Author: John Reid

This Week’s Online Genealogy Events

Choose from selected free online events today. All times are ET except as noted. Assume registration in advance is required; check so you’re not disappointed. Find out about a few more, mainly US events, at Conference Keeper.

Tuesday, 21 January

2 pm: Ottawa Virtual Genealogy Drop-in, by OGS Ottawa Branch.
https://ottawa.ogs.on.ca/events/virtual-genealogy-drop-in-2-2025-01-21/

2:30 pm: Piecing Together the Past: Tools and Techniques for – African American Genealogy, by Sarah Day for Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center.
https://acpl.libnet.info/event/12433567

8 pm: The Everleigh Sisters: A Case Study in Conflict Resolution, by Karen Stanbary for Legacy Family Tree Webinars and BCG.
https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar/the-everleigh-sisters-a-case-study-in-conflict-resolution/

Wednesday, 22 January

2 pm: Using the Collaborate Tool at FamilySearch, by Karen Clifford for Legacy Family Tree Webinars.
https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar/using-the-collaborate-tool-at-familysearch/

7 pm: The Abbot of Kingsmere: MacKenzie King and His Ruins, by Peter Coffman for Heritage Ottawa. 
https://heritageottawa.org/events/abbot-kingsmere-mackenzie-king-and-his-ruins

Thursday, 23 January

7 pm: British Home Children to Canada – Three Sisters from Kensington and Chelsea Union (Ottawa), by Gloria Tubman for OGS Ottawa Branch.
https://ottawa.ogs.on.ca/events/ottawa-branch-presentation-details-tbd-2025-01-23/

Friday, 24 January

2 pm: 10 Practical Uses of AI for Family History, by Andrew Redfern for Legacy Family Tree Webinars. (Members only)
https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar/10-practical-uses-of-ai-for-family-history/

Saturday, 25 January

5 am to 7 am, and 9 am to 11 am: East Surrey Family History Society Virtual Family History Show
https://www.familyhistoryfederation.com/london-westminster-middlesex-fhs-1975

How to Browse All Digitized Titles in Chronicling America

How and why the UK National Archives move documents offsite

Ancestry Announces Leadership Transition

Deb Liu to step down. , Howard Hochhauser, presently Chief Financial and Chief Operating Officer, appointed new President & CEO effective 1 February.

The Family History AI Show: EP22: The Google Empire Strikes Back: Deep Research Challenges Perplexity, NotebookLM’s Big Updates, and Facebook Adds AI to Groups

Miscellaneous items I found of interest during the week. In this post:
Extreme Cold Warning
Congestion Pricing
FindmyPast Weekly Update
New on Ancestry
British Newspaper Archives Update
Newspapers.com Canadian Updates
Identifying a Canadian Birth Mother: A DNA Story

Extreme Cold Warning

Overnight temperatures in Ottawa are forecast to drop below -20C on Monday and Tuesday nights. Those would be the coldest since February 2023. Be prepared if you’re looking skyward to see the rare alignment of six planets on 21 January.

Congestion Pricing

On Sunday, 5 January,  New York City became the first in the US to implement congestion pricing. It costs $9 for passenger vehicles during peak hours and $2.25 off-peak to enter Manhatten’s busiest part. Congestion pricing has existed in London, Singapore and Stockholm for years.
https://grist.org/article/the-climate-benefits-of-nycs-hard-won-congestion-pricing-plan/

FindmyPast Weekly Update

The 89,704 Kent monumental inscriptions added bring the total to 106,278. These index entries provide name, age at death or birth year, denomination and place. Year of death is not given. There is a link to the Kent FHS with more detail, usually for £2.50, £4.00 for some. For those interested in the name Keel, are now 26 items in the collection.

Kent, Freemen of Canterbury has 18,380 records which document those granted the honour of Freedom of the City of Canterbury from the 16th to 19th centuries. Find the name of the master, father and spouse. The records are from the Canterbury Cathedral Archives .

Wiltshire Burials provides 55,967 new records for burials
between 1559 and 1837, bringing the total for this index to 2,151,528.

New on Ancestry

Updated is Quebec, Canada, Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1968, now with 41,012,638 records.
New is Ballymena, Antrim, Northern Ireland, Headstone Inscriptions, 1671-1996, with 10,193 records.

British Newspaper Archives Update

There are now 88,412,104 pages in the collection. In the past month, the following six new titles were added:
Bournemouth Times and Directory (1934–1950)
Cannock Chase Chronicle (1987–1995, 1997–2003)
Walsall Chronicle (1991, 1993–1995, 1998)
Louth Leader (2004)
Northern Weekly Gazette (2003)
Midland Counties Express (1995, 1998–1999).

Many of the additions are for 2004. Here are the top ten by number of pages added.

Newspapers.com Canadian Updates

Here are the Canadian newspaper updated in the past month, including only those that date back for more than a century. Many of the updates are adding 2024, those earlier are bolded.

Identifying a Canadian Birth Mother: A DNA Story

Thanks to Anonymous, Ken McKinlay, Teresa, and Unknown for this week’s contributions.

Canada, Names & Stories in Newspapers from OldNews.com has 382,759,442 entries. United Kingdom, Names & Stories in Newspapers from OldNews.com has 44,766,610.

These collections contain records of names, events, and stories extracted from newspaper articles using advanced AI technology developed by MyHeritage.
Records typically include the name of the individuals mentioned, the relationships between the individuals, the newspaper name, the publication place and date, and a snippet of text from the newspaper containing the reference. Records may include events such as birth and marriage announcements, obituaries, public achievements, business events, and more. Records often include additional details such as residence, occupation, and associated locations or institutions. Every record includes a useful summary of the article, generated automatically by AI.

Whereas the Canadian coverage is for various regional papers, most, if not all, of the UK entries are from the London, Edinburgh and Belfast Gazette.

LAC ATIP action plan progress report

Issued in December, the report shows progress for the 6 months ending 30 September. For all types of records, 8,645  items were late, down from 9,404 in June. At that rate, late items will be eliminated in 6 years’ time. Is that satisfactory progress?

Ancestry adds Dumbarton, Dunbartonshire, Scotland, Valuation Rolls, 1855-1930

The 1,821,383 records in this collection may include Name, Occupation, Name of tenant, Name of occupant, Address, and Parish Name. Valuation rolls typically state the type of property and its monetary value or rent charged. Browseable images of the original are included.

MyHeritge adds Israel, Marriages and Divorces

This collection includes 428,426 records from the Israel State Archives, dating from 1919. They typically include detailed information about the groom and bride, their names, birth year, residence, occupation, and ethnic community. Additionally, the records provide the date and place of the marriage or divorce, as well as the names of the parents of both individuals and the witnesses to the event. These are in a mix of Hebrew and other languages. For many, MyHeritage provides translation; ChatGPT was able to translate some that MyHeritage missed.

Canadiana Heritage adds Kingston Penitentiary : inmate description ledger

Now available, 1160 images from microfilm T-1948, the RG73-C-6 series at Library and Archives Canada.  They are handwritten punishment record books documenting inmate infractions, punishments, and disciplinary practices. These records include names, offences, and punishment details.
ChatGPT did a good job of transcribing an extract.

1921 Censuses of England, Wales, Channel Islands, Isle of Man on Ancestry

Ken McKinlay has a new blog post that may help you “in your noble quest to learn more about your family lines!” It’s his usual thorough exploration, this time for a 1921 census.

9 New Year Newspaper Research Resolutions

The latest newsletter from The Ancestor Hunt includes an article shared with permission from Storied.

This Week’s Online Genealogy Events

Choose from selected free online events today. All times are ET except as noted. Assume registration in advance is required; check so you’re not disappointed. Find out about a few more, mainly US events, at Conference Keeper.

Tuesday, 14 January

9 am: Family History Introduction, by Norfolk Record Office (UK).
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/family-history-introduction-online-workshop-tickets-1040497314477

2 pm: MyHeritage: Your Family Stories are Just One Click Away, by Melissa Barker for Legacy Family Tree Webinars.
https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar/myheritage-your-family-stories-are-just-one-click-away/

2:30 pm: Back to Basics: Understanding Autosomal, Mitochondrial, X-DNA, and Y-DNA Inheritance Patterns, by Laura A. Weber for Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center.
https://acpl.libnet.info/event/12454712

3 pm: Choosing a DNA Test for Your Research Goals, by Melanie McComb for American Ancestors.
https://www.americanancestors.org/events/choosing-dna-test-your-research-goals

Wednesday, 15 January

2 pm: Collaborative Trees: Making Them Work for You, by Drew Smith for Legacy Family Tree Webinars.
https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar/collaborative-trees-making-them-work-for-you/

Thursday, 16 January

6:30 pm: Heritage Travel: Top 10 Tips for Walking in Ancestral
Footsteps, by Lisa Vogele for Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center.
https://acpl.libnet.info/event/12433727

Friday, 17 January

2 pm: Las Californias: Alta, Baja, and Beyond, by Lisa Medina for Legacy Family Tree Webinars.
https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar/las-californias-alta-baja-and-beyond/

7 pm: World War II and The Polish Diaspora, by Nadia Rupniak for OGS Niagara Peninsula Branch.
https://niagara.ogs.on.ca/events/world-war-ii-and-the-polish-diaspora-with-nadia-rupniak-niagara-peninsula-branch-webinar-series/

Saturday, 18 January

10 am: Family History Show and Tell, OGS Kingston Branch. 
https://kingston.ogs.on.ca/events/kingston-branch-meeting-family-history-show-and-tell

1 pm: The Loyalist Era, by Jessica Chase for OGS Quinte Branch.
https://quinte.ogs.on.ca/the-loyalist-era-2/

Family Tree Magazine: January 2025

Here are the contents, copied from pages 4 and 5 of the latest issue.

FAMILY HISTORY NEWS
Read up on new family history-related projects & developments.

DEAR PAUL
Paul Chiddicks proves what a treasure trove old newspapers can be. (amusing odds and ends)

TWIGLETS
Gill Shaw trots on to pastures new with the Tonges – the family nobody seems to know much about …

FINDING YOUR WAY WITH HISTORICAL MAPS
Dr Sophie Kay is here to guide you through using maps with your family history research.

BEYOND IRISH BIRTH RECORDS
Chris Paton reflects on the impact of illegitimacy, societal expectations, and more, and how this may impact family history research in Ireland.

DNA WORKSHOP
DNA advisor Karen Evans helps readers to piece together their family history research with the aid of DNA.

EVIDENCE IN THE PARISH REGISTERS
Family Tree Academy tutor David Annal shows us how to break down a brick wall by thinking differently about what the parish registers can tell us.

WHERE WAS MY ANCESTOR FINALLY LAID TO REST?
Jonathan Conibere tells us about the challenge of locating the final resting place of an ancestor.

EXPLORING A TREASURE TROVE OF FAMILY LETTERS
Tania Taylor surveys an extensive collection of 19th century family letters

PHOTO CORNER
Jayne Shrimpton shares advice to help you date your unidentified pictures

ANCESTRY DNA
A mini guide to regions, subregions & journeys

SIX THINGS I WISH I’D KNOWN THEN
David Allen shares several invaluable lessons he has
learnt during the quarter of a century in which he’s been’
doing family history

YOUR LETTERS
Readers share their views.

INTERVIEW TIPS
Follow our handy checklist to make the most of a family history interview

DIARY DATES
Your round-up of the latest genealogy events

CLASSIFIED ADS
Professional researchers and more. Be sure to mention
Family Tree when responding to adverts!

CONTACT US
Useful contact details

THOUGHTS ON …
All is right with the world,

Miscellaneous items I found of interest during the week.

Genealogy Meets AI: Panel Discussion
It’s not just because this blog received a shoutout. Thank you Mark. I highly recommend viewing this panel discussion with Andrew Redfern, Blaine Bettinger, Diana Elder, Mark Thompson, Steve Little and Thomas MacEntee. Free until Wednesday at https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar/genealogy-meets-ai-panel-discussion/

RootsTech
Find a full schedule of presentations and registration for RootsTech 2025 at https://www.familysearch.org/en/rootstech/registration

Embroidered daily journaling

Irish Lives Remembered
It’s January 2025. Here’s the Summer 2024 issue, just released. We can’t blame Canada Post for the delay on this one.

How Trustworthy is a Welsh Accent?

2024 was the warmest year on record globally
According to the British Meteorological Office, 2024 was the first year that was likely more than 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.

Findmypast Weekly Update
New this week are United States, Passenger and Crew Lists. For New York they are from 1915 to 1957, 1,275,830 records; and California and Guam from 1947 to 1952.

TheGenealogist adds 1935-1940 Directories
This addition has 39 directories, mainly for England, covering over 6 million individuals and businesses.

Thanks to Anonymous, Teresa, and Unknown for this week’s contributions.

The UK Department of Justice has posted a summary of its conclusions following consultation on a proposal to destroy original will documents following digitization. Some 1600 responses were received. The large majority of responses vehemently opposed any destruction of original wills. That appears to have been accepted.

The summary is here. Annex A includes a list of organizations that responded, including genealogical, family history, historical, law, library and commercial enterprises. Organizations from Australia, New Zealand and Scotland responded, but none from Canada!

Bigamists, Bastards and Baffling Brick Walls: A Beginner’s
Guide to Discovering Your English Family History.
by Nick Thorne. This is a book notice. I’ve not had a chance to review it yet.

Scientist claims a surprising accent is the ‘most influential in the WORLD

BIFHSGO January Meeting
9 am: How Valuable are Valuation Rolls? by Robert Urquhart
10 am: The Time of Cholera, by Alison Hare
For BIFHSGO.
https://www.bifhsgo.ca/events

MyHeritage Essex Additions
England, Essex Parish Marriages and Banns 1535-1940,
with 3,630,789 entries.
England, Essex Parish Baptisms and Confirmations, 1538-1924, with 6,869,770 entries.
These are transcriptions newly available on MyHeritage. No link images and no source given.

Ancestry adds 1926 Prairie Census of Canada
Transcriptions are now available on Ancestry. Find searchable access to images through the LAC Census Search page.

Ancestry updates North Yorkshire, England, Church of England parish records
The following updates are all with linked images.
Births and Baptisms, 1813-1923 (1,514,098 entries)
Marriages and Banns, 1754-1939 (834,955)
Deaths and Burials, 1813-1998 (419,327)
Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1558-1812 (2,744,891)

What to Expect from FamilySearch in 2025

This Week’s Online Genealogy Events
Choose from selected free online events today. All times are ET except as noted. Assume registration in advance is required; check so you’re not disappointed. Find out about a few more, mainly US events, at Conference Keeper.

Tuesday, 7 January

2 pm: Ottawa Genealogy Drop-in for OGS Ottawa Branch.
https://ottawa.ogs.on.ca/events/virtual-genealogy-drop-in-2-2025-01-07/

2:30 pm: Ancestry.com – Beyond the Basics, by Susan Kim for Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center.
https://acpl.libnet.info/event/12433364

7:30 pm: Where Have All the Obits Gone? by Gordon McBean for OGS Durham Branch.
https://ogs.on.ca/events/durham-virtual-meeting-where-have-all-the-obits-gone-gordon-mcbean/

Wednesday, 8 January

7:30 pm: Researching the McEwan Family, by Anne Kay for OGS Huron Branch.
https://huron.ogs.on.ca/events/huron-branch-researching-the-mcewan-family/

8 pm: Genealogy Meets AI: Panel Discussion with  Andrew Redfern, Blaine Bettinger, Diana Elder, Mark Thompson, Steve Little, and Thomas MacEntee.for Legacy Family Tree Webinars.
https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar/genealogy-meets-ai-panel-discussion/

Thursday, 9 January

6:30 pm: This Goes Here, That Goes There…Let’s Organize! by Anni Parsons, for Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center.
https://acpl.libnet.info/event/12457102

Friday, 10 January

2 pm: Researching in Yorkshire, by Jude Rhodes for Legacy Family Tree Webinars.
https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar/researching-in-yorkshire/

Saturday, 11 January

9 am: How Valuable are Valuation Rolls? by Robert Urquhart
10 am: The Time of Cholera, by Alison Hare
For BIFHSGO.
https://www.bifhsgo.ca/events

10:30 am: Removing the Rebels: Peter Robinson’s Settlement Scheme, by Christine Woodcock for OGS Simcoe County Branch
https://simcoe.ogs.on.ca/events/simcoe-county-branch-removing-the-rebels-peter-robinsons-settlement-scheme-with-christine-woodcock

Now available with transcribed columns and an image of the original.

1921 England Census, 35,582,351 entries
1921 Wales Census, 2,692,705 entries
1921 Channel Islands Census, 90,127 entries
1921 Isle of Man Census, 60,387 entries

The contents of the transcription (for England) are: Name, Gender, Age (Years, Months), Relation to Head, Marriage or Orphanhood, Estimated Birth Year, Birth Place, Residence Date, Residence Street Address, Residence Place, Education (for children), Inhabited (Y/N), Parliamentary Division, Registration District, Registration District Number, Sub registration district, Sub Registration District Number,
Respondent (name), Enumeration District Name, Enumeration District (number), Schedule (number), Schedule Type Code, plus a list of Household Members giving Name, Age and Relationship.

Additional information on the form, but not transcribed, is about employment and occupation.

Miscellaneous items I found of interest during the week.

Ottawa Temperatures
If official verification confirms it, 2024 will be the first year in Ottawa records for which the coldest night failed to break the -20C mark. 2024’s coldest was -19.5C, recorded on 22 December. Overall, 2024 tied with 1998 as Ottawa’s warmest year on record.

Eight Intriguing British New Year’s Resolutions from the Past

1921 census
Ancestry is expected to publish its version of the 1921 census of England and Wales on Tuesday or Wednesday. If you don’t have a subscription, rush to your local public library for access.

Ancestry Discount for New Members
Until the end of the day on 12 January, Ancestry.ca is offering 50% off new memberships, which is particularly useful if you want to dig into their newly available 1921 census.

Strong Use Cases for AI in Genealogy
From Steve Little’s blog:
Summarization is condensing information into more useful forms.
Extraction is plucking facts from texts.
Generation is making texts bigger,  turning facts into stories.
Translation is rendering a text from one language to another and converting language for different times, purposes, and audiences.
Some of his weaker use cases are getting stronger!

Oh, Findmypast, thou weekly delight,
Each Friday morn, a researcher’s light,
With treasures vast from lands and seas,
Unlocking family histories.

From Middlesex to Mumbai’s lore,
From Cornwall’s mines to Jersey’s shore,
You’ve led us down ancestral trails,
Through marriages, burials, and wartime tales.

Yet lo! This Friday, the cupboard was bare,
No records to seek, no leads to compare.
The year began with a deafening hush,
No Devon, no Scotland, no archival rush.

No burial stones, no church’s pew,
No whispers of history fresh and new.
The genealogist’s heart sank in dismay,
Where art thou, records, this New Year’s Day?

We’ve scoured the Royal Society’s past,
Traced Home Children’s journeys, steadfast.
But now we sit, our charts untouched,
Our roots untraced, our dreams uncrutched.

Oh, Findmypast, our weekly muse,
To skip a Friday—such grievous news!
But fear not, next week we’ll eagerly wait,
For your return, to set records straight.

So here’s our plea, a researcher’s prayer,
Bring back the Fridays with records to share.
Let Southwark sing, let Yorkshire cheer,
And spoil us rotten this genealogist’s year!