Ontario Genealogical Society  new logoDurham Region Branch of the Ontario Genealogical SocietyDurham Region Branch 2018  logo

676 Simcoe St. N. — Oshawa, Ontario — L1G 4V7

Intro. to Genealogy | Cemetery Index | Memorial Cards | Yearbooks | Heritage Papers |

Introductory Genealogy Courses are Available

The Education Committee at the Durham Region Branch has prepared several Introductory courses. A schedule of upcoming workshops will be posted on our NEWS/EVENTS page.

Note: These are introductory, not beginner's courses, and have been planned with the general public in mind.

Please pass this information on to friends, family and neighbours who you think might get interested in genealogy, but have no idea where to start!!

Volunteers needed! At this point, the education committee members are asking for volunteers who could commit to being an assistant at some of these and future sessions to help the attendees with filling out ancestral charts, etc.

Note: you do not have to be the lecturer, just an assistant!

Thanks,
Nancy Trimble

Durham Region Cemetery Indexing Project

Index and Location of Cemeteries in Durham

The Cememtery Index starts with a clickable map of Durham Region, which then offers links to individual cemetery maps, photos, and name lists. We will be adding GPS coordinates to the cemetery locations in the near future.

Volunteers are currently updating the cemetery indices, visiting every marker, recording changes, and creating a digital image of each as well. These digital images will be added to the publications list for ordering by the public.

Memorial Card Collection (a.k.a. Funeral Cards)

Durham Branch is digitizing old “In Memoriam” cards that were handed out on the occasion of the death of a family member. Many of us have a handful filed away with our records (if we were lucky enough to inherit them), and many of the Archives and Museums in the area also have collections. Initially we are copying any with a connection to the Durham Region – either by birth, marriage, death, burial, residence, etc. They don’t have to have been issued in this area. We hope to organize these records and make them available on our web page.

If you have any cards you wish to share with us, please do one of the following:

  1. Scan the cards, put them on a disc, and either mail us the disc or bring it to a branch meeting; smaller quantities can be e-mailed to Anne Delong
  2. Photocopy the information on the card and mail the pages to the branch or bring them to one of the meetings
  3. Bring the cards to a branch meeting in an envelope marked with your name and address; we will copy them and return them at the following meeting
  4. For cards that you do not wish to let out of your sight, we will arrange “Copy Days” at our office, at the airport, or perhaps even at one of our regular monthly meetings.

Local School Yearbooks

Ryan Taylor Memorial Yearbook Collection

 

The branch has followed up on the suggestion of the Board of the Ontario Genealogical Society to collect School Yearbooks for the Durham Region. This was one of Ryan’s passions, but his collection did not remain in Canada and is therefore not accessible to the majority of those that might seek photographs, etc. of their ancestors and relatives. We have begun to collect these historical records and as of this date have already amassed an impressive selection from various sources, many of them donated by a generous benefactor. We also own a couple of yearbooks from the outlying area around the region, i.e.; Durham County.

It is our intention to keep a current list of these yearbooks on our website, in hopes that if any of our membership stumble across any of these books at a yard-sale, etc. or have one squirreled away in the attic, and wish to donate them to the collection, they will be able to determine if we need that specific year... [We already have people watching Ebay]

For further information, contact: e-mail:Stephen Wood

The Branch now owns the following Yearbooks and a few of Ryan Taylor's orphaned photos.

About the Bowmanville Canadian Statesman Newspaper Indexing Project - it has now evolved into the Heritage Papers Fund*

*Heritage papers include any rare and/or deteriorating local documents. We are microfilming and digitizing such papers, as funds allow.

Index of Names listed in the Bowmanville Statesman newspaper. [photos]

The Canadian Statesman first started publication in Bowmanville in 1837, and has been bringing local news to the people of Darlington and Clark townships (now the Municipality of Clarington, Ontario, Canada) ever since. For over 100 years it has been published by the James family. It is now owned by the Metroland newspaper chain, which merged in 1998 and discontinued publication in December 2008.

As part of a 1967 centennial project coordinated by the Bowmanville Public Library, the issues up to 1925 were microfilmed and indexed. The index is available on microfiche from the Clarington Public Library, 163 Church Street, Bowmanville, ON, L1C 1T7, for $10.00CAN plus shipping.

The Whitby-Oshawa Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society has taken on the task of microfilming and indexing the issues after 1925. The indexing has been going on for years, and it is not practical to publish paper copies until a substantial number of years have been completed. In the meantime, we will be posting new names as the indexing continues. [The Clarke/Bowmanville Museum and Archives not longer permits the branch to microfilm the Statesman.]

In most cases the description following the name contains all of the relevant information. In some cases, such as descriptions of weddings and funerals, obituaries, etc., there may be more relatives mentioned than would fit in the database field. If you wish to obtain the original newspaper article, you can see it on microfilm at the Clarington Public Library, Bowmanville Branch. In addition to a set of newspapers from 1982 to present, their set of Statesman microfilms range from 1867 to 1965. The Clarington Museums and Archives now retains all hard copies of this newspaper, although the Clarington Public Library also retains copies from the mid 1970s to today.

The Clarington Public Library also carries microfilm for other local newspapers: BowmanvilleNews(1901-1918), Bowmanville Observer (1868-1884), Bowmanville Star (1855), Bowmanville Sun (1883-1890), Bowmanville Merchant (1869-1876), Orono News(1896, 1899-1935), Orono Weekly Times(1940-1942), West Durham News (1879-1901), Women's Institute Tweedsmuir History. Other microfilm includes: Assessment and Census Rolls, Assessment and Collectors Rolls, Canada West Census (1842, 1851, 1861, 1871, 1881, 1891, 1901), Marriage Registers, Municipal Registers, Village of Newcastel Minutes (1884-1982), Town of Bowmanville Minutes (1853-1952).

Now that the Clarington Museum, Archives, and Library have digitized many of these publications, including Optical Character Reading, simply visit this site to search for (and download) material of interest. https://vitacollections.ca/claringtonnews/search

[Outdated: - If you can't conveniently get to the library, send $3.00 Canadian for each item that you want photocopied to our branch mail box; one of our members will photocopy and send the articles to you. If you wish your copies sent to a U. S. address, send U. S. funds. For mailing to other countries, please include an international reply coupon.]

 

 

Thank You for visiting - the Durham Region Branch OGS.