Findmypast adds to Durham BMB Records and Royal and Imperial Calendars 1767-1973

The following additions are made this week to Findmypast's Durham parish register collections

Place	Year from	Year to	Record count	Type
Auckland	1650	1878	7,602	Marriages
Auckland St Helen	1593	1869	7,012	Baptisms
Bishopwearmouth, St. Michael & All Angels	1607	1859	38,101	Burials
Crook	1843	1914	2,233	Baptisms
Crook	1845	1914	684	Marriages
Esh, St Michael & All Angels	1801	1842	232	Burials
Fatfield	1879	1970	1,794	Burials
Gateshead	1583	1889	23,713	Baptisms
Gateshead	1558	1899	35,191	Marriages
Great Stainton	1561	1812	910	Baptisms
Great Stainton	1561	1837	542	Marriages
Greatham	1564	1862	2,034	Marriages
Houghton Le Spring, St. Michael & All Angels	1657	1924	26,429	Burials
Medomsley	1608	1846	3,088	Baptisms
Medomsley	1608	1841	2,328	Marriages
Monkwearmouth	1768	1902	35,782	Baptisms
Monkwearmouth	1583	1901	23,472	Marriages
Monkwearmouth, St. Peter	1683	1891	16,715	Burials
Newbottle	1851	1945	6,374	Burials
Ryhope, St Paul	1829	1937	4,693	Burials
Ryton	1650	1890	29,324	Baptisms
Ryton	1581	1910	19,174	Marriages
South Shields, Holy Trinity	1834	1917	5,262	Burials
South Shields, St Simon	1880	1993	2,856	Burials
Southwick, Holy Trinity	1845	1988	2,617	Burials
Stanhope	1609	1900	18,659	Baptisms
Stanhope	1613	1901	15,203	Marriages
Washington, Holy Trinity	1604	1900	8,322	Burials

Britain, Royal and Imperial Calendars 1767-1973

This expansive collection of more than three million records from The National Archives includes lists of all the official departments of state, and branches of public service, the law, the church, national or commercial companies and institutions, and many additional articles of public utility.

Staff may be searched for by first and last names, and year.

Each record includes a link to a transcript and original image. Transcripts typically show first name(s) or initials, last name, year and source information. Images might add the department or organization and a page number. You can browse forward and back page by page.

The collection does not include a browse capability, except page by page. However, once in a volume you can edit the last four digits in the web address to find a huge variety of information.

What might you find?

Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington was also Knight of the Elephant of Denmark.
On 26 December 1833, there was an eclipse of the moon visible at Greenwich with totality between 8:43pm and 10:21pm.
In the same year, there were duties payable on male but not female servants; the duties were greater if the employer was a bachelor.

Would you binge watch genealogy?

Quelle idée! Innovation genealogy leader MyHeritage is holding a FREE 24-Hour Genealogy Webinar Marathon.

You'll need time to rest up so this is advance notice.

The marathon will begin on Thursday, 12 March at 5 P.M. ET through to Friday, 13 March, at 5 P.M.

Each lecture will be 45 minutes long, including 10 minutes for questions at the end.  Here's the schedule with my top three picks highlighted:

Title	Speaker	ET
How Do I Know It's Correct: Evidence and Proof	Rebecca Koford, CG, CGL	Thu Mar 12, 5pm
Not Who He Once Was: Tips for Finding Your Name-Changing Ancestor	Mary Kircher Roddy, CG	6:00 PM
A Vast and Virtual Genealogical Library is Waiting for Your Exploration	Mike Mansfield	7:00 PM
How DNA Influences Our Identity	Diahan Southard	8:00 PM
Searching By Name: Swedish Records Using ArkivDigital	Kathy Meade	9:00 PM
Advanced Googling for Your Grandma	Cyndi Ingle	10:00 PM
Can a Dead Man Sign a Deed?	Kelvin L. Meyers	11:00 PM
Civil Registration in Australia	Helen V. Smith	Fri Mar 13, 12am
Four Sources for New Zealand Family History	Fiona Brooker	1:00 AM
Documents of Death	Helen V. Smith	2:00 AM
MyHeritage DNA 101	Ran Snir	3:00 AM
Emigration via Hamburg	Andrea Bentschneider	4:00 AM
Thankful Villages: the Impact of World War One on Communities	Kirsty Gray	5:00 AM
Empower yourself with the MyHeritage DNA Health test	Shahar Bitton	6:00 AM
How to Use Dutch Parish Records from the 17th and 18th Century	John Boeren	7:00 AM
Researching a Hessian Soldier	Craig R. Scott, MA, CG	8:00 AM
Researching Scandinavian Ancestors? It's Amazing What You Can Learn	Mike Mansfield	9:00 AM
Black, Yellow, Red: Find Your Belgian Ancestors!	Marie Cappart	10:00 AM
The Third Coast: How the Great Lakes Shaped America	Cari Taplin, CG	11:00 AM
Digital Image Workflows That Really Work	Denise May Levenick	12:00 PM
The Coded Census: Deciphering U.S. Census	Thomas MacEntee	1:00 PM
Advanced Features of MyHeritage.com	Daniel Horowitz	2:00 PM
The Science of Family History	Devin Ashby	3:00 PM
My Ancestors Were Normans - Oh Really? Prove It!	Dr. Bruce Durie	4:00 PM

Tune in and out when you want, view recordings that will be available free for a week, or watch them anytime with a webinar membership to FamilyTreeWebinars.com.

British Newspaper Archives additions for January

The British Newspaper Archive now has a total of 35,750,853 pages online (35,444,217 last month). 29 papers (47 last month) had pages added in the past month. There were 24 (21) new titles. Dates ranged from 1825 to 1957.

The 8 newspapers with more than 10,000 pages added during the month are:

TITLE	PAGES	YEARS
Times of India	42030	1861-1865, 1867-1888
Caernarvon & Denbigh Herald	12588	1850-1872, 1874-1877, 1897
Richmond & Ripon Chronicle	12180	1855, 1860-1864, 1866-1876, 1878-1888, 1890-1894
Halifax Evening Courier	28342	1899, 1901-1909, 1911-1913, 1915-1921
Brecon County Times	27394	1866-1870, 1872-1896, 1899-1933
Huddersfield Daily Chronicle	34002	1873-1874, 1876-1882, 1884-1888, 1890-1896, 1899-1900
Kilkenny Moderator	10800	1825, 1903, 1905-1906, 1908-1924
Truth	48432	1903, 1928-1937, 1944-1957

Captured in German Occupied Territory

The following 12 people were all interned by Germany during the Second World War.

John Archombault. Date of Birth: 3 October 1907.
[William Francis] Hull. Date of Birth: [unspecified].
Stuart [A] Kettles. Date of Birth: 01/09/1919.
Jean Gerstil. Date of Birth: 2 September 1914.
James Douglas Appleyard. Date of Birth: 7 February 1913.
Name: Jean Lastel ? Date of Birth: 02/09/1914.
Ralph Reynolds Henderson. Date of Birth: 24/7/1914.
Marian Kotlarz. Date of Birth: 14/07/1919.
Eric John Durnford. Date of Birth: 20/12/1916.
Douglas Michael [J] Labelle. Date of Birth: 09/07/1919.
Howard Henry Lee. Date of Birth: 06/12/1916.
Rene Goenette. Date of Birth: 16/10/1915.

They were also all born in Ottawa. 

They are identified in a project to catalogue The (UK) National Archives WO 416 series of individuals captured in German-occupied territory. So far catalogued are more than 110,000 of an estimated 200,000 records relating to individuals.

Read about the project in Roger Kershaw's blog post War behind the wire: The story of allied civilians in occupied Europe during the Second World War.

To date records for 572 individuals are identified in a search for Canada, 1,941 in a search for Canadian at https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14541141.

The records have not been digitised and cannot be downloaded. You can order records in advance to be ready for you when you visit Kew. Or, you can request a quotation for a copy to be sent to you.

I found the stories of some of these men simply by Googling.

Book Review: Tracing Your Ancestors in Lunatic Asylums

Lunatic, idiot and imbecile are not terms in use today but that's how an ancestor with mental health issues might have been characterized in the day. It may well be their story has been lost to the family history and you'll be surprised to find a hint they were in a mental institution. If so this new book by Michelle Higgs, author of two other books in Pen and Sword's Tracing Your series, will give you a well-rounded introduction to their likely situation in the UK and Ireland.

The family historian may well turn first to chapter 10, Sources, to discover the various documents, perhaps in the census, that may have survived. You may be fortunate and discover case notes in a local or county record office for your unfortunate ancestor.

After situating your ancestor refer to the relevant chapters to fill out the picture of their life.

Care of the Mentally Ill before 1800
Lunatic Asylums in the 19th Century
20th Century Mental Institutions
Mental Illness
Inside the Asylum
The Mentally Ill in Workhouses
Criminal Lunatics
Asylums for Idiots and Imbeciles
Mental Illness in the Armed Forces

You will discover how the law and practices changed over the years. Numerous cases are used for illustration. There are helpful appendices on terminology, websites, places to visit, a four-page bibliography and a ten-page index.

Although learning about your ancestor's situation may not bring much joy this clear readable guide will provide insight. Highly recommended.

Tracing Your Ancestors in Lunatic Asylums (Paperback)
A Guide for Family Historians
By Michelle Higgs
Imprint: Pen & Sword Family History
Series: Tracing Your Ancestors
Pages: 196
Illustrations: 40
ISBN: 9781526744852
Published: 14th November 2019

Life expectancy in Canada

You have probably read about a declining life expectancy in the US. "After 2010, US life expectancy plateaued and in 2014 it began reversing, dropping for three consecutive years -- from 78.9 years in 2014, to 78.6 in 2017 — www.cnn.com/2019/11/26/health/us-life-expectancy-decline-study/index.html/. The decline is attributed to drug overdoses, obesity, alcoholism and suicide. The official figures are in www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr68/nvsr68_07-508.pdf in Table 19.

Yesterday, 27 January, Statistics Canada released life tables for Canada and for each province except PEI. It shows life expectancy at birth for 2016-2018 as 82.0, the same as for 2015-2017 — an increase from 81.9 in 2013-2015. Across a five year period life expectancy increased for all ages up to 90 with an increase up to 0.3 years for those 35 to 65 years of age.

A troubling trend is a decrease in life expectancy for men in the 25-to-45 age group which StatsCan attributes to opioid deaths. 

Famine Irish immigrants had a tough time in the US

An article in the Sunday Times Catholic surname ‘hindered sons of Famine refugees'  reports on a study by researchers at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.  On average, the sons of Famine-era Irish immigrants fared less well than similar data of German and British immigrants and American-born men.

The Sunday Times article is behind a paywall but appears to be the same study as reported in a February 2019 article The Economic Assimilation of Irish Famine Migrants to the United States by William J. Collins and Ariell Zimran.

"We find evidence of a decline in human capital, defined as the skills, knowledge, and experience possessed by an individual or population, viewed in terms of their value or cost to an organization or country, among the famine-era Irish immigrants relative to previous Irish migrants and relative to other immigrant and native groups. As a result of this deteriorating selection, the migrants’ poor labour market outcomes, and the backlash against Irish immigrants, the children of the famine Irish faced long odds. But as adults, they significantly narrowed the gap in occupational status relative to natives in comparison to their fathers’ starting point, and they nearly kept pace with sons of US natives whose fathers were similarly situated in 1850. In this sense, there is strong evidence of economic assimilation by the famine Irish. This is the paper’s main finding. Among the children of the famine-era Irish immigrants, conditional on observables in 1850, we find differences in occupational outcomes depending on the Catholicity of their surname; we also find that children born in Ireland, even those who spent nearly their entire life in the US, fared worse than those born in the US, potentially reflecting exposure to famine conditions."

Is there a similar study for immigrants to Canada?

Free Legacy Family Tree Webinars This Week

MyHeritageDNA for Your Family Knot
by Jennifer Dondero
Tuesday, January 28, 2020, 2:00pm Eastern
If you have a lot of ancestors that married within the same group — but you're not an endogamous population — you can still have issues using DNA for genealogy. MyHeritageDNA has some of the best in-house tools for dealing with this, but you have to recognize the situation first.

Effective Use of GENUKI: England’s Largest Free Genealogy website
by Paul Milner
Wednesday, January 29, 2020, 2:00pm Eastern
Learn how to effectively use the largest free website for British Isles research. Understand how the site is organized and to find the many resources on the site. Plus see how to find its gems for specific local research.

More Than Just Names: Advanced US Census Research
by Judy G. Russell, JD, CG, CGL
Friday, January 31, 2020, 2:00pm Eastern
Those every-10-years U.S. censuses are goldmines of names, ages and birthplaces for members of our families. But there's so much more in the census records if we know where to look: everything from socioeconomic status to crops grown or products made, from school attendance to marriage dates, from physical disabilities to causes of death, from military service to clues that lead us to other sources. Learn how an advanced search of the U.S. census records can add to your family history.

Seeking descendants of the 156 Irish “Primrose girls” who emigrated to Canada, in 1853

A group of Irish amateur genealogists from a small Galway town are seeking to connect with descendants of 156 emigrants known as the “Primrose” girls after the name of the ship they sailed on to Canada in 1853.

Read the article including a list of some of the names and ages here.

Vernon City Directory Project Update

A month ago I found 519 results listed for the FamilySearch/LAC/OGS Vernon directories digitization project.

As of Monday evening, 27 January there are 532 results.  Or are there?

Clicking the down arrow for Subject beneath REFINE YOUR SEARCH brings up the following list.

Subject	Volumes
Brant, Brantford	99
Middlesex, London	91
Ontario, Oshawa	56
Kent, Chatham	47
Hastings, Belleville	40
Ontario, Whitby	35
Grey, Owen Sound	29
Leeds, Brockville	29
Simcoe, Barrie	21
Renfrew, Pembroke	17
Waterloo, Kitchener	14
Waterloo, Waterloo	14
Waterloo	14
Waterloo, Preston	13
Waterloo, Galt	13
Welland, Fort Erie	13
Perth, Stratford	12
Hastings, Trenton	11
Kent, Wallaceburg	11
Lambton, Sarnia	10
Cochrane District, Timmins	9
Simcoe, Orillia	4
Simcoe, Orillia	3
Waterloo, Bridgeport	3
Norfolk, Simcoe	3
Lambton, Point Edward	2
Algoma District, Steelton	1
Brant, Paris	1
Algoma District, Sault Ste. Marie	1
Stratford	1
Wentworth, Hamilton	1

A total of 618 volumes!

Terry Jones: Python, amateur historian

As well as being a member of the Monty Python team, Jones – who has died at the age of 77 – wrote books and articles on Geoffrey Chaucer, attended conferences and made TV shows about medieval life.

... more at The Conversation — Terry Jones: professional comic, amateur historian, accomplished human being.

Last Call for Speakers: BIFHSGO Conference 2020

A reminder that the call for speakers is open for another few days, until the end of the month.

Find out more here.

Lord Tweedsmuir

The Historical Society of Ottawa on Wednesday 29 January 2020, 1 pm at the OPL (Main) hosts William Galbraith speaking on Lord Tweedsmuir - Soldier, Spy, Thriller Writer...Governor General.

John Buchan, Scottish-born renowned author of spy thrillers such as The Thirty-Nine Steps, became Lord Tweedsmuir, Governor General of Canada in 1935. His appointment created a nation-wide controversy, but he was nonetheless welcomed for the accomplished individual he was.
Tweedsmuir changed the tone at Rideau Hall, making it less formal. Mackenzie King, who was Prime Minister when Tweedsmuir arrived on Canadian shores in November 1935, had first met John Buchan in England in 1919, and in 1924 hosted the Buchans at Laurier House and at Kingsmere.

J. William (Bill) Galbraith was born in Fort Frances, Northwestern Ontario. He backpacked throughout Europe and the Mediterranean region before taking degrees from Carleton University and from the Université Libre de Bruxelles. Following studies, and more backpacking, he worked first for a private sector business research organization and subsequently served in a number of federal government departments and agencies, involving investment review, intelligence, national security policy, and intelligence review. Bill retired in July 2018 and lives in Ottawa with his wife Kate. They have three grown children and three grandchildren.

BBC History Magazine: February 2020

The featured items in this latest issue, viewable free online at home through PressReader and your OPL membership, and likely other North American libraries, are:

The Little Ice Age
Brian Fagan reveals the havoc wrought by centuries of climate change
After the Holocaust
Richard J Evans charts efforts to deal with the crimes of the Third Reich
The two sides of George IV
Stella Tillyard on the urbane, boorish king who trashed his own reputation
The Grunwick protests
Sundari Anitha and Ruth Pearson on a 1976 strike for migrant workers' rights
Spanish Armada myths
Lucy Worsley explains why our view of the events of 1588 may be off-course
Henry II and Islam
Did the king really intend to forsake Christianity? Claudia Gold investigates
A global education
Historians describe their experiences of studying around the world

And in a one-column this date in history type item Susannah Wright recalls the first step toward schooling for all in England and Wales

The 1870 Education Act was introduced into the House of Commons 150 years ago this month. More than any prior or subsequent legislation, it brought about a system of mass education in England and Wales. For the first time, the state became responsible for the elementary (primary) schooling of all children of ages 5-10. Calls for more schools for more children, and better oversight, had come much earlier - think Charles Dickens. But by the late 1860s, pressures had mounted. Extensions of the electorate, most recently in 1867, along with the fear of falling behind international competitors, and moral panics about juvenile delinquency and popular unrest - especially in ‘slums’ - were all cited as reasons for more schools. The system of elementary schools that emerged was a complex mix of older church schools and new, church-administered and part state-funded ones, or fully state-funded ones, filling the gaps.

Sunday Sundries

Miscellaneous items I found of interest during the week.

Vision of Britain Maps
Topographic, boundary and land use maps from the early 19th to mid-20th centuries.

The Way We Write History Has Changed

The Deep Sea. 
Keep scrolling down and down while the page shows you some creatures who live at that depth.

Internet Browser Market Share (1996–2019)
An animated bar chart.

Tracking the worldwide spread of the coronavirus


Climate crisis: we are not individuals fighting a faceless system – we are the system that needs to change

Thanks to this week's contributors
Ann Burns, David T, E Gail Benjafield, Gloria Tubman, Karen Prytula, Mike More, Nancy Frey, Wayne Shepheard

Live Streaming Schedule for RootsTech2020 SLC

Here's the schedule of the free sessions streamed from RootsTech as published here, with time converted to the Eastern time zone.

Wednesday 26 February

10:00 a.m.
Photos Capture the Story—Jens Nielsen
Whether it’s the moment, the face, the time, or some other small item, it’s true that “a picture is worth a thousand words.” This session will teach you how to take your photography skills to the next level and will help you understand how to use photography as you document and share your family story.

11:30 a.m.
What’s New at Ancestry—Crista Cowan
Get the latest updates, news, and happenings from Ancestry.

1:00 p.m.
The Story of You on FamilySearch
FamilySearch is an incredible tool that allows us to capture our personal and family stories online at no cost. However, it can be common for people to be confused about what to capture and save on FamilySearch. In this session, we’ll talk about what to put on the site and how to get started in capturing and preserving your personal stories!

3:30 p.m.
Adding Branches to Your Family Tree Using DNA—Angie Bush
Learn the secrets of expanding your family tree through DNA testing and research.

5:00 p.m.
Finding Your Elusive Female Ancestors—Julie Stoddard
In the early history of many countries, women came under the legal status of their husbands, so they are not always listed in the records. Finding the wife of your ancestor or identifying a maiden name can be challenging. Learn how to find U.S. records that may contain clues for your female ancestors and which methods are best for discovering the women in your family lines.

6:30 p.m.
General Session—10-Year Celebration
When RootsTech began 10 years ago, this conference was simply a test. To see how it’s grown and expanded over the past decade is truly incredible and a testament to each of you. We’ll take a look back at the past decade and celebrate the great strides made within the industry. Then we’ll look forward to the exciting future of family connection and discovery.

Thursday 27 February

10:00 a.m.
Unlocking the Power of the FamilySearch Wiki—Danielle Batson, Jenny Hansen, Jeff Svare
This introduction to the basic setup and tools within the FamilySearch Wiki will allow you to better utilize this great resource. Many researchers don’t realize that the Research Wiki can provide all the background information you need.

11:30 a.m.
German Research for the Everyday American—Karynne Moses
The prospect of hopping from American to German records can be pretty intimidating, especially if you don’t speak the language. Where should you start? Don’t worry! With the proper tools and some training, you can delve into a whole new world of research. This class will discuss the key resources and techniques necessary for bridging the continental gap and finding your people.

1:00 p.m.
General Session featuring Leigh Anne Tuohy
Inspirational subject of the hit movie The Blind Side Leigh Anne Tuohy will be the keynote speaker at the Thursday general session. Leigh Anne’s story is proof that when we give a bit of ourselves to other people, we make the world a better place. Leigh Anne is an advocate for adoption and continues to actively improve the standards of living for children throughout the country who are fighting to survive in the invisible cracks of society.

3:30 p.m.
DNA, Genealogy, and Law Enforcement: All the Facts—Blaine Bettinger
DNA and genetic genealogy are increasingly being called on to solve cold cases. Blaine Bettinger presents the facts: what we know, what we don’t know, and what the future might hold for genealogy and law enforcement.

5:00 p.m.
Tackling Difficult Chapters of our Family History—Cheri Daniels
As DNA results continue to reveal hidden lineages and deeper record groups become more available, we are increasingly faced with ancestral details previously hidden behind familial cloaks of silence. But what is our responsibility as family historians when we encounter these uncomfortable details? The universal truth that must be understood about difficult chapters of history is that previously suppressed details hold the key to research paths that breakthrough many brick walls. This session will explore the sensitive nature of these details, how to use them constructively in your research, and how to document them while continuing to treat the ancestors’ history with respect.

Friday 28 February

10:00 a.m.
Discover Your Family with Interviews and Sources—Mat and Rachel Trotter
Come and learn the basics of how to discover, gather and connect with loved ones and ancestors by using several different and new techniques. We will teach you how to find and tell your family history for yourself, living and dead relatives. You will discover how to bring your family history to life with how to's on oral history interviews, learning how to use sources with our favourite apps (including how the apps work), and how to make it all come together. Plus, learn some tips to get your children and grandchildren involved to make the whole process a family affair. You will leave with a basic knowledge of how to tell a story using dates, facts, figures and personal storytelling.

11:30 a.m.
2019: Year of the Copyright—Judy Russell

1:00 p.m.
General Session featuring David Kennerly—Sponsored by Canon
Kennerly has photographed more than 50 covers for major magazines and covered assignments in over 100 countries. Kennerly, who is brought to you by Canon, has photographed every US president since Richard Nixon and has been on the frontlines for many of the biggest moments in world history.

3:30 p.m.
City Directories and Other New Collections on MyHeritage—Mike Mansfield
Learn about an incredible new collection of U.S. City Directories at MyHeritage and how these materials can help you advance your research. City directories, as a source of local history, provide rich and detailed residential, relationship, and occupational information on heads of households and their spouses and can lead us to other sources such as local churches, schools, and cemeteries. Additionally, new collections such as vital records from Germany and France and censuses and other primary records from Norway and Sweden will be highlighted.

5:00 p.m.
Preserving the Fabric of our Families—Jennifer Hadley
From your wedding dress to Great Grandpa’s Military uniform, this presentation will tell you how to care for and preserve every type of textile. Clothing, quilts, doilies, and embroidery; new and old all share common characteristics and weaknesses. Learn how to preserve, protect and even display these wonderful heirlooms. Whether they’ve been passed down for generations or you would like to start passing them down, learn the best practices to make textiles last.

Saturday 29 February

10:00 a.m.
Ancestry On the Go: Ancestry App Suite—Peter Drinkwater, Kenric Russell, Victoria Smith
In this three-part presentation, we will cover topics such as: - Why Ancestry has multiple apps - How to install the apps and get up and running - New app features that were recently released - We may even reveal a few new features coming soon!

11:30 a.m.
FamilySearch App for Intermediate/Advanced Users—Todd Powell
Are you the person that wants to take your Mobile app talents and apply them to gather your family with advanced Family History tasks? Come to this class to learn how to use the advanced features on our FamilySearch Tree App.

1:00 p.m.
General Session featuring Emmitt Smith
Emmitt Smith, the National Football League’s all-time leading rusher and Super Bowl champion, is coming to RootsTech! During his long career, Emmitt Smith broke Walter Payton’s league rushing record and played for three Super Bowl-winning Dallas Cowboys teams. He’s the only running back to ever win a Super Bowl championship, the NFL MVP award, the NFL rushing crown, and the Super Bowl Most Valuable Player award in the same season. Don’t miss the opportunity to hear from one of the world’s premier athletes!

3:30 p.m.
Healing & Family History: The Emotional Side—Robin Wirthlin
Echoes of the past come alive through Family History and DNA research. Connecting with living relatives and learning the stories can help heal broken families and connect estranged and unknown family members. The journey of discovery has hills and valleys, especially when working with living relatives. Learn ways to navigate the challenges and overcome them.

5:00 p.m.
Introduction to What Are the Odds? (WATO)—Leah Larkin
Determining how someone with unknown parentage fits into a tree of their atDNA matches is a common challenge. “What Are the Odds?” (WATO) at DNApainter.com is a revolutionary new tool that allows you to test different hypotheses for where the “target person” fits into a documented tree. Hypotheses are ranked, allowing you to better focus your research efforts and testing dollars. It can use match data from any testing company. This talk will provide a general overview of the tool, how to use it, and how to interpret the results.

Findmypast Updates: Scotland to the fore

Scotland, Poor Law & Poor Lists
This collection of 123,389 poor relief records, 107,176 of which are for Paisley, includes a transcript and original record (only a few available) that reveal the level of poverty, family details, occupation, residence, denomination and the nature of the relief they received. In a sample of 139 results less than half had a date attached and only one an original image.

Scotland, Lanarkshire School Registers and Records
29,981 school register transcripts. Find last and first name, birth year, birth date, year (of the record), school name, place, residence, admission date, last school, parent's name and occupation. Records are from 1864 to 1939.

Scotland, Dundee & Forfarshire (Angus) Births & Baptisms 1562-1855
Over 186,000 records covering all parishes have been added to the collection. Search these parish birth and baptism records and discover the date and location of baptism, residence, parent’s names and father’s occupation.

Scotland, Dundee & Forfarshire (Angus) Marriages & Banns 1562-1855
Over 92,000 new records covering all parishes are now available to search. These records may reveal when and where banns were read, the date and location of marriage, parent’s names, father’s occupation and corresponding details for the spouse.

Scotland, Dundee & Forfarshire (Angus) Deaths & Burials 1562-1855
Find information on over 74,000 additions covering all parishes. These transcripts may also reveal the deceased’s occupation, condition, residence, father’s name and next of kin.

In addition, six new Yorkshire titles were added to the British & Irish Newspaper collection this week.

The Maturing of Genetic Genealogy

News that DNA testing company23andMe is laying off 100 people signals the heyday of DNA testing coming to an end.

CNBC reports that 23andMeCEO Anne Wojcicki cited a variety of factors, including both recession fears and privacy concerns.

Leah Larkin detected a slowdown in sales in September 2018. The lack of announcements on the number of kits sold in recent months has been noticeable. And pricing has become highly competitive.

None of this means that genetic genealogy is any less useful, just that companies that have relied on sales in an expanding market to support service will have to adjust their business model.

Look for announcements on takeovers in the coming months.

Deceased Online adds Two Black Country Cemeteries

Deceased Online announces that Uplands Cemetery, Smethwick, with records from May 1890 to August 2001 and Wood Green Cemetery, Wednesbury with records from April 1868 to September 2011have been added to their database.

The records, from the Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council, comprise digital scans of the original burial registers and grave details for each of the graves and their occupants. Uplands also includes a map showing in which section the grave is located.

Sandwell records available to view on Deceased Online total 344,700 including those from:

Fallings Heath Cemetery
Heath Lane Cemetery
Oldbury Cemetery
Rowley Regis Cemetery
Rowley Regis Crematorium
Sandwell Valley Crematorium
Tipton Cemetery

GRO adds twenty years of birth indexes

If looking for civil registrations of births in England and Wales between 1984 up to 2004 you now have an additional option — the government's own index accessible after free registration from www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates/login.asp

The site already had birth indexes from 1837 to 1919. FreeBMD's birth index covers most of the gap from 1920 to 1983 so there is now almost complete free coverage to 2004.

As for the subscription sites, Ancestry has index records to 2007; Findmypast to 2006; MyHeritage and TheGenealogist to 2005.

The GRO, which also has a civil registration death index online from 1837 to 2019, is currently working on a rolling programme to put all of its indexes online.

Ottawa Branch OGS January Meetings

There's a distinctly Scottish theme to meetings at the City Archives, 100 Talwood Drive, on Saturday 25 January.

At 9:30 AM the Scottish Genealogy Group will meet. It will morph into the regular Ottawa Branch 11:30am lunch bunch presentation and discussion when Ken McKinlay will talk about using Family Search, Ancestry and Findmypast in conjunction with Scotland’s People to reduce the costs of researching your Scottish ancestors. 

At 1 PM the social period will be followed by a presentation McNab: Conflict and Settlement in the British Colony of Upper Canada by David Mulholland.

McNab, a novel of dramatized history, portrays the lives of 19th-century immigrants struggling with personal, political and social challenges in their new home. Entrusted with the settlement of a township in 1825, Chief ArchibaldMcNab brings crofters (farmers) over from the Highlands. He tells them he owns the land, and tries to impose the Scottish feudal system. Led by Donald Cameron, the story depicts the settlers’ sixteen-year fight against the tyranny of their Chief.

David Mulholland began his writing career as an advertising copywriter in private radio. He went on to work as a researcher, story editor and interviewer for CBC Public Affairs television, a general-assignment reporter and music reviewer for the Ottawa Citizen, a syndicated country-music columnist, a part-time stand-up comic with Yuk Yuk’s, and a speechwriter for a number of departments in the federal government.

At 3 PM Jason Porteous will hold the first of a regular DNA Tools workshop in this timeslot. Genome Mate Pro is a key tool for DNA research but he will also share how to do both visual phasing (chromosome mapping) as well as actual phasing of your raw DNA files into maternal/paternal kits etc. to use in reconstructing common ancestors etc. Bring your laptop.

Legacy Family Tree Webinar Today: New Tools and Ideas in Research

Today, Wednesday 22 January at 2 PM ET, D. Joshua Taylor will present New Tools and Ideas in Research.

The field of genealogy is constantly changing and evolving.  Each day new techniques, resources, and tools are developed to assist in the quest for one’s ancestors. Learn technological developments (including gadgets and gizmos), newly discovered resources for genealogical research and more.

Find out more and register here.

If you miss the live presentation you can still catch it free for one week on replay.

Book Review: Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry through Church and State Records

Delving into Scottish records of interest to the family historian you soon realize that Scotland is a jurisdiction of its own. Despite some similarities to the rest of the UK practices and terminology vary. This book, inspired by a series of short guides author Chris Paton produced for Australian company Unlock the Past, leads the reader through the Scottish record jungle.

The chapters are:
1. Research Resources
2. Civil Registration
3. Church of Scotland Records
4. Other Church Records
5. Where Were They?
6. Land Tenure
7. Inheritance
8. Law and Order.

The chapter titles are mostly self-explanatory. Chapter 1 details the major Scottish research resources, both physical and online. Chapter 5 captures the census, national registration, valuation, tax, maps, statistical accounts, and more.

The book could easily be used as the basis of self or group study or as a reference. It has a comprehensive table of contents and index.

Despite there being no map included, in common with most Pen and Sword books I've reviewed, I have no hesitation in recommending this book for beginner and intermediate readers or those looking for a reference.

Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry through Church and State Records (Paperback)
A Guide for Family Historians

By Chris Paton
Imprint: Pen & Sword Family History
Series: Tracing Your Ancestors
Pages: 162
Illustrations: 40
ISBN: 9781526768421
Published: 20th November 2019

Family Tree Live

Thre's an impressive programme scheduled for the second annual Family Tree Live event coming in mid-April to London's Alexandra Palace.

If you're thinking of a spring trip to Britain why not include a day or two to check out what's new, and hear some of Britain's top speakers. Find the whole program at https://www.family-tree.co.uk/information/family-tree-live.

And it's not just Britain's top speakers, Calgary's Wayne Shepheard will be there giving two presentations. It's good to see a Canadian on the program — last year there was a presentation by Christine Jackson.

Creating a Memorable Meeting Experience

How are you enjoying the snow and cold?  For those who shovel and shiver rather than ski and skate there's still the compensation of bright days with the sun reflecting off the snow. There's also the start of a new season of my favourite CBC radio program — Under the Influence, with Terry O'Reilly.

The latest episode How the Raptors turned hockey country into basketball nation gives examples from sports of how to get fans in the stands — you can't count on a winning season. Terry concludes it all comes down to one critical thing: creating a memorable experience that fans crave.

Are your family history meetings memorable experiences? I thought about meetings I attended in the past year. Undoubtedly my most memorable was RootsTech London.

But I hear you say — local genealogy groups don't have the budget of RootsTech or a major league sports team.

What they do have is the opportunity to get more personal. Does your society welcome visitors and new members making sure they don't stand by themself looking lost and have more than a perfunctory interaction with an experienced member?

Do your meetings always follow the same routine? Have you tried shorter presentations? TED talks are 20 minutes or less. The Walrus events have 7-minute presentations. Have you tried panel sessions? Is there music?

What has been your society or group experience with innovative approaches? Was it successful? Can you think of other approaches?

GENE-O-RAMA 2020

Ottawa Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society has opened registration for the 35th

GENE-O-RAMA

3-4 April 2020

On Friday evening Thomas MacEntee will deliver the Pat Horan Memorial Lecture — Privacy, DNA, and Genealogy: Handling the Double-Edged Sword

On Saturday morning in Session 1 choose between:

How Do I Know What I Don’t Know—Fast Tracking Your Genealogy Education
Thomas MacEntee
and
Researching in Your PJs
Ken McKinlay

In Session 2 the choices are:

What’s Been Done: Using Someone Else’s Genealogy Research
Thomas MacEntee
and
What’s New at FamilySearch
Shirley-Ann Pyefinch

After lunch break, in session 3, choose between:
Great Expectations: Silver Spoon and Short Straw Migrants to Canada
Glenn Wright & John D Reid
and
“Not One of Your Holiday Games”: Personal Name Selection and Usage in Upper Canada
Bruce Elliott

In session 4 the choice is:
You Use WHAT for Genealogy? Wonderful Uses for Unusual Tools
Thomas MacEntee
and
Is There a Federal Civil Servant In Your Family Tree? Sources and Research Strategies
Glenn Wright

Find out more and register at the NEW Ottawa Branch website: https://ottawa.ogs.on.ca/geneorama/

How the Irish Public Record Office burned

A blog post from John Grenham reviews a book by Michael Farmer, The Battle of the Four Courts: the first three days of the Irish Civil War which he assesses as a meticulous work of micro-history that assembles the story hour-by-hour  weighing maps and photographs against eye-witness accounts to reconstruct an utterly convincing version of what happened.

He concludes "The simple fact is that neither side cared a damn about the records. They were young men prepared to kill or die for their beliefs about the future. What did the past matter?"

LAC Co-Lab update

Here's the monthly update on Co-Lab challenges projects as of 19 January.

PROGRESS

Correspondence regarding First Nations veterans returning after the First World War is 26% complete (16% last month)

Winnipeg General Strike of 1919 is 61% complete (57% last month).

The Call to Duty: Canada's Nursing Sisters is 89% complete (86% last month)


NO CHANGE OR REVISED

George Mully: moments in Indigenous communities 0% (new last month)

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

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

Rosemary Gilliat (Eaton)’s Arctic diary and photographs is 40% complete (44% last month)

Japanese-Canadians: Second World War is 61% complete.

New France and First Nations Relations is 33% complete.

Letters from Wilfrid Laurier to Zoé Lafontaine/Laurier is 98% complete.


COMPLETED

The Spanish Flu Pandemic of 1918–1919.

Correspondence between Sir Robert Borden and Sir Sam Hughes.


COMMENT

One of the indicators for the LAC Three-year plan 2019-2022 is the number of records enhanced by user contributions in the Co-Lab crowdsourcing tool. The indicator is to be released quarterly as is the indicator number of images digitized via DigiLab.

TheGenealogist adds to Norfolk Parish Records collection

This release of Norfolk parish records accessible with TheGenealogist’s Diamond subscription includes 330,000 individuals from baptisms, 100,000 from marriages and 95,000 from burial records. The transcripts are linked to images of the original.

The parishes added are:

Aldeby, Ashwellthorpe, Aslacton,
Bacton, Banham, Billockby, Bracon Ash, Brampton, Brancaster, Breccles,
Buckenham, Bunwell, Burgh St Margaret, Burnham
Deepdale,
Caister, Carleton Rode, Castle Rising, Clippesby,
Docking,
East Dereham, East Tuddenham, Eaton Christchurch, Eaton St Andrew, Edgefield, Erpingham,
Gayton Thorpe, Gaywood, Gissing, Great Massingham, Great Moulton St Michael with Little Moulton, Great Witchingham, Great Yarmouth, Great Yarmouth St Nicholas,
Hassingham, Heigham Holy Trinity, Heigham St Philip, Hethel, Hockering, Honingham, Horsham St Faith, Horsham St Faith & Newton St Faith,
Knapton,
Martham, Mile Cross St Catherine, Mulbarton,
New Buckenham, New Catton, New Catton Christ Church, North Elmham, North Lopham, North Tuddenham, Norwich Lakenham, Norwich Pockthorpe St James, Norwich St Augustine, Norwich St Clement, Norwich St John De Sepulchre, Norwich St Paul, Norwich St Stephen,
Poringland, Postwick,
Redenhall With Harleston & Wortwell, Rollesby, Runcton Holme with South Runcton and
Wallington,
Shelfanger, Southrepps, Stoke Holy Cross, Stow Bardolph, Swaffham,
Tatterford, Thetford St Cuthbert, Thetford St Peter, Thorpe Hamlet St Matthew, Thorpe Market, Toft Monks,
Watlington, Winfarthing, Wreningham & Wymondham

Sunday Sundries

Miscellaneous items I found of interest during the week.

Impersonating an Egyptian?
From a tweet, a list of 19 crimes for which the punishment of transportation over the seas includes this curious entry as #5. Some commenters suggest Egyptian was the origin of gypsy (traveller), but why impersonating rather than being? Despite the appearance, the list may not be official.

Do You Know What's On Your Phone?
From Free Technology for Teachers, delete unused apps from your smartphone of free up storage, reduce risks and extend battery life.

Environment Tops Risks for Global Economy in 2020
Ahead of the organization's annual meeting in Davos, the World Economic Forum has published its annual Global Risks Report. For the first time, the top five most likely risks are all environmental as are three of the top five risks with the greatest impact. Investors are divesting holdings in fossil fuel companies which once led the economy and world stock markets. They now lag.

Shining a laser through a light bulb can reveal the structure of DNA (video)

Google Research: Looking Back at 2019, and Forward to 2020 and Beyond
A long and fairly technical read. Google Timelapse is one of the projects mentioned.

Thanks to this week's contributors
Ann Burns, Arthur Owen, BT, Btyclk, Claire Santry, CM, G.B. in St. C., judylynne, Mike Stapleton, Shirley, Sophronia, Susan Campbell — as well as Unknown and her cousin Anonymous.

FreeBMD January Update

The FreeBMD Database was updated on Friday17 January 2020 to contain 273,156,074 unique records (272,823,605 at previous update.)

Years with major additions, greater than 5,000 records are: for births 1964, 1984-88; for marriages 1964, 1969, 1984-87; for deaths 1984-86 and 1988.

www.freebmd.org.uk/

Findmypast adds to Kent and British Army Records

Kent Baptisms
Over 3,000 records from the parishes of Saint Peter & Paul in Ash-next-Ridley and Keston are added. There are now records from 503 Kent parishes in this title, over 3 million records from 1192 to 1998.

Kent Marriages and Banns
Search more than 7,000 new additions covering the parishes of: Ash-next-Ridley, SS Peter & Paul; Eltham, St John the Baptist; Keston; North Cray, St James; Plumstead, St Nicholas; Swanscombe, SS Peter & Paul. There are now 498 parishes in this title, over 2.4 million records from 1502 to 1997.

Kent Burials
7,000 records from the parishes of Saint Peter & Paul in Ash-next-Ridley, St Martin in Cheriton and St John the Baptist in Eltham. There are now 485 parishes in this title, over 2.6 million records from 1316 to 2010.

There's are Findmypast Kent parish lists, separate for baptisms, marriages and burials, here.

British Army Service Records
Over 2,000 new Scots Guards service records covering 1799 to 1939 have just been added. For officers the records go back to 1642. Each record in this title comprises a transcript, and most include several black and white images (ranging from 1-100) of the records of your ancestors who served as officers and other ranks in the British Army.

The total Findmypast British Army Service Record collection is over 8.1 million items.

History of English Places App

"The History of English Places is a map-based app for discovering the rich history of places in England. Information is drawn from the Topographical Dictionary of England (Lewis, 1848) and the place-by-place histories of the Victoria County History (VCH), published between 1901 and the present day.

In the free version, you can navigate the historical first-ever edition of the Ordnance Survey map and use the location pins to explore the 13,713 short nineteenth-century descriptions of England’s villages, towns and cities.

A monthly or annual subscription is available that allows access to detailed entries on taken from 175 volumes of histories produced by the Victoria County History project."

Lost Children of the Carricks: Defying the Great Irish Famine to Create a Canadian Legacy

A new documentary film offers a personal story of the gruelling journey made by immigrants who arrived from Ireland in the mid-19th century and how these stories have carried down through the generations that followed those who survived the trip.

Lost Children of the Carricks will premiere at Concordia University's D.B. Clarke Theatre on January 24, as a fundraiser for the Canadian Irish Studies Foundation.

ScotlandsPeople Major Outage

The following notice is posted at ScotlandsPeople.gov.uk

Due to essential maintenance, the ScotlandsPeople website will be unavailable from 16:30 GMT Friday 17th January and will be operational again on Tuesday 21st January.

Largest Canadian Genealogy Databases

Following on Tuesday's post on the Canadian census, here's a list of the largest Canadian "genealogy" databases, arranged by the number of records, for holdings of Ancestry, FamilySearch, Findmypast, Library and Archives Canada (LAC), and MyHeritage. It's for all databases with more than 2 million records. It is possible LAC may have additional databases that could fall within the criteria but there is no convenient catalogue listing.

Title	Records	Organization
Canada, Voters Lists, 1935-1980	95,335,143	Ancestry
Canadian Phone and Address Directories, 1995-2002	37,866,987	Ancestry
Quebec, Canada, Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1968	16,789,307	Ancestry
Quebec, Canada, Notarial Records, 1637-1935	16,529,462	Ancestry
Canada Phone and Address Listings	13,326,736	MyHeritage
Ontario, Canada, Marriages, 1826-1937	9,357,444	Ancestry
1921 Census of Canada	8,800,634	Ancestry
1921 Census	8,788,483	LAC
1921 Canada Census	8,683,491	MyHeritage
Canada, Obituary Collection, 1898-Current	8,507,084	Ancestry
Canada, City and Area Directories, 1819-1906	8,299,563	Ancestry
Quebec Marriage Returns, 1926-1997	7,901,443	MyHeritage
Canadian Passenger Lists, 1865-1935	7,276,372	Ancestry
Canada Census, 1911	7,246,159	FamilySearch
1911 Census of Canada	7,223,678	Ancestry
1911 Census	7,204,838	LAC
Canada Census 1911	7,157,334	Findmypast
1911 Canada Census	7,157,334	MyHeritage
Ontario, Canada Births, 1858-1913	6,484,503	Ancestry
United States, Canadian Border Crossings	6,150,580	Findmypast
Canada, Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current	6,103,062	Ancestry
U.S. and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s	5,430,203	Ancestry
U.S., Border Crossings from Canada to U.S., 1895-1960	5,395,724	Ancestry
1901 Census	5,371,315	LAC
1901 Census of Canada	5,343,565	Ancestry
Canada Census, 1901	5,343,565	FamilySearch
1901 Canada Census	5,213,095	MyHeritage
Ontario Births, 1869-1912	5,200,361	MyHeritage
Canada Census 1901	5,167,205	Findmypast
1891 Census	4,833,239	LAC
1891 Census of Canada	4,790,154	Ancestry
Canada Census, 1891	4,787,225	FamilySearch
Canada Census 1891	4,539,639	Findmypast
1891 Canada Census	4,539,588	MyHeritage
1881 Census of Canada	4,281,168	Ancestry
Canada Census, 1881	4,281,160	FamilySearch
1881 Census	4,278,327	LAC
Canada Census 1881	4,273,931	Findmypast
1881 Canada Census	4,273,931	MyHeritage
Canada Passenger Lists, 1881-1922	3,907,325	FamilySearch
Ontario, Canada, Deaths and Deaths Overseas, 1869-1947	3,888,625	Ancestry
Canada Census, 1871	3,519,941	FamilySearch
1871 Census of Canada	3,516,910	Ancestry
1871 Census	3,485,761	LAC
Canada Census 1871	3,292,788	Findmypast
1871 Canada Census	3,292,788	MyHeritage
1861 Census	3,112,269	LAC
Ontario, Canada, Roman Catholic Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1760-1923	3,071,603	Ancestry
Canadian Headstones	2,982,451	FamilySearch
1861 Census of Canada	2,958,892	Ancestry
Saskatchewan, Canada, Residents Index (SRI), 1800-2012	2,948,436	Ancestry
Canada Census 1861	2,764,253	Findmypast
1861 Canada Census	2,764,253	MyHeritage
1851 Census	2,312,919	LAC
Canadian Genealogy Index, 1600s-1900s	2,255,689	Ancestry
Death, Burial, Cemetery & Obituaries	2,137,853	MyHeritage
Ontario Births, 1869-1912	2,081,426	FamilySearch
Ontario Birth Index 1860-1920	2,076,046	Findmypast
Canada, Prairie Provinces Census, 1926	2,073,271	FamilySearch
Census of the Prairie Provinces, 1926	2,067,393	LAC
Ontario Deaths, 1869-1937 and Overseas Deaths, 1939-1947	2,050,112	FamilySearch
Canadian Obituaries, 1997-2017	2,035,945	MyHeritage

It's entirely possible I missed some, perhaps in other sources — please let me know in a comment.

It's easy to get fixated on large databases. Experienced searchers often find a small database, if it targets the time, place and type of record of interest, can be the one that breaches a genealogical roadblock.

OGS Kingston Branch Monthly Meeting

On Saturday 18 January the monthly meeting of the Kingston Branch is a presentation Aye, Your Roots; What Is "Behind" Your Name by Gord Sly, Curator of the Frontenac County Schools Museum.

Geoffrey Allen will be the speaker for the 9:30am short presentation History of the Working Class.

Visitors are always welcome, and there is lots of free parking available at 56 Francis St. Coffee is on at 9am.

Dick Eastman Celebrates

Congratulations to genealogy uber-blogger Dick Eastman who celebrates 24 years of "blogging" today.

His involvement actually pre-dates blogs — it was originally called a newsletter and he has a 24-year record of posting, continuing week-in, week-out through travel and health issues.

Dick was one of the inspirations for my blog. Read his celebratory post here.

WDYTYA Magazine: February 2020

Here's a full table of contents for the latest issue, just available on Press Reader through the Ottawa Public Library and other subscribing institutions in North America.

FEATURES
Transcription Tuesday
How you can be a family history hero on 4 February
Mayflower 400
Discover your link to the pilgrims who settled the USA
Death Record Success
Transform your family tree with 10 expert tips from Who Do You Think You Are? researcher Laura Berry
Let It Snow
Felicity Day reveals how our ancestors coped


RESEARCH ADVICE
Best Websites
Don't miss these resources for researching the clergy
RecordMasterclass
Explore Victorian London with  poverty maps
Ancestors at Work
Old your relative work as a docker?
Focus On
Paul Bake reveals how you can use the records of local courts quarterer sessions to uncover your ancestors' lives

YOUR RESEARCH
Reader Story
Teacher, balloonist', newsagent. farmer writer of musical comedy Steve Parker's relation Robert Layer-Parker was a man of many trades, but fell foul of the law
My Family Album
Gill Hulse from Dorset shares some beloved family photographs fro, the 19th and 20th centuries.
Eureka Moment
How Martin Gething researched the inhabitants of Lawrence of Arabia's cottage in the early 19th century
Family Hero
"I discovered a high society scandal in my family,” says John Porter of his inspirational Hungarian cousin

REGULARS
Letters
Your ideas, comments and advice
Notes
All the latest developments and recond releases
What's On
Ths morths everts, including a course on heraldry

WDYTYA? Magazine Shop

Back issues, magazine storage and a wall chart

Off The Record

A tale from the archives shows that crime is relative

The Big Picture

Making Britain’s first parking meters, 16 June 1958

Q&A

Our expert genealogists solve your queries

Your Projects

The trails highlighting Woking’s hidden Muslim heritage

Gem From The Archive

Journals from a Cumberland country house, 1908-13

Behind The Headlines

The major events of 1860-1869

Around Britain

Find Kent kin with our guide to the best resources

Behind The Scenes

How WDYTYA? traced Katherine Ryan’s Canadian roots

GUIDE

Books & Digital Picks

This month's family history inspiration

Radio and TV

All the must-see/hear programmes

Which Site for Canadian Censuses?

Which is the best website for genealogy? You're probably fed up to the teeth with being asked the question. It depends on the enquirer's needs. Where are you searching? For what time period? Completeness, ease of use, cost ... all are considerations. You can think of others.

The table below is a year by year compilation of the Canadian census records available for five major organization websites. It shows the number of records available and whether the information is linked to an image of the original. More records is not necessarily more complete. There may be duplicates; some organizations may be counting corrections submitted as additional entries.

Overall Library and Archives Canada (LAC) has coverage of all censuses, and some earlier ones not listed, with images of the original available. And it's free.

Ancestry($) and MyHeritage($) both have complete coverage with image access, except for the 1926 census of the Prairie Provinces. The value added by the commercial sites is the suggestions for other records of interest — based on the record found, and a more reliable website — LAC's was down for a day when I was preparing this post.

There are gaps in both FamilySearch and Findmypast($) coverage.

Not included in the table, but worth considering is automatedgenealogy.com which has 5,665,421 lines transcribed for the 1901 census, 802,230 for 1906 and 7,584,277 for 1911 with links to the images at LAC.

Census	Records	Organization	Images
1926
	2,073,271	FamilySearch	Yes
	2,067,393	LAC	Yes
	0	Ancestry	No
	0	Findmypast	No
	0	MyHeritage	No
1921
	8,800,634	Ancestry	Yes
	8,788,483	LAC	Yes
	8,683,491	MyHeritage	Yes
	0	FamilySearch	No
	0	Findmypast	No
1916
	1,811,736	FamilySearch	Yes
	1,690,193	Ancestry	Yes
	1,686,666	LAC	Yes
	1,590,785	MyHeritage	Yes
	0	Findmypast	No
1911
	7,246,159	FamilySearch	No
	7,223,678	Ancestry	Yes
	7,204,838	LAC	Yes
	7,157,334	Findmypast	Yes
	7,157,334	MyHeritage	Yes
1906
	805,908	MyHeritage	Yes
	804,734	Ancestry	Yes
	802,443	FamilySearch	No
	802,442	LAC	Yes
	0	Findmypast	No
1901
	5,371,315	LAC	Yes
	5,343,565	Ancestry	Yes
	5,343,565	FamilySearch	Yes
	5,213,095	MyHeritage	Yes
	5,167,205	Findmypast	Yes
1891
	4,833,239	LAC	Yes
	4,790,154	Ancestry	Yes
	4,787,225	FamilySearch	No
	4,539,639	Findmypast	Yes
	4,539,588	MyHeritage	Yes
1881
	4,281,168	Ancestry	Yes
	4,281,160	FamilySearch	Yes
	4,278,327	LAC	Yes
	4,273,931	Findmypast	Yes
	4,273,931	MyHeritage	Yes
1871
	3,519,941	FamilySearch	No
	3,516,910	Ancestry	Yes
	3,485,761	LAC	Yes
	3,292,788	Findmypast	Yes
	3,292,788	MyHeritage	Yes
1861
	3,112,269	LAC	Yes
	3,087,518	FamilySearch	Yes
	2,958,892	Ancestry	Yes
	2,764,253	Findmypast	Yes
	2,764,253	MyHeritage	Yes
1851
	2,312,919	LAC	Yes
	1,487,802	Ancestry	Yes
	1,487,802	FamilySearch	No
	1,364,567	MyHeritage	Yes
	1,364,597	Findmypast	Yes

Perth & District Historical Society January Meeting

On 16 January PDHS will welcome back local historian Ron Shaw with a presentation on his recent book, "A Swarm of Bees", the epic migration to Utah, of Lanark Society Settlers, from Glasgow, Scotland via Upper Canada and the central United States.

"A Swarm of Bees" recounts a journey begun in 1820 that, over the course of 50 years, took 18 ‘Lanark Society Settler’ families from the slums of Glasgow to the Great Salt Lake Valley.  These pioneer families, who first settled in what is now Lanark County, were among the earliest converts to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Their story unfolds in the context of the founding and earliest days of the Mormon Church, as they follow their new faith from eastern Ontario, through south-western Ontario, the Ohio and Missouri settlements, to Nauvoo, Illinois, the refugee camps of Council Bluffs, Iowa, and finally along the Mormon Trail to Utah.    

The meeting, at Perth's Royal Canadian Legion, Home of the Hall of Remembrance, 26 Beckwith Street E., Perth, starts at 7:30pm. (Toonie Donation).

Victorian Industrial Library

Before he was fired my great-grandfather was a bank clerk on Oxford Street in London in the 1870s.

What were his responsibilities? While it's unlikely I'll ever know in detail a Victorian-era guide; The banker’s clerk: comprising the principles and practice of banking gives an idea of his knowledge and conditions of employment. Anything like Bob Cratchit's?

Information included is that "For the punishment of frauds by clerks and servants ... every such offender, being convicted thereof, shall be liable, at the discretion of the court, to be transported beyond the seas for any term not exceeding fourteen years, nor less than seven years; or to be imprisoned for any term not exceeding three years; and, if a male, to be once, twice, or thrice publicly or privately whipped (if the court shall so think fit) in addition to such imprisonment." My great grandfather's punishment was much less severe.

A blog post, Industrial Library by Andrew Gray includes links to similar Victorian online guides for bakers, carvers and gilders, confectioners. footmen, gardeners, governesses, grooms, housemaids, joiners and cabinet makers, lady's maids, laundry maids, millers, nurses, nursery maids, printers and, tailors.

The Bytown Museum’s First Century

Robin Etherington, Executive Director of Ottawa’s Bytown Museum, recounts the Museum’s legacy of telling our city’s amazing stories for over a century at OPL (Main) on Wednesday evening, 15 January 2020 at 7 pm.

Behind the thick walls of Ottawa’s oldest stone building (just steps from the locks below Parliament Hill) is the Bytown Museum – exploring our town’s history from the early days of the Rideau Canal construction, through the rough and tumble days of Bytown, to Ottawa’s emergence as Canada’s capital … and beyond.