30 November 2016

Hampshire Interest?

The following is from a press release by TheGenealogist.

Millions of New Parish Records added to the TheGenealogist
     Released in partnership with the Hampshire Genealogical Society there are over 2.1 million new fully searchable records of individuals released online for the first time
     With these records those searching for ancestors from Hampshire can discover almost 1.8 million people recorded within the baptisms from this area in the south of England as far back as 1538 up to 1751
     Family researchers can also discover the details of over 212,000 individuals from marriages between 1538 and 1753 and nearly 143,800 people listed in the burials of Hampshire from 1838 to 1865
Hampshire Genealogical Society worked with TheGenealogist to publish their records online, making 2,135,878 individuals from baptism, marriage and burial records fully searchable. Dolina Clarke, Chairman of Hampshire Genealogical Society said:
“The Hampshire Genealogical Society have decided to put the remaining data from their parish register indexes for Hampshire, which are not already on line, with FHS-Online and TheGenealogist (S & N). We looked at various different online sites and felt that S & N were able to offer us a very fair deal. Furthermore they are a British company with whom we have had a very good relationship for over 20 years.”
Dolina Clarke, Chairman HGS www.hgs-familyhistory.com
Mark Bayley, Head of Online Development at TheGenealogist, welcomed Hampshire Genealogical Society to the growing number family history societies on both TheGenealogist and FHS-Online saying: “We’re delighted that HGS chose to publish their records through TheGenealogist and FHS-Online. This release adds to the ever expanding collection of parish records on both websites. These partnerships help societies boost their funds whilst bringing their records to a much wider audience, through online publication.”


This release joins TheGenealogist’s already published Hampshire parish records, sourced from the Phillimore Registers, and soon we will also be adding further transcriptions that will fill in any gaps to provide an even more comprehensive coverage of this important county.
Example: The last Briton to die in a duel on English soil.
James Alexander Seton was the last British person to be killed in a duel on English soil and he is buried in his family’s vault at St Mary’s Fordingbridge, Hampshire.
During the early 1840s James Seton, and his wife Susannah, rented some rooms in Southsea on the outskirts of Portsmouth, Hampshire. Seton was a man of means, inheriting wealth, and so had no need to work. The son of a Colonel, he had spent a brief spell in the Army as a junior cavalry officer though his short career never found him being promoted any higher than the rank of cornet. The Setons were of Scottish ancestry, their forebears being descended from the Earls of Dunfermline and Seton’s grandfather was Vice-Admiral James Seton, governor of St Vincent in the Caribbean.

In May 1845 James Seton met Isabella Hawkey, whom he set about pursuing even though he was a married man. She was the wife of Lieutenant Henry Hawkey, an officer in the Royal Marines. When the coast was clear, and her husband was away, Seton began paying visits to Isabella at her lodgings bearing gifts. Lt. Hawkey began to hear the rumours of this and forbade his wife from seeing Seton again. On 19 May 1845, however, there was a ball held in the King's Rooms, Southsea, which the Hawkeys as well as James Seton attended. When Isabella danced with Seton this caused a quarrel in which Lt. Hawkey called Seton a "blaggard and a scoundrel". Having been insulted by this, Seton decided to challenge the Royal Marine Officer to a duel. The next evening, on the beach at Browndown near Gosport and after the seconds had measured out fifteen paces, the duelists took their pistols and fired. James Seton's shot missed his opponent; Henry Hawkey's pistol was half-cocked and failed to fire. Under the rules of dueling, that could have been an honorable end to it but Lieutenant Hawkey insisted on a second exchange of shots and this time Seton fell when he was struck by a bullet entering his lower abdomen.

Suffering from his wounds, the wounded man was taken by boat to Portsmouth where he was operated on by the eminent London surgeon Robert Liston. The surgery at first appeared to go well, but then infection set in and Seton quickly went downhill. He died of his injuries on 2nd June 1845 and was buried eight days later. His funeral procession through the town saw most of the shops closing in respect and he was laid to rest in a tomb outside the east front of the church next to his father. A search finds his burial on the 10th June 1845 in the Hampshire records on TheGenealogist.

Warwickshire Parish Records on FamilySearch, and elsewhere

As of 29 November 2016 FamilySearch is listing 1,383,157 new of updated records for England, Warwickshire, Parish Registers, 1535-1984. Find a list of parishes included here.

Births -- Baptisms (639,036 results)
Marriages (443,137 results)
Deaths -- Burials (411,485 results)

The records are free to access. While transcripts are open, to see or browse original record images you may need a free FamilySearch account or to be at a LDS Family History Centre.

If you have an Ancestry account covering England you already have access to the following listed as new or updated as of early October:

Warwickshire, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1910, 760,552 records
Warwickshire, England, Church of England Burials, 1813-1910, 277,236 records
Warwickshire, England, Church of England Baptisms, 1813-1910, 1,515,334 records
Warwickshire, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1535-1812 , 2,562,810 records 

Findmypast lists Warwickshire records:

Warwickshire Banns (1,516 results)
Warwickshire Baptisms (621,133 results)
Warwickshire Burials (1,108,300 results)
Warwickshire Marriages (458,085 results)
Warwickshire, Birmingham, St Martin In The Bull Ring Parish Registers 1554-1929 (images only)

TheGenealogist lists many Warwickshire parishes here but lacks record counts.

Don't overlook FreeReg which has 383,390 Warwickshire record transcripts:

186,543 baptisms
127,044 burials
69,803 marriages

British Newspaper Archives additions for November

The British Newspaper Archive now has 16,572,215 pages (15,926,840 pages last month) from701 (693) titles online. Norfolk isn't overlooked this update with more than 30 years of the Norfolk Chronicle added, now more than 6200 issues, and more than 3,000 issues of the Thetford & Watton Times and People's Weekly Journal now available. More than 12,000 issues of the Globe, a London evening paper, are now online. The full list of additions this month is:

TITLEDATE RANGE
Army and Navy Gazette1884-1918, 1920-1921
Ayr Advertiser, or, West Country Journal1880
Belfast News-Letter1901, 1907-1910, 1916-1918, 1921, 1928-1929, 1931-1948, 1955-1956
Birmingham Daily Gazette1871
Bolton Evening News1868, 1870-1878, 1880-1882, 1884-1886, 1890-1891, 1893, 1895, 1901-1909
Brighton Guardian1832-1833, 1866-1869
Buxton Herald1842-1862, 1869-1879, 1881, 1888
Carlisle Patriot1872-1873, 1877, 1885
Cornish & Devon Post1877, 1880, 1882-1885, 1891, 1893, 1895-1896, 1900-1909
Coventry Evening Telegraph1943
Coventry Standard1872
Coventry Times1876
Derbyshire Advertiser and Journal1901-1905, 1907, 1909-1910, 1917, 1920, 1924-1930
Devizes and Wiltshire Gazette1873, 1878-1882, 1884
Dorset County Chronicle1879-1880, 1882, 1884
Dunfermline Saturday Press1890, 1892
Durham County Advertiser1847
East & South Devon Advertiser.1881, 1885
Evening Star1897
Faringdon Advertiser and Vale of the White Horse Gazette1904, 1914-1915
Fifeshire Advertiser1947-1948, 1951
Globe1807-1810, 1834, 1836-1837, 1843-1847, 1852-1860, 1869-1870, 1879-1881, 1883-1886, 1893-1895, 1897, 1903
Grantham Journal1955-1956
Hamilton Advertiser1871-1872
Hampshire Advertiser1831
Hartlepool Northern Daily Mail1956
Hereford Times1878
Herts Advertiser1904
Illustrated Police News1903
Illustrated Times1871-1872
Irish Times1896, 1898, 1901, 1906
Kendal Mercury1871, 1875-1880
Kentish Gazette1871-1872
Lake's Falmouth Packet and Cornwall Advertiser1871-1872
Lancaster Guardian1877, 1894, 1937-1939, 1941, 1943-1950, 1952-1956
Launceston Weekly News, and Cornwall & Devon Advertiser.1856-1857, 1862, 1875-1877
Leicester Journal1915
Leigh Chronicle and Weekly District Advertiser1878, 1881-1896, 1898-1914
Louth and North Lincolnshire Advertiser1877, 1898, 1952
Mayo Constitution1852-1871
Monmouthshire Beacon1922, 1924-1928, 1932-1933, 1944-1945, 1947-1950
Naval & Military Gazette and Weekly Chronicle of the United Service1833-1846, 1860-1886
Newcastle Journal1871
Norfolk Chronicle1870-1882, 1884-1886, 1888, 1890-1892, 1894-1897, 1899-1907
Northern Daily Telegraph1892, 1898
Northern Whig1897-1899
Oban Times, and Argyllshire Advertiser1871-1872
Paisley Herald and Renfrewshire Advertiser1873, 1876, 1880
Pall Mall Gazette1938
Penny Illustrated Paper1871-1873
Perthshire Advertiser1872, 1943-1945
Police Gazette1880, 1898, 1916-1918
Reading Mercury1879, 1898
Roscommon & Leitrim Gazette1851, 1874
Salisbury and Winchester Journal1877, 1889
Sheffield Weekly Telegraph1884-1885, 1887-1889, 1897-1917
Shipley Times and Express1898-1909
Sligo Champion1897-1900, 1902-1909
Somerset County Gazette1877, 1883, 1888
South Bucks Free Press, Wycombe and Maidenhead Journal1879, 1882
Southern Echo1889
Sporting Times1865-1866, 1871-1872, 1875, 1877-1879, 1882, 1884-1888, 1890-1892, 1895-1896, 1900-1901, 1904-1909, 1916-1917, 1920-1921, 1927-1929
St. Andrews Citizen1907-1956
Surrey Comet1871-1876, 1880
Surrey Mirror1939
Sussex Advertiser1879
Sussex Agricultural Express1955-1956
Swindon Advertiser and North Wilts Chronicle1861, 1868-1869, 1873, 1876, 1883, 1888, 1890, 1892-1893, 1903-1909
Thanet Advertiser1862, 1866, 1876-1886, 1888-1903, 1915-1950
The Graphic1909
The Stage1880
Thetford & Watton Times and People's Weekly Journal.1914-1916, 1919, 1925-1931, 1935-1937, 1939-1948, 1951, 1953-1954
Totnes Weekly Times1902-1909
Tyrone Constitution1890, 1897, 1901-1909
Tyrone Courier1885, 1888-1889, 1891-1898, 1900-1902, 1904-1909
Ulster Gazette1908-1909
Waterford Mirror and Tramore Visitor.1869-1870, 1873, 1875, 1889-1890
Waterford Standard1918, 1951-1953
Watford Observer1871
Weekly Freeman's Journal1919
Wellington Journal1898
West London Observer1872
West Surrey Times1858, 1861, 1869
Western Morning News1911
Westmorland Gazette1872, 1877, 1879, 1889, 1909
Wiltshire Independent1842
Wiltshire Times and Trowbridge Advertiser1948
Worcester Herald1879, 1890
Y Goleuad1878
Yorkshire Evening Press1885, 1887, 1889-1891, 1893-1896, 1898
Yorkshire Gazette1877

Accessions to the City Of Ottawa Central Archives

In June 2013 this blog carried lists of fonds transferred, and to be transferred, from Library and Archives Canada to the City Of Ottawa Central Archives.

The majority of the records transferred from LAC are now described and available online through the Ottawa Museums and Archives Collections (OMAC) website, http://ottawa.minisisinc.com/.  Those that were on the "to be transferred list" came to the City in January this year

Alastair Napier fonds
Centre Amusement Co. Ltd. fonds
Gloucester Environmental Advisory Committee fonds
International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees loca1 95 fonds
Niven's Woods Conservancy fonds
Ottawa Agricultural Society
Ottawa Allied Printing Trades Council fonds
Ottawa and District Labour Council Ottawa Civic Employees' association
Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club
Ottawa Horticultural Society fonds
Ottawa Presbyterial Women's Missionary Society fonds
Ottawa Stewardship Sector Project fonds
Religious Society of Friends in Canada. Ottawa Group fonds
St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church fonds (Ottawa, Ont.)
St. Hyacinth Church fonds
United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America fonds

Process for the following material is not complete

Accession 2015.0196.3 – March Township fonds
Accession 2015.0196.5 - Ottawa Canoe Club fonds (MG029, described but not loaded up to the OMAC)
Accession 2015.0196.13 – Fitzroy Township fonds
Accession 2015.0196.19 – Charlotte Elizabeth Whitton fonds (RG007-06-09, described but not loaded to the OMAC)
Accession 2015.0196.28 – Nepean Township, Ottawa, Ont. fonds
Accession 2016.0005.3 – Gloucester Environmental Advisory Committee fonds
Accession 2016.0005.8 – Ottawa and District Labour Council fonds (MG566, described but not loaded to the OMAC)
Accession 2016.0005.15 – St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church fonds (Ottawa, Ont.) (MG223, described but not loaded to the OMAC)

In summary, 37 of 45 fonds are described and available through the OMAC.  An additional four fonds are described and immediately available to researchers.  Outstanding are 4 fonds that require arrangement work.

Of interest for genealogy may be membership lists for the societies, some of which go back to the 19th century.
The Nepean Township fonds, which include assessment rolls, are undergoing conservation as they were received with mold. It's unclear whether the March and Fitzroy Township Finds also contain assessment rolls.
A few fonds may have limited access where they are more recent or require a confidentiality agreement be signed.

Thanks to John D. Lund, Digital Records Archivist at the City of Ottawa Archives, for the updated information.



29 November 2016

Genetic Genealogy Ireland presentation: The genetic identification of the 1916 Cork Rebel, Thomas Kent

Take a 99 year old body buried in a shallow grave in rainy Cork Ireland. Find that conventional CSI type genetic testing, known in North America as CODIS marker testing, doesn't work. Sad. Then apply the combined power of research grade investigation. The result: identification of the person to a probability better than one in the whole human population of the earth who ever lived. Impressive.

Jens Carlsson explains the project in this YouTube video from Genetic Genealogy Ireland 2016.


Shannon Lecture: Friday, 2 December, 2016

The final Shannon Lecture of the 2016 series sees Thomas Laqueur from UC Berkeley talking about his new book The Work of the Dead, focusing on the struggle for cremation.
Laqueur was interviewed about his book by Steve Paquin on TVO on Halloween:
http://tvo.org/video/programs/the-agenda-with-steve-paikin/thomas-laqueur-why-care-about-the-dead
The lecture starts at 2:30 pm. Exceptionally, in anticipation of a large audience, it will be given in room 282 in the University Centre, commonly known as the Unicentre, easily reached from the O-train and adjacent bus stops. Best be early to get a seat.

28 November 2016

Great Canadian Genealogy Summit 2017: Call for Presentation Proposals

The Great Canadian Genealogy Summit will hold its 2nd annual event at the Lord Nelson Hotel, Halifax, Nova Scotia on Friday, October 13 through Sunday, October 15, 2017.

CanGen Summit is now accepting proposals for CANADIAN FAMILY HISTORY TOPICS OF INTEREST in particular:
German Canadian research
African Nova Scotian or African Canadian research
Acadian research
British Home Children research

The GREAT CANADIAN GENEALOGY SUMMIT was created as a way to showcase the talents and expertise of Canadian genealogists.

Our first event was held 21-23 October 2016 in Brampton, Ontario. It was a great success with our attendees who came from as far away as New York, Oregon, Utah Massachusetts, Michigan, Alberta, Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

SUBMISSION DETAILS

We are looking for original and new presentations that will help our attendees learn and grow in their research of their ancestors in Canada, or Canada and their homeland. Presentations should not have been presented other than at the local level prior to CanGen Summit 2017.
Individuals who submit proposals must reside in Canada.
Individuals who submit multiple proposals will be considered for multiple presentations.

Presentation proposals will be for one-hour sessions (45-50 minutes presentation with 10 minutes Questions and Answers period).

Submit proposals by email to cangensummit@gmail.com no later than Friday, January 20, 2017.
Proposals must include the following:
Title of the Presentation and the topic of interest as listed above
Name, address, phone number and email address of speaker
Brief description of presentation (50 words)
Detailed description of presentation (100 words)
Audience level: beginner / intermediate / advanced
Detailed overview of what will be presented and what the attendees can expect to learn (not more than 500 words)
Biography of Speaker (not to exceed 100 words)
List of speaking engagements in 2015 and 2016 only: include title of presentation (topic), audience, date and location
Submit one PDF file per proposal. Give each file a unique title that includes your surname.

SPEAKER COMPENSATION

Speakers giving presentations will receive:
Complimentary registration to the Great Canadian Genealogy Summit 2017
Copy of digital CanGen Summit 2017 syllabus
One half page advertisement in the CanGen Summit 2017 syllabus
Complimentary breakfast and lunch on day of presentation(s)
$125 for a one-hour presentation, and $25 for syllabus material
1 Complimentary night at the Lord Nelson Hotel for each day of presentations.
One free vendor table in the market place

**Great Canadian Genealogy Summit does not pay travel costs.

GREAT CANADIAN GENEALOGY SUMMIT 2017
CALL for PRESENTATIONS

Deadline for proposals is 20 January 2017

Update on LAC Genealogy Room Renovations

A note from Claire Banton, Chief, Orientation Services in the Public Services Branch at Library and Archives Canada informs that the dates of the interruptions to Genealogy Room service, previously posted here, have changed.
Work must be proceeding well. The room will now close early for only one night: November 30. The computer interruption will now be November 30-December 1.  

Unique Histories from the 18th and 19th Centuries

I stumbled across Geri Walton's site while looking for information on umbrella menders. Google found the post Second-Hand Umbrella Sellers and Menders. It was one of the items categorized under Occupations (scroll down) at www.geriwalton.com/.

Take a look at Common Ailments, Complaints, and Diseases and many more topics.

Janet Few to give OGS Webinar

Last time she gave an OGS webinar Rockstar Genealogist Janet Few mentioned it was midnight where she was and she'd calculated the time difference in reverse.
On Thursday, 1 December Janet is giving another OGS webinar at 7pm EST, again midnight for her.
This time the topic is Til Death Us Do Part: a look at the history of medicine 1300-1948. It's described as:

A look at likely causes of death for our ancestors from 1300-1948, together with sources that can help reveal how a British ancestor died.
Register to attend here. It's free.

Janet published a short book in 2015 by the same title with Unlock the Past, Australia which is available from Global Genealogy.

27 November 2016

BIFHSGO in the Community

On Saturday Mary-Lou Simac, BIFHSGO's Director of Publicity recruited musical talent to assist at the Society display at the St Joseph's Church in Ottawa's Sandy Hill district. The church, celebrating its 160th anniversary, organized an International Day Festival of music, art and food.
Shown beside Mary-Lou is well known local musician/entertainer Dominic D'Arcy, who we discovered has Irish ancestry dating from the time of the Great Hunger.

FreeBMD November Update

The FreeBMD Database was updated on Saturday 26 November 2016 to contain 258,167,836 (257,544,141 at the previous update) distinct records.

Years with major updates (more than 5,000 entries) are for births: 1963-4, 1966, 1969,-78; for marriages: 1966, 1969, 1971, 1976-80; for deaths 1974, 1976-79.

26 November 2016

YouTube: Irish Religious Records

The Cork Genealogy Society have recently posted a video of a presentation by Claire Bradley IGRS on what records exist for different religious denominations in Ireland and where they can be found online.

Findmypast adds Scots Guards Records

Over 4,000 records are added to the British Army Service Records collection at Findmypast for the- Scots Guards, 1799-1939. They're included in the general British Army Service Records collection and must be in addition to the existing Scots Guards records which now total 64,705.


Other additions in the rather meagre pickings this week are:

Queensland, Mackay, funeral notices and funeral director records (over 44,000 records)
Pennsylvania baptisms 1709-1760 (4,500 records)
Pennsylvania burials 1816-1849 (over 1,000 records)
United States Marriages (17,059 records)
Irish Newspapers, Tyrone Courier, Mayo Constitution (177,208 articles).

25 November 2016

Some Black Friday Specials


Here are a few of the Black Friday promotions picked out of the avalanche.

Today only, Legacy have a 50% discount for Legacy 8.0 software with a free upgrade to Legacy 9.0 when released, http://legacy.familytreewebinars.com/black-friday-c321.php;

Today, Annual subscription for new members to Legacy Family Tree Webinars for $34.95 US, reduced from $49.95 US. http://legacy.familytreewebinars.com/legacy-family-tree-webinars-yearly-membership-p1.php

$79 Canadian is a pretty good price for Ancestry's DNA test. That's the sale price until Monday according to www.ancestry.ca/dna/. Be prepared for an additional charge for shipping.

Dick Eastman is advertising a 50% off offer on an annual MyHeritage subscription to readers of his newsletter readers until 1 December  Even if you're not a reader he won't likely complain as he has a business relationship with MyHeritage. See the offer at  https://www.myheritage.com/partner/DickEeastmannov16Complete?utm_source=external&utm_campaign=partner_DickEeastmannov16Complete

Temporary Service Interruptions in the Genealogy Room at LAC

A notice posted at 395 Wellington informs of the following disruptions to service in the 3rd floor Genealogy Room while the space is being renovated.

24-25 November: Noise and disruptions while books are being moved. Service hours unaffected.
28-30 November: Genealogy Room will close at 4:30pm. Service desk remains open from 10am to 3 pm.
1-4 December: Genealogy Room operates as per regular schedule. I suggest that could change, Best verify ahead of visiting.
5-6 December: Noise and disruptions while books are being re shelved. Service hours unaffected.

Lower profile bookcases are being installed on the north side of the room. Tables with new large screen computers will be installed on the south side.

UPDATE (28 November): The dates of the interruptions have changed.  The room will now close early for only one night: November 30.  The computer interruption will now be November 30-December 1.  

FamilySearch adds England, Bristol, Non-Conformist Church Records, 1777-1936

This collection of 160,422 christening, marriage and burial records from various religious groups in Bristol from 1777 to 1936 includes church records from Methodist, Society of Friends (Quakers), Catholic, Presbyterian, Unitarian, Wesleyan, Swedenborgian, Congregational, and Baptist denominations
There are linked images of the original which you can also browse. Sourced from the Bristol Records Office.

https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1719223?collectionNameFilter=false

24 November 2016

The Marriage of Genetics and Genealogy: A Case Study

Undoubtedly the most memorable of the presentations I heard at Genetic Genealogy Ireland last month, and one I hadn't expected would appear on YouTube, was this personal story by Diahan Southard.



Paramedicine in Ottawa 1845 to 2001

Lynea Finn, an Ottawa paramedic, is in the final stages of producing this book and is now seeking support through a Kickstarter campaign.
The chapters are:

1. Earliest History and background
2. Paramedicine during the war years
3. Ottawa's private and public ambulances
4. Funeral homes offer service
5. A new Era for ambulance services
6. Transition from private to provincial
7. Ottawa Ambulance service
8. Ottawa Fire Services
9. The enhancement of 1984
10. Road to paramedicine
11.McKechnie decision and its' impact
12. The uncertainty of "Who does what?"
13. The evolution of the ambulance call report(ACR)
14. Being an Ottawa Paramedic
Find out more and contribute to the funding here.

OGS Ottawa Branch November Meeting

In lieu of a presentation on Saturday OGS Ottawa Branch will have a conducted tour of the City of Ottawa Archives with an opportunity to see behind the scenes where the public is usually not invited.
That starts at 1 pm.

In addition, at 10:30 am, for Genealogy: Back to Basics, Richard McGregor will present "Genetic Genealogy", and at 3 pm the Computer Special Interest Group will get together.

That's on Saturday, 26 November at 100 Tallwood, Nepean, Ottawa.

23 November 2016

UK Webinars

Today, Wednesday, 23 November at 1 pm EST TNA (the UK National Archives) breaks its hiatus in webinar presentations with The pirate queen of Ireland, about County Mayo born Grace O’Malley who forged a career in seafaring and piracy that spanned over 40 years.

REGISTER HERE

At 11 am EST on Thursday, 24 November you have an opportunity to tune in to Audrey Collins, Family History Specialist from the (UK) National Archives, as she shares her expert tips on getting the most from the 1939 Register.
The 1 hour presentation and Q&A webinar from Findmypast will be available  on-demand afterwards.

REGISTER HERE


Family Tree Maker News Update

The Fall issue of Family Tree Maker News, signed by Jack Minsky, President of Software MacKiev, has information for those concerned about the functionality of their old Family Tree Maker program as the end of the year draws near. Here's an extract.

WHAT'S HAPPENING TO FTM AT THE END OF THE YEAR?

As it gets closer to the end of 2016, we're understandably hearing this question a lot. In large part that's because it was initially announced that FTM would only be supported through the end of December 2016. But that was a million years ago back in December 2015 when it was also announced that brand wouldn't continue at all. All that changed 7 weeks later on February 2nd of this year — the day Ancestry announced that they'd decided after all to sell this wonderful old brand to us. And that together we would be building on what Ancestry had started, including creating a new sync technology together.

So relax. TreeSync® will not stop working at the stroke of midnight this December 31st. And though it will be retired at some point in the not too distant future, before that happens, there will be new syncing technology available to replace it. It's already well into development and we will be starting outside beta testing before the end of the year. And that means syncing as we know it for FTM is going to live on into 2017 and beyond. So if you've been worried about what happens at the end of the year, well you can just stop worrying. Syncing, Search, and Shaky Leaf hints are all here to stay.

Sign up to get your own copy of FTM News emailed to you at http://www.mackiev.com/familytreemaker/ftm3/ftm_signup.html?ext=yes

Historical Society of Ottawa: November meeting

For the HSO last meeting of 2016 Jean-Luc Pilon will present "An Ancient Cultural Landscape In the Heart of Canada's Capital" 

Recent information clearly identifies Hull Landing in Gatineau as the location of a burial site first documented in 1843 but since the late 19th century believed to have been located across the river in Ottawa. The site appears to have been used for burials for more than 4,000 years. It was also the location of a major portage route for aboriginal peoples. Nearby Chaudière Falls was a place of great spiritual significance and power. The delta at the mouth of the Gatineau River was a summer gathering place with a wealth of food and stone resources. People travelled down the Gatineau and Ottawa Rivers to meet, trade, and exchange information beginning some 4,500 years ago. Accumulated archaeological evidence indicated that the north shore of the Ottawa River between the Chaudière Falls and the mouth of the Gatineau River constituted a cultural landscape that had been used for more than four millennia.

Dr Jean-Luc Pilon is the Curator of General Archaeology at the Canadian Museum of History. His primary area of responsibility lies in understanding and presenting the ancient history of Ontario and Quebec, and developing the museum's collections to best reflect this area. He has carried out research in northern Quebec, northern Ontario, and in the lower Mackenzie River in the North-West Territories. More recently, he has worked in the Ottawa Valley. His research has focussed on establishing the basic parameters of human history in these areas. He has also explored the dynamic nature of the relationships that people have nurtured with the land. He has shared this research through scholarly articles, exhibitions, and web sites. He co-curated an exhibition, "First Peoples of Canada," that was shown in Beijing, Osaka, Hanover, and Mexico City. The English-language version of the exhibition's publication received an honourable mention from the American Publishers' Awards for Professional and Scholarly Excellence in 2013. In 2015, Dr Pilon received the first J.V. Wright Lifetime Achievement Award from the Ontario Archaeological Society. Dr Pilon studied at the University of Toronto and Laval University, and holds a doctorate in archaeology from the University of Toronto.

The meeting is on Friday 25 November at 1 pm at the Routhier Community Centre, 172 Guigues Street.

22 November 2016

RootsIreland.ie Subscription Savings

Between 21 and 29 November 2016 RootsIreland.ie is offering a one-third off discount on annual subscriptions.

As described by Claire Santry:
The cost of a new annual subscription is reduced by a whopping one-third to €150 (saving €75), £123 (saving £62) and $170 (saving $85), while the half-year sub is reduced to €125 (saving €25), £100 (saving £38) and $149 (saving $38). 
The $ is US dollars. No Canadian (or Australian) dollar prices given.

Read more on Claire's blog at www.irishgenealogynews.com/2016/11/rootsireland-offers-big-discounts-on.html


How should DNA test results be preserved?

Millions of us have taken DNA tests for genealogy. The results, stored in testing company databases, can be downloaded to a third party site for wider comparison or special personal investigation, or simply for the assurance that you have a copy of your data under your own control.

In addition to their use for family history DNA test results have long-term societal value, They have revolutionised understanding of migration and opened a new window for medical understanding. We cannot know how such rich data may help elucidate understanding in the future. But we can be certain that unless the data is retained this will not be possible.

Storage in a private database is no guarantee of long-term preservation. Companies are subject to the vagaries of market forces. Volunteer projects can fail. Charitable projects are wound up. We already have the example of the Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation which ceased operation after the death of the founder. Although some of the data was acquired by Ancestry.com it appears only the part of the DNA data of company interest was retained.

What would be the best way to ensure long-term survival and reasonable cost, and with necessary mechanisms for protection of privacy? The experts are national archival organizations such as NARA in the US, TNA in the UK and Library and Archives Canada; all have growing capabilities for management of large digital data sets. They already hold records for individuals, such as military service files which contain personal data such as height, weight, colour of eyes and hair. DNA is just another type of personal data.

Some may argue that DNA data is scientific which those archives don't traditionally hold in any quantity. It's apparently not on the radar, at least judging by the consultation document released by TNA on it's new strategic vision for the archives Sector (pdf). Why not?

21 November 2016

BBC on The Family Tree

Thanks to Anonymous who posted at comment on the library item about the BBC program The Family Tree. It's worth a listen.
"Mike Williams asks why so many people are obsessed with discovering their family origins and also learns new things about his own ancestors along the way.
Genealogy is a growing phenomenon driven by the digitization of old paper records, websites offering to DNA test your saliva for $100 and TV shows like Who Do You Think You Are which explore celebrities family histories.
But what does spending hours, weeks and – in some cases – years trying to discover names or dates that might reveal the identity of someone related to us hundreds of years ago say about us? And what are we really looking for?
Mike talks to Else Churchill at the Society of Genealogists in London, Nathan Lents, professor of molecular biology at John Jay College in New York and Catherine Nash, Professor of Human Geography at Queen Mary University of London."
On a first listening the program leaves me with the impression that the US people interviewed had more trouble with the perception of incompatibility of genealogical and cultural ancestry than those in the UK.

Canadian Public Libraries Genealogy Databases

Public libraries have great resources for genealogists, but when it comes to online databases some are better than others. Here's a survey of the major genealogy-related database offerings from some large Canadian public libraries.

Every library surveyed, from Victoria to Halifax, has free access to Ancestry Library Edition from inside the library. Many resources are included, up to and including the 1921 census, so you only have to get to a library to obtain free access.

Early Canadiana Online was selected as a growing resource, especially for the Canadian Genealogy and Local History collection which includes "voter’s lists, eulogies, directories and gazettes, biographies, civil service lists, published diaries, church magazines and pamphlets, militia lists, publications from professional and trade societies, school publications, and more."

The Globe and Mail, the closest thing Canada has to a national newspaper, provides context for the world in which our ancestors lived day to day.

The Times Digital Archive has the full text of the Times of London reporting on events and government decisions made in London that had a major impact on British North America before and even after Confederation.

InsitiutionAncestry LibraryEarly Canadiana OnlineGlobe and Mail ArchiveTimes Digital ArchiveStar Rating
Victoria
In Library



*
Vancouver
In Library

***
Edmonton
In Library


***
Calgary
In Library
****
Saskatoon
In Library



*
Winnipeg
In Library



*
Toronto
In Library

****
Ottawa
In Library


**
Montreal/GB
In Library
*****
Halifax
In Library



*

Most libraries surveyed had additional resources, many locally oriented.

Victoria Public Library
KnowBC.com  Contains The Encyclopedia of British Columbia, The Encyclopedia of Raincoast Place Names, Raincoast Chronicles 20: Lilies and Fireweed: Frontier Women of British Columbia, and Far West: The Story of British Columbia, as well as other eBooks about British Columbia’s social, political, and natural history.

Vancouver Public Library
Biography and Genealogy Master Index.  Indexes biographies for over 16 million people from the beginning of time through the present. Each citation provides the biographee's name, birth and death years, the source publication, publisher, year published, and miscellaneous notes. (Not one I've found especially useful).
Canadian Who’s Who.  Offers access to over 12,600 notable Canadians in all walks of life from a wide variety of occupations and professions.  Entries include: date/place of birth, education, family details, career information, honours, awards and more.

Calgary Public Library
Biography and Genealogy Master Index (see Vancouver)
Community Heritage and Family History Digital Library Facsimiles of photographs, postcards, maps and more on Calgary.
Heritage Quest Online American genealogical information from 1790 to the present, including: census, genealogy books, periodicals, bank records, war records and more.

Edmonton Public Library
Biography & Genealogy Master Index (see Vancouver)
Edmonton Obituaries Edmonton Journal Index coverage from January 1950 to December 1982.
HeritageQuest Online (see Calgary)
World Vital Records. Access to a wide variety of genealogical records from around the world, including everything from birth and marriage records, to historic newspapers, immigration lists, census records, vital records, parish and land records. Rare collections, such as passenger lists from immigrant vessels, yearbooks from US high schools and universities, manuscripts and major new census documents are also available.

Saskatoon Public Library
Biography & Genealogy Master Index (see Vancouver)
Biography in Context. More than 450,000 biographies on more than 380,000 people.
Community Histories Database.The Saskatchewan Community Books database contains more than 750 titles.

Winnipeg Public Library
PastForward.  Winnipeg's history, digitized. View vintage Winnipeg and Manitoba postcards, search historic people and business directories, listen to people tell their stories, and more.
Winnipeg Free Press Archive (In-library use only).  Dating back to 1874, the pages are fully searchable by name, keyword and date, making it easy for you to quickly explore historical content, research your family history, or simply read about a person or event of interest.

Toronto Public Library
Quebec Records Online (Two branches only)  French-Canadian genealogy resource featuring records from the Drouin collection. Includes baptisms, marriages, deaths, obituaries, family histories, etc.
Toronto Star Historical Newspaper Archive Articles and full page reproductions of the complete newspaper from 1894 to 2011.

Ottawa Public Library
Généalogie Québec (library usage only). Provides access to over 42,000,000 images and files from the origins of New France to today, drawn from the search tools of the Drouin Genealogical Institute. Includes baptism and death certificates (1621-1849), the Fond Drouin registries from 1621 to 1967, and marriage and death certificates (1926-1997). Many digital documents are also available, such as notarized contracts, post cards, censuses, etc.
PRDH (Programme de recherche en démographie historique) (library usage only). Database containing a directory of civil status records (baptisms, marriages and burials) in Quebec (1621-1799), a genealogical dictionary of families (1621-1765) and a directory of couples and descendants.
Unlike every other library in the survey there are no databases relating to local material.

Ottawa was the only library in the survey without local resources online!

Montreal, Grande Bibliotheque
Lovell Directories, 1842-2010
Marcotte Québec Directories, 1822-1976
Québec Notary Archives, to 1935
Non-catholic baptisms of Montreal, 1766-1835
Biography and Genealogy Master Index
BMS 2000 Quebec Genealogy (on site only)

Charlevoix marriage contracts, 
1737 1920

Quebec Region Marriage Contracts, 
1761-1946
Saguenay Region Marriage Contracts, 1840-1911
Land Grants to Families with 12 or More Living Children, 1890-1905
Coronor's Inquests:1765 à 1954. Beauce (1862-1947), Charlevoix (1862-1944), Montmagny (1862-1952), Québec (1765-1930), Saint-François (Sherbrooke, 1900-1954). 
and more!

Halifax Public Library
Local Books of Remembrance. Three commemorative books containing the names of local people whose lives were lost at war.




Further Genetic Genealogy Ireland presentations on YouTube

Y-SNPs: Key to the future (Robert Casey)
The explosion of Y-SNPs is having a major impact on Surname Projects. Robert explores how Y-SNPs can be used to determine when Y-STR matches are not actually related. Y-STR “signatures” are covered in depth and how these signatures can be used to determine relatedness and predict Y-SNPs which in turn reduces Y-SNP testing costs. The availability of this new and ever-increasing body of Y-DNA data now allows the creation of reasonably accurate genetic descendant charts by extending Y-STR signatures into the genealogical time frame.



and

Connecting your DNA to the Ancient Irish Annals (Maurice Gleeson)
Maurice set out to connect his Gleeson “Clan” to the Ancient Irish Annals, only to be confronted with a variety of different hurdles and challenges. The same obstacles are likely to be encountered by many genealogists and DNA Project Administrators attempting to achieve the same objective and Maurice discusses some hints and tips on how to approach these genealogical conundrums.



If you missed the previous presentations posted, and perhaps looking to avoid venturing outside, find links to all Genetic Genealogy Ireland presentations online for this and previous years, at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHnW2NAfPIA2KUipZ_PlUlw/videos


20 November 2016

Check Your British and Irish Surnames

Following on the announcement of the publication of Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland which I blogged here you can try it free online until the end of the month. Find out how at http://info.uwe.ac.uk/news/UWENews/news.aspx?id=3510.

Traumatic start to war bride voyage to Canada

Seventy years ago today, 20 November 1946, 900 wives and 300 children of Canadian servicemen bound for Halifax, Nova Scotia, left Liverpool on the Empire Brent. They didn't get far. Their ship, 13,959 tons, collided in the foggy dawn light with the Stormont, 1,031 tons, mid-river in the Mersey. The Empire Brent returned for repairs. Most of the 210 head of cattle and horses on the Stormont, many thrown into the water, did not survive.
The Canada-bound women and children disembarked at Birkenhead and returned by train to transit accommodation in London, some to their parental homes.


The Empire Brent was repaired and carried most of the same passengers to Halifax arriving on 15 December.
Some first-hand accounts by war brides on that voyage are at www.pier21.ca/wp-content/uploads/files/research_war_brides.pdf
A group from that voyage, 31 war brides and 17 children, were destined for Ottawa and area, one of the largest war bride groups to come to the Ottawa valley. Do you know of any of their subsequent history?

19 November 2016

Past Time to Stop the Insult Findmypast

It's over a month since Findmypast blew it by listing a new collection of Canadian records accompanied by a US flag. They moved to add "US & Canada family history" to the front page and sent an apology. But it's only skin deep. Go to the A-Z of records catalogue listing and nothing has changed. All Canadian records are listed under United States. Would it be that much more difficult to make it "United States and Canada" there too?

The major addition by Findmypast this week, over 2 million records, should have been opened in the 1939 Register when it was appeared a year ago. They were kept back when FMP failed to correlate death registrations with the Register entries.

Also new this week is a collection of Irish Directories. Specifically:

The Treble Almanac: 1802-1844, which comprises three separate sources: John Watson Stewarts Almanack, The English Court Registry (until it ceased publication in 1837), and Wilson’s Dublin Directory.
Thom's Irish Almanac: 1844-1900, the best known directory in Ireland.
Pettigrew & Oulton's Dublin Almanac & General Register of Ireland: 1834-1850 which contains a street-by-street listing of residents of Dublin. 


18 November 2016

Ancestry Update Ottawa Journal BMD Notices

One can never be sure whether Ancestry's dataset updates are major or minor. Even if it's the former with the recent update it's worth reminding researchers of the Ottawa area that with 1,496,763 birth, marriage, death, and even engagement, notices the Ottawa Journal on Ancestry is a significant resource.
Only the notices appear to have been indexed. It may be there is further information elsewhere in the paper which can be browsed with an Ancestry.ca subscription.
The whole OCRd newspaper, from 1885 to 1980, can be searched at newspapers.com without a subscription the free result may be enough to point you to where to browse to on Ancestry,ca/.
The Ottawa Journal was made available to Ancestry through the City of Ottawa Archives and the Ancestry version is available there as well as through Ancestry Library at many if not most public libraries..

Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland

This newly published four volume set mentions that about half of the 20,000 most common family names are locative, meaning they come from places; a quarter are relationship names, a fifth are nicknames and about 8% are occupational.

Read a Guardian article on the Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland published by the Oxford University Press here.  It's not cheap. Amazon.ca has it listed for $812.52, - they'll probably throw in free shipping.

Kingston Branch OGS November Meeting

The speaker for the 19 November branch meeting, the last for 2016, is Joyce Fingland, past chair of the branch who will present DNA: Which Test and Why.

As usual the meeting is at the Seniors Centre, 56 Francis Street, Kingston with the presentation at 10:00 a.m. with meet and greet between 9:00 and 10:00 a.m.

The usual lunch after the meeting will, exceptionally, be held at The Greek Islands at 331 Bath Road. It's on the north side of Bath Road between Sir John A. Macdonald Blvd and Portsmouth Avenue.

17 November 2016

Further YouTube videos from GGI2016

Two new videos have been posted by Maurice Gleeson on talks given in Dublin last month at Genetic Genealogy Ireland.

First, from Jennifer Zinck, Investigating Family History Mysteries with DNA: The Tools

"This is a must-see presentation for anyone who wants to dig a bit deeper into their autosomal DNA results. Jennifer presents a variety of different tools that can prove useful in analysing your results, organising them so you can easily keep track of what you are doing, and optimising your chances of making a breakthrough in your own family tree research."


Second, from Peter Sjölund, Viking DNA in Ireland. Do you have some and where did it come from?
"Peter runs the Swedish DNA Project which currently boasts over 4000 members. He will reveal how to recognise if your DNA is of Viking origin. He will also will trace the DNA of the Vikings back to different parts of Scandinavia and all the way back to when people first colonised Scandinavia at the end of the Ice Age. If you suspect you are a Viking, this is for you."




A reminder that today, 17 November, is the last day to view Five Tips to Make Sense of your DNA Testing by Diahan Southard at https://youtu.be/VrGqtrTX7so. Diahan will be speaking in Edmonton next April.

Canadian Content in a Digital World

The Department of Canadian Heritage is undertaking a consultation, "a national dialogue on Canadian content; one that will help us adapt our cultural policies to today’s digital realities."

The Minister of Canadian Heritage asks "Tell us what’s important to you. Share your ideas to help Canada thrive in a digital world. And to allow people across the country and around the world to keep discovering what makes our culture and creators so great."

There have been several consultation sessions in five centres across the country, from Vancouver to Halifax as well as online through social media.

Judging by the participant lists for the consultation session discussion has been dominated by the arts and entertainment community. Canadian Content in a Digital World is more than that.

Just before I read about this consultation I was looking at an announcement about the US National Digital Newspaper Program. It provides major federal funding with the aim being "to create a national digital resource of historically significant newspapers published between 1690 and 1963, from all the states and U.S. territories ... (a) searchable database (which) will be permanently maintained at the Library of Congress (LC) and will be freely accessible via the Internet." So far 43 states have participated in the program - see www.neh.gov/grants/preservation/national-digital-newspaper-program and millions of digitized searchable pages are made available through Chronicling America - http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/.

There have also been major national programs of newspaper digitization elsewhere, notably in the UK and Australia. These allow researchers of all ages, school children to seniors, to learn first hand about their communities recorded in newspapers, the first draft of history.

The Government of Canada has done nothing.

Piecemeal newspaper digitization has been done locally in Canada. There has been no federal leadership as in the other countries and so Canadians are deprived of the same access to their documentary heritage in a digital age as is being increasingly enjoyed in other countries.

It's past time for Canada to catch up. A funded program with federal leadership should be established.






Quinte Branch OGS November Meeting

The November meeting of Quinte Branch, Ontario Genealogical Society on Saturday, 19 November, 2016 and will .include the AGM for 2017.
Robyn May will introduce her book "Sacrifice of Angels" about WWI Canadian Nurses and also the library services and recent updates to help maximize researching at our library.

Place - Quinte West Public Library, 7 Creswell Drive, Trenton, ON  K8V 6X5
Time - 1 pm - 3 pm
Everyone Welcome, bring a friend

There's further information on this and the new Branch Canada 150 project at www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~canqbogs/

16 November 2016

Genealogy Blog Posts from the Toronto Public Library

We know that librarians are the genealogist's best friends.

Yet another example of why is given by three blog posts in the past month from the Toronto Public Library:

The Globe and Mail Historical Newspaper Archive

Researching British Military Ancestors

Ukrainian Genealogy

These posts contain extensive resource lists and while they refer particularly to TPL resources your local public library may have them in their collection or be helpful in finding access for you.

15 November 2016

CEF Service Files Digitization: November Update

As of 15 November 2016,  361,236 (347,005 last month) of 640,000 files are available online via the LAC Soldiers of the First World War: 1914–1918 database.

The latest digitized is from Box 6052 (5848 last month) and the surname Mattineau* (Mahony).

14,231 (13,318) files were digitized in the last month.

At the last month rate of digitization the project would be completed in 19.6 months, by July 2018.
* not every soldier served for long.

40% off Ancestry for new 12 month memberships

For "new" members only. 40% off until end of day 18 November.

Ancestry.ca is offerring a 12 month membership for the Canadian records for $72 and for the World Deluxe for $180. That's about as good as it gets.

It's only for new members which may include those who have let their membership lapse for a short while.

Be aware of the small print.
*Customers will be billed the annual price in one up-front payment. Offers available until 11:59 p.m. ET on November 18, 2016 by following the links in this email only. Special offer prices are valid for first 12‑month period of membership only. Your membership will automatically renew at the end of each 12‑month period and your chosen method of payment will be charged $119.88 for Canada Discovery or $299.88 for World Deluxe at that time, unless you are notified otherwise. If you don't want to renew, cancel at least 2 days before your renewal date by visiting the My Account section or contacting us. See our Terms and Conditions for further details.

What's New at FamilySearch?

You may have noticed I've posted nothing about new Canadian or UK records from FamilySearch in the past month. There have been none except as included in a Billion Graves update.
Yet FamilySearch has been busy, 75 separate datasets posted, including 47 for the US.
Under the radar, where most people don't venture, there is some new UK material accessible in the indexing area.
Go to https://familysearch.org/indexing/projects/country/gb for the UK and you'll find headings: Current Projects; Partially Searchable Projects and; Completed Projects, Now Searchable.
Check out the progress on current projects, some appear to be nearing completion.
There are no completed projects but two partially searchable:

 For Canada there are indexing projects underway but none listed under partially or fully completed.

The Future of autosomal DNA testing

Debbie Kennett was very present at the Genetic Genealogy Ireland event last month but only gave one presentation. It's recommended viewing in the YouTube version below.

Cousin-matching autosomal DNA tests first became available in 2009, and are now the most popular of the three tests used by genealogists. Thanks to the power of the large company databases previously insoluble family history mysteries now have the potential to be solved. It is truly an exciting time to be a genetic genealogist. However, the interpretation of autosomal DNA results can be challenging, though new tools are being developed all the time to help with the process. What can we expect in the years to come as we move into the whole genome sequencing era?
Will genealogy be no more?

PDHS November Meeting: The Role of the Church in Early Perth, and of the Perth Legion

The following is posted for the Perth & District Historical Society

For our November 17 meeting - which is also the final of our 200th Anniversary series - Perth and District Historical Society will have two presentations:  the first on the important role of the church in early Perth and the second on Perth's Royal Canadian Legion.  

Our first presenter for the evening will be John Fowler, Chair of the Society, on the development of church life in the early days of Perth within the context of the society and culture of the new community, with reference to his own family in the town from 1816 to the present.  John Fowler was born in Perth in 1935, the sixth generation of his family to live in the town.  Following attendance at the local schools, he studied chemical engineering at the U. of T. before transferring to Trinity College, and graduating with a B.A. in Modern History.  

John then attended Oxford University, where he read Theology, and graduated with a B.A. and then M.A., in 1961 and 1962, respectively.  He obtained his D.D. in 1980 from Trinity College, and was ordained in the Anglican Church in 1961, serving as an Anglican minister until retiring in 2000.   Since returning to Perth, John has been involved with heritage issues, serving on various boards – including the Museum, Inge Va, and Heritage Advisory Board.  He and his wife, Hilary, live in Perth.  

John Gemmell, our second presenter, had a career of service to Canada – with 14 years in the RCN and 27 years in the OPP, retiring as sergeant in 2007.  Further service has been on Perth Town Council (as Councillor and, presently, Deputy Mayor) and, also, Warden of Lanark County.  He is an active member of the Perth Legion, serving as President (and Past President), 1st Vice President, Chair of the Branch Executive, and Curator of the Hall of Remembrance Military Museum.  John and his wife Anne live in Perth.  

John will discuss the origins and a brief history of the Royal Canadian Legion, leading to the local branch, Perth- Upon-Tay, with a special reference to the wonderful Hall of Remembrance.  Continuing the theme of Remembrance Day, the presentation will include a military memorial video of fallen comrades, and, also, an interesting display of artifacts drawn from the Hall, relating to Perth’s history from a military perspective.  

Please join us for this final meeting of our 200th Anniversary celebration,
at Perth's Royal Canadian Legion, home of the Hall of Remembrance,
26 Beckwith Street E., Perth, at 7:30pm (Toonie donation).

14 November 2016

Family Tree DNA Year End Sale

People wait for the Family Tree DNA sale. This year it's better than ever!
Read the details at https://www.familytreedna.com/products.aspx

It gets even better. Here's what Jennifer Zinck wrote on Facebook from Houston and this weekend's FTDNA International Genetic Genealogy Conference, for the International Society of Genetic Genealogy.

"On every Monday between now and the end of the year, all customers will receive a holiday coupon. Those can be applied to the pricing seen here. Y-DNA 37 will be $139 without a coupon. There will be coupons for $10 or $20 off. Family Finder will be $59!!! If someone buys a bundle, the price of the FF will be $49. In addition, if you have a $10 Y-DNA STR coupon, you will be able to get an additional $10 off on the bundle price. If you give that coupon away you will get another and most likely different coupon. Because you gave away a coupon to someone who purchased it, the way it’s supposed to work is that you have a greater chance of getting a bigger or better coupon. If you get a lot of your friends, relatives, neighbors, etc to test, there is a potential reward for you."

FCOA: City Archivist's Report

At Sunday's AGM of the Friends of the City of Ottawa Archives Paul Henry, the City Archivist reported on activities for the past year, the 40th for the Archives and the 5th for the facility at 100 Tallwood.
35,000 boxes of material transferred to the building from outside storage have been processed and are being transferred to compressed archive boxes. The backlog of processing of City records for appraisal has been reduced by over 90 per cent. That task should be complete by the end of the year.
Administratively the Archives was transferred from Parks and Recreation to the City Clerk's department in July.
Records available online through the Ottawa Museums and Archives portal include 14,974 images, and many more archival descriptions.
Transfers of records to the City Archives from the Archives of Ontario occurred in September including those of Eastview, Torbolton and the County of Carleton.
Between January and October this year more than 788,000 page image views from the city collection were logged by Ancestry.ca.
Cooperation with Algonquin College in a variety of programs is increasing, helped by geographic proximity. A new initiative with the Historical Society of Ottawa Collection, recently donated, will be starting very soon with Algonquin students.

Rockstar Genealogist: Who Has Dedicated Admirers?

Rockstar Genealogist voting permitted selecting as many nominees as you want. However, many visits resulted in a vote for just a single candidate. Often that followed a mention on social media.

Who benefited most from single votes?

1. Daniel Horowitz
2. Katherine R. Willson
3. CeCe Moore
4. Roberta Estes
4. Paul Howes
6. Kirsty Gray
7. Janet Few
8. Daniel Earl

Soliciting votes through social media, and by other means, is just as legitimate for this vote as it is in other elections.


13 November 2016

Family Tree DNA Reports Ancient European Origins

Announced at the FTDNA International Conference on Genetic Genealogy this weekend, and now available to everyone who has taken the company Family Finder test, is what is identified as an ancientOrigins report. It's described:
The European Continent has been witness to many episodes of human migration, some of which have spanned over thousands of years. The most up-to-date research into these ancient migrations on the European Continent suggests that there were three major groups of people that have had a lasting effect on present day peoples of European descent: Hunter-Gatherers, Early Farmers, and Metal Age Invaders. 
If I read the online material correctly Hunter-Gatherer corresponds to the Paleolithic, or Old Stone Age, after the last Ice Age and up to 8,000 years before the present. Farmer corresponds to the Neolithic or New Stone Age, up to about 5,000 years before the present. Metal Age Invaders refers to the Bronze Age, up to 3,000 years before the present.
For each of these there's a map showing a trajectory by which those people entered Europe as well as locations where ancient remains have been found.
In my case I'm 16% Metal Age Invader, 45% Farmer and 39% Hunter-Gatherer. That leaves 0% non-European.
The basis of these estimates isn't clear despite a few fairly cryptic tweets from the conference. Is it solely autosomal analysis of the ancient remains? Is it that plus something else, or something else entirely? There's no indication of the likely range of uncertainty.
These are interesting estimates, and may well actually be accurate, but without documentation of the basis on which they rest they are a curiosity.

GGI 2016: Latest Developments in Y-DNA

Feedback at Saturday's BIFHSGO meeting was that folks appreciate genetic genealogy related information  on the blog. So I'm especially pleased to be posting a link to another YouTube video from a presentation at Genetic Genealogy Ireland last month.

Latest Developments in Y-DNA by John Cleary impressed me as a particularly well organized presentation when I heard it in Dublin. Here's the description:

Recent years have seen a huge explosion in the number of DNA markers available for testing on the Y-chromosome. And as more and more people have taken up these advanced tests, our knowledge of the Human Evolutionary Tree has expanded. Not only that, but the new SNP results (in combination with pre-existing STR data) are creating branching patterns within surname projects and helping our understanding of the evolution of surnames within Ireland. John summarises these recent advances and shows us where they might lead.
John, who is a pleasure to talk with should you ever get the opportunity, called this a more introductory level talk that the one he gave at Who Do You Think You Are? Live in Birmingham earlier this year (on YouTube in three parts here, here and here). I suspect some will still consider this to be at a rather more advanced level than they would want to tackle. It depends on how keen you are to pursue your Y-DNA paternal ancestry.


12 November 2016

Forgotton Hero, Alexander Fraser: Win, Win, Win

In August I published a review of Ron Shaw's book Forgotten Hero: Alexander Fraser. It was based on a complementary copy from Global Genealogy. One of my comments was about the lack of an index.
Three months later there is an index. It's online at http://globalgenealogy.com/countries/canada/ontario/eastern-ontario/resources/199079.htm/.

How did it get there? I didn't need the book in my collection, which I'm hoping will shrink rather than grow. In discussion with Mike More who leads The Ontario Name Index project he agreed to arrange extraction of names for that database and provide the index back to Global Genealogy for posting on the website. Then the book would be added to the OGS/Ottawa Branch Library at the Ottawa City Archives.

Now it's mission accomplished.

11 November 2016

Book Review: Great Canadian Expectations, The Middlemore Experience

Great Canadian Expectations, The Middlemore Experience
By Patricia Roberts-Pichette
Published by Global Heritage Press, Ottawa, November 2016
332 Pages
8.25" X 10.75"
ISBN 978-1-77240-046-5 (Softcover)

Emigration and settlement of young immigrants, known as home children, from the UK to Canada in the 19th and 20th centuries was and remains controversial. Some Canadians, especially those who are descendants of an immigrant who was exploited, harbour resentment against the whole movement, to the extent of seeking a formal government apology. Others take the positive view that in the long run these young immigrants were generally much better off on the farms of Canada than they would have been on the streets of Great Britain.

Patricia Robert-Pichette holds that tarring the whole home child movement with the same brush is a mistake. This book, the culmination of her 15-year study of the agency founded by John Throgmorton Middlemore in Birmingham, presents evidence that sets his agency apart from some others.

Using a chronological approach the book starts with an exploration of the 19th century social situation in Birmingham and of Middlemore’s origins. From the founding of a Birmingham home in 1872, the book covers the period of immigration to Ontario, the switch to the Maritime provinces starting in 1886 and the last group's arrival in 1932, subsequent cooperation with the Fairbridge Society and on to the present day. The history of the organization is interwoven with the stories of the children and others involved with the agency as well as the positions on child immigration of politicians, senior public servants and social activists.

Each chapter has extensive end notes, sometimes running to five pages. End material includes 12 appendices, 10 pages of references, and a 15-page index.

It would be ideal if a comprehensive database giving the long view of the young immigrants and their paths through life were available to assess Middlemore’s success. That’s not so. Many records have been lost or destroyed in the course of events including the Halifax Explosion of 1917. Moreover, once the immigrant attained an age where they passed out of guardianship, contact was commonly lost. The book draws on children’s letters, letters written later in life, Middlemore agency and government reports and files, newspaper articles and oral history, recognizing that each originator has a perspective and agenda.

What’s the measure of success? The book’s estimate is that of the 5,156 children Middlemore settled in Ontario and the Maritime provinces over 92 percent had chosen to remain in Canada at age 21; another four percent had left for the US or voluntarily returned to the UK.

If you descend from a Middlemore home child this book is an essential resource for understanding their experience. If there are other books on home children on your bookshelves this is one that should be added, and that includes the shelves of Canadian academic and public libraries. Social historians will appreciate the treatment of the conditions that resulted in the rise and fall of the home child movement at large, both in Canada and Britain.

Find the table of contents, information on the author, access to the index and details on availability at http://globalgenealogy.com/countries/canada/home-children/resources/1012045.htm

Note that this review is based on a pdf copy provided by Global Genealogy. Also that I have known and appreciated the work of Patricia Roberts-Pichette even before her involvement with genealogy and home children.


Identifying our Soldiers of WWI

Appropriately for Remembrance Day Maurice Gleeson has just posted on YouTube this presentation he gave at Genetic Genealogy Ireland, and preciously for BIFHSGO,

Over 330,000 WWI soldiers are still missing-in-action on the Western Front. Every year 30-60 soldiers (many of them Irish) are found during routine farm work. This presentation discusses the identification process using examples from recent finds (such as Fromelles) and how you can help the process to identify your own war dead relatives.

FCOA Presentation on Marion Dewer

If you use the City of Ottawa Archives at 100 Tallwood, even if just to attend meetings, show your support by attending a presentation this Sunday, 13 November, by Deborah Gorham, author of the recent biography of former Ottawa Mayor Marion Dewer. Deborah is the invited speaker at the Friends of the City of Ottawa Archives AGM and the City Archives was a major research resource.
The free event gets underway at 2 pm.
Find out more about the FCOA at www.fcoa-aavo.ca/node


10 November 2016

More information on MyHeritage DNA

If you're considering an autosomal DNA test with MyHeritage DNA, or uploading existing data to the site, there's a good blog post where company founder and CEO, Gilad Japhet, "candidly answers questions and provides more information".
It's interesting that the tests are not offered in Israel where the company is based, and that the samples are analysed in the USA by the umbrella company that also owns Family Tree DNA.

Military Records Free

For four days, November 10 - 13 Findmypast is offering free access to 70 million military records, mostly from the US (including Canada!) and the UK,

Findmypast military specialist, Paul Nixon will present a webinar on Friday 11 November at 11am EST, 4pm GMT, showing how to piece together British Army ancestors’ life stories using old photographs and Findmypast records. Register here.

Don't overlook original records that are always free, such as these from Library and Archives Canada.

  1. Courts-martial of the First World War
  2. Faces of the Second World War
  3. Military Medals, Honours and Awards, 1812–1969
  4. Military Medals, Honours and Awards, 1812–1969
  5. Personnel Records of the First World War
  6. Second World War Service Files: Canadian Armed Forces War Dead
  7. Service Files of the Royal Canadian Navy, 1910-1941 - Ledger Sheets
  8. South African War, 1899-1902 - Service Files, Medals and Land Applications
  9. War Diaries of the First World War
  10. War of 1812
and the 1.7 million, including civilian casualties, of the British Commonwealth who died and are remembered by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

UPDATE: Ancestry.co.uk is providing free access to their UK military records, with registration, from 11-13 November 2016.  I've not noticed anything from Ancestry.ca/.

ADDITIONAL UPDATE:  Ancestry.ca has now come aboard with free access to military records, with registration, until end of day 13 November.