Toronto Branch, Ontario Genealogical Society

January 2020 meeting

The first Toronto Branch meeting of 2020 will take place on Monday 27 January starting at 7:30 p.m. at Lansing United Church in North York.

We’re kicking off the new year with a special panel presentation titled We all have a story to tell! Three of our panelists are Branch members who have published their family stories, all in different ways. Marian Press has created a traditional family history book, Sheelagh Hysenaj publishes genealogy stories in her local newspaper, and Carol Nichols creates unique family history brochures. Our fourth panelist, Diana Varma, is a print professional from Ryerson University, who will give us an overview of how and where to get our stories told. This will be an interactive session so please bring your questions!

open book with 3-D palm tree and sailing ship

As usual, the Members Network will be gathering before the main meeting (beginning at 6:15). All Branch members are welcome to participate and share experiences with others pursuing their family history research!

Lansing United is located two blocks south-west of Sheppard and Yonge, at Poyntz Avenue and Beecroft Road (enter from Poyntz). It’s a short walk from the Sheppard-Yonge subway station, which also links to frequent bus service. If you are driving, parking on local streets is free after 6:00 p.m., and there are pay parking lots close by. The few spaces in the church parking lot are reserved for members with accessibility needs.

To find out more about our January panel and speakers, and what’s coming up in the months ahead, please visit our Meetings page or browse through our Calendar.

Winter 2020 courses

Registration is now open for the winter semester of Toronto Branch courses, beginning in the new year.

In January and February 2020, we’re offering back-to-back courses on land records—a rich source of information about ancestors who settled in Ontario. Both courses will be led by instructor Jane MacNamara and held at the Archives of Ontario on Thursday afternoons. Participants will work in small groups following case histories through the records.

The first course, Hands-On Early Ontario Land Records, runs for three weeks beginning January 23, and deals with the earliest period, when land in Upper Canada was being granted by the Crown. Learn about that land granting process and the main types of Crown Lands records, and practice using the finding aids and collections at the Archives to locate specific documents.

The second course, Hands-On Land Registry Records, runs for two weeks beginning February 13. This course is brand new, and covers land transactions after the granting of initial patents by the Crown. Learn how to tackle research in rural and urban Land Registry records, both at the Archives and online through FamilySearch and the ONLand website.

These two courses are complementary but neither is a prerequisite for the other—you can take one or both in any order.

Page of abstract index book On the evening of Wednesday March 25, join us at the Toronto Reference Library to discover the vast range of Genealogy Resources in TPL’s Catalogue. Learn how to use the Toronto Public Library’s online catalog to find items on the open shelves such as how-to guides, directories, and maps as well as “hidden” collections in the closed stacks. This is a free course but registration is required.

Follow the links on the course names above for full details and to sign up online. Enrolment in our courses is limited and they can fill up quickly. We encourage you to register before the end-of-year rush to avoid disappointment.

Members of the Ontario Genealogical Society enjoy reduced course fees—just one of the benefits of membership in the Society and Toronto Branch. Join or renew for 2020 now. Sign up with a partner before December 15 and you can also take advantage of the Society’s special Grow Our Family discount.