The Ontario Genealogical Society has selected five fantastic marquee speakers for Conference 2024 in June. Whether your interests lie in criminal genealogy, DNA roots or utilizing techy tools, there will be a talk for you. There will also be an opportunity to dig deeper into your British and European roots as three presenters hail from across the pond.
 Ron Arons |  Blaine Bettinger |  Paul Milner |  Chris Paton, BA |  Jonny Perl |
Ron Arons
Speaking at the Conference from California, Ron has been researching his roots for more than two decades, uncovering ancestors who were in cahoots with the law! This led to publishing two books that divulge his trials and tribulations (pun!) in the research process: The Jews of Sing Sing, and a well researched reference on criminal records – WANTED! U.S. Criminal Records. In addition, Ron has researched his roots in Eastern Europe which is one of the more difficult research routes for genealogists.
At the Conference, Ron will share techy tips, a ‘mind mapping’ technique for genealogists and a talk about unravelling the names used by our ancestors.
Ron currently serves as Secretary for the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies which is an organization with members from more than 90 national and local Jewish Genealogical Societies (JGS) around the world. Always recommended to seek out Genealogical Societies of your research interests.
Ron is listed on APG, the Association of Professional Genealogists.
Blaine Bettinger, Ph.D., J.D.
Blaine is known throughout genealogy circles as the Genetic Genealogist and his blog by the same name covers articles on: ‘… the intersection of traditional genealogical techniques and modern genetic research’.
The first articles were published in 2007 and you may be interested in his ‘featured articles’ page which lists many of the articles: where I found Genetic Genealogy Advice for Newbies, Part I and II. Also, if you are curious to know how the genetic genealogy craze started, this two-parter – The Early Stages of the Genetic Genealogy Revolution – published in September 2007 caught my eye.
Another popular genealogy blogger, Amy Johnson Crow, interviewed Blaine and posted her article with an embedded YouTube video which is really short and an easy listen.
Blaine also has a channel on YouTube. His books, Genetic Genealogy in Practice and The Family Tree Guide to DNA Testing and Genetic Genealogy are great recommendations for your genealogy reference library.
Paul Milner, FUGA, MDiv.
Paul is originally from northern England and makes his home in the U.S. He is a recognized genealogy speaker, author, and teacher of research methodology especially about migration to North America from the British Isles. His blog highlights many book reviews – I found a few that may find their way to my shelves (!): Tracing Your Pre-Victorian Ancestors; A Dictionary of Family History: The Genealogists’ ABC; Tracing Your Female Ancestors – A Guide for Family Historians as well as numerous reviews of Chris Paton’s books. Peppered in amongst the book reviews are some discussions about the 1921 census and 1939 register releases, ordering GRO certificates and a few reviews of books about mining in the U.K.
His talks for OGS will focus on British World War I Soldiers and Sailors; England’s Civil Registration and a talk about What’s New in the world of English Genealogy.
This fall, look into two of his upcoming webinars on Legacy Family Tree Webinars: Welsh Emigration to North America and Scottish Emigration to North America: Before, During and After the Rebellions.
Chris Paton, BA (Hons), HND, PgDip (Genealogical Studies)
Coming from Scotland to the Conference, Chris is well known in the U.K. for his talks, blog articles and books, keeping us up to date with all the news from societies and government repositories in Ireland and Scotland. Chris publishes with Pen & Sword Books under their family history banner, which covers Ireland and Scotland genealogy, including his book about Sharing Family History Online, which will be the focus of one of his talks.
Check out his news blog. Working with Pharos Tutors, he also teaches a well-reviewed 5-week online course: Scotland 1750-1850 – Beyond the Old Parish Registers. Chris is also listed on the Association of Professional Genealogists.
Jonny Perl
We were all agog when the concept of ‘painting’ or colouring in your chromosome results was introduced in 2019 by Jonny via his DNA Painter website. People couldn’t stop talking about this new and innovative way to visualize your family connections in the world of DNA genealogy. Since then, new tools keep popping up all the time – with the help and creativity of the genealogy community. Lots of this news (especially new tips and tricks using the tools on the website) is reported on the DNA Painter blog. There are two categories, one is for great tips to enhance your chromosome mapping and the other gives help for displaying trees, starting with the first post in 2020 – ‘Eight ways you can use ancestral trees at DNA Painter’.
Legacy Family Tree Webinars spoke with Jonny in 2022 about the discovery of DNA Painter and he shared a few insights into new developments.
At Conference 2024, Jonny will be hosting a 2-hour workshop on both Friday and Saturday.
Perhaps one of these speakers’ specialties will be the answer to your genealogy brick wall!
