Anglo-Celtic Connections

Military Medals Awarded to Foreigners by the British Government, 1914-1920

This new WW1-era set comprises 7,144 medal records. Expect to find Name, Rank, Regiment (when available), Publication, Publication Date, Event year, Section, Army, and Medal type.

Distinguished Medal Roll Awarded to Foreigners by the British Government, 1914-1920

A second new WW1-era title, with 4,235 records, includes similar information to the collection above.

Newspapers

261,688 new pages joined the newspaper archive this week, with five new mostly 19th century titles added and updates made to 44 existing publications from the late 19th century to the 21st. None are especially long runs.

New titles:

• Ceylon Observer, 1892–1897, 1900–1917, 1919–1921
• Hereford Mercury, 1877, 1879
• Madras Male Asylum Herald, 1833–1836
• Manchester Observer, 1818–1820
• Theatrical Times, 1883–1884

Updated titles:

• Bedfordshire Times and Independent, 2005
• Birmingham Weekly Mercury, 2000
• Black Country Bugle, 2002, 2005
• Brecon County Times, 1898
• Chester Chronicle (Frodsham & Helsby Edition), 2005
• Cornish Evening Tidings, 1882–1883, 1885, 1890, 1900
• Dumbarton Herald and County Advertiser, 1891
• Dungannon News, 1907–1915
• East Ham Recorder, 1913, 1916–1917, 1925
• Fraserburgh Herald and Northern Counties’ Advertiser, 1891
• Haddingtonshire Courier, 1884, 1889, 1891
• Haltemprice & East Yorkshire Advertiser, 2002
• Hamilton Herald and Lanarkshire Weekly News, 1914–1915
• Iron Trade Circular (Rylands’) and Hardware Weekly Messenger, 1890
• Ironbridge Weekly Journal and Borough of Wenlock Advertiser, 1876
• Jarrow Guardian and Tyneside Reporter, 1889
• Kidderminster Shuttle, 1875
• Lichfield Post, 2005
• Lincoln Target, 2005
• Llanelli Star, 2000
• Llanelly Mercury, 1893, 1912
• Manchester Evening News, 2000
• Mansfield & North Nottinghamshire Chronicle-Advertiser, 1988
• Munster News, 1906
• North Cumberland Reformer, 1897
• North Wales Weekly News, 2001, 2003
• Offaly Independent, 1894–1896, 1912–1913, 1919
• Plymouth Herald and Devonshire Freeholder, 1866–1867
• Rochdale Times, 1924
• Scottish Press, 1858
• Sevenoaks Chronicle and Kentish Advertiser, 2000, 2002
• Smethwick Telephone, 1910
• South Durham Herald & Post, 2002
• Stafford Post, 2003
• Staines Leader, 2000
• The Record, 1830–1837, 1881
• Times of Ceylon, 1945–1949
• Times of India, 1958–1961
• Wakefield Free Press, 1893
• Westerham Herald, 1891
• Widnes Weekly News and District Reporter, 2003–2004
• Woking Informer, 2000, 2002
• Y Dydd, 1885

Join in person at Ottawa’s  Knox Presbyterian Church (Lisgar & Elgin) or online by registering here.

Preserving Family Archives/ 9 a.m. EDT

Presenter: Kyla Ubbink

Family documents, photographs, clippings, works of art, diaries, bibles, trinkets and treasures are the physical evidence that tell the stories of our ancestors. As genealogists, many of these pieces of history wind up in your care and knowing how to preserve them is paramount to ensuring their longevity. Kyla Ubbink will advise on implementing archival principles of preservation to the care of family memorabilia. Current and up to date practices for storing archival materials, how to detect processes of deterioration, and methods of intervention will be shared within the context of practical ‘at home’ application. Topics include proper boxes and enclosures, the use of albums, shelving, climate control, pest and mould prevention, basic cleaning and repair, and introduction to digitization.

Operating a private conservation studio since 2002, Kyla Ubbink began her career through an internship with the Library and Archives Canada’s conservation laboratories in 2000 and subsequent contract positions through to 2005. Her private practice, Ubbink Book & Paper Conservation, provides professional conservation, restoration and preservation consultation services to institutions, galleries, antiquities dealers, collectors, researchers and genealogists. Kyla’s work has been integral to the collections of the Canadian War Museum, Canadian Museum of Natural History, Parks Canada, Bank of Canada, Global Affairs, Crown and Indigenous Affairs, and numerous University, archive, rare book, and art gallery collections.

Kyla was a part time professor of Cultural Preservation for Algonquin College’s Archives and Records Management Program from 2007 through 2019. She has several publications in professional periodicals, is a regular presenter at conservation conferences, and provides workshops and lectures for community groups and heritage professionals. Kyla recently served on a Canadian Standards Review Board to assess and update the standard for “Permanence of Paper for Records, Books and Other Documents”. She has also fulfilled the role of treasurer and secretary for the Canadian Association for Conservation of Cultural Property’s Board of Directors.
https://bookandpaperconservation.com/

Casting the Past: Historical Storytelling / 10 a.m. EDT

Presenter: Pierre Brault

How do playwrights research their historical theatre productions? Ottawa actor/playwright Pierre Brault will describe the process he used to discover background information for his historical works featuring Patrick Whelan, Thomas MacKay and Colonel By, the central figures in three of his plays. Pierre will explain how he uses this information to animate their lives on the stage and will read from some of his most well-known works.

Pierre Brault is a multi-award winning actor/ playwright/ comedian whose solo works have been performed across the globe.
http://www.pierrebrault.com/

The outline for the latest episode was posted on 24 September.

I particularly appreciated Mark Thompson’s explanation of “setting up a scheduled agent that checks Ancestry, MyHeritage, Findmypast, Library and Archives Canada, and other repositories each week for newly released records in the places he researches, and compares how Claude, ChatGPT, and Gemini handle the job.” That looks like a way of helping with my more routine blog posts,

Toward the end Mark and co-host Steve Little had an informative discussion on calls to slow down AI development, separating real risks from headlines.

Here’s the complete outline

00:06 Family History AI Show Academy: Advanced Family History AI Course

01:35 Trends from the East Coast Genetic Genealogy Conference: Adoption Goes Mainstream

05:46 Today’s Headlines: A Preview of the Episode

In the News

07:18 New Features at Ancestry: Document Transcription and AI Stories

11:18 Artificial Intelligence Model News: Claude Fable 5.1, GPT-6 Astra, and Navier-Stokes

20:34 Another Round of Simplification: Claude Merges Chat and Cowork, Custom GPTs Retire

Tip of the Week

30:05 Scheduling Your Artificial Intelligence Agent: Weekly Checks for New Record Collections

RapidFire

42:56 Claude Memory: Editable, Project-Aware, and Worth Checking

49:50 Apple’s Smarter Siri (Again): Google Gemini Under the Hood

54:03 Calls to Slow Down Artificial Intelligence: Separating Real Risks from Headlines

Final Thoughts

1:16:53 Episode Wrap

TheGenealogist is marking Lincolnshire Day, 1 October, with the release of new parish registers, marriage licences and local history
publications spanning the Tudor period to the early 20th century.

The newly released Lincolnshire publications include:
● The Registers of Coleby, Lincolnshire, 1561–1812
● The Parish Registers of Alford & Rigsby, 1538–1680
● The Parish Registers of Bourne, 1562–1650
● The Parish Registers of Gainsborough, Volume I, 1564–1640
● The Parish Registers of St Margaret in the Close, Lincoln, 1538–1837
● Lincoln Marriage Licences, 1598–1628
● Notices of the History and Antiquities of Spalding
● The Lincoln Pocket Guide (1880)
● Guide to Lincoln Castle (1924)
● J. Charles Cox’s Lincolnshire

• Lake Ontario
  “Library of Congress recently updated the Library of Congress Subject Heading term representing Lake Ontario to reflect the new name, “Lake America” designated to the lake by presidential executive order.
  Because this is a geographic region that largely exists within the boundaries of Canada, and to best reflect known Canadian terminology for the area, Library and Archives Canada has established Canadian Subject Heading (CSH) “Ontario, Lake (N.Y. and Ont.)”. This will ensure that libraries can continue to assign subject headings for the area using the Canadian name for the lake.”

• Collection data export tool.
  Data nerds will love LAC’s new capability for downloading Canadian census data. Complete datasets are in CSV format, presently for 16 censuses from 1825 to 1931. You need to agree that the copy will be used for research and private study purposes only.  I can see this being useful for demographic studies.
  The 1901 census for Ontario, Part 1, has 500,000 rows, each for a person. The data is arranged in alphabetical order by last name, then first name. Strangely, the last name is in column EE, the first in column BA.
• Shannon Lectures in History
  In a departure from long-standing routine, the Shannon lectures are being held at LAC this year rather than on the Carleton U campus. The first has already happened. The next, a hybrid event on Tuesday, October 13, 2026 at 7:00 pm, is Preserving Unremarkable Videogames with Dany Guay-Bélanger.
• What’s in Collection Search?
  As of 29 September, there are 7,944,445 (7,942,117 on 22 September) items in the Archives section of Collection Search, 8,227,688 (unchanged) in the Genealogy section, 4,439,575 (4,438,807) in Library, including 827,605 theses, and 352,754 (352,748) in Images.
• Maps
  LAC’s A to Z research guides and tools still has no entry for the map collection, and just four niche entries mentioning maps in the guide description. LAC can do better!
  
  
• LAC Records New on Ancestry
  Canada, Mounted Police Records, 1873-1914, 6,624 entries
  Canada, Citizenship Registrations, 1857-1916, 8,416 entries
  These appear to be extracts from existing LAC databases. Gail Dever has a post with more details on her Genealogy à la carte blog.
• Ādisōke Summer 2026 Update

Below are the updates to Full Text Search listed for this month. Do you notice anything about the dates? Do miracles happen?

	Collection Title	Records	Last Updated
	United States, GenealogyBank Obituaries, Births, and Marriages, 1980-2015	8,180	16 September 2026
	United States, Virginia, Biographies, from 1005 to 2014	1,026,511	16 September 2026
	United States, Virginia, Others, from 2010 BC to 2033	182,744	16 September 2026
	United States, Maryland, Legal, from 14 May 1894 BC to 2011	7,563,263	7 September 2026

Here’s a summary of top updates from February to date

Country	Cumulative Records Added (Feb–Sep 2026)
United States	147,815,479
Peru	7,261,514
United Kingdom	6,338,501
Mexico	2,717,878
Argentina	564,309

There could be other updates and additions available only at FamilySearch Affiliate Libraries of FamilySearch Centres.

Choose from these selected free online events. All times are Eastern Time, unless otherwise noted. Registration may be required in advance—please check the links to avoid disappointment. For many more events, mainly in the U.S., visit https://conferencekeeper.org/virtual/.

The FreeBMD Database was updated on Friday 25 Sepember 2026 to contain 296,707,946 unique records, an increase of 205,328 since August.

Years with more than 10,000 additions are: 1994-96 for births, 1995-97 for marriages, and 1996-97 for deaths.

Looking back over the past year, the vast majority of additions are from 1991 onward. Thanks to the volunteers for these additions, and for the numerous updates for earlier years, especially pre-WW1.

Today, 28 September 2026 (that’s for the record), Mark Thompson, a leader in AI and Genealogy, will speak on Beyond the Prompt. He promises you will find out how AI will change how you research, analyze and share your family history.

Before that Major John M. Stephens will describe the wealth of unique material for genealogists housed at the Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada Regimental Museum and Archives.

The online meeting begins at 7:30 p.m. EDT. Register at https://torontofamilyhistory.org/september-2026-meeting-online/

 

Following on from last week, when FMP introduced records from the Royal School of Needlework, come two more small databases between 1889 and 1946.

Royal School of Needlework Teaching Staff Records

This new collection comprises 5,140 staff records from the Royal School of Needlework. A mix of records, some with no first name, some with a home address.

Royal School Of Needlework Student Records

3,441 records, spanning 1895 to 1944. Was your person of interest judged Excellent, Very Good, or Good?

Newspapers

Three new titles are added to the newspaper archive this week and updates to 22 existing publications, a total of 266,842 pages added. Note the long run of the Aberdeen Press and Journal, starting in 1748, and Lloyd’s List with a broken run, starting in 1801, to 1919.

New titles:

• Highbridge and Burnham Gazette, 1874, 1877
• Musician of the Salvation Army, 1897–1985
• Portadown Express and County Armagh Advertiser, 1906–1920

Updated titles:

• Aberdeen Press and Journal, 1748–1959, 1963–2008
• Argyllshire Advertiser, 1887–1888, 1974–1975, 1986, 1988–1994
• Banffshire Advertiser, 1881–1902, 1905–1982, 1986–1989
• Bicycling News, 1877, 1885–1887, 1890–1893
• Birmingham Weekly Mercury, 1889, 1897, 1912, 1918–1921, 1923–1945, 1947–1999, 2001–2003, 2005
• Blyth News Post Leader, 1986–2004
• Catholic Standard, 1933–1963
• Church in the West, 1885–1886, 1888, 1890–1891
• Co-operative News, 1876, 1881, 1885, 1887–1888, 1890–1891, 1893
• Doncaster Chronicle, 1889, 1950
• East Cumberland News, 1898, 1900–1901
• Hertford Mercury and Reformer, 1834–1837, 1840–1889, 1897, 1913, 1916–1918, 1939, 1950, 1953, 1958, 1960, 1963–1967, 1980–1999, 2002, 2004–2005
• Isle of Wight County Press, 1884–1919
• Knutsford Guardian, 1911–1913, 1919
• Lloyd’s List, 1801–1884, 1887–1890, 1892–1894, 1896–1919
• Macclesfield Express, 1981–2003
• Nation and The Athenaeum, 1907–1931
• Pink (Newcastle), 1987–1990, 1993–1999
• Shipping World and Herald of Commerce, 1883–1918
• St. Mary Cray & Swanley Express, 1900–1917
• Uxbridge Leader, 1986–2005
• Wokingham Times, 1931–1942, 1944–1958, 1977–1981, 1983–1999, 2001–2002

Miscellaneous items I found interesting this week.

What happened the week Ottawa was born
In Saturday’s Ottawa Citizen first section  Randy Boswell rescues characters and details that have been lost to time, adding a new chapter to the capital’s origin story.

WDYTYA: Ian McKellen

Ontario, Canada Births, 1832-1918
On 24 September 2026 Ancestry updated the civil registration collection to now contain 7,794,437 records.

 

This new to Ancestry title has 570,090 records. Some are indexes, with name date and a portrait. Some link to a full obit. There’s a mix of anglo names with the majority francophone.