Mike Myers’ family tree is among almost fifty new family trees of famous people that Geneanet added to its website, Geneastar, in March.
Many Canadians will be aware that Mr. Myer’s was born in the Toronto neighbourhood of Scarborough where I grew up.
His parents were immigrants from Liverpool, England, which may be why it was easy for him to speak with an English accent in the Austin Powers movies.
The Gorsebrook Research Institute for Atlantic Canada Studies has invited Dr. Gregory M.W. Kennedy to deliver his presentation, Lost in the Crowd: Acadian Soldiers of Canada’s First World War, on Thursday, April 3, at 7:30 p.m. Atlantic time.
This will be a free hybrid presentation. Those interested may watch online by clicking on the Zoom link in the program description or attend in person in Atrium 101 in the Stephanie MacDonald Lecture Theatre at St. Mary’s University in Halifax.
The presentation will focus on Dr. Kennedy’s new award-winning book about Acadian participation in the First World War, Lost in the Crowd: Acadian Soldiers of Canada’s First World War.
Dr. Kennedy is Professor of History and Dean of the Faculty of Arts at Brandon University. A historian of early Canada and particularly of New France and the French Atlantic World, he has published two monographs and numerous scholarly articles and book chapters. His first book, Something of a Peasant Paradise? Comparing Rural Societies in Acadie and the Loudunais, 1604-1755 (McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2014), was awarded the Canadian Historical Association’s Clio prize for the best scholarly book on Atlantic Canadian history and is also available in French with Septentrion (2021).
His second book, Lost in the Crowd: Acadian Soldiers of Canada’s First World War (McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2024), was recently named winner of the New Brunswick Scholarly Book Award by the Journal of New Brunswick Studies/Revue d’études sur le Nouveau-Brunswick.
Legacy Family Tree Webinar’s six annual — and free — 24-Hour genealogy webinar marathon begins on Thursday, April 3, at 5:00 p.m. EDT and runs until Friday, April 4, 5:0o p.m. EDT.
There will be 24 free webinars to watch with a wide range of topics.
You can register for one, two or even all of the webinars. Members will be able to download the syllabus material.
As a special shout-out to fellow Canadian genealogists, I highlight Janice Nickerson’s webinar, Seven Sources for Seeking Scoundrels and Lianne Kruger’s presentation, FamilySearch Catalog: The Sears Christmas Catalog for Genealogists. But they’re just the tip of the iceberg. There are plenty of well-known speakers from around the world taking part in this marathon.
The Family History Society of Newfoundland and Labrador will host its conference, Rockbound Roots, in St. John’s, from July 25 to 27.
The keynote speaker will be David Allen Lambert, a well-known genealogist and historian with more than 30 years of experience at American Ancestors.
The society said on social media, “Immensely proud of his dual citizenship, David brings a personal passion for uncovering the roots of his Newfoundland and Labrador ancestors.”
The names and bios of the thirteen other speakers are available on the conference website.
As for the program details for this in-person event, we’ll have to wait a couple of weeks for it to be released.
Once again, Ontario Ancestors offers genealogists free online opportunities to learn.
The following times are in Eastern time.
Tuesday, April 1, 7:30 p.m. — Durham Region Branch
How DNA Can Reveal Truth – A Case Study by Mags Gaulden
In this talk, we will discover what YDNA is and how to use it to scrape away the dust and grime of long-held family lore to reveal the truth of descent — all the way down to a pin on the map, in a surprise no one expected. Register to watch online.
Wednesday, April 2, 7:30 p.m. — Huron County Branch
Breaking Through Brick Walls in Scottish Research by Christine Woodcock
Learn strategies for moving your research forward using the information on documents and learning what your next steps might be. Register to watch online.
Thursday, April 3, 7:00 p.m. — Ontario Ancestors
Solving Your Picture Problems by Allyson Maughan
Pictures tell a brilliant story about our ancestors. But what do we do when pictures have problems! No writing on the back? Too many conflicting names and dates? Unfamiliar faces? Come learn the antidote to these dilemmas and finally use those pictures in your research.
Key Learning Objectives
1. Why would you use pictures in family history research?
2. How to sort family pictures.
3. How to overcome problems with family pictures such as:
4. How to use pictures in your family history.
Saturday, April 5, 10:00 a.m. — London & Middlesex Branch
Old Family Letters: A Genealogist’s Dream Resource by Carol Small
Carol has written a 500-page family history and an addendum based on family letters from her grandparents’ farm house and built by her great-great-grandparents, Alexander and Barbara Gunn McIntosh. The letters span the years 1839 to 1971, six generations of the Sutherland, McIntosh and Gunn families, and three continents. The original focal area was Tongue, Sutherlandshire and Camster, Caithness in Scotland to all corners of the world. They give a longitudinal study of migration from Europe to Australia, New Zealand and North America and then the westward migration in Canada. Best of all, they give relationships of people, character and even gossip! The people had characters not just names and data. These treasures are now part of the family collection in the Bruce County Archives in Southampton, Ontario. They are a genealogist’s dream!
This is a hybrid meeting. Attend in person at the London FamilySearch Library at 1139 Riverside Drive in London or register to watch online.
Saturday, April 5, 2:00 p.m. — Ottawa TMG / Family Historian Users Group
The Master Genealogist and Family Historian
We are a group of enthusiastic users of The Master Genealogist (the genealogy software product “that does it all”) and/or Family Historian. Some of us have switched to Family Historian for various reasons, and we include discussions and tips for that genealogy software as well. Our monthly meetings are webcast only and available to anyone in the world! Learn more about attending online here.
Crisis situations affected many of our ancestors. If those ancestors lived in Ireland, professional genealogist and popular speaker Chris Paton has written a new book, Researching Ancestral Crisis in Ireland, where he explains what records were created when a crisis happened and how to find them.
Published by Pen and Sword, the 184-page paperback book will be available in Canada and the United States on May 30. Indigo and Amazon on this side of the pond accept pre-orders. The book is already available to purchase in the United Kingdom.
Here’s what the publisher has to say about the book.
Ireland is an extraordinarily beautiful island from which millions can claim their direct ancestry. But Ireland is also an island which has experienced some truly extraordinary moments of crisis which will have directly impacted our forebears, helping to shape us into the individuals that we are today. Whenever such crises happened, whether on a national scale or within the home, there was invariably somebody standing close to hand with a quill and parchment to document the misfortunes that befell so many.
In this latest book, family historian Chris Paton takes a look at some of the darkest episodes of Irish history over the last four hundred years, as well as the everyday crises that affected everyone throughout their lives. He discusses the impact of many major events on our ancestors, including colonisation, conquest and rebellion, as well as the various pressures endured from within the family, the church, and the state.
Along the way Chris highlights the records that can help us to show the various trials and tribulations faced by our ancestors, which can help to vividly bring our family histories to life, including those available both online and within Ireland’s many local and national archives.
Chris has written several books published by Pen and Sword.
Some of the bijoux I discovered this week.
Blog posts
The right to remember the past: Opening Chinese immigration records in Canada’s national archives by Laura Madokoro on Active History.
Learn for Free: Big Genealogy Sites’ Blogs and Videos by Marian B. Wood on Climbing My Family Tree.
GeneaGem: Map History/History of Cartography by Linda Stufflebean on Empty Branches on the Family Tree.
Introducing the New FamilySearch Catalog on FamilySearch Blog.
TheGenealogist Unveils New Access To Historic Military Prize Records by Nick Thorne on The Nosey Genealogist.
Ancestry’s New Image Transcript Feature/Tool! by Diane Henriks on Know Who Wears the Genes in Your Family.
MyHeritage’s Record Matches and Discovery Settings by Louis Kessler On Behold Genealogy.
Harnessing AI to Craft Engaging Captions and Headlines by Jon Marie Pearson on The Simple Living Genealogist.
AI Locality Guide vs. FamilySearch Wiki by Marcia Crawford Philbrick on Heartland Genealogy.
End of an era by Anne Morddel on The French Genealogy Blog.
23andMe Files for Bankruptcy – What You Need to Know! by Roberta Estes on DNAeXplained.
23andMe Is Reorganizing. It’s Okay. by Dr. Leah Larkin on The DNA Geek.
Articles
Between the Pages: Caribbean Funeral Booklets by Antoinette Seymour, Mapping Ontario’s Black Archives, Ontario.
Introducing the Phil Lind Klondike Gold Rush Collection! by Elizabeth Edgerton, UBC Library, Vancouver, British Columbia.
This Holocaust survivor rediscovered her Jewish roots decades later, thanks to a Canadian genealogist, Canadian Jewish News, Toronto, Ontario.
American Irish Historical Society faces new “transition” by Kerry O’Shea, IrishCentral, New York, New York.
Selling 23andMe assets raises concerns for Canadians’ data: Ontario privacy commissioner by Hannah Alberga, Canadian Press.
Why you should delete your 23andMe account. Here’s the worst that could happen if your DNA data is exposed. by Andrew Keshner, MarketWatch, New York, New York.
For more gems like these throughout the week, join the Genealogy à la carte Facebook group. When you submit your request to join, you will be asked to answer two quick questions about your family history research.
If you stayed off social media yesterday and didn’t watch or listen to the news, you may have missed the story that genealogists were talking about.
Genetic testing firm 23andMe said on Sunday that it had filed for bankruptcy protection in the US while it searches for a buyer.
In a statement announcing the bankruptcy, the firm said its CEO, Anne Wojcicki, had resigned effective immediately. She will remain on the company’s board of directors.
The California-based company operates in major markets, including the United States, Canada, UK, and Europe. Since its founding in 2007, 23andMe has sold more than 12 million DNA testing kits.
The company, which went public in 2021, has never made a profit. The stock shot up following the public listing, briefly valuing the company at US$6 billion. Ms. Wojcicki, who owned 49% of the company, became a billionaire.
In September, all seven of the company’s independent directors resigned en masse, citing their frustration with the CEO’s “strategic direction” and efforts to take 23andMe private.
If 23andMe is sold, the new owners of your genetic data will be the one who made the highest bid. If the company is declared bankrupt, then the website, services and servers will likely close down, and all your data will be lost.
What to do with your 23andMe data
So, what can you do if you tested with 23andMe?
You should do the following to protect your data and continue to access your DNA results:
There were many news reports yesterday about 23andMe, including Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine’s article, 23andMe files for bankruptcy protection, by Rosemary Collins. It includes a link to a guide on how to download and delete your DNA data.
Claire Bradley yesterday wrote the blog post, Is this the end of 23andMe?, that has useful information about what to do with your DNA data. She wrote that the website has been slow, likely due to the bankruptcy protection news.
Roberta Estes of the DNAeXplained blog has written several posts about how to download and upload DNA data from one site to another, including DNA File Upload-Download and Transfer Instructions to and from DNA Testing Companies, which she published in 2019.
Back in 2020, the writing was on the wall for 23andMe, and Ms. Estes wrote this blog post: 23andMe Changes – Download Matches Now or Lose Many.
In the end, it’s your decision whether or not you want to keep your DNA data on 23andMe or delete it. Some are concerned about how a future buyer would use the data. Some are not concerned.
No matter what the future holds for 23andMe, I recommend you download your DNA data from their website for safekeeping as soon as possible.
Following the recent news about Canada’s oldest company Hudson’s Bay liquidating its assets and closing most of its department stores, the Archives of Manitoba, which houses the Hudson’s Bay Company Archives (HBCA), has received a number of inquiries concerning the viability of funding for the existing archival collection and concern for the future of records currently in the custody of the Hudson’s Bay Company.
In a statement, Archivist of Manitoba Scott Goodine said that the HBCA receives annual operational and staffing funding from the Hudson’s Bay Company History Foundation through its 1994 agreement between the Government of Manitoba and the HBC.
Because it is a charitable foundation and separate from the HBC, the Foundation will be able to continue supporting the HBCA regardless of the future of the company.
HBCA is the designated repository for the archival records of Hudson’s Bay Company and has worked with the company since 1994 to identify records of archival value and to receive transfers of records. Mr. Goodine said, “We are continuing to work with HBC in this regard.”
Webinar
In 2023, Janice Nickerson delivered the webinar, Hudson’s Bay Company Archives Biographical Sheets, for Legacy Family Tree Webinars about the thousands of historical employee records that are available online. She said that the Hudson’s Bay Company Archives is the largest private archives in the world. If you are a Legacy Family Tree Webinars member, you can watch this webinar for free.
Ancestry
You can also search almost 125,000 records of employees and investors in Ancestry’s collection of Canada, Hudson Bay Company Corporate and Employment Records, 1766-1926, provided you have a subscription.
Until March 28, a one-year subscription to Genealogy Quebec is 25% off.
The sale price is $105, down from $140.
