How to add weather to your family history

Today, 23 March is World Meteorological Day as proclaimed by the World Meteorological Organization. While meteorology, the science of weather and the atmosphere, may not feature in your family history it could. There are 3,165 entries in Ancestry’s Canada Voters Lists, 1935-1980 collection with occupation meteo*.

More likely of interest is the weather on a special day, birthday, graduation, marriage or a memorable extreme weather event, like the 1998 Ice Storm, or one that changed the course of someone’s life.

Historical weather data for Canada may be found starting at https://climate.weather.gc.ca/historical_data/search_historic_data_e.html

For the UK check the Daily Weather Report /Daily Weather Summary (METDLA/6/1/1) back to 1860 along with other resources at the Complete Archive from the Digital Library and Archives of the British Meteorological Office.

Internet Genealogy: Feb-Mar 2022

Here’s the table of contents for the forthcoming issue.

Crowdsourcing Revisited!
Diane L. Richard continues her look at this growing phenomena

Courting in Days Gone By
Sue Lisk looks at the courtship traditions of our ancestors

Jehus and Teamsters
David A. Norris looks at the drivers of stagecoaches, wagons, and horse cars

E-Book Review: Sources for Irish Family History 2021 edition
Joe Grandinetti reviews a new e-book for Irish sources!

A Recipe for Romance
Robbie Gorr looks at the origins of our ancestors relationships

Focus: Viewing Images from Multiple Angles
Sue Lisk provides some strategies to help identify relatives in family photos

John Galt and the Huron Tract
Christine Woodcock looks at the colonization of Canada in the early 19th century

Transforming Ancestral Photographs into Digital Art
Lisa A. Alzo offers suggestions for breathing new life into old family photographs

Three Brothers, Three Surnames
Melody Amsel-Arieli looks at how some immigrants changed their names after moving to America

The Ongoing Story of Charles Wood: Australian Lawn Bowling Champion
Gabrielle Morgan investigates the free NLA Newspaper site for more information on her ancestor in Australia

Unusual, but Useful Record Sets at FamilySearch
Karen L. Newman looks to FamilySearch for some unusual but useful record sets

NetNotes
Internet Genealogy looks at websites and related news that are sure to be of interest

Genealogy Begins with a Question!
Experts from the Allen County Public Library’s Genealogy Center offer tips based on questions they receive from visitors

Back Page: What’s in a Name?
Dave Obee Says: Plenty – and Allan vs. Allen gives more reasons to be careful

This issue will be available on 9 February. Find a preview of the longer articles here.

FreeBMD January Update

The FreeBMD Database was updated on Wednesday 12 January 2022 to contain 283,535,186 unique entries, increased from 283,149,543 at the previous update.

Years with changes of more than 10,000 records since the last update are: for births 1987, 1990-92; for marriages 1987, 1989-91; for deaths 1988-92.

If you’re new to family history or would like a refresher from the General Register Office with an emphasis on their services, check out the 24-page pdf  Discover Your Family History.

Internet Genealogy: Dec 2021 - Jan 2022

Here are the contents of the next issue, to be available on 10 December.

COVER: Who's Your Daddy: A Durham DNA Puzzle!

Michelle Dennis offers advice as well as rich resources on searching for ancestors in Durham, England.

Freedman's Savings Bank

Diane L. Richard examines these short-lived, but invaluable records for family historians.

The Winter of Their Discomfort: Coping With the Cold

Sue Lisk looks at how our ancestors coped with the cold before the dawn of the thermostat.

A Yuletide Genealogical Resource: “Dear Santa” Letters

David A. Norris looks at online newspapers and how ancestors’ letters to Santa may shine some light on their holiday wishes.

The Historical Marker Database

Jean King looks at a database project that currently holds over a half-million photos of historical markers in the US, Canada and several other countries.

Death by Waterpik, Or In Search of the Cause of Your Ancestor’s Passing

Sue Lisk looks at sources that may help in revealing the cause of death of an ancestor.

Principles of Relativity

Robbie Gorr looks at correctly identifying family relationships and connections.

Online Repository Assistant (ORA)

Diane L. Richard looks at software designed to help genealogists be more efficient, effective, and diligent with their research.

Jewish Genealogy In New York City: Discovering The Early 1900s TB Epidemic

Michael Chaplan shares his journey to learn about his grandfather’s life and death in the early 1900s.

Finding Heirs for Your Family History

Marian B. Wood looks at how to prepare a succession plan for your valuable genealogical items.

NetNotes

Internet Genealogy looks at websites and related news that are sure to be of interest.

Advice From the Pros:Truth or Troll? Surviving Speaker Evaluations

Lisa A. Alzo discusses how to survive feedback on conference evaluations.

Back Page: Check and Re-Check Your Matches!

Dave Obee says be vigilant about checking your own work, and the work of other genealogists.

Find out more, including access to preview the first page of longer articles and subscription information, at https://www.internet-genealogy.com/index.shtml

CHA gravely concerned about the continuing limits to public access

On Wednesday The Canadian Historical Association penned a statement signed by Steven High, President, and Penny Bryden, Past President, on Reduction in service at Library and Archives Canada. 

They "strongly urge the leadership of Library and Archives Canada to reconsider its decision to further limit the hours of access and, instead, work to improve accessibility for all Canadians. The announced reduction threatens the core mission of this great federal institution."

Read the full text at https://cha-shc.ca/advocacy/reduction-in-service-at-library-archives-canada-2021-10-20.htm

Call for Speakers: The Ontario Ancestors’ 2022 Webinar Series

Kim Barnsdale, OGS’s amazing Webinar Coordinator, drew this presentation opportunity, or rather opportunities, to my attention.

Ontario Ancestors is currently accepting proposals for our monthly 2022 Webinar Series. Our live webinars take place the first Thursday of the month at 7pm ET using the Zoom platform.

In addition, Ontario Ancestors is also looking for guest speakers who are interested in presenting for our new online quarterly mini-conference learning opportunities in 2022.That's the first I've heard of mimi-conferences. Kim says to stay tuned!

All submissions will be considered for both unless otherwise indicated on the submission.

Find further information and the form for sending proposals at https://ogs.on.ca/webinar-submissions/

The deadline for submissions is Thursday 30 September 2021 at 11:59 pm.

Deceased Online Adds Leicester Cemetery Records

All historic burial records from Leicester City Council's cemeteries are now available to view on www.deceasedonline.com.

The records available are for:

Belgrave Cemetery, 15,554 records, from 1881 to 2015, with 49 Commonwealth War Graves.

Gilroes Cemetery, 137,005 records, from 1902 to 2015, with 75 CWG

Saffron Hill Cemetery, 26,250 records, from 1931 to 2015, with 83 CWG

Welford Road Cemetery, 213,400 records, from 1849 to 2015, including 258 CWG.

The records comprise digital scans of all historic burial registers and computerized data for the most recent, maps showing the section in which the grave is located, and grave details for each of the graves and their occupants. Some details on register scans are masked for the last 15 years in order to comply with data protection.

In preparation for Deceased Online are 143,500 records from Gilroes Crematorium dating from 1902.

Who Do You Think Are The Top Tweeters - Update

 Here is the latest survey of top tweeters for #genealogy and #familyhistory in the past few days.

Rank	#genealogy	Count		#familyhistory	Count
1	FamilyTreeTips2	41		FamilyTreeTips2	88
2	Heirs2U	21		Heirs2U	55
3	GeneaStudies	20		CaroleParkes1	55
4	skcgs1	18		chiddickstree	45
5	chiddickstree	16		ConfKeep	41
6	sillymummyft	15		FederationFHS	37
7	GenealogyWise	15		BeyondBrickWal1	29
8	marksology	11		MarianBWood	26
9	ClioVis	11		geneastories	24
10	BgrgSeattle	11		STTBooks	23
11	BeyondBrickWal1	11		GenesBlog	23
12	MarianBWood	10		GenealogyWise	22
13	KentuckySociety	10		karendebruyne	21
14	karendebruyne	10		GeneaStudies	19
15	bonavacantia1	10		YFH_genealogy	18
16	WSGSociety	9		LynnsWPics	17
17	pennysresearch	9		HouseHistoryHr	17
18	ConfKeep	9		GenealogyBank	16
19	AmericanCousin1	9		ClioVis	16
20	CranesfootLance	8		FamilyHistoryUK	14

As previously in April, FamilyTreeTips2 retains the top spot. It promotes items from familytreetips.co.uk which appears to be out of Brighton, England. Topics on that blog are : British Research, DNA Tips, Dutch Research, Freemason Research, French Research, General Tips, German Research, Italian Research, Military Tips, Photographs, Preservation Tips, Researching on a Budget.

Remaining in second place is Heirs2U, a genealogist out of Cramlington, UK (near Newcastle Upon Tyne).

Third is chiddickstree from Paul Chiddicks, who writes a regular column for Family Tree magazine (UK). It replaces ClioVis which drops to 7th overall.

Ancestry Games

I received an email from Ancestry.ca offering a 6-month membership at 40% discount. For the complete, World Deluxe 6-month membership the offer was $77.99 Cdn SAVE 40% off $129.99,

I'd provide the link but I've been trapped before mentioning an email offer only to find out it was exclusive to the addressee!

Interestingly the offer at Ancestry.ca is $129.99 Cdn, SAVE $50.

You can often get a good price by calling and negotiating. It's part of the game. You play better if you know what's been offered to others.

Another part of the game is the terminology.  Are you a member or a subscriber? 

Member: one of the individuals composing a group

Subscriber: a person who pays to receive or access a service.

Do you feel the relationship with Ancestry is best described as a member or a subscriber?

Most people know to never let a membership/subscription renew automatically. Delete the credit card linked and soon after the expiration, you'll get a renewal offer. Sometimes if you wait a few extra days you'll get an even better offer. That's not just a game Ancestry plays. Companies know it costs a lot less to get a previous subscriber back than to get a new one.

NOTE: This is a duplicate post to that at the new blog site at www.anglocelticconnections.ca to keep the old site active with legacy posts searchable.

CEF Beechwood Burial: Alexander P. Menzies

On 14 June 1921 Alexander Pratt Menzies, age 24, was found drowned at Britannia Bay on the Ottawa River. There's little additional information on his death certificate except birth 2-10-1897 in England. Newspaper reports were that he'd been in Ottawa for 3 weeks looking for work and staying at the Union Mission.

His CWGC record indicates "Son of William Menzies, of 34, Summerfield Avenue, Queen's Park, Kilburn, London, England, and the late Emily Menzies".

There is a civil registration of birth index entry giving his mother's maiden name Powell. A baptism on 1 January 1899 at St Mary Magdalene, Hollowell Road, Islington gives parents William James and Emily Elizabeth. 

The 1906 and 1911 censuses show the family living in Winnipeg having emigrated in 1900. His father is the manager of a hardware store in 1911 earning $1,500 annually. His mother died in January 1912 in Winnipeg and a brother in August 1913 following which his father returned to England.

Alexander had enlisted in Winnipeg in April 1916 giving his date of birth 2 October 1898. His personnel file shows he served with the Young Soldiers Batallion having enlisted with the 207th, the 18th Reserve and the 44th Battalions. He had served in England and France, received a gunshot wound and was discharged in May 1919 with defective vision.

A second attestation paper dated September 1919 gives his sister Margaret of Wildwood, Manitoba as his next of kin and his address as YMCA, Main Street, Winnipeg. He was demobilized in December that year.

His service file indicated he has suffered from epilepsy. Perhaps he had a seizure while swimming?

He is buried in Sec. 29. Lots 13 and 14. West. 23 at Beechwood Cemetery, the fourth Ottawa River drowning victim among the 99 CEF burials in the cemetery.

Back to the Future

Having had to resort to this older blog for the past few days the distribution for the new one appears to be working. 

I ran over the monthly number of emails allowed free by MailChimp that I had used initially and they wanted 4c per email sent out, that's 4c each for 400 subscribers time 30 days in June. Not in my budget. 

MailPoet is now hooked up — it looks promising as long as subscribers stay below 1,000.

The new blog is at www.anglocelticconnections.ca

Can we be even-handed?

 "Nellie L. McClung (1873-1951) is English Canada’s best-known first-wave feminist."

"Alongside the other Famous Five, including close friend Emily Murphy,  McClung was an advocate of eugenics and campaigned for the sterilization of the feebleminded."

Those statements are from her profile in https://eugenicsarchive.ca/discover/players

There are many others at the site who were advocates for eugenics, and some missed such as Tommy Douglas.

Will those tearing down statues, renaming buildings and rewriting the biographies of those whose record in the history of  Canada is problematic, to say the least, be even-handed when it comes to the eugenicists?

BIFHSGO AGM and Great Moments in Genealogy

Tomorrow, Saturday 12 June

9 am: BIFHSGO AGM

10 am:  Great Moments in Genealogy 

Over the Sea to ... "Shetland" (Jill Thompson) – The story of two ancestors who moved from the Shetland Isles to Scotland and then to southern England.

The River Ran Red: The Homestead Steel Strike and Sylvester’s Part in It (Lynne Baxter) – The story of a steelworker and union leader who was tried for his role in a scrimmage that resulted in several deaths in Philadelphia in 1892.

A Gem from the Inveraray Archives (Dena Palamedes) – The story of discoveries and new friendships that grew from an email to BIFHSGO from somebody who came across information about her ancestor.

Online, but registration required. The presentation is free, but donations are gratefully accepted through Canada Helps here.

Findmypast Adds to England Roman Catholic Parish Registers Collection

What's new at Findmypast? Single year additions to Birmingham, Middlesborough and Westminster Catholic parish records.

Over 4,000 new England Roman Catholic Parish Baptisms from the Archdiocese of Birmingham in 1911, the Diocese of Middlesbrough in 1921, and the Diocese of Westminster in 1916.

Over 1,500 new England Roman Catholic Parish Marriages from the Archdiocese of Birmingham in 1911 and the Diocese of Westminster in 1944.

Over 400 new England Roman Catholic Parish Burials from the Archdiocese of Birmingham in 1911, the Diocese of Middlesbrough in 1921, and the Diocese of Westminster in 1942.

Over 2,400 new England Roman Catholic Parish Congregational Records from the Archdiocese of Birmingham in 1911, the Diocese of Middlesbrough in 1921, and the Diocese of Westminster in 1916.

The whole collection is now 2.47 million records

Uncovering Unusual Lives: Four Case Histories

From Toronto Branch OGS, an interesting series for summer enjoyment.

Wednesday 16 June  (7:30 p.m. EDT)
Misbegotten, Misled, Mistaken: Tackling the challenging quest to identify a mystery father.
Lecturer: Paul Jones

Thursday 17 June (7:30 p.m. EDT)
The Curious Case of Dr. Henry Head Gray: Piecing together the true fate of a young Toronto doctor.
Lecturer: Jane MacNamara

Wednesday 23 June (7:30 p.m. EDT)
FAKE News! Read all about it!: Debunking myths in the report of a young woman sold into slavery.
Lecturer: Guylaine Pétrin

Thursday 24 June (2:00 p.m. EDT)
The 1815 Murder behind Toronto’s Oldest Ghost Story: Digging up the facts of a lighthouse keeper’s untimely death.
Lecturer: Eamonn O’Keeffe

Find out more and register at https://torontofamilyhistory.org/event/uncovering-unusual-lives/

Advance Notice: Strokestown Famine Orphans in Quebec

Part of the Canadian Association for Irish Studies Annual Meeting, “The Marianna O’Gallagher Memorial Session: Strokestown Famine Orphans in Quebec” will take place on Tuesday, June 22 from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m. EDT. Dr. Mark McGowan will be joining Caroilin Callery and Dr. Jason King to discuss a recent short film entitled “Strokestown Famine Orphans in Quebec and New York.” 

In advance of this session, you may view the film at this link: bit.ly/Strokestown-Quebec. 

Dr. Jason King is the Academic Coordinator of the Irish Heritage Trust and a member of the Government of Ireland National Famine Commemoration Committee, among other positions. Caroilin Callery is the Director of the National Famine Museum, Strokestown Park. Register to attend the conference and contact usmc.principalsoffice@utoronto.ca for Zoom info.

Ancestry adds UK and Allied Countries, Index of International Bomber Command Losses, 1936-1966

Abstracts records from the International Bomber Command Centre. There are links to more detailed information at the IBCC website which records the details of 58,438 Bomber Command deaths throughout its existence (1936-1968), including pre-war and post-war losses. 

Searching keyword Canada finds 9,840 records, Canadian 10,344. 

Ancetry Updates Bedfordshire, England, Workhouse and Poor Law Records

Updated, now with 628,011 records, Bedfordshire, England, Workhouse and Poor Law Records, 1835-1914 was originally published by Ancestry in August 2020.

Searching returns a transcript with headings: Name, Age, Birth Date, Residence Date, Residence Place, Poor Law Union, and Description of the instrument. Additional information is given in the linked image such as family information and the nature of the relief granted.

The records, sourced from the Bedfordshire Archives, cover the Poor Law Unions of Ampthill, Bedford, Biggleswade, Leighton Buzzard and Luton.

This Week;s Online Genealogy Events

Still struggling with service on the new blog.

Choose from free online events in the next five days. All times are ET except as noted. Those in red are Canadian, bolded if local to Ottawa. Assume registration in advance is required; check so you’re not disappointed.

Tuesday 8 June, 2 pm: Virtual Genealogy Drop-In, from Ottawa Branch of OGS and The Ottawa Public Library. https://ottawa.ogs.on.ca/events/.

Tuesday 8 June, 2 pm: New breakthroughs in MyHeritage's photo tools, by Tal Erlichman for MyHeritage Webinars.
https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar_details.php?webinar_id=1694

Tuesday 8 June, 7 pm: The Power of DNA, by Mags Gaulden for Lambton Branch OGS.
https://lambton.ogs.on.ca/calendar/lambton-june-zoom-meeting-with-mags-gaulden-the-power-of-dna/

Tuesday 8 June, 2:30 pm: The (US) 1940 Census and Preparing for the 1950 Census, by Alison Singleton for Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center.
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIoduCoqDosG9Y8UW4QQ0PF1hskXClpl6sy

Wednesday 9 June, 2:30 pm: Reflections of Alan Turing with Dermot Turing, The (UK) National Archives.
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/reflections-of-alan-turing-tickets-152682917717?aff=wowp

Wednesday 9 June, 7:15 pm: Doing Family Tree Research in Your Pajamas, by Ken McKinlay for York Branch OGS.
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEsd-GurDItGNWy8R2WuUF5OJCA-jdlZRB1

Thursday 10 June, 6:30 pm: Fireside Chat: Migration. Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center.
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwpdOCvqzkjHNyvwWdjaMmQNX_vR4vcUMyY

Friday 11 June, 7 pm: Memories of Merlin, by Julie Magerka for Kent Branch OGS.
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZckdeCrqzouEtaNgiyIQstL_ice-ozyajLl

Saturday 12 June, 9 am: BIFHSGO AGM and Great Moments in Genealogy. 
https://bifhsgo.ca/eventListings.php?nm=127#er561

Saturday 12 June, 2 pm: Squiggly and Splt: How SNA Changed Family History Research, by Dave Obee for Simcoe Branch OGS.
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0rcOuqrjovGNGbUgTjWpsVCYuAoo-PCdkj

LOOKING AHEAD

19 – 26 September 2021: BIFHSGO Conference. Irish Lines and Female Finds: Exploring Irish records, female ancestors and genetic genealogy. www.bifhsgo2021.ca/.

OPL-LAC Service Transition: Newspapers

Note: There's a hiccup with the new blog.

In an obscure corner of the LAC website is a document Transition 2019 – E-binder. Leslie Weir, Librarian and Archivist of Canada, August 30, 2019. It provides a nearly two years old snapshot of the organization, its scope and a base on which to view subsequent developments.

The Operations Sector is of most interest for researcher clients. An organization chart at the time is here.

I looked particularly at the mention of newspapers.

The Newspaper Strategy section mentions a strategy  not found on the LAC  website.  The considerations section is:

• Library and Archives Canada (LAC) has a strong retrospective collection of selected Canadian dailies, community newspapers, Indigenous and ethno-cultural papers in print and microfilm; print newspapers do not fall under Legal Deposit (LD) and have not been actively collected, aside from first and last copies, since 2007. LAC purchases microfilm, when it is available, to fill collection gaps. Electronic newspapers fall under LD and have been collected sporadically; this will become more routine once Digital Asset Management System (DAMS) is implemented.
• The Newspaper Strategy focusses primarily on publications; stakeholder response suggests it should be broadened to include news archives.
• A newspaper summit is under consideration at LAC. A decision whether to hold a summit, and its format, will be made in the third quarter of 2019-2020.
• No resource(s) at LAC are dedicated specifically to this file.
• If decided that newspapers become an area of emphasis, the file will need at least one Full time equivalent (FTE).
• Digital ingest, access and preservation standards vary amongst multiple stakeholders and communities nationwide.
• There are many community-based projects underway with their own access points; LAC is working with Ontario Library Association, Archives of Ontario and others, together with TorStar and PostMedia, to provide access to 36 shuttered Ontario community newspapers.

No newspaper summit was held. Apparently little has changed at LAC since this document was written.

The section Digitization mentions

The division is currently composed of 43 indeterminate positions, which are not always fully funded. As a result, it is difficult to plan long-term projects and commit to the Preservation Plan for purposes of long-term digitization.

• In 2018-2019, DSD produced 5 million digital images from analog surrogates.
• In 2019-2020, while continuing to serve internal and external clients, digitization efforts are supporting the Indigenous initiatives, litigation cases, the conversion of reference collections into digital format as well as other LAC priorities that may arise.

LAC is conducting less digitization!

A section OPL Collection Preparation and Move mentions that RFID technology will be employed to secure the collection after the move and that "Four Library and Archives Canada (LAC) collections will be featured in the new OPL-LAC joint facility set to open in 2024: Genealogy, Reference, Curated, and Lowy collections. Approximately 150,000 items will be relocated to OPL-LAC’s joint facility."

A separate section OPL-LAC Service Transition includes in a list of seven projects to be undertaken "Digitization of reference materials: To save space and to enhance access to LAC reference materials in Ottawa and across Canada, LAC is digitizing finding aids, directories, newspapers and other materials."