I'm a long-time Findmypast subscriber and use it frequently, especially these days for the digitized British newspaper access.
Sadly FMP has discontinued discount subscription offers in conjunction with membership in genealogical and family history societies.
Now, for a limited time, we can all get 15% off a 12-month Findmypast Pro subscription.
The offer is good for new subscribers and existing subscribers who auto-renew and is open until 23.59 BST, 16th October 2018. It may not work if you don't have auto-renew checked.
For the small print see https://www.findmypast.co.uk/new-offer
Note that after the initial 12-month period, your subscription will be automatically renewed at the normal price unless you un-tick the ‘auto-renew my subscription’ box in the My Account section of the site.
10 October 2018
Findmypast discount offer
Ancient Art and Modern Crime: How Stolen Antiquities End Up In Our Most Respected Museums
Abstract
In 2011 a visitor walked into the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and stole a 2500-year-old relief of a guard’s head valued at over $1.2 mil. In July of 2018, the New York Supreme court ordered that the sculpture, which had been seized by the District Attorney of New York from a London-based antiquities dealer, be returned to Iran. How the artefact was stolen from the famous archaeological site of Persepolis and ended up in Canada, and what happened after the piece was stolen again give us a glimpse of the dark underbelly of the art world. This is where high culture meets smuggling, desire, greed, and white-collar crime.
Many of our most respected museums house stolen antiquities. High-end auction houses and antiquities dealers sell loot on a daily basis. Upstanding and elite citizens freely engage in this criminal market. But unlike with most illegal commodities, trafficked antiquities can be openly bought and sold, and are often put on public display. How is this possible? Using the Persepolis relief as a case study, this lecture will discuss how research from criminology can be used to understand white collar crime in the art world.
MacOdrum Library (room 252), from 2:30-4:00 PM. Reception to follow.
Family Tree Magazine - November Issue
LIFE AFTER ARMISTICE
The Great War cast a long shadow over the lives of our ancestors and their families. Keith Gregson reports his own research findings on the immediate post-war years for some of those from north-east England those who served.
TELLING STORIES OF THE PAST FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS
The IWM Director-General Diane Lees shares her views on the nation's remembrance
DECODING A DEATH PENNY
Keith Oseman explains the iconography of these 1.35 million First World War artefacts, given to grieving families to honour their lost sons and daughters. The article recounts the story of a nurse Margaret Hassé, and her brother Edwin who served with the CEF. Another brother Frank survived the war and became a Mountie.
FIRST WORLD WAR CENTENARY: THE FAMILY HISTORY LEGACY
Chris Paton reflects on the wealth of new resources now available for family historians and opportunities to help commemorate the lives of WW I ancestors
NO GRAVE BUT THE SEA
Could a death at sea solve your World War I brick wall? Simon Wills looks at the official and non-official sites that might help, although not all civilian deaths at sea were recorded.
THE SPIRIT OF THE HOME FRONT
Amanda Randall tells that charitable giving including goods or ‘in kind' donations during the Great War may have reached at least £150 million, which today is equivalent to approximately £1 billion each year of the war. 18,000 new charities established in the UK during the war not only aided the war effort but changed attitudes to fundraising and charity.
CLOTHING IN WW1
Jayne Shrimpton looks at the fashions of the day in a war-torn world and how women’s changing roles influenced their wardrobe
STUDYING ITALY IN THE GREAT WAR
Julie Goucher focuses on a website for researchers tracing Italian ancestors who fought in WW1
HEROES AT SEA
Find out 'how the Navy won the war' with Simon Wills and Jim Ring
And
There was also a box item on my blog project posting short biographies of the Great War servicemen buried at Beechwood Cemetery on the occasion of the centennial of death. It referred to two of them originally from my home town in England and the online CEF service file images freely available on Library and Archives Canada’s website under the First World War link at www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/Pages/home.aspx
09 October 2018
Changes at Google
You perhaps saw the announcement that the social network Google+ will be discontinued.
Finding 1: There are significant challenges in creating and maintaining a successful Google+ product that meets consumers’ expectations.
Action 1: We are shutting down Google+ for consumers.
Google+ never made much of an impact and the company is known for being prepared to kill off unsuccessful products.
What you may not have seen is the other announcements in the release that improve security.
Finding 2: People want fine-grained controls over the data they share with apps.
Action 2: We are launching more granular Google Account permissions that will show in individual dialog boxes.
Finding 3: When users grant apps access to their Gmail, they do so with certain use cases in mind.
Action 3: We are limiting the types of use cases that are permitted.
Finding 4: When users grant SMS, Contacts and Phone permissions to Android apps, they do so with certain use cases in mind.
Action 4: We are limiting apps’ ability to receive Call Log and SMS permissions on Android devices, and are no longer making contact interaction data available via the Android Contacts API.
https://www.blog.google/technology/safety-security/project-strobe/
British Newspaper Archive Issues
The BNA tweeted out "Cajoling and coaxing of servers is ongoing and new titles are arriving on the site. We have some syncing to do.."
Those technical issues perhaps explain why posting of new material on the site has been spasmodic recently with gaps of days between new material appearing.
What it doesn't explain is why preference is being given to Scottish and Irish materials. Overall on a per capita basis Ireland accounts for 76% more pages than England, Scotland 21% more. For the period of the First World War Ireland has 30% more, Scotland 26% pages per capita.
08 October 2018
WTF Opportunities
Weddings, Thanksgiving and Funerals, occasions when families get together, are opportunities to gather and distribute family history knowledge.
In the latest OGS eWeekly Update Patti Mordasewicz has a timely suggestion: "ask each person “What is your favourite part of Thanksgiving?” Then ask one of your teenage family members to turn on their cell phone and record the responses! Save the digital file and share it with everyone who has the technology to view it – but, for those who don’t, create a transcription or synopsis that can be read by future generations."
What about distributing? Next week it's my unfortunate duty to be giving a(n) eulogy at my young brother's funeral, I’d hoped I'd never have to do so.
A family historian with a captive audience should come with a warning label, family history isn’t everyone’s cup of tea — but on this occasion they’ll have to suffer just a little.
My brother although born in England chose to spend much of his life in Portugal. So it's intriguing that our family roots find their way back there — our earliest known ancestor, on our mother’s side, if you believe a credible looking family tree, was Abraham Zacuto, born in 1452, mathematician, rabbi and historian who served as Portuguese Royal Astronomer in the 15th century.
Perhaps that might lodge in the minds of his children, and I'll go easy on the intervening generations hoping some might express interest at the reception afterwards.
Book: She Has Her Mother's Laugh: The Powers, Perversions, and Potential of Heredity
I've just finished reading, or rather listening to the audiobook version of this recent book by science writer Carl Zimmer.It's long, 672 pages in hardback, 20 1/2 hours in the audiobook version which I listened to at 1.5 times speed. That's too much to review, and not everything spoke to me. There were passages where I drifted off while listening. Some historical context I found ponderous. Some was familiar material — as you go back through the generations you have genealogical ancestors who likely contributed nothing to your genetics. Some took me into medical matters, totally unfamiliar frontier territory such as gene-drives.
Chapter 13, Chimera, particularly held my attention as it dealt with people, and other beings that have DNA from more than the two parental sources we generally think of. You may have DNA predominately from one source in your heart and less so in your brain. Twins can exchange DNA in the womb. My mother, whose twin brother died at birth, may well have carried some of his DNA throughout her life meaning that I may have some of his too. Y-DNA has been found in a mother's brains from her son, apparently the placenta allows flow both ways. There's some possible truth in "Insanity is heredity, you get it from your children."
Elsewhere the book ranges from the history of eugenics, gut microbes, to environment and social inequality and, the conservatism of the legal system when faced with new science findings.
One issue with the audiobook was not having access to the glossary, notes, bibliography and index which are nearly 100 pages in the printed book — and wouldn't have made for good audio content.
Overall I'm glad I listened, but sad that only a small part will stick. I might have grasped more if Zimmer had been more careful to target his audience.
Hardcover: 672 pages
Publisher: Dutton; 1st Edition edition (May 29, 2018)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 9781101984598
ISBN-13: 978-1101984598
William Mahlon Davis: CWGC Beechwood
He is buried at Beechwood Cemetery in grave reference: 159. South-West part. Sec. 19.
07 October 2018
Sunday Sundries
Miscellaneous items I found of interest during the week.
How our addiction to stories keeps us from understanding history
Internet Archive/Wayback Machine Has Now “Rescued” More Than 9 Million Broken Links on Wikipedia
Coral-like cities to show road networks
Notice how these British cities tend to spread north rather than south. Why?
Rockstar Genealogist in hiatus
Several people have asked. Owing to various circumstances I will not be conducting the Rockstar Genealogist survey this year.
Experience from previous years is that although the topmost position may shift those in the upper ranks tend to stay there from year to year.
Here are the results from 2017 for Australia and New Zealand, Canada, UK and Ireland and USA.
Leopold James Smallwood: CWGC Beechwood
Leopold James Smallwood is interred at Sec. 29. Lot 108NE and 109NW at Beechwood cemetery. According to the 1901 census of Canada he was born on 20 October 1882 in Hampshire, England arriving in Canada with his parents in 1884.
From Victoria Daily Times Colonist, 9 October 1918
Sergeant Major Leopold James Smallwood died on Monday night (7 October) at the Royal Jubilee Hospital, the immediate cause of death being pneumonia following a sharp attack of la grippe.
Sergeant Major Smallwood was 35 years of age and had been a member of the Canadian Ordnance Corps for the past nine years, having been in charge of the small arms section of the Esquimau depot for some time. He was an Englishman, and learned his trade of gunsmith in the Old Country prior to coming to Canada. In 1904 he joined the Royal Northwest Mounted Police, serving five years with that famous corps.
He then went to Ottawa and entered the Ordnance Department, being later transferred to Winnipeg and other western centres prior to arriving in Victoria a short time before the out-break of war.
His services wore considered indispensable by the authorities, and as a consequence he was not allowed to go overseas, being in charge of the practical work of repairing and keeping in condition the whole of the small arms and machine guns in the military district.
At the time of his death Sergeant Major Smallwood was residing at ???2 Joffre Street, where his wife and two children are now living. He was very popular with his companions in the Ordnance Department, and the officers feel that he will be hard to replace. The remains are at present at the chapel of the B. C. Funeral Company. Arrangements as to the funeral will be announced later, it being expected that the body will be forwarded to Ottawa for interment.
I found no attestation paper. His parents, Samuel Lewis and Jane Smallwood, outlived him and are also buried at Beechwood cemetery.
06 October 2018
New Brunswick Provincial Archives project to give genealogists, others fast access to 'goldmine'
From the CBC, 650 Anglican registers from Fredericton diocese dating back to the 1790s being digitized in project of the Anglican Diocese of Fredericton, the New Brunswick Genealogical Society and Provincial Archives of New Brunswick.
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/provincial-archives-digitizing-records-1.4839231
Findmypast adds to Kent records
Kent baptisms add 464,0000 new transcript records for a total of 726,016; banns add more than 29,000 records to total 39,360; marriages over 5,000 more to total 727,289 and; burials add more than 16,000 for a total of 635,554 records.
Sourced from the Kent Family History Society coverage is 1538 to 1988 for the parishes of Burham, Canterbury, Deal, Dover, Gravesend, Halling, Hawkhurst, Higham, Kilndown, Lydd, Maidstone, New Romney, Tudeley with Capel and Walmer.
Kent, Canterbury Archdeaconry Registers are augmented with over 35,000 additional records with both a transcript and an image of the original document: over 3,000 baptisms, over 400 banns, over 3,000 marriages, and over 17,000 burials. Coverage for the parishes of Hythe, Paddlesworth, Sandgate and Westgate on Sea and span the years 1813 to 2001.
Was someone in your family history unfortunate enough to be in Kent Poor Law Union records. The collection includes more than 111,000 Admission and Discharge Registers, Court of the Guardians records, births, baptisms, deaths, burials, relief lists and more sourced from the Kent History and Library Centre. Each result will include a transcript of the original source material.
In addition FMP is making available seven Kent historical publications;
- Roffensian Register (King's School, Rochester), 3rd ed, pub 1920 (1835-1920)
- Register of St Lawrence College, Ramsgate, 2nd ed, pub 1925 (1879-1924)
- Parish Registers of Chislet (1538-1707)
- Kent Records: Parish Registers & Records in the Diocese of Rochester, pub 1912
- Dwelly's Parish Records, vol 3, pub 1914 - Memorial Inscriptions for Herne, Hoath & Reculver
- Parish Registers of Rochester Cathedral, pub 1892 (1657-1837)
- Testamenta Cantiana (Extracts from Kent Wills), 2 vols, pub 1906-07 (1400-1560)
The Past Becomes the Future: Strengthening Communities Through Documentary Heritage
- recipients of small and large contributions of funds from the DHCP program, who will discuss the development and implementation of their projects, including what obstacles they encountered and what best practices they would like to share;
- subject matter advisors from Library and Archives Canada, who will discuss what they look for in project applications; and
- representatives from select Government of Canada organizations, who will present their funding programs.
The venue is 395 Wellington Street, Ottawa, Ontario, in the Alfred Pellan Room, from 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Further information and registration at www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/about-us/events/Pages/2018/seminar-past-becomes-future.aspx
05 October 2018
TheGenealogist launches more school registers
Newly released registers on TheGenealogist are:
The Register of Tonbridge School, Kent, 1826-1910;
Repton School Register Supplement to 1922 edition 1933;
Allhallows School Register and Record 1908-1932;
A History Of Wigton School 1815-1915;
Alumni Felstedienses, Boys Entered at Felsted School, 1897-1903;
Leeds Grammar School Registers 1820-1910;
The Sherborne Register, Third Edition, 1550-1937;
The Roll of St Edwards School 1863-1939;
The Lancing Register 1932; Sussex, The Lancing Register, 1848-1900;
Chigwell Register 1653-1907;
Bury, Directory of the Technical School, Acting Teachers'
Classes and School of Art, 1909-1910;
Tonbridge School Register 1847-1926;
Epsom Girls Grammar School, Auckland 1928;
New Zealand, School List Christ's College Grammar School 1850-1921;
The Edinburgh Academy Register 1824 - 1914;
Summer Fields Register 1864-1929;
Lancaster Royal Grammar School;
Schola Novocastrensis Newcastle Royal Free School 1545-1699;
Cambridge, Leys School, Handbook and Directory 1920;
Bromsgrove School Register 1553-1905;
Cambridge, The Leys School Directory 1912;
Register of Oakham School 1875-1929;
Merchiston Castle School Register 1833-1903;
The Whitworth Book; Scholars And Teachers Of AckworthSchool 1879-1900;
A Biographical Register of Peterhouse Men Part I 1284-1574;
Album Aberhonddu 1755-1880,
Brecon Memorial Book (In Welsh); Bootham School Register, 1935
Charterhouse Register, 1872-1900
Ottawa Genealogy Roots: follow on
Harold H. Fawcett: CWGC Beechwood
At enlistment with the 257th Battalion on 7 February 1917 his occupation was electrician. He served as a sapper with the 7th Canadian Railway Troops, Service No:1102486. Serving in England he spent considerable time in hospital under treatment for various conditions. He claimed to have jumped into the River Thames from Waterloo bridge.There is a 100 page service file. His body was interred on 8 October in grave Plot 29. Lot 15. 4. at Beechwood Cemetery.
04 October 2018
County Boundaries on Google Maps
From randymajors.com, current county lines on Google Maps anywhere in the U.S., U.K., Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Switzerland.
https://www.randymajors.com/p/countygmap.html
The Financial Health of Canadian Genealogical Societies 2017
This post is much later than in previous years as I wanted it to be more complete, but some reports are still not available. For 5 of the 12 societies the latest reporting date available is calendar year end 2017. For 4 societies it is during 2017, and ... for 3 societies the end of calendar year 2016.
Of those reporting during 2017 there were 5 societies with annual surpluses. Four had annual deficits.
Below is a summary of the individual reports with comparative figures for previous years in parentheses where available.
Alberta Genealogical Society
For the reporting period ending 2016-12-31. Total assets of $612,912, ($595,845, $558,845, $606,312, $540,282), and liabilities of $229,017 ($251,116, $213,134, $257,883, $200,592). The total revenue was $264,331 ($294,466, $208,033, $229,344, $254,380). Expenditures totaled $225,165 ($295,448, $210,752, $250,276, $218,231). The individual annual membership fee remains at $50 for digital journal subscription, $60 for paper.
British Columbia Genealogical Society
For the reporting period ending: 2017-12-31. Total assets of $202,786 ($209,347, $206,451, $203,542, $203,016) and liabilities of $6,604 ($7,600, $7,810, $9,268, $10,085). Total revenue was $33,331 ($34,030, $33,923, $27,625, $24,783). Expenditures totaled $31,729 ($30,925, $29,555, $24,991, $22,502). That's a $1,602 surplus. The individual annual membership fee remains at $45.
British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa
For the reporting period ending 2017-12-31. Total assets of $109,634, ($98,897, $121,878, $104,683, $90,374) and liabilities of $23,796 ($14,120, $20,170, $32,716, $30,607). Total revenue was $57,978 ($59,872, $71,443, $70,738, $54,675). Expenditures totaled $63,939 ($66,583, $63,844, $55,000, $50,366). That's a $5,961 deficit — 6.9% of net assets. The individual annual membership fee remains $45.
Family History Society of Newfoundland and Labrador Inc
For the reporting period ending 2017-12-31 Total assets were $ 35,802 ($25,523, $29,166, $43,130) and liabilities $11,088 ($14,098, $16,072, $15,867). Total revenue was $33,736 ($34,368, $29,729, $35,226) and expenditure $21,668 ($36,037, $44,364, $32,525). That's a $12,068 surplus. The individual membership fee remains $42.
Manitoba Genealogical Society
For the reporting period ending 2017-03-31 Total assets of $43,476 ($47,734, $37,118, $55,341, $50,743) and liabilities of $4,806 ($7,927, $7,208, $19,157, $22,458). Total revenue was $53,194 ($41,899, $47,388, $47,727, $60,780). Expenditures totaled $ 51,924 ($32,060, $49,679, $48,942, $59,162). That's a $1,318 surplus. The individual annual membership fee remains $50.
New Brunswick Genealogical Society
For the reporting period ending 2016-12-31. Total assets of $186,437 ($ 180,604, $177,857, $182,016, $194,048) and liabilities of $16,428 ($14,045, $13,844, $13,224, $21,542). Total revenue was $35,424 ($ 40,102 $37,517, $33,846, $37,121). Expenditures totaled $33,639 ($46,629, $43,588 $39,396, $36,974). The individual annual membership fee is $40.
Genealogical Association of Nova Scotia
For the reporting period ending 2017-03-31. Total assets of $244,902 ($281,182, $307,796, $303,274) and liabilities of n/a, ($1,553, $0, $0). Total revenue was $ 44,448 ($42,800, $45,693, $32,549). Total expenditures were $46,797 ($69,858, $44,703, $30,717). That's a $3,997 deficit . The Association's annual membership fee remains $39.
Ontario Genealogical Society
For the reporting period ending 2017-12-31. Total assets of $1,710,405 ($1,771,728, $1,730,483 $2,145,295) and liabilities of $226,378 ($252,635, $220,434, $253,590), Total revenue was $698,220 ($701,406, $694,265, $557,053). Total expenditures were $740,546 ($709,792, $711,897, $626,736) That's a $41,326 deficit — 2.7% of net assets. The annual membership fee remains $63.
Québec Family History Society
For the reporting period ending 2017-07-31 Total assets of $28,217 ($48,701, $50,072, $53,800, $65,742) Liabilities totaled $4,464 ($8,529, $7,304, $5,111, $7,899). Total revenue was $40,495 ($42,468, $42,545, $44,095, $60,623). Expenditures totaled $46,972 ($45,064, $49,054, $50,878, $47,420). That's a $6,477 deficit — 27.2% of net assets. The annual fee remains at $75.
Saskatchewan Genealogical Society
For the reporting period ending 2016-12-31. Total assets of $141,278 ($114,170, $86,875, $106,334, $46,921). Liabilities totaled $123,279 ($135,921, $127,116, $125,662, $65,054). Total revenue was $ 280,227 ($237,391, $239,577, $256,667, $261,767). Expenditures were $244,704 ($252,436, $260,490, $268,140, $262,316) Basic annual membership remains $50.
Société généalogique canadienne-française
For the reporting period ending 2017-12-31.Total assets of $391,317 ($363,189, $373,417, $339,405 $347,834). Liabilities totaled $58,153 ($63,648, $67,351, $39,685, $68,013). Total revenue was $171,002 ($231,117, $202,946, $215,399 $248,240). Expenditures were $165,584 ($195,137, $202,782, $201,759, $220,556.) That's a $5,586 surplus. Basic annual membership remains $50.
Victoria Genealogical Society
For the reporting period ending 2017-05-31. Total assets of $ 38,327 (NA, NA, NA, $24,786) and liabilities NA (NA, NA, NA, 0). Total revenue was $41,924 ($34,048, $40,412, NA). Expenditures totaled $39,688 ($44,502, $42,629, $35,790). That's a $2,236 surplus. Individual annual membership is increased to $60.
BIFHSGO DNA Group Meeting
There will be a round table discussion with remaining time.
