Anglo-Celtic Connections

It’s been a long two years.

One of the most valuable, and free, services for family historians is now available again in Ottawa. You get access to records you won’t find at Ancestry, Findmypast, MyHeritage and other commercial genealogy sites. And it is totally free.

Perhaps like me, you missed the announcement.

The Ottawa Stake Family History Centre of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, to give its full title, reopened on 29 June.

The facility, at 1017 Prince of Wales Drive, north of the intersection with Heron Road/ Baseline, is now open every Wednesday and Thursday from 9:30 am – 3:30 pm.

I stopped in on Wednesday to see what’s changed.

The entrance, at the back of the building, hasn’t changed much. You need to buzz to be let in.

Inside the layout was familiar. Things appear to have been tidied up a bit with fewer books on the shelves, those now available online have been removed.

Cabinets with locally held microfilms are still there.

Old fashioned microfilm readers are in one room, one of the volunteers on duty was using it.

For a Wednesday morning the computer room with access to the full range of FamilySearch digitial microfilms and other resoirces was comfortably busy. Because of the small space masks are required throughout.

Service disruptions do happen. It’s good practice to phone ahead to 613-800-4250 to check the FHC is actually open.

It’s a happy day when the identity of a previously unknown soldier killed in wartime is established.

This CWGC blog post covers the identification of British-born Company Sergeant-Major David George Parfitt who died at the Battle of Thiepval Ridge serving with the 8th Canadian Infantry Battalion.

Let’s celebrate that the official identification was made possible by the findings of an unidentified “independent researcher” three years ago who deserves more credit than the anonymous mention in paragraph six. He or she might wish to remain unnamed, but I hope the politicians who appended quotes to the blog post expressed a personal appreciation of the diligence and skill of that independent researcher. The opaque Casualty Identification Review Board process makes for a tough nut to crack.

 

 

Zoom Talk from Friends of The Keep Archives (Sussex) (FoTKA) – Wednesday 10 August, at 12:30 pm

FotKA is delighted to inform you of the Second of its programme of remote Zoom talks.

Christopher Whittick DL, MA, FSA, FRHistS will speak on – ‘To the Manor born: manorial records for local and family historians’.

Christopher read law at Worcester College, Oxford, thereafter qualifying as an archivist in 1975. He joined East Sussex Record Office in 1977, becoming eventually East Sussex County Archivist until 2019.

Christopher has a particular interest in medieval crime and administration, and in the application of archival sources to the study of standing buildings. He has had an academic career, the depth and breadth of which speaks for itself.

He has written many entries for the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, and has authored, or co-authored books on East Sussex artist Eric Ravilious and many other subjects. His edition (with Ian Forrest) of the episcopal visitation of Hereford Diocese in 1397 was published by the Canterbury and York Society in 2021.

Christopher has also taught palaeography throughout England and Wales, written a palaeography training module for the University of Liverpool and has been a lecturer on the University College London archives course.

He is, or has been, associated with many societies eg a vice-president of Sussex Archaeological Society, the Board of Sussex Archaeological Collections, president of the Wealden Iron Research Group, a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and the Royal Historical Society, an associate of the Artworkers’ Guild, trustee/chair of the Sussex Historic Churches Trust since 1998, and currently a Trustee of FoTKA. He was appointed as a Deputy Lieutenant of the County of East Sussex in 2017.

FoTKA are again grateful to Lewes History Group Chairman, Neil Merchant who has given support and advice in the Zoom hosting of this talk. The talk will be on-line only, free of charge and last for 45 minutes, with questions afterwards. The talk

You do not need to have a Zoom subscription.
Register in advance, for this meeting, by clicking on the link below and answering the questions:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYtc-GhqT8tEtL6SRXGioh-WLLURZWxCFWP 
After registering, you will receive an important confirmation email from Zoom.

If you have any questions at all, please contact info@fotka.org.uk

Choose from 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.

Tuesday 9 August July 2 pm: OGS Ottawa Branch Virtual Genealogy Drop-in. 
https://ottawa.ogs.on.ca/events/virtual-genealogy-drop-in-2-2022-07-12/

Tuesday 9 August, 2:30 pm: Why They Left: A Conversation About the Irish Diaspora, by Elizabeth Hodges for Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center.
https://acpl.libnet.info/event/6971999

Wednesday 10 August, 8 pm: Need help with grammar and punctuation? There’s a tool for that, by Cathie Sherwood for Legacy Family Tree Webinars.
https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar/need-help-with-grammar-and-punctuation-theres-a-tool-for-that/

Thursday 11 August, noon. Hathi Trust Digital Library & Genealogy, by Orange County California Library System.
https://attend.ocls.info/event/6760062

Thursday 11 August 1 pm: Lunch and Learn: A Celebration of Alex Haley, His Legacy, and Roots With Chris Haley, for Enoch Pratt Free Library in partnership with The Maryland State Archives and The Maryland Four Centuries Project.
Registration not required, but encouraged. https://calendar.prattlibrary.org/event/lunch_and_learn_a_celebration_of_alex_haley#.YvF_unbMJEY

Thursday 11 August 6:30 pm: Expanding your family tree with DNA: Telling the story of your family with Charting Companion & Family Tree Maker, by Pierre Clouthier for Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center.
https://acpl.libnet.info/event/6972039

Is someone in your family tree, like my grandfather, unfortunate enough to have passed through an orphanage?

Their misfortune benefits us in that records for their stay likely exist, documenting a part of life that’s often obscure for those more fortunate.

Here’s an article, courtesy of WDYTYA Magazine, to help with that research, including two sites for those who came to Canada.

Not mentioned explicitly are records held at county record offices. Also, don’t neglect newspapers that might have covered special events, like the Christmas Day experience.

BIFHSGO has home child resources, not so easy to find, under https://www.bifhsgo.ca/learn-about-the-name-index and a comprehensive pdf article About Home Children, by Patricia Roberts-Pichette.

In August, Kingston Branch publications about Lennox and Addington County, plus “Other Publications” (Hastings, Prince Edward and Prescott Counties) are offered as follows: purchase one at the regular price and select one free, of equal or lesser value.  Your shipping cost will be based on the price of your purchased publication only. This applies to current stock only, while supplies last.  Refer to the Publication page of the Branch website https://kingston.ogs.on.ca for the list of available publications, and to the Price List for detail about each publication. Amendments will be made to the inventory list throughout the month..

Please send your order to kingstonpublications@ogs.on.ca and an invoice will be generated for you.

“Join Charlotte Marchant, Military Collections Researcher at The (UK) National Archives, as she takes us through some of the key records which The National Archives holds relating to women’s service.

With a particular focus on the First World War, this webinar will look at a range of women, including nurses, in the British Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force, up to the year 1920.”

Although the webinar isn’t until Tuesday 6 September, 9 am ET,  spaces are limited. I’ve experienced not being able to register for TNA webinars a few days before, so reserve your place well in advance.

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/researching-your-family-history-womens-service-in-the-armed-forces-tickets-350479793497

The following 14 digital microfilms have been added so far this month. Those toward the bottom of the list are likely of greater interest to the family historian.

Title	Publication Date	Identifier	URL
Department of Canadian Heritage, Canadian Parks Service : Park/subject classification system	1954-1962	T14250	https://heritage.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.lac_reel_t14250/1
Department of Canadian Heritage, Canadian Parks Service : Park/subject classification system	1961-1962	T14251	https://heritage.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.lac_reel_t14251/1
Department of Canadian Heritage, Canadian Parks Service : Park/subject classification system	1962-1965	T-14252	https://heritage.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.lac_reel_t14252/1
Department of Canadian Heritage, Canadian Parks Service : Park/subject classification system	1959-1967	T-14253	https://heritage.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.lac_reel_t14253/1
Department of Canadian Heritage, Canadian Parks Service : Park/subject classification system	1954-1967	T-14254	https://heritage.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.lac_reel_t14254/1
Department of Transport : Civil aircraft registration, inspection and operation files, block 5008, 1920-1986	1951-1967	T-7970	https://heritage.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.lac_reel_t7970/1
Department of Transport : Civil aircraft registration, inspection and operation files, block 5008, 1920-1987	1964-1970	T-7997	https://heritage.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.lac_reel_t7997/1
Department of Transport : Civil aircraft registration, inspection and operation files, block 5008, 1920-1988	1968-1985	T-8429	https://heritage.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.lac_reel_t8429/1
Department of Transport : Civil aircraft registration, inspection and operation files, block 5008, 1920-1989	1974-1986	T-11688	https://heritage.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.lac_reel_t11688/1
Lower Canada Land Papers	1766-1842	C-2553	https://heritage.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.lac_reel_c2553/1
Treaties and surrenders	1876-1897	T-9940	https://heritage.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.lac_reel_t9940/1
Western land grants	1920	C-6649	https://heritage.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.lac_reel_c6649/1
Western land grants	1905	C-6117	https://heritage.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.lac_reel_c6117/1
Western land grants	1917-1930	C-6492	https://heritage.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.lac_reel_c6492/1

From The Scotsman; when war broke out in Ukraine, it was not only the troops who mobilised – but the librarians too.

“Within days, libraries across the country had set up initiatives to supply books to citizens sheltering in underground Metro stations, had created centres for refugees displaced within Ukraine in library buildings and diversified to set up to act as hubs to supply military equipment and essentials to the hastily-formed army.”

https://www.scotsman.com/news/world/how-ukraines-librarians-mobilised-to-fight-the-russian-culture-war-3796419

Miscellaneous items I found of interest during the week.

Improving your online experience: What to expect at LAC’s new online home

The Transformation of Historical Research in the Digital Age
by Ian Milligan, a history professor at the University of Waterloo.
This open access monograph from Cambridge University Press reflects on how “almost all aspects of the historian’s research workflow have been transformed by digital technology. In other words, all historians – not just Digital Historians – are implicated in this shift. The Transformation of Historical Research in the Digital Age equips historians to be self-conscious practitioners by making these shifts explicit and exploring their long-term impact.”
As family historians are historians, the perspective in this publication is relevant to genealogy.

The one and only Stanley Unwin

Thanks to this week’s contributors: Anonymous, Leighann Neilson, Tara Calishain, Teresa, and Unknown.

This collection of 103,914 transcripts, new to MyHeritage, contains burial and cremation records from Birmingham from 1874 onwards. Records typically include the name of the deceased, year of birth, residence, date of death, and date and place of burial.

The collection is free on MyHeritage as it’s added from https://birminghamburialrecords.co.uk/ which lists over 1.5 million records with a minimal index giving just name, month and year of burial and cemetery. Further information from Birmingham Council costs £10 for a digital download.

Cemeteries included from the Birmingham Council site are Brandwood End, Handsworth, Key Hill, Kings Norton, Lodge Hill, Quinton, Sutton Coldfield, Sutton New Hall, Warstone, Witton and Yardley, with crematoria records when available.

This collection of 189,878 transcript records contains burials and cremations from the Tameside borough of Greater Manchester, England from 1860 onwards. Records typically include the name of the deceased, year of birth, residence, date of death, and date and place of burial.

Cemeteries included are Ashton, Audenshaw, Denton, Droyslden, Dukinfield, Hyde, Mossley, and Mottram.

The collection is free on MyHeritage as it’s added from http://web.tameside.gov.uk/BACAS/. where clicking on the final column of a result of interest will show others in the same grave.