We have a chance to hear from Jo-Ann Tuskin, a member of Governor Simcoe Branch. Jo-Ann will talk about United Empire Loyalists – Early Settlers of Ontario, and their migration and settlement with a particular emphasis on her research into her own family’s journey and women Loyalists.

Jo Ann became interested in her Scottish heritage while doing her family tree at Toronto Teachers’
College in the early 1960s. The students were sorted in class alphabetically by surname, and there
were two other Munro girls in the class. They would tease about being long-lost cousins and it turned
out that they are 3rd and 4th cousins! Jo Ann is currently the Secretary for two National Scottish
groups as well as National and Branch Secretary for UELAC. Jo Ann earned her B.A. and B.Ed. from
York University in Toronto while teaching full-time.

In 2008 she provided the documentary proof to the UELAC and received a UE certificate to Catharine
Reid Munro Leech, one of the few women who are Loyalist in their own right. In 2020, she put
together a Genealogical Proof Argument and received a certificate for a second ancestor, Jesse
Purdy.