Month: August 2022

Here are the contents of the latest issue, due on newsstands on 19 August.

Creeping on Facebook
Robb Gorr looks at using social media to find family information

Tableau
Diane L. Richard looks at newspaper datasets relevant to genealogists

More than the Same Old Song and Dance
Sue Lisk explores websites to help you understand the music of your ancestors

“Analog Google” for the Georgians & Victorians
David A. Norris looks at reference books for home and business

Edward Waugh Atkinson – A Family Anti-Hero
Adam Winstanley looks at online newspapers to enhance family stories

Researching State Archives? Stop! Go Online First
Karen L. Newman says go online before going to the State Archives. A featured look at West Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio

AI Tools for Family History Writers
Lisa Alzo looks at AI Tools for family history writers

Scanning Personal Genealogical Records
Ed Storey suggests using simple thumb drives to store your valuable family history data

What They Threw Away
Constance Cherba with Sam and Joe Ashkar examine what our ancestors threw away

Pondering Puzzles
Sue Lisk suggests ways to solve your own family history puzzles

REVIEW: DeepStory
Lisa A. Alzo reviews a new animated storytelling tool from MyHeritage

Genealogical Records at Somerset House
David A. Norris looks at 133 years of the records held at Somerset House in the UK

New York Historical Vital Records Online
Joe Grandinetti looks at finding the Big Apple on the family tree

Tribble: A Family Story
By Donna Potter Phillips

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

Photos and Genealogy
Do you remember the times of your life?

Research Questions from the Genealogy Center
More on Exploring PERSI at the Genealogy Center

Back Page:
Dave Obee suggests sensitivity should be the watchword when asking questions about family history.

Click an underlined heading at  https://www.internet-genealogy.com/issue_contents.htm to preview the first page of multi-page articles.

Short videos from four of the speakers at the BIFHSGO conference,  28 September–2 October 2022 present previews of their presentations at https://www.bifhsgo.ca/in-their-own-words.

Alan Ruston will speak on using maps in family research, Gill Blanchard on parish records about the poor, Derek Blount on the availability of Welsh records, and Ian Waller on ancestors who moved into, around or out of London.

I’m told more are coming.

The North of England is the focus this week.

City of York Electoral Registers 1848-1938
Ninety years of electoral registers, 1.76 million records.

These records will give you a name, place, district and address. However, check the original image, too – you may find extra information such as the type of property and whether it was rented or owned.

Durham Baptisms
Over 16,000 records, indexed and with images of the original, are added to this collection.

These records span  257 years, between 1664 and 1921, and cover 19 churches across the county. These churches include those of Anglican, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, and Methodist faiths and even cover the Unitarian Free Church in Sunderland.

Find a full Durham parish BMB list here.

Northumberland Baptisms
The 9,500 new additions to this collection, indexed and with images of the original, brings the total number of records to 758,000.

They cover 1571-1921, a wider span than the previous additions, 11 churches across Northumberland – check out the complete parish list here.

These include Anglican, Roman Catholic, and Presbyterian churches, and the All Saints Dissenter church of central Newcastle. The information will vary from record to record. You may be able to gather parents’ names and occupations, helping you trace multiple generations.

If you’re looking for a Y-SNP test, for yourself or a (possible) male relative along the paternal line, there’s a sale from Family Tree DNA until the end of the month.

Similar discounts are being given on some other tests for men and women alike.

Map Explorer™ from TheGenealogist has been added to Gold and Starter level subscriptions.

“From today, a significant number of databases including 1891, 1901 and 1911 censuses, plus TheGenealogist’s Image Archive pictures and along with the Domesday Book 1086,
are now available with pins on georeferenced maps in Map Explorer™. This makes Starter & Gold Subscriptions powerful resources for researchers to see where their
forebears lived, as well as to investigate the neighbourhood and surrounding area.
Accessing Map Explorer™ on a mobile allows researchers to walk in the footsteps of ancestors and discover where homes, schools, places of work and other buildings may once have stood but have now disappeared.
This interface will place a pin on the house using historical data to identify its location where possible or if not, the street or parish on an appropriate map of the area connected to the
record. As this resource makes use of a number of historical and modern maps matching the same precise coordinates, Starter & Gold subscribers are in a much better position to see where their ancestors had once lived even if the area has now changed.

To find out what’s included in the discounted Starter and Gold subscriptions go to www.thegenealogist.co.uk/PRTGAUG22”

Read more about the capabilities at Mapping the records from a PM’s house to the Conqueror’s Manor.

COMMENT.
Considering that many of the records available are also on the three more popular genealogy websites, along with many others, one has to look hard at the benefit of the additional access available on The Genealogist. It must be a takeover target!

Following the Information Commissioner of Canada’s investigation of the failure by LAC in meeting the deadlines set out in the Access to Information Act there is now an action plan.

“This action plan provides the foundation for initiating important changes to LAC-ATIP, but tangible results will still take time.”

You can read the plan at https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/transparency/atippr/Pages/atip-action-plan-progress.aspx . It has three components: Getting back on track, Internal review and improvements, and Engage with external partners on broader issues affecting ATIP.

While the proposed actions make sense, it’s notable that no quantitive measures are included. For those who have requested copies of a Second World War service file, and have waited more than two years, there is no indication of when they can expect to receive it. 

While there is a commitment to “report progress on this action plan on a semi-annual basis,” there is no statement of how many requests of different types are pending and commitment to reporting on the change in the numbers in the semi-annual reports. Without that, will those reports contain anything other than encouraging verbiage?

 

It’s been a long two years.

One of the most valuable, and free, services for family historians is now available again in Ottawa. You get access to records you won’t find at Ancestry, Findmypast, MyHeritage and other commercial genealogy sites. And it is totally free.

Perhaps like me, you missed the announcement.

The Ottawa Stake Family History Centre of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, to give its full title, reopened on 29 June.

The facility, at 1017 Prince of Wales Drive, north of the intersection with Heron Road/ Baseline, is now open every Wednesday and Thursday from 9:30 am – 3:30 pm.

I stopped in on Wednesday to see what’s changed.

The entrance, at the back of the building, hasn’t changed much. You need to buzz to be let in.

Inside the layout was familiar. Things appear to have been tidied up a bit with fewer books on the shelves, those now available online have been removed.

Cabinets with locally held microfilms are still there.

Old fashioned microfilm readers are in one room, one of the volunteers on duty was using it.

For a Wednesday morning the computer room with access to the full range of FamilySearch digitial microfilms and other resoirces was comfortably busy. Because of the small space masks are required throughout.

Service disruptions do happen. It’s good practice to phone ahead to 613-800-4250 to check the FHC is actually open.

It’s a happy day when the identity of a previously unknown soldier killed in wartime is established.

This CWGC blog post covers the identification of British-born Company Sergeant-Major David George Parfitt who died at the Battle of Thiepval Ridge serving with the 8th Canadian Infantry Battalion.

Let’s celebrate that the official identification was made possible by the findings of an unidentified “independent researcher” three years ago who deserves more credit than the anonymous mention in paragraph six. He or she might wish to remain unnamed, but I hope the politicians who appended quotes to the blog post expressed a personal appreciation of the diligence and skill of that independent researcher. The opaque Casualty Identification Review Board process makes for a tough nut to crack.

 

 

Zoom Talk from Friends of The Keep Archives (Sussex) (FoTKA) – Wednesday 10 August, at 12:30 pm

FotKA is delighted to inform you of the Second of its programme of remote Zoom talks.

Christopher Whittick DL, MA, FSA, FRHistS will speak on – ‘To the Manor born: manorial records for local and family historians’.

Christopher read law at Worcester College, Oxford, thereafter qualifying as an archivist in 1975. He joined East Sussex Record Office in 1977, becoming eventually East Sussex County Archivist until 2019.

Christopher has a particular interest in medieval crime and administration, and in the application of archival sources to the study of standing buildings. He has had an academic career, the depth and breadth of which speaks for itself.

He has written many entries for the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, and has authored, or co-authored books on East Sussex artist Eric Ravilious and many other subjects. His edition (with Ian Forrest) of the episcopal visitation of Hereford Diocese in 1397 was published by the Canterbury and York Society in 2021.

Christopher has also taught palaeography throughout England and Wales, written a palaeography training module for the University of Liverpool and has been a lecturer on the University College London archives course.

He is, or has been, associated with many societies eg a vice-president of Sussex Archaeological Society, the Board of Sussex Archaeological Collections, president of the Wealden Iron Research Group, a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and the Royal Historical Society, an associate of the Artworkers’ Guild, trustee/chair of the Sussex Historic Churches Trust since 1998, and currently a Trustee of FoTKA. He was appointed as a Deputy Lieutenant of the County of East Sussex in 2017.

FoTKA are again grateful to Lewes History Group Chairman, Neil Merchant who has given support and advice in the Zoom hosting of this talk. The talk will be on-line only, free of charge and last for 45 minutes, with questions afterwards. The talk

You do not need to have a Zoom subscription.
Register in advance, for this meeting, by clicking on the link below and answering the questions:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYtc-GhqT8tEtL6SRXGioh-WLLURZWxCFWP 
After registering, you will receive an important confirmation email from Zoom.

If you have any questions at all, please contact info@fotka.org.uk

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 9 August July 2 pm: OGS Ottawa Branch Virtual Genealogy Drop-in. 
https://ottawa.ogs.on.ca/events/virtual-genealogy-drop-in-2-2022-07-12/

Tuesday 9 August, 2:30 pm: Why They Left: A Conversation About the Irish Diaspora, by Elizabeth Hodges for Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center.
https://acpl.libnet.info/event/6971999

Wednesday 10 August, 8 pm: Need help with grammar and punctuation? There’s a tool for that, by Cathie Sherwood for Legacy Family Tree Webinars.
https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar/need-help-with-grammar-and-punctuation-theres-a-tool-for-that/

Thursday 11 August, noon. Hathi Trust Digital Library & Genealogy, by Orange County California Library System.
https://attend.ocls.info/event/6760062

Thursday 11 August 1 pm: Lunch and Learn: A Celebration of Alex Haley, His Legacy, and Roots With Chris Haley, for Enoch Pratt Free Library in partnership with The Maryland State Archives and The Maryland Four Centuries Project.
Registration not required, but encouraged. https://calendar.prattlibrary.org/event/lunch_and_learn_a_celebration_of_alex_haley#.YvF_unbMJEY

Thursday 11 August 6:30 pm: Expanding your family tree with DNA: Telling the story of your family with Charting Companion & Family Tree Maker, by Pierre Clouthier for Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center.
https://acpl.libnet.info/event/6972039

Is someone in your family tree, like my grandfather, unfortunate enough to have passed through an orphanage?

Their misfortune benefits us in that records for their stay likely exist, documenting a part of life that’s often obscure for those more fortunate.

Here’s an article, courtesy of WDYTYA Magazine, to help with that research, including two sites for those who came to Canada.

Not mentioned explicitly are records held at county record offices. Also, don’t neglect newspapers that might have covered special events, like the Christmas Day experience.

BIFHSGO has home child resources, not so easy to find, under https://www.bifhsgo.ca/learn-about-the-name-index and a comprehensive pdf article About Home Children, by Patricia Roberts-Pichette.

In August, Kingston Branch publications about Lennox and Addington County, plus “Other Publications” (Hastings, Prince Edward and Prescott Counties) are offered as follows: purchase one at the regular price and select one free, of equal or lesser value.  Your shipping cost will be based on the price of your purchased publication only. This applies to current stock only, while supplies last.  Refer to the Publication page of the Branch website https://kingston.ogs.on.ca for the list of available publications, and to the Price List for detail about each publication. Amendments will be made to the inventory list throughout the month..

Please send your order to kingstonpublications@ogs.on.ca and an invoice will be generated for you.