OGS Kingston Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox & Addington
OGS Kingston

Chronology of Kingston Branch OGS

1970s
14 March 1973Kingston Branch holds its first meeting, elects officers and submits an application to the Ontario Genealogical Society to be approved as a Branch. Details of the branch’s foundation and early activities are in the 1983 10th Anniversary Booklet. The branch began regular meetings in Douglas Library, Queen’s University. The first fiscal period was March 14, 1973 to October 17, 1974. After receipts of $165.93 and expenditures of $101.85, Kingston Branch began its second year of operation with a balance of $64.08.
September 1974Kingston Branch Newsletter is first published. The editor combined information about communities within Frontenac and Lennox & Addington Counties with general information about genealogy, book notices, resources in numerous countries, our branch library holdings, and record-keeping, together with Surname Search queries from members.
1975Kingston Branch receives a Local Initial Program grant that permits hiring of three employees to transcribe records from St. Mary’s Rectory. Working with branch volunteers, they eventually create indexes to early Roman Catholic births, deaths and marriages for use only within library.
1976The first branch publication was a transcription of Murvale Cemetery, mentioned in the May 1976 newsletter.
January 1977Membership Convenor reported location of members:
Kingston: 48;
Belleville east to Prescott: 35;
rest of Ontario: 55;
Alberta: 4;
Saskatchewan: 2;
Manitoba: 1;
Quebec: 3;
British Columbia: 5;
USA: 29.
By end of June, Branch membership totalled over 200 for the first time.
February 1978The first publication list is printed and attached to the newsletter. It lists 11 publications.
April 1978First branch meeting held in the new library at 130 Johnson Street.
1979Seminar ’80 Organizing Committee is formed under chair Ron Mann. 12 members meet regularly.
June 1979Kingston Branch’s library holdings now shelved at Central Branch, 130 Johnson Street so members of the public may also consult them.
1980s
23-25 May, 1980Seminar ’80, “Kingston—Where Genealogy and History Meet,” the Ontario Genealogical Society’s annual conference, is held in Kingston using facilities at Queen’s University. The first OGS Seminar to have over 500 registrants.
September 1980Branch holds first Silent Auction of genealogical materials donated by members.
September 1982Members begin project of indexing 1871 Census of Frontenac and Lennox & Addington Counties.
January 1983Anniversary Logo Contest announced for tenth anniversary. Winner (announced in March) John E. Holden of Provo Utah.
9 April 1983

Members and guests gather for a Tenth Anniversary
Celebration, a dinner at the 401 Inn in Kingston. John Blackwell chaired the organizing committee and acted as Master of Ceremonies. Dinner, a musical presentation by choir “Maybee’s Men” and an address by Marjorie Simmons created a full and interesting evening. The branch ordered commemorative teaspoons and sold them to members.
May / June 1983Smaller, photo-reduced 5.5×8.5” newsletter was introduced in order to reduce postal costs.
15 October 1983First Genealogical Conversazione at Kingston held at McArthur College, Queen’s. This all-day mini-conference featured 4-5 speakers and a few sales tables. Name, suggested by Mary Ann Wright, means “a scholarly social gathering held for discussion of literature and the arts.” Four more Conversaziones were held up to 1993, several at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Glenburnie.
26 October 1985Eastern Ontario OGS Regional Meeting in Brockville. First meeting of Kingston, Ottawa and Leeds-Grenville Branches, as OGS moved to regional structure (became Region 8)
Fall 1985Branch receives a grant for FLAGS project (Frontenac Lennox & Addington Genealogy Seniors) that enables purchase of a Bell & Howell Mark II microfilm reader, housed in Central Branch KFPL and used by our volunteers to transcribe and index Cataraqui Cemetery burial records. The grant also enabled conversion of our library catalogue to Dewey Decimal System and integration with KFPL catalogue.
24 September 1987Branch donates a microfilm reader to Queen’s University Documents Library, for use reading Canadian census collection.
1989Seminar ’91 Organizing Committee is formed under leadership of Barbara Aitken. Twelve committees are established to plan for Seminar.
1990s
24-26 May 1991Seminar ’91, “Kingston, A Gateway to Upper Canada” is held at Queen’s University. This time the conference included four tours on the Friday, a keynote address Friday evening with speaker from England, 14 speakers in concurrent sessions on Saturday and Sunday plus another speaker after the Banquet. Total attendance was 615.
January 1992First use of new name and logo for newsletter,
Kingston Relations, after competition for both, won by Susan Beyette.
January 1993As part of the 20th Anniversary Celebrations, submissions were solicited from branch members to write stories about their family. These were eventually published in May 1994 as the Book of Ancestors – now available online in the Members Only area.
October 1993Kingston Branch offered a 4-part Beginners’ Course at Calvin Park Library, arranged by the new (Jan. 1993) Education Committee.
October 1994Kingston Branch offered both a 4-part Beginner’s Introduction to Genealogy course, and an Intermediate-level course on researching English and Scottish ancestors, both at Frontenac Secondary School.
April 1995Kingston Branch gave another 4-week intermediate course at Frontenac SS, this time looking at research in New York state and New England. And in October there was another 4-week beginner’s course.
1996Branch membership reached a high of 600.
March 1997Kingston Relations announced that Kingston Branch Is on the Web! Our first website was set up by Bruce Murduck and hosted at Queen’s University.
Spring 1997Education Committee offered 7 genealogy classes on specific research topics at Frontenac Secondary School. The same number was offered in October and November.
June 1997Volunteers from Kingston Branch began to inventory the abstract books, deeds and wills in the Kingston Registry Office prior to their ultimate removal. This project was APOLROD (Association for the Preservation of Land Registry Office Documents), working in counties across Ontario.
September 1998Kingston Branch celebrated our 25th Anniversary with a dinner at the Staff College, Fort Frontenac that included a talk on the history of the Fort.
March 1999Kingston Branch had by now held Silent Auctions (click for photo) for a number of years, but February’s sale must have contained maximal quantities and quality of materials, since it realized $526.80 for the branch coffers.
April-May 1999Six more evening genealogy classes were taught at Frontenac Secondary School. These were the last: all schools in the area stopped renting out classrooms in the evening.
2000s
15 March 200330th Anniversary Dinner at Fort Frontenac – speaker Brig. Gen. Don Macnamara on an Irish family reunion.
September 2005Kingston Relations carried a photo (click here to see photo) of The Community Foundation of Greater Kingston presenting the Branch with a cheque for new library shelving to hold our expanded collection at Central Branch.
March 2008Celebration of 35 years of Kingston Branch. (click for photos). A small book of Members’ Interests was also produced.
June 2008Region 8 director Mike Brede proposed that the three OGS branches in eastern Ontario co-sponsor Conference 2012 and hold it in Kingston. He planned to chair the conference but health issues intervened. Kingston member Nancy Cutway took over as chair and planning began in Fall 2008.
March 2009Kingston Branch publications first added to the OGS eStore so can be ordered online.
November 2009Kingston Branch website adds Members Only section.
2010s
2011Members were first offered the choice of receiving
Kingston Relations electronically, to save on printing and postage costs.
1-3 June 2012Conference 2012, “Borders & Bridges: 1812 – 2012” held at St. Lawrence College, included 8 pre-conference workshops, 39 sessions by 22 speakers. 521 genealogists attended. It made a record profit: Kingston Branch’s share was just over $14,000.
16 February 2013OGS President Shirley Sturdevant presented Kingston Branch with a certificate marking our 40th anniversary. (Click for a photo).
May 2014OGS Regional structure disappears. Patti Mordasewicz is the final Region 8 Director. Directors are now to be elected “at large.”
May 2015After many years of meeting in the Central Branch of KFPL, the Branch moved to the Seniors Centre when Central closed for extensive renovations.
March 2016Kingston Branch moved to electronic distribution of
Kingston Relations in order to save the rising cost of printing and postage and save trees. Members now got a full-colour newsletter. (Click for a photo)
November 2017Joyce Fingland created a banner to hang from the podium at our meetings in the Seniors Centre. (photo)
January 2018Kingston Branch celebrated our 45th Anniversary by offering members TWO talks at that meeting, both by Marian Press.
February 2018Kingston Branch added “Short Sessions” prior to our 10:00 a.m. meetings, providing 15-minute presentations on specific topics which may be of particular interest to newer genealogists.
2020s
March 2020Kingston Branch’s March meeting was cancelled because the World Health Organization had declared the COVID-19 pandemic.
April 2020Kingston Branch held its first branch meeting online by Zoom. Assisted by OGS’s Webinar Coordinator, Kim Barnsdale, branch members and council have increased in ability to connect virtually and attendance remains high, benefiting members who live distant from Kingston.
January 2022Kingston Relations announces first “50th Anniversary” project, indexing and transcribing a collection of arriage licence applications at Queen’s University Archives.
2023Kingston Branch celebrates 50 years of existence!