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.

TITLE	DATE RANGE
Daily Telegraph & Courier (London)	1873-1888
The Sportsman	1888-1889, 1910
Woolwich Gazette	1901
Clitheroe Advertiser and Times	1900, 1908, 1917-1918
Morecambe Guardian	1922, 1924, 1927-1929
Bucks Advertiser & Aylesbury News	1860, 1872, 1874, 1890, 1912
Market Harborough Advertiser and Midland Mail	1892, 1898, 1904, 1921-1923
Exmouth Journal	1869-1910
Eastbourne Herald	1939-1951
Portadown Times	1922-1941, 1954-1956
Woolwich Gazette and Greenwich and Deptford Chronicle	1873, 1875-1888, 1891-1892, 1895-1900, 1902-1903
Stornoway Gazette and West Coast Advertiser	1950
Salisbury and Winchester Journal	1873-1876, 1878-1888, 1890-1896, 1898
Croydon Guardian and Surrey County Gazette	1879-1896, 1898-1909
Annandale Observer and Advertiser	1887-1888
Eastern Daily Press	1870-1876, 1878-1890, 1896, 1899, 1901-1909
Colchester Gazette	1877, 1879-1880, 1889
Lowestoft Journal	1874-1896, 1898-1910
Northern Constitution	1900-1907
Newbury Weekly News and General Advertiser	1870-1872
Yarmouth Mercury	1884, 1889
Shields Daily News	1864-1868, 1874, 1877, 1944-1945, 1951, 1953
Kentish Independent	1871-1910
East London Observer	1880-1928
Saffron Walden Weekly News	1891, 1896-1897
West London Observer	1916-1952
Volunteer Service Gazette and Military Dispatch	1864-1869, 1871-1877, 1879-1880, 1882-1903
South London Chronicle	1879-1890, 1892, 1895-1907
Poor Law Unions' Gazette	1868-1887, 1889-1900, 1902-1903
Belfast News-Letter	1930
Leitrim Advertiser	1886, 1890-1899, 1901-1916
Illustrated War News	1914-1918, 1939
Leinster Independent	1871
Globe	1830-1833
Y Genedl Gymreig	1901-1909
Newry Reporter	1872-1910
North Wales Times	1895-1896, 1901-1910
South Wales Daily Post	1897
Pontypool Free Press	1870-1871, 1879, 1894-1896, 1898-1903, 1905-1909
Carmarthen Weekly Reporter	1886-1891, 1894
Y Goleuad	1888, 1890, 1892, 1895
Rhyl Record and Advertiser	1887, 1901-1902
Wrexham Guardian and Denbighshire and Flintshire Advertiser	1869-1874
Penarth Chronicle and Cogan Echo	1893
Potter's Electric News	1858
Dudley Herald	1900
Shipping and Mercantile Gazette	1882-1884
Ripley and Heanor News and Ilkeston Division Free Press	1890-1897, 1899-1957
Abergavenny Chronicle	1890, 1892, 1894, 1900-1901
Alcester Chronicle	1864-1888, 1890-1910
Milngavie and Bearsden Herald	1930-1934
Brechin Herald	1890-1892
Tenby Observer	1888
Nelson Leader	1920-1922, 1938-1939, 1950
Eastern Evening News	1910

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.

Database	Company	Service
British Royal Navy & Royal Marines Service and Pension Records Browse, 1704-1919	FMP	Navy
British Royal Navy & Royal Marines Service and Pension Records, 1704-1919	FMP	Navy
British Army, List Of Half-Pay Officers 1714	FMP	Army
UK, Royal Hospital Chelsea Pensioner Admissions and Discharges, 1715-1925	Ancestry	Army
British Army, Royal Artillery Officers 1716-1899	FMP	Army
British Royal Navy, Ships' Musters	FMP	Navy
British India Office Army & Navy Pensions	FMP	Army & Navy
Royal Navy officers' service records 1756-1931	TNA	Navy
Web: UK, Royal Naval Officers' Service Records Index, 1756-1931	Ancestry	Navy
UK, Royal Hospital Chelsea Pensioner Soldier Service Records, 1760-1920	Ancestry	Army
UK, Chelsea Pensioners' Service Records, 1760-1913	FS	Army
UK, Royal Hospital Chelsea: Discharge Documents of Pensioners 1760-1887	FS	Army
Great Britain, War Office Registers, 1772-1935	FS	Army
Cornwall, England, Militia and Sea Fencibles Index, 1780 - 1831	Ancestry	All
British Army Pensioners - Royal Hospital Kilmainham, Ireland, 1783-1822	FMP	Army
Army List 1787	FMP	Army
British Mariners, Trinity House Calendars 1787-1854	FMP	Marines
British Royal Navy Allotment Declarations 1795-1852	FMP	Navy
Army List 1798	FMP	Army
Household Cavalry soldiers' service records 1799-1920	TNA	Army
British Army Officer Promotions 1800-1815	FMP	Army
UK, British Army Lists, 1882-1962	Ancestry	Army
British Army Schoolchildren and Schoolmasters 1803-1932	FMP	Army
London, Watermen In Royal Navy, 1803-1809	FMP	Navy
UK, Militia Service Records, 1806-1915	FS	Army
UK, Naval and Military Courts Martial Registers, 1806-1930	Ancestry	Navy
British Army Muster Rolls, 84th Foot 1808-1818	FMP	Army
Peninsular War, British Army Officers, 1808-1814	FMP	Army
UK, Military Deserters, 1812-1927	Ancestry	Army
UK, British Army Muster Books and Pay Lists, 1812-1817	Ancestry	Army
British Army, War Of 1812 Casualties	FMP	Army
British Royal Marines, Marriage Registers 1813-1920	FMP	Marines
Army Deserters 1828-1840	FMP	Army
British Royal Navy Personnel 1831	FMP	Navy
UK, Merchant Navy Seamen Records, 1835-1941	FS	Navy
Harts Army List 1840	FMP	Army
Royal Navy officers' service record cards and files c.1840-c.1920	TNA	Navy
British Army, Worldwide Index 1841	FMP	Army
Royal Marines' service records 1842-1925	TNA	Marines
UK, Royal Navy Registers of Seamen's Services, 1848-1939	Ancestry	Navy
British Army, Royal Artillery Officer Deaths 1850-2011	FMP	Army
British Army, Worldwide Index 1851	FMP	Army
England & Wales Merchant Navy Crew Lists 1861-1913	FMP	Navy
Royal Navy ratings' service records 1853-1923	TNA	Navy
Web: UK, Royal Naval Seamen Index, 1853 -1872	Ancestry	Navy
British Army Discharges, 60th Foot 1854-1880	FMP	Army
East India Register & Army List 1855	FMP	Army
Victoria Cross registers 1856-1944	TNA	Army
Royal Naval Reserve service records 1860-1955	TNA	Navy
British Army, Worldwide Index 1861	FMP	Army
British Army, Worldwide Index 1871	FMP	Army
Indian Army & Civil Service List 1873	FMP	Army
Army List August 1878	FMP	Army
British Army Muster Rolls, 60th Foot 1879-1882	FMP	Army
British Army, Northumberland Fusiliers 1881-1920	FMP	Army
Harts Army List 1888	FMP	Army
Royal Marines 1899-1919	FMP	Marines
British Royal Navy Seamen 1899-1924	FMP	Navy
Royal Navy Officers 1899-1919	FMP	Navy
UK, Army Registers of Soldiers' Effects, 1901-1929	Ancestry	Army
Volunteer Reserve service records 1903-1922	TNA	Navy
British Army Service Records Image Browse	FMP	Army
Royal Naval Air Service officers' service records 1906-1918	TNA	Navy
British Army, Honourable Artillery Company	FMP	Army
British Royal Air Force, Airmen's Service Records 1912-1939	FMP	Air Force
British Royal Air Force, Officers' Service Records 1912-1920	FMP	Air Force
UK, Royal Air Force Muster Roll, 1918	Ancestry	Air Force
UK, British Jewry Roll of Honour, 1914-1918	Ancestry	All
Bexley, Kent, England, WWI Registration Cards, 1914-1919	Ancestry	All
Prisoner of war interview reports 1914-1918	TNA	Army
British Army medal index cards 1914-1920	TNA	Army
British Army nurses' service records 1914-1918	TNA	Army
British Army war diaries 1914-1922	TNA	Army
Soldiers' service records	TNA	Army
Soldiers' pension records	TNA	Army
UK, British Army Recipients of the Military Medal, 1914-1920	Ancestry	Army
Surrey, England, Regimental Rolls, 1914-1947	Ancestry	Army
UK, WWI War Diaries (Gallipoli and Dardanelles), 1914-1916	Ancestry	Army
UK, WWI War Diaries (France, Belgium and Germany), 1914-1920	Ancestry	Army
UK, WWI Service Medal and Award Rolls, 1914-1920	Ancestry	Army
British Army Service Records	FMP	Army
British Army, Bond Of Sacrifice: Officers Died In The Great War 1914-1916	FMP	Army
British Army, De Ruvigny's Roll Of Honour 1914-1918	FMP	Army
British Army, Deserters and Absentees In Police Gazette 1914-1919	FMP	Army
British Army, Lloyds Of London Memorial Roll 1914-1919	FMP	Army
British Army, Royal Artillery War Commemoration Book, 1914-1918	FMP	Army
UK, World War I Service Records, 1914-1920	FS	Army
Merchant seamen's campaign medal records 1914-1918	TNA	Merchant Navy
UK, Shipping and Seamen WWI and WWII Rolls of Honour, 1914-1945	Ancestry	Merchant Navy
Royal Naval Division service records 1914-1919	TNA	Navy
British Royal Navy & Royal Marines, Battle Of Jutland 1916 Servicemen	FMP	Navy
Women's Army Auxiliary Corps service records 1917-1920	TNA	Army
British Army, Women's Army Auxiliary Corps 1917-1920	FMP	Army
UK, World War I Women's Army Auxiliary Corps Records, 1917-1920	FS	Army
Women's Royal Naval service records 1917-1919	TNA	Navy
Royal Air Force officers' service records 1918-1919	TNA	Air Force
Women's Royal Air Force service records 1918-1920	TNA	Air Force
UK, Royal Air Force Airmen Records, 1918-1940	Ancestry	Air Force
Web: UK, Women's Royal Air Force Index, 1918-1920	Ancestry	Air Force
British Women's Royal Air Force Service Records 1918-1920	FMP	Air Force
Royal Air Force Muster Roll 1918	FMPt	Air Force
British Army, Plovdiv Military Cemetery Burials	FMP	Army
UK, Military Discharge Indexes, 1920-1971	Ancestry	Army
UK, Electrical Engineer WWI and WWII Rolls of Honour, 1924, 1949	Ancestry	All
Army Roll Of Honour 1939-1945	FMP	Army
British Army Casualty Lists 1939-1945	FMP	Army
British Army Casualty Lists 1939-1945 Image Browse	FMP	Army
British Army, Royal Artillery, 80th Field Regiment, WW2	FMP	Army
UK, WWII Civil Defence Gallantry Awards, 1940-1949	Ancestry	Civilian

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.

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:

Course	Instructor	Start Date
Organizing Your Genealogy	Barbara H. Baker	04 Sep 2017
Nonconformity: it's records and history	Alec Tritton	07 Sep 2017
Scottish Research Online	Chris Paton	11 Sep 2017
The National Archives Website and Catalogue: Finding People	Guy Grannum	15 Sep 2017
Victorian Crime and Punishment: Courts, Police and Prisons	Antony 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 Records	ADVANCED
Canadian: Geography and Maps	ADVANCED
Canadian: Immigration Records	ADVANCED
Canadian: Local History and Special Collections	ADVANCED
Canadian: Migration Patterns	ADVANCED
English: Court Records-Criminal, Civil & Ecclesiastical	ADVANCED
English: Land and Property Records Including Manorial Documents and Maps	ADVANCED
Genealogy and Copyright Guidelines	ADVANCED
Genetics & Medical Family History	ADVANCED
German: Germans Outside of Germany***NEW***	ADVANCED
Irish: Electoral and Taxation Records	ADVANCED
Irish: Estate, Plantation and Settlement Records	ADVANCED
Librarianship: Developing a Genealogy Website	ADVANCED
Methodology - Part 6: Professional Preparation and Practice	ADVANCED
Palaeography: Reading & Understanding Historical Documents	ADVANCED
US: Institutional Records	ADVANCED
US: Military Records	ADVANCED
Analysis and Skills Mentoring Program-Part 2	INTERMEDIATE
Australian: Church Records	INTERMEDIATE
Canadian: Land Records-Part 2	INTERMEDIATE
Canadian: Vital Statistics Records-Part 2	INTERMEDIATE
Connecting Family: Online and Virtually	INTERMEDIATE
Creating Genealogy Programs for Adults & the Younger Generation	INTERMEDIATE
Electronic Resources: Organize & Publish a Family Tree	INTERMEDIATE
English: Occupations - Professions and Trades	INTERMEDIATE
English: Understanding Names in Genealogy	INTERMEDIATE
German: Civil Registration Records	INTERMEDIATE
German: Reading the Records	INTERMEDIATE
Google for the Wise Genealogist	INTERMEDIATE
Heraldry for the Family Historian	INTERMEDIATE
Irish: Civil Registration	INTERMEDIATE
Irish: Major Printed Sources	INTERMEDIATE
Irish: Monumental Gravestone) Inscriptions	INTERMEDIATE
Lecturing Skills Including Preparation	INTERMEDIATE
Librarianship: Handouts, Brochures and Online/Multi-Media Reference Tools	INTERMEDIATE
Librarianship: Programming and Marketing Your Services	INTERMEDIATE
Methodology - Part 3: More Strategies	INTERMEDIATE
Methodology - Part 4: Effective Searching and Recording	INTERMEDIATE
Methodology - Part 5: How To Prove It	INTERMEDIATE
Personal Historian: Telling the Stories	INTERMEDIATE
Personal Historian: Video Techniques	INTERMEDIATE
Research: Alberta Ancestors	INTERMEDIATE
Research: British India Ancestors	INTERMEDIATE
Research: German Ancestors	INTERMEDIATE
Research: Manitoba Ancestors	INTERMEDIATE
Research: New Brunswick Ancestors	INTERMEDIATE
Research: Ontario Ancestors	INTERMEDIATE
Research: Quebec Non-Francophone Ancestors	INTERMEDIATE
Research: Scandinavian Ancestors	INTERMEDIATE
Research: South Africa Ancestors Including Military Records	INTERMEDIATE
Research: U.S. Midwestern States Ancestors	INTERMEDIATE
Research: Ukrainian Ancestors	INTERMEDIATE
Skill-Building: Nuts & Bolts of Reporting Research	INTERMEDIATE
Social Media Tools for the Wise Genealogist	INTERMEDIATE
US: Cemetery and Mortuary Records	INTERMEDIATE
US: Migration Patterns	INTERMEDIATE
US: Religious Records-Part 2	INTERMEDIATE
Writing for Genealogy: Articles, Blogs, Research Reports and so much more	INTERMEDIATE
Writing the Genealogist's Memoir	INTERMEDIATE
Business Skills: Career Development: Choosing a Niche-Part 1	BASIC
Business Skills: Career Development: Choosing a Niche-Part 2	BASIC
Business Skills: Creating a Business	BASIC
Business Skills: Establishing & Promoting Your Website	BASIC
DNA: Introduction to Genetic Genealogy	BASIC
Eastern European: Introduction to Research for North Americans	BASIC
Italian: Civil Registration Records-Part 1	BASIC
Italian: Introduction to Research Outside of Italy	BASIC
Italian: Language and Location	BASIC
Personal Historian: Beginning Genealogy	BASIC
Scottish: Census Records	BASIC
Skill-Building: Breaking Down Brick Walls	BASIC
Skills: Transcribing, Abstracting & Extracting	BASIC
Business Skills: Business Administration	BASIC

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

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/

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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:

Title	Years	County
Belfast Newsletter	09/01/1738 - Current	National (NI)
Freeman's Journal	03/01/1763 - 19/12/1924	National
Irish Examiner	30/08/1841 - 1999	National
Irish Farmer's Journal	16/03/1957 - 26/12/1998	National
Irish Independent	02/01/1905 - Current	National
Irish Press	05/09/1931 - 25/05/1995	National
Sunday Independent	07/01/1906 - Current	National
Nationalist & Leinster Times	22/09/1883 - current	Carlow, Laois & Kildare
Anglo-Celt	06/02/1846 - Current	Cavan
Skiberreen Eagle	02/01/1882 - 08/07/1922	Cork
Southern Star	13/02/1892 - Current	Cork
Derry Journal	02/01/1844 - 31/12/1924	Derry
Donegal Democrat	06/06/1919 - Current	Donegal
Donegal News	14/03/1903 - Current	Donegal
Dublin Evening Post	21/01/1796 - 31/12/1798	Dublin
Evening Herald	19/12/1891 - current	Dublin
Nation - The	15/10/1842 - 05/06/1897	Dublin
Volunteer's Journal or Irish Herald	13/10/1783 - 30/04/1787	Dublin
Fermanagh Herald	14/03/1903 - current	Fermanagh
Connacht Sentinel	02/08/1927 - Current	Galway
Connacht Tribune	22/05/1909 - Current	Galway
Galway City Tribune	07/09/1984 - Current	Galway
Tuam Herald	13/05/1837 - Current	Galway
Chutes Western Herald	02/01/1828 - 04/05/1835	Kerry
Kerryman	20/08/1904 - Current	Kerry
Kerry Advocate	25/07/1914 - 06/05/1916	Kerry
Kerry Champion	13/10/1928 - 29/03/1958	Kerry
Kerry Evening Post	24/05/1813 - 29/09/1917	Kerry
Kerry Evening Star	29/09/1902 - 12/03/1914	Kerry
Kerry Examiner	01/01/1841 - 11/03/1856	Kerry
Kerry Independent	28/10/1880 - 10/01/1884	Kerry
Kerry News	23/01/1894 - 16/06/1941	Kerry
Kerry People	27/09/1902 - 31/03/1928	Kerry
Kerry Press	28/07/1914 - 11/05/1916	Kerry
Kerry Reporter	10/05/1924 - 28/12/1935	Kerry
Kerry Sentinel	26/04/1878 - 23/12/1916	Kerry
Kerry Star	15/05/1861 - 27/03/1863	Kerry
Kerry Weekly Reporter	03/02/1883 - 14/08/1920	Kerry
Killarney Echo & South Kerry Chronicle	26/08/1899 - 14/08/1920	Kerry
Liberator	21/07/1914 - 02/09/1939	Kerry
Raymonds Kerry Herald	12/01/1856 - 16/02/1856	Kerry
Tralee Mercury	14/02/1829 - 20/07/1839	Kerry
Kildare Nationalist	05/01/2016 - current	Kildare
Finn's Leinster Journal	01/04/1792 - 31/12/1828	Kilkenny
Kilkenny People	26/10/1895 - current	Kilkenny
Laois Nationalist	23/08/2016 - current	Laois
Leinster Express	24/09/1831 - Current	Laois
Leitrim Observer	02/01/1904 -Current	Leitrim
Limerick Leader	02/01/1905 - Current	Limerick
Longford Leader	14/08/1897 - Current	Longford
Drogheda Argus and Leinster Journal	19/09/1835 - 25/12/1909	Louth
Drogheda Conservative	30/03/1864 - 29/12/1906	Louth
Drogheda Reporter	02/05/1863 - 01/08/1863	Louth
Dundalk Democrat	20/10/1849 - Current	Louth
Ballinrobe Chronicle	03/02/1866 - 10/09/1903	Mayo
Ballina Herald	06/08/1927 - 28/04/1962	Mayo
Connaught Telegraph	22/09/1830 - Current	Mayo
Mayo Examiner	06/07/1868 - 30/12/1876	Mayo
Mayo News	07/01/1893 - 29/12/2004	Mayo
Western Journal	03/06/1977 - 11/03/1983	Mayo
Western People	04/05/1889 - Current	Mayo
Meath Chronicle	01/05/1897 - Current	Meath
Butte Independent	22/01/1910 - 27/12/1930	Montana (US)
Sligo Champion	18/10/1879 - current	Sligo
Nenagh Guardian	21/07/1838 - Current	Tipperary
Nenagh News	05/01/1895 - 28/12/1924	Tipperary
Gaelic Life	14/01/2011 - Current	Tyrone
Strabane Chronicle	03/10/1908 - Current	Tyrone
Tyrone Herald	07/02/2011 - Current	Tyrone
Ulster Herald	15/08/1901 - Current	Tyrone
Munster Express	07/07/1860 - Current	Waterford
Westmeath Examiner	28/09/1882 - Current	Westmeath
Wexford People	12/09/1857- 29/12/1888	Wexford
Wicklow Newsletter	06/01/1900 - 24/12/1926	Wicklow

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.

	2017	2016
1	Richard III	Richard III
2	Eleanor of Aquitaine	Elizabeth I
3	Alfred the Great	William Shakespeare
4	Elizabeth I	Anne Boleyn
5	Anne Boleyn	Henry VIII
6	Winston Churchill	Winston Churchill
7	Adolf Hitler	Eleanor of Aquitaine
8	Queen Victoria	Thomas Cromwell
9	William Shakespeare	William Marshal
10	Henry VIII	Adolf 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.

The 1st photographs of a total solar eclipse

From The History Blog, 7 photos of an 1854 eclipse. See the others at www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/48478/.
See my earlier post Did Your Ancestor Experience a Total Solar Eclipse?

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.

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

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:

	Records	Start Year	End Year
Banns	101,300	1632	1933
Baptisms	870,532	1560	1919
Burials	662,620	1464	1960
Marriages	485,521	1545	1933

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

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/.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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/State	New	Total
USA	>2,200,000	15,558,486
Australia	377,389	1,608,001
Canada	87,830	946,158
England	76,151	580,290
Scotland	114,974	197,832
New Zealand	48,831	178,863
Wales	5,761	58,135
Ireland	16,038	25,357

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.