Starting today through May 10 for Mother’s Day, AncestryDNA + Traits is available on Amazon or Ancestry for $39 ($60 off), and with 3 months of the World Explorer membership for $1 more. Those appear to be US prices so I’m unsure about availability in Canada.

On 17 April Statistics Canada released 2026 Census of Population Content Consultation Results: What we heard from Canadians. The report makes clear up front Stats Can’s view of the census.

Data from the Census of Population are important for all communities and are vital for planning services that support employment, education and health care. Governments, businesses, associations, organizations and many others use these data to make important decisions.

Genealogy interests are mentioned twice. The most significant is —

The write-in field was analyzed to better understand the other reported purposes respondents had for using census data. Responses most frequently related to uses for genealogy (38%) or general interest, general information, learning, teaching or training (10%), among other general trends. Note that more than 30% of the responses were deemed to fall within the existing purposes and were recoded as such.

Statistics Canada evaluates importance according to a content determination framework. Statutory and regulatory uses tied to a law and information needs that serve a purpose that is national in scope are given the highest priority. Demographic and language questions were the most highly rated in the consultation.

Although research was the most frequently reported purpose of use overall, uses such as academic and policy research are assigned a lower priority by the content determination framework. As with the previous data use purposes, all census topics were reportedly used for research purposes fairly consistently. However, questions related to demography (9%) were reportedly the most used for research, followed by place of birth (8%), and immigration and citizenship (8%).

There is a history with the census in balancing privacy concerns with data quality. StatsCan worries, with little evidence, about the potential of compromising data quality if respondants feel their privacy is being compromised.

 As genealogists we look for detailed information (e.g., full birthdates, maiden names) that would enhance our research. We look for data spanning multiple decades to understand migration patterns, societal changes, and family dynamics over time. Maintaining relevance of the census questions for genealogy is, and has always been, an uphill battle.

The latest issue is now available, free to enjoy at https://www.irishfamilyhistorycentre.com/product/irish-lives-remembered-issue-61/

Articles: 

• Mike Feerick – Chuck Feeney: An Appreciation
• Fiona Fitzsimons – Remembering Chuck Feeney: the Entrepreneur Philanthropist’s Longford Lineage
• Cara Eiwanger – The Myth of Irish-American Acceptance in the Mid-nineteenth Century
• Donna Rutherford – A Deep Dive into Ethnicity Estimates
• Rob Flanagan Stieglitz – Case Study: Resolving the Mystery of My Ancestor Thomas Tighe’s Birthdate
• Eamonn P. Kelly – The mysterious Bishop Erc: Saint and Sun God, Part One
• Katharine Simms – Saints and Scholars: the Keenan/O’Keenan Clan and Other Hereditary Historians
• Brigit McCone – Doctoring Dynasties: The Legacy of Irish Medicine in Africa
• Deirdre Powell – The Irish Family Legacy of Mathematical Genius George Boole
• Elizabeth Cowan – “Send you kisses”: Sapphic Revolutionaries, part 2
• Timothy Murtagh – Henrietta Street: From Townhouse to Tenement

Regular columns: 

• Dear Genie – Our Genealogists help you with your research block
• Heritage Highlight – Strokestown Park’s National Famine Museum
• Emerald Roots Interview – Kayleigh Bealin, Research Manager, Eneclann

Books and Films:

• Four Courts Press Book Excerpt – Medieval Dublin XIX edited by Seán Duffy (2023)
• Four Courts Press Book Excerpt – Marsden Haddock and the Androides by Neil Cronin (2023)
• Genealogical Publishing Company Book Excerpt – A Guide to Irish Parish Registers by Brian Mitchell (1988)

We can search in 3,317 collection titles on the FamilySearch website. In April, 108 of them were updated or new.

Top of the heap is United States City and Business Directories, ca. 1749 – ca. 1990, now with  63,198,823 entries. It was followed by Russia, Tobolsk, Church Books, 1722-1930 with 47,009,553 entries and England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975 with 45,714,263 entries.

Additions and updates of interest for England, with the number of entries, are:

England, Manchester, Miscellaneous Records, 1700-1916	10,241,063
England, Staffordshire, Church Records, 1538-1944	4,850,444
England, Devon, Parish Registers (Devon Record Office), 1529-1974	2,926,636
England, Essex Parish Registers, 1538-1997	2,746,297
England, Manchester, Parish Registers, 1603-1910	1,772,265
England, Devon, Parish Registers, 1538-1912	1,043,193
England, Bedfordshire Parish Registers, 1538-1983	376,993
England, Buckinghamshire, Church Records, 1217-1994	4,227
England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975	45,714,263
England Deaths and Burials, 1538-1991	14,519,196
England Marriages, 1538–1973	11,799,324

Two titles for Ireland are:

Ireland, Petty Sessions Court Registers, 1828-1912	21,832,352
Ireland, Catholic Parish Registers, 1740-1900	6,245,313

and for Wales:

Wales, Death Records, 1998-2015

172,310

There are no changes for Canada or Scotland.

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 at https://conferencekeeper.org

Wednesday, 1 May

10 am: Explore the written works of some remarkable women from our digitised collections in this online workshop, frp, the National Library of Scotland.
https://www.nls.uk/whats-on/women-s-lives-and-writings-online-resources-may-start/

2 pm: Strategies to Analyze Endogamous DNA, by Alec Ferretti for Legacy Family Tree Webinars.
https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar/strategies-to-analyze-endogamous-dna/

The collection added 67 new or updated titles, in April compared to 89 last month. That includes 14 new titles

If your family history interest is in Orangeville, and wider Dufferin County, the two additions back to 1871 will be helpful. The remaining 68 Canadian newspapers added, for Alberta and BC,  are for the 21st century.

	Community	Title	Pages Digitized	Year Range
Ontario
	Orangeville	The Orangeville Banner	260,454	1898-2016.
		The Sun	17,023	1871-1933.
Alberta
	Lacombe	Lacombe Express	6,430	2015-2022.
	Ponoka	Ponoka News	15,874	2006-2022
	Princeton	Similkameen Spotlight	12,006	2005-2022
	Red Deer	Red Deer Express	6,450	2015-2019
	Rimbey	Rimbey Review	9,005	2006-2022
	Stettler	The Stettler Independent	12,191	2006-2022
	Wetaskiwin	The Pipestone Flyer	6,943	2015-2022
British Columbia
	Bella Coola	Coast Mountain News	2,516	2014-2022.
	Campbell River	Campbell River Mirror	51,048	2005-2022.
		Campbell River Mirror Daily	15,418	2005-2008.
		North Island Midweek	3,716	2006-2015.
	Castlegar	Castlegar News	14,152	2005-2022.
	Chilliwack	Chilliwack Progress Daily	16,580	2005-2008.
		Chilliwack Times	4,059	2014-2016.
	Cranbrook	Cranbrook Townsman	33,126	2014-2022.
	Creston	Creston Valley Advance	10,830	2014-2022.
	Courtenay	Comox Valley Echo	4,821	2015-2017.
	Duncan	Cowichan Valley Citizen	27,530	2015-2022.
		The Lake Cowichan Gazette	10,128	2005-2022.
	Fernie	The Free Press	13,643	2014-2022.
	Ganges	Gulf Island Driftwood	20,121	2008-2022.
	Goldstream	Goldstream News Gazette	30,806	2005-2022.
	Greenwood City	The Boundary Creek Times	5,482	2014-2022.
	Invermere	The Columbia Valley Pioneer	7,657	2016-2020.
		The Valley Echo	9,261	2005-2017.
	Kamloops	Capital News	17,416	2005-2008.
		Capital News Daily	17,416	2005-2008.
	Kimberley	Kimberley Bulletin	10,009	2017-2022.
	Langley	Langley Times	56,936	2005-2022.
		The Langley Times Daily	16,144	2005-2008.
	Mission	Mission Record	26,614	2005-2022.
	Maple Ridge	Maple Ridge, Pitt Meadows Daily	1,395	2005-2006.
		Maple Ridge, Pitt Meadows News	46,844	2005-2022.
		Maple Ridge, Pitt Meadows Times	2,316	2015-2016.
	Nakusp	Arrow Lake News	8,615	2005-2022.
	Nanaimo	Nanaimo News Bulletin	60,453	2005-2022.
		Nanaimo News Bulletin Daily	16,408	2005-2014.
	Parksville	The News	56,875	2005-2022.
		The News Daily	15,308	2005-2008.
		Vancouver Island Free Daily	8,681	2016-2018.
	Penticton	Penticton Western News	48,988	2005-2022.
		Penticton Western News Daily	15,448	2005-2008.
	Port Hardy	North Island Gazette	14,692	2005-2022.
	Prince Rupert	Haida Gwaii Observer	4,076	2015-2020.
	Salmon Arm	Lakeshore News	10,213	2006-2018.
	Sidney	Peninsula News Review	25,607	2005-2022.
	Sooke	Sooke News Mirror	19,659	2005-2022.
	Smithers	The Northern Daily	12,640	2006-2008.
	Summerland	Summerland Review	12,433	2005-2022.
	Surrey	North Delta Reporter	7,644	2016-2022.
		The Leader	53,463	2005-2022.
		The Leader Daily	16,635	2005-2008.
		The Now	6,051	2015-2017.
	Sylvan Lake	Eckville Echo	2,538	2015-2020.
		Red Deer County News	547	2006-2008.
	Trail	Trail Daily Times	23,378	2014-2022.
		Trail Rossland News	8,247	2006-2022.
	Ucluelet	Westerly News	6,840	2015-2022.
	Vernon	The Morning Star Daily	9,342	2007-2014.
	Victoria	Oak Bay News	24,740	2005-2022.
		Saanich News	29,736	2005-2022.
		South Vancouver Island Media Guide	3,137	2005-2007.
		Victoria News	31,043	2005-2022.
		Victoria News Daily	15,150	2005-2008.
	White Rock	The Peace Arch News	55,488	2005-2022.
		The Peace Arch News Daily	17,149	2005-2014.
	Williams Lake	Tribune Weekend	1,049	2005-2006.
	Prince Rupert	The Northern View	14,836	2006-2022.

Miscellaneous items I found of interest during the week.

Latin Wind Directions

Putting the history in family history…

Scottish Society for Northern Studies
Northern Studies is the peer-reviewed journal of the Society. Like many organizations, back issues are freely available. A couple of articles of particular interest:
The Climatic Motive for Leaving Scotland, c. 1770 – c. 1890 in Northern Studies 53 (2022)
Vestur-Íslendingar: The Icelanders of Manitoba
Northern Studies 50 (2019)

The Biographical Dictionary of Nurses from Ireland in Service on the Home Front and on Allied Battle Fronts during the Second World War, 1939-1945
A free pdf from PRONI.

Fusion Energy
There’s recent progress. While growth of renewable energy generation (wind and solar) has gradually chipped away at fossil fuel market share, the successful commercialization of fusion energy is an existential risk for the fossil fuel industry.

TheGenealogist has released 225,395 heads of households and property owners from the 1910-1915 Lloyd George Domesday Survey,  extending Home Counties coverage to Surrey.
Availability of these IR 58 Landowner and Occupier records now total over 2.6 million — all the boroughs of Greater London plus Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, Oxfordshire, Middlesex, Northamptonshire and with this release, Surrey.
The records give the names of owners and occupiers of each property and can provide detailed descriptions of the numbers and types of rooms in the house, plus what it was constructed of and the extent of its garden or grounds.

Enhanced Genealogical Data From Oxford Dictionary Of National Biography
This new collection contains 4,013 images and transcriptions supplementing the 32,866 of the Britain, Dictionary Of National Biography, 1885-1904.

It indexes the names of people mentioned who are not the primary subject of the biography. Every record will have a brief transcript and an image of the full entry. The transcript includes the name, birth year, status, and reference person.

This FMP content is historical. The current DNB, with an additional 120 years has over 65,000 biographies, and 12,000 portraits of significant, influential or notorious figures. It was recently updated with biographies of 276 men and women who died in the year 2020.

Lancashire Wills & Probate 1457-1858
This collection with 5,803 new records relating to ‘Infra Wills’, that is, estates valued at less than £40. If Lancashire ancestor passed down a small sum to their next of kin in the early 19th century, their name may just appear within this updated collection.

The collection now comprises 301,771 records. Original records are held at the Lancashire Record Office plus a small collection of records created by the Lancashire and Cheshire Records Society. These records include an image of the index books published by the society.

Most records contain: name, status or occupation, event date, place, Deanery, county, volume number, volume description, archive and reference, document ordering link.

Surrey Prerogative Court Will Abstracts, 1420-1857
This week’s biggest record update consists of 11,308 Surrey will abstracts, transcriptions and images, from the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, spanning 1700 to 1858.

Each record contains a transcript of the index to the original wills. The information given varies but you can find out name, residence, names of beneficiaries, relationship to the testator (who wrote the will), and the date of the will.

 

The FreeBMD Database was updated on Thursday, 25 April 2024, to contain 290,683,241 unique entries, up from 290,487,882 on 26 March.

The years with more than 10,000 new entries are 1992, 1993, 1995 for births, 1992, 1994 for marriages, and 1993, 1995 for deaths.

 

A recent blog post from FamilyTreeDNA, the first in a five-part series, delves into the importance of mitochondrial DNA in genealogical research. The unique inheritance, only passed down from mother to child, aids genealogists to follow the maternal thread through generations.
The blog post covers the changes, including transitions, transversions, reversions, insertions, deletions, and heteroplasmies, that create distinct patterns that can be used to identify genetic connections.

https://blog.familytreedna.com/what-is-mtdna/