Bill 149 - Cemetery Preservation

March 13, 2009  Great News!   Bill 149 - An Act to Protect Ontario's Inactive Cemeteries, 2009 has passed 2nd Reading in the Legislature. It will now go to committee hearings and then hopefully, come back for a 3rd Reading before the summer recess.   The Bill was introduced by Mr. Jim Brownell, MPP for Stormont, Dundas and South Glengarry, jbrownell.mpp@liberal.ola.org.   We must now let our MPPs and Mr. Brownell know that we support the passage of this bill. There are 2 things that we can do to accomplish this. Download copies of the Bill 149 Petition from the OGS website. Get people to sign the petition and mail the original completed petition to: OGS Provincial Office #102-40 Orchard View Blvd. Toronto, ON M4R 1B9 Photocopies or faxes of the signed petition cannot be used. We must have the form with the original signatures. We will arrange to have these petitions delivered to Mr. Brownell's office so he can present them in the Legislature. This will provide a record of the support of the bill.  We all need to contact our MPP and let them know of our support of Bill 149 and encourage them to support the bill while in committee and vote for the bill when it comes up for 3rd Reading. You can contact them via regular mail, email, telephone or in person. Remember, this needs to be done before the summer recess so the bill does not die.   If you are unsure of how to contact your local MPP you can look at MPP Addresses and Contact Information. If you need additional assistance, Find Your Electoral District  will assist you in finding your local MPP. From Provincial Office - OGS

Next Meeting: Tuesday, April 7 - Mormon Missionaries, 1835

Dr. John Sabean - President of the Pickering Historical Society

Topic: "Mormon Missionaries, 1835"

Preachers from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormons) came to the Pickering, Whitby, Oshawa area in 1835. Over the next few years they converted quite a few families to their faith. By 1838 most of the converts had left Upper Canada to join the Mormon westward migration. While the episode was brief the impact of the missionaries on both this area and on the future of the Mormon church was well out of proportion to the time spent here. [more...]

The Archives of Ontario Closing & Re-opening

March 2, 2009

The Archives of Ontario will be closing the doors of their 77 Grenville St location at 5:00 pm on Thursday March 26, 2009. The Archives will re-open with full service at their new facility on Thursday April 2, 2009 at 8:30 a.m.

The Archives' new address is:
134 Ian Macdonald Blvd
Toronto Ontario M7A 2C5

Phone numbers and email addresses will remain the same.

Visit the Archives of Ontario website for more information.

For those planning on attending the OGS Conference 2009, a Tour and Research Day at the new Archives is planned for Friday May 29. Complete information is available on the OGS Conference website.

Next Meeting - Tuesday, March 3, 7:30 p.m.

Oshawa Public Library - Main Branch Auditorium

Featuring: Krista Jorgensen - Librarian Archivist - Whitby Public Library and Archives

Discover Whitby Images

The presentation will begin with a brief outline of the digitization process, and will demonstrate what you can find online, including popular site features (e.g.; sending electronic postcards and adding comments about photographs).

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OGS Conference 2009 Application Forms

OGS Conference 2009
Sheridan College, Oakville, May 29-31

Just a reminder that you will not automatically receive a printed copy of the conference brochure this year. As you will note on the back cover of the February 2009 issue of Families, all of us who are computer literate are expected to go to the website www.ogs.on.ca/conference and download the whole package. You can register online or print the registration form and send it by Canada Post.

Those who don't have Internet access may call the Provincial Office and request a conference package by snail mail.

Also you may ask any of you Branch councilors.

Introductory Genealogy Workshops by Durham Branch of O.G.S.

Our genealogy education courses in partnership with public libraries in Durham continued throughout winter and spring. In the past eighteen months our education committee created two two-hour courses which have been taught more than 20 times by committee members in several Durham libraries. Partnering public libraries to date have been Ajax, Bowmanville, Oshawa, Pickering, and Whitby. These beginning genealogy courses are Who’s Your Grandpa? and Base Camp for Family History. The dates of future presentations are

Oshawa Public Library *Workshops
Thursday, March 5th 6:30 - 8:30pm Who's your Grandpa?
Saturday, March 28th 2:00 - 4:00 pm Base Camp for Family History
Saturday, April 11th 2:00 - 4:00 pm Who's your Grandpa?
Thursday, April 16th 6:30 - 8:30 pm Base Camp for Family History

Bowmanville Public Library *Workshops
Wednesday, April 1st 7:00 - 9:00 pm Who's your Grandpa?
Wednesday, April 15th 7:00 - 9:00 pm Base Camp for Family History

Singing to Freedom

- - - - - - C A N C E L E D - - - - - -
"A Journey through Black American/Canadian History via Negro Spirituals."
April 4,5, 2009 in Newmarket, Ontario