Anglo-Celtic Connections

Ireland Census 1926

This census is now also accessible through Findmypast, which has added 2,972,363 records to its platform. It provides an alternative access for researchers cross-referencing Irish family history. The National Archives of Ireland reports public interest remains high, with more than 3 million views since the initial launch on 18 April 2026.

The NAI has been updating its 1926 Census database to improve accuracy in response to internal reviews and public feedback. The latest release includes:

• Corrections from internal quality checks and public transcription submissions.

• Redactions for individuals aged over 100 who requested privacy.

• Corrected map links for institutions.

• The addition of approximately 1,400 previously missing individuals.

Updates are being released regularly.

Newspapers

371,400 pages joined the British Newspaper Archive, accessible through FMP, this week, with six new titles and 36 updated publications from across the British Isles.

New Titles

Updated Titles with Over 10,000 Pages Added

Michael Gandy, past Chair and Fellow of the Society of Genealogists, passed on 16 May 2026 at the age of 76. Widely respected, Michael served as editor of The Genealogists’ Magazine from 2000. His publications show his particular interest in Catholic ancestry.

1995 — Latin for Family Historians.
1996 — Catholic Family History: A Bibliography.
1998 — Tracing your Catholic ancestry in England.
2000 — Tracing Nonconformist Ancestors.
2001 — Tracing Your Catholic Ancestors.
2007 — Family History: Cultures and Faiths: How Your Ancestors Lived and Worshipped.

Think you need to be a tech wizard to use AI for family history research? Think again.

In the lead article, Break Down Your Brick Walls Using AI, James Ransom shows exactly where AI can help solve genealogical puzzles — and, just as importantly, how far to trust it and how to avoid common pitfalls.

Also in this issue, Loren Potts profiles Zoe Ball, Amy Dowden, and Joe Swash, the three subjects featured in the new BBC series of Who Do You Think You Are? — a great introduction if you’re unfamiliar with, and at all interested in, these British personalities.

The third feature, Miniature Marvels, sees Nicola Lisle trace how dolls’ houses evolved from aristocratic status symbols to beloved children’s toys.

Elsewhere in the issue, Julie Kathleen Johnson’s Settlement and Removal Records explains how to use these essential Poor Law documents to research ancestors who fell on hard times, while Anthony Adolph offers expert guidance on tracing aristocratic ancestors using Burke’s Peerage.

Did you know that  BIFHSGO members can find the latest editions of journals from Family History Societies mentioned below in the section of the Member’s Area?

Berkshire Family History Society (Berkshire Family Historian)
Family History ACT (FHACT) (formerly the Heraldry & Genealogy Society of Canberra)
Isle of Wight Family History Society Journals
Shropshire Family History Society
Society of Genealogists
Suffolk Family History Society (Suffolk Roots)
Waltham Forest Family History Society (Roots in the Forest)

 

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, 19 May

02:00 PM: Like Water for Weary Souls (Sudbury in the 1930s), by Liisa Kovala for OGS Sudbury District Branch. https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/GTrgGfkMQ-eaoIZLzXbOGw

02:30 PM: Researching (US?) Modern-Day Adoptions, by Sara Allen for Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center. https://acpl.libnet.info/event/16229584

08:00 PM: Common-Sense Principles for Establishing Genetic Relationships, by Patti Lee Hobbs for Legacy Family Tree Webinars. https://genealogybargains.com/lftwebinars-upcoming

Wednesday, 20 May

02:00 PM: Advanced Topics in DNA 3 of 5: Advanced Relationship Analysis, by Blaine Bettinger for Legacy Family Tree Webinars. https://genealogybargains.com/lftwebinars-upcoming

07:00 PM: Lives in a Tiny Suitcase: A Finnish Canadian Immigrant Tale, by Dr. Meaghan Peuramaki-Brown for OGS Thunder Bay District Branch. https://ogs.on.ca/events/thunder-bay-district-branch-lives-in-a-tiny-suitcase-a-finnish-canadian-immigrant-tale/

Thursday, 21 May

06:30 PM: Beyond 1870: Finding Our African American Ancestors Beyond the Brick Wall, by Mica L. Anders for Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center. https://acpl.libnet.info/event/16229584

Friday, 22 May

Saturday, 23 May

10:00 AM: Cataraqui Cemetery, for OGS Kingston Branch. https://kingston.ogs.on.ca/events/kingston-branch-ogs-meeting-2026-05-23-cataraqui-cemetery/

There are approximately 100,000 records post 1874 in this collection, added to Deceased Online for these Warwickshire communities in the West Midlands.

Attleborough Road Cemetery – Nuneaton. Records from 1893 to 2012. It is the smallest of the 5 cemeteries in the Borough. There are 16 CWGC burials.
Stockingford (Bucks Hill) Cemetery – Nuneaton. Records from 1912 to 2012. Includes 19 CWGC burials.
Oaston Road Cemetery – Nuneaton. Records from 1875 to 2002 (early records from this cemetery have limited information, but do contain grave number and surname of the individual buried). There are 88 CWGC burials
Oaston Road Crematorium – Nuneaton. Records from 1957 to 1994

Coventry Road Cemetery – Bedworth. Records from 1874 to 2002, including 20 CWGC burials.
Marston Lane Cemetery – Bedworth. Records from 1952 to 2002. It is the only one still available for burials.

Today I’m recommending you bookmark the Links of Interest page at Ken MacKinlay’s Family Tree Knots webpage. He just verified all the links and updated with additional categories

The main body covers:

• Research and family tree sites — Ancestry, FamilySearch, Findmypast, MyHeritage, Genes Reunited, WikiTree, and others.
• Canada — Library and Archives Canada (including censuses, military history, Home Children, parish records, and the Federal Divorce Index), the Canadian Research Knowledge Network (Canadiana and Héritage), provincial archives from Newfoundland to Yukon, vital statistics agencies, genealogical societies for every province, Canadian law resources (CanLII, Osgoode Digital Commons, BC Historical Statutes), and miscellaneous collections including denominational archives for Baptist, Mennonite, Presbyterian, Quaker, and United Church records.
• British Isles — national archives and general resources for England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, and Northern Ireland, including FreeBMD, FreeReg, ScotlandsPeople, IrishGenealogy.ie, the Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland, and the Ulster Historical Foundation.
• DNA — testing services (AncestryDNA, 23andMe, FamilyTreeDNA, MyHeritage DNA, Living DNA) and analysis tools (DNA Painter, GEDmatch, Shared cM Project, ISOGG).
• Education and certification — Legacy Family Tree Webinars, the Board for Certification of Genealogists, the Association of Professional Genealogists, and university-based genealogy programs.
• Maps — historical county maps for Canada and the U.S., Ontario-specific mapping tools, the David Rumsey Map Collection, and the National Library of Scotland map images.
• Newspapers — archives covering Canada (including Ontario county-level collections), the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and the U.S., plus the Newspaper Finder directory.
• Obituaries and cemeteries — Find a Grave, Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Canadian Headstones, the National RCMP Grave Discovery Database, and the Ryerson Index for Australia.
• Passenger and ship lists — Bremen Passenger Lists, the Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild, Lloyd’s Register of Ships, and Library and Archives Canada immigration resources.
• Books — Google Books, HathiTrust, Internet Archive, WorldCat, and Evidence Explained.
• International resources — covering Belgium, Sweden, Italy, the Netherlands, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, and the U.S.
• Genealogy blogs — including Ken’s own Family Tree Knots, my Anglo-Celtic Connections, Scottish GENES, Genealogy à la carte, and Past Presence.

There’s more of the solid information and advice Ken is known for at his website;

 

 

Miscellaneous items I found interesting this week.

Keith Hanton RIP
Prominent in the Ottawa Branch of OGS, enthusiastic researcher of his Irish ancestry.
https://www.arbormemorial.ca/en/kelly-barrhaven/obituaries/richard-keith-hanton/160432.html

Misinformation
According to StatsCan, in 2025, 80% of Canadians reported seeing news or information on the Internet that they suspected was misleading, false, or inaccurate at least once a month.

An update to this French genealogy website, which your browser can likely translate, includes an interesting looking article I haven’t yet exploted “A new free handwriting transcription tool powered by AI”

Major recent new and updated British additions to newspapers.com

Ireland, Londonderry (Derry) & Armagh, Absent Voters Lists, 1918 adds 7,891 records compiled in the aftermath of the First World War, listing those who were away from their home address — often serving overseas — at the time of the 1918 electoral register. As well as confirming a man’s existence and address, these records provide a pointer to military service.

Ireland, Londonderry (Derry), Freemen Records, 1604–1963 offers 6,865 records spanning three and a half centuries. Freedom of the city was typically granted to the sons and apprentices of existing freemen, or by special honour, making these records useful for tracing family and occupational connections across many generations in the Derry area.

Newspapers

This week’s update adds 302,967 pages across six new titles and updates to 31 existing ones.  A notable addition is the Dublin Journal, 4,988 pages for
1782-1784, 1792-1793, 1796, 1798-1799, 1804-1816, 1820-1821, 1823-1824.

New Titles

Updated Titles with Over 10,000 Pages Added

This new collection contains 38,959 records from government poorhouses in Edinburgh. It covers:

• Canongate Parochial Board and Charity Workhouse 1824-1834
• Canongate Parochial Board and Charity Workhouse 1835-1853
• Canongate Parochial Board and Charity Workhouse 1846-1848
• Duddingston Parish Council 1898-1901
• Edinburgh Charity Workhouse 1832-1838
• Edinburgh Charity Workhouse 1835-1841
• Edinburgh Charity Workhouse 1839-1841
• Edinburgh Charity Workhouse 1840
• Edinburgh Charity Workhouse 1843-1845
• Edinburgh Charity Workhouse 1845-1846
• Leith Burgh 1817-1823
• St Cuthbert´s Parochial Board and Combination Workhouse 1850-1852

The transcription has provision for: Name, Marital Status, Age, Birth Date, Residence Date, Residence Place, Poor Law Union, Death Date. The linked original register image may show additional information, like Profession.

If you are interested in this area, take some time to browse. You may find additional information on the workhouse regime

Breakfast
For each Pauper one English Pint of Porridge, made with four Ounces of Oat Meal — 1/2 Pint of Milk or Beer, and One Ounce of Salt for each person per day
(If you had ordered a pint in a Scottish tavern in the 1700s, you would have received a much larger serving. The traditional Scots pint—often called a joug—remained in use until roughly 1826.)

Dinner
One Pint of Broth made with two Ounces of Barley, — Cabbage and Greens in proportion — with Ox heads.
Fine Bread, one loaf of 8 ounces.

Supper
To consist of the same quantity of Meal, Milk or Beer as the Breakfast.

 

If your family roots stretch into Devon, there’s welcome news from TheGenealogist. The site has just released the Lloyd George Domesday Survey for Devon, building the coverage.

The survey, formally known as the 1910 Valuation Office Survey, was the Edwardian government’s attempt to record every parcel of land and property in England and Wales following the Finance Act of 1910. For each property, surveyors noted the owner, occupier, a description of the building or land, its use, and assessed value — a granular snapshot of the country on the eve of the First World War.

The Devon release covers 352,478 people and organisations, linked to more than 2,500 square miles of period mapping through TheGenealogist’s MapExplorer™ tool. Rather than finding an ancestor listed against an address and being left to guess where that stood, you can plot the actual property on a historic map and compare it with the landscape today.

Devon joins the counties of Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Dorset, Essex, Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Huntingdonshire, Kent, Middlesex, Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire, Surrey, Sussex and Wiltshire in this collection unique to TheGenealogist.

Find out more at thegenealogist.co.uk/lloyd-george-domesday.

On 12 May, MyHeritage added United States, Incoming Passenger Lists from Canada, 1895–1957 to its platform. The collection’s 5.2 million records typically include the passenger’s name, date and place of birth, last residence, departure point, and date and place of arrival, each linked to an image of the original document.

Where does the data actually come from?

One frustration with MyHeritage is that it rarely tells you the original source of a collection. To illustrate, take John D’Arcy Northwood, who arrived in Vancouver from Manila on 23 May 1934. MyHeritage’s record for Northwood gives his birthplace (Wolverhampton, England), last residence (Honolulu), departure point (Manila), and arrival (Vancouver, 23 May 1934), but no clue as to where the underlying record is held.

I’m guessing MyHeritage got it from FamilySearch, which holds United States, Border Crossings from Canada to United States, 1895–1956. FamilySearch is transparent about its sourcing: it explains that the records derive from various NARA microfilm publications, specifically Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, RG 85 (National Archives and Records Administration).

Ancestry goes further still. Its corresponding collection, U.S., Border Crossings from Canada to U.S., 1895–1960, not only identifies the originating NARA record group (RG 85, Series M1465) but also links to a full breakdown of the document types included, in this case, manifests of passengers arriving through Canadian Pacific ports, held at the National Archives in Washington, DC.

All three platforms draw on the same underlying records. But if you need to cite your source properly, or want to understand what you’re actually looking at, FamilySearch and Ancestry both give you considerably more to work with than MyHeritage.