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Join us on Monday, September 1st (Labour Day) at 7:00 pm on Zoom for A Road Trip Through Leeds County – Exploring the Records.
Come with us on a road trip through the Townships of Leeds County. Visit the County Office, Township Offices, Towns, Libraries, Archives, Museums, Historical & Heritage Societies. There might be some road-side stops and a few detours along the way!
Over the last couple of years volunteer branch members have been visiting local libraries and archives in the county with the hope to eventually visit them all. This tour was prepared using the information gleaned from those visits, as well as studying websites and social media outlets to tell you what you might find at these locations.
The presentation was prepared by Branch volunteers and will be presented by Patti Mordasewicz, Chair of the Leeds & Grenville Branch of The Ontario Genealogical Society.
The presentation is free and open to everyone, but registration is required. For information and registration link, click here.
Join us on Monday, June 2nd at 7:00 pm via Zoom for a presentation by Kathryn Lake Hogan. Her topic is: “Invaded! The Fenian Raids and the Canadian Response”
Between 1866 and 1871, Irish-American veterans invaded Canada, attempting to pressure Britain to withdraw from Ireland. Gain an understanding of the historical context, significant battles, and the lasting impact on Canadian military and national identity. Determine your ancestor’s role in these events and where to find the records.
Kathryn Lake Hogan, UE, PLCGS, is a professional genealogist, educator, and speaker specializing in Canadian family history research. As the founder of Looking4Ancestors, Kathryn has helped countless family historians discover their Canadian roots, with expertise in areas such as Loyalist ancestry, British Home Children, migration patterns, and tracing lesser-known stories. She regularly presents webinars, courses, and workshops for audiences across North America and is known for making complex research topics clear, approachable, and inspiring. To register for this presentation, click here.
Join us on Monday, May 5th at 7:00 pm via Zoom for a presentation by Peter and Angela Johnson, UE. Their topic is “Old Hay Bay Church: Loyalist Yesterday & Today”.
Peter and Angela Johnson UE have been members of UELAC since 1982, having served in several positions including National Secretary (Angela) National President (Peter), Bay of Quinte & Toronto Branch President (both), and are currently serving their second term as Co-National Genealogists since 2016. Angela & Peter are part of the Board of Trustees since 2012 and 2014 for the Old Hay Bay Church, as well serving on the Restoration Committee, and are Custodians each summer at the church. Angela & Peter are long time members of Quinte Branch OGS and both have served as Branch Chair. Angela & Peter have been part of the re-enactment regiment the Kings Royal Regiment of New York which just celebrated its 50th Anniversary of the formation of the re-enactment group. Both Peter and Angela have been interested in Genealogy since they were teenagers. When they are not busy doing genealogy they help their 4 children raise their 9 grandchildren. To register for this presentation, click here.
Join us on Monday, April 7th at 7:00 pm via Zoom for a presentation by Annette Burke Lyttle. Her topic is “Border—What Border? Our Ancestors Who Called Both Canada and the USA Home”.
Movement from the United States to Canada was unrestricted and unrecorded until April 1908. The U.S. began recording the entry of Canadians along its northern border in 1894. Before that, many thousands of people lived cross-border lives, without visas, work permits, passports, or immigration records. Learn how to find these elusive ancestors.
Annette Burke Lyttle, CG® owns Heritage Detective, LLC, providing professional genealogical services in research, education, and writing. She speaks on a variety of genealogical topics at the international, national, state, and local levels, and loves helping people uncover and share their family stories. Annette is a course coordinator for the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy and the British Institute. She is a published writer whose research interests include Quaker ancestors and ancestral migrations in the US. She is past president of the Association of Professional Genealogists and editor of The Florida Genealogist. To register for this presentation, click here.
Join us on Monday, March 3rd at 7:00 pm via Zoom for a presentation on A History of Brockville Photography Studios by Alice McMurtry from the Brockville Museum.
This presentation will shed a light on some of the leading names in photography’s early days in Brockville. We will explore how photographic technology has changed over time, and look at photography’s impact on the development of tourism in Brockville. This talk will be highlighted by photographs from the Brockville Museum collection. Do you have family photos taken by a Brockville photographer? Learn more about the photographers who took them, and the studios they operated. It may even help you to identify “mystery photo” sitters!
Alice McMurtry is the Community Program Coordinator at the Brockville Museum, where she develops public and educational programming for a range of audiences. She has extensive museum experience, having worked at the Royal Ontario Museum, the Ontario Heritage Trust, the City of Toronto History Museums, the Bata Shoe Museum, Black Creek Pioneer Village, and other cultural institutions across the province. She holds a Master’s in Museum Studies and an Honours BA in History and English Literature from the University of Toronto. To register for this presentation, click here
Join us on Monday, February 3rd at 7:00 pm via Zoom for our first presentation of 2025! Author and speaker Jill Morelli will speak about Family Search research techniques. Her topic is “Be a Super Sleuth: Accessing & Using Images and Full Text Search”
Did you know that Family Search is placing their recently digitized material online in less than 24 hours after it is scanned? Did you know that they are placing them, not in the Catalog, but in Images? This makes the images tab (under Search) the most up-to-date repository of FS records–not the Catalog. Did you know that using Artificial Intelligence, you can conduct an all-word search for certain documents in their “Lab”? What is a Super Sleuth to do? We will learn how to access these two features of FS to find your ancestors. Treasures await!
Jill Morelli, CG, CGL is a writer, lecturer and co-founder of the online Applied Genealogy Institute, providing hands-on educational opportunities for intermediate and advanced genealogists. In 2017, she founded the Certification Discussion Group, an online series discussing her certification journey in order to demystify the process for others. Jill is past president of the Seattle Genealogical Society, co-chair of SGS Centennial 2023, program director for the Puget Sound-APG chapter, and a member of many local and national genealogical societies. To register for this presentation, click here.
Join us on Monday, December 2nd at 7:00 pm on Zoom for a Show and Share experience! Do you have a genealogy success story you want to share? Is there a family history heirloom that you want to show off? How about a challenge that you’re looking for help to solve? Want to learn what’s new in our Archives? Our December genealogy event on Zoom will have all of these elements! If you want to send us a photo or document in advance to share with the audience, please reach out to [email protected] and we’ll make it happen. If you simply want to tell a story or ask a question, all you need is a microphone on your computer or tablet. If you prefer, you can type questions into the chat section of the Zoom platform. We’ll usher in the Christmas season with some family history stories! To register for this year-end presentation, click here.
Join us on Monday, November 4th at 7:00 pm to learn about the service of a British soldier in World War 1. Branch member Mike More will give a presentation about his grandfather’s experience in the British Army in the First World War. Mike says “to many Canadians, The Great War was fought in the trenches of France. But my grandfather spent almost five years in India and the Middle East. This was truly a global war and, although few Canadians served on other fronts, there was a great deal of fighting outside of France, and ‘Soldiers of the King’ were involved in all of them, along with many other nations. I’ll give a brief summary of what happened in the other areas of the conflict.”
Mike More retired from the Canadian Forces after 32 years service, and is an active Ontario Genealogical Society Volunteer, with the Society as the provincial coordinator of The Ontario Name Index (TONI), with Ottawa Branch in many roles, and as the Technical Host of Zoom webinars for the Leeds & Grenville Branch. Mike has been tracing his roots for about forty years. To register for this presentation, click here .
Though genealogists rely most heavily on original documents to prove family relationships or identities, using artifacts, though unusual, may help untangle a same-name mystery. Join us on Monday, October 7th at 7:00 pm via Zoom to learn the story of A Connecticut Yankee in the King’s Rangers, as told by Leeds & Grenville Branch member, and New York resident, Pamela Vittorio.
Between 1780 and 1783, Oliver Graham’s name appeared on both Connecticut and Loyalist militia rosters. Were there two men named Oliver Graham?: one who had volunteered in Connecticut, fought with Seth Warner’s regiment in Vermont, and was captured during the Burning of the Valley; and the other, a private with the King’s Rangers who received many acres of Crown Land after the Treaty of Paris was signed?
A detailed paper trail from research in Canadian archives and two U.S. states, combined with a nineteenth century watercolor painting and a Colonial powder horn, help confirm one man’s identity.
Pamela Vittorio is a historian, professional genealogist, and an Associate Teaching Professor (Research & Writing) at the New School University, in NYC. To register for this presentation, click here