Findmypast weekly update

Additions and updates this week are for the British Army.

British Army, Honourable Artillery Company, Cardew-Rendle Roll Of Members 1537-1908

This new collection is a printed directory of biographies for 17,000 members of the Honourable Artillery Company, covering nearly four centuries. As the oldest British Army regiment, it received its royal charter from Henry VIII in 1537. Details you’ll find will vary from entry to entry, from birth year and residence to remarkable events and great deeds.

British Army, Honourable Artillery Company Journal 1923-2021

The first issue of this journal was published in 1923, and documented events and activities of the regiment. Make good use of the optional keyword search field here to find mentions of a person, or key events in this regiment’s history.

British Army, Coldstream Guards 1800-1981

Another 48,477 records have been added to this existing collection, now 167,876 records. It includes records for the oldest continuously serving regiment in the British Army. The new records cover attestation books, discharges, casualties and more. You’ll normally find a rank, regimental number and an event year.

FamilySearch Online Updates

So far this year FamilySearch has made changes, updated or added records, to eight indexed collections online for the UK and Ireland.

Collection Title Records Last Updated
England, Cumberland Parish Registers, 1538-1990 39,798 25-Jan-23
Ireland, Catholic Parish Registers, 1740-1900 1,804,845 23-Jan-23
Ireland, Prison Registers, 1798-1928 3,127,594 23-Jan-23
United Kingdom, British India Office, Births and Baptisms, 1712-1965 713,850 20-Jan-23
England, Military Pension and Service Records, 1702-1933 911,344 20-Jan-23
United Kingdom, Royal Air Force Service Records, 1912-1945 342,823 11-Jan-23
England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975 46,640,642 03-Jan-23
England Deaths and Burials, 1538-1991 15,000,390 03-Jan-23
England Marriages, 1538-1973 12,153,070 03-Jan-23

All except the 3 large BMD collections are transcriptions with linked images that are available at FamilySearch libraries and affiliate libraries.

There have been no additions to Canadian indexed records online since last August.

MyHeritage adds Worcestershire and Staffordshire, Dudley Burials

This collection contains 274,226 burial and cremation records from the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley from 1859 onwards. The cemeteries are:

Dudley Cemetery
Stourbridge Cemetery and Crematorium
Gornal Wood Cemetery and Crematorium
Lye and Wollescote Cemetery
Cradley Cemetery
Halesowen Cemetery
Brierley Hill Cemetery.

Records typically include the deceased’s name, year of birth, date of death, and date and place of burial. Information on the type of burial, service, and the grave’s location within the cemetery may also be included.

Ancestry updates Scottish records

The following Ancestry collections have been updated.

Web: Scotland, General and Admission Registers for Asylums, 1858-1918
Published on Ancestry9/29/2020, Updated 1/20/2023
Now with 165,561 records.

Web: Scotland, Sheriff Court Paternity Decrees, 1792-1922
Published on Ancestry3/15/2018, Updated 1/20/2023
Now with 128,825 records.

Web: Scotland, Prison Records Index, 1828-1878
Published on Ancestry 9/30/2014, Updated1/20/2023
Now with 173,186 records

Web in these titles refers to https://www.scottishindexes.com/

Trinity College Dublin Records

The TDC Library has a digital collection online that includes admission and examination registers. Find them by searching for admission or examination at https://digitalcollections.tcd.ie/. There’s also a Printed Catalogue of Graduates of the university.

I got interested in this when researching my great-grandfather who was a graduate of TCD, but appears to have been in the Birmingham area during the time I would have expected he would be studying in Dublin. It turns out it was possible to get a TCD degree by being registered by passing an exam without studying there, that’s according to the book Trinity College, Dublin, 1592-1952 : an academic history, by R. B. McDowell, D. A. Webb, a copy of which is at Library and Archives Canada.

 

Fold3 Anniverary Sale

For new and returning clients only, not those with an existing account, Fold3 offers unlimited one-year access for $49.95 US until 31 January.

Fold3 has nearly 600 million records from the US Revolutionary War, US Civil War, WWI, WWIl, and more.

Fold3’s collection includes original military records, photos, and stories of the men and women who served

The collection has 540 million US records, 42 million UK, 3.3 million for Ireland, and 2.6 million for Canada.

This week’s online genealogy events

Choose from a few selected free online events in the next five days. All times are ET except as noted. Those in red are Canadian, bolded if local to Ottawa or recommended. Assume registration in advance is required; check so you’re not disappointed. Additional mainly US events are listed at https://conferencekeeper.org/virtual.

All times are ET except as noted. Those in red are Canadian, bolded if local to Ottawa or recommended. Assume registration in advance is required; check so you’re not disappointed.

TUESDAY 24 JANUARY

2 pm: OGS Ottawa Branch Virtual Drop-in.
https://meet.google.com/nvz-kftj-dax

2 pm: MyHeritage: Your Personal Genealogy Archive, by Melissa Barker for Legacy Family Tree Webinars/MyHeritage.
https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar/myheritage-your-personal-genealogy-archive/

WEDNESDAY 25 JANUARY

1 pm: Louis XIV: Versailles, Europe and the Arts. by Philip Mansel for Gresham College.
https://www.gresham.ac.uk/whats-on/versailles-arts

2 pm:  Trail of Tears to Indian Territory, by Billie Stone Fogarty for Legacy Family Tree Webinars.
https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar/trail-of-tears-to-indian-territory-by-billie-stone-fogarty-m-ed/

7 pm: Thomas Mackay & The Making of Ottawa, by Alastair Sweeny for the Ottawa Historical Society.
https://www.historicalsocietyottawa.ca/activities/events/eventdetail/85/16,17,19,21/thomas-mackay-the-making-of-ottawa

THURSDAY 26 JANUARY – SATURDAY 28 JANUARY

BROADEN YOUR HORIZONS
A selection of recent lectures from Gresham College.

 

 

 

Census 2026 consultation

Statistics Canada is conducting a public consultation on the 2026 Census of Population from 9 January  –  31 March.

“The online consultation questionnaire is designed to gather information about how and why Canadians use census data, the type of information they believe should be available from the census, and details of other data sources that could be used to supplement or replace current census content. The information gathered during consultations will help Statistics Canada assess the data needs of Canadians and evaluate whether emerging social and economic trends are reflected. Your feedback will help Statistics Canada determine the content of the 2026 Census of Population questionnaire.

Comments collected during the consultation may be published anonymously in the 2026 Census of Population Content Consultation Report, which will be available on the Statistics Canada website in the fall of 2024.”

The questionaure is at https://census.gc.ca/2026consultation-questionnaire .

Comment: The purpose of the census is to provide “a detailed statistical portrait of Canada and its people by their demographic, social and economic characteristics.” It’s use is “to plan public services such as health care, education, and transportation; determine federal transfer payments; and determine the number of Members of Parliament for each province and territory.”

Wikipedia has an article on Census in Canada.

Statistics Canada has repeatedly stated that given the purpose as a statistical portrait no consideration is given to genealogist requirements in formulting the census questions. That’s despite the fact that the detailed census data, with information on individuals, is required to be released to the public, at present after 92 years. If parliament did not want such release there would be no point in requiring it.

The census should, at a minimum, provide a snapshot in time to assist genealogists to accurately trace a family history.

Input to the consultation is the kind of activity a genealogical society with a mandate for advocacy should be undertaking on our behalf.

Sunday Sundries

Miscellaneous items I found of interest during the week.

The Year of the Rabbit, or Cat
Kung Hei Fat Choy! (Cantonese) or Gong Xi Fa Cai! (Mandarin).

A Chronology of Items of Meteorological Interest
An outline of developments in understanding weather and climate.

How NARA is digitizing over 200 million pages of government records (podcast)
How many is LAC digitizing?

All About Ledgers in the Archives
From Arnprior & McNab/Braeside Archives

Should We Cancel Martin Luther King Jr.?
The latest from Dan Gardner

Tracing your Theatrical Ancestors: a Guide for Family Historians
New from Pen and Sword.

Archives Time! – Comic

Last minute notice: Home Child presentation.
The Halton-Peel Branch will welcome author Carol Marie Newall to speak online meeting today, Sunday, 22 January at 2:00 pm about her book: “Outside the Gate: The True Story of a British Home Child in Canada.”  Register in advance at: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZckc–grTsrE9SUq3a3fqsq1KZIRLdpsoVD

Thanks to this week’s contributors: Anonymous, Brenda Turner, gail benjafield, Nick Mcdonald, Teresa, Unknown.