AFHS has been asked to share the following information about the February meeting of the British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa.
The February meeting will be online only. Paul Cripwell will share tips for using Excel, and Dawn Kelly will tell us about Canada’s champagne of ginger ales.
Saturday, 8 February 2025
9:00 am – 10:00 am EST: Education Talk
Excel and Family History: How they can work together? Presenter: Paul Cripwell
The average Excel user is generally familiar with the basic capabilities but may not know about some of the more powerful functionality of this software. In this demonstration Paul will take us through a couple of examples of his use of Excel.
Paul Cripwell started his family history journey after retiring from NavCanada in 2018, where he made extensive use of data analysis software and Excel was the main tool used to summarize and report all the findings. After retiring, Paul used this extensive experience with Excel and applied them to the many problems that family history presents.
10:00 am – 11:30 am EST: Feature Talk
E.F. Kelly and The Champagne of Ginger Ales Presenter: Dawn Kelly
Dawn Kelly’s Irish immigrant great-grandfather, Edward Francis Kelly, was a serial entrepreneur. After relocating from North Onslow, Quebec, he started out as a grocery store owner in Arnprior, then moved to Renfrew where he established a series of businesses before launching a ginger ale business in Montreal. Dawn set out on a mission many years ago to determine if the story her mother heard when she married into the family was true. Did E.F. lose a battle with Canada Dry over the slogan “The Champagne of Ginger Ales”?
Along the way Dawn acquired a mass of newspaper articles, documents on bankruptcy filings, an earthenware jug with Kelly’s Wine and Spirits on it, and a deep appreciation for an ancestor determined to be a successful businessman.
Dawn Kelly retired last July after 39 years of writing and reading the news on the radio. She spent the last 26 years of her career as a national newscaster at The Canadian Press. She is serving a second term as vice-chair of the Toronto Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society and has given several talks on her French, Irish and English ancestors as well as her 30-year search for her mother’s birth parents.
The BIFHSGO website’s Events section HERE will give you details of upcoming meetings and any updates.
Please register HERE to attend the February meeting online.
