Woot! A few short weeks before the Conference starts in June. Have you been Exploring your options when travelling to Ontario? So many Engaging sights to visit and Enjoy. PS – Registration closes June 1st.
It’s more than likely that you have ancestors who settled in the areas surrounding Toronto and if you are planning research trips outside the city after the conference, a great starting resource is the Ontario Locator. The Ontario Locator is a laudable effort by the Ontario Genealogical Society to identify the geographic township in a county which also provides links to the various branches.
Once you have searched the database which is found at the bottom of the page, the clickable County map will help focus your efforts and pinpoint resources on the various branch websites.
https://ogs.on.ca/databases/ontario-locator/
For example, I know my ancestors lived in West Gwillimbury in Simcoe County, and my first search was for ‘Gwillimbury’ and I chose Simcoe as the county. Only one result! Then I did a broader search for ‘Gwillimbury’ and left the county blank. The results show a few more possibilities for Gwillimbury in both York and Simcoe counties. Now I have other options to search for relevant records!
The instructions on the page provide an even broader example, “[…] simply enter the first few letters of the place name, the township, or the county or district in the search box […]”
Next, I clicked on the County Map image which opens into a new page titled, ‘Clickable Ontario Map’. Zooming in using Ctrl and the wheel on my mouse, or Ctrl and the + key, I clicked on York County. This then opened onto the page of the York Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society and listed two online resources that can be found there. One is an Index to York Region Ancestors, the branch’s journal. Great for searching for family histories, or the name of the district or town. I tried to do a ‘Find’ function, but this looks to be something I would only be able to do if I downloaded the PDF. What’s helpful is that the index provides ‘Geographic Information’ sections, and articles are also divided into the various Townships. Under Queries & Letters to the Editor are enquiries from people searching for help about their families and names thereof. Great resources!
The other link is to a Research Resources page. This looks interesting, with links to ‘Indexes to books of genealogical and historical interest in Ontario’; ‘York County Maps & Facts’; ‘List of Places: Early York County’ and more. Another resources page is found if you click on the Research Link at the top of the page.
Also take a look at the Society and Branch Indexes page on the Ontario Genealogical Society page – this is a list of all the branches transcription projects of various resources. The (M) indicates that if you are a Member of the branch and the OGS, you will be able to access the data after logging in. The Ontario Genealogical Society also has it’s own very extensive list.
https://ogs.on.ca/resources/society-branches-indexes/
Enjoy exploring these great resources! I hope they help you to plan your visit and if you are attending online, enhancing your experience of the Ontario Genealogical Society.
