BIFHSGO February Meeting

Family history is much more than genealogy. Saturday morning's BIFHSGO meeting at Library and Archives Canada, featuring a presentation by Marguerite Evans RN, PhD(Ethics), certainly demonstrates that. A long-time member whose presentations I invariably find both substantive and enjoyable, Marguerite will speak on "Sarah Hersey's Diary: The Spirituality of a 19th Century Pioneer Woman."

Abstract
In 2004 Ron Newman of Brockville, Ontario, donated the handwritten diary of Sarah Hersey to the Ottawa Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society. The entries in her diary cover the period from 1804 until her death in 1850. In addition to the usual recordings of births, marriages, and deaths, Sarah also described such life events as the destruction of her house by fire, cholera epidemics in Hawkesbury , Ontario, and in Massachusetts. More significantly, however, she documented aspects of her faith; in particular, of her spirituality which was a way of life for her and which sustained her and enabled her to cope with whatever befell her. This presentation will examine various aspects of the diary entries to ascertain the intensity of Sarah's spiritual life and to compare her spirituality to that of current Postmodern spirituality.

You don't have to be a BIFHSGO member to attend, all welcome. The meeting starts at 10am.