The Provincial Archives of New Brunswick yesterday added 23,133 digitized images of birth registrations, from 1920 to 1929, for Northumberland, Queens and Restigouche counties.
Last month, the provincial archives added 17,965 birth registrations for the same period for Charlotte, Kings and Madawaska counties.
If you missed the Genealogical Association of Nova Scotia’s virtual conference this past weekend, you can still purchase access to the 14 presentation recordings until July 4. Topics include Loyalists, Acadians, New England Planters, enslaved Black people, Irish roots, and a Muslim cemetery.
The fee to watch the recordings is $39 for association members and $69 (about US$50) for non-members.
On May 8, 1945, World War II came to an end in Europe. Known as VE Day — Victory in Europe Day — it marks the official surrender of Nazi Germany and the beginning of the end of the most devastating conflict in modern history.
This year marks the 80th anniversary of that historic moment.
To commemorate VE Day, MyHeritage is offering free access to all of its collections related to World War II until May 11.
The folks at the International Institute of Genealogical Studies have been busy during the past few weeks adding several videos to their YouTube channel.
To search the video collection, click on the magnifying glass next to Playlists just above the videos, and enter the name of a country, speaker or topic.
If you have Irish ancestry, you’ll be interested in the more than two dozen Irish instructional videos presented by Claire Bradley, who is the institute’s director of Irish Studies.
Newspapers.com yesterday added 17 Ontario newspapers to its online collection, with the Niagara region being the big winner.
Here are the latest additions:
The Evening Journal
St. Catharines
1919 – 1920
The Times
St. Catharines
1869 – 1875
Evening Journal
St. Catharines
1871 – 1873
The Evening Star
St. Catharines
1900 – 1904
Niagara Peninsula Weekly
Port Colborne
1967
Thorold Post and Niagara District Intelligencer
Thorold
1875 – 1885
The Thorold Post
Thorold
1885 – 1886
Fonthill Herald
Fonthill
1967
Independent
Grimsby
1924
The Beamsville Express
Beamsville
1895 – 1967 (only 42 pages)
The Mississauga Weekender
Mississauga
1985
Mississauga Business Times
Mississauga
1998
The Argus
Oakville
1875
Guelph Mercury Tribune
Guelph
2012 – 2023
Innisfil Journal
Innisfil
2011 – 2023
King Connection
Newmarket
2012 – 2023
Kawartha Lakes This Week
Lindsay
2010 – 2023
Why only these select years? I have no idea, but I’m curious to know the reason why there are a limited number of years. Here’s hoping more years will soon be added.
There are now 594 Canadian newspapers on the subscription website. You can look at the list of papers by country and province/state without a subscription.
As usual, there is plenty to learn this week from Ontario Ancestors’ branches and one of its special interest groups. Presentation topics range from Italy and Scotland to Loyalists and FamilySearch. Six of the seven online presentations are free and open to all who register. One has a fee and two of them are hybrid.
The following times are in Eastern time.
Monday, May 5, 7:00 p.m. — Leeds & Grenville Branch
Old Hay Bay Church: Loyalist Yesterday & Today by Peter and Angela Johnson, UE
Tuesday, May 6, 7:30 p.m. — Durham Region Branch
ScotlandsPeople + FamilySearch = Savings by Ken McKinlay
Researching our kin in Scotland can get a little pricey if we want to view the images of the birth, marriage, and death statutory registrations and the census records. With a bit of time and knowledge we can make use of key collections on FamilySearch to save us a little bit of money. Register to watch online.
Tuesday, May 6, 7:30 p.m. — Toronto Branch
Researching Your Italian Heritage in North America: An Introduction by Pamela Vittorio
What do you want to discover about your Italian heritage? Join Pamela Vittorio for an introduction to building your Italian or Sicilian family tree. This presentation covers the basics of researching on Ancestry, Portale Antenati, Italian parish records and FamilySearch. We’ll also look at immigration, naming patterns and the naturalization process.
The cost of this session is $12 for non-members and $10 for Ontario Genealogical Society members. The webinar will be recorded in case you’re not able to join for the live session. Learn more and register here.
This webinar will be followed in June by a two-part series delving into Italian immigration and migration records.
Wednesday, May 7, 7:30 p.m. — Huron County Branch
Exploring the Huron Branch OGS Website – What’s new and how to get the most from it! by Deb McAuslan
After many hours of scanning files, uploading and re-arranging our Huron Branch website, Deb will walk us through the new additions. Discover how this new information can help with your Huron County research.
Thursday, May 8, 1:00 p.m. — Scottish SIG
Educational Records & Apprenticeship Indentures by Lorna Kinnaird
Friday, May 9, 7:00 p.m. — Kent Branch
FORGOTTEN : The Journals of Isaac Gardiner and Early Rondeau by Mark Van Raay
Mark Van Raay will recount the story of the discovery of a surviving journal from the first years of Rondeau Park which describes the interesting events taking place there between 1896 and 1904 — and how connecting with the Kent Branch helped to save this key piece of Chatham Kent history. This is a hybrid meeting. Attend in person at the McKinlay Reception Hall, 459 St. Clair Street in Chatham, or register to watch online. (Note: Park in the St. Clair parking lot, not the McKinlay Funeral Home parking lot.)
Saturday, May 10, 11:00 a.m. — Simcoe County Branch
A Deeper Dive into Using FamilySearch by Nancy Leveque
Join us as we explore unconventional ways to use the FamilySearch website and their tools to expand our family history research. We will learn how to use the FamilySearch catalogue and the Full Text experiment on the Labs website. This is a hybrid meeting. Attend in person at the Bradford West Gwillimbury Public Library (Zima Room), 425 Holland Street West, Bradford, or register to watch online.
Some of the bijoux I discovered this week.
Blog posts
Vast searchable database reveals the records sitting in boxes at former USSR archives by Vera Miller on Find Lost Russian & Ukrainian Family.
Dutch Genealogy News for April 2025 and 12 Ways to Use Tax Records to Prove Relationships by Yvette Hoitink on Dutch Genealogy.
10 Websites to Find UK Genealogy Records Online by Mercedes on Who Are You Made Of?
Honoring Our Ancestors: A Call to Action for African American Descendants by Dr. Shelley Viola Murphy on Family Tree Girl.
The Disappearing Records: Indiana Genealogists Betrayed by Ancestry and FamilySearch! by Lori Samuelson on Genealogy at Heart.
5 Super-Cool Features of MyHeritage by DiAnn Iamarino Ohama on Fortify Your Family Tree.
Solutions for a Weed-Free Yard, Genealogy-Style: Genealogy Podcasts by Kim on Legacy Tree Genealogists.
Back Up Your Family History! by Marian B. Wood on Climbing My Family Tree.
The Other Side of the Street: a story inspired by Lovell’s Directory by Dorothy Nixon on Genealogy Ensemble.
Articles
WW II postcard campaign reminds Canadian homeowners that fallen ‘lived where you live’ by Keith Doucette, CBC News, Nova Scotia.
‘Work of art’: More than a century after WWI, Dutton-Dunwich finally has a cenotaph by Brent Lale, CTV News, London, Ontario.
Getty Images and Ancestry Partner to Digitally Preserve Historic Archives of HBCUs, Getty Images, Seattle, Washington.
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.
Legacy Family Tree Webinars will this week host two free webinars in their O Canada series.
Today, April 30, at 2:00 p.m. Eastern time, Kathryn Lake Hogan will deliver her presentation, Invaded! The Fenian Raids and the Canadian Response.
Between 1866 and 1871, Irish-American veterans invaded Canada, attempting to pressure Britain to withdraw from Ireland. Gain an understanding of the historical context, significant battles, and the lasting impact on Canadian military and national identity. Determine your ancestor’s role in these events and where to find the records. A syllabus that lists a lot of useful resources is available to Legacy Family Tree Webinars members. Register to watch live.
On Friday, May 2, at 2:00 p.m. Eastern time, Dave Obee will deliver his presentation, Nach Kanada! Immigration of Germans to Canada.
Germans have been migrating to Canada since the 18th century, and have played major roles in the development of the nation. Early arrivals came from German territory, while more recent arrivals came from countries such as Poland, the Soviet Union or Brazil. Germans appear in a variety of Canadian records, including some that do not have Canadians of British descent. This session includes basic history of Germans in Canada, as well as a guide to useful sources. Register to watch live.
Recordings of both webinars will be available to watch for free for up to seven days afterward in the webinar library. After that, only members will be able to watch them.
If you’re not a member, you may want to take note that there are almost 500 free webinars in the webinar library. Just click on the Free box at the top of library page, toward the right, to see the entire list.
Reminder: Legacy Family Tree Webinars’ half-price sale on a membership ends today.
The Provincial Archives of New Brunswick yesterday added to its website 6,683 digitized marriage registrations for the year 1974.
The virtual opportunities at Ontario Ancestors this week include two presentations, three drop-ins, and an interactive pop quiz. As usual, all are free and open to the public.
The following times are in Eastern time.
Monday, April 28, 2:00 p.m. — Lambton County Branch
Lambton Drop-In & Chat
Working on your Lambton County genealogy? Lambton Drop-in is a virtual place to ask questions and share ideas about Lambton or other places, or just listen to what others are saying. Register to attend online.
Monday, April 28, 7:30 p.m. — Toronto Branch
Interactive Pop Quiz: General Genealogy Knowledge with Daniel Horowitz
How much do you know about genealogy records? Are you familiar with the terms used and the information available? Can you identify the highest-quality resources for researching your family? Come and play the old Twenty Questions trivia game with MyHeritage’s Daniel Horowitz and win prizes with your knowledge of family history research. Register to attend online.
Tuesday, April 29, 2:00 p.m. — Ottawa Branch
Virtual Genealogy Drop-In
Share research strategies and discover what resources are available for your research. Volunteers will answer questions and help you get the most from online resources. To make the best use of the limited time, please be prepared when you have a question. Tell us what you hope to find. Let us know what you DO know (names, dates and places of key events such as birth, marriage and death) and where you found it, or where you’ve looked. Be as brief as possible. Have any other information ready in case our experts ask for more details. Register to attend online.
Thursday, May 1, 7:00 p.m. — Ontario Ancestors
Power and Politics of Colonization: The Canada Company by Christine Woodcock
The Highland Society of London was founded in 1778 by Highland gentlemen resident in London. Within a year of its foundation, its members had come to include a number of very notable Scots.
As Scots emigrated to the colonies, so, too, did the influence of the HSL. Many of the men who were involved with the Highland Society of Canada were also part of the Family Compact. The men in this closely allied group were largely second-generation loyalists who held very conservative views and were the key drivers of finance, politics, religion, justice and colonization in Upper Canada.
In this presentation, we will look at the power and politics of the Family Compact, the key players and their influence over the colonization of Upper Canada. In particular, we will look at the Canada (Land) Company and the settlement of the Crown and Clergy Reserves in Upper Canada. Resources for researching ancestors who lived on land owned by the Canada Company will be discussed. Register to watch online.
Saturday, May 3, 10:00 a.m. — London & Middlesex Branch
Hidden Treasures: Family Stories in Museum London’s Collections by Amber Lloydlangston
In Museum London’s collections of some 50,000 objects, there are innumerable family stories. In this talk, the museum’s curator of history and contemporary culture, Amber Lloydlangston, will highlight artifacts from postcards to wedding gowns to an embroidered tablecloth, which conceal and reveal some of these stories. This is a hybrid meeting. Attend in person at the London FamilySearch Library, 1139 Riverside Drive, or register to watch online.
Saturday, May 3, 2:00 p.m. — Ottawa Branch
Family Historian Users Group Virtual Meeting
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. The meeting will consist of general questions, and (hopefully) answers. Our monthly meetings are webcast only and available to anyone in the world! Learn more and register here.
