The first historical society to be organized will be the War of 1812 Society, and it will start in January 2009.
The War of 1812, on North American soil, was a war fought between the Canada—backed with British troops—and the Americans. What side won depends upon who you talk to, but those who live in Canada say that the Canadians won, and those who live in the United States say the Americans won.
Membership is open to anyone who can prove their descent from a -
British soldier, based in what is now Canada, during the War of 1812
Member of any Canadian militia unit that saw action during 1812-1814
A native who saw action on the British side during the War of 1812
Civilian resident in what is now Canada, who was compensated for their losses
The second society right now is the Centenary Club, which will also make its appearance in January 2009.
The membership will be open to anyone who can demonstrate a direct line of descent of at least 100 years in Ontario.
There is also a Heritage Society Certificate Design Competition, and the society is offering a $500.00 prize for the winner. Information on the design is available on the OGS website at http://www.ogs.on.ca/home/heritage_societies.php, and the people who will be looking after the societies are located at provoffice@ogs.on.ca. Once interested persons have proven their descendy from the War of 1812 and/or the Centary Club, they will be entitled to a certificate.
The two Special Interest Groups will be the Irish Palatines and the French Huguenots.
The Irish Palatines Group has now been formed as a Special Interest Group, and as such have had at least 25 OGS members who are interested in joining, and they have an executive, a budget, and the approval of the OGS Board.
The Palatines are a group of people who are descendant from the German Palatines in 1709 (next year will be the 300th anniversary) who left Germany, and some of them went to Ireland where they settled. But in the 1820s, they started to migrate to Canada, and the vast majority went to Ontario.
To learn more about the Palatines, please go to the website http://web.mac.com/bobfizzell/iWeb/Site/History.html.
The last group which will be forming in 2009 will be the Huguenot Special Interest Group. The Huguenots were French Protestants who were expelled from France and came to Canada.
If you are interested in either group, please contact the provincial office at provoffice@ogs.on.ca.
