Category: Events

November 2025 Meeting

Oct 2025 | , ,

November 3: Every Source Matters: Using a variety of clues to find distant family members

Researching your family history has never been easier, thanks to an ever-increasing number of records available as well as the information you can unlock from your spit. Many of us have pushed into new territory with our family history work, but we should never think we have learned all that we can. Dave has several examples from his own research to show what can be done if we keep at it. Remember: Every time you go through a brick wall, you will likely find at least two more brick walls. And whenever you get an answer to a question, you will probably have more questions. And all of that will help you to discover more.

Date: Monday, November 3, 2025, 7pm
Presenter: Dave Obee
Location: via Zoom
Price: KDGS members Free; non-members $10; REGISTRATION REQUIRED – REGISTRATION FORM

Bite-size:My Mom: World War II Veteran, with KDGS member, Claire Smith-Burns

Dave Obee is a journalist and genealogical researcher who has written a dozen books and given more than 700 presentations at conferences and seminars in Canada, the United States and Australia since 1997. He is Editor and Publisher of the Times Colonist in Victoria, British Columbia. Dave has worked as a journalist in British Columbia and Alberta since 1972. He has received numerous awards and acknowledgements for his work as both a genealogist and journalist. Dave was born in British Columbia, and his roots there go back to the arrival of his great-great-grandfather from Manitoba in 1890. Some of his paternal ancestors arrived in North America from England and Ireland two centuries ago, while his mother was born in a German colony in the Soviet Union, and came with her parents to Canada in 1928.

October 2025 – Family History Forum

Oct 2025 | , ,

Delving into Family History is a wonderful adventure! Here’s a great FREE presentation to get you started on your ancestral journey!

Curious about your ancestry or how to start tracing your family tree? Family History 101 is the perfect introduction. In this session, we’ll explore the value of family history, cover the basics of beginning your research, and introduce key records such as census data, vital statistics, and immigration documents. Special focus will be given to the unique resources available at the Cloverdale Branch of Surrey Libraries. By the end, you’ll be ready to begin your family history journey—no prior experience needed, just bring your curiosity!

Date: Tuesday, October 28, 2025, 6:30pm
Presenter: Kay Burns, Manager Surrey Libraries Family History Department
Location: via Zoom
REGISTRATION REQUIRED

Kay Burns (they/them) has been the Family History Librarian at the Cloverdale Branch of Surrey Libraries since September 2024 and has worked in public libraries since 2018. Before earning a Master of Information Studies from McGill University, Kay studied history at the University of British Columbia—an academic foundation that continues to inform their work and passion for uncovering the past. When not assisting others with their research or delving into their own family tree, Kay enjoys working with fiber arts, especially knitting and quilting.

Family History Forums (FHF) are a partnership presentation series of the Kelowna & District Genealogical Society and the Okanagan Regional Library. The topics vary but are typically at the beginner’s level in Family History research. All are welcome to these FREE Zoom presentations, but pre-registration is required through the ORL’s Events Calendar: https://orl.libcal.com/event/3895581. When registering, be sure to enter your email address correctly and watch for the email from the ORL to confirm your registration. The Zoom link and handout will be emailed to you the day before the presentation by librarian, Evan Burgess (or another librarian). No FHF in July, August or December.

KDGS OBITS CONTEST

Aug 2025 | ,

Win a $50 one-year membership – equivalent to at least 5 obituaries for free, but you will have access to the entire database of more than 24,000 as a member, attend monthly meetings with international and local experts for free and enjoy many other benefits. Already a member? Then next year’s dues are paid in advance. To enter, all you do is download an obituary from the Central Okanagan Obituaries Database. Every download counts. The contest is ongoing now and backdated to May 2025 if you searched any time since then up to the deadline of midnight September 30, 2025. The draw will be on October 2nd and the winner announced then. The Membership Chair will be in touch to sign you up for your prize.
Head on over to kdgs.ca and look for Search Central Okanagan Obituary Records and search free to your heart’s content. Downloads are what we can measure. So put those obituaries in your cart and download them. Free to current paid up members and $10 each download for non-members. Every download = one entry!
Xenia Stanford, Chair of KDGS Obituary Committee and Project Leader of the Central Okanagan Obituaries Project, will be presenting how to search the database as the bite-size talk on September 8. There will be a handout that we will make available on the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/KDGSca and on the kdgs.ca website.
Questions or comments: obits@kdgs.ca
Find forms for your feedback or questions at the bottom of the search obituaries page.
The Central Okanagan Obituaries Project of the Kelowna & District Genealogical Society is a recipient of a 2025 grant from the City of Kelowna

May 2025 Family History Forum

May 2025 | , ,

May 27: Wills & Probate Papers: an Underused Resource
Wills are one of my favourite records! We will learn some basic information about Wills, Administrations, Inventories and Probate, including terminology and interpreting common phraseology. We will also discover how to access wills with examples from Canada, the USA and the UK.

Family History Forums are a partnership presentation series of the Kelowna & District Genealogical Society and the Okanagan Regional Library. The topics vary but are typically at the beginner’s level in Family History research.

April 2024 Family History Forum

Apr 2025 | , ,

Introduction to Scottish Genealogical Research with Claire Smith-Burns
Learn how to effectively begin researching your Scottish Ancestry: the idiosyncrasies and pitfalls. This talk will cover the major Scottish record groups and how best to access them. Plus, we will take a look at some great websites and resources for Scottish family history research.

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  • Meetings

November 2025 Meeting

Oct 13, 2025 | , ,

November 3: Every Source Matters: Using a variety of clues to find distant family members Researching your family history has never been easier, thanks to an ever-increasing number of records available as well as the information...

  • Family History Forums