This Week’s Online Genealogy Events

Choose from selected free online events in the next five days. All times are ET except as noted. Assume registration in advance is required; check so you’re not disappointed. Are you looking for more options? Additional mainly US events are listed at https://conferencekeeper.org/virtual.

Tuesday 5 September

2 pm: Ottawa Virtual Genealogy Drop-In, from OGS Ottawa Branch. 
https://ottawa.ogs.on.ca/events/virtual-genealogy-drop-in-2-2023-09-05/

2:30 pm: Introduction to Genealogy Research, by Kate McKenzie for Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center.
https://acpl.libnet.info/event/9058252

10 pm: How to Catch a Criminal: Finding Records for Your Rogue Relatives Downunder, by Kristy Love for Legacy Family Tree Webinars.
https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar/how-to-catch-a-criminal-finding-records-for-your-rogue-relatives-downunder/

Wednesday 6 September

2 pm: Understanding Predicted Relationships at the DNA Testing Sites, by Michelle Leonard for Legacy Family Tree Webinars.
https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar/understanding-predicted-relationships-at-the-dna-testing-sites/

7 pm: Riding the Rails – A short history of train travel in Huron County & Beyond, by OGS Huron County Branch. 
https://huron.ogs.on.ca/events/huron-branch-riding-the-rails-a-short-history-of-train-travel-in-huron-county-beyond/

Thursday 7 September

6: 30 pm: Examining DNA for Unknown Parentage, by Steven Frank for Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center.
https://acpl.libnet.info/event/9058294

Friday 8 September

10:15 am: 3-2-1 data backup is great, but first you need to find all of your data, by Thomas MacEntee for Legacy Family Tree Webtember.  See the following presentations and the complete Webtember line-up at https://familytreewebinars.com/webtember/

7 pm: Finding Ontario Land Records on FamilySearch, by Jacqueline Kanyuck for OGS Kent Branch.
https://kent.ogs.on.ca/events/kent-branch-finding-ontario-land-records-on-familysearch/

Saturday 9 September

9 am: Back to Basics: England and Wales, by Ken McKinlay for BIFHSGO.
https://www.bifhsgo.ca/events
10 am: Locations and Occupations: Using Census Analysis to Explore Family Dispersion, by Paul Cripwell for BIFHSGO.
https://www.bifhsgo.ca/events

The BIFHSGO event is live at Knox Presbyterian Church and online. If you’re downtown you may be interested in the 1 pm in-person presentation Gord Atkinson “Ottawa’s Oldest Teenager”, by Gord Atkinson for the Ottawa Historical Society held at the Ottawa Public Library, Main Branch Auditorium

10 am: Why you should care where your Family Bible is, by Greg Hilton for OGS London & Middlesex branch.
https://londonmiddlesex.ogs.on.ca/events/london-and-middlesex-branch-why-you-should-care-where-your-family-bible-is/

Sunday Sundries

While I’m away, here’s a 1931 census challenge. Who is it?

He died following a plane crash in Newfoundland in 1941.

He enjoyed painting, including with A. Y. Jackson.

He was twice rejected by the army for poor eyesight,

He was awarded the Military Cross in 1919, for heroism

He failed his first year of university, failed to gain a place on the staff at Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children and had an unsuccessful medial practice in London, Ontario.

He shared the 1923 Nobel Prize for Medicine.

In 1931 he, his wife and son are found at 46 Bedford Road in Toronto.

A two-minute history of Punch and Judy

Thanks to those who posted comments or sent hints this week.

British Newspaper Archive August Update

This is being prepared in advance. So far, there are 70,394,671 pages in the collection, up from 68,822,392 at the end of July. 

New publications added this month include:
Skelmersdale Reporter (1963, 1965-1972, 1976-1978).
Sutton & Epsom Advertiser (1908-1914, 1916-1928).
Western Echo (1899-1903, 1906-1915).
Farnworth Chronicle (1906-1917).
Y Dydd (1877-1883, 1886-1891).
Llais Y Wlad (1874, 1876, 1878-1884).
Y Gwladgarwr (1858-1860, 1866, 1875, 1877-1878, 1880-1882).

The papers with more than 10,000 pages added are:

Title Years
Gloucester Citizen 1991, 1994, 1996-1998
Holyhead Mail and Anglesey Herald 1921-1929, 1931-1950
Huddersfield Daily Examiner 1970, 1972, 1977-1979, 1983
Manchester Evening News 1962, 1977-1979
Portsmouth Evening News 1960-1961
Rochdale Observer 1972, 1979, 1983, 1986, 1991
Sheerness Times Guardian 1975-1978, 1980
Sherborne Mercury 1744-1747, 1749-1769, 1772-1783, 1790-1794, 1798, 1801-1826, 1828
Streatham News 1909-1916, 1931-1937
Suffolk and Essex Free Press 1949-1958, 1965, 1974-1975, 1979, 1981
Widnes Weekly News and District Reporter 1881-1882, 1921, 1932-1936, 1938-1950, 1952, 1954, 1956-1962, 1964-1971, 1973-1979
Y Dydd 1877-1883, 1886-1891

Major updates coming, and possibly available by now, are: Birmingham Mail (1955-1957, 1959, 1961, 1966-1967).
Widnes Weekly News and District Reporter ( 1912-1920, 1922-1931, 1937, 1951, 1953, 1955).
Ormskirk Advertiser (1856, 1941-1948, 1951, 1954-1955, 1957-1960, 1962-1966, 1968-1984).

All About That Place

From Friday, 22 September, to Sunday, 1 October, a range of speakers will deliver over 100 bite-sized free talks. A new 10-15 minute talk will be released roughly every hour between 7 am and 9 pm UK time.
The brief nature of each talk is designed to give you plenty of inspiration and information about a wide range of topics in a manageable way.
The talks are pre-recorded and will be posted in the event’s Facebook group and on YouTube. They will be available to watch at a time convenient to you; some may be available for longer.
As well as the talks, there will be an optional workbook to complete, guiding you through the various aspects of one-place studies. Participants will also have a chance to win various prizes such as 1-year membership to the Society of Genealogists, the Curious Descendants Club, the Society for One-Place Studies, BALH, Name & Place, a discount on The Genealogist’s Diamond subscription, and 4 Historic Towns maps.
“All About That Place” is a unique free challenge event celebrating this milestone. It is a joint venture between the Society for One-Place Studies, The Society of Genealogists, Genealogy Stories and The British Association for Local History.

Sign up at  https://www.subscribepage.com/allaboutthatplace.

This Week’s Online Genealogy Events

Choose from selected free online events in the next five days. All times are ET except as noted. Assume registration in advance is required; check so you’re not disappointed. Are you looking for more options? Additional mainly US events are listed at https://conferencekeeper.org/virtual.

Tuesday 29 August

2:30 pm:  DAR Applications: Ask the Experts, by ACPL Genealogy Center staff and members of the Mary Penrose Wayne Chapter of the DAR for Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center.
https://acpl.libnet.info/event/8802504

Wednesday 30 August

2 pm: Y DNA Discover Tool – What News Can Your Haplogroup Reveal? by Roberta Estes for Legacy Family Tree Webinars.
https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar/y-dna-discover-tool-what-news-can-your-haplogroup-reveal/

Thursday 31 August

6:30 pm: International Research: Where to Begin? by Tamara Hallo for Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center.
https://acpl.libnet.info/event/8802568

Friday 1 September

10:15 am: First talk in the Webtember series. Connecting Generations through Probate and Property, by Teri E. Flack for Legacy Family Tree Webinars.
https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar/connecting-generations-through-probate-and-property/
For the others see https://familytreewebinars.com/upcoming-webinars/?category=webtember

Saturday 2 September

OGS Conference 2024 Update

Conference 2024 has added another marquee speaker.

Diahan Southard, author, instructor and founder of Your DNA Guide. With more than 20 years of experience in genetic genealogy, Diahan’s goal is to make it more accessible to others. She’ll deliver a special plenary talk, and lead workshops on how to not only incorporate DNA in your genealogy research, but have fun in the process.

With genetic genealogy experts Blaine Bettinger and Jonny Perl already booked the conference will be not to miss for anyone who has taken, or is thinking of taking a DNA test.

I hope to see you in Toronto, 14 – 16 June 2024.

https://conference2024.ogs.on.ca/

 

What are LAC’s intentions on Handwritten Text Recognition technology?

“Handwritten Text Recognition (HTR) technology is now a mature machine learning tool, becoming integrated in the digitisation processes of libraries and archives speeding up the transcription of primary sources and facilitating full text searching and analysis of historic texts at scale.”

That’s a quote from the 2022 journal article Understanding the application of handwritten text recognition technology in heritage contexts: a systematic review of Transkribus in published research.

If there was any doubt, the successful partial indexing of the 1931 census of Canada by Ancestry, using Library and Archives Canada images, as well as their earlier indexing of the 1950 US census, confirms the capability.

What are LAC’s plans? I turned to the recently published Vision 2030: Discover. Understand. Connect — A strategic plan to 2030.

“While the collections remain at the centre of LAC’s identity, the ability of Canadians to discover, understand and connect with the collections frames our vision of service. Vision 2030 will aim to provide access to the collections to anyone and from anywhere, as well as a framework to identify and respond quickly to users’ needs.”

What is the reality of “provide access?” Does that mean online? Why “a framework” and not “a system”?

Vision 2023 includes one mention of AI

“LAC will benefit from work being conducted in other domains, such as the digital humanities and ethical artificial intelligence.”

Am I alone in reading this as LAC having no plans to implement the mature machine learning tool of  Handwritten Text Recognition (HTR) technology in its own operations to facilitate easy access to documentary heritage, as with the 1931 census, and why not?

 

 

TheGenealogist adds Lawyer Lists

Discover judges, barristers and other court officials in Lawyer lists from 1780 to 1911 at TheGenealogist.

These book records can reveal authoritative facts:

● addresses of ancestors in the legal profession
● confirm or unearth relevant dates
● some biographical entries will even give names of other family members
● schools and universities that forebears attended
● the qualifications that an ancestor had gained
● details of judges and lawyers involved in an ancestor’s cases

Read TheGenealogist’s article, An Ancestor Bar None:
https://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/featuredarticles/2023/an-ancestor-bar-none-4119/

SPECIAL OFFER: Better Than Half Price TheGenealogist Diamond Package for £78.95 – offer expires on 1st September! https://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/emailnews.php?issue=email_news_aug23_tg_offer_late&id=10327800&source=tg&link=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thegenealogist.co.uk%2FENTGAUGL23&link_host=fb1de737e000