
SOLD OUT!
This course is now full. To be put on a waiting list for our next course please email us at torontocourses@ogs.on.ca
Three-session online course: January 14, 21 and 28, 2021
$30 OGS members / $35 non-members
Despite the recent closure of Land Registry Offices, Ontario land registry records are becoming more available than ever before—particularly for researchers at a distance. For those new to these records, words like lot, concession, plan, abstract index, and instrument can be confusing. But they are also crucial to locating a parcel of land and the records of ownership. This three-session course will focus on helping you understand how land is divided and identified in Ontario both historically and today.
The course will demonstrate sources to help you find your ancestor’s property description and then locate it on a map. We’ll also look at how you can use the property description to find the records of purchases and other transactions using OnLand.ca, FamilySearch.org, microfilmed records at the Archives of Ontario, and original records deposited at local archives. While Crown Land records and Land Titles will be covered briefly, the emphasis will be on Land Registry records.
There will be homework! Please plan on time between classes for a little online reading and to check out some suggested websites. Each session, including discussion, will be recorded and archived for a limited time, but for the most benefit, please try to participate in the live Zoom session.
Jane E. MacNamara, Toronto, is the author of Inheritance in Ontario: Wills and other Records for Family Historians (OGS/Dundurn) and writes about genealogy at wherethestorytakesme.ca. A long time member of OGS, Jane lectures about research methodology, Ontario, and English family history to genealogical and historical groups throughout southern Ontario. She teaches courses for Toronto Branch OGS, most notably hands-on courses about Ontario records.

Are you afraid to close your browser for fear of losing something important? Ever filed something away carefully on your computer in a folder never to see it again? Is your desktop a mass of random documents you put there so you could find them again? Want a better way of handling the things you find?
Speaker Linda Yip uses a program so good you’d think it was made for genealogy. She’ll talk about the dos and don’ts of filing, and how Evernote has made her a better genealogist. She has been doing genealogy since the mid-90s and recently went pro. An ex-BigLaw executive legal assistant who’s seen and used every kind of filing style imaginable, Linda has developed techniques for using Evernote in genealogy that you might really enjoy.

Three-session online course:
3:00 pm to about 4:30 pm
March 17, 24 and 31, 2021
$30 OGS members / $35 non-members
There will be homework! Please plan on time between classes for a little online reading and to check out some suggested websites. Each session, including discussion, will be recorded and archived for a limited time, but for the most benefit, please try to participate in the live Zoom session. Registration is now open. Space is limited. Register early to reserve your spot!
Jane E. MacNamara, Toronto, is the author of Inheritance in Ontario: Wills and other Records for Family Historians (OGS/Dundurn) and writes about genealogy at wherethestorytakesme.ca. A long time member of OGS, Jane lectures about research methodology, Ontario, and English family history to genealogical and historical groups throughout southern Ontario. She teaches courses for Toronto Branch OGS, most notably hands-on courses about Ontario records.

The presentation “HMS Speedy: Tragedy and Mystery” will outline the true Canadian history story of the British gunboat, HMS Speedy, that disappeared in a storm near Presqu’ile Point in October 1804, with the loss of all 20 souls on board. Why did the Speedy sail to begin with? Who were the people on board and what were their family connections? What were the political conditions that changed Captain Paxton from a good civil servant into a tragic hero? Then, the discussion moves to the modern day and deals with the search for the remains of the ship, focused around the efforts of Ed Burtt, a professional diver from Belleville who was certain he had found remains of the Speedy during underwater survey work off Presqu’ile Point in the early 1990s. Why is it still a mystery? So many questions—all to be answered in this engaging talk that is based on Dan Buchanan’s recent book “The Wreck of HMS Speedy: The Tragedy That Shook Upper Canada”.
Speaker Dan Buchanan is a genealogist and historian. Known as a local “history guy,” Dan is involved in many organizations and projects in the Brighton area related to history and heritage.