May 6, 2023: Guest Speaker Karen Pytrula whose topic is Early Perth 1817 to 1823 and an overview of the letters by William Bell written to a Scotland newspaper, and reprinted many years later in the Perth Courier, after being transcribed by Bell descendants.
April 1, 2023: LCGS at Archives Lanark: Guest Speaker Archives Chair, France Rathwell presented an overview of the collection of historical documents or records providing information about Lanark County and its people.
March 4, 2023: Guest Speaker Marianne Tripp Punshon summarized her publications titled “The use of communion tokens in the Presbyterian Churchs in Lanark County” and “Holy Fairs and Pioneer Presbyterian Ministers in Lanark County”
February 4, 2023: Guest Speaker Diane Duncan spoke on the topic “The 50% – The Women in Your Tree” based on her research of a little-known family member
December 3, 2022: Guest Speaker Ankaret Dean curator of Lanark Highlands Basketry Museum presented a “visual tour of the museum” and spoke about the making of baskets. Guest speaker Robert Gardiner author of “The History of Pakenham 1823-2023” shared a video presentation.
November 5, 2022: our “Awards and Recognition” event
October 1, 2022: An afternoon at the Lanark and District Museum. Guest Speaker Ann Graham spoke about “the museum holdings and artifacts” and quizzed on some of the display item’s history.
June 11, 2022: During the Beckwith Heritage event, the folks meaning and visit the display booth heard Doug Sturgess speak about his keen interest in “Collecting several types of toys” since he was a child.
May 7, 2022: mini-tour to visit the “Max Sutherland Library” at Tatlock Hall. Guest speaker Nancy Jibbs spoke about the history of the hall and its advancements and followed with a guided tour of the library
April 2, 2022: Guest Speaker Andrew Kercher, Port Huron Museum presented “From Beau Brummell to Skinny Jeans, a 200-
year Journey Through the History of Men’s Fashions“
March 5, 2022: the Council of Beckwith Township is joining us in hosting this afternoon’s event with Guest Speaker Bill
Maines whose presentation topic is “Beckwith Township and the Derry early settlers and their families“
February 5, 2022: Guest speaker Ted Outerbridge will speak about “the History and Mysteries of the Keyhole House” of Smiths Falls
December 4, 2021: LCGS members host a Virtual Family Reunion, “the excitement, the anticipation and memories of family holiday traditions
November 6, 2021: Guest Speaker Diane Miller Duncan will provide insight into how she approaches genealogical research today. Her topic is “Beyond Births, Deaths and Marriages”
October 2, 2021: Guest Speaker North Lanark Regional Museum representatives and members of the North Lanark Historical Society will speak about the “Resources housed at the North Lanark Regional Museum” that would assist family genealogists and historians in their research.
April 10, 2021: Guest Speaker Ken McKinlay’s topic is “Finding Them on the Ground” Are you struggling to find the land
records of our ancestors?
March 6, 2021: Guest Speakers: the Middleville Museum Volunteers. Members of its Board of Directors will share
information about the history of the museum, its collection, its work on the genealogy of Lanark County, and the educational resources it is providing in the outreach program to communities, youth, and families.
February 6, 2021: Guest Speaker Glen Wright retired military archivist at the Library and Archives Canada (LAC) and the RCMP. His topic is “From Controversy to Compromise: Choosing a Flag for Canada, 1964-1965”.
December 15. 2020: our first meeting was held online (Zoom interactive). Members engaged in great conversations about Fond Memories of Christmas Past.
April 2020-November 2020: COVID-19 pandemic and health and safety lockdown. Friends, it’s been a strange year. Every local event has been cancelled including our monthly gatherings, and our special events continue to be postponed. Looking forward we remain optimistic that 2021, the year of our 40th Anniversary, will be refreshingly positive. It is also a year where many people new to genealogy sought out the society researcher’s assistance and resources to learn about their family roots. Our society is richer in the knowledge of family histories throughout our county.
March 7, 2020: Karen Prytula, our newsletter editor, spoke about George Keyes and his boot and shoe store, which was once located where the Granary now is, 107 & 109 Bridge Street, Carleton Place
February 1, 2020: Local Author John McKenty returns to LCGS as our Guest Speaker and speaks about the subject of his latest book, Joe Perkins – “The Life & Times of Joe Perkins: 1908 – 1990
December 8, 2019: AGM with the election for the 2019 Board of Directors and Christmas POTLUCK lunch
November 2, 2019: Karen Prytula presented her work on “Our Disappearing Heritage Landscape” via a power-point presentation which focused on the Carleton Place, Lanark County area
October 5, 2019: We explored the Canadian Co-operative Wool Growers Limited in Carleton Place Eric Bjergso, General Manager
and his assistant Nathan spoke about the “early history of the Wool Industry”, and the unique history of this complex and shared a tour of their facilities.
May 4, 2019: Local Author and Guest Speaker Arlene Stafford-Wilson spoke on her new book “Lanark County Calling; All Roads Lead Home”
Apr. 6, 2019: Guest Speaker Anne Raina spoke about her publications, “Clara’s Rib” and her writing group “The Black Lake Chronicles“
March 2, 2019: Guest Speaker: LCGS Member Ron Lyons (assisted by LCGS member Shirley Somerville) spoke about “Ron’s research and his preservation of the Wood Cemetery and the Mausoleum in Rideau Lakes Township”
January 26, 2019: Guest Speaker Ron Shaw will be speaking on his new book ‘A Swarm of Bees’, which recounts a journey begun in 1820 that, over the course of 50 years, took 18 ‘Lanark Society Settler’ families from the slums of Glasgow, through eastern and western Ontario, and the American Midwest, to the Salt Lake Valley of Utah.
November 3, 2018: Guest Speaker Peter Usher, the author of “Joey Jacobson’s War”, spoke about a Jewish Canadian Airman in the Second World War. Joey was a young man from Westmount, on the Island of Montreal who trained as a navigator and a bomb-aimer in western Canada. Prior to enlisting he was privileged and ambitious, a university graduate and an accomplished athlete. Peter Usher who lives in Clayton, Lanark County, Ontario was born in Montreal. Inspired by his cousin Joey Jacobson’s letters and diaries, he began writing about the experience of Canadian airmen in the Second World War.
October 6, 2018: 𝒜𝒻𝓉𝑒𝓇𝓃𝑜𝑜𝓃 𝒯𝑒𝒶 at Cedar Hill School House with Guest Speaker: Marilyn Snedden, Facts & Tales of Historic Pakenham
September 23, 2018: Special event: at Old Almonte Town Hall @1:30pm; the Stone Fence Theatre presents their new musical of 2018 – I Come from the Valley! Tales and Times of Joan Finnigan, by Playwright Ish Theilheimer, with Johanna Zomers, directed by Chantal Elie-Sernoskie.
June 9, 2018: LCGS Genealogy Jamboree Guest Speaker Chief Kirby Whiteduck spoke on the History of the Algonquins before the arrival of the European settlers. Copies of his publication to purchase through the Algonquins of Pikwàkanagàn First Nation, 1657A Mishomis Inamo, Pikwakanagan, ON K0J 1X0
May 5, 2018: Member Doug Sturgess spoke on the history of the Lanark County Plowman’s Association. He will give recognition to some of the families involved and what it takes to plow a start row.
April 7, 2018: The Witch of Plum Hollow by Reenactor Elaine Farley on Who was Mother Barnes?
Elaine Farley highlighted her research about local legend Elizabeth Barnes the Witch of Plum Hollow and debunk some myths about her.
March 3, 2018: Speaker Local Author Bud Van Alstine, who is the author of A Short History of South Sherbrooke and spoke on some of the short stories he has written on the area, the contributions he has made to the Van Alstine Family history book
February 3, 2018: Barrie Crampton spoke on the excellent research tool, The Lanark County Historical Mapping Project which tells the story of the settling of the Perth Military Settlement consisting of the original townships of Bathurst, Drummond, Beckwith and the Town of Perth. Through the use of digital mapping technology and resurrecting original maps of the original survey of 1815, the project shows the settlement of the soldiers and settlers by individual lot, concession, names of the original and subsequent families and land owners, and telling their stories for a lasting on-line legacy on the history of the current municipalities.
December 9, 2017: Randy Boswell spoke on his Historical finds in the old newspaper. Randy has a wide-ranging career with the Ottawa Citizen and Postmedia News, where he covered city hall, had a business column, wrote a variety of feature stories, served as city editor and developed a national history beat, he became a full-time professor at Carleton University in 2012.
November 4, 2017: Irene Robillard spoke on the wealth of genealogical and historical information contained in the “Tweedmuirs of the Women’s Institute in Ontario”, her presentation also explained how to find and access these collections, both in paper and in digitized format
October 14, 2017: Master Builders of Family History was the LCGS Annual Show and Tell topic
May 3rd, 2017: Randy Boswell, professor of journalism Carleton University – News, History and Memory: Rediscovering the Past in a Digital Age
April 1st, 2017: Brenda Krauter presented her research on “The Appleby Murder”
March 4th, 2017: David Taylor presented his research on the subject of “ The Mills of the Tay Watershed”.