Month: October 2023

An update to newspapers.com for Canada in the past month, aside from present-year issues and the Star Weekly previously mentioned, is the Semi-Weekly Spectator from Hamilton. There are 5,571 pages newly available from 1846 to 1859.

For England, the Daily Post (North West ed.), published in Liverpool, is added with 13,714 pages from 1966 to 1996.

The South Wales Evening Post, published in Swansea, is updated to 241,722 pages from 1893 to 1994.

There were no additions in the past month for Scotland, Ireland, Australia, or New Zealand—lots for the US.

So far this year the European Patent Office has published these patents for Ancestry.com. Give youself a gold star if you understand!

DETECTING IBD EFFICIENTLY USING A DISTRIBUTED SYSTEM
Abstract
Disclosed herein relates to a method that uses the RAM of multiple servers to increase the efficiency of identifying segments of a target dataset that match segments of other datasets in a database. An encoding system may encode large genetic datasets to produce pairs of bitmap sequence pairs that correspond to an encoding scheme. The servers each store portions of the database in their hard drives based on a shared characteristic of the genetic datasets in the database, such as ethnicity or location of birth. The servers encode data from their hard drives and sustain the encoded data in their RAM. A target, or query, individual is input for matching. The servers match the encoded data of the target individual with encoded data in their flash drives and can determine a relationship. The servers sustain the encoded data in RAM to compare against subsequent target individuals.

MACHINE-LEARNING BASED AUTOMATED DOCUMENT INTEGRATION INTO GENEALOGICAL TREES
Abstract
Systems and methods for importing documents are described. An input image is received and preprocessed. OCR and/or page segmentation and chapter detection are performed. Special-case processing is performed for lists, tables, free text, and other categories. Anaphora (repetition at the beginning of a sentence to create emphasis) analysis, stemming (the process of reducing a word to its stem that affixes to suffixes and prefixes or to the roots of words known as “lemmas”), lemmatization (grouping together different inflected forms of the same word), and relationship detection are performed. A genealogical tree is generated, augmented, or merged based on the extracted entities and relationships.

TRANSFORMING AND NAVIGATING HISTORICAL MAP IMAGES
Abstract
Systems and methods for transforming and navigating historical map images are presented. The systems and methods embodiments facilitate providing, searching for, retrieving, transforming, and/or navigating a historical map image vis-à-vis a modern location and/or map. A map interface facilitates automatedly overlaying, annotating, and aligning a historical map image(s) with a modern map, allowing a user to search for a location and see the same in the historical map image, and change a visibility of the overlaid and aligned map images relative to each other. The map interface provides user interactions that facilitate retrieving, viewing, and manipulating records, historical districts, and other pertinent data through interacting with a particular location and/or searched-for individual, such as an ancestor or other person of interest.

This collection contains 251,239 index records of wills of some of the soldiers who died while serving in the British armed forces between the years 1865 and 1970. Records typically include the name of the deceased, regiment number, date of death and probate number.

As there were over one million UK service deaths in the two world wars, a person of interest may well be missing.

MyHeritage collected these index records from those available in the Probate Office where the collection starts in 1850 and ends in 1986. An advantage of MyHeritage is you do not need to specify the year of death.

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. Are you looking for more options? Additional mainly US events are listed at https://conferencekeeper.org/virtual.

Tuesday 17 October

2 pm: OGS Ottawa Branch Virtual Drop-in.
https://meet.google.com/nvz-kftj-dax

2:30 pm: Tips on Deciphering Records in Foreign Languages, by Cynthia Theusch for Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center.
https://acpl.libnet.info/event/9189110

8 pm: Steamer Kate Explosion: Correlating Indirect Evidence to Identify and Correct an Error, by Ann Staley for Legacy Family Tree Webinars and BCG.
https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar/steamer-kate-explosion-correlating-indirect-evidence-to-identify-and-correct-an-error/

Wednesday 18 October

2 pm: The Gentlemen Judges: Justices of the Peace, by Judy Russell for Legacy Family Tree Webinars.
https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar/the-gentlemen-judges-justices-of-the-peace/

2 pm: Wednesdays with Witcher: Answering the “Where do I go from” question by Curt Witcher for Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center. https://acpl.libnet.info/event/9186311

Thursday 19 October

6:30 pm:  Navigating Fold3: Your Gateway to Researching Military Ancestors and Beyond, by Elizabeth Hodges for Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center.
https://acpl.libnet.info/event/9189217

7 pm: Dive Deeper into Researching your Ontario Ancestors, by
Kathryn Lake Hogan for OGS (Members Only)
https://ogs.on.ca/education-programs/

Friday 20 October

11:30 am: Deconstructing Family Stories: Are They Fact, Fiction, or a Little of Both (a 2023 Reisinger Lecture), by Barbara Vines Little for Legacy Family Tree Webinars and BCG.
https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar/deconstructing-family-stories-are-they-fact-fiction-or-a-little-of-both/

This is the first of five lectures in a day-long series, also with Shannon Green, Gary Ball-Kilbourne, Jennifer Zinck, and Karen Stanbary.

Saturday 21 October

1 pm: Researching Your Argyll Ancestors in the Argyll Estate Papers, by Dena Palamedes for OGS Ottawa Branch.
https://ottawa.ogs.on.ca/events/researching-your-argyll-ancestors-in-the-argyll-estate-papers-ottawa/

1 pm: Researching Canadian Nurses, Pilots and Sailors in the First World War, by Kathryn Lake Hogan for OGS Quinte Branch.
https://quinte.ogs.on.ca/

Each year organizations federally registered as charities in Canada for tax purposes must file returns with the Canada Revenue Agency. Financial and other information is available on the Revenue Canada website. Search for individual society reports at
https://apps.cra-arc.gc.ca/ebci/hacc/srch/pub/dsplyBscSrch?request_locale=en.

This post reprises and updates that of 11 August to incorporate MGS, GANS, SGS, and VGS reports. The SGCH report remains unavailable.

While two societies received substantial donations, for two-thirds revenues declined from the previous year and expenditures exceeded revenues.

Figures for the previous financial period (usually calendar year) follow the most recent in parentheses.

Alberta Genealogical Society

For the reporting period ending 2022-12-31, total assets of $1,041,398 ($590,395) and liabilities of $212,232 ($175,854.) The total revenue was $614,488 ($188,456.) That included an extraordinary item, a charitable tax eligible gift or gifts, totalling $422,882.  Expenditures totalled 199,863 ($183,798). The individual annual membership fee remains $50 for digital journal subscription. 

British Columbia Genealogical Society

For the reporting period ending 2022-12-31, total assets of $216,503 ($233,931) and liabilities of $20,517 ($37,201.) The total revenue was $27,392 ($29,895.) Expenditures totalled $28,201 ($29,895). The individual annual new membership fee remins $65.

Family History Society of Newfoundland and Labrador Inc

For the reporting period ending 2022-12-31, total assets of $78,308 ($80,912) and no liabilities. The total revenue was $32,500 ($35,743.) Expenditures totalled $34,912 ($27,526.) The individual annual membership fee remains $42.

Manitoba Genealogical Society

For the reporting period ending 2022-12-31, total assets were $87,173 ($76,104) and total liabilities of $13,100 ( $12,516). Total revenues were $69,300  ($91,050) and expenditures $58,815 ($79,710.)The individual annual membership fee is $60 ($50.)

For the reporting period ending 2021-12-31, total assets of $2,034,220 ($1,577,182) and liabilities of $280,466 ($271,019,) The total revenue was $1,004,580 ($552,102.) That included an extraordinary item, a gift or gifts, totalling $651,492.  Expenditures totalled  $556,489 ($518,402.) The individual annual membership fee remains $63.

For the reporting period ending 2021-07-31, total assets of $18,985 ($24,235) and liabilities of $4,593 ($7,260.) The total revenue was $29,203 ($43,066.) Expenditures totalled $31,785 ($31,269.) The individual annual fee remains at $75.

For the reporting period ending 2022-12-31 total assets were $220,754 ($232,273.), liabilities $116,355 ($117,868). Total revenues were $222,338 ($240,443) and expenditures $232,345 ($227,656.) Individual basic annual membership remains $70.

For the reporting period ending 2022-12-31 information is still not yet posted.

For the reporting period ending 2023-05-31  Total assests were $44,093 ($49,864) and liabilities $0 ($0. ) Total revenues were $21,680 ($25,410) and expenditures $26,507 ($28,230) Individual annual membership remains $60.

 

UK, Wills of Royal Navy and Royal Marines Personnel, 1786-1882, sourced from ADM 48: Navy Board, Navy Pay Office, and Admiralty, Accountant General’s Department: Seamen’s Wills at TNA, contains 32,361 records.

Most are handwritten onto pre-printed forms. You will usually find name, rank, will date, ship, captain, esecutor and beneficiary on the first page. Be sure to look beyond the first page for other information.

Miscellaneous items I found of interest during the week.

There’s a great sense of relief about viewing death practically
An essay for The Telegraph by Billy Connolly

LAC DHCP Applications Open
While genealogical and family history societies have had rather limited success in the Documentary Heritage Communities Program, this project funding source is available for the right project(s). Applications for funding for the 2024–2025 cycle are being received until 11 January 2024.

In From the Cold
This UK project recently had 53 new WW1 names and one WW2 name accepted by the CWGC for commemoration as official war casualties. Almost all died post-discharge of various illnesses.

Centenarian blood tests give hints of the secrets to longevity

Thanks to this week’s contributors: Anonymous, Brenda Turner, Teresa, Unknown.

Ancestry’s card index notes updates to Hampshire records, with images of the original.

Hampshire, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1536-1812
1,999,963 records.

Hampshire, England, Church of England Baptisms, 1813-1921
1,586,354 records.

Hampshire, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1921
794,719 records.

Hampshire, England, Church of England Burials, 1813-1921
304,643 records.

However, the number of records for each is exactly the same as back in May. What’s changed Ancestry?

Shown here are additions to Canadiana Heritage extracted since the start of the month:

Three digital microfilms for the Department of Indian Affairs, Headquarters central registry system : First series (C-8239 to C-8241),

Five for Nominal rolls and paylists for the Volunteer Militia of various date ranges from 1855 to 1916 (T-16767 to
T-16772),

Three identified only as Records of entry and other records (T-16597 to T-16599),

Seven Western Land Grants between 1907 and 1917 (C-6170, C-6207, C-6218, C-6229, C-6230, C-6429, C-6555).

The Land Grants are from the LAC collection Canada. Department of the Interior: Letters patent which contains
274 reels. According to LAC
“This collection consists of copies of (one page) Letters Patent issued on lands granted by the Department of the Interior and its predecessors from July 13, 1883, to February 28, 1950. The copies have been given individual folio numbers and are bound together into libers (books) which are numbered sequentially from 1 to 1039. These documents were issued on western homestead lands only when a Homestead Inspector confirmed that the conditions of residency, cultivation and construction, as required by the various Dominion Lands Acts, had been met by the homesteader.”

Suppose you were looking for the patent issued to George Schmaltz. who obtained land in Township Eight, Range Eight, West of the Fourth Meridian in the Province of Alberta.

Canadiana Heritage provides no way to find it short of scanning every microfilm, and it may not even be in their collection.

The LAC Collection Search is of no help. Instead, at LAC go to A to Z tools and guides, then to the last page and Western Land Grants (1870-1930). Searching Schmaltz gives 21 hits including 2 for George.

One hit has a map and the information it’s Folio: 482, Liber: 772, Microfilm Reel Number: C-6555, Item Number: 270127. Microfilm C-6555 is one newly added to the Heritage collection, described as including Liber 772, Folio 57 to Liber 773, Folio 190. BINGO! Now you just have to figure out where on the microfilm you find it.

It turns out the patent was issued on 19 December 1917.

The second George Schmaltz hit also has a map and Folio: 390, Liber: 600, Microfilm Reel Number: C-6412, Item Number: 270128. C-6412 isn’t in the Heritage collection.

This is an example of where LAC and Canadian Heritage both have good information but don’t play nicely together.

Ancestry has a collection Alberta, Canada, Homestead Records, 1870-1930 providing additional information.

This week’s additions are for Oxfordshire and are obtained through an agreement with FamilySearch.

Oxfordshire Baptisms
20,185 additions make the collection total 233,822 transcription records from 1524 to 1950 for 163 parishes. Banbury, Bampton and Bicester each have over 10,000 entries.

Oxfordshire Marriages
The 67,864 total records within this set are a combination of new and existing records, with 13,098 new ones added this week. They span from 1538 to 1936 for 153 parishes.

Banbury and Oxford have more than 5,000 transcription records each.

Oxfordshire Burials
These transcription records are mostly new, 34,612 new of the 37,241 collection total, Again Banbury tops the list with 3,650 entries, folowed by Bampton with 3,325.

A reminder of the presentations this Saturday, 14 October at the BIFHSGO monthly meeting

9 am: Ireland in Ken McKinlay’s Back to Basics series. Details of the series are on the Events page of the BIFHSGO website, www.bifhsgo.ca/events .

10 am: From Derry to the Pontiac: The Dales of Clarendon, presented by Nancy Dale Conroy.

10:00 am – 11:30 am EDT:  Feature Talk

Attend the meeting in person at Knox Presbyterian Church, 120 Lisgar St. on the corner of Elgin St. in Ottawa, or register HERE to attend online.

On Friday at 9 am ET Sean Cunningham, Head of Medieval and Early Modern Collections at The National Archives (UK), will explore some of their records which reveal how life and death were understood in medieval lives across the country.

From memorials and tombs to prayers, spirits and magic, the links between the living and the dead were compelling in pre-modern society.

Book in advance at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/connecting-with-the-dead-in-medieval-england-wales-tickets-698281718417?aff=web