Genealogy-Belleville, Quinte and Prince Edward Region-Searching For Your Roots.

Genealogy has long been a fascinating interest of mine and many members of my family, both on my Mother's and on my Father's side, have done extensive research into our family's past. Searching for your roots can be both exhilarating and frustrating, all at the same time. It can lead you to far-off places, both in your mind and physically and once you are bitten by the genealogy bug, it can become an all-consuming passion.

The Prince Edward-Belleville-Quinte region was one of the first settled in Ontario with many of the first settlers, after the original native inhabitants, being the United Empire Loyalists, or those who were loyal to the British Crown during the American Revolution in the late 1700s.

In such, there is an extensive trail of history in this area and a vast quantity of it has been recorded and is available to the public for research purposes.

The Quinte Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society is one place to start for the local citizen who is interested in knowing more about history and family genealogy.
Their mission is "to encourage, assist and bring together all those interested in the pursuit of family history" and they serve this mission with unending faith and dedication.

Regular meetings are held on the 3rd Saturday of each month except for July, August and December.
Guest speakers make a presentation at each meeting and free admission is open to all.

Visitors are encouraged to attend and all those who are interested in history and geneology will find many people of similar nature to share in knowledge and kinship. Not only are the meetings intriguing and enlightening, they also serve refreshments!
The meetings are held in a variety of locations and additional meetings of a historical nature are held by other organizations on a date other than a Saturday.

Upcoming meetings:

• At 1pm on Saturday, March 15th at the Quinte West City Hall Library, will feature guest speaker Bob Dawes who will be speaking about 'Getting Your Money’s Worth (The BIG advantage of Pay-Per-View and Subscription Based Websites)'.
  
  
• On Tuesday March 11th from 1:30-2:30, the Belleville Public Library will be hosting a special meeting called 'Quinte Roots-Our Pioneers' It promises to be a good time with First Natiions music, pioneer crafts, games and displays.

Membership in the Quinte Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society has numerous benefits and the cost is only $10.00 (which covers all family members who share the same address).
In addition, you must join the Ontario Genealogical Society in order to join the Quinte Branch. The cost for joining the Ontario Geneological Society is $45.00 ($25 for students) and you can join online.

The Quinte Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society has compiled an extensive list of hundreds of online links of great use to those who wish to research their family roots or the history of our region. Most of the links are free and cover every website of a historical or genealogical research value in the Belleville, Quinte, Northumberland and Prince Edward regions. There are also extensive genealogical links given for Provincial, National and Worldwide research.

For those who would like to do research into their family history, did you know that access to Ancestry.com is available free of charge at the Belleville Public Library?
Computers are available free to use on an hourly basis and each member is allowed one hour daily.

With so many resources available at a low cost or no cost basis, what's stopping you from delving into your family's fascinating past? This can become an exciting family project and one which your children and other family members will greatly enjoy as stories come to light and new connections with long lost branches of the family are re-newed.

©2008JoSmith