Yearly Archives: 2019

10 posts

New Branch Opening Hours

News

Beginning in December 2019, our Branch Archives / Library will be closed on Wednesday afternoons until further notice. We will be open on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 1:00 pm until 4:00 pm. We will make appointments for Wednesday afternoon openings if volunteers are available.

Holiday Closing

Our Branch Archives/Library will close on Friday, December 20^th at 4:00 pm and re-open on January 2^nd at 1:00 pm. Our host facility, Brockville Museum, is closed during this period so we are unable to accommodate special requests.

Wishing everyone a safe and happy holiday, whatever faith or tradition you follow. May the joy of family present and past brighten your celebrations!

Opening Hours

December 2019 Meeting

Meetings

Branch Presentation:

Monday, December 9^th at 7:30 pm

Brockville Museum, 5 Henry Street

Speaker Paul Cote on his recently released book “Sheatown: A Vanished Irish Catholic Community” and about the families that lived there.

The book “Sheatown: A Vanished Irish Catholic Community” is a metaphor about many things:

It is about the families that settled in that part of Yonge Township, both Catholic and Protestant
It is about the development of the Front and Rear Townships
It is about the changing nature of society in general and how it affected life in the rural areas of the county and all of Ontario for that matter
It is about the death of the small mixed farms that were once the backbone of rural economies.

The focus of the presentation will be on the families that settled in the Sheatown area, and how they developed a vibrant community in what today is considered inhospitable wilderness.

The Presenter:

Born and raised in Gananoque, Paul Cote has always had a passion for history and genealogy. In retirement he has found the time to follow these passions, resulting not only in the book he will speak about, but in other books and articles on local history and families. Refreshments to follow presentation. Everyone welcome!

November 2019 Meeting

Meetings

Joint Meeting with the Colonel Edward Jessup Branch of the United Empire Loyalists.

Speaker Brian Tackaberry will be presenting ‘The Last 100 Days Campaign of the first 1918‘. It will be a PowerPoint presentation with Brian in WWI attire.

Brian Tackaberry is a retired secondary school teacher from Almonte, Ontario. He is very involved in community activities in and around Almonte. He has been president of the Perth Citizens’ Band, serving as bandmaster of the group since 1986. He has also served as a director with the North Lanark Highland Games in Almonte since 1984 and is a member of the North Lanark Historical Society. Brian began his own genealogical research in 1980. As a descendant of United Empire Loyalists he served as President of the Bay of Quinte Branch, UELAC from 2003 to 2013 and as Newsletter Editor since 1991. He is currently Volunteer Manager and Financial Officer for the UEL Heritage Centre and Park in Adolphustown, which are operated by the Branch. He is a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists, the New England Historic Genealogical Society, the United Empire Loyalist Association of Canada, and the Ontario Genealogical Society. He has published several books, and has conducted workshops on genealogy, with particular focus on the Loyalists. He has documented evidence and obtained certificates for 16 of his UEL ancestors.

October 2019 Meeting

Meetings

Annual Pot Luck

Our October meeting is coming a little earlier than usual because we have moved the date of our October meeting forward. Due to the federal election on October 21st, we are holding our annual Pot Luck Dinner on Monday, October 7th, beginning at 6:30 pm. For those attending, please bring a dish to share, along with your plate and cutlery. Drinks will be provided. We will be meeting in the lower room of the museum. There is an elevator.

Rather than having a speaker, we are using this opportunity to share our research successes and challenges with the group. If you are able to attend the meeting, please think about sharing a five-minute story about your family history research. We would love to hear about artifacts that have a genealogical meaning in your family, or discoveries which have helped you tell the stories of your ancestors. If you can’t attend the meeting, please think about sending us a story that we can share with those in attendance..

September 2019 Meeting

Meetings

Hello to all after our summer break.

Leeds Grenville Branch OGS welcomes Maggie Wheeler as our guest speaker at our meeting on September 9, 2019 at 7:30 pm. at Brockville Museum. Maggie will be speaking about British Home Children, the topic of her newest novel: “All My Worldly Goods”.

We are still at the same at the same place & time.

Brockville Museum
7:30pm

Come out & enjoy.

June 2019 Meeting

Meetings

Finding Your Ancestors with FamilySearch.org

June 10, 2019 @ 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm at the Brockville Museum

Wondering how to find your ancestors in FamilySearch and manage your Family Tree? Learn what free resources about your ancestors are available for you at FamilySearch. Learn how to use other free tools like Family Tree, and Memories to preserve your family history for generations.

Our presenter, Shirley-Ann Pyefinch, has been researching her family history for over 40 years, and has taught workshops on family history and preservation throughout Ontario. She volunteers at the Ottawa Family History Centre and works as a professional Records Manager for the Canadian federal government.

Ontario Ancestors OGS Conference June 2019

Events

A reminder that the Ontario Ancestors’ 2019 Annual Conference and Family History Show, presented by The Ontario Genealogical Society, will be held at the London Convention Centre, London, Ontario, June 21-23, 2019. The 2019 event provides a great opportunity for family historians to get together, learn new stuff, see what’s available in the genealogy Marketplace, catch up with old friends and make new ones, all while pursuing the hobby we love and enjoy!

Questions? Call us toll free at 1-855-MYROOTS (1-855-697-6687) ext: 260 or email Registrar Conference 2019.

Archives Closed March 20 – 25, 2019

News

Our Archives will be closed from Wednesday, March 20th until Monday, March 25th inclusive. The Brockville Museum will be doing some renovations to improve the insulation and heating in our space. We are sorry for the inconvenience but believe the improvements will make using our Archives more comfortable for both our volunteers and our visitors. Thank you.

April 2019 Meeting

Meetings

On Monday, April 8th at 7:30 pm, the Leeds & Grenville Branch of Ontario Ancestors (The Ontario Genealogical Society) will learn about The Family History Reno Project (the easy do-over) from speaker Bob Dawes.

If you’ve ever wanted to clean up your family history file, this is the easy way to approach it. Normally, a Do Over involves re-entering all of your family information from scratch while this approach allows you to continue using your file for research while cleaning it up. It also allows you to take advantage of everything you’ve learned over the years as well as new resources and tools.

Bob Dawes is a past chair of Quinte Branch and currently responsible for their database and computer maintenance. Bob and his wife, Barbara, have traveled extensively throughout North America and the United Kingdom in search of their ancestors and enjoy using technology to enhance their research.

Location: Brockville Museum

March 2019 Meeting – Evaluating Evidence

Meetings

On Monday, March 11th at 7:30 pm the Leeds & Grenville Branch of The Ontario Genealogical Society will learn about Evaluating Evidence with a presentation by Mike More. Guidelines and some examples will help in “Determining the significance of the information we’ve found.” There is plenty of information available to genealogists but we need to examine it and determine if it is useful and correct.

Mike More retired from the Canadian Forces in 2004 after 32 years service. He volunteers with the Ottawa Branch of The Ontario Genealogical Society where he currently co-chairs their Program Committee, and is the Provincial Coordinator for The Society’s Indexing project, The Ontario Name Index (TONI). Mike has been tracing his roots for thirty years, using computers and the Internet to help with his research for much of that time.

Meeting Location: Brockville Museum