British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa (BIFHSGO)
Announces the Program and Schedule for their 2025 Virtual Annual Conference.
The program for BIFHSGO’s virtual annual conference is set!
Experts in their fields, our nine speakers will shed light on the dark times experienced by many of our British ancestors as they struggled with little or no income, inferior housing, poor standards of health care and other inadequacies in their daily lives, particularly in increasingly industrialized Victorian and Edwardian England and Wales.
For those in need, was there a relief system for them to navigate? In the absence of what we understand today as a societal “safety net,” how did they cope? How much was known publicly and reported on? What was the official view? Were records kept and by whom? How did authorities enforce law and order in the face of social and economic disruption?
So many questions and so many answers for you to find in these nine thought-provoking presentations:
- “Researching Your Pauper Ancestors,” Clare O’Grady
- “The History of the Workhouse,” Peter Higginbotham
- “Life and Death in the Workhouse,” Dr. Mark Carroll
- “The Poor and Their Increasing Dependence on the Parish before 1834,” Dr. Judith Hill
- “English Poor Law Records,” Gloria Tubman
- “The Undesirables (Mental Institutions),” Sarah Wise
- “Researching History from Newspapers,” Denise Bates
- “Family Felons: Uncovering the Criminal Past,” Dr. Angela Buckley
- “Finding Henry,” Nathan Dylan Goodwin
See details about the topics, the speakers and the agenda the website HERE.
Not a family historian? Hard to imagine, but no problem! Anyone interested in the social history of England and Wales will not want to miss these sessions. This year the conference website also features a Speakers’ Bookshelf with information on books that our speakers have published—many on topics related to the conference theme.
The conference registration fee is CDN$35 for members and CDN$50 for non-members. It includes the presentations, an Expert Connect Q and A session, and access to the presentation videos and handouts until 30 November.
Find conference program and registration details on the BIFHSGO conference page HERE and follow us on Facebook or Bluesky for updates.
Registration opens on 1 September 2025
