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Leeds & Grenville Branch – October 2023 Presentation: Brockville Schools

Join us on Monday, October 2nd at 7:00 pm via Zoom when Alice McMurtry, Community Program Coordinator at the Brockville Museum will educate us on Brockville Schools.  This presentation will focus on the history of some of Brockville’s schools, the historic and the more recent. These stories are all gathered from the Brockville Museum’s research files and archival collection, providing insight into the educational landscape of historic Brockville. The presentation will last about 35-40 minutes. So join us on Monday, October 2nd at 7:00 pm on Zoom and learn about some of the schools your ancestors may have attended in Brockville!   To register for this presentation, click here.

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Archives Closed August 11 & 12, 2023

Due to scheduling changes our Archives WILL NOT BE OPEN on August 11th and 12th.  It will be OPEN August 14-19 and August 21-26 when our summer student will be present.  After August 26th it will be open BY APPOINTMENT ONLY.  Thank you for your understanding.

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Leeds & Grenville Branch Publications Now Available in Marketplace

Happy Holidays from your Leeds & Grenville Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society.  We have some exciting news that we couldn’t wait to share!
 
After months of work digitizing, formatting and creating descriptions, Leeds & Grenville Branch is thrilled to announce that our publications are now for sale in digital format in Ontario Ancestors Marketplace.  Simply visit the OGS website, click on Marketplace, then Branch Publications, and Leeds & Grenville.  We are still working on uploading, so if a publication you wish to purchase isn’t listed, please let us know at leedsgrenville@ogs.on.ca. 
 
Paper versions of most publications are still available to order from the Branch.  Contact us at the above address to enquire about availability and postage costs.
 
Thank you for supporting the Leeds & Grenville Branch as it works to preserve the genealogical history of the United Counties.

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Updated Archives Hours

Following the departure of our summer student the Archives will only be available BY APPOINTMENT for researchers.  Beginning after Labour Day we will be back on a Monday-Friday schedule, with volunteers on duty by appointment.  However, the Museum building will be closed to visitors September 6-18 inclusive in order to make some necessary repairs.  We hope this will not inconvenience visitors.  To book an appointment beginning September 19th, please email us at leedsgrenville@ogs.on.ca or call 1-855-697-6687 and leave a message. Please let us know your preferred dates, and keep in mind that our volunteers normally work in the afternoons from 1-4 pm.

Leeds & Grenville Branch – September 2023 Presentation: Back to School – For Genealogists!

After a summer of research, visiting cemeteries and villages where our ancestors lived, or just relaxing, it’s time to get back to “family history”.    Learn how to use Google Maps to track your family as they moved across town or around the world! 

Well-known Canadian genealogist Lianne Krüger will take us through finding locations from letters and documents, using addresses and clicking on a map!  We’ll explore Google Maps using its many tools to help us navigate latitudes and longitudes, use views from satellites to discover the properties owned by our ancestors, and create our own maps!

So join us on Labour Day (September 4th) at 7:00 pm on Zoom and kick ‘back to school’ into high gear!  To register for this presentation, click here.

We are Going on a Road Trip! – June 16, 2023

The Lost Villages Archive and Museum, Friday June 16th

“loss of communities which formerly existed along the St. Lawrence River prior to the building of the St. Lawrence Seaway & Power Project in the late 1950s.”

The Lost Villages, Alt Park, Long Sault, ON (approx.. 1 hr east of Brockville)

www.lostvillages.ca

This is a self-drive trip, however carpooling from Brockville or Prescott can be arranged.

Would you like to join us?  Contact Mary Anne McAllister  leedsgrenvillemembership@ogs.on.ca

before June 9th.

Leeds & Grenville Branch – June 2023 Presentation – Cornwall Community Museum with Brent Whitford

Join us on Monday, June 5th at 7 PM as we welcome Brent Whitford, Senior Curator from the Cornwall Community Museum. He will give us a presentation about the resources of the Museum, and their recent involvement with the United Empire Loyalists Association of Canada in housing the UELAC Archives.

To register for this presentation, click here.

Leeds & Grenville Branch – May 2023 Presentation – Finding Them on the Ground – by Ken McKinlay

Join us on Monday, May 1st at 7:00 PM on Zoom as we host a presentation called Finding Them on the Ground. 

Records such as censuses and maps can often give us the lot, concession, and township information for where our rural Ontario kin resided. However, finding those details can sometimes be a challenge. In this presentation, genealogist Ken McKinlay will be diving into those various online resources and showing us how to find those nuggets with the records. With that information we have a much better chance of finding the various Ontario land records related to their property.

Ken McKinlay is a genealogy researcher with over 20 years of trial and error experience in researching his own family’s history in Canada, United States, England, Scotland and Ireland. Ken has a genealogy related blog at Family Tree Knots, where he shares the methodologies that he uses in his own research. To register for this presentation, click here.

Leeds & Grenville Branch – Change of Presentation Date to April 10th 2023 – Getting Ready for the 1931 Census, and Beyond the Online Basics

David Obee

Due to illness Dave Obee was unable to deliver his presentation as planned on April 3rd.  We have rescheduled the presentation for Monday, April 10th at 7:00 pm.  Everyone is welcome but registration is required.  Please register here:  https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAvcu2qrzMuE9MeM0HIIurjGyS_trIBL3zm

After registration you will receive a confirmation with a link to join the presentation.  Registrations from April 3rd DO NOT carry over, so please register with the new link if you wish to attend.

Leeds & Grenville Branch Presentation – April 2023 – Getting Ready for the 1931 Census, and Beyond the Online Basics

David Obee

Join us on Monday, April 3rd at 7:00 pm on Zoom for a special presentation from well-known Canadian genealogist Dave Obee. Dave will give us a two-fer evening – two short presentations on different topics.

The first topic is a timely one – Getting Ready for the 1931 Census! The 1931 national census is due to be released in June, 2023 — and since it will probably not be indexed right away, we need to get ready. Pick your priority people and get to work! This session offers ideas for identifying the census divisions and subdivisions where you will find your relatives. Using digitized census reports and mapping tools, you will be able to narrow your search options.

In the second presentation, Dave will take us Beyond the Online Basics: A Genealogical Guide to Digital Collections. There are billions of scanned pages on the Internet — a collection that few physical libraries could match. The problem is that many pages relevant to your research can be difficult to track down, since they are not on the usual genealogy websites. This session provides ideas on how to find the documents that will help you learn more about your families, or the local histories of the areas where they lived.

To join us for this presentation, visit our website leedsandgrenville.ogs.on.ca for the link to register or click this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUvc-2urz4qH9MlJAslt_6cNC2S0wPFfvD6

Everyone is welcome!

Family History Display at the Brockville Museum

The Leeds & Grenville Branch of Ontario Ancestors – the Ontario Genealogical Society invites you to visit our display at the Brockville Museum on Family Day, Monday February 20th, 2023 from 10 AM to 4 PM. The Brockville Museum is located at 5 Henry Street, Brockville, Ontario K6V 6M4.

We will have family trees, displays and family history materials about three early Brockville families: the Buells; the Sherwoods; and the Schofields.

We will also have used publications for sale (local census, newspaper and cemetery records) for $2 to $5.

Join us for this interesting Family Day activity!

Celebrate Family Day Weekend with Leeds & Grenville Branch

To celebrate Family Day 2023, Leeds & Grenville Branch, along with several other branches and a SIG of Ontario Ancestor, will be offering access to the members’ section on their websites for the Family Day weekend! Anyone can purchase a “weekend access pass” to the thousands of records in these members’ areas. Other Branches /SIG participating include: Eastern European Special Interest Group, Essex Branch, Huron Branch, Kent Branch, Lambton Branch, Niagara Peninsula Branch, Oxford Branch, Simcoe Branch.

Access will begin on Friday, February 17th at 6:00 pm until Monday, February 20th at 6:00 pm. Access passes can be purchased from the “Marketplace” on the main Ontario Ancestors website https://ogs.on.ca/. Be sure to create yourself a free account on the site before you begin shopping. The cost of each access pass is $20.00 per branch/SIG.

How to get in on this great opportunity:

Head to the Ontario Ancestors’ website – www.ogs.on.ca

  • Log in or, if you do not already have a free account, create one (your access pass will be emailed to you)
  • Click on the green “Marketplace” button
  • On the “Products” page, click on “Branch/SIG Members Only Access”
  • Click on the branch/SIG you would like access to by clicking the “Add To Cart” button
  • Add another Branch/SIG by clicking on the “Continue Shopping” button
  • When finished, click on “Proceed to Checkout” button
  • Fill in your billing/payment preferences then click on “Place Order”
  • an email with your Family Day Weekend Access pass will be emailed to you

This is a great opportunity to check out thousands of resources available to assist you in your family history journey.

Happy Family Day Weekend!