Oxford County Branch Ontario Ancestors Upcoming Events!

Oxford County Branch – Ontario Ancestors – February 10th Meeting on Zoom

The Potter’s Field Project at the Ingersoll Rural Cemetery:  Presented by Cody Groat, Assistant Professor in the Department of History and the Indigenous Studies program at Western University. 

This presentation will focus on the work of the Potter’s Field Project at the Ingersoll Rural Cemetery. The Potter’s Field is an unmarked section of the cemetery where nearly 400 people were buried. These community members were differentiated based of their socio-economic status. The stories of people who were buried in the Potter’s Field will be shared including stories of former enslaved African Americans, British Home Children, people impacted by the Chinese Head Tax, and the unhoused.

To register for this free presentation, please visit our website at https://oxford.ogs.on.ca

Family Day at the Oxford Branch of Ontario Ancestors – February 17, 2025

Make this a true Family Day activity and take this opportunity to start the next generation on a lifelong journey of discovery by introducing them to genealogy and family history.  Drop in at the Oxford County Branch of Ontario Ancestors Open House at the Governors’ House, in Court House Square, 82 Light Street, Woodstock on Family Day, from 10 am 4 pm. Oxford Branch holds a large and growing collection of resources and reference material on family and local history. Regular hours are Tuesday – Thursday 10 am to 4 pm. The Open House will be held on February 17th, 2025 from 1 pm to 4 pm. Everyone is welcome.  For more information check our web site at https://oxford.ogs.on.ca  email oxford@ogs.on.ca or call 519-421-1700.  


If you would like your event or article published (relating to Oxford County ON or South-Western ON), on the Society’s blog please email us at info@oxhs.ca

OxHS Presents: Where Heroes Lay – Ingersoll Rural Cemetery Walking Tour!

Hello Everyone,

Please join Scott Gillies on Saturday, November 9, 2024 at 10am for a free walking tour of the Ingersoll Rural Cemetery to thank our Veterans!

In honour of Remembrance Day, please join Scott Gillies for a tour of Ingersoll Rural Cemetery to learn about the life of some of the local Veterans.

Please share this poster – Where Heroes Lay – and invite your friends to join you on a wonderful walking tour!


If you would like your event or article published (relating to Oxford County ON or South-Western ON), on the Society’s blog please email us at info@oxhs.ca

OxHS Presents Ingersoll Rural Cemetery Walking Tour!

Hello Everyone,

Please join Scott Gillies on Saturday, August 10, 2024 at 10am for a walking tour of the Ingersoll Rural Cemetery!

Learn about some local families and interesting individuals who helped to shape Ingersoll!

Please share this poster – OxHS Presents Ingersoll Rural Cemetery Walk – and invite your friends to join you on a wonderful walking tour!


If you would like your event or article published (relating to Oxford County ON or South-Western ON), on the Society’s blog please email us at info@oxhs.ca

Ingersoll Library: Book Launch Saturday, July 27, 2024 @ 1pm!

Hello Everyone,

Please see this guest post from the Ingersoll Library:

Ingersoll Library is pleased to host a local history book launch & author visit with UWO Professor Emeritus, George Emery, in support of his new publication, ‘Blacks in a White Place: Ingersoll, Canada West and Ontario, 1850-1921’

Join us at Ingersoll Library Saturday, July 27, 2024 at 1pm

Feel free to spread the word about this special event via social media or by printing and displaying the attached posts: Blacks in a White Place: Ingersoll, Canada West & Ontario, 1850-192

The Ingersoll Library can be reached at:
The Town Centre, 130 Oxford Street Ingersoll ON N5C 2V5
Email: ingersolllibrary@ocl.net
Phone: 519-485-2505


If you would like your event or article published (relating to Oxford County ON or South-Western ON), on the Society’s blog please email us at info@oxhs.ca

Oxford Local History Day – Saturday, April 22, 2023!

Hello Everyone,

This guest post is provided by Oxford County Library:

Oxford County Library is proud to host the 3rd annual Oxford Local History Day!

Join us at Ingersoll Library on Saturday, April 22nd from 11AM – 3PM

Discover engaging presentations that will bring to light the story of Oxford.

Visitors to Oxford Local History Day will experience collections, exhibits & featured stories from archives, museums & heritage groups from around Oxford County. 

Experience an Exhibit with History Experts:  

Oxford County Library will feature: The Stone Houses of Zorra project – delve into the stories behind rural edifices of Oxford.

Ingersoll Cheese & Agricultural Museum, Oxford Historical Society, Beachville Museum, Oxford Ancestors, Ingersoll Pipe Band, Heroes of Zorra, Plattsville & District Heritage, Zorra Heritage Committee, Tavistock & District Historical Society

Snap a ‘Step Back in Time Selfie’ in the Ingersoll Historical Photo Booth.   

Grab a prop, smile & transport yourself to the streets of 1900s Ingersoll, courtesy of our green screen photo booth.  Bring the family!

Take in a Presentation:

11AM: The Lost Architecture of Ingersoll:
Join Ingersoll Museum curator, Scott Gillies, as he explores the buildings which once graced our neighborhoods and are now lost to the mists of time!

NOON: A Community 10,000 Years in the Making:
Join UWO Associate History Professor, Cody Groat as he delves into:  “The lands that we know as Oxford County have been occupied for over 10,000 years. This presentation will give a brief history of Indigenous settlement to the present day, as well as cultural change over time.”

1PM: Heroes Past but Always Present:
130 years after five Zorra farmers won the Tug-of-War World Championship at the Chicago World Fair, the small community of Embro still remembers them. This is the story of Zorra’s “Men of Might that Feared the Lord”.  Presented by the Zorra Heritage Committee

1:30PM: Bob Hayward: Farm to Fame:
Zorra Township native Bob Hayward, became a Canadian hero and international celebrity by driving the hydroplane, Miss Supertest III, to the pinnacle of powerboat racing. Presented by the Zorra Heritage Committee

2PM: The Oxford Militia in the War of 1812:
Join local historian, Bob Rennie, as he explores how the citizens of Oxford County had many significant decisions to make during the War of 1812 & the profound impact it had on their lives.

For more event information visit Oxford County Library at Oxford Local History Day 2023
or call 519 485-2505.

Oxford County.  We’ve made history!