Saturday Oct 10 - Genealogy Class: Loyalists in the Eastern Townships

This week's class is about researching for ancestors in the Eastern Townships, particularly for Loyalists who either fought for the British during the Revolutionary War or supported them and thereby faced severe hardships in our new nation. Thousands of Loyalists fled to Ontario but quite a few settled just north of the Vermont border in the Eastern Townships of Quebec. These English-speaking settlers were mostly Protestants moving into a predominantly Catholic Province. They were frequently the founders of many of the towns and villages in this area.

Soon after their arrival the British government helped transplant a large number of settlers from Scotland & Ireland to the same area. And then they were followed by French-Canadians from other parts of Quebec looking for land and opportunities. These southern-most towns of Quebec developed close ties to northern Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine as well as New York. These ties have persisted and many Vermonters can trace some of their ancestry to these settler families.

Jacques Gagne has been working with other Canadian researchers to identify the many records for this area and its people. In this talk he will share his expertise and the fruits of that labor by providing attendees with links to many of the best sources. While he will focus on the Loyalists, their arrival and the collections of the United Empire Loyalists Association and the Quebec Family History Society he will also cover the records of churches, other societies, cemeteries and government bodies - all containing records for both Loyalists and the general population of our neighboring province.

Jacques will provide plenty of time to ask specific questions and attendees will receive a 10 page handout. The class starts at 10:30 AM and runs to about noon. The class fee is $5 and directions to the library can be found at: www.vtgenlib.org/general/directions.php