Anglo-Celtic Connections

Miscellaneous items I found of interest during the week.

The Beechwood Stroll – Tuesday 8 July 2025

A guided historical tour through Beechwood National Cemetery of Canada. This tour is rain or shine, and begins at 10:30 AM.
https://beechwoodottawa.ca/en/foundation/events/full-beechwood-stroll-8-july-2025-west-half

Why brands are embracing fantasy: The psychology behind escapist marketing in anxious times

The Real World of the Middle Ages
Helpful for people interested in how our ancestors lived; 172 videos, historically researched and easily digestible.
https://www.youtube.com/@ModernKnight

FreeBMD June Update
The FreeBMD Database was updated on Tuesday, 24 June 2025, to contain 293,415,571 unique entries, an increase from 293,193,549 the previous month. Years with more than 10,000 additions include births from 1993 to 1996, marriages from 1994 to 1996, and deaths in 1995.

The collection comprises 2,113,702 records from court proceedings from both Petty and Quarter court sessions. Petty Sessions adjudicated lesser charges not requiring a jury, such as minor theft, failure to pay train fare, public drunkenness, and paternity cases. Quarter Sessions addressed more serious criminal offences, including manslaughter and major thefts, as well as occasionally civil business matters; these sessions often involved a jury for more severe cases. Both court types operated at the county level. The records are predominantly handwritten, though some later entries are typed.

Key information within these records may include: the defendant’s name and age, the complainant’s name, the date and nature of the offence, the place and date of trial, specific charge details, and trial results, alongside the name of the presiding court official.

My Northwood family lived in Birmingham from the 1700s. I haven’t traced any of them as late as the 1890s, but was interested to see if there might have been distant cousins mentioned. There were 169 Northwood entries,. Eleven people named were classified as defendants, although in one case they were jury members. All five Northwood complainants were in entries after 1912.

 

This week, Findmypast has added three  groups of records:

1. UK Electoral Registers & Companies House Directors (2025 update)

   1,081,193 new records added. These modern entries cover all UK regions and include:

   • Name and address
   • Electoral roll details (occupancy and household members)
   • An “age guide” (broad age range)
   • An indicator of whether the person is listed as a company director

   This dataset is provided via 192.com, which compiles registers going back to 2002.

2. Cheshire Diocese of Chester Parish Registers

   These additions significantly expand coverage for Cheshire Church of England records:

   • Baptisms (1538–1925): 272,555 records
   • Marriages (1538–1935): 211,575 records
   • Burials (1538–1990): 215,879 records

   All come with both images and transcripts. In addition to the historic county of Cheshire, there’s some overlap with parts of Halton and Warrington.

   3. Newspapers

   182,850 pages added to the newspaper collection this week, with six new titles and fourteen updates.

   Norfolk researchers rejoice over the following overdue additions:

   • Norwich Argus (new title):
     Years covered: 1893–1895, 1898–1913
     Covers late Victorian and Edwardian Norwich—excellent for local news, trade notices, and social coverage.

   • Norwich Mercury (updated):
     Year covered: 1827
     Adds rare early 19th-century content for the city and surrounding area—valuable for pre-census research and insight into local affairs.

   • Yarmouth Independent (updated):
     Years covered: 1874
     Adds more from this coastal Norfolk town—shipping, fishing, and tourism stories often feature.

   • Yarmouth Mercury (updated):
     Years covered: 1890–1892, 1897, 1899
     Broadens coverage for late 19th-century Great Yarmouth. Look here for obituaries, court reports, and maritime coverage.

     Longer newspaper runs, newly available or expanded

     • Highland News (Inverness): 1963–1977, 1979–1985, 1987–1990 — a strong run ideal for Highland ancestors or local history

     • Stockport Chronicle: 1891–1892, 1894–1896, 1898–1906 — useful for Greater Manchester/Cheshire border research

     • Bolton Daily Chronicle: 1884–1895 — wide-ranging news from Lancashire.

     • Oxford Journal: 1921–1928 — local coverage from the interwar years

     • Kentish Weekly Post or Canterbury Journal: 1768–1788, 1791–1793 — rare 18th-century material for east Kent

     • Midland Reporter and Westmeath Nationalist: 1897–1910, 1916, 1920–1927, 1937–1939.

     • Newry Telegraph: 1923, 1926, 1929, 1945–1949 — Northern Ireland coverage before and after WWII

     • Louth and North Lincolnshire Advertiser: 1908, 1920–1925, 1940–1949 — extended coverage for east Lincolnshire

Ancestry’s newly published collection, London, England, University College Hospital and Middlesex Student Records, 1828–1945, offers access to over 87,000 records drawn from two of London’s leading medical institutions.

Although ‘Student Records’ is in the collection title, and there are some records for the event type ‘Education’, over 95% pertain to ‘Admission’ from Midwifery Case Registers from 1889 to 1917.

The search can be by last name, event date and gender. Although no first name is given for Admissions, the date will narrow the possibilities.

The linked register images contain a wealth of information, including address and medical details such as duration of labour, and comments, often containing obscure terminology.

If you’re a Legacy Family Tree Webinars member, you’re invited to tune in at 2 pm on Friday for Yvette Hoitink’s talk on how hand-written text recognition software can turn manuscripts into searchable transcriptions.

It’s also the last day when new Legacy Family Tree subscribers can get 50% off MyHeritage’s complete subscription!  https://www.myheritage.com/partner/legacyfamilytreejune25

Before the US Civil War, Lancashire’s cotton industry was producing more finished goods than people around the world wanted to buy. The level of production couldn’t last and was already headed for a crash.

The Civil War, and the idea that cotton would become scarce, made people panic. Speculators bought up the available cotton, which drove prices significantly higher. This made it too expensive for mills to keep running at their usual pace. The war exacerbated an existing problem.

The impact on people was harsh. Workers who had been doing relatively well suddenly became very poor because mills closed and jobs disappeared. That may have contributed to more deaths; in Manchester, deaths in 1865 were 14% higher than the decadal average, possibly due to chronic malnutrition, even with local and national help like soup kitchens. While the mills eventually resumed operations, some people relocated (with a slight increase in migration to Canada), and some towns began producing different products, marking a lasting change for Lancashire.

Based on the article A Reconsideration of the Lancashire “Cotton Famine”
Eugene A. Brady, Agricultural History, Vol. 37, No. 3 (Jul., 1963), pp. 156-162

Choose from these selected free online events. All times are Eastern Time, unless otherwise noted. Registration may be required in advance—please check the links to avoid disappointment. For many more events, mainly in the U.S., visit conferencekeeper.

Last year, MyHeritage introduced the  LiveMemory™ mobile app to turn your full photos into video clips.  The facility is now extended to laptop and desktop computers.

You can let it automatically reenact the scene or choose from fun or nightmare effects, such as underwater, zero gravity, or a T-Rex chase. I’d have to put the new “Hair raiser” effect in the same category!

 Everyone can try LiveMemory™ for free. 

Read more and see some startling examples of what can be done on the MyHeritage blog.

Miscellaneous items I found of interest during the week.

‘Jaws’ and the two musical notes that changed Hollywood forever

Misogyny has become a political strategy — here’s how the pandemic helped make it happen.
How about Misandry?

Free Irish Family Genealogist newsletter
Thursday’s issue included an informative article about chain migration.

Alice Scott’s Frock Recreated by AI

Lost Cousins and AI
The most recent issue, published in mid-June, of Peter Calver’s Lost Cousins newsletter includes two articles credited to two AI sites, Gemini and Claude, as well as one on readers’ reactions to a previous article on AI and genealogy. – con and pro..

Exploring Library and Archives Canada Online
Does your research use resources from Library and Archives Canada that are available online? Are you puzzled by the ongoing changes at the LAC website? If so, I recommend checking out the Legacy Family Tree Webinars talk given by Ken McKinlay on Friday. It’s available free until 27 June on replay at https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar/exploring-library-and-archives-canada-online/ .

Following the 31 May blog post, ‘LAC’s Budget: Focus on Access in 2025-26 Main Estimates,’ more details in the LAC 2025–26 Departmental Plan have become available.

Despite genealogists reportedly being the largest single client group at Library and Archives Canada, the words “genealogy” and “census” are missing. “History” appears six times. “AI” is mentioned three times.

The Plan outlines three core responsibilities; here, we focus on the results indicators for the second, which is providing comprehensive access to Canada’s documentary heritage. 

A significant component involves enhancing digital accessibility. Since 2021-22, LAC has grown its digitization efforts, from 2.4 million images in 2021-22 to 5.7 million in 2023-24. Statistics for 2024-25 are not provided; however, the 2025-26 target of 5.8 million images represents only a modest increase over the 2023-24 achievement.

This slower growth is attributed to sunsetting the Indian Day School Project.

As only a small fraction of LAC’s vast holdings are currently digitized, one must ask why a greater priority is not being given to digitization and online availability. More could be done to make the holdings available without requiring travel to a physical outlet. It can be done. Recall that 4.8 million images were digitized in 2018-2019, declining from 10.2 million and 9.3 million in the previous two years.

The number of unique visitors to LAC’s website and online applications has been decreasing in recent years. An ambitious target of 3 million is set for 2025-26, to be achieved by making online platforms easier to use, more comprehensive, and more widely promoted, thereby attracting and retaining a larger digital audience.

The target for the number of service transactions onsite and remotely performed from LAC’s physical service points is within the historic range.

A favourable trend in the percentage of ATIP requests processed compared to the total requests is reported. While the trend is expected to continue, targeting 70% still leaves a significant gap. And the delay for non-ATIP requests is reported to often stretch for years.

The table of the remaining indicators for providing comprehensive access to Canada’s documentary heritage is:

Notably, LAC is placing less emphasis on reaching people at exhibitions and events.

This is an opportune time to inquire why the largest client group is not a top priority for LAC. Could it be owing to the lack of a customer advisory panel? Various peer organizations have similar groups. LAC has had at least two such incarnations. They failed as a proper effort was not made to engage. Information flowed to the panel, but LAC was deaf to the client’s input. LAC was repeatedly advised of the value of digitized newspapers for genealogy and broader history. The suggestion was not acted on. That’s why Canada, unlike many other countries, has no central newspaper digitization program.

Findmypast is offering a limited-time discount on subscriptions of up to 50% off.

Available until Sunday, 29 June at www.findmypast.com/subscriptions
UPDATE: There are reports of a      04 Error message with this link. Check again next week.

Britain and Ireland, Incoming Passenger Lists (1878–1960)

Over 16 million new records digitized from The National Archives (BT 26) have been added. If your ancestors arrived in Britain or Ireland by sea between 1878 and 1960, there’s a good chance they’re in these records.

You’ll see:

Their name, age, and occupation
Where they came from and where they were going
The ship’s name and route
And sometimes, who they were travelling with

Some are handwritten and hard to read; later ones are typed. You also get links to the original passenger manifests, which can be helpful if you’re trying to spot travel companions or extended family.

These records have been available on Ancestry for several years.

Updated: Britain & Ireland Naturalizations (1603–1700)

Over 400,000 records of people who became British subjects during the 1600s. If you’ve got early immigrant ancestors—especially Huguenots or settlers in Ulster—these might help. These include:

Denizations (granted by the monarch)
Naturalizations (granted by Parliament)

Expect inconsistent spelling, especially for French names. The originals were hard to read, so cross-check with other sources when possible. Most entries come from a 1911 Huguenot Society publication.

Newspapers

151,000+ new pages, with a strong focus on Scotland.

Ayrshire Express (1863 – 1887)
Border Standard (1886 – 1887)
Edinburgh Advertiser (1850 – 1855)
Fifeshire Advertiser (1870 – 1965)
Fraserburgh Advertiser (1858 – 1941)
Glasgow Property Circular and West of Scotland Weekly Advertiser (1879 – 1891)
Glasgow Saturday Post (1845 – 1864)
Lerwick Times (1872 – 1873)
Huntly Express (1864 – 1993)
Kelso Chronicle (1832 – 1881)
Northern Scot and Moray & Nairn Express (1880 – 1999)
St. Andrews Times (1937 – 1940)
The Scots Magazine (1739 – 2000)
Weekly Scotsman (1879 – 1892)

Croydon Post (1989 – 1999)
Gloucester Citizen (1876 – 1999)
Portobello Advertiser (1876 – 1896)
The Reformer (1870 – 1875)
Western Evening Herald (1895 – 1999)

A Landmark Decision
Due to rapid advances in artificial intelligence (AI) technology, FamilySearch are changing the assistance asked of volunteers.

Initial indexing of records from historical documents will now be done by FamilySearch’s artificial intelligence rather than by online volunteers. Then, volunteers will review to identify any errors made by the AI.

If, like me, you advanced your family history by using the FamilySearch Experimental Full Text Search, you’ll appreciate why the change is being made.

Commercial genealogy companies have been exploiting handwriting recognition technology (HWT) for a few years. This decision by FamilySearch marks a coming-of-age for AI applications in family history. 

This should be a wake-up call to all organizations, including Library and Archives Canada, that times have changed. There’s now the option to make massive collections of documentary heritage digitally searchable. Will we no longer be told that only a few percent of the holdings are online and searchable? Will organizations have the fortitude to seize the opportunity and reorder priorities?

The old school will continue to complain that HWT transcriptions are not perfect. They aren’t. However, I’ll take 80% accuracy in a huge mass of documents, with the ability for human correction, rather than 0% accuracy with no errors and no access.

Time Travelling with the HSO
In collaboration with Rogers, the Historical Society of Ottawa has recorded and now placed on YouTube 13-30 minute episodes of “Time Travelling… with the Historical Society of Ottawa.” They are:

Episode 1 – Paul Weber – “Go Exploring” https://youtu.be/4jbkQ1BVFEk

Episode 2 – Kevin Ballantyne – “Glimpses of ‘Forgotten Ottawa'” https://youtu.be/c4733IZ9yNE

Episode 3 – Rick Henderson – “Philemon Wright and his town” https://youtu.be/ueJn5cBM_yA

Episode 4 – Peter Atkinson, “Gord Atkinson: Ottawa’s Oldest Teenager” https://youtu.be/nPHqdAx0V7I

Episode 5 – Michael McBane – “Bytown 1847” https://youtu.be/mJEkeHB8ugg

Episode 6 – Jim Hurcomb “Ottawa’s Golden Age of Rock and Roll” https://youtu.be/dSuX48DwIUs

Episode 7 – Paul Couvrette “The Changing World of Photography” https://youtu.be/6EKCmDYS5zA

Episode 8 – Christine Jackson “From Steamboats to the NHL: The Cowley Family” https://youtu.be/lHwa7HRBCmc

Episode 9 – Leo Doyle “Ottawa’s Surprising Connections to Basketball’s Beginnings” https://youtu.be/RuIFu0qjkcw

Episode 10 – Jean-Luc Pilon “An Archaeologist’s Perspective: Uncovering the Ottawa area’s ancient past” https://youtu.be/UcdNCe7cBHI

Episode 11 – Jean-Marie Guerrier “Black History in Ottawa Streets” https://youtu.be/gjLxQOFjwO8

Episode 12 – Dominique Lajoie “Château Laurier : si les murs pouvaient parler” https://youtu.be/HtNk81ziyic

Episode 13 – Rick Henderson “Philemon Wright et son village” https://youtu.be/BVsDLomj2-k

Canada, Orders in Council, Indigenous “Indian” Enfranchisement Records, 1878-1972
Ancestry has now made these 35,464 records, sourced from  Library and Archives Canada Record Group 2, available. Records in this collection may include: Name, Name of Indian Band, Orders in Council (OIC) number, Date of enfranchisement (OIC approval date), Agency, Province or territory, Names and relationships of relatives.