Re Jack Layton Relatives

Will the relative who sent an anonymous comment please send an email contact address and I'd be happy to supply additional information. As comments are moderated it will not be posted.

Canadian newspapers at World Vital Records

Malcolm Moody at Archive CD Books Canada alerted me to yet more Canadian newspaper content appearing on the World Vital Records (WVR) service. The press release is here.

As pointed out before, this is mainly content that has been freely available from paperofrecord.com. The largest part of the digitized collection now being added is the Temiskaming Speaker, 1905-2001 (9.4 million names) and not now at Paper of Record.

World Vital Records continues to grow its offerings through its strategy as a consolidator, putting together a package of materials previously available elsewhere. For example, Archive CD Books Canada's collection of CDs searchable on the WVR site and the UK census collection from Find My Past.

Admiral Lord Nelson

29 September 2008, the 250th anniversary of the birth of Admiral Lord Nelson at Burnham Thorpe, Norfolk, is being celebrated in the county and across Britain.

He was Britain's greatest naval hero, and known for his handicaps. His lost arm and eye are legendary well beyond Britain.

There is the story of prisoners, a mix of civilian and military, captured from a ship sunk during WW2. The civilians were to be released, the soldiers sent for incarceration in POW camps in Germany. A passenger was suspected by the Germans to be a soldier. Desperately he pointed to his obvious glass eye and said that it proved his civilian status, in response to which a German asked if anybody had ever heard of Nelson.

An article in the Eastern Daily Press mentions that the frail Admiral suffered a catalogue of other injuries and illnesses at sea before his death at Trafalgar in 1805. As well as musket ball wounds, he was also beset by malaria, scurvy, dysentery, heart-stroke, toothache and - unhelpfully for a naval man - seasickness.

Read more about Nelson here

Jack Layton relatives

The correct answer to the Whose Relatives -III posting is NDP head honcho Jack Layton. Ancestors on his father's side had last names Biggers, Carter, Craddock, England, Farmer, Gibson, Gilbert, Grimmett.

John Gilbert "Jack" Layton is the son of former PC cabinet minister Robert Layton(1925 - 2002) and Doris Steeves. Through his mother's line he's related to, although not descended from, a Father of Confederation.

His great grandfather was Philip Edward David Layton, a blind activist immigrant to Montreal from England, son of Philip Layton a London-based "artist in wood," born in Northamptonshire.

Genealogy in London, in Toronto

The early registration deadline is approaching for the Toronto Branch of OGS workshop GENEALOGY IN LONDON.

Most English people have ancestors or relatives who lived at least some of their life in London; and there are certainly records of your English ancestors in London wherever they lived. This is a not-to-be-missed opportunity if you live within striking distance of Toronto. You save $5 if you register before October 3. Be sure to reserve a spot before the registration reaches its limit.

The lead-off speaker is Else Churchill, Genealogy Officer of the Society of Genealogists in London, with a plenary presentation on London’s World of Genealogy. We chose Else as the keynote speaker for the BIFHSGO conference some years ago. I wouldn't want to miss the opportunity to hear her again.

After that you have to make a choice, mostly a difficult choice, between two sessions. The information on the presentations and speakers is here, along with registration details.

You may notice a presentation Bereft of Life, They Rest in Peace. But Where? by some guy named John D Reid, about finding burials in London. Do you recognize the allusion to popular culture in the title? Click here and listen carefully around 2:30.

I'm especially keen to attend Alison Hare's presentation The Time of Cholera. Alison gave a fascinating short talk about London’s cholera epidemic of 1854, and her ancestor who was a victim, some years ago for BIFHSGO. This will be her first presentation on her much more extensive, and trademark careful research on the epidemic and victims previously only identified by initials. It's one I wouldn't miss, even if I do have to go to Toronto to hear from an Ottawa-based colleague and miss out on a presentation by Phillip Dunn, Senior Consultant at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, in the parallel session.

The workshop is on Saturday, November 8, 2008 at the North York Central Library Auditorium, 5120 Yonge Street, Toronto, by the North York Centre subway station.

What matters most to Canadians?

I must confess, I was wrong. In an earlier posting I complained that CBC TV ignores Canadian history. But last Thursday, in full prime time, CBC TV aired a program "The Mystery of Champlain."

It was shown as an episode of DOC ZONE, a series that "explores the major stories of our time" and ... "bring(s) viewers a sweeping panoramic view of what matters most to Canadians."

Thank you CBC TV for latching on to the real story which has so many of us preoccupied.

While the pundits would have us believe Canadians are hotly debating the elections, north and south of the border, an economic crisis and what to do about global climate change, only CBC TV DOC ZONE programmers are perspicacious enough to realize that the issues gripping the nation are the mystery of what Champlain looked like, and how he managed to compile such accurate maps.

I should never have complained. Better to ignore Canadian history than spend good money on this miserable effort more likely to drive people away than interest them.

The future of microfilm

Microfilm is part of any serious genealogist’s life. We love it as it allows us to inspect images of original sources, often far from where the originals are housed and at an affordable cost.

It's also part of our nightmares. We hate it for the cumbersome readers, the ways it can be incompatibly wound on the reel, the spindle that won't fit the hole in the centre, sequential only access, eyestrain, and nausea induced by scrolling images.

What’s the future of microfilm?

The Genealogy Blog at GeneaNet has an interesting article which, in a nutshell, says microfilm has a future, but largely as a storage medium, not a distribution medium for use at the consumer level.

It can't happen fast enough.

Scottish maps

The National Library of Scotland has a collection of over 6,000 maps, high-resolution and zoomable for the Kingdom. You'll find whole country maps starting in the 16th century, county maps, town maps and views, marine and Admiralty charts, military, Ordnance Survey and estate maps. Even areas associated with some of my English ancestry, from the debatable lands, north of Hadrian's Wall but not in Scotland, is well represented in the collection.

Local population studies

During her lectures at last weekend's BIFHSGO conference Sherry Irvine stressed the value of seeing your ancestors in the context of social trends of the time. One of the free resources that she pointed to, previously unknown to me, is back issues of the journal Local Population Studies.

First published as a newsletter and magazine in 1968, it evolved to become a more formal journal. "It is published bi-annually and is the world's only journal on matters relating to population within a local or community context. Its emphasis is on Great Britain, but occasional articles about other local communities are published."

Expect a real mixed bag of articles. Was an ancestor named Victoria? Find out about the trends in the use of the Queen's name here. What was the population, and personal, impact of a major mining disaster on a small coal mining community in 1860s Northumberland?

It's worth browsing the tables of contents. Unfortunately the series is not computer searchable.

A good cup of tea

Prior to the BIFHSGO conference Chris Watts and I went to Upper Canada Village, and on our way out stopped for a cup of tea at the cafe by the entrance. It demonstrated well what's wrong with most North American tea, including only having stewed, not fresh boiling water available to make it.

If you don't know how to make a good cup of tea take a look at this 1941 film or, if you use teabags try this 1955 film.

These are two of nearly 200 British offerings on YouTube from the British Film Institute.

Thanks to Ridge Williams for the tip (on the BFI films, not the tea).

Great speakers at the BIFHSGO conference

I've never enjoyed a family history conference so much as the British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa conference this past weekend.

The four out of town speakers, Sherry Irvine, Chris Watts, Marian Press and Gary Schroder all attracted large and attentive audiences, answered lots of questions at the end of each of their sessions and in the hallway afterwards.

For those in Toronto, don't miss Chris Watts presentation this (Monday 22 September) evening for the Toronto Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society.

Presentations by local experts Jeffrey Murray, Jane Down, Lesley Anderson, Alison Hare and Glenn Wright were also well attended. I want to especially thank Lesley Anderson who not only made a conference presentation but also chaired a session, took a turn at the consultation desk and gave another talk at the pre-conference seminar. Lesley is seemingly tireless, volunteering at the Ottawa Family History Center, teaching genealogy and computer skills for the Ottawa Catholic School Board and serving as consultant for Ancestry.ca.

Others who spoke at pre-conference sessions were June Coxon, Elizabeth Kipp, Jeanette Logan and Rick Roberts.

Many attendees went away with copies of Finding Your Canadian Ancestor's, Sherry Irvine's book, co-authored with Dave Obee, signed by Sherry and purchased from the largest stand at the marketplace, that of Global Genealogy.

I discovered a few new (to me) resources at the conference that I'll mention in upcoming posts.

Whose relatives - III?

Which current Canadian public political figure appears to have ancestors on the father's side with the following last names?

Biggers, Carter, Craddock, England, Farmer, Gibson, Gilbert, Grimmett.

Post your guess as a comment.

Today's world of genealogy

It was a long long time ago. Before 9/11. Before 7/7. Before George W. Bush became US President and Stephen Harper became a Canadian political party leader. Before filming of the Harry Potter books started. Before even the dot com bubble burst, a firm called Maritz conducted a poll that found 60 percent of Americans are interested in their family history. That was in 2000 and interest in genealogy was up 15 percent from a similar poll in 1996.

On 17 September 2008 the Sidney, Nebraska, Sun Telegraph, took that stale poll information and ran an article with a headline "Genealogy Becoming America's Number 1 Hobby."

It's time the genealogical community stopped propagating this false, or at best outdated message. Dick Eastman penned a column on this in 2006. One of many good points he made is that "If genealogy were truly as popular as our nation's interest in sports, at least one genealogy magazine would have a circulation similar to that of Sports Illustrated." He goes on to name Newsweek, Oprah Magazine, Boating Magazine, Field & Stream, This Old House, Travel & Leisure Magazine, Better Homes & Gardens, Popular Mechanics, various movie fan magazines as more popular.

At the time Dick was writing I could go to my local Chapters bookstore and buy a copy of Family Chronicle, Family Tree, or Your Family History (Tree). Today there's not a single genealogy magazine on sale at Ottawa's South Keys Chapters store.

It does no good to pretend we're still living in the world of 2000, if the situation described was ever the case. Dick points out reasons why that portrayal may not have been reliable in the first place.

There are plenty of real advancements in family history to make it appealing and maintain interest. Access to resources, especially online, was never so easy. Technology has given us a tool to decipher the natural genealogical record inscribed in our genes, and we're becoming better at reading that record by the day. Local newspapers and books are being digitized and made searchable. There are more educational opportunities than ever. More people than ever have researched their, and other's family history, compiled it and are making it available to others. Family history is in no danger of disappearing just because it may not be the #1, 2 or 3 hobby. Companies and organizations that are nimble enough to move along with advances will prosper, unlike those who continue to live in that perhaps mythical long past world.

Stephen Harper relatives

For those still wondering, the correct answer to the Whose Relatives -II posting is Stephen Harper, who has, according to Ancestry.com, the following notable relatives:

Robert L Borden, Jonathan Swift, Millard Fillmore, James A Garfield, R B Bennett, B F Skinner, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Spencer Tracy, Walt Disney, Gerald R. Ford, "Wild Bill" Hickok, Walt Whitman, Norman Rockwell, Joseph D. Ball (American serial killer), W. G. Grace, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and George Orwell.

Finding Your Canadian Ancestors, and friends

I shall be bringing my copy of Finding Your Canadian Ancestors by Sherry Irvine and Dave Obee to the BIFHSGO conference this weekend to ask Sherry to sign it. It already has Dave Obee's signature. It's a book I highly recommend. Even though the cover reads "A Beginner's Guide," as Sherry told me, we thought it unlikely Ancestry would publish another Canadian genealogy book so aimed to be more widely useful than to just beginners.

If you don't yet own a copy of Finding Your Canadian Ancestors Global Genealogy is bringing in a supply of this, and Sherry's other books.

The conference looks like a hit, from Sherry's opening Don Whiteside lecture in the Library and Archives Canada Auditorium starting at 7:30pm on Friday, admission to that is free, to the prize draw at the closing session on Sunday afternoon with prizes donated by Ancestry.ca, World Vital Records, Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter, and other products and services.

It's also a great social opportunity. I hope to see you there.

LAC Consultation

A panel on the LAC homepage, a consultation on services, just disappeared. No problem over that. It had been showing for some while and was getting stale; but was the consultation effective in soliciting the desired feedback?

Michael Geist has an insightful posting Public Policy Consultations No Field of Dreams stimulated by the release last week of the results of a CRTC public online consultation on new media. He comments that "by Internet standards the consultation failed to attract a large audience" Geist points to the following aspects of consultation 2.0:

- government consultations should resist the temptation to centralize the discussion within a single online forum;
- online public consultation needs more than a briefing document and a place to discuss;
- officials should engage in the consultation by participating in the resulting discussion;
- government must improve its response to public feedback.

If you only use the web as an alternate means of transmitting a consultation document, and receiving written comment, you're missing out on much of the potential. But that extra potential moves public servants, especially senior ones, from a familiar situation in which they feel comfortable, and exert considerable control, into something much less predictable.

Ancestry launches index to Canadian passenger lists: 1865-1935

Ancestry.ca has now launched online the indexed official collection of Canadian ship records - the Canadian Passenger Lists: 1865-1935. There is a launch event in Toronto on Tuesday.

This indexing has been a significant and protracted effort for Ancestry; the initiative was launched in May 2007.

Indexing was done from microfilm originally made in the 1940s and 1950s. It's often difficult to read and sometimes the ink had already faded before the records were filmed. Unfortunately that's the only option for a source; the original records were not retained. To be realistic expect problems with the indexing. I found Slater mis-transcribed as Sister.

Despite these problems I already found new information for my family, my great uncle and his new wife returning from San Francisco to Victoria, enroute to Tisdale, Sask.

The records released contain one significant gap, some of the years between 1919 and 1924 when an individual Form 30A was used. Different ports adopted Form 30A at different times. At the moment you'll still have to use microfilm for those cases. Ancestry will eventually be digitizing those records too.

In total more than 5.6 million people from across the world immigrated to Canada during this time period. According to Ancestry 37% of all Canadians today are direct descendants of those in this historic collection, plus many US citizens whose ancestors travelled via a Canadian port, or lived for a while Canada before moving south.

Save on DNA genealogy tests

Thinking of getting a Y-DNA (male line) test for genealogy? Prices are plummeting. Have they got a deal for you!

At Ancestry, for limited time, half price. A 33 marker Y-DNA test for $74.50, a 46 Y-DNA marker test for $99.50.

At Family Tree DNA, for new clients, a sizzling summer sale until 30 September. Get a 37 market Y-DNA test for only $20 more that the regular 12 marker group rate, or get a free mtDNA test with the regular group rate for a 12 marker Y-DNA test ($99).

FamilyBuilder: a new company mainly into social networking for genealogy, offers a 17-marker Y-DNA test for $59.95.

Before going for the lowest price, remember, you need more than just the analysis, a series of numbers that mean little to the average person? You want to know the significance for your genealogy.

If you have a relative, or suspected relative, with a Y-DNA result to compare your result with, perhaps to verify or disprove a common paternal ancestor, a basic analysis from any reliable company will suffice.

But, if you're looking to find people yet unknown to you whose Y-DNA matches yours, favour a company with a significant database of existing clients. Having completed your analysis their computer will attempt to find genetic matches for you. The larger the database, and the more people who test, the more chance of finding a match or close match.

Family Tree DNA claim on their web site that 9 out of 10 genealogists choose that company. That claim seems to be uncontested. As of 14 September 2008 FTDNA have 135,124 Y-DNA records in their database.

The times they are always a-changin'

I devoured the new issue of Anglo-Celtic Roots, the quarterly chronicle of the British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa, in one sitting on returning from September's monthly meeting. What was so enthralling was a series of articles on home children, many of them stories of adversity overcome.

Some people choose to look upon the saga of Canada's home children as one of social injustice. They focus on the sense of abandonment the child had to live with, for some mistreatment, hardships, and various difficulties along the way, which is the reality. The situation these children were in in Britain when they were orphaned or given up by an overwhelmed parent or next of kin is also reality.

Referring to conditions in Britain one of the articles expresses it "The life of an orphan could be brutal indeed and the benevolent societies, that we in retrospect are very critical of, came into being because of horrendous conditions some orphans and abandoned children lived under." Given the options of the day, not the desirable ones wishful thinkers might pretend, immigration to Canada under the auspices of a benevolent society, appears in most cases to have offered the least undesirable path.

Ancestors in the Attic - Brothers John

First broadcast on History Television Canada on 13 September 2008, the story is of a 70 year old man, an immigrant to Canada from Ireland in his childhood, looking for an elder brother who was left behind. Traditional records research localizes the area in Ireland and shows that the brother left behind was born before the mother married. The search for the brother is only successful when a newspaper article recounting the Irish brother's search for his birth family is stumbled upon. They are reunited in Ireland.

In the episodes of this third series aired so far the format has been simplified, and in my view improved. Concentrating on a single story per 30 minute episode, minus time for ads, provides more time to understand the people involved, explore their story and appreciate the research resources employed. One thing that has been lost is the web support to each episode which is now just a bare paragraph.