Archives Speaker Series

Step into Wellington County's past with the Archives Speaker Series!

Join us as local experts take a look at surprising discoveries, untold stories, and fascinating perspectives that have come from the work of preserving Wellington County's History.

These events will be happening on the Sundays listed below at 2 PM, in the Reading Room of the Wellington County Museum and Archives. Admission is by donation, no registration required.

In this engaging and light-hearted presentation, Annemarie Hagan shares some of the things she learned in her 35+ years working in museums. From untold histories and strange mysteries to touching experiences and important lessons, working in a museum is different than most people think!

There are intriguing mysteries. How did an over 3,000-year-old ceramic Egyptian 'Shawabti' (Guardian Figure) normally placed in a tomb end up in the remains of a mid-1800s fire at Benares Historic House in Mississauga?  Why was a creepy mask found inside the walls of an 1830s building? 

In what truly unexpected way did one Caledon company support the Canadian war effort during World War Two? Why did one exhibit in particular cause her to have vivid nightmares? And of course, everyone wants to know: did she run into any ghosts in those years working in old buildings?

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A life-long history nerd, Annemarie has a B.A. in History and Women’s Studies from University of Toronto and an M.A. in Public History from University of Waterloo.   
She was an award-winning curator and museum professional for over thirty years.  From 1998 to 2014 Annemarie was the Manager of the Museums of Mississauga and, more recently, she was Senior Curator, History at the Peel Art Gallery, Museum, and Archives in Brampton.   

Now retired, Annemarie is loving her “side-gig” of researching untold stories and sharing them with community groups. 

With her siblings, Annemarie helps to care for the legacy of her father, artist Frederick Hagan. And until recently, Annemarie was the Historian for the Centre Wellington Probus Club and a volunteer at the Wellington County Museum and Archives. 

After seven years of enjoying life in Wellington County, Annemarie recently made the move back to Toronto to be closer to her kids. She is still unpacking and getting settled in to her new home with her two rescue cats, Dido and Simone. 

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Karen Smart has honed her research skills during her 32-year public library career. She works as a researcher with the Mapleton Historical Society and has made the history of Mapleton's Black settlement inhabitants her focus for the past 20 years, mapping their lives and journeys and reconnecting descendants with their ancestral roots. 

Emily will provide essential guidance on preserving precious family documents and objects for future generations. We will go over basic care and handling, ideal storage environments, containers, and display methods.

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Emily Benedict is the Conservator at the Wellington County Museum and Archives, where she is responsible for preventive and treatment conservation and exhibit preparation of the museum and archival collections. Emily is a graduate of the Cultural Heritage Conservation and Management Program at Fleming College and also holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts from McMaster University. She has previously worked at the City of Hamilton Civic Museums, the Port Dover Harbour Museum, and other sites in Norfolk County. She specializes in objects conservation, preventive conservation, as well as archival materials.  

For much of the nineteenth century and into the twentieth, itinerant photographers made a living travelling by carriage or horseback into the countryside, documenting buildings, landscapes and elements of rural life which have since evolved or disappeared entirely. This illustrated lecture will highlight the local work of Carter & Isaac, a husband-and-wife team with ties to the area who travelled a wide expanse of southwestern Ontario beginning in 1902, capturing striking images of its people and communities. 

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Passionate about local history, Elysia DeLaurentis is a skilled researcher who has edited and written for various books, magazines and journals. She holds an MA in History and first encountered the work of Carter & Isaac while at the Wellington County Museum and Archives. Elysia values the aesthetics of old photographs, as well as the wealth of information they provide as fascinating windows into the past.