A summary of each meeting is posted here after the meeting.
If available, the handout from a meeting is provided next to the summary.
18 January 2020 – Gord Sly spoke on “Aye, Your Roots; What is ‘Behind’ Your Name?” Gord gave a very interesting study of English-language surnames that arose over time, and the meaning of parts of surnames. During the short educational session, Geoffrey Allen presented an informative “Short History of the English Working Class.”
15 February 2020 – Ron Mann‘s mini-talk was on how he used DNA Matches to find Distant Cousins. The main presentation by Nancy Cutway, Jane Miller and Paul Woodrow was a demonstration of many features on the OGS Website which are sometimes underused by members.
21 March 2020 – meeting postponed due to declaration of pandemic.
18 April 2020 – Deb McAuslan discussed “When New York Was New Netherlands”. Records exist so that Deb can pinpoint on a map where her 10th-great-grandparents were living in 1642.
16 May 2020 – Bob Dawes presented “The Family History Reno Project.” Some genealogists talk about a complete “do-over” of their research. Bob preferred to systematically review his information on each family line, and found new relatives in the process.
20 June 2020 – Susan Warren presented “The Rideau Canal Workers”. Over 4,000 people contributed (1826-1832) to the building of this important transportation link, now a UNESCO World Heritage site.
19 September 2020 – Jennifer DeBruin presented “Discovering the Humanity in the History.” Jennifer’s rule when researcing has been People + Time and Place + Experience (trying to understand their emotions and feelings).
17 October 2020 – Patti Mordasewicz presented “Using Ontario Land Records.” Patti provided a step-by-step way to navigate through the records online, particularly important now that county record offices have closed to the public for good.
- “Using Ontario Land Records” Handout
21 November 2020 – Michael Onesi presented “The Ultimate Black Sheep: What Happens When You Discover a Serial Killer in Your Family Tree.” A fascinating story about discovering a murderous relative. Nancy Cutway followed with a short description of the sensational murder of a distant relative of her husband in 1819.
Other Links
Brief biographies of some speakers at Kingston Branch meetings are available at:
A more extensive write-up of each presentation may be found in the newsletter which follows that meeting date. The newsletters are available as follows:
- Kingston Branch Newsletters (More Than Three Years Old) – Available to members and non-members.
Further information is available in the Members Only area of this website, by clicking the following links:
- Kingston Branch Newsletters (Less Than Three Years Old)
- Recordings of Past Kingston Branch Meetings
- Handouts from Branch Presentations
- Official minutes of Past Meetings
Kingston Branch members of the Ontario Genealogical Society receive our newsletter, Kingston Relations as one of their membership benefits. To find out how you can join Kingston Branch, please visit our Membership page.