Anglo-Celtic Connections

• How Do You See LAC’s Role?

Here are some ideas from Gemini.

• Challenges for LAC

ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude were asked about the organization’s top three challenges.
ChatGPT
1. Making the enormous collection accessible
2. ATIP backlog and delays
3. Resources for modernization.
Gemini
1. Severe Access to Information (ATIP) and Declassification Backlogs
2. Digital Transformation, Digitization Scale, and Search Discovery
3. Resource Constraints and Institutional Dual-Mandate (Archives/Library) Friction.
Claude
1. Access-to-information backlogs
2. Chronic underfunding and budget cuts
3. Digital preservation and record-keeping in the digital era.

ChatGPT commented: “The ATIP problem gets more attention because it involves a statutory obligation and measurable backlogs, but the much bigger long-term issue for researchers is the huge quantity of material that remains undigitized, inadequately described or difficult to discover. LAC’s own 2024–25 user survey identified more digitization, better search, and richer collections among the principal areas users wanted improved.”

• Should LAC Have An Advisory Council?
  The Library and Archives of Canada Act S.C. 2004, c. 11 has a provision that “The Minister may establish an Advisory Council to advise the Librarian and Archivist with regard to making the documentary heritage known to Canadians and to anyone with an interest in Canada and facilitating access to it.”  Would LAC benefit from arm’s length advice? Yes, if it is committed to taking, or being required to take, independent advice seriously, including advice that challenges its assumptions. Otherwise, the organization judges the advisors don’t appreciate the full picture, and the advisors feel like they’re pushing on wet noodles.A good first step would be for the Minister to seek arm’- length advice on the need for an Advisory Council from respected experts, selected and convened by, say, the Royal Society of Canada.
• Ādisōke
  Did progress come to a halt? After posting updates in May and June, and two in April, nothing has been reported for two months.

I registered. The conference program is too good to miss, even though I don’t have much in the way of confirmed Scottish ancestry. It could be hidden. Ancestry DNA finds I’m 20% Central Scotland & Northern Ireland; MyHeritage 36.3% Scottish and Welsh.

Register here. If you’re a BIFHSGO  member, sign in first to see the member’s rate. For full information about the online event go to https://www.bifhsgo.ca/2026-conference .

To save aggravation with payment, check out the instructions. That’s what I should have done!

I saw this ad on Facebook. If you want to subscribe, I hope you can find way in. As usual, its not good for existing subscribers.

Moving into September, the selection of events is picking up.

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, 1 September

2:00 PM: Ottawa Virtual Genealogy Drop-In, by OGS Ottawa Branch. https://ottawa.ogs.on.ca/genealogy-drop-in-live/

2:30 PM: Genealogical Myths: Legends, Lies, and Lineage, by Michael Traynor for Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center.
https://acpl.libnet.info/event/17120821

Wednesday, 2 September

3:00 AM: Top 5 Free Websites for Western Australia Family History, by Shauna Hicks for Legacy Family Tree Webinars.
https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar/top-5-free-websites-for-western-australia-family-history

10:00 AM: Using AI to Answer the Big Three: What, Where, and Why of Ancestor Locations, by Diana Elder, for Legacy Family Tree Webinars.
https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar/using-ai-to-answer-the-big-three-what-where-and-why-of-ancestor-locations

11:30 AM: Top 5 AI Tools for Transcribing Handwritten Historical Documents, by Nicole Elder Dyer for Legacy Family Tree Webinars.
https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar/top-5-ai-tools-for-transcribing-handwritten-historical-documents

1:00 PM: Using AI to Analyze Land Records and Reconstruct Family Narratives, by Thomas MacEntee for Legacy Family Tree Webinars.
https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar/using-ai-to-analyze-land-records-and-reconstruct-family-narratives

7:30 PM: Gothic Huron: Heroes, Rogues, Murders, Daring, Bawdy Houses and Other Tales, by David Yates for OGS Huron Branch. https://huron.ogs.on.ca/events/huron-branch-gothic-huron-heroes-rogues-murders-daring-bawdy-houses-and-other-tales-david-yates/

Thursday, 3 September

7:00 PM: FNMI: The Indigenous Peoples of Canada, by Lianne Kruger for OGS Monthly Webinar.
https://ogs.on.ca/september-webinar-fnmi-the-indigenous-peoples-of-canada-lianne-kruger/

Friday, 4 September

2:00 PM: U.S. Great Lakes Region Accreditation: A Genealogical Treasure Trove, by Kaye Ford, for Legacy Family Tree Webinars.
https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar/u-s-great-lakes-region-accreditation-a-genealogical-treasure-trove

Saturday, 5 September

10:00 AM: Tips, Tricks & Tools for Historical House Research, by Eleanor J. Rath for OGS London and Middlesex Branch.
https://londonmiddlesex.ogs.on.ca/events/london-and-middlesex-branch-tips-tricks-tools-for-historical-house-research/

The FreeBMD database was updated on Thursday, 27 August to contain 296,256,811 unique records, up from 296,061,731 last month.

Years with more than 10,000 additions are: 1994-96 for births, 1995-96 for marriages, 1994 and  1996-97 for deaths.

Over 400 unique birth records were added for 1894 and 1910.

Ancestry updated the Sheffield and Rotherham, Yorkshire, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1950 collection on 20 August, now with 1,868,708 records.

Miscellaneous items I found interesting this week.

Art & Paintings Jigsaw Puzzles
From 9 to 500 pieces.

The Strangest Unusual Crimes That Actually Happened in Canada

TheGenealogist London Additions

Registers from London parishes devastated by the Great Fire of 1666, together with important historical works. The parish and church records include:
● St Stephen Walbrook and St Benet Sherehog, 1557–1789
● The Registers of St Mary Woolnoth and St Mary Woolchurch Haw, 1538–1760
● The Registers of All Hallows, Bread Street and St John the Evangelist, Friday Street, 1538–1892
● Registers of St Vedast and St Michael, 1558–1837
● The Registers of St Edmund the King and Martyr, Lombard Street, 1670–1812
● London Temple Church Records: Register of Burials, 1628–1853
● Dutch Reformed Church, Austin Friars: Certificates of Membership and Marriages, Confessions of Guilt and Betrothals, 1568–1872
● Churchyard Inscriptions of London, 1624–1894, containing abstracts of memorial inscriptions from more than 50 City of London churches, recording names, family relationships and burial details that may no longer survive on the original stones.
The historical works are:
● The Old Churches of London – An extensively illustrated history of the City’s churches, with drawings, engravings and photographs exploring their architecture and appearance, including churches that stood before the Great Fire and those rebuilt in its aftermath.
● Diary and Correspondence of Samuel Pepys, Volumes I–IV – Pepys’s remarkable first-hand account of life in Restoration London, providing a contemporary view of the streets, people and everyday life of the capital, together with his celebrated eyewitness account of the Great
Fire.
● Old and New London, Volumes I–VI – A richly illustrated history of London’s streets, neighbourhoods, churches and landmarks, tracing how areas changed over time and frequently recording what stood there before the Great Fire and what replaced it afterwards.

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

A London-heavy week on Findmypast, with four new or updated record collections covering marriages, burials and wills across the capital and beyond.

Surrey, Southwark Marriages and Banns

Digitised in partnership with Southwark Archives, this new collection covers parish marriage and banns registers from the London Borough of Southwark — historically part of the county of Surrey, situated south of the Thames. The registers span Anglican, Baptist, Congregational and Methodist congregations from areas including Bermondsey, Borough, Camberwell and Peckham, and cover primarily the 19th and early 20th centuries. Records can include the names of bride and groom, marriage date and place, age, marital status, occupation, residence, and father’s name. Each result provides both a transcript and a digital image of the original document.

Greater London Burial Index, 1399–1992

This collection — now over three million records — covers burials across the Greater London area across nearly six centuries. Drawing together the Middlesex Burials & Memorial Inscriptions, South London Burials Index, City of London Burials, and Middlesex Burials, it includes more than 300 parishes with both Anglican and non-conformist burial grounds. Records can reveal name, age, occupation, religious denomination, and place of burial.

London, Archdeaconry Court of London Wills Index, 1549–1807

This index covers 4,687 surviving wills proved in the Archdeaconry Court of London between 1700 and 1807, with the collection title extending back to 1549. The court had jurisdiction over roughly half the parishes in the City of London, as well as populous Middlesex parishes including St Leonard Shoreditch, Clerkenwell, and St Botolph Aldgate. Records include the testator’s name, parish of residence, occupation, and year of will. Original documents are now held at the London Metropolitan Archives.

Cumberland Burials

A welcome addition for those researching northern English ancestry, this collection of 240,525 burial records was provided by the College of Arms and includes transcripts and original index images. Records typically include first and last name, burial year and date, place, residence, and archive reference.

Newspapers

This week’s update adds 261,444 pages across six new titles and updates to 25 existing publications.

New Titles

Updated Titles with Over 10,000 Pages Added

Learning Paths packages are guided mini-courses made up of 3–6 expertly selected sessions on a given topic.  Compiled from the Family Tree Webinars library of 2,700+ genealogy webinars, more than 100 paths are available covering a wide range of subjects, including:

DNA — from the basics of testing to advanced analysis techniques
Artificial intelligence — how AI tools can support genealogical research
Methodology — core research skills and problem-solving strategies
Records — deep dives into specific record types and how to use them
Places — location-focused research, from regional archives to local history
Ethnicities — research strategies tailored to particular ethnic and cultural groups

Preview the Learning Paths at https://familytreewebinars.com/learning-paths. You can also build your own custom path, track your progress, earn completion certificates, and share paths with genealogy societies, family members, or fellow researchers.

On 21 August 2026, FamilySearch added or updated over 4.3 million indexed entries across Devon, Shropshire, and Northumberland. All three collections are freely accessible via the FamilySearch Historical Records search engine, with links to the handwritten register images directly from the transcribed indexes.

Devon Bishop’s Transcripts, 1558–1887
Count: 803,171 records, 1,735,020 personas, 93,511 images
Source: Devon Record Office.

Shropshire Parish Registers, 1538–1922
Count: 884,807 records, 2,141,787 personas, 62,913 images
Source: Shropshire Record Office.

Northumberland Parish Registers, 1538–1950
Record Count: 2,703,315 records, 6,731,835 personas, 280,015 images
Source: The Woodhorn Museum and Northumberland Archives.

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, 25 August

2:00 PM: Exploring the Record Matches System at MyHeritage, by Alina Khuda for Legacy Family Tree Webinars. https://familytreewebinars.com/upcoming-webinars/

2:30 PM: What Gravestones Can Tell You About Your Ancestors, by Genealogy Center staff for Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center. https://acpl.libnet.info/events

Wednesday, 26 August

1:00 PM: How to Handle Duplicates and Intermarried Cousins in Your Family Tree, by Crista Cowan for Ancestry Virtual Event Series. https://www.ancestry.com/c/discover/education

2:00 PM: Women’s Suffrage: Their Rights, Roles, and Limitations, by Michael L. Strauss for Legacy Family Tree Webinars. https://familytreewebinars.com/upcoming-webinars/

Thursday, 27 August

Friday, 28 August

2:00 PM: 10 Notable Migrations in the Black Diaspora, by Diane Warmsley for Legacy Family Tree Webinars. https://familytreewebinars.com/upcoming-webinars/

Saturday 29 August