There are plenty of online learning opportunities at Toronto Branch this spring, with a particular focus on migrant ancestors.
Over three Thursday evenings in May, we’ll present Immigration to Early Ontario, a series of online talks on the thousands of people who pulled up roots during the 1800s to start a new life in what is now the province of Ontario. We’ll find out who they were, where they came from, why they left their homes, the routes they took, and how to locate and decipher the records that tell their stories.
May 11—7:30 pm (EDT): THEY CAME BY SAIL AND STEAM TO CANADA
Professional genealogist Derek Blount will launch our series with an overview of immigration records and alternatives, as well as a look at Great Lakes travel.
May 18—7:30 pm (EDT): FINDING YOUR GERMAN ANCESTORS IN ONTARIO RECORDS
Local and family historian Ruth Burkholder will join us for our second session. She’ll spotlight the various groups of German-speaking settlers who made Ontario their home.
May 25—7:30 pm (EDT): PETER ROBINSON SETTLEMENTS 1823 & 1825, A BRITISH/CANADIAN EXPERIMENT
Derek Blount will be back to wrap up the series with a talk on the Peter Robinson settlements, a scheme that brought destitute Irish families to Upper Canada.
The cost of this series is $35 (or $30 for members of the Ontario Genealogical Society).
Click here for more information and to register for the May series.
Then, over two Thursday evenings in June, we’ll present From Cornwall to Ontario in the 19th Century. Join us for an in-depth look at the Cornish diaspora, where and why Cornish immigrants settled in Ontario, and their family and community ties.
June 8—7:30 pm (EDT): CORNISH SETTLERS IN EAST WHITBY TOWNSHIP: 1830s AND 1840s
Many families from St. Blazey, Cornwall, emigrated together and settled in the east half of Whitby Township. Author and historian Wesley Johnston will share insights from his research into one such family, and how he untangled their “Family Thicket”.
June 15—7:30 pm (EDT): THE BIBLE CHRISTIANS OF ONTARIO
A good number of Ontario settlers from Cornwall were Bible Christians. Author Sher Leetooze will draw on photographs, maps and diaries to tell us about the Bible Christian preachers, and how they became the glue binding these immigrant communities together.
The cost of this series is $20 (or $15 for members of the Ontario Genealogical Society).
Click here for more information and to register for the June series.
All of these lectures will be recorded, so that registrants who can’t attend the live presentations may watch at a more convenient time.
