| |
Ontario Genealogical Society, Toronto Branch and the Canadiana Department of North York Central Library present
PLEASE NOTE:
The November 10 workshop, Exploring Scottish Ancestry,
IS NOW FULL!
All registrations have been (or will be) acknowledged. |
Exploring Scottish Ancestry
A workshop on resources & current research techniques
Saturday, November 10, 2007
North York Central Library Auditorium
5120 Yonge Street, Toronto
(North York Centre subway station) |
 |
Whether you're a seasoned family history researcher, or just starting to investigate your roots in Scotland, you'll enjoy this information-packed day about Scottish records and how to use them to best advantage. Be sure to ask questions—and discover the wealth of knowledge available from our speakers and other workshop participants.
Program
9:15–10:00 am Registration
10:00–11:15 am (Plenary)
Session A: Scottish Emigration and Canadian Settlement: An Historical Overview
In this lecture, Kevin James discusses the broad contours of Scottish immigration to Canada from the 18th century. Exploring motivations for emigration and regions of settlement, Kevin argues that the movement of people from Scotland to Canada, and Ontario in particular, comprised discrete 'phases'. He illustrates how the experiences of individual immigrants can be understood in the context of larger population movements and settlement patterns.
Speaker: Dr. Kevin James is Associate Professor in the Department of History and Scottish Studies Program at the University of Guelph. A graduate of McGill and Edinburgh Universities, he is the author of Handloom Weavers in Ulster's Linen Industry, 1815-1914 (Dublin, 2006), and appears as a panelist on History TV's Ancestors in the Attic.
11:30–12:30
Session B: Building a Scottish Family Tree Using ScotlandsPeople
It is now possible, using the ScotlandsPeople web site, to put together the outline of a complete family history from the comfort of your own home. ScotlandsPeople is the official government source of genealogical data for Scotland, providing access to almost 50 million records. The records available are Old Parish Registers, Statutory Registers, census records, and wills and testaments. For a fee, these records can be searched and an image of the original document viewed and downloaded. This session will include a detailed discussion of the site and how it works, along with an overview of the records themselves and how they fit into Scottish genealogy. The use of other free web sites to enhance the use of ScotlandsPeople site will also be discussed.
Speaker: Marian Press, MLS, MA, is a librarian at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto. She teaches a variety of courses on the Internet and genealogy for the National Genealogical Institute through the University of Toronto and the Toronto Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society, speaks regularly at genealogical conferences and writes for Internet Genealogy. She maintains the web sites of the Toronto Branch, OGS and the Ontario Chapter of the Association of Professional Genealogists.
Session C: Scotland's Other Congregations and Churches: Looking for Records
Anyone who undertakes Scottish research prior to 1855 should be aware of what can be found in online and computer resources. That knowledge is even more important when preparing to search records of other churches. This session will summarize readily accessible data and move on to discuss options for identifying and accessing records for secessionists, Episcopalians, Catholics, etc. Among the indexes reviewed are ScotlandsPeople, the International Genealogical Index, Scottish Church Records and the British Isles Vital Records Index. Reference will be made to several finding aids, in various formats, that are not name indexes but guides to the surviving records of secession churches and to contents of libraries and archives.
Speaker: Sherry Irvine, BA (History) MSc., CG, FSA Scot, has been writing books and articles, and teaching courses about Scottish research methods since 1985. She is the author of Scottish Ancestry: Research Methods for Family Historians (Ancestry, 2003) and presently teaches courses about Scottish family history online at Pharos Teaching and Tutoring, a British company. She is a past president of the Association of Professional Genealogists. Sherry lives in Courtenay, BC, and, whenever possible, adds to her accumulated personal research of 35 years.
12:30-1:30 pm
Lunch (There are several restaurants close to the Library and a food court in the building.)
1:30–2:00 pm
Session D: Question and Answer Panel
2:15–3:15 pm
Session E: Tour of the North York’s Central Library Canadiana Department (limited to 20 people)
Session F: Scottish Pedigree Analysis: From the Late 19th Century Back Over 100 Years
Family records can often take us back to an ancestor born around 1900 in Scotland. From there it is relatively straightforward to find most of the names of the next three generations using civil registration records (births, marriages and deaths), the census and the International Genealogical Index (IGI) as a pointer to the Old Parish Registers (OPRs). Filling in the details may be problematic if some data is inconsistent or incorrect and getting back another generation or two into the 18th century can be more challenging. This presentation will look at the above sources but will go beyond them to examine other resources such as cemetery lairs, poor law applications, Church records other than the Church of Scotland, and emigration records. Techniques illustrated will include a sideways search through a sibling and using more than one piece of evidence to establish a genealogical proof.
Speaker: Linda L. Reid, BA, MLS, a librarian by profession, has worked in special libraries and as an indexer for electronic databases. She is a volunteer in the Toronto Family History Centre of the LDS Church, program coordinator for OGS Toronto Branch and an instructor for many years for Branch-sponsored courses. She has spoken about family history to genealogical and other community groups, and at several southern Ontario genealogical conferences.
Session G: A Survey of Scottish Family History Resources in the GTA
Perhaps surprisingly, Toronto is one of the best places in the world to conduct Scottish family history research. This session will include a tour d'horizon of the resources (holdings and subscription databases) available through the Toronto Public Library, University of Toronto Libraries, Family History Centres, University of Guelph Library (just down the road from Toronto), and other libraries and archives. The session will include some lesser-known resources, some newly acquired material, and show how each resource centre complements the others.
Speaker: James F. S. Thomson, B.A., LL.B., has designed and delivered several advanced-level family history courses for Toronto Branch, including Advanced Scottish Family History Research and Expert Topics in Scottish Family History. For these courses, as well as for his published articles, he draws in part on over 25 years of experience of family history research. He has an educational background in technology and in adult instruction and a professional background in business law. In 2002, he received the University of Toronto's Arbor Award for outstanding voluntary service.
3:30–4:30 pm
Session H: Valuation Rolls in Scotland
The collection of taxes related to the value of land became regular in Scotland early in the 1700s, but it was more than 100 years before a significant portion of the population was captured in the records. The session will explain how and why the assessments were made in the first place, doubly useful because this provides an understanding of the court structure. In addition, the session covers the changes brought about by the legislation of 1854, which altered the content of valuation records significantly. After that date they have broader genealogical application; unfortunately, for distance researchers access is not easy. The session will explain where to find the records including the use of online catalogues. Obtaining records may be a challenge, and there may be some geographical difficulties, but it will become evident that for some genealogical problems valuations rolls can provide the solution.
Speaker: Sherry Irvine, BA (History) MSc., CG, FSA Scot, has been writing books and articles, and teaching courses about Scottish research methods since 1985. She is the author of Scottish Ancestry: Research Methods for Family Historians (Ancestry, 2003) and presently teaches courses about Scottish family history online at Pharos Teaching and Tutoring, a British company. She is a past president of the Association of Professional Genealogists. Sherry lives in Courtenay, BC, and, whenever possible, adds to her accumulated personal research of 35 years.
Session I: General Registry Office for Scotland
The General Registry Office for Scotland (GROS) is the main source of family history records in Scotland—old parish registers, statutory registers of births, marriages, and deaths, and census records. While it is know as a world leader in making its records available on the Internet, it is a wonderful and very worthwhile place to visit. This session will provide an armchair tour of the Edinburgh facility, an overview of how the records were accumulated by the GROS, and explain exactly what records are available online or in person, with samples of each.
Speaker: Paul McGrath is a professional genealogist and researcher who specializes in exploring early Ontario and Toronto roots. He is presently the staff genealogist for, and appears in, the family history television show Ancestors in the Attic on History Television. Paul also serves as vice-chair of the Toronto Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society and a director of the Friends of the Archives of Ontario.
SPONSOR
How to get to the workshop:
By public transit: North York Central Library is connected directly to the North York Centre subway station, on the Yonge line. Inter-city trains and buses link with the subway at Union, Dundas, or York Mills stations. Allow at least 35 minutes from Union or Dundas, or 15 minutes from York Mills, to get to North York Centre.
By car: North York Central Library is at 5120 Yonge Street, Toronto M2N 5N9, on the west side at Park Home Avenue (about halfway between Sheppard and Finch). From Highway 401, exit northbound at Yonge Street; proceed north to Park Home Avenue (6th or 7th traffic light) and turn left. The most convenient parking ($3 per day on Saturdays) is under the building—enter from Novotel on Park Home, or from Beecroft Road (parallel and west of Yonge Street).
Accommodation: The Novotel North York is part of the North York Centre complex. For more information, visit: www.novotel.com.
HOW TO REGISTER
REGISTER EARLY!
FEE: $30 (postmarked before October 15, 2007)
$35 (after October 15, IF SPACE ALLOWS)
Please complete the registration form and send it (before October 15, 2007) to:
SCOTTISH WORKSHOP
61 Balfour Avenue
Toronto, Ontario M4C 1T4
Registrations after October 15 will be accepted if space allows. Please e-mail info@torontofamilyhistory.org, or call 416-733-2608 to check availability.
|
|
|
