The Genealogist’s Best Friend

For those just getting into family history it’s easy to be overwhelmed.

Google “genealogy” and find well over 100 million hits. Where to start? One good place is your local library. Larger libraries often have one or more genealogy specialists. Your's may offer a free one-hour one-on-one consultation to help you start off on the right foot and focus your research. The resources available will depend on your ancestry. The librarians will be able to direct you to the most promising sources once they understand your particular needs.

If you’re moving beyond the beginner stage but still learning—a happy place to be—you may seek advice from someone you met through Facebook or another social network, a fellow member of your local family history society, or a volunteer at a nearby family history centre. Keep an eye out for educational opportunities being offered as webinars as well as in-person talks offered by a local society or your public library. These delve more deeply into all kinds of specialized topics such as genetic genealogy, military records or Jewish ancestry.

As you explore your family history in depth, beyond names and dates to your ancestor’s life and times, you’ll find libraries and librarians coming to the fore again.

Database resources are given ever more profile by libraries. Through library access to a collection of British newspapers online I have found a great-grandfather, a Church of England minister, being fined for keeping a dog without a licence. Another relative was convicted for purloining money from the bank where he worked, a third fined for selling fake patent medicine. A distant relative exhibited a contraption, the Tempest Prognosticator, at the 1851 Great Exhibition in London to forecast the weather based on jumping leeches. Look hard enough, if you dare, and you’re bound to find interesting stories in your ancestry!

The National Library of Australia’s magnificent Trove collection of digitized newspapers became the source for finding out about my father’s return from being a German prisoner of war in the Pacific in 1941. The Chronicling America digitized newspaper collection, made available through the Library of Congress, provided insight on the life of my relative who left England to join the US Army, serving in Texas.

Sadly Canada is lacking such a national collection online.

You’ll also want to consult maps. Many libraries have local collections. Online you can turn to national collections such as the National Library of Scotland website offering free high-resolution zoomable images of over 160,000 maps of Scotland, England and Wales. For locations further afield, consult the David Rumsey Historical Map Collection.

In word association tests library and book go together. Books, an essential resource for understanding historical context, remain the major component of today’s broad range of library services. Think about appropriate subject terms for a search in your local public library catalogue; probably online, as are those for major specialist, university and national libraries, often through WorldCat which brings together many of those catalogues. If that search finds a publication of interest not in the local library collection the librarian doesn't just throw up her hands. Interlibrary loan offered by most libraries will most often obtain it for you. That sets the librarian apart from the archivist, valuable in their own way, as they don't just focus on the resources in their own in-house collection.

While there may be a charge for an interlibrary loan many out of copyright digitized publications have free access through services such as the Internet Archive and Google Books. Your librarian can tell you about them. Not to be overlooked are specialist libraries, such as the Wellcome Library, one of the world's major resources for the study of medical history.

Libraries and librarians are about connecting people to the information they need and educating them about finding that information. That’s why they’re known as the genealogist’s best friends. Are you taking advantage of the free in-person and virtual services librarians and libraries have to offer?

Database updates this week

There are three updated Ancestry databases of possible interest to Canada's Anglo-Celtic Connections readers this week:

Somerset, England, Gaol Registers, 1807-1879  --- 101,284 records
U.S., Border Crossings from Canada to U.S., 1825-1960 --- 5,393,724 records
Dorset, England, Bastardy Records, 1725-1853 --- 4,928 records.

FamilySearch now lists two collections that are partially searchable:

UK, Scotland—Church of Scotland Synods, Presbyteries, and Kirk Sessions, 1658—1919
UK, Manchester—Central Library Parish Registers (Marriages), 1754–1936, Part 2

Ancestry adds Jersey parish records

Records from Jersey, the largest Channel Island, are the latest addition to Ancestry with 986,000 records and over 68,000 images including birth and burial records as far back as 1541:

Jersey, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1541-1812
Jersey, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1915
Jersey, Church of England Marriages, 1754-1940
Jersey, Church of England Deaths and Burials, 1813-1940

Jersey punched above its weight in terms of migration to Canada, especially Newfoundland and the Maritimes.

Findmypast adds Leicestershire and Rutland Parish Records

Findmypast's highlight this week is these nearly 3.5 million new records to search and browse provided from the Record Office for Leicestershire, Leicester & Rutland.

Leicestershire Parish Records: baptism, banns, marriage & burial records covering 50 parishes  back to the 16th century, over 1.8 million records;
Leicestershire Parish Records Browse: over 3,000 volumes;
Leicestershire Marriage Licences: 22,000 records between 1604 and 1891;
Leicestershire Marriage Licences Browse: over 75 volumes 1604-1891;
Leicestershire Wills and Probate Records: over 173,000 records, 1490-1941;
Leicestershire Wills and Probate Records Browse: over 971 volumes, 1490-1941;
Leicestershire Electoral Registers Browse: 3,862 volumes with thousands of names, 1836-1974;
and
Rutland Parish Records: baptisms, banns, marriage and burials from England's smallest county;
Rutland Parish Records Browse; over 460 volumes.

This is the first major record collection for England released this year, all records you won't find online with original images linked elsewhere.

Scottish Tapestry Exhibit at Main Branch, OPL

The Scottish Diaspora Tapestry project brings together stories from more than 33 communities, documenting their Scottish connections and stories in more than 300 embroidered panels.

If you can't get to the Scottish Genealogy Group meeting on Saturday, and even if you can, there's another opportunity to
see and learn about the determination, courage and achievement of global Scottish migration through the Scottish Diaspora Tapestry Exhibit at the Main Branch of the Ottawa Public Library.

 On Sunday, January 22, 2017 at 2 pm Jenny Bruce will give a presentation in the OPL Auditorium, Lower Level followed at 3:00 pm by a tour, beginning in the Foyer of the Main Floor. That's at the OPL Main Branch, 120 Metcalfe Street, Ottawa.

You do need to register in advance for free admission. All are welcome and light refreshments will be served after the presentation.

If you can`t make it on Sunday for the presentation, you can still see the Scottish Diaspora Tapestry exhibit at the Main Branch, Ottawa Public Library until January 25th, 2017 during regular library hours.

Thanks to Heather (MacLeod) Theoret of the Scottish Society of Ottawa for the tip.

Kingston Branch OGS January Meeting

Saturday 21 January, 2017 is the date for the next monthly meeting of the Kingston Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society. At the usual location, the Seniors Centre, 56 Francis Street, Kingston; the topic is Who Knew? Part 2: Members Report Interesting Discoveries, and the meeting begins at 10 am.

Ottawa Scottish Genealogy Special Interest Group Saturday Meeting

The group meets this Saturday, 21 January 2017, with an especially strong program.

At 10 am Sam Allison, who immigrated to Canada from Scotland in 1968 and lives in Brossard, Quebec, will speak on Tracking Highland Scots' Military Migration to Canada, 1759-1812.

Sam Allison was the 2016 recipient of the Gordon Atkinson Memorial Prize in Highland Military History, awarded annually by the Quebec Thistle Council.  His most recent book is Driv'n By Fortune.

At 11 am Jenny Bruce (good Scottish surname) will speak on Scottish Diaspora Tapestry, The Why, Who and How and its global journey.

The meeting is in Rooms 226 and 228, City of Ottawa Archives, 100 Tallwood Drive, Ottawa, Ontario

Toronto Weather History

This item is being posted on 19 January which is meteorological mid-winter in Ottawa, a couple of days later in Toronto. On average it gets warmer now. But there can be surprises.
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It's always encouraging when someone finds one of these blog posts helpful so I was pleased when the editor of the OGS Weekly eNews saw fit to reproduce the post of Daily Temperatures from the St. Lawrence River Valley in last weekend's edition. That source gives historic daily temperatures for Quebec City - Montreal and adjacent areas. As you move further away it will be less valid. I wouldn't want to trust it for Toronto daily temperatures.

Toronto has the first official daily weather records in Ontario, starting in March 1840. They were taken at a site near Varsity Stadium at 299 Bloor St W. Before official records there's the diary of Rev. Charles Dade, head of mathematics at Upper Canada College, then not far from Fort York. He took readings usually two or three times a day from January 1831 to April 1841. There is a gap from October 1838 to June 1839 when Dade returned to England, he was a native of Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, for the winter. Images of the diary up to that gap are online at http://heritage.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.lac_reel_c9164/631?r=0&s=3. The meteorological part of the journal, which gives daily wind direction and a bried description of conditions as well as temperatures, starts with 1 January 1831, image 392, and ends with image 634 for June 1837. Unfortunately it stops short of the rebellion of December 1837.

R. B. Crowe's Reconstruction of Toronto Temperatures 1778-1840 Using Various United States and Other Data (pdf) using Dade's and other records appends a tabulation of monthly mean temperature estimates to 1989. The coldest year in that record is 1875, with February being particularly bitter. It was so cold from the 4th to the 19th that the Toronto Observatory issued a special memorandum, reprinted in the Globe, commenting it was twice as long a period of bitter cold as previously recorded, and colder. That year is one of the coldest in not only the St Lawrence record but as far afield as Boston and Chicago.

Forensic Genealogy Institute

An email arrived from Melissa J. Ellis of www.archivesearch.ca/ who is a director of the Council for the Advancement of Forensic Genealogy asking that I give a shout out for the Council's 3-day Forensic Institute. It is being held 7-9 March 2017 in San Antonio, Texas.
There will be a particularly warm welcome for Canadian forensic genealogists attending the Institute.
Find out more at http://www.forensicgenealogists.org/institute/.

London Genealogy Databases Online

In preparation for the Alberta Genealogical Society conference in April I've taken a look at what databases are offered online for London by Ancestry, Deceased Online, FamilySearch, Findmypast, MyHeritage. It's easy to overlook existing resources as new ones come along.
The table below is a consolidated list, organized by number of records. Not included are more comprehensive databases, such as the censuses, that cover a larger area, some cemetery database from the National Archives where number of records is not available and, newspapers. I'm aware of some additional mostly smaller databases, please add specifics as a comment.

Title	Company	Records
London, England, Electoral Registers, 1832-1965	Ancestry	179,071,664
England, London Electoral Registers, 1847-1913	FamilySearch	17,760,894
London, England, Land Tax Records, 1692-1932	Ancestry	12,772,584
London, England, Workhouse Admission and Discharge Records, 1659-1930	Ancestry	10,198,397
London, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812	Ancestry	8,844,994
London, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1921	Ancestry	7,549,807
London, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1906	Ancestry	6,240,093
London, England, Poor Law and Board of Guardian Records, 1430-1930	Ancestry	3,864,371
London, England, Church of England Deaths and Burials, 1813-1980	Ancestry	2,616,957
London, England, School Admissions and Discharges, 1840-1911	Ancestry	1,711,929
London Lives, Culture & Society 1680-1817	Findmypast	1,653,799
Greater London Burial Index	Findmypast	1,634,962
Web: London, England, Proceedings of the Old Bailey and Ordinary's Accounts Index, 1674-1913	Ancestry	1,246,537
London, England, Clandestine Marriage and Baptism Registers, 1667-1754	Ancestry	894,892
Middlesex, London, Old Bailey Court Records 1674-1913	Findmypast	786,726
London and Surrey, England, Marriage Bonds and Allegations, 1597-1921	Ancestry	750,614
London, Docklands and East End Baptisms, 1558-1933	Findmypast	668,310
Southwark Cemeteries	Deceased Online	600,000
Boyd's Inhabitants Of London & Family Units 1200-1946	Findmypast	583,158
London Apprenticeship Abstracts, 1442-1850	Findmypast	486,370
Camden Cemeteries	Deceased Online	470,400
London, England, Selected Poor Law Removal and Settlement Records, 1698-1930	Ancestry	469,314
London, England, Freedom of the City Admission Papers, 1681-1930	Ancestry	463,958
Manor Park Cemetery	Deceased Online	430,000
Islington Cemeteries	Deceased Online	425,700
Lewisham Cemeteries	Deceased Online	385,000
Greenwich Cemeteries	Deceased Online	371,000
London, England, Overseer Returns, 1863-1894	Ancestry	294,833
Kensal Green Cemetery	Deceased Online	257,500
London, England, Stock Exchange Membership Applications, 1802-1924	Ancestry	256,986
London, Bethlem Hospital Patient Admission Registers and Casebooks 1683-1932	Findmypast	247,517
Boyd's London Burials	Findmypast	242,635
Eltham Crematorium	Deceased Online	210,000
Brompton Cemetery	Deceased Online	205,000
London, England, Selected Rate Books, 1684-1907	Ancestry	186,366
Newham Cemeteries	Deceased Online	180,000
Highgate Cemetery	Deceased Online	166,000
London, England, Marriage Notices from The Times, 1982-2004	Ancestry	160,046
City Of London, Haberdashers, Apprentices and Freemen 1526-1933	Findmypast	136,468
London, England, Wills and Probate, 1507-1858	Ancestry	135,186
London, England, Extracted Church of England Parish Records	Ancestry	133,630
London, England, Non-conformist Registers, 1694-1921	Ancestry	120,699
Spa Fields Cemetery	Deceased Online	114,000
London, England, Births and Christening Notices from The Times, 1983-2003	Ancestry	107,315
Merton Cemeteries	Deceased Online	100,000
London, Docklands and East End Marriages, 1558-1859	Findmypast	92,250
Havering Cemeteries	Deceased Online	75,000
Bunhill Cemetery	Deceased Online	71,100
London Probate Index	Findmypast	62,820
Harrow Cemeteries	Deceased Online	58,700
London, England, Land Tax Valuations, 1910	Ancestry	44,374
Brent Cemeteries	Deceased Online	40,000
Surrey and City Of London Livery Company Association Oath Rolls, 1695/96	Findmypast	32,965
London, England, King's Bench and Fleet Prison Discharge Books and Prisoner Lists, 1734-1862	Ancestry	32,198
Surrey & South London Will Abstracts, 1470-1856	Findmypast	29,508
London, England, Marshalsea Prison Commitment and Discharge Books, 1811-1842	Ancestry	28,849
London, England, Crisp's Marriage Licence Index, 1713-1892	Ancestry	27,932
Sutton Cemeteries	Deceased Online	27,500
London, England, Church of England Confirmation Records, 1850-1921	Ancestry	26,329
London, Westminster Marylebone Census 1821 & 1831	Findmypast	22,522
London Poor Law Records, 1581-1899	Findmypast	22,344
London, Dulwich College Register 1619-1926	Findmypast	18,313
City Of London, Ironmongers, Apprentices and Freemen 1511-1923	Findmypast	17,822
London Churches, Christening and Baptismal Records	Ancestry	15,596
London, England, TS Exmouth Training Ship Records, 1876-1918	Ancestry	12,107
London County Council Record Of War Service 1914-1918	Findmypast	10,145
London School Registers	Ancestry	8,347
London, Watermen, List Of Free Watermen, 1827	Findmypast	5,448
London Churches, Burials and Deaths Records	Ancestry	5,289
London Volunteer Soldiers	Findmypast	5,271
City Of London, Gunmakers' Company Freedoms and Admissions, 1656-1936	Findmypast	5,187
London, Archdeaconry Court Of London Wills Index, 1700-1807	Findmypast	4,687
London, Court Of Husting Will Abstracts, 1258-1688	Findmypast	3,853
London Consistory Court Depositions Index, 1700-1713	Findmypast	3,104
London, England, Selected Church of England Parish Registers, 1558-1875	Ancestry	2,967
London, England, Gamekeepers' Licences, 1727-1839	Ancestry	2,578
London, Watermen, Admiralty Muster Of The Port Of London, 1628	Findmypast	2,393
London, Watermen's Petition For The King Charles I, 1648	Findmypast	2,026
London & Middlesex Will Abstracts, 1700-1704	Findmypast	1,982
London and Country Directory, 1811	Ancestry	1,655
London, Watermen, Birth Register Of Contracted Men, 1865-1921	Findmypast	1,494
London, England, Marriage Licences, 1521-1869	Ancestry	859
London Marriage Licences 1521 - 1869	MyHeritage	853
London Post Office Directory, 1829	Ancestry	730
London, Watermen In Royal Navy, 1803-1809	Findmypast	629
London, England: St. Botolph, Bishopsgate, Church of England Baptisms, 1628-1690	Ancestry	525
The London Diocese Book 1890	Ancestry	522
London Stock Exchange Memorial Roll 1914-1918	Findmypast	510
A calendar of the marriage licence allegations in the Registry of the Bishop of London : 1597 to 1700	Ancestry	481
British Army, Lloyds Of London Memorial Roll 1914-1919	Findmypast	432
University College School, London, Register 1831-1891	Ancestry	331
The Publications of the Harleian Society, the Parish Registers of St Mary Aldermary, London	Ancestry	296
The Dutch Church Registers, Austin Friars London 1571-1874.	Ancestry	276
Cripplegate Ward, London Aldermen, 1276-1900	Ancestry	270
Child Apprentices in America from Christ's Hospital, London, 1617-1778	Ancestry	162
The Religious Census of London	Ancestry	135

Quinte Branch OGS: Crouse Wanamaker Lecture

"Taking Root in a New Land" is the topic for the annual Crouse Wanamaker Lecture to be delivered by Cheryl Levy PLCGS on Saturday 21 January 2017 at the Quinte West Public Library, 7 Creswell Drive, Trenton from 1-3pm.

"Immigration and migration must be explored as you build your ancestors' stories. Where did they come from? Why did they move? What was your immigrant ancestor's country of origin?  We will explore early immigration movements, including specific groups and settlement plans, for those who chose to make Canada their new home."

Everyone welcome, bring a friend. For more information visit www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~canqbogs/

South Kildare history online

If you have Irish ancestry, even if not from South Kildare, you're liable to find something of interest, sometimes shocking, in this resource.
Since September 1992 Frank Taaffe has been delving into topics of interest from the history of South Kildare, south and west of Dublin, and especially the community of Athy. The columns published in the local paper, the Kildare Nationalist. under the title Eye on the Past are collected together at http://athyeyeonthepast.blogspot.ie/. Twenty-five years of columns have covered a huge range of topics.
With so many columns a search engine is a good facility to have. Find it at the top left of the web page. Try names (lots of mentions of people), places, events. What was life like in the workhouse? Where did migrants go and what was the journey like?
Thanks to BIFHSGO member Ann Burns, who is starting an extended research visit to the area, for the tip.

Perth and District Historical Society Meetings

The next meeting of the P&DHS is January 19, 2017  at the Perth Legion.
200th Anniversary Committee provides an audio-visual review of the Town's anniversary celebration in 2016.

For your diary, subsequent meetings scheduled, all at the same Perth Legion location, are:
February 16, 2017
Loree Tannett, presents "What Our Forebears Wore in the 19th Century
March 16, 2017
Janet Coward et al, with "Songs from Our Past"
April 20, 2017 
Glen Tunnock presents ‘Sir John A’s Indian Act, and Its Consequences’
May 18, 2017 
Anne Raina, author, ‘The Evolution of Health Care in the 20th Century (especially for treatment of TB)’
June 15, 2017
(Tentative) ‘The Women’s Institute and Its Influence in Our Area’

CEF Service Files Digitization: January 2017 Update

As of 16 January 2017, 387,710 (378,229 last month) of 640,000 files are available online via the LAC Soldiers of the First World War: 1914–1918 database.

The latest digitized is from Box 6526 (6355 last month) and the surname Murray (Morello).

9,481 (16,993) files were digitized in the last month, a reduced pace over the holiday period.

Library and Archives Canada is digitizing the service files systematically, from box 1 to box 10686, which roughly corresponds to alphabetical order.

Ottawa Historical Association January Meeting

You are invited to Library and Archives Canada (395 Wellington)
on Tuesday 17 January at 7 PM for:

“A Shiny New Penny: An Historical Overview of the National Currency
Collection and the Bank of Canada Museum”

Paul Berry
Chief Curator
National Currency Collection
Bank of Canada Museum

In 2013, the Currency Museum of the Bank of Canada was officially
renamed the Bank of Canada Museum.  Work immediately began at
designing a new facility, not just to showcase the National Currency
Collection and tell the story of money in Canada but one that welcomes
visitors to experience Canada’s central bank and learn how individuals
influence the Canadian economy. This Summer 2017, the drawing board
becomes reality and the new Bank of Canada Museum will open its doors
to 10,000 square feet of interactives, exhibits and fun. This talk
will delve into the National Currency Collection, illustrate some of
its holdings, explain developments leading to the museum of today and
tease the audience with a few visuals of what to expect at Ottawa’s
newest cultural venue.

Paul Berry manages the Collection Services Unit of the Museum which is
responsible for the research, development and maintenance of the
National Currency Collection. An avid numismatist since age six, Paul
is past president of the Canadian Paper Money Society and the Canadian
Numismatic Research Society. His personal fields of interest include
the money of colonial era Canada, Edo period Japan and early 20th
century American sculpture. Paul holds a Combined Honours BA (1980) in
History and Art History from the University of Western Ontario.

Ye Olde Genealogy Faire

That's the branding of the Alberta Genealogical Society conference 2017. I've agreed to give four talks on British family history, mostly ones I've not given in some time. Updating and tailoring to the audience in Edmonton has been a gift. Not only have I found out things about Alberta history but it has been an opportunity to look at updated British resources. I found the burial places of three ancestors in London and a newspaper notice on the second marriage of my great grandmother. It's a lesson I (we) continually have to relearn, commit to a presentation to provide motivation.

I'm also looking forward on 22-23 April to hearing from the other speakers, notably Saturday banquet speaker Diahan Southard who gave a memorable and moving presentation last October in Dublin at Genetic Genealogy Ireland.

The program is now posted so take a look at everything on offer and join us if you can.

Twenty-one today

Congratulations to uber genealogy blogger Dick Eastman celebrating 21 years of Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter today, 15 January 2017.

Ed Broadbent at LAC

Library and Archives Canada (LAC) invites you to an hour of lively conversation with former New Democratic Party leader, the Honourable Ed Broadbent.

Mr. Broadbent will be the guest of Guy Berthiaume, Librarian and Archivist of Canada, as part of the Signatures Series, which features original interviews with individuals who have donated their archives to LAC.

Reserve your spot now for this event, to be held on Tuesday, February 7, from 12:15 p.m. to 1:15 p.m., at LAC, 395 Wellington Street in Ottawa. Places for this free event are limited, so please register here.
Documents from the Ed Broadbent fonds will be on display during the event.

Irish Genealogy News Catch-up

I doubt anybody keeps a closer eye on developments in Irish genealogy resources than Claire Santry. There's not a major development she doesn't cover on her Irish Genealogy News blog. On Thursday Claire posted a digest of some backlog items, most smaller developments, most new to me. Read the post at Irish Genealogy News: The Catch-up Dozen.

Library and Archives Canada’s free digital facility—the DigiLab

Are there resources of genealogical or other value at Library and Archives Canada languishing in obscurity?
Are there LAC archived materials you or your society would like to be available online but you can't get to Ottawa to spend the time needed to consult the originals?
Have you tried photographing LAC materials with a digital camera but found the quality unsatisfactory?

The newly-established DigiLab at 395 Wellington Street in Ottawa, to be available from April, is a hands-on facility for users to digitize and contextualize LAC collections of value to their study, work and communities. LAC is inviting academics, individuals, genealogists and community-based groups to make proposals for digitizing LAC collections.  To be clear, LAC will provide the facility and space, including online storage for general public access, the proponent will be responsible for the work of digitization.

You can read more about this initiative, including the criteria and proposal form at www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/services-public/Pages/digilab.aspx/.

On learning about the initiative I had questions to which Melanie Brown, LAC Manager, Digitization Partnerships and Initiatives, kindly responded.

Q. What facilities will there be for bulk scanning from microfilm, such as newspapers?
A. This will not be part of the DigiLab but will be accommodated by new machines in the existing microfilm room.

Q. What large format scanners will there be suitable for digitizing original bound newspapers the pages of which are fragile?
A. There will be such large format scanner capability in the DigiLab. Original newspapers, and all materials, have to be vetted for copyright clearance and to ensure they will withstand the stress of transport and handling for digitization.

Q. What OCR capabilities will there be for printed materials or for creating searchable PDFs?
A. No OCR capability of planned at this time. It could become available at a later stage.

Q. What facilities will there be for flattening original documents that have been folded for storage?
A. The requirement will be accessed as part of the project approval process. Training will be provided as necessary as part of the general training required to use the DigiLab and its equipment.

Q. Will projects funded through the Documentary Heritage Communities Program be eligible to use DigiLab?
A. Yes, recognizing that the facility can only be used for LAC materials.

Q. For those not able to get to LAC to perform the digitization themselves are there other options?
A. LAC already has a program whereby clients can pay for LAC to perform scanning. It could also be that organization may want to hire a local person to perform the digitization but there is nothing, similar to the current list of consultants, yet available.

Findmypast adds Yorkshire and Derbyshire Methodist records and Middlesex MIs

By Findmypast standards this week's additions are quite modest, perhaps as they prepare for "a new landmark collection of UK parish records is soon to be released . . .  a whole new county added to our collection in the coming weeks." Peter Calver suggests the county will be Leicestershire (and Rutland).
The additions this week, provided by agreement with the Sheffield & District Family History Society, are:
Yorkshire & Derbyshire Methodist Baptisms, 42,033 transcripts from 1795 to 1997.
Yorkshire & Derbyshire Methodist Marriages, 22,430 transcripts from 1817 to 1970.

There are also 12,005 new records in the Middlesex Monumental Inscriptions 1485-2014 collection for St Nicholas Church, Chiswick. That brings the total for these MIs provided by West Middlesex Family History Society to 43,157 records.

Image of St Nicholas Church, Chiswick from Wikimedia Commons.

Patricia Roberts-Pichette addresses The Media Club of Ottawa

Saturday, January 21, 2017
11.30 a.m. - 2 p.m.
The Media Club of Ottawa presents:

Guest Speaker:
Patricia Roberts-Pichette, Ph.D

Patricia Roberts-Pichette was born in New Zealand where she received her early education before completing her graduate studies in the United States on a Fulbright Scholarship. She then taught for 10 years at the University of New Brunswick, following which she served 25 years in the Canadian federal and international public services.

Topic:
A Writing and Publication Journey
The book Great Canadian Expectations: The Middlemore Experience is the result of fifteen years of research by the author. Unlimited access to all extant Middlemore files up to 1936, to contemporary reports, and the personal communications and meetings with  Middlemore family members and descendants of Middlemore home children have given Dr. Roberts-Pichette a unique perspective on the work of the Middlemore agency and its homes.

Billings Room, Ottawa City Hall
110 Laurier Ave. West, Ottawa, ON

11.30 p.m. to 1.30 p.m.

Journalism students with ID free
Media Club members and CAJ members  $15
Non-members $25

Light meal provided

OR

Admission without meal: members $7, others $10

coffee and tea available for all

RSVP 613 521-4855 before January 19

Genealogical interest materials online through DHCP Round 1

Here is a list of selected resources that have become available online as a result of round one of the Library and Archives Canada Documentary Heritage Communities Program. This is in addition to those reported in two previous blog posts here and here.

Bulkley Valley Museum - search engine and interface to a collection of 5,300 documentary heritage records and 4,000 digital historic photographs.

CARL: The Student Voice - access to 35,157 pages of digitized and searchable student newspapers (29.68GB) from the University of Alberta, University of New Brunswick, York University and Dalhousie University through a website hosted by Canadiana.ca.

Saving Rideau Lakes Heritage - newspapers the Athens Reporter and County of Leeds Advertiser ( Jan 12, 1892 - Dec 25, 1895),  Farmersville Reporter and County of Leeds Advertiser (May 22, 1884 - Dec 28, 1891), Northern Leeds Lantern (1977-1992 ).

Regional Online Database for the Eastern Townships - 464 items in the Eastern Townships Archives Portal.

WI Historical Documents - 135 GB of digitized material including Home and County newsletters, original constitution, 3 published history books, 11 Tweedsmuir histories and more/

Société historique de Saint-Boniface - 390 items of graphical material digitized relating to the area history.

Mississippi Valley Textile Museum - digitized Almonte Gazette, added 1990- 2007 to previous 1861-1989 available.

Oshawa Newspaper Digitization - digitization of local newspapers. Placed issues on http://communitydigitalarchives.com/newspapers.html which also has long digited runs of at least 10,000 pages of the Hunstville Forester (1895 - 2015), Bracebridge Gazette (1903-1955), Bracebridge Herald-Gazette (1955-1986), Muskoka Herald (1888-1955).

Thunder Bay Museum - online catalogues of holdings of the library and archives are found separately under the collections tab. Worth exploring for local genealogical interest, for instance, the Canadian Pacific Railway Company fonds includes a time book of employees (May 1908-September 1920), showing names, jobs, hours, worked, what jobs were done, hours worked and rates of pay. There are 120 pages of names of employees with no more than 15 per page, unfortunately not online.

Many DHCP initiatives did not have placing information of genealogical interest online as an objective but were still successful in terms of program objectives.

Findmypast free access

From January 12 -15 Findmypast is opening up its birth, marriage death and census records to free access. To try it out start at www.findmypast.co.uk/start-your-journey/.

New and updated London, England databases from Ancestry

Three new and one updated database for London, England are now on Ancestry.The originals are from the London Metropolitan Archives.

London, England, Stock Exchange Membership Applications, 1802-1924 256,986 records
Those involved with the stock exchange had to register each year. The image originals include the residence address, office address, role as broker, dealer (jobber) or clerks, telephone number, name of banker, business partners and company as well as signature. Because registration was annual you can follow changes of address, role, etc.

London, England, TS Exmouth Training Ship Records, 1876-1918 12,107 records
Boys in care of The Metropolitan Asylums Board could receive vocational training on the Exmouth moored the Exmouth off Grays in Essex.
For each boy that joined the ship, the record books log the following on a single page:
Name
Age (and sometimes “supposed age”)
Date of admission and discharge
The parish or Poor Law Union from which they originated
What the boy did on discharge
Vital statistics of the boys (height, weight and chest circumference) are given on entry and discharge as well as information on the training received and particulars on discharge. Most joined the Royal Navy, the Army or the Merchant Marine in which case the name of the ship or regiment is given

London, England, Gamekeepers' Licences, 1727-1839 2,578 records
Information on those licensed to kill game on behalf of the Lord of the Manor for the area north of the River Thames, bordering the old City of London, excluding the City of London but including the City of Westminster.
Information in the register is typically name of the manor, name of the load and lady (sometimes with elaboration), name and location of the gamekeeper and  date of appointment and when ended. Handwritten and very legible.

London, England, Freedom of the City Admission Papers, 1681-1930   463,958 records
This is an update database first included in November 2011.
From Ancestry's description:
"Freedom admission papers can record many biographical details about the individual to whom Freemen status is awarded making this collection of particular interest to genealogists. Many of the documents in this collection are "indentures" or sealed agreements for things like apprenticeship agreements.
- Information in this database:
- Surname
- Date of indenture
- Parent or guardian’s name
- County of residence
- Master’s name"

BIFHSGO January Meeting

The main event at 10 am this Saturday,14  January 14, is a presentation Lanes, Trains & Parliament Hill by Marianne Rasmus.

In the late 19th century, the Lane family was among the first to settle the community of Mission, BC which is located 80 km east of Vancouver on the north bank of the Fraser River. The Lanes loved to tell stories of these early times and had a great deal of pride in passing them down from one generation to the next. The family story that cemented Marianne Rasmus’s passion for family history research in the context of Canadian history is encapsulated in the story of Arthur Wellington Lane, who packed up his wife and three young children, left the familiarity of south-western Ontario, and headed west on the newly constructed CPR looking for new adventures and opportunities. It’s a story of perseverance and courage that has left a lasting legacy, and even includes a surprising discovery on Parliament Hill.

The 9 am Education Talk will be Genealogy at Your Ottawa Public Library  presented by Romaine Honey who will discuss the print and online resources available for researching family history in Canada and the British Isles.

It's all happening at The Chamber, Ben Franklin Place, 101 Centrepointe Drive, Ottawa, Ontario
Saturday, January 14, 2017.

These are free events. All welcome. Free parking.

American Ancestors adds browse files for Boston Catholic parishes

Some Irish Catholics emigrated to Boston, and then they or their descendants moved on to improve their prospects in Canada. If you're searching them new record images now available to browse may be of interest.
American Ancestors, the website of the New England Historic Genealogical Society has produced a video explaining how best to search these Catholic Archdiocese of Boston  records.



via a post on Claire Santry's Irish Genealogy News

DHCP Round 1 Achievements: Genealogical Societies Projects

This post will look at achievements focusing on the awards in the first round of the Library and Archives Canada Documentary Heritage Communities Program that went to genealogical organizations.

To recap the program, the objectives were:
Increase access to, and awareness of Canada's local documentary institutions and their holdings, specifically:
- Conversion and digitization for access purposes;
- The development (research, design and production) of virtual and physical exhibitions, including travelling exhibits;
- Collection, cataloguing and access based management; and
- Commemorative projects.

Increase the capacity of local documentary heritage institutions to better sustain and preserve Canada's documentary heritage, specifically:
- Conversion and digitization for preservation purposes;
- Conservation and preservation treatment;
- Increased digital preservation capacity (excluding digital infrastructure related to day-to-day activities);
- Training and workshops that improve competencies and build capacity; and
- Development of standards, performance and other measurement activities.

Awards were announced on 14 December 2015 with 65 proposals funded. Proponents only had until 31 March 2016 to complete the work. Final reports were due shortly thereafter.

Two awards went to genealogical organizations: 

• The British Columbia Genealogical Society  (BCGS) received $4,609 for a pedigree chart project. 

The award was announced on the society website and Facebook page. BCGS reported on 29 April 2016 having achieved its goal to allow digital access to the pedigree chart collection and thus to preserve the originals. "These are now available to members and the public at our library. Already we have seen new interest in the collection and have received new charts to add.  The collection will be featured in an annual free library week in July and will be available on our website along with its indexes."

All funds granted were reported as spent with 79% categorized as "other costs." A total of 13,500 items were digitized - 34 cents per item.

The availability of the pedigree collection on computers in the society library, with acknowledgement of DHCP funding, was posted on the society Facebook page on 2 July 2016 so confirming availability of the annual free library week. There does not appear to be availability, together with indexes, on the society website.

The Saskatchewan Genealogical Society Inc. (SGS) received $8,943 for Preserving Your Roots Through Digital Storytelling.

The award was for training and workshops that improve competencies and build capacity. The final reported dated 21 April 2016 stated that five two-day workshops across the province had been conducted (with two additional cancelled). With a maximum capacity of six per workshop only one place was unfilled. There is a waiting list for more workshops. The activity attracted media interest and publicity for a society conference.
The expenses for the project were $5,033 leaving an amount $3,909 unspent.  The grant expended per workshop participant was $174.
There did not appear to be any acknowledgement of the grant on the SGS website, on the Facebook page or in the 2015 annual report of the society. The amount was included in the 2015 financial statement,

A following post will profile online resources of genealogical interest from other grant recipients.

AncestryDNA hits 3 million

Ancestry hits another DNA milestone with the pace of sales accelerated over the Black Friday/Cyber Monday period.
Ancestry sold 1.4 million kits in the fourth quarter, 390,000 more kits than were sold in all of 2015.
Read the company press release here and an article linked from Forbes here. There also a celebratory video linked from here.
That page suggests 15 million close cousin matches have been found. That's an average 5 per client.

Ancestry signals move toward health

Today, 10 January 2017, Tim Sullivan, president and chief executive officer of Ancestry.com, will participate in the 35th Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference. Many have anticipated Ancestry will make a stronger move into the lucrative health market, it already has a beta site https://health.ancestry.com/.
The conference brings investors and company executives together so watch for possible news on Ancestry moving further into health from the conference later today.

RootsTech pass give away from Louis Kessler

Winnipeg genealogist and semi-finalist in RootsTech Innovator Summit 2017 Louis Kessler has a free RootsTech pass to give away. RootsTech, a genealogical festival, is now less than a month away. If that's something you'd like to experience, and can get to Salt Lake City and find accommodation, find out how to get a chance to win the four-day pass, worth $299 USD, at www.beholdgenealogy.com/blog/?p=1903.
Let's wish Louis the best of luck with his entry in the Innovator Summit. He's up against some stiff competition.

18th and 19th Century daily temperatures from the St. Lawrence River valley

The meteorologist in me was blown away to discover estimates of daily temperatures back to 1800, and in some cases earlier, for an area encompassing Montreal, Quebec City and (nearly) Ottawa. The genealogist in me was excited at the prospect of those with ancestry in the area being able to add at least some weather context to events significant in their family history.

To illustrate, what was the temperature for the Battle of Chateauguay on 26 October 1813?
You can download a huge text file with daily maximum and minimum temperature estimates from 1742 to 2010. There are only scattered estimates for the early part of the period, and for the start of the 19th century there's often only a minimum or maximum temperature, not both. The rows in the file have four fields, year, day of year (1-365, or 366 for leap years), minimum temperature estimate, maximum temperature estimate.
I used the table at www.atmos.anl.gov/ANLMET/OrdinalDay.txt to determine that 26 October 1813 was the 299th day of the year.
The file with the temperature estimates, compiled by McGill University researcher Victoria Slonosky, from official instrumental records and private weather diaries shows a minimum temperature of 6.2C, maximum 13.5C. The overnight temperature six days before had been below -4C, a killing frost, so the Battle of Chateauguay occurred during an Indian Summer.
For the Battle of Crysler's Farm on 11 November 1813, the 315th day, the file shows a minimum temperature of 0.9C and a maximum of 6.4C. The next day a cold front must have gone through with a minimum temperature of -5.4C and a maximum of 3.1C.
That cold may have made the US Army commanders reflect on the retreat of Napoleon's forces from Russia a year earlier. They retreated to Plattsburgh.

For the latter part of the 19th and 20th century there are better sources for weather information at http://climate.weather.gc.ca/historical_data/search_historic_data_e.html

Updates for Dorset, Northumberland & Durham and Warwickshire

Find My Past announces updates to the following transcript collections:

Dorset Memorial Inscriptions  
New records: 40,235
Total records: 85,868

Covering: Inscriptions taken from gravestones, tombs, monuments and even stained glass windows from around the county
Discover: Birth year, death year, burial date, burial place, names of relatives, memorial type and inscription.

Warwickshire Burials
New records: 21,263
Total records: 1,129,563

Covering: Witton Cemetery (Birmingham) 1987-2011
Discover: Birth year, death year, burial place, parents’ names, residence, inscription, grave and register number, and additional notes.

Northumberland & Durham Monumental Inscriptions
New records: 16,811
Total records: 23,021

Covering: 26 churches & burial grounds in Northumberland & Co. Durham
Discover: Birth date, burial year, burial place, death date, denomination and inscription, and stone type.

OGS is looking for ideas

Saturday's Ontario Genealogical Society weekly newsletter included the invitation

If you have ideas for projects that you think OGS should tackle, please send them to us, either through a Board member or our Executive Director.  If they include support on how they could be funded, or where we could entice volunteers to work on them, even better!

I hope they get a lot of response.

As Canada's largest genealogical society it is in a position to take a leading role in advocating for genealogical interests nationally. Does it do enough?
As a non-profit OGS has access to funding sources like the DHCP. Should OGS be using that to propose projects like newspaper digitization which seems to be lagging in parts of Ontario?
Should OGS be taking an initiative in genetic genealogy?
What else?

OGS is open you your ideas.

DHCP Round 1 Achievements: Major Projects

Objectives for the first round of the Library and Archives Canada Documentary Heritage Communities Program were:
Increase access to, and awareness of Canada's local documentary institutions and their holdings, specifically:
- Conversion and digitization for access purposes;
- The development (research, design and production) of virtual and physical exhibitions, including travelling exhibits;
- Collection, cataloguing and access based management; and
- Commemorative projects.

Increase the capacity of local documentary heritage institutions to better sustain and preserve Canada's documentary heritage, specifically:
- Conversion and digitization for preservation purposes;
- Conservation and preservation treatment;
- Increased digital preservation capacity (excluding digital infrastructure related to day-to-day activities);
- Training and workshops that improve competencies and build capacity; and
- Development of standards, performance and other measurement activities.

Awards were announced on 14 December 2015 with 65 proposals funded. Proponents only had until 31 March 2016 to complete the work. Final reports were due shortly thereafter.

Four projects receiving more than $50,000.

• The Canadian Research Knowledge Network's Canadian National Heritage Digitization Index was granted $71,683. 

The award, to develop an index of  digitized Canadian heritage collections located at Canadian universities and provincial and territorial libraries, was announced on 18 December on the network website. The objective was to increase awareness of, and access to digital heritage collections in Canada, to support the academic research enterprise and to facilitate information sharing within the Canadian documentary heritage community.
The tasks were described as collection, cataloguing and access based management; development of standards, performance and other measurement activities and; communication and publicity.
A news release that the website had gone live was issued on 31 March 2016.
As of 18 April 2016 over 600 collections had been identified, indexed and posted on the CNDHI site. Between launch and 28 April 5,493 external page views from 820 unique users had been recorded. The initiative was profiled in the message from the Executive Director with a full page article in the Canadian Research Knowledge Network 2015-2016 Annual Report (pdf) at which time the CNDHI included 1,109 collections from 142 institutions. As of this post there are 1,241 collections of which 131 have Library and Archives Canada, not described as a collection source, as the hosting institution.
The final report stated that the cost of the project exceeded the grant by $741. Consultant fees (65%) and salaries (34%) were the major costs.

• Dr. James Naismith Basketball Foundation's The Brothers of the Wind Documentary Heritage Project received $69,946.

The project covered a broad range of activities. The final report dated 18 April 2016 documents
- development of a travelling exhibit which was displayed at another institution, another exhibit ready for display and another in development;
- four workshops attended by a total of 17 people;
- 30 linear meters of textual material, 1,800 items of graphic material and five hours of A/V material converted to digital format;
- cataloguing 2,400 artifacts
- upgrading of equipment and policies
Materials and supplies accounted for 52% of the expenditure, catalogue and interpretive material 25% and salaries 22%.
There is no mention of social media activity and the grant receives no acknowledgement on the Foundation website. Neither is reported as being mentioned in a presentation to the local council.
As a result of the project the final report mentioned 80 visitors with four repeat users and three institutions interested in long-term project usage.

• Arnprior and McNab/Braeside Archives Online Digital Expansion of the Arnprior & McNab/Braeside Archives was granted $63,655.

The objective was characterized as to increased digital preservation capacity building (excluding digital infrastructure related to day to day activities).
Achievements described in the final report were "The current website was migrated and online analytics have begun. Both the in-house database and the online search engine have been updated to current versions, giving a modernized look and feel, including viewable results on smartphones and other devices. See www.adarchives.org/
As well a selection of documents were successfully added to the search engine to test out functionality for future phases. Now, besides the collections database,searches can be made across 228 Family Historian newspaper articles by local author Patrick Wohler, three exhibits and municipal bylaws at the same time. Researchers are eagerly awaiting the ability to do this for the newspaper collection in a future phase. We continue to correct a few technical glitches as they become apparent.
70% of the expenditures were attributed to "other costs."
The awarding of the grant was acknowledged on the AMBA Facebook page, in the annual reports of the President and Archivist at the AGM, available online, as well as on the website front page with a photo of the National Librarian and Archivist and a link to an interview with Archivist Laurie Dougherty.

• Nunavut Bilingual Education Society's Iqqaumajuakkuvik Project: Digital Audio Archive of Inuit Oral History received $56,750.

The project was to both increase awareness and capacity.with conversion and digitization for access and preservation.
As a result the final report dated 28 April 2016 stated "we located, acquired and digitized approximately 550 hours of audio and video material, and 350 slides of Inuit history. We researched and spoke to various oral history projects and archives around the world to learn more about contemporary practices and issues in the field. Then we created a policy framework  regarding donations, access and usage. We reached out to (other stakeholders) to inform them of our project and encourage the donation of material.  Finally we identified Inuktitut language podcasts to disseminate over the radio and on the Internet."
77% of expenditures were for consultant fees, and 19% for travel.

I was unable to locate any online resource that publicized, acknowledged funding or otherwise made the project visible, including on the Nunavut Bilingual Education Society website.

From a genealogist perspective the most promising of these project sources are the Canadian National Heritage Digitization Index to assist in locating contextual resources and, Online Digital Expansion of the Arnprior & McNab/Braeside Archives enhancing discoverability for those with roots in the area.

A following post will look specifically at projects with genealogical potential.

DHCP proposal deadline 27 January 2017

The deadline for Library and Archives Canada to received proposals for Documentary Heritage Communities Program (DHCP) grants is 27 January, 2017, 11:59 Pacific Standard Time. This is for the third round of the program.
I understand this blog is how at least two of the projects with a genealogical connection that received funding in the first round found out about the program and would not want the opportunity in round three to be missed.
The guidelines for writing project proposals are available at www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/services/documentary-heritage-communities-program/Pages/guidelines.aspx.

Thanks to LAC I recently received a collection of final reports for the 65 projects in the first DHCP round. Look for one or more posts evaluating the success of the program first round in the near future.

More on Highgate Cemetery

Read the second of Emma Jolly's blog posts on well known (or well connected) people interred at London's Highgate Cemetery at http://deceasedonlineblog.blogspot.ca/2017/01/highgate-cemetery-victorian-era.html. The post throws the spotlight on people from the Victorian era including George Elliot and Sir Michael Faraday. The post recognizes the burial records for the cemetery that recently became available on Deceased Online.
Photo courtesy of Glenn Wright.

Google celebrates birthday of Sir Sandford Fleming

Today, 7 January 2017, Google's Canadian site is displaying this graphic to recognize the 190th anniversary of the birth of surveyor, draftsman, engineer, office holder, and college chancellor Sir Sandford Fleming.
Emigrating to Canada in 1845 he is another example of the Scots who built this county. The graphic recognizes his role in promoting railways and in the adoption of standard time zones.
Fleming is buried in Ottawa's Beechwood Cemetery.

Findmypast adds Ireland, Petty Sessions Court Registers

Findmypast with this addition has more than 22 million records with details of victims and witnesses as well as those accused of a petty crime.

Petty Sessions Courts handled cases ranged from merchants who had not paid duty on their goods, to workers suing for unpaid wages. Farmers were fined for letting their cattle wander or for allowing their cart to be driven without their name painted on the side. Debts were collected and disputes settled. Public drunkenness was a common offence, as was assault and general rowdiness. Political feelings were often volatile and there are frequent cases all over the country of people charged with putting up seditious posters or leaflets.
Findmypast additions this week include

The information contained varies considerably; you could find out: name, address, date in court, whether witness, complainant (or victim) or defendant (accused). Additional information in the image often includes details of the offence, verdict and sentence.

Dates for Your 2017 Genealogy Calendar

Looking ahead in 2017? Here are some family history events to consider including in your plans.

Rootstech
8-11 February
Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
www.rootstech.org/

Guild of One-Name Studies
31 March - 2 April
Southampton, Hampshire, England, UK
http://one-name.org/2017_conference/

WDYTYA? Live
6-8 April
Birmingham, England, UK
www.whodoyouthinkyouarelive.com/

Alberta Genealogical Society Conference
22-23 April
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
www.abgenealogy.ca/2017-ags-conference

(US) National Genealogical Society
10-13 May
Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
http://conference.ngsgenealogy.org/

Southern California Genealogy Jamboree
8-11 June
Burbank, California, USA
http://genealogyjamboree.com/

Ontario Genealogical Society Conference
16-18 June
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
https://conference2017.ogs.ca/

International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies
23-28 July
Orlando, Florida, USA
www.iajgs.org/blog/orlando-2017/

(US) Federation of Genealogical Societies
30 August - 2 September
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
www.fgs.org/

British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa Conference
29 September - 1 October
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
http://bifhsgo.ca

Great Canadian Genealogy Summit
13-15 October
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
http://cangensummit.ca/

BIFHSGO confirms conference dates

It's set. 29 September - 1 October 2017 are the dates now booked for the British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa conference. It will again be at Nepean Centrepointe.

Now you know the dates, a reminder that you have until the end of January to make presentation proposals. The official call is here. Unofficially, as in previous years, in addition to those on the themes, England and Wales and methodology, presentation proposals on any topic of interest to BIFHSGO members are welcome.

Frederick James Smith: Ottawa CEF Beechwood Burial

When Frederick James Smith signed his attestation paper in Edmonton on 22 July 1915 he was judged fit for overseas service.
When he died on 6 January 1917 it was at the Lady Grey Hospital, a tuberculosis sanatorium which later became part of the Royal Ottawa Hospital, now demolished. According to his Ontario death certificate he had been suffering from the disease since close to the date of his enlistment and had been at the Lady Grey for three months. Death was by inanition (exhaustion).
A rancher in the Peace River county prior to enlistment he had previous service with Ottawa's 43rd Rifles. Age 34 at time of death, he was the fourth son of the late John Smith of the Parliamentary Library and his wife Martha Martin. His remains are in Grave Reference: Sec. 29. Lot 44NE and 45N at Beechwood Cemetery.

Scotlands People annual update

According to a post from Family Tree magazine, Scotland's People are today releasing thousands of birth, marriage and death records for 1916, 1941 and 1966. As I post this there's no announcement at the Scotland's People site.

Don't miss what does Ancestry has in store for 2017

Two informative emails from Ancestry.

First, "2017 is set to be another great year packed with new records. For starters, we’re continuing our collaboration with the London Metropolitan Archives, so look out for some large—and extremely useful—London collections in the next few weeks.

We’re also focusing on Wales early in the year. It has sometimes proved difficult in the past to bring Welsh records online, so we’re delighted with the wealth of documents we’ll be bringing you very soon.

Across the rest of the UK, we will of course be continuing to grow our collection of parish records, and we also have some very detailed occupation records on the way."

Second, from Bryony Partridge, Ancestry Senior Manager, International Communications regarding Ancestry at 50% off

"You can share the offer with your readers using the codes/links below:

World Deluxe- https://www.ancestry.ca/secure/subscribe/signup/register/O-24355?rtype=11&flowId=11
Canada Discovery - https://www.ancestry.ca/secure/subscribe/signup/register/O-24994?rtype=11&flowId=11

Please note the offer ends on January 8th at 11:59pm ET."

Act fast if it will help.

UPDATE
Following the comments posted below by those unable to get the discount I've had several email exchanges with Bryony Partridge. My own conclusion is that Ancestry sales and promotion don't talk to each other. In my view it amounts to false advertizing.

Ancestry's Unknown database

A curiosity! Ancestry's card catalog shows a database called Unknown, published on 12/27/2016
and updated 11/24/2015. It's categorized as military and has 382 records. No need to try searching it. There's no search, no browse, seemingly nothing except a catalogue entry.

Now you know all about the Unknown!

Ottawa DNA Special Interest Group Meets

This Saturday, 7th January, BIFHSGO member Shirley Monkhouse will present “I took a DNA test! Now what do I do?" Her presentation will focus on what to do while waiting for and upon arrival of DNA results, important things to know and understand, and her Top 10 Tips for Genetic DNA Genealogy.

After the presentation, Grandma’s Genes will hold a Swab-A-Thon. This will be an informal gathering to discuss the hows and whys of DNA and to help you with your DNA sample(s). Kits will be available.

Ottawa's DNA Special Interest Group will meet, 9:30 am to 12:00 pm in Room 115, City of Ottawa Archives, 100 Tallwood Drive, Ottawa, Ontario.

Advance notice:  Mags Gaulden of Grandma's Genes will present "Forensic Genealogy and Adoption – Tracking Down Your Living Limbs" for the Ottawa Public Library Carlingwood Branch on 20 March. More information at www.grandmasgenes.com/event/forensic-genealogy-adoption-tracking-living-limbs/

IGRS Early Irish Birth, Marriage and Death Indexes now more than a quarter of a million names.

Steven C. Smyrl, Chairman of the Irish Genealogical Research Society, emailed to inform of this progress. Here's the press release mentioning that access to the marriage index is free to all.

Major Irish Genealogy Database Reaches Quarter of a Million Names

Great news for anyone seeking their elusive Irish ancestors! The online Early Irish Birth, Marriage and Death Indexes have collectively smashed through to a quarter of a million names.

The three indexes are compiled and hosted online by the Irish Genealogical Research Society (IGRS). The marriage database was the first established, in 2014, with an initial 40,000 names. Since then the Society has launched two corresponding additional databases, one for births and another for deaths. All three have been regularly updated, with the latest bringing the total record count, collectively, to a quarter of a million names.

With so much of the paper trail of Irish family history destroyed in the 1922 Public Record Office fire, the aim of the three databases is to play a not-insignificant role in signposting the extraordinary number of surviving lesser known and underused sources for Irish genealogy. It covers records dating prior to 1864; that being the year from which general civil registration began in Ireland.

The sources are drawn from a wide variety of records providing substitute evidence of birth, death or marriage. These encompass: family bibles, army and navy records, wills, letters, newspapers, gravestone inscriptions, court records, deeds, leases, diaries, published works, archives of religious orders, census abstracts, guild records, pension records…the list is endless and continually being added to.

For instance, a significant portion of the latest update was culled from the British Civil Service Evidence of Age Index. Evidence of just over 2,600 Irish births, deaths and marriages were gleaned from this resource. In applying for a civil service job, in the absence of formal written records, friends and neighbours often provided a sworn statement as to their knowledge of the applicant's age.  In the case of James Carey, born in Clonoulty, Co Tipperary, in 1844, his neighbour, Patrick Tierney, writing some 22 years later, confirmed James' date of birth as 7th January 1844, commenting: “I can declare to same from the fact that my father died on said day.”

Another source drawn upon for this latest update is Church of Ireland Marriage Licence Bonds. Roz McCutcheon, the Society's coordinator for the project, said: "Although generally only the indexes remain to Marriage Licence Bonds, they are nevertheless a primary source, and include a surprising number of Catholic marriages.  I have recently come across some papers, while cataloguing at the Society of Genealogists in London, which include full abstracts of some early marriages in the Dioceses of Ferns & Derry. Thus, whereas the previous entry for the Ferns marriage of Henry Haughton showed him marrying Catherine Cavanagh in or after 1682, the new additional information from the abstracts notes the exact date of the bond was 10^th June 1682, and that the couple were both from Co Wexford, that Catherine was a spinster, living at Polemounly, while Henry was from Ballyane."

Finally, the death index has been boosted too by 3,260 records noted from newspapers. "It is surprising that newspapers are still a much underutilised source for biographical information" said Steven Smyrl, Chairman of the IGRS. "In particular, notices of death become more common from the 1830s onwards as the middle classes begin to grow in strength and numbers", he said, adding “as the months roll on, it is hoped to add many more entries to the database culled from newspapers, proving that despite the great loss of 1922, there still remain many untapped sources for Irish genealogists to explore”.

Access to the Early Irish Marriage Index is completely free. The Early Irish Birth and Death Indexes are IGRS members-only resources, although everyone is able to access the corresponding free surnames indexes.

Explore further at www.IrishAncestors.ie.

Access Early Canadiana Online through the Ottawa Public Library

There's good news from the Ottawa Public Library for Canada150 via genealogy librarian Romaine Honey. The OPL has now subscribed to Early Canadiana Online. It’s now available free to all OPL cardholders to be accessed remotely (as long as you are logged in to the library website) as well as in all library branches.
Details at the library blog; here's an extract.

"Early Canadiana Online provides an extensive repository of primary-source documents for history buffs and genealogists alike.  Its collections cover aboriginal studies, official publications, literature, genealogy, health and medicine, women’s history, and more.  For entertainment value, a browse through the Early Canadian Periodicals collection is highly recommended.  Here you can read classics like Canadian Illustrated News (1869-83), or curiosities like the intriguingly named Grinchuckle (1869-70) and Grumbler (1858-69).  If you happen to be regretting an overindulgent holiday season, repent with all 351 issues of the Canadian Temperance Advocate (1835-1855)."

To find Early Canadiana Online scroll down at https://biblioottawalibrary.ca/en/databases/search-all.
I found that sometimes this and other subscriptions weren't recognized, hopefully temporary.

Ancestry Discount

I few days ago I received notice that Ancestry was available to me at 50% off for either the Canada only or World Deluxe subscriptions. Quite a bargain, except I'm already subscribed and it was for new or lapsed subscribers. On phoning Ancestry I was told the offer was not transferable - it was to those who received the offer by email.

So, if you want to have a chance of received such an offer sign-up to Ancestry without subscribing. They may get around to sending you a discount invitation.

While writing this I checked out ancestry.ca with my browser in incognito mode and found an offer of a Canada Discovery Membership for an initial annual payment of $59.88 plus applicable tax. That's 50% off. You can subscribe online or phone 1-800-958-9073. It's valid until 8 January and for the Canada only databases. It's not for the World Deluxe, but maybe if you ask nicely!

Backup Nag

Did you get through 2016 without having to rely on a hard drive backup. Lucky you. You still need to backup, just as with property and auto insurance even if you didn't need them in 2016.

As they say about backing up - Won ti od.

Yuletide R&R: Victoria Wood - Talking about having a baby

Remembering English comedienne Victoria Wood who died 20 April 2016.

Yuletide R&R: Not the New Year's Concert

Genealogy Websites Benchmark Update for December

Downwards trends in popularity of many genealogy websites were evident, according to Alexa. Others have seen remarkable recoveries. Again this month rankings for this blog are much better for the .com and .co.uk site than the .ca.

Here, for the record, are the latest results, remembering that a positive trend in the table indicates an improvement in popularity.

Site	31-Dec	30-Nov	Trend (%)
familysearch.org	4,929	4,438	-10.0
ancestry.com	941	861	-8.5
ancestry.co.uk	9,513	9,826	3.3
ancestry.ca	21,981	21,127	-3.9
myHeritage.com	6,598	5,985	-9.3
thegenealogist.co.uk	448,141	507,960	13.3
findmypast.co.uk	38,171	37,455	-1.9
findmypast.com	63,842	62,654	-1.9
canadiana.ca	868,860	890,790	2.5
familytreedna.com	24,445	23,737	-2.9
23andMe.com	11,544	11,400	-1.2
isogg.org	215,338	232,050	7.8
genealogyintime.com	399,587	345,065	-13.6
eogn.com	274,480	240,680	-12.3
lostcousins.com	719,170	773,977	7.6
britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk	105,707	113,305	7.2
newspapers.com	12,606	11,346	-10.0
cyndislist.com	194,388	161,660	-16.8
freebmd.org.uk	145,745	145,306	-0.3
canadianheadstones.com	1,496,283	1,001,515	-33.1
deceasedonline.com	1,056,370	1,393,148	31.9
bifhsgo.ca	8,517,152	7,653,931	-10.1
ogs.on.ca	873,763	751,044	-14.0
qfhs.ca	19,752,005	7,197,225	-63.6
torontofamilyhistory.org	4,523,016	5,043,020	11.5
ngsgenealogy.org	608,870	564,050	-7.4
americanancestors.org	334,248	262,049	-21.6
scgsgenealogy.com	2,322,104	2,081,652	-10.4
sog.org.uk	1,700,339	2,069,104	21.7
anglo-celtic-connections	20,504,188	6,492,905	-68.3

Given the erratic behaviour of Alexa results monthly posts on trends is being discontinued.