My father, Hugh McVicar, introduced me to genealogy. His interest began after receiving his mother's scrapbook from her estate in the mid-1950s, containing basic family information for her family. Naomi was the daughter of Israel Post and Elizabeth Ann Orser. That scrapbook got Dad interested in knowing where his ancestors lived before coming to Canada. For some that was Scotland and Ireland but in most cases they came from Connecticut and New York, so Dad continued until he knew where they lived before coming to America. Dad spent days at the Ontario Archives and Toronto Central Library and wrote many letters.

The early generations of our family in Canada are heavily concentrated in several key parts of Ontario.

In 1980 Dad presented the immediate family with a typed copy of his findings - 500 pages, 200 direct ancestors, 12 generations. He didn't stop there. Before he passed away in 1998, he ended up doubling the number of direct ancestors within those 12 generations.

Now with a computer, the internet, email and interesting websites, I have continuing adding to that pool of information. Copies of the updated book are still available. It is great being able to visit graves in far away places!

Other researchers have done the heavy lifting in terms of my husband's ancestry - Birch-Birtch-Burch on his paternal side and Campbell-Campbell on his mother's side. I have attempted to keep that up-to-date as well.

My father, Hugh McVicar, introduced me to genealogy. His interest began after receiving his mother's scrapbook from her estate in the mid-1950s, containing basic family information for her family. Naomi was the daughter of Israel Post and Elizabeth Ann Orser. That scrapbook got Dad interested in knowing where his ancestors lived before coming to Canada. For some that was Scotland and Ireland but in most cases they came from Connecticut and New York, so Dad continued until he knew where they lived before coming to America. Dad spent days at the Ontario Archives and Toronto Central Library and wrote many letters.

The early generations of our family in Canada are heavily concentrated in several key parts of Ontario.

In 1980 Dad presented the immediate family with a typed copy of his findings - 500 pages, 200 direct ancestors, 12 generations. He didn't stop there. Before he passed away in 1998, he ended up doubling the number of direct ancestors within those 12 generations.

Now with a computer, the internet, email and interesting websites, I have continuing adding to that pool of information. Copies of the updated book are still available. It is great being able to visit graves in far away places!

Other researchers have done the heavy lifting in terms of my husband's ancestry - Birch-Birtch-Burch on his paternal side and Campbell-Campbell on his mother's side. I have attempted to keep that up-to-date as well.