Author: John Reid

Both BIFHSGO and OGS Ottawa Branch will be among a host of local heritage and like-minded organizations, such as museums, to have tables at Ottawa City Hall from noon to 2 pm today, Tuesday 22 February, as a celebration of local heritage. This is the first in-person Heritage Day event since 2019.

It will even attract participation from out of Ottawa, the Arnprior and McNab/Braeside Archives.

All are welcome to find out about what’s happening on the heritage front in the City, and to show the mayor, and members of Council the support for heritage in the City.

Be there if you can, I’ll be there.

Genealogy companies save major announcements for Rootstech. MyHeritage is no exception.  Several coming are presently embargoed,  so we have to wait until the trumpets sound at the event to learn their news.

One development that’s new, and not embargoed, is that MyHeritage is selling their DNA kits on a Hot DNA Sale for $39 US  ($57 Cdn) down from $89 US ($129 Cdn). It includes a DNA kit, 30-day complete free trial,  and free shipping on 2+ kit.

The letter published by the Globe and Mail copied below is a contribution to a series advancing the issue of the poor state of access to historical information in Canada, particularly at Library and Archives Canada.  Any genealogist who has attempted to get a copy of a Second World War service file will attest to the delays.

A service that our genealogical and family history societies could provide to members is to be active with like-minded` researchers from the humanities in advocating reform.

Re “Canada’s leaders know the value of applied history. So why won’t they set it free?” (Feb. 15): As a former longtime investigator with the Office of the Information Commissioner, I couldn’t agree more about having had endless battles with Library and Archives Canada to release relatively mundane historical information.

Before that time, I also worked at LAC as a record-review officer. I witnessed firsthand how arduous the task was for academics, historians and others to access information that should have been routinely disclosed after a certain time period, as is routinely done in Britain and the United States.

There should be immediate action from the government to rectify this unacceptable and, quite frankly, embarrassing situation. Intimate knowledge of our past is essential to facilitate the creation of effective public policy. It is also vital for our general understanding of our past.

Marey Gregory Ottawa

Three projects report progress including one new project for Library and Archives Canada’s Co-Lab Challenges.

Mary Ann Shadd Cary is a new challenge. 3% complete.

Expo67 remains 0% complete.

Summiting Mount Logan in 1925: Fred Lambart’s personal account of the treacherous climb and descent of the highest peak in Canada remains 13% complete.

Women in the War is 1% complete, last month 0%.

Arthur Lismer’s Children’s Art Classes remains 0% complete.

John Freemont Smith remains 93% complete.

Canadian National Land Settlement Association remains 98% complete.

Molly Lamb Bobak remains 93% complete.

Diary of François-Hyacinthe Séguin remains 99% complete.

George Mully: moments in Indigenous communities remains 0% complete.

Correspondence regarding First Nations veterans returning after the First World War remains 99% complete.

Winnipeg General Strike of 1919 remains 96% complete.

Legendary Train Robber and Prison Escapee Bill Miner remains 99% complete.

Japanese-Canadians: Second World War is 3% complete,  last month 0% complete.

The Call to Duty: Canada’s Nursing Sisters remains 93% complete.

Projects that remain 100% complete are no longer reported here.

Other unidentified Co-Lab activities not part of the Challenges may have seen progress.

Most of these databases were updated on 16 – 17 February.

Canada had 89,277 additions for the two-month period, a monthly rate almost half that of the previous four-month period.

Miscellaneous items I found of interest during the week.

Dealing with the Ottawa Public Library administration can feel like this!

Apologies Without Accountability: Canadian Heritage Committee Seeks Answers on Government Funding an Anti-Semite

Free access on newspapers.com until until 20 Feb. 2023 at 11:59 p.m. MT.

The Ottawa Project
Photos, maps, more…

A Year of War in Ukraine – Articles from The Conversation
Almost a year on, Russia’s war against Ukraine could go in three different directions
Calls for peace in Ukraine a year after Russia’s full-scale invasion are unrealistic
Ukraine 12 months at war: why Kyiv’s western allies must rethink the limits of their military aid
Ukraine war: what the last 12 months has meant for the ordinary Russian soldier
Ukraine war 12 months on: the role of the Russian media in reporting – and justifying – the conflict
Russia–Ukraine war has nearly doubled household energy costs worldwide – new study

Thanks to this week’s contributors:  Ann Burns, Anonymous, Brenda Turner, Christine Jackson, gail benjafield, James R Robertson, Nick Mcdonald, Paul Milner, Teresa, Unknown.

Scroll down on this page to find approximately 70 items added to the Canadiana collection this month. As usual, most are annual reports,  minutes, proceedings, calendars and the like. Some are obscure, like the 36-page Morse’s Indian root pills almanac.

If you have ancestry in St John (NB) there are three collections likely to be of interest.

Progress, an  eight-page weekly newspaper is available for 713 issues from 5 May 1888 to 25 January 1902 where you can read about “The Sunny and Seamy Side of Life in St John.”

Standard (St. John N B.) has 1,048 issues from 25 March 1909 to 6 August 1912. It’s not full-text searchable.

The Saint John Standard has 2,930 issues from 7 August 1912 to 24 June 1922

Civil Service Commission Appointments, Promotions and Transfers 1871-1942

Spanning 71 years, these 872,439 records cover the British Civil Service, from postal workers, prison workers, the admiralty and more. You might find an ancestor’s name, age, occupation, plus details on their appointment, transfer, promotion or certification.

These records are extracted from the London Gazette.

Second World War Civilian Casualties In Britain 1940-1945

This collection comes from multiple sources and includes 64,339 records. It is made up of mostly civilian casualties during the Second World War, in addition to 4,000
servicemen who died on the home front during enemy action. You may find an exact address, standard biographical detail, and even the type of enemy action.

For one case I know of there was additional information in the Commonwealth War Graves Commission database.

The following digital microfilms were added on 13 February 2023. Note the addition of two reels of Nominal rolls and paylists for the Volunteer Militia 1855-1914.

Livestreamed at 8 am on Wednesday 22 February, attend the book launch from TNA in Kew of this long-awaited book.

The 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act is one of the most important pieces of nineteenth-century social legislation. In Their Own Write places the thoughts and words of the poor at the heart of this story.

TNA’s education team will be launching a companion educational resource, ‘Teaching the Voices of the Victorian poor’.

Programme

Introduction – Jeff James, Keeper: The National Archives

Key Research Takeaways from In Their Own Write – Steve King, Professor of Economic and Social History (Nottingham Trent University), Paul Carter Principal Records Specialist (Collaborative Projects)

The ‘Pauper Letter Archive’ – Paul Carter

Teaching the Voices of the Victorian Poor Teacher Scholarship Programme – Andrew Payne, Head of Education and Outreach

Interactive Online “Teaching the Voices of the Victorian Poor “Maps – Rosie Morris, Education Web Officer

Q&A

Register in advance at:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/in-their-own-write-teaching-the-voices-of-the-victorian-poor-tickets-529113993197

FTDNA now has available the Group Time Tree, a new Big Y tool for FTDNA Group Projects, and a new FTDNATiP™ Report that updates the prediction of the time to the most recent common ancestor (MRCA) of Y-STR matches.

Also in this update are changed accounting settings for managing multiple kits.