Genealogy à la carte

On Saturday, February 14, the British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa (BIFHSGO) will host two virtual presentations and an online social at their monthly meeting.

9:00 a.m. ET
Exploring Pictures with AI: the Good and the Bad by Paul Cripwell

You’ve acquired a picture of an object, scene, or ancestor but have no idea of its location or timeframe. How do you find out? Ask AI! That seems to be the answer to everything these days. But how do you know if the information you get back is accurate? Paul Cripwell will walk you through the explorations he conducted on some of his own pictures — what AI got right, what it got wrong, and how he figured it out.

10:00 – 11:30 a.m. ET
Rain-Soaked Roots: Weather Shaped the Lives of Our British Isles Ancestors
by John Reid

Weather touched every part of our ancestors’ lives — from daily chores under rainy skies to celebrations on sunny summer days, from mild seasons that brought good harvests to the storms that forced people to adapt or move on. This talk explores how both ordinary and extreme weather shaped life across the UK, Ireland and beyond. Drawing on official records, newspapers, and personal diaries, John will trace how weather influenced work, health, migration, and memory, revealing a layer of family history often overlooked.

After the presentations, BIFHSGO will invite attendees to turn on their video and microphone for an online social.

Register for the presentations and social.

From February 12 to 16, MyHeritage is offering free access to all marriage and divorce records.

MyHeritage currently hosts 289 marriage and divorce record collections, totaling more than 1 billion records from around the world. Here’s the list of available collections included in this offer.

No subscription is required to access these records. All you need is a free MyHeritage account.

Findmypast is celebrating a monumental milestone this week. Its ever‑growing digital historical newspaper collection reaches 100 million fully searchable pages.

To celebrate the occasion, Findmypast is offering free access to its entire newspaper archive until February 16, 2026, giving researchers a full week to dive into centuries of headlines and discover the unexpected.

This milestone marks one of the world’s largest long-running digitization projects to enable broader access to these significant historical records.

Spanning 400 years and featuring more than 2,700 titles and 7 million issues from Britain, Ireland and beyond, Findmypast’s newspaper archive is one of the richest sources for building a vivid picture of your ancestors’ lives. Whether you’re chasing down an ancestor’s wartime heroics, tracking a long‑forgotten marriage announcement, or stumbling across a scandal that reshapes your family narrative, these pages offer a window into events as they happened.

Findmypast’s newspaper search tools are designed to help family historians uncover stories quickly and accurately. Researchers can draw on extracted details from birth, marriage, and death notices — instantly linkable to family trees — and refine broad searches with smart filtering to pinpoint the most relevant results. Clip and save articles to your tree, add them to your Workspace, or create a Collection around a family member or project.

Lee Wilkinson, Managing Director of DC Thomson History, which owns Findmypast, said: “Reaching 100 million published newspaper pages is a landmark moment for Findmypast, and a powerful reflection of what long-term partnership can achieve. Over 15 years, we have worked closely with major archives, cultural organizations, and publishers to preserve these fragile records and expand public access to them.

“Each page adds depth to our history and gives researchers, educators, local historians and families new ways to understand the lives and communities that came before us. I’d encourage everyone to go online and explore this rich resource for free.”

Explore the newspaper archive at www.findmypast.com/newspapers. Sign up for free to see your search results.

It’s another good week at the Ontario Genealogical Society for family historians who like to learn from virtual presentations. Four branches and one special interest group are each hosting a presentation. They are open to all and free.

The following take place in Eastern time.

Monday, February 9, 7:00 p.m. — Oxford County Branch
The Carnegie Libraries of Oxford County by Dr. Matthew Griffis

In this presentation, Dr. Griffis, one of Oxford County Library’s local history specialists, will discuss the origins of the Carnegie library building program, its progress in Canada, and details about the five Carnegie libraries that opened in Oxford County between 1909 and 1917. The presentation includes dozens of historical images from his own collection. Register to watch online.

Tuesday, February 10, 1:00 p.m. — Ireland SIG
Finding Your Irish Ancestors: Why Townlands Matter by Jillian van Turnhout

Ever wondered why finding Irish ancestors can feel like solving a puzzle? The secret lies in understanding Ireland’s unique administrative divisions — especially townlands.

Together, we’ll journey through Ireland’s hierarchical landscape, from the sweeping counties established under English rule, through the ancient baronies with their medieval origins, to the Poor Law Unions that provided relief during Ireland’s darkest hours. We’ll demystify the often puzzling relationship between civil and ecclesiastical parishes, before highlighting the townland — Ireland’s smallest and arguably most genealogically valuable land division.

You’ll discover why knowing your ancestor’s townland is like having a GPS for Irish genealogy, helping you pinpoint them in census records, church registers, and valuation books, and breaking through research brick walls you might otherwise never overcome.

Whether you’re just starting your Irish research or looking to dig deeper, you’ll gain practical tools and strategies to make your ancestor hunt more successful. Register to watch online.

Tuesday, February 10, 7:00 p.m. — Essex County Branch
Practical AI for Family History by Rhonda Hoffman

Learn how artificial intelligence can support everyday research tasks such as summarizing documents, extracting data, transcribing historical records, and more. Register to watch online.

Tuesday, February 10, 7:00 p.m. — Lambton County Branch
What Do I Do With All of This Stuff? (Leaving a Genealogical Legacy) by Alan Campbell

Register to watch online.

Saturday, February 14, 11:00 a.m. — Simcoe County Branch
Breaking Down Brick Walls – The GPS Approach by Janice Nickerson

Ever hit a brick wall in your research you just can’t get around, no matter how hard you try? Well Janice is going to use her 20-plus years of experience to help us past that. In this webinar, she will teach us how to use the Genealogical Proof Standard (GPS) to tackle any research challenge by applying the five elements of the GPS: Conducting a Reasonably Exhaustive Search, Preparing Source Citations, Evaluating Evidence, Resolving Contradictions, and Writing Conclusions to our research problems. Register to watch online.

There’s lots going on at the Ontario Genealogical Society and some of its branches this week, including virtual presentations on finding land records, AI, genetic genealogy, property research, and justice records. All are open to the public and free to those who register.

The following are in Eastern time.

Monday, February 2, 7:00 p.m. — Leeds & Grenville Branch
Finding Land Documents for 19th Century Ontario by Chuck Buckley

Far more than just a location or an address, land records hold numerous documents containing the relationships between your ancestors. Land records provide the next level of information for understanding your family story. Wills, and covenants on bargain and sale transactions may provide you with the extra detail you are looking for. This presentation is a demonstration and workshop of one methodology for uncovering land records in Ontario. Register to watch online.

Tuesday, February 3, 7:30 p.m. — Durham Region Branch
Scoundrel Bingo by Janice Nickerson

It’s Game Night as we participate in a lively, game-style webinar playing bingo! Join us as we learn about crimes, occupations, and unusual records of Ontario’s scoundrel ancestors.
 
Who says genealogy can’t be fun? In this engaging webinar, attendees download a “Scoundrel Bingo” card filled with crimes, justice terminology, and record types. As Janice shares colourful stories from Ontario’s black sheep ancestors — from petty thieves to tavern brawlers — participants mark off their cards. Each example illustrates a specific record type, showing how scoundrels left behind more than just scandal — they left evidence genealogists can use. First to bingo wins bragging rights, but everyone leaves with a deeper knowledge of Ontario’s rich justice records. Register to watch and play online. 

Wednesday, February 4, 7:30 p.m. — Huron County Branch
AI in Genealogy, Is it really new? by Gordon McBean

Recently, AI (Artificial Intelligence) has been all the news with the release of ChatGPT. ChatGPT might be new, but is AI new? Genealogists have been befitting from AI since about 2000. This presentation will look at all of the ways we currently use AI, what is currently new, and what new applications are coming. Register to watch online.

Thursday, February 5, 7:00 p.m. — Ontario Genealogical Society
Investigative Genetic Genealogy: What Is It and How You Can Help by Marie Palmer

Investigative Genetic Genealogy (IGG) offers an exciting new opportunity to help Law Enforcement give names back to unidentified human remains and help solve criminal cases. Since the first high-profile case was solved in 2018, well over a thousand cases have been cracked using IGG. Canada has its own share of successful case solves and there is much discussion, controversy, and numerous questions around this new way of generating leads in cold cases.

In this webinar, Marie Palmer, a Canadian Accredited Investigative Genetic Genealogist with numerous case solves, will give an overview of IGG and walk through a Canadian case study about one of her first successful identifications. Additionally, she will discuss how people can help or get involved. Register to watch online.

Saturday, February 11, 10:00 a.m. — London and Middlesex Branch
The Putnam Farm: Tracing a Farm and Its Families by Eleanor Rath

Eleanor Rath grew up on a farm in her family for four generations.
Using her skills as a historical house researcher, Eleanor traced the history of the property, with some surprising results. Join us to learn about how property research can add to the story of your family’s place in history.

This is a hybrid meeting, so you may attend in person at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, 1139 Riverside Drive, London, or register to watch online.