Lesley Anderson has worked for Ancestry.ca for over 14 years as their Canadian Spokesperson and has done numerous presentations for genealogy societies and conferences across Canada as well as TV and Radio appearances.
This is your opportunity to show a discovery, a website, a family heirloom and tell us it’s story. Come and join Durham Region Branch, as we celebrate with our virtual re-creation of our end-of-year Christmas event.
Researching the men and women who served in uniform during the Second World war can be a challenging, yet rewarding, experience for those interested in family history. It was an extraordinary six years in many ways, both overseas and at home, and by researching our own personal connections to the war, we can more fully appreciate the significance that the war had in the lives of our ancestors.
This presentation focussed on the major sources of information and what we can learn from them, including a) service records and how to retrieve them; b) interpreting these records; c) researching unit war diaries (for the Canadian Army) and operations record books (for the RCAF); d) war dead; and e) essential websites and more.
Glenn has kindly consented to re-run his Zoom presentation on our YouTube Channel: https://youtu.be/ont2epw62xY
Following graduation from the University of Toronto, Glenn worked as a researcher for Pierre Berton before joining the Public Archives of Canada in 1975. During his public service career that spanned more than 30 years, Glenn worked as an archivist, historical research officer and, for many years, assistant historian with the RCMP.
A frequent speaker at family history and genealogical events, especially the OGS, Glenn has a special interest in Canada’s military history. He has published widely in family history, genealogical and historical magazines and journals and has also published 2 books.
Search Tips – Researching Women on Ancestry
This session will provide strategies for searching for women in the Ancestry databases, including methods to uncover females using name variations and other search techniques. Famous or interesting women will be highlighted wherever possible using the new Ancestry databases from around the world, as well as the core record groups. The presentation will appeal to new and experienced researchers alike.
Lesley Anderson has worked for Ancestry.ca for over 14 years as their Canadian Spokesperson and has done numerous presentations for genealogy societies and conferences across Canada as well as TV and Radio appearances.
She has been involved in the personal research of her family tree for over 50 years specializing in Canadian, British and Irish records. Her passion for genealogy has branched out to DNA genetic genealogy, teaching classes, speaking at seminars and conferences, consulting and doing research for others. For years she was well known for her computer and genealogy classes offered through the Ottawa Catholic Board Continuing Ed and her “field trips” to various archives and libraries.
I Just Can't Get Enough of Eastern Europe
This is an intermediate level talk. You will find Eva’s beginner lecture from April 15th on the “Durham Region OGS” YouTube channel, in the Members Only Area.
The business portion of this meeting is publicly available, at: - https://youtu.be/fhtY_LO4QPc
Eva Kujawa was born in South Africa from German immigrant parents and has always been interested in her ancestors. She specializes in German, South African and Eastern European genealogy with 30 years of research and learning in genealogy. Currently, she is a member of Ontario Ancestors’ East European Special Interest Group and many other societies. Eva has given many presentations to great reviews.
While you may think you’ve hit a brick wall with your research, have you tried using cluster and collateral search strategies to look for an opening? Researching non-direct relations as well as those friends and neighbors in your ancestors’ network can pay off in ways you might not imagine.
Learn why researching those in-laws, “shirt-tail cousins” and others who may not be a direct-line ancestor as well as “friends, neighbors and associates” can help you break down your genealogy research brick walls.
Thomas MacEntee is a professional genealogist specializing in the use of technology and social media to improve genealogical research and as a means of interacting with others in the family history community.
Thomas's Zoom presentation is available, on YouTube, in the Members Only Area. The business portion of the meeting, along with announcements, is here: https://youtu.be/Pmxb1TFCeRc
When tracing Ontario families we usually start with census records and civil registration. But these records are closed for most of the 20th century. So where do you start if your earliest known ancestor was born after 1921? Or maybe you've traced your ancestors, but now you want to find out what happened to their brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews? Don't despair, not all 20th Century records are closed. In fact, if you know where to look, you can learn a great deal about your recent ancestors and relatives. This lecture will walk you step-by-step through my research process, introducing you to the records and strategies you need to peek behind the "closed" curtains of 20th Century Ontario. Using these tips, you'll probably even learn something new about family members you thought you were done researching!
The Handouts (PDF): - Tracing 20th C Ontarians, May 2021 - handouts
Professional genealogist Janice Nickerson loves a good challenge – whether it's identifying elusive ancestors, tracking disappearing descendants or telling richer family stories. Her specialties include early Ontario research, criminal justice records, and fur trade history.
Her website is UpperCanadaGenealogy.com
This lecture is for beginners or people who have a brick wall in this area. In her presentation, Eva covered a historical overview of Eastern Europe, and how it morphed through divisions and border changes, from wars and battles into the countries that we have in today's world. She covered a majority of these countries and shared the impacts on the various cultures sharing the borders of this magnificent area. Eva also guided attendees through various research resources... how to plan research and address potential challenges and solutions for this type of genealogical research. She looked at topics like, "what is in a name", "naming traditions", "languages", the various handwriting styles, as well as the various types of records, and where they can be located. A list of websites and databases that hold a huge amount of information for this region were included in the three handouts.
Common Words Chart (no longer linked) (English, German, Polish, Hungarian, Russian, and Latin)
Eastern Europe - An Introduction (no longer linked)
Links for Eastern Europe (no longer linked)
Eva Kujawa was born in South Africa from German immigrant parents and has always been interested in her ancestors. She specializes in German, South African and Eastern European genealogy with 30 years of research and learning in genealogy. Currently, she is a member of Ontario Ancestors’ East European Special Interest Group and many other societies. Eva has given many presentations to great reviews.
with Bob Dawes
“Portable Genealogy – You Can Take It With You…” is for genealogists who want to take their family history with them when they travel or visit research repositories.
This presentation covers many different ways to take your family history information on the road with you. It addresses both Windows and Mac/iOS options for converting files into tablet and smartphone formats. It also looks at using the cloud to synchronize your data or what you can do with just a USB drive.
It looks at synchronizing your file between computers using programs that support Android and iOS devices and third-party options to use with GEDCOM copies of your file. A two-page handout covers many utilities which can move files from desktops to handheld devices.
Bob Dawes has given permission to place a recording of his presentation in the Members Only Area.
A video of the business part of our April 6th. general meeting is here: - https://youtu.be/UlRfcSZ6WJs
Nick Post explained the benefits of using FamilySearch and using the Family History Guide. He took us through the next steps. -"What to do once signed on." And, Nick highlighted onthe areas in which you need to focus for your family history (and the time to search). His presentation, as a separate video (from the business portion of this general meeting) has been placed in the Members Only Area.
The Business Portion of our March 2nd, 2021 Meeting is here: https://youtu.be/yROqfRbx1rw
Nick is 70 years old and retired from the City of Oshawa. He has been doing Family History for forty-five years and is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He is the co-ordinator of the FIVE Family History Centers in this part of Ontario. His interest lies in Ontario, United States, Ireland and of course Europe. Some of the names he is researching are Post, Kelly, Munro, Wease, Hubble, Lalonde, Jones and Gray. He is a member of Ontario Genealogical Society and associated with the Durham and Quinte Branches.
[NOTE: In case viewers may not recognize Nick with his Covid beard, we have included two photos.] :)
Register here for this Zoom session:- https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEsdu2vqzoiHdf8Aa1UX9DJJ5ZuAdK4jqgy
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.
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 kindly consented to re-posting her presentation, as part of the February 2021 General Meeting - https://youtu.be/H96x0Ftpyo4
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.
