Month: February 2023

Happy St David’s Day.

Actually, it’s tomorrow, 1 March, but if you want to try the traditional Welsh dish, Cawl, you need to start the preparation today — it’s not fast food.

The February Branch meeting, online-only, starts at 7:30 pm. with a mini-presentation from Gordon McBean: Maybe She is Not Mine! Righting a Wrong. Find out what happens when the obvious person is not really the right person!

The main event has Jessica Algie from the City of Toronto Archives demonstrating, step-by-step, how to find your ancestors in municipal archival records. Archivist John Dirks will give you a sneak peek at an exciting, newly processed collection, Fonds 602, First Unitarian Congregation of Toronto, which is now available for research at the City of Toronto Archives.

Find out more and register for this free session at https://torontofamilyhistory.org/february-2023-meeting/

Mention of war brides who married Canadian WW2 servicemen in the UK and made a life in Canada is overdue on the blog.

Newmarket Today published the story of Monica Frampton who married Queen’s Own Rifles soldier Howard Sisler in 1942 and arrived in Canada in 1946. Her sister Yvonne followed her and married a Sisler brother.

https://www.newmarkettoday.ca/remember-this/remember-this-many-war-brides-shared-common-roots-in-newmarket-6597068

Back in November 2021, I quoted an estimate of 700 war bride survivors for the end of that year. That’s now likely below 500.

The Belfast Branch of the North of Ireland FHS hosts the presentation Emigration from the North of Ireland to the Canadian Maritimes, by Paddy Fitzgerald on Tuesday, 28 February 2023, at 2 pm EST. 

Non-members are welcome. To join contact the Branch Secretary in advance at Belfast@nifhs.org to request the Zoom link.

https://www.nifhs.org/events/category/nifhs/belfast-branch/

Miscellaneous items I found of interest during the week.

43rd anniversary of Yes Minister.

Charles II sculpture gives new life to pub’s dead oak tree

A Guide to the Naval Records of the National Archives of the UK, by Randolph Cock and N A M Rodger.
Free online as a pdf, the 2nd edition of this large volume may be a bit dated in the details.

The Holloway Aeronauts: Charles Green

New from Global Genealogy, and Specials
This week Global Genealogy Published The Ancestors and Descendants of John Cameron, United Empire Loyalist and Lady Mary Cameron of Cornwall Township, by Duncan (Darby) MacDonald. Back in print this week, The Picturesque St. Lawrence River, Kingston and Cape Vincent to Morristown and Brockville (1895), by Jno. A. Haddock. Also a selection of book at 50% off- that sale end today (Sunday) while supplies last. Find out more here.

The LDS perspective on Rootstech
Not long to wait now!

Genealogy and the Little Ice Age
New from Calgarian Wayne Shepheard and Australian publisher Unlock The Past.

A Year of War in Ukraine (map)

Thanks to this week’s contributors: Anonymous, Brenda Turner, Glenn Wright, Nancy, Paul Milner, Penny Allen, Teresa, Unknown

When at Heritage Day at Ottawa City Hall I had a brief chat with Tabitha Renaud, the new Cumberland Heritage Village Museum administrator.

The museum is looking for individuals to share history with the public and to deliver museum programming. These part-time, permanent positions are with the City of Ottawa and pay approximately $17-20 an hour.

See the  job  postings for Specialist, Heritage (Part-time) and Specialist, Heritage Programming (Part-time)

If you know of someone who might be interested, suggest they contact Tabitha, who would be interested to hear from potential volunteers at Cumberland too, at: tabitha.renaud@ottawa.ca/.

Other city museums may also be looking for volunteers (which non-profit organization doesn’t need volunteers!)

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission has posted the February list appealing for next of kin of those whose grave markers are being placed or replaced.

Of the 32 names on the list one, Pvt Edward Hodges (166799), served with Canadian forces. He died on 4 September 1916 and is buried in the cemetery at Snodland (Kent), his birthplace.

His attestation paper at LAC lists a married sister, Eva Chappelle,  living in Mount Denis (now part of Toronto). She is also mentioned in Canadian newspaper clippings attached to his entry in the Canadian Virtual War Memorial. Those suggest  relatives, descendants of his sister, remain in Canada.

This kind of challenge is a good way of sharpening your research skills.

Three sets of additions to English records appear on Findmypast this week.

Lincolnshire Baptisms
This is the largest addition this week, with 216,638 new records covering 1754-1812 and 269 churches and chapels across the county. Typically, you can find transcription and linked images of the original record including the parents’ names and the date of the baptism. Records are sourced from the Lincolnshire Archives.

Suffolk Marriage Index
A further 52,387 records have been added to this transcription set from the Suffolk Family History Society. It covers 1813-1837 and over 500 churches. You’ll normally find  name, marital status and parish, plus that of their spouse, and the date and place of the marriage.

National School Admissions Register
Recently FMP has been focusing on Yorkshire for additions to this collection. This week its 5,709 transcript records for Halifax, where you’ll find name, address, father’s name and occupation, and sometimes notes on their exam results and reasons for absence.

On 23 February, 76 additional names of war casualties identified by the In From the Cold project were accepted for commemoration by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. No Canadians are on that list.

While the majority are from the Great War, 22 civilians, infants to age 45, died when a Japanese submarine sank the MV Mamutu on an evacuation mission to Australia from PNG on 7 August 1942. There were 28 survivors from the total complement of 120 persons.

Of the others, many must have been overlooked as they died post-discharge, most frequently of tuberculosis.

Only one commissioned officer, Wallace John Taylor, a 49 year old Second Lieutenant with the Home Guard, is included. He was accidentally shot by machine gun. Another WW2 member of the Home Guard, 19 year old David Anderson, also died by an accidental gunshot. Wooden rifles do have their benefits!

All those in this list have last names starting from A to T; there are probably others later in the alphabet awaiting processing by the CWGC.

This offer arrived in my inbox:

Earn 500 MB for every friend who installs the Dropbox desktop app—and your friend will get 500 MB too. They can sign up for any plan and you get your bonus space the minute they download the app.

If you’d like to be that friend, and only if this offer is of any value to you, maybe just as extra security to backup some particularly valuable files using a new free account, sign up at https://www.dropbox.com/referrals/AACscMD2gOa9FFAVXkGnTvWuo_yGZGd7YcU?src=global9

In case you’re not familiar with Dropbox, take a look at this 15 minute video.