Gary Alan Bagley was one of the 10 founding members of the British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa  and a 40+ year member of the Ontario Genealogical Society.

In 1995 he compiled the details for Revenue Canada’s grant of BIFHSGO charitable status. He served the Society as Treasurer during the period from September 1994 to December 1996 and as Auditor from 2001 to 2004.

Gary remained an active researcher until later pre-COVID-19 years working on indexing the Orillia Packet and Times newspaper at Library and Archives Canada.

https://ottawacitizen.remembering.ca/obituary/gary-bagley-1086879031

This is an index of 253,123 records that typically include the name of the husband, the name of the wife, the name of the correspondent, and the year of the divorce.

The Divorce and Matrimonial Causes Act 1857 established the principle of “no-fault” divorce in England and Wales, allowing couples to obtain a divorce on the grounds of “irretrievable breakdown.” Prior to this act, couples could only obtain a divorce through private acts of Parliament or by proving adultery, cruelty, or desertion.

Between 1858 and 1937, the divorce rate in England and Wales steadily increased. 

After the Divorce Court (Procedure) Act of 1937 established the Divorce Court and set out the procedures for obtaining a divorce the number jumped dramatically.

Ancestry has these records to 1918 with images of the original court proceedings. Findmypast has an index collection to 1903.

Tom Lehrer Puts His Songs into the Public Domain & Makes Them Free to Download (for a Limited Time)

Catching up with the frequent updates to this website dedicated to the men and women of the Royal Canadian Navy and the ships they lived and served in.

20 Dec 2022 – HMCS CORNWALLIS – New Entry course photo for Nootka Division 1/51 has been added

20 Dec 2022 – Documents and Manuals – Souvenir of the Commonwealth and Empire Contingents At The Coronation of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II June 2nd, 1953 has been added

18 Dec 2022 – HMCS WOLF – Patrol Reports Dec 1941 – Jun 1944 from the ship’s file held at the LAC have been added to her page

18 Dec 2022 – HMCS DUNDAS – Reports of Proceedings Apr 1942 – Sep 1942 from the ship’s file held at the LAC have been added to her page

16 Dec 2022 – Documents and Manuals – Entertainment Programme for Commonwealth and Colonial Contingents at the Coronation of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II has been added.

The whole site is worth browsing for Royal Canadian Navy, and some other navy resources.

 

 

Miscellaneous items I found of interest during the week.

Jingle Bells

Not worth it?
Local writer Dan Gardner’s PastPresentFuture newsletter/blog,  available through substack, is one I subscribe to — for free! His Christmas Potpourri includes upfront  the surprising

“Substack sets a minimum price for paid subscriptions, which the writers cannot set lower. I’m Canadian and in Canada it is, I think, CDN$7 a month. I can see why they do that. But allow me an admission against interest (as lawyers say): At $7 a month, people are paying as much or more than the cost of a subscription to a major magazine. With editors. And staff writers. And illustrators. And paper. I think highly of myself but I don’t think the newsletter I work on part-time with a team that consists of me and my dog is remotely equivalent to a major magazine.”

That made me feel better about not having a paid subscription. Perhaps I can further salve my consious by mentioning his forthcoming book How Big Things Get Done: The Surprising Factors That Determine the Fate of Every Project, from Home Renovations to Space Exploration and Everything In Between, coauthored with Bent Flyvbjerg.

ChatGPT
Following on my post What Are The Attributes of a Good Genealogist, that demonstrated what ChatGPT can do, Dan Gardner’s Christmas Potpourri item included recommended reading by Ethan Mollick and Gary Marcus. Beware, there’s lots there and they do get pretty well into the weeds.

5 senses? In fact, architects say there are 7 ways we perceive our environments

Thanks to this week’s contributors: Anonymous,  Brenda Turner, Craig Milne, gail benjafield,  Glenn W., Helen Whyte, lesley, Pat Laffey, Teresa.