Research Room and Library Open for Appointments This Friday, Oct. 21st

 Our Research Room and Library, at Northminster United Church, will be open for researchers on the 2nd and 3rd Fridays of each month, from 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Northminster United Church is at 676 Simcoe St. N., Oshawa, Ontario and our library is located in the "Boardroom" on the upper floor.

The number of people will be limited to 2 (not including staff) and advance registration is required. We will be reassessing the situation over the fall. Masks will be by choice. 

Appointments by email to Stephen Wood at durhamresearch@ogs.on.ca

Watch our (under 3 minute) tour of the library, research room and office: -https://youtu.be/sHdO2sMYW0A

40th Anniversary Hybrid Meeting : "Bomb Girls: Life at the D.I.L. Plant in Ajax"

 

Durham’s 40th Anniversary Speaker and Celebration

Please join us November 1st at 7:30 pm. This will be a hybrid meeting, but those who attend in person will get cake!

Our speaker is Elaine Lievaart of the Ajax Public Library and the topic, in celebration of November, is “Bomb Girls: Life at the D.I.L. (Defence Industries Ltd.) Plant in Ajax”, one examination of life on the Home Front.

Prior to the Spring of 1940, Ajax did not exist. This all changed when two government surveyors arrived in Pickering Township, looking for land upon which to build the largest munitions plant in the British Commonwealth. We’ll take a tour of this plant, learn about what life was like on and off the production lines and how it eventually morphed into the Town of Ajax.

Elaine Lievaart has worked for the Ajax Public Library in various roles for the past 18 years. She is currently a Community Engagement Associate who works primarily with older adults where she organizes programs which are designed to educate, enlighten, enrich and, mostly, entertain. The other hat she wears is looking after the Local History and Genealogy collections at the Library. Elaine has a love of history and received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Toronto with a double major in Anthropology and History. She is never happier than chatting with people about the unusual story of the founding of Ajax or being let loose in the Town’s Archives to see what treasures she can find. 

Elaine will be bringing some artifacts from the munitions plant for us to see!

Whitby-Oshawa Branch was formed in 1982 as the 22nd branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society. We were assigned the area of the old Counties of Ontario and (part of) Durham. In 2005, our name was changed to better reflect that area of coverage: Durham Region Branch. First, we will be holding a very short AGM in order to present an update for the branch and welcome any new volunteers. Following our special speaker, we will be presenting certificates of appreciation, showing a slideshow of our activities through the years and, of course, celebrating our Ruby Anniversary with cake.

Please join us in person in the basement meeting room of the Northminster United Church, 676 Simcoe St. N., Oshawa, Ontario (NW corner of Simcoe St. N. and Rossland Rd. W.)  OR via Zoom. Kindly pre-register at the following link:

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0rc-mqrjkrG9bu7PjhZUWhSrTMrn00dPto

Everyone is welcome!

National Day of Truth and Reconciliation/ Orange Shirt Day

 

#EveryChildMatters, #IndigenousPeoplesDay

The day honours the children who never returned home and Survivors of residential schools, as well as their families and communities. Public commemoration of the tragic and painful history and ongoing impacts of residential schools is a vital component of the reconciliation process.

Orange Shirt Day is an Indigenous-led grassroots commemorative day intended to raise awareness of the individual, family and community inter-generational impacts of residential schools, and to promote the concept of “Every Child Matters”.  The orange shirt is a symbol of the stripping away of culture, freedom and self-esteem experienced by Indigenous children over generations.

This National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, explore the rich and diverse cultures, voices, experiences and stories of the First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples.

The Durham Region Branch of Ontario Ancestors acknowledges the lands and Peoples of the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation. We recognize the lands on which we meet are covered under the Williams Treaties and are within the traditional territory of the Mississaugas, a branch of the Anishinaabeg Nation, which also includes Algonquin, Chippewa, Odawa, Ojibway and Pottawatomi.

Stop the Presses: Historic Newspaper Collections in and Around Durham Region - Durham's October 4th Meeting

(Jennifer Weymark)

Newspapers are a treasure trove of information for all sorts of researchers. There are vital statistics such as births and deaths, there are articles highlighting the current events of the days and there are stories and advertisements that showcase social issues and community focus. Archives and libraries have worked to preserve their local newspapers so that they are available for researchers. This talk will focus on where to access newspapers from collections in and around Durham Region, the challenges faced by those preserving these collections and by researchers accessing them and some of the interesting ways local newspapers have been used to help tell local history.

Jennifer Weymark has been with the Oshawa Historical Society for 23 years, 22 of those years spent as the Archivist. This role has given Jennifer the opportunity to put to good use her undergraduate work in history and cultural anthropology, while also putting into practice the theories and skills learned while earning her Masters Degree in Museum Studies. In this position, Jennifer has not only devoted time to digitizing and reorganizing the archival collection, while maintaining the day-to-day collections management work, but she has also been focused on filling in gaps in the archival collection through focused collecting practices and original research. She has had the pleasure of sharing her work through presenting at conferences, developing and leading workshops for local students and speaking to various community groups.

Join Durham Region Branch on Tuesday, October 4th at 7:30 pm. This will be a hybrid meeting, that is, both in-person and via Zoom. It will be held in the basement meeting room of the Northminster United Church, 676 Simcoe St. N., Oshawa, Ontario (NW corner of Simcoe St. N. and Rossland Rd. W.)

For those joining via Zoom, kindly pre-register at the following link:

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYrduGprT4vGNExhuS1nstq0vT4mSpjkZGa

      

Durham's First Hybrid Meeting is on Tuesday, September 6th @ 7:30 pm

 

Ontario’s Records of Inheritance on Family Search

Please join Durham Region Branch on Tuesday, September 6th at 7:30 p.m. for our first hybrid meeting!

Are you ready to go beyond census and births, marriages, and deaths? Estate files are rich source for finding family connections and revealing our ancestor’s social and financial circumstances, maybe even personality. As court records, they tend to be very reliable—and even come with indexes. 

Now that FamilySearch.org has digitized an extensive collection of Ontario surrogate court records—we can discover these treasures from home. 

This session will give a brief overview of how the court system worked in Ontario and a step-by-step explanation of how to access the records. It will concentrate on records for Durham Region available through FamilySearch.

Speaker Jane E. MacNamara is the author of Inheritance in Ontario: Wills and other Records for Family Historians (OGS/Dundurn) and writes about genealogy at wherethestorytakesme.ca. A long time member of OGS, Jane lectures about research methodology, Ontario, and English family history to genealogical and historical groups throughout Ontario. She teaches courses for the OGS Toronto Branch, most notably hands-on courses about Ontario records—both onsite and online.

This will be the branch’s first hybrid meeting, that is, both in-person and via Zoom. It will be held in the basement meeting room of the Northminster United Church, Simcoe St. N., Oshawa, Ontario (NW corner of Simcoe St. N. and Rossland Rd. W.) for in-person.

For those joining via Zoom, kindly pre-register at the following link:

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYpf--pqj0uH9Z0C4Smfgs7zfITp24W0Ogi

Everyone is welcome!

Book Your Appointment Now!

 Durham's Research Room is open Fri. July 8th and Fri. July 15th from 10 am - 1 pm by appointment only.

Contact Stephen Wood at durhamresearch@ogs.on.ca to set up your timeslot.

Durham Region Branch's Research Room Re-opens

Our Research Room and Library, at Northminster United Church, will be open for researchers on the 2nd and 3rd Fridays of each month, from 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Northminster United Church is at 676 Simcoe St. N., Oshawa, Ontario and our library is located in the "Boardroom" on the upper floor.

The number of people will be limited to 2 (not including staff) and advance registration is required. We will be reassessing the situation over the summer. Masks will be by choice. 

Appointments by email to Stephen Wood at durhamresearch@ogs.on.ca

Watch our (under 3 minute) tour of the library, research room and office: -https://youtu.be/sHdO2sMYW0A