Where the story takes me…

Genealogy Summer Camp 2013— June 16 to 21

Jane — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 08:57:17 +0000

Need a great excuse for a week of research in Toronto? Consider Genealogy Summer Camp offered by the Toronto Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society.

This will be the 17th Summer Camp. It is, by the way, a program for adults—no tents or campfires, and not many mosquitoes in downtown Toronto!

We travel to a

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Hot off the press: Inheritance in Ontario

Jane — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 20:01:24 +0000

Very pleased to find a box from Dundurn Press at my door last week—the first copies of my new book Inheritance in Ontario: Wills and Other Records for Family Historians.

The book covers wills and related records from 1763 (well before “Ontario” existed) up to current records. For novices and researchers new to Ontario records,

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The Legacy of Magnus Shewan or “The will in the way”, part three

Jane — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 04:31:36 +0000

This is the third and final episode, in which I speculate wildly on the reasons for the animosity between Toronto bookseller Magnus Shewan and his niece Margaret Fraser. If you’re new to the story, it will all make more sense if you read Part 1 and Part 2 first.

In the last episode, we read

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Ma Owned the Farm…

Jane — Sun, 17 Feb 2013 21:19:54 +0000

Yesterday morning I spoke at Richmond Hill Public Library as part of its series on “Women in 19th Century Ontario”. I highly recommend the rest of the lectures in this series: Janice Nickerson on March 30 on Women in the Upper Canadian Criminal Justice System; Guylaine Petrin on April 27 on Treason, Bigamy and Adultery

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The Legacy of Magnus Shewan or “The Will in the Way”, part two

Jane — Sun, 10 Feb 2013 05:51:51 +0000

In the last episode, we learned about Toronto bookseller Magnus Shewan’s death in 1884 and that his niece Mrs. Fraser was surprised when she tried to claim her inheritance—at least according to the Toronto Daily News.

The Globe published a death notice on February 5, 1884:

DIED/ Suddenly, on Monday morning, Feb 4th, Magnus Shewan,

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The Legacy of Magnus Shewan or “The Will in the Way”

Jane — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 23:58:48 +0000

Sometimes it is what is left out of a will—intentionally or not—that provides the intriguing story.

Magnus Shewan was a Toronto bookseller who operated a shop in the arcade of St. Lawrence Market from about 1845, and from about 1862, on King Street. At the time of his death on February 4, 1884, the bookstore

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Mark your calendar for our 2013 Salt Lake City trip

Jane — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 00:34:37 +0000

I can’t quite fathom how this much time has passed, but 2013 will be my 20th trip to the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah. A number of my travel mates seem anxious to add to their list of visits, and you’re invited, too.

The elegant new City Creek development—shopping and residences—in

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Toronto ancestors? Check the city directories.

Jane — Sun, 02 Sep 2012 19:38:53 +0000

Whenever you’re doing urban research, particularly in North America, city directories should be a first stop.

For Toronto, the first directory was published in 1833—a year before the Town of York even became the City of Toronto. Over the next 25 years, five more directories were issued by various publishers. Directories were commercial ventures and

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Genealogy Summer Camp 2012 rides into the sunset

Jane — Sat, 25 Aug 2012 05:07:35 +0000

The invasion is over! Well, it was a small invasion—ten Genealogy Summer Campers and their camp leaders visited archives and libraries all across Toronto last week.

Genealogy Summer Camp started on Sunday, August 12, with a picnic supper in the peaceful quad of the University of Toronto’s Massey College. We met the campers, who came

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Using cameras and scanners at archives and libraries in Toronto

Jane — Sat, 11 Aug 2012 15:30:08 +0000

Capturing images of original documents at a library or archives has never been easier. There are so many choices of technology it is tough to keep up—for both researchers and the library and archives staff who make policies about their use.*

Next week, I’ll be leading Genealogy Summer Camp participants to archives and libraries around

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