Anglo-Celtic Connections

In-person conferences have traditionally been popular among attendees, particularly for the networking and social connections they foster. However, the landscape has shifted significantly since the COVID-19 pandemic, with many events either disappearing or moving online. In Ottawa, for instance, Gene-o-Rama is no longer operating, and the BIFHSGO conference has transitioned to a virtual format.

Several factors contribute to this trend:
Organizational challenges: Coordinating in-person events requires substantial time, effort, and human resources that many organizations struggle to maintain.
Speaker expenses: The financial burden of hiring external presenters, including their fees, travel costs, and accommodation, has become increasingly prohibitive.
Rising attendance costs: Travel and lodging expenses for out-of-town participants continue to escalate, potentially limiting participation.

Additionally, for conferences hosted in the United States, there’s a hesitancy to travel from Canada owing to a lack of respect.

These combined pressures make traditional conference formats increasingly challenging to sustain.

I’m pleased to give a shout-out to one forthcoming in-person event.

The Moose Jaw and Regina Branches of the Saskatchewan Genealogical Society are hosting a one-day, in-person conference at the Atlas Hotel, 4177 Albert Street in Regina on Saturday, 27 September 2025.

Presenters include Gordon McBean (Artificial Intelligence), Dave Obee (DNA – “Squiggly Lines and Spit”), Thomas MacEntee (“Genealogy Do Over”) and Tammy Vallee (“Uncovering Identity – The Role of Genealogy in Indigenous Ancestry”.

Registration forms are available on the SGS website at https://saskgenealogy.com – just click on the 2025 Conference button on the home page.

Early bird registration deadline has been extended to  29 August 2025. The regular registration deadline is 15 September 2025.

As Moose Jaw and Regina are about an 80-minute drive apart, I suspect many attendees will make it without needing the expense of overnight accommodation, perhaps even with carpooling to reduce costs further.

Anonymous posted a comment to my blog post “Recent FamilySearch Updates

” Is it not me? Or does Canada not have any full-text search collections?”

FamilySearch does indeed have Canadian titles in its full-text search. The first arrived on 8 August 2024; there are now 129 Canadian collection titles. The latest were added on 2 July 2025.

Here’s a breakdown of records by province/jurisdiction. You will notice that the titles are often misleading about the actual content. “Canada, Alberta, Military Service, from 1814 to 1832” shows a date range way before the province was established!  That’s not a major issue if you find a record through a search of the complete collection.

• Quebec: The combined collections for Quebec, Canada East, Lower Canada, and New France have a total of 13,959,625 records. The largest single collection is “Canada, Quebec, Legal, from 17 February 1920 to 10 November 1920” with over 13.5 million records.
• All Canada: The collections that are jurisdiction-wide across Canada (e.g., “Canada, Probate Records,” “Canada, Homestead Records”) contain a total of 22,236,762 records. “Canada, Probate Records, 1600-2020” and “Canada, Homestead Records, 1600-2011” are the two largest collections in this category with 14,226,803 and 8,313,535 records respectively.
• Ontario: The collections for Ontario and Upper Canada total 2,756,151 records. “Canada, Ontario, Properties, from 1800 to 1955” is the largest collection in this group with 1,891,971 records, followed by “Canada, Ontario, Legal, 1851” with 552,404 records.
• New Brunswick: The New Brunswick collections have 1,500,432 records. The “Canada, New Brunswick, Properties, 1786” collection is the largest with 1,342,450 records.
• Nova Scotia: The collections for Nova Scotia have a total of 1,300,750 records. “Canada, Nova Scotia, Properties, from 3 March 1983 to 4 March 1983” holds the majority of these with 965,858 records.
• Saskatchewan: The Saskatchewan collections total 3,955,607 records, with the “Canada, Saskatchewan, Legal, 2006” collection containing the vast majority at 3,829,143 records.
• British Columbia: British Columbia collections have 197,363 records. The largest is “Canada, British Columbia, Legal, from 1300 to 1987” with 119,321 records.
• Alberta: The Alberta collections have 33,306 records, with the largest being “Canada, Alberta, Military Service, from 1814 to 1832” at 16,128 records.
• Newfoundland and Labrador: Collections for Newfoundland and Labrador have a total of 499,313 records. “Canada, Newfoundland, Military Service, from 1913 to 1919” is the largest at 470,453 records.
• Manitoba: The collections for Manitoba total 36,135 records. The largest is “Canada, Manitoba, Military Service, from 1940 to 1947” with 10,925 records.
• Prince Edward Island: Prince Edward Island’s collections total 40,329 records. “Canada, Prince Edward Island, Legal, from 1786 to 1930” is the largest with 15,040 records.
• Northwest Territories: The Northwest Territories collections have 884 records, with the largest being “Canada, Northwest Territories, Properties, from 1799 to 1870” at 820 records.
• Yukon: The single Yukon collection, “Canada, Yukon, Migrations, from 1924 to 1956,” contains 7,106 records.

On 19 August 2025, FamilySearch updated England, Lancashire, Manchester, Electoral Registers, 1820-1939 to contain 26,636,223 records.

The following summarizes the full-text search collections updated since 15 August, covering a wide range of record types, including legal documents, biographies, military service records, education, and property records.

Nation	Number of Collections	Number of Records
United States	30	38,710,959
Spain	45	32,883,091
Philippines	100	7,656,666
Colombia	21	1,595,200
Ecuador	16	1,131,237
Mexico	5	938,243
Guatemala	10	801,003
Bolivia	7	268,958
Argentina	10	83,521
Puerto Rico	29	24,047
Uruguay	2	6,540
Chile	6	4,962
France	2	4,792
Central America	2	2,789
Costa Rica	3	2,449
Peru	2	1,401
El Salvador	1	1,353
Netherlands	1	815
Iceland	1	585
Dominican Republic	3	458
Venezuela	3	143
Cuba	1	89
Northern Mariana Islands	1	6

For those researching Bradford ancestry, a notable new title to the newspapers.com British collection this past month is the Yorkshire Evening Argus – 1892-1924, 44,044 pages. It was also known as Bradford Daily Argus.

Updated UK newspapers with content back to the 19th century:
The Guardian (1821-2025) – Originally the Manchester Guardian, one of the longest-running publications
The Herald (Glasgow ed.) (1820-2023) – Substantial Scottish coverage from the early 19th century
Telegraph and Argus (Bradford) (1868-2023) – Major regional paper from industrial Yorkshire
Lancashire Telegraph (1889-2023) – Late 19th-century industrial coverage
The Bolton News (1867-2023) – Industrial Lancashire from the mid-19th century
Southern Daily Echo (Southampton) (1888-2023) – Important southern England coverage
South Wales Argus (Newport) (1892-2023) – Major Welsh publication
Evening Times (Glasgow) (1879-2023) – Scottish evening paper
Daily Echo (Bournemouth) (1900-2023) – Begins at century’s end
The Mail (Millom and South Copeland ed.) (1900-2023) – Cumbrian coverage
Evening Standard (London) (1897-2025) – National evening paper
Isle of Wight County Press (1884-2023) – Island community coverage
Berrow’s Worcester Journal (1753-2023) – The oldest, dating to the mid-18th century
The Worcester Journal (1748-1753) and The Weekly Worcester Journal (1732-1747) – Among Britain’s earliest newspapers
Cumberland and Westmorland Herald (1860-2025) – Lake District coverage
The Greenock Telegraph (1857-2023) – Scottish maritime coverage
Bucks Free Press (1856-2023) – Buckinghamshire regional coverage

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.org.

Tuesday, 19 August

10 am: Family History Research at the National Library (of Ireland), by Steven Skeldon for the National Library of Ireland.
https://www.nli.ie/exhibitions-events/talk-family-history-research-national-library-1

2 pm: Ottawa Genealogy Drop-in, from Ottawa Branch of OGS
https://ottawa.ogs.on.ca/events/virtual-genealogy-drop-in-2-2025-08-19/

2:30 pm: Tracing Your Portuguese Roots: A Beginner’s Guide to
Portuguese Genealogy, from Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center.
https://acpl.libnet.info/event/14084025

8 pm: From Statutes to Stories: Finding the Law for Family History, by Judy Russell for BCG and Legacy Family Tree Webinars.
https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar/from-statutes-to-stories-finding-the-law-for-family-history/

Wednesday 20 August

2 pm: Was Eleanor of Aquitaine My Ancestor? Applying the GPS across 30 Generations, by Yvette Hoitink for Legacy Family Tree Webinars.
https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar/was-eleanor-of-aquitaine-my-ancestor-applying-the-gps-across-30-generations/

Thursday, 21 August

6:30 pm: An Introduction to DNA testing for Genealogy, by Sarah Fullem for the Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center.
https://acpl.libnet.info/event/14083925

Friday, 22 August

2 pm:  AI Video Creation for Genealogy, by Johanne Gervais  for Legacy Family Tree Webinars
https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar/ai-video-creation-for-genealogy/

Saturday, 23 August

New records are now available to all Diamond subscribers at TheGenealogist.co.uk with nearly 200,000 names. Publications include:

• The Medical Register 1897; 1906; 1939.
• Medical Directory for Ireland 1856;
• Register of Nurses for Scotland 1947 and 1948

Among the most notable Canadian new titles in the past month are historic Ontario weeklies from Haldimand County. These include The Dunnville Gazette (1886), Haldimand Advocate (1885–1901), The Hagersville Times, News, and Blade (1884–1889), as well as the Cayuga Sachem (1853–1856) and the Caledonia Advertiser (1856).

The largest new addition is The Sachem of Caledonia, spanning 1856–2015 with nearly 47,000 pages. Smaller titles such as Pleasant Hours (Toronto, 1893) and The Selkirk Star (1908–1910) round out the new offerings.

In Western Canada, The Burnaby Post (1934–1937) has also been added.

Updates to Canada’s leading newspapers include The Toronto Star now extending through 2025 with almost 4 million pages, while The Globe and Mail now covers 1844–2017.

Regional dailies such as The Hamilton Spectator, Waterloo Region Record, Windsor Star, Ottawa Citizen, Calgary Herald, Edmonton Journal, Vancouver Sun, The Province, and Montreal’s The Gazette are not forgotten.

Look for updates to local and community titles from British Columbia, Alberta, and New Brunswick.

Miscellaneous items I found of interest during the week.

Is AI slop inevitable?
According to Wikipedia, AI Slop is: “A term for low-quality media, including writing and images, made using generative artificial intelligence technology, characterized by an inherent lack of effort, being generated at an overwhelming volume.

According to Perplexity, “AI slop appears to be largely inevitable given current trends, but its extent and impact depend on how society, technology builders, and platforms respond. The rapid growth of AI-generated low-quality content (AI slop) is outpacing the ability of search engines and moderation tools to manage it. This results in a cycle where AI models are trained on increasingly lower-quality, AI-generated, or misinformative content, thereby worsening the quality of output over time.

The current internet business model of advertising revenue that supports high-quality content is collapsing as many users get their answers directly from AI-generated summaries, leading to reduced traffic and revenues for legitimate content creators. Meanwhile, low-quality AI slop floods the internet because it is easy and cheap to produce. Platforms sometimes even amplify such content for engagement.

This landscape is creating a downward spiral where AI slop begets more AI slop, and the information ecosystem risks degradation in quality and trustworthiness. However, there are emerging hopes for a “curated web” with better tools and business models to promote high-quality content and filter out slop. Some argue that AI slop could even incentivize a cultural shift toward more offline interaction and reliance on trusted sources rather than low-quality digital clutter.”

Government of Canada to build new national Cultural Heritage Science facility to protect Canada’s heritage.
Politicians love announcing new things while cutting support for ongoing operations.

OGS News
Thanks mainly to the work of summer students, new databases are available in the members’ area of the OGS website. They are: an  Index of Jewish Residents According to the 1861 to 1901 Censuses of Canada; the Index of Jews Resident in Newfoundland According to the Censuses 1921, 1935 and 1945; and the Wesleyan Methodist Baptismal Register Master Index.
Coming soon are applications to a Hugenot lineage society, Century Farms, Dunnville Gazette, and IOOF applications. See the full lineup at https://ogs.on.ca/research-resources/

More OGS News
The Call For Speakers for the 2026 OGS Monthly Webinar Series came out on Saturday. For details and to submit proposals, due  Monday, September 15, 2025, please follow the link at https://ogs.on.ca/webinar-submissions/.

Legacy Family Tree Webinars call for speakers.
Visit https://familytreewebinars.com/call-for-presentations-2026 for all the details, and to submit. The submission deadline is Monday, September 1, 2025.

Reverse the Decision to Close Halton Region’s Heritage Operations

Corlene Taylor RIP
OGS members, especially those in the Niagara region, will be sad at the passing of historian and genealogist Corlene Taylor. She spent decades preserving Niagara’s stories and forgotten names and established the Mayholme Foundation, a not-for-profit genealogical and historical research facility.

Thanks to the following for comments and tips: Ann Burns, Anonymous, Brenda Turner, Bryan Cook, Christine Jackson, Gail, Kathleen Hawley, Kim Barnsdale, Linda Reid, MF, Teresa, and Unknown.

Royal York Rangers Records (1800s)

Formed in 1807from the Royal African Corps, the Rangers served in the West Indies campaigns, including Martinique and Guadeloupe. It was disbanded on 24June 1819 in Halifax. The regiment recruited from diverse sources including prison hulks, condemned prisoners, Black Loyalists from the American Revolution, West Indian Regiment soldiers, and East India Company personnel

Records include: Names, birth information, occupations, service details, company assignments, and death records where applicable, sourced from The National Archives series WO25, ADM337, WO116, HO9, and ADM37.

Military Service Memorial Collection
Spanning 1642-2012 with nearly 588,000 records from over 4,000 memorials across the UK, former British Empire territories, and Allied nations. The collection  includes:
War graves and community memorials
Rolls of honour and books of remembrance
Memorials to civilians killed in conflicts
Police and terrorism victim tributes
Full memorial inscriptions and photographs.

Breakdown by territory where commemorated is
England 473,510
Wales 25,874
Singapore 24,793
Canada 23,197
New Zealand 16,122
Australia 15,632
United States 5,234
Scotland 3,392

Newspapers

Twenty-five newspapers are mentioned in this week’s update, including four new publications. Those with more than 10,000 new papers are:

Scotland on Sunday – 23,912 pages (1997, 2000, 2002)
Fur and Feather – 10,632 pages (1890-1894, 1896-1897, 1899-1903, 1916-1918) new title
Oxford Review – 15,686 pages (1885-1888, 1890-1898, 1900-1910, 1912-1914) new title
Paddington Times – 14,918 pages (1870-1878, 1885-1892, 1894-1918) new title
Nenagh Guardian – 19,922 pages (1846-1877, 1881-1884, 1900-1903, 1906-1915)
Wetherby News – 14,796 pages (1986-1987, 1989, 2000-2001)
Lyttelton (NZ) Times – 64,578 pages (1915-1929)
Liverpool Weekly Courier – 11,702 pages (1904-1910, 1912-1925)
Hartlepool Northern Daily Mail – 13,036 pages (1900-1909)
Isle of Man Times – 25,706 pages (1873, 1928-1931, 1939-1969, 1975-1977, 1980-1981)

The Canadian School yearbooks collection 1901-2005 now has 2,763,108 entries. Ontario accounts for 1,737,652, which is 62%. Except for PEI, Newfoundland and Labrador and the Territories, there are entries for each province.
For Ottawa, Ashbury, Elmwood and Carleton University have long runs. Eight other institutions have a few issues each.

Ancestry has updated the US School Yearbook collection, now with 926,153,116 entries.

Today marks the anniversary of VJ Day, when the Second World War officially concluded with Japan’s surrender. Scattered Japanese units continued fighting, unaware that surrender orders had been issued.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission honours 137 Canadian servicemen buried at Yokohama War Cemetery. These men were predominantly survivors of the 1941 Battle of Hong Kong: 69 served with the Royal Rifles of Canada and 63 with the Winnipeg Grenadiers. During the brutal period from November 1943 to March 1944, eighty-three of these prisoners of war perished under horrific conditions in Japanese camps, succumbing to starvation, exhausting forced labour, disease, inadequate medical treatment, and systematic abuse.

The same two regiments had suffered losses during the Battle of Hong Kong itself. Four hundred and twenty-two Canadian casualties from that engagement are commemorated across multiple sites: the Sai Wan War Cemetery, Sai Wan Memorial, Stanley Military Cemetery, and the Hong Kong Memorial.

Lest We Forget.