Anglo-Celtic Connections

Editor Helen Tovey highlights three noteworthy articles in the September issue:

• Chris Paton offers expert advice on tracing the history of your home.
• Janet Barrie provides a comprehensive guide to starting your own one-place study, allowing you to delve deeply into the history of a specific locality.
• Stuart Raymond shares valuable tips on utilizing the Victoria County Histories to gain a broader understanding of the past.

One article Helen doesn’t mention is Gaynor Haliday’s insightful piece on the establishment of schools following the 1870 Elementary Education Act, passed by William Gladstone’s Liberal government. This act had a significant impact, with national literacy rates soaring over the next 20 years—from 80% to 94% among men, and from 73% to 93% among women.

Additionally, I found Julie Johnson’s article on the history of pauper burial grounds particularly compelling. Even when individuals were buried without a gravestone, paper records often remain, preserving their final chapter. The article lists sources.

You can view free curated posts on the week’s genealogical and related news. If you are not getting them you’re missing out.

eWeekly Update newsletter is distributed by email to all members of Ontario Ancestors (The Ontario Genealogical Society), and to others upon request. The newsletter includes information about the Society, its activities, updates on genealogical initiatives, event and meeting notices, resource opportunities, and heritage information from across the province and worldwide. Subscribe at https://ogs.on.ca/#

On Saturday, Gail Dever usually publishes Crème de la crème. on her Genealogy à la carte blog. Read the latest at  https://genealogyalacarte.ca/?p=43673
Subscribe from the form in the right-hand column of the blog or use one of the various social media links Gail provides.

I promised three.

Not for everyone,  more for professional archivists and librarians, is Documentary Heritage News. Published since 2010, it’s a weekly review of the documentary heritage and archives news at https://documentary-heritage-news.com/. Although produced in Canada, the coverage is international.

I’m always looking for additional resources. If you know of other weekly review-type sources, please post them as comments, and accept my thanks in advance.

 

 

Miscellaneous items I found of interest during the week.

Your microwave oven has its own microbiome
It’s not a pathogenic reservoir to be feared … clean your kitchen microwave as often as you would scrub your kitchen surfaces.

From Vikings to Beethoven: what your DNA says about your ancient relatives

Queuing systems and crowd engineering

What your nails can tell you about your health

Ottawa to London Direct
Air Canada asleep again! The Ottawa Aviation Facebook group is reporting rumours of British Airways direct flight to London, from Ottawa, are getting stronger. It is thought that the route will start with a 787-8, the smallest version of the Dreamliner, and perhaps be upgraded if demand warrants.
Did you know Porter is now the leading carrier in Ottawa with more destinations than Air Canada.

Update
Charis Paton posts that a new ScotlandsPeople website will be launched in early September.

The following is posted by request from MyHeritage and Legacy Family Tree Webinars.

Legacy Family Tree Webinars is welcoming webinar submissions for its 2025 webinar series. Visit https://familytreewebinars.com/call-for-presentations-2025 for all the details, and to submit. The submission deadline is Sunday, September 1, 2024.

Submissions are for classes presentations that are 1) 60 minutes plus Q/A, or 2) 20-minutes-or-under “Webinar Shorts” or 3) 10- minutes-or-under TechZone videos. Please indicate which type in your proposal. All speakers are welcome to submit.

The following topics are especially encouraged, but all topics are welcome:
Artificial intelligence: Demonstrate hands-on tools and step-by-steps of, and their interplay with genealogy (especially, but not limited to “how AI helped me solve a research problem” topics)
Curated Top 10s of Places: Spotlight hidden gems or new tools, as showcased in titles like “Top 10 Little Known Websites for Virginia Genealogy” or “Five New Tools for Finding Your German Ancestors”
Genealogical methodologies, strategies, FAN Club and case studies
DNA (especially “how-I-found-these-parents-using-DNA case studies”)
Historical records and events
Software and Technology: Doesn’t even have to be related to genealogy
Places and Ethnicities: Africa, African-American, Europe, Jewish, counties in the United Kingdom, Asia, U.S. states, Down Under, South America, Canada, and Mexico
MyHeritage: Since we also host the MyHeritage Webinar Series, any submissions relating to MyHeritage.com are also welcome
Beginners
Organization: We usually do one or two of these each year – share how you organize your papers or digital files
Numbered titles, such as “Top 5 Strategies to Researching in ____…” prove to attract large audiences.

Peruse the library at https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar-library to familiarize yourself with past topics, ensuring your proposal stands out with fresh ideas (although we are happy with fresh perspectives and new angles on existing topics). Speakers receive remuneration of $200 per webinar (for 60 minute webinars) or $50-$100 for Webinar Shorts and TechZone videos, along with monthly royalties based on viewership.

How to submit
Proposals can be submitted at https://familytreewebinars.com/submit-a-speaking-proposal. If you’ve previously shared a topic that’s awaiting its moment, rest assured it’s already in our records – no resubmission needed.

Submission Deadline
Please submit by Sunday, September 1, 2024.

Find 30,410 records in this index collection of probate court proceedings in Somerset, England between 1300 and 2001.

Here’s an example of an index entry.

Name: Valentine Littlejohn
Occupation: Yeoman
Will Date: 1640
Will Parish: Langford Budville
Will Place: Somerset, England
Reference Title: Littlejohn Family Will, 9 June 1640
Reference Number: DD/SAS/C795/HV/46
Reference Date: 9 June 1640

Ancestry gives the following context.

Many probate records in the Somerset region were lost during World War II. Therefore, the records in this collection were created by South West Heritage Trust: Somerset Archive Catalogue for the purpose of preserving the history of the region and providing a searchable digital index of existing probate records. The records are just an index of an actual primary source that are housed by the South West Heritage Trust: Somerset Archive Catalogue.

This week’s FMP additions focus on Northamptonshire, a traditional county bordering Leicestershire, Warwickshire, Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, and Oxfordshire.  A strong agricultural legacy, augmented by light industry, notably shoemaking, shaped Northamptonshire’s societal and economic history.

Northamptonshire Land, Poll & Window Tax Lists

Northamptonshire Land Tax Assessment has 10,834 transcription records, all for 1801 across the county.

Cleyley & Towcester Hundreds Land & Window Tax has 1,472 transcription records for 1772.

Higham Ferrers Hundred Window Tax has 539 transcription records for 1750.

Huxloe, Rothwell & Corby Hundred Poll & Window Tax has 3,212 transcription records for 1698.

Northamptonshire Poll Books

This new set, 7,463 Northamptonshire poll book transcription records from 1768 to 1835, includes the occupation and parish.

Northamptonshire Quarter Sessions Licences

Covers licenses awarded by the County Quarter Sessions court between 1689 and 1932. Three licence types are included:

Non-Conformist Meeting House Licenses: This index contains 1,391 names, covering 1689 to 1851. A licence was required for an individual or group to hold non-conformist religious services between 1689 and 1852. 

Gamekeepers’ Licenses: For the period 1709 to 1932, records contain 2,490 names, the year of the licence, a home address and the location of the land.

Badgers and Higglers: Badgers and higglers were wholesalers and travelling salespeople who sold food and other commercial products, and required a licence to do so. This index covers 1693 to 1773 and contains 1,212 names.

Many of these transcriptions are from the Northamptonshire Family History Society.

This week, one new newspaper, the Hebden Bridge Times, from Yorkshire, was added to the FMP collection. Starting in 1883, there are over 20,000 pages available.

In this video Deborah Liu, president and chief executive officer of Ancestry, joins Alex Chi, from Goldman Sachs Asian Network, to discuss her time leading the largest for-profit genealogy company in the world, her lessons in leadership and how growing up as an Asian-American shaped her views in the workplace.

The section on Ancestry starts just after 13 minutes and ends around 21 minutes.

TheGenealogist announces the release of a collection of  service records, rolls of honour, and books of remembrance from schools, places, and institutions in the UK.

The records offer information on over 25,000 individuals, detailing service histories of soldiers, portraits, schooling, and family connections. They include details of those killed or wounded in action.

Compilations included in the release are:

Birmingham, Service Record of King Edward School 1914-1919
Whitgift Grammar School, The Book of Remembrance 1914-1919
Memorials of Rugbeians Who Fell in the Great War, Volumes II, III, V, VI
A Book of Remembrance of Old Boys and Masters of Watford Grammar School who Served in the Great War, 1914-1918
Shrewsbury School, Roll of Service, 1914-1918
Portsmouth and the Great War
Swindon’s War Record 1914-1918
The Clan MacRae Roll in the Great War – Unveiling of Memorial Supplement
7th Battalion Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, Officers and Men Who Fell During the Great War
London County Council Record of Service in the Great War, 1914-1918
Phoenix Assurance Company, Ltd. – War Service List, 1914-1919

Additionally, the release includes two publications that provide more context to the conflict, with stories and illustrations of battles and heroic deeds: Children’s Story of the War and, Deeds that Thrill the Empire.

 

A recording of this year’s lecture, held on the evening of 6 August, has been posted with the permission of the speaker, Kristen den Hartog. It is now free for everyone to view until 14 August. 

https://torontofamilyhistory.org/learn/toronto-history-lecture/

It’s official. Forget LMA, or as the new website says, “Hello from The London Archives .. and a fond farewell to the metropolitan.”

Otherwise, you’d hardly know of the connection except for the address: 40 Northampton Rd, London, EC1R 0HB.

Find the new, clean-looking website at https://www.thelondonarchives.org/.

So far, the natural three-letter acronym TLA is not used on the website, except in the email address ask@tla.libanswers.com/.