Thie week's online genealogy events

Choose from free online events in the next six days. All times are ET except as noted. Registration in advance may be required. Check so you're not disappointed.

🇨🇦Tuesday 27 October, 2 pm: Virtual Genealogy Drop-In, from OGS Ottawa Branch and The Ottawa Public Library. Join here.

Tuesday 27 October; 2 pm: Jumpstart Your MyHeritage Family Tree with Instant Discoveries, presented by James Tanner.  https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar_details.php?webinar_id=1297

Tuesday 27 October; 3:30 pm: Sylvia Pankhurst: Natural Born Rebel. Author Rachel Holmes in conversation with Shami Chakrabarti. From the British Library, https://www.bl.uk/events/sylvia-pankhurst-natural-born-rebel-october-2020

🇨🇦 Tuesday 27  October, 7:00 pm: An Introduction To Researching Eastern European Ancestors. Speaker: Eva Kujawa. Wellington County Branch Presentation. https://wellington.ogs.on.ca/next-meeting/

Wednesday 28 October, 2 pm: In Black and White: Finding Historical Newspapers From Around the World, presented by Gena Philibert-Ortega. Legacy Family Tree Webinars. https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar_details.php?webinar_id=1268

Wednesday 28 October, 3 pm: Scantacular! Best Family Photo Scanning Tips LIVE and IN ACTION!, with Thomas MccEntee for MyHeritage. https://www.facebook.com/events/368964884450032/

Thursday 29 October, 1 pm: Ancestry Extra session with ProGenealogist and military expert Simon Pearce, as he answers your most pressing military family history questions LIVE. https://www.facebook.com/AncestryCA/

Friday, 30 October, 11 am: Friday's Live, from Findmypast www.facebook.com/findmypast

O/T: The Walrus Talks at Home: Inclusion

The Walrus Talks at Home: Inclusion (Part 1)

October 27 @ 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm EDT

Flexible working styles benefit people with disabilities and society at large

Featuring five-minute talks and Q&A with:

Sajel Bellon, professor, psychotherapist, and founder of Mind Armour & SOS Psychotherapy

Maureen Haan, president and CEO, Canadian Council on Rehabilitation and Work

Dianna Hu, software engineer, Google

Emile Tompa, director, Centre for Research on Work Disability Policy

The Q&A session will be moderated by Aimee Louw, TD fellow on disability and inclusion, The Walrus

The Walrus Talks at Home: Inclusion (Part 2)

October 29 @ 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm EDT

Creating access and opportunity through community, design, and the arts

Featuring five-minute talks and Q&A with:

Sarah Jama, community organizer

Darby Lee Young, principal accessibility strategist, Level Playing Field

Gift Tshuma, musical artist

Dorothy Ellen Palmer, writer

The Q&A session will be moderated by Aimee Louw, TD fellow on disability and inclusion, The Walrus

Halloween Book Notice: Murder Maps: Crime Scenes Revisited; Phrenology to Fingerprint 1811–1911

Publisher's Overview

The most captivating and intriguing 19th-century murders from around the world are re-examined in this disquieting volume, which takes readers on a perilous journey around the world’s most benighted regions. In each area, murders are charted with increasing specificity: beginning with city- or region-wide overviews, drilling down to street-level diagrams and zooming-in to detailed floor plans. All the elements of each crime are meticulously replotted on archival maps, from the prior movements of both killer and victim to the eventual location of the body.

The murders revisited range from the ‘French Ripper’ Joseph Vacher, who roamed the French countryside brutally murdering and mutilating over twenty shepherds and shepherdesses, to H.H. Holmes, who built a hotel in Chicago to entrap, murder and dispose of its many guests. Crime expert Dr Drew Gray illuminates the details of each case, recounting both the horrifying particulars of the crimes themselves and the ingenious detective work that led to the eventual capture of the murderers. He highlights the development of police methods and technology: from the introduction of the police whistle to the standardization of the mugshot and from the invention of fingerprinting to the use of radiotelegraphy to capture criminals. Disturbing crime-scene photographs by pioneers of police work, such as Alphonse Bertillon, and contemporary illustrations from the sensationalist magazines of the day, including the Illustrated Police News and the Petit Journal, complete the macabre picture.

Here's the contents list.

Introduction: Sensationalized Murder & the Rise of the Detective • Part 1: London, England • Suffolk, England • Liverpool, England • Glasgow, Scotland • Paris, France • Auvergne, France • Bavaria, Germany • Vienna, Austria • Budapest, Hungary • Prague + Polná, Bohemia • Emilia Romagna, Italy • Madrid, Spain • Part 2: New York City, USA • Massachusetts, USA • Indiana, USA • Chicago, USA • Kansas, USA • San Francisco, USA • Part 3: New South Wales, Australia • Victoria, Australia • Criminology Matrix

Comment: Currently on order at the Ottawa Public Library. No Canadian content. Maybe in a subsequent book.

Last Minute: OGS Toronto Branch October Meeting

All are invited to the Toronto Branch meeting which will take place on Monday 26 October, beginning at 7:30 p.m. (Eastern Daylight Time).  It will be entirely online and open to all—but you must register in advance. 

Tracing the history of ancestors who went into service in the First World War with an arm of the British forces can be challenging but, as historian David Fuller will explain, also very rewarding. In his talk, Researching Imperial Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen of the First World War, David will outline the different paths Canadians could take in an Imperial military career and show us how to trace them in archival records.

We invite you to stay with us after the presentation… and have your say. We’ll be setting up virtual “break-out rooms” so that you can talk with your fellow attendees in small groups. Bring a cup of tea or the beverage of your choice and let’s chat!

More information and registration here (required). You'll also find other branch news and opportunities.

After registering, you’ll get an email message with a link to join the webinar. This link will be unique to your registration. 

Welsh Anglican BMBs online

There's been a rush of Welsh Anglican baptism, marriage (and Banns), and burial records online this week.

As of 22 October Ancestry lists the following 14,657,428 Welsh Anglican transcript records as newly available.

Title	Date Range	Records
Anglesey	1547-1994	765,279
Brecknockshire	1538-1994	613,664
Caernarvonshire	1541-1994	800,329
Cardiganshire	1633-1993	627,649
Carmarthenshire	1560-1994	1,086,426
Denbighshire	1538-1994	1,657,612
Flintshire	1538-1994	1,368,531
Glamorganshire	1570-1994	2,949,196
Merionethshire	1568-1994	510,239
Monmouthshire	1551-1994	1,805,836
Montgomeryshire	1569-1994	1,205,155
Pembrokeshire	1599-1994	981,931
Radnorshire	1538-1994	285,581

As of the same date, MyHeritage lists new availability of transcript records of:

Wales, Parish Births and Baptisms, 8,242,549 records

Wales, Parish Marriages and Banns, 3,480,047 records

Wales, Parish Deaths and Burials, 3,149,924 records.

That's 14,872,520 records in total.

On 23 October The Genealogist announced the release of "8 million Parish Records, listing over 14.5 million individuals, with images of the original registers."

Findmypast had Welsh parish records online much earlier, both transcripts and images. They don't include the more recent years from the other companies.

	Baptisms	Marriages	Burials	Total
Anglesey	228,938	98,048	179,929	506,915
Breconshire	116,307	123,035	125,592	364,934
Caernarvonshire	234,024	96,635	197,385	528,044
Cardiganshire	128,749	115,359	164,717	408,825
Carmarthenshire	208,173	225,802	210,393	644,368
Denbighshire	342,444	228,937	396,796	968,177
Flintshire	287,781	177,536	274,812	740,129
Glamorganshire	564,882	120,443	459,837	1,145,162
Merionethshire	117,579	60,717	125,047	303,343
Monmouthshire	353,598	304,441	374,312	1,032,351
Montgomeryshire	481,497	237,302	402,416	1,121,215
Pembrokeshire	200,040	170,426	179,602	550,068
Radnorshire	61,394	38,655	52,227	152,276
Total	3,325,406	1,997,336	3,143,065	8,465,807

FamilySearch has a transcript version of the Findmypast collection.

Don't overlook the transcripts at FreeReg which might include nonconformist BMB events.

Sunday Sundries

Miscellaneous items I found of interest during the week.

In & Out The Eagle - from Spitalfields Life

Religion in Norfolk at the Time of the Mayflower - from the Norfolk Record Office 

Then and Now: counting and control in time of epidemic, and Fighting the Plague in Tudor Norwich - from the Norfolk Record Office, how things have hardly changed.

Shannon Lectures - YouTube has recordings of lectures from this year's series on "Human Rights in the History of Canada" from the Department of History at Carleton University

A History of the Window Tax -  the initial section of an economics paper.

CBC Television’s Interpretation of Canadian History - a podcast interview with Monica MacDonald (Manager of Research at Pier 21) in the Champlain series Witness to Yesterday. Sadly there's no mention of the sole Canadian season of WDYTYA which was partially funded by Library and Archives Canada.

The 6 best free websites for London family history - from WDYTYA magazine.

Thanks to this week's contributors: Anne Sterling, Anonymous,  Barbara, Unknown, 

Back Again: MyHeritage Canadian Newspapers, 1752-2007

When MyHeritage added a Canadian searchable newspaper collection earlier this year it was a significant contribution for Canadian subscribers. I was dismayed when it went away shortly after I said how great it is on a webinar on Canada Day.

Now, unannounced, it's back and every bit as good. You may not need a separate subscription to newspapers.com to access archives of many Canadian newspapers.

Findmypast Weekly Updates

Warwickshire Burials

Spanning 1874-2016, over 90,000 additional burial records from Birmingham.

The Birmingham cemeteries and crematoriums covered in these latest updates are:

Handsworth Cemetery, 2008-2011

Key Hill Cemetery, 1937-2009

Lodge Hill Cemetery, 1905-2011

Lodge Hill Crematorium, 1951-2011

Quinton Cemetery, 1874-2011

Sutton Coldfield Cemetery, 1906-2011

Sutton Coldfield Crematorium, 2012-2016

Warstone Lane Cemetery, 1950-2007

Yardley Cemetery, 1894-2011

Yardley Crematorium, 1952-2008

See the locations on a map here.

Scotland, Forfarshire (Angus), Dundee Death Index 1990-1993

This collection of 6,539 entries is an incomplete list from the City of Dundee, Invergowrie, Longforgan, Lundie, Liff & Benvie, Birkhill, Muirhead, Auchterhouse, Mains and Strathmartine, Tealing, Kellas, Murroes, Monifieth North, Burgh of Monifieth, however, Monikie is not included.

Scotland, Ayrshire Census & Population Lists 1801-1831

5,089 transcript entries from pre-1841 censuses found in kirk session records with a few in Old Parish Registers.

O/T: The Problem with Pedestals

Here's a series of tweets on the tribulations of teaching a daughter about one flawed achiever, https://twitter.com/SaltyMama10/status/1318016011589726208?s=03

Man or woman, black or white, settler or aboriginal — in an imperfect world everyone is imperfect. 

Celebrate achievement.

FreeBMD October update

The FreeBMD Database was updated on Wednesday 21 Oct 2020 to contain 277,287,378 unique records (276,869,850 at the previous update.)

Years with major additions, greater than 5,000 records are: for births 1982, 1985-89; for marriages 1969, 1986-89; for deaths 1980, 1984, 1986, 1988-90.

www.freebmd.org.uk/

Did Ancestry update Antigonish Catholic records?

UPDATED

(On Thursday evening Ancestry was listing as an updated collection

Nova Scotia, Canada, Antigonish Catholic Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1823-1905. 

However, the total number of records 273,570 was exactly the same as in December 2017.

I thought maybe more of these transcripts were to come imminently.

As of Friday morning, that update no longer appears!

As a reminder:

Baptism records typically include the following information:

Date of baptism
Place of baptism
Names of parents
Names of godparents

Marriage records typically include the following information:
Date of marriage
Place of marriage
Name of groom
Name of bride
Names of witnesses

Burial records typically include the following information:
Date of burial
Place of burial
Date of death
Place of death
Name of deceased
Age of deceased
Cause of death
Name of cemetery

Devon Family History Society Zoom Talks

Are you taking advantage of the COVID bonus, the opportunity to attend online talks on the programme of family history societies in distant locations? They'll generally welcome you to attend a couple of sessions for free -- until you wear out your welcome.

Here's part of the program for the remainder of the year from the Devon Family History Society,

Sat 24 Oct
Researching a West Devon parish: Bratton Clovelly - Kim Baldacchino
7.30pm BST 

Tues 27 Oct
A Family Story – Chris Robinson
7.30pm GMT 

Fri 13 Nov
Exeter Cathedral Yard Fire and Exeter’s Ancient Buildings – Dr Todd Gray 
7.30pm GMT 

Tues 24 Nov
Devon in the 1920s – Julia Neville
2.00pm GMT 

Sat 5 Dec
The Devon DNA Project - Debbie Kennett
2.30pm GMT 

Sat 12 Dec
Mixed blessing, missionaries and a missing person - Paul Scott
2.30pm GMT 

For further information contact virtualtalks@devonfhs.org.uk

If you like the presentations be aware the DFHS offers an eMembership for £12 (about $20) which includes four Devon Family Historians downloaded from the Society’s Members’ Area and all the other benefits of membership.

MyHeritage Family Tree Builder

The following is an announcement from MyHeritage about their standalone genealogy software Family Trree Builder for versions of macOS.

We’re happy to announce that Mac users with operating systems Catalina and High Sierra can now download and use MyHeritage Family Tree Builder, for free! Enjoyed by millions of users around the world, our family tree software combines innovative technologies with easy-to-use features.

We have received frequent requests from users who have one of the two Mac operating systems and wanted to continue using Family Tree Builder, their favorite genealogy software. It was important to us to enable these users to continue their family history research, build their family trees, add photos, access historical records, and more within Family Tree Builder. We thank you for your patience as we worked on this version. 

This version of Family Tree Builder for Mac, like the previous one, is a Family Tree Builder Mac version that looks the same as our desktop software for Windows, and does not require Windows or any additional setup or configuration when downloaded. It uses a system for porting Windows software to Mac called CrossOver by CodeWeavers.

Family Tree Builder’s main features run the same in the Family Tree Builder Mac version, including Sync with MyHeritage, Smart Matches™, Record Matches, the Consistency Checker, charts, etc. However, there are several minor features not compatible with the Mac OS X that will be unavailable for Mac users. 

Once you have downloaded the file, double click on the downloaded file to open the Disk Image. On the window that appears, simply drag the MyHeritage Family Tree Builder icon to the macOS Applications folder.

Comment: I don't use macOS so can't comment on the functionality. What genealogy software to use is a FAQ and Family Tree Builder is a free option for PCs as well as macOS you might want to try.

Who Do You Think You Are? November 2020

Here's the lineup of feature articles in the November WDYTYA magazine issue, available free through public library Press Reader subscriptions.

Series 17 Interview
WDYTYA’series producer Sarah Feltes explains how Covid-19 has affected the production of the programme.

Ancestry DINA Tests
Debbie Kennett reveals how you can harvest more information from your matches and grow your tree.

Wedding Photos
Discover key clues for dating your family photographs. A collection of photos from as early as 1859 to 1944 showing the evolution of dress.

Before The NHS
Many pioneers shaped our healthcare before the NHS, including the grandfather of WDYTYA star Ruth Jones. A hodge-podge of coverage existed, including self-help and mutual organizations.

If you're researching French ancestors there's a Best Websites article.

There are lots more useful articles: nautical apprentices, lacemakers, gallantry awards, and a focus article on East Sussex.

CWGC Beechwood Cemetery Burials: Frederick A. Wylde

Private Frederick Arthur Wylde (454164) died on this date in 1920 and is buried at Beechwood Cemetery.

Born in Leyton, Essex on 25 December 1870 to Charles William and Clara Ann (nee Manley), when he enlisted in June 1915 he gave his sister of Ilford, Essex, as his next of kin.

He appears to have arrived in Canada after 1900 and made at least one visit back to England, in 1907.

Hw was hospitalized in England with asthma in March 1916, discharged back to Canada in July as unfit for further service and granted a pension. He stated he would return to his occupation as cab driver in Ottawa. 

His death certificate gave his occupation as civil servant. There was no notice in the Ottawa newspapers and the informant for the death was a military officer.

The Jessup Case and privacy concerns over genetic genealogy

From CBC Radio The Current

A forensic technique called genetic genealogy helped police identify the man they now believe killed nine-year-old Christine Jessop in 1984, but some people have concerns about the investigative tool's privacy implications. Host Matt Galloway speaks with Anthony Redgrave, who worked with Toronto police on Jessop's case, and Brenda McPhail, with the Canadian Civil Liberties Association.

https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-63-the-current/clip/15803813-privacy-concerns-genetic-genealogy?onboarding=false

I'm hoping the success in this case will FINALLY motivate DND to use state of the art genetic genealogy techniques in investigating unidentified human remains.

TNA Presentation: 'A Huge Pack of Witches': A Witch scare in 17th Century Lancashire

In November 1633, a little boy telling tall tales about witches in his local community in Lancashire sparked a witch hunt so shocking that no lesser body than the Privy Council decided to investigate.

Records of the examinations, of both the accused and the accuser, are held at The National Archives. Using these and other documents, this talk will tell the story of this witch hunt and set it within the context of witchcraft in the Early Modern period.

This talk will be delivered by Jess Nelson, Head of Collections (Medieval, Early Modern, Maps & Legal).

There are two opportunities to attend this live talk. Friday 23 October 2020 at 9 am ET and Saturday 31 October 2020 at 06:30 am ET

Find out more, with information on other talks, at https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/about/visit-us/whats-on/events/online-talks/

Last Minute Webinar: How to Use Autoclusters to Analyze Your DNA Matches

Wednesday 21 October at 2pm ET.

Roberta Estes of DNAeXplained will show how MyHeritage’s AutoClusters tool along with the Theory of Family Relativity can help solve DNA Match mysteries and break through brick walls.

https://www.facebook.com/events/1806547599502096

This Week's Online Genealogy Events

Choose from free online events in the next six days. All times are ET. Registration in advance may be required. Check so you're not disappointed.

🇨🇦Tuesday 20 October, 2 pm: Virtual Genealogy Drop-In, from OGS Ottawa Branch and The Ottawa Public Library. Join here.

Tuesday 20 October: 2:30 pm: Mayflower Research, presented by John Beatty, Allen County Public Library. 
https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJEpceqorTwrHNay0ulMKTfhzH7vGOJQMrmH

Tuesday 20 October, 8 pm: Using DNA Test Results to Confirm a Pedigree, by Angela Packer McGhie, Board for Certification of Genealogists    https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar_details.php?webinar_id=1285

Wednesday 21 October, 2 pm: Comparing the Genealogy Giants 2020: Ancestry, FamilySearch, Findmypast, and MyHeritage, by Sunny Morton. Legacy Family Tree Webinars https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar_details.php?webinar_id=1266

Wednesday 21 October, 3:30pm: Caribbean Migration, with Pooran Bridgelal from Findmypast www.facebook.com/findmypast

🇨🇦Thursday 22 October, 7 pm: Ireland Research – A Refresher!, presented by John Noble for Sudbury Branch OGS. Pre-register from http://www.sudburyogs.com/

Friday 23 October, 11 am: Friday's Live, with Myko Clelland of Findmypastwww.facebook.com/findmypast

Friday 23 October, 2 pm: How Old Did He Have To Be, presented by Judy G Russell. Legacy Family Tree Webinars. https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar_details.php?webinar_id=1359

🇨🇦 Friday 23 October, 6 pm: Barrie Public Library Online Genealogy Fair, Start of 2-day event. See https://www.barrielibrary.ca/programs-events/genealogy-fair. Note Mags Gaulden keynote presentation The Power of DNA, at 1:40 pm on Saturday.

🇨🇦 Saturday 24 October, 1 pm: Ottawa Branch OGS AGM followed at 1:30 pm by Ottawa Public Library Genealogy Services presented by Romaine Honey. See https://ottawa.ogs.on.ca/events/ottawa-public-library-genealogy-services-ottawa-branch/

🇨🇦 Sunday 25 October, 2 pm: "Canada Land of Opportunity” Why did Scots leave their land to emigrate to Canada?, presented by Christine Woodcock for Halton-Peel Branch OGS. See https://haltonpeel.ogs.on.ca/

CWGC Beechwood Cemetery Burials: Edward Fingiand Hastings

Private Edward Fingiand Hastings was born 17 December 1872 and died 20 October in 1920. A native of Thornhill, Dumfriesshire, Scotland, he was the son of James and Mary Fraser Hastings.

On enlistment on 29 January 1917 he was living at 249 Percy Street, occupation dry goods salesman, with his wife Georgina Weston Hastings with whom he had a daughter May Elizabeth and sons John (Jack) and Edward (Eddie).

He served with the 280th Canadian Forestry Corps for two and a half years, then with the Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps.

He is buried in Section 19. Lot 169. South-East at Beechwood Cemetery.

Following his death from stomach cancer, the family address was 16, Empress Avenue, Ottawa. His widow survived to age 91.

He is in the large Silas/Gillissie Family Tree on Ancestry.

John Snow and the Soho Cholera Outbreak of 1854

BIFHSGO has a new member's only special interest group for London which will have its inaugural meeting this week. 

Googling around to see what's new for London I came across a long blog post:   https://alondoninheritance.com/london-characters/john-snow-soho-cholera-outbreak-1864/

It made me recall one of the most memorable presentations by a BIFHSGO member whose ancestor died in the cholera outbreak. I'm looking forward to the opportunity to attend that presentation again some day.

You may also want to explore this interactive map.

Co-Lab Update for October

A new challenge has been added:  Molly Lamb Bobak

She was the first female official war artist overseas, a Second World War painter who captured Canadian women’s experiences of military life. 

For the ongoing LAC Co-Lab challenges, as of 18 October 2020, there continues to be no progress reported/

Here is the status as it has been since the lockdown.

Winnipeg General Strike of 1919 is 71% complete

Correspondence regarding First Nations veterans returning after the First World War is 96% complete

Diary of François-Hyacinthe Séguin is 16% complete

Women Lightkeepers: heroes by the sea is 96% complete.

George Mully: moments in Indigenous communities is 2% complete.

Legendary Train Robber and Prison Escapee Bill Miner is 98% complete

New France and First Nations Relations is 78% complete

War Diaries of the First World War: 1st Canadian Division is 94% complete

Japanese-Canadians: Second World War is 61% complete

The Call to Duty: Canada's Nursing Sisters is 97% complete.

The projects that are 100% complete are no longer reported here.

YouTube: Surname Origins: Why? When, Why Then

Calgary genealogist Wayne Shepheard gave a presentation to the Virtual Genealogical Association's 2020 conference joining his interest in historic climate change to the adoption of surnames.

He draws on a variety of English sources since Domesday to show when surnames were adopted and links the timing to the transition from the Medieval Warm Period to the Little Ice Age.

It's supposed to be viewable only by those registered for the conference but appears to be available publicly on YouTube. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKKQfLSITkE&feature=youtu.be

If you can't see it you can sign up for the conference through www.virtualgenealogy.org where you'll find some interesting-looking presentations by speakers, both well-known and hidden talents.

Sunday Sundries

 Miscellaneous items I found of interest during the week.

Smithsonian - Digital Jigsaw Puzzles: Fall Edition
Beware, eats up your time!

Billions of Digital Images and Associated Text Metadata Created Through the United States National Archives and Records Administration’s Digitization Partnership Program: we want it all back!

Oxford County Archives Online Exhibit - Oxford County Gaol: 1854 - 1977

The Nobel Prize: Milgrom and Wilson

LAC Blog: Henry Ash and why internet connections are still underwater

A Brief History of the Women's KKK

Mike Pence’s fly

Thanks to this week's contributors: Anonymous, Arthur Owen, BT, btyclk, egailb, Unknown, and a special shoutout to David Rajotte and Documentary Heritage News.