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Ontario Genealogical Society, Toronto Branch and the Canadiana Department of North York Central Library present

DISEASE & DISTRESS!
A workshop about how our ancestors handled adversity

Saturday, November 28, 2009
North York Central Library Auditorium
5120 Yonge Street, Toronto
(North York Centre subway station)

It’s hard for us today to comprehend the everyday adversity that beset our
ancestors. Disease and destitution led a long list of perennial hardships.
Join us for an information-packed day that will put flesh back on those old bones.

Program

9:15–10:00 am  Registration

10:00–11:15 am (Plenary)

Session A: Records Arising from Death
Covering both North American and European funerary practices, the plenary introduces records from churches, undertakers, stonemasons, cemeteries, and burial societies. Learn about home wakes and exhumations and see photos made at graveside, funeral cards and announcements, record books and tombstones. You may be surprised at the wealth of information created by the demise of our ancestors.

Speaker: Cecile (Ceil) Jensen, CG, is a professional genealogist, lecturer, and author with a special interest in Polish heritage. She owns Michigan Polonia LLC and an accompanying website and is developing the Polonica Americana Research Institute.

11:30 am–12:30 pm

Session B: The White Plague
We know it as tuberculosis or TB, a disease now mostly tamed. But prior to 1900 its terrible effects were devastating, especially on those in the prime of life. This case history will describe the toll on the presenter’s family in both Europe and the New World. Special attention will be given to what is now the ghost town of Tranquille, BC, once the site of one of the finest sanatoriums in the world.

Speaker: Marg Aldridge, PLCGS, of Richmond Hill has more than 35 years experience in genealogical research and is a recent winner of several awards, including two Brian W. Hutchison Scholarship Awards and the OGS Essay Contest.

Session C: Assisting Immigrants in Trouble: Government Agents in 1830 and 1840s Upper Canada
Government emigrant agents in Upper Canada had daily contact with immigrants whose troubles only began with running out of money. Introducing some of the agents who assisted several thousand mostly British newcomers, this lecture gives context to the records they created. Surviving records can be found at the Archives of Ontario and Library and Archives Canada and, with luck, more await discovery.

Speaker: Wendy Cameron, of Toronto, is co-author of two books on the Petworth emigration scheme and is the lead investigator on the Petworth project. She is working on a history of the Pre-Confederation immigration service in Upper Canada/Canada West.

12:30–1:30 pm

Lunch (There are several restaurants close to the Library and a food court in the building.)

1:30–2:00 pm

Session D: Tour of the North York Central Library’s Canadiana Department
(limited to 20 people)

Session E: Collision of the 1918 Flu Pandemic and an Idyllic World
Using old photos, newspaper clippings, school registers, civil records and the accounts of descendants, this presentation describes the process of researching the 1918 flu pandemic in Prince Edward County. Starting with the death registers for each municipality, the presenter gathered information about each victim. While the circumstances are specific, the methods are applicable to genealogists everywhere.

Speaker: Phil Ainsworth has been a genealogist since childhood and is author of many historical articles on Prince Edward County. In addition he teaches genealogy courses and sits on the board of Prince Edward County Library and Archives.

Session F: A Convenient Means of Riddance: Tracing Ancestors in 19th Century Asylums
Was your ancestor confined to an asylum for idiots? This lecture provides information on how to trace those elusive ancestors who were labelled “insane” or idiots from 1850 to 1909. A brief social history of the formation of asylums in Ontario will be included, as well as the difficulty of extracting information after 1909.

Speaker: Fran Murphy, BA, MLS, has been actively involved in family history research for 10 years and is a committed volunteer with OGS Halton- Peel Branch and the Ontario Chapter of the Association of Professional Genealogists.

2:45–3:45 pm

Session G: Murder, Mayhem and Town Tragedy
This complex case study demonstrates how to use census records, funeral records, obituaries, cemetery inscriptions, historical newspapers, town histories, court and jail records, and many other underused records and sources to find the heroes and villains in your family tree. The starting point is a quintuple murder in Duquesne, Pennsylvania on a cold December evening in 1936.

Speaker: Lisa A. Alzo, MFA, of Ithaca, New York, is the author of nine books, most dealing with her Slovak ancestry, as well as numerous articles in genealogical magazines and journals. She teaches online genealogy courses and lectures at major conferences.

NB: In a first for OGS Toronto Branch workshops, Lisa will present remotely from her home in Ithaca, New York. You will hear Lisa’s voice and you will see her PowerPoint slides. You will be able to ask questions.

Session H: Record Sources for the Ontario Home Front during The Great War
WWI and the “war effort” dominated our ancestors’ lives and transformed Ontario society. This presentation will look at a variety of records that show how all facets of society coped with war, including Toronto’s scheme to insure its soldiers serving overseas, initiatives to assist soldiers’ families, provide soldiers’ comfort packages and aid returning soldiers, and the activities of businesses, religious bodies, and other organizations.

Speaker: Jane E. MacNamara of Toronto is a long-time member of the Ontario Genealogical Society, a genealogy teacher, lecturer and tour leader (17 trips to Salt Lake City), and founder of OGS Toronto’s innovative Genealogy Summer Camp.

How to get to the workshop:

By public transit: North York Central Library is connected directly to the North York Centre subway station, on the Yonge line. Inter-city trains and buses link with the subway at Union, Dundas, or York Mills stations. Allow at least 35 minutes from Union or Dundas, or 15 minutes from York Mills, to get to North York Centre.

By car: North York Central Library is at 5120 Yonge Street, Toronto  M2N 5N9, on the west side at Park Home Avenue (about halfway between Sheppard and Finch). From Highway 401, exit northbound at Yonge Street; proceed north to Park Home Avenue (6th or 7th traffic light) and turn left. The most convenient parking ($5 per day on Saturdays) is under the building—enter from Novotel on Park Home, or from Beecroft Road (parallel and west of Yonge Street).

© Toronto Branch, Ontario Genealogical Society. Last Updated August 2011