Anglo-Celtic Connections

• In March 2022 an ATIP request was made for files dating from 1945 to 1953 classified as Government of Canada archival records. As of 31 March, four years later, it was one of 2,186 records so classified which were late.  While the backlog of requests for Records of former Canadian Armed Forces members and former public servants saw a substantial decrease in the year, that for Government of Canada archival records has barely moved. Does the Federal Government believe that is acceptable performance? Is the problem a deficiency in management of the program, a lack of resources, a mix, or something else? In either case, it’s the responsibility of the Carney government to address delays that make a mockery of the legislation.
• Last week, in a post that got substantial attention, I reported that “An order for publications (directories) I placed on 24 July was “Not ready for pick up” 11 days later.” It turns out the problem was a deficiency in reporting through the online system. A piece of paper had been left in the “R” shelf at LAC informing that the years requested are not in the collection. Are we expected to hang around 395 Wellington waiting for a piece of paper to appear? If there’s an online system to communicate to clients about the status of orders, why not use it for prompt notification?
• Maps are documentary heritage. Once upon a time, LAC had a map collection. It probably still does, but it’s so neglected as to be practically invisible. There isn’t even an entry for Maps in LAC’s A to Z research guides and tools facility.  It’s not as if the research guides are being neglected. 2SLGBTQIA+ related resources research guide was recently added.
• It’s not just LAC.  Cuts are being made to heritage-memory institutions at the local and provincial levels as well as federal. A grassroots group of archivists, historians, genealogists, museums, and gallery workers is formed — the Canadian Cultural Heritage Advocacy Committee . If you’re concerned, sign up at the website for their email newsletter.
• There’s an addition to the LAC Collection at the Internet Archive Canada, an 8-page poem “Lines on the massacre of Oszmiana”?  Should there be a CanCon requirement?

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/

Tuesday, 11 August

2:00 PM: Using the Scandinavian Church Records on MyHeritage.com, by Jenny Hansen for Legacy Family Tree Webinars.
https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar/using-the-scandinavian-church-records-on-myheritage-com

2:30 PM: What Can DNA Really Tell You? DNA and Genealogy Basics, by Collette Fenlason for Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center.
https://acpl.libnet.info/event/16670925

Wednesday, 12 August

2:00 PM: Citations Made Simple: Strategies for Every Genealogist, by Lisa Stokes for Legacy Family Tree Webinars.
https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar/citations-made-simple-strategies-for-every-genealogist

Thursday 13 August – Saturday 15 August

Two new presentation apps for family historians. I suspect they’re the product of vibe coding . This is for information; I’ve not tried either one.

The free TreeAlive turns your family tree into a short animated historical map from the years your family lived them.

“Your map is built in your browser, and we keep no copy of your tree on our servers unless you choose to share it. Only locations are sent out to place them on historical maps.”

MemriTree “turns your spoken or typed memories into well-written stories, complete with watercolor-style illustrations that help bring them to life.” Scroll down to check out examples.

This release includes regimental histories, Home Guard records added to the more than 50 browsable books – Military Records | Regimental Records & Histories – collection.

History of the Dorsetshire Regiment, 1914–1919 (741 pages)
London Gunners, 1914–1918 (280 pages)
The Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry, 1914–1919 (515 pages)
The East Yorkshire Regiment in the Great War, 1914–1918 (533 pages)
The History of the King’s Shropshire Light Infantry in the Great War, 1914–1918 (471 pages)
The Queen’s Own Royal West Kent Regiment, 1920–1950 (551 pages)
The Story of A Sector Warwickshire Home Guard, 1940–1944 (141 pages)

Also added is Sir John French’s Despatches: The Graphic Special, Nos. 1 and 2, for the early part of the Great War.

Many of these can be found on the Internet Archive and similar free online archives.

The Canadian Register of Historic Places is a pan-Canadian, publicly searchable database of over 13,500 historic sites recognized by federal, provincial, territorial, and municipal authorities. The federal government has stepped back from operating it, and it now faces imminent decommissioning,

E-petition e-7594, sponsored by MP Yasir Naqvi, calls on Ottawa to transfer stewardship of the Register to the National Trust for Canada and provide a one-time endowment to stabilize and modernize it. 1695 signatures are registered. If you’d like to help keep it alive, the petition is open for signature until August 26, 2026.

Miscellaneous items I found interesting this week.

StatsCan Labour Force Survey, July 2026
Encouraging – Canada’s unemployment rate declined 0.1 percentage points.  Meanwhile, the US unemployment rate rose by 0.1 percent. Both are likely within the bounds of survey error? 

Reconciliation or recolonization? What Canada can learn by looking abroad

Who were the Luddites? Their legacy ripples through politics, cultural commentary and literature

U.S., School Yearbooks, 1900-2016
Now with 937,013,729 records, this update follows that to Ancestry’s corresponding Canadian collection.

Binface


Thanks to the following individuals for their comments and tips: Anonymous, Barbara Tose, Gail, Glenn, Teresa, and Unknown.

What’s new at FMP this week?

Metropolitan Police, Aliens Registration Office

This new collection sourced from The National Archives (MEPO 35), registration records of 1,257 immigrants into Britain between 1876 and 1965. Find a transcript of the individual’s name, birth year, nationality, and archive reference—alongside images of the original archival cards for those born over 100 years ago. The images frequently include a photograph as well as background information such as full birth and UK arrival dates, residential and employment history, family status, naturalization records, Home Office references, and war service.

Scotland, Court & Criminal Database

FMP added 241,229 records from 1791 to 1937. Find varied transcripts of original documents from Scottish prisons, Crown Office Precognitions (pre-trial witness evidence), High Court Trial Papers, and the Fife Kalendar of Convicts (1708–1909). Each record can include extensive personal background, details of the crime, court proceedings, verdicts, sentences, and specific archival references.
See also yesterday’s post 745,162 Scottish Prisoners.

Newspapers

262,076 pages were added to the newspaper archive this week, with six new titles and updates to 43 existing publications.

New titles, all with 19th-century content, are:
Bournemouth Observer and Fashionable Visitors’ List, 1875, 1889
Carlow Independent and Leinster Agricultural Journal, 1879-1882
North Middlesex Weekly Standard, 1893-1901
Wimbledon Times and Mitcham Advertiser, 1886-1887
Wimbledon, Tooting and Merton Temperance Gazette, 1886-1887
Yorkshire Observer Budget, 1879,1895-1896, 1912.

Updates with more than 10,00 pages added, all but one for the 21st century, are:

For the UK there were no new newspapers. The following were updated. The earliest is 1811.

Here’s a summary covering four weekly update batches to the BNA between 13 July and 3 August 2026. Most additions fill gaps in existing runs (e.g., Dundee Courier now covers 1844–2005 essentially continuously). Some very long historical runs had small top-ups, e.g. Salisbury and Winchester Journal (1745 onward) and Oxford Journal (1753 onward).

New Titles
17 entries are New, including Bournemouth Observer, Carlow Independent, North Middlesex Weekly Standard, Wimbledon Times and Mitcham Advertiser, Shipping World and Herald of Commerce, Tyrawly Herald, Carlow Morning Post, Clonmel Advertiser, and Sheffield Times.

Major Updates
150 titles received new page additions across the four update dates (3 August, 27 July, 20 July, 13 July 2026). The largest single additions (by page count) are:

Ancestry’s latest database update is Web: Scotland, Prison Records Index, 1791-1937, updated on Thursday, 6 August.  It gives name, gender, age, birth date (year), birth place, residence place, imprisonment date, imprisonment place, prison, occupation, and url. That link is to Graham and Emma Maxwell’s Scottish Indexes Scotland’s Criminal Database  where you can order the full record.

On Tuesday, 4 August 2026, an updated title Canada, Selected School Yearbooks, 1901-2010 appeared on Ancestry with 2,776,380 entries, an increase of 404,105 since February 2022.

Detaiis provided include: name, yearbook date, school, and school location. There are links to page images with many photos. Some also give birth year and age, which appear to be AI estimates, not to be relied on.

Best coverage is Ontario records, increased to 1,737,652 from 1,650,659, followed by Quebec which now has 232,324 up from 221,006, British Columbia now has 212,859, up from 201,341

Ottawa has 132,195 records, virtually the same as in 2022.

• Co-Lab. There are 3,434 entries in the LAC Collection Search for Co-Lab only. That’s a substantial increase from 3,122 entries on 23 February 2026. Seven of 15 Co-Lab Challenge projects have seen progress since February.

• Why the delay? What hasn’t increased in the past month is the number of items added in 2026 to the Internet Archives Canada LAC collection. It’s still four. Nor have there been any additions to the Canadiana and Heritage collections sourced from LAC hosted by the Canadian Research Knowledge Network. An unknown number of files listed in Collection Search are digitized and held by LAC but not linked for online access. Some relate to WW1.
• Digitization as the key to increased user autonomy. According to its 2026–27 Departmental Plan, “In 2026–27, LAC … will aim to add 500,000 new digitized and described images to its online holdings, which users will be able to browse, search, discover, view and download on their own. This self-service access will allow users to better explore and use the collections in ways that can meet their objectives and needs.”
• The 1940 National Registration has been in LAC’s hands for a year with no news since March. There is currently no access.
• An order for publications (directories) I placed on 24 July is “Not ready for pick up” 11 days later.