In the summer of 1903, Toronto had a party—a four-day blowout over the Dominion Day holiday—July 1 to 4. The organizers invited well over 4,000 former Torontonians to “come home” from all across Canada, the United States, and wherever else the organizers could find them. A souvenir edition of the […]
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In this post, I’ll give you some details of the sources I used in my search for members of the Thirteen Club. Many of the sources were new to me, and some were old standards but viewed through a different filter. I hope you’ll find them useful. Here’s a link […]
Established in the 1830s and before, societies like St. Andrew’s, St. George’s, St. Patrick’s and many other ethnic-based benevolent organizations provided guidance, financial and social support for their countrymen and women arriving in Canada. The list below was compiled as I was researching a presentation for the Ontario Genealogical Society’s […]
POST UPDATED JUNE 2023 My ancestors were not listed in anybody’s “blue book.” Nevertheless, blue books or society registers provide a fascinating glimpse into the way the other half lived, and to which my relatives may have aspired. Why blue? Blue seems to have been the colour of choice for […]
I’m pleased to announce that after a one-year hiatus, “Summer Camp” will return this year, starting with a get-together on Sunday evening, June 7, and running until Friday, June 12. Genealogy Summer Campers are on the move every day of this innovative week long program. Each day, participants will travel […]
This is my third post about the David William Smith papers at the Toronto Reference Library. The first two posts, A Toronto farm, 1799–1800 and A tale of two Isaac Gilberts, drew from Smith’s service as Upper Canada’s first Surveyor General and his personal land ownership. In addition to the […]
In my last post, I showed you a sample of the fascinating papers of the Honourable David William Smith[1], Upper Canada’s first Surveyor General, in anticipation of a lecture at the Ontario Genealogical Society Conference 2014. The conference and the talk are now history themselves. As part of the presentation, […]
Over the last six months or so, I’ve been digging into the papers of the Honourable David William Smith, Upper Canada’s first Surveyor General, part of the amazing manuscript holdings of the Toronto Reference Library.[1] I’ve dipped into this intriguing collection several times before, but this time I’ve systematically opened […]