Anglo-Celtic Connections

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 11 February

2 pm: Norwegians in the New World: Tracing Norwegian Immigrants in the American Midwest, by Phoebe Cooper for Legacy Family Tree Webinars.
https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar/norwegians-in-the-new-world-tracing-norwegian-immigrants-in-the-american-midwest/

2:30 pm: Give Your Past a Future – An Introduction to WeAre.xyz, by Simon Davies for Allen Country Public Library Genealogy Center.
https://acpl.libnet.info/event/12687468

6:30 pm: What’s New at MyHeritage, by Daniel Horowitz for OGS Lambton County Branch.
https://lambton.ogs.on.ca/events/lambton-branch-zoom-meeting-whats-new-at-myheritage/

7 pm:  Mapping Early Black Settlement in Amherstburg and Colchester Township, by Karleigh Kochaniec for OGS Essex Branch.
https://essex.ogs.on.ca/meetings/essex-county-branch-october-webinar-photo-preservation-and-storage/

Wednesday, 12 February

2 pm: Finding Your Elusive Female Ancestors in Local Archives, by Melissa Barker for Legacy Family Tree Webinars.
https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar/finding-your-elusive-female-ancestors-in-local-archives/

7 pm: Black History in Ottawa Streets, by Jean-Marie Guerrier for the Ottawa Historical Society,
https://www.historicalsocietyottawa.ca/activities/events/eventdetail/156/16,17,18,19,20,21,22/black-history-in-ottawa-streets

7:30 pm: Celebrating Black History Month, by members of the Lakeshore Genealogical Society.
Registration at: LGSregister@gmail.com

Thursday 13 February

6:30 pm: The Genealogy Proof Standard in Action: Finding the Parents and Siblings of a Civil War Ancestor, by Lindsey Harne for Allen Country Public Library Genealogy Center.
https://acpl.libnet.info/event/12680543

Friday 14 February

12 noon: Creating Children’s Stories from Ancestral Lives, by Michael John Neill for Legacy Family Tree Webinars.
https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar/creating-childrens-stories-from-ancestral-lives/

2 pm: Introducing 10 Million Names, by Cynthia Evans for Legacy Family Tree Webinars.
https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar/introducing-10-million-names/

Saturday 15 February

10 am: “Exciting Cause: An Investigation into Women Confined in the 1890s to the Kingston Asylum for the Insane (Rockwood), Kingston, Ontario.”, by Laurie Fyffe for OGS Kingston Branch.
https://kingston.ogs.on.ca/

11 am: Canada and the Great War, by Glenn Wright for the International Society for British Genealogy and Family History.
https://isbgfh.com/event/winter-webinar-glenn-wright/

MyHeritage Launches MyStories

MyStories is “a new global service that enables people to capture their personal stories in a beautiful printed book.”

New on Ancestry: Kensington and Chelsea, UK, World War II Related Records, 1939-1956 

These 7,384 records contain information about air raid precautions, bomb damage, refugees and war relief, welfare work and relief, and rolls of honour. They include employee cards, applications for military medals, London Gazette articles, death and burial registers, refugee lists, and lists of air raid wardens and messengers.

 

Miscellaneous items I found of interest during the week.

Renowned Canadian historian Margaret MacMillan defines the historical moment we now find ourselves in

The Grub Street Project

A digital edition of eighteenth-century London. By mapping its print culture, literature, and trades, it aims to create both a historically accurate visualization of the city’s commerce and communications, and a record of how its authors and artists portrayed it.

Irish National Archives has a new site

Ancestry updates Australia, City Directories and Almanacs, 1845-1948

Lacking census records for Australia, directories play an important role. This collection, updated on 5 February, now has 37,480,812 records

MyHeritage France Vital Records

On 4 February MyHeritage updated:
Church Baptisms and Civil Births – 171,240,855 records
Church Burials and Civil Deaths – 162,332,111 records
Church Marriages and Civil Marriages – 140,303,613 records

I’ve Got a Little List (Poilievre Problems Edition)

(To the tune of The Mikado)

Oh, Canada is struggling, yes, we’ve all heard Pierre complain,
He’ll tell you that it’s broken, but his fix might be insane!
He rails against the taxes, and he hates the CBC,
But ask him for real answers—well, he’s got none, actually!
He loves to talk of freedom and the people he’ll defend,
But only if they all agree and follow where he bends!
And now he’s knocking on the door, but here’s what will be missed,
If Pierre becomes the PM—well, I’ve got a little list!

(Chorus)
I’ve got a little list, I’ve got a little list,
With all the things that Pierre would break—they surely would be missed!

He talks about affordability, but has no plan at all,
Just blames the Bank of Canada, like they caused housing’s fall!
He says he’ll cut the carbon tax and make life cheaper too,
But never says what else he’d do to fix what’s overdue!
He mocks the “woke elites” and how they’ve ruined all our lives,
Yet spends his days on Twitter posting rage-bait to survive!
He blames the press, the gatekeepers, and “elites” for all the grift,
But somehow, when he cashes in—it isn’t on his list!

(Chorus)
I’ve got a little list, I’ve got a little list,
And all his contradictions, well, they surely won’t be missed!

He claims he’s tough on China, yet his MPs take their cash,
And suddenly that convoy’s fine—don’t question, don’t rehash!
He hates when laws are weak on crime, but here’s the biggest quirk:
He loved it when his party slashed the cops and prison work!
And though he rails at handouts and the way that cash is spent,
His gold-plated pension stays—that’s quite convenient!
So if he wins, good luck to us, we’ll finally see the twist—
That when he runs the country, we’ll all be on his list!

 

 

Mark Thompson and Steve Little offer AI Predictions for 2025

What We Can Look Forward to In 2025
01:02 AI Agents: The Next Big Thing
08:06 Local Language Models: Improved Privacy and Security
13:09 Social Media Chatbots: Coming to Your Groups
18:24 AI Writing Tools: The New Normal
24:16 AI Costs: Dropping Fast
30:43 The AI Horse Race: Who Will Lead?

Anti-Predictions: What Won’t Happen in 2025
36:01 Handwritten Text Recognition
40:21 AI-Generated Family Trees and Diagrams
44:06 Generated Text in Images

https://blubrry.com/3738800/141790397/ep23-ai-predictions-for-2025-agents-local-models-social-media-chatbots-writing-tools-ai-costs-drop/

Final reminder: This Evening: OGS February Webinar | Connecting Weather and Personal Histories

The Ugly American

Another opinion piece by Dan Gardner.

They weren’t all Ugly

Andrew Carnegie was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist.

TheGenealogist adds Lloyd George Domesday Record Collection  for Dorset

In partnership with The National Archives, TheGenealogist now has early 20th-century records for Dorset covering 1,000 square miles and documenting 128,485 individuals and organisations. 

UK to Canada Genealogy

A shout-out to Penny Allen’s blog. Penny is a Canadian librarian-genealogist living and working in London, so her blog has that unique perspective.  Penny also does Lookups in London and UK Archives as time and resources permit.

NLS Maps News

New online! Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 maps (published in 1974), these ‘OS Landranger’-style maps and provide a colourful overview of the landscape. The maps cover most of England and Wales (with northern England added next year as the maps go out-of-copyright). Keep up with recent additions to the National Library of Scotland online map collection at https://maps.nls.uk/additions/.

Ancestry offers $10 bait!

Until 11 February, Ancestry is offering new subscribers the first 4 months of World Deluxe membership for $10 per month.  Unless you cancel at least two days before your renewal date by logging into your Account Settings page or by contacting Ancestry, the subscription will automatically renew at the end of the 4‑month period at $29.99 per month.

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, 4 February

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

2:30 pm: Recognizing Inaccurate and Misleading Genealogical Records, Citations, and Sources, by Bryan L. Mulcahy for Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center.
https://acpl.libnet.info/event/12680398

7:30 pm: Six Free Websites Every Ontario Genealogist Needs, by Janice Nickerson for OGS Durham Branch.
https://ogs.on.ca/events/durham-branch-six-free-websites-every-ontario-genealogist-needs-janice-nickeron-u-e/

8:00 pm: Oops! Married twice (at the same time) Case Studies in Bigamy! by Helen V. Smith for Legacy Family Tree Webinars.
https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar/oops-married-twice-at-the-same-time-case-studies-in-bigamy/

Wednesday, 5 February

2:00 pm: Foundations in DNA, 1 of 5: Introduction to DNA and Genetic Genealogy, by Blaine Bettinger for Legacy Family Tree Webinars. https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar/foundations-in-dna-1-of-5-introduction-to-dna-and-genetic-genealogy/

7:30 pm: Exploring the Library and Archives Canada Online by Ken McKinlay for OGS Huron Branch. 
https://huron.ogs.on.ca/events/huron-branch-exploring-the-library-and-archives-canada-online-ken-mckinlay/

Thursday, 6 February

7:00 pm: Connecting Weather and Personal Histories by John D Reid for the Ontario Genealogical Society. 
https://ogs.on.ca/events/february-webinar-connecting-weather-and-personal-histories-john-reid-3/

Friday, 7 February

12:00 pm: 50 State-Level Digitized Memory Platforms You Don’t Want to Miss! by Diane L. Richard for Legacy Family Tree Webinars.
https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar/50-state-level-digitized-memory-platforms-you-dont-want-to-miss/

2:00 pm: Researching Your LGBTQ+ Ancestors, by Michael J. Leclerc for Legacy Family Tree Webinars.
https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar/researching-your-lgbtq-ancestors/

Saturday, 8 February

BIFHSGO Monthly Meeting
9 am: Excel and Family History: How they can work together, by Paul Cripwell.
10 am: E.F. Kelly and The Champagne of Ginger Ales, by Dawn Kelly
https://www.bifhsgo.ca/events

10:30 am: Land Records in your Pyjama’s, by Linda Corupe for OGS Simcoe County Branch. 
https://simcoe.ogs.on.ca/events/simcoe-county-branch-land-records-in-your-pyjamas-with-linda-corupe/

MyHeritage updates Ethnicity Estimates

More refined ethnicity estimates are now being provided by MyHeritage. Previously I had an estimate of 61.8% Irish, Scottish, and Welsh combined. Now it’s 36.3% Scottish and Welsh, 21.3% English, and 12.5% Irish. That’s 70.1% combined.
Compare those to Ancestry‘s 50% for England and Northwest Europe with a possible range of 35 to 57%; 18% Ireland, with a possible range of  11 to 25%; 5% Scotland with range 0 to 16%; and 3% Wales with range 1 to 8%.
Family Tree DNA suggests 40% Central Europe and 29% Ireland.
LivingDNA has 46.1% Great Britain and Ireland, including 8.9% Ireland. Also 39.5% France!
23andMe estimates  75.5% British and Irish combined, with no quantitative breakdown.

Two other announcements are expected from MyHeritage this week.

 

 

 

Miscellaneous items I found of interest during the week.

FindmyPast Weekly Update

Over a million parish records for Bedfordshire, transcriptions sourced from FamilySearch, are added
Baptisms — 459,413 parish baptisms as far back as the 16th century.
Marriages —  221,522 records from 1538 to 1881.
Burials —  360,442 burial records from 1451 to 1998.

Find additions to 68 newspapers in the past week.

The Old Farmer’s Almanac for January

This January, the mean temperature in Ottawa was -9.6C;  the OFA prediction of -8.0C was warmer than the actual and the long-term mean. Only four days had a maximum above freezing.
FAIL

The OFA predicted 65 mm of total precipitation at Ottawa; the actual was 23.5 mm, outside one standard deviation.
FAIL

Map of Early Modern London?

From the University of Victoria, a digital edition of the 1561 Agas woodcut map of London. It comes with a clickable list of “Locations by category,” which helps orient to present-day locations.

Connecting Weather and Personal Histories

Don’t miss it, on 6 February at 7 pm, hosted by the Ontario Genealogical Society. I will cover the impact of weather on living conditions, travel, farming, and significant weather events in Ontario. You’ll learn how to find historical weather records and understand their importance in family history research. The presentation includes captivating quotes from historical figures like Catherine Parr Traill and Samuel de Champlain, who describe the challenges posed by weather in their times.

For more information, and to register, go to https://ogs.on.ca/february-webinar-connecting-weather-and-personal-histories-john-reid/

From Dan Gardner, “Beware of the demagogues”
Reagan warned us. Now Canada and the United States will both suffer.

https://open.substack.com/pub/dgardner/p/beware-of-the-demagogues

Canada, Hudson Bay Company Corporate and Employment Records, 1766-1926

New on Ancestry, 124,430 records in a unique early collection. “This collection includes records of employees, investors, stakeholders, and associates, and other assorted records of the Hudson’s Bay Company that were produced between 1790 and 1910. Employee records may include: ledgers with lists of employees and corresponding information, individual employee contracts with typed text and handwritten biographical information, and handwritten wills of employees. Records that use the word “servant” refer to an employee of the company. The documents are written in English and French.”
When I tried it the transcriptions were not being served, but the original images were fine.

WDYTYA Magazine: February 2025

The feature articles in this issue are:
Sort Your Research with Timelines
A look at the benefits of constructing a timeline in exploring an ancestor’s life, or part of it, and helpful facilities from Ancestry, FamilySearch, FindmyPast and elsewhere.
Irish Migration in 5 Records
Tips on finding ancestors that moved from Ireland to America.
The Birth of the British Chippy
The story of the contested origin of this British “delicacy.”

Also in the column Family Hero, is a “celebration of ancestors who embarked on a terrifying journey to start a new life in Canada.” The journey, for the family with English roots, was from Nebraska to Alberta.

FamilySearch Full Text Search
A search for records between 1525 and 2024 now yields 955,002,536 results. Here’s the content by region.

It’s Cold in Ontario

Chances are last night was one of the, if not the coldest of the year, whether you’re reading from Almonte, Byng Inlet, Cochrane, Colpoy’s Bay, Dryden, Fort Severn, Georgian Bay, Goderich, Guelph, Haileybury, Kenora, Kingston, London, Matheson, Merritton, Moosonee, Muskoka, North Bay, Ottawa, Paris, Parry Sound, Prescott, South Porcupine, Thunder Bay, Toronto, or Windsor,

Those are among the places to be mentioned in my presentation, “Connecting Weather and Personal Histories,” hosted by the Ontario Genealogical Society, next Thursday, 6 February, at 7 pm.

For more information and to register, go to https://ogs.on.ca/february-webinar-connecting-weather-and-personal-histories-john-reid/

 

 

On 28 January 1965, sixty years ago, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II officially approved Canada’s official flag — the single red maple leaf. The declaration was signed at Buckingham Palace by Prime Minister Lester Pearson.

Thanks to Glenn Wright, author of “Controversy, Compromise and Celebration: The History of Canada’s National Flag” for the reminder. He tells me that the publisher, the Historical Society of Ottawa, has received a surge in orders from Canadian schools for the anniversary.

 

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, 28 January

2:30 pm: Forgotten Women: Researching the Marginalized Women on Your Family Tree, by Janet Few for Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center.
https://acpl.libnet.info/event/12451846

Wednesday, 29 January

2 pm:  Researching the Great Migration of New England 1620-1640, by David Allen Lambert for Legacy Family Tree Webinars.
https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar/researching-the-great-migration-of-new-england-1620-1640/

Thursday, 30 January

6:30 pm: Bringing Green Book Locations to Life, The
Chitterling Circuit, BBQ, and more, by Shamele Jordon for Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center.
https://acpl.libnet.info/event/12451854

Friday, 31 January

8 pm: Oops! Married twice (at the same time) Case Studies in Bigamy!  by Helen V Smith for Legacy Family Tree Webinars.
https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar/oops-married-twice-at-the-same-time-case-studies-in-bigamy/

Saturday, 1 February

10 am: In search of ‘Little Johnny O’Connor’ and his family” (sole survivor of The Donnelly murders), by Dan Brock for OGS London and Middlesex Branch.
https://londonmiddlesex.ogs.on.ca/events/london-and-middlesex-branch-in-search-of-little-johnny-oconnor-and-his-family-sole-survivor-of-the-donnelly-murders

FreeBMD January Update

The FreeBMD Database was updated on Monday, 27 Jan 2025, to contain 292,327,249 unique records, updated from 292,099,269 in December. Years with more than 10,000 updates are 1993, 1995-96 for births, 1994-96 for marriages, and 1994-95 for deaths.

Did you know?

The Great Lakes Storm of November 1913 was Ontario’s most deadly weather disaster. This catastrophic event resulted in the sinking of 38 ships and the loss of 244 lives. I will mention this and much more in my presentation, “Connecting Weather and Personal Histories,” to be hosted by the Ontario Genealogical Society at 7 p.m. on February 6.

For more information and to register, go to https://ogs.on.ca/february-webinar-connecting-weather-and-personal-histories-john-reid/

Miscellaneous items I found of interest during the week. In this post:

Social media is making many people more depressed – Buddhist philosophy may offer an explanation

FindmyPast Weekly Update
Three new Australian record sets this week, 89,356 additions from the state of Queensland.  Imperial pensions, criminal depositions, and dentist records are now available for the 19th and 20th centuries. Also, 49,384 parish records were added, and a new Bournemouth newspaper.

The cold?
January has been cold. No doubt about it. This year, the lowest temperature in Ottawa so far has been -21.1C, on 22 January. That’s close to the coldest day of the year on average. But it was not as extreme as the  -25C forecast a few days previously.
As I write this, the Ottawa forecast low temperature for Thursday, 30 Jan, is -26C. Let’s hope that, too, is more extreme than occurs!

My next webinar
Learn how to find weather records and understand their significance in genealogical research at “Connecting Weather and Personal Histories.” Mark your calendars for 6 February at 7 pm, hosted by the Ontario Genealogical Society.

Don’t take sides during meetings. Try on these 6 hats instead.

Benny Hill and Tony Hancock
To promote their update to the 1939 Register, 292,259 newly opened records, TheGenealogist has a press release about these British comedy legends who were recorded living near each other in Bournemouth at the outbreak of WWII.

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

 

First, the small print.

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Offer ends 27 Jan 2025 at 11:59 p.m. ET. 6‑month membership special offer prices: $42.49 Canada Discovery Plus or $64.99 World Deluxe.