Sunday Sundries

Miscellaneous items I found of interest during the week.

Need more snow?
Try this snowflake generator

Ancestry® Announces the Appointment of Mark Thompson as Chairman of the Board of Directors
Mark Thompson previously served an eight-year term as Director General (CEO and Editor-in-Chief) of the BBC. The appointment of a CEO for Ancestry is pending.

Bets, Bonds, and Kindergarteners

Incitement to violence is rarely explicit – here are some techniques people use to breed hate

Ottawa Historical Association Lecture: The Battle at Bramshott: The Canadian Army Medical Corps and Influenza, by Hubert Larose-Dutil. 
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-battle-at-bramshott-the-canadian-army-medical-corps-and-influenza-registration-137420156387

Do we really need to walk 10,000 steps a day?
Research from Harvard Medical School has shown that, on average, approximately 4,400 steps a day is enough to significantly lower the risk of death in women. 

Ancestry Updates Find a Grave

In the regular monthly update to Find a Grave, Ancestry now shows 9,424,067 records for The UK and Ireland and  7,724,613 for Canada.

MyHeritage adds Timeline Widget
Follow the migration pattern of a Genetic Group over time — and a more detailed, better organized Top Places section— see where members of a Genetic Group have lived during a given time period.

Thanks to this week's contributors: Anonymous, BT, Chuck Buckley, Daniel Horowitz, Elizabeth Vincent, K, Sophronia, Susan, Unknown

British Newspaper Archive January Additions

 The British Newspaper Archive now has a total of 41,075,938 pages online (40,568,308 last month). 

This month 56 papers had pages added (47 in the previous month). There were 17 (21) new titles. Dates range from 1801 to 1999.

Those with more than 10,000 pages added were:

Title	Years
Weekly Dispatch (London)	1801-1804, 1806-1807, 1814, 1817-1819, 1851, 1869, 1871-1933, 1935-1939, 1941-1961
Evening News (London)	1881-1892, 1894-1913
Stapleford & Sandiacre News	1919-1984
Midland Counties Tribune	1895-1896, 1898-1911, 1913-1957
Chelsea News and General Advertiser	1891-1907, 1931-1938, 1948-1962, 1964-1973, 1975
Middlesex Chronicle	1986-1989, 1991-1996, 1998-1999
Westminster & Pimlico News	1887-1949
Madras Weekly Mail	1877-1881, 1883-1884, 1886-1887, 1889-1890, 1893, 1896-1897, 1899-1900, 1907
Newry Telegraph	1872-1900, 1902
Faversham Times and Mercury and North-East Kent Journal	1860-1861, 1863, 1865-1871, 1873-1887, 1889-1895, 1897-1920
Voice of India	1885-1889, 1902-1913
Indian Daily News	1900-1901, 1903-1906
Nairnshire Telegraph and General Advertiser for the Northern Counties	1874-1939
North Wales Weekly News	1889-1895, 1899-1901, 1903-1905, 1912-1922, 1924-1927, 1941-1942, 1953, 1955
Whitstable Times and Herne Bay Herald	1976-1983, 1985
Ashbourne News Telegraph	1891-1919

More pages from the Liverpool Daily Post for the 1880s and 1890s are coming soon.

Findmypast subscribers have access to the British Newspaper Archive papers through the British newspaper search.

CEF Death: Frederick Gorman Hicks

This memorial is delayed from the centennial date of his death.

Son of Peter James and Eliza Jane Hicks (nee Dunbar), Frederick Gorman Hicks was born on 26 June 1887 in Manotick.

He married Laura Ellement in June 1911. They had two daughters and two sons.

He enlisted in October 1918 serving as a corporal with the Canadian Army Service Corps, service number: 1282070. After receiving a medical discharge in July 1920 he briefly returned to his previous occupation as a chauffer in Ottawa.

Frederick died of tuberculosis, age 33, on 21 January 1921 at the Mowat Sanitarium at Portsmouth, Ontario.

His grave at Beechwood Cemetery is Sec. 29. Lot 13. Grave 25.

TheGenealogist adds Who's Whos

TheGenealogist now has copies of various Who's Who volumes where you'll find your illustrations relatives and ancestors. In my case maybe the owner of the business they worked for.

The volumes included in this release are: 

Who's Who in 1880
Who's Who 1899
Who's Who in Canada 1927
Cheshire Who's Who, 1910
Cox's County Who's Who Series. Norfolk, Suffolk, and Cambridgeshire, 1912
Cricket Who's Who, The Cricket Blue Book 1911
Who's Who in Hampshire 1935
Who's Who and Industrial Directory of the Irish Free State 1935
Who's Who in Kent, Surrey and Sussex 1911
Who's Who in Literature 1931
Masonic Who's Who 1926
The Methodist Who's Who 1913
Who's Who in New Zealand 1925
Who's Who and Record Quarterly 1934 July-September
Who's Who in Science 1914
Who was Who 1916-1928.

Some of these are out of copyright and may be found at online repositories like the Internet Archive and Google Books.

Findmypasts adds to England & Wales, Crime, Prisons & Punishment, 1770-1935

FMP claim over 92,000 additional court and prison indexes added to this collection this week, now totalling 5,840,002 records. Find out where a person stood trial, what sentence they were given and what their life was like in prison. Each record comprises a transcript and an image from the original document.

The added records are:

Herefordshire Prison Register Index 1849-1915 (17,386 records)
Court of Great Sessions in Wales 1730-1830 (10,202 records)
Bedfordshire Gaol Registers 1801-1901 (51,712 records)
Kirkby Stephen Petty Sessions 1874-1901 (2,233 records)

That doesn't quite total 92,000!

Who Do You Think Are The Top Tweeters?

In the past 7-days, these are the top twenty tweeters for #genealogy and #familyhistory

 

User for #genealogy	Tweets		User of #familyhistory	Tweets
FamilyTreeTips2	197		FamilyTreeTips2	120
FindMyCoat	113		ConfKeep	50
Heirs2U	75		Heirs2U	47
BeyondBrickWal1	53		BeyondBrickWal1	41
BBPetura	52		chiddickstree	32
GeneaStudies	51		OnePlaceStudies	28
ConfKeep	50		geneastories	28
GenealogyWise	38		FamilyHistoryUK	27
gone_family	36		VHughesAuthor	26
sillymummyft	35		YFH_genealogy	24
pennysresearch	35		MarianBWood	23
chiddickstree	34		GenealogyWise	21
bonavacantia1	34		GeneaStudies	20
MarianBWood	27		STTBooks	19
DavisDNAdotcom	27		gone_family	19
VHughesAuthor	26		heathernowlan1	18
geneastories	26		pennysresearch	17
YFH_genealogy	25		MernaForster	17
WSGSociety	24		LynnsWPics	17
ngsgenealogy	23		GoldenBloggerz	15

Sharing Your Family History Online

Popular BIFHSGO speaker, Chris Paton, has a most interesting looking new book sure to appeal well beyond his native land.

I've not had a chance to review it yet. Here's the publisher's blurb:

For many enthusiasts pursuing their family history research, the online world offers a seemingly endless archive of digitised materials to help us answer the questions posed by our ancestors. In addition to hosting records, however, the internet also offers a unique platform on which we can host our research and lure in prospective cousins from around the world, to help build up a larger shared ancestral story.

In Sharing Your Family History on the Internet, genealogist and best-selling author Chris Paton will explore the many ways in which we can present our research and encourage collaboration online. He will detail the many organisations and social media applications that can permit co-operation, describe the software platforms on which we can collate our stories, and illustrate the many ways in which we can publish our stories online.

Along the way, Chris Paton will also explore how we can make our research work further for us, by drawing in experts and distant cousins from around the world to help us break our ancestral brick walls, not just through sharing stories, but by accessing uniquely held documentation by family members around the world, including our very own shared DNA.

Want to know more? Chris posted a chapter breakdown on his Scottish GENES blog here.

Newstand Genealogy Magazines now FREE on Overdrive and Libby

Mentioned as pending earlier this month, RBdigital magazines is now available through OverDrive and the Libby subscriptions via your public library.

Find the most recent issue, and back issues of Family Tree (UK), Family Tree (USA), Who Do You Think You Are (UK), History Scotland, BBC History Magazine.

There's lots of current content in The Economist, Canadian Living, National Geographic, The New Yorker and many more.

If you haven't used Overdrive or Libby your public library has instructions on how to access them, or download the app, so you can access the magazines. I find Libby more user friendly.

LAC is Lacking

There are jewels in the Library and Archives Canada crown available nationwide on the web: First World War service files, censuses, passenger lists ... there's a comprehensive list of databases here. More is available on partner sites like Ancestry through local public libraries.

While LAC's role is more than online databases they come to the fore in a time of COVID when physical facilities are closed. 

Yesterday I pointed to 78 new serials titles added to Canadiana.ca on 25 January.  The British Newspaper Archive added 136,860 digitized pages in the last 7 days. The National Library of Scotland added over 2,800 early maps of Scotland in 6-months, FreeBMD added 347,757 new entries in the latest monthly update

What has LAC achieved? The past two months have seen nine posts on the LAC news page.

The latest was about the acquisition of a book. There's a notice about the suspension of copy service and publicity for a long-running travelling LAC exhibit being shown in Alberta.

Those are January posts.

In December, of the six posts, three were about service point changes, two on facility development and one on a new Co-Lab challenge.

Going back a year I could find no news item which mentioned any addition to LAC online content.

Some LAC content goes online via Canadiana.ca's Héritage collection. They inform digitization services at LAC are currently suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Until their services resume, new materials will not be added to the Héritage collection. 

There's no question that managing through the pandemic is challenging. Challenge is what management is about, one that's been well met many times in LAC's past.

If other peer organizations can continue digitization operations and making additional material available online what's been lacking at LAC?

.

Additions to Canadiana.ca Serials

As of 25 January 2021, Canadiana.ca has added 78 new titles to the serials collection online, and, as always, free. They are mostly for the second half of the 19th century.

 It includes an Ottawa Directory for 1874/75, McAlpine's York and Carleton counties directory for 1884/85, and Toronto general meteorological register for the years 1886, 1888, 1890-1900. The complete list is below.

Title	Publication Date
"Newmarket era" farmers' almanac! for ...	1875
Annual report / Montreal Gold Fields, Limited	1899/1900
Annual Report / St. Andrew's Church, Ottawa, Ontario	1869-1901
Annual report for ... / Royal Canadian Humane Association	1896, 1897, that is, 1896; 1897/98
Annual report for the year ending 31st December ... / The Royal Victoria Hospital, Montreal	1894, 1898-1900
Annual report of Murray Bay Convalescent Home	1874/75-1877; 1881; 1883; 1885
Annual report of the Anti-Slavery Society of Canada	1855/57
Annual report of the Board of Managers / Halifax School for the Blind, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada	1892; 1894-1897; 1899-1900
Annual report of the Canadian Congregational Missionary Society, in connection with the Colonial Missionary Society	1854/54 - 1859/60; 1861/62; 1868/69; 1871/72
Annual report of the Church Bible and Prayer Book Society for the year ending October 31st ...	1899/1900
Annual report of the Committee of Management of the St. George's Society of Ottawa for the year ending 7th March ...	1898/99
Annual report of the committee of the Micmac Missionary Society, from ...	1850/1851, 1851/1852-1862/1863
Annual report of the Dominion Artillery Association for the year ...	1882/83-1883/84, 1886-1893, 1895
Annual report of the Erskine Presbyterian Church, Toronto, for the year ending December 31st ...	1881-1883, 1886-1899
Annual report of the Fredericton Institution for the Education of the Deaf and Dumb, at Fredericton, New Brunswick	[1882/84]-1890, 1892-1894
Annual report of the Grande Ligne Mission, Province of Quebec, Canada	1888/89-1899/1900
Annual report of the Mercantile Library Association of Montreal	1843, 1843/44, 1844/45-1845/46, 1847/48, 1850/51-1851/52, 1853/54-1855/56, 1864/65-1866/67
Annual report of the Notre Dame Hospital, Montreal	1881/1882-1884/1885; 1889/90 - 1890/91
Annual report of the Quebec Diocesan Committee of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge for the year ...	1820, 1821/2, 1823/4-1825/6, 1828/29, 1830/31-1840/41
Annual report of the Society for Converting & Civilizing the Indians and Propagating the Gospel Among Destitute Settlers in Upper Canada, for the year ending October ...	1830/31 - 1837/1838
Annual reports of the Harbour Commissioners of Montreal for the year ...	1878-1892; 1897; 1899
Annual reports of the Newcastle District Committee of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge	1836/38
Bulletin of the Natural History Society of New Brunswick	No. 1-no. 8, no. 10 (1890/91)-no. 19
Calendar / Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons in affiliation with Queen's University, Kingston, Canada, and University of Trinity College, Toronto	1887/88
Calendar of St. Francis Xavier's College, Antigonish, N.S	1889/90, 1892/93 - 1900/1901
Calendar of the Baptist Seminary at Fredericton, N.B. for ...	1866/7
Charlton's Gazeteer, Business, Street & General Directory of the Town of Guelph for ...	1875/6/7
Directory of the county of Hastings	1860/61, 1864/65, 1879/80, 1889
Gazetteer and directory of the county of Ontario for the year ...	1876
Gazetteer and directory of the county of Simcoe for ...	1866/7
Gazetteer and directory of the county of Simcoe for ...	1872/3
General report of the Nova Scotia Baptist Education Society	1838/44
General report of the Nova Scotia Baptist Education Society	1845/46
McAlpine's York and Carleton counties directory for ...	1884/85
Minutes and proceedings of the ... annual meeting of the Sabbath School Association of the County of Peel ...	1869
Montreal handy directory	1894/95
National almanac for the year of our Lord ...	1874
Nugent's Nova-Scotia people's almanack for the year of our Lord ...	1851-1856
Old McGill	1897/1898; 1899/1900
Ottawa directory for ...	1874/75
Parry Sound directory for ...	1898/1899
Pocket Directory for the County of Simcoe	1891-1892; 1895-1897
Pocket Directory for the Judicial District of Simcoe	1874-1878; 1880-1885
Port Hope directory for ...	1856/57
President's Report ... / Ontario Society of Artists	1893/94 - 1899/1900
Proceedings of the ... Provincial Sabbath School Convention / Sabbath School Association of Ontario	1886-1899
Proceedings of the Royal Military College Club of Canada	1893/94, 1894/95, 1895/96, 1896/97, 1898, 1899
Railton's directory for the city of London, C.W.	1856/1857
Rapport annuel de l'agent général de la Société générale de colonisation et de rapatriement de la province de Québec	1894
Rapport du Conseil supérieur du Canada / Société de St. Vincent de Paul	1878-1882; 1884-1885; 1891
Rapports annuels de la Société permanente de construction du district de Montréal	1863/64; 1865/66 - 1871/72
Report / The Girls' Friendly Society in Canada	1887/88
Report / The Girls' Friendly Society in Canada	1895/96
Report of the Boards of Home and Foreign Missions ... to the Diocesan Synod of Nova Scotia	1877
Report of the Boards of Home and Foreign Missions ... to the Diocesan Synod of Nova Scotia	1878
Report of the Diocesan Church Society of Prince Edward Island for ...	1840/1841, 1845-1848, 1852, 1854-1856, 1858-1861, 1864, that is, 1863]-1866, 1868, that is 1867, 1868
Report of the Executive Committee of the Nova-Scotia Baptist Education Society	1846/47
Report of the Ladies' Benevolent Society for the year ...	1838
Report of the Ladies' Benevolent Society for the year ...	1840
Report of the Midland District Committee of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge for ...	1827-1828; 1831
Report of the Montreal Horticultural Society and Fruit Growers' Association of the Province of Quebec for the year ...	1877-1881/2
Report of the New Brunswick Auxiliary Bible Society	1819/21; 1840/41; 1845/46; 1847/48; 1850/51; 1854-1854/55; 1857-1858; 1862/63-1863/64; 1868-1870/71; 1880-1882; 1885; 1888; 1890; 1894/95; 1899/1900
Report of the Niagara District Committee, in correspondence with the Quebec Diocesan Committee of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge	1826/27-1829
Report of the Nova-Scotia Baptist Education Society, for the year ending June ...	1832/33; 1834/35 - 1836/37
Report of the operations of the Society of St. Vincent of Paul for the year ...	1870; 1877/78; 1886/87; 1890/91
Report of the Quebec Auxiliary Tract Society	1854
Report of the Quebec Auxiliary Tract Society	1858
Report of the Superior Council of Canada for the year... / Society of St. Vincent de Paul	1879
Robert Stark's Canadian almanac and receipt book for the year ...	1862
Robert Stark's Canadian almanac and receipt book for the year ...	1863
Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons, Kingston, Ontario, in affiliation with Queen's University, Canada	1875/76
Résumé des conférences ecclésiastiques du Diocèse de Montréal	1877-1883, 1888, 1892, 1896, 1900
St. Catharines directory for ...	1875/6
Sutherland's Counties of Kent and Essex Gazetteer and General Business Directory for ...	1870/71
Toronto general meteorological register for the year ...	1886, 1888, 1890-1900
Upper Canada Christian Almanac for the Year of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ ...	1833-1836
West Canada almanac for the year of our Lord ...	1843
Year book of St. Paul's Parish, Halifax, N.S.	1898-1900

FamilySearch Weekly Update

Updates this week show excellent progress on Herefordshire Bishop's Transcripts and good progress on Gloucestershire and Northumberland Non-Conformist Church Records.

Title	New Records	Total Records
England, Essex Non-Conformist Church Records, 1613-1971	1,627	89,549.00
England, Gloucestershire Non-Conformist Church Records, 1642-1996	9,370	110,679.00
England, Herefordshire Bishop's Transcripts, 1583-1898	16,226	1,255,374.00
England, Middlesex Parish Registers, 1539-1988	2,077	1,412,355.00
England, Northumberland Non-Conformist Church Records, 1613-1920	9,454	68,416.00
Canada, Nova Scotia Church Records, 1720-2001	2,523	146,129.00

MyHeritage Releases Colour Restoration Feature

Do you have faded colour photos from the 1950’s through the 1990’s? The chemistry of printed photos stored in albums did not withstand the test of time and caused the colours to fade or turn yellow. 

There's an app for that from MyHeritage. MyHeritage In Colour™ is a freemium feature. Users can restore the colours in 10 photos for free, after which continued use requires a subscription.

I tried it with a very faded photo. There was some enhancement of colours but it was likely too far gone — the whole thing had a green cast.

This Week's Online Genealogy Events

Choose from free online events in the next five days. All times are ET except as noted. Assume registration in advance is required. Check so you're not disappointed.

🇨🇦 Tuesday 26 January 2 pm: Virtual Genealogy Drop-In, from Ottawa Branch  OGS and The Ottawa Public Library. Join here.

Tuesday 26 January 2 pm: Introducing Genetic Groups, by Ran Snir of MyHeritage for Legacy Family Tree Webinars. https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar_details.php?webinar_id=1298

Tuesday 26 January 2pm: From Newry to Norway, how my mother survived the Holocaust, by Lill Fanny Saether for Public Record Office of Northern Ireland. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/from-newry-to-norway-how-my-mother-survived-the-holocaust-tickets-133322610517

Tuesday 26 January 2:30 pm: Start With What You Know: Beginning Genealogy, by Allison DePrey Singleton for the Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center. https://acpl.libnet.info/event/4782676

Wednesday 27 January 2 pm: Genealogy Escape Room, by Thomas MacEntee for Legacy Family Tree Webinars. https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar_details.php?webinar_id=1612

Wednesday 27 January 3 pm:  Directories and Poll Books: Name-rich resources for the 18th century in the library of the Society of Genealogists and elsewhere, by Else Churchill for the Guild of One-Name Studies. https://landing-pages.one-name.org/ancestors-in-print-fb

Thursday 28 January 11 am: Coats of Arma, Clans and Tartans, with Myko Clelland for Findmypast/
https://www.facebook.com/findmypast

Thursday 28 January 2 pm: Exploring the Archives 1910-1921, panel discussion with Catriona Crowe, Stephen Scarth, Elizabeth McEvoy and Michael Keane. Host: Tower Museum Derry-Londonderry's 'Dividing Ireland - The Origins, Impact and Legacy of Partition' programme. 
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/exploring-the-archives-1910-1921-tickets-133207781059

Thursday 28 January 3 pm: The Castles of West Cork, by Finola Finlay for Dúchas Clonakilty Heritage https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_E9rPR1woS8uTiDDFGV5ETw

Friday 29 January 9 am:  Belsen and the British, by Dan Stone for The (UK) National Archives. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/belsen-and-the-british-tickets-131447516059?aff=homepage

Friday 29 January, 11 am: Fridays Live, Findmypast
https://www.facebook.com/findmypast

Saturday 30 January, 2 am - 6 pm: Scottish Indexes Conference VIII, with Chris Paton, Emma Maxwell, Fiona Musk, Helen Tovey, and Karl Magee. 
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/7416077692880/WN_Jaj1UwWkTkGRuJJo0y5V0g

🇨🇦 Saturday 30 January 10 am: Popping Perfect PowerPoint Presentations  (Workshop), by Duncan Monkhouse and Barbara Tose for BIFHSGO. https://bifhsgo.ca/eventListings.php?nm=127#er557

🇨🇦 Saturday 30 January 2 pm:  Irish Protestant Immigration to Upper Canada – a Case Study, by Janice Nickerson for OGS Simcoe County Branch. https://simcoe.ogs.on.ca/branch-meetings/

11 May is coming

You knew that! 

Do you know the significance?

In Canada 11 May 2021 is census day.

The census questions are posted here. Will you be selected to complete the short or long form?

If you received the long form you will have to give your county of birth, parents' counties of birth and your ethnicity. That's where it gets interesting. How do you choose? 

There's a discussion of the historical background on the ethnicity question in the article Who Am I? Reflections on Measuring Ethnic Ancestry in Canada by Jane Badets, who served as Canada’s Assistant Chief Statistician, in The Personal Past: History, Identity and the Genealogical Impulse.

Do you select the one (or more) you feel most aligned with? The options are laid out at www12.statcan.gc.ca/ancestry. 

Maybe these days you'd turn to DNA test results, perhaps having to reconcile conflicting results from different companies.

Seeing London (1929)

Worth a million words, a London Metropolitan Archives silent short film series 'Seeing London' (1929) shows the city from a bygone age

London Types (people at work) -- https://t.co/YEZGzYmPWJ 

Trooping the Colour -- https://t.co/YZmm4v3Juu 

Street Scenes -- https://t.co/Bu2FIyJGt3 

Ancestry adds Lancashire Home Guard Records

Now on Ancestry from the Lancashire Archives, 67,353 records in the title Lancashire, England, World War II Home Guard Records, 1940-1945.

This is a mixed bag of records from 15 battalions. You may find a name of interest in a nominal roll, the amount of information varies. 

For the 42nd County of Lancaster (Irlam) Battalion, D Company Nominal Roll, 1940-1944 there's the regimental number, platoon, name, address, year of birth, next of kin, relationship to NOK, address of NOK, nationality, date of enrollment and duration of enrollment.

For the 41st County of Lancaster (Prestwich) Battalion, B Company Nominal Roll, 1941-1942 there's last name and initials, rank, section, sub-section, Home Guard Number, and comments.

Sunday Sundries

Miscellaneous items I found of interest during the week.

Winning the Internet

THE Genealogy Show is seeking speakers
Deadline is Saturday 31 January.

From Controversy to Compromise: Choosing a Flag for Canada, 1964-1965.
Glenn Wright will be speaking via Zoom to the Lanark County Genealogical Society on the afternoon of Saturday 6 February. Email to communications@lanarkgenealogy.com for the free Zoom link.

Tech Café Fundamentals: Recognizing Fake News.
An OPL online event on Monday at 4 PM. Register now at http://ow.ly/vuIy50DfxRP

Biden’s Keystone XL death sentence requires Canada’s oil sector to innovate

7 Ways to Free Up Storage Space on Google Photos

Thanks to this week's contributors: Anonymous, BT, Carolyn Lumsden, Gail B., Glenn Wright, M. Anne Sterling, S4Ottawa, Sharon, Unknown

Lanark County Resources

If there are roots or branches of your family tree in Ontario's Lanark County there's a bonanza of resources in the Lanark County Genealogical Society online library of transcribed documents at  http://lcgsresourcelibrary.com/.

Topics are: 

Articles
Family Bibles
Family Histories
Personal Letters
Marriage Certificates
Mostly Names
Mostly Photographs
1905 Old Home Week
Voters Lists & Directories
Whimsy

While there's no search across all these resources on the website you can use the Google Advanced Search with the website address in the site or domain box.

Last Minute: Fraser Dunford at OGS Ottawa Branch

Genealogy of Place is the topic of Fraser Dunford's presentation today, Saturday 23 January, at 1 pm.

Find out more and register (free) at https://ottawa.ogs.on.ca/events/genealogy-of-place-ottawa-branch/

Findmypast Weekly Update

There are no British, Irish or Canadian records in this week's additions.

New York Roman Catholic Parish Baptisms
Over 45,000 more Catholic church registers to this exclusive collection, post-1920 for 200 parishes. The collection total is 2,267,131.

New York Roman Catholic Parish Marriages
Over 36,000 additional records. The collection total is 1,174,695

Victoria Births
Over 100,000 records to help find births in Victoria, Australia between 1918 and 1920. This title now has over 2 million births starting in 1837.

Criminal Ancestor?

There are ways to whitewash the story of a criminal ancestor, like this:

‘Remus Reid was a famous cowboy in the Montana Territory . His business empire grew to include  acquisition of valuable equestrian assets and intimate dealings with the   Montana railroad. Beginning in 1883, he devoted several years of his life to government service, finally taking leave to resume his dealings with the  railroad. In 1887, he was a key player in a vital  investigation run by the renowned Pinkerton Detective Agency. In 1889,  Remus passed away during an important civic function held in his honor when the platform upon which he was standing collapsed.’

There's an updated source from Ancestry, although Ancestry labels them as NEW, for the delinquent in your UK family tree. It is several years since these four titles, categorized by Ancestry under Court, Land, Wills & Financial, were updated. They are all derived from the holdings of The National Archives, Kew, apparently quite a hangout for criminals!

UK, Prison Commission Records, 1770-1951 1,089,129 records
Original data: PCOM 2 1770-1951 Home Office and Prison Commission: Prisons Records, Series 1.

"A variety of records including registers of prisoners and habitual criminals, photograph albums, minute books, visitors' books, order books, journals, assizes and quarter sessions calendars and other records relating to various prisons in England and Wales, to Gibraltar prison and to some ship prisons."

There are various register types for goals at: Birmingham, Cambridge, Cardiff, Chesterton, Derby, Durham, Fisherton Anger, Lancaster, Leicester, Lincoln, Lindsey, Liverpool, Louth, Newcastle upon Tyne, Northallerton, Norwich, Oxford, Reading, Shrewsbury, Spilsbury, Stafford, Taunton, Wakefield, Winchester, and Worcester; for prisons of Millbank, Newgate, Parkhurst, Pentonville, Portland, Portsmouth, Wandsworth, Woking, and Wormwood Scrubs; and for Westminster Penitentiary.

The first 20-year period is the one with most records. After 1900 there are fewer than 20,00 records. 

UK, Calendar of Prisoners, 1868-1929 803,980 records
Original data: HO 140: Home Office: Calendar of Prisoners. 

"These calendars, usually recording prisoners 'after-trial' are lists, for the most part printed, of prisoners tried at Assizes and Quarter Sessions."

There's a browse capability by year. The majority of the records are for the 19th century. This title is updated from 637,410 records. 

UK, Registers of Habitual Criminals and Police Gazettes, 1834-1934 258,911 records
Original data: MEPO 6: Metropolitan Police: Criminal Record Office: Habitual Criminals Registers and Miscellaneous Papers. 

Registers and weekly newspapers with details of criminals, including habitual criminal registers, photographs and physical descriptions, Police Gazettes, Supplements 'A' and Informations (London Area).

UK, After-Trial Calendar of Prisoners,1855-1931 97,702 records

Original data: CRIM 9: Central Criminal Court - After Trial Calendars of Prisoners. Kew, Surrey, England: The National Archives. Perviously152,226 records!

Lists, for the most part printed, of prisoners tried at Assizes and Quarter Sessions. Includes number; name; age; trade; previous convictions; name and address of committing magistrates; date of warrant; when received into custody; offence as charged in the commitment; name of the victim; when tried; before whom tried; verdict of the jury; sentence or order of the court.

The same person is likely to be found in more than one of these titles.

POSITION VACANT

GOVERNOR GENERAL of Canada. the federal viceregal representative of the Canadian monarch, currently Queen Elizabeth II, to perform the various ceremonial duties the sovereign otherwise carries out when in the country.

Qualifications

"The patience of a saint, the smile of a cherub, the generosity of an Indian prince, and the back of a camel"

The Marquess of Lorne

"A representative of all that is august, stable, and sedate in the government, the history, and the traditions of the country; incapable of partizanship, and lifted far above the atmosphere of faction; without adherents to reward or opponents to oust from office; docile to the suggestions of his Ministers, and yet securing to the people the certainty of being able to get rid of an Administration or Parliament the moment either had forfeited their confidence."

The Earl of Dufferin

Is there somebody bilingual from the genealogical, or broader cultural community, somebody with feet planted firmly in Canada, who you would recommend to fill this prestigious role which comes with luxurious accommodations and generous remuneration?

Sparrowhawks in London

There are strange things done in the midnight sun Bethnal Green!

Ancestry just updated their version of the 1911 census adding 926 images for Bethnal Green, North East, District 25.

At random, I looked at image 116 and spotted the name Sparrowhawk. Unusual, perhaps not so much for London's East End.

Rosina Rose is head of household, married (not widowed), age 31, married 15 years, four children and four living.

Below on the form is 53-year-old person Victoria McLachlan, identified as mother, and four Rose children 12 to 5 years of age.

Below that, in different handwriting, is a 4-month-old child, Alfred Sparrowhawk Rose who would be the fifth. GRO records show Alfred William Sparrowhawk Rose birth registered in the first quarter of 1911 with mother's maiden name Ethera. There is no surname Ethera in the whole BMD index!

While you can't believe everything on the census in this case it was accurate in as much as there were four children "born alive to the present marriage". Someone read the column heading carefully, something I didn't at first. There's a baptism for an Alfred William Sparrowhawk on Christmas Day 1910 to parents Alfred and Rosina who were not married.

The last entry on the census form, also in the same different handwriting, is Alfred Sparrowhawk a 35-year-old boarder.

What about Rose's husband? Rosina Heather married Frederick William Rose in Islington in the 3rd quarter of 1891, According to an Ancestry compiled genealogy they both survived to the 1940s.

VGS - Is This For Real?

The Victoria Genealogical Society is promoting a special offer for first time members, but someone hasn't done the arithmetic!

It's advertised as a reduced rate:

SINGLE: $30 ~ FAMILY: $45

and your membership will be valid until May 31, 2021.

That's 0.23 c per day.

The regular annual subscription for the membership year, which starts in June, is $60.

That's a rate of 0.16 c per day.

That is a special offer, not a reduced rate!

Tweet from Jon Ossoff (@ossoff)

Jon Ossoff (@ossoff) tweeted at 10:18 p.m. on Wed., Jan. 20, 2021:
Today, as I was sworn in, I held in my jacket pocket copies of the ships' manifests recorded at Ellis Island when my Great Grandfather Israel arrived in 1911 and my Great Grandmother Annie arrived in 1913.

A century later, their great grandson was elected to the U.S. Senate. https://t.co/cjTNMMfYwP
(https://twitter.com/ossoff/status/1352093159300366339?s=03)

Get the official Twitter app at https://twitter.com/download?s=13 

FamilySearch Weekly Update

Two databases for English records appeared on FamilySeatch in the past week.

An unusual pre-1841 title is England, Middlesex, Westminster, Marylebone, Census, 1821 and 1831 with 22,529 records

There's also the start of England, Devon, Plymouth, Militia Records, 1625-1831; you'll be fortunate to find an ancestor among the 806 records.

England, Herefordshire Bishop's Transcripts, 1583-1898 adds 10,257 records for a total of 1,244,548,

England, Northumberland Non-Conformist Church Records, 1613-1920 added 7,348 for a total of 263,557 records.

England, Gloucestershire Non-Conformist Church Records, 1642-1996 added 5,420 records for a new total of 99,995.

The only addition for Canada is 193 Nova Scotia Church Records 1720 - 2001 for a total of 139,363.

Cecil Humphrey-Smith RIP

Sorry to learn of the passing of the founder of the Institute for Heraldic and Genealogical Studies. He was perhaps best known as the author of The Phillimore Atlas and Index of Parish Registers.

This Week's Online Genealogy Events

Choose from free online events in the next five days. All times are ET except as noted. Assume registration in advance is required. Check so you're not disappointed.

Tuesday 19 January 11 am: Searching for Irish Ancestors, with Jen Baldwin and Lisa Lisson of Findmypast.
https://www.facebook.com/findmypast

🇨🇦 Tuesday 19 January 2 pm: Virtual Genealogy Drop-In, from Ottawa Branch  OGS and The Ottawa Public Library. Join here.

Tuesday 19 January 2:30 pm: Strategic Searching on Findmypast, by Jen Baldwin for the Allen County Public Library Genealogy Centre. 
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIlfu-grj8tGdTRwyHgBjmsv7lTaEl6cYBf

Tuesday 19 January 8 pm: Death and Burial Practices in World War I and WW II, by Rick Sayre. Legacy Family Tree Webinars. Note: This appears to be restricted to only US deaths.
https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar_details.php?webinar_id=1585

Wednesday 20 January 11 am: The Story of Edith Cavell, with Ellie Overthrow-Jones, Peter Doll and Nick Miller for Findmypast
https://www.facebook.com/findmypast

Wednesday 20 January 2 pm: Another 50 Websites Every Genealogist Should Know, by Gena Philibert-Ortega. Legacy Family Tree Webinars. Notes: Promises to "take our research around the world."
https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar_details.php?webinar_id=1611

Thursday 21 January 11 am: Staff Stories: Panel Discussion, with Alex Cox, Jen Baldwin, Niall Cullen and Brian Donovan
https://www.facebook.com/findmypast

Thursday 21 January 2 pm: 'You're Fired'? Reviewing the Trump Presidency. Presented by the Eccles Centre for American Studies at the British Library
https://www.bl.uk/events/youre-fired-reviewing-the-trump-presidency

Thursday 21 January 6:30 pm: Critical Connections: - Putting the Pieces & Strategies Together, by Curt Witcher for the Allen County Public Library Genealogy Centre.
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZctdOGgpzsqGtF-EFr8VlfVBDbJbVAt2wUd

Friday 22 January 9 am:  England's Mistress: Emma Hamilton, by Kate Williams for The (UK) National Archives.
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/englands-mistress-emma-hamilton-tickets-131446137937?aff=homepage

Friday 22 January, 11 am: Fridays Live, with Myko Clelland for Findmypast
https://www.facebook.com/findmypast

🇨🇦 Saturday 23 January 1 pm: Genealogy of Place, by Fraser Dunford for Ottawa Branch OGS

https://ottawa.ogs.on.ca/events/genealogy-of-place-ottawa-branch/

Advance Notice: Canadian War Museum Zoom Events + War Brides

On Wednesday 27 January at 1 pm The Canadian War Museum hosts a conversation with Andy Réti — Holocaust survivor, author and motorcycle enthusiast — as he recounts his incredible story of love, survival and resilience during the Second World War. More here.
https://www.warmuseum.ca/event/holocaust-survivor-andy-reti/

On Thursday 28 January and 12 noon tune in for an event in the War Museum’s virtual Make Do and Mend workshop series that reacquaints participants with many of the household skills that were part of everyday life in wartime Canada. Each event features a wartime “skill” and one of the Museum’s experts to provide historical context.
https://www.warmuseum.ca/event/make-do-and-mend-zero-waste-living/

To mark the 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, in conjunction with an exhibition "Forever Changed – Stories From the Second World War", the Canadian War Museum has developed a souvenir catalogue. It includes the story of Trooper Gordon Fennell and mentions his British war bride Joyce Cobb.

The exhibition associated with the publication (also titled Forever Changed – Stories From the Second World War) has a richer presentation of war brides, through the story of British war bride Gwendoline Green and her Canadian husband John McDonald. It displays Gwendoline’s wedding dress and her cookbook and tells her story through text, photos and a digital game. Unfortunately, the museum is currently closed to the public, due to public health restrictions.

Your Genealogy Today: Jan/Feb 2021

This issue, which arrived in the mail on Friday, is brimming with good content. 

I particularly enjoyed Sue Lisk's article For Whom the Bell Tolls. It's such a good read, the story details her research into finding an ancestor's grave, that I didn't mind that the mystery she tackled wasn't solved.

Robbie Gorr's story A Bigamist's Paradise of multiple and serial bigamies had a focus in the Ottawa Valley — Alymer, Bristol Mines, Ottawa, Pembroke, Quyon, Stafford Township — and further afield — Kingston — and further yet.

I skimmed Joe Grandinetti's article Photographic Memories and David Norris on Patent Remedies, Herb Gardens, and Phatmacopeias. Perhaps they're ones I should go back to if I find room in an overflowing office to keep back issues as advised by Back Page columnist Dave Obee's in his (muted) rant on bad information on Facebook.

As with all magazines, you don't expect all articles to appeal to everyone so I skipped Diane L, Richard's article on Free Persons of Color.

Subscribe to Your Genealogy Today from Moorshead Magazines here.

Co-Lab Update for January

Library and Archives Canada is now reporting some major progress since last month at Co-Lab, which may well be updating for months of backlog.

Canadian National Land Settlement Association is 90% complete, 20% last month.

Molly Lamb Bobak is 77% complete, 22% complete last month

Women Lightkeepers: heroes by the sea is 100% complete, 99% complete last month.

Diary of François-Hyacinthe Séguin is 92% complete, 56% complete last month.

George Mully: moments in Indigenous communities, remains 2% complete.

Correspondence regarding First Nations veterans returning after the First World War is 99% complete, 100% complete last month.

Winnipeg General Strike of 1919 is 84% complete, 77% complete last month.

Legendary Train Robber and Prison Escapee Bill Miner remains 99% complete.

War Diaries of the First World War: 1st Canadian Division is now 100% complete.

Japanese-Canadians: Second World War, remains 61% complete.

The Call to Duty: Canada's Nursing Sisters remains 93% complete.

Rosemary Gilliat (Eaton)’s Arctic diary and photographs is now 100% complete. 

New France and First Nations Relations, remains 78% complete.

Projects that remain 100% complete are no longer reported here.

Sunday Sundries

Miscellaneous items I found of interest during the week.

For Scotland Only: New online – Country Life magazine (1897–2005)
Owing to licensing requirements you need a postal address in Scotland to register for and access this resource. Maybe you have a relative there. The magazine covers "country estates and all aspects of rural living, giving fascinating contemporary details of country houses, lifestyles and leisure pursuits, as well as an insight into the ideas and culture of the time.  ... It’s also full of amazing photographs, adverts and biographical information. It’s a useful resource for local historians and genealogists as well as a fascinating browse for all those who'd like to dip into the past."
This is from the free monthly email newsletter from the National Library of Scotland. Register at 
https://www.nls.uk/news/email-newsletter/ which has news on upcoming online events, new map resources and more.

Scotland Civil Registration Update
In case you missed the regular January annual civil registration update, ScotlandsPeople now has available records for 136,546 births for 1920, 48,728 marriages for 1945, and 64,943 deaths for 1970.

Scottish Indexes Conference VIII - 30 January 2021 
A great deal. https://www.scottishindexes.com/

Rounding off items on Scotland, this —The Scotsman — that in a Tik Tok version kicked off a viral Sea Shanty meme.

An Apothecary at Bethlem
From the London Historians' Blog.

FHF REALLY USEFUL Family History Show: Saturday 10 April 2021
20+ speakers for £7.50 (early bird price before 31 January) is a good deal. Find out more, and about other resources from the Family History Federation, at 
https://www.familyhistoryfederation.com/

Climate Change
Depending on which analysis you consult 2020 either tied for warmest or was the second warmest year on record
According to the British Met Office, despite a transition into La Niña conditions in late 2020, which typically suppress global temperatures 2020 ranked second warmest in a series dating back to 1850.

OPL: Tech Café
Tomorrow, Monday 18 January at 4 pm is the first in the new Tech Café series, on Accessing Government Services Online . The second, a week later, is Recognizing Fake News.

DYK Windows 10 Can Magnify and Read Aloud?
Just type magnify where it says "Type here to search."

Thanks to this week's contributors: Anonymous, Brenda Turner, Christine Jackson, Kathy, KAYTHEGARDENER, Mary, Unknown

Migration Museum

The (UK) Migration Museum explores how the movement of people to and from Britain across the ages has made "us" who we are – as individuals and as a nation. The present location is Lewisham Shopping Centre.

Somewhat like EPIC, The Irish Emigration Museum in Dublin it's more an experience than a traditional museum with artifacts. 

With COVID both are closed at present. 

On the Migration Museum website is Departures, a podcast series exploring 400 years of emigration from Britain. The episodes are:

1: The Swarming of the English
Mass emigration from England first took off in the 17th century with the colonisation of America and the Caribbean. The number of people leaving the shores of England was huge and unprecedented.

2: Maidens’ Voyage
Women are largely hidden from the history of early English emigration. But if you look hard enough you can sometimes catch glimpses of their stories in the archives. For example, in the early 17th century shiploads of young women were despatched to America by the Virginia Company of London.  It was hoped they would marry the English planters in Jamestown and help grow the new colony.

3: The Company Men in India
ince the 1960s, large numbers of people have come to Britain from the Indian subcontinent. But for the preceding 350 years almost all migration was in the other direction. From the beginning of the 17th century when the first ships of the English East India Company set sail from London, India was seen as a place of fabulous wealth where huge fortunes could be made. As the Company’s trading posts around India flourished and the Company gained ever more political control, competition for Company jobs became intense. Tens of thousands of men from Britain ventured out to live an expat life in a country that was completely different to anything they had previously known. Most never returned.

Findmypast adds to Dorset Burials

Dorset burials cover 1531 to 2001 across 342 parishes in Findmypast's collection. This week index records for three parishes in the Weymouth area were added: 

Melcombe Regis: 16,195 burials from 1856 to 1980
Weymouth: 9,651 burials from 1885 to 2001   
Wyke Regis: 3,279 burials from 1887 to 1992   

While Findmypast provides convenient access you can download data for these three, as well as for Holy Trinity, a total of 29,125 records, for free as an Excel file from 
https://www.weymouthtowncouncil.gov.uk/services/cemeteries/.

The 5 Best Free Sites for Online Newspaper Research for Genealogy

On 14 January Kenneth R. Marks added this blog post to his site The Ancestor Hunt. Actually, it's an updated post.  While it's strong on US content some on his list include Canadian content — the quirky Old Fulton NY Post Cards, which wouldn't load when I tried, and  Google News Archive with its hobbled search capability.

Here's my list.

Canadiana Online
The only free national newspaper site for Canada. Newspapers are incorporated at https://www.canadiana.ca/collection-serials/. CKRN, which runs the site, has been asked to separate out the newspaper collection.

The other's in my top five are provincial — the most populous provinces — the best way into these is via The Ancestor Hunt - Newspaper Links and scroll down to the Canada section.

Our Ontario Community Newspapers and Canadian Community Digital Archives
Bibliotheque et Archives Nationales du Quebec - Newspapers
British Columbia Historical Newspapers
Peel's Prairie Provinces: Newspapers 1871-2007

Ancestry adds Canada, Newspapers.com Marriage Index

This database consists of facts extracted from marriages found on Newspapers.com™ Canadian newspapers dating from the early 1800s to 1999.

This database is presented index information only, with a link to the digitized page on Newspapers.com™. 

Ancestry warns these facts were pulled from a record by a computer and may not be accurate. For instance, an entry for a Hawaii marriage in August 1941 in the Ottawa Citizen

Name: John D'arcy Northwood
Gender: Male
Residence Date: Abt 1941
Residence Place: Birmingham . England
Marriage Date: Aug 1941
Marriage Place: Honolulu . Hawaii
Spouse: Olive Margaret

It's actually an announcement of a forthcoming marriage that may or may not have occurred. You wouldn't know that without checking the original image on the Newspapers.com™ site, "which may require an additional upgrade or subscription."

Ancestry Exits Health-Genetics

Bloomberg reports that "Ancestry.com LLC is ending a 15-month effort to sell customers genetic insights into their health, the latest sign of trouble in the consumer DNA-testing industry."

This comes prior to the appointment of a new Ancestry CEO following the departure of Margo Georgiadis at the end of December.

Withdrawing from the health business is an interesting contrast to the recent news from Family Tree DNA in its "merger" with Australian genomics company myDNA.

Findmypast Weekly Update: Burials

 New records this week

Ireland, Londonderry (Derry) City Cemetery Burials 1853-1961
Londonderry (Derry) transcript burial records for City Cemetery.

Records for the cemetery are also freely searchable at 
the City Cemetery Records Project.

Ireland, Dublin City Cemetery Burials 1805-2006
This new transcription collection covers three Dublin cemeteries and over 200 years of burials. 

St John The Baptist, Castle Avenue, Clontarf, Dublin
Drimnagh (Bluebell), Old Naas Road, Dublin
St Canice’s, Finglas, Dublin

These are freely available from Dublin City Public Libraries & Archive where you can search the cemeteries individually and there are several other area databases such as directories, parish records, electoral lists and more.

FreeBMD January Update

The FreeBMD Database was updated on Wednesday 13 January 2021 to contain 278,329,114 unique records (277,981,357 at the previous update.)

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

www.freebmd.org.uk/

Two New Titles for England from Ancestry

Archdeaconry of Richmond, England, Church of England Marriage Bonds, 1611-1861

184,730 records provided in association with Lancashire Archives. The Archdeaconry of Richmond covers Lancashire north of the River Ribble and parts of present-day Cumbria. There are relatively few records prior to the 18th century.

Search results give the name, birth date, marriage bond date, marriage bond place, and spouse name. There are links to an image of the original which you can also browse in files organized by year and letter range.

Wiltshire, England, Non-Conformist Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1810-1987

229,276 records provided in association with Wiltshire Council and Swindon Borough Council. They include Methodist, Quaker (mostly burials), Wesleyan, Independent, Baptist, and other denominations. Some records for Somerset, especially Quaker, and a few for Hampshire are included.

Ireland Mother and Baby Home Report

Nine thousand children died in Ireland’s Mother and Baby Homes since Irish independence and 1998, In all, 15 percent of the approximately 57,000 children who were in the 18 institutions investigated by the Mother and Baby Homes Commission died during their time there. That's a finding from a long-awaited report 4,000 pages, including 1,000 pages of personal testimonies dated 30 October 2020 and released on Tuesday.

1,638  children from these institutions were placed for foreign adoption. 1,427 children were adopted to the USA; 149 to Great Britain; 39 to Northern Ireland; five to Canada; four to Saudi Arabia; two each to Australia, Egypt, Italy and Venezuela; one each to Guernsey, Germany, Serbia, Singapore, Norway and the Philippines.

The report includes the following chapters on individual institutions:

Chapter 13: Dublin Union/Pelletstown/St Patrick's, Navan Road/Eglinton Road
Chapter 14: Belmont Flatlets
Chapter 15: The Tuam Children’s Home
Chapter 16: The County Clare Nursery, Kilrush
Chapter 17: The Sacred Heart Mother and Baby Homes
Chapter 18: Bessborough
Chapter 19: Sean Ross
Chapter 20: Castlepollard
Chapter 21: Regina Coeli
Chapter 22: Bethany Home
Chapter 23: Denny House, formerly the Magdalen Asylum
Chapter 24: Dunboyne (Árd Mhuire)
Chapter 25: Miss Carr's
Chapter 26: The Castle
Chapter 27: St Gerard's
Chapter 28: Cork County Home
Chapter 29: Stranorlar County Home
Chapter 30: Thomastown County Home

The report mentions "Developments in DNA should be helpful in this regard (identification of parents) and consideration should be given to financially assisting those born in mother and baby homes/county homes who wish to avail of such a test."

A pdf copy of the report which can be searched in its entirety is available at
https://assets.gov.ie/118565/107bab7e-45aa-4124-95fd-1460893dbb43.pdf

FamilySearch Updates

The following are titles at familysearch.org for Canada and the UK updated in the past week.

 

Country	Title	Total Records
Canada	Nova Scotia Church Records, 1720-2001	136,437
Canada	Quebec, Catholic Parish Registers, 1621-1979	79,535
UK	England, Gloucestershire Non-Conformist Church Records, 1642-1996	93,692
UK	England, Northumberland Non-Conformist Church Records, 1613-1920	257,689
UK	England, Herefordshire Bishop's Transcripts, 1583-1898	1,227,661
UK	England, Essex Non-Conformist Church Records, 1613-1971	86,403

This Week's Online Genealogy Events

Choose from free online events in the next five days. All times are ET except as noted. Assume registration in advance is required. Check so you're not disappointed. Plenty of FREE parking!

🇨🇦Tuesday 12 January 2 pm: Virtual Genealogy Drop-In, from Ottawa Branch OGS https://www.facebook.com/findmypastd The Ottawa Public Library. Join here.

Tuesday 12 January 2 pm: MyHeritage Mobile App: All New Features From 2020, by Daniel Horowitz and Masha Novak. https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar_details.php?webinar_id=1314

Tuesday 12 January, 2:30 pm: The Times of Our Lives: Writing Our Stories, by Curt Witcher for Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center. https://acpl.libnet.info/event/4780967

Tuesday 12 January, 7 pm: Using Canadian Records on www.familysearch.org, by Stephen Young for Lambton Branch of OGS. 
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcrdO6prz0rEt2TAa1cyDukQtoDEphV4iQq

Tuesday 12 January, 7 pm: Using Family Search to Find Land Records, by Ellen Giertuga for Thunder Bay Branch of OGS.
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/4769069324?pwd=N3dmQ0RwSEhIc2g3WUFwRHV1M2wxZz09

Wednesday 13 January, 8 pm: Do You Have an Artificial Brick Wall?, by Robyn Smith for Legacy Family Tree Webinars. https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar_details.php?webinar_id=1610

Thursday 14 January, 1 pm: Amelia Dyer: Baby Killers, by Joanna Bourke for Gresham College.
https://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/amelia-dyer

Friday 15 January, 2 pm: From Grandmother to First European Landowner of Canada, by Lianne Kruger for Legacy Family Tree Webinars. https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar_details.php?webinar_id=1661

Friday 15 January, 7 pm: New York State Vital Records, by Jeanette Sheliga for Niagara Branch of OGS. https://niagara.ogs.on.ca/events/niagara-peninsula-branch-new-york-state-vital-records/

Saturday 16 January, 10 am : The Bachelorette New France (Les Filles à Marier et Les Filles du Roi) Bigamy, Incest, Witchcraft and Murder, by Carol Ufford and Dawn Kelly for Kingston Branch of OGS.  https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEkdeygrTwoE9RXLZl4wtxcmqikrnmmBmgl

Saturday 16 January, 1 pm: 40 Years of Genealogy: Look How Far We've Come! by Cheryl Levy. The Quinte Branch OGS Annual Crouse Wannamaker Lecture.
https://quinte.ogs.on.ca/2021/01/01/january-16-crouse-wanamaker-lecture/

Share your Stuff at the OGS Conference

OGS/Ontario Ancestors announces a request for lecture proposals for its 2021 virtual conference to be held 4-6 June 2021. 

The Ontario Genealogical Society is celebrating its 60th Anniversary in 2021. The conference theme for this year is My Roots, Your Roots, Our Ontario Roots.

Topics being considered include: the origins of Ontario settlers including, but not limited to, Indigenous, Asian, and Black Canadians; migration into, within, and out of Ontario; immigration; Ontario history, its records, and repositories; land and military records; methodology, analysis, and problem-solving in genealogical research; technology; DNA; mobile devices and apps; organization; society management and development; and social media.

Virtual tours of museums, archives and libraries in Ontario will also be considered.

Specifically, we are seeking new, unique and enterprising proposals.

Interested speakers are strongly encouraged to submit multiple proposals for either one-hour general sessions, or two-hour workshops. There is no limit to the number of proposals a speaker may submit.

Submit proposals using the submission form found on the Ontario Ancestors website at https: / / ogs.on.ca/conference-speaker-submission/

The deadline for submission of lecture proposals is Sunday. 7 February 2021 at 11:59 PM EST.

Speakers are required to use an electronic presentation program and will be required to present on-camera for the duration of their presentation.

Comment: The bold above is mine. OGS can usually rely on proposals from established Ontario speakers. With this being an online conference I'm hoping there will be pertinent proposals from speakers from a wider geographic area that will not require travel. If you know of anyone don't hesitate to bring the call to their attention. Find it at https://ogs.on.ca/conference-2021-call-for-proposals/

Family Tree Magazine — Free

The February issue of the UK Family Tree magazine has just become available. 

For many months I've been mentioning that the Ottawa Public Library, and likely many others, provides free access to the British genealogy magazine Who Do You Think You Are? through PressReader.

We now have free access to the other major British newsstand genealogy magazine, Family Tree, through another service, RBdigital Unlimited Magazines (Zinio).

To find Family Tree log on to the OPL website with your membership card credentials. Scroll way down to Online Resources and under Read click on Digital Magazines. Now scroll to the bottom and click RBdigital Unlimited Magazines (Zinio). I couldn't find a search function so click on FILTER, then Genre.

Are you still with me? It's possible you may have to Register the first time you go there.

Select Other.  Family Tree is in the third row.

If you're not in Ottawa your public library probably has RBdigital access. Halifax, Kingston, Toronto, London, Winnipeg, Regina, Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, Victoria; and in Quebec via BANQ, all do.

NOTE: According to a notice on the Campbell River Public Library website RBdigital magazines will be migrating to OverDrive and the Libby app this month.

Sunday Sundries

This has been one heck of a week. Our attention has been on a lot of things aside from family history.

In Canada, Covid-19 cases are exploding with new more contagious variants. The health system, and those who work in it, are under severe stress. We must all be grateful to the many many often low-paid essential workers who keep our society functioning. Stay safe.

South of the border, we have seen the consequences of "the pen is mightier than the sword" when the pen in the hands of a deranged leader, still in power, is amplified by social media. Would it be too much to hope for a truth and reconciliation process? 

A very few miscellaneous items I found of interest during the week.

TheGenealogist adds more than 55,000 new Headstone records from 174 churchyards or cemeteries

Tech Café
A presentation series from the Ottawa Public Library restarts on Monday 18 January at 4 pm with Accessing Government Services Online, continues the following week with Recognizing Fake News. 

Online Jigsaw Pizzle: Ontario History

Thanks to this week's contributors: Anonymous, Brenda Turner, Btyclk, Donna Jones, Ellen C, Gail B, Judy Neville, june macnab, Kenneth R Marks, Lois Vancouver Island, Sophronia, Steve Fulton, Unknown

O/T: Deaths in Ottawa 2019-2020

A new Service Ottawa dataset posted at https://open.ottawa.ca/, the City of Ottawa Marriage Licenses, Death Registrations and Commissioner of Oaths, covers data from 2019 and 2020. With COVID-19 dominating domestic news, it's interesting to see the resulting deaths in perspective. On a month by month basis COVID-19 deaths can be derived from the database COVID-19 Cases and Deaths in Ottawa from Ottawa Public Health.

The total death registrations from Service Ottawa show some outliers, May 2019 reports 899 deaths, September 2020 reports 1,105.

An alternate death reporting system was put in place when Service Ottawa offices were closed for the pandemic. Death registration is required prior to disposal of remains. In these extraordinary circumstances could the September 2020 peak represents a backlog? The May 2019 peak remains an unexplained outlier.

COVID-19 deaths, first reported in March 2020, are a small component of overall deaths. The variations don't appear to correlate with those for COVID-19. And although COVID-19 inflections are way up in the second phase improved treatment means fewer deaths.

Findmypast Weekly Update

New records this week

National School Admission Registers

Over 13,000 new Yorkshire school records to this exclusive collection. Checking under Yorkshire on the list of 100 schools added in 29 communities, you'll find Sheffield and Brighouse for admissions are most prominent.

These latest additions bring the entire collection to 9,260,011 records. A short video from Paul Nixon is a good introduction to these school records.

Montgomeryshire Monumental Inscriptions

The over 40,000 records, spanning 600 years, added for 19 Montgomeryshire parishes include 10,456 for Newton, 6,442 for Welshpool, 4,462 for Trefeglwys and 4,058 for Llanrhaiadr ym Mochnant.

Devon Marriages
A relatively small number of new records from 44 parishes for 1845 to 2001.

British Home Children Calendar 2021

The Middlemore Atlantic Society had published a 2021 calendar. Each page has a background scene, on which are placed on one side the photo of the "child" either as a child or adult and on the other a box with the story of the child. There are some pages with siblings and at least one with a husband and wife, both emigrated under the Middlemore initiative. 

Underneath the page title, the names and dates of the child or children are described. The information (situation in England and what happened during life in Canada) was submitted by different members of the Middlemore Atlantic Society. Patricia Roberts-Pichette, who brought this to my attention, her book testifies she knows a thing or two about Middlemore, informs they are stories typical of many she has read about in the Middlemore records. They are straight forward and sound truthful, not exaggerated. 

If interested in purchasing a copy of the calendar contact Mrs. Norma Cook at lncksco at gmail dot com/.

LAC temporary suspension of digital copy services

The following notice is posted by Library and Archives Canada.

I​n light of the recent health and safety recommendations from the provinces of Ontario and Quebec, and with the safety of its clients and employees in mind, Library and Archives Canada (LAC) has decided to temporarily suspend most of its digital copy services. This measure will allow us to reduce the movement of staff and the handling of collections.

Starting today, it will not be possible to submit new copy requests except for the specific collections located in Winnipeg and in Vancouver. Requests previously submitted through our online copy form will not be processed until we resume this service. Visit our Reopening Library and Archives Canada for region-specific details.

Rest assured that we will resume these services as soon as possible. In the meantime, our reference and genealogy teams will continue to help researchers navigate our website and advance their research via digital collections. Contact us by using our Ask Us a Question or Ask Us a Genealogy Question forms, or by calling 1-866-578-7777 (option 8; toll-free in Canada and the United States).

FamilyTreeDNA: Merger or Takeover?

The release Pharmacogenetic and Genealogy Pioneers Merge for Historic Partnership on PRNewswire positions it as a merger. Is it? Does it matter? Let's speculate.

According to the release, Dr. Lior Rauchberger of Australian genomics company myDNA will be CEO of the merged companies, effective immediately. Gene by Gene and FTDNA co-founders Bennett Greenspan and Max Blankfeld will join the Board of Directors.

The announcement positions the new entity as "one of the leading global experts of genealogy, pharmacogenomic and nutrigenomic services."

As a serial entrepreneur CEO of MyDNA Rauchberger saw that business as one that enables you to use your DNA to make the right health choices around things like diet and medication. That's the focus on the MyDNA website. No reference to genealogy.

Is this a merger bringing a new genealogy business line? Is it a way of expanding the company with the client base from  Gene by Gene and FTDNA likely clients for health-related services?

FTDNA must have a financial concern that the slowing in growth in genetic genealogy testing leaves the company with reduced capacity to service the ongoing commitment to legacy customers? Their (Our) interests could be protected, as far as is possible, by being part of a larger entity with a growth component.

Books, Boxes and Boats: Maritime Resources

The website of this UK-based maritime and historical research service has links to some sources worth knowing in researching your UK seafaring ancestors.

Crew Lists of the British Merchant Navy 1915
Digitised crew lists available to search for free via a database featuring over a quarter of a million names. Contains all the surviving Merchant Navy crew lists from 1915. I was able to my information on a great-uncle by marriage.

Index to Lloyd's List Marine News 1740-1837
From copies of Lloyd's List deposited at the Guildhall Library, this database indexes the news items, ordinary shipping movements are not included.

Lloyd's List
A newspaper reporting shipping movements and casualties, maritime news and other commercial information. An incomplete run of issues from 1741 to 1846 digitized by Google and searchable

Lloyd’s Register
Reports on the condition of vessels surveyed by Lloyds. 18th & 19th Century volumes were scanned by Google and are searchable. Also included are volumes for 1930-1945 scanned by the staff of the Southampton Library & Archive. 

Mercantile Navy List
Records all British registered vessels one-quarter of a ton and over, including coastal vessels, ferries and pleasure craft making it the most comprehensive listing of British vessels available. Coverage is incomplete from 1849 to 1938.

Books, Boxes and Boats will reward exploring the site with a variety of other resources. I was delighted to find deceased friend Chris Watts' TNA presentations Tracing Births and Deaths at Sea and Using Passenger Lists (every journey has two ends) available as podcasts.