Anglo-Celtic Connections

Today is Trafalgar Day, the celebration of the victory won by the Royal Navy, commanded by Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, over the combined French and Spanish fleets at the Battle of Trafalgar on 21 October 1805.
In London Trafalgar Square hosts crowds of humans, and lots of pigeons. Four huge “Landseer Lions” have graced the base of Nelson’s column since 1867.
A proposal to place a statue of Elizabeth II on the “Fourth Plinth” at Trafalgar Square appears to have been rejected. Good.  There should be no rush to decide on a suitable memorial. It was 37 years after the battle that Nelson’s column was finished. The memorial to Queen Victoria outside Buckingham Place took 10 years to the unveiling.

This weekend, Saturday and Sunday, at the Carleton University Fieldhouse, the event features vintage décor, antiques and vintage clothing. Entry is $12 minus a $2 discount if you register.

While I wouldn’t normally blog this, Patty McGregor let me know that since there is no Ottawa Book Fair again this fall, she decided to give the Carleton Show a try. Likely the only book dealer there, she will have her usual history/genealogy titles plus a bit more we have all been missing since in-person genealogy events were pandemic-curtailed.

Find out how maps can help you with your family or local history research, an introductory talk and question and answer session from the National Library of Scotland.
Learn about the historical maps of Scotland and the rich information they provide. Discover over 200,000 online historical maps, including tips on finding relevant maps, and using the georeferenced, side by side and spy tool viewers.

Wednesday, 26 October 2022, 10 am.

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/maps-for-family-and-local-history-tickets-424942894637

No progress on Library and Archives Canada’s Co-Lab Challenges is reported since last month, perhaps because they are difficult to find on the new LAC website.

A new challenge, Expo67, is 0% complete.

Summiting Mount Logan in 1925: Fred Lambart’s personal account of the treacherous climb and descent of the highest peak in Canada remains 11% complete.

Travel posters in the Marc Choko collection remains 98% complete.

Women in the War remains 0% complete.

Arthur Lismer’s Children’s Art Classes remains 0% complete.

John Freemont Smith remains 93% complete.

Canadian National Land Settlement Association remains 98% complete.

Molly Lamb Bobak remains 93% complete.

Diary of François-Hyacinthe Séguin remains 99% complete.

George Mully: moments in Indigenous communities remains 0% complete.

Correspondence regarding First Nations veterans returning after the First World War remains 99% complete.

Winnipeg General Strike of 1919 remains 96% complete.

Legendary Train Robber and Prison Escapee Bill Miner remains 99% complete.

Japanese-Canadians: Second World War remains 0% complete.

The Call to Duty: Canada’s Nursing Sisters remains 92% complete.

Projects that remain 100% complete are no longer reported here.

Other unidentified Co-Lab activities not part of the Challenges may have happened.

The National Library of Scotland has made available online a series of six-inch England and Wales, Special Emergency Edition maps from the Ordnance Survey printed in 1939.
They are for areas in Cheshire, Durham, Flintshire, Northumberland, Shropshire and Staffordshire.

Printed in black and white, as explained by the NLS “Many sheets therefore show landscape detail which reflects much earlier revision in ca. 1900-25, juxtaposed with some building developments and roads which were very recent in 1939.”

Bragging rights to anyone who can figure out the location of the extract above!

The Charles Close Society for the Study of Ordnance Survey Maps, the NLS’s source for these maps, has a cornucopia of resources, including links to a wide variety of online maps.

 

Choose from selected 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. Many additional events are listed at https://conferencekeeper.org/virtual/

Tuesday 18 October, 2 pm: Ottawa Branch OGS Drop-in.
https://ottawa.ogs.on.ca/events/virtual-genealogy-drop-in-2-2022-10-18/

Tuesday 18 October, 2:30 pm:  Using Maps for Genealogy Research, by Philip Sutton for Allen Country Public Library Genealogy Center.
https://acpl.libnet.info/event/7042110

Tuesday 18 October, 7 pm: Photo Detective Roadshow, by Maureen Taylor for OGS Sudbury District, Nipissing District, Sault Ste. Marie District, and the Greater Sudbury Public Library

https://sudbury.ogs.on.ca/events/photo-detective-roadshow/

Tuesday 18 October, 8 pm: Misled by Records: Identifying Adam Cosner’s Parentage, by Pam Stone Eagleson for BCG and Legacy Family Tree Webinars.
https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar/misled-by-records-identifying-adam-cosners-parentage/

Wednesday 19 October, 2 pm: Colonial Migrations to 1770, by Ann G. Lawthers for Legacy Family Tree Webinars.
https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar/colonial-migrations-to-1770/

Wednesday 19 October, 7 pm: Bikers, Blue-Bloods, Ruin and Renewal: the history in architecture of Carleton Place, by  Peter Coffman, Tyler Hodgkinson, Jennifer Irwin, Kyle Kreutner, Lauren Maloney, Ashley Mowry, Sharon Trac and Michael Windover for Heritage Ottawa.
https://heritageottawa.org/events/bikers-blue-bloods-ruin-and-renewal-history-architecture-carleton-place

Friday 21 October, 2 pm: Researching at the Archives of Ontario, by Janice Nickerson for Legacy Family Tree Webinars.
https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar/researching-at-the-archives-of-ontario/

Friday 21 October, 7 pm: Brock University Special Collections. by David Sharron for OGS Niagara Peninsula Branch.
https://niagara.ogs.on.ca/events/niagara-peninsula-branch-educational-webinar-2022-10-21/

 

Library and Archives Canada has opened the call for DHCP proposals for the 2023–2024 funding cycle. DHCP funding helps local heritage organizations raise their profile, preserve their collections better or make them more accessible to all.

Since 2015 a total of $12 million has supported 190 different Canadian organizations, with the completion of 310 projects. A few of those have been family history societies, most successfully when in partnerships.

As a panellist evaluating the projects in past years I recommend getting to work on proposals soon, a hurriedly prepared proposal is unlikely to be of a quality to be funded.

The deadline for applications is 12 January 2023, at 11:59 p.m. (Pacific Standard Time).

Find out more at https://library-archives.canada.ca/eng/services/funding-programs/dhcp/Pages/dhcp.aspx/, by email at contributions@bac-lac.gc.ca, or by phone at 819-997-0893 or 1-844-757-8035.

 

Michael O’Leary, The Regimental Rogue, updated this guide in September, likely to account for changes at Library and Archives Canada’s website.
In 20 parts, it leads gently through the research process and the various resources available.

• Introduction
• Part 1: Find your Man (or Woman)
• Part 2: The Service Record
• Part 3: Court Martial Records
• Part 4: War Diaries and Unit Histories
• Part 5: Casualties
• Part 6: Researching Honours and Awards
• Part 7: Deciphering Battlefield Location Information
• Part 8: More Mapping Information
• Part 9: Matching Battlefield Locations to the Modern Map
• Part 10: Service Numbers; More than meets the eye
• Part 11: Rank, no simple progression
• Part 12: Medals; Pip, Squeak, Wilfred and the whole gang
• Part 13: Evacuation to Hospital
• Part 14: The Wounded and Sick
• Part 15: Crime …
• Part 16: … and Punishment
• Part 17: Battalions and Brigades, Companies and Corps
• Part 18: Photo Forensics: Badges and Patches
• Part 19: Veterans Death Cards
• Part 20: The Vimy Pilgrims (1936)

The site has ads that are not too obtrusive.

These 242,744 free index records were recently added to build the MyHeritage British collection.
Transcripts typically include the name of the volunteer, residence, date and location of service, year of engagement, rank, pay, description of duties, and any honours or awards that were given.

Miscellaneous items I found of interest during the week.

The Lindisfarne Gospels

How to Lie With Maps

Throwing Stones
A blog post about democracy in danger by Persephone.

More evidence coming on the Princes in the Tower?

Built on Islands Unknowingly
Ottawa Citizen, 26 December 1925
In the early days of the settlement of Canada, all islands
were, according to John MacTaggart, to be held sacred as
reserves for the Indians. But, as he remarked in 1829, that
rule was “constantly being broken.” Many settiers, he remarked, located on islands without knowing they were on islands. For instance, he sald Squire Wright settled on the island on which he built Hull without knowing it was an island. Mrs, Firth, of Richmond Landing or Point Nepean fame, also settled her stopping place on an island without knowing she was on an island. Mr. MacTaggart tells that after Mrs, Firth had made the piace famous, various people tried to prove that their land grants included the island on which she was located, but without avail.

Thanks to this week’s contributors: Anonymous, Barbara Di Mambro, Brenda Turner, Gail B., Glenn Wright, Gloria Tubman, Karen Prytula, Ken McKinlay, Kim, Patte Wood, Penny Allen, Teresa, Unknown.

Congratulations to  publisher & editor Ed Zapletal, associate publisher Rick Cree and staff on the 100th issue of Internet Genealogy.

There’s another 100 in this issue, 100 years, two articles on the follow-on to the 1922 fire and explosion at the Public Record Office of Ireland.

Tall Tales and Legends
Sue Lisk turns to websites when trying to understand ancestral legends, and ways to separate the fact from the fiction. She makes mention of a fire and murder in Shawville recounted to students during an oral history project in the 1970s.

Surviving Irish Records
Michelle Dennis looks at records that survived the 1922 fire and explosion at the Public Record Office of Ireland.

The Launch of Beyond 2022
Joe Grandinetti checks back in to give an update on the Beyond 2022 Project – the Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland website.

More Ways of Transforming Ancestral Photographs
Lisa A. Alzo offers more suggestions and investigates use of Al Art Generators and Animations.
Lisa commented “I discovered an unexpected benefit to my work. I discovered the emotional bonds with deceased loved ones I had known were refreshed.”

Avoiding the Perils of Assumption
Robbie Gorr reminds us that we should avoid assumptions and strive for accuracy in our research.

Let’s Explore State-Specific Encyclopedias
Diane L. Richard looks at State-specific
encyclopedias and what they have to offer.

What’s in a Name?
Stephen L.W. Greene takes us on a journey to understand the “hows” and “whys” of naming conventions.

Starting with Stone Soup
Sue Lisk looks at ideas for crafting your ancestor’s story.

Saloon Ancestors
David A. Norris investigates Tapsters, Saloonkeepers and Bartenders who you might come across in your research

Pietro Lima: Prisoner of War #224
Marianne Perry tries to shed some light on her Italian grandfather’s arrest as an “enemy alien” in Toronto in 1940

Digging Up Cemetery Records on FamilySearch
Karen L. Newman says that searching to the end of the microfilm roll is a must for successful research.
That’s true for Canadian microfilms too.

Back Page
Dave Obee on Reflections and Projections on Genealogy.
If you found everything and more in the past decade that you found in the previous three, should you have waited?

A nearly 75-year-old mystery in South Australia is solved by a professor and a genealogist- Colleen Fitzpatrick. Listen to the podcast at https://www.whatremainspodcast.com/e15-the-somerton-man/

It’s the most recent episode in the What Remains podcast series — true crime meets forensic science.