Based on original data from Staffordshire County Council this birth, marriage and death index collection has 4,944,006 entries. A search brings up a result listing with headings Name, Event Type, Event Date, Registration district, Relatives. Leading every row is a link View Record which opens up additional transcription detail. There are no image originals.
These records would appear to derive from the same registration as used for the GRO index so looked at the 344 entries, about equally divided pre and post Second World War, for last name Northwood. 33% births, 26% marriages, 29% deaths, 13% no entry. FreeBMD contains 942 BMD index entries for Northwood (likely due to a wider definition of the registration districts with the county), 43% births, 29% marriages, 28% deaths.
No registration district is given for 29% of these Ancestry Staffordshire index entries for most of which the name is that of the mother for birth registration of a child under another last name (likely where the father was not named).
13 May 2019
Ancestry adds Staffordshire BMD Indexes, 1837-2017
Save those Shoebox Photos
The photo and video storage app called Shoebox (@ShoeboxApp) is shutting down. Everything will be deleted on 22 May. So if you have irreplaceable media there make haste to move them.
According to the company in 5 minutes or less, you can export your entire collection to iPhone, iPad, Android, Mac, Windows, Dropbox and Google Drive.
Honouring Alison Hare
Those recognized were Alison Hare, Thomas W. Jones and Elizabeth Shown Mills.
The citation for Alison, who is also a BIFHSGO Hall of Fame inductee, reads
Alison Hare, CG, of Ottawa, Canada. Board-certified since 1999, Ms. Hare served as Judge Coordinator for ten years from 2008 to 2018, and as a BCG Trustee from 2009 to 2018. Because BCG judges are anonymous, her service received no public acknowledgment. During her tenure as Judge Coordinator, she facilitated improvements to BCG’S judging system. She implemented rubrics for portfolio evaluation—a ‘game changer’ for both applicants and judges. She developed the supporting infrastructure, coached judges, and monitored evaluations to improve results. As Judge Coordinator, she mentored more than forty new judges as well as provided guidance to senior members of the judging pool. She produced a judging procedure manual, guidelines for evaluation comments, and a renewal manual. She revised The BCG Application Guide five times between 2011 and 2017, and rubrics numerous times to improve clarity, and wrote OnBoard articles explaining BCG’s evaluation system and standards for continuing education.
Unfortunately owing to chronic medical condition Alison was unable to be at the award ceremony in St. Charles, Missouri on Friday to receive the award.
UPDATE
The full citation for the award from BCG is at https://bcgcertification.org/about/donn-devine-award/2019-donn-devine-award-alison-hare/
12 May 2019
Sunday Sundries
Miscellaneous items I found of interest during the week.
And in the Sky the Larks: 1930s Colour Footage of the Western Front & Northern France. WWI.
Dressing Up at Ottawa’s Fancy Dress Balls and Skating Carnivals (1876–1896)
Noy everything in the Library and Archives Canada vaults is dry government records. A blog post from LAC photo archivist Emma Hamilton-Hobbs uses William James Topley's photos to illustrate the social side of the Capital's life.
Tracing Your Doggerland Ancestors?
Sniffing glue and Scientology in the DrugScope archive
Wellcome Archivist Anthony Day talks about attracting readers of all kinds to a fascinating collection.
Jesus, Hitler and The Abolition of God
From Gresham College
11 May 2019
Ken McKinlay Presentations
Ken has two other free presentations scheduled for the Ottawa Public Library:
May 23 at Nepean Centrepointe, Chipping Away at the Brickwall
Jun 1 at Nepean Centrepointe So you want to start researching your family tree?
Ken is also giving a pre-conference seminar on September 27 at the BIFHSGO Annual Conference Exploring your past with Findmypast.
As mentioned on his Family Tree Knots blog Ken usually helps out at the Ottawa Public Library - Nepean Centrepointe branch every second Tuesday at their Local History & Genealogy Drop-In Club.
Findmypast weekly additions
Lincolnshire Parish Records
Over 266,000 additional records with images of original registers are added to the collections of Lincolnshire parish baptisms, banns, marriages and burials.
The collection now has 2,037,145 results for baptisms, 130,601 for banns, 976,293 for marriages and 1,809,363 burials.Sourced from the Lincolnshire Archives the records date back to the early 1500s.
You can find out if a parish of interest is included, and the date range covered here.
This early record consists of "nominal Rolls of all persons, male or female, over the age of 12 years, resident within their respective parishes - grouped according to their residences, farms and house-holds, and specially indicating such as were "irregular," that is non-conforming".
I found 9,274 results.
First published in 1916 by the Scottish records society, the lists were created in 1864.
An update to the British & Irish Newspaper collection includes the Course of the Exchange, a record of various financial data such as stocks, shares and bonds across the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries from 1825 to 1908, with 8,455 issues now available to search.
Additional collections newly available are:
Daughters of the American Revolution Lineage Books, 1890 – 1921
Philadelphia Roman Catholic Parish Baptisms
Philadelphia Roman Catholic Parish Marriages
International Records Update – Grenada
10 May 2019
FreeBMD May Update
The FreeBMD Database was updated on Thursday 9 May 2019 and to contain 269,939,666 unique records (269,607,959 at previous update).
Years with major additions, greater than 5,000 records, are: for births 1964, 1978, 1980, 1982, 1984-87; for marriages 1965, 1969, 1980, 1984-85; for deaths 1984-86.
www.freebmd.org.uk/
BIFHSGO Conference 2019 Registration Opens
OTTAWA,
ONTARIO, 10 May 2019 — The British Isles Family History Society of
Greater Ottawa (BIFHSGO) is pleased to announce that registration is open for
its 25th annual family history conference, to be held from September 27 to 29, 2019 at Ben Franklin
Place in Ottawa. More than 250 delegates from Canada, the United States and
overseas are expected to attend. Speakers
from Canada, England and the United States will deliver seminars and presentations
on family history research, the use of DNA test results as an aid to
traditional research methods, and much more.
The
speakers at this year’s conference are:
Blaine Bettinger, PhD, JD (USA) is a
professional genealogist specializing in DNA evidence. He is the author of the
long-running blog The Genetic Genealogist,
and is a frequent speaker at family history conferences.
Audrey Collins (UK) is a
records specialist and a spokesperson for the National Archives, London. She
lectures extensively on family history, and has special expertise with the UK
censuses.
Cyndi Ingle (USA) is the
creator of the globally recognized Cyndi’s
List. She is an expert on using technology for genealogy, and is the author
of three books and numerous articles.
Nancy Loe, MA, MLS (USA) is a
genealogy researcher and educator. She
founded the blog Sassy Jane Genealogy,
and is a specialist in organizational methods for genealogy research.
Ken McKinlay, Ottawa, ON, is an
IT professional whose passion is genealogy. He
has given many talks for BIFHSGO and various OGS branches on the skills and
methodologies needed for genealogical problem-solving.
Rick Roberts, Carleton Place, ON, co-founded
Global Genealogy in 1992. He has led
workshops on family tree software and other genealogical topics for over 25
years.
BIFHSGO
President Duncan Monkhouse said, "Genealogy always reminds me of a
treasure hunt: we use our investigative skills to find the genealogical nuggets
left behind about our ancestors. BIFHSGO’s annual conference provides a
wonderful opportunity to advance one’s knowledge, expand one’s skills and meet
a community of like-minded people. This is our 25th-anniversary conference, and
we look forward to celebrating this milestone with an international slate of
speakers ready to share their knowledge and expertise with participants."
About BIFHSGO
BIFHSGO encourages family history research and its
dissemination by people with ancestry in the British Isles. Founded in 1994,
the volunteer-run society holds monthly public meetings in Ottawa, an annual
conference, special interest group meetings, and publishes a quarterly journal,
Anglo-Celtic Roots. Visit the
society’s website at www.bifhsgo.ca.
UPDATE: I registered — no problems.
UPDATE: I registered — no problems.
09 May 2019
Library and Archives Canada Offline
From yesterday evening to this morning the LAC website has been — "temporarily unavailable."
Service returned mid-afternoon.
Book Review: A Visitor’s Guide. The Battle of Arras North: Vimy Ridge to Oppy Wood and Gravelle
Over the past five years, the anniversaries of the Great War, from the British retreat from Mons in 1914 to the Armistice in 1918, have been commemorated in books, films, and websites in a seemingly unending flow. Battlefield tourism has also increased, especially from Canada, and when combined with an interest in family history and the availability of Canadian Expeditionary Force personnel records, descendants of the men and women who served Canada in uniform can now visit and explore where they fought, lived and died during the war.
This guide is one in a series published by Pen & Sword to assist visitors to explore a very specific area of France, the battles in and around Arras. The authors lay out six different tours, only one of which requires a car. The tours are designed for those who prefer to walk or cycle, the maps and directions are detailed enough to allow a leisurely and informed tour of various military actions, cemeteries and memorials. Of particular interest in this guide for Canadians is the tour of Vimy Ridge (Tour 2, pages 57-96). The main outline of the battle is summarized, maps, photos and vignettes of individual soldiers enhance the text.
The authors include enough historical context to the battles of Arras during the Great War that even the novice First War enthusiast armed with photographs, maps and detailed directions will find this guide is an excellent field companion.
A Visitor's Guide: The Battles of Arras North (Paperback)
Vimy Ridge to Oppy Wood and Gavrelle
By Jon Cooksey, Jerry Murland
Imprint: Pen & Sword Military
Pages: 180
ISBN: 9781473893030
Published: 6th March 2019
BIFHSGO May Meeting
9:00 to 9:30 am, Dena Palamedes will present on:
How to Create a Family Tree, Heritage or Genealogy Photo Book Using Picaboo
Photo books make family history accessible to all family members. Dena will illustrate how easy it is to use Picaboo for your projects. It will include tips for an efficient project while maximizing the final effect. Most of these tips are applicable to other web-based printing services that are available.
10:00 to 11:30 am, Marianne Rasmus gives the main presentation on:
Expanding that Empty Branch on the Genetic Family Tree
Isobel (Ella) Moreland was born in July 1920 in Edinburgh, Scotland. After her birth, her mother placed her in the home of a childless couple to raise as their own. Then, in 1945, Ella came to Canada, the bride of a Canadian soldier. While Ella was always curious about her birth family, she never found the answers she sought. This presentation will share Ella’s story as an adoptee and a war bride, and how her family came together to search for her birth family. DNA, a little luck and old-fashioned research, helped solve, at least part of, an almost 100-year-old mystery.
Location: The Chamber, Ben Franklin Place, 101 Centrepointe Drive, Ottawa, Ontario
All welcome to these free presentations.
www.bifhsgo.ca
08 May 2019
World War II Unaccompanied British Child Evacuees to Canada
They arrived in organized parties from companies and schools with the intention they would return to Britain when the war danger had passed. While most returned to the UK many eventually decided to make Canada their home — including a Canadian Nobel Prize winner.
Find the database here organized alphabetically in a Canada-wide listing and as in the original document in the provincial listings.
If you want to dig deeper check out:
Claire L. Halstead's dissertation "From Lion to Leaf: The Evacuation of British Children to Canada During the Second World War" (2015). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository 3329;
Amy Schaffman’s thesis: "Keep Calm and Carry On?: Examining WWII Great Britain through the Lens of Overseas Evacuation" (2014).Undergraduate Honors Theses, Paper 4; and my own article WW2 British Child Evacuees to Canada.
Advance Notice: LAC Signatures Series conversation with Don Newman
Library and Archives Canada has an open invitation to a free one-hour lively conversation with Don Newman. He will be the guest of Guy Berthiaume, Librarian and Archivist of Canada, as part of the Signatures Series, which features interviews with people who have donated their archives to LAC.
Thursday, May 30, 2019
12:15 pm to 1:15 pm
Library and Archives Canada
395 Wellington Street, Ottawa, Ontario
Presentation in English with simultaneous French translation
Seating is limited, so please register by May 28, 2019. For more information about this event, email bac.invitation.lac@canada.ca.
Register here.
BIFHSGO Writing Competition
Organizer Jane Down (bound to be well organized!) tells me entries are trickling in.
With prizes of $300, $200 and $100 your chances would seem to be pretty good, perhaps even better than it seems. In the 20th-anniversary competition three $100 third prizes were awarded and two $50 honourable mentions. Incidentally, all the winners that time were women.
Find out more.
Voices from the Dust
This year's theme is Finding Our Ancestors. Here's the program.
1:00 pm to 1:15 pm: Welcome and Opening Session by Shirley-Ann Pyefinch
1:15 pm to 1:30 pm: 15 MINUTE BREAK - Visit the Cultural Hall displays.
1:30 pm to 2:30 pm: First Session
- Researching in a Canadian Community by Gloria Tubman
- Finding Your Ancestors with FamilySearch.org by Shirley-Ann Pyefinch
- The Silent Language of the Stones, Reading Gravestones Through Symbols and Carvings by Joy
Neighbors (Rootstech video)
2:30 pm to 2:45 pm: 15 MINUTE BREAK - Visit the Cultural Hall displays and enjoy free refreshments.
2:45 pm to 3:45 pm: Second Session
- Top Ten Tips and Tricks for Finding Your Ancestors by Ken McKinlay
- Finding Your Ancestors at the Ottawa Family History Centre by Jean Brown
- Through the Eyes of a Child by Chris Dunn
- The Research Road Map, Your Path to Success by Amy Johnson (Rootstech video)
3:45 pm to 4:00 pm: 15 MINUTE BREAK - Visit the Cultural Hall displays and enjoy free refreshments.
4:00 pm to 5:00 pm: Third Session
- Finding Your Ancestors at the Ottawa Family History Centre by Jean Brown
- Finding Our Ancestors in Newspapers by John D. Reid
- Writing and Publishing a Family History: 10 Steps by Penelope Stratton (Rootstech video)
Lanark County Genealogy Society; Ontario East British Home Child Family; Ottawa Family History
Centre; Ottawa OGS Branch; Ottawa Public Library; Québec Genealogical eSociety; Ubbink Book
and Paper Conservation; and Ukrainian Genealogy Group.
There's more information at www.ottawastakefhc.on.ca/
07 May 2019
YouTube: Tools for Effective Use of Your DNA Results
A new video on YouTube from ISOGG Education Ambassador Maurice Gleeson. It's right up to date.
YouTube: How to Search the City of Toronto Archives Database
This tutorial covers basic and advanced searches, how to search for historic photographs and ordering procedures.
DNA Testing from Envelopes
Australian company totheletter DNA claims to be the first company in the world to offer commercially-available testing of envelopes, postcards with stamp/s and aerogrammes from deceased relatives for genealogical purposes.
On 2 May they announced that of the first 26 samples DNA was found in 16 of them. Genotyping of those samples is proceeding.
The website makes it clear that the company is still developing its procedures. It's one to watch.
06 May 2019
How to support yourself and others around major family secret discoveries?
If you were at the Ottawa DNA group meeting last Saturday you saw examples of DNA unravelling family secrets. We didn't get into the next phase — what to do once you've made the discovery. That's the topic of a presentation given at Family Tree Live UK conference in London last month.
That presentation was by Katy Barbier-Greenland, a qualified social worker with a background in social policy whose Ph.D. project investigates family secrets.
Katy has posted a summary Outcomes from this project on her website.
Book Review: Great British Family Names and Their History
More accurate is the front cover image showing a tree festooned with armorial shields of the Greats of Britain. If your family had or has one of those you may just find something of relevance in this book, just as you may find an entry in Debrett's Peerage or Who Was Who.
You won't find entries for those of us with occupational names carried by the vast majority of us — Smith, Baker, Taylor, Weaver etc.
A four-page introduction is followed by 10 sections for the various areas of the British Isles, seven for England plus Scotland, Wales and Ireland. These chapters are typically 20 pages, the exception is 91 pages on North-West England.
Each entry, typically one-page, is headlined with surname and place such as "The Clowes Family of Broughton", and includes the first and other early mentions and information on the lives of prominent family members.
While the content lacks references in the text there's a three and a half page bibliography and one and a half page list of useful web sources.
A 12-page index includes surnames but not locations. That's a pity as only by browsing will you by chance encounter references of your local interest such as that to Brigadier Francis Herbert Maynard, born in Ottawa in 1881.
Great British Family Names and Their History (Hardback)
What's in a Name?
By John Moss
Imprint: Pen & Sword History
Pages: 314
ISBN: 9781526722805
Published: 3rd April 2019
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