Bonus Tracks is a special package of 18 pre-recorded hour-long sessions to enhance your Conference 2024 experience, including talks on family history resources and methodology, case studies and even a virtual museum tour. Most of these presentations are not being offered live during Conference 2024. See the complete list of speakers and topics below.
These extra sessions are being provided to all full weekend registrants on a complimentary basis—that’s almost 20 bonus hours of learning entirely free of charge! If you have registered for the full weekend (Friday night through Sunday afternoon), you do not have to purchase Bonus Tracks separately—you will receive automatic access.
If you aren’t registered for the full weekend, or aren’t able to come to Conference in person at all, you can still enjoy the Bonus Tracks package, for a cost of just $125. Click here to purchase Bonus Tracks now!
Access to Bonus Tracks will launch here on Friday June 14 and will remain open until August 1, 2024.
Bonus Track List
Presented by Ken McKinlay 60-Minute Presentation (All) Until relatively recently, looking for the land records in Ontario was a challenge since they weren’t readily available online. That has changed over the past few years. In this talk we will be learning about the various online resources available to help us …
Presented by Pamela Vittorio 60-Minute Presentation (Intermediate to Advanced) Though genealogists rely most heavily on original documents to prove family relationships or identities, using artifacts, though unusual, may help untangle a same-name mystery. Between 1780 and 1783, Oliver Graham’s name appeared on both Connecticut and Loyalist militia rosters. Were there …
Presented by Heather Oakley 60-Minute Bonus Track (All) Any time you share your genealogical tidbits, is everyone supposed to believe you? Do they know if you did proper research? Can they trust your accuracy? Are you trying to make your black sheep ancestor look lily white? Do you want to believe …
Presented by Drew von Hasselbach 60-Minute Bonus Track The name is Bonds … Marriage Bonds, and you might be shaken, if not stirred, by the many ways they can advance Canadian genealogical research. Marriage bonds can provide you with more than just data about a specific couple’s marriage. Drew von …
Presented by Michelle Spencer 60-Minute Bonus Track (All) Business, industry, building, and address searches can add rich detail to your ancestor’s story and provide new avenues for research. This session encourages researchers to take a different perspective, analyzing business and property records for genealogical gems. The process includes collateral research …
Presented by Gordon McBean 60-Minute Bonus Track (All) There is a significant divide in the types of photos in our family picture collections. Originally photos were taken by professionals in their studios and the sessions were grand events! Imagine the excitement – spending the whole day getting dressed up for …
Presented by Mark Thompson 60-Minute Presentation (All) In the middle of a family zoom call, someone asked if anyone had seen the “trunk of letters” that Eleanor Thompson had saved throughout her long life. The people on the Zoom call had no idea how deeply down the rabbit hole this …
Presented by Pam Vestal 60-Minute Bonus Track For most of recorded time, women didn’t leave much of a paper trail, but they still had remarkable stories to tell. Although it may appear that they haven’t left many documents behind, deeper research into underutilized records will often lead to a better …
Presented by David Ryan 60-Minute Bonus Track (Intermediate) The destruction of the Public Records Office in June 1922 at the outset of the Irish Civil War has cast a long shadow over Irish genealogical research. Anyone who has sought their Irish ancestors has likely encountered frustration at the gaps in …
Presented by Claire Smith-Burns 60-Minute Bonus Track It is easy and tempting to jump to conclusions when tracing your family tree. Claire Smith-Burns will take you on a research romp following a very promising lead but with a surprising conclusion. The talk revolves around her 4th great-grandfather, Michael WALLACE (c …
Presented by Lianne Kruger 60-Minute Bonus Track This session will cover land measurements and divisions, the Dominion Land Survey, the work of surveyors, and how to use modern mapping tools to locate an ancestral homestead. The speaker will use the example of her ancestors, who were homesteaders in Manitoba, to …
Presented by Linda Corupe 60-Minute Presentation (All) Enticed by our province’s government to take up free lots along colonization roads and in the Canadian Shield, many new emigrants had their hopes dashed. The governments of our province, and of Canada at times, offered free land grants to settlers to entice …
Presented by Stephen Young 60-Minute Case Study (Intermediate) During the pandemic Stephen commenced an in-depth study reconstructing the development of Elm Street in Toronto from the 1850s through 1900. His interest is based on research of his direct ancestor, John Young, who rented one of the first frame houses built …
Presented by Karlee Twiner 60-Minute Bonus Track (Beginner-Intermediate) Follow Ellen Egan through time as she immigrates to Canada from Ireland. Is the information presented by previous researchers accurate or is there more than one Ellen? This case study will begin with an introduction to the Primrose Project, a group of …
Presented by Linda Yip 60-Minute Bonus Track Take a virtual tour of Canada’s national Chinese Canadian Museum at the historic Wing Sang building, the oldest structure in Vancouver’s Chinatown. Linda Yip, a fourth-generation descendant of the building’s founder, Yip Sang, will take you into the Museum’s heritage rooms and main …
Presented by Dr. Sarah J. Makowski 60-Minute Bonus Track This thought-provoking presentation relates to a remarkable journey of genealogical self-discovery. Through DNA and social media, Makowski uncovers the startling truth that challenges a grandfather’s identity, revealing a complex web of deceit and hidden heritage. She explores the reasons behind his …
Presented by Roslyn Torella 60-Minute Bonus Track (All) Social media sites can help you break down brick walls, connect to others who share your interests, and serve as a platform to learn about and share family history with other family members. Learn how to creatively use social media for family …
Presented by Pam Vestal 60-Minute Bonus Track One of the biggest hurdles to overcome in genealogy is the seemingly illegible handwriting in our ancestors’ records. Whether you struggle to navigate colonial penmanship that doesn’t even look like English or wrestle with contemporary documents that are poorly written, a few good …