WorldVitalRecords update

With only a few US twigs in my family tree the databases of WorldVitalRecords.com are not usually of much interest for me. While there are UK records many are esoteric, and the larger ones duplicate databases to which I already have access.

The site has been looking tired and there hasn't been much new of late. However, Randy Seaver points out that WVR now has a new look, and some new databases. That's welcome.  Read Randy's blog post here.

A little DNA genealogy analysis

Warning: this posting is on the technical side. If you're math/science averse you may want to skip this one.

In preparation for a presentation at the Roots 2011 conference, and a dress rehearsal at the Ottawa DNA interest group on 28 May, I've been looking at some autosomal DNA results from 23andMe.

I've found a case of a mother-son pair which has almost 150 identifiable partial matches with other people (DNA cousins) in the company (23and Me) database. Each point in the chart below represents a DNA cousin, more often a male, with the position on the horizontal axis the percent shared DNA with the mother, and on the vertical axis with the son.

I expected that at maximum the son would share all the same DNA as with the cousin, and as a minimum none. Whether the son inherits all, most, a little, or none of the DNA the mother has common with the "cousin" is supposedly random. It depends on which sections of chromosomes are inherited by the son.

Surprisingly there were 10 cases where the son had more DNA in common with the "cousin" than did the mother. Did he inherit the excess serendipitously from the father, or is there another explanation?

Notice on the plot that there are no points below 0.1% son shared DNA. The company does not make available results where the percent shared is so small. Also there are only three results where the mother shared DNA is less than about 0.28%, likely as the son's shared DNA is less than 0.1% in these cases.
A best fit trend line through the data (in red) and a best fit line forced to go through the origin (in black) are shown. The latter, which goes some way to compensating for the lack of data below 0.1%, has a slope a bit less than 70%. On the face of it on average the son inherits a bit less than 70% of the mother's shared DNA, not the average 50% according to theory.

Historical Account of the ... Regiment

Just added to the Internet Archive are a series of potted histories of British Regiments from their formation to about the mid-19th century. You won't find mention of individuals, other than commanding officers. Use these publications to see what actions the regiment was engaged in while your ancestor was enlisted.

There's a list of these histories below, but its best to browse the listing here which may also surface other publications of British military interest at the Internet Archive.

Historical record of the First, or Royal Regiment of Foot [microform] : containing an account of the origin of the regiment in the reign of King James VI of Scotland and of its subsequent services to 1846

Historical record of the Forty-second, or, the Royal Highland Regiment of Foot [microform] : containing an account of the formation of six companies of Highlanders in 1729 ... and were regimented in 1739 and of the subsequent services of the regiment to 1844

Historical record of the Forty-Sixth, or the South Devonshire Regiment of Foot [microform] : containing an account of the formation of the regiment in 1741 and of its subsequent services to 1851

Historical record of the Fourteenth, or the Buckinghamshire Regiment of Foot [microform] : containing an account of the formation of the regiment in 1865 and of its subsequent services to 1845

Historical record of The Fourth, or, Royal Irish Regiment of Dragoon Guards [microform] : containing an account of the formation of the regiment in 1685, and of its subsequent services to 1838

Historical record of The Fourth, or, The King's Own Regiment of Foot [microform] : containing an account of the formation of the regiment in 1680, and of its subsequent services to 1839

Historical record of The Fourth, or The Queen's Own Regiment of Light Dragoons [microform] : containing an account of the formation of the regiment in 1685 and of its subsequent services to 1842

Historical record of The Nineteenth, or, The First Yorkshire North Riding Regiment of Foot [microform] : containing an account of the formation of the regiment in 1688 and of its subsequent services to 1848

Historical record of The Second, or, Queen's Regiment of Dragoon Guards, (Queen's Bays) [microform] : containing an account of the formation of the regiment in 1685 and of its subsequent services to 1837

Historical record of the Seventh, or, Princess Royal's Regiment of Dragoon Guards [microform] : containing an account of the formation of the regiment in 1688 and of its subsequent services to 1839

Historical record of the Seventh Regiment of Light Dragoons-Lancers [microform] : containing an account of the formation of the regiment in 1759 and of its subsequent services to 1841

Historical record of the Seventh Regiment, or, The Royal Fusiliers [microform] : containing an account of the formation of the regiment in 1685, and of its subsequent services to 1846

Historical record of the Seventh, or, The Surrey Regiment of Foot [microform] : containing an account of the formation of the regiment in 1758, and of its subsequent services to 1848

Historical record of the Seventy-First Regiment, Highland Light Infantry [microform] : containing an account of the formation of the regiment in 1777, and of its subsequent services to 1852

Historical record of the Seventy-fourth Regiment (Highlanders) [microform] : containing an account of the formation of the regiment in 1787, and of its subsequent services to 1850

Historical record of the Seventy-Third Regiment [microform] : containing an account of the formation of the regiment from the period of its being raised as the Second Battalion of the Forty-Second Royal Highlanders in 1870 and of its subsequent services to 1851.

Historical record of The Sixty-Seventh, or, The South Hampshire Regiment [microform] : containing an account of the formation of the regiment in 1758 and of its subsequent services to 1849

Historical record of The Thirty-ninth, or, The Dorsetshire Regiment of Foot [microform] : containing an account of the regiment in 1702 and of its subsequent services to 1853

Historical record of The Thirty-Fourth, or, The Cumberland Regiment of Foot [microform] : containing in account of the formation of the regiment in 1702, and its subsequent services to 1844

Historical record of the Thirty-first, or, The Huntingdonshire Regiment of Foot [microform] : containing an account of the formation of the regiment in 1702, and of its subsequent services to 1850, to which is appended an account of the services of the Marine Corps, from 1664 to 1748 : the Thirtieth, Thirty-First and Thirty-Second Regments having been formed in 1702 as Marine Corps, and retained from 1714 on the establishment of the army as regiments of regular infantry

Historical record of the Twenty-Third Regiment, or, The Royal Welsh Fusiliers [microform] : containing an account of the formation of the regiment in 1689 and of its subsequent services to 1850

Historical record of The Twentieth, or, The East Devonshire Regiment of Foot [microform] : containing an account of the formation of the regiment in 1688, and of its subsequent services to 1848

Historical record of the Sixteenth, or, The Queen's Regiment of Light Dragoons, Lancers [microform] : containing an account of the formation of the regiment in 1759 and of its subsequent services to 1841

Historical record of the Sixteenth, or the Bedfordshire Regiment of Foot [microform] : containing an account of the formation of the regiment in 1688 and of its subsequent services to 1848

Historical record of the Thirteenth, First Somerset, or the Prince Albert's Regiment of Light Infantry [microform] : containing an account of the formation of the regiment in 1865 and of its subsequent services to 1848

Historical record of the Twelfth, or the East Suffolk Regiment of Foot [microform] : containing an account of the formation of the regiment in 1685 and of its subsequent services to 1847

Historical record of the Tenth, the Prince of Wales's Own Royal Regiment of Hussars [microform] : containing an account of the formation of the regiment in 1715, and of its subsequent services to 1842

Historical record of the Tenth, or the North Lincolnshire Regiment of Foot [microform] : containing an account of the formation of the regiment in 1685, and its subsequent services to 1847

Historical record of the Sixth, or Inniskilling Regiment of Dragoons [microform] : containing an account of the formation of the regiment in 1689, and of its subsequent services to 1846

Historical record of the Sixth, or Royal First Warwickshire Regiment of Foot [microform] : containing an account of the formation of the regiment in the year 1674, and of its subsequent services to 1838

Historical record of the Sixth Regiment of Dragoon Guards, or the Carabineers [microform] : containing an account of the formation of the regiment in 1685, and of its subsequent services to 1839

Historical record of the Third, or Prince of Wales' Regiment of Dragoon Guards [microform] : containing an account of the formation of the Regiment in 1685, and of its subsequent services to 1838

Do you know TONI?

One of the Ontario Genealogical Society 50th anniversary projects is The Ontario Name Index, TONI for short.

With just 79,621 records available at present it's just getting started. Only records contributed by Wellington (the majority) and Kawartha Branches are now online. There is a promise that it will "quickly become large – perhaps as many as fifty million entries."

Here's a sample of a search on everyone's favourite surname.

As indicated by the t in the sources column, most of the data at present is from tombstones, likely a duplication of the data from the Ontario Cemetery Ancestor Index but with pay per view access to a more complete record. 

Other sources to be added are birth, christening/baptism, death, funeral card, family history, marriage, newspaper article, obit, township papers and Tweedsmuir history.

Even with the starter database it's easy to anticipate problems with common names not being well enough distinguished to make a pay per view purchase attractive. 

Find TONI at http://www.ogs.on.ca/home/TONI.php

Top US baby names 2010

The US Social Security Administration has just released their top name list for 2010.

For baby boys the top five are: Jacob, Ethan, Michael, Jayden and William

For baby girls it's: Isabella, Sophia, Emma, Olivia and Ava.

See the complete list of the top ten, and explore US fashions in names at http://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/

I try and keep track of baby names in Canada and the UK. There is an amazing difference in when the list is released, if at all. Scotland is usually first, before the end of the year. Jack and Sophie were Scotland’s top baby names in 2010.

Improved searching at Findmypast.co.uk

Findmypast are now providing a single search capability combining their records for England & Wales births 1837-2006, British nationals born overseas 1818-2005, British nationals born in the army 1761-2005, and British nationals born at sea 1854-1887. 

There is a similar capability for England & Wales marriages 1837-2005, British nationals married overseas 1818-2005, British nationals married in the army 1796-2005, British nationals married at sea 1854-1908.

For death records? Early last year paying clients were promised a complete indexing of England and Wales death records by the end of the year. It didn't happen. The company reneged on the commitment choosing to pursue other priorities. That's a black mark on their record. Why couldn't they deliver "half a loaf" as they did with the phased release of Chelsea Pensioner records?

This present announcement claims "We're very close to completing our project to fully name index our death records. Once this is complete, we will combine all our death records into one search to finish the series."

Canada's vulnerable federal records

In the US, by law, federal agencies have 30 years to turn over all the records that must be permanently retained by the National Archives.  But the US National Archivist David Ferriero, in testimony before the US House of Representatives, stated his belief that such a long time-frame is a recipe for lost documents and a spotty historical record, especially in this age of electronic records.


In Canada, by contrast, there is no law requiring such deposit.  As long as the agency or department claims they are working records they may retain them with their files. Thus we have the absurd situation that only incoming ships passenger lists up to 1935 are held at Library and Archives Canada. Canada's National Librarian and Archivist apparently sees no problem with this.

More on the census logo

My last post was barely published when Sherri Pettit, coordinator of the CanadaGenWeb & OntarioGenWeb emailed me letting me know about the origin of the census logo that SGS is using on their website.

Sherri originally created the logo for the OntarioGenWeb's Census Project (http://ontariocensus.rootsweb.com) for the 2006 census and updated it earlier this year to reflect the 2011 census. The updated logo first appeared on the census project website in early March and was later added to CanadaGenWeb (http://canadagenweb.org) and the CanadaGenWeb update blog (http://canadagenweb.blogspot.com).

Thanks for your initiative Sherri.

I've added the logo to this blog for the duration of the census campaign as a reminder. Hopefully others in the Canadian genealogical community will also add the logo. I've also added links to the organizations that add the logo or otherwise publicize the need to make a positive decision.

Canada census 2011

A mailing from Statistics Canada arrived on May 3, but it didn't contain a census form. Instead it had a web address for providing the information online, www.census2011.gc.ca/, and a 15 digit access code. Also included were instructions on how to obtain a paper copy which involved calling a 1-866 telephone number and entering the 15 digit code. Successfully doing that was acknowledged with the information that the paper copy should arrive in five days.

On the website a section called "Genealogy corner" includes the information that:

The 2011 Census questionnaire contains a question that permits you to be part of the history of Canada. If you check yes to this permission question, your descendants will be able to do family and genealogical research on you and your family in the future.

There is further information in a Q/A

Q. Why am I being asked for permission to make my census information available in 92 years?

A. Starting in 2006, respondents to the census are asked if they want their personal census information publicly released after 92 years. For those who give explicit permission for the public release of their 2011 Census information, Statistics Canada will transfer that information to Library and Archives Canada in 2103, which in turn will make it publicly available. For those who do not give permission, their personal information will not be transferred.

Sadly, the information provides no encouragement to provide permission in recognition of the value of the information for historical social research.

The logo at the top is from the Saskatchewan Genealogical Society website. It's unfortunate that none of the other Canadian genealogical or family history societies websites I visited, including AFHS, AGS, BCGS, BIFHSGO, OGS, and QFHS, reflect any effort to encourage members and others to provide such permission. 


As the ultimate custodian of these records, which ideally would be as complete as possible, why would LAC not also encourage providing permission?

Scottish Monumental Inscriptions and Deceasedonline

In the latest news posting on the Scottish monumental inscriptions website they report they now have over 100,000 images from various cemeteries across Scotland available on CD. They are photographing 1 to 8 burial grounds per day at the moment, (mainly weekends) and transcribing of over 300 cemeteries across Scotland is going well.

They now have an agreement with Deceasedonline. Records for Fife, Inverness and Perthshire were added to the deceasedonline website in February and more is promised. This is welcome as few of us have any need for more data CDs beside our computer containing only one or two items of interest.

England Jurisdictions 1851

Here's one of the great resources for English family history research that seems to be not as well known as it should be. It's not totally new, but because it gets overlooked, I'll briefly profile it again.

Can't find the ancestors' record in the home parish, then look in adjacent ones. In which Poor Law Union, where your needy ancestors might find help, was the ancestor's parish? Experienced family historians know that maps can be a best friend and help sort out confusing situations.

Here's an example from my ancestry. The parish of Ellastone is in Staffordshire. It's in the rural Deanery of Uttoxeter, also in Staffordshire. However, the Poor Law District is Ashbourne, named for the larger community which, like most of the District, is in Derbyshire.

Try it at http://maps.familysearch.org/. You'll like it.

Londonremembers.com

One of the first things visitors to London learn is that it's packed with history. Walk down almost any street and you'll find a monument, or one of the famous blue plaques marking where something notable happened, often the residents of a renowned person.

Londonremembers.com aims to capture all the memorials in London, 8311 subjects (people, events, etc.) to date on 1966 memorials, at 1534 sites. It's better experienced than described, and contains an amazing variety of items. Why would Ottawa find its way onto the site?

Canadian Army Newsreels

The War Amps, in cooperation with the Library and Archives Canada  and veterans of the Canadian Army Film Unit, has  available a six DVD set containing more than 20 hours of footage from 106 newsreels filmed and produced by the CAFU during the Second World War.

The CAFU front-line cameramen were soldiers first. In addition to camera instruction, they received infantry training and took guns into battle along with their 35 mm movie cameras to record the Canadian infantry in action, notably during the invasion of Sicily and D-Day.

The newsreels, popular in home front movie theatres, also feature the daily routines of the soldiers behind the lines, life on the home front in Canada and historic footage of politicians and generals from the Allied and Axis countries.

This, and many other Canadian military related DVDs, are available from the War Amps at 

https://www.ezeeaccess.ca/CMSCartVideos.aspx?#CANR

Genealogy in London

Else Churchill from the Society of Genealogists has prepared a summary of a 20 April meeting of invited representatives of the London area genealogy community to update the family history community on issues affecting the London Metropolitan Archives (LMA), Here are highlights.

CUTS


LMA will close on Fridays and will be open only one Saturday a month. This will take place from November. Longer opening hours on Wednesdays, meaning late night opening to 7.30pm on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, are being added. 

DIGITISATION

Many C of E parish registers, Board of Guardian Records, School and Nonconformist registers from the LMA collection are now online through the partnership with Ancestry.co.uk. The Guildhall Library and LMA Collections of Poll Books and the Overseas Returns are in progress. London wills, numbering near 400,000, are coming. Parish confirmations, Middlesex transported convict records, Surrey Marriage Bonds and Allegations, London Land Tax and London Poll books will be included. 


City livery company records deposited the Guildhall Library are being negotiated. 


2012 will see the inclusion of the City and Tower Hamlets Cemetery records and some Session Records.

PUBLIC ROOMS

A service lift at LAN is to be refurbished between November and December which will affect the production
of records. Avoid making a visit in this period and give lots of notice using the advanced ordering facility on the online catalogue if you do plan a visit. 

Delay in opening of new Ottawa City Archives

Construction work is ongoing on the exterior of the new Archives building at Woodroffe and Tallwood. A call to the archives, where I listened to a message that they expect to be open by the end of April, received a prompt response that they now do not expect to be open for another two weeks. With construction continuing safety on the site could be an issue for public access.

The Art of Mourning in Ottawa: ReVisioning Victorian Bereavement Artefacts

The following is a notice from the Bytown Museum

Saskatchewan-born, Ottawa-based artist and academic Cindy Stelmackowich will present the findings of her artist-in-residence project at the Bytown Museum. During the winter of 2011, Ms. Stelmackowich unearthed and researched a wide range of Victorian mourning artefacts from the Museum's collection. From her study of these artefacts she intends to create new artworks that will highlight the intimately-charged visual languages of mourning, mortality, beauty and death.

Mourning artefacts in the Bytown Museum's collection comprise a wide range of decorative, domestic and public memorabilia, and include hair wreaths, veils, clothing, jewelry such as lockets, bracelets and earrings which incorporate hair, and decorative items such as memory ware jugs.

The Bytown Museum's acting curator, Judith Parker, inaugurated the residency program in 2011 to facilitate access to the Museum's significant collection. The residency program supports innovative research and creative interpretation of this important cultural repository that reflects Ottawa's early history.

· Public talk given by artist Cindy Stelmackowich
· Saturday 30 April, 2011, from 2 - 3 pm
· In English
· Bytown Museum. Free admission

West Yorkshire baptism records added by findmypast

Find 211,905 West Yorkshire parish baptism records added at findmypast.co.uk

Parishes  covered	Years  covered	Number of  records
Almondbury All Hallows	1703-1930	49,184
Dewsbury All Saints	1655-1950	57,160
Huddersfield St Peter	1563-1923	66,299
Kirkburton All Hallows	1686-1963	39,262

A portrait miniaturist in the family?

Edition 13 of the Family and Local History Handbook has an article by Australian genealogist Sandra Hargreaves on "The History of Portrait Miniatures." Portrait miniaturists were eclipsed with the arrival of photographers in the mid nineteenth century; prior to that there were many of them in the UK, perhaps someone in your family tree.

The focus of the article is on an unrelated Hargreaves, Thomas (1774-1846), who was sufficiently prominent to have a listing in the Dictionary of National Biography.

An interesting web site at http://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/paintings/miniatures/index.html includes a directory of some prominent miniaturists, but not Hargreaves. Neither is he mentioned in the blog referenced at http://portrait-miniature.blogspot.com/.

I was drawn to the article as a practitioner of that art is in a distant branch of my family tree, William Derby (1786–1847). He and his son Alfred Thomas Derby(1821–1873), shown in a stylish self-portrait, are both also in the DNB but not in the other references above.

And a note on a development since I wrote the above, one where superior service deserves mention. I noticed a genealogical  error in some material on Alfred Thomas Derby on the National Portrait Gallery website, emailed them reporting the matter and received two replies within the hour, the second saying the matter is corrected in their internal database and will migrate to the public website.

The first genealogical society

I have been on a bit of a kick looking at genealogical history. An article from the July/August 1999 issue of Family Chronicle magazine deals with the early history, up to the founding of the New England Historic Genealogical Society in 1845. Read it at: http://www.familychronicle.com/HistoryOfGenealogy.html

I was surprised to read that "The New England Historic Genealogical Society was chartered in that year, two full years before a similar society was begun in England."

Thanks to lots more digitized material available since 1999 that statement has to be revised. The Morning Post (London, England), Wednesday, March 11, 1846; has an item on the London Genealogical Society. An article from Punch, of which the first part is shown, is also from 1846.

The NEHGS retains bragging rights by a small margin. 

Changes to the English Records program at the National Institute of Genealogical Studies

The following is extracted from a press release from the National Institute for Genealogical Studies (NIGS).

English Studies Director, Dr. Penelope Christensen, has announced her retirement from NIGS. Dr. Christensen has been the Director of the English Certificate Programme ever since she founded it in 2000. She is starting her well-deserved retirement to concentrate on completing her family genealogy books, doing some traveling, and tending to her beautiful garden. 

Kirsty Gray, residing about 40 miles (64 km) outside London, England, has been appointed the new Director of English Studies. In her new position, Kirsty will be reviewing and updating the record courses from Census and Civil Registration to the much more advanced records such as Land, Property, Education, and Court Records. 

Kirsty grew up in Dorset and studied at the University of Reading (England) and Ottawa University (Canada), was awarded a Master's degree in Chemistry in June 2000, then took up genealogy professionally while training to be a teacher in 2002. Kirsty is an author, having written for the magazine Practical Family History and currently writing for Family Tree Magazine and Your Family Tree on various topics for beginners to more advanced levels. A sought-after lecturer, her knowledge, and her energetic and infectious personality wows audiences across the UK. 

After serving as Secretary of the Guild of One-Name Studies (GOONS), she took on the role of Chairman in April 2010, and is credited with “turning the Guild around and bringing it back to life.”

For more information on NIGS see: www.genealogicalstudies.com