Past Meetings 2017

January 21, 2017 — Several Kingston Branch members spoke on the topic “Who Knew?” in which they described surprising discoveries in their family trees, and how they learned about them. Paul Woodrow shared his experiences with publishing his father’s war memories in a small book. Jo Stanbridge told of a royal connection through her ancestor Anthony Woodville. Barbara Monk described her successful efforts to find and re-inter her father’s ashes in Mount Royal Cemetery. Alex Ross shared a story about his surprising discovery that his wife and her lifelong friend were both descended from the same Scottish ancestor: David Fairbairn (1798-1871) of Scotland. Helen Coffey described her discovery that the Anglican Church Archives holds wills and other records of parishoners who donated items or money to the church. These parish papers may be a useful resource for others whose ancestors did the same. Even those who gave quite small sums were recorded in these documents.

February 18, 2017 — The branch Annual General Meeting was followed by a talk by Jo Stanbridge, Local History and Genealogy Librarian from Kingston Frontenac Public Library.Back to Basics: My Five Favourite Tips and Strategies included instructions for accessing Ancestry Library Edition at any of the 16 KFPL branches, plus tips and tricks for using Digital Kingston, FamilySearch, Google and books and documents in the Kingston and OGS library collections currently housed at the Isabel Turner Branch.

March 18, 2017 — Lesley Anderson and Glenn Wright gave a talk about Creating Ontario: Immigration to Upper Canada and Canada West, 1791-1867. They suggested reasons WHY people would leave hearth and home to come here, and asked WHO came into Ontario? They then discussed HOW they got here, examining immigration routes and available records. Their great handout is available to branch members on our website.

April 22, 2017 — Gary Foster, Belleville spoke on The Story Behind the Stones. He illustrates how various factors are reflected in changes in the stones found in cemeteries, as far as materials available for use; artistic styles; symbols used on stones, etc. “Cemeteries capture the history of their communities,” concluded Gary.

May 20, 2017 — Gord Sly gave us an introduction on screen to the “Frontenac County Schools Museum and Archives”. Then, after lunch, he kindly opened the doors to the Museum so we could tour the facilities. Some members took advantage of the opportunity to examine school records and found information on relatives who were teachers in the past.

September 16, 2017 — Gail Dever gave an informative talk about “The Creme de la Creme of Online Resources for Quebec.” She demonstrated how to access the excellent resources that are available online, and gave tips for anglophone researchers about how to navigate French-language websites and databases.

October 21, 2017 — Ron Mann offered Some Hints and Guidelines for Beginning and Veteran Genealogists learned during his 49 years researching his family history and publishing his discoveries.

November 18, 2017 — Due to unforeseen circumstances, Nancy Cutway was unable to present her scheduled talk In Remembrance: Vimy and Other European Memorials. Instead, Joyce Fingland presented What is a GEDcom and How do I Make One? She demonstrated the use of GEDcoms in both Legacy and Family Tree Maker, and in uploading to GEDmatch.

Full write-ups of the talks, including clickable links, can be found in the newsletter published after the date of a given meeting. All newsletters since 2008 are available to Kingston Branch Members in the “Members Only” section of this website.