Anglo-Celtic Connections

Miscellaneous items I found interesting this week.

Unlocking Family History with ChatGPT: AI Tools for Genealogy Research
Read to discover the prompt and the resources ChatGPT suggested for researching life in the early 1890s near the docks in London.

 Charlotte Gray on Canada’s National Archives and Popular History

Yuletide R&R Wrapup
Over the holiday period, the blog carried a mix of Yuletide R&R and abbreviated family history posts. R&R posts averaged approximately 503 views per post, compared to only 115 views for the remainder. One R&R post reached over 1,000 views, the lowest of the more genealogy-oriented ones — just three.

New at TNA

LAC – What happened?
In case you missed it, here’s a response about the LAC collaborative project with Internet Archive Canada to digitize 80,000 public domain publications, dating from 1322 to 1920.
“There is a team diligently working away on digitizing books from the LAC collection, part of a three-year project. The decision was made to reach a critical mass before public access. We are just in the process of cleaning up some metadata before announcing and making available the digitized books – within the next month.”

Dianne Brydon

This week can perhaps be characterized as Naval Gazing.

British Women’s Royal Naval Service Enrolment, 1917–1919
Years covered: 1917–1919
Records added: 4,838

The WRNS enabled women to take on shore-based naval roles such as clerical work, communications, driving, cookery, and technical support, releasing men for service at sea. Compiled by naval authorities, the records typically include a woman’s name, service details, and dates of enlistment and discharge. For family historians. You may be surprised to find service overseas, such as in Malta. Sourced from the National Museum of the Royal Navy.

Royal Naval Division Service Records, 1914–1920
Years covered: 1914–1920
Records added: 4,730

The men of the Royal Navy and Royal Marines served on land during the First World War, fighting alongside the Army from Gallipoli to the Western Front. Drawn from The National Archives and the National Museum of the Royal Navy, these records are exceptionally detailed and will give you a combination of the following information about your ancestor: biographical information including name, date of birth, address, occupation, religion, and name and address of next of kin; swimming ability; appearance details such as hair colour, eye colour, distinguishing marks including tattoos and scars, height, chest size, and complexion; and service history including rank, service number, where stationed, wounds or illnesses, awards, and disciplinary action.

Navy Lists
Years covered: 1921–1937
Records added: 10,469,334

Published regularly, these lists detail officer appointments, promotions, ship assignments, and the fleet’s structure. Follow the careers of naval officers year by year.

Newspapers
This week’s additions include four new titles. The earliest starts in 1786.

Publication Title	Date Range	Pages Added	Status
Herne Bay Gazette	1986–1999	61,784	New
Ayrshire Post	1987, 1995–1999	35,678	Update
Kirriemuir Herald	1957–2004 (gaps)	27,580	Update
Pateley Bridge & Nidderdale Herald	1863–1950 (gaps)	19,238	Update
Maidstone Journal & Kentish Advertiser	1786–1829 (gaps)	8,750	Update
Irish Temperance League Journal	1863–1896	7,480	New
Leyland Guardian	2005	4,492	Update
Helensburgh and Gareloch Times	1882–1892	2,220	New
Marlborough Times	1915–1919	1,806	Update
Islington Gazette	1919	1,076	Update
Larne Weekly Recorder…	1883	216	New

Here’s something the others can’t match. The MyHeritage website is now fully available in 50 languages

The newly added languages are Albanian, Basque, Bosnian, Georgian, Icelandic, Irish, Luxembourgish, Maltese, and Welsh. There are now localized domains for these languages, so users are automatically served the most relevant version of the site.

Find out more on the company blog.

 

 

Join Saturday’s online meeting by registering, which covers both events.

Who Pays the Piper? Wills and Testaments of Scottish Musicians 1513-1800 / 9 a.m. EST

Presenter: Robert Urquhart, a retired archivist from Fife. 

Family historians sometimes think wills and testaments were only made by the wealthy, but many were registered in Scottish courts for people of “small estate,” including pipers and other musicians. This presentation uses examples to explain will and testament terminology and to show how these records reveal details of the lives and families of pipers, drummers, trumpeters, minstrels, and others.

“It All Started with Some Buttons… Looking for a Stewart Piper” / 10 a.m. EST

Presenter: Susan Reany Iskra, a keen genealogist from Dryden

While visiting family in England some years ago, Susan Reany Iskra was shown a set of buttons and told of a connection to a Stewart piper at Drummond Castle. These buttons were the starting point for a research journey that Susan will share in her presentation, covering her search, the processes she used, the resources she consulted, and what she learned about this piper in 19th-century Scotland.

I stumbled across this ad for 50% off Ancestry.ca until 12 January. It’s undoubtedly for “new” subscribers only.

Find the details here.

The National Library of Scotland was quick off the mark, putting online 9,851 maps at scales of 1:1,250 to 1:10,560 published in 1975. They came out-of-copyright on 1 January 2026.

These maps cover areas in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, and include 2,872 more detailed maps at scales of 1:1,250, 6,281 maps at 1:2,500, and 699 less detailed maps at scales of 1:10,000/1:10,560 . A graphic index includes these new maps published in 1975. These are usually the most detailed, basic scales of Ordnance Survey maps for these areas.

Check here if you missed any recent additions.

Legacy is starting 2026 with a four-presentation marathon. I missed the post so the first two are already over, but available for the next 7 days.

11:30 am  – Archive and AI: A Comprehensive Review, by Thomas MacEntee.

12:45 pm – Human-Led Research Planning in the Sally Keaton Case, by Nicole Elder Dyer

2:00 pm – ChatGPT: Unravelling Family History with AI, by Diane Henriks

 3:30 pm – From Problem to Solution: A Case Study Approach to Using AI in Genealogy, by Andrew Redfern.

They’re all free.  Register at https://familytreewebinars.com/upcoming-webinars/

Keynote speakers for RootsTech 2026 are set. I hope you’re at least as excited as I am.

Marlee Matlin—Award–winning actor and deaf rights advocate
Tara Roberts—Author, historian, and National Geographic Ocean Explorer
Steve Young—Record-setting American football player, philanthropist, and business leader
The Gardiner Brothers—Irish dance world champions and TikTok superstar
José Hernández—Scientist, engineer, author, and NASA astronaut
Jessica Soho—Award-winning journalist and host of the most popular news program in the Philippines
Zico—Legendary soccer player and coach from Brazi.

For further information and registration, go to RootsTech. It’s free and online, 5-7 March 2026.

These updates, to the Historical Records catalogue, just this year, span centuries of English vital records and parish registers.

National Collections:
There are no images for these.

• England Marriages, 1538–1973: Over 10.3 million records
• England, Births and Christenings, 1538-1975: A staggering 39.1 million records

County-Specific Updates:
Each has a link to an image of the original

• Yorkshire Parish Registers, 1538-2016: 10.9 million records
• Somerset Church Records, 1501-1999: 4.2 million records
• Northumberland Parish Registers, 1538-1950: 2.5 million records
• Leicestershire Parish Registers, 1533-1991: 2.4 million records
• Kent Canterbury Parish Registers, 1538-1986: 971,000 records
• Devon Plymouth Electoral Rolls, 1781-1973: 57,000 records

There are no additions to the Full Text Search collection for the UK, Ireland or Canada this year.

That’s a wrap for Yuletide R&R for another year; going out on a high note.

MyHeritage has expanded its genealogical offerings with the release of two passenger list collections on 2 January 2026. While these records have been available through Ancestry and Findmypast, their presence on MyHeritage provides another access point for researchers.

The United Kingdom and Ireland, Outgoing Passenger Lists, 1890-1960, contains over 23 million records of individuals departing from UK and Irish ports, while the Incoming Passenger Lists, 1878-1960, document arrivals with more than 15 million records. Records typically include names, birth dates or ages, residences, departure and arrival details, and vessel names. Record images are linked.

While this doesn’t represent newly discovered historical material, it does represent increased accessibility—a straightforward expansion that offers convenience for researchers already working within MyHeritage’s platform.

Note that this is based on information posted by MyHeritage; I was unable to test the collections. At the time of writing, there was an issue with the MyHeritage website, including problems entering information into the search box. Patience.

Miscellaneous items I found interesting this week.

2025 is double-record breaker: UK’s warmest and sunniest year on record

MyHeritage 2025 Year in Review (long)

Latest MyHeritage news, not in the review, is that parent company, the private equity firm Francisco Partners, hired Jefferies in late 2025 to explore a potential sale of the genealogy giant for around $1 billion, testing an exit strategy after acquiring it in 2021 for $600 million.

New Year Honours

The January 2026 appointments to the Order of Canada include 63 individuals across three levels: 6 Companions (C.C.), 15 Officers (O.C.), and 42 Members (C.M.). While the Order aims to reflect the “tapestry of Canadian life,” an analysis of the 2026 list reveals several distinct patterns and biases:

1. Geographic Concentration

Based on population, there is a significant over-representation of individuals from Ontario and British Columbia. The North. Quebec and the Prairies are under-represented.

2. Institutional and Academic Bias

The list leans heavily toward “elite” professions. A large majority of the recipients hold PhDs, MDs, or Law degrees and are affiliated with major research universities.

3. Career-Stage Bias (Promotions)

The Order of Canada often recognizes lifetime achievement, which naturally skews toward older demographics.

4. Representation of Diverse Groups

The 2026 list shows a conscious effort toward inclusivity compared to historical cohorts, though some gaps remain.

5. Philanthropy

A notable presence as a primary or secondary reason for appointment.

Genealogy

Alamin Proton Rahman, is appointed a Member of the Order of Canada. A renowned genomics expert and Memorial University professor, he is transforming arthritis care in Canada. Notably, he created the Newfoundland Genealogy Database to trace genetic disease links across generations. As a provincial scientific advisor, he played a key role in shaping Newfoundland and Labrador’s COVID-19 response, and in advancing public health and medical research.

In the UK New Year Honours, the British Empire Medal was awarded to William Macfarlane Lawson, Genealogist, for services to the community in the Western Isles.

Researching an Atlas of London in 1666

The British Association for Local History presents a talk exploring the research behind the Historic Towns Trust’s London on the Eve of the Great Fire project. Find out how historians reconstruct the city’s built environment just before 1666. It offers insight into the sources, methods and challenges involved in mapping streets, buildings and placenames across the early modern metropolis.

Backadder – the final scene

Blackadder – the making of the final scene

Thanks to the following individuals for their comments and tips: Anonymous, Alison, Basil Adam, Brenda Turner, Charles Godwin, Christine Jackson,  Dianne Brydon, Gail, John Estano DeRoche, Nancy Cutway, Teresa, Sunday Thompson, Victor Badian, Unknown.