FreeBMD updated

March 1st is St. David's Day after the patron saint of Wales.

The FreeBMD Database, which includes Welsh registration districts, was updated on 28 February 2009 and now contains 163,651,860 distinct records (210,829,317 total records).

Battle of Wills - Film Preview

An open invitation.

Dr. Lilly Koltun, Director General of the Portrait Gallery of Canada, invites you to a screening of Battle of Wills, a film by Anne Henderson. Part historical mystery, part science-fiction thriller, this documentary tells the compelling story of the Sanders portrait, a painting whose Canadian owner claims it is the only image of Shakespeare taken from life.

Sunday, March 1, 2009
Doors open at 7:00 p.m.
Screening at 7:30 p.m.
Panel discussion at 8:30 p.m.

Panel members include filmmaker Anne Henderson, portrait owner Lloyd Sullivan, scientist Dr. Marie-Claude Corbeil and Dr. Lilly Koltun.

Library and Archives Canada
Auditorium
395 Wellington Street, Ottawa, Ontario

Encourage your friends, family and colleagues to join us at this free event.

Coffee and conversation follow the screening and panel discussion.

Limited parking on site. Street parking available nearby.

Death of Mike Brede

The local genealogical community is very much saddened to learn of the death of former OGS Regional 8 Director Mike Brede. Although he only serving in that role for a short while he championed the initiative which saw Kingston chosen as the venue for the OGS annual conference to be held in in 2012. Mike passed away yesterday after an arduous battle with brain cancer.

More of Mike's life here.

TNA podcast on RAF Service records

27 January 2009 saw the presentation of a talk on RAF Service records, now available as a podcast, by TNA military specialist William Spencer.

The talk covers the records of the Royal Air Force and predecessor organizations the Royal Engineers Balloon Section, the Royal Flying Corps and Royal Naval Air Service. There are peculiarities to the records for people whose service bridged the transition in 1918. For WW2 records are still with the Ministry of Defence and available only to the ex-serviceman or next-of-kin.

As with Spencer`s previous presentations, this is another example of a topic that would benefit from the visuals being available.

New Zealand BDMs

You can search for birth, death and marriage historical records here for that family cousin whose ship out of Britain headed south to New Zealand. The site has a search facility for NZ:

• Births that occurred at least 100 years ago
• Stillbirths that occurred at least 50 years ago
• Marriages and eventually Civil Unions that occurred 80 years ago
• Deaths that occurred at least 50 years ago or the deceased's date of birth was at least 80 years ago.

In New Zealand registration of births and deaths was introduced in 1848, and in 1854 for marriages.

The free searches return index entries with names, year, and date of birth for deaths, but no location information.

You can order and pay online to have a research hardcopy mailed at about the cost of a UK certificate. Other formats are also available.

The site seemed to work pretty well, as long as you type in dates in the right format.

1916 Canadian census

Ancestry.ca have made available an indexed version of the 1916 census for Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, linked to original images.

Here's the press release:

Ancestry.ca ANNOUNCES WORLD-FIRST ONLINE LAUNCH OF 1916 Census of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta

More than 1.7 million names indexed and fully searchable - 38,000+ images of original documents (Toronto, ON – Feb. 26 2009)

In a world first, Ancestry.ca, Canada’s leading family history website, today launched online the 1916 Census of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, which contains 1.7 million names and more than 38,000 images of original Census pages in an indexed and fully searchable format.

From 1906 to 1956, a separate Census was taken for the Prairie provinces five years after every national Census, providing a more complete picture of Canada’s west at this time. By law, the collection was kept private for 92 years and this is the first time ever that Canadians can view these important records online.

Family and social history enthusiasts can search the collection by first and last name, residence, place and year of birth, by father, mother and spouse’s name. This Census was also the first ever in Canada to ask about military service, providing much more detailed information about one’s ancestors. In addition to recording basic population and demographic statistics, the Census recorded primary migrant communities, which originated from England, Ireland, Scotland, the U.S. and Russia. In fact, 1916 was the year that the famous Doukhobors - a group of Christian Russian immigrants that would come to play a great role in building the Prairies - first arrived in Alberta.

Karen Peterson, Marketing Director, Ancestry.ca, comments: “The 1916 Census of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta is a fascinating and valuable snapshot of the Canadian Prairies and the people living there during a time of tremendous significance in the shaping of our country. “Not only are Census records one of the most vital resources for family history researchers but they help paint a picture of the times in which these people lived and the many challenges they overcame.” 1916 was a milestone year in Canada’s history, especially in the Prairies. On January 28, women in Manitoba were finally given the right to vote; this was the first time that right was granted in Canada, and thanks to the efforts of great women such as Nellie McClung, who appears in the 1916 Census living in Edmonton, Alberta. It was also in 1916 that Canadian troops fought in some of the most significant battles of the First World War - the Battle of Mont Sorrel and the Battle of the Somme, in which Canada’s heroic role helped pave the way for a future Allied victory.

Many Canadians will be able to find ancestors in this collection and Census records are excellent for narrowing down individuals and families in a particular place and time. But family history enthusiasts can also scan the 1916 Census of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta to see if they are related to notable Canadians from the Prairie Provinces, including:
· Nellie McClung - One of the most important leaders of Canada's first wave of feminism, she is still remembered for her role in the women’s suffrage movement. McClung appears in the Census living in Edmonton with her husband Robert and their five children. · Tom Three Persons - A famous Blackfoot Indian bronco rider, he broke many bronco records and was the first native person to be the world’s bucking horse champion. Persons appears in the Census living with his wife, Wolf Long Face, on the Alberta Blood Indian reserve near Hanna, Alberta.
· Chief David Crowchild - As a young adult, Crowchild worked in the rodeos and at Indian fairs in Alberta. He became a Chief in 1946 and stood as the Tsuu T’ina People’s leader for seven years from 1946 to 1953. He appears in the Census living with his parents on the Sarcee Indian Reserve near Edmonton, Alberta.
· Sarah Ramsland - Born in Minnesota, Ramsland moved to Buchanan, Saskatchewan after she was married and became famous for being the first woman elected to the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan. She is found in the Census living with her two children and husband, Max.
· W. O. Mitchell - A famous author of novels, short stories and plays, he was born in Weyburn, Saskatchewan in 1914 and later settled in High River, Alberta. Mitchell is best known for his 1947 novel, Who Has Seen The Wind, which has sold close to a million copies in Canada. Two year-old William Ormond Mitchell appears in the Census living with his parents and older brother John, in Weyburn.
· William “Bible Bill” Aberhart - Born in Kippen, Ontario in 1878, he later moved to Calgary, Alberta to teach. Called “Bible Bill” for his religious preaching, Aberhart helped found the Social Credit Party, which had power from 1935 to 1971. During this time he served as the Premier of Alberta, Minister of Education and Attorney General. He appears in the Census living in Calgary with his wife and two children.

The 1916 Census of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta is available through a 14-day Free Trial at Ancestry.ca.

More on Paper of Record newspapers

Unfortunately it appears finding of Paper of Record (PoR) newspapers at World Vital Records (WVR) reported here yesterday is not as good as it looks.

An entry in Google News Help reports "To look at a newspaper (on WVR), a subscription needs to be paid. .. I did a search on the Yukon World, one of the two Yukon newspapers once on the PoR website. My search on a name I knew would be in the paper turned up four hits. Great! I then clicked on one of the finds to "find out more" and what did I find? I was transferred to the same Google webpage one is taken to when you go to the Paper of Record database. And, just to make sure, I did a search on the advanced search facility on Google and came up with no entries for the Yukon World. Exactly the same outcome since the closure of the PoR website."

It appears that WVR was providing a consolidated gateway to PoR content for their subscribers which got broken when Google closed the PoR website. If you have a WVR subscription please share your experience with accessing these newspaper databases.

Unusual first name Ocean

While transcribing I found the name Ocean Fisher.

I checked FreeBMD and found Ocean Rolls, Ocean Hazard, Ocean Bridge and Ocean Strand.

Gene-o-rama reminder

OGS Ottawa Branch holds its annual Gene-o-rama from March 27 to 28, 2009. Save $6 by registering by 28 February. Further information and online registration here.

Found -- Paper of Record newspapers

It turns out some of the papers, not all, formerly available through Paper of Record are now available through the World Vital Records subscription service. Why couldn't Google provide that information upfront?

Friends Reunited future looks shaky

The pioneer UK social networking site Friends Reunited has been worth knowing about for genealogists with UK interests. Several years ago I used it to locate the siblings of a second cousin, found through Genes Reunited.

British press reports are that owner ITV is considering selling Friends Reunited as a cost-cutting measure. Last April the site moved from a subscription model to advertiser supported, you can see the jump in search volume, but that was shortly before advertising collapsed. Read more here.

The reports suggest that Friends Reunited by itself may be a difficult sell, but could be more attractive if packaged with Genes Reunited which claims to be "The UK's no.1 family history site with 9 million members.

Google must walk the "Don't be evil" talk

There's a storm brewing at Google and genealogists are involved.

It was started when Google, having acquired the Paper of Record content of Ottawa company Cold North Wind Inc, chose to take down that site before fully integrating the files into Google's newspaper archive. Papers from several locations are no longer available and "The Google Results are in no way comparable to what Paper of Record presented."

Here are some comments from Google News Suggestions since discussion started at the end of January:

"I was soooo disappointed to find that I could not access the archives for The Temiskaming Speaker. It included a wealth of information for my family tree research."

"I too am very disappointed that this service has been discontinued. I used it quite often when I was doing geaealigical (sic) research."

"None of this content is available (newspapers from Mexico) as of today."

"I was making very precise and detailed use of the two Yukon (Canada) newspapers in the database, which were providing me with information not available otherwise to me here in Australia. ... I turned my attention elsewhere for a couple of weeks and when I returned I find the present mess."

"I was in the middle of a doctoral dissertation using obscure Canadian newspapers, when suddenly the whole system got pulled out from under my feet. It's outrageous -- it is certainly making me a dedicated enemy of Google -- until now I thought they were kind of a good thing, but this is sheer cultural rapine piracy!"

"Google, what you have done to Paper of Record is pure evil" Don't be evil is one of Google's credos.

"Google has shown that the academic community cannot rely on them when they pull content at a whim. It is scary to think that Google can manipulate and control content this way."

Google's official response is:

"Google acquired content from paperofrecord.com. We're currently working on the most effective way to search and browse this valuable content. We're doing our best to find a solution to include as much of the acquired content as possible.

While a lot of this content has been made available through Archive search, we're still refining processes to include incompatible newspaper images in our index. We're also working with certain publishers to acquire the rights to display their content. All of this takes time, and we appreciate your patience. We're constantly making improvements to ensure the best user experience."

The response fails to address why the the Paper of Record interface can't be restored until Google can replace it with one at least as good. Even with its limitations, and there were plenty, Paper of Record was the half a loaf that was better than none.

If you miss the Paper of Record material let Google know by posting here.

Thanks to Willis Burwell for the storm alert.

Couldn't genealogical societies learn to share nicely?

Newspapers are in trouble. There's even a website called Newspaper Death Watch.

Last Friday they ran an article New York Dailies Try Sharing Nicely

"Five New York newspapers have banded together to exchange content in the largest such arrangement since the share-nicely craze began last year.

No details were forthcoming, but the group issued a press release quoting top editors at all the participating papers making head-slapping “Why didn’t we think of this earlier?” statements."

If newspapers can do it why not genealogical society magazines?

reCAPTCHAS for genealogy

An interesting story in The Walrus about how we're all helping transcribe digitized old books and newspapers using CAPTCHAS and reCAPTCHAS (the distorted text we have to transcribe to get access to some websites).

"Human Resources: The job you didn't even know you had" / by Alex Hutchinson. In The Walrus, Vol. 6, no. 2 (March 2009), p. 15-16.
http://www.walrusmagazine.com/articles/2009.03-technology-human-resources-recaptcha-alex-hutchinson/

Thanks to Linda Reid for the lead.

LAC Services Advisory Board Meeting

The Library and Archives Canada Services Advisory Board will be meeting by teleconference on Friday 27 February. Congratulations to LAC on getting the documentation for the meeting posted on the LAC web site a week in advance of the meeting. You may review it here. I'd be pleased to receive and pass along any substantive comments.

Closure of FamilyHistoryOnline

The Federation of Family History Societies announced last fall it is closing its FamilyHistoryOnline service. FFHS found it could not operate a competitive service. Much of the content is already also available findmypast.com. More transfers are expected. The website at www.familyhistoryonline.net will close at noon (GMT) on Monday 2nd March 2009.

No new memberships to FamilyHistoryOnline are being accepted. According to a FFHS FAQ arrangements have been made to convert the outstanding balance on partially-used vouchers to findmypast.com credits at end of the FamilyHistoryOnline service.

Not all the data currently at FamilyHistoryOnline is being transferred so if you have outstanding credits you might want to check to see if there's a database of interest that will be dissappearing. FFHS have promised to indicate the transfer status on the list of databases included here.

An overlooked 19th century UK census

In the UK any genealogist beyond the beginner stage knows that censuses started to be taken in 1801, were taken every ten years with that of 1841 being the first with nationwide nominal information available. In Canada the decennial census starting in 1871, and since 1851 in the prior colonies. Quinquennial censuses for 1906 and 1916 are available for the rapidly developing Prairies provinces.

Much less well know is that a quinquennial censuses was taken in London, England, in 1896. It was for much the same reason as those for the Prairies -- rapid growth.

The census aimed to record all people alive at midnight on Sunday March 29 - Monday March 30. It included name, relationship to the head of family and sex.

First results were reported in The Times of Thursday, May 28, 1896. The population of "registration London" or "the administrative county of London" was 4,411,271. It turned out that this additional census information showed the mid-1896 population was actually less than estimated based on extrapolation of the 1881 and 1891 censuses, not the result expected.

The count was an underestimate of the normal population. Some people in Soho were said to have walked the street at night rather than be enumerated. Also missing were the Queen and some members of the royal family who were on vacation in France. They were recorded in the French census taken at the same time.

You can read the census statistics by London parish starting here. Unfortunately, and undoubtedly why it's overlooked, the nominal records appear not to have survived.

A Call for Genealogical-Based Stories for a New Television Show

This message is posted, as received, for those with US genealogy interests, and those interested in developments in TV genealogy.

My name is Agustina Perez and I am a Producer of a new television series called, "What's My Story?" Our series is currently in the development phase and will revolve around the genealogical-based stories belonging to the everyman (and woman) as opposed to celebrities or known personalities. In fact, we are in the process of avidly searching for participants to be featured on our series. Our goal is to find participants from diverse backgrounds who are genuinely interested in undertaking a real journey of discovery -- one that explores their family tree, uncovers their family history and unveils fascinating and poignant facts about the social history surrounding the lives of their ancestors.

I am writing to you this afternoon because we need your assistance in locating engaging participants (to be featured on show) with compelling family questions or mysteries. Perhaps there are some clients that you are currently working with who would like to or wouldn't mind having their quest documented on film? Or perhaps you've come in contact with potential clients who have intriguing family stories/questions but who do not have the resources (time or money) to delve into their family history. As far as story parameters are concerned, we would like to find stories that can be filmed within the U.S. (for the first season.) However, if you know of interesting stories that venture into international territory, please send them our way and we may refer to them once we begin the second season. Also, at this point, we are only interested in going three to four generations deep, principally due to the availability of archival photos and footage to visually augment the stories.

Lastly, we are seeking to hire genealogists on a contract-basis to assist us with our research tasks. If you are interested in working with us, please email me with your availability from March until August 2009, your contracted rates, and if you would be interested in being an on-camera guest/expert. If you are not interested in being contacted by our show, please email me and with a request to be removed from this group list.

Our goal is a rather ambitious one. We would like to receive 500 stories by the beginning of next week. Hence, we could truly use the muscle of the grassroots mechanism. If you are a member of another genealogical association, please pass the word along. We have a website noted below for people who may be interested in applying to be on the show.

Thank you in advance for your assistance. I look forward to potentially working with you in the future.

Sincerely,
Agustina Perez Producer, BYU Broadcasting What's My Story? 510.449.4307 http://www.byub.org/whatsmystory/
"After all, everyone wants to be remembered."

Newspapers -- LAC digitization priority

LAC have posted a new section on their web site which "shares information on digital initiatives at LAC." There's a lot on information on strategy, and also insight on what the organization is working on digitizing.

The digitization plan for 2008-2009, presumably nearly complete, includes:

1. Mass Digitization Plan - 2008-2009

• Department of Indian Affairs, School Files Series (1879-1953)
• Yousuf Karsh photos
• Office of the Governor General of Canada, Despatches received and sent, British North America (Parts 1 and 2) (1784-1923)
• Sir John Sparrow David Thompson fonds
• Sir Charles Tupper fonds
• Canadian History books, FC classification (1900-1925)
• Department of External Affairs' Special Task Force, Front de libération du Québec - October Crisis
• Privy Council Office, Cabinet Conclusions (1976)
• Hansard (1901-1993)
• Hallen Family fonds

2. Finding Aid Conversion Plan - 2008-2009

• Canadian National Railways, Maps, plans and drawings for railway stations and buildings in Ontario and Québec (1853-1972)
• Registrar General Index (1651-1841)
• William Lyon Mackenzie King fonds, Correspondence (J1) (1889-1921)
• Department of National Defense, Canadian Military Headquarters and Army Historical Section, Historical reports (1940-1964)
• Proclamations issued by the Governor, Québec, Lower Canada and Canada East (1766-1860)
• Department of Public Works, Registers to contracts, deeds and leases (1879-1964)
• Privy Council Office, Registers of despatches (1867-1911)
• Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Photographs (1875-1995)
• Québec Gazette, Index
• Sir John Thompson fonds
• Public Archives of Canada, London Office index

For the longer term the LAC digitization strategy 2009-2014 states that the focus will be on the following broad content areas:

• finding aids,
• newspapers,
• audio-visual materials on obsolete supports,
• government publications,
• Canadian books in the public domain, and
• government records and private archives which support LAC services and programs.

Celebrate Heritage Day at Ottawa City Hall

Tuesday February 17, 2009, the third Tuesday of February, is Heritage Day in Ottawa.

Come and help celebrate Ottawa's local heritage, and let your Mayor and Council know that local heritage is important and worth supporting.

Location: Ottawa City Hall, 110 Laurier Street West, Ottawa. Ceremonies start at noon.