31 August 2017

Canada 1921 Census on LAC Website

Nearly four years after the 1921 census became available on Ancestry.ca, and available free (with registration) from locations across Canada, the census is now online, free and unrestricted at the Library and Archives Canada website - www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/census/1921/Pages/introduction.aspx/.
Also find a good deal of supplementary information, such as pdf street indexes for Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax, Hamilton, London, Montreal, Quebec City, Saint John, Toronto, Vancouver, and Winnipeg.
Unfortunately only the population census survives.

Update on End of FamilySearch Physical Microfilm Delivery Service

FamilySearch have granted a few more days to order delivery of physical microfilms, now until 7 September. Full details on the transition and new arrangements are at FamilySearch Newsroom.

The summary version is:
  • Patrons can still order microfilms online until Thursday, September 7, 2017.
  • After film ordering ends, if customers need access to a particular film yet to be digitized, they can express interest to have it added to the priority digitization list by contacting FamilySearch Support (Toll Free: 1-866-406-1830). 
  • All of the microfilm rented by patrons in the past 5 years have now been digitized by FamilySearch—over 1.5 million microfilms (ca. 1.5 billion images).
  • The remaining microfilms are being digitally scanned at a rate of 1,000 films per day and are projected to be complete by 2020.
  • New digital images are available as they are scanned in the FamilySearch.org Catalog.
  • Films currently on loan in family history centers and affiliate libraries are automatically granted extended loan status.
  • Affiliate libraries now have access to nearly all of the restricted image collections as family history centers.
  • Visitors to the Family History Library in Salt Lake City will still be able to order needed microfilms to use during their research visits.
Viewing many, perhaps most of the newly digitized films will still require a visit to a local Family History Centre or Affiliated Library, but there will be no charge at LDS facilities and no delay due to mailing a film.

A reminder that those of us in Ottawa are fortunate to have the Ottawa Family History Center at 1017 Prince of Wales Drive with regular hours: Tuesday-Thursday 9:30am-3:30pm; Friday 6:30pm-9:30pm; 2nd and 4th Saturdays of the month 9:30am-12:30pm. There are two other locations in the Ottawa area although with much more limited hours.

Find locations and hours worldwide from the map at https://www.familysearch.org/locations/# 

British Newspaper Archive additions for August

The British Newspaper Archive now has 21,284,568 (20,773,926 pages last month). The 55 (44) papers with new pages online are tabulated below with the major additions highlighted.
TITLEDATE RANGE
Daily Telegraph & Courier (London)1873-1888
The Sportsman1888-1889, 1910
Woolwich Gazette1901
Clitheroe Advertiser and Times1900, 1908, 1917-1918
Morecambe Guardian1922, 1924, 1927-1929
Bucks Advertiser & Aylesbury News1860, 1872, 1874, 1890, 1912
Market Harborough Advertiser and Midland Mail1892, 1898, 1904, 1921-1923
Exmouth Journal1869-1910
Eastbourne Herald1939-1951
Portadown Times1922-1941, 1954-1956
Woolwich Gazette and Greenwich and Deptford Chronicle1873, 1875-1888, 1891-1892, 1895-1900, 1902-1903
Stornoway Gazette and West Coast Advertiser1950
Salisbury and Winchester Journal1873-1876, 1878-1888, 1890-1896, 1898
Croydon Guardian and Surrey County Gazette1879-1896, 1898-1909
Annandale Observer and Advertiser1887-1888
Eastern Daily Press1870-1876, 1878-1890, 1896, 1899, 1901-1909
Colchester Gazette1877, 1879-1880, 1889
Lowestoft Journal1874-1896, 1898-1910
Northern Constitution1900-1907
Newbury Weekly News and General Advertiser1870-1872
Yarmouth Mercury1884, 1889
Shields Daily News1864-1868, 1874, 1877, 1944-1945, 1951, 1953
Kentish Independent1871-1910
East London Observer1880-1928
Saffron Walden Weekly News1891, 1896-1897
West London Observer1916-1952
Volunteer Service Gazette and Military Dispatch1864-1869, 1871-1877, 1879-1880, 1882-1903
South London Chronicle1879-1890, 1892, 1895-1907
Poor Law Unions' Gazette1868-1887, 1889-1900, 1902-1903
Belfast News-Letter1930
Leitrim Advertiser1886, 1890-1899, 1901-1916
Illustrated War News1914-1918, 1939
Leinster Independent1871
Globe1830-1833
Y Genedl Gymreig1901-1909
Newry Reporter1872-1910
North Wales Times1895-1896, 1901-1910
South Wales Daily Post1897
Pontypool Free Press1870-1871, 1879, 1894-1896, 1898-1903, 1905-1909
Carmarthen Weekly Reporter1886-1891, 1894
Y Goleuad1888, 1890, 1892, 1895
Rhyl Record and Advertiser1887, 1901-1902
Wrexham Guardian and Denbighshire and Flintshire Advertiser1869-1874
Penarth Chronicle and Cogan Echo1893
Potter's Electric News1858
Dudley Herald1900
Shipping and Mercantile Gazette1882-1884
Ripley and Heanor News and Ilkeston Division Free Press1890-1897, 1899-1957
Abergavenny Chronicle1890, 1892, 1894, 1900-1901
Alcester Chronicle1864-1888, 1890-1910
Milngavie and Bearsden Herald1930-1934
Brechin Herald1890-1892
Tenby Observer1888
Nelson Leader1920-1922, 1938-1939, 1950
Eastern Evening News1910

30 August 2017

What's available online for British Military Genealogy?

With so many British military databases available online it's a challenge to know where to go to find the one you want.
The table below includes the databases from Ancestry, FamilySearch (FS), Findmypast (FMP) and The (UK) National Archives (TNA). They're ordered by the year of the first date available. Some are at more than one site although the title may be different.

DatabaseCompanyService
British Royal Navy & Royal Marines Service and Pension Records Browse, 1704-1919FMPNavy
British Royal Navy & Royal Marines Service and Pension Records, 1704-1919FMPNavy
British Army, List Of Half-Pay Officers 1714FMPArmy
UK, Royal Hospital Chelsea Pensioner Admissions and Discharges, 1715-1925AncestryArmy
British Army, Royal Artillery Officers 1716-1899FMPArmy
British Royal Navy, Ships' MustersFMPNavy
British India Office Army & Navy PensionsFMPArmy & Navy
Royal Navy officers' service records 1756-1931TNANavy
Web: UK, Royal Naval Officers' Service Records Index, 1756-1931AncestryNavy
UK, Royal Hospital Chelsea Pensioner Soldier Service Records, 1760-1920AncestryArmy
UK, Chelsea Pensioners' Service Records, 1760-1913FSArmy
UK, Royal Hospital Chelsea: Discharge Documents of Pensioners 1760-1887FSArmy
Great Britain, War Office Registers, 1772-1935FSArmy
Cornwall, England, Militia and Sea Fencibles Index, 1780 - 1831AncestryAll
British Army Pensioners - Royal Hospital Kilmainham, Ireland, 1783-1822FMPArmy
Army List 1787FMPArmy
British Mariners, Trinity House Calendars 1787-1854FMPMarines
British Royal Navy Allotment Declarations 1795-1852FMPNavy
Army List 1798FMPArmy
Household Cavalry soldiers' service records 1799-1920TNAArmy
British Army Officer Promotions 1800-1815FMPArmy
UK, British Army Lists, 1882-1962AncestryArmy
British Army Schoolchildren and Schoolmasters 1803-1932FMPArmy
London, Watermen In Royal Navy, 1803-1809FMPNavy
UK, Militia Service Records, 1806-1915FSArmy
UK, Naval and Military Courts Martial Registers, 1806-1930AncestryNavy
British Army Muster Rolls, 84th Foot 1808-1818FMPArmy
Peninsular War, British Army Officers, 1808-1814FMPArmy
UK, Military Deserters, 1812-1927AncestryArmy
UK, British Army Muster Books and Pay Lists, 1812-1817AncestryArmy
British Army, War Of 1812 CasualtiesFMPArmy
British Royal Marines, Marriage Registers 1813-1920FMPMarines
Army Deserters 1828-1840FMPArmy
British Royal Navy Personnel 1831FMPNavy
UK, Merchant Navy Seamen Records, 1835-1941FSNavy
Harts Army List 1840FMPArmy
Royal Navy officers' service record cards and files c.1840-c.1920TNANavy
British Army, Worldwide Index 1841FMPArmy
Royal Marines' service records 1842-1925TNAMarines
UK, Royal Navy Registers of Seamen's Services, 1848-1939AncestryNavy
British Army, Royal Artillery Officer Deaths 1850-2011FMPArmy
British Army, Worldwide Index 1851FMPArmy
England & Wales Merchant Navy Crew Lists 1861-1913FMPNavy
Royal Navy ratings' service records 1853-1923TNANavy
Web: UK, Royal Naval Seamen Index, 1853 -1872AncestryNavy
British Army Discharges, 60th Foot 1854-1880FMPArmy
East India Register & Army List 1855FMPArmy
Victoria Cross registers 1856-1944TNAArmy
Royal Naval Reserve service records 1860-1955TNANavy
British Army, Worldwide Index 1861FMPArmy
British Army, Worldwide Index 1871FMPArmy
Indian Army & Civil Service List 1873FMPArmy
Army List August 1878FMPArmy
British Army Muster Rolls, 60th Foot 1879-1882FMPArmy
British Army, Northumberland Fusiliers 1881-1920FMPArmy
Harts Army List 1888FMPArmy
Royal Marines 1899-1919FMPMarines
British Royal Navy Seamen 1899-1924FMPNavy
Royal Navy Officers 1899-1919FMPNavy
UK, Army Registers of Soldiers' Effects, 1901-1929AncestryArmy
Volunteer Reserve service records 1903-1922TNANavy
British Army Service Records Image BrowseFMPArmy
Royal Naval Air Service officers' service records 1906-1918TNANavy
British Army, Honourable Artillery CompanyFMPArmy
British Royal Air Force, Airmen's Service Records 1912-1939FMPAir Force
British Royal Air Force, Officers' Service Records 1912-1920FMPAir Force
UK, Royal Air Force Muster Roll, 1918AncestryAir Force
UK, British Jewry Roll of Honour, 1914-1918AncestryAll
Bexley, Kent, England, WWI Registration Cards, 1914-1919AncestryAll
Prisoner of war interview reports 1914-1918TNAArmy
British Army medal index cards 1914-1920TNAArmy
British Army nurses' service records 1914-1918TNAArmy
British Army war diaries 1914-1922TNAArmy
Soldiers' service recordsTNAArmy
Soldiers' pension recordsTNAArmy
UK, British Army Recipients of the Military Medal, 1914-1920AncestryArmy
Surrey, England, Regimental Rolls, 1914-1947AncestryArmy
UK, WWI War Diaries (Gallipoli and Dardanelles), 1914-1916AncestryArmy
UK, WWI War Diaries (France, Belgium and Germany), 1914-1920AncestryArmy
UK, WWI Service Medal and Award Rolls, 1914-1920AncestryArmy
British Army Service RecordsFMPArmy
British Army, Bond Of Sacrifice: Officers Died In The Great War 1914-1916FMPArmy
British Army, De Ruvigny's Roll Of Honour 1914-1918FMPArmy
British Army, Deserters and Absentees In Police Gazette 1914-1919FMPArmy
British Army, Lloyds Of London Memorial Roll 1914-1919FMPArmy
British Army, Royal Artillery War Commemoration Book, 1914-1918FMPArmy
UK, World War I Service Records, 1914-1920FSArmy
Merchant seamen's campaign medal records 1914-1918TNAMerchant Navy
UK, Shipping and Seamen WWI and WWII Rolls of Honour, 1914-1945AncestryMerchant Navy
Royal Naval Division service records 1914-1919TNANavy
British Royal Navy & Royal Marines, Battle Of Jutland 1916 ServicemenFMPNavy
Women's Army Auxiliary Corps service records 1917-1920TNAArmy
British Army, Women's Army Auxiliary Corps 1917-1920FMPArmy
UK, World War I Women's Army Auxiliary Corps Records, 1917-1920FSArmy
Women's Royal Naval service records 1917-1919TNANavy
Royal Air Force officers' service records 1918-1919TNAAir Force
Women's Royal Air Force service records 1918-1920TNAAir Force
UK, Royal Air Force Airmen Records, 1918-1940AncestryAir Force
Web: UK, Women's Royal Air Force Index, 1918-1920AncestryAir Force
British Women's Royal Air Force Service Records 1918-1920FMPAir Force
Royal Air Force Muster Roll 1918FMPtAir Force
British Army, Plovdiv Military Cemetery BurialsFMPArmy
UK, Military Discharge Indexes, 1920-1971AncestryArmy
UK, Electrical Engineer WWI and WWII Rolls of Honour, 1924, 1949AncestryAll
Army Roll Of Honour 1939-1945FMPArmy
British Army Casualty Lists 1939-1945FMPArmy
British Army Casualty Lists 1939-1945 Image BrowseFMPArmy
British Army, Royal Artillery, 80th Field Regiment, WW2FMPArmy
UK, WWII Civil Defence Gallantry Awards, 1940-1949AncestryCivilian

There are no British military records at MyHeritage. While The Genealogist has several, including many years of Army Lists, the catalogue information is sparse. Check it out at
https://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/coverage/military-records/?type=diamond#includes

The Science of Admixture Percentages

The BIFHSGO DNA Special Interest Group meets on Saturday, 2 September, 2017, 9:30 am to 12:00 pm in Room 115, City of Ottawa Archives, 100 Tallwood Drive, Ottawa, Ontario

There will be a group viewing and discussion of “The Science of Admixture Percentages” (Garrett Hellenthal presenting at the WDYTYA 2017 Conference in Birmingham, UK) followed as time allows, by a Round Table.

29 August 2017

Last Days of FTDNA Friends & Family Summer Sale!

This sale ends at the end of the month so don't miss out if you can use their DNA tests. The price on the BigY test is particularly attractive.
The FTDNA website continues to operate as usual despite the flooding situation in Houston where FTDNA is situated. Expect service to be slower than normal, something I experienced when Hurricane Katrina disputed their operation.
The FTDNA facilities are on the upper levels of a multistory building so there should be no issue from flooding damage. However, the building is adjacent to a bayou so access could be a problem.
Best wishes to staff as they deal with these extreme circumstances which are likely exacerbated by climate change.

Back to Genealogy School

It's that time of year again. Kids looking forward to another year of learning. Parents joyfully forking out for supplies and extras. Drivers eagerly anticipating practical lessons in patience around school buses.

If you're inspired to improve your genealogy game consider online courses from The National Institute for Genealogical Studies or Pharos Tutors.

Pharos lists five courses starting in September:
CourseInstructorStart Date
Organizing Your GenealogyBarbara H. Baker04 Sep 2017
Nonconformity: it's records and historyAlec Tritton07 Sep 2017
Scottish Research OnlineChris Paton11 Sep 2017
The National Archives Website and Catalogue: Finding PeopleGuy Grannum15 Sep 2017
Victorian Crime and Punishment: Courts, Police and PrisonsAntony Marr 19 Sep 2017

The National Institute for Genealogical Studies has many courses, all starting on 4 September.

Analysis and Skills Mentoring Program-Part 3
ADVANCED
Australian: Education RecordsADVANCED
Canadian: Geography and MapsADVANCED
Canadian: Immigration RecordsADVANCED
Canadian: Local History and Special CollectionsADVANCED
Canadian: Migration PatternsADVANCED
English: Court Records-Criminal, Civil & EcclesiasticalADVANCED
English: Land and Property Records Including Manorial Documents and MapsADVANCED
Genealogy and Copyright GuidelinesADVANCED
Genetics & Medical Family HistoryADVANCED
German: Germans Outside of Germany***NEW***ADVANCED
Irish: Electoral and Taxation RecordsADVANCED
Irish: Estate, Plantation and Settlement RecordsADVANCED
Librarianship: Developing a Genealogy WebsiteADVANCED
Methodology - Part 6: Professional Preparation and PracticeADVANCED
Palaeography: Reading & Understanding Historical DocumentsADVANCED
US: Institutional RecordsADVANCED
US: Military RecordsADVANCED
Analysis and Skills Mentoring Program-Part 2INTERMEDIATE
Australian: Church RecordsINTERMEDIATE
Canadian: Land Records-Part 2INTERMEDIATE
Canadian: Vital Statistics Records-Part 2INTERMEDIATE
Connecting Family: Online and VirtuallyINTERMEDIATE
Creating Genealogy Programs for Adults & the Younger GenerationINTERMEDIATE
Electronic Resources: Organize & Publish a Family TreeINTERMEDIATE
English: Occupations - Professions and TradesINTERMEDIATE
English: Understanding Names in GenealogyINTERMEDIATE
German: Civil Registration RecordsINTERMEDIATE
German: Reading the RecordsINTERMEDIATE
Google for the Wise GenealogistINTERMEDIATE
Heraldry for the Family HistorianINTERMEDIATE
Irish: Civil RegistrationINTERMEDIATE
Irish: Major Printed SourcesINTERMEDIATE
Irish: Monumental Gravestone) InscriptionsINTERMEDIATE
Lecturing Skills Including PreparationINTERMEDIATE
Librarianship: Handouts, Brochures and Online/Multi-Media Reference ToolsINTERMEDIATE
Librarianship: Programming and Marketing Your ServicesINTERMEDIATE
Methodology - Part 3: More StrategiesINTERMEDIATE
Methodology - Part 4: Effective Searching and RecordingINTERMEDIATE
Methodology - Part 5: How To Prove ItINTERMEDIATE
Personal Historian: Telling the StoriesINTERMEDIATE
Personal Historian: Video TechniquesINTERMEDIATE
Research: Alberta AncestorsINTERMEDIATE
Research: British India AncestorsINTERMEDIATE
Research: German AncestorsINTERMEDIATE
Research: Manitoba AncestorsINTERMEDIATE
Research: New Brunswick AncestorsINTERMEDIATE
Research: Ontario AncestorsINTERMEDIATE
Research: Quebec Non-Francophone AncestorsINTERMEDIATE
Research: Scandinavian AncestorsINTERMEDIATE
Research: South Africa Ancestors Including Military RecordsINTERMEDIATE
Research: U.S. Midwestern States AncestorsINTERMEDIATE
Research: Ukrainian AncestorsINTERMEDIATE
Skill-Building: Nuts & Bolts of Reporting ResearchINTERMEDIATE
Social Media Tools for the Wise GenealogistINTERMEDIATE
US: Cemetery and Mortuary RecordsINTERMEDIATE
US: Migration PatternsINTERMEDIATE
US: Religious Records-Part 2INTERMEDIATE
Writing for Genealogy: Articles, Blogs, Research Reports and so much moreINTERMEDIATE
Writing the Genealogist's MemoirINTERMEDIATE
Business Skills: Career Development: Choosing a Niche-Part 1BASIC
Business Skills: Career Development: Choosing a Niche-Part 2BASIC
Business Skills: Creating a BusinessBASIC
Business Skills: Establishing & Promoting Your WebsiteBASIC
DNA: Introduction to Genetic GenealogyBASIC
Eastern European: Introduction to Research for North AmericansBASIC
Italian: Civil Registration Records-Part 1BASIC
Italian: Introduction to Research Outside of ItalyBASIC
Italian: Language and LocationBASIC
Personal Historian: Beginning GenealogyBASIC
Scottish: Census RecordsBASIC
Skill-Building: Breaking Down Brick WallsBASIC
Skills: Transcribing, Abstracting & ExtractingBASIC
Business Skills: Business AdministrationBASIC

In addition don't overlook educational opportunities locally such as those offered by the Toronto Branch of OGS - see the flyer here (pdf).

28 August 2017

National Gallery of Canada: Brownell

I kept a particular look out for works with an Ottawa connection on a recent visit to view the exhibition Canadian and Indigenous Art: From Time Immemorial to 1967 at the National Gallery of Canada. You have to focus or be overwhelmed by the variety.
Franklin Brownell, actually Peleg Franklin Brownell, moved to Ottawa in 1886 to become principal of the Ottawa Art School, and later principal of the Women’s Art Association in Ottawa which became the Art Association of Ottawa.

The National Gallery of Canada collection includes 31 works by Brownell, including Weigh Scales, Byward Market, Ottawa reproduced above.

Brownell died in Ottawa on 13 March 1946 and is interred in a prominent place in section 24 of Beechwood Cemetery, near the graves of the two Ottawa Sharpshooters killed at the Battle of Cut Knife in 1885. There is no Beechwood plaque. Ancestry has a submitted file (pdf) with images of many of Brownall's paintings.

Great Canadian Genealogy Summit

Early bird pricing for the Great Canadian Genealogy Summit ends 31 August.

The conference, being held in Halifax, Nova Scotia, 13-15 October, 2017 at The Lord Nelson Hotel features all Canadian speakers on:

Immigration Resources,
Loyalist/Black Loyalist research,
Acadian/Cajun genealogy,
British Home Children in Canada
Early Scottish Settlers
DNA
Methodology.

To register and save: https://cangensummit.ca/

27 August 2017

Shared cM Project Update

Once again the genetic genealogy community is indebted to Blaine Bettinger​ who has updated and compiled yet more detailed statistics on total shared cM data, now more than 25,000 known relationships for autosomal DNA matches.  The study is detailed in the pdf at The Shared cM Project – Version 3.0 (August 2017).
The article includes a step by step guide to establish what a relationship might most likely be based on a particular cM match. Distribution histograms indicate the range and likelihood of various relationships for a given cM match.

The combined statistics are dominated by AncestryDNA tests, especially for the more distant relationships.

Blaine's statistics also show the effect of endogamy. For example for 3rd cousins in non-endogamous situations the median shared is 63cM whereas for endogamous situations it is 101cM.

Generally AncestryDNA shows fewer cM matching for a given relationship than the other companies. That could be owing to the company Timber algorithm which down-rates matching in pile up regions. FTDNA show more cM shared than the other companies for 2nd cousin and more distant relationships. That could be the company including more small segment matches, or than their clients have more endogamous relationships.






Something New for BIFHSGO

At the September BIFHSGO meeting members have the opportunity to vote for the 2016-2017 Best Great Moment presentation from the December 2016 and June 2017 meetings.

The BIFHSGO website invites you to print out the ballot, vote for one presentation, and submit to the Secretary immediately after the September 9 meeting.

If like me you can't be at the September meeting you can email the ballot to Secretary Gillian Leitch at the address in the Email Directory under the Contact Us tab of the BIFHSGO website.

26 August 2017

You can still order microfilms to be delivered to your local Family History Centre ...

... but only until the end of this month (August 2017). After that FamilySearch will no longer offer the service. Eventually all microfilms will become digital microfilms available online. You may not be able to access them except by going to a FHC and for a while not all will be available.

Findmypast adds Canadian and British records

The headline of this week's update for Findmypast is the 1851 Canadian census with more than 2.9 million records. They've long been available for free at sites from LAC and FamilySearch, so FMP is playing catch up.
Additions for England are over 870,000 Middlesex Protestation Returns 1641-42, and also for London 5,700 records in a Bunhill Fields Non-Conformist Burials 1713-1826 browse file.
The National Burial Index for England & Wales is updated with 173,801 new records for Wiltshire (1530 – 1839) bringing the NBI total to 12,300,167.
There are also 98,994 additions to the Wiltshire Baptisms Index 1530-1917 covering 153 parishes and bringing the total to 2,893,898.

NCC International Pavilion

What do William James Topley, Emily Murphy, John Labatt, Thomas D'Arcy McGee, Edward Whelan, Timothy Eaton and Nellie McClung have in common?

According to an exhibit mounted by the NCC in Ottawa, coming to a close on Sunday, they were all Canadians with Irish ancestry. The Irish Embassy is a partner.

The exhibit, in connection with the 150th anniversary of Confederation, is a series of display panels on two levels of a building at 7 Clarence Street.  The space, which used to be an ice cream store, is just off Sussex Street and part of a NCC renovation project.

If you want to catch it this fine weekend the hours are 10 am to 6 pm.

Other exhibits are being rotated through in the space. Next up starting on 2 September is Belgium. See more at http://ncc-ccn.gc.ca/our-projects/canada-150/confederation-pavilions/international-pavilion-at-7-clarence-street

25 August 2017

Free Access to Ancestry UK Records

It's a long weekend in the UK so Ancestry.co.uk. is giving free access, with registration, to all their UK records. Don't miss out. 
I'm not sure how this works if you have an account like Ancestry.ca with Canadian only access. Experiment.

FreeBMD August Update

This is catching up on the FreeBMD Database which was updated on Friday 4 August 2017 to contain 262,812,210 distinct records (262,363,308 previous update).

Years with major updates (more than 5,000 entries) are: for births: 1964, 1966, 1977-81; for marriages: 1965-66, 1977, 1979-83; for deaths 1976, 1979-81.

Ontario East British Home Child Family Events

The Ontario East British Home Child Family is hosting events leading up to 28 September, which is proclaimed as British Home Child Day in Ontario.

This year the British Home Child Museum located at Aultsville Station is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on August 26, 27, September 2,3,4, September 9,10 and September 16,17.
Located at 13480 County Road 2 in South Dundas, the museum features artifacts and displays which help to explain the story of these children, orphaned, neglected or abused in the UK sent to Canada by charitable organizations between the 1860’s and 1940’s. many of whom worked on Canadian farms and in households.
This year the museum features a pre-1940 vehicle display (weather permitting) on Sunday August 27 and again on September 10, an opportunity to view the 2010 Year of the British Home Child in Canada Memorial Quilt (created in Ontario by Gail Collins). BHC author Lynn Clark who wrote the book “The Home Child” will be at the museum for an author reading and book signing at 12 p.m. and 2p.m. on Sunday September 9 and on Saturday September 16 the 2010 Year of the British Home Child in Canada Memorial Quilt (created by Hazel Perrier of Alberta) will be on display.
Find the location on this Google map.

24 August 2017

Ancestry adds further Bedfordshire Records

You need Ancestry access, no need to go up the wooden hill to Bedfordshire, to access these new records online.

Bedfordshire, England, Land Tax Records, 1797-1832, 534,240 records,
Bedfordshire, England, Petty Sessions, 1854-1915, 118,272  records,
Bedfordshire, England, Valuation Records, 1838-1929, 451,819 records.

Each is indexed with links to original records images and there's also a browse facility by jurisdiction.. Some records occupy more than one page.

The records are from the Bedfordshire Archives and Records Service which has a Guides to collections from the Archives and Records office useful for further information on these and other collections.

Don't forget the massive collection of Bedfordshire electoral registers that Ancestry made available online in April.


War Cake

A century ago, 24 August 1917, the Kingston Daily British Whig  published the following recipe for War Cake.

2 cups brown sugar
2 cups hot water
2 tablespoons lard
1 package seedless raisins (or less)
1 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon soda
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Boil all the ingredients except the flour, raisins and soda together for five minutes. When cold add the soda sifted in one-half the flour and the raisins mixed with the rest of the flour.

Bake in loaves 45 minutes in slow oven, or
Bake in a sheet 30 minutes in a slow oven

Yield: two loaves (8 inches by 2 inches)
Two sheets (9 inches by 1 inch)

Cost of recipe: 32 cents, using one package of raisins.

I've had the opportunity to try War Cake at an event at Pinhey's Point and found it delicious.

23 August 2017

Internet Genealogy: Aug/Sept 2017

At a recent trip to the Ottawa Public Library at Centrepointe I found the most recent issue of the bimonthly magazine Internet Genealogy from Moorshead Magazines with the following contents.

Through the Night Gates: Portals to the Past 
Sue Lisk looks at six ways to open doors to successful research

Review: Telling Your Family Story with Pass It Down
Tony Bandy looks at a solution to the challenge of preserving treasured family stories

A New Look at Old Yearbooks
David A. Norris takes us on a voyage back in time to reveal the benefits of researching vintage yearbooks

Researching Irish Newspaper Archives
Joe Grandinetti looks at how black and white newsprint adds color to genealogy

Family History Comes to Life
Lynn Cassity shares a 1933 family journal using Personal Historian 2

State Encyclopedias
David A. Norris sheds light on a broad spectrum of online resources to assist in adding valuable context to your family history

Whatever Happened to Uncle Willie?
Robbie Gorr presents a Canadian case study of long distance research using online resources

NetNotes 
Diane L. Richard looks at websites and related news that are sure to be of interest

Demystifying the Freemasons 
Melody Amsel-Arieli looks at online sources to help you research your Freemason ancestors

More Websites Worth Surfing 
David A. Norris looks at additional websites that you might find useful in your genealogy research

The Back Page 
Dave Obee says look beyond the jargon of DNA to see the real results. In his opinion DNA testing is crowdsourcing at its finest.

On my visit I noticed again partnership in action at the Centrepointe library branch. Brochures from various family history organizations are neatly on display. A book on Leeds family history purchased for the OPL by BIFHSGO was on the display stand at the entrance to the second floor along with other books of interest for the history enthusiast.

Good job OPL Centrepointe.

Top Ten Bestsellers on Canada's History

As of 17 August these are Canada's History's top bestsellers.

1. A World We Have Lost: Saskatchewan Before 1905. By Bill Waiser
A World We Have Lost examines the early history of Saskatchewan through an Aboriginal and environmental lens. Indian and mixed—descent peoples played leading roles in the story-as did the land and climate. Despite the growing British and Canadian presence, the Saskatchewan country remained Aboriginal territory. The region's peoples had their own interests and needs and the fur trade was often peripheral to their lives. Indians and Métis peoples wrangled over territory and resources, especially bison, and were not prepared to let outsiders control their lives, let alone decide their future. Native—newcomer interactions were consequently fraught with misunderstandings, sometimes painful difficulties, if not outright disputes.
By the early nineteenth century, a distinctive western society had emerged in the North—West-one that was challenged and undermined by the takeover of the region by young dominion of Canada. Settlement and development was to be rooted in the best features of Anglo—Canadian civilization, including the white race. By the time Saskatchewan entered confederation as a province in 1905, the world that Kelsey had encountered during his historic walk on the northern prairies had become a world we have lost. 
2. Capturing Hill 70: Canada’s Forgotten Battle. By by Douglas E. Delaney (Editor), Serge Marc Durflinger (Editor)
In August 1917, the Canadian Corps captured Hill 70, vital terrain just north of the French town of Lens. The Canadians suffered some 5,400 casualties and in three harrowing days defeated twenty-one German counterattacks. This spectacularly successful but shockingly costly battle was as innovative as Vimy, yet few Canadians have heard of it. Capturing Hill 70 marks the centenary of this triumph by dissecting different facets of the battle, from planning and conducting operations to long-term repercussions and commemoration. It reinstates Hill 70 to its rightful place among the pantheon of battles that forged the reputation of the famed Canadian Corps during the First World War.
3. The Vimy Trap: How We Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Great War. By Ian McKay (Author, Contributor), Jamie Swift (Author, Contributor)
The story of the bloody 1917 Battle of Vimy Ridge is, according to many of today’s tellings, a heroic founding moment for Canada. This noble, birth-of-a-nation narrative is regularly applied to the Great War in general. Yet this mythical tale is rather new. “Vimyism”— today’s official story of glorious, martial patriotism—contrasts sharply with the complex ways in which veterans, artists, clerics, and even politicians who had supported the war interpreted its meaning over the decades. Was the Great War a futile imperial debacle? A proud, nation-building milestone? Contending Great War memories have helped to shape how later wars were imagined. The Vimy Trap provides a powerful probe of commemoration cultures. This subtle, fast-paced work of public history—combining scholarly insight with sharp-eyed journalism, and based on primary sources and school textbooks, battlefield visits and war art—explains both how and why peace and war remain contested terrain in ever-changing landscapes of Canadian memory.
4. Tracks to the Trenches: Canadian Railway Troops
5. The Colour of Canada
6. Yakuglas’ Legacy: The Art and Times of Charlie James
7. The Promise of Canada: 150 Years
8. Father Bauer: The Genesis of Canadian Olympic Hockey
9. Imperial Plots: Women, Land, and the Spadework of British Colonialism
10. Backs to the Wall: The Battle of Sainte-Foy

22 August 2017

Irish Newspaper Archive Discount

From now until until Wednesday 30 August you can access the Irish Newspaper Archives saving 10% for one-day access, 25% off for a month up to 40% reduction for the annual subscription. The contents, organized by county, are:
TitleYearsCounty
Belfast Newsletter09/01/1738 - CurrentNational (NI)
Freeman's Journal03/01/1763 - 19/12/1924National
Irish Examiner30/08/1841 - 1999National
Irish Farmer's Journal16/03/1957 - 26/12/1998National
Irish Independent02/01/1905 - CurrentNational
Irish Press05/09/1931 - 25/05/1995National
Sunday Independent07/01/1906 - CurrentNational
Nationalist & Leinster Times22/09/1883 - currentCarlow, Laois & Kildare
Anglo-Celt06/02/1846 - CurrentCavan
Skiberreen Eagle02/01/1882 - 08/07/1922Cork
Southern Star13/02/1892 - CurrentCork
Derry Journal02/01/1844 - 31/12/1924Derry
Donegal Democrat06/06/1919 - CurrentDonegal
Donegal News14/03/1903 - CurrentDonegal
Dublin Evening Post21/01/1796 - 31/12/1798Dublin
Evening Herald19/12/1891 - currentDublin
Nation - The15/10/1842 - 05/06/1897Dublin
Volunteer's Journal or Irish Herald13/10/1783 - 30/04/1787Dublin
Fermanagh Herald14/03/1903 - currentFermanagh
Connacht Sentinel02/08/1927 - CurrentGalway
Connacht Tribune22/05/1909 - CurrentGalway
Galway City Tribune07/09/1984 - CurrentGalway
Tuam Herald13/05/1837 - CurrentGalway
Chutes Western Herald02/01/1828 - 04/05/1835Kerry
Kerryman20/08/1904 - CurrentKerry
Kerry Advocate25/07/1914 - 06/05/1916Kerry
Kerry Champion13/10/1928 - 29/03/1958Kerry
Kerry Evening Post24/05/1813 - 29/09/1917Kerry
Kerry Evening Star29/09/1902 - 12/03/1914Kerry
Kerry Examiner01/01/1841 - 11/03/1856Kerry
Kerry Independent28/10/1880 - 10/01/1884Kerry
Kerry News23/01/1894 - 16/06/1941Kerry
Kerry People27/09/1902 - 31/03/1928Kerry
Kerry Press28/07/1914 - 11/05/1916Kerry
Kerry Reporter10/05/1924 - 28/12/1935Kerry
Kerry Sentinel26/04/1878 - 23/12/1916Kerry
Kerry Star15/05/1861 - 27/03/1863Kerry
Kerry Weekly Reporter03/02/1883 - 14/08/1920Kerry
Killarney Echo & South Kerry Chronicle26/08/1899 - 14/08/1920Kerry
Liberator21/07/1914 - 02/09/1939Kerry
Raymonds Kerry Herald12/01/1856 - 16/02/1856Kerry
Tralee Mercury14/02/1829 - 20/07/1839Kerry
Kildare Nationalist05/01/2016 - currentKildare
Finn's Leinster Journal01/04/1792 - 31/12/1828Kilkenny
Kilkenny People26/10/1895 - currentKilkenny
Laois Nationalist23/08/2016 - currentLaois
Leinster Express24/09/1831 - CurrentLaois
Leitrim Observer02/01/1904 -CurrentLeitrim
Limerick Leader02/01/1905 - CurrentLimerick
Longford Leader14/08/1897 - CurrentLongford
Drogheda Argus and Leinster Journal19/09/1835 - 25/12/1909Louth
Drogheda Conservative30/03/1864 - 29/12/1906Louth
Drogheda Reporter02/05/1863 - 01/08/1863Louth
Dundalk Democrat20/10/1849 - CurrentLouth
Ballinrobe Chronicle03/02/1866 - 10/09/1903Mayo
Ballina Herald06/08/1927 - 28/04/1962Mayo
Connaught Telegraph22/09/1830 - CurrentMayo
Mayo Examiner06/07/1868 - 30/12/1876Mayo
Mayo News07/01/1893 - 29/12/2004Mayo
Western Journal03/06/1977 - 11/03/1983Mayo
Western People04/05/1889 - CurrentMayo
Meath Chronicle01/05/1897 - CurrentMeath
Butte Independent22/01/1910 - 27/12/1930Montana (US)
Sligo Champion18/10/1879 - currentSligo
Nenagh Guardian21/07/1838 - CurrentTipperary
Nenagh News05/01/1895 - 28/12/1924Tipperary
Gaelic Life14/01/2011 - CurrentTyrone
Strabane Chronicle03/10/1908 - CurrentTyrone
Tyrone Herald07/02/2011 - CurrentTyrone
Ulster Herald15/08/1901 - CurrentTyrone
Munster Express07/07/1860 - CurrentWaterford
Westmeath Examiner28/09/1882 - CurrentWestmeath
Wexford People12/09/1857- 29/12/1888Wexford
Wicklow Newsletter06/01/1900 - 24/12/1926Wicklow

Subscribe and find the discount codes at www.irishnewsarchive.com/

via a post on Claire Santry's Irish Genealogy News.

UK History Hot 100

Every year BBC History polls its readers on their choice of "the historical figures who fascinated you most in 2017." All have to have been dead for 30 years. The table shows the top ten for this and last year which have just been published.

20172016
1Richard IIIRichard III
2Eleanor of AquitaineElizabeth I
3Alfred the GreatWilliam Shakespeare
4Elizabeth IAnne Boleyn
5Anne BoleynHenry VIII
6Winston ChurchillWinston Churchill
7Adolf HitlerEleanor of Aquitaine
8Queen VictoriaThomas Cromwell
9William ShakespeareWilliam Marshal
10Henry VIIIAdolf Hitler

Perhaps you find some of the results puzzling, I do. Perhaps they wouldn't if we watched British TV. See the complete list, along with expert commentary here.

I was pleased to see people from the STEM community on the long list including  Isaac Newton (40), Charles Darwin(58), Alan Turing (63), Albert Einstein (65), Marie Curie (86), Nikola Tesla (94),  Isambard Kingdom Brunel (100).

History at Home: A Guide to Genealogy

Out of the blue I received an email from Diane Miller who is involved at a genealogy summer camp in Colorado Springs this month helping "some savvy teens" create their own family trees. Diane wrote to thank me for my "non-spammy site", and also to pass along a resource found by "one of the our superstars, Mia". It's one I hadn't run across before:

History at home genealogy guide-
http://www.homeadvisor.com/article.show.History-at-Home-A-Guide-to-Genealogy.17370.html

It's worth a look.

Thanks to Diane, and Mia for making contact.

21 August 2017

OGS Families and NewsLeaf

The August 2017 issue of Families, which combines the newsletter NewsLeaf, is now online and available to members. As members will recall distribution of printed copies has been discontinued.
Stepping in as Guest Editor for this slim Families issue is Alan Campbell. To see if there's anything of interest for your family history check the table of contents.
The included NewLeaf issue, largely about the 2017 Conference last June in Ottawa, has lots of pictures.

20 August 2017

Flying mathematicians of World War I

Commemorations of the centennials of First World War battles and those who participated should not marginalize civilians, men and women, who contributed to the war effort in other ways.
The heartbreaking story of the flying mathematicians of World War I is a longer piece by Tony Royle throwing light on their contributions, including those who died while doing practical research on aeronautics.

Findmypast adds Ireland Calendars Of Wills & Administrations 1858-1920

The 1,070,211 entries in the index of this new to Findmypast probate collection cover the whole of Ireland, except from 1918 when it's just the 26 counties in the Republic. Searching for a name will deliver hits for the deceased and for beneficiaries.
The printed calendar or index card originals are at the National Archives of Ireland and can be accessed at www.willcalendars.nationalarchives.ie/search/cwa/index.jsp

19 August 2017

Findmypast adds Buckinghamshire Parish Register Transcripts

Transcriptions of baptism, banns, burial and marriage records for over 210 Buckinghamshire parishes have been added to Findmypast from The Centre for Buckinghamshire Studies.
Approximate contents are:
RecordsStart YearEnd Year
Banns101,30016321933
Baptisms870,53215601919
Burials662,62014641960
Marriages485,52115451933

Presentation: Designing the West Carleton War Memorial

Pinhey’s Point  Foundation presents:

Designing the West Carleton War Memorial
Monday, August 21, 2017 at  7 pm

"A shadow falls across the names of the fallen, a Morse Code message calls us to remember."
Pinhey's Point Foundation's guest speaker is Malcolm Wildeboer, a partner with Vandenberg & Wildeboer Architects in South March. He brings to light layers of thought and design behind the making of this new community memorial in Carp.  The March Township honour rolls from the two World Wars will also be on view.

Admission free. Enjoy PPF exhibits and visit the house.
Light refreshments to follow

Pinhey’s Point Historic site
270 Pinhey’s Point Road
Dunrobin, Ontario

info@pinheyspoint.ca
613-832-1249

18 August 2017

I won't tell you again . . .

. . because, whether procrastinator, or believer in doing things "just in time", today is your last chance to take advantage of the early bird registration rate for the BIFHSGO conference.
Register from www.bifhsgo.ca. Members remember to login first to get the additional member discount.

Definitely not Metric Measurement Quiz: Answers

1. An area of land of a chain by a furlong is known as ...
an acre.

2. How many farthings in a groat?
16 farthings. Four farthings in a penny, four pennies in a groat. https://24carat.co.uk/farthingstoryframe.html

3. If there are 25 sheets of paper in a quire, how many are there in a ream?
500 sheets, 20 quires in a ream.

4. What was the traditional use of a silver sixpence?
A silver sixpence was kept year to year to put in the Christmas pudding. The lucky person to get it in their serving, if they didn't swallow it, got to exchange it for a regular sixpence.

5. In nautical terminology, how many watches in 24 hours?
7 watches.
First afternoon Watch: 12 noon to 4 pm.
First Dog Watch: 4 pm to 6 pm.
Second Dog Watch: 6 pm to 8 pm.
First Night Watch: 8pm to midnight.
Middle Night Watch: Midnight to 4 pm.
Morning Watch: 4 am to 8 am.
Forenoon Watch: 8 am to noon.

6. What was traditionally measured by the cran?
Herring.

7. In measuring British ale or beer how many gallons in a firkin?
9 gallons in a furkin. 4 furkins in a barrel.

8. At a speed of one knot how long would it take to travel directly from the equator to the pole?
540  - correction 5,400 hours. A knot is one nautical mile per hour. A nautical mile is one minute of latitude. 60 minutes in a degree, 90 degrees between equator and pole.

9. One horsepower, the power required to lift 33,000 pounds by one foot in one minute, equals how many watts?
Approximately 746 watts

10. How many guineas are required to make an even number of pounds?
20, or 40 if you're fussy. A guinea is 21 shillings, a pound is 20 shillings. 20 guineas is 21 pounds which isn't an even number. 40 guineas is 42 pounds.

That's My Baby

At Library and Archives Canada, the Ottawa International Writers Festival, and Harper Collins will be celebrating the launch of That’s My Baby, the latest novel and third book in the trilogy based in Deseronto, Belleville and Prince Edward County by international bestselling author Frances Itani.
"At the end of Frances Itani’s Scotiabank Giller Prize—shortlisted Tell, a baby is adopted by a young Deseronto couple who are coming to terms with the end of the Great War. Eighteen years on, the baby, Hanora, now a young woman, is told about her adoption, but given no details. As a second world war looms, Hanora is determined to uncover the mysteries of her identity. This quest will take her across the ocean with her cousin, Billie, and headlong into the tumult of Europe. Amid the tensions of World War II, the music and the great dance halls of the era beckon, and a career as a journalist becomes possible, even as her great love, Tobe, enlists in the Infantry. But Hanora will not let the past lie, even though, decades later, the truth remains beyond her grasp. Billie, whose memory is fading as she slips into dementia, provides elusive clues, but it isn’t until Hanora discovers a set of diaries written by a late local artist and that she begins to piece together the central issue of her own identity, hidden from her since birth.
Itani’s vivid storytelling, infused with music and seamless historical detail, reveals how memory, no matter how imperfect, can shape the person we believe ourselves to be."
The event is on Thursday, September 14, 2017, at 7:00 p.m. in the Pellan Room, 2nd Floor, 395 Wellington Street, Ottawa.

Attendance is free,  registration required. See the LAC notice at www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/about-us/events/Pages/2017/18-579-book-launch.aspx/.

17 August 2017

Last minute reminder: One World One Family Family Conference

The annual One World One Family Family History Conference, this year hosted by the Oshawa Ontario Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, is this Saturday, 19 August.
Here's the program, with several familiar speakers:

9:00 - 10:00
Opening Session
This year's OWOF award presentation - Brian Winters
Keynote Speaker - Cheryl Levy - Taking Root in New Land
10:10 - 11:00
1. Glenn Wright: Canadians at War 1899-1945 Resources
2. Shirley-Ann Pyefinch: Family Search - Resources, and Tools for Your Family History
3. Greg Lucas: Mapping 1
4. Steve Wood: The Netherlands through English eyes
5. Steve Fulton: Benefits of the OGS
11:10 - 12:00
1. Bob Dawes: Scotland From Abroad
2. Lesley Anderson: Using Ancestry DNA
3. Steve Fulton:
4. Gary Foster: Cemeteries in Durham Region
5. Dianna Fulton: Bernardo Children
12:00 - 1:00 LUNCH
1:00 - 1:50
1. James Onyschuk: Ukraine Research
2. Bob Dawes: DNA Explained
3. Greg Lucas: Mapping 2
4, Lynn Yates: Irish Genealogy & where to find the pot of gold
5. Carol St Clair: The art of Victorian Handwriting
2:00 - 2:50
1. Lesley Anderson & Shirley Pyefinch: Online Family Trees
2. Cheryl Levy: Taking Root in the New Land
3. Danielle Manning: Introduction to the Archives of Ontario
4. Vic Dupree: British Genealogy post Queen Victoria 1901-present
5. Harry van Bommel: Writing your family history
3:00 - 4:00 Plenary Session
R Donald Maracle, Chief of the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte.

More information at www.eventbrite.ca/e/one-world-one-family-conference-tickets-31404161693

Ancestry adds further Nova Scotia BMD Updates

Following up on yesterday's post, Ancestry has now extended their coverage of Nova Scotia BMDs forward in time

Nova Scotia, Canada, Births, 1840-1915, 330,053 records
Nova Scotia, Canada, Marriages, 1763-1940, 503,931 records
Nova Scotia, Canada, Deaths, 1864-1877, 1890-1965, 466,982

An additional year for all three sets is available at Nova Scotia Historical Vital Statistics.

Appreciate Ottawa: Lowertown

As part of its program of Heritage Walking Tours, at 2 pm on Sunday 20 August Heritage Ottawa is conducting a tour of Lowertown East. The guide is Nancy Miller Chenier, a long-time resident of the area.
Meet at 501 Old St Patrick Street (LaSalle Academy).  $5 fee for non Heritage Ottawa members, $10 for others. All welcome.

Definitely not Metric Measurement Quiz

A challenge!

1. An area of land of a chain by a furlong is known as ...
2. How many farthings in a groat?
3. If there are 25 sheets of paper in a quire, how many are there in a ream?
4. What was the traditional use of a silver sixpence?
5. In nautical terminology, how many watches in 24 hours?
6. What was traditionally measured by the cran?
7. In measuring British ale or beer how many gallons in a firkin?
8. At a speed of one knot how long would it take to travel directly from the equator to the pole?
9. One horsepower, the power required to lift 33,000 pounds by one foot in one minute, equals how many watts?
10. How many guineas are required to make an even number of pounds?

Answers tomorrow.

16 August 2017

Updates to Nova Scotia Historical Vital Statistics on Ancestry

Ancestry updated these records, likely corrections, on Monday: 

Nova Scotia, Canada, Births, 1836-1910,
Nova Scotia, Canada, Marriages, 1763-1935,
Nova Scotia, Canada, Deaths, 1864-1877, 1890-1960.

Search indexes for a few extra years at Nova Scotia Historical Vital Statistics: births to 1916, marriages to 1941, deaths to 1966. 

Pinhey's Point Foundation 2017 Archeology Dig

The following is an announcement from the Pinhey's Point Foundation

Fri/Sat/Sun  August 18-19-20, 2017  9am-5pm

With the City of Ottawa as our partner, the Pinhey's Point Foundation presents our 3rd annual dig as part of Archeology Month in Ottawa. Join us in a family-friendly event, and get your hands dirty when you participate!  Our archeologist will provide the tools and guide you in this weekend adventure.  Help uncover forgotten buildings and landscape features.  What else might you find?  Everyone is welcome!

Admission is free

Pinhey’s Point Historic site
270 Pinhey’s Point Road
Dunrobin, Ontario

info@pinheyspoint.ca
613-832-1249

Thanks to Bruce Elliott for the tip.

15 August 2017

CEF August Update from Library and Archives Canada

As of today, 15 August 2017,  476,752 (461,575 last month) of 640,000 Personnel Records of the First World War files are available online in the LAC database.

Latest box digitized is 8101 (7834 last month) and last name Rasmess (Pilkey). At the past month's rate of progress the project will be complete in August 2018.

Note that the LAC blog is commemorating the Canadian Corps and the Battle of Hill 70 with an overview post ,and posts for each of the Victoria Crosses awarded during the battle. From 15–25 August 2,230 of the Canadian Corps were fatalities in that battle. LAC notes that it is overshadowed in popular memory by the Battle of Vimy Ridge. At the time it was also overshadowed by the 5,090 British losses at the Battle of Langemarck from 16–18 August 1917.

The Chesterville Record

Chesterville, south of Ottawa in Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry county is served by The Chesterville Record, a weekly newspaper published by Etcetera Publications Inc. out of offices shared with the Eastern Ontario Agri-News on King St. in Chesterville.

According to Brian Gilchrist's 1987 Inventory of Ontario Newspapers it was first published in 1894. According to McKim's Canadian Newspaper Directory of 1919 each issue was 8 pages in five column format.

As best as can be determined from the library catalog Library and Archives Canada has a full run on microfilm. Their separate microfilm list suggests holdings are more limited.
The Ontario Archives lists a few hardcopy holdings and microfilm for 26 Oct 1984 to 1931.
The newspaper office informed a complete microfilm copy is held by the Chesterville and District Historical Society. Society President Jillian Metcalfe confirmed the Society has the microfilm from 1898-1978.

There is no indication that any legacy issues have been digitized.

This is the second of an occasional series examining availability of newspapers of Eastern Ontario. Further information and updates welcome.

BIFHSGO Conference Speaker Paul Milner

The days are trickling down to a precious few for you to get in on the discount registration for the BIFHSGO conference.
British born Paul Milner was a hit last time he spoke at the conference, that was in 2014, the last time England was a theme. Attendees remarked on Paul's easy interaction with the audience. So with England one of the themes this year he is a natural to be back.
Paul's presentations this year are:

Buried Treasures: The Parish Chest
Paul will discuss all the Church of England records created when the church operates in its civil capacity, taking care of the local people, and explain how to access these records. These are the sources needed to solve many dead ends in English research, solving problems of population movement, illegitimacy, and occupation. They include settlement and removal records, overseer’s accounts, bastardy records, apprenticeship records, and such miscellaneous sources as vestry minutes, churchwarden accounts and militia registers.

Occupational, Guild and Freedmen Records
Paul will examine sources for identifying your ancestors’ occupations: trade directories, apprenticeship and guild records, and freedmen registers. He will also look specifically at sources for information about the occupations or trades and will conclude with some resources to help put your ancestors into context.

Finding Your Pre-WW I Soldier
Different records are created for officers and enlisted men in the British Army. Paul will use case studies to trace the involvement of officers and enlisted men in different military theatres around the world, during different periods, including the War of 1812. Putting the soldier into a British and global perspective, he will explain the structure and development of the British Army and also show what original records and supporting materials are available online, at The National Archives in London and at other repositories.

The English Probate System
This talk will deal with how the probate system operated in England and Wales (pre- and post-1858) and how you can identify in which court an ancestor's estate may have been probated. Covering both pre-1858 and post-1858 records, Paul will discuss some new online indexes and document imaging systems and also explain what probate documents may be available on film or as originals and how to access them.

and the closing plenary

My God, Nobody Told Me
This talk will motivate and encourage you to reflect upon what messages your ancestors left behind and, just as importantly, to get you thinking about what you are leaving behind for your descendants. Will your descendants be saying, “My God, nobody told me!”?

Read about Paul at his web page www.milnergenealogy.com/ and about other presentations and events at the BIFHSGO conference here. Then follow the links for registration. Save by registering by 18 August.


14 August 2017

MyHeritage opens census records for 1 week

MyHeritage is making all their major census collections from the U.S., U.K. and Ireland, Canada, and Nordic countries free for everybody, for one week!

Starting today, August 14, until August 20, no data subscription will be required to access these documents, searching is free. That’s 94 collections, containing over 1 billion census records available to users of MyHeritage as well as people who have never used MyHeritage before.

The earliest census records available date as far back as 1657, and the latest ones extending until 1940.

More information can be found on the MyHeritage blog post at:
https://blog.myheritage.com/2017/08/record-week-search-one-billion-census-records-for-free/.

This information is summarized from an email sent by Daniel Horowitz.

Writing a Successful Documentary Heritage Communities Program Proposal

It's shocking. One of the lessons I learned as a PhD student is that major effort goes into writing persuasive project proposals. That's something most of those submitting proposals for Documentary Heritage Communities Program funding have yet to learn.
Library and Archives Canada announced the successful proposals in the third round of the DHCP in June. $1.5 million was allocated to 48 projects, 18 in Quebec, 17 in Western Canada, 8 in Ontario, and 5 in Atlantic Canada. Those included 12 projects continued from previous rounds and 36 newly funded projects.
No information was made available about unfunded projects. Through an access to information request I was able to review copies of all third round proposals, funded and unfunded. Much information, including all personal and location information for those unfunded was redacted; it was not possible to evaluate the intrinsic merit of the proposals.
132 new proposals requesting a total of $5.8 million were submitted. 36 were funded (23 in English, 13 in French), 98 remained unfunded (67 in English, 27 in French). The success rate was one in four for the English language proposals, one in three for those in French.
The median amount requested across all new projects was $21.8K, for those funded it was $19.6K, for the unfunded $25K.
The most significant difference between funded and unfunded projects was the amount of detail provided as reflected by the number of pages in the proposal file. Each project proposal file I received included at least two pages not part of the original submission, but the number of pages is nevertheless indicative.
Funded project files averaged 16.5 pages, unfunded 5.7 pages. French language proposals were longer than the English, by 3 pages in the case of the funded projects. The longest unfunded project proposal was 15 pages, the shortest funded proposal 10 pages.
Proposals that provide substantial detail indicate a well thought-out project to the evaluators. Bare minimum proposals waste the time and effort for both proponent and evaluator.

13 August 2017

Legacies of British Slave-ownership

On Saturday I stumbled across Britain's Forgotten Slave-owners, an award winning documentary on rerun on BBC World. It relies heavily on research at University College London.
At the project website https://www.ucl.ac.uk/lbs/ is a search tool where you can check whether names in your family history were associated with slavery. You can also check geographically in the UK to find people and organizations associated with slavery.
The program makes the point that much of the money paid by the British government to slave-owner for loss of their "property", derived from taxation, came back to be invested in the UK.

12 August 2017

Catalogue of Irish State Paper Updated

Claire Santry blogs about a major update to the online catalogue of the Chief Secretary of Ireland's Office Registered Papers (CSORP). The newly-available catalogue entries cover 1823-1830, and join those for 1818-1822.
Included are subcategories for State of the Country and Outrage reports. While viewing the original document requires a visit to Dublin the searchable detailed catalogue content, as in the example below, is exemplary.


Findmypast updates: Billion Graves

The Billion Graves databases on Findmypast providing GPS-tagged headstone and burial records continue to grow.

Nation/StateNewTotal
USA>2,200,00015,558,486
Australia377,3891,608,001
Canada87,830946,158
England76,151580,290
Scotland114,974197,832
New Zealand48,831178,863
Wales5,76158,135
Ireland16,03825,357

Other additions this week are:

Middlesex Monumental Inscriptions 1485-2014 adds 2,674 records for the Churchyard of All Saints, Fulham for a total of 45,831 records.

North West Kent Burials adds 6,159 records for Sidcup Cemetery (formerly Kent, now London Borough of Bexley) for a total of 187,829 records.