Events

This is a hybrid meeting:

• Join us in person at Knox Presbyterian Church (Lisgar & Elgin) in Geneva Hall.  Please use the Garden Entrance on Elgin Street. Limited free street parking is available on Saturdays, and the City Hall Parking Garage is available for $2.00.
• Join online by registering here

This registration covers both events.

Annual Holiday Social / 9 a.m. EST

Join us for the Holiday Social which will focus on our 30th anniversary. We look forward to having members share stories of “What gifts BIFHSGO has given me over the last 30 years."  Come and also share holiday treats.

Great Moments in Genealogy / 10 a.m. EST

An Unexpected Gift
Presenter: Carol Annett

This presentation focuses on Carol's third great-grandmother, Ann Gillies McPherson. An unexpected gift of information broke down a 10-year-old brick wall and led Carol to discovering the complete story of her ancestor.

Carol Annett has been doing genealogy research for over 15 years. She enjoys travelling to places where her forebears lived in Scotland and in Canada. A member of the BIFHSGO writing group, Carol enjoys writing about her ancestors.

(From the Vaults) It Happened in Coolross
Presenter: Ann Burns

This is the story of the amazing coincidence that happened while Ann was travelling in Ireland with her father in 2008. He wanted to see where his paternal great-grandparents came from. They booked a self-driving trip that included a visit to Islandmagee, County Antrim, where his great-grandmother, Eliza McCullough, was born, followed by a few days in County Wicklow, where his great-grandfather, Edward Byrne, came from. Ann had driven on the left side of the road before, but the Irish roads offered? a special treat. They found nothing helpful in Islandmagee, viewing every headstone in every Presbyterian cemetery. They met and were treated by some really lovely people, but they had a life-changing experience in their search for the townland of Coolross in County Wicklow. And it happened on September 11. 

Ann Burns is a retired civil servant who has been working on her family history since 2002. She was born and brought up in Ottawa, as were her parents. Both sides of her family still feel much more connected to their Irish roots than those from England and France. She has travelled widely, but in recent years, she has spent most of her travel time in Ireland. She does most of her research herself but has hired a local genealogist in County Wicklow from time to time. That research confirmed what they found on that extraordinary day.

Blown Away 
Presenter: Veronica Scrimger

This Great Moments presentation highlights the journey Veronica took in 2019 to discover her grandfather’s foster home in the Shetland Islands.

Over the last ten years in retirement, Veronica Scrimger has been travelling to various parts of Scotland and England to walk in the footsteps of different ancestors. While all the trips have been incredibly rewarding, this Shetland one was a standout.

Over the “Golden Bridge”—The unexpected discovery of more British home children in my family tree
Presenter: Nancy Higgins

Nancy’s paternal granddad, William Stephen Higgins, was always “known” to be a British home child, though that has yet to be confirmed. He remains her brick wall, which she puts aside to pursue her easier Roper and Jefford maternal lines. A chance conversation in 2019 at one of BIFHSGO’s coffee breaks opened a door to unknown British home children in her family tree: William’s wife and Nancy’s granny, Mary Ann Rodger, and her younger sister, Helen. Following up on a few of the suggestions from this conversation has led to the discovery of Mary Ann and Helen’s sad past and their eventual journey to Canada.

Nancy Higgins retired from IBM after a long consulting career. She now enjoys spending her time as a family historian, while creating new family stories with her grandkids and indulging in her love of floral design. Nancy discovered she is related to not one but three British home children and the proud descendant of two, her paternal grandmother and grandfather. After a sojourn on the West Coast, Nancy has returned to live again in Ottawa. She looks forward to the day when her research is organized and in the meanwhile derives pleasure from the journey of discovery of her roots and creating family stories to share.

This is a online meeting only. Join by registering here. The registration covers both events.

How Valuable are Valuation Rolls? / 9 a.m. EST

Presenter: Robert Urquhart

The year 1855 is familiar to family historians with Scottish ancestry, as that is when the civil registration system for births, marriages and deaths was established in Scotland. But 1855 was also the year that a property ownership register was established, in the form of valuation rolls listing the owners and occupiers of most buildings in Scotland. From 1855 until 1987, assessors compiled an annual valuation roll for domestic and commercial property in each county and burgh.

 Valuation rolls are often ignored by genealogists, who assume that they merely confirm what has already been established from census returns and civil registers. This talk will explain that these rolls are worth a look, since they can provide details of the properties associated with ancestors (their houses, business premises, workplaces and wedding venues). These details can then be bridging information for access to other records (such as property registers, estate papers and employment records), and can help explain why some people apparently vanish from census returns and civil registers. Also covered in the talk will be precursors of the post-1855 valuation rolls, such as land tax rolls and assessment rolls compiled by parish heritors for poor relief purposes.

Robert Urquhart is a retired archivist from Fife. He worked in local archives in Glasgow and Ayrshire, before joining the National Archives of Scotland (now the National Records of Scotland), where for 20 years he specialized in opening up access to archives via the Internet. He was involved in making record series like wills and testaments, tax rolls, valuation rolls and kirk session records available online, and coaching researchers on how to read early-modern records via the Scottish Handwriting website (at www.scottishhandwriting.com). He now runs Abbotshall Palaeography (www.abbotshall.net), a small business offering palaeography tuition and transcription services.

From the Vault: The Time of Cholera / 10 a.m. EST

Presenter: Alison Hare

Alison Hare’s ancestor died of cholera in 1854 London, England.The source of the cholera epidemic was traced to a pump on Broad Street by Dr. John Snow, a legendary figure in the history of public health and infectious diseases. Alison Hare’s genealogical research on families affected by the epidemic provides a human face on the tragedy.

Alison Hare is a BIFHSGO member who first presented this very popular presentation in 2009.

Drop in to The White Pine Café at Arlington Woods Church at 225 McClellan Road, off Greenbank Road. It’s an opportunity chat with BIFHSGO friends over a coffee and a sweet treat.

This is a online meeting only. Join by registering here. The registration covers both events.

Excel and Family History: How they can work together / 9 a.m. EST

Presenter: Paul Cripwell

Spreadsheet technology has come a long way since the advent of VisiCalc on the earliest PCs. Its application to genealogy and family history is appropriate for many areas of tracking and analysis. The average user is generally familiar with the basic capabilities but may not know about some of the more powerful functionality of this software. In this demonstration Paul will take us through a couple of examples of his use of Excel.

Paul Cripwell started his family history journey after retiring from NavCanada in 2018. For 14 years at Nav he was responsible for the analysis of air traffic and the revenue that accrued, and then forecasting the future revenue of the corporation. He made extensive use of data analysis software and Excel was the main tool used to summarize and report all the findings. After retiring, Paul used this extensive experience with Excel and applied them to the many problems that family history presents.

E.F. Kelly and The Champagne of Ginger Ales / 10 a.m. EST

Presenter: Dawn Kelly

Dawn Kelly’s Irish immigrant great-grandfather, Edward Francis Kelly, was a serial entrepreneur.  After relocating from North Onslow, Quebec, he started out as a grocery store owner in Arnprior, then moved to Renfrew where he established a series of businesses before launching a ginger ale business in Montreal. Dawn set out on a mission many years ago to determine if the story her mother heard when she married into the family was true. Did E.F. lose a battle with Canada Dry over the slogan "The Champagne of Ginger Ales"?

Along the way Dawn acquired a mass of newspaper articles, documents on bankruptcy filings, an earthenware jug with Kelly's Wine and Spirits on it, and a deep appreciation for an ancestor determined to be a successful businessman.

Dawn Kelly retired last July after 39 years of writing and reading the news on the radio. She spent the last 26 years of her career as a national newscaster at The Canadian Press.  Her first post-retirement vacation was a genealogy road trip to Ottawa, the Ottawa Valley, Gatineau and Pontiac County, Quebec.  Dawn started tracing her Kelly family back in the 1980s and discovered that the families the Kellys married into in western Quebec gave her deep French-Canadian roots.  She is serving a second term as vice-chair of the Toronto Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society and has given several talks on her French, Irish and English ancestors as well as her 30-year search for her mother's birth parents.

This is a hybrid meeting:

• Join us in person at Knox Presbyterian Church (Lisgar & Elgin) in Geneva Hall.  Please use the Garden Entrance on Elgin Street. Limited free street parking is available on Saturdays, and the City Hall Parking Garage is available for $2.00.
• Join online by registering here. The registration covers both events.

Exploring the Official Government Newspapers: the Gazettes of the UK / 9 a.m. EST

Presenter: Ken McKinlay

The official newspaper of the government, the Gazette, might not seem to be something we would use in our genealogy and family history research. However, possibly you have military service files that states an ancestor was gazetted or was an officer who received a promotion. Maybe you found that your ancestor was presented with an honour from the Crown? Did your ancestor become a naturalized citizen or even change his or her name? You will often find those sorts of announcements in the Gazette. In this presentation we will explore the various government gazettes in England, Scotland, and Ireland to learn how to search them online and discover what they hold for our research.

Embarking on a genealogical adventure over two decades ago, Ken McKinlay's quest began with a mission to confirm or debunk three family stories. Despite uncovering the truths behind those initial tales, Ken's passion for delving into his family's past remains steadfast, fueled by a constant stream of new questions. As a sought-after speaker by branches of Ontario Ancestors, the British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa, and other genealogy societies across Canada, Ken McKinlay shares his expertise through engaging talks and workshops. His topics have included researching those who have fought for Canada in the world wars, exploring the Canadian censuses, delving into the mysteries of Ontario Land Records, and an eight part series covering "Back to Basics" research for the British Isles. His presentations also focus on genealogical methodologies and overcoming genealogy brick walls. Beyond public speaking, Ken shares his insights on his blog, Family Tree Knots (https://familytreeknots.blogspot.com/), providing a valuable resource for fellow enthusiasts.

Ripped from the Headlines: Death on the Forest / 10 a.m. EST

Presenter: Marianne Rasmus

“Manslaughter at the Races” —This newspaper headline from July 1857 about a death at the Nottingham races proved to be the catalyst for breaking down a brick wall on Marianne Rasmus’ maternal grandfather’s line that had plagued her for more than 10 years.

Newspapers can hold a wealth of information and can be an incredible resource when putting flesh on the bones of our family stories. In this presentation, Marianne will share the research journey that led to the discovery of the news story; recount how it, along with several other articles, shed light on a fascinating family and an event that had been lost through time; and explore life, and death, in 19th century industrial Nottingham.

After reluctantly taking Canadian History as a “filler” course in college, Marianne Rasmus discovered her passion for history. It became an obsession when she began researching her family history in 2008 and uncovered long-forgotten stories in her family tree, as well as her husband’s. Now, she strives to find interesting ways to share these family stories by weaving both historical context and methodology in her talks.

Born and raised in Vancouver, Marianne had spent her life in BC, but when the opportunity for a mid-life adventure presented itself, Marianne and her husband, Bill, took the plunge and moved to Ottawa in 2013. Marianne became a member of BIFHSGO in 2014. She has given several presentations, served on the Board and Conference Planning Committee, and is facilitator for the British Colonial America SIG.