January 5: Prison & Court Records presented by Andrea Lister
Prison and court records can tell you a lot about your ancestors and their lives. Whether documenting legal battles or criminal activity these records will provide a wide variety of color and detail. We will look at records on everything from petty theft to illegal poaching to declaring someone’s husband dead. The scope includes Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and North America.
February 2: Broad Context; How to Find it and Use it! presented by Jill Mirelli
By understanding the broad context of our geographic area and the era we can interpret the evidence more accurately and thereby understand the decision-making of our ancestors more clearly. We sometimes view context as just the historical events that affected our ancestor. We will broaden that definition and explain the difference between it and social history. Examples clarify meaning and illustrate how this is a project long process and not effort applied at the end.
April 13: All Kinds of Loyalists presented by Kathryn Lake Hogan
During the American Revolutionary War, approximately 35% of the population of the Thirteen colonies was loyal to King George III of Great Britain. Was your ancestor one of them? How do you know if your ancestor was a Loyalist? In this presentation, learn what to look for in documents and records to determine if your ancestor meets the qualifications of being a Loyalist.
May 4: Using AI to Research Documents & Letters presented by Mark Thompson
Do you have old family letters and documents waiting to be explored? In this beginner-friendly session, learn how artificial intelligence can assist you in analyzing and researching your family’s personal archives. From summarizing key points to quickly identifying names and relationships, AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude can help you speed up your research. You’ll also learn how to responsibly use some of the amazing, but riskier, aspects of AI like transcription and translation. Join Mark Thompson to learn how AI can lighten the load and help you reveal the rich history hidden in your family archive!

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.