This March, the mean temperature in Ottawa was -1.0C; the OFA prediction was -2.5C, which is 1C warmer than normal.
SUCCESS
The OFA predicted 95 mm of total precipitation at Ottawa; 25 mm wetter than average. The actual was 73 mm, above the long-term average of 60.9 mm, and 22 mm less than predicted.
FAIL
Choose from selected free online events. All times are ET except as noted. Assume registration in advance is required; check so you’re not disappointed. Find out about a few more, mainly US events, at Conference Keeper.
Tuesday 1 April
2 pm: Ottawa Virtual Genealogy Drop-in, from OGS Ottawa Branch.
https://ottawa.ogs.on.ca/events/virtual-genealogy-drop-in-2-2025-04-01/
2:30 pm: Ancestors Calling! Luck, Research and Science, by Judy Nimer Muhn for Allen County Genealogy Center.
https://acpl.libnet.info/event/13054168
7:30 pm: How DNA Can Reveal Truth – A Case Study, by Mags Gaulden for OGS Durham Region Branch.
https://ogs.on.ca/events/durhams-april-1st-virtual-meeting-how-dna-can-reveal-truth-a-case-study/
Wednesday, 2 April
7:30 pm: Breaking Through Brick Walls in Scottish Research, by Christine Woodcock for OGS Huron County Branch.
https://huron.ogs.on.ca/events/huron-branch-2/
Thursday 3 April
5 pm: DNA Meets the Paper Trail: Pedigree Triangulation Strategies for Early 19th-Century Research, by Diana Elder for
for Legacy Family Tree Webinars.
https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar/dna-meets-the-paper-trail-pedigree-triangulation-strategies-for-early-19th-century-research/
7 pm: Solving Your Picture Problems, by Allyson Maughan for OGS.
https://ogs.on.ca/events/april-webinar-solving-your-picture-problems-allyson-maughan-2/
8 pm: GPTs for Family History: Unlocking the Potential of AI, by Andrew Redfern for Legacy Family Tree Webinars.
https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar/gpts-for-family-history-unlocking-the-potential-of-ai/
Friday 4 April
4 pm: The Science Behind the Stories: Using Genetic Genealogy in Crime Fiction, by Nathan Dylan Goodwin for Legacy Family Tree Webinars.
https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar/the-science-behind-the-stories-using-genetic-genealogy-in-crime-fiction/
Saturday 5 April
10 am: Old Family Letters: A Genealogist’s Dream Resource, by Carol McIntosh Small for OGS London and Middlesex Branch.
https://londonmiddlesex.ogs.on.ca/events/london-and-middlesex-branch-old-family-letters-a-genealogists-dream-resource/
Looking Ahead
On Wednesday, 9 April at 7:30 p.m., Ken McKinlay will be the guest speaker for the Lakeshore Genealogical Society. His topic is Exploring Library and Archives Canada Online. Register at LGSregister@gmail.com a few days before the meeting to receive the Zoom link.
In what may be his most outlandish—and surprisingly cool—plan yet, Donald Trump has revealed the motivation for his audacious scheme to expand the United States’ borders by annexing Canada and Greenland. According to insiders, the underlying rationale is as unexpected as it is ambitious: a bold attempt to combat climate change by lowering America’s average temperature.
“Think about it,” Trump reportedly quipped while sporting a red parka at a press conference near the border. “With our current boundaries, it’s getting too hot. But with Canada and Greenland in the mix, our average temperature would drop—making America cooler, literally and figuratively. We’re not just making America great again; we’re making it cool again!”
Critics have been quick to point out that the logistical challenges of incorporating vast, frostbitten territories are as formidable as the challenges of halting global warming. Historical lessons—from Napoleon and Hitler’s icy misadventures in Russia to the grueling conditions in the Vietnam war—remind us that conquest is not a “mere matter of marching.” Still, the prospect of slashing temperatures has captured the imagination of climate skeptics and environmental enthusiasts alike.
Diplomatic experts warn that such a move might upset long-standing allies and disrupt trade in maple syrup and ice fishing charters, but Trump remains unfazed. “It’s a win-win,” he claimed. “We cool down the planet and make history simultaneously!”
Interestingly, Trump’s plan leaves out capturing the islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon, a victory the US Army may just be capable of achieving.
While many are laughing—and others shaking their heads—at what is undoubtedly an audacious April Fool’s joke, one thing is clear: this is a political stunt that even the polar bears might find chillingly humorous.
(Thank you ChatGPT)
A bit tardy with this as I catch up with developments.
22,594 images and transcriptions taken from British Baptist handbooks. Britain is in the title, but listings and statistics for international congregations are included.
5,026 new images added to the collection of war diaries from the British West Indies Regiment.
An additional 12,096 new Women’s Land Army service records are added for women born in 1925.
375,410 new pages joined the newspaper archive this week. updates to 28 existing publications.
New titles:
16 new titles. The earliest is from 1806, and 11 are from the 19th century. Some cover special interests like fashion and gardening.
Updated titles:
Updates to 28 existing, mostly local publications from Scotland, England and Ireland, with 11 having 19th-century content.
Miscellaneous items I found of interest during the week.
About Deacon Brodie
FamilySearch UK & Ireland Updates for March 2025
FamilySearch Canada Updates for March 2025
| Canada Census, 1921 |
91,422
|
|
|
| Canada, Nova Scotia, Delayed Births, 1837-1907 |
117,044
|
National Library of Scotland Maps Update
New Survey of the Borough of Birmingham by J. Pigott-Smith (1855)
OS 1900 Text Search – view distributions of text from OS Six-Inch 1888-1913 maps.
(Verse 1)
Gather ‘round and hear the tale, of power, cash, and fate,
One man played the banker’s game, one claimed to make things great.
Carney rode the markets high, with steady hands and cool,
Trump came crashing through the doors, rewriting every rule.
(Chorus)
Oh, the rates went up, the stocks came down, the headlines rolled in red,
When Carney stood, and Trump shot back, the markets shook with dread.
(Verse 2)
Carney watched the warning signs, the bubbles stretched too thin,
He knew the storm was rolling in, but Trump said, “Let’s just win!”
“Cut the rates, the money flows, who cares about the debt?”
But Carney kept the numbers tight—he wasn’t folding yet.
(Chorus)
Oh, the rates went up, the stocks came down, the headlines rolled in red,
When Carney stood, and Trump shot back, the markets shook with dread.
(Verse 3)
Trump fired shots on Twitter loud, “The Fed should play along!”
While Carney stayed behind the scenes, where central banks belong.
He warned of risks, he played it smart, he held the line so tight,
But in the end, the tides still turned—who really won the fight?
(Bridge)
Now money moves and empires fade, the cycle spins again,
One man’s rise is one man’s fall, but power never ends.
(Final Chorus)
Oh, the rates went up, the stocks came down, the headlines rolled in red,
When Carney stood, and Trump shot back, the markets shook with dread.
Thanks to Anonymous, Teresa, and Unknown for this week’s contributions.
The FreeBMD Database was updated on Tuesday 25 March 2025 to contain 292,760,582 unique records, up from 292,557,239 in the February update.
Births with more than 10,000 updates are for 1993, 1995-96, for marriages, 1994-96, and for deaths 1995.
Sourced from The National Archives (Reference WO 164) comes a newly digitised collection contains more than one million entries detailing the distribution of military prize money from 1720 to 1899. Find out about the financial rewards granted to soldiers, staff and their families for success in battle.
The collection spans 663 volumes and 1,064,391 records across more than 172,000 high resolution colour images.
Records cover significant wars such as the latter years of the American Revolutionary War, the Battle of Waterloo and the Peninsular War, as well as smaller skirmishes.
The records are fully searchable by Name of the Applicant and Soldier, Rank, Regiment, Date, Location, War and Keywords.
http://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/.
Last Minute – Canadian Pacific Steamships Limited Archives at Ingenium
If your ancestor travelled on one of the CP Ships, notably those named for Empresses of Dutchesses, don’t miss Adele Torrance, Archivist at Ingenium, speaking on the CP Ships archive at Ingenium (Museum of Science and Technology.) The presentation, hosted by OGS Ottawa Branch, is online this evening at 7 pm ET. Register in advance for this Zoom presentation: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYrc-ChqD8tEtZdls2v07WoxPftW16pNyMU
MyHeritage adds United Kingdom, Names & Stories in Newspapers from OldNews.com
Extracted from newspaper articles using advanced AI technology developed by MyHeritage, these 499,811,557
records typically include the name of the individuals mentioned, the relationships between the individuals, the newspaper name, the publication place and date, and a snippet of text from the newspaper containing the reference. Every record includes a summary of the article, generated automatically by AI.
Obits on Ancestry
Ancestry has a regular schedule to update its obituary information. Here’s the latest, as of 24 March 2025.
| Title | Records | ||
|---|---|---|---|
UK and Ireland, Obituary Index, 2004-Current
UK and Ireland, Obituary Index, 2004-CurrentPublished on Ancestry 2/24/2006
Updated 3/24/2025 |
7,769,946 | ||
Australia and New Zealand, Obituary Index, 2004-Current
Australia and New Zealand, Obituary Index, 2004-CurrentPublished on Ancestry 12/8/2005
Updated 3/24/2025 |
2,394,836 | ||
Canada, Obituary Collection, 1898-Current
Canada, Obituary Collection, 1898-CurrentPublished on Ancestry 2/24/2006
Updated 3/24/2025 |
11,932,632 | ||
U.S., Obituary Collection, 1930-Current
U.S., Obituary Collection, 1930-CurrentPublished on Ancestry 12/17/2003
Updated 3/24/2025 |
|||
U.S., Cemetery and Funeral Home Collection, 1847-Current
U.S., Cemetery and Funeral Home Collection, 1847-CurrentPublished on Ancestry 4/7/2011
Updated 3/24/2025 |
143,602,733 |
Exhausting Beauty
https://philocrumbs.substack.com/p/exhausting-beauty?utm_medium=ios&utm_source=substack
Findmypast Weekly Update
This week FMP announces one of the largest additions in recent months, including a new partnership with The London Library.
“From military lists to directories and specialist newspapers, an eclectic range of records from The Library’s holdings have been digitised and published online for the first time, exclusively at Findmypast.
Did your relative shape Ireland’s future?
Delve into this unique resource to uncover the stories of those who served in Ireland’s early parliament.
We added the unique Heath’s Book of Beauty to this expanding resource this week.
Spanning 1833 to 1837, this publication features engraved portraits of aristocratic women and thus offers a fascinating insight into the lives of England’s upper classes in the 19th century.
Covering 1866-1921, these lists can reveal where your ancestors served, how their military careers unfolded, or what became of them during wartime.
We made a huge update to our newspaper archive this week. Vanity Fair, Cavalry Journal, The Garden and other London Library newspapers are now online for you to explore.
We added 26 new titles to the archive – but that’s not all. We also added new pages to 50 of our existing publications, so it’s easier than ever to understand the world that your ancestors lived in.
Ancestry Updates
UPDATED Birmingham, England, Church of England Baptisms, 1813-1923
UPDATED London, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812
UPDATED London, England, Church of England Deaths and Burials, 1813-2003
UPDATED London, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1940
UPDATED London, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1924
Malta Archival Resources
This is a bit off-topic.
Earlier this week I had the opportunity to visit the Malta National Archives in historic Rabat. It is housed in what was initially a “hospital” which had a foundling wheel, or “ruota degli esposti” where newborns could be left to the care of the church. Some were given the last name Esposito.
We were shown a display of some of their records of genealogical interest, including passport applications. A treasure is a bound copy volume of notaries records of birth marriages and deaths back to the 16th century. Ancestry has filmed and is currently processing it. The passport records are at the archivesportaleurope.net site. It hosts records from many countries. A search for Canada surfaced 36,639 records from various European countries.
As historic as the building is, it is not up to modern archival standards. With a total Maltese population less than that of Ottawa, it operates under severe constraints of funding while striving to preserve the much more extensive historical collection.
LAC Co-Lab Update
There are currently 4,324 items identified as Co-Lab only contributions in the collection. That’s up from 4,196 last month. The new ones include scattered cabinet conclusions from the 1940s to 1970s, and diary entries by William Lyon Mackenzie King.
Major Announcements at RootsTech
Being away meant I missed the announcements. So I asked the AI app Perplexity.
At RootsTech 2025, several major announcements were made:
How many would see the FamilySearch new catalog as the highlight? It’s my top priority amongst them to explore when I return.
OGS Sudbury District Branch invites you, and everyone else, to attend a timely presentation:
Irish Immigration to Canada
Presented by Jillian van Turnhout.
At 1 pm Monday 17 March
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/WGpkCUlCQ6WRkH7M91OVKw#/registration
