Author Archives: Charles Godwin

Closure Over Christmas

Our Branch Archives and Library, located at the Brockville Museum, will be closed from December 22nd, 2016 to January 2nd, 2017 inclusive.

We wish all of our website visitors a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

CANCELLED – December 2016 Meeting

Unfortunately, our speaker for the December meeting of the Leeds & Grenville Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society has had to postpone his presentation due to personal and business obligations.  Brent Collett will speak to us in spring 2017 about Willis Chipman, one of the early surveyors of Leeds and Grenville Counties.  We will advertise and post the rescheduled event on our website and Facebook group.

Because of this postponement, there will be no December meeting for the Leeds and Grenville Branch.  We will be announcing our speaker line-up for next year early in January, and hope to see everyone out for our February 13th meeting.

We regret any inconvenience this may cause.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a happy, healthy New Year.

September 2016 Meeting

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.

June 2016 Meeting

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.

May 2016 Meeting

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.

April 2016 Meeting

Meeting, Monday, April 11th, 2016, 7:30 PM

Brockville to Perth Settlers Trek 1816 - 2016 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.

March 2016 Meeting

Meeting, Monday, March 14th, 2016, 7:30 PM

200th anniversary perth military settlementBarrie 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.