October 17th, 2016
Kathleen Burtch will give a presentation on Grenadier Island.
This is also our Pot Luck dinner at 6:30. Bring a dish to share, a plate and your cutlery. Drinks are provided.
Meetings
90 posts
Summer vacations are over and fall is approaching. Also approaching is a return to the regular meetings of the Leeds & Grenville Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society.
The new season starts on Monday, September 12th at 7:30 p.m. in the Brockville Museum.
Our guest speaker will be Bill Boulton on his latest book, “Village Streets & Country Lanes: Lansdowne Then and Now.”
Do come out and join us & bring a friend.
Meeting, Monday, June 13th, 2016, 7:30 PM
Terry Findley – Ancestors with Unknown Military Service
Many people have ancestors who served in the military and their service is unknown to their descendants. Learn some tips, tricks and sources to find those ancestors and discover what they did. Featured case studies are: an ancestor who fought in the Rebellion of 1837-1838; and some relatives who fought in the First World War.
Terry Findley, BSc, MBA, a native of Ottawa, served in the Canadian military for over 36 years. A past BIFHSGO Director Programs & Conference, he has written and lectured extensively on basic and advanced genealogy research, photo restoration and tracing Irish roots. Currently he and his wife Tad publish a new magazine called Many Families.
Meeting, Monday, May 9th, 2016, 7:30 PM
Ken McKinlay – Chipping Away at the Brick Wall
We all have them, those road blocks that prevent us from finding out the answers to our family history research questions. Some of these brick walls are self-imposed due to assumptions we make and hold on to or our by our own preconceptions. Yet there are also those research brick walls not of our own creation. By using real-life examples we will look at various common brick walls and possible ways to work around them.
Ken McKinlay‘s foray into his family tree research started with three simple family stories that he wanted to confirm or refute. He has now been researching his family tree for over 15 years making use of the Internet as his primary means of locating relevant documents and also discovering new cousins. He has given talks for the Ottawa branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society, BIFHSGO, and the Ottawa Public Library. His talks generally focus on methodologies and providing the skills needed to help solve those brick wall problems.
Meeting, Monday, April 11th, 2016, 7:30 PM
Brockville to Perth Settlers Trek 1816 – 2016
2016 is the 200th anniversary of the original trek of discharged soldiers and Scottish settlers to the Perth Settlement. These people walked from Brockville to Perth where the new settlement was founded. In May, 2016 this trek will be re-enacted and many of the participants will be descendants of the original settlers.
Clark Theobald of the Rideau Lakes Historical Society will be our guest speaker and provide details of the Trek and subsequent settlement. The presentation will focus on identifying those settlers who headed north from Brockville in the Spring of 1816 as part of the first British government sponsored and administered settlement program in North America. Using original documents and modern technologies, we will follow their journey to Unionville, Athens, Delta and the Old Landing.
The Settlers Trek 2016 program, presented by the Athens Lions Club, will be re-enacting the original Trek of the Scottish and disbanded soldier/settlers to the Perth Military Settlement in 1816. This unique 200th Anniversary project will be attempted from May 15-20, 2016 and pass through the communities of Brockville, Lyn, Athens, Delta, Portland, Rideau Ferry and Perth. At each locale, a welcoming ceremony and community celebration will take place. Participants will include walkers and horse and wagon teams, plus there will be a separate water route from Portland to Perth attempted by the Geo-Venture class from Perth and District Collegiate Institute.
The 2016 Trek project was originally conceived by Clark Theobald out of discussions within the Perth 200th committee. Clark is a retired school teacher with a passion for local history. He will be accompanied by his wife, Elizabeth, also a retired school teacher, and Larry Cochran from Portland, a member of the Rideau Lakes Historical Society.
Two special guests will include Kathy de Souza, a descendant of John Kilborn, and Ron Shaw, a Perth author with a very strong interest in the military history of this region.
Meeting, Monday, March 14th, 2016, 7:30 PM
Barrie Crampton will speak about the Perth Military Settlement Mapping Project, a searchable database and map of the original settlement of the area. Barrie initiated the project and is a descendant of one of the original settlers.
This year Lanark County celebrates the 200th anniversary of the Perth Military Settlement, and the Perth Military Settlement Mapping Project is one of many activities and events.
Meeting, Monday, February 8th, 2016, 7:30 PM
Mike More will speak on “The First World War Beyond the Western Front” about the rest of the world war. This presentation is aimed at those who may not be aware that there was fighting outside of France. Mike is an accomplished genealogist and researcher. This is a program you will not want to miss.
Monday, November 9, 2015
A presentation by Viktor Kaczkowski and Alison Dingledine from the Brockville Museum, unveiling the museum’s new website, providing an update about the museum’s Open Drawer project, and demonstrating how to use the online collection database currently under development. The meeting starts at 7:30 PM.
Monday, December 14, 2015
Doug Bond will be speaking on “Farmers & Cheesemakers in North Leeds”. The meeting starts at 7:30 PM.
January, 2016
There is no January meeting.
Monday, Sept 14, 2015
The annual joint meeting of the Leeds & Grenville Branch of the OGS and the Colonel Edward Jessup Branch UELAC, with speaker Denis Jones, Treasurer, Charter Member and Past Chair of the Irish Palatine Special Interest Group of OGS.
Denis descends from the early Prescott families of John Lawrence, who married Margaret Switzer (widow of Philip Embury) and also John Dulmage, who married Sophia Heck. Denis will tell the Irish Palatine story.
His talk is titled “A Pictorial History – the Irish Palatine Journey to Upper Canada 1709 – 1784”. The talk (with photos) will cover some of the history of the Irish Palatines, including the following topics:
- The Palatinate (Rhine Valley, Germany) leading into the early 1700s
- Palatines to London
- 1709 decision to split into 2 groups (one to Ireland, the other to the 13 Colonies)
- Irish Palatine settlements in Rathkeale (Co Limerick, Ireland)
- John Wesley presence in the Irish IP settlements (1750s)
- New York City (1760s) – the introduction of Methodism to North America by Irish Palatines
- Arrival of Irish Palatines in Upper Canada post American Revolution
- A few early churches in Upper Canada (Napanee, Prescott)
- Some monuments in Upper Canada to Irish Palatines, and the Irish Palatine Association and its museum in present day Rathkeale
Denis has given this talk (or a version thereof) several times, most recently at the OGS conference in Barrie.
Monday, Oct 19, 2015
Pot luck dinner at 6:30 PM, followed by presentation at 7:30 PM by the Généalogie et archives St-Laurent, based at the Cornwall Public Library, talking to us about their holdings of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry families. For the pot luck bring a dish to share, your plate & silverware. Drinks are provided.
In either November or December we plan to have a presentation by the Brockville Museum about their latest digitization project which will assist in researching material in their collections.
We are finalizing our fall and winter meeting programs. Our next meeting will take place on Monday, September 14th at 7:30 pm at the Brockville Museum. Check back in July for details on our fall program speakers.