LAC Co-Lab Updates for May

Here’s a report on progress with Library and Archives Canada’s Co-Lab Challenges since last month. Two challenges report progress.

John Freemont Smith is 89% complete, 72% last month.

War Diaries of the First World War: No. 2 Construction Battalion is 100% complete, 79% last month.

Canadian National Land Settlement Association remains 94% complete.

Molly Lamb Bobak remains 88% complete.

Diary of François-Hyacinthe Séguin remains 98% complete.

George Mully: moments in Indigenous communities remains 2% 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 61% complete.

The Call to Duty: Canada’s Nursing Sisters remains 93% complete.

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

FamilySearch Indexing Update

Extracted from New Free Historical Records on FamilySearch: Week of 17 May 2021,  here are the updates and total indexed records for England.

Collection New Indexed Records Total Indexed Records
England, Middlesex Parish Registers, 1539-1988 62,652 2,022,858
England, Herefordshire Bishop’s Transcripts, 1583-1898 32,550 1,437,183
England, Northumberland Non-Conformist Church Records, 1613-1920 3,945 105,333
England, Essex Non-Conformist Church Records, 1613-1971 1,655 107,770
England, Hertfordshire, Marriage Bonds, 1682-1837 664 4,372
England, Lancashire, Marriage Bonds and Allegations, 1746-1799 368 994,024
England, Lincolnshire, Marriage Bonds and Allegations, 1574-1885 165 71,894
England, Gloucestershire Non-Conformist Church Records, 1642-1996 159 133,134

There were no new indexed records for elsewhere in the UK or Canada.

A major addition was Australia, Victoria, Wills, Probate and Administration Files, 1841-1926 with 3,998,555 digital images available, just 2,167 of them indexed.

Review: Genealogy Research Using Google

From Moorshead Magazines, new and updated from two previous publications, a special on Google resources.

Google keeps adding and deleting capabilities to its suite of products. You may feel like you’re running just to keep up.  Perhaps like me, you only use a fraction of the capabilities. Could you benefit from finding out what’s new or what you overlooked?

In  17 articles, about 55 pages, author Lisa Alzo coaches on the latest products and updates.

Here’s the table of contents with my comments.

PhotoScan …… Google solution for scanning family photographs. Comment — one that was new to me. 
Google Photos and Images ………. Google’s free photographic tools for working with images. Comment — more than organizing and view, useful basic editing although no rival to Photoshop or the free Photopea
What’s New in Google ……..Important changes to Google products.
Google Gurus……….Three power users share their thoughts on using Google for genealogy research.
More Google Tools …………. We look at some popular and some lesser-known products for your research toolkit.
Google Drive ………….Google Drive—your one-stop virtual space for your genealogy research.  Comment — if you make heavy use of Google you may well find yourself bumping against the 15MB free space available. For $28 Cdn annual subscription you can expand that to 100MB , but try using the hints on managing storage first which could save the cost of this publication in a few months.

A couple of hints about changes since the articles were written.

  1. If an account is inactive for 2 years (24 months) in Gmail, Drive or Photos — perhaps it’s an account of a deceased person that has information you would like to keep — be aware that Google may delete the content in the inactive product(s).
  2. As of 1 June, pictures you upload to Google Photos will count against your storage. Upload them before 1 June and they’ll be stored for free remaining accessible on Google’s servers (until Google changes its policy!)

Continuing the review.

Google Sheets ……….Keep track of genealogy research tasks. Comment — I use Google Sheets almost daily.
Google Docs ………We show you how to document your family history with Google Docs.  Comment — another product I use several times a week although mostly not to document family history.
Google Slides. ……How to create an online family history photo album.
Google Forms ………..Fun ways to use Google Forms for family history.
Google Chrome Extensions …….Fun and practical Google Chrome “helpers” to use for genealogy.
Google Calendar …………..Three ways to track your genealogy activities with Google’s popular scheduling tool.
Google Books …………Tips for using Google Books for genealogy.
Google Maps/Earth ………… Four ways to use Google Earth and Maps for genealogy.
Google Jamboard ………..Jamboard is a tool for brainstorming research problems and more.
New Improved Google Translate ……How to up your translation game with Google.
Google Cheat Sheet ….Create a Google cheat sheet to fast-track you to your favourite Google services. Comment — a two-page listing reminding of all the capabilities we’re overlooking!

Did you notice anything missing? Surprisingly, while Gmail mentioned there no coverage of recent additions like the ability to scheduled posts.

Genealogy Research Using Google – is $8.50 for PDF & $9.95 for Print Edition.

This post is based on a review copy provided by Moorshead Magazines.

This Week’s Online Genealogy Events

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. Assume registration in advance is required; check so you’re not disappointed.

Tuesday 18 May, 2 pm:  Virtual Genealogy Drop-In, from Ottawa Branch of OGS and The Ottawa Public Library. https://ottawa.ogs.on.ca/events/.

Tuesday 18 May, 2:30 pm: Are There “Black Sheep” in Your Family? by Cynthia Theusch for Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center. https://acpl.libnet.info/event/5086521

Tuesday 18 May, 8 pm: The Paternal Ten: Searching for Missing Heirs, by Claire Ammon for Legacy Family Tree Webinars. https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar_details.php?webinar_id=1589

Wednesday 19 May, 10 am:  Maps for Family and Local History. from the National Library of Scotland. https://maps.nls.uk/communities/local-history/

Wednesday 19 May, 2 pm: Notion for Genealogists, by Lisa Alzo for Legacy Family Tree Webinars.  https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar_details.php?webinar_id=1628

Thursday 6:30 pm: Researching Your Civil War Ancestors, by Amy Johnson Crow for Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center. https://acpl.libnet.info/event/5097842

Friday 21 May 2 pm: Researching Canadian Nurses, Pilots and Sailors in the First World War, by Kathryn Lake Hogan for Legacy Family Tree Webinars.
https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar_details.php?webinar_id=1665

Saturday 22 May 1 pm: Building on Success: A Review of Recent Projects at the Arnprior & McNab/Braeside Archives, by Irene Robillard for Ottawa Branch OGS. https://ottawa.ogs.on.ca/events/arnprior-mcnab-braeside-archives-update-ottawa-branch/

Saturday 22 May, Scottish Indexes Conference. www.scottishindexes.com/

Saturday 22 May. Free UK Genealogy 2021 Conference. http://familytr.ee/geneconf

LOOKING AHEAD

4 — 6 June 2021: OGS Conference. conference.ogs.on.ca 

19 – 26 September 2021: BIFHSGO Conference. Irish Lines and Female Finds: Exploring Irish records, female ancestors and genetic genealogy. www.bifhsgo2021.ca/.

The Dambusters Raid

Just slightly late in covering a recent release byTheGenealogist of fully searchable RAF Operations Record Books (ORBs) on the anniversary of the famous No 617 Squadron Dambusters raid on the Ruhr Valley dams on 16-17 May 1943. 

According to the press release from TheGenealogist,  the latest release of 1,550,018 records brings the total to 6,748,021 of these new diary-like RAF documents,  They are uniquely fully searchable by:-
● Forename and Surname
● Squadron
● Date Range
Using keywords users can also search for Service Number, Rank, and Duty, Aircraft type and location where the fields appear in the record. This makes it possible to easily find Royal Air Force personnel and discover more about their wartime activities on the base and in the air.
giving an insight into their lives

Family Tree Magazine: June 2021

Highlights of the June issue available free online through many Canadian public libraries.
Baby Boomers: now it’s up to us
Keith Gregson issues a rallying cry: it’s time to tell your stories and add to your chapter to the Family History annals

Rationed Fashion
Dress historian Jayne Shrimpton looks at clothes rationing introduced in Britain 80 years ago this June and its impacts. An annual ration of 66 coupons per year, reduced in later years, didn’t go far. See the allocation here

Ships Doctors and Their Patients
From surgery on the high seas, to births and simple old seasickness, Simon Wills looks at maritime maladies and the role of the ship’s doctor, both military and merchant, in treating them. 

Shipwrecked in WW1
5,000 vessels were sunk by U-boats alone. In a two-page article Simon Wills details how to research the ships sunk and, sometimes, the crew.

Military Monday: Lieutenant-General Kenneth Stuart

He served with the Canadian Army and died on 3 November 1945. His headstone at Beechwood Cemetery is in the military section but not a CWGC stone. The date of death is within the range where Second World War servicemen were entitled to a Commonwealth War Graves Commission headstone and to be included in the CWGC database. 

No CWGC headstone! Is this an oversight?

Acceptability of Ads

The results are in.  After an ad was inserted in the BIFHSGO monthly meeting presentation earlier this month I asked about the acceptability.
Nearly half the votes recorded found it acceptable.  Surprising to me was that another two in ten would accept a broader range of ads.
I’m told the ad was successful in recruiting a couple of volunteers for BIFHSGO. Information is there is no intention of continuing ads on a regular basis.

Sunday Sundries

Miscellaneous items I found of interest during the week.

Short and Cute Poems

Colonel Blood and the Theft of the Crown Jewels

Findmypast says “timelines will be met” on England and Wales 1921 census despite covid impact

Ottawa Public Library Annual Report
Despite a reduction in revenue from the city of $4million, a saving owing to the pandemic, mainly salary and benefits, meant there was a considerable surplus for the year. $5million of the surplus was allocated in 2021 to help fund the new LAC-OPL building. Read the report and believe nobody ever had anything negative to say about OPL services!

Poland, Gravestones, 1800-2020. MyHeritage made available for free over 4 million cemetery records from gravestones throughout Poland. Records may include the full name of the deceased, date of birth, date of death, place of burial, and more.

The wealth of unattached men and women aged 50 and older.
From 1999 to 2016, unattached women aged 50 and older saw their median wealth holdings grow almost twice as fast as those of unattached men aged 50 and older. The median wealth of couples with no children headed by a man aged 50 or older amounted to $801,500 in 2016, four times the median wealth of $195,000 observed for unattached men aged 50 and older.

The Streets of London
Let’s count our blessings.

Thanks to this week’s contributors: Anonymous, Barbara, Celia Lewis, Judith H, Roberta, Ken Hanson, Unknown.

Findmypast adds to British Military Records

The latest additions to FMP’s Britain, Campaign, Gallantry & Long Service Medals & Awards records are:

    • Indian General Service Medals 1854-1895, 1908-1935 and 1936-1939
    • China War Medal 1900
    • Second China War Medal 1857-60
    • General Service Medal 1918-1962
    • India Medal 1895-1902

There are now 30 types of recognition in this collection for dates ranging from 1793 to 2010. British Army Medal Index Cards, 1914-1920 has over 5.4 million entries in the database, the Victoria Cross 1,349.

Scots Guards Service Records 1799-1939 adds 44,940 records for the Second World War as part of the British Army Service Records collection. These records, exclusive to FMP,  range from a couple of pages to complete service histories documented over many different types of army forms and even some photos.

How to Find Kingston-Frontenac Newspapers

Researching with public library resources can be confusing. That goes for newspapers, a resource of growing interest to family historians. Specialist ibrarians can help.
Recognizing that, local history and genealogy librarian Jo Stanbridge from the Kingston Frontenac Public Library has prepared a series of short videos giving advice on using their collection of area newspapers. Kingston newspapers date back to 1810.

If your ancestry is in the area, three videos presently available on YouTube will be of interest.

Documentary Heritage Communities Program Awards 2021/2022

The Documentary Heritage Communities Program (DHCP) grants for 41 projects in local archival and library communities all across Canada are announced. The range of projects funded is a tribute to diversity. Listed below, alphabetically by province and city are the projects funded.

Organization Project name Funding Province City
Métis Nation of Alberta DHCP Application

$50,000

Alberta Edmonton
Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre Women of Change: Celebrating Japanese Canadian Leaders

$49,965

British Columbia Burnaby
Adams Lake Indian Band – Title and Rights Archives ALIB Archives Inventory Project 2021–2022

$24,895

British Columbia Chase
Cortes Island Museum & Archives SocietyFootnote2 Unlocking the Archives

$1,340

British Columbia Mansons Landing
Upper Nicola Band Digitization and Migration of Upper Nicola Band Cultural Heritage Collection

$44,148

British Columbia Merritt
Satellite Video Exchange Society 40 Years of Media Art at the Satellite Video Exchange Society

$24,160

British Columbia Vancouver
Vancouver Holocaust Centre Society for Education and Remembrance Filemaker Pro Migration, Cataloguing and Access Project

$16,150

British Columbia Vancouver
Visible Art Society (dba grunt gallery) Transfer, Transcribe, Transcend: Toward an Accessible Online Video Collection

$24,714

British Columbia Vancouver
Western FrontFootnote2 50 years of Western Front: Transfer, Access and Preservation of Performance Art Archives

$49,980

British Columbia Vancouver
Okanagan Indian Band Reclaiming Syilx Language and Culture History

$50,000

British Columbia Vernon
Williams Lake First Nation Williams Lake First Nation: Record, Digitize, and Share Traditional Knowledge and Language

$22,775

British Columbia Williams Lake
Manitoba Indigenous Cultural Education Centre Inc. Learning From Our Relatives

$49,972

Manitoba Winnipeg
Société historique de Saint-Boniface Digitizing Videos: Phase 1 – Miscellaneous Collections from the Société historique de Saint-Boniface

$27,494

Manitoba Winnipeg
Winnipeg Architecture Foundation Architecture Foundation Archives, Phase 2

$42,000

Manitoba Winnipeg
Joint Secretariat Illaiqpik – Inuvialuit Game Council Traditional Knowledge Repository

$35,405

Northwest Territories Inuvik
Avon River Heritage Society Preserving and Sharing Avon River Area’s Documentary History

$24,374

Nova Scotia Avondale / Newport Landing
Archdiocese of Halifax-Yarmouth Restoration of Mi’kmaq Language Scripture and Prayer Books

$2,450

Nova Scotia Halifax
Kitikmeot Heritage SocietyFootnote2 Preserving the Past for Future Generations: Digitizing the Documentary Heritage of Remote Northern Communities

$47,973

Nunavut Cambridge Bay
Kitikmeot Heritage Society Tagging Inuit Knowledge: Facilitating Inuit Engagement with Digital Heritage Resources

$54,307

Nunavut Cambridge Bay
Canadian Slovenian Historical Society CSHS Descriptive Database Project

$5,053

Ontario Etobicoke
Historic 1000 Islands Village Foundation Gananoque Archive Collection Project

$43,023

Ontario Gananoque
Canadian Heritage Photography Foundation Digitizing and Preserving Historic Images of Canada: CHPF’s 20th Anniversary Photographic Retrospective of Founding Members

$22,158

Ontario Mississauga
Canadian Council of ArchivesFootnote2 Archival Monetary Appraisal Forum

$50,000

Ontario Ottawa
Living History Algoma Shingwauk and Beyond: Survivor and Intergenerational Memories

$45,000

Ontario Sault Ste. Marie
Inuit Art FoundationFootnote2 Digitizing Inuit Artistic Heritage

$50,000

Ontario Toronto
Ontario Jewish Archives, Blankenstein Family Heritage Centre Mitigating Risk: Preserving Magnetic Tape at the OJA

$48,900

Ontario Toronto
The Canadian Lesbian and Gay ArchivesFootnote2 The ArQuives Processing Project: Part 4

$49,900

Ontario Toronto
Société d’histoire de Drummond (SHD)Footnote2 Les écrits de notre mémoire Project: Digitization of the Newspapers La Parole and The Spokesman (1926–1970)

$22,566

Quebec Drummondville
Brome County Historical SocietyFootnote1 Preservation Project: Textual Records of Brome County (1790–1914)

$34 501

Quebec Knowlton
Centre d’archives régional des ÎlesFootnote1 Les Îles connectées au continent Project: Processing for the Purposes of Providing Access to and Preserving Audiovisual Archives

$60,000

Quebec L’Étang-du-Nord
Musée des ondes Emile Berliner Compo, Herbert S. Berliner and The History of Canadian Music and Radio Broadcasting

$49,964

Quebec Montréal
McCord Stewart MuseumFootnote2 Alexander Henderson Exposition

$35,904

Quebec Montréal
Aanischaaukamikw Cree Cultural InstituteFootnote1 Investing in Eeyou Istchee Archival Heritage

$60 000

Quebec Oujé-Bougoumou
Monastère des Augustines: Lieu de mémoire habité Inventorying to Provide Access to an Extraordinary Heritage: The Audiovisual Heritage of Canada’s Augustinian Sisters

$44,016

Quebec Québec
Société historique du SaguenayFootnote2 Web Accessibility and Improved Conservation of the Société historique du Saguenay’s Collection (P002)

$50,000

Quebec Saguenay
Musée régional de RimouskiFootnote2 Digitization of the Rita Chevron Photographic Collection #2

$8,190

Quebec Rimouski
ExporailFootnote2 Preservation, Description and Digital Access to the Photo Albums of Joseph W. Heckman

$36,532

Quebec Saint-Constant
Exporail Final Processing of the William Cornelius Van Horne Series from the Canadian Pacific Railway Company Fonds

$23,493

Quebec Saint-Constant
Mouillepied Historical Society Processing and Conservation of the Archives of Royal Canadian Legion Branch 68 in Saint Lambert

$19,339

Quebec Saint-Lambert
Société historique de la SaskatchewanFootnote2 Digitization of the L’Eau Vive Collection, 1971-1998

$43,249

Saskatchewan Regina
Council of Yukon First Nations CYFN Archives Access Project

$51,993

Yukon Whitehorse

Footnotes
Note 1
Multi-year projects starting in 2019/2020
Note 2
Multi-year projects starting in 2020/2021