BIFHSGO 14 October Meeting

Having given up her role as BIFHSGO Director, despite employment and family commitments, Susan Davis has found time to prepare two presentations for the Saturday, 14 October BIFHSGO meeting.

The Drouin Collection – Research Strategies 
9:00 am to 9:30 am
While the Drouin Collection offers an invaluable source of vital records for those searching for ancestors in Quebec and some surrounding areas, it can be quite challenging to decipher what was recorded. From understanding the French terms to collecting signatures, researchers can improve the results of their efforts by using these and other simple research strategies. 

Untangling a Parish to Find Family 
10:00 am to 11:30 am
The Chamber, Ben Franklin Place, 101 Centrepointe Drive Nepean, Ontario
In the spring of 1852, the parish of Saint-Sylvestre was home to 3,733 people, including 1,059 Irish-born and 44 British-born immigrants. For the most part, these immigrants and their Canadian-born descendants got along well with each other and their 1,048 French-speaking neighbours. After 30 years of settlement, the parish located 70 kilometres south of Quebec City included two villages, a secret society, a peace-making priest and members of the Dougherty, Gormley, Doran and Shorten families. 

Susan Davis learned lots about her Protestant roots while visiting family in Quebec’s Eastern Townships. During one trip, she visited the two cemeteries in her father’s home town of East Angus. It turned out that while her great grandfather Edward John Henry Dearden was buried in the Protestant cemetery, her great grandmother Mary Ann Dougherty was buried in the Catholic cemetery. For the past year, Susan has been researching her Irish Catholic roots and recently found out through a DNA test that she is 31% Irish.

The presentations are in The Chamber, Ben Franklin Place, 101 Centrepointe Drive Nepean, Ontario. All welcome. Free entry. Free parking.