Category Archives: Education

Genealogy Education – Greater Vancouver

Posted on by
Reply

Throughout the year, there are a number of formal genealogical and family history education opportunities offered locally, especially for beginning, returning and intermediate genealogists.

For example, there are on-going programmes at both the Cloverdale Public Library in Surrey and at the Community College for the Retired in Burnaby. Follow the links below to learn more about these programmes, offered several times a year.

At Cloverdale Library, instructor Brenda Smith teaches both “Start Searching your Family History: A Beginners’ Workshop in 5 Lessons” and “Start Writing your Family History: A Communications Workshop in 5 Lessons”.

And in Burnaby, M. Diane Rogers teaches 2 courses – both 8 week sessions, “Genealogy 202″ for beginners and those returning to genealogy after a period away from research, and “Internet Genealogy” for those wanting to learn how to best use Internet resources, including hands-on experience with Ancestry.com.

Night school courses coming up in Maple Ridge and New Westminster include genealogy sessions too. Follow the links to see details.

Instructor Rob Whitlock’s evening course through Ridge Meadows College in Maple Ridge, “Find Your Family Tree: An Introduction to Genealogy” will run first, January 31-February 21, and next, from May 14-June 4, 2013.

And M. Diane Rogers will teach an all day “Introduction to Genealogy” seminar through New Westminster Continuing Education, Saturday, May 11, 2013.

Informal genealogy and family history education in the Greater Vancouver area includes the meetings and special interest group sessions hosted by the British Columbia Genealogical Society and other historical and genealogical groups, and a variety of sessions at local libraries, including the Central Branch, Vancouver Public Library. Watch for news about 2013 events like these by clicking the Events tab above on the menu.

 

Eastern European family history research – free webinar 23 Jan 2013

Posted on by
Reply

News for those researching family in Eastern Europe -

There’s a free webinar this week, Best Internet Resources for Eastern European Genealogy with Lisa Alzo, 23 January 2013, 2 pm Eastern, offered by Legacy Family Tree.  Lisa, a lively and well organized speaker, blogs at The Accidental Genealogist and she’s the author of nine books, including Three Slovak Women. You will notice her articles in many genealogy magazines and journals.

Webinar registration is open now, and the webinar is only open to the first 1,000 attendees. Usually these webinars are archived for a certain length of time afterwards though, so if you can’t see it live, you will be able to watch it soon after.

And watch for more here very soon about researching in Europe. The BCGS European Group met in January and plans are in the works for more meetings, a website page – and a special European Research Day at the BCGS Walter Draycott Library in Surrey, BC.  In the meantime, take a look at the European research links on this BCGS website for Europe, Eastern Europe and many individual European countries. The BCGS Scandinavian group has its own web page already. To suggest new ones, just contact the BCGS webmistresses: webmaster@bcgs.ca

BCGS Downtown Vancouver Genealogy Group meets 11 December 2012

Posted on by
Reply

The next Downtown Vancouver Genealogy Group meeting will be Tuesday, 11th of December, 2012 in a gallery room on Level 6 at the Central Branch, Vancouver Public Library.

Bring your latest finds and your questions too. New Year’s genealogical resolutions might be on the discussion list too!

Our thanks from the Downtown Vancouver Genealogy Group to the Central Branch, Vancouver Public Library for their co-operation in providing meeting space for us this year.

Researching Family during the War of 1812

Posted on by
Reply

Last night, Judith Ueland and M. Diane Rogers’s session at the BC Genealogical Society meeting was on researching family involved in the War of 1812.  Their handout is now posted on the BCGS Education Handouts page. (This is a .pdf file with live links so it can easily be downloaded onto your computer for easier on-line searches or printed out.)

Their talk and the handout included information on research in Canada and the US. Some of the tips for Canada were:

  • direct information on militia and other military units is fragmentary. Search both on-line and off. Library and Archives Canada and the relevant provincial Archives are the best places to start.
  • recognition and pensions and settlements for service and losses came years later. Look for confirmation in land and pension records. But, if the person did not survive long after the war, there may not be a record.
  • in Canada, people were on both sides of the conflict. You might have both ‘patriots and traitors’ in your family. For ‘traitors’, check for records at the Provincial Archives of Ontario, for example.
  • check for older articles written about your family or the places they lived during the period – PERSI, the Periodical Source index will be a good resource for that.
  • if in BC, check at the BC Genealogical Society’s Walter Draycott Library in Surrey, BC which has many 1812 related books and articles available to visitors.

One BCGS member has traced his relationship to Canada’s 1812 heroine, Laura Secord. This research was mentioned in the talk. And since the talk last night, another member (who stayed up till early morning) has now traced her relationship to Laura Secord’s own family, the Ingersolls. If you too are related to the Secords, or anyone else involved in the War of 1812, we’d love to hear from you.

 

 

Vancouver Public Library – Fall 2012 – Upcoming Events

Posted on by
Reply

Check out the many free genealogy and history related programmes being offered by the  Vancouver Public Library this winter, including the BCGS session – Begin, or Return to Your Family History, November 5th.  And, if you’d like an introduction to browsing the Internet, using e-mail or an e-reader, check the VPL events calendar for sessions on those topics too.

VPL Event Calendar: http://www.vpl.ca/cgi-bin/Calendar/calendar.cgi  Registration is sometimes required so check all event details on the VPL calendar.

Monday November 5, 1:00 pm-2:30 pm,  Begin, or Return to Your Family History with BCGS President Lorraine Irving and BCGS Education Chair Eunice Robinson.
Alma VanDusen Room, Lower Level, Central Library, 350 West Georgia Street, Vancouver.

Beginning or returning to family history research can quickly become overwhelming. Learn to organize what you already have from family or previous research and how to get the most from Internet and hands-on research. For more information please contact VPL – Fine Arts and History at 604-331-3716. Sponsored by the BC Genealogical Society.

Monday November 12, 7:00 pm-8:30 pm, Central Library, Life On The Dead Beat.

Writing obituaries is a job like no other. You meet the most fascinating people, all of them dead. Globe and Mail columnist Tom Hawthorn reads from Deadlines: Obits of Memorable British Columbians.

Tuesday November 20, 2:30 pm-4:00 pm, Central Library, How to Research Your Vancouver Home Using Online Resources.

This program will help you find information on your Vancouver home using directories, historical photographs, and other online resources.

Thursday November 29. 2:30 pm-4:00 pm. Central Library, Personal Digital Archiving: safeguarding your digital assets.

Do you have treasured photos, important household files, or valuable documents stored on your computer? What would happen if you no longer had access to these digital assets?

Monday, December 3. 7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m, Central Library, Derek Hayes: British Columbia – A New Historical Atlas.

Award-winning map historian Derek Hayes presents his new volume, British Columbia: A New Historical Atlas, the story of British Columbia in maps from the 1500s to the Vancouver Olympics.

BCGS Most Improved Genealogist Contest – 2012

Posted on by
Reply

The deadline for the 2012 BCGS Members’ Most Improved Genealogist Contest is coming up.

Entries should be handed in or sent to Eunice Robinson, BCGS Education Committee Chair by November 14, the next BCGS General Meeting night.

All BCGS members are eligible to enter. Submit a report, publication, website information, family tree charts, etc. along with an explanation of your research or other project in order to be eligible for this year’s contest.

To see the list of past BCGS Most Improved Genealogist contest winners, go to: http://www.bcgs.ca/?page_id=509