Workshop Friday at the OGS Conference 2013

Years ago when the annual Conference of the OGS was held, it was a two-day affair – Saturday and Sunday.

Over the past couple of years, it has expanded to include Friday, and now since 20011, a Thursday evening “Meet the Board” Reception. It is a "get togther" with the OGS Board who have arrived early to have their pre-conference board meeting on Thursday.

So come out on Thursday evening 7:00 to 9:00, and meet the people who keep our organization running. There will be refreshments and snacks. Its a sort of a warm-up top the Conference.

And on Workshop Friday, there will be 4 workshops to choose from, and then in the evening, there is the Houston Memorial Lecture. Each year, the Ontario Genealogical Society sponsors a prominent genealogist to speak at the Conference Opening Ceremonies and Reception.

This year’s speaker will be Dave Obee, who will address the attendees on the topic of Seven Habits of Highly Successful Genealogists.

I have heard him on a number of occasions, and he has even written a paper for Families a few years ago, and he is worth listening to so that you can hear his latest thoughts on genealogy.

The two workshops I will be attending on Friday will be

An Introduction to Ontario Wills and Administrations & Beyond the Estate File by Jane MacNamara.

She is such a good lecturer, and the estate files are a rich source for finding family connections and social and financial circumstances. I hope to find out how to access these important court records.

In the afternoon, I will be going to The Scots-Irish: Origins, Emigration, Religion, and Research Sources by Dick Doherty, in which he will explore the Scots-Irish  from Scottish origins to Ulster Plantation, Presbyterian religion, emigration from Ireland to North America, and 17th and 18th century settlement patterns in Canada.

To find out more details, go to www.ogs.on.ca/conference2013/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/OGSConference2013Registration-Dec27.pdf

Ontario Genealogical Society Conference 2013

The OGS has just opened their registration for their Conference 2013 to be held in Oshawa May 31, June 1 & 2 of this year. The theme of this year’s Conference will be “Pulling Up Stakes: Putting Down Roots”.

They have also put the program on the site and it does look interesting with a good mix of Ontario, and US speakers. Canadian such as Dave Obee, Marian Press, and Brian Gilchrist, and American such as Maureen Taylor, and Liza Also.

The Conference was held in 2006 at the same place, and at that time, they had a great Conference, so this one should be no different.

There are plenty of classes to chose from, early bird registration, lots of tours to take, and there will be a marketplace, so take a look at www.ogs.on.ca/conference2013/home

30th Anniversary Party – Durham Branch OGS

Garry R. Holland, in charge of the publicity for the Durham Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society (OGS) http://www.ogs.on.ca/durham/index.htm, writes and tells us that Durham Branch will hold it's 30^th Anniversary party on Tuesday June 5^th at 7:30 pm.

At the Anniversary Celebration there will be Nancy Trimble, the former president of the OGS, and she will talk on "Look to the Future - Social Networking", and Janis Carter who will talk on the history of the branch, and will present a slide-show. And there will be the all important CAKE to celebrate the 30^th Anniversary!!

Bring along your family trees, for you may find unexpected ancestor connections to others while at this meeting/celebration.

The meetings are held at the Main Branch of the Oshawa Library (basement auditorium). They hold meetings on the first Tuesday of each month, in the basement auditorium, 65 Bagot Street, just south of City Hall.

The OGS 2013 Conference will he held in Oshawa next year.