Serving Your Society

I recently did a study of all the Branches in the Ontario Genealogical Society and found that we had about 75% of the volunteers need to run the organization. That means that those few who are willing to give up their time, had to do more than they should have. It also means that many had to stay on far longer than expected to serve the rest of the members.

The alternative would be to let our organizations fold and leave the hobby to the large commercial outfits like Ancestry and Find My Past. Those of us with experience in the hobby know that many of the commercial organizations barely touch the surface of genealogy and are interested in little that does not contribute to their profits. If you believe that I am just preaching doom, check out where Haldimand Branch of OGS is today...Gone. And they are not the only one on death's door, in OGS and outside.

What can you do? The Call for Nominations is out for both Ottawa Branch and the Ontario Genealogical Society. Consider taking on a task. Even if you don't have all the necessary skills, it's an opportunity to learn. And all the studies say that we live longer if we keep our brains active.

For more information about  positions at the Provincial level as well as instructions on applying for any of these positions, please log in to the OGS Members Only Area or contact Provincial Office 416-489-0734.

In Ottawa Branch, we need to fill the vacancies at Vice Chair and Secretary. We also need to find replacements in many of the other positions such as Newsletter Editor, Gene-O-Rama Chair and lead of the Irish Research Group. New positions that need to be filled include Publicity and Social Media. If you are interested an any of these tasks, contact Mike More at pastchair@ogsottawa.on.ca 

Branch meeting - January 25

This month we have not one but TWO excellent speakers. First we will have Matthew Moxley from the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum who will be showing us how to use the free online database of digitized Almonte Gazettes.

Next we will also have Kyla Ubbink, OGS Ottawa board member and conservator extraordinaire, who will be showing us how to use a free software called RetroReveal to uncover hidden text, see faded inks and photographs, and discover what may lie beneath.

When: Sat, January 25, 1pm – 3pm
Where: City of Ottawa Archives, Room 115 (map)
Schedule:
1:00-1:30: Networking - tea, coffee, cookies
1:30-2:15: "Using the Almonte Gazette online database" (Matthew Moxley)
2:15-3:00: "RetroReveal for Genealogists, a Digital Forensics Tool" (Kyla Ubbink)


More details are on our website: http://ogsottawa.on.ca/.

This meeting will be webcast for those who can’t attend in person at: http://genealogicalstudies.adobeconnect.com/ottawaogs/

See you there!

90 schools now in Toronto war memorials database

Volunteers with the Toronto Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society have added about 3,000 new names since the fall of 2013 to For King and Country – the growing online Branch database of school memorials commemorating Toronto students and staff who volunteered for active service in the two World Wars and other military conflicts. This searchable collection now contains 90 schools and more than 35,000 names, with transcriptions and photographs of school war memorials, along with historical background and links to other useful school and community websites. The newest schools in the database are Oakridge Public School and Danforth Technical School. Danforth Tech holds the distinction of being the alma mater of a staggering 2,235 volunteers—students, graduates, teachers and other staff—more than any other school in the British Commonwealth—and it maintains an impressive archive of records, housed in its War Memorial Library. Explore For King and Country now at www.torontofamilyhistory.org/kingandcountry/, and contact co-ordinator Martha Jackson at kingandcountry@torontofamilyhistory.org if you would like to get involved with this project.

Gwyneth Pearce

Secretary – Toronto Branch, Ontario Genealogical Society

publicity@torontofamilyhistory.org

Now on Facebook and Twitter @TOFamilyHistory

Gene-O-Rama 2014

Ottawa Branch Ontario Genealogical Society

Presents the 30th

GENE-O-RAMA

March 21-22, 2014

Confederation Education Centre
1645 Woodroffe Avenue, Ottawa
(corner of Hunt Club and Woodroffe)

Speakers, Marketplace, Computer Room
Featured speaker: Jane E. MacNamara
(www.dundurn.com/authors/jane_e_macnamara)

For the latest details as they become available: ogsottawa.on.ca/geneorama/ 

For more information e-mail: conference@ogsottawa.on.ca

Register On-Line at  ogsottawa.on.ca/Gene-O-Rama

Back up time!

Just a reminder to back up your genealogy data files and pictures. Also, remember to do this after you have had a busy day entering new information.