Anglo-Celtic Connections

Miscellaneous items I found interesting this week.

BBC WDYTYA on YouTube

The YouTube algorithm surfaced some classics from the long-running BBC series, mostly older episodes (when they were featuring people I’d heard of).
Judy Dench
Nigella Lawson
David Tennant
Jeremy Irons
Stephen Fry
Kate Winslet

The new AI inflection point

Rather than writing computer code, the programmer’s task has become reviewing code written by AI. Will the same thing happen with family history research? Would you go back to the days, not so long ago, when your computer didn’t serve up hints about related resources? That’s AI.

The Cyberattack That Exposed the Fragility of Digital Heritage

About the British Library ransomware attack.

MyHeritage adds United Kingdom, British Army Lists, 1839-1946

Ancestry Find A Grave Updates

On 20 February Ancestry reported:

UK and Ireland, Find a Grave® Index, 1300s-Current had been updated to  24,458,579 records, up from 23,818,332 at the end of 2025.

To commemorate the 200th anniversary of the founding of Bytown, the City of Ottawa Archives is presenting a serialized look at the community’s early development.

There’s an introduction here.

I wondered whether AI, using only that document, could bring the situation to life by raising the emotional level and amplifying conflict through debate and disagreement. So I asked NotebookLM to do that. Listen to the result below. This is an experiment. I’ve not previously tried adding audio to blog posts. The file may not play in all browsers.

Watch for more chapters in 2026 from the City Archives, following the journey as told through its archival collection. Would you like the blog to experiment more with AI based on future chapters from the city archives?

This collection now holds 228,677 records drawn from WO 421 at The National Archives, Kew.

Most records relate to the discharge of over-age personnel who served during the Second World War (1939–1945), though the collection spans 1921–1959. It covers twelve corps, including the Royal Military Police, Royal Army Pay Corps, Royal Pioneer Corps, Intelligence Corps, and Non-Combatant Corps, among others.

Each service member has a packet that may contain attestation forms, statements of service, B102 tracer cards, and B103 service and casualty forms. Between them, these documents can provide name, birth date and place, occupation, height, weight, distinguishing marks, next of kin, nationality, religion, residence, marriage details, death details, enlistment and discharge dates, regiment, and service number. Medical and conduct forms were excluded for privacy reasons.

I found records indexed for people mentioned in the document, and index entries where the indexed member couldn’t be found in the linked document.

BIFHSGO is honoured to present the inaugural event celebrating the Irish Genealogical Research Society‘s 90th anniversary. 

The lecture, titled “Focusing on the Migrants: How Genealogy Has Transformed Our Understanding of the Irish in Canada,” will be presented on Saturday, 28 March in person at Knox Presbyterian Church in Ottawa. It’s also online for those elsewhere.

David A. Wilson, Professor of History and Celtic Studies at the University of Toronto and General Editor of the Dictionary of Canadian Biography, will discuss how genealogical research has played a key role in opening new perspectives on the Irish in Canada. After a general overview of Irish-Canadian history, he will present three case studies that highlight the contributions of genealogy to historical research.

Find out more and register here.

Above-freezing temperatures and sunny skies, after the fog burned off, encouraged good attendance at the annual Heritage Day event on Tuesday, 17 February 2026. Organizations were there early to set up their display tables.

Mike More and Doug Grey were at the Ottawa Branch table, sandwiched between those ofthe Irish Society and BIFHSGO.

For BIFHSGO, Sue Lambeth and Paul Cripwell staffed the table, seen here helping one of the younger attendees.

Other BIFHSGO members seen were David Jeanes and Christine Jackson. Dianne Brydon was seen chatting with Mayor Mark Sutcliffe.

The event, organized by Capital Heritage Connexion with help from the community, featured heartfelt, if not scintillating, speeches and presentation of the Louise & Eric Moore Award for Outstanding Heritage Volunteerism to Stuart Lazear and Margaret Hall. Louise and Eric were BIFHSGO members.

I usually omit any mention of US records. These new and updated New Hampshire records drew my attention because they included a couple of unusual record types, and the state borders Quebec.

Choose from these selected free online events. All times are Eastern Time, unless otherwise noted. Registration may be required in advance—please check the links to avoid disappointment. For many more events, mainly in the U.S., visit https://conferencekeeper.org/virtual/

Tuesday, 17 February

2 PM: Ottawa Virtual Genealogy Drop-In, for OGS Ottawa Branch.
https://ottawa.ogs.on.ca/events/virtual-genealogy-drop-in-2-2026-01-06-2026-01-20-2026-02-03-2026-02-17/

2:30 PM, Reimagining Family History Storytelling in a World
Transformed by Data, by Barbara ? for Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center.
https://acpl.libnet.info/event/15551991

7 PM: Tracing 20th Century Ontarians, by Janice Nickerson for OGS Nipissing Branch.
https://nipissing.ogs.on.ca/events/nipissing-branch-tracing-20th-century-ontarians-janice-nickerson/

8:00 PM: Lineage in Context: Creating a Compelling Kinship-Determination Project. by Angela Packer McGhie for BCG and Legacy Family Tree Webinars.
https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar/lineage-in-context-creating-a-compelling-kinship-determination-project/

2:00 PM: DNA in Action 1 of 6: Proving Your Pedigree with DNA, by Karen Stanbary for Legacy Family Tree Webinars.
https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar/dna-in-action-1-of-6-proving-your-pedigree-with-dna/

7:00 PM: Demolition By Neglect, by Lesley Collins for Heritage Ottawa.
https://heritageottawa.org/en/lecture-series

6:30 PM:  From Church Archives to KGB Archives, by Carolyn Schott for Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center.
https://acpl.libnet.info/event/15525898

Friday, 20 February

2:00 PM, Emigration and Migration from Yorkshire, England, by Jude Rhodes for Legacy Family Tree Webinars.
https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar/emigration-and-migration-from-yorkshire-england/

7:00 PM: Retracing Freedom in Canada: Following Harriet Tubman’s Path North, by Douglas Mitchell for OGS Niagara Peninsula Branch
https://niagara.ogs.on.ca/events/harriet-tubman-in-canada-with-douglas-mitchell-niagara-peninsula-branch-webinar-series/

Saturday 21 February

10:00 AM: Exploring the ScotlandsPeople Website, by Christine Woodcock for OGS Kingston Branch.
https://kingston.ogs.on.ca/events/kingston-branch-ogs-meeting-2026-02-21-to-be-announced/

10:00AM: Princes, prelates and Palatines – gain new perspectives on the Great Migration of 1709, by Claire McCormick for the OGS Irish Palatine Special Interest Group of Ontario Ancestors
https://ip-sig.ogs.on.ca/
It’s also featured for OGS Quinte Branch.
https://quinte.ogs.on.ca/events/february-21-2026-at-1000am-zoom-event-irish-palatine-presentation-from-dr-claire-mccormick/

A survey reported in the 11 March issue of The Weekly Genealogist, by American Ancestors, found that 7% of respondents had at least one parent who relocated due to climate/weather issues.
Assuming the statistic applies across generations, what is the likelihood that at least one ancestor relocated due to weather/climate issues?

As the weather will impact a nuclear family equally, if they move, all will move; it’s likely that many more than one will have moved. There’s an assumption that all ancestors in the tree are unique (no pedigree collapse).

In the American Ancestors survey, based on 3,355 responses, 40% reported not being aware of any of their ancestors relocating because of climate/weather.

Does that imply 60% were aware? If so, and considering the estimates in the table, it suggests that at about the G-Grandparent to GG-Grandparent level, people become unaware of the impact of climate and weather on their ancestors’ migration.

The survey was restricted to migration caused by climate or weather. Other impacts, including death, would need to be included to evaluate the importance for family history.

Miscellaneous items I found interesting this week.

BIFHSGO Weather and Family History Poll
At Saturday’s BIFHSGO meeting, 40 attendees responded in a poll “Which of the following were significant for your family history?” Three choices were given. All that apply could be selected.

Responses were

Steve Jobs: the lost interview

Vinegar Valentine

How to stay positive when it never stops raining

Parents around the world are ditching traditional baby names 

This week we’ve all been shocked by the mass shooting at Tumbler Ridge. I’d selected the link above before that tragedy, but reading the names of those whose lives were taken brought it home to me:

Abel, Ezekiel, Kylie, Zoey, Emmett, Jennifer, Ticana, Shannda

Thanks to the following individuals for their comments and tips: Anonymous, Barbara Tose, Carolyn, Dianne Brydon, Gail, Ken McKinlay, Lesley Anderson, Lynne Willoughby, Mary Pomfret, Sue, and Unknown.

Historical Weather Resources Online for Genealogists

John D Reid, for the British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa, 14 February 2026

Early descriptive weather information is found in documents such as diaries and early newspapers. Measurements started with the invention of the barometer and thermometer in the 17th century. Widespread systematic weather observations now available online came with the establishment of the British Meteorological Office (1854), the US Weather Bureau (1870) and the Meteorological Service of Canada (1871).

Serendipity

Historical sea ice and iceberg conditions in the North Atlantic and the Gulf of St Lawrence, back to 1810 – https://newicedata.com/

Weather Lore: A Collection of Proverbs, Sayings & Rules Concerning the Weather, by Richard Inwards – https://archive.org/details/b24870638

Symbolic associations between birth weather and personality traits.

Sunshine and Clear Skies – Joy, optimism, warmth, and clarity.
Cloudy or Overcast Skies – Mystery, depth, and introspection.
Rainy Days – Renewal, nourishment, and introspection.
Stormy Weather –  Strength, passion, and transformation.
Snowy Conditions – Purity, resilience, and quiet strength.
Windy Days – Change, freedom, and adaptability.

This week, FMP adds over 267,000 new records from Lancashire and Yorkshire, plus 286,735 pages new newspaper pages.

Greater Manchester Rate Books

262,466 records have been added to the larger collection of almost five million taxpayer names from the early nineteenth century to the mid-twentieth century in the boroughs that now make up Greater Manchester.

A census substitute, the information included is:

• Name of Occupier (head of household)
• Name of Owner
• Description of the property (house or business)
• Street Address/Township/Parish
• Rate to be paid (e.g. poor rate, water rate)
• Amount to be paid
• Date paid or any default on payment

Every fifth year’s rate books are indexed to coincide with census years for parts of the following boroughs:

• Bolton 1916-1936
• Manchester 1706-1941
• Oldham 1841-1936
• Rochdale 1826-1921
• Stockport 1886-1921
• Tameside 1846-1936
• Trafford 1836-1931
• Wigan 1806-1936

Yorkshire Marriages

An additional 4,986 records for 1883-1926. FMP doesn’t reveal the communities and years added in this small addition to a collection now totalling 4,502,537. Each record includes a transcript and, often, an image of the original record, saving the time and the cost of obtaining a GRO certificate.

Newspapers
FMP gets its newspapers from the sister site, the British Newspaper Archive.

This week’s two new BNA titles are Pullen’s Kent Argus (1857) and  Mansfield & North Nottinghamshire Chronicle-Advertiser (1986-1987, 1990-1995, 1999-2000).

Smaller additions are:  Pawnbrokers’ Gazette (1857), Kilsyth Chronicle (1944-1945, 1948), Horwich Chronicle (1888-1891, 1909-1911, 1913), and Finchley Press (1910-1913, 1919)