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.