Long Time OGS Durham Region Branch Member Dies at 81

WRIGHT, Thelma Irene - Peacefully with her children by her side at her home in Blackstock on Friday, April 17, 2009, at age 81. Thelma (nee Ferguson), dearly loved wife of the late Lloyd Wright. Loved mother of Don Wright (deceased), Leslie Wright (Harvey Poss) of Toronto, Cheryl DeJong (Brian) of Nestleton, and Harold Wright (Melanie) of Blackstock and mother-in-law of Dianne and Murray Carnaghan of Bethany. A Service to celebrate her life was held in the Blackstock United Church on Monday, April 20th at 1:30 p.m. with Reverend Linda Saffrey offi ciating. Interment Cartwright Union Cemetery, Blackstock. For more details click HERE.

"Thelma Wright and her late brother Bill Ferguson were members of the Whitby - Oshawa Genealogical Society and both were well known and respected genealogists. Thelma was a major contributor to the school house project, by donating pictures for scanning and traveling with us when we GPS'd Cartwright Township. She was also instrumental in the production of a book on The English Family. She was a good friend and will be missed."

. . . . from K.N., Durham Region Branch Council Member

Proposal Deadline EXTENDED for Italian and Dutch lecture streams at OGS Conference 2010

OGS Branches may wish to know that the deadline has been extended to 1 June 2009 for proposals for Italian and Dutch lecture streams at OGS Conference 2010. This extension is to allow for more complete outreach to these communities. The deadline remains unchanged (1 May 2009) for submission of all other topics. A copy of the Dutch call for speakers follows. (The Italian call is identical except for the obvious changes.)

Ontario Genealogical Society Conference 2010

Dutch Family History Lectures

Call for Speakers

Extended Deadline: 1 June 2009

The Ontario Genealogical Society’s Toronto Branch will host the Society’s annual conference on May 14-16, 2010, at the Doubletree by Hilton – Toronto Airport. One day of the Conference (to be determined) will incorporate a stream of lectures that will appeal to those with ancestry in the Netherlands. We encourage proposals for lectures and/or half-day workshops that could be part of this stream.

The Ontario Genealogical Society, founded in 1961, is a not-for-profit organization with more than 4,500 members. The umbrella Conference theme will be “Essentials, Innovations and Delights”.

We are looking for proposals for presentations on any aspect of Dutch family history, including (but not limited to) sources, research techniques, historical background, Dutch migration or settlement in Canada or other parts of the world, language or paleography, libraries, archives, and online resources.

Lectures will be one hour long, including 5-10 minutes for questions. Workshop proposals should allow for a three-hour session with one 20-minute break. All presentations should have a visual component. Speakers will be required to submit Syllabus material in early 2010.

Speakers will receive an honorarium, plus appropriate expenses and complimentary registration for the Conference.

Please submit your proposals by e-mail. Be sure to include your full name, mailing address, telephone number, e-mail address, website address (if applicable) and biographical information, including recent speaking credits. For each proposal, please provide a unique title, a detailed outline up to 250 words, a summary of 50 words or less suitable for publicity, identification of the intended audience (beginner, intermediate, advanced) and A/V requirements. Multiple proposals are encouraged, but only one per page, please.

EXTENDED DEADLINE FOR PROPOSALS FOR DUTCH LECTURES: 1 June 2009

NB The deadline for other speaking proposals to the umbrella Conference remains unchanged at 1 May 2009.

To submit proposals or ask a question about the event, please contact the Conference 2010 Program Committee at conference2010@ogs.on.ca

For more information about the Ontario Genealogical Society and Toronto Branch respectively, please visit:

www.ogs.on.ca www.torontofamilyhistory.org.

Ian Wilson, Librarian and Archivist of Canada, has announced his Retirement

Ian Wilson, Librarian and Archivist of Canada, Retires

Ian Wilson, Librarian and Archivist of Canada, has announced his retirement effective almost immediately - April 24, 2009. He has been in this position since 2004 and was the first head of Canada's amalgamated national Library and Archives, now known as Library and Archives Canada (LAC).

Mr. Wilson will be continuing as President of the International Council on Archives.

His letter advising of his retirement is here.

A brief biography and texts of some of his speeches are here.

In December of 2008, he was the keynote speaker at the West Beyond the West: BC Digitization Symposium. A webcast of his presentation is here.

No announcement regarding a successor has been made yet.

Thank you to the canadiangenealogy.blogspot.com for this information.

Library Technician sought by OGS

April 18, 2009

The Ontario Genealogical Society is seeking a new full-time employee. The Library Technician will be responsible for placing material on the Society's website and for managing our library, which is in the process of being digitized. He/she may occasionally operate scanning equipment such as book scanners, sheet feed scanners, photographic copy stands, and microform scanners, and occasionally use digitizing programs such as Adobe Acrobat and Abbyy Finereader. Training would be provided on this equipment. The job is centred in the Society's Toronto office but may require occasional travel to other parts of Ontario. The Society has volunteer librarians and library technicians available for advice and discussions. The Library Technician must be able to give advice to non-technical people. He/she will be responsible for technical advice to all parts of the Society. Duration: This is a one year contract position with possibility of extension. Reports to: Executive Director Essential Functions: The job requires the ability to manage a small, specialist library. Comfort with a computer (Windows based) is essential. Familiarity with databases and how data is made available on a website is essential. A driver's license (G Class or better) is required. Familiarity with genealogy and with archival documents would be pluses. This position requires the ability to work independently with minimal supervision. High proficiency in speaking, reading, and writing English required. Ability in other languages would be a plus. The ability to train and communicate with non-technical people is essential. An ability to keep up to date in this and related fields and an ability to pass this new knowledge on to others is essential. Education: A community college diploma or university degree is required. Two years' experience in a related field is preferred. Physical Demands: The Library Technician must be able to stand for prolonged periods of time (up to four hours) and safely lift a 35-pound box. Salary: $30 000 to $35 000 Closing Date: 2009 Apr 24 Please submit a resume to: e-mail: ed@ogs.on.ca fax: 416-489-9803 OGS appreciates all applications but only those selected for interviews will be contacted. Please, no phone calls.

Bill-149 - Star Article Monday April 13, 2009

Jim Coyle has written an article in the Toronto Star about Bill-149.
See http://www.thestar.com/article/617436

If you haven't already, please email your MPP asking her/him to support this "private member's bill to ensure inactive cemeteries scattered around Ontario are protected and preserved in their current locations, . . ."

To find you MPP's email click below:
http://www.ontla.on.ca/web/members/members_current.do?locale=en

DRB OGS Participates in Doors Open Oshawa 2009

On Sat. Sept. 26 & Sun. Sept. 27, 2009 the Durham Region Branch will be participating in Doors Open Oshawa for the second year in a row. We will be opening our airport office to share knowledge about O.G.S., our resources and genealogy research in general.
We will need Branch volunteers to be hosts between Noon to 4:00 p.m. each day.
Please, consider volunteering for two(or more) hours on either day. We would like to have between 3 to 5 hosts available during the stated times to welcome visitors. Email: durham@ogs.on.ca

PAF now lives on Mac Too . . . PAWriter 84

Personal Ancestry Writer II Version 84 for Macintosh

Personal Ancestry Writer II is modeled on the old LDS Personal Ancestral File program (PAF) for the Macintosh (for which all development stopped a few years ago after release 2.3.1). However, Personal Ancestry Writer II now contains features that never appeared in Personal Ancestral File for Macintosh, . . .

Complete Eastman Blog Article on Personal Ancestry Writer II at
http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2009/01/personal-ancestry-writer-ii-version-83-for-macintosh.html

Download Software PAW-II here - FREE.
http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/27497/pawriter-ii

Thank you to Nancy Trimble for alerting us to this free genealogy software for the Mac. Share this info with any other Mac using genealogists you know.

Gift Certificate for a FREE ONLINE course!

April 5, 2009

Registration to OGS Conference 2009 will include a Gift Certificate for an ONLINE course!

To celebrate their 10th anniversary, The National Institute for Genealogical Studies in partnership with the University of Toronto, Faculty of Information Studies, Professional Learning Centre, is providing each registrant of OGS Conference 2009 with a Gift Certificate for a free online course in their Certificate in Genealogical Studies program (1-800-580-0165 or www.genealogicalstudies.com/).

This very popular program has received over 45,000 course registrations to date from individuals taking single courses to learn more about specific topics, or from those who want to follow a formal education program. This free course, Methodology-Part 1: Getting Started, has a value of $89.00.

OGS Conference 2010 (Toronto) - Call for Papers

Essentials, Innovations and Delights

Deadline: 1 May 2009

The Ontario Genealogical Society's Toronto Branch will host the Society's annual conference on 14-16 May 2010. The Conference theme will be: "Essentials, Innovations and Delights".

In keeping with this theme, the Conference aims to present information that is both relentlessly practical and inspiring. We will be especially interested in lectures that deal with (a) practical essentials, (b) recent innovations, or (c) one-of-a-kind case histories.

You are invited to submit proposals for lectures on any aspect of genealogical or social history research in Canada and/or countries of origin.

In addition we are planning half-day in-depth programs on Italian and Dutch ancestry. We encourage proposals for lectures that could form part or whole of these streams.

Most sessions will be one hour long. Topics for longer workshops will also be considered.

For more details about Conference 2010 and how to request further information and submit your proposals, please visit http://www.ogs.on.ca/conference2010/

Note: Deadline for proposals is 1 May 2009

Digitized Projects Receive More Funding

April 3, 2009

OGS Receives Grant

The Ontario Ministry of Culture has given OGS a $40,000 Cultural Strategic Investment Fund (CSIF) grant in support of the OGS scanning project Keeping and Valuing Ontario's Heritage. The grant will enable OGS to hire a Library Technician to assist in placing databases online. The Library Technician will also be able to provide advice on the management of OGS libraries and other data interests.

The project Keeping and Valuing Ontario's Heritage has also received funding from the Ontario Trillium Foundation and the Jackman Foundation. OGS President Don Hinchley declared "This grant will assist OGS to move further into the age of technology by making more genealogical resources available to our membership online." OGS Executive Director Dr. Fraser Dunford pointed out that "this grant is further proof that OGS is moving in the right direction. Clearly we are doing something that granting agencies respect and support."