Choose from these selected free online events. All times are Eastern Time, unless otherwise noted. Registration is assumed to be required in advance—check the links so you’re not disappointed. For many more events, mainly in the U.S., visit Conference Keeper.

The May Toronto branch meeting will be held via Zoom at 7:30 pm. Ever-popular speaker Paul Jones will present an informative and entertaining case study outlining the most complex yet successful hunt for a single ancestor in his genealogical journey. It’s a cutting-edge DNA story, but 98 %+ of the time was spent doing traditional research. As with most complex cases, there were unexpected twists, poignant tales, and lots to learn. And there were frustrations—red herrings and blind alleys, Paul’s own failings (by his admission), inadequate tools and unavailable records.

Register via https://torontofamilyhistory.org/may-2025-meeting-online/

Miscellaneous items I found of interest during the week.

High days, hiring-days and holidays: the seasonality of marriage and birth. From the blog Top of the Campops: 60 things you didn’t know about family, marriage, work, and death since the middle ages.

Ancestry Updates
Isle of Man, UK, Civil Birth Marriage & Death, 1849-2013,  379,142 records
Buckinghamshire, England, Electoral Registers, 1832-1971, 12,602,814 records.

An Introduction to Irish Family History
A free online course on the basics of Irish genealogy.

Documentary Heritage Communities Program
Normally, LAC would have announced the results of the 2025-26 annual call for proposals by now. Either the publication embargo around the election is still in place, or the program will not be funded this round.

The DIY guide to checking how well you’re ageing

Fish driving cars and chimps doing maths: what teaching animals ‘irrelevant’ skills reveals about our own minds

Thanks to the following for comments and tips: Alison Hare, Ann Burns, Anonymous, Glenn Wright, Lolly Fullerton, Teresa, and Unknown.

 

 

Announced at its annual family history conference, the (US) National Genealogical Society (NGS) recognized The British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa (BIFHSGO) with an Award of Merit “for its outstanding work to connect, educate, share, and inspire people in the pursuit of genealogy. It supports researchers in Canada and beyond with effective research methods and practices focused on the British Isles. Its broad scope of programming includes in-person meetings, online education, publications, indexes to special populations of those of British Isles descent, and access to presentations of international speakers. The BIFHSGO continues to provide its members valuable content, a vibrant community of fellow researchers, and access to high-quality resources.”

The Award of Merit is presented to “an individual or non-profit genealogical or historical organization to recognize exceptional contributions to the field of genealogy over a period of five or more years. Their work must have significantly aided research or increased interest in genealogy.”

Congratulations to all who contribute to BIFHSGO’s success.

This week’s Findmypast additions focus on Wiltshire, with new entries that illuminate health, work, and burial practices from the 17th through the 19th centuries, many from the work of the Wiltshire Family History Society.

Salisbury Infirmary Hospital Records, 1797–1832

These records, comprising over 103,000 indexed entries, document individuals admitted to or discharged from Salisbury Infirmary. Key information includes first and last name, event date, admission or discharge status, and notes such as “cured.”

Trowbridge St James Bell Book, 1797–1855

This collection, an unusual one, preserves the tradition of tolling the church bell at funerals in Trowbridge. Transcribed from two original volumes kept by sexton William Nightingale and later his son, the nearly 10,000 entries serve as a burial register. 

South-West England Contagious Diseases in Farm Animals, 1878–1888

This unique collection of just over 2,500 records captures official notices of animal disease outbreaks. While swine fever dominates, there are also instances of anthrax, rabies, and foot and mouth disease. The linked original images of the printed notice were not properly linked when I explored.

Marlborough Apprentice Books, 1655–1693

Covering over 150 years of social history, these 198 records document the apprenticeship of pauper children under the Poor Law Acts. Details include names of both apprentice and master, occupations, dates, and locations.

Newspaper Pages Added 

Title	Date Range
Belfast News-Letter31936 pages	1738-1740, 1746-1747, 1750, 1752-1770, 1772, 1775-1780, 1782, 1784-1785, 1787-1800, 1802-1803, 1806, 1816-1825, 1827, 1959-1961
Newry Telegraph6510 pages	1910-1915, 1950, 1954-1955, 1957-1959
Salisbury Times6590 pages	1938-1939, 1950-1958
Illustrated Berwick Journal10078 pages	1873, 1875-1879, 1890-1896, 1898-1899, 1910, 1912-1919, 1928
Ardrossan and Saltcoats Herald3246 pages	1911-1918
Derby and Chesterfield Reporter34602 pages  – new title	1831-1835, 1837-1840, 1843-1865, 1869-1870, 1872-1876, 1878-1886, 1890-1929
Wigan Examiner12262 pages	1865, 1867-1868, 1881-1883, 1885-1888, 1914-1920
Belfast Telegraph4996 pages	1893-1896
Baptist Times7388 pages – new title	1906-1907, 1940-1947
Driffield Times2562 pages	1950, 1997
Devizes and Wiltshire Gazette3342 pages	1891-1896, 1898-1899
Tottenham and Edmonton Weekly Herald1748 pages	1915-1916, 1918
Belfast Weekly News974 pages	1903
Halifax and District Labour News308 pages – new title	1909
Isle of Axholme & Thorne Advertiser698 pages – new title	1877, 1889, 1894
Falmouth News Slip422 pages –  new title	1881, 1889

Co-Lab appears to be going backwards. There are now 4,199 items identified as Co-Lab only contributions in the collection, down from 4,249 last month and 4,324 the previous month. 

7 pm: Discover the Ottawa Branch OGS Library, by Pam Cooper for OGS Ottawa Branch.
https://ottawa.ogs.on.ca/events/ottawa-branch-presentation-details-tbd-2025-05-22/

“Secrets for Success: How to Harness the Power of FamilySearch’s Full-Text Search” by Julia A. Anderson

This Legacy Family Tree Webinars presentation, given on Wednesday, was followed by Geoff Rasmussen applying the techniques to a search in his family tree. Highly recommended for the search tips. It was mentioned that some of the collections included on Full-Text Search can only be accessed at FamilySearch Centres or affiliate libraries. If you know which they are, please add a comment.

WDYTYA? Magazine June 2025

The feature articles in the issue are:
Get More from Social Media, by Kelly Cornwell’
Finding the Forgotten, identifying the 1,300 lost victims of Germany’s First World War air raids, by Ian Castle,
Surviving the Slums: Bethan Watts outlines the harsh realities of Victorian slums.
Also, Jonathan Scott reviews the most useful sites to uncover the lives of London Ancestors.

MyHeritage adds Phillimore Marriage Registers

It’s surprising to find that MyHeritage hasn’t had this valuable published resource all along. The 2,179,315 entries, from 1538 to 1837, include images of the original publications. Phillimore includes entries from 1,500 parishes across 29 English counties. Northern counties and London parishes have less comprehensive coverage.

Portsmouth Ancestry?

Just added to FamilySearch:
Hampshire, Portsmouth, Baptisms, 1538-1940, 541,243 records
Hampshire, Portsmouth, Burials, 1538-1926, 313,413 records
Hampshire, Portsmouth, Marriages, 1537-1930, 393,944 records.

These are sourced from the Portsmouth History Centre. Images are only available at FamilySearch Centres and affiliate libraries.

Full-text Search Ontario Additions

Two Canadian collections are recent additions at FamilySearch Full-text Search
Canada, Ontario, Biographies, from 1964 to 1976, with 23,725 records.
Canada, Ontario, Others, 1996, with 135,494 records.

Don’t take the date 1996 seriously. The collection is a mixed bag with some entries dating back to the 18th century.

Choose from these selected free online events. All times are Eastern Time, unless otherwise noted. Registration is assumed to be required in advance—check the links so you’re not disappointed. For many more events, mainly in the U.S., visit Conference Keeper.

Further to Sunday’s note about the latest updates to Findmypast, I received the following additional information.

Yorkshire baptisms comprised 10,688  from Sheffield Christchurch Pitmoor, in the Ecclesfield Deanery of the Diocese of Sheffield, for 1846 to 1925.  Hits are linked to images of the original record.

4,521 transcript baptism records are from Bawtry St Nicholas, in the Diocese Southwell & Nottingham and Archdeaconry Newark, for 1668 to 1899.

Findmypast now has 9.2 million Yorkshire baptism records.

For Nottinghamshire, the 76,897 new baptism records are from 83 different churches, many non-conformist, from all over the county. The total for the county is now 1.6 million.

Miscellaneous items I found of interest during the week.

Ottawa Irish Famine Memorial Invitation

Time Travelling

“Wonderful stories shared by more than a dozen of the Ottawa area’s most engaging historians” have recently been produced by the Historical Society of Ottawa and Rogers TV. The first seven episodes are now available on YouTube.

Episode 1 – Paul Weber – “Go Exploring” https://youtu.be/4jbkQ1BVFEkhas the first 

Episode 2 – Kevin Ballantyne – “Glimpses of ‘Forgotten Ottawa’” https://youtu.be/c4733IZ9yNE

Episode 3 – Rick Henderson – “Philemon Wright and his town” https://youtu.be/ueJn5cBM_yA

Episode 4 – Peter Atkinson, “Gord Atkinson: Ottawa’s Oldest Teenager” https://youtu.be/nPHqdAx0V7I

Episode 5 – Michael McBane – “Bytown 1847” https://youtu.be/mJEkeHB8ugg

Episode 6 – Jim Hurcomb “Ottawa’s Golden Age of Rock and Roll” https://youtu.be/dSuX48DwIUs

Episode 7 – Paul Couvrette “The Changing World of Photography” https://youtu.be/6EKCmDYS5zA

Tracing your Staffordshire Ancestors

New this month  in the Pen and Sword Tracing Your Ancestors series

A Panorama of Victorian London

Exeter University’s story-map guides viewers through some of 1844 London’s most prominent landmarks.

New on Ancestry

Web: Caribbean, Aircrew in the RAF during World War II, 1939-1945
Just 467 records

UK, Navy Board and Predecessors Prisoner of War Registers, 1755-1831
Find 1,238,250 records.

Until 20 May 2025 at 11:59 p.m. ET, Ancestry is offering 40% off a 6‑month membership for new subscribers. That’s $50.99 for Canada Discovery Plus or $77.99 for World Deluxe.

Findmypast Updates

This week, updates have been made to Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire baptisms, Wiltshire Coroners Inquest Records and the National Burial Index. No details of how extensive these are, nor which additions were made to the newspaper collection, were provided.

Lucky Kentucky

Since RootsTech additions to FamilySearch Labs Full Text Search have focused on the US, with some for Columbia added in April. These seven collections became available this month

Collection Title	Records	Last Updated
United States, Kentucky, Biographies, from 1736 to 1880	497,529	12 May 2025
United States, Kentucky, Births, from 1914 to 1916	909,526	12 May 2025
United States, Kentucky, Deaths, 1950	1,930,558	12 May 2025
United States, Kentucky, Legal, from 1910 to 1969	6,919,277	12 May 2025
United States, Kentucky, Marriages, 1892	2,263,638	12 May 2025
United States, Kentucky, Properties, from 1879 to 1918	861,028	12 May 2025
United States, Kentucky, Religious, from 1841 to 1857	50,714	12 May 2025

Significant Dates in 21st Century History

Did you know these

11 September 2001 — 9/11.
26 September 2006 — Facebook first became generally available.
9 January 2007 — Steve Jobs announces the iPhone (smartphone era).
15 September 2008 — Lehman Brothers files for Chapter 11 – global financial crisis.
3 March 2020 — WHO declares COVID-19 a global pandemic.
30 November 2022 — general availability of ChatGPT.

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