree Charts

Morse & Sons Funeral Home Records - Contains 19229 Funeral Records from 1828 to Sept 1963

Neff Young Index - Contains 19136 records of family histories, notes, newspaper clipping and memorabilia from Welland County

*NEW* Branch Publications Index - Contains 7998 various publication records for the Lincoln/Welland Area

Please check back often as indexes are being worked on.

Canadian Headstones Project - The Niagara Peninsula Branch continues to work on photographing headstones in the old Lincoln/Welland Counties. Just recently we crossed over the 20,000 mark and the number is continuing to climb.

Please visit http://canadianheadstones.com for your old Lincoln and Welland research needs.

For more information, please go to Niagara Peninsula Branch O.G.S. at www.ogs.on.ca/niagara

Sunday, May 19, 2013

Brant County Branch of OGS Monthly Meeting

On Sunday, May 26, 2013, there will be a General Meeting at 2:00 pm, the speaker will be Floyd Doctor, Smokey Hollow Estates, and he will speak about Chief Peter Green and his descendants. Come Early and Browse the Brant County Branch O G S Library.

There is Free Admission Everyone Welcome

And on Monday June 24, 2013, there will be a BBQ And Strawberry Social held at 6:00 pm Brant County Branch O G S, Library and Smokey Hollow Leisure Park, $12.00 per person.

Come Early and Browse our library.

This is our Annual Fundraiser!

The The Brant County Branch Library is at 114-118 Powerline Road, on the grounds of Smokey Hollow Estates, going east from the Wayne Gretzky Parkway, just outside the North-East corner of Brantford.

One thing to note is that they are having two reunions this year at the Brant County Branch premises.

The reunions are –

Haviland Family – July 9, 2013

Misner Family - August 17, 2013

The contact information is at www.ogs.on.ca/brant/reunions.html

The website of the branch is www.ogs.on.ca/brant

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Call for Presentations - Tracing Forward - Searching for Relatives in Recent Times

This came in this morning from Gwyneth Pearce, the publicity person for the Toronto Family History Branch of the OGS -

"This is a quick reminder about a Call for Presentations issued by the Toronto Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society for our planned fall 2013 workshop titled Tracing Forward - Searching for Relatives in Recent Times. The deadline for proposals is Friday 31 May.

The aim of this workshop, to be held on Saturday 26 October, is to offer new ideas, skills or tools to help researchers trace members of their expanded family trees, people who might still be alive or recently deceased.

We are seeking proposals from professional genealogists, family historians, private investigators, legal experts and heir searchers”.

Go the Branch website at www.torontofamilyhistory.org

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Welland Canal Workers’ Historical Exhibit

The following press release just came into the office –

“During the building of the Welland Canal from 1914-1932, 124 men tragically lost their lives while working in difficult and dangerous conditions. When the canal opened in 1932, the Federal Minister of Canals and Railways of the time committed to building a memorial to remember the sacrifice of those men. Unfortunately to this day, that memorial still does not exist.

Malcolm Allen – Member of Parliament for Welland is putting a call out to the community for photographs, letters, artifacts or historical pieces relating to the Canal workers. Items loaned to our office by community members/organizations will be displayed in our constituency office at 60 King St for the month of June in order to promote the need for a permanent memorial.

Your assistance or participation in the upcoming “Welland Canal Workers’ Historical Exhibit” is greatly appreciated.

For more information please contact Lisa Bastien, Constituency Assistant for Malcolm Allen at 905-788-2204”.

To read about the history of the Welland Canal, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welland_Canal

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

BIFHSGO Conference registration is now online



Brian Glenn tells us that the 2013 British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa (BIFHSGO) Conference registration is now open. Both the mail-in form and the online application are now online.

The conference theme this year will be Ireland, and there will be many speakers there, such as, Eileen Ó Dúill (an international probate genealogical researcher from Ireland), Linda Reid (a Canadian genealogists), and Lisa Louise Cooke (an American genealogist with knowledge of new technology is outstanding). There will be many topics presented which should be of interest to those whose research area is Ireland.

For information about the 2013 Conference to be held from Sept 20 to 22, you can go to www.bifhsgo.ca/cpage.php?pt=22

Saturday, May 4, 2013

BIFHSGO Monthly Meeting



On Saturday, May 11, The Bitish Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa  (BIFGSGO) will hold a pre-meeting which will feature Comparing FTM, Legacy and Rootsmagic - An Overview which is a part of Before BIFHSGO Education Talks at 9:00 am, and it will be presented by Ken McKinlay.

The main presentation called Building a One-Name Study: The Influence of Computers, The Internet, and DNA will be held from 10:00 am to 11:30 am, and it will be presented by Bill Arthurs.

This presentation will feature the Titus One-Name Study from its inception before the era of computers, through its progression with the advent of the internet, construction of a website, and the use of DNA research.

You can go to and listen to Bill at http://bifhsgo.ca/cpage.php?pt=106 as he talks with Brooke Broadbent about his start in genealogy and One Name Studies.

If you are interested in certain surnames, you can check the surnames on http://bifhsgo.ca/surname.php. There are 1, 293 Internet pages onsite.

The website of BIFHSGO is http://bifhsgo.ca