28 February 2021

Glenn Wright presentation on Researching Our Military Ancestors in 19th Century Ontario

The OGS Leeds & Grenville Branch monthly meeting presentation is online, Monday, 1 March at 7:00 pm.  Military historian and genealogist Glenn Wright presents Advance!  Suggestions for Researching Our Military Ancestors in 19th Century Ontario.

"Advance! is the motto of the Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa and in this presentation, Glenn hopes that his suggestions for researching your military ancestor in the 19th century will lead you to new discoveries. We will look at the most important resources for military events such as the War of 1812-1815, the 1837 Rebellion, the Fenian Raids, 1866-1870, the Northwest Resistance, 1885 and finally, the South African War, 1899-1902. The role and the relevant records of the Militia, the British Army in Canada and Canada’s Permanent Force will also be described."

Register in advance for this free presentation at

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcqduuqpzIpHdEVEJ-I8FKY4fc4P1vV5mwi

Sunday Sundries

 Miscellaneous items I found of interest during the week.

From the Canadian War Museum
Forever Changed – Stories From the Second World War
Liberation! Canada and the Netherlands, 1944–1945
Legion National Foundation’s Poster and Literary Contest Winners 2020

The Internet Archive
Meet Eliza--Social Media’s most unlikely star. 12.3 million views since 6 February.

Ancestry 
St Patrick is taking care of you! Watch out for a mini-avalanche of mostly 19th-century Irish records coming in March.

Explaining MyHeritage Animation
Some find these animations addictive, others just weird.


Mapping London Buildings in Colour
Booth would be jealous!

Line of the Week - paraphrasing Gerald R Ford on Lincoln.
"If Dr. Doughty were alive today he would be rolling over in his grave."

UPDATE: The MyHeritage offer to upload your DNA data and access advanced DNA features for free is extended through 7 March 2021. The results will be ready within a day or two.

Thanks to this week's contributors: Anonymous, BT, Elizabeth Vincent, Gail B, glassgal, Glenn, Judy Lynn in Ontario, Linda Stufflebean, M.A.S.-Ottawa, Michael, Mike More, Nancy in Kingston, Norm Prince, S4Ottawa, Sophronia, Unknown


British Newspaper Archive February Additions

 The British Newspaper Archive now has a total of 41,596,848 pages online (41,075,938 last month). 

This month 78 papers had pages added (56 in the previous month). There were 33 (17) new titles. Dates range from 1771 to 1960.

Those with more than 10,000 pages added were:

TITLEDATE RANGE
Lyttelton Times1851-1877, 1879-1913
Coleshill Chronicle1901-1910, 1950, 1952-1980
Overland China Mail1853-1861, 1863-1894, 1897-1915
Sleaford Gazette1858-1870, 1872-1887, 1889-1893, 1895-1960
South Wales Daily Telegram1870-1874, 1876-1887, 1889, 1891
Liverpool Daily Post1883, 1885, 1888, 1894, 1897, 1899-1900, 1907-1910, 1912-1913
Manchester Evening News1926, 1950-1951, 1954-1955, 1958
Ashbourne Telegraph1903-1925, 1927-1957
Government Gazette (India)1801-1802, 1804-1832
Southport Visiter1865, 1869-1870, 1873-1875, 1877, 1886, 1889, 1891-1893, 1897, 1911-1912
North Bucks Times and County Observer1879-1895, 1898, 1900-1918
Morning Journal (Kingston)1838-1840, 1858, 1864-1875
Y Llan1881, 1884-1909
Penistone, Stocksbridge and Hoyland Express1919, 1923, 1925, 1927-1928, 1932-1940
Civil & Military Gazette (Lahore)1886, 1899

27 February 2021

Findmypast Weekly Update

Over 3.4 million additions from the Family History Federation make for a new total of over 16.7 million burials in the National Burial Index For England & Wales (and the Isle of Man.) These are unique to FMP.

You can search by first and last name, birth and burial year, place and county.

Three counties include more than one million burials, Yorkshire (West Riding), Suffolk and Essex.

County or RegionBurials
Bedfordshire355,839
Berkshire40,878
Breconshire14,112
Buckinghamshire80,010
Cambridgeshire871,239
Cardiganshire183,952
Cheshire242,968
Cornwall111,191
Cumberland36,526
Derbyshire143,143
Devon3,602
Dorset319,503
Durham795,990
Essex1,277,853
Glamorganshire399,575
Gloucestershire169,887
Hampshire11,354
Herefordshire93,949
Hertfordshire137,737
Huntingdonshire260,228
Isle Of Man7,152
Kent204,668
Lancashire414,101
Lincolnshire886,242
Middlesex62,416
Monmouthshire11,582
Montgomeryshire7,785
Norfolk143,845
Northamptonshire319,228
Northumberland540,343
Nottinghamshire259,589
Oxfordshire213,096
Radnorshire15,743
Shropshire175,950
Somerset858,030
Staffordshire788,531
Suffolk1,317,469
Surrey573,519
Sussex40,108
Warwickshire591,072
Wiltshire809,405
Worcestershire542,444
Yorkshire (Ainsty & City Of York)42,431
Yorkshire (East Riding)27,466
Yorkshire (North Riding)641,807
Yorkshire (West Riding)1,688,205

Also new this week, over 21,500 new Lincolnshire Monumental Inscription records from over 60  parishes. Boston has the largest addition, over 7,000 records. 
The new total is 169,624 transcription records from the Lincolnshire Family History Society.

Finally this week, 1,040 records of Caribbean, 1st Bn Royal Regiment Of Foot Deaths 1801-1811
These unique records reveal names, ranks and death details of British Army soldiers stationed in the West Indies in the early 19th century. There's an error as these are associated with the First World War subcategory.

LAC Departmental Plan 2021-22

The Library and Archives Canada Departmental Plan, the official basis on which Parliament votes funds for the fiscal year starting 1 April, is now online at https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/about-us/report-plans-priorities/departmental-plan-2021-2022/Pages/departmental-plan-2021-2022.aspx#pg

For a quick overview the section Plans at a glance, immediately following the Minister's and Librarian and Archivist's opening messages, highlights that "LAC’s 2021–22 Departmental Plan is structured around two strategic priorities: the optimization of its digital capacity and the transformation of its services."

Following the link above I've several times encountered a pop-up asking for a response to a survey on a vision exercise for LAC to 2030. The exercize started in Spring 2020 and will only be completed in a year's time. Two years! 

Dynamic organizations have used COVID-19 as a stimulus to innovation. What innovation occurred at LAC? The organization appears to have withdrawn into its shell, making the necessary shut-downs of facilities without any compensating initiatives that would enhance online access, or contribute to the planning. Staff were still paid, how did management use that resource? We wait until the fall for a report on LAC's 2020-21 activities. In the meantime, what does the Departmental Plan promise for 2021-22?

Digit* occurs 55 times in the document, including once in the Minister's message, three times in the Librarian and Archivist's. Last year it was used 64 times in the document, three times in the Minister's preface, and eight in the Librarian and Archivist's.

What is the "optimization of its digital capacity" promised? It isn't any enhancement of digitization where the target for 2021-22 remains at 3.5 million images, the same as for 2019-20, down from 4.8 million in 2018-19 and 10.2 million in 2017-18.

All LAC's planned results for "providing access to documentary heritage" are less ambitious for 2021-22 than for 2019-20. Why? Is that what clients want?

Clients do want good access and that is in the plan.

With the user experience at the core of its website renewal, LAC will conduct tests and ensure that navigation is easy and intuitive, and that users quickly find the information and services they need. In the same vein, LAC will refine its Collection Search tool to help its users locate content. It will also focus on developing customized digital services.

That's good. Where is the results indicator? How will we know if it's achieved?

What else is in the plan? 

Continu* is mentioned 36 times. Innov* six times.

Geneal* is mentioned just once.

Once again this year there is no mention of newspapers.

There is no mention of directories.

There is no mention of the census even though the 2031 census is supposed to be released from Stats Can incarceration and made available to the public in 2023. One might expect LAC would be proactive so it would be available without undue delay.

There is no mention of finding aids.

And in case your life is lacking bureaucratic gobbledygook, howmuch more informed are you by:

Resources for testing new solutions will be allocated to the extent that LAC focuses its efforts on transforming its services and optimizing its digital capability.

26 February 2021

LAC Technical difficulties: Collection Search

On Thursday working on a tight timeframe, I was repeatedly greeted with no access to files I'd previously accessed, Instead there was the message "​Collection Search is currently unable to display some images. You may also experience slowness or unexpected errors. We are working actively to resolve these issues."

Imagine going to Amazon or Google and getting the same message. The part of the Government of Canada providing computer services to Library and Archives Canada is generally doing an appalling job at providing service. Even in normal times, response is oh so slow. 

What's you experience?

Agree or disagree?

It is possible I'm getting cranky given the time of year and constraints on movement?

Please post a comment about your experience with LACs online services.


Ancestry updates Nova Scotia, Canada, Black Loyalist Directory

Known as the "Book of Negroes" dating from 1783, Ancestry has updated the resource originally online there in January 2018. 

It provides the names of 3000 black refugees registered on board the vessels in which they sailed from New York to Nova Scotia between 23 April and 30 November 1783.

Ancestry provides a summary of the entry in the book and a link to the Nova Scotia Archives where you can find images of the original at https://archives.novascotia.ca/africanns/book-of-negroes/

For more background refer to the article Behind The Book of Negroes from Canada's History.

MyHeritage can bring your photos to life

MyHeritage continues to add to its capabilities to enhance old photos. Following on improving the quality and colourization, now your still photos can move.

As a trial, here's Thomas D'Arcy McGee who was assassinated on Sparks Street in Ottawa,7 April 1868


Visit the Deep Nostalgia™ page or visit the My Photos section of your MyHeritage family site to try it out.

Ottawa Branch OGS Monthly Meeting

Saturday 27 February, 1 pm

Title: My Methodology Then and Now: In Search of Paul Barber, a Former Kentucky Slave
Speaker: Tom Barber

Born a slave in Kentucky, Paul Barber became a respected horse trainer and one of Ottawa's first permanent Black residents. Paul's grandson, Tom Barber, will talk about his early research methods and how his methodology has advanced his search 

A section of Clarence Street that runs east of Beausoleil Drive is called Barber Street in tribute to Paul Barber.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/barber-street-ottawa-slave-clarence-renamed-1.3721409

Register in advance for this Zoom meeting:

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0pd-CrrD8uHNUVs0LCNBPGg6Y99Kdtylho

All Ottawa Branch monthly presentations are open to the public at no charge.

25 February 2021

Which Family Tree Software?

Ancestral Quest, Family Historian, Family Tree Builder, Family Tree Maker, Gramps, Heredis, Legacy Family Tree, RootsMagic, TreeView, and more.

The one you prefer is likely the one you're accustomed to, not necessarily the best. They all do the basics well ... in that respect, they're a commodity. Each has different bells and whistles.

Or you may be happy with a tree in the cloud offered by the larger genealogy companies, the shared trees offered by FamilySearch and WikiTree.

I received an email with a discount offer from RootsMagic, supposedly the most popular genealogy software in the US. It's an offer they link to RootsTech, although the company isn't in the marketplace.

You'll get RootsMagic 7 Download and Getting the Most Out of RootsMagic 7 eBook (a $45 value) for only $20!

Plus, you will receive a free download of RootsMagic 8 when it is released (currently in Community Preview). This means that you can reserve a future copy of Version 8 at today's lower Version 7 price!

You should find the offer at https://mailchi.mp/rootsmagic/rootstech-2021

To be clear, I'm not recommending RootsMagic over any other software; it is frequently mentioned favourably in reviews. 

24 February 2021

MyHeritage to be purchased by US equity firm

The Times of Israel and businesswire are reporting that US private equity firm Francisco Partners has purchased MyHeritage in a deal valued at over $600 million.

Read the articles at https://www.timesofisrael.com/myheritage-to-be-purchased-by-us-equity-firm-in-reported-600-million-deal/ 
and https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210224005905/en/MyHeritage-to-be-Acquired-by-Leading-Private-Equity-Firm-Francisco-Partners

According to Wikipedia "Francisco Partners is an American private equity firm focused exclusively on investments in technology and technology-enabled services businesses.[3] Founded in August 1999 and based in San Francisco and London, Francisco Partners Management L.P.[4] has raised approximately USD $14 billion in committed capital.[5] The firm currently has five active funds[5][6] and roughly 50 current portfolio companies,[7] including Verifone,[8] Renaissance Learning, Bomgar, GoodRx, Quest, BluJay (formerly Kewill),[7] ClickSoftware Technologies,[9] SmartBear Software,[10] and SonicWall.[11]" 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francisco_Partners

Recent FamilySearch Historical Record Collections Updates

Here are the recent updates for Canada and the UK.
CountryTitleTotal RecordsUpdated
CanadaBritish Columbia Naturalization Records, 1859-19261709018Feb
CanadaNova Scotia Church Records, 1720-200119561023Feb
CanadaOntario, Toronto Trust Cemeteries, 1826-198915083820Feb
    
EnglandCambridgeshire Bishop's Transcripts, 1538-198364612323Feb
EnglandEssex Non-Conformist Church Records, 1613-19719391323Feb
EnglandGloucestershire Non-Conformist Church Records, 1642-199612931222Feb
EnglandHerefordshire Bishop's Transcripts, 1583-1898128416323Feb
EnglandHertfordshire, Marriage Bonds, 1682-183773323Feb
EnglandLancashire, Marriage Bonds and Allegations, 1746-179912421Feb
EnglandLincolnshire, Marriage Bonds and Allegations, 1574-18853380723Feb
EnglandMiddlesex Parish Registers, 1539-1988145583523Feb
EnglandNorthumberland Non-Conformist Church Records, 1613-192029006323Feb
Great BritainWar Office Registers, 1772-1935101134819Feb

23 February 2021

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 23 February 11 am: Cross Oceans with Catholic Records, by Jen Baldwin and Lisa Lisson. for Findmypast
https://www.facebook.com/findmypast

🇨🇦 Tuesday 23 February 2 pm: Virtual Genealogy Drop-In, from Ottawa Branch of OGS and The Ottawa Public Library. Join here.

Tuesday 23 February 2 pm: Bringing your family photos to life on MyHeritage, by Keren Dotan for Legacy Family Tree Webinars https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar_details.php?webinar_id=1687

Tuesday 23 February 2:30 pm: Digging into the (US) Agricultural Schedules, Cynthia Theusch for Allen County Public Library Genealogy Centre. https://acpl.libnet.info/event/4825160

Tuesday 23 February 2:30 pm: Canadian Genealogical Treasures, by Dave Obee for Wellington County Branch OGS. 
Register at: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAtfu2hqzIuEtfkmL72Whg0V9MEZ34mWaNs.

Thursday 25 February 11 am: LGBT Genealogy. by Jen Baldwin and Stewart Traiman for Findmypast
https://www.facebook.com/findmypast


Thursday 25 - Saturday 27 February: RootsTech Connect
https://www.rootstech.org/?lang=eng

🇨🇦 Saturday 27 February 1 pm: My Methodology Then and Now:  In Search of Paul Barber, a Former Kentucky Slave, by Tom Barber. Ottawa Branch OGS.
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0pd-CrrD8uHNUVs0LCNBPGg6Y99Kdtylho  

22 February 2021

Monday Memories: Books

Collectively the books you have on shelves, stored in boxes in basements and attics have a story to tell. What do they say about your interests and how those have changed through the years?

The oldest in this collage is an illustrated guide book to my hometown published in 1914, a gift from my brother.

There's a copy of the 1965 original edition of The Magnus by John Fowles I purchased as a student in Fort Collins, Colorado.

Several relate to weather and weather history from which I graduated into history more generally, family history and genealogy in particular. Those include my book on The Ottawa Sharpshooters and Researching Canada's Home Children.

Lots in my collection are books I haven't read, something I felt better about after reading Building an antilibrary: the power of unread books.

What story do the ensemble of books in your home tell about your journey through life?

21 February 2021

Upload your DNA Data to MyHeritage and Get FREE Access to All DNA Features — Limited-time Offer!

Between 21-28 February 2021 those who have tested with other services can access all advanced DNA features on MyHeritage, absolutely free!

MyHeritage allows you to upload your DNA data from other providers and get DNA Matches for free, but normally a one-time unlock fee of $29 (or a Complete plan with MyHeritage) has been required to access the advanced DNA features — and that includes the Ethnicity Estimate and the new Genetic Groups.

For a limited time, MyHeritage is waiving the unlock fee. You can now upload your DNA data to MyHeritage and get access to your Ethnicity Estimate, Genetic Groups, and other advanced DNA tools such as the Chromosome Browser, AutoClusters, and Theory of Family Relativity™ — absolutely free!

These features will remain free forever for DNA kits uploaded to MyHeritage during this week.

https://www.myheritage.com/dna/upload

Sunday Sundries

Miscellaneous items I found of interest during the week.

Federal Cabinet recognized for 'Outstanding Achievement' in Government Secrecy

A New Canadian Visual Search Engine

How to Become a Publisher
I came across this after reading a review in Saturday's Globe and Mail of The Third Man: Churchill, Roosevelt and Mackenzie King which comments "The book badly needed another pass by a proofreader." The website of the Canadian publisher, in its second year, Sutherland House, has a series of "How to" articles—How to Write a Book— What Should You Write About—How to Handle Disaster—that inform and entertain. 

Pandemic boredom sparks record drive to prove Loyalist roots

The photo
Responding to comments from those who didn't like two new portraits I tried on the blog I changed it again. What do you think? The new one was taken by Barbara Tose in December 2019. Thanks to Barbara for permission to use it. 

England’s Stonehenge was erected in Wales first

Black History Month


Don’t Go Down the Rabbit Hole
A NYT opinion piece argues critical thinking, as we’re taught to do it, isn’t helping in the fight against misinformation.

Thanks to this week's contributors: Anonymous, Barbara, BT, btyclk, Gail B, Sophronia, S4Ottawa, Unknown

20 February 2021

Monday: Toronto Branch OGS Monthly Meeting: Evernote

Monday, 22 February, beginning at 7:30 p.m. the Toronto Branch featured speaker is Linda Yip. She will explain the dos and don’ts of filing, and demonstrate how the Evernote application can help bring order to your computer files — and make it easier to keep track of the documents you come across in your family history research. 

Linda Yip is a writer, photographer, storyteller and professional genealogist. She is also a former executive legal assistant who’s seen and used many different filing methods over the years. Linda feels Evernote has made her a better genealogist.

A short presentation by Melanie Parker will follow on Toronto and the T.O.N.I. Project. Discover what this free Ontario name index is all about and how Toronto Branch is helping it grow.

Click to register for the free meeting

The Best Database for Somerset Resources

In a genealogy Q/A session you can rely on being asked which is the best database. I was asked about Ancestry, Findmypast and MyHeritage at the BIFHSGO open house on Friday.

The answer is that for England they all have the common databases national in scope, and each have strengths in particular counties. In deciding which is best you need to dig into their holdings for your area of interest.

As an example I looked at Somerset, for which MyHeritage has no coverage, for titles with more than 1,000 records.


TitleRecordsService
Somerset, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1531-18124,462,551Ancestry
Somerset, England, Church of England Baptisms, 1813-19142,943,017Ancestry
Somerset Baptism Index2,140,273Findmypast
Somerset Marriage Index1,713,126Findmypast
Somerset, England, Marriage Registers, Bonds and Allegations, 1754-19141,521,727Ancestry
Somerset Burial Index1,517,693Findmypast
Somerset, England, Church of England Burials, 1813-1914585,287Ancestry
Somerset Banns Index258,480Findmypast
Somerset, England, Gaol Registers, 1807-1879101,284Ancestry
Somerset Monumental Inscriptions80,052Findmypast
Somerset, England, School Registers, 1860-191447,047Ancestry
Somerset Electoral Registers, 1832-191431,783Findmypast
Somerset Monumental Inscriptions (Full)24,260Findmypast
Somerset England, Evercreech Parish 1538 - 189017,099Ancestry
Wells, Somerset, England, Bishop's Transcripts, 1594-173615,917Ancestry
Somerset & Dorset Notes and Queries, 1890-198010,092Findmypast
Notes and Queries for Somerset and Dorset, 1888-1899, 1905-19063,349Ancestry
Somerset Registers & Records1,970Findmypast
Somerset Medieval Will Abstracts, 1385-15581,616Findmypast
Somerset, England, Church of England Confirmations, 1843-19131,504Ancestry
Parish Apprentices For Somerset1,245Findmypast

Ancestry has 9.7 million records, Findmypast 5.8 million so on the face of it for Somerset your chances are probably better with Ancestry. But you need to dig deeper as you may find one service has images of the original record that are lacking in the other.

People often overlook TheGenealogist. For Somerset it contains information in 1,185 Somerset titles listed separately by parish and for baptisms, marriages and burials.

While FamilySearch has nothing for the county in the Records collection, as always, check the Catalog where you'll find 171 titles online you may be able to browse, if they're open outside Family History Centres and affiliate libraries.

Digging deeper there are sites like the online parish clerk and Dusty Docs for Somerset. Those are just examples. Google can help.

Not to be overlooked are the online archival resources in the county such as at Bath Record Office: Archives and Local Studies and and indexes from the Somerset Archive via the South West Heritage Trust.


Findmypast Weekly Update

1. The title Britain, Marriage Licences is augmented with "over 100,000 new additions from the Diocese of Durham dating all the way back to the 16th century."

However, filtering the collection for "Diocese Of Durham Marriage Bonds 1590-1815" shows 87,468 transcript records. Also, I didn't find "an image of the digitized volume of marriage licences," as mentioned in the collection description, for these Durham additions.

FamilySearch has a title England, Durham Diocese, Marriage Bonds & Allegations, 1692-1900 which provides images of the original record.

2. Searching Cambridgeshire, Licensed Victuallers finds 44,605 results,  A typical transcription record gives:

• Name of licensed victualler
• Date of licence
• Sign – this is the name of the public house, as displayed on the sign outside
• Premises address – usually the town or village in which the alehouse was situated
• Place – this tends to be a district or hundred within which the premises were located
• Name(s) of the person(s) providing surety with the names of the victualler and typically two surities for each record.

The records are from the Cambridgeshire Archives in Ely with transcription by members of the Cambridgeshire & Huntingdonshire Family History Society.

3. A title United States, Black Loyalists evacuated, 1783, otherwise United States, Inspection Roll Of Negroes, 1783, includes 3,008 records. The information given is First name(s), Last name, Birth year, Where from, Status, Slave owner, Destination port.

Saturday webinars

A last-minute reminder of two OGS webinars today, both by speakers I can recommend.

🇨🇦 Saturday 20 February 10:30 am: The World War One Letters of George Gallie Nasmith: A Genealogical Adventure, by Patty McGregor for Kingston Branch of OGS.
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYpc-6trjIjGdHzvhtb5fS7tHH0i84P-ZTi

🇨🇦 Saturday 20 February 1 pm: Portable Genealogy: You Can Take It With You, by Bob Dawes for Quinte Branch of OGS
https://quinte.ogs.on.ca/2021/02/07/february-20-portable-genealogy-you-can-take-it-with-you/

19 February 2021

FamilySearch Updates

FamilySearch continues reporting updates to UK records, these since 16 February

England, Herefordshire Bishop's Transcripts, 1583-1898,  1,279,436 total records
England, Lincolnshire, Marriage Bonds and Allegations, 1574-1885, 21,502 total records
England, Middlesex Parish Registers, 1539-1988, 1,450,089 total records
England, Gloucestershire Non-Conformist Church Records, 1642-1996, 129,287 total records
England, Northumberland Non-Conformist Church Records, 1613-1920, 287,697 total records
England, Essex Non-Conformist Church Records, 1613-1971, 93,601 total records
England, Hertfordshire, Marriage Bonds, 1682-1837, 448 total records
England, Lancashire, Marriage Bonds and Allegations, 1746-1799, 104 total records

Co-Lab Updates for February

Here's my monthly Library and Archives Canada progress report on its Co-Lab Challenges since last month.

War Diaries of the First World War: No. 2 Construction Battalion is 26% complete and new

Canadian National Land Settlement Association is 94% complete, 90% last month.

Molly Lamb Bobak is 86% complete, 77% complete last month

Diary of François-Hyacinthe Séguin is 98% complete, 92% complete last month.

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

Correspondence regarding First Nations veterans returning after the First World War remains 99% complete.

Winnipeg General Strike of 1919 is 96% complete, 84% complete last month.

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

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

The Call to Duty: Canada's Nursing Sisters is 94% complete, 93% last month.

New France and First Nations Relations, is 100% complete. 78% last month.

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


There's more being accomplished through Co-Lab than the Challenges. 

Why doesn't LAC give publicity to other things becoming digitized through Co-Lab? 

Last week I wanted to refer back to a letter in the Sir John A. Macdonald fonds available as four images. Clicking on the first image I found there is a blue Contribute button that allows you to transcribe it, which I did for the first two pages containing the information I needed. 

How many items are available to contribute? 

Why isn't the capability better known? 

 

18 February 2021

More Digitization?

University of Wyoming Libraries and the Wyoming State Library have partnered to launch the Wyoming Digital Newspaper Collection online.

This collection of historic newspapers combines the digital holdings of both institutions with a new interface that is more robust, providing easier, customizable searches and better results. More than 800,000 pages are now available, with new content added monthly. To search the Wyoming Digital Newspaper Collection, go to www.wyomingnewspapers.org.

Good for Wyoming. What about Canada? 

Sadly, I wasn't surprised to receive the following properly bureaucratic response from LAC Media Relations to a query about LAC digitization.

Over the next few years, Library and Archives Canada (LAC) will continue its multi-year effort to digitize some of the most heavily used segments of its reference collection to support digital access both on-site in our new joint facility, and for our clientele outside of the National Capital Region. Collections include our finding aids, city directories, photographs, and newspapers. Material that is free from copyright restrictions is regularly added to LAC’s website, a process which will continue up to and also after the opening of our new location in downtown Ottawa.

Don't let the verbiage fool you: LAC is investing less on digitization now than it has in the past.

Families of the 1918 Pandemic

Brigham Young University's Family History Technology Lab researchers teamed up with FamilySearch to produce a database of 1918 influenza deaths. Researchers used handwriting recognition software to read the cause of death from death certificates. 

The database includes people who died from influenza in 10 states (Delaware, Massachusetts, Idaho, Iowa, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah), with seven states more in progress. 

To search for a person you need to select a state, then a county. That produces a table of name, lifespan and cause of death. Clicking on the name reveals a nicely-formatted panel with personal and contextual information.

Explore other projects of the Brigham Young University's Family History Technology Lab.

17 February 2021

BIFHSGO Open House

Today, Wednesday 17 February at 7:30 pm, you are invited to join some of us from the British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa for an Open House on Zoom. 

It's open to all with an interest in family history, not just members, especially those with ancestry in the British Isles. You can ask questions about Ontario Land Records or PowerPoint Presentations with the presenters and chat with Board members and special interest group leaders. 

If you can't make that there's another opportunity, twice the fun, on Friday 19 February 2:00 pm,

Wednesday 17 February 7:30 pm Register
Friday 19 February 2:00 pm Register

Resumption of LAC copy services and on-site consultations

O​n 22 February, following Ontario easing health and safety restrictions, Library and Archives Canada will resume its copy services and gradually reopen the research and consultation rooms at 395 Wellington Street.

New reservations starting the week of 8 March can be made starting 22 February. Researchers who had reservations in January that were cancelled due to the closure will be contacted shortly to reschedule between 23 February and 5 March. There is no mention regarding microfilm access which was closed prior to the current lockdown.

Find out more at 
https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/news/Pages/2021/resumption-of-copy-services-and-on-site-consultations-in-ottawa.aspx

16 February 2021

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 16 February 2 pm: Virtual Genealogy Drop-In, from Ottawa Branch of OGS and The Ottawa Public Library. Join here.

Tuesday 16 February 8 pm: A Family for Suzanne, by Ruth Randall for Legacy Family Tree Webinars
https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar_details.php?webinar_id=1588

Wednesday 17 February 11 am: British History Q/A, by Myko Clelland for Findmypast
www.facebook.com/findmypast

Wednesday 17 February 2 pm: Shoot Like a Pro: How to Record Quality Videos Using Your Mobile Device, by Elizabeth M. O'Neal for Legacy Family Tree Webinars.
https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar_details.php?webinar_id=1615

Wednesday 17 February 3 pm: In Print – Here, There and Everywhere: Newspaper Collections in National Libraries worldwide, by Michelle Patient for the Guild of One-Name Studies.
https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/7375679442469478671

Thursday 18 February 11 am: Tracing LGBT Ancestors, by Mary McKee and Bill Rossini for Findmypast
www.facebook.com/findmypast

🇨🇦 Friday 19 February 7 pm: They Put Down Roots: African American freedom seekers and their Niagara descendants. by Rochelle Bush for Niagara Branch of OGS. 
https://niagara.ogs.on.ca/events/niagara-peninsula-branch-they-put-down-roots-african-american-freedom-seekers-and-their-niagara-descendants/

🇨🇦 Friday 19 February 2 pm: How to locate an ancestor in Ontario, Canada West or Upper Canada (when you don’t know where they lived), by Janice Nickerson for Legacy Family Tree Webinars.
https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar_details.php?webinar_id=1662

🇨🇦 Saturday 20 February 10:30 am: The World War One Letters of George Gallie Nasmith: A Genealogical Adventure, by Patty McGregor for Kingston Branch of OGS.
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYpc-6trjIjGdHzvhtb5fS7tHH0i84P-ZTi

🇨🇦 Saturday 20 February 1 pm: Portable Genealogy: You Can Take It With You, by Bob Dawes for Quinte Branch of OGS
https://quinte.ogs.on.ca/2021/02/07/february-20-portable-genealogy-you-can-take-it-with-you/

A reminder, RootsTech starts next week. It's free online. You need to register if you haven't. It will run 24 hours a day with pre-recorded "class" sessions which will be available for months after the conference. No need to stay up until the wee hours. The exception is the "celebrity" sessions. The link for more information and registration is:

https://www.rootstech.org/?lang=eng


Book Review: Sharing your Family History Online: A Guide for Family Historians

The titles of UK publisher Pen and Sword's family history books are almost invariably "Tracing Your ..."  This book is listed in that well-known series but the title breaks the mould. 

The introduction gets personal, recounting author Chris Paton's path into family history, some of it before the days when so much was available online. The following chapters are:

Chapter 1 Researching Your Family History
Chapter 2 Communication and Social Media
Chapter 3 Collaboration and Crowdsourcing
Chapter 4 Recording Your Family History
Chapter 5 DNA: it’s in the blood
Chapter 6 Sharing and Preserving Stories.

There's a detailed table of contents here.

The coverage is comprehensive, the plethora of resources means decisions had to be made about what to include and what to leave out. That's made easier by the clear focus on the UK along with good coverage of general utilities, like Facebook. I was a bit surprised that DeceasedOnline and Google Alerts didn't make the cut while there were other resources new to me. 

I can heartily recommend the book as a reference—it's full of substance. That means it's best taken slowly, pausing to explore the online resources as they arise and meet your needs. I can imagine each chapter forming the basis for a small group discussion. 

As I often do, I checked the book for readability using one of the online utilities. In three one-page extracts it was rated as between grade 13 to 15, college level readability.

Sharing Your Family History Online (Paperback)

A Guide for Family Historians

By Chris Paton
Imprint: Pen & Sword Family History
Series: Tracing Your Ancestors
Pages: 144
Illustrations: 40 black and white illustrations
ISBN: 9781526780294
Published: 9th February 2021

15 February 2021

Two History Podcasts

A couple of podcasts I enjoyed this weekend.

Victorian pet cemeteries: animals in the afterlife
In the 19th century, devoted pet-owners established Britain’s first pet cemeteries. Dr Eric Tourigny of Newcastle University, who has been analyzing inscriptions on animal gravestones dating back to the 1880s, explains what they tell us about Victorian attitudes to animals, and how Britain became a nation of pet lovers.
From History Extra and BBC History Magazine.

 
The Capitol Attack of 1861
February 13, 1861. Abraham Lincoln is supposed to be affirmed when the electoral votes are counted in the US Capitol building, but on the morning of the count, hundreds of anti-Lincoln rioters storm the building. Their goal: to stop the electoral count. What happened when a mob of anti-Lincoln rioters tried to take over the US Capitol? And how did American democracy handle the test? Ted Widmer, distinguished lecturer at the Macaulay Honors College at CUNY and author of "Lincoln on the Verge: Thirteen Days to Washington" is the guest expert.
From (US) HISTORY This Week

Gloucestershire updates

Ancestry has added records to the title Gloucestershire, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1938 for Tewkesbury, from 1804-1812. The update increases the total in the collection from 1,489,053 records at the last update noted here in December 2015 to 1,492,756. The original Tewkesbury records are at the Gloucestershire Archives (P329/1/IN/1/14).

Gloucestershire researchers may find joy in some of the archive material received at the Gloucestershire Archives during 2020. It includes Tetbury parish records (1765-2018), ''Newnham in the news'' notes from the Gloucester Journal (1799-1902), Shipton Moyne parish records (1889-2016), Gloucester Royal Infirmary (1886-1961), St Stephen's Church, Cheltenham (1885-2016), and much more. Find the complete list at https://www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/media/2104193/2020-gloucestershire-archives-accessions.pdf

Monday Memories: Matchbooks

Over the years I've collected matchbooks from hotels and restaurants, even banks I've patronized. They were a keepsake when I picked them up. Now I'm thinking they will be a prompt for memory when I write about episodes in my life. While arranging the montage they brought back memories.

They go back to at least the mid-1970s. There's one for the restaurant in Portugal where I celebrated by 40th.

Even if we could travel in these COVID times I doubt we'd find many places giving out matchbooks. I don't miss the cigarette smoke.

Do you have prompts for memory you've collected over the years?


14 February 2021

Sunday Sundries

Miscellaneous items I found of interest during the week.

Happy Valentine's Day! In Ottawa, it's also the day when snow on the ground is deepest - 31 cm. It is cold but we're past the coldest part of the year, the sun rises earlier each day, sets later, and rises higher above the horizon. Let's hope we get an effective vaccine before it all goes into reverse.

Round the Horne: The Eiffel Tower is Stolen
One of many episodes of the BBC radio program from the mid-1960s now on YouTube. Dated in many parts; good for nostalgia. I recall one line from the original broadcast.

MyHeritage presents Abraham Lincoln As You’ve Never Seen Him Before

Durex condoms: how their teenage immigrant inventor was forgotten by history

The science behind why hobbies can improve our mental health

How Long Can COVID Cases Keep Plummeting?

Good news on the Montreal Star digitization
Gail Dever has long been on a campaign. BANQ is to make it happen.

Thanks to this week's contributors: Anonymous, BT, Btyclk, Nancy Frey, Sophronia, Unknown 

Aberdeenshire Poor Relief Records

According to Chris Paton's BritishGENES blog, indexes to Aberdeenshire poor relief records applications are freely accessible on the Aberdeen and North East Scotland Family History Society website at http://www.anesfhs.org.uk/databank/plindex/plindex.php. The period covered is 1845-1900 for surviving registers of Aberdeenshire, Banffshire, Kincardine and Moray. The records are applications, general register and children's separate register. 

Information returned is sparse, it is an index. For example: Alexander Reid; Peterhead; Gen Reg (AC 6/64/14) p988; 1892. The full register entry can be obtained from the Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Archives. Check out their additional Poor Relief holdings here.

13 February 2021

MyHeritage adds United States, Border Crossings from Canada, 1895-1956

MyHeritage moves to fill a hole in its collection, 12,398,842 records from manifests and other border crossing records of US citizens and others entering the United States through Canada at various ports of entry from 1895 to 1956. 

The most common information available includes the individual’s name, age, gender, date of arrival, and arrival port. The records may also include marital status, birth date, birth place, last residence, destination, the port of departure, and nationality--as well as the names and addresses of family members both in the United States and the home country.

About 2.2 million are stated as having been born in Canada, 521 thousand in England, 323 in the US, 237 thousand in Scotland, 207 thousand in Russia, 98 thousand in Ireland, 83 thousand in Poland, 33 thousand in Germany, 29 thousand in France, 22 thousand in Wales. 31 thousand gave Ottawa as their place of birth.

This is a collection you'll often see linked to St. Alban's, Vermont, as in the FamilySearch title Vermont, St. Albans Canadian Border Crossings, 1895-1954. I've had more than one query wondering why people out west crossed at St. Alban's—they didn't, it's just the title of the collection.

Lloyd George Domesday Survey records on TheGenealogist top over 800,000 individuals

With latest release, another 98,618 individuals from Southwark, TheGenealogist now has over 800,000 individuals in its unique online Lloyd George Domesday Survey. These property records are of particular interest to researchers searching for where an ancestor lived in the period 1910-1915.

Find out more in the press release which illustrates the use by exploring the family of Oscar-winning actor Sir Michael Caine.

Findmypast Weekly Update

It's another week of fairly thin pickings, just over 23,000 baptism, marriage and burial records added from Denbighshire in north-east Wales.

Over 7,800 new baptisms
Over 11,200 new marriages
Over 4,500 new burials

All from the parishes of Ruthin and Llanrhydd. 

Other additions are Antigua, Petition Of The Coloured Inhabitants 1830 with over 300 records as well as six new Caribbean papers, the first newspaper additions from New Zealand and, additional pages in seven English newspapers.

12 February 2021

Prompts for Family History Stories

This press release from Ancestry.ca reminded me of a conversation earlier in the week.

GET CLOSER TO YOUR FAMILY, EVEN WHEN APART:  ANCESTRY® REVEALS THE 12 QUESTIONS TO ASK YOUR FAMILY

TORONTO, ON. February 11, 2021 – Ancestry®, the global leader in family history, reveals that three quarters (74 per cent) of Canadians wish they knew more about their families[1]. As Canadians continue to live in an extended period of lockdown, keeping in touch with loved ones is often top of mind, particularly at a time when we cannot all be physically together.

Despite Canadians itching to learn more about their family history and half (50 per cent) stating that family stories are a great conversation starter, a quarter of those polled don’t know where their grandparents were born, and 15 per cent do not know their grandparents’ full names.

While the desire is there, Canadians struggle to get the conversation started with previous generations when it comes to family history. To remedy this situation, Ancestry® has worked with genealogist and family history expert, Lesley Anderson to develop 12 questions that will help people learn more about their family history.

Discussing family history and stories from the past helps us feel more connected to our family and helps older relatives in times like this feel more connected to younger generations. Family video chats can be fun, but for many people topics of discussion are starting to dwindle, so consider asking these 12 questions at your next virtual gathering:

12 Questions to Ask Your Family:

What are your earliest memories?
What do you remember about your grandparents, aunts, and uncles?
What were your parents like and what are your clearest memories of them?
What memories stand out from your school days?
Who were your best friends in childhood and what did you get up to together?
Who was your first crush or first love, and what can you remember about them?
What do you remember about your first job and what was it like doing what you did for a living?
How did you meet your husband/wife/partner and what can you remember about your wedding?
Where was your first home, and what was it like getting your own home for the first time?
What was it like having your first child?
What memories do you have of raising your children and what did they get up to when they were young?

If you were to write your life story for future generations, what other stories would you want them to hear?

 “I was quite young when I started looking into my family history and thankfully, I was able to ask my Nana what she knew about our ancestors. She told me the story of her mother being orphaned when my Nana’s grandmother died of Typhoid after a flood and had to go and live on a farm with her elderly grandparents,’’ said Lesley Anderson, Family History expert at Ancestry®. “Finding her in the 1871 census living at Windwhistle farm as an 8-year-old confirmed that story and seeing her in the records told me more about her life.  And happily - I was able to go to England and visit the farm!”

The twelve questions are a great place to start and can help uncover more about your own family history but for those wanting to learn more, visit www.ancestry.ca.

The conversation I had was about StoryWorth. The person I spoke to was getting weekly questions, story prompts, developed by the company, the gift of a loved one. They prompted her to write one page, more or less, which at the end of the year would be bound in a keepsake book. She said she felt confident that dividing the writing task into bite-sized chunks was likely to mean she'd have a book at the end of the year she'd never otherwise have produced.

There are likely other companies than US-based StoryWorth providing a similar service. Do you have experience with any other?


BIFHSGO Monthly Meeting: The Ragman's Children

Don't miss it! Online registration required.

🇨🇦 Saturday 13 February 10 am: The Ragman’s Children: A Story of 19th-Century Economic Migration, by Christine Jackson for BIFHSGO. https://bifhsgo.ca/eventListings.php?nm=127#er558

"In August 1867, arriving in London’s East End from Amsterdam and making their way to the Dutch Jewish enclave in Whitechapel’s Spitalfields sector, Christine Jackson’s youthful great-grandparents must have wondered why they had left one slum neighbourhood for another. Eighty years later in struggling post-WW II Britain, their descendants described their immigrant ancestors as successful tobacco and diamond merchants living in London in large houses with servants and owning a cigar factory; it all seemed wildly incongruous.

In 2003–04, lacking any direct links to the era, Christine and her cousin Rod determined to unravel that family story. They found that the Internet, then about to change genealogy forever, not only helped to reconstruct their family’s place in Victorian and pre-WW I eras, but also revealed its humble origins in The Netherlands. Christine will tell us about their search and its results.

About the Speaker
A family historian for more than 40 years and active member of BIFHSGO since 2002, Christine Jackson has made presentations to BIFHSGO and other regional societies on her Sussex County ancestry and on the results of her three-year research project on the history of the Ottawa Valley’s Cowley family. Her articles on these topics have been published both here and in England. One of Christine’s four grandparents however was not born and raised in Sussex, but was part of a family of economic migrants to England from Continental Europe. She researched this family with a cousin when the Internet was a relatively new tool in the genealogical toolbox."

FreeBMD February Update

The FreeBMD Database was updated on Thursday 11 February 2021 to contain 278,743,782  unique records (278,329,114 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/

11 February 2021

Newspapers.‌com™ Unimpeachable President's Day Weekend

From Thursday, 11 February to Monday, 15 February at 11:59pm Mountain Time, take advantage of FREE access to Newspapers.‌com™ during the President's Day weekend in the United States. 

Newspapers.com claims to be the largest online newspaper archive with 636 million+ pages of historical newspapers. Canada does not have a President (yet?) but is well represented in newspapers.com. Any time I'm researching a Canadian historical topic I now turn to the newspapers digitized there. An invaluable resource. They include:

Calgary Herald
Edmonton Journal
Montreal Gazette
Ottawa Citizen
Regina Leader Post
Saskatoon Star Pheonix
Vancouver Province
Vancouver Sun
Whitehorse Daily Star
Windsor Star

Those are just those with over one million pages, including more recent issues in the Publisher's Extra premium subscription available during this FREE access period. Not listed is the Ottawa Journal with a full run of 843,608 pages from 1885 to 1980, and it doesn't require a premium subscription.

Register for the FREE ACCESS HERE.

OPL-LAC Joint Facility Gets Greener. What else?

On Monday there was an announcement that the joint OPL-LAC facility to start construction in Ottawa this year will move from LEED Gold to net-zero carbon. The Federal Government is contributing an additional $20 million. The press release is here.

There is an accompanying backgrounder. Further information is in a document for the OPL Board Meeting of 9 February.

A connection to the federal government's heating and cooling district energy system (DES) is planned. That system presently uses fossil-fuels although conversion to net zero-carbon is planned. It is not clear how the OPL-LAC building will interact with the DES to remain carbon-neutral.

Another item in the backgrounder to "make the new facility a sustainable building" is "digitized tools and content at LAC to reduce the need for researchers to commute to Ottawa."  I have emailed LAC for further information.


10 February 2021

MyHeritage Grants Free Access to Marriage Records for Valentine’s Day

Starting today 10 February, until the 16th, MyHeritage is opening up all its marriage records. 

MyHeritage offers 158 marriage collections with 462,808,849 records in all. It includes records, sometimes indexes, for England and Wales, Germany, Netherlands, Spain, France, Norway, Scotland, Denmark, Sweden, Italy, Ireland, and Finland—that's in order of the number of records for titles with more than one million entries.

During this limited-time offer, you’ll be able to access these records freely even if you’re not a paid subscriber. Access to these collections will be free, but free registration will be required for non-MyHeritage users.

Find out more at https://blog.myheritage.com/2021/02/free-access-to-marriage-records-on-myheritage-this-valentines-day/

Cinema Memory and the Digital Archive

Were you named for a movie star? Did your British ancestors go to the cinema?

Building on work at the University of Lancaster, Cinema Memory and the Digital Archive helps researchers and the public in their quest for information about the silver screen in the 1930s and beyond.

The website features pictures, postcards and other memorabilia from 1930s cinemagoing in Britain, a period when going to the cinema was at its height.

At present, the website has about 30 interviews, planned to grow to 100 by September, with people who were enthusiastic cinemagoers during that decade.

https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/fass/projects/cmda/

09 February 2021

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 9 February 2 pm: Virtual Genealogy Drop-In, from Ottawa Branch  OGS and The Ottawa Public Library. Join here.

Tuesday 9 February 2 pm: Making the most of MyHeritage resources with the Help Center, Knowledge Base, and site settings, by Daniel Horowitz for MyHeritage and Legacy Family Tree Webinars. https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar_details.php?webinar_id=1686

🇨🇦 Tuesday 9 February 7 pm: From the Outside Looking In : Paying Tribute to Essex County’s Black Canadian Families, by Lorene Bridgen-Lennie for Essex County Branch of OGS.
 https://essex.ogs.on.ca/events/from-the-outside-looking-in-paying-tribute-to-essex-countys-black-canadian-families/

Wednesday 10 February 11 am: Family History Resources for Queer Research, by Mary McKee and Justin Bengry for Findmypast. www.facebook.com/findmypast

Thursday 11 February 6:30 pm: Breaking through the Brick Wall: 14 Steps for Re-thinking and Solving Genealogical Problems, by John Beatty for Allen Country Public Library Genealogy Center. https://acpl.libnet.info/event/4825374

🇨🇦 Thursday 11 February 6:30 pm: Exploring the Wonder of English Records, by Kirsty Gray for Lambton County Branch of OGS. Register at https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0tc-mgpj4oG9Kxrefl3bYfurM-93F9gN5b

Friday 12 February 11 am: Friday Live with Alex Cox for Findmypast.  www.facebook.com/findmypast

🇨🇦 Saturday 13 February 10 am: The Ragman’s Children: A Story of 19th-Century Economic Migration, by Christine Jackson for BIFHSGO. https://bifhsgo.ca/eventListings.php?nm=127#er558

08 February 2021

Western Front Association Project ALIAS

There's a new, easily searchable database of men who were killed during or immediately after the war who used a name different to their real name for the purposes of their military service. 

Project ALIAS volunteers from the WFA have increased the number of these men who have been identified as using pseudonyms from approximately 3,500. The new pdf database is 391 pages with typically 50 names per page.

I checked and one person I know of, buried at Ottawa's Beechwood Cemetery, is included.

Download the pdf from https://www.westernfrontassociation.com/world-war-i-articles/project-alias-the-results-and-a-searchable-database

Register for GENE-O-RAMA

The program for the 35th (almost annual) GENE-O-RAMA is set and registration is open. It's virtual for the first time.

The Pat Horan Memorial Lecture gets things underway on 27 March with Thomas MacEntee speaking on
Successful Collateral and Cluster Searching. That's followed by a mix of local speakers you're sure to recognize and some from further afield.

Find out more and register at https://ottawa.ogs.on.ca/geneorama


Forthcomming Genealogy Books

As listed by Amazon.ca

30 March 2021: The Lost Family: How DNA Testing Is Upending Who We Are. by Libby Copeland, paperback, published by Abrams Press.

27 May 2021: The British Census, by Simon Smith, Kindle, published by Shire Publications,

30 June 2021: Tracing Your First World War Ancestors: A Guide for Family Historians, by Simon Fowler, 2nd edition, paperback,  published by Pen and Sword.

27 July 2021: The British Census, by Simon Smith, paperback, published by Shire Publications.

31 Aug 2021: Tracing Your Theatrical Ancestors: A Guide for Family Historians, by Katharine M Cockin, paperback,  published by Pen and Sword/


O/T: How to Back Up Your Most Important Emails

What happens if something in the cloud breaks, or your connection to the internet does? What if your account gets banned or closed for whatever reason, and all of your email goes with it? 

Suggestions from WIRED at https://www.wired.com/story/how-to-back-up-email/


07 February 2021

Sunday Sundries

Miscellaneous items I found of interest during the week.

Beyond 2022
A Virtual Record Treasury for Irish history—an open-access, virtual reconstruction of the Record Treasury destroyed in 1922.

Welsh Gov U-turns on National Library of Wales cuts

MyHeritage Knowledge Base
Educational content to master your skills and help you make the most of your research.

Introducing The Extra Life Project

Facial Recognition Technology is now Capable of Identifying Political Views

The Only Carbon Capture Plant in the U.S. Just Closed

Sonification of US COVID-19 Deaths


Thanks to this week's contributors: Anonymous, BT, Crista Cowan, JUDITH, K, KAYTHEGARDENER, Midnightblue, Unknown


UK-Canada Treasury

I've mentioned the UK to Canada blog previously, the initiative of Penny Allen. Penny is a Canadian, social-media-savvy librarian-genealogist who lives in England.

Penny's articles will help you find "those 'unique' and hidden genealogy resources for UK ancestors who went to Canada."

Check it out at http://tinyurl.com/yat7cfew

06 February 2021

Who Do You Think Are The Top Tweeters? — Redux

I won't run this every week, but was interested to see how consistent results from last week are with those for this. Google the user names and be surprised how many are in the UK.
User of #genealogyTweets User of #familyhistoryTweets
FamilyTreeTips2193 FamilyTreeTips2137
Heirs2U104 Heirs2U67
marksology63 chiddickstree54
chiddickstree61 GenesBlog53
GenesBlog57 ConfKeep50
BeyondBrickWal156 BeyondBrickWal146
ConfKeep50 OnePlaceStudies33
BBPetura49 CaroleParkes131
sillymummyft49 scottishindexes29
bonavacantia135 STTBooks29
MernaForster30 geneastories26
MariaCCapaldi29 VHughesAuthor22
GenealogyWise26 YFH_genealogy22
MarianBWood26 MarianBWood21
OnePlaceStudies26 BBPetura20
GeneaStudies25 FamilyHistoryUK20
pennysresearch25 ancestryhour19
ngsgenealogy24 GeneaStudies17
packrat7424 Passionflower9916
YFH_genealogy23 GenealogyWise15

Somebody asked if I could do a similar analysis for Facebook. Sadly, there's no app for that!

Findmypast Weekly Update

The headline item in FMP's weekly releases is New York Catholic Parish Registers Browse. It includes additions from Harlem, The Bronx, Yonkers and Ulster County.

For the UK, there's an exclusive title Shropshire Quarter Sessions Rolls Index, 1831-1920. As an index the information about each of the nearly 400,000 people named is sparse. About 160,000 are for document type inquisitions — jurors at an inquest. FMP has a useful list and explanation of the various document types at https://www.findmypast.com/articles/shropshire-quarter-sessions-document-types

Yorkshire, Ecclesall Bierlow Workhouse Admissions 1883-1915 has 21,653 index entries to this workhouse covering parts of Yorkshire and Derbyshire. Information in the index includes name, date of birth, date of admission and occupation.

05 February 2021

New Titles in the Héritage Collection

Progress. Starting on 29 January Canadiana.ca has added nine microfilms to its Héritage collection, the first additions in many months. With the exception of the first title, they seem unlikely to relate to immigrants or migrants from Eastern Canada.

TitlePublication DateIdentifier
Canada. Department of the Interior : Letters patent (Western Land Grants)1909-1910C-6246
Department of Indian Affairs, Headquarters central registry system : First series1896-1950C-8096
Department of Indian Affairs, Headquarters central registry system : First series1915-1947C-8093
Department of Indian Affairs, Headquarters central registry system : Black series1879-1921C-10123
Department of Indian Affairs, Headquarters central registry system : Black series1889-1924C-10164
Department of Indian Affairs, Headquarters central registry system : Black series1898-1927C-10202
Department of Indian Affairs, Headquarters central registry system : thousand series1886-1939C-12060
Department of Indian Affairs, Headquarters central registry system : thousand series1928-1948C-12075
Department of Indian Affairs, Headquarters central registry system : thousand series1903-1945C-12123
Department of Indian Affairs, Headquarters central registry system : red series1863-1942C-12777

Links to the complete list with links to the individual digital microfilms are here. To find out about the contents, often a mixed bag, I suggest googling the title. One of the first hits will likely be a page at Canadiana Héritage like this that includes, under the About tab, a description of the contents.