Anglo-Celtic Connections

Jenny Ashcraft’s article on the Fishwrap blog explains the ten-step process Ancestry uses in bringing us the 1.2 billion newspaper pages on newspapers.com.

Step 2, Customer Requests, states they’re welcome. But the website has no obvious way to send them! Several people have posted requests as comments to the article.

Don’t expect instant gratification. Contract negotiations may mean substantial delay. Content may be unavailable owing to copyright issues. 

Miscellaneous items I found interesting this week.

There is no conceivable way carbon capture and storage can work.

Don’t change lanes – the maths of holiday traffic jams

New from OGS
Early on Saturday, Patti Mordasewicz, Editor, issued the first version of OGS (or Ontario Ancestors if you will) eWeekly Update using new email distribution software. The format is slightly changed, the content remains substantial. Included was an announcement that TONI, The Ontario Name Index, has new content.

The Archive is Not a Toy: The Hidden Problems of a ‘Vintage’ AI

In the final post on the Active History blog before the summer break, Jacob Polay, Chloë Farr, and Jessica Jack review“talkie”—a pre-1930s large language model framed alternately as a forecasting experiment and a historical chatbot. It was trained on documentation from and pre-dating the era.
They blast “talkie” as automating the worst prejudices of the past and demand a complete foundation which includes un- or under-represented groups.
The complete foundation is a myth where records don’t exist. Falling short is letting the perfect be the enemy of the good.  Vintage language models, such as “talkie”, offer an innovative approach to understanding the past, including societal prejudices. While model developers surely have an obligation to be open about the information base used, it is up to the user to appreciate the context.

500 Ironic Stories!

Thanks to the following individuals for their comments and tips: Anonymous, Gail, Julia, Nick Moreau, Paul, Sunday Thompson, Teresa, and Unknown.

This article by John Kell in Business Insider describes how Ancestry has replaced its manual record-indexing process with AI and large language models (LLMs).
Starting with internal experiments in 2014, the company’s content has grown from 800 million new records in 2021 to over 18 billion in 2023.  By late 2025, over 50% of the historical records published on its site were generated via AI. Automated handwritten document transcription, photo facial recognition, and narrated family history stories have been made available through AI.

Hampshire, Portsmouth Dock Medical Books, 1810–1955

This major new collection comprises 150,038 medical records covering two periods: 1810 to 1815, and 1850 to 1955. If your ancestor worked at Portsmouth Dockyard across any of those years, these records could shed valuable light on their health and working life.

British Royal Navy, Medical Discharge Books, 1786–1801

A smaller but historically rich collection, these 2,792 records document medical discharges from the Royal Navy between 1786 and 1801 — a period spanning the American Revolutionary War and the early Napoleonic conflicts.

Newspapers

Forty titles are mentioned this week, 5 new and 35 updated, the median is 1,700 pages. The earliest date is 1737, the Dublin Evening Post (1737–1741).

New Titles

Updated Titles with Over 10,000 Pages Added

Statistics Canada is discontinuing the monthly release of provisional death estimates introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic. On 9 July, the final monthly update was published, covering the period from January 2024 to April 2026. The release of this data will revert to an annual schedule, with publication expected on 25 March 2027 to cover the 2025 reference year.

Are we going backwards in our access to public health data?

Historically, tracking mortality in real-time is an ancient concept. In London, weekly Bills of Mortality were first compiled in the late 16th century and published regularly from 1603 onward, specifically to monitor outbreaks of the plague. Parish clerks reported burials and causes of death to a central office, which then printed the tallies for the public. While these weekly reports were eventually superseded by systematic civil registration, they proved that timely data can be compiled, and is crucial during public health crises.

While Canada scales back its reporting frequency, the UK Office for National Statistics continues to issue current, high-frequency data, with its latest release publishing the provisional number of deaths for the week ending July 2, 2026.

British publisher Pen and Sword lists six Family History books published this July and coming later in the year.

Starting with the three published this month.

Strange Will Requests and Bequests; Exploring the Vaults of Somerset House, by AJ Griffiths-Jones

From vengeful codicils and heartfelt farewells, to wills etched on eggshells or hidden in hollow bedposts, this book uncovers a trove of bizarre and entertaining bequests. Here are men and women who used their final words to settle scores, impose odd conditions, or deliver one last laugh — sometimes at the expense of expectant heirs.

Tracing Your House History on the Internet: A Guide for Family Historians
by Gill Blanchard

… an indispensable resource for house history enthusiasts of all dwellings, this new and comprehensive guide seamlessly blends those traditional research methods with the vast expanse of online resources. Whether your home is a grand manor, a cosy cottage, or a Victorian terrace, this book equips you with the tools and knowledge to navigate the ever-growing digital archives and databases with ease. From deciphering historical documents to unraveling the lives of past inhabitants, every chapter is filled with invaluable insights and practical advice.

Tracing Your Ancestors Using Newspapers: A Guide for Family Historians
by Chloe O’Shea

… guides you through the process of uncovering, understanding, and interpreting newspaper articles that feature your ancestors. You’ll explore the wide range of stories that can be found, from court proceedings and military exploits to lost pets, acts of bravery, letters to the editor, and unexpected community involvement. Along the way, you’ll learn how to assess the reliability of articles, trace relatives across regions and continents, and make the most of ever-expanding online archives.

Coming in September is Recording the Nations: The Lives, Duties and History of the Census Takers, by Mish J Holman.

In October, Tracing Your Victorian Ancestors: A Guide for Family Historians, by Jonathan Oates

And in November, Identifying Cap Badges: A Family Historian’s Guide,
by Graham Bandy

It’s that time of year again. Join us on Sunday at noon at the cafe at Westboro Beach.

The cafe reopened last year after renovations. It’s more or less where it was previously, just shifted a bit more toward the river. You’ll find more sunshades/umbrellas than last year.

Sunday’s forecast is “A mix of sun and cloud with 30 percent chance of showers. High 25.” Check back for a cancellation if the forecast turns rainy.

Here’s a summary of FamilySearch’s  Record additions so far in July 2026:

Roughly 71 million records were added across 39 collections. There was one Canadian update.

Geographical distribution:

• Ukraine – Three collections (Kyiv Confession Lists, Soviet Population Filtration Records, Odessa Census) totaling over 50 million records, dominated entirely by the Kyiv set accounted for over two-thirds of the month’s total so far.
• United States – The largest number of individual collections (roughly 25), spanning immigration/passenger lists (California, Alaska, Maine, Texas, Vermont, South Carolina), military records (U.S. Colored Troops, Massachusetts Revolutionary War, various WWI collections), vital records (Michigan births, Kent County voter registrations), and general resources like the 1940 Census (3.2 million) and GenealogyBank obituaries/births/marriages (6.1 million). Combined, U.S. collections add up to roughly 13–14 million records.
• Philippines – Nine regional civil registration collections (Western Visayas, Calabarzon, Metro Manila, Central Luzon, Ilocos, Mimaropa, Northern Mindanao, Cordillera, Zamboanga Peninsula) plus the national civil registration set, together contributing about 6.2 million records, with the national collection (5.9 million) providing most of that.
• Other countries – Smaller but notable additions from Italy (Firenze Census, 80,800), Canada (Ontario Deaths, 316,331), and France (Réunion Civil Registration, 450,069).

The Full Text Search collection added two titles:
United States, North Carolina, Properties, from 7 January 1027 to 2007,  824,881 records added on 9 July 2026
United States, New Jersey, Properties, from 1600 to 1998, 509,267 records, added on 8 July 2026

• Ādisōke June 2026 Update
  Progress on this joint LAC-City of Ottawa project, managed by the City, was reported to Ottawa City Council in June. The project is over budget, behind timeline, with no firm date for opening.
  
• LAC’s partnership with Internet Archive Canada
  In its 2024–25 Departmental Results Report, LAC reported that by March 2025 the initiative had digitized more than 14,000 publications, producing 2.8 million images. LAC updated this figure last November, reporting that as of October 2025, 20,254 publications had been digitized, generating 4,320,900 images.
  However, a recent query to Internet Archive Canada found only 851 items from the Library and Archives collection publicly available — just four of which have been added since 2016. A further 27,503 items are currently in process.
• The Xenotext
  LAC announced the addition of works by Canadian poet and innovator Christian Bök. The donation includes The Xenotext, “a landmark poetic work consisting of two sonnets encoded within the DNA of a living organism, the bacterium Deinococcus radiodurans.” The organism itself is stored at the Canadian Museum of Nature.
• Library and Archives Canada’s Intellectual Freedom Statement
  Recently posted “Library and Archives Canada (LAC) supports intellectual freedom, the human right to seek information, learn, and share ideas without barriers.LAC upholds intellectual freedom by:
  1. Building national collections that reflect diverse voices
  2. Making our collections available to all
  3. Showcasing stories through our programming, exhibitions, and online content
  4. Creating space for the exchange of ideas
  5. Supporting discussions on intellectual freedom.”
     LAC invites questions. I have asked how the organization’s performance on the five items is to be measured and reported.

Choose from these selected free online events. All times are Eastern Time, unless otherwise noted. Registration may be required in advance—please check the links to avoid disappointment. For many more events, mainly in the U.S., visit https://conferencekeeper.org/virtual/

Tuesday, 14 July

2:00 PM: Ottawa Virtual Genealogy Drop-In, for OGS Ottawa Branch.
https://ottawa.ogs.on.ca/events/.

2:00 PM: Treasures Abound in OldNews by MyHeritage, by Dawn Carlile for Legacy Family Tree Webinars.
https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar/treasures-abound-in-old-news-by-myheritage

2:30 PM: Our National Stacks: Maximize Tools and Records at the U.S.
National Archives Remotely and In Person, by Ryan Johnson for Allen County Public Library  Genealogy Center.
https://acpl.libnet.info/event/16670707

Wednesday, 15 July

1:00 PM: Contacting and Collaborating with Cousins, by Nicka Sewell-Smith for Ancestry.com.
www.ancestry.com/c/discover/education

2:00 PM: Advanced Topics in DNA 4 of 5: Advanced Clustering and Organizing, by Blaine Bettinger for Legacy Family Tree Webinars.
https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar/advanced-topics-in-dna-4-of-5-advanced-clustering-and-organizing

Thursday, 16 July

Friday, 17 July

2:00 PM: Wills and Testaments in the Spanish Colonial Southwest, by Henrietta Martinez Christmas for Legacy Family Tree Webinars.
https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar/wills-and-testaments-in-the-spanish-colonial-southwest

Saturday, 18 July

10:30 AM: Using Libraries in Your Family History Research, by Maureen Brady for the British Interest Group of Wisconsin and Illinois.
https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/XoZZbGhfTie6oaxtYzLKiw

Just announced:

• Sir Tom Devine, Professor Emeritus at Edinburgh University, will lead off with an overview of the socio-economic changes within Scotland from 1815-1914 that led to the emigration of so many;
• Graeme Morton, Professor of Modern History and Director of the Centre for Scottish Culture at the University of Dundee, will tell us how the forces of industrialization drove people in Scotland to move;
• Alison Spring, professional genealogist, will tell us how those who moved into cities lived, and how we can find them;
• Morag Peers, professional genealogist and Director of Scottish Studies at the International Institute for Genealogical Studies, will show us how to trace a ship’s passenger back to their Scottish home;
• Chris Fleet, Map Curator at the National Library of Scotland, will show the most useful maps for emigration and migration, and then give a website demonstration focused on newer tools and more advanced features of the NLS Maps website;
• Dr. Frances Wilkins, Senior Lecturer in Ethnomusicology at the Elphinstone Institute, University of Aberdeen, and a professional musician, will explore the musical and cultural traditions of Scottish communities in Scotland and Canada, examining what emigrants brought with them, what they left behind, and how their heritage evolved in new homes.
• Marjory Harper, Professor of History, Aberdeen University and Visiting Professor at the Centre for History, University of the Highlands and Islands, will speak about the effects of religious fragmentation in Scotland and how it drove internal and external migration.

Find out more at https://www.bifhsgo.ca/2026-conference