Choose from selected free online events. All times are ET except as noted. Assume registration in advance is required; check so you’re not disappointed. Find out about a few more, mainly US events, at Conference Keeper.

Two new large US databases are now on MyHeritage.

New York, New York City Air Arrivals, 1957- 1962
Created by the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) and related authorities to document the arrival of international airline passengers and crews. . The 3,911,129 records, with images, typically include the name of the passenger, date and place of departure, date and place of arrival, and the nationality of the passenger. Some records include the date and place of birth.

United States, World War II Draft Registrations, 1940-1947
This collection contains WW2 United States Selective Service System registrations. The 42,012,273 cards, indexed with AI,  include personal details such as names, birth dates, addresses, and occupations,

Miscellaneous items I found of interest during the week.

The pannotype mystery

Take a Media Vacation
Close your eyes and imagine you’ve travelled to a holiday destination. Do it without leaving home — skip the journey. Enhance the experience by listening to a local radio station via Radio Garden. There’s also TV Garden if you’d rather keep your eyes open.

Finding and Navigating the Old Maps of Ireland.

Ancestry updates Web: Quebec, Canada, Marriage Contract Index, 1761-1941 (in French). Now with 71,094 records.

GLAM Makeover at AO

See also https://ischool.utoronto.ca/news/a-glam-makeover-for-the-archives-of-ontario/. 

This initiative appears to involve presenting existing finding aids in a new visual graph format rather than any full-text digitization of records.

Thanks to Ann Burns, Anonymous, Brenda Turner, Chuck B., Teresa, and Unknown for this week’s contributions.

This March, the mean temperature in Ottawa was -1.0C; the OFA prediction was -2.5C, which is 1C warmer than normal.
SUCCESS

The OFA predicted 95 mm of total precipitation at Ottawa; 25 mm wetter than average. The actual was 73 mm, above the long-term average of 60.9 mm, and 22 mm less than predicted.
FAIL

Choose from selected free online events. All times are ET except as noted. Assume registration in advance is required; check so you’re not disappointed. Find out about a few more, mainly US events, at Conference Keeper.

Tuesday 1 April

 2 pm: Ottawa Virtual Genealogy Drop-in, from OGS Ottawa Branch.
https://ottawa.ogs.on.ca/events/virtual-genealogy-drop-in-2-2025-04-01/

2:30 pm: Ancestors Calling! Luck, Research and Science, by Judy Nimer Muhn for Allen County Genealogy Center.
https://acpl.libnet.info/event/13054168

7:30 pm: How DNA Can Reveal Truth – A Case Study, by Mags Gaulden for OGS Durham Region Branch.
https://ogs.on.ca/events/durhams-april-1st-virtual-meeting-how-dna-can-reveal-truth-a-case-study/

Wednesday, 2 April

7:30 pm: Breaking Through Brick Walls in Scottish Research, by Christine Woodcock for OGS Huron County Branch.
https://huron.ogs.on.ca/events/huron-branch-2/

Thursday 3 April

5 pm: DNA Meets the Paper Trail: Pedigree Triangulation Strategies for Early 19th-Century Research, by Diana Elder for
for Legacy Family Tree Webinars.
https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar/dna-meets-the-paper-trail-pedigree-triangulation-strategies-for-early-19th-century-research/

7 pm: Solving Your Picture Problems, by Allyson Maughan for OGS.
https://ogs.on.ca/events/april-webinar-solving-your-picture-problems-allyson-maughan-2/

8 pm: GPTs for Family History: Unlocking the Potential of AI, by Andrew Redfern for Legacy Family Tree Webinars.
https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar/gpts-for-family-history-unlocking-the-potential-of-ai/

Friday 4 April

4 pm: The Science Behind the Stories: Using Genetic Genealogy in Crime Fiction, by Nathan Dylan Goodwin for Legacy Family Tree Webinars.
https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar/the-science-behind-the-stories-using-genetic-genealogy-in-crime-fiction/

Saturday 5 April

10 am: Old Family Letters: A Genealogist’s Dream Resource, by Carol McIntosh Small for OGS London and Middlesex Branch.
https://londonmiddlesex.ogs.on.ca/events/london-and-middlesex-branch-old-family-letters-a-genealogists-dream-resource/

Looking Ahead
On Wednesday, 9 April at 7:30 p.m., Ken McKinlay will be the guest speaker for the Lakeshore Genealogical Society. His topic is Exploring Library and Archives Canada Online. Register at LGSregister@gmail.com a few days before the meeting to receive the Zoom link.

 

In what may be his most outlandish—and surprisingly cool—plan yet, Donald Trump has revealed the motivation for his audacious scheme to expand the United States’ borders by annexing Canada and Greenland. According to insiders, the underlying rationale is as unexpected as it is ambitious: a bold attempt to combat climate change by lowering America’s average temperature.

“Think about it,” Trump reportedly quipped while sporting a red parka at a press conference near the border. “With our current boundaries, it’s getting too hot. But with Canada and Greenland in the mix, our average temperature would drop—making America cooler, literally and figuratively. We’re not just making America great again; we’re making it cool again!”

Critics have been quick to point out that the logistical challenges of incorporating vast, frostbitten territories are as formidable as the challenges of halting global warming. Historical lessons—from Napoleon and Hitler’s icy misadventures in Russia to the grueling conditions in the Vietnam war—remind us that conquest is not a “mere matter of marching.” Still, the prospect of slashing temperatures has captured the imagination of climate skeptics and environmental enthusiasts alike.

Diplomatic experts warn that such a move might upset long-standing allies and disrupt trade in maple syrup and ice fishing charters, but Trump remains unfazed. “It’s a win-win,” he claimed. “We cool down the planet and make history simultaneously!”

Interestingly, Trump’s plan leaves out capturing the islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon, a victory the US Army may just be capable of achieving.

While many are laughing—and others shaking their heads—at what is undoubtedly an audacious April Fool’s joke, one thing is clear: this is a political stunt that even the polar bears might find chillingly humorous.

(Thank you ChatGPT)

 

A bit tardy with this as I catch up with developments.

Britain, Baptist Handbooks 1832-1955

22,594 images and transcriptions taken from British Baptist handbooks. Britain is in the title, but listings and statistics for international congregations are included.

British West Indies Regiment war diaries, WW1

5,026 new images added to the collection of war diaries from the British West Indies Regiment.

Women’s Land Army

An additional 12,096 new Women’s Land Army service records are added for women born in 1925.

New and Updated Newspaper Pages

375,410 new pages joined the newspaper archive this week.  updates to 28 existing publications.

New titles:

 16 new titles. The earliest is from 1806, and 11 are from the 19th century. Some cover special interests like fashion and gardening.

• Cavalry Journal, 1906-1913
• Charity Organisation Reporter, 1881, 1883-1884
• Clacton Graphic and East Coast Illustrated News, 1899, 1902-1938, 1940, 1953-1956
• Clare Champion, 1917
• Gardener’s Magazine, 1826-1843
• Irish Homestead, 1911-1913, 1915, 1917-1919
• La Belle Assemblée, 1806-1823, 1825-1827, 1830-1840, 1842-1846, 1848-1862, 1864-1865, 1867, 1869
• Local Preachers Magazine, 1856-1870, 1872-1874, 1876-1877
• London City Mission Magazine, 1841-1848, 1851-1854, 1857-1864
• Pall Mall Budget, 1870-1879, 1889-1894
• Peel City Guardian, 1890-1896, 1898-1909, 1912-1918
• Saturday Review of Politics, Literature, Science and Art, 1870-1879, 1882, 1884-1885, 1890-1899, 1901, 1904-1908, 1910-1921, 1924-1926, 1929-1938
• The Garden, 1900-1901, 1904-1911, 1913-1915
• Time & Tide, 1930-1935, 1937-1938
• To-day, 1894-1899
• Vanity Fair, 1869-1887, 1889-1913

Updated titles:

Updates to 28 existing, mostly local publications from Scotland, England and Ireland, with 11 having 19th-century content.

• Aberdeen Evening Express, 2001
• Aberdeen Herald, 1832-1843
• Banffshire Journal, 1950-1951
• Bell’s Weekly Messenger, 1873-1883, 1890-1895
• Brechin Advertiser, 1983, 1988
• Bucks Standard, 1920-1922
• Caithness Courier, 1988-1989
• Cork Examiner, 1918-1919
• Cumberland and Westmorland Advertiser, and Penrith Literary Chronicle, 1880-1881, 1883, 1887-1888
• Eastern Evening News, 1889
• Folkestone Daily News, 1906-1909
• Hampshire Chronicle, 1871-1879, 1891-1894, 1911
• Howdenshire Chronicle, 1890-1891
• Illustrated Police Budget, 1897-1898, 1901-1902, 1904-1907, 1910
• Irish Independent, 1927
• Leighton Buzzard Observer and Linslade Gazette, 1987
• Londonderry Standard, 1902, 1904, 1909, 1924, 1960-1962
• Louth Standard, 1970, 1976, 1980
• Montrose Review, 1989
• Morayshire Advertiser, 1870-1877
• Oxford Times, 1871, 1913-1918
• Poor Law Unions’ Gazette, 1866-1867
• Smethwick Telephone, 1932-1933, 1935-1938
• The Queen, 1961, 1963
• Warder and Dublin Weekly Mail, 1910, 1914, 1931, 1933
• Western Daily Mercury, 1884
• Wexford Independent, 1903
• Wokingham Times, 1996-1997

Miscellaneous items I found of interest during the week.

About Deacon Brodie

Deacon Brodie: the novel

FamilySearch UK & Ireland Updates for March 2025

Collection Title	Records
England, Births and Christenings, 1538-1975	45,712,328
England, Deaths and Burials, 1538-1991	14,517,219
England Marriages, 1538–1973	11,798,802
Ireland, Catholic Parish Registers, 1740-1900	9,627,508
Scotland, Births and Baptisms, 1564-1950	8,141,513
England, Devon, Parish Registers (Devon Record Office), 1529-1974	2,878,339
Scotland, Marriages, 1561-1910	2,006,971
England, Herefordshire, Bishop’s Transcripts, 1583-1900	1,608,355
England, Cumberland Parish Registers, 1538-1990	524,868
England, Northumberland, Non-Conformist Church Records, 1613-1974	451,841
England, Yorkshire, Marriage Bonds and Allegations, 1613-1887	322,926
Ireland, Inland Revenue Wills & Administration, Will Registers, 1828-1879	239,097
England, Essex, Non-Conformist Church Records, 1613-1971	179,770
England, Lincolnshire, Marriage Bonds and Allegations, 1574-1885	135,992
England, Oxfordshire, Parish Registers 1538-1904	103,707
England, Lancashire, Marriage Bonds and Allegations, 1746-1799	46,104
England, Hertfordshire, Marriage Bonds, 1682-1837	9,400
England, Surrey, Marriages Bonds and Licenses, 1536-1992	5,422

FamilySearch Canada Updates for March 2025

Canada Census, 1921	91,422
Canada, Nova Scotia, Delayed Births, 1837-1907	117,044

 

National Library of Scotland Maps Update

New Survey of the Borough of Birmingham by J. Pigott-Smith (1855)
OS 1900 Text Search – view distributions of text from OS Six-Inch 1888-1913 maps.

The Ballad of Carney and Trump
(composed by ChatGPT)

(Verse 1)
Gather ‘round and hear the tale, of power, cash, and fate,
One man played the banker’s game, one claimed to make things great.
Carney rode the markets high, with steady hands and cool,
Trump came crashing through the doors, rewriting every rule.

(Chorus)
Oh, the rates went up, the stocks came down, the headlines rolled in red,
When Carney stood, and Trump shot back, the markets shook with dread.

(Verse 2)
Carney watched the warning signs, the bubbles stretched too thin,
He knew the storm was rolling in, but Trump said, “Let’s just win!”
“Cut the rates, the money flows, who cares about the debt?”
But Carney kept the numbers tight—he wasn’t folding yet.

(Chorus)
Oh, the rates went up, the stocks came down, the headlines rolled in red,
When Carney stood, and Trump shot back, the markets shook with dread.

(Verse 3)
Trump fired shots on Twitter loud, “The Fed should play along!”
While Carney stayed behind the scenes, where central banks belong.
He warned of risks, he played it smart, he held the line so tight,
But in the end, the tides still turned—who really won the fight?

(Bridge)
Now money moves and empires fade, the cycle spins again,
One man’s rise is one man’s fall, but power never ends.

(Final Chorus)
Oh, the rates went up, the stocks came down, the headlines rolled in red,
When Carney stood, and Trump shot back, the markets shook with dread.

Thanks to Anonymous, Teresa, and Unknown for this week’s contributions.

The FreeBMD Database was updated on Tuesday 25 March 2025 to contain 292,760,582 unique records, up from 292,557,239 in the February update.
Births with more than 10,000 updates are for 1993, 1995-96, for marriages, 1994-96, and for deaths 1995.

Sourced from The National Archives (Reference WO 164) comes a newly digitised collection contains more than one million entries detailing the distribution of military prize money from 1720 to 1899. Find out about the financial rewards granted to soldiers, staff and their families for success in battle.

The collection spans 663 volumes and 1,064,391 records across more than 172,000 high resolution colour images.
Records cover significant wars such as the latter years of the American Revolutionary War, the Battle of Waterloo and the Peninsular War, as well as smaller skirmishes.
The records are fully searchable by Name of the Applicant and Soldier, Rank, Regiment, Date, Location, War and Keywords.

http://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/.

Last Minute –  Canadian Pacific Steamships Limited Archives at Ingenium

If your ancestor travelled on one of the CP Ships, notably those named for Empresses of Dutchesses, don’t miss Adele Torrance, Archivist at Ingenium, speaking on the CP Ships archive at Ingenium (Museum of Science and Technology.) The presentation, hosted by OGS Ottawa Branch, is online this evening at 7 pm ET. Register in advance for this Zoom presentation: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYrc-ChqD8tEtZdls2v07WoxPftW16pNyMU

MyHeritage adds United Kingdom, Names & Stories in Newspapers from OldNews.com

Extracted from newspaper articles using advanced AI technology developed by MyHeritage, these 499,811,557
records typically include the name of the individuals mentioned, the relationships between the individuals, the newspaper name, the publication place and date, and a snippet of text from the newspaper containing the reference.  Every record includes a summary of the article, generated automatically by AI.

Obits on Ancestry

Ancestry has a regular schedule to update its obituary information. Here’s the latest, as of 24 March 2025.

	Title		Records
	UK and Ireland, Obituary Index, 2004-Current UK and Ireland, Obituary Index, 2004-Current Published on Ancestry 2/24/2006 Updated 3/24/2025		7,769,946
	Australia and New Zealand, Obituary Index, 2004-Current Australia and New Zealand, Obituary Index, 2004-Current Published on Ancestry 12/8/2005 Updated 3/24/2025		2,394,836
	Canada, Obituary Collection, 1898-Current Canada, Obituary Collection, 1898-Current Published on Ancestry 2/24/2006 Updated 3/24/2025		11,932,632
	U.S., Obituary Collection, 1930-Current U.S., Obituary Collection, 1930-Current Published on Ancestry 12/17/2003 Updated 3/24/2025
	U.S., Cemetery and Funeral Home Collection, 1847-Current U.S., Cemetery and Funeral Home Collection, 1847-Current Published on Ancestry 4/7/2011 Updated 3/24/2025		143,602,733