GENEALOGY PRESENTATIONS



Are You Looking For a Speaker?

In 2007, Kathryn took a chance travelling from Canada to Utah to give her first genealogy presentation. Since then, Kathryn has continued to speak about Canadian genealogy at genealogy society meetings, webinars, workshops, conferences and research institutes both in-person and virtually (webinars).

NOW BOOKING for 2024. 

Contact Kathryn at 
kathryn @ looking4ancestors . com [remove the spaces]

Presentation Topics


Dive Deeper into Researching Your Ontario Ancestors
Dive deeper into researching your Ontario ancestors by exploring records beyond birth, marriage, and death registrations. Delve into resources that shed light on land ownership, house histories, and your ancestor’s position within their community. A more detailed picture of your family’s past can reveal not just where they lived but how they lived.


All Kinds of Loyalists

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 them? If your ancestors sided with the British, they were branded a Tory and faced expulsion from the newly formed United States of America after the war. As a past Dominion Genealogist of the United Empire Loyalists' Association of Canada, Kathryn shares tips and strategies for researching your Loyalist ancestors and explains how to apply for a Loyalist certificate.



Cracking the Clues in Canadian Census Records
Canadian census records hold valuable information for the family history researcher. Each census from 1851 through 1931 was unique in the questions asked and the instructions given to the enumerators. By following three different families (Canadian, French-Canadian and Black-Canadian) through the census records, strategies and techniques are demonstrated for searching and navigating the various census records and schedules. The best websites for researching Canadian census records are shared.



Find Your American Ancestor Using Canadian Records
When you hit a brick wall in your research it’s time to consider your ancestor may have been in Canada. Whether your ancestor was there for a day or for many years, they left behind records. Learn how and where to find the Canadian records to help you fill in the missing pieces of your ancestor’s life.


NEW! How to Successfully Find Records on the Updated Library and Archives Canada Website
Since August 2022, Library and Archives Canada has been updating its website. A once challenging website to use has become increasingly difficult to find records, documents and resources. Learn how to find the records you want, discover strategies to get results from the databases, and explore new collections to further your family history research in Canada.


Researching Your 20th Century Canadian Ancestors
Did your parents, grandparents or great-grandparents live most of their lives in 20th century Canada? Long closure periods of records make finding information about these more recent ancestors difficult. Finding information after 1939 can be tricky but there are resources available if you know where to look. Discover where to find more recent records that will help you add details to your 20th century Canadian family.


What's in Your Canadian Genealogy Toolbox?
Explore the top websites for researching your ancestors in Canada. Learn where to find the best online resources for Canadian and provincial record groups, history, newspapers, maps, photographs and more to help you fill your Canadian
genealogy toolbox.


Researching Black Sheep Ancestors
What are "black sheep" ancestors? It's likely you have at least one, or perhaps a few of these ancestors and relatives in your family tree. Join me as I share stories and discuss how and where to find black sheep ancestors, and how best to document them.


Using Historical Directories in Your Genealogy
There is more to a historical directory than just finding the address where your ancestor lived. Discover all there is to explore and examine within the covers of historical directories to gain a better understanding of your ancestor’s daily life.

What's Black and White and Read All Over?
Newspapers were a vital source of news, stories, advertisements, society pages and entertainment. They can provide little known details about our ancestors’ lives. If you’re not using newspapers in your research you could be missing out! How important were newspapers to our ancestors? What treasures can be unearthed in between the sheets of newsprint? Discover how researching newspapers can boost your family history.

How Tragedies, Disasters and Disease Affected Our Canadian Ancestors
Tragedies, disasters and disease in Canadian history. Where? When? What happened? Were your ancestors there? How were they affected by what happened? Researching the tragedies, disasters and diseases our ancestors experienced in their hometowns, cities, provinces and nation-wide help us to add more to their stories, and help us understand their lives a little better. National, provincial and regional/local events will be discussed.

To arrange speaking opportunities, please email at:

kathryn @ looking4ancestors . com [remove the spaces]