Event

‍Join us!!

Our program opens with coffee and donuts at 9 am.

Morning presentation:

The Canadian Amended Citizenship ActC-3 with Canadian Immigration lawyer David Gervais.

In December 2025, Canada amended its Citizenship Act C-3 removing the “first generation limit” that had previously blocked Canadian citizens born abroad from passing citizenship to their children also born abroad. Mr. Gervais will provide an overview of the amended law and how it applies to Americans and go step by step through the process using an application he is currently making on behalf of a California resident with ancestors from Quebec.

Noon: bring your lunch and tour the NNYACGS Library.

Afternoon presentation:

Beyond the Orphan Trains: Life Journeys After the Home for the Friendless and Children’s Home of Northern New York, Plattsburgh, 1874–1967‍

What became of the North Country children who passed through Plattsburgh's Home for the Friendless of Northern New York — the two boys placed on an Orphan Train to NYC then on to Kansas in 1883, the three Mooers siblings who rode the rails to Missouri after being surrendered following their mother's sudden death in 1928, or young Rita, who recounted going to the Children's Home alongside her siblings in a life-history interview decades later? These children's families shared a common thread: roots that stretched across both sides of the Quebec–New York border, where French-Canadian and American lives were deeply intertwined. Join presenter Beth Ivimey, NNYACGS member, as she traces these deeply personal journeys with their families across poorhouses, orphan trains, and institutions from Plattsburgh and beyond — and reveals what the records show about the children that history nearly forgot. If your family tree reaches into Clinton County, Northern NewYork, or across the border into Quebec, you may discover a connection you never expected.

Between 9 and 3 pm:

The Village of Dannemora Museum is located next to the NNYACGS Library. The museum contains information and artifacts from the local history, history of Clinton Correctional Facility, and more. 

Also available will be special sales on reference books and information tables hosted by the Saranac Chapter, NSDAR and the Clinton County Historical Association. Contact NNYACGS President Pat Buckley for more information: call 518-593-2271 or email nnyacgs@gmail.com

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