Anglo-Celtic Connections

Usually, Military Monday covers men’s activities and resources. Today it’s about a woman from my home county in England and a Canadian who died when her ship was torpedoed. A little problem — one was a nurse but not military, and her death was 12 October. The other died on 10 October. Between the two, on average, that’s today.

According to Wikipedia “Edith Louisa Cavell was a British nurse (from Swardeston in Norfolk), She is celebrated for saving the lives of soldiers from both sides without discrimination and for helping some 200 Allied soldiers escape from German-occupied Belgium during the First World War, for which she was arrested. She was accused of treason, found guilty by a court-martial and sentenced to death. Despite international pressure for mercy, she was shot by a German firing squad 12 October 1915. Her execution received worldwide condemnation and extensive press coverage.

 

Born in Galway, Ireland, according to the LAC Discover blog  “NS Henrietta Mellett from London, Ontario, died at sea during the sinking of RMS Leinster, on October 10, 1918, when she was returning from leave to service with 15th Canadian General Hospital. An experienced military nurse, she had already served with the Red Cross in France, Egypt and England. She perished with more than 500 other passengers, when the Leinster was torpedoed by the German submarine UB-123 in the Irish Sea.”

 

Since the last update, countless new DNA kits and family tree profiles have been added to MyHeritage.  That’s according to a news release from the company.

What’s new?

The total number of theories has increased 47.7%, from 39,845,078 to 58,866,331
The number of DNA Matches that include a theory increased 48.7%, from 27,130,989 to 40,335,252
The number of relationship paths increased 46%, from 312,222,662 to 456,091,094 (sometimes theories are found through multiple paths, and these provide additional supporting evidence of a relationship)
The number of MyHeritage users who now have at least one Theory of Family Relativity™ for their DNA Matches has increased by 22.2%,

My Results

I now have 16 Theory of Family Relativity connections identified, five are identified as new. Five are medium confidence, six are low confidence.

My best match is a third cousin once removed. We share 79.2‎ cM in 3 segments, the largest being 43.7‎ cM.

There’s a fourth cousin once removed with whom I share 35.4‎ cM in 3
segments, the largest 22.2‎ cM. The match’s tree includes a victim of Auschwitz.

There’s more for me to explore yet.

If you have not already done so you can upload your DNA data to MyHeritage and receive DNA Matches for FREE. Unlocking additional DNA features (Chromosome Browser, Ethnicity Estimate, Shared ancestral places, and more) costs an extra fee.

Miscellaneous items I found of interest during the week.

Leicestershire’s Thomas Cook archive goes online

Blogs
If you read my blog via the daily email you may overlook the good information in the blogs linked in the right-hand column of www.anglocelticconnections.ca/. They are
EOGN
Genealogy à la carte
Irish Genealogy News
Scottish GENES

The London Gazette – revisited
Audrey Collins rarely posts on her blog. Worth a look.

Cherry-picking the Bible

Trivia
What else do these prominent Canadian men have in common: Lester Pearson, Charles Caccia, Malak Karsh, Laurier LaPierre, Val Sears?

Thanks to this week’s contributors. Ann Burns, Anonymous,  Brenda Turner, gail benjafield, Margaret A Kipp, Maureen, Melinda McRae, Toni, Unknown, Wayne Shepheard.

If you haven’t searched for theses on a topic of interest for your family history you haven’t done an exhaustive search.

Theses Canada, launched in 1965 at the request of the deans of Canadian graduate schools, is a collaborative program between Library and Archives Canada (LAC) and Canadian universities. It strives to:

• acquire and preserve theses and dissertations from participating universities
• provide free access to Canadian digital theses and dissertations in the collection
• facilitate access to non-digital theses and dissertations in the collection.

The number of theses in the collection grew steadily from 2005 to 2012. Subsequently, it has fallen precipitously. What happened?

I doubt universities are producing theses at one-tenth the rate they did at the peak. Could it be the universities are less interested in making them available? Is LAC no longer interested and diverting resources needed to keep the system going? Whatever the reason, Theses Canada has declined in value as a research tool in recent years.

Legacy Family Tree Webinars is the biggest bargain in genealogy — aside from freebies. At 40% off with coupon 40flash until Sunday, for new subscribers only, it’s almost a steal.

Scotland, Edinburgh Apprentices 1583-1800
Now fully searchable, these transcripts include details of nearly 30,000 of Edinburgh’s apprentices, their fathers and masters, as far back as the 1500s.

British Armed Forces and Overseas Births and Deaths
Thousands of new records from The National Archives and the General Register Office. The total collection now comprises nearly 2 million births and baptisms and over 2.7 million deaths and burials.

Plus newspaper updates.

As previously announced, Moorshead Magazines is ceasing publication of Your Genealogy Today. As Editor/Publisher Ed Zapletal explains Moorshead Magazines Ltd. is
proud to announce that we are
celebrating 25 years of publishing
genealogy magazines, however,
the milestone is bittersweet. As
much as we would like to go forward with two genealogy publications, the events of the last 20
months have made it necessary
for us to shift our strategy. Delays
in printing due to paper and workforce shortages, as well as transportation and distribution issues
brought on by the Pandemic will see Your Genealogy Today
merged into Internet Genealogy to become a single title effective with the upcoming Internet Genealogy October/November
2021 issue. 

Contents of the farewell issue are:

Genealogy Magazines Today!
Donna Potter Phillips lauds 25 years of publishing genealogy magazines from Moorshead Magazines Ltd.

Breaking Down Genealogical Brick Walls with Church Records
David A. Norris looks at church records and how they can help in
getting past research roadblocks.

Tell Me a Story: Sharing Your Family History Aloud
Sue Lisk suggests ideas for getting into oral-story telling mode
when the opportunity arises.

Conceived Through Reconciliation: Birth of a Passion
Yvette LaGonterie embarks on a journey to uncover her Antillean roots.

The Passing of The Silent Generation
Robbie Gorr looks at the necessity of interviewing senior family members.

Finding Hidden Fathers
Ed Storey looks at English records that may help you to locate a missing father in your tree.

Piecing Together the Puzzles of Personality
Sue Lisk looks for the clues that will help us piece together an
ancestor’s personality.

“Shhhh! I’ll Let You In On a Secret: Our Female Ancestors Are Found in Ledgers” — Part 2, by Diane L. Richard.

Letters Corresponding to Genealogy
Joe Grandinetti says letters home by Irish emigrants have a
unique relevance to genealogy.

Us and Them
Stephen L. W. Greene looks at why it’s important to go beyond the bounds
of your own family when doing genealogy research.

Your Ancestors Come to Life!
Melody Amsel-Arieli gets into Deep Nostalgia, the animation technology
from MyHeritage that can seemingly bring family photos to life.

The Back Page: Do You Have a Disaster Plan?
Dave Obee reminds us why we should be prepared for catastrophic events.

No more cute photos of cats, babies. No more photos of unusual clouds. No more social media sessions from the big commercial genealogy companies.

I’m disgusted at the revelations of the “profits before people” culture that pervades the company. Disgusted at the cover-up of harm to youngsters and promotion of ethnic violence — not deliberate but a result of the choice of algorithms. Disgusted at letting the elite violate codes of conduct enforced on everyone else.

Enough.

I don’t need it in my life.

So goodbye Facebook. If I had an Instagram account it would be goodbye to it too. If things get fixed I would maybe return.

A reminder about the presentation by Stephen Gill this Saturday, 9 October. I’m hearing that Stephen is a popular speaker — informative and entertaining.

Picture This!

9:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

Register

Stephen Gill, Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society, and author of The Family Detective and the follow-up Design in Detail will offer a lighthearted look at how photography evolved in Britain over 175 years, from vanity purchase to an everyday event. He’ll explore what is happening to photographs from our own immediate past, and how we can ensure that current photographs are available to our descendants. He’ll also show us how to tell a story about an old photograph and help date it.

Stephen has been a professional photographer for almost 50 years and a photo restorer for more than 20. Having inherited a collection of photos his grandfather took, he became interested in what stories they told. Over the years he developed new techniques to bring out the best of the images and reproduce them in even more detail than could be achieved originally. He trained as a post-graduate teacher of photography and has been delivering talks and lectures on the subject for over 15 years. He is the first UK photo restorer to receive the status of Accredited Senior in Imaging in the Creative Industries from the Royal Photographic Society (RPS).

Following Stephen’s talk, you will have an opportunity (in breakout rooms) to apply what you learned from Stephen to a family photo of your own. For this, you will need to have a photo available online for sharing with others.

A researcher tried booking the main LAC research room for a Friday and was told they will be closing on Fridays. That would mean LAC will only be open 3 days a week.

The death of 1,000 cuts. Does the 24/7 service offered through the web compensate for the olden days when the PAC boasted one could research in person 24/7?

B.C.R.D.H. exists to improve access to copies of regional historical resources including photographs, textual documents and publications from participating BC memory institutions.

There’s a year-by-year list of projects funded at https://ikblc.ubc.ca/initiatives/bcdigitinfo/. 

They include a digital newspaper collections. Material added in 2021 included the Prince Rupert Daily News (1911-2009), Summerland Review (1946-1967), Nelson Daily News (1936-1947), Kootenay Express (1988-2000), Abbotsford, Sumas, & Matsqui News (1922-1945).

If your research is in BC check to see if a local newspaper of interest was digitized in prior years.

 

Below is the table of contents for the new issue from Moorshead Magazines. Editor/publisher Ed Zapletal informs that due to press delays the issue will be available to subscribers and newsstands in mid-October.

A Convict Mother’s Plea: Researching Criminal Ancestors?
Michelle Dennis investigates UK and Australian records for one mother’s efforts to save her convict son

The Dublin Gazette
David A. Norris looks at the value of the official government newspaper and its importance to genealogists today

Cats and Ladders: Ancestral Superstitions
Sue Lisk looks at superstitions, their origins, and how they connect us to our roots

AM Explorer
Diane L. Richard investigates the Adam Matthew Digital Collection

What Genealogists and Societies Have Learned During the Pandemic
George G. Morgan looks at what we’ve learned and gained from navigating a major health and economic disaster

Down on the Farm, Back to Our Roots
Sue Lisk looks at resources to help you learn about your ancestors’ farm-related experiences

You Eat What You Are
Robbie Gorr suggests preserving your family’s culinary history

Plot Like a Pro with Plottr
Lisa A. Alzo reviews a powerful tool for plotting your family history book

Genealogy Brainstorming with Popplet
Lynn Cassity looks at a brainstorming app for all ages

Judy Records
Diane L. Richard investigates a website containing records of hundreds of millions of U.S. Court Cases

Making Inferences in Genealogy
Ed Storey looks at drawing inferences and using facts to fill in some of the missing information when bringing ancestors to life

NetNotes
Internet Genealogy looks at websites and related news that are sure to be of interest

Back Page: The Genealogy of Things, The Genealogy of Ideas
Dave Obee says write stories that help describe your ancestors, and help you to understand what made them tick!