Trent Valley, Ontario Records NEW on Ancestry

Ancestry just added these Ontario records.

Trent Valley, Ontario, Canada, Membership Records from Fraternal Organizations, 1919-1971 has 923 records consisting of images of membership rolls and dues registers. Included are when admitted, signature, residence, occupation. and a second page with notes on length of membership and if deceased.

Trent Valley, Ontario, Canada, Peterborough Examiner Obituaries, 1980-1991 contains a summary transcription and images of the newspaper notice of these 135,548 obituaries. Interestingly, the Peterborough Examiner is not (yet) in the newspapers.com collection. However, there’s a collection of digitized areas newspapers from the Trent Valley Archives. They are presently unavailable as they’re hosted at archive.org which is dealing with a hacker attack.

Ottawa Branch Monthly Meeting: 19 October

Woe is me. I omitted mentioning Ken McKinlay’s presentation to OGS Ottawa Branch next Saturday at 1 p.m. in Tuesday’s roundup.

In Exploring Library and Archives Canada Online (Ottawa) Ken will look at the new LAC site, touch upon using the new census search system, and explore other resources they have made available to us.

The meeting is online. Find out more at https://ottawa.ogs.on.ca/events/exploring-library-and-archives-canada-online-ottawa/

Vivid-Pix Memory Station Donation

Vivid-Pix, and CEO Rick Voight, are big supporters of the Ontario Genealogical Society. They were exhibitors at the conference in Toronto (Mississauga) in June and donated a Memory Station, including a scanner and Memory Station software, to the Ontario heritage community valued at $2K CAD.

Memory Stations installed in libraries, archives, and senior living facilities allow visitors and residents to gather and share their stories. Is this an opportunity for an Ontario organization in your area?

OGS members may submit their ideas to OGS volunteer Paul Jones, who helped arrange the donation and has agreed to collect, collate, and forward ideas for Rick and his advisers’ consideration. Contact Paul at paul.jones@ogs.on.ca. Suggestions must be received by October 26, 2024.

Vicid-Pix demonstrated Memory Station at the OGS conference. If you missed it and are interested, take advantage of a free trial offer on Vivid-Pix Memory Station Software for Windows. Create 5 Stories with images already on your computer. Includes 10 Free RESTORE Fixes.

 

 

This Week’s Online Genealogy Events

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, 15 October

2 pm: Ottawa Virtual Genealogy Drop-In, for OGS Ottawa Branch
https://ottawa.ogs.on.ca/events/virtual-genealogy-drop-in-2-2024-10-15/

2:30 pm: Listening to the Voices of Your Ancestors, by Megan Reilly Koepsell for Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center.
https://acpl.libnet.info/event/11773150

8 pm: Sense and Sensibility: The Power of Logic, Intuition, and Critical Thinking, by Robbie Johnson for Legacy Family Tree Webinars.
https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar/sense-and-sensibility-the-power-of-logic-intuition-and-critical-thinking/

Wednesday, 16 October

1 pm: Whither the Public Lecture? by Martin Elliott for Gresham College.
https://www.gresham.ac.uk/whats-on/provost-24

2 pm: Luther, Napoleon and the Kaiser – German History for Genealogists, by Ursula C. Krause for Legacy Family Tree Webinars.
https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar/luther-napoleon-and-the-kaiser-german-history-for-genealogists/

2 pm: Wednesdays With Witcher: Tips for Doing Reasonably
Exhaustive Research, by Curt Witcher for Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center.
https://acpl.libnet.info/event/11773287

2:30 pm: Fenland Folklore, by Mary Burgess for Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire FHS.
https://www.familyhistoryfederation.com/fenland-folklore-with-mary-burgess-1827

7 pm: AncestryDNA’s TIMBER, ThruLines, and SideView, by Blaine Bettinger for OGS Thunder Bay District Branch.
https://thunderbay.ogs.on.ca/events/thunder-bay-branch-ancestrydnas-timber-thrulines-and-sideview-with-blaine-bettinger/

Thursday, 17 October

6:30 pm: The Power of Voice and the Joy of Interviewing. by Rhonda Lauritzen for Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center.
https://acpl.libnet.info/event/11773343

Friday, 18 October

2 pm: Hidden Quebec Records on FamilySearch, byJohanne Gervais for Legacy Family Tree Webinars.
https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar/hidden-quebec-records-on-familysearch/

7 pm: What’s Happening at Grimsby Historical Society, by Ev Page for OGS Niagara Peninsula Branch.
https://niagara.ogs.on.ca/events/niagara-peninsula-branch-monthly-webinar-series-2024-2024-10-18/

Saturday, 19 October

10 a.m. The Ontario Name Index (TONI): An Introduction, by Mike More for OGS Kingston Branch.
https://kingston.ogs.on.ca/events/the-ontario-name-index-toni-an-introduction-by-mike-more/

What would it have been like to live in an English village 400 years ago?

Research findings are presented in a four-part podcast by Mark Hailwood. Based substantially on witness statements in court cases, he addresses:

Episode 1: Hard, Cold, Short?
Episode 2: Working Life
Episode 3: Isolated and Insular?
Episode 4: Close-knit Communities?

It turned out life was more varied, and not as dull and monotonous, as respondents to a modern survey believed.

The History Association, the UK National Charity for History, makes an introduction to the series available here. It has a link to register with an email address to access them. They are free – you do not need to become a member of the HA.

Hurricane Hazel

Were you or an ancestor in Toronto 70 years ago?

Today marks the 70th anniversary of devastating Hurricane Hazel, which struck the Toronto area on 15-16 October 1954. It was Toronto’s worst natural disaster, leaving 81 dead, nearly 1900 families homeless, and causing between $25 and $100 million in damages.

During the storm, winds reached 124 km/h, and over 200 millimetres of rain fell in 24 hours. The heavily flooded areas were expropriated and barred from having homes, and most of the land was later converted into an extensive park system along Toronto’s rivers.

Read more on Wikipedia.

The Unicorn?

A new Royal Coat of Arms has been unveiled. It continues to feature a lion, representing England, and a unicorn. What’s the meaning of the unicorn?

See the news release here.  There’s a full colour version of the Royal Coat of Arms here.

Military Monday

The following is from The National Archives (UK)

Royal Flying Corps and Successors: World War One Gallantry Award Medal Index Cards Released

The National Archives, in partnership with Forces War Records, the leading military family history website from Ancestry®, has launched a digital collection of Royal Flying Corps and successors: World War One Gallantry Award Medal Index Cards

The collection contains almost 12,000 cards and are a mixture of handwritten and typed records, and include a rare ‘Mentioned in Despatches’ cards that consist of members of the armed forces who were mentioned in an official report by a superior officer and sent to the high command. This mention is considered a commendation for a noteworthy act or service of gallantry.

“This collection is such an important one for Forces War Records and our community” shared Ancestry’s Military Genealogist, Simon Pearce, “because it offers a fascinating insight into the bravery and dedication to duty of those who served with the aerial forces during WWI. The war accelerated huge advances in technology and aerial warfare, and our ancestors were at the forefront of these developments. Perhaps you’ll discover a family member who was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross or the Military Medal for their actions, or maybe they gained an award from one of Britain’s allies.”

Sunday Sundries

Miscellaneous items I found of interest during the week.

Clergy of the Church of England Index, 1540-1835
Ancestry has made available a version of the free database at https://theclergydatabase.org.uk/.

New York State Marriages, 1881-1952
On 8 October MyHeritage added 5,134,824 records for NYS marriages, with images. The index of this collection was produced by MyHeritage from scanned images of the original documents that were obtained through Reclaim the Records. This index does not contain lists of marriages from the separate jurisdiction of New York City.

15-minute city platform
See how 15-minute worldwide cities are! Click on a city to
open the map with the times of accessibility or check the rankings in the bar below.

Documentary Heritage Communities Program (DHCP)
Documentary heritage organizations across the country can now apply for funding for the 2025–2026 cycle of Library and Archives Canada’s DHCP. Read the News release.

A History of Calendars for Genealogists
Jenny Joyce presented this in the Legacy Family Tree Webinars series on Wednesday. It’s good to know information, clearly presented. The webinar is free for a week.

Thanks to this week’s contributors: Anonymous, Brenda Turner, gail benjafield, Nick Mcdonald, Teresa, Unknown.

Findmypast Weekly Update

Perhaps you can get excited about the new Jamaica transcript baptism, marriage, and burial records now on Findmypast. They are for 1664 to 1880:  404,465 baptisms, 89,180 marriages, and 196,146 burials.

The Daily Express (1900-1999) and the Sunday Express (1918-1999) are now available. As these were the papers that came into our house, I expect to dig into the pages for context on memorable events for my family, like this coverage of the 1953 North Sea Flood.