Findmypast weekly update

Scotland, Edinburgh Apprentices 1583-1800
Now fully searchable, these transcripts include details of nearly 30,000 of Edinburgh’s apprentices, their fathers and masters, as far back as the 1500s.

British Armed Forces and Overseas Births and Deaths
Thousands of new records from The National Archives and the General Register Office. The total collection now comprises nearly 2 million births and baptisms and over 2.7 million deaths and burials.

Plus newspaper updates.

Farewell Your Genealogy Today

As previously announced, Moorshead Magazines is ceasing publication of Your Genealogy Today. As Editor/Publisher Ed Zapletal explains Moorshead Magazines Ltd. is
proud to announce that we are
celebrating 25 years of publishing
genealogy magazines, however,
the milestone is bittersweet. As
much as we would like to go forward with two genealogy publications, the events of the last 20
months have made it necessary
for us to shift our strategy. Delays
in printing due to paper and workforce shortages, as well as transportation and distribution issues
brought on by the Pandemic will see Your Genealogy Today
merged into Internet Genealogy to become a single title effective with the upcoming Internet Genealogy October/November
2021 issue. 

Contents of the farewell issue are:

Genealogy Magazines Today!
Donna Potter Phillips lauds 25 years of publishing genealogy magazines from Moorshead Magazines Ltd.

Breaking Down Genealogical Brick Walls with Church Records
David A. Norris looks at church records and how they can help in
getting past research roadblocks.

Tell Me a Story: Sharing Your Family History Aloud
Sue Lisk suggests ideas for getting into oral-story telling mode
when the opportunity arises.

Conceived Through Reconciliation: Birth of a Passion
Yvette LaGonterie embarks on a journey to uncover her Antillean roots.

The Passing of The Silent Generation
Robbie Gorr looks at the necessity of interviewing senior family members.

Finding Hidden Fathers
Ed Storey looks at English records that may help you to locate a missing father in your tree.

Piecing Together the Puzzles of Personality
Sue Lisk looks for the clues that will help us piece together an
ancestor’s personality.

“Shhhh! I’ll Let You In On a Secret: Our Female Ancestors Are Found in Ledgers” — Part 2, by Diane L. Richard.

Letters Corresponding to Genealogy
Joe Grandinetti says letters home by Irish emigrants have a
unique relevance to genealogy.

Us and Them
Stephen L. W. Greene looks at why it’s important to go beyond the bounds
of your own family when doing genealogy research.

Your Ancestors Come to Life!
Melody Amsel-Arieli gets into Deep Nostalgia, the animation technology
from MyHeritage that can seemingly bring family photos to life.

The Back Page: Do You Have a Disaster Plan?
Dave Obee reminds us why we should be prepared for catastrophic events.

I deleted Facebook

No more cute photos of cats, babies. No more photos of unusual clouds. No more social media sessions from the big commercial genealogy companies.

I’m disgusted at the revelations of the “profits before people” culture that pervades the company. Disgusted at the cover-up of harm to youngsters and promotion of ethnic violence — not deliberate but a result of the choice of algorithms. Disgusted at letting the elite violate codes of conduct enforced on everyone else.

Enough.

I don’t need it in my life.

So goodbye Facebook. If I had an Instagram account it would be goodbye to it too. If things get fixed I would maybe return.

BIFHSGO Saturday

A reminder about the presentation by Stephen Gill this Saturday, 9 October. I’m hearing that Stephen is a popular speaker — informative and entertaining.

Picture This!

9:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

Register

Stephen Gill, Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society, and author of The Family Detective and the follow-up Design in Detail will offer a lighthearted look at how photography evolved in Britain over 175 years, from vanity purchase to an everyday event. He’ll explore what is happening to photographs from our own immediate past, and how we can ensure that current photographs are available to our descendants. He’ll also show us how to tell a story about an old photograph and help date it.

Stephen has been a professional photographer for almost 50 years and a photo restorer for more than 20. Having inherited a collection of photos his grandfather took, he became interested in what stories they told. Over the years he developed new techniques to bring out the best of the images and reproduce them in even more detail than could be achieved originally. He trained as a post-graduate teacher of photography and has been delivering talks and lectures on the subject for over 15 years. He is the first UK photo restorer to receive the status of Accredited Senior in Imaging in the Creative Industries from the Royal Photographic Society (RPS).

Following Stephen’s talk, you will have an opportunity (in breakout rooms) to apply what you learned from Stephen to a family photo of your own. For this, you will need to have a photo available online for sharing with others.

LAC gradually closing!

A researcher tried booking the main LAC research room for a Friday and was told they will be closing on Fridays. That would mean LAC will only be open 3 days a week.

The death of 1,000 cuts. Does the 24/7 service offered through the web compensate for the olden days when the PAC boasted one could research in person 24/7?

British Columbia Regional Digitized History

B.C.R.D.H. exists to improve access to copies of regional historical resources including photographs, textual documents and publications from participating BC memory institutions.

There’s a year-by-year list of projects funded at https://ikblc.ubc.ca/initiatives/bcdigitinfo/. 

They include a digital newspaper collections. Material added in 2021 included the Prince Rupert Daily News (1911-2009), Summerland Review (1946-1967), Nelson Daily News (1936-1947), Kootenay Express (1988-2000), Abbotsford, Sumas, & Matsqui News (1922-1945).

If your research is in BC check to see if a local newspaper of interest was digitized in prior years.

 

Internet Genealogy: Oct-Nov 2021

Below is the table of contents for the new issue from Moorshead Magazines. Editor/publisher Ed Zapletal informs that due to press delays the issue will be available to subscribers and newsstands in mid-October.

A Convict Mother’s Plea: Researching Criminal Ancestors?
Michelle Dennis investigates UK and Australian records for one mother’s efforts to save her convict son

The Dublin Gazette
David A. Norris looks at the value of the official government newspaper and its importance to genealogists today

Cats and Ladders: Ancestral Superstitions
Sue Lisk looks at superstitions, their origins, and how they connect us to our roots

AM Explorer
Diane L. Richard investigates the Adam Matthew Digital Collection

What Genealogists and Societies Have Learned During the Pandemic
George G. Morgan looks at what we’ve learned and gained from navigating a major health and economic disaster

Down on the Farm, Back to Our Roots
Sue Lisk looks at resources to help you learn about your ancestors’ farm-related experiences

You Eat What You Are
Robbie Gorr suggests preserving your family’s culinary history

Plot Like a Pro with Plottr
Lisa A. Alzo reviews a powerful tool for plotting your family history book

Genealogy Brainstorming with Popplet
Lynn Cassity looks at a brainstorming app for all ages

Judy Records
Diane L. Richard investigates a website containing records of hundreds of millions of U.S. Court Cases

Making Inferences in Genealogy
Ed Storey looks at drawing inferences and using facts to fill in some of the missing information when bringing ancestors to life

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

Back Page: The Genealogy of Things, The Genealogy of Ideas
Dave Obee says write stories that help describe your ancestors, and help you to understand what made them tick!

Ancestry Canadian collections opened for Thanksgiving

Your public library is likely still offering cardholders remote access to the Ancestry Library edition until December 31, 2021. For the next few days, there’s another option for Canadian records.

From 4 – 11 October, with free registration, 146 Canadian databases are available to search. They include the national censuses from 1825 to 1921, Manitoba census Indexes, 1832-1856 & 1870, Newfoundland censuses for 1921, 1945 and 1945.

Ancestry’s largest Canadian databases included are Voters Lists, 1935-1980, Newspapers.com Obituary Index, 1800s-current, Drouin Collection, 1621-1968, Canadian Phone and Address Directories, 1995-2002 and Quebec, Canada, Notarial Records, 1637-1935 (in French).

Enjoy,

This Week’s Online Genealogy Events

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 or recommended

Assume registration in advance is required; check so you’re not disappointed.

Tuesday 5 Oct. 2 pm: Virtual Genealogy Drop-In, from Ottawa Branch of OGS and The Ottawa Public Library.
https://ottawa.ogs.on.ca/events/.

Tuesday 5 Oct. 7:30 pm: Researching Women on Ancestry, by Lesley Anderson for Durham Region Branch OGS.
https://durham.ogs.on.ca/

Tuesday 5 Oct. 9 pm: A Cargo of Criminals: Transportation to Australia, by Carol Baxter for Legacy Family Tree Webinars.
https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar/a-cargo-of-criminals-transportation-to-australia/

Wednesday 6 Oct, 1 pm: Blacks Britannica: Diversity in Medieval and Early Modern England, by Onyeka Nubia for Gresham College. https://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/blacks-britannica

Wednesday 6 Oct, 2 pm: DNA Health Tests and Your Family Health History, by Rick Crume for Legacy Family Tree Webinars.
https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar/dna-health-tests-and-your-family-health-history/

Wednesday 6 Oct. 2:30 pm: Wednesdays with Witcher Series:
Family Interviews, by Curt Witcher for Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center.
https://acpl.libnet.info/event/5589792

Wednesday 6 Oct. 7:30pm: Female Preachers of the Bible Christian Church: the impact of the church on immigration to Huron and those that served, by Jim Bowen for Huron County Branch OGS.
https://huron.ogs.on.ca/events/oct-webinar-female-preachers-of-the-bible-christian-church-jim-bowen/

Thursday 7 Oct. 7:30 am: Going To My Father’s House: a history of my times, by Patrick Joyce and Madeleine Bunting for the London School of Economics.
https://www.lse.ac.uk/International-Inequalities/Events/Going-to-my-fathers-house/Going-to-My-Fathers-House-a-history-of-my-times

Thursday 7 Oct. 6:30 pm: Interpreting DNA Results, by Sara Allen for Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center.
https://acpl.libnet.info/event/5588287

Thursday 7 Oct. 7 pm: How to Find a Will in Court Records, by Lindsey Winstone for OGS (Ontario Ancestors). 
https://ogs.on.ca/zoom-meetings/october-webinar-lyndsey-winstone/

Friday 8 Oct. 9 am: Harry and Ethel:Two unlikely spies, by Mark Dunton for the UK National Archives. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/harry-and-ethel-unlikely-spies-tickets-169089744979?aff=em

Friday 8 Oct. from 11 am: Six presentations in the 2021 Reisinger Lecture Series, available on Legacy Family Tree Webinars.
https://bcgcertification.org/webinars-reisinger-2021/

Friday 8 Oct. 7 pm: The Woman in the Photo – Discovering My Indigenous Heritage, by Rachel Cyr for Kent County Branch OGS.
https://kent.ogs.on.ca/events/captain-keating/

Saturday 9 Oct. 9:30 am: Picture This, by Stephen Gill for BIFHSGO
https://www.bifhsgo.ca/events

Saturday 9 Oct. 11 am: Making the Most of GENUKI, with Sue McNelly from ISBGFH.
https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_zUdrGR5wTayR9gAVdQXy8g

 

Military Monday: CWGC Cemeteries of World War I

Maps showing the location of all CWGC cemeteries, worldwide, are not on the CWGC website. They may be found via
http://ww1centenary.oucs.ox.ac.uk/space-into-place/commonwealth-cemeteries-of-world-war-one/.

This will be helpful if you know where the deceased’s battalion was fighting but the body was not recovered and identified. Chances are burial would be in a nearby cemetery, if the body was recovered.

Sometimes a body was recovered with the regiment known but otherwise unidentified. For each cemetery in France and Belgium, the number of unidentified burials is given in closing paragraphs of the ‘History Section.’ The website has no details on the unidentified casualties as the website search facility operates on a name search.

Thanks to the CWGC for this information.

BBC History Magazine: November 2021

The November issue is already out. Here are the contents.

In defence of George III
Andrew Roberts counters the narrative that the King was a tyrannical brute who gave the American colonies no choice but to rebel. (Did you know the complaint of the American colonist’s, who were largely self-governing, was over taxes of 7 pence per person to pay for their own defence?)

Medieval duels
Jules Skoda reveals why our ancestors chose to fight to the death to resolve intractable disputes.

Windows onto history
From arrow slits to stained glass masterpieces, Rachel Hurdley shows how windows illuminate the past.

The author of abolition
David Olusoga on how Olaudah Equiano added a powerful voice to the campaign to end the slave trade.

Elizabeth and Mary
Susan Doran chronicles Elizabeth 1 and Mary Queen of Scots fraught relationship via 12 objects

The firing line
James Holland tells the epic story of the tank regiment that won more battle honours than any other British army unit in the Second World War.

Medieval worship
Nicholas Orme answers five big questions on the experience of going to church in the Middle Ages.

There’s additional content at https://www.historyextra.com/

Discount on OGS membership

Once again this year the Ontario Genealogical Society is offering half price on membership renewal if you pair with someone who becomes a new member. They get the half-off deal too.

As a result of this, and other recruitment initiatives OGS increased its membership by 2% in 2021, that’s according to information from Society President  Heather McTavish Taylor at a webinar last week.

Heather mention the offer as starting on 1 November. As of writing, I don’t see the offer slashed across the OGS webpage nor information on the procedure to follow.  When I do I’ll post that information along with an offer to pair with a new member and attempt to match existing members with potential new ones. Stay tuned.