RMS Empress of Ireland

Guest speaker: Derek Grout

When:THursday, May 15, 2014, from 19:30 to 21:00

Where: Centennial Hall,

             288 Beaconsfield Blvd, Beaconsfield, H9W 4A4

Lecture in English followed by a bilingual question period.

The Loyalists Refugees: The Story of the First Settlers in the Eastern Townships

Guest speaker: Michel Racicot

When: Thursday, April 17, 2014, from 19:30 to 21:00

Where: Centennial Hall

            288 Beaconsfield Blvd, Beaconsfield, H9W 4A4

Lecture in English followed by a bilingual question period.

Michel Racicot is genealogist and member of Sir John Johnson Centennial Branch UELAC (United Empire Loyalist Association of Canada), which is the Eastern Township branch.

The United Empire Loyalists: an overview

Guest speaker: Robert C. Wilkins

When: Thursday, March 20, 2014, from 19:30 to 21:00

Where: Centennial Hall

            288 Beaconsfield Blvd, Beaconsfield, H9W 4A4

Lecture in English followed by a bilingual question period.

A general overview of the United Empire Loyalists, what made them who they were, their diversity(religious, linguistic and racial), and their heritage in Canada today, with a couple of specific examples, just to illustrate what they lived through and experienced during the Revolutionary War and afterwards when getting re-established in what remained of British North America (now Canada).

Robert C. Wilkins received the Governor General's Caring Canadian Award in 2001.

Two Loyalist Families and their Descendants

Guest Speaker: Gary Aitken

When: Thursday, October 16, 2014, 19:30 to 21:00

Where:  Centennial Hall,

             288 Beaconsfield Blvd, Beaconsfield, H9W 4A4

Lecture in English followed by a bilingual question period.

Gary Aitken is the descendant of Loyalist ancestors from the Maritimes and Eastern Ontario and will speak about their origins in Canada and the legacy they left behind. Succeeding generations had a tendency to find themselves at the centre of major historical events: War of 1812, Politics, US Civil War, Confederation, Shipbuilding, RMS Titanic, etc.

The Black Loyalists of the American Revolution, 1775-1783

Guest speaker: Adrian Willison  

When: Thursday, February 20, 2014, from 19:30 to 21:00

Where: Centennial Hall,

             288 Beaconsfield Blvd, Beaconsfield, H9W 4A4

Lecture in English followed by a bilingual question period.

The history of the Black Loyalists is a very rich and diverse one, yet it has been overlooked by many historians.  It has also unfortunately been misunderstood creating a great loss to our Loyalist heritage. In this lecture, the specific topics which will be discussed by Adrian Willison are:  (1) the resettlement of the Black Loyalists in the Tracadie/Guysborough area of north-eastern Nova Scotia, and (2) a discussion of the Black Loyalists who went to London, England.

Throughout the year 2014, the Beaurepaire-Beaconsfield Historical Society invites you to discover different aspects of life in North America with our theme The United Empire Loyalists. Our speakers will surprise you with very interesting subjects.

Quebec B C, i.e.  Before Columbus!

Guest speaker: Gérard Leduc Ph D
 

When: Thursday, January 16, 2014, from 19:30 to 21:00

Where: Centennial Hall,

             288 Beaconsfield Blvd, Beaconsfield, H9W 4A4

Lecture in English followed by a bilingual question period.

The long accepted dogma that Christopher Columbus was the first European to settle in America is being challenged by Gérard Leduc through twenty-five years of research in the Eastern Townships and elsewhere in Quebec, Ontario and New England.

There is ample evidence of an ancient presence of Phoenicians, Celts and Vikings in our immediate environment. Numerous artefacts, mostly in stone, can be seen in undisturbed landscapes.

These foreign mariners took advantage of ocean currents to go back and forth from Europe and the Middle East to settle here. They likely arrived here on purpose, with sea-sailing ships and adequate navigation skill. They left thousands of cairns or stone mounds, petroglyphs or writings inscribed on stone. To regulate their calendar, they created stone alignments on important solar events such as the solstices and the equinoxes.

A number of radiocarbon dates on cairns confirm the presence of these stone builders as far back as 2000 and 600 years ago. In Vale Perkins, in the Township of Potton, a water mill was built around the year 1560, or about 300 years before the first settler arrived there. 

The people who built the sites described here were from an advanced culture. They mastered writing, astronomy, geometry, surveying, masonry and possessed metal tools. Very ancient copper mining is also documented. They were important populations who were permanent settlers. What happened to them? Lets pursue the research with open minds.

Pointe-Claire au temps de la Nouvelle-France

(Pointe-Claire during Nouvelle-France Era)

Guest speaker: Claude Arsenault

When: Thursday, November 21, 2013, from 19:30 to 21:00

Where: Centennial Hall,

             288 Beaconsfield Blvd, Beaconsfield, H9W 4A4

Lecture in French followed by a bilingual question period.

The Société pour la Sauvegarde du Patrimoine de Pointe-Claire prepared a book to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the Parish of Pointe-Claire (1731-2013).
Claude Arsenault, President of this society, will introduce the part of the book on the Nouvelle-France period, from the establishment of the first inhabitants to the conquest by England.

Oral tradition in Nouvelle-France:

Innovative or Conservative? or Both?

Guest speaker: Philip Deering

When: Thursday, October 17, 2013, from 19:30 to 21:00

Where: Centennial Hall,

             288 Beaconsfield Blvd, Beaconsfield, H9W 4A4

Lecture in English followed by a bilingual question period

Philip Deering is back again this time to introduce us to certain myths on Nouvelle-France transmitted through oral history.

Filles du Roy

Guest speaker: René Forget

When: Thursday, September 19, 2013, from 19:30 to 21:00

Where: Centennial Hall,

             288 Beaconsfield Blvd, Beaconsfield, H9W 4A4

Lecture in French followed by a bilingual question period.

Before this lecture will take place the presentation of a donation from the Société historique Beaurepaire-Beaconsfield Historical Society to the Heroes Committee represented by Maj. Richard Gratton, Chair, and Lt.-Col. (Retired) Terrence Montague, Vice-Chair.

René Forget will tell the odyssey of the Filles du Roy to help us better understand the importance of our feminine ancestors in the establishment of the colony in the 17th century, role that History has a tendency to forget. These women should be honoured as “mothers of the nation” as they were essential in our history.

The lecture includes:
-Their social and cultural origins
-Their trip across the Atlantic
-Their hasty wedding
-Their fertility and their morality
-Their contribution to the new country

Very much interested in Québec history and genealogy, the psychologist Forget explored the fascinating era of the Filles du Roy. He wrote an historic saga inspired by one of these women. Eugénie, fille du roy describes the historic odyssey of French youths, mostly from Normandy, who came to Nouvelle-France.

The author created the character of Eugénie and imagined her influence as well as of the other filles du Roy during this era ruled by politic and religious authorities. The saga followed up with Cassandre, daughter of Eugénie, who will go to study in Paris. Also of Étiennette, spouse of the village blacksmith, the best friend of Cassandre.

Thanks to the accurate behaviour analysis of his different characters and his historical descriptions, René Forget made us re-live through these passionate early days of our country.