Jane MacNamara
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wherethestory.bsky.social
Jane MacNamara
@wherethestory.bsky.social
150 followers 210 following 70 posts
Family and local history researcher, teacher, author, Toronto. Trying hard to make planet-friendly decisions. https://wherethestorytakesme.ca
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Reposted by Jane MacNamara
gillianrae.bsky.social
Nice to see my dad and uncle listed on the Hartman Jones school memorial and the Moorecroft boys on the Leslie Street school memorial. Lots of info provided on the site about the schools in question. The Second World War memorials at many schools were illuminated by A J Casson #remembranceweek
My dad's school info Moorecrofts at Leslieville Dedication of war memorial at Hartman Jones School Leslie Street cadets
November 9, 2025 at 8:55 PM
Reposted by Jane MacNamara
tofamilyhistory.bsky.social
Tonight at 7:30 pm! There's still time to register for our October branch meeting. Come hear Drew Von Hasselbach tell the story of The Dead from Down the Street, with opening act OISE Library's Special Collections. Register for your Zoom link here:
torontofamilyhistory.org/event/dead-f...
Victory Bond ad from the First World War showing a solider in a field of poppies
October 27, 2025 at 5:21 PM
wherethestory.bsky.social
Fascinating article about looms produced in Scarborough, Ontario, their role WWII veteran rehabilitation, and impact on hand loom weaving in Canada.
gillianrae.bsky.social Gillian Moorecroft @gillianrae.bsky.social · Oct 22
Excited that my article about my dad's loom has been included in the latest Guildwood Village News and Views!

www.guildwood.ca/_files/ugd/ffb3ba_1454552d624444dc824f326ff395bd1e.pdf
My father's Guildcraft Loom
October 22, 2025 at 7:11 PM
Reposted by Jane MacNamara
internetarchiveca.bsky.social
Ontario Land Records Index is now digitized and freely available to the public: archive.org/details/onta....
Thanks to the collaboration with the Archives of Ontario, @tofamilyhistory.bsky.social, OurDigitalWorld and CRKN.
internetarchivecanada.org/2025/09/24/n...
Now Online! Ontario Land Records Index – Internet Archive Canada
internetarchivecanada.org
September 25, 2025 at 5:57 PM
wherethestory.bsky.social
Excellent alt text: dopey windows. More emphasis on the faux boulders, though. A remarkable choice!
dmercer.bsky.social dmercer.bsky.social @dmercer.bsky.social · Sep 17
Reporting an architectural crime. 3610 W. 26th, Chicago. Built in 1922, Dubin & Eisenberg, architects.
Two-story flat-roofed commercial building. It's a brick building with a white terra cotta facade, at least on the 2nd floor. (Or is it stone?) The terra cotta ornament includes festooned arches, finials, fluted pillars, and an elaborate pediment/cartouche at top center decorated with bunches of fruit. The first floor facade has been criminally altered with ugly brown brick, faux stone, two dopey picture windows, and a red awning.
September 17, 2025 at 6:07 PM
Reposted by Jane MacNamara
penalosag.bsky.social
Biidaasige Park!!
The new park everyone is talking about!!

Fantastic team design, construction, TO's P&R, TRCA, led by amazing Waterfront Toronto.
Shannon Baker Project Director does amazing 30 min presentation, from moving Don River, planting thousands of trees...
Watch & share: bit.ly/4mSiIYg
August 21, 2025 at 4:32 PM
wherethestory.bsky.social
The two Ontario land record courses this fall organized by @tofamilyhistory.bsky.social are filling fast. Both Sept and Nov series are at about 2/3 capacity. Jump in quick if you want a spot!
torontofamilyhistory.org/learn-about-...
Watercolour painting of the farm house and outbuildings of land surveyor Edward Miles, Weston Road, York. Toronto Public Library, Baldwin Collection of Canadiana, via Digital Archive Ontario. Public domain.
August 20, 2025 at 12:36 AM
wherethestory.bsky.social
Tomorrow, August 14, is the final day to view the recording of the 2025 Toronto History Lecture.
wherethestory.bsky.social Jane MacNamara @wherethestory.bsky.social · Aug 8
If you missed the 2025 Toronto History Lecture on Tuesday (or just want to see it again) you're in luck. @tofamilyhistory.bsky.social recorded the lecture and it is available to view until August 14: torontofamilyhistory.org/learn/toront...
Night shot of red and yellow streetcar speeding along Dundas Street.
August 13, 2025 at 5:28 PM
wherethestory.bsky.social
If you missed the 2025 Toronto History Lecture on Tuesday (or just want to see it again) you're in luck. @tofamilyhistory.bsky.social recorded the lecture and it is available to view until August 14: torontofamilyhistory.org/learn/toront...
Night shot of red and yellow streetcar speeding along Dundas Street.
August 8, 2025 at 4:09 PM
wherethestory.bsky.social
"Toronto's Changing Street Names" with Wayne Reeves.
This Thursday 7:00 pm at TRL
www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/detail.jsp?E...
Two men fastening street signs to a pole already cluttered with traffic lights and a no-left-turn sign. The signs are for Bay St and Queen St W.
August 6, 2025 at 2:06 AM
Reposted by Jane MacNamara
adambunch.bsky.social
I’ll be at the clubhouse in Riverdale Park until 4pm!
August 4, 2025 at 5:18 PM
Reposted by Jane MacNamara
tofamilyhistory.bsky.social
Toronto has a large streetcar network but did you know other cities in North America also have streetcars? Cincinnati has the Connector, a colourful modern electric system that riders can board for free:
www.cincinnati-oh.gov/streetcar/
The Connector
The Cincinnati Bell Connector is an electric mode of transportation operating in its first phase on a 4-mile loop connecting key communities in the city's urban core.
www.cincinnati-oh.gov
July 28, 2025 at 2:55 PM
Reposted by Jane MacNamara
tofamilyhistory.bsky.social
Or visit San Francisco and ride on a historic streetcar on their F Line:
www.sftravel.com/article/guid...
Guide to San Francisco's Historic F Line Streetcar
Hop aboard San Francisco's F Line streetcar and you'll be taken to some of the city's best restaurants, hotels, and attractions.
www.sftravel.com
July 28, 2025 at 2:55 PM
Reposted by Jane MacNamara
tofamilyhistory.bsky.social
Join us on Tuesday August 5 at 7:00 pm to learn more about Toronto's iconic streetcars. Pictured here is the classic PCC streetcar that was retired in 1995. The Toronto History Lecture is free for all but you must pre-register.
torontofamilyhistory.org/event/the-to...
The classic PCC streetcar pictured on Dundas Street in 1980 in the evening.
July 28, 2025 at 2:55 PM
Reposted by Jane MacNamara
wherethestory.bsky.social
Each summer @tofamilyhistory.bsky.social holds a very special event to remember a friend. The 2025 Toronto History Lecture is Tues Aug 5 at 7:00 on Zoom. @briandoucet.bsky.social & Michael Doucet present Toronto's Streetcars: How the past shapes the present
torontofamilyhistory.org/learn/toront...
Toronto History Lecturers on the Bathurst streetcar with the metal superstructure of a bridge in the background
July 30, 2025 at 9:50 PM
wherethestory.bsky.social
Each summer @tofamilyhistory.bsky.social holds a very special event to remember a friend. The 2025 Toronto History Lecture is Tues Aug 5 at 7:00 on Zoom. @briandoucet.bsky.social & Michael Doucet present Toronto's Streetcars: How the past shapes the present
torontofamilyhistory.org/learn/toront...
Toronto History Lecturers on the Bathurst streetcar with the metal superstructure of a bridge in the background
July 30, 2025 at 9:50 PM
Reposted by Jane MacNamara
nhenrydixon.bsky.social
On July 9, 1793 the Act to Limit Slavery passed, influenced by the Chloe Cooley incident. Read about it and her life here:
dcb-dbc.bsky.social Dictionary of Canadian Biography @dcb-dbc.bsky.social · Jul 9
No #NewBio this week. Today we highlight the stories of:
📖Chloe Cooley (fl. 1793), an enslaved Black woman biographi.ca/en/bio/coole...
and
📖An enslaved Black woman (fl. 1802–3) whose name is unrecorded: biographi.ca/en/bio/name_...
Learn more: biographi.ca/en/topics/to...
COOLEY, CHLOE – Dictionary of Canadian Biography
One of the hundreds of Black people who were enslaved in Upper Canada, Chloe Cooley (fl. 1793) came to public attention in March 1793 after her enslaver, Adam Vrooman, forcibly transported her across the Niagara River to sell her on the American side. Two witnesses reported the incident and her desperate resistance, which directly influenced the subsequent passage of the Act to Limit Slavery in Upper Canada. In 2022 the Canadian government designated Cooley a person of national historic significance.
biographi.ca
July 9, 2025 at 4:23 PM
Reposted by Jane MacNamara
internetarchiveca.bsky.social
🇨🇦 Wishing everyone a Happy Canada Day 🇨🇦! gifcities.org/gram/35d4bc2... Send a Gifgram to a pal - part of the GifCities project at @archive.org 🎆
July 1, 2025 at 3:29 PM
wherethestory.bsky.social
In the summer of 1903, Toronto had a party—a four-day blowout over the Dominion Day holiday—July 1 to 4. More than 4,000 former Torontonians were invited to the Toronto Home Comers' Festival. I wrote a thing.
wherethestorytakesme.ca/home-comers-...
Front page of the special Home Comers issue of the Globe newspaper published on 4 July 1903. Images include Toronto City Hall, the Ontario Legislature, and skyline with sailboats racing on the Bay in the foreground.
June 29, 2025 at 12:46 AM
Reposted by Jane MacNamara
tofamilyhistory.bsky.social
Thinking of taking a genealogy research trip? Then you'll want to attend our next in-person only meeting. Join us on June 14 at 1pm at the North York Public Library for Preparing for a Genealogy Holiday. All are welcome but you'll need to register in advance:
torontofamilyhistory.org/event/prepar...
May 27, 2025 at 5:10 PM
wherethestory.bsky.social
Local robins were pretty happy, too. Worms not so much.
kayeprince.bsky.social Kaye Prince-Hollenberg @kayeprince.bsky.social · May 23
My favourite headline from yesterday's local paper.
Headline: Hamilton rain perfect for parsnip seeding. Local farmer takes advantage of recent rainfall.
May 23, 2025 at 3:53 PM
wherethestory.bsky.social
Very interesting tour of items tucked away in the undercroft in the 1930s and where they've ended up.
merchantshallyork.org Merchant Adventurers’ Hall @merchantshallyork.org · May 13
We have been having a rummage through our collections today and have come across this photo of the Undercroft taken in the 1930s.

Apart from the stonking oak posts there are some other interesting items in this room.

Join us for a virtual tour as we find out a bit more!
We are looking at a black and white photo of a large room with large central oak posts and a newly laid stone flagged floor. In the background are brick fireplaces as well as panelling, a large light fitting and a carved wood fire surround.
May 13, 2025 at 3:31 PM
wherethestory.bsky.social
Tomorrow evening, May 6, there's an online opportunity to learn about researching your Italian ancestors with @tofamilyhistory.bsky.social and a bunch of friendly Canadians. Don't miss it. torontofamilyhistory.org/event/italia...
torontofamilyhistory.org
May 5, 2025 at 11:07 PM
wherethestory.bsky.social
NOTE: The deadline for this call for proposals for the 2025 Toronto History Lecture has been extended until May 3. Don't delay!
wherethestory.bsky.social Jane MacNamara @wherethestory.bsky.social · Apr 20
Each August @tofamilyhistory.bsky.social hosts a free public lecture to celebrate the life of historian and storyteller Paul McGrath. Any subject about Toronto, any era. Do you have new research or a story to tell? Proposals due May 1. More info here: torontofamilyhistory.org/learn/toront...
The Toronto History Lecture – Toronto Branch, Ontario Genealogical Society
torontofamilyhistory.org
May 3, 2025 at 4:01 AM
Reposted by Jane MacNamara
adambunch.bsky.social
I’ll be on Metro Morning at 8:20am tomorrow talking about my Scandalous Tour of Old Toronto.

I’m leading it as part of Jane’s Walk (@janeswalk.bsky.social) and it’s totally free!

Just meet on Saturday at 3pm at the little clock tower in the Distillery! www.janeswalkfestivalto.com/saturday-may...
May 2, 2025 at 12:31 AM