My Heritage Offers Free Access to All Marriage Records Feb. 10 - 16

 

Daniel Horowitz is happy to announce that MyHeritage is offering free access to all marriage records for Valentine’s Day, from February 10–16! 

MyHeritage offers 158 collections marriage collections with 462,808,849. During this limited-time offer, you’ll be able to access these records for free even if you don’t have a MyHeritage plan. Please note that free registration to MyHeritage will be required for non-MyHeritage users.

Search the marriage records on MyHeritage and read more about these collections on our blog.

In addition, we invite your readers to enter our Valentine’s Day competition by sharing their colorized, enhanced, or color-restored wedding photos on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram with the hashtag #LoveInFullColor and tagging @MyHeritage for a chance to win! Three lucky winners will be awarded their choice of a Complete plan or a MyHeritage DNA kit! Alternatively, they can share their photos and stories by sending them to stories@myheritage.com with #LoveInFullColor in the subject line. 

Please share this news with your audience and encourage them to search the marriage records and submit their entries. The competition closes on February 14, 2021, so hurry up and share those photos!

 

Enjoy,

Daniel Horowitz

Genealogy Expert

Ontario Ancestors Branches Open Access to Databases for Family Day

Never Done Before: A Special Opportunity from Several Ontario Ancestors Branches

As Family Day in Ontario draws closer, some of the Branches of the Society have developed an opportunity to further promote membership within the Society. The idea is to share the resources of their Branches through the Members’ Only Sections of their WordPress Websites. These Branches have invested a great deal of time in their Members Only and are prepared to be involved in this process.  We are hoping that by giving people a “sneak peek” into the amazing resources at six of our branches, that we can show non members the value of membership; and members can see the opportunities to join more branches.

To be honest, this has never been done before as Branches take the lead in promoting and encourage those seeking their past to join the Society and it Branches/SIGs to further gain access to documents and educational resources. This Boots on the Ground approach is how we as a Society as a whole bear responsibility for membership and promotion of the great work we do.

 

The Branches that are involved: Kent, Essex, Toronto, Niagara Peninsula, Huron and Lambton.

 

To be honest, we don’t know if this is even going to work, but we would rather fail than not do anything at all. So we mark this as a test and we will report back to you all on its success.

 

These are the parameters:

 

All Society Members receive free access with their membership.

 

All Non Society Members will have to purchase a Weekend Pass to view the Members Only Sections.

 

If they choose to join, Non Members will receive a $10 Credit towards their new Society membership and any Branches that they join as well.

 

This program will run from Friday February 12^th at 5 pm to Monday February 15^th at 5 pm.

 

Google Analytics will be used to monitor the success of this program.

 

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out. We would encourage you to promote this as well.

 

Thanks

 

Steve Fulton UE

 

Past President/I.T. Administrator

Ontario Ancestors

WikiTree Presentation Recording is on YouTube

 

Mags Gaulden, our presenter at our February Meeting, has given permission for the recording of her lecture be posted on the Durham Region Branch OGS YouTube channel.

On youtube.com, type "durham region branch ogs" into the Search field. Click on the choice with the tombstone picture. Many of our branch meeting videos over the last 5 years are posted here.

While you are there, click the "Subscribe Button" and the "bell" icon in order to receive notice of any new videos. Click on the "thumbs up" icon below the video if you liked it.

Whitevale Cemetery & Construction

 

If anyone is trying to get the Whitevale Cemetery in Pickering Township, it is currently surrounded with construction. 

If you need access, take Taunton Rd to Whites Road North (formerly Sideline 26). Go north to some barriers across the new bridge that is going over the Highway 407. Make a U-turn at the barriers, and the ramp to Whitevale Rd is on your right.

If anyone knows more about this construction, I'd like to hear from you. 

Nancy Trimble, 

durhamchair@ogs.on.ca

Feb. 2nd Meeting "WikiTree: The Ins and Outs of a Global Family Tree" with Mags Gaulden

 

"WikiTree: The Ins and Outs of a Global Family" 

- with Mags Gaulden

Date: Feb. 2, 2021 @ 7:30 p.m. via Zoom

WikiTree is a single global family tree. This means there is only one profile per person who ever lived. You and your cousins would bring together your research and work your shared profiles together. How can this be? Collaboration. Got DNA? Got family Photos? What about colourful Family stories? WikiTree has incredible tools for working our limbs and for collaborating with cousins. We will look at how to add your limbs to our big ole shared tree as well as how to use WikiTree's plethora of tools to move your family research forward.

Mags is a Professional Genealogist specialising in Genetic Genealogy as the founder of Grandma's Genes in Ottawa. After earning her Bachelors Degree from Columbia College, she began 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 mtDNA database for the Genealogy Community.

"Doing DNA Right" at https://www.mitoydna.org/

Please join us!

Register now at: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYlc--spjsrGNceRy_Rj7tpPDVnCtrfEMRo

"Researching Your Female Ancestors" with Linda Corupe, UE

 Durham's January Meeting will host "Researching Your Female Ancestors" 

Please join Durham Region Branch on Tues., January 5th at 7:30 pm as Linda Corupe, U.E. presents "Researching Your Female Ancestors".

    Trying to locate information on a female ancestor in early Upper Canadian records can be a daunting task for a genealogist, but there are many avenues to pursue that can help.  This presentation will highlight many of those pathways, and also discuss the resources made increasingly available as the fight for women's rights proceeded.

    Linda Corupe has been researching family history for over 40 years.  She started out with her own family, United Empire Loyalists from the Quinte area of Ontario, but as her interest and familiarity with genealogical resources grew, she began to self-publish resource books, including transcriptions of census or vital statistics, court registers, heir and devisee claims, and bastardy oaths.  Linda is a graduate of McMaster University, and a member of the Ontario Genealogical Society, the United Empire Loyalist Association of Canada, and the Ontario Historical Society.  One of her favourite places to be is at the Archives of Ontario, where she has spent countless hours over several years, working for both herself and clients.  She says she learns something new on almost every visit, and is really looking forward to being able to safely return when it is once again open.

    This meeting will be on-line using the Zoom platform. Please register at the following link:  https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEkf-CgrT4pHdxqr1NpPl3QH3CnXykDlQT-

"Gathering Traditions" Videos for Holiday Celebrations

 

As mentioned in the Nov. 28th Ontario Ancestors eWeekly Update:

Don't forget to check out the new Gathering Traditions educational videos offered by Vivid-Pix! They offer practical suggestions for celebrating the holidays in this pandemic year!

They have 9 videos, ranging from 4 - 13 minutes long, for feeling connected when we can't be face to face.

Zoom in 1905!