Digitally Re-Mapping Ireland’s Ordnance Survey Heritage

OS200 is a 3-year project is jointly funded by the Irish Research Council (IRC) and the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), part of a €6.5m programme of research bringing together world-leading expertise in the digital humanities across the UK and Ireland.

The project aims to gather historic Ordnance Survey (OS) maps and texts to form a single freely accessible online resource for academic and public use. This digital platform will reconnect the First Edition Six-Inch Maps with the OS Memoirs, Letters and Name Books and in doing so will enable a team of researchers from across Ireland – north and south – to uncover otherwise hidden and forgotten aspects of the life and work of those employed by the OS as they mapped and recorded landscapes and localities.

Read more here.

Sunday Sundries

Miscellaneous items I found of interest during the week.

KnowTechie: Surprise! Three out of four adults think Facebook is bad for society. “If you’ve seen or heard any kind of news lately, you’re probably aware of just how much scrutiny Facebook has come under over the last couple of months. Well, a new survey from CNN shows just how bad Facebook’s reputation has gotten. Three out of four adults say that the company makes society worse.”

What Makes Life Meaningful? Views From 17 Advanced Economies

Historical Thinking Concepts
Are these applicable to family history?

We transformed a London borough into a game to get fewer people travelling by car – here’s what happened

Thanks to this week’s contributors. Anonymous, Glenn,  jgladore, Judith H.,  Teresa, Unknown.

Findmypast Weekly Update

This week sees 22 million records added to FMP’s United States Obituary Notices for a total of 79 million. Dates range from 1901 to 2014. Information returned, together with surname, is typically:

Alan was born on January 30, 1896 and passed away in July 1970. Alan was a resident of New York, New York.

Also added is a collection of about 40,000  United States, Freedmen’s Bureau Marriages consisting of names, date of marriage, location of marriage, ages of the couple,  and names of witnesses from Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.

The Challenge of Research in Ottawa. What’s Open? What’s Closed?

Library and Archives Canada in Ottawa is open Tuesday to Thursday, 9 am to 12 pm, and 1 pm to 4 pm, but not if you want to consult “Photos, art, maps and plans, audiovisual material, textual documents from LMS/MUS (literary and music) fonds, preservation collection, rare books, photo index cards (“contact cards”)” Those are not accessible.

You must make a reservation two weeks in advance using Eventbrite. Each Monday at 10 am ET, LAC makes a week of reservations available, two weeks in advance.

The Canada Aviation and Space Museum Library and Archives is currently closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but “is continuing services where they can be delivered through e-mail or telephone communication. Further information on reopening will be posted on this page when it becomes available. Please note that the reduction of services and opening hours made for the ongoing collection move will continue to be in effect after reopening until further notice.”

When the Ottawa Public Library tried to obtain an interlibrary loan for me the information was that “The Canadian Museum of Aviation … ILL Service remains suspended until at least April of 2022.”

When I call the museum the line was disconnected. When I emailed the message was blocked.  Awful service!

The Canadian War Museum Military History Research Centre “At present we are only open for appointments Wednesday and Thursday in two time slots: morning (10 a.m.-1 p.m.) and afternoon (1-4 p.m.). Appointments must be made at least three days in advance. However, it is recommended that you book 2-3 weeks in advance due to demand. If you are visiting from out of town or anticipate requiring more time than a single time slot, arrangements can be made.”

I was successful in getting an interlibrary loan from the CWM.

The Canada Science and Technology Museum Library and Archives is currently closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but is continuing services where they can be delivered through e-mail or telephone communication. Further information on reopening will be posted when it becomes available.

The National Gallery of Canada Library and Archives is open to the public on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 10 am – 5 pm. Space in the Library is limited. We recommend you make an appointment by phone (613-714-8949) or by email (erefel@gallery.ca). Access to the Archives is by appointment only.

Canadian Museum of Nature:  “On-site access to our Library and Archives is temporarily closed.”

The Ottawa Public Library, Ottawa Room, is open during regular hours at the Main Library.

The City of Ottawa Archives is open to the public by appointment only. Tuesday to Friday: 9:30 to 3:30 pm; Saturday: 10:30 to 4:30 pm.

The Ottawa Ontario Stake Family History Centre is closed. Unlike in many other centres, there is no alternative affiliate library available in Ottawa.

 

 

LAC Co-Lab updates for November

Here’s a report on Library and Archives Canada’s Co-Lab Challenges since last month.  As mentioned previously, there are two new challenges.

Women in the War, with 70 images, is 0% complete.

First World War Posters, with 140 images, is 83% complete.

There has been no progress on continuing Challenges:

Arthur Lismer’s Children’s Art Classes remains 0% complete.

John Freemont Smith remains 94% complete.

Canadian National Land Settlement Association remains 98% complete.

Molly Lamb Bobak remains 88% complete.

Diary of François-Hyacinthe Séguin remains 98% complete.

George Mully: moments in Indigenous communities remains 0% complete.

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

Winnipeg General Strike of 1919 remains 96% complete.

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

Japanese-Canadians: Second World War, remains 3% complete.

The Call to Duty: Canada’s Nursing Sisters remains 92% complete.

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

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

MyHeritage now has labels for DNA Matches

MyHeritage has just introduced labels for DNA Matches, aomething some find to be a convenient way of organizing DNA Matches into customized groups.

You can assign colour-coded labels to represent different groups of interest, such as different family lines, descendants of a specific ancestor, matches of high interest, matches that you haven’t had a chance to investigate yet, or matches that require a closer look when you have the chance.

There’s a very short video showing how it works. You can read in detail about it here.

 

Family Tree DNA Sale

Tis’ the season for sales. There are times when an autosomal DNA test won’t do. If you’ve been waiting for a sale on a Y-DNA test, it follows a man’s male line back, or a mitochondrial test that follows the maternal line now is the time. Family Tree DNA has these specialist tests as well as their autosomal test on sale.

Note that prices are in US currency and do not include shipping.

LAC’s New Assistant Deputy Minister, User Experience and Engagement

On 15 November Jasmine Bouchard, previously head of services to the public at the city of Gatineau’s library, joined Library and Archives Canada as Assistant Deputy Minister, User Experience and Engagement.

The announcement is at https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/news/Pages/2021/welcome-new-adm-novembre21.aspx

I’m sure we all wish Ms. Bouchard well in taking up this challenging role. A good step would be to ask users, and potential users, for advice about the service improvements and services they want?

Ancestry updates Scotland Select Records

With Scotland’s People carefully guarding access to official BMDs and BMBs, and giving to information I could find on how many records are in the database(s), we look for alternatives

Ancestry has just updated the Select databases

Scotland, Select Marriages, 1561-1910, 4,298,852 records.
Scotland, Select Births and Baptisms, 1564-1950, 27,121,897 records.

The source they cite is FamilySearch which lists:

Scotland, Marriages, 1561-1910. 2,007,372 records, updated 11 March 2020
Scotland Births and Baptisms, 1564-1950.  8,151,224 records, updated 19 June 2020.

How can Ancestry get so many more records from the same source?

Findmypast‘s catalogue lists
Scotland, Parish Marriages & Banns 1561-1893. 5,875,752 records
Scotland, Parish Births & Baptisms 1564-1929.  10,543,847 records

Their sources are “compiled from a variety of different sources”, mainly family history societies.

MyHeritage lists
Scotland, Marriages, 1561-1910. 4,281,188 records updated 21 Dec 2013
Scotland, Births and Baptisms, 1564-1950. 26,765,821 records updated 21 Dec 2013

FreeReg does not provide information on the totals for Scottish records

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

Tuesday 16 Nov. 2:30 pm: Saving Your Story: Preservation 101 for the Family Historian, by Annie Halliday for Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center.
https://acpl.libnet.info/event/5769131

Tuesday 16 Nov. 8 pm: Planning Research, by LaBrenda Garrett-Nelson for Legacy Family Tree Webinars
https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar/planning-research/

Wednesday 17 Nov. 1 pm: Holocaust History Under Siege, by Jan Grabowski for Gresham College.
https://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/holocaust-history

Wednesday 17 Nov. 2 pm: Reeling ‘Em in with Cousin Bait—10 Ways to Connect with Family, by Cheri Hudson Passey for Legacy Family Tree Webinars
https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar/10-ways-to-connect-with-family/

Wednesday 16 Nov. 7 pm: Remembering Our Military Heritage, by John Grants for Sudbury Branch OGS.
https://www.sudburyogs.com/

Thursday 18 Nov. 6:30 pm: Social History of Early Massachusetts, by Seema Kenney for Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center.
https://acpl.libnet.info/event/5769152

Friday 19 Nov. 9 am: Victory and Loss: Britain after the First World War, by William Butler for the UK National Archives.
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/victory-and-loss-britain-after-the-first-world-war-tickets-176952739407

Friday 19 Nov. 2 pm: Finding Your Scottish Ancestors in Canada, by Christine Woodcock for Legacy Family Tree Webinars
https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar/finding-your-scottish-ancestors-in-canada/

Saturday 20 Nov. 10 am: Remembering My Cousin and His Family: Bomber Command in WWII, by Paul Van Nest for Kingston Branch OGS. 
https://kingston.ogs.on.ca/

Saturday 20 Nov. 1 pm: Great Moments, by Wayne Wickson, Ian McKelvie, Ruth James-Morrow, Julie Hinton.
https://quinte.ogs.on.ca/2021/11/08/november-20-great-moments/

Advance Notice: The Triumph of Villainy: The Loyalist Search for Honour in Defeat

Kingston & District Branch, United Empire Loyalists’ Association of Canada will hold its Annual General Meeting on Saturday, November 27 at 2:00 pm EST on Zoom.

The guest speaker will be Dr. Tim Compeau of the Department of History at Huron College, Western University speaking on “The Triumph of Villainy: The Loyalist Search for Honour in Defeat.”

All are welcome to attend: visit www.uelac.org/Kingston-Branch for the link to pre-register for the Zoom meeting, or email kingston.uelac@gmail.com to request the link.

Tim Compeau is co-editor of the book Seeing the Past with Computers. If you have a few minutes I recommend chapter 10, Tecumseh Returns: A History Game in Alternate Reality, Augmented Reality, and Reality of which he is the lead author.