Events

Ken McKinlay will present a “Back to Basics” series as Education Talks in 2023/24

Target audience: beginner to intermediate. Here is a short  video of Ken explaining what will be covered in these presentations.

September: England and Wales
October: Ireland
November: Military Service
January: Scotland
February: Census Records
March: Civil Birth, Marriage, and Death Registrations
April: Church Records
May: Immigration and Emigration

See details on each monthly meeting announcement. Recordings of these presentations will be available to members in the Meeting Videos and Handouts in the Members' Area of the website after the monthly meeting.

Ken’s foray into his family tree research started over 20 years ago with three simple family stories that he wanted to confirm or refute. Although initially making use of the internet as his primary means of locating relevant documents, he now spends time in archives and libraries looking for those hard-to-find clues and documents. He has given talks and workshops for BIFHSGO, Ottawa Public Library and various branches of Ontario Ancestors. His presentations generally focus on methodologies and providing the skills needed to help solve those brick wall problems. He has a genealogy-related blog at Family Tree Knots, where he shares the methodologies that he uses in his own research.

This is a hybrid meeting:

• Join us in person at Knox Presbyterian Church (Lisgar & Elgin) in Geneva Hall.  Please use the Garden Entrance on Elgin Street. Limited free street parking is available on Saturdays, and the City Hall Parking Garage is available for $2.00.
• Join online by registering here

. This registration covers both events.

Back to Basics: Immigration and Emigration / 9 a.m. EDT

Presenter: Ken McKinlay

Just where do we find the document potentially recording the emigration from the British Isles and the immigration in distant lands? We will be looking at the possible resources to shed light into this ongoing migration.

My Farrell Brick Wall and New Cousins: From Inchigeelagh, Cork to Holytown, Scotland and St Andrew's West, Ontario / 10 a.m. EDT

Presenters: Helen O’Farrell Sloan and Dena Palamedes         

This is a story of how patience, persistence and DNA can crumble a brick wall and reveal a new family.

Dena's second great-grandfather, John Porteous, started out in the world as John Farrell. The Scottish Old Catholic records said his father was Thomas O'Farrell, his mother was Anges Coats, and John was their "lawful" child. John married Annie Crosser and five of their eight children were baptized "O'Farrell." By 1880, the family was using the name Porteous and the remaining three children were called Porteous. Thomas O'Farrell was not to be found after 1851, and his "wife" Agnes appears to have abandoned her children and started a new life as a "spinster" marrying two more times.

Thomas O'Farrell's origins and ultimate outcome were unknown, a proverbial brick wall. Eight years after Dena's family first started DNA testing, they found a match only an hour from home in Kemptville, Ontario, and the brick wall crumbled.

This is the story of how two families reconnected and of our Covid project to find out more about two brothers: Dennis, who emigrated to St. Lawrence County, New York, and later to St. Andrew's West, Ontario, and his younger brother, Thomas, who went to Holytown, Scotland.

Helen O'Farrell Sloan is a retired teacher's assistant and has been researching and writing family history stories for many decades. She lives in Williamstown, surrounded by the history of her many ancestors. Dena Palamedes is a semi-retired internal auditor living in Ottawa, Ontario. She has been actively researching both her Scottish and Greek family histories for the last ten years.

This is a hybrid meeting:

• Join us in person at Knox Presbyterian Church (Lisgar & Elgin) in Geneva Hall.  Please use the Garden Entrance on Elgin Street. Limited free street parking is available on Saturdays, and the City Hall Parking Garage is available for $2.00.
• Join online by registering here

. This registration covers both events.

Annual General Meeting / 9 a.m. EDT

Details to follow

Great Moments in Genealogy / 10 a.m. EDT

Just a Wannabe Scot
Presenter: Veronica Scrimger

This is the Great Moment story of how the discovery of a tombstone in Arbroath, Scotland, ignited Veronica and Dave’s fascination with his Scrimger family history. But it actually all started when a friend declared that Yorkshireman Dave Scrimger was “just a wannabe Scot.”

Veronica Scrimger is a retired librarian and researcher.  While her husband, Dave, did all the initial genealogy of his Scrimger family, over the last seven years, Veronica used her skills to uncover the history of their lives.

Locations and Occupations: Using Census Analysis to Explore Family Dispersion
Presenter: Paul Cripwell

The census can provide that golden moment, when you find something that makes everything feel right! This talk is not only about one of those moments, but also about what happens next: the new avenues of research that become necessary to gain a better understanding of your family history.

Paul Cripwell’s journey into his family history began when he retired from Nav Canada in 2018. Needing something to keep his mind active, he quickly discovered that family history was the perfect project. It required all the analytical and investigative skills he had acquired over his 40-year career and it was also a never-ending project, so he would never get bored. His research into his Cripwell side has revealed much new information and a greater understanding of the lifestyle of his ancestors.