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PO Box 523, Station B,
Ottawa, ON, K1P 5P6

PO Box 523, Station B, Ottawa, ON, K1P 5P6
Almost 50 guests attended our first speaker presentation of the year, hosted by the Main Branch of the Ottawa Public Library on September 9, 2023. Prior to the presentation, Dianne Brydon, President of the British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa took a few minutes to describe some of the outstanding events they have in their upcoming season. For more details on their organization and their presentations, please check out the BIFHSGO website. We were then pleased to welcome Peter Atkinson, a retired educator from Ottawa, who spoke to…
Rogers TV kindly recorded the lecture series on Ottawa's history given by Phil Jenkins for the Historical Society of Ottawa in April 2023. Here is a list of the episodes:  Episode 1 - Bytown’s Beginnings, Part 1 (Discovery)      Episode 2 - Bytown’s Beginnings, Part 2 (Port of Nepean)         Episode 3 - Bytown’s Beginnings, Part 3 (Colonel By)       Episode 4 - Bytown’s Beginnings, Part 4 (The Capital of the Dominion)       Episode 5 – Post-Confederation Ottawa, Part 1 (French Influence in Ottawa)           Episode 6 – Post-Confederation Ottawa, Part 2 (Development…
Sorry, this event is full! Phil Jenkins, renowned historian, author, columnist, lecturer, musician, and songwriter will explore the musical and visual arts and architectural movement throughout our city's past. This will be a three part series, Saturday afternoons starting 1pm, at the Sunnyside Branch of the Ottawa Public Library on September 16, September 23, and October 7, 2023. To register, visit the Ottawa Public Library website.
On Saturday June 3, 2023, members of the Historical Society of Ottawa accompanied the Gatineau Valley Historical Society on a bus trip to the Kitigan Zibi Pow Wow. Departing from Chelsea, Quebec, the bus trip stopped at the Centre Wakefield La Pêche for more pick-ups and proceeded to make its way through the vast Quebec wilderness along the Gatineau River. Upon our arrival at the Pow Wow, we were delighted to see a very large turn out. Vehicles parked along the roads and in yards and parking lots. It was a…
Our final in-person speaker session of the year, hosted by the Main Branch of the Ottawa Public Library on May 10th 2023, featured presentations from two organizations with whom we have some past connections. Grant Vogl has been with the Bytown Museum since 2010 and is now the Senior Manager, Collections and Exhibitions. He spoke to us about the changes that have taken place at the museum over the last couple of years and their upcoming season. Bytown Museum Grant explained that, like most organizations, the pandemic disrupted the plans…
On April 26, 2023, Jim Burant led us on a brisk virtual walk through the history of art in the Ottawa area. Jim was an Adjunct Professor of Art History at Carleton University as well as the Director of the Ontario Region of the National Archival Appraisal Board of Canada. He is a member of the Algonquins of Pikwakanagan, the co-curator of three major exhibitions of Ottawa art at the Ottawa Art Gallery and author of the recently published digital book, Ottawa Art & Artists: An Illustrated History, for the…
The Historical Society of Ottawa was honoured to welcome back Dr. Jean-Luc Pilon as the featured speaker at the April 12, 2023, speaker series session, hosted by the Main Branch of the Ottawa Public Library. Dr. Pilon is a renowned archeologist, long-time curator of Central Canada archaeology at the Canadian Museum of History, an educator, and was the first recipient of the J.V. Wright Lifetime Achievement Award from the Ontario Archaeological Society. Dr. Pilon, who had spoken to us in November 2016, led us through some of the history of archeological activities…
Tuesday, 04 April 2023 10:13

Slavery in Upper Canada

To mark Black History Month, our February 22, 2023 Virtual Speaker Series presentation featured Glenn Sweazey, who revealed to us the (gradual) end of slavery in Upper Canada. Glenn spent his career as a High School English teacher and is now a writer living in Ottawa. His work weaves elements of poetry and prose to create a narrative tapestry. He is a teller of stories with a story to tell. Glenn was introduced to us by June Girvan, President of Black History Ottawa, with whom HSO is proud to partner…
Our Zoom presentation of March 29, 2023, attended by over 100 participants, featured noted author Michael McBane. Michael, a staunch advocate for public health care and improved public services, was the first recipient of the Social Justice award from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. His extensive research, including personal letters, memoirs, proceedings of the Legislature and the British Parliament and contemporary newspaper coverage painted a vivid picture of the typhus outbreak in Bytown in 1847. Michael pointed out that the events can be seen as the coalescence of three…
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