Session 1 - Ben Dawson - Genetic Genealogy: DNA Testing Tools and Tips
Interested in genetic genealogy or how DNA can help you discover your past? This presentation will explore the history of genetic genealogy, its common misconceptions, how DNA testing works and how to decipher your results using various websites.

Session 2a - Susan Young - Getting the Most out of Records
As you evaluate the information you find in genealogical records, you must always measure the content of those records in terms of how well and in what historical context the facts were recorded. As every reader interprets text in records differently, you must also be certain that you are looking at the records and their content from an objective standpoint devoid of current day prejudices. There are paradigms that can help us determine how to get the most out of the records you have found and still likely need to find. It begins with knowing what information you need, involves properly interpreting the records, and responding to the consequences or implications of the record content. Not finding answers? Ask a different question and then look again at your records.

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Session 2b - Steve Fulton - Finding Hidden Secrets in the Databases of the OGS
Locate those hidden genealogical gems in the databases of the Ontario Genealogical Society and learn how the OGS can help you with your family history research.

Session 3a - Brian Narhi - Land Records 101
Records relating to land ownership are among the multitude of primary sources available to genealogists researching their family histories. In this workshop, participants will be introduced to Ontario Land Records and the Land Registry Office. They will learn what’s available and how to search through the records. The speaker will also discuss OnLand.ca, a virtual Land Registry Office that allows you to search or browse any Land Registry Office in the Ontario Land Registry system.

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Session 3b - Sue de Groot - Dead and Buried: Accessing the Records
Deaths produce many records: death registration, obituary, funeral, burial, cemetery, tombstone records, etc. This presentation demonstrates why you would want to collect all of these records—not just one or two—and what information each record can hold.
Using examples of different records, the audience will learn about the varied information contained in each one. Examples provided in the presentation will be of Ontario records; however, the types of records available can apply to other provinces or countries as well. The discussion will also include the reliability or validity of the detailed information within each record.

Session 4a - Rochelle Bush - From Slavery to Freedom
Tracing the genealogy of enslaved people of African descent who escaped to Canada via the Underground Railroad can be quite difficult and often very alarming. Using some examples relating to her own ancestry, Bush will discuss the documents versus the oral histories, along with the records to help trace people of interest..

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Session 4b - Susan Young - The Mechanics of Finding Your Family Using DNA
In 98% of cases, people with an autosomal match to you are related to you. Whether it is to identify biological parents or to break through a brick wall in your genealogical research, the goal with DNA testing is to determine how you and your matches are related. But, without a system for organizing and analyzing the volume of data the likelihood of identifying any match is left to chance, falling to near 0% if your match has not included a genealogical tree with their test results. This workshop will take you through organization techniques and the DNA match comparison tools that are available to help you identify your relationship to your matches efficiently. What about Y-DNA and mtDNA? We'll look at those, too.

- Tour is fully Registered

- Tour is fully Registered

- Tour is fully Registered