O Canada

Over the past few years, the website for Library and Archives Canada has undergone a number of changes. For some long-time users of the old site, this has caused moments of frustration. In this talk we take a look at the new site, touch upon using the new census search system, and explore other resources they have made available to us.

Nova Scotia (New Scotland) is a land steeped in the History of the Scots who settled in the late 18th Century through to the early 20th century. Will be discussing this history as well as the tools and resources that are available to family historians to help them trace those early settlers whose descendants would go on to make a mark on the world, whether they and their descendants stayed in the province or moved.

The South of Ireland was in dire straits at the end of the 18th century and on several occasions was on the verge of civil war. The Whiteboys developed as a secret oath-bound society among the poor. Their operations were chiefly in the counties of Waterford, Cork, Limerick, and Tipperary and were not directed against the government, but rather against local landlords. No amount of legislation seemed to tame the anger which had led to many “disturbances”. As a means of removing some of the rebels, offering them a new life and free land in Upper Canada, and hopefully settling the anger back home in Ireland, the government decide to pay for families to be resettled at the expense of the government. Peter Robinson, brother of John Beverley Robinson, was tasked with finding and settling the emigrants. In this presentation we will look at the history and politics that led to what has become known as the Peter Robinson’s Settlement Scheme. We will also take an in-depth look at the various resources available for researching your Peter Robinson Settler ancestors.

Many immigrants entered the US under the Displaced Persons Act. Based on specific criteria, eligible displaced persons (DPs) could be admitted to the US if they would not become a public charge and have safe and sanitary housing and employment without displacing some other person. The displaced person or refugee was the concern of the International Refugee Organization. The US created the Displaced Persons Commission to oversee the act’s enactment. Is your ancestor named in the record sets created? The presentation will discuss the History of the Act and the records created as a result of the Act.

Learn what FamilySearch’s full-text search capability can do for you! This class will provide you with tips and tricks for making the most of this innovation in genealogical research. We’ll cover various ways to search, how to use wildcards and other tools, ways to filter your results, how to read and save images and transcriptions, and what to do with the information you find in the records.

As genealogical interest continues to grow, new sources become available, new tools are published and new approaches are developed. Successful research demands keeping up to date, especially for a state as complex as New York. From colonial to 20th century, both online and print only, these new tools can supercharge your stagnant New York research problems!

An insight into the wealth of information that is available within newspapers including the British Newspaper Archive and The Gazette as well as hints and tips for getting more out of searching and finding useful articles within the newspapers.

Autosomal DNA (atDNA) is a powerful tool for genealogists, offering a window into your broader family tree. This lecture explores the science of atDNA inheritance, its strengths and limitations, and practical ways to apply it to your genealogical research. Discover how atDNA can help you identify unknown ancestors, connect with relatives, and solve family mysteries.

The mitochondrial tree of humanity has been rewritten, connecting all of us more closely than ever before on the new Mitotree. Everyone receives mitochondrial DNA only from their mother, who receives it from her mother, and so forth, all the way back in time to Mitochondrial Eve. Mitochondrial DNA is never admixed with the DNA of the other parent, so you never have to sort out which lines it comes from. We are all leaves on the twigs on the branches of the tree of humankind. The mitochondrial tree had not been updated since 2016, but now, with more than a Million samples to work with, 50 times more than before, the tree structure has been expanded eight-fold by combining samples from academic publications, ancient DNA, public sources and testers at FamilyTreeDNA. The new Mitotree and tools provide information never before available to genealogists about their matrilineal lineages. In addition to the vastly expanded genetic tree, FamilyTreeDNA has rolled out the companion MitoDiscover, a dozen fascinating chapters in your mitochondrial book. As a Million Mito Team member, Roberta will explain the challenges we overcame to create the tree of humanity – and how it’s useful to genealogists. All genealogists can benefit from the results of the Million Mito Project, because everyone has mitochondrial DNA that holds keys to information never before available! Let those brick walls fall!!!