Toronto Branch, Ontario Genealogical Society

Late summer lectures!

Registration is now open for a new value-packed series of Toronto Branch lectures on Ontario records and research! These lectures will take place on four evenings in August, all online.

Our Late Summer Lecture Series will kick off on Tuesday August 18 with Jane E. MacNamara speaking about Ontario Records on FamilySearch — how to search for records and digital images, and make the most of what you discover.

On Wednesday August 19, Janice Nickerson will present Upper Canada Sundries: An Under-used Genealogy Goldmine — a recently digitized treasure trove of genealogical and biographical information on early Ontarians.

The following week, on Tuesday August 25, Linda Corupe will introduce us to the records of The Heir & Devisee Commissions of Upper Canada — an invaluable resource for researching early settlers in the province.

And, last but not least, on Wednesday August 26, Ruth Burkholder will demonstrate ways of Enhancing your Research with Find a Grave — how to find and verify what others have contributed, and grow your family tree.

Each session in the series will begin at 7:30 p.m. (Eastern Daylight Time) and include an hour-long presentation and an opportunity to ask questions, as well as speaker notes. Closed-captioned recordings will be available to registrants until September 15.

The first session is free to everyone. You can attend any subsequent session for just $10 (or $8 if you are a member of the Ontario Genealogical Society). Or take advantage of our Full Series package price and get full access to all four lectures for only $25 ($20 for OGS members).

For details and to register, visit our Late Summer Lecture Series page now.

Two important August days

The first weekend in August is a long one in Ontario. This year the calendar lets us celebrate two important days.

In Toronto, the first Monday in August is Simcoe Day, honouring John Graves Simcoe, Upper Canada’s first lieutenant governor. Simcoe is credited with the founding of Toronto, and other major steps in the colonization of Ontario. But let’s also remember his efforts to end slavery. The Act of 1793 Against Slavery was a compromise. It stopped the importation of enslaved persons, but not their sale across the border. And it freed the children of enslaved persons born in Upper Canada after 1793 at age 25, but not any of the more than 500 enslaved persons in Upper Canada.

August 1 is Emancipation Day, celebrating the 1833 Abolition of Slavery Act that freed more than 800,000 enslaved people of African descent throughout the British Empire, including Canada, on August 1, 1834.

To learn more about slavery in Canada, a good place to start is Natasha Henry’s contribution to the Canadian Encyclopedia.

Man on horse leading parade through street.

Emancipation Day parade, Amherstburg Ontario, 1894. Library and Archives Canada/PA-163923, Item ID number 3227511.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there will be no Emancipation Day parades this year, but there are many virtual celebrations. The Ontario Heritage Foundation and Uncle Tom’s Cabin Historic Site are hosting a week of commemorative events. Owen Sound and area residents have held an annual Emancipation Day festival for almost a century and a half, and are planning a special digital program this August 1. And the Archives of Ontario website has online exhibits you can browse on Enslaved Africans in Upper Canada and The Black Canadian Experience in Ontario 1834-1914: Flight, Freedom, Foundation.