Month: July 2021

Here’s a report on progress with Library and Archives Canada’s Co-Lab Challenges since last month.  One challenge reports progress and two are less complete this month than last!

Arthur Lismer’s Children’s Art Classes, new and 0% complete.

John Freemont Smith remains 89% complete.

War Diaries of the First World War: No. 2 Construction Battalion remains 99% complete.

Canadian National Land Settlement Association is 98% complete, 94% last month. That’s nine additional images of the 446 in the collection.

Molly Lamb Bobak remains 88% complete.

Diary of François-Hyacinthe Séguin remains 98% complete.

George Mully: moments in Indigenous communities 0% complete,  2% last month.

Correspondence regarding First Nations veterans returning after the First World War remains 99% complete.

Winnipeg General Strike of 1919 remains 95% complete.

Legendary Train Robber and Prison Escapee Bill Miner remains 99% complete.

Japanese-Canadians: Second World War, is 3% complete, 61% last month.

The Call to Duty: Canada’s Nursing Sisters remains 93% complete.

Projects that remain 100% complete are no longer reported here.

There’s a new more attractive presentation of the Challenges progress.

Other Co-Lab activities not part of the Challenges may have happened; seemingly we’ll never know.

Your choices are to get vaccinated or to get COVID.

The summary by publisher Ed Zapletal in his lead column says it all.

In her the first of two articles, Drawing Them In, Sue Lisk looks at ways to get our families interested in genealogical research through a variety of strategies. In her second article, In Memoriam, Sue shares a variety of ideas for paying tribute to a loved one.

In Tuberculosis: From Maine Cornfields to California Orange Groves, Merrylyn Sawyer looks at the tuberculosis outbreak of the early 20th century in the United States.

Have you experienced difficulties researching female ancestors? Diane L. Richard offers Part 1 of her article, Our Female Ancestors Are Found in Ledgers — Part 1. Watch for Part 2 in our September/October 2021.

In No Time Like the Present: Crafting Your Memoir, Lisa Alzo says that now is the perfect time to create a legacy for future generations.

In Bastardy Bonds, David A. Norris suggests that the absence of a marriage record does not mean the children of a couple were illegitimate. He looks at some well-documented online resources for North Carolina ranging from the colonial era into the 19th century.

In Case of the Missing Grandfather, Jerry Gioglio goes on a mission to uncover the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of his grandfather who emigrated to the U.S. from Italy in the late 19th century.

In My 19th Century Relatives Were Corona Virus Precursors, Stephen L.W. Greene looks at the cholera outbreak in Ellettsville, Indiana in 1833.

In Whodunit Fiction for Genealogy Lovers, Robbie Gorr wonders if reading too many genealogical mystery books can help, or hinder, our personal genealogical research efforts.

In Tradition is a Chronic Deceiver, Donna Potter Phillips says you should never accept a family traditional story at face value.

In Bad Luck Collisions with History, Lynn Cassity looks at one man’s run of bad luck and how his family chose to memorialize him.

And don’t forget Dave Obee’s Back Page where he suggests Record Your COVID-19 Experiences for Your Family History’s Sake!

Miscellaneous items I found of interest during the week.

Why Were Medieval Europeans So Obsessed With Long, Pointy Shoes?

Our Monstrous Archives: Memory and the End of Time

How to predict (UK) the summer weather – magic, miracle and meteorology

UK National Archives – Play Inspired by Pauper Letters

Time Team announces historic comeback

I’ll keep mentioning this as I wouldn’t want you to miss it
On Tuesday, 20 July at 8 pm Legacy Family Tree Webinars, in conjunction with The Board for Certification of Genealogists, is hosting the online presentation The Time of Cholera: A Case Study about Historical Context by Alison Hare, CG. To register, click here.

Thanks to this week’s contributors:  Anonymous, Brenda Turner, Gail Benjafield, Judith H., Ken Hanson, Nick Thorne, Unknown.

Recently added, 20th-century military maps to the NLS website, including very detailed plans of defensive works in and around the Forth and Clyde estuaries, constructed before and during the First World War. These formerly classified plans were the most detailed surveys of these sites, and allow the terrain and defences to be scrutinized in minute detail.

1. 1. Forth military defences (1911-18)
   2. Clyde military defences (1904-18)

Also online are detailed town plans of Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, and Glasgow, along with various special series maps. These series maps include some of the attractive and colourful Ordnance Survey Tourist Series, special Administrative District Maps of Glasgow, as well as geological and soil maps.

TheGenealogist this week added  85,959 individuals from the 1910s property tax records for the Borough of Haringey.  That makes over 1 million individuals now in this unique Lloyd George Domesday Survey recordset.

Covering the areas of Hornsey Central, Hornsey East, Hornsey West, as well as Tottenham A, Tottenham B, Tottenham C and Wood Green, this week’s release is made up of maps and field books that name property owners and occupiers. 

Read TheGenealogist’s article that finds the Tottenham cottage responsible for giving the old Spurs football ground its popular name: https://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/featuredarticles/2021/haringey-land-valuation-records-uncovers-the-modest-house-that-gave-its-name-to-a-famous-football-stadium-1429/

Exclusive to Findmypast, The Catholic Heritage Archive has grown, now with 447,663 new baptism, marriage, burial, and congregational records from Southwark.

235,580 baptisms from 1781 to 1912.
57,286 marriages from 1808 to 1911.
24,499 burials from 1820 to 1911
130,295 congregational records from 1810 to 1911

Is your parish of interest in Southwark? A present-day directory of the Arch-diocese is at http://directory.rcsouthwark.co.uk/

Here, arranged by the increase in the number of indexed records in the past week, are the FamilySearch UK collections being worked on.

Collection	New Indexed Records	Total Indexed Records	Percent Added
Middlesex Parish Registers, 1539-1988	101,216	2,610,916	3.9
Lancashire Non-Conformist Church Records, 1647-1996	31,970	306,619	10.4
Northumberland Non-Conformist Church Records, 1613-1920	5,811	148,156	3.9
Essex Non-Conformist Church Records, 1613-1971	4,674	154,131	3.0
Surrey Marriages Bonds and Licenses, 1536-1992	3,864	7,086	54.5
Lancashire, Marriage Bonds and Allegations, 1746-1799	3,553	22,008	16.1
Herefordshire Bishop’s Transcripts, 1583-1898	335	1,545,469	0.0
Gloucestershire Non-Conformist Church Records, 1642-1996	207	134,431	0.2
Lincolnshire, Marriage Bonds and Allegations, 1574-1885	129	73,059	0.2
Hertfordshire, Marriage Bonds, 1682-1837	58	8,958	0.6

Why are deaths now significantly fewer than normal?

According to a release from Statistics Canada.

from the end of March 2020 to the beginning of April 2021, an estimated 62,203 deaths were reported among Canadians aged 0 to 64. This represents 5,535 more deaths than expected were there no pandemic, after accounting for changes in the population such as aging. Over the same period, 1,380 COVID-19 deaths have been attributed to the same age group (those younger than 65), suggesting that the excess mortality is, in large part, related to other factors such as increases in the number deaths attributed to causes associated with substance use and misuse, including unintentional (accidental) poisonings and diseases and conditions related to alcohol consumption.

Statistics Canada. Table 13-10-0792-01 Adjusted estimates of excess mortality, all ages, all sexes by week.

Statistics Canada does not comment on the many fewer than expected deaths in the last part of the period. Could it be that some of the earlier deaths were people who would have died a natural death a few months later? Or perhaps wearing masks,  social distancing and less travel has a protective effect beyond that for COVID-19?  It seems doubtful it’s the result of vaccination as mortality transitioned from more to fewer than normal deaths for all age groups in February, at the beginning of the month for the oldest cohort and the end of the month for the youngest.

The National Heritage Digitization Strategy (NHDS) was established in 2016 as a national plan to ensure the long-term preservation of documentary heritage records by encouraging quality, standards-based efforts.

In the subsequent five years what has been accomplished?

In winter 2017, with $25K funding from the Salamander Foundation, issues of four indigenous newspapers were digitized — Windspeaker (1986-2015),  Ha-Shilth-Sa (1974-2017), Turtle Island News (2001-2013) and Nunatsiaq News (1976-78).

Scan the NHDS website and you’ll find surveys and planning. If any other digitization actually occurred it’s not apparent. You’d think any other successes attributable to the NHDS would be shouted from the rooftops.

We are only what we do, not what we say we are.
Isadore Sharp

Now NHDS is embarking on strategic planning. The aim is to identify short-term and long-term projects and initiatives to be undertaken by the NHDS, understand community-driven priorities, and assist in shaping the organizational structure of NHDS going forward.

To that end, a survey that should take approximately 20 minutes to complete is at https://form.simplesurvey.com/f/l/nhds-strategic-planning-survey/.

Responses are due by Monday, 9 August 2021.

Is it worth responding?

In addition, NHDS will be holding a variety of engagement opportunities throughout the year, including an open community call planned for fall 2021.  For more information visit: https://nhds.ca/nhds-strategic-planning-process-2021/.

Will ultimate clients, like researchers (academic, business and independent) and most archives’ largest client group, genealogists, be specifically invited.

To mark the 80th anniversary of the Blitz, Ancestry commissioned 80 pieces of art, each inspired by historical records from WWII. Explore the gallery to see stories of everyday people from around the UK brought to life.

Check out the YouTube video on the project and see the array of art.

Recommended. Bravo Ancestry!

There’s something in the air. Website designs are changing. The OGS site changed recently. The BIFHSGO site will change soon. And the UK Society of Genealogists site just changed.

This is the first stage in the website transformation and in the coming weeks we will continue to build up further content about our collections and services that you will hopefully find interesting and useful. We will also be expanding the members-only content for you to enjoy this summer. and will continue under development.

The web address is unchanged —  sog.org.uk/.

It takes a while to get familiar with a new design and to know where to find the items you use most often. Expect a learning curve.