As a Society we continue to seek to support the needs of the genealogical community for both digital and non-digital resources. Many of our members and of the genealogical community at large have are creating and sharing more digital documents than ever.
Ontario Ancestors has come together with CanadianHeadstones.com to secure its future online availability and to further develop it’s web presence. As we have begun to manage the data for this organization we have also been looking into the various websites under it’s umbrella, we have discovered a treasure trove of additional information within a website called CHFamilyTrees.com. This website allows for the uploading and management of donated Gedcom files using the software platform The Next Generation. Once we made this discovery, we then reviewed our resource management options and have decided to move and rebrand CHFamilyTrees.com to OntarioFamilyHistory.org.
This website already contains more than 830,000 Individuals and 315,000 Families within its database and cites well over 40,000 sources. One of the mandates of The Ontario Genealogical Society is to preserve genealogical information for future generations regardless of whether it has been properly or fully sourced. This is our practise for both printed or digital donated family trees.
Maintaining websites like this requires the time, interest and attention of our volunteers. We are pleased to be able to activate this website today in a search only format. The site does allow you to contribute your GEDCOM files at this time and you will find the link on the website. Over time and with further assistance from our volunteers, we hope to turn on other features that will allow the genealogical community to sign in and alert the volunteers of any errors or omissions, or to activate the DNA Section that is currently contained within the software.
At a time when so many resources dedicated to Canadian and Ontario Genealogy are disappearing or being archived, the OGS is committed to preserving those resources and allowing free access to those resources to interested researchers from around the world.
The Ontario Genealogical Society – Ontario Ancestors
Ontario Ancestors, an Ontario not-for-profit corporation and a registered Canadian charity (Reg. # 119248680 RR0001), was founded in 1961 with the vision of being recognized as the authority and leader in all aspects of Ontario related family history research, preservation and communication. The mission of OGS, the largest such organization in Canada, is to encourage, bring together and assist those interested in the pursuit of family history and to preserve Ontario’s genealogical heritage. We have 30 geographically based branches throughout Ontario together with 5 special interest groups (British Home Children, Eastern European, Scottish, Ireland and Irish-Palatine). We have published numerous books and pamphlets to assist Ontario researchers, produces a respected journal, Families, and publishes a free weekly online newsletter ( https://goo.gl/skQUM6 ) highlighting events of interest to Ontario researchers. Our Branches have transcribed most Ontario cemeteries and published numerous indices which are the foundation of family history and genealogical research in Ontario. The Branches present regular presentations and educational workshops to members and the public on topics of genealogical and family history interest, while the Ontario Ancestors annual conference is the largest such conference in Canada.
Media Contact: Heather McTavish Taylor
202-2100 Steeles Avenue West
Concord, ON L4K 2V1
Phone: 1-855-MYROOTS, ext. 258
Email: [email protected]
Web: https://ogs.on.ca
