Welcome to our 46th installment of “Ask a Historian”.

Join Historian Matthew Wilkinson on our YouTube channel for our next episode of “Ask A Historian” on Thursday April 22, 2021.

This week Matthew welcomes Dorothy Kew as they explore some of the events, contributions, and resources available through the Halton Peel Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society.

Dorothy Kew was born and lived in Jamaica until getting married and moving to Canada. She is a graduate of the Library Techniques Program at Sheridan College, has a B.A. (Hons.) from the University of Toronto, and a Masters in Library and Information Science from the University of Western Ontario.

Dorothy worked at the Mississauga Library System for forty-four years as the Local History Librarian in the Arts and History Department, until her retirement at the end of 2019. She was also responsible for the Genealogy Collection at Mississauga Library. She is a member of the Halton Peel Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society, and has served as Chair and Past Chair as well as Program Coordinator for the branch. She is presently the Cemetery Coordinator. Dorothy is also a member of the Burlington Historical Society and volunteers with their archives.

Dorothy is actively involved in Jamaican genealogical and historical research and has helped several people find their Jamaican roots. She presented a three-part course on British West Indian genealogical research in March 2007 on behalf of the Toronto Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society, and took part in a one-day seminar, African Roots in Canada, in August 2008, at which she presented a talk on Jamaican genealogical research.

She presented two workshops, on British West Indian Research, and Researching Jamaican Ancestry, at an August 2010 all-day conference sponsored by the Brampton Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She has also done presentations on getting started in genealogical research in Ontario. She writes a blog, My Jamaican Family, presently inactive, in which she explores her family history and the history of Jamaica.

#ApartTogether​ we explore our past and the pursuit of our family history.

You are invited to email us questions you have about Mississauga and we encourage you to send a short (less than 1 minute) MP4 video of your question, which we may feature in one of our “Ask a Historian” videos.

Any questions not featured in our videos will receive a written response from Matthew.

We would also love to feature questions from young Mississauga residents who are curious about their city and will feature a dedicated video to these inquisitive kids.

Send your questions to us at: [email protected]