This month’s BIFHSGO meeting on Saturday, 10 May, is a hybrid session with two presentations.

At 9 am, Marnie McCall will present Copyright for the Family Historian.
Learn what copyright means for your research and writing, how to navigate public domain materials, and what to consider when using family photos, letters, and others’ work in your presentations.

At 10 am: Kristen den Hartog presents Rebuilding the Body After the First World War.
In the wake of the First World War, thousands of wounded soldiers returned to Canada. By 1919, a military hospital opened in a former cash register factory in Toronto’s west end. Christie Street Hospital, intended as a temporary facility, remained in use through the next war.

Attend in person at Knox Presbyterian Church (Lisgar & Elgin) – Geneva Hall, and enjoy refreshments and social time, or online by registering here.

 

Eighty years ago, on 8 May 1945, Victory in Europe Day (VE Day) saw celebrations — a collective sigh of relief after years of sacrifice and hardship.

The Ottawa Citizen captured the jubilant mood, its front page proclaiming “Joyous Bells Of Victory Ringing Around World As Germany’s Downfall Proclaimed.” The image of the Red Ensign flying over the Peace Tower in Ottawa symbolized Canada’s significant contribution to the Allied effort.

In the UK, Prime Minister Winston Churchill addressed the nation, his voice, “natural and vigorous,” as described by Mackenzie King, Canada’s Prime Minister.

The celebrations in May 1945 were tinged with the knowledge that further sacrifices would be needed before the peace was truly global. As Churchill said in his speech ‘We may allow ourselves a brief period of rejoicing; but let us not forget for a moment the toil and efforts that lie ahead.’

The conflict in the Pacific continued, and Victory over Japan Day (VJ Day) was still months away. Canada prepared a substantial force, including an infantry division and several air force squadrons (over 24,000 men), for the planned invasion of the Japanese home islands in the fall of 1945. While the invasion did not occur due to Japan’s surrender Canadians still served in the Pacific after VE Day, including Lieutenant Robert Hampton Gray of the Royal Canadian Navy Volunteer Reserve who posthumously received the Victoria Cross on 9 August 1945, for his actions off the island of Honshu.

 

New online, more than 100 maps of Great Britain and the wider world added to the Signet Library map collection (1580ss–1950s).

This fine collection of 494 maps, comprises the main sheet maps held by the Society of Writers to Her Majesty’s Signet, Parliament Square Edinburgh. The greater part of the collection – 402 items – relate geographically to Scotland, and date from the late 16th century through to the mid-20th century. Of these, there are 91 county or district maps, 47 plans of towns, with a focus on Edinburgh, 23 estate plans (including 6 in manuscript), 16 coastal charts, and a remaining 9 maps which relate to the whole of Scotland. There are also two Ordnance Survey One-Inch to the mile series of Scotland, the 2nd edition with coloured parishes and a third outline edition (1903-1912).

Non-Scottish maps include 32 maps of England, Wales and Ireland, 20 Ordnance Survey One-Inch Old Series maps, and 43 international maps.

For Canada there’s

• Signet.b.03(1) – Map of Central Canada showing transportation and commercial development / (prepared by Natural Resources Intelligence Service, Dept. of the Interior).
• Signet.b.03(2) – Map of the Dominion of Canada, exclusive of northern regions, indicating main natural resources / prepared by National Development Bureau.
• Signet.b.03(3) – Map of the southern portion of the Dominion of Canada indicating vegetation and forest cover… / (prepared by the Natural Resources Intelligence Service).
• Signet.b.03(4) – Map of the Dominion of Canada, exclusive of northern regions, indicating vegetation and forest cover… / [prepared by] National Development Bureau.
• Signet.b.03(5) – Southern Alberta. Scale 1:792,000…Map showing disposition of lands / [prepared by the] Natural Resources Intelligence Service…
• Signet.b.03(6) – Northern Alberta. Scale 1:792,000…Map showing disposition of lands / [prepared by the] Natural Resources Intelligence Service…
• Signet.b.03(7) – Southern British Columbia showing disposition of lands within the railway belt.
• Signet.b.03(8) – Manitoba. Scale 1:792,000 … map showing disposition of lands / [prepared by the] Natural Resources Intelligence Service …
• Signet.b.03(9) – Map of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta showing the number of vacant quarter sections in each township / prepared by the Natural Resources Intelligence Service.
• Signet.b.03(10) – Map of Nova Scotia indicating natural resources, motor roads and transportation routes … / prepared by the Natural Resources Intelligence Service … 1924.
• Signet.b.03(11) – Saskatchewan. Scale 1:792,000 … Map showing disposition of lands / [prepared by the] Natural Resources Intelligence Service …
• Signet.b.03(12) – Saskatchewan. Scale 1:792,000 … Map showing disposition of lands / [prepared by] Natural Resources Intelligence Service …

Choose from these selected free online events. All times are Eastern Time (ET), unless otherwise noted. Registration is assumed to be required in advance—check the links so you’re not disappointed. For more events, mainly in the U.S., visit Conference Keeper.

Looking ahead
Monday 12 May at 7 pm: “The Old Woman Went Along”: Elderly migration in the 1800s, by Dianne Brydon for Bruce County Genealogical Society.
https://bit.ly/2025-05-12-DianneBrydon-BCGS

Miscellaneous items I found of interest during the week.

AI turns old photos into ‘motion pictures’

From the BBC
https://www.bbc.com/news/videos/cq5wx27gne1o
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1k4y98vykro

There are a variety of apps and websites to be found where you can do the same thing with your photos. Here’s advice from ChatGPT https://chatgpt.com/share/6814e5d5-8338-8012-848f-4bae43fbf8ed

Eating in the UK in the Fifties.

Findmypast Weekly Update

Additions this week are Commonwealth War Grave Commission records: 2,474 images and transcriptions for Germany, 2,178 for Cyprus, and 1,561 for Greece.

The 55,867 newspaper pages added this week, none for Est Anglia, including six new titles and 32 existing publications that have been updated.

New titles
Hunts Guardian from 1871-1872 and 1874-1884
Leeds Daily News from 1889 and 1898
Lytham Times from 1870, 1880-1888, 1900-1909, 1920-1929 and 1932-1949
Norwood Press and Dulwich Advertiser from 1918-1929
Oldham Chronicle from 1873 and 1897
South Durham Herald from 1883-1891

Updated titles
Banffshire Journal, 1948-1949
Barrow Herald and Furness Advertiser, 1895, 1900-1901, 1904 and 1908
Bexhill-on-Sea Observer, 1995
Bridgnorth Journal, 1998
Brighton Gazette, 1914-1917
Buxton Herald, 1891 and 1948
Canterbury Journal, 1913-1919
Crystal Palace District Times & Advertiser, 1896
Cumberland and Westmorland Advertiser, and Penrith Literary Chronicle, 1882, 1884-1886 and 1897
Dudley & District Chronicle, 1994
Dundee Weekly News, 2002
Isle of Man Daily Times, 1964-1965
Kilkenny Moderator, 1904 and 1907
Leicester Chronicle, 1923
Louth and North Lincolnshire Advertiser, 1889-1896, 1899-1903, 1915-1919, 1926-1938, 1951 and 1953-1957
Lurgan Mail, 1985
Midland Counties Express, 1870, 1875, 1877, 1889 and 1899
Montgomery County Times and Shropshire and Mid-Wales Advertiser, 1920-1921
Perthshire Courier, 1927-1928
Prestatyn Weekly, 1938-1939
Sandwell Chronicle, 1994, 1998
Scarborough Mercury, 1856, 1874, 1878 and 1889
Scunthorpe Star, 1987
Shoreditch Observer, 1870-1875
Shoreham Herald, 1992
Tenbury Wells Advertiser, 1818, 1913 and 1915-1917
Trinidad Royal Gazette, 1900-1903
Waterford Standard, 1912-1917, 1919 and 1927
Whitehaven Advertiser and Cleator Moor and Egremont Observer 1891, 1910-1911 and 1913-1914
Whitehaven News, 1882, 1886-1888, 1902-1910, 1912 and 1915-1918
Wolverton Express, 1965
Workington Star, 1916, 1918

Bees, fish and plants show how climate change’s accelerating pace is disrupting nature in 2 key ways

Discounts

FamilyTreeDNA has a Mother’s Day sale.

So does AncestryDNA until 11 May

Until 7 May Legacy Family Tree Webinars is available for 50% off a full year of genealogy education .. just $25 US! https://familytreewebinars.com/

 

Thanks this week to Anonymous, Sue Lambeth, Teresa, Unknown.

 

Except for the Home Children collection, the following are new to MyHeritage since the latter part of April.

Collection	Images	Last Updated	Number of Records
Canada, Gravestones and Memorials (from CanadianHeadstones.com)	No	Apr 29 2025	2045406
Canada, World War I Personnel Files (from LAC)	Yes	Apr 28 2025	644751
Canada, Upper and Lower Canada, Land Bonds & Petitions, 1784 – 1853 (from LAC)	Yes	Apr 28 2025	188407
Canada Military Awards, 1916 – 1961 (from LAC)	Yes	Apr 25 2025	113450
Canada, Home Children Immigration Index, 1869 -1932 (from LAC)	No	Apr 22 2025	246528

This April, the mean temperature in Ottawa was 5.2C; the OFA prediction was 5.0C
SUCCESS

The May Day Archivist

On May Day morn with sky so blue,
The daffodils in tidy queue,
An archivist with keen insight—
Knows every wright from wronged by rite.

He lifts the lid of boxes brown,
Where secrets sleep in dusty gown.
A census here, a will in sight—
Each line transcribed both clear and wright.

The past steps out to join the day,
In uniform, or workhouse grey.
Their stories told with sheer delight—
Their scribes both birthday-born and wright.

Find a Grave Update

Ancestry updated its version of the Find a Grave® database on 25 April 2025. The table shows the current holdings, those from September 2024, and the change.

Title	Apr 2025 Records	Sept 2024 Records	Change
U.S., Find a Grave® Index, 1600s-Current	187,897,684	—	—
UK and Ireland, Find a Grave® Index, 1300s-Current	21,664,340	20,774,635	889,705
Global, Find a Grave® Index for Burials at Sea and other Select Burial Locations, 1300s-Current	21,644,984	20,990,441	654,543
Australia and New Zealand, Find a Grave® Index, 1800s-Current	12,153,495	11,809,409	344,086
Canada, Find a Grave® Index, 1600s-Current	11,310,556	10,656,554	654,002
Germany, Find a Grave® Index, 1600s-Current	4,071,331	3,408,652	662,679
Sweden, Find a Grave® Index, 1800s-Current	1,146,124	1,138,754	7,370
Italy, Find a Grave® Index, 1800s-Current	402,011	376,009	26,002
Norway, Find a Grave® Index, 1800s-Current	237,858	231,816	6,042
Brazil, Find a Grave® Index, 1800s-Current	206,115	201,506	4,609
Mexico, Find a Grave® Index, 1800s-Current	86,588	—	—

Recent Ancestry UK Updates

The UK, British Army World War II Medal Cards, 1939-1945 was updated on 28 April to contain 834,078 records. The original data, from TNA WW2 C.S.20 Army Medal Cards (WO 460). Records include a link to the image, where available, some are redacted, on Forces War Records and Fold3.

A new collection on Ancestry as of 25 April 2025, from the Library of Birmingham, is Birmingham, England, Non-Conformist Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1825-2007. Baptism records are held up to 1932, marriages to 1958, and burials to 2007. The total is 137,890 records. Linked images are included.

Choose from these selected free online events. All times are Eastern Time (ET), unless otherwise noted. Registration is assumed to be required in advance—check the links so you’re not disappointed. For more events, mainly in the U.S., visit Conference Keeper.

Tuesday, April 29
2 pm: Ottawa Virtual Genealogy Drop-In, for OGS Ottawa Branch
https://ottawa.ogs.on.ca/events/virtual-genealogy-drop-in-2-2025-04-29

2:30 pm: It’s All Greek to Me!: A Beginner’s Guide to Greek Genealogy  by Logan Knight for Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center
https://acpl.libnet.info/event/13207139

Wednesday, April 30

2 pm: Invaded! The Fenian Raids and the Canadian Response, by Kathryn Lake Hogan for Legacy Family Tree Webinars
https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar/invaded-the-fenian-raids-and-the-canadian-response/

Thursday, May 1

7 pm: Power and Politics of Colonization: The Canada Company, by Christine Woodcock for OGS.
https://ogs.on.ca/may-webinar-power-and-politics-of-colonization-the-canada-company-christine-woodcock/

Friday, May 2
2 pm: Nach Kanada! Immigration of Germans to Canada, by Dave Obee for Legacy Family Tree Webinars
https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar/nach-kanada-immigration-of-germans-to-canada/

Saturday, May 3

10 am: Hidden Treasures: Family Stories in Museum London’s Collections, by Amber Lloydlangston for OGS London and Middlesex Branch.
https://londonmiddlesex.ogs.on.ca/events/london-and-middlesex-branch-hidden-treasures-family-stories-in-museum-londons-collections/

A week or so ago, I came across a mention of the community of Potterspury in Northamptonshire for the first time. It was in an article by Lolly Fullerton, Using Artificial Intelligence to Write an Ancestor’s Story, in a late 2023 issue of the Bruce County Genealogical Society’s Bruce Bulletin. The article, based on a timeline from Ancestry, showed where ChatGPT had gone astray but still provided a good start for writing a family story.

One thing missing was information about the community in the late 18th century. Googling “Potterspury” pointed to several resources: a Wikipedia article, a volume of British History Online (originally published as part of the Victoria County History for Cleley Hundred), the Potterspury History Group website, and GENUKI. I learned that Potterspury lay on the Roman road Watling Street, meaning it had better-than-average communication with distant places and businesses serving travellers.

Then, on Sunday, a post titled The Absolute Beginner’s Guide to Perplexity AI for Family History by Denyse Allen landed in my inbox. She wrote that Perplexity’s real strength is “finding sources to turn your genealogy facts into interesting family history writing.” I tried it, asking: “I’m researching a person born in Potterspury, Northamptonshire, in 1798. Please find resources to explore life in that place in those times.” Perplexity does a better job than Google with more complex queries.

The response named the same major resources that Google had identified, plus a few tangentially relevant ones. It also suggested useful follow-up questions like, “What were the main industries in Potterspury during the late 18th century?” and “How did the presence of coaching inns impact the local economy?”

You can take these sources and have AI draft a short paragraph—likely all you need about the community. Perplexity isn’t the best AI tool for writing; you might prefer ChatGPT, Claude, or one of the others. Just don’t accept what it writes without checking the facts, cutting the fluff, and refining it so the final product fits your style. Don’t be afraid to refine again and again until you get something you like, or exhaust what you can get if using a free version.

 

Miscellaneous items I found of interest during the week.

25 Years of Genetic Genealogy: A Conversation with Bennett Greenspan

Best UK history and family history podcasts

Ask AGRA
In his podcast from the Associaton of Genealogists
and Researchers in Archives, panels of experts
discuss everything you need to know to research your
British family history.

Journey Through Time
Historians Sarah Churchwell and David Olusoga on Journey expose forgotten history, and bring to light extraordinary events you should have heard of.

Mentioned In Dispatches
Historian Dr Tom Tharpe presents this wde-rangng.
podcast, produced by the. Western Front Associaton.

Time Team Digs at Sutton Hoo.

Last year, Time Team wase granted a one-month opportunity to dig at a site adjacent to Sutton Hoo in Suffolk. Now the first two nearly hour-long episodes about the dig are available on YouTube. More to come.

Unearthing a Real Victorian Workhouse! | with Tony Robinson

This YouTube video from History Hits sees an exploration of Workhouse life, and death, in The Strand Workhouse in Central London. Among those interviewed are experts Peter Higgenbotham and Paul Carter,  RECOMMENDED

Fans of Nathan Dylan Goodwin will be interested to learn of the publication of his latest fiction book, rooted in  factual technique,”The Hollywood Strangler.”

The FreeBMD database was updated on Thursday, 24 April 2025 to contain 292,983,734 unique records, updated from 292,760,582 in March.

Years with major additions of more than 10,000 index records are, for births 1993, 1995-96, for marriages 1994-96, and for deaths 1995.