Distributed free of charge to interested subscribers and former members.

In this newsletter:

 

- Dates for free summer Genealogy Coffee Chats drop-in
- VGS fundraiser reaches goal for memorial marker at Ross Bay Cemetery for historical pioneer
- VGS introduces Heritage History Hour, free video conferencing services for other non profits
- AGM reports a successful year; membership increases; new Executive members
- New 2025/26 Membership Season now open; event discounts; 10 free SIG discussion groups; Genie Buddies and resources at the VGS Genealogy Learning and Research Centre; and more
- New to genealogy research? 3 Steps for beginners
- VGS Social Media channels

Scroll down to read these articles.

 

Remember to forward this newsletter to your friends.

The popular Genealogical Coffee Chats are back and FREE!

 

These popular and informal get togethers are a great opportunity to talk genealogy with like minded individuals. The setting is relaxed, hosted by experienced VGS members and always accompanied by a few laughs.

 

The Genealogical Coffee Chats are open to the general public. There is no set format or agenda. It's a great opportunity to raise some research questions, share some successes or just sit back and enjoy the discussion. There is no fee and registration is not required.

 

Mark you calendar with these upcoming dates.  We hope to see you there. 

Dates: Wednesday July 2nd, 16th and 30th, August 13th and 27th.
Time: 1:00 to 3:00 pm
Hosts: Kathie Ross, Bev Harvey, Lois Chamberlain Thompson
Location: VGS Genealogy Learning & Research Centre, Royal Oak Shopping Centre, 209 - 4475 Viewmont Avenue, Victoria, BC

 

After a brief description of Robert and Jessie Anderson, third voyage Scottish passengers, at their headstone, Mike mentioned that their daughter Eliza was born enroute and they named her Eliza Norman Morison Wishart in honour of the ship and its captain. He noted that Eliza and her husband George Lyall were buried in a minimally marked grave in the T section. Mike concluded that, given the critical historical significance of the Norman Morison voyages and passengers to early Victoria and area, there should be a fundraising campaign to put a marker on Eliza’s grave.

At the end of the tour, one of the guests offered a cash donation to start the fundraising campaign and Mike accepted the challenge. With the support of the VGS board and an exceptional partnership with the Old Cemeteries Society, VGS launched the Eliza Norman Morison Wishart (Anderson) Lyall memorial marker campaign at the June 12th VGS AGM to raise the remaining $500 for their share.

Breaking news - due to our members exceptional generosity, we have already reached the fundraising goal. Therefore, the Lyall Memorial Marker Campaign page has already been deactivated. You can always donate to the VGS General Donation. Any financial support will be gratefully appreciated. You will be issued a tax deduction receipt.

- Mike Woodcock, VGS Board Member

As a start we are inviting other organizations the opportunity to deliver a presentation on our webinar platform, Heritage History Hour, at no cost to them. They simply present a story with heritage/history content and VGS volunteers will look after the rest. VGS will: promote the event on our website and social media; manage online registration; send event reminders to registrants; manage attendees for appropriate online behaviour; host the event; our trained volunteers will operate our video conferencing equipment and assist presenters; and we will manage a post event survey to provide you (and us) with feedback on the presentation.

FREE: VGS will not charge the organization a fee for utilizing our equipment and services; the event will be open to members and non members of the VGS and they will not be charged a fee to register for the Heritage History Hour presentations. 

Why is VGS offering this service? Now that we have the technology in place we want to assist other like-minded, not-for-profit associations to get their message out. By working together, we feel we can better engage with a broader segment of the population to share stories of their communities in order to foster a sense of community pride and identity, with appreciation for the past.

 

The Heritage History Hour will be held on the 2nd Thursday of each month, from September through May, from 7pm to 8:00pm. Presenters do not have to be local as this is a zoom based video conference format. 

 

We are now booking presentations for the fall and winter 2025/2026 season.  Please forward this invitation to organizations you feel may be interested.

 

For more information email events@victoriags.net.

VGS members tuned in for an uplifting and lively VGS Annual General Meeting on Thursday, June 12. VGS President Mark Thompson gave a brief overview of the growth strategy set at last year’s Strategic Planning Session. As Mark said "our focus on reaching the non-member community beyond Victoria has proven to be extremely successful. The result is that event and membership revenue significantly exceeded expectations!"

 

Membership as of May 31st is over 300 members. By comparison, VGS had 250 members at the end of May 2023. We are continuing to grow and offer even more benefits and opportunities to help you learn to research. VGS events were so popular that many non-members decided to become members, resulting in solid membership growth. Another source of revenue that far exceeded expectations was Queries and Research.

 

Overall, our many volunteers deserve a huge round of applause for delivering a substantial surplus this year. Thanks to these efforts our event costs will continue to remain at their existing level.

Executive Committee election results:

Mark started by acknowledging the two board members stepping down. He gave sincere thanks to Pat Acton and Monica Sheridan for their many years of dedicated service. 

Our new board of directors include: Mark Thompson (President), Lois Chamberlain Thompson (Vice President), Kathie Ross (Secretary), Ron McLean (Treasurer), and Directors-at-Large Claudia Boorman, Mike Woodcock, Bill Jackson, Yvonne Van Ruskenveld, Jason Caron, and Denis Fortier.

The 2025-2026 Memberships are effective from June 1, 2025 through May 31, 2026.  The VGS has just completed a very successful year therefore membership prices are not being increased this year. 

The following annual membership types are now available: Single Membership $65 (for a person over the age of 25 years); Family Membership $90 (two or more annual memberships for people living at the same address); Youth Membership $35 (25 years or younger).

 

This great membership value includes:

For more information visit Membership Options