Anglo-Celtic Connections

At this time of year, the pace of family history presentations slows. Get your genealogy hit today (Saturday 3 July) at 2 pm when Simcoe County Branch of OGS offers Chipping Away at the Brick Wall with Ken McKinlay.

We all have them, those road blocks that prevent us from finding out the answers to our family history research questions. Some of these brick walls are self-imposed due to assumptions we make and hold on to or our by our own preconceptions. Yet there are also those research brick walls not of our own creation. By using real-life examples we will look at various common brick walls and possible ways to work around them.

Register at https://simcoe.ogs.on.ca/branch-meetings/

Born in Ottawa on Thursday 29 June 1899 according to his Ontario birth registration, son of Adebert and Charlotte Young, Cecil Charles Young lied about his age when he enlisted with the PPCLI in December 1916. On enlistment, he gave his occupation as a papermaker and address as 50 Kent Street, Ottawa.

He had three sisters. His father is no longer in the household in 1911 having apparently left for the US.

Service Number 507483, he went overseas in November 1917 and to France the following spring where he received a gunshot wound in the leg on 27 August. Returning to Canada he was discharged on 25 July 1919.

He died a century ago, on 2 July 1921, of ulcerative endocarditis attributed to war service and is interred in Lot 14. Sec. 29. 22 at Beechwood Cemetery. A death notice placed in the Ottawa Citizen by his mother and sisters included the verse

In a graveyard on the hillside,
Where the trees their branches wave,
Sleeps the boy we loved from childhood,
In a lone and silent grave.
How we loved you, Cecil, loved you,
Friends may think the wound is healed,
But they little know the sorrow,
That is in our hearts concealed.

New Collections coming include

Glamorganshire, Wales, Electoral Registers, 1832-1978 —35,226,372 records and 455,794 images being added. It’s an Ancestry exclusive.

Staffordshire Parish Register Indexes\ — 7,176,340 records being added

Diocese of Lichfield and Coventry, England, Indexes of Wills and Probate, 1518-1858 — 504,135 records being added

UK, Blitz 80th Anniversary Artwork, 1940-1941 —80 records and images being added. Exclusive to Ancestry.

Updates coming

Welsh Parish Records. Updates include place data including Denbighshire, Glamorgan, Brecknockshire and Anglesey, so that names are both more accurate as well as enabling users to search for both Welsh and English place names

UK and Ireland, Incoming Passenger Lists, 1878-1960 — Improving keying accuracy and completeness for passengers travelling on Montserrat and Windrush ships

UK and Ireland, Outward Passenger Lists, 1890-1960 — Adding records for ‘War Brides’ – passengers travelling after WWII to Canada and US after/before marrying servicemen in the UK.

The FreeBMD Database was updated on Thursday 1 July to contain 280,862,829  unique records (280,520,033 at the previous update). Years with major additions of more than 10,000 records are, for births 1986-87 and 1990-91, for marriages 1986-90 and for deaths 1986-87 and 1989-90. 

Here are the contents of the forthcoming issue, available on 12 July.

COVER STORY: Drawing Them In
Sue Lisk suggests ways to get family and relatives interested in genealogy

TUBERCULOSIS:
From Maine Cornfields to California Orange Groves
Merrylyn Sawyer looks at the TB outbreak of the early 20th century in the US

“Shhhh! I’ll Let You In On a Secret
Our Female Ancestors Are Found in Ledgers” — Part 1 By Diane L. Richard

No Time Like the Present: Crafting Your Memoir
Lisa A. Alzo shares why now is the perfect time to leave your legacy for future generations

Bastardy Bonds
David A. Norris says family secrets may be the reason for genealogical “Brick Walls”

The Case of the Missing Grandfather
Gerald R. Gioglio offers a genealogical mystery with a touch of mysticism

In Memoriam
Sue Lisk shares ideas for paying tribute to a loved one

My 19th Century Relatives Were Coronavirus Precursors
Stephen L.W. Greene looks back to 1833 and the Cholera outbreak in Ellettsville, Indiana

Whodunit Fiction for Genealogy Lovers
Robbie Gorr wonders if reading too many genealogical mystery books can help or hinder our personal genealogical research efforts

Tradition is a Chronic Deceiver
Donna Potter Phillips says never accept a family traditional story at face value

Bad Luck Collisions with History
Lynn Cassity looks at one man’s run of bad luck and how his family chose to memorialize him

The Back Page:
Record Your COVID-19 Experiences for Your Family History’s Sake!
Dave Obee says it’s important to keep a written record for future generations

Over 2.2 million Irish records were just posted on Ancestry, although dated 28 June.

These are all sourced from the (Irish) National Archives; check out their genealogy resources at https://genealogy.nationalarchives.ie/.

The following Ancestry collections, taken from newspaper obits, updated on 24 June 2021 were made available on 28 June.

Canada, Obituary Collection, 1898-Current now has 9,387,518 records, increased from 8,926,805 records at the beginning of December.

UK and Ireland, Obituary Index, 2004-2019 has 6,470,815 records, up from 6,029,096 records last December.

Australia and New Zealand, Obituary Index, 2004-Current has  1,982,265 1,982,265 records, up from 1,891,525 records last December.

U.S., Obituary Collection, 1930-Current has 191,120,426 records.

The British Newspaper Archive now has a total of 43,214,356  pages online (42,915,614 last month).

This month 29 papers had pages added (65 in the previous month). There were 9 (29) new titles. Dates range from 1801 to 1999

Those with more than 10,000 pages added were:

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

Tuesday 29 June, 2:30 pm: Discovering Your Ancestors in Poorhouse Records, by Elizabeth Hodges for Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center, (US-oriented). https://acpl.libnet.info/event/5191925

Wednesday 30 June, 11 am: A Hard Lot to Labour: Exploring Occupations, by Rose Stevely-Wadham for Findmypast. www.facebook.com/findmypast

Wednesday 30 June, 2 pm: Genealogy for Houses, by Jeanie F Glaser for Legacy Family Tree Webinars.  (US-oriented). https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar_details.php?webinar_id=1633

Friday 2 July, 11 am: Friday’s Live. with Alex Cox for Findmypast. www.facebook.com/findmypast

Saturday 3 July, 2 pm:  Chipping Away at the Brick Wall, by Ken McKinlay for Simcoe Branch OGS. https://simcoe.ogs.on.ca/events/simcoe-county-branch-chipping-away-at-the-brick-wall-with-ken-mckinlay/

Coming

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

As a former meteorologist, I can’t let the recording-breaking heat recorded on Sunday go unmentioned.

Here’s the tweet.

Lytton’s official high-temperature today June 27, 2021 is 46.6 C. Lytton BC now holds the record for Canada’s all time maximum high. The previous record was 45.0 C set on July 5, 1937 at Yellow Grass, and Midale, SK.

Part of a Canadian weather-person’s common knowledge was the records — hottest temperature in Yellow Grass, SK, and the coldest in Snag, YT. 

The record will not be official until the thermometer that recorded it is recalibrated. Perhaps the Science and Technology Museum will ask to have it donated as a bit of Canadian history.

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Thanks for helping.

I’d wanted to add this interview of Margaret Atwood by Steve Paikin to Sunday Sundries. Missed it for Sunday. Here it is anyway …