Please join us as we Celebrate 50 Years as a Branch in the Ontario Genealogical Society! 

For what’s happening, please click on “50th Year”  in the menu above. We will post updates throughout the year. 

 

Based in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, we are a branch of  Ontario Ancestors, the provincial Ontario Genealogical Society. Our branch was established in 1973. We are an active and friendly group, with a membership that includes both new and experienced researchers. We meet eight or nine times a year for educational talks, information sessions, and other activities.

We encourage and assist those who are interested in family history in the City of Kingston, in Frontenac County and Lennox and Addington County. We also maintain an extensive Library of books and other research materials and an on-going publications program, with more than 200 books available for sale.  You’re welcome to join us. For more information, please visit our Membership page. We’ll look forward to seeing you!

There is a wealth of information in the Members Only section of the website! Many recordings of presentations and many handouts. Worth a look! Go to the Member only section by clicking “Member Only” in the menu bar above.

Not a member but you would like to listen to the presentations? Why not become a member of the branch? There are many other benefits of being a member of the branch. For other benefits, please click on becoming a member of the Kingston Branch.

Kingston Branch is now only selling Digital Download publications on the OGS Marketplace.  Paper copies can still be ordered directly from the Branch by sending an e-mail to  <kingstonpublications@ogs.on.ca>

Riverview Cemetery, Napanee

Riverview Cemetery, Napanee
The Cemetery Committee has recently completed the transcription of all gravestones and the columbaria of Riverview Cemetery in the Town of Greater Napanee. GPS co-ordinates are included for each Row, to assist you in the Cemetery. The Introduction includes a description of the Cemetery, which began in 1841, as well as several photographs. The publication also includes 317 names from the burial register from 1951 to 1992. Unfortunately, there is no register prior to 1951, and 1992 is the last year that can be included due to privacy restrictions. There are over 7,000 names in the fullname Index.
It is available for sale as a Digital Download on the OGS Marketplace for $15.00, or directly from the Branch at: kingstonpublications@ogs.on.ca as a digital file ($15.00) or printed publication ($39.00 plus postage.)
As part of the celebration of our Branch’s 50th anniversary, the Branch Council has approved the addition of Riverview Cemetery into the Members’ Only section of the website.

Morven Cemetery

The transcription, indexing and final editing of Morven Cemetery, Ernestown Township, Lennox & Addington County, is now complete (133 p., ISBN: 978-0-7779-4739-5).  The earliest burials were in the 1850’s.  Information for unreadable stones was extracted from transcriptions completed in 1938 and 1975.  This publication is now available for sale in printed form ($30.00 plus postage) or PDF file ($15.00) from the branch by sending an email to kingstonpublications@ogs.on.ca or as a digital download ($15.00) through the OGS marketplace.”

Early Ontario Marriage Records 

Kingston Relations reported in the January/February 2022 issue that our Branch has been working in collaboration with Queen’s University Archives (QUA) to digitize and add early Ontario marriage records to the QUA website. This is the first of our 50th Anniversary projects and the hope is that it will be completed sometime in our anniversary year, 2023. 

 To see a copy of the article please click on this link: Kingston Relations January/February 2022

Here is how to find the project – go  to https://archives.queensu.ca/collections/transcription-project and create a free account.  Please read and follow the “General Transcription Tips”.  Click on “available projects” and scroll down to the “marriage records” collection (https://fromthepage.com/qua/marriage-records).  Note that there are ten sub-headings of marriage records, all of which need transcription. 

 Then you are ready to start transcribing or reviewing any page.  You can create or edit transcriptions by modifying the text entry field and saving.  Since OCR was enabled during digitization, the transcription is partially completed. 

Anyone is welcome to participate.   Please help Kingston Branch make this valuable resource available for all researchers. 

Publication Committee News

by Paul Woodrow, Publications Chairman

Used Books for Sale. Please click on the link for a list 29 used books for sale.

Several years ago, Kingston Branch received copies of the books described below. All were published by Mika Publishing Company, Belleville.

Frontenac at Cataraqui, 1673-1973, 84 p. Count Frontenac, the Governor of New France, established a fort on the site where Fort Frontenac is located today. In 1973, a re-enactment of the original landing took place as part of Kingston’s Tercentenary. This book describes the planning of this event, the script which accompanied the arrival of the canoes and bateaux which had travelled from Lachine, Quebec, list of participants and numerous photos taken during the 1973 event. Price: $3.00, soft cover.

Kingston Splendid Heritage, 96 p. This book contains a history of the development of Kingston and many high quality photographs of significant Kingston buildings. Price: $7.00, hardback.

Kingston Historic City, 192 p. Kingston’s history is depicted in more detail than the previous book and the numerous photographs and maps are reproduced in high quality. Price: $10.00, hardback.

Splendid Heritage, Historical Buildings of Ontario, 142 p. This book celebrates Ontario’s heritage. Its numerous photographs, combined with descriptive text, tell stories of many of Ontario’s significant historic buildings. Price: $10.00, hardback.

Copies of these books are still available. Contact kingstonpublications@ogs.on.ca.

On the Members’ Only section of our website, the following publications have been added:
 Abstracts of Surrogate Court Wills, Kingston and Vicinity,1790-1858;
 Index to Wills Probated, Frontenac County, 1857-1973;
 Wesleyan Methodist Baptisms, 1834-1898, Including Strays, Errors and Omissions;
 The Napanee Letters of James McKitterick, 1877-1885 (Index only);
 Book of Ancestors, a Branch 20th anniversary publication.

Presentations at Branch Meetings in the Year 2023

21 January 2023 Sherilyn L. Bell, BSc UE presented “Unusual Family History– What lies beneath.”

If you missed the presentation, please  go to the Members Only section of this website where you will find the recording.

18 February 2023 – Jennifer Debruin presented– “Slavery Along The St. Lawrence River”      

Check back here for the notice  that the recording is available.

18 March 2023 – Melanie McLellan presented– “The Great Hunger – A Genealogist’s Perspective” 

To view a handout, provided by Melanie McLennan, entitled “Tips and Sources for Irish and Scots Irish Research,” please click on this link.

This handout will be available here until the 31st of March. After that date, the handout will be moved to the Members Only section of this website.

Please check back later for information on a recording of the presentation.

15 April, 2023 Joanne Gervais will present “Self-publishing on Amazon”

To register, please click on this link. 

20 May, 2023, Show and Tell  See below the registration link for information on this meeting,

To register for the meeting, please click on this link. 

From the March/April Kingston Relations: 

“Thanks to Zoom, at our branch meeting of May 20, 2023, we plan to have another “Show and Tell” meeting open to any member to present, whether in Victoria or Halifax or anywhere in between.
About 5 to 6 members will have an opportunity to speak for 5 to 10 minutes each about an ancestor, or a story from their family history. Ideally the story will tie to a photograph or document or an artifact that can be scanned or photographed.
If you would like to participate, please contact Jane Miller, Program Co-Chair, at
kingstonprogram2@ogs.on.ca as soon as possible to book your slot. Note that the date has changed from the April meeting. Then send the images to be displayed while you speak, to Nancy Cutway at kingstonnewsletters@ogs.on.ca by the end of April. Nancy will collect all the images into one PowerPoint presentation so participants don’t have to worry about handling the technical aspect of their talk.”

16 September 2023 Diane Duncan will present “The 50%- The women in your family tree.”

Please check back later for a registration link.

16 October 2023 An in person, Kingston Branch-KPFL Open House, a 50th Anniversary event

15 November 2023 Glenn Wright will present “Proudly she served: Canadian women at war 1885-1945

Check back closer to the date for a registration link.

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Kingston Frontenac Public Library

The Kingston Branch OGS collection and microfilm collection are available to the public whenever the library’s Central Branch is open. For library hours, locations and announcements, please visit www.kfpl.ca.

Home access to Ancestry Library Edition ended on December 31st, 2021 but you can still access it free of charge from within any of KFPL’s sixteen branches.

Some KFPL Short video tutorials (Click here for what’s available) about Ancestry Library Edition and historical Kingston newspapers are available free on the KFPL YouTube channel.

For updates about the library’s status with regard to COVID restrictions, please visit the COVID Updates page of the KFPL website.

Jo Stanbridge retired from her position as Local History and Genealogy Librarian on January 21st, 2022 but will be staying in Kingston and will continue to be an enthusiastic member of the Kingston Branch OGS. Jo is looking forward to seeing you all online and (fingers crossed) in “real life” before too long.

KFPL’s new Local History and Heritage Librarian is Anne Hall. Anne can be reached through the Contact page of the KFPL website or by email at ahall@kfpl.ca

Library staff are looking forward to seeing you again soon!