There are currently 3,989 items in Collection Search identified as Co-Lab-only contributions, up from 3,979 last month!

There has been essentially no progress on the challenges in the past month, although owing to a change in format, an overall completion figure is unavailable for some challenges. 

Games of the XXI Olympiad, Montréal 1976 remains 79.5% complete.

Treaty 9, with 27 images, remains 3.7% complete.

Mary Ann Shadd Cary remains 47% complete.

Expo67 remains 7% complete.

Summiting Mount Logan in 1925: Fred Lambart’s personal account of the treacherous climb and descent of the highest peak in Canada remains 13% complete.

Women in the War remains 1% complete.

Arthur Lismer’s Children’s Art Classes remains <1% complete.

John Freemont Smith, RG10, Volume number: 4079 remains 88% complete.

Canadian National Land Settlement Association is substantially complete.

Molly Lamb Bobak remains 95% complete.

Diary of François-Hyacinthe Séguin remains 99% complete.

George Mully: moments in Indigenous communities remains 0% complete.

Correspondence regarding First Nations veterans returning after the First World War remains 99% complete.

Winnipeg General Strike of 1919 remains 95% complete.

Legendary Train Robber and Prison Escapee Bill Miner remains 99% complete.

Japanese-Canadians: Second World War remains 3% complete.

The Call to Duty: Canada’s Nursing Sisters is substantially complete.

Projects that remain 100% complete are no longer reported here.

More Canadian BMD information has appeared for convenient access for MyHeritage subscribers and those with free group access.

Sourced from the Drouin Institute, this collection contains 7,901,531 birth, baptism, death, and burial transcript records from 1500 onwards. Records typically include the individual’s name, date and place of birth, date and place of baptism, date and place of death, place of burial, and the parents’ names.

OGS members and Ottawa Public Library cardholders have free online group access to the MyHeritage Library Edition.

 

 

Thanks to the work of volunteers, series BT 124, registers of certificates for masters and mates, are now searchable on The National Archives (UK) Discovery catalogue. Records provide certificate numbers, birth details, certification dates, and voyage information.

A detailed blog post at https://blog.nationalarchives.gov.uk/tracing-merchant-seaman-in-the-19th-century/  explains the process of digitizing and indexing the records used in the transcription using the website fromthepage.com.

It also covers the complementary nature of records held by The National Archives and the National Maritime Museum, providing examples of how these records can be used together to trace a seaman’s career. It mentions the inclusion of former Royal Navy personnel in these merchant navy records and provides several examples. Two examples include mention of Canadian locations. Records mentioning many other Canadian locations, such as birthplace, are in the collection.

We can now search these records in various ways, including by name, birth details, or certification information. While BT 124 covers certificates of service for masters and mates in foreign trade from 1850 to 1888, additional registers are not yet digitized or searchable by name on Discovery. Something to look forward to!

Below is the “INSIDE THIS ISSUE …” content from the latest Family Tree magazine (UK), including ads, sponsored content and all.

6 FAMILY HISTORY NEWS
Read up on new family history-related projects, appointments & developments.

10 PROJECT: RESEARCHING AN UNRELATED COHORT
Paul Bingham and Paul Robinson share the findings of their project to celebrate the lives of 106 pioneer female doctors.

12 A GUIDE TO TRACING MARINER ANCESTORS
Nicholas Dixon provides a tour of the must-search records and how to interpret them.

18 DEAR PAUL
Tuck into Paul Chiddicks’ latest selection of genealogical novelties sourced from the family history scene.

24 ACADEMY: TRACING ARMY ANCESTORS
Family Tree Academy tutor David Annal advises on pre-1914 military research.

30 TWIGLETS
The latest chapter in Gill Shaw’s enchanted family fairy tale.

33 YOUR 6-STEP PLAN TO BRICK-WALL SMASHING RESEARCH
Phil Isherwood demonstrates the value of using a Research
Methodology to make progress on even the toughest of cases.

46 HOW ANCESTRY’S ‘ENHANCED SHARED MATCHES’ CAN HELP YOU
DNA Workshop advisor Karen Evans is on hand to explain to
benefits to your research.

52 CHOOSING THE BEST DNA TEST FOR YOU
Michelle Leonard advises on the key points to consider.

56 SPOTLIGHT ON
Read about the latest society in our series (The York FHS).

58 JOIN FAMILY TREE TODAY & SAVE
Save on your family history learning with Family Tree.

60 Q&A
Our experts pit their wits to solve reader puzzles.

63 WHICH ANCESTRY MEMBERSHIP IS RIGHT FOR YOU?Find the one to suit your research needs and your pocket.

64 PHOTO CORNER
Jayne Shrimpton helps to put dates to pictures from the past.

66 DIARY DATES
Your round-up of the latest genealogy events.

68 YOUR LETTERS
Readers share their views.

70 CLASSIFIED ADS
Professional researchers, and more. Be sure to mention Family Tree when responding to adverts!

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. Find out about many more, mainly US events, at Conference Keeper.

Tuesday, 17 September

2 pm: Ottawa Virtual Genealogy Drop-in, for OGS Ottawa Branch. 
https://ottawa.ogs.on.ca/events/virtual-genealogy-drop-in-2-2024-09-17/

2:30 pm: Pioneers and Pedigrees: Early Western New York Research, by Kaitlyn Pauley for Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center.
https://acpl.libnet.info/event/11543641

8 pm: A Myriad of Slave Databases, by LaBrenda Garrett-Nelson for Legacy Family Tree Webinars.
https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar/a-myriad-of-slave-databases/

Wednesday, 18 September

2 pm: Practical chromosome mapping: gaining insights from segments of DNA, by Jonny Perl for Legacy Family Tree Webinars. Recommended.
https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar/practical-chromosome-mapping-gaining-insights-from-segments-of-dna/

7 pm: Childhood Interrupted: A Child Migrant’s Journey as told by her daughter, Kathryn Adams (Rescheduled)
https://lambton.ogs.on.ca/events/lambton-branch-childhood-interrupted-by-kathryn-adams/

7 pm: A History of the Orillia Opera House, by Chris Decker for the Orillia Museum of Art and History.
http://www.orilliamuseum.org/7-24

Thursday, 19 September

6:30 pm: Unlocking Paternal Ancestry Through Y-DNA tests, by Scott Tribble for Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center.
https://acpl.libnet.info/event/11544430

7 pm: Trace Your French-Canadian Ancestors to France and Find Records, by Jean-Yves Vanier-Verbeek for OGS Sault Ste Marie & District of Algoma Branch.
https://saultanddistrict.ogs.on.ca/events/sault-ste-marie-district-of-algoma-branch-trace-your-french-canadian-ancestors-to-france-and-find-records-jean-yves-vanier-verbeek/

Friday, 20 September

Webtember presentations from Legacy Family Tree Webinars.

10:15 am: The Real Life of New England Vital Records, by Diane MacLean Boumenot
11:30 am: Broken Branches: How to Detect Cases of Misattributed Parentage in Your Family Tree,  by Paul Woodbury.
12:45 pm: Using the Hudson Bay Company Records for Genealogy Research, by Tara Shymanski.
2:00 pm: Researching in Jalisco, by Lisa Medina
3:30 pm: 5 Ways to Make the Most of MyHeritage.com Photo Tools, by Maureen Taylor

Saturday, 21 September

10 am: Researching Indigenous Ancestors in Ontario, by Jenna Lemay for OGS Kingston Branch.
https://kingston.ogs.on.ca/

 

 

Tonight, Tuesday, September 17, 2024, the eclipse will begin around 8:40 p.m. EDT and peak around 10:44 p.m. EDT. Less than 10% of the moon will be covered this time by the darkest part of Earth’s shadow. The moon will appear slightly larger than usual owing to being closer to Earth in its elliptical orbit.
In Ottawa, the forecast is calling for increasing cloudiness through the nighttime.
Partial lunar eclipses occur about twice a year and roughly every 2 to 3 years at any specific location.
The next total lunar eclipses in Ottawa are on Thursday, 5 March 2026 and Monday, 25 – Tuesday, 26 June 2029.

This is a reminder that the new season of Gresham College presentations is underway. Depending on the phasing of daylight savings time changes, they are typically streamed at 1 p.m. ET.
https://www.gresham.ac.uk/whats-on

 

MyHeritage is patching deficiencies with its new coverage of Irish death records.

The 7,054,872 transcriptions are civil death records from all 32 counties of Ireland between 1864 and 1921, continuing for the Republic of Ireland until 1958. Records typically include the deceased’s name, age at the time of death, and the year and place of death.

Probate TV on YouTube dives into the world of international probate research. Follow stories from high-profile UK firm Fraser and Fraser as they chase down missing heirs.

The videos are 10 -12 minutes duration.

https://www.youtube.com/@ProbateTV

Miscellaneous items I found of interest during the week.

Here’s what I wasn’t able to play fully on Saturday.

TheGenealogist now includes coverage of the 1910 Lloyd George Domesday records and geolocated maps for the entire county of Wiltshire. There’s information on more than 175,000 individuals and organizations.

Researchers can now:
● Locate ancestral homes and businesses with precision
● Discover details about the area their ancestors lived in, such as locating their local school, church or pub
● Gain insights into the social and economic conditions of Edwardian Wiltshire
● Cross-reference information with other historical records for a more complete family history.

There’s more information about the 1910 Lloyd George Domesday records at
https://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/lloyd-george-domesday/.

For a limited time, you can claim a Diamond Subscription for £94.95, a saving of £45. Claim the offer at:
https://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/MGBLGD924

The following are resources referred to in the presentation “Twas a Dark and Stormy Night: Connecting Weather and Personal Histories” by John D Reid for the Ottawa Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society, 14 September 2024.

Reconstructed temperature records for the St. Lawrence Valley

Historical climate observations in Canada: 18th and 19th century daily temperature from the St. Lawrence Valley, Quebec, by Victoria Slonosky
https://rmets.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/gdj3.11

NOAA/WDS Paleoclimatology – St. Lawrence Valley, Quebec 18th and 19th Century Daily Temperature Data
https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/paleo-search/study/15654

Fort Colonge Records 1824-1831
Liveright J. 1833. Fonds McCord Family, P001-838 “John Liveright’s Thermometrical Journals”. McCord Museum: Montreal, QC, Canada.

Ottawa Storm Film December 1942.
https://recherche-collection-search.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/Home/Record?app=filvidandsou&IdNumber=27583&q=1942%20ottawa%20video&ecopy=27583

Canada
Meteorological Service of Canada
http://weather.gc.ca
Scroll to Past Weather and then Historic Data
https://climate.weather.gc.ca/historical_data/search_historic_data_e.html

Ottawa Weather Stats
https://ottawa.weatherstats.ca/

UK
British Meteorological Office.
http:.//www,metoffice.gov.uk
Scroll to National Meteorological Library & Archive
and find Daily Weather Report

Weather in History: 11,000BC to present
https://premium.weatherweb.net/weather-in-history-11000bc-to-present

USA
US Weather Bureau Historic Weather Records
https://www.weather.gov/
Click on Past Weather

Daily Global Synoptic Weather Maps: 1900 to 1971
https://libguides.library.noaa.gov/weather-climate/synoptic-map

Bonus Items

Northern Tornadoes Project
https://www.uwo.ca/ntp/index.html

The Michael Newark Digitized Tornado Archive
A collection of source and analysis materials related to tornadoes and other damaging wind events dating back to the late 1700s.
https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/ntp_mndta/

The Climate Trends and Variations Bulletin
A quarterly summary of how Canada’s climate has changed over the recent past and longer through maps of current and past departures from the mean.
https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/climate-change/science-research-data/climate-trends-variability/trends-variations.html

Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society Archives
See the publications
Climatological Bulletin (1967 – 1993)
The Canadian Weather Trivia Calendar (1988 – 2019)
Canada’s Top Ten Weather Stories (1996 to date)
Chinook (1978 – 1989)
https://cmosarchives.ca/index_publications.html

Copernicus ECMWF
X (Twitter) has news of the latest climate developments at @CopernicusECMWF