Posted by conference on February 23, 2010 under Blog: New Postings, Dutch Research Stream, Speakers and Program | 
John Colletta, Susanna de Groot and Mary Nash, presenters of the Dutch ancestry stream at OGS Conference 2010
On Saturday, May 15, the Ontario Genealogical Society’s Conference 2010 will present a special module of four lectures on research for those with family origins in the Netherlands. This stream of lectures builds on the success of a Dutch ancestry workshop hosted by OGS Toronto Branch in 2007.
This information-packed program will feature three expert speakers:
John Philip Colletta, Ph.D, based in Washington, D.C., one of America’s most popular genealogical lecturers, will set the stage with a lecture on “How to Prepare for Successful Research in European Records”. (For a more comprehensive overview of John’s participation in Conference 2010, see the blog posting from 15 October 2009.)
Toronto’s own Susanna de Groot, PLCGS, a professional genealogist and co-author of the book Finding Your Dutch Ancestors, will then present two lectures covering the gamut of Dutch civil, church and population records, as well as information about using archives and online tools.
Susanna is the daughter of Dutch immigrants who came to Canada after WWII. She has been researching her family history for 12 years and has been actively involved in OGS Toronto Branch’s project to transcribe the grave markers in St. James Cemetery. In the course of her research, she has travelled a couple of times to the Netherlands and has conducted research in the Amsterdam Archives, Harderwijk Archives, Streekarchivariaat Noordwest-Veluwe (a regional archive in Gelderland), Leiden Archives, National Archives, Central Bureau for Genealogy, National Library of the Netherlands and Kampen Archives
Susanna was a speaker at Toronto Branch’s 2007 Dutch workshop and will join us at Conference 2010 fresh back from researching at the Family History Library and attending the NGS Conference in Salt Lake City. We ask her to leave some ancestors for the rest of us to find! (Those of us without Dutch ancestry will be able to hear her speak at noon on Sunday in Session 38. The topic: “Ships Ahoy! Great Lakes Genealogical Research”.)
Mary M. Nash, a Dutch-born and Canadian-educated librarian and researcher based in Ottawa, will present a case history illustrating the use of unusual and specialized sources in Dutch genealogical research. Mary is the founder of Nash Information Services Inc., a private Canadian corporation providing information, information management and calculation services to business, government and industry. A more complete biography can be found on the Conference website.
At the conclusion of the special module at 3 p.m., attendees are encouraged to stay for the rest of the day to hear lectures at the Conference proper on subjects as wide-ranging as Canadian immigration records, online family trees, social networking for genealogists, tracking down living relatives and reading immigrant clues in photographs. Their choices will include the intriguing “A Genealogy Journey to Key Largo with Bogart and Bacall” that explores actor Humphrey Bogart’s Dutch roots.
The Dutch stream is available as an option to anyone purchasing either a Full Weekend Registration Package or a Saturday Registration Package.
Posted by conference on February 16, 2010 under Blog: New Postings, Marketplace, Pre-Conference Events, Tours and Events, Visiting Toronto |
Hands-on Research Excursion: One venue at capacity
Registrants have been eager to add an extra day of research to their Conference 2010 experience by signing up for the Hands-on Research Excursion on Thursday, May 13. “Excursionists” selected from a choice of four wonderful archives and libraries.
One of the four venues—the Archives of Ontario—is now at capacity.
But don’t let that discourage you from joining the Excursion!
The City of Toronto Archives is a great choice if your ancestors lived in Toronto or the former municipalities of Scarborough, East York, North York, York or Etobicoke. The two reference libraries are some of the finest in North America for genealogy. The Toronto Reference Library has a collection of books and maps built over the past 115 years and an extensive manuscript collection only accessible on site. The North York Library’s Canadiana Department has an emphasis on Canadian genealogical resources in print and microform, and provides a home for unique deposit collections from genealogical partners.
To register for the Hands-on Research Excursion, select that option on the online registration form, and then e-mail us to choose your venue.
Marketplace and Sponsors pages updated
If you haven’t explored the Conference 2010 website lately, be sure to check the Marketplace and Sponsors pages to see the treats that lie ahead for attendees at Conference 2010. Most Marketplace exhibitors include a link to a website, so you can do some “window shopping” in advance.
Doubletree restaurant praised
Restaurant reviewer Joanne Kates in The Globe and Mail has named the Chinese restaurant (Grand Chinese Cuisine) at the Conference hotel as one of the best in the city. Mmmm…
Posted by conference on February 15, 2010 under Blog: New Postings, Canadian Records, Innovations Stream, Speakers and Program, Sponsors |
Stephen Young will be part of "New Toronto Research Tools" on Saturday, May 15.
We are pleased to announce that FamilySearch is sponsoring OGS Conference 2010 and is generously underwriting two previously unannounced appearances at the Conference by one of its most experienced project managers, Stephen C. Young, MA, AG.
Stephen will participate in both the “New Toronto Research Tools” session on Saturday afternoon and will also deliver a newly scheduled lunchtime learning lecture on new developments at FamilySearch, also on Saturday.
Stephen is no stranger to southern Ontario, having been born and raised in London. Indeed he has an ancestor buried in the Toronto Necropolis, one of the cemeteries in the Toronto Trust group (more on which below).
His interest in family history extends back to the late 1970s. After undergraduate studies at Brigham Young University, he obtained his Master’s in American History at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. An employee of the LDS Church since 1988, Stephen enjoyed a four year appointment (1992-1996) in England supervising the British 1881 Census Project. His current responsibilities (in Salt Lake City, Utah) entail working with archives and other genealogical organizations, such as OGS, in the cooperative indexing and publication online of historical records in Canada, the British Isles and the South Pacific.
And that’s how Stephen comes to be part of “New Toronto Research Tools”. As many members will be aware, a FamilySearch Indexing project is now well under way with Toronto Branch to index the records of the Toronto Trust Cemeteries, including the York General Burying Ground, Toronto Necropolis, Prospect and Mount Pleasant. Indeed Stephen was not only instrumental in getting the project off the ground, he is also one of our volunteer indexers.
One of the quirkiest things that could conceivably happen to any researcher is to find that one of your ancestors was responsible for the death of a colleague’s ancestor. That happened to Stephen when he discovered that his fifth great-grandfather, Henry Windecker, had reportedly killed the colleague’s ancestor during the Revolutionary War. Stephen told the story in his article: “Henry Windecker, U.E., and His Descendants.” Families 48, No. 1 (February 2009): 24-29, 18.
If Stephen weren’t busy enough already, he’s also researching and writing a book about his father’s experience in the Royal Canadian Navy Volunteer Reserve during World War II, including service on a minesweeper off Omaha Beach on the night and morning of the D-Day assault.
Welcome home, Stephen!
Posted by conference on February 4, 2010 under Blog: New Postings, Innovations Stream, Speakers and Program, Sponsors |
Lesley Anderson of Ancestry.ca
Conference speaker Lesley Anderson has sent the happy news that Ancestry will provide free on-site access to their worldwide databases for attendees at the Ontario Genealogical Society’s Conference 2010.
This commitment is part of a larger agreement whereby Ancestry.ca becomes a top-level sponsor of the Conference.
Other benefits to attendees include:
- an Ancestry-sponsored luncheon on Friday, featuring a presentation by Lesley on New Projects at Ancestry (special ticketed event)
- sponsorship of the Conference bag
- an Ancestry display in Marketplace
These commitments by Ancestry are in addition to Lesley’s previously announced two-hour workshop, Working Effectively with Ancestry.
Lesley brings a wealth of genealogical and family history research experience to Conference 2010. She has been pursuing her own family history for more than 35 years. (Yes she started as a teenager!) A director of BIFHSGO, Lesley shares her enthusiasm for genealogy by teaching courses through the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board’s Continuing Education Department and she’s been a long time volunteer with the Ottawa Stake Family History Center.
For the past 2-1/2 years, Lesley has enjoyed being the Canadian representative for Ancestry.ca. Her primary responsibility is to develop strategic relationships with content providers across Canada to acquire new Canadian historical records. She has made several radio and television appearances on behalf of Ancestry.ca. Check out her TV spot on Canada AM.
Lesley collaborated with fellow Conference speaker Glenn Wright to develop and present Ancestry.ca’s first Canadian Webinar on the Historic Canadian Census Collection—1851 to 1916.
She contributes a monthly column, called “Discovering Your Roots”, to the CanWest chain of newspapers, appearing in the Ottawa Citizen, Windsor Star, Winnipeg Free Press and Calgary Herald to name a few.
We are delighted to acknowledge both Lesley and Ancestry.ca’s contributions to Conference 2010.
