Durham’s June 3rd Hybrid Meeting: Untold Oshawa with Jennifer Weymark

 

Please join us on Tuesday, June 3, 2025 at 7:30 pm as Jennifer Weymark, M.A. presents “Untold Oshawa: An Expanded History” which was published in 2024. Jennifer will be in-person.

Untold Oshawa, published for the city’s centennial, broadens the traditional narrative of Oshawa’s history by including diverse, often overlooked perspectives. The book explores Black and Jewish history, Indigenous experiences, women in politics, labour movements, and stories of displaced persons, highlighting the rich cultural fabric of the community. Through well-researched yet accessible prose, it celebrates the many individuals and groups who have shaped Oshawa. This vital addition to the city’s historical record offers readers a deeper, more inclusive understanding of its past and is a must-read for history enthusiasts.

Copies of the book will be available at the in-person meeting. Cash, debit and credit can be used.

Jennifer Weymark has been with the Oshawa Historical Society for 23 years, 22 of those years spent as the Archivist. This role has given Jennifer the opportunity to put to good use her undergraduate work in history and cultural anthropology, while also putting into practice the theories and skills learned while earning her Masters Degree in Museum Studies.

This will be a hybrid meeting: both in-person and via Zoom. Everyone is welcome. Please come and bring a friend. The library will be open at 7 pm.

In-person location: 3rd Floor Boardroom, Northminster United Church, 676 Simcoe Street North, Oshawa, ON, L1G 4V7 [NW corner of Simcoe St. N. and Rossland Rd. W.]

Virtual: Kindly pre-register at the following Zoom link:

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0od-CqrzwvE9wJbJMUnHnmZSRKloeVCn2f

Durham’s May 6th Virtual Meeting – ScotlandsPeople + FamilySearch = Savings

Please join us on Tuesday, May 6, 2025 @7:30 pm as Ken McKinlay presents: 

ScotlandsPeople + FamilySearch = Savings (via Zoom)

Researching our kin in Scotland can get a little pricey if we want to view the images of the birth, marriage, and death statutory registrations and the census records. With a bit of time and knowledge we can make use of key collections on FamilySearch to save us a little bit of money.

Located in Ottawa, Ontario, Ken McKinlay is a genealogy researcher with over 20 years of trial and error experience in researching his own family's history in Canada, United States, England, Scotland and Ireland. 

Ken belongs to the British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa (AKA BIFHSGO) and the Ottawa Branch of the Ontario Ancestors (AKA Ontario Genealogical Society). Ken has held many roles in both organizations and their respective conferences.

The talks he gives quite often deal with the methodologies for researching family history and also how to use technology to assist with doing the research. 

Ken’s blog is available at: https://familytreeknots.blogspot.com/

Everyone is welcome!

Please pre-register at the following Zoom link:

https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/bb7w_b3JT-iTVAV4R3UQKQ

Durham's Virtual April 1st Meeting - "How DNA Can Reveal Truth - A Case Study" with Mags Gaulden

 

"How DNA Can Reveal Truth - A Case Study" with Mags Gaulden

Join us on Tuesday, April 1st at 7:30 pm EDT via Zoom as we welcome back noted genetic genealogist Mags Gaulden.

In this talk, we will discover what YDNA is and how to use it to scrape away the dust and grime of long-held family lore to reveal the truth of descent—all the way down to a pin on the map, in a surprise no one expected.

Mag's Bio:

Mags Gaulden is a Professional Genealogist specializing in Genetic Genealogy as founder of Grandma’s Genes in Ottawa. After earning her Bachelor’s Degree from Columbia College, she began to work her own genealogy as a “hobby”. This 30-year “hobby” eventually led her to a Leader role with WikiTree. 

Mags is an international Genetic Genealogy lecturer, blogger and a social media maven. She serves as Admin for Facebook groups including the ISOGG Facebook Group. She is a former member of the Canadian Casualty Identification Team.

Through her non-profit work with mitoYDNA.org, Mags and other genetic genealogists are providing a free and accessible YDNA and mtyDNA database for the genealogy Community. “Doing DNA Right”. mitoYDNA.org

Kindly pre-register at the following Zoom link:

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0uf-qqrj4tG9AT1go3zHTdDrucbbSDHts6

Durham's Mar. 4th Virtual Meeting: Dave Obee - Guide to Digital Collections

 Beyond the Online Basics: A Genealogical Guide to Digital Collections 

Dave Obee

Please join us at 7:30 pm on Tuesday, March 4th EST via Zoom as we host one of our favourite speakers, Dave Obee. Everyone is welcome and let your friends know too.

There are billions of scanned pages on the Internet -- a collection that few physical libraries could match. The problem is that many pages relevant to your research can be difficult to track down, since they are not on the usual genealogy websites. This session provides ideas on how to find the documents that will help you learn more about your families, or the local histories of the areas where they lived.

Biography (short)

Noted speaker, newspaper man and raconteur Dave Obee is a familiar speaker at OGS Conferences and Branch Zoom Webinars. 

Dave Obee has written a dozen books and has given more than 700 presentations at genealogy and history conferences since 1997. He offers four dozen presentation topics, ranging from general genealogical information, to Canadian research, to technology and more.

Editor and Publisher of the “Times Colonist“ in Victoria, British Columbia, Dave hosts CanGenealogy, a link site that is selective and sorted for ease of use. He also runs Volhynia.com, a website dedicated to the old German colonies in the northwest corner of Ukraine. His own website is at DaveObee.com

This will be a Zoom only meeting. Kindly register at the following Zoom link:

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEkcuyvqz0qGtFJsvc9A6ty433k2nOOjv6O

Durham's Feb 4th Virtual Meeting - Six Free Websites Every Ontario Genealogist Needs - Janice Nickerson, U.E.

 

Six Free Websites Every Ontario Genealogist Needs

Please join us on Tuesday Feb. 4th at 7:30 pm via Zoom as we welcome Janice Nickerson, one of our favourite speakers.

Topic:

If you watch TV, you might be forgiven for thinking that you need to pay hefty subscription fees to big genealogy companies to research your ancestors. But some of Janice’s most exciting finds were found on six free websites. In this lecture she will introduce you to her favourite online sources for Ontario family history.

Bio:

Janice Nickerson, U.E., is a professional genealogist based in Toronto. 

Her expertise includes Upper Canadian history, criminal justice records, turning bare bones genealogies into shareable family stories, and using genealogy gifts and games to create a legacy. 

In addition to helping her private clients discover the richness of their ancestral heritage, Janice does heir searching for provincial Public Trustees, writes and lectures on a variety of genealogical topics. 

Her books, Crime and Punishment in Upper Canada: A Researcher’s Guide (2010), and York’s Sacrifice: Militia Casualties of the War of 1812 (2012) were both published by the joint imprint of the Ontario Genealogical Society and Dundurn Press. 

Janice is a proud 8th-generation Canadian, with English, German, Irish, Welsh and First Nations ancestry.

Please register at the following Zoom Link:

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwkd-GhqT8qH9bj4rTKVVQNpddgsarkciML

Durham's January 7th Zoom Meeting: Where Have All the Obits Gone?

 

Please join Durham Region Branch on Tuesday, January 7th at 7:30 pm as Gordon McBean tackles the topic “Where have all the obits gone?

Some argued that there was no need for genealogical societies to record obits anymore, once online obituaries became available. After all, it’s all online now! Due to the high cost of publishing obits many people are only publishing brief notices and then using the Funeral Homes website to publish a complete obit. Funeral Home sites are not permanent and newspapers are closing and their websites disappearing.

A detailed obituary will focus on the important moments that made up the life of a loved one. Including short anecdotes which show readers the true character of the person who has passed away. An obituary is the final record of a person’s life: their achievements, interests, passions and milestones. Because published obituaries become part of the public record, obituaries keep the memory of those we loved alive. Who is ensuring the information will be preserved when newspapers shut down and websites disappear.

Gordon McBean, a member of the Manitoba Genealogical Society (MGS) since 1996, has been actively involved in the organization, including serving as past president and VP of Information Technology from 2011 to 2017. He played a crucial role in developing the MGS MANI online database, which now includes over 1,500,000 index records. A retired Educational Technologist from Red River College, Gordon supported staff with technology training and is also an avid photographer and outdoor enthusiast. In 2023, he was honored with the Sovereign’s Medal for Volunteers for his significant contributions to genealogy and community service.

This will be a Zoom only meeting Everyone is welcome to attend.

Kindly pre-register at:

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0scemtqzMvGNYLfDTYeSdlprT68-KXS9l_

Durham's Dec. 3rd Christmas Meeting (In-person only): Library Research - Bring & Brag - Christmas Potluck Treats

 

Please join Durham Region Branch on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024 @ 7:30 pm as we celebrate the holiday season (in-person only).

The meeting will be held in the “Steven and Lori Wood Library” in the 3rd floor Boardroom of Northminster United Church. The library will be open at 7 pm, so bring your research questions and see what resources we have. The library holds a very eclectic collection, covering far more than Durham Region.

The meeting will start at approximately 7:30 and will feature items that attendees have brought for the “Show & Tell”. Look around your collection and bring something that you wish to brag about and astound the audience.

During this very informal meeting, we will be providing hot cider and other drinks. Please bring a few Christmas treat to share with others and enjoy the comradery.

Northminster United Church is located at the north-west corner of Simcoe St. N. and Rossland Rd. W. at 676 Simcoe St. N, Oshawa. The parking lot of the church is located off Carnegie Ave. (1 block west of Simcoe St on Rossland Rd).  Parking is also allowed on the side streets nearby, and in the school parking lot on the south-east corner of Simcoe and Rossland. The door to the meeting is located facing Rossland Rd. W. Please note that the lift for the church is extremely unreliable, so please use the stairs. We will have chairs on the landings for you to rest if needed.