Special Interest Groups
BIFHSGO has four Special Interest Groups which are open to members and non-members. Information about, and contacts for, the SIGs are below. Also, check the Events page and the online calendar for upcoming meetings.
Join us for enthusiastic discussions on researching ancestors in British Colonial America's 13 colonies: Virginia, New York, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Maryland, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Delaware, North Carolina, South Carolina, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Georgia.
The group is open to both BIFHSGO members and non-members. Meetings will be held online until further notice. Meetings are held on Wednesday evenings, from 7 to 9 p.m. Check the Events page for upcoming meetings.
For those interested in being added to the BCA mailing list and receiving invitations to the online meetings, please contact the Coordinator.
The DNA SIG meets at the City of Ottawa Central Archives (in normal times) and currently on Zoom to share experiences, information and ideas about the use of DNA evidence in exploring family history. Check the Events page for details. We invite BIFHSGO members and non-members to join us.
Contact Susan Courage to receive notifications.
This Special Interest Group is an online group that focuses on researching ancestors from London, England. For this group, London is defined as Greater London—essentially more or less the area within the modern Orbital London motorway (M25): Kent, Surrey, Berkshire, Greater London, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex.
Members are encouraged to: -
- Discuss their research interests for their London ancestors, share information and links to useful sites
- Report for discussion purposes their current research difficulties and roadblocks, such that members of the group may be able to assist
- Actively participate by preparing a short (5-10 minute) online presentation on a topic (or topics) from their research.
More general discussions may take place during the meeting or as a result of topics raised.
Some meeting presentations, research findings and suggested links are stored for members’ reference in a private members-only Google drive.
For the 2025-26 season, online meetings are proposed for September, November, January, March and May. Notices of upcoming meetings with the Zoom link are emailed to members one week in advance of the scheduled meeting date and are posted in BIFHSGO Events .
If you are interested in participating, please contact the London SIG coordinator.
In addition to BIFHSGO's SIGs, there are two SIGs run by Ontario Ancestors or the Ottawa Branch of the Ontario Genealogy Society that might be of interest to researchers.
This is a group run by the Ottawa Branch of Ontario Ancestors and meetings are open to the public free of charge. For more information, visit the page.
The Irish Research Group meets on the 4th Tuesday of the month (except December and June to August) to discuss all aspects of Irish genealogy and Irish family history: archives, books, databases, websites, courses, conferences, DNA, etc. Meetings are held in Conference Room C, McNabb Community Centre, 180 Percy Street, Ottawa from 7 p.m - 9 p.m. Attendees discuss the progress they are making in their own research or ask the group for strategies in overcoming brick walls. From time to time, guest speakers are invited to present on the life of Irish immigrants to Canada or on specific aspects of Irish genealogy.
View the BIFHSGO event page for upcoming meeting dates.
There is no BIFHSGO Scottish SIG, but there is one run by the Ontario Ancestors. Members include those who are descended from Scottish ancestors and those who are researchers of Scottish family history and genealogy. You need to be an Ontario Ancestors member to join the Scottish SIG. However, if you are not a member, you can join the Facebook group and participate in the conversations there.