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November 2018 meeting

The last Toronto Branch meeting of 2018 will take place on Monday 26 November starting at 7:30 p.m. at Lansing United Church in North York.

In keeping with Branch tradition, we’ll be celebrating the end of the year with our own Great Moments in Genealogy. This annual event is always a favourite! Eight Branch members will each share one “great moment” in their family history research. Please join us for intriguing and inspiring presentations on family mysteries, genealogical sleuthing and brilliant breakthroughs. Light refreshments will be served during an extended break time.

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 Church 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 November speakers and topics, and what’s in store for 2018, please visit our Meetings page or browse through our Calendar.

Red leaves on maple tree

November 17th, 2018 | Tags: , | Category: Meetings | Comments are closed

In Flanders Fields: The power of a poem

It was in May 1915, during the Second Battle of Ypres, that John McCrae penned the words of In Flanders Fields, the simple poem that became an enduring testament to the toll of war, recited at countless Remembrance Day observances.

This November—100 years after the Armistice that brought an end to the Great War—McCrae’s words are as poignant as ever.

McCrae’s poetry writing began at Guelph Collegiate, where he was an accomplished student. At the age of 16, he was the first graduate from his home town to win a scholarship to the University of Toronto. Now, his is one of the more than 600 names carved on the University’s memorial wall for those who died in the Great War. Nearby on the memorial is the full text of the poem that lives on, a century later.

Read “In Flanders Fields the poppies blow—at home and far away“, on our For King and Country project site.

Handwritten copy of poem beside cross

A tribute left at the medical station where McCrae worked—his poem copied in English and French (photo by Martha Jackson)

November 11th, 2018 | Tags: , , , , , | Category: Projects | Comments are closed

Toronto Branch Meetings

Nov
26
Mon
7:30 pm Great Moments in Genealogy
Great Moments in Genealogy
Nov 26 @ 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm
Great Moments in Genealogy @ Lansing United Church | Toronto | Ontario | Canada
In keeping with our very popular annual tradition, eight Toronto Branch members will be sharing “great moments” in their family history research in a series of short presentations as follows:   Patricia Clesle: Using Newspapers[...]
Jan
28
Mon
7:30 pm The Spanish Flu
The Spanish Flu
Jan 28 @ 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm
The Spanish Flu @ Lansing United Church | Toronto | Ontario | Canada
THE SPANISH FLU, TORONTO’S – CANADA’S FORGOTTEN PANDEMIC Speaker: Mike Clare The story of the Spanish Flu epidemic in Canada and Toronto is a forgotten one. Why? It has been called the most documented epidemic[...]
Feb
25
Mon
7:30 pm Toronto’s Early Police Detectives
Toronto’s Early Police Detectives
Feb 25 @ 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm
Speaker: Ellen Maki Visiting the haunts of felons and searching pawn shops for stolen goods were some of the duties of Toronto’s Victorian police detectives. Who were the policemen who became detectives, and was their[...]

Did you know?

That Toronto Branch OGS has more than 600 members? That members get a discount on publications, and course and workshop registration fees?