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WORKSHOPS
Workshop listings are now on their own page; click here.
COURSES
Co-sponsored by the Canadiana Department of North York Central Library and the Toronto Reference Library
For Sping courses, click here.
The Toronto Branch runs a regular program of
courses in a wide variety of subjects for genealogists at all levels of
expertise.
Winter 2012
1. Family History Writing This course is FULL
This 4 session course is designed for individuals who want to make progress with organizing their materials and writing up their research for personal or public use. Participants will see examples of successful family history writing in several formats and will also have an opportunity to share their writing experiences. Sessions will focus on manuscript development and layout, the selection and use of photos and ephemera, and will also provide an introduction to self- publishing.
Schedule: Tuesdays, Feb 7, 14, 21, 28, 2012 : 2.00-4.00 pm
Location: North York Central Library, Classroom 2/3
Instructor: Gayle Dzis
Gayle Dzis holds three degrees in history, a Bachelor of Arts from St. Jerome’s University, and a Master of Arts and Master of Philosophy from the University of Waterloo. She attained teaching qualifications through the Ontario Teachers College as a History Specialist at the University of Toronto after gaining her History, English and Physical Education qualifications from Queens University. She has taught several courses in Life History and Family History Writing and participants have asked for more!
Fee: $66 ($60 for OGS members)
2. Sharing Networks for Genealogists
The Internet now offers many new opportunities for genealogists to share their information, gather new collaborators, "meet" previously unknown family and expand their knowledge of their family's history. This new half-day workshop will provide genealogists with new ideas and approaches to sharing genealogical data on line safely and effectively. The emphasis will be on new social media, such as Facebook, Google+, Genealogy Wise, and Twitter. The workshop will be taught in a computer lab enabling participants to get hands-on experience and guidance as they develop their own personalised sharing networks.
Schedule: Saturday afternoon, 2-5 pm , February 25, 2012.
Location: Toronto Reference Library, Learning Centre 1.
Instructor: Marian Press
Marian Press, MLS, MA, is a librarian at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto. She has taught about the Internet and genealogy for the Professional Learning Centre at the Faculty of Information Studies, University of Toronto, the National Institute for Genealogical Studies, the Ontario Library Association and the Ontario Genealogical Society. She maintains two family history blogs of her own.
Fee: $25 ($20 for OGS members)
3. Creating a Family History Blog - For Genealogists
This new 3-session course will provide genealogists with all the information necessary to find and read blogs, but will concentrate on how to build one’s own blog to share family research. The course will be taught in a computer lab enabling participants to get hands-on experience and guidance as they develop their own personal blog. At the end of the course, each participant should have their own blog online, ready for the world to see.
Schedule: Thursdays 6.15-8.15pm – March 8, 15, and 22nd, 2012.
Location: Toronto Reference Library, Learning Centre 1.
Instructor: Marian Press
See above for Marian's biography.
Fee: $50 ($45 for OGS members)
4. Exploring the Baldwin Room's Manuscript Collection
This course will explore the important Canadian manuscript collection—over 275 metres of letters, diaries, maps, plans, account books and other unpublished documents—housed in the Baldwin Room at the Toronto Reference Library. Each session will begin with a classroom tutorial about locating, searching, and using manuscripts for genealogical and historical research, followed by detailed hands-on examination and analysis of several manuscript fonds. Participants will work in small groups to understand assigned fonds, find complementary published and unpublished material, and describe the fonds in written form. While the course will concentrate, in particular, on the Baldwin Room collection and its finding aids and indexes, participants will gain an appreciation and understanding of any manuscript collection.
Note : This is an advanced level course, with limited enrollment. [12 students]. Registrants must commit to attending both sessions, and a small amount of research and reading before and after sessions.
Schedule: March 20 & 27, 2012, 5:15 pm to 8:15 pm.
Location: Toronto Reference Library, Learning Centre 2 (Mar 20),
Learning Centre 1 (Mar 27).
Instructor: Jane E. MacNamara
Jane E. MacNamara is a long time member of the OGS and a member of the Society of Genealogists (London). Jane lectures about research methodology, Ontario, Scottish, and English family history to genealogical and historical groups throughout southern Ontario. She has taught many courses for Toronto Branch, most notably hands-on courses about Ontario records. She leads regular trips to the Family History Library in Salt Lake City and is the organizer of Genealogy Summer Camp, an innovative program that brings out-of-town researchers to Toronto for a week of tutorials and hands-on research.
Fee: $50 ($45 for OGS members)
Spring 2012
5. Going Back to Basics - A Refresher
This 4 session course will cover the basic resources used to find your family history. It will be centred on Ontario records, but can be expanded to cover areas of interest to the participants of the course. We will talk about records gathered from census collections, directories, churches, birth, marriage and death registers, land records... and anything else that takes our fancy!
Schedule: Tuesdays, Mar 27, April 3, 10, 17, 2012 : 6:30-8:30 pm
Location: North York Central Library, Classroom 2/3
Instructor: Ruth Burkholder
Ruth Burkholder has been instructing family historians for nearly 20 years. She is a trained teacher turned professional genealogist who would rather help someone find that nugget themselves than find it for them.
Fee: $66 ($60 for OGS members)
6. Hands-on Ontario Estate Records
Finding your ancestor's will or administration (as part of an estate file) can provide vital information to link him or her to other family members. In this hands-on course held at the Archives of Ontario, participants will follow assigned case histories to learn how to navigate the finding aids (and idiosyncratic numbering systems) to find estate files at the AO from the various Ontario courts, and land registry records. Internet and e-mail access will be needed to complete the assigned reading for each class.
Schedule: Thursdays, 5:30-7:30pm., April 5, 12, 19, 2012
Location: Archives of Ontario
Instructor: Jane E. MacNamara
See above for Jane's biography.
Fee: $50 ($45 for OGS members)
7. Advanced English Family History
This course will focus intensively on the period 1700-1837. Topics include: finding vital events which aren’t easily located; researching a parish or place inside out, as a key to breakthroughs; pre-1841 population listings; pre-1858 inheritance records; pre-1834 poor relief; apprenticeship records; and records of land tenancy (including early manorial documents). Resources available locally, on the Web, from Salt Lake City, and in Britain will be discussed. Most topics will be equally relevant to Welsh research. Participants should be familiar with the basics of English family history research in the post-1837 period.
Schedule: Wednesdays, 6:15 – 8:15 pm, April 18 & 25, May 2 & 9, 2012
Location: Toronto Reference Library, Learning Centre 1
Instructors: James F. S. Thomson & Joan Read
James F. S. Thomson is a University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies instructor. He speaks at workshops, writes articles, and has designed and taught twelve very popular advanced and expert-level family history courses co-sponsored by Toronto Branch OGS and the Toronto Public Library.
Joan Read was an Adult Education instructor with the Toronto District School Board. She began researching her family history over 30 years ago and for the last 15 years has worked as a volunteer at the LDS Family History Centre in Etobicoke. She has recently become a mentor with the new mentoring program offered by the Lancashire Family History & Heraldry Society in England.
Fee: $66 ($60 for OGS members)
8. A Day of Technology for Family Historians
Technology can be a great help to genealogists as we explore our family history. Finding information, organizing it and sharing our stories with others can be easier, more efficient and more effective when we know how to harness the power of technology.
Part 1 – A Broad Overview of Technology for Family Historians
In the morning sessions, we will examine how technology can assist family historians in finding and organizing all the information we use. This will include finding what is available, how to access it and how to keep the information organized. Examples of image acquisition and storage will be part of these morning sessions.
Part II –Using your Camera, Scanner and Computer
Using Photographs when Sharing Your Stories
In the afternoon, we will first focus on photographs and other images. Using your camera and laptop we will look at how you can move, scan, edit and share those images. This will be a hands-on session. The final session will focus on using technology to share your stories, including the images you want to include.
These sessions will be most effective if you can bring a laptop with an Office Suite installed; for example Microsoft Office, Apple’s iWork or Open Office. A small collection of digital photographs that you can organize would also be useful.
Schedule: Saturday, April 28, 2012, Part 1 -9:00 to 12:00 Part II - 1:00-4:00
Lunch is available in a few local restaurants. However, you may wish to brown bag it as the instructor will be available through lunch to answer questions.
Location: North York Central Library, Room 2/3
Instructor: Carol Nichols
Carol Nichols worked for many years as a teacher in Scarborough and with the Toronto District School Board. There she developed an interest in using technology to help students learn effectively. As a member of OGS, she has presented courses and made presentations on the use Technology in Family History. Developing and maintaining a website, blogs and wikis have been successful in sharing with family and in helping genealogy groups communicate.
Fee: $50 ($45 for OGS members)
9. Hands-on Early Ontario Land Records
This course will provide an introduction to the land granting process and the main types of Crown Land Department records, and how to use the various finding aids and collections at the Archives of Ontario to document your ancestor's acquisition of (or attempt to acquire)land in Upper Canada. Hands-on practice following several case histories through the records will help you proceed confidently with your own searches. Registrants must have e-mail and Internet access, and will be expected to do some assigned background reading before each class.
Prerequisite: Basic course or equivalent experience. Spaces are strictly limited.
Schedule: 4 sessions, Thursdays, 5:30 to 7:30 pm., May 3, 10, 17, 24, 2012
Location: Archives of Ontario
Instructor: Jane E. MacNamara
See above for Jane's biography.
Fee: $66 ($60 for OGS members)
COURSE LOCATIONS
1. Archives of Ontario, 134 Ian MacDonald Blvd., Toronto M7A 2C5 (York University
2. North York Central Library, 5120 Yonge Street, Toronto (Subway: North York Centre Station)
3. Toronto Reference Library, 789 Yonge Street, Toronto (Subway: Bloor-Yonge Station)
HOW TO REGISTER
Pre-registration is required to guarantee your space. We will e-mail confirmation of your registration (or will telephone if an e-mail address is not provided).
Please note that we reserve the right to cancel a course no later than 7 days before a course commences should registration levels be insufficient to cover our costs. (We also reserve the right to cancel a course should some other unforeseen circumstance arise.)
It should be noted that the course instructor has the discretion to decline acceptance of door registrations. Last minute registrations can seriously disrupt course proceedings. The full course fee will apply for such registrations and there will be no discount for attending less than all the sessions offered.
OGS members enjoy a reduction in course fees, shown in brackets. Non-members, please pay the first amount.
Payment should be received at least 14 days prior to the commencement of the course.
Late registrations may be accepted if there is space.
Download the Winter registration form or the Spring registration form, fill it out (electronically if you wish) and mail it together with payment to the following address: Toronto Branch Courses, c/o Ann Rexe 508-17 Lascelles Blvd., Toronto, Ontario M4V 2B6
For further information,
to discuss prerequisite equivalents and to check before mailing a late
application:
email: courses@torontofamilyhistory.org or call (416) 733-2608 (voicemail)
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