Free ISBGFH webinar — Exploring Findmypast newspapers with Jen Baldwin

The International Society for British Genealogy and Family History (ISBGFH) will host the free webinar, Extra! Extra! Read All About It! – With Findmypast Newspapers, presented by Findmypast’s Jen Baldwin, on Saturday, December 21, at 11:00 a.m. Eastern time.

We can explore the full range of our ancestors’ experiences, from daily life routine to world events, through historical newspapers and Findmypast has the largest collection of British and Irish newspapers available online today. This presentation will walk through everything you need to know, from basic searches to advanced features built specifically for newspaper research and the British Isles.

Register here.

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This week’s crème de la crème — December 7, 2024

Some of the bijoux I discovered this week.

Crème de la crème of genealogy blogs

Blog posts
WWII Orders of Battle by Dr. Margaret M. McMahon on A Week of Genealogy.

FamilySearch Full-Text Search Update — 3 December 2024 by Randy Seaver on Genea-Musings.

Why Your Immigrant Ancestors Came Here ‘Legally’ by DiAnn Iamarino Ohama on Fortify Your Family Tree.

Finding Christmas and Your Ancestors in the Archives by Melissa Barker on A Genealogist In The Archives.

Importance of Digitizing Historical Family Documents for Preservation by BethAnn on MyHeritage Blog.

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.

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Findmypast Friday additions — Southwark rate books and poor laws and London marriages

Findmypast this week added 1,392,255 new London records to their collection, along with rate book and poor law records from Southwark, which is a district of Central London. 

Southwark Rate Books
They’ve added 1,283,820 new Southwark rate book records spanning the 19th century.

Southwark Poor Law records
There’s also a brand new set to explore — 82,455 Southwark poor law records that cover the 1690s to the 1860s.

Greater London Marriage Index
They’ve added 25,980 marriage records from Westminster, Bromley-by-Bow and the East End to the existing Greater London Marriage Index.

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Updated list of free links to historic Canadian newspapers on The Ancestor Hunt

Kenneth R. Marks, on his website The Ancestor Hunt, has updated his list of free links to Canadian newspapers that are available online.

There are now about 4,415 new and updated links to historical newspapers to search for your relatives who lived in Canada.

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Presentations on YouTube about Irish heritage in Quebec City

Irish Heritage Quebec has posted seven presentations on its YouTube channel that will interest those with relatives who lived in and near Quebec City.

The Quebec City Irish and World War II by Joe Lonergan

This presentation is about a personal survey of the times drawn from contemporary school and parish documents along with photos gathered online from friends and acquaintances. The honour roll of Quebec City’s St. Patrick’s High School students who served in the Canadian armed forces during WWII was on display at the meeting.

Settlement of Stoneham-Twekesbury by Sherry Craig of the Société d’histoire de Stoneham-Tewkesbury

This presentation focuses on the Irish aspect of the Stoneham-Tewkesbury settlement. (Note at 7:42 minutes it should state Philip Toosey died in 1797 rather than Kenelm Chandler.) Sherry Craig has written a number of articles on the history of the Stoneham-Tewkesbury area. She is a co-author of Morceaux choisis sur l’histoire des Cantons-Unis de Stoneham-et-Tewkesbury.

Battlegrounds of Identity: How War Posters Shaped Nationalism in Ireland and French Canada 1914-18 by Aimée Dion

With insight into the complex dynamics of nationalism and war mobilization, this presentation explores how wartime posters, in particular, reflected evolving nationalist identities in French Canada and Ireland between 1914 and 1918. Ms. Dion explores the impact of the Great War on nationalism in Quebec and Ireland as Britain called on its Empire for support. She examines how images influenced war cultures and political discourse, using a comparative approach to understand how representations of violence and nationalism shaped collective identity. Ms. Dion is a doctoral candidate in history at Université Laval.

Turmoil in the Community by Steve Cameron

Mr. Cameron examines the Corrigan Affair of 1855 which exposed the fault line between Orangemen and Ribbonmen in Lotbiniere/Megantic, in addition to having provincial and national repercussions. He has published three books on the history of his locality.

The Tipperary Settlement: Lac Beaupot and Ste-Brigitte-de-Laval by Gary O’Brien.

Mr. O’Brien gives a presentation on his ongoing research on the Irish families who settled in Lac Beauport and Ste-Brigitte-de-Laval from the counties Tipperary and Waterford, names such as O’Brien, Heafy and Hurley, Dawson, Bolan, Keough, Stapleton, Tierney and Berryman. Who they were, when and why they came, and where they settled, will be examined. 

The Irish Coves of Quebec City 1851-1891 by Joe Lonergan

In addition to the presentation on YouTube, Mr. Lonergan’s slides are available to view on Irish Heritage Quebec’s website.

The Links: Sound and Stone by Steve Cameron

This presentation introduces various types of Irish sounds (music, singing, speech), including many trilingual elements. It highlights other strong links between Ireland and Quebec, past and present in various forms.  

Interested in learning more? On Irish Heritage Quebec’s website, there are also almost 20 PowerPoint presentations to view and several digitized archives on the website, including the Irish Famine Relief Fund Record.

Irish Heritage Quebec was created in 1973 to encourage and aid genealogical studies of Quebec Irish families, to preserve information, artifacts and documents belonging to the Irish community of Quebec, and to promote research into the history of the Irish in Quebec City.

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New Canada Research Chair in Black Expressive Culture and Creativity

Dr. Cheryl Thompson has been named a new Canada Research Chair (CRC) in Black Expressive Culture and Creativity. Her research will explore, map and share how Black Canadians’ lives have shaped Canada’s creative landscape.

She will engage with Black scholars, practitioners and industry stakeholders across Canada to deepen understanding of how Black creative histories are represented in Canadian archival collections. This knowledge will extend her pioneering project, Mapping Ontario’s Black Archives (MOBA), by collecting archival stories from across Canada.

Dr. Thompson is the author of Uncle: Race, Nostalgia, and the Politics of Loyalty. Her next book, Canada and the Blackface Atlantic: Performing Slavery, Conflict, and Freedom, 1812 – 1897, will be published by Wilfrid Laurier Press in April 2025.

Through MOBA, Dr. Thompson is creating a digital platform to make Black archival collections accessible to all. She is also an Associate Professor in Performance at The Creative School, Toronto Metropolitan University.

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Save 50% on a Legacy Family Tree Webinars membership

One of the best genealogy deals is Legacy Family Trees Webinars’ half-price sale — and it’s on now.

For US$24.98 (about CDN$35), new members only can get a full year’s membership that provides 24/7 access to the more than 2,300 genealogy webinars plus the more than 9,000 pages of presenters’ handouts.

This offer expires December 6 at 11:59 p.m. Mountain time. After the deadline, the price goes back to US$49.95 (about CDN$70).

A new member is considered to be anyone who doesn’t currently have a membership. If yours expired a few weeks ago, you’re probably considered a new member and can take advantage of this half-price offer. You’ll find out when you click on the above link if the sale is available to you.

That’s the good news.

The bad news is my membership expires in two weeks, so this offer doesn’t apply to me.

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Cyber Monday — 65% off MyHeritage DNA kits

Don’t you just love a sale — and second chances?

If you missed last week’s Black Friday sale on MyHeritage DNA kits, it’s back for Cyber Monday.

A MyHeritage DNA kit is now CDN$45 (USD$29), down from CND$129.

If you want to take advantage, act soon. It looks like this is a one-day sale.

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5 virtual presentations at Ontario Ancestors

There are interesting topics at Ontario Ancestors’ virtual and hybrid meetings this week. All are open to the public, and all are free to members and non-members, with the exception of the society’s webinar that has a small fee for non-members.

The following times are in Eastern time.

Monday, December 2, 7:00 p.m. — Leeds & Grenville Branch
Show and Share

Join us on Zoom for a Show and Share experience! Do you have a genealogy success story you want to share? Is there a family history heirloom that you want to show off? How about a challenge that you’re looking for help to solve? Want to learn what’s new in our Archives? Our December genealogy event will have all of these elements! If you want to send us a photo or document in advance to share with the audience, please reach out to leedsgrenville@ogs.on.ca and we’ll make it happen. If you simply want to tell a story or ask a question, all you need is a microphone on your computer or tablet. If you prefer, you can type questions into the chat section of the Zoom platform. We’ll usher in the Christmas season with some family history stories! Register to attend online.

Thursday, December 5, 1:00 p.m. — Scottish Special Interest Group
Scots in the Maritimes by Peggy Chapman

Register to watch online. The recording will be available afterward for SIG members.

Thursday, December 5, 7:00 p.m. — Ontario Ancestors
Family Bibles and How to Locate Those of Your Ancestors by Greg Hilton

Most of us have come across family bibles in antique or vintage markets and thought how sad it was that the bible has been separated from it’s family and wondered about that family’s stories. 

In this webinar, we will hear stories of family bibles being reunited with family descendants and learn why they are so important to our history and our research and where we may find these treasures for ourselves. 

Register to watch online. Free for members and $10 for non-members.

Saturday, December 7, 10:00 a.m. — London & Middlesex Branch
Delve into the Lives of Your Middlesex County Ancestors through the 1931 Census by Kathryn Lake Hogan

The release of the 1931 Canada Census offers a unique opportunity to delve into the lives of our ancestors during the Great Depression. Explore the details of the 1931 census, the questions asked and some things you need to be aware of. Strategies and techniques for finding your Middlesex County ancestors will be discussed. 

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

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Jacqueline Spencer appointed Archivist of Ontario

John Roberts, Associate Deputy Minister, Chief Data and Privacy Officer for the Ontario
Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery and Procurement, recently announced that Jacqueline Spencer has been appointed Archivist of Ontario, effective November 7, 2024.

She is the first Black woman to lead the Archives of Ontario.

Ms. Spencer had been acting as Archivist of Ontario in addition to her permanent role as Assistant Deputy Ministry of the Archives Division, Policy, Archives, and Data, Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery and Procurement.

After more than 20 years of experience in the provincial public service, she joined the Archives of Ontario in 2020 and has been integral in enhancing user access to the Archives and spearheading ongoing digital improvements to preserve its collections.

Ms. Spencer lead the establishment of the first Indigenous-led portfolio at the provincial archives. This initiative streamlined access to records for Indigenous communities and survivor groups.

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