Durham Region Branch OGS Monthly Meeting, Tuesday - Feb. 1, at 7:30 p.m.

Main Branch of the Oshawa Library, Bagot Street (basement auditorium).

Featured Presenter:   Nancy Trimble,

President of the Ontario Genealogical Society
Topic:  How to Use the Ontario Genealogical Society Website: New features, new resources and how to get them. 

Nancy will provide a step-by-step guide to accessing OGS resources on its website.

Scugog Shores Museums Winter Lecture Series

Beat the mid-winter blahs by joining us at the Scugog Shores Museums for our winter weekends lecture series.  Talks will take place Sunday afternoons at 1:00 followed by light refreshments, and a chance to ask questions of the speaker and view the gallery’s temporary exhibits.
February 13th
Adventures of a Female Archaeologist Abroad - Dr. Amy Barron
Ever wonder what life would be like working as an archaeologist in the Middle East?  Join us for a fun glimpse into the world of ancient Near Eastern archaeology and find out what field work in one of the oldest settled regions on Earth is really like.

March 6th

Archives and Genealogy: A Perfect Partnership - Carolynn Bart-Riedstra

Have you ever wondered how best to use the resources available to learn more about your own family history?
March 27th

Transforming Gifts of Mother Earth - Dan Denby

If you have ever wondered how a birchbark canoe was made, or what were the secrets of traditional native basket-making, here is your chance to hear it from a man who has tried it all.

All talks will be held at the Scugog Shores Heritage Centre and Archives, located at 1655 Reach Street (2nd floor of the Arena), Port Perry.  Cost is $5.00 per person (which includes admission to the Heritage Centre exhibits).  Space is limited.  Tickets are available at the Heritage Centre and Archives, the Arena reception, or contact Amy Barron, 905-985-8698x103, abarron@scugog.ca

Archives of Ontario will be Extending its Hours of Operation

To the genealogy community and all supporters of the
"Request for Restored Access to Records and Facilities at the Archives of Ontario":
As mentioned in the December message, the Archives of Ontario released the following message on Friday, January 14.

The Archives of Ontario will be extending its hours of operation.  Effective Tuesday, February 8, 2011, we will offer extended hours of service on Tuesdays and Thursdays to 8 p.m. and on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Services available during these hours will include registration, assistance from reference archivists, access to self service microfilm, microfiche and finding aids, viewing of previously ordered materials, and access to the exhibit gallery.  Requests for certifications, reproductions and copyright that are placed during extended hours will be sent for processing on the next business day.

Extending our hours of operation will allow us to better meet customers’ needs and showcase Ontario’s public and private archival records to new audiences. 

It is great news, but that committee would like to add that there is an initial five-month trial period, after which the extended service will be evaluated.
Over the next few months, we must vote with our feet! 

Please encourage our O.G.S. colleagues,  friends and students to use the Archives. 

Italian Genealogy Links and References

Here are links and books mentioned at the Tuesday January 4th Durham Region Branch meeting about - Italian Genealogical Research by Grant Karcich.

• Italian Genealogical & Heraldry Society of Canada, Windsor, Ontario - http://www.windsor-communities.com/italian-club-ighsc.php
• POINT-Pursuing Our Italian Names Together - http://www.point-pointers.net
  
• Nelson, Lynn, A Genealogist's Guide to Discovering Your Italian Ancestors, Cincinnati, OH: Betterway, 1997.
• Cole, Trafford, Italian Genealogical Records, Salt Lake City, UT: Ancestry, 1995.
• Colletta, John, Finding Italian Roots, Baltimore, MD: GPC, 1993.
• Fucilla, Joseph, Our Italian Surnames, Baltimore, MD: GPC, 1987. 
• Arbre généalogique famille Gargano / [David Gargano Sr., David Gargano Jr.].[Montréal : David Gargano Sr], 2007.
• Families, lovers, and their letters : Italian postwar migration to Canada / Sonia Cancian. Winnipeg : University of Manitoba Press, c2010.
• Filgiano : autobiography, family history, genealogy, saga, 1600-2010 / Quin Filgiano. [Cornwall, Ont. : L. Worrall], c2010.
• The Pellettieri genealogy : an account of the ancestors of Giovanni Battista Pellettieri of Laurenzana, Basilicata, Italy and Toronto, Ontario, Canada /by Carolyn Smith-Pellettier.[Guelph, Ont.] : C. Smith-Pellettier, c1999.
• Finding your Italian Ancestors, 2nd edition by Grant
  Karcich.  Toronto:  Heritage Productions, 2007

Genealogy Tour in Scotland - Fall 2011

This may interest those requiring 'on the ground' research in Scotland.  The link below provides more information.
http://www.genealogytoursofscotland.ca/Tour_dates_and_Pricing.html
(This is for your information and is not an OGS event.)