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 Branch’s February Meeting - Doing Family Tree Research in Your Pajamas

 

Doing Family Tree Research in Your Pajamas – Ken McKinlay of “Family Tree Knots”

With the challenges resulting from the pandemic, we still have to contend with many restrictions when it comes to visiting our favourite archives and museums. Fortunately, we still have a vast array of resources available to us online with more coming out every week. In this presentation, Ken will touch upon the various online resources and tools that permit us to continue researching the various branches of our family trees, all without leaving the comfort and safety of our homes.

Ken McKinlay's foray into his family tree research started with three simple family stories that he wanted to confirm or refute. He has now been researching his family tree for over 20 years and discoveries are still being made. He has given talks for branches of Ontario Ancestors, the British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa, and the Ottawa Public Library. Ken's talks generally focus on methodologies and providing the skills needed to help solve those brick wall problems. He has a genealogy related blog at Family Tree Knots ( https://familytreeknots.blogspot.com/ ) where he shares the methodologies that he uses in his own research.

The meeting will be held at 7:30 pm on Tuesday, February 7th via Zoom only.

Kindly register for the Zoom programme via the following link:

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwkdOGoqjMvHtx9wLxnGFitfvECl6oZbjtE

Join Us For More Eastern Europe Research Skill-Building

 

Durham Region Branch and the Uxbridge Genealogy Group announce a special joint presentation!

Topic: I Just Can't Get Enough of Eastern Europe with Eva Kujawa

Time: Tuesday, September 7th, 2021 @ 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time  **Note: earlier time**

In her intermediate level talk, Eva Kujawa will go more in depth with regards to Civil Registration records, how to locate places within the various countries that make up Eastern Europe, how to locate Church records as well as how to decipher and read the many languages and alphabets. Migration patterns, identify & research Clusters, newspapers, land, military and more records will also be covered.

Branch members will find Eva's introductory lecture from April 15th on the Durham Region OGS Members’ Only section of our website.

Eva Kujawa was born in South Africa and specializes in German, South African and Eastern European genealogy with 30 years of research and learning. Currently, she is a member of Ontario Ancestors' East European Special Interest Group and many other societies. 

You must pre-register at the following link:

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYqcO6ppz4uHdEa6m0GX0XQYxLjWzPbyFM5

Special Joint Meeting with Uxbridge Genealogy Group!

 Introduction to Researching Your East European Ancestors

Thursday, April 15th, 2021 @ 7 p.m.

via Zoom

Hosted by: Uxbridge Genealogy Group & Durham Region Branch

At the date and time shown above, please join with this link.

There are 100 seats available on a first come, first served basis.

"What Am I?" - Meeting Tonight, Tuesday April 4th at 7:30 pm.

Paul Jones - "I am not a Jones, but what am I?"

Paul will tell the story of researching two generations of 'father unknowns' and his true surname. This involved 25 years of research, including family oral history (often proven wrong) along with some usual and not so usual documents. Finally, a puzzling Y-DNA test, and an autosomal DNA test yielded solutions.

Come and join us to hear Paul's story. Everybody is welcome. Our meeting is held in the basement Auditorium at the Oshawa Public Library, Bagot Street in Oshawa (across from City Hall). Library parking is free after 6 p.m.

Mini-talk: Methods for backing up records

Our meetings are often streamed on YouTube starting at 7:30. Our channel for streaming is http://www.youtube.com/ channel/UCiHiKL0pfzXzG- G9YARS8Sg/live . 

“This program is not sponsored by the Oshawa Public Library and does not carry any responsibility for its content”

Last Chance to Sign up for the "British Isles Research From Afar" workshop

You're running out of time: Our British Isles Workshop is this coming Saturday! Sign up by the 25th and you will get your lunch included! Join us at Faith United Church in Courtice, just east of Oshawa. We start with coffee and check-in at 9 a.m. and our Opening Remarks will be at 9:30 a.m.

We have 2 great speakers for you: 

Ruth Blair of Oakville and Stephen Wood of Whitby

We have 4 great talks for you:

Researching Your English and Welsh Ancestors

Taking Your Irish Ancestors Back Over The Pond

Particulars and Peculiarities of Scottish Research

Researching Your Scots-Irish Ancestors: Canada and Beyond

Register Now at the Durham Region Branch Workshop Page

or send us an e-mail to durhamevents@ogs.on.ca

Devon and Cornwall Research - May 3rd Meeting

Sher Leetooze will be our speaker at our May 3rd meeting, which will be held at 7:30 p.m. in the Basement Auditorium of the Oshawa Public Library, Bagot St., Oshawa (just south of City Hall).
Parking is free after 6 p.m.

Sher is a very entertaining speaker, as well as a local author and researcher with wide ranging interests, including overseas genealogy in Devon and Cornwall. She is a regular presenter at the Toronto Cornish Association, and presented at the International Gathering of Cornish Cousins in Milwaukee in 2014 (a biennial event).

Our short presentation will demonstrate how to access and use the Durham Region Branch's Members-Only Section of the Website.

This meeting will be streamed and the url for watching is on our website at durham.ogs.on.ca

Everyone is welcome - come and bring a friend!