Wednesday, December 28, 2016

1Month - FindmyPast for 1£

I've done this in the past, which is why I now have a subscription. BUT you can do one heck of a lot in one month AND for only 1£ it's dirt cheap!! Wanna know how I made the £ sign on my Windows keyboard? Press and hold ALT and 0163 at the same time. Yer's welcome!! http://britishgenes.blogspot.ca/2016/12/one-months-access-to-findmypast-for-1.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed:+BritishGenesGenealogyNewsAndEvents+(British+GENES+(GEnealogy+News+and+EventS))

BTW, be sure to read Chris Paton's article with the HUGE hint at how to NOT end up subscribing for ongoing and regular rates. It's only one little check mark, but it's important. It's included in the above link.


Cheers,
Pat

10 Ways to Jumpstart Your Genealogy - FREE

From Thomas MacEntee http://us5.campaign-archive1.com/?u=e6b48e8de3ee2e5430b75a4d5&id=aa3393537a&e=1a6f7d9def

Maybe this will help someone.



Cheers,
Pat

Top Posts 2016

This from the Legal Genealogist and her blog and they're certainly worth reading, or at least picking out what interests you where she has them broken down by: Top Posts All Time, Top Posts Overall, and Top Posts DNA. http://www.legalgenealogist.com/

Because this is a blog, each new entry she posts will move all previous posts DOWN, you may have to scroll down a bit to find it - depending on when you're reading this. Lol Clear as mud?


Cheers,
Pat

Mother's DNA - Mitochondrial

So this is a short article explaining a bit of what your Mother's DNA could show. It's from a company that sells their research services, and I'm not suggesting you do, or do not, hire them. I'm only sharing what I thought was a relatively easy explanation concerning MtDNA https://www.legacytree.com/blog/mitochondrial-dna


Cheers,
Pat

Wednesday, December 21, 2016

Pics of London Bridge & the Charles Bridge



This is a picture of what London Bridge used to look like. It was covered with buildings and it took an hour to walk across due to congestion!! Thanks to Marion McGarry who tweeted this, which is where I first saw it. It reminds me of the Charles Bridge in Prague Czech Republic which is outstandingly beautiful, and joins the old world Prague {with castle} to the modern city. This bridge also had businesses on it - today the businesses have been replaced with buskers etc. so it's all interactive, if you want. And the most gorgeous statues still exist on it. Prague is the most beautiful city I have ever seen. Also has great beer and food. Much like Quebec City, which I rate as #2 in beauty. Of course I've not been everywhere in the World, yet! haha Below is a small section of the Charles Bridge.





Cheers,
Pat

Genealogy Humour




Time for a little humour. I just can't listen to anymore heartbreaking news on radio, TV, or social media.

Thanks to Twisted Twigs on Gnarled Branches! Lol Enjoy - there are tons here!! https://www.google.ca/search?q=twisted+twigs+on+gnarled+branches+genealogy&espv=2&biw=1094&bih=511&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&sqi=2&ved=0ahUKEwiHl-HfmYbRAhVMw4MKHW_OBMQQ7AkIMw&dpr=1.25


Merry Christmas!!


Cheers,
Pat

Tuesday, December 20, 2016

The Baby in the Depression Photograph

This is a good article and shows how one little photo can have a huge impact and become famous. Deals with the depression on the Canadian Prairies in the 1930s. My parents were married at the beginning of this decade, started their family, and farmed through the 30s, so I grew up hearing the stories. We will NEVER be able to appreciate what they went through.

http://thestarphoenix.com/opinion/columnists/history-matters-the-baby-in-the-depression-photograph">http://thestarphoenix.com/opinion/columnists/history-matters-the-baby-in-the-depression-photograph


Cheers,
Pat

England Archbishops Registers FREE

"York's Archbishops Registers Revealed provides free access to over 20,000 images of Registers produced by the Archbishops of York, 1225-1650, in addition to a growing searchable index of names, subjects, places and organisations. The registers are a valuable, and in many cases, unexploited source for ecclesiastical, political, social, local and family history - covering periods of war, famine, political strife and religious reformation in the Archdiocese of York and the wider Northern Province." https://archbishopsregisters.york.ac.uk/

Thanks to Chris Paton for sharing this from his blog http://britishgenes.blogspot.ca/2016/12/searchable-york-archbishops-registers.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed:+BritishGenesGenealogyNewsAndEvents+(British+GENES+(GEnealogy+News+and+EventS))


Cheers,
Pat

1200s England

So any of you eager beavers back to the 1200s in jolly (or not) old England? haha Perhaps you'd be interested in listening, for FREE, to a podcast about why King John was just such an awful king? Or how the Magna Carta figures into all this? Or maybe you're interested in the law? Or military escapades? Funny how history and genealogy are so inter-mixed AND how much more historical events mean to us when we can place our ancestors in the same location(s), before, during, or shortly after the historical event. Sit back and learn http://media.nationalarchives.gov.uk/index.php/life-death-king-john/


Cheers,
Pat

JRI-Poland Records

"Dr. McDonald said, “Information from JRI-Poland’s efforts has been used to help reunite families torn by the ravages of World War II, has made it possible to quickly identify previously unknown family members who might be potential matches for those urgently needing bone marrow or tissue transplants, and has facilitated significant connections between the Polish and Jewish peoples.”

JRI-Poland http://jri-poland.org/ was launched in 1995 and is the largest fully searchable database of indexes to Jewish vital records accessible online. The project was created to provide an online index of all surviving Jewish vital records from Poland. To date, five million records from more than 550 Polish towns have been indexed or fully extracted. More are added every few months."

And before you sluff this off, thinking "I have no Jewish ancestors", I'd suggest giving it a try. We just never know where 'the little dickens' are hiding! I also found towns listed, in the database, from Galicia.


Thanks to Gail Dever for sharing this at http://genealogyalacarte.ca/?p=17583

Also thanks, and congratulations, to Mr. Stanley Diamond of Montreal Canada for all his hard work in this project. He will receive the Governor General’s Meritorious Service Medal. Well done sir.


Cheers,
Pat

Two DNA Must Reads

Wow, there are some excellent points in both of these opinions by DNA experts.
DNA is NOT a magic bullet and Don't Be a DNA Bully

And a short explanation by the Legal Genealogist, plus links to both articles here http://www.legalgenealogist.com/2016/12/18/two-must-read-posts/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheLegalGenealogist+%28The+Legal+Genealogist%29


Cheers,
Pat

Monday, December 19, 2016

ALWAYS Get Back to the Original

This happens to be an Irish example, but no matter what nationality, no matter what country, no matter what index or database or story you have found, ALWAYS GET BACK TO THE ORIGINAL!!! I could give you dozens of examples why, but John Grenham has shared this one and it's a doozie! https://www.johngrenham.com/blog/


And we have finally come out of the deep freeze!! -12 today and I think I'll go for a walk, in shorts, and a tee shirt!! hahaha


Cheers,
Pat

Tuesday, December 13, 2016

DNA FREE Draw

Thanks to Shop the Hound for this, their DNA Angel Project. "The DNA Angel Project™ - December Edition the final draw for 2016 has just started. It's for a DNA Bundle plus BONUS valued at over $107.00 Canadian.
Enter and share with your friends to receive more chances."

So here ya go and best of luck everyone! http://blog.familyhistoryhound.com/giveaways/dna-angel-project-december-edition-bonus/?lucky=1267

Shop the Hound also has some goodies for sale. Check them out http://shopthehound.com/ They're friends, and local, so always nice to support someone local.


Cheers,
Pat

Canadian Marriage Dispensations - from the Vatican?

Thanks to Gail Dever for sharing this. And it's not just Catholics that will show up!! Read on

"Newly released digital inventories of Vatican documents reveal insights into Canadian history, from 1622 to 1922, and these records include marriage dispensations between Catholics and non-Catholics who wanted to marry.

The majority of marriage dispensations in these inventories appear to be from Quebec, with some from Ontario and Atlantic Canada."

http://genealogyalacarte.ca/?p=17513


Cheers,
Pat

How To Cite Archival Sources

Good advice here https://thediscoverblog.com/2016/12/13/how-to-cite-archival-sources/

Why do we HAVE to cite our sources? Why indeed. I have just been chatting with an old friend Ilene J, who is in the process of re-entering, re-doing, re-vamping her entire genealogy collection of 'stuff' she's collected - documents, pictures, stories, letters etc etc BECAUSE ... she didn't understand the importance of citing sources and adding notes, when she started, a loooong time ago. And guess who is doing the exact same thing? That would be ME, for the exact same reasons. So my friends, do it now, do it right, and cite your sources so anyone, anywhere, anytime can look at your work and follow up, perhaps finding answers we were unable to in 2016.


Cheers,
Pat

Monday, December 12, 2016

Children Thrown Off a Ship in Newfoundland

I don't care what nationality, or when this happened, it is so WRONG! http://www.scotsman.com/news/the-arran-stowaways-thrown-off-a-ship-in-newfoundland-1-4305151


Cheers,
Pat

Casualty Lists of Austria Hungary Military

Wow - for the tens or hundreds of thousands of descendants living in Canada, especially western Canada, wouldn't this be a wonderful record to have access to? Well, you can. But you'll need to help a little too. I'd say this is well worth a little effort and who knows what you'll learn, or who you'll find? Many of those who have started their family history research in the last 16 years probably believe that indexes, and databases just magically appear, online, FREE ... and that computers do it all! Nope - it takes humans, volunteering to do their part. Contribute?

http://www.many-roads.com/2016/12/08/casualty-lists-of-world-war-i-austria-hungary-1914-1919/


Cheers,
Pat

Vikings & Scotland

Ever wondered if there was a connection between the Vikings and Scotland? Well you may just be surprised at what you're learn here - http://www.scotsman.com/heritage/people-places/vikings-and-scotland-10-lesser-known-facts-1-1919750


Cheers,
Pat

Irish Lessons FREE

This is pretty cool folks! I've not worked my entirely through, as there is a LOT here!! But it's all FREE, and looks to be set out quite nicely, and professionaly, soooo here ya go https://www.irishgenealogy.ie/en/2016-family-history/welcome

Hope this helps - especially my friend Shirley H. who has expressed a desire for me to offer some Irish courses again. haha Until I get time let's hope this will help all Irish researchers.


And I'm adding what John Reid has blogged this morning as he has gone into detail, where I think everyone interested should be happy to follow a link, and read and learn! haha Anyway, thanks John. http://anglo-celtic-connections.blogspot.ca/2016/12/how-to-find-your-irish-ancestors-online.html


Cheers,
Pat

Friday, December 9, 2016

Scotland Records

This web site may be new to some of you. It is ScotlandsPlaces, not ScotlandsPeople and it's also very valuable for researchers.

"What is ScotlandsPlaces? ScotlandsPlaces is a website that gives you access to records from Historic Environment Scotland, the National Records of Scotland and the National Library of Scotland. All of the records are linked by a common theme – they tell us something about Scotland’s places. Of course, in telling us about Scotland’s places we also learn about Scotland’s people, making it a great resource for family history, local history as well as many other kinds of research."

I've just had a peek again at this site and am reminded of all the taxes our Scottish ancestors were required to pay! Taxes on hearths, windows, dogs, ponies, carts, servants, clock & watch, land, carriage, horse, shop etc. etc. With the horror of each tax [for them], comes the glory of created records [for us]!

So, there goes the rest of my afternoon I'm afraid! Darn 'shiny things'. Lol Enjoy and happy searching! http://www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk/


Cheers,
Pat

Scotland - Robert the Bruce

Good heavens - I wonder how accurate all these new tools are? I am amazed at this science, and don't suppose we'll ever know for sure, but kind of fun in the meantime. Anyway this is an interesting article about recreating the face of Robert the Bruce who lived in the 1300s, no obviously no photo to use. https://www.ljmu.ac.uk/about-us/news/robert-the-bruce

In 2007 we spent one full day at Sterling Castle. It is a captivating, huge place for sure with so much to walk through and learn. The most amazing part, for me, was the view that castle had! For dozens of miles you can see in every direction, so no chance of any sneak attacks. And outside the castle there is a statue of Robert the Bruce seated on his horse - his very small horse at that!


If you're Scottish and you don't know the Battle of Bannockburn, Sterling Castle, or Robert the Bruce ... weel you're no a true Scots! But the Internet awaits - Google and learn. And I had never heard the story of leprosy associated with Robert the Bruce before, so there is always something new to learn. Aye laddies and lassies! haha


Cheers,
Pat [anyone else notice it's -30 something this morning and getting colder?] Why the bleep bleep did my Scottish/Irish grandparents settle here? I prefer the Caribbean! Lol Stay warm and keep your pets inside.

Wednesday, December 7, 2016

Ontario, Middlesex FREE Cemeteries Download

This seems to be my day for finding cemetery FREE databases! This one is for the county of Middlesex, just around London Ontario. There are lots of other databases here too, so you might decide to join their genealogy society - of course that is the hope. A good genealogy society can be worth it's weight in gold. But I really appreciate this group setting up this free service, and so I might just join in too!! http://www.ogs.on.ca/londonmiddlesex1/index.php/product-category/cemetery-transcripts/

And I have certainly been 'one of those' people to tramp cemeteries, transcribing them, to preserve all the information that will certainly be lost with time. So I know, understand, and truly appreciate the work of many who have made this database possible. A donation is definitely in order.

If you happen to be searching in this area, drop me a line please? Perhaps we have a connection, or can help each other in some way.


Cheers,
Pat

Forgotten Bernardo Children - Monument

You can read about the monument erected in east London to remember the 513 Bernardo children who died and were buried in unmarked graves. Some of the 'Home Children' who never left. Sad. http://irishpost.co.uk/monument-to-barnardos-children-buried-in-unmarked-graves-a-century-ago-unveiled-in-london/


Cheers,
Pat

Ancestor Hate Mail - FUNNY

Thanks to Judy Russell for pointing us to this fab blogger http://www.cluewagon.com/2014/08/ancestor-hate-mail/

This made me laugh out loud - and seeing as I just had a tooth pulled, that's not easy. Oh and you might like to read a few more articles in the "You may also like" at the bottom of her page. I needed a good laugh, or two. Lol


Cheers,
Pat

Compare Timelines

Time to Compare Timelines

Never look at a timeline for one person in your family tree in isolation. Consider how it might fit in with the timelines of the person's relatives, including those outside his or her immediate family, such as uncles, aunts and cousins. You may not find a trace of the person you're focusing on beyond a certain date, but other relatives may also seem to vanish from the scene at about the same time. Seeing who "disappears" and who doesn't at any particular moment is often a clue in itself. Did relatives with the same occupation vanish at once? Might they have travelled to another state or country together to look for work? Could relatives be sharing a residence in a new location? Could they all be staying with another relative elsewhere for some reason? Try to apply questions like these to related groups who have "gone missing." You'll open your mind to new possibilities and might be able to locate a bunch of kin in the process.

Thanks to Sue Lisk, Your Genealogy Today and Internet Genealogy author


Cheers,
Pat

OAlster + WorldCat

So I use WorldCat lots, but OAlster was new to me, perhaps to you too? The OAIster® database holds millions of digital resources from thousands of contributors. See for yourself http://www.oclc.org/oaister.en.html


Cheers,
Pat

Evidence Explained!

The guru of genealogy evidence, Elizabeth Shown Mills, why we need to cite our sources, and how we do that has written 22 Quick Lessons that deserve a good read by all https://www.evidenceexplained.com/tags/quicklesson


Cheers,
Pat

Leeds Yorkshire Burial Database 1835-1992

So when this popped up this morning I was still in bed, listening to CBC radio reporting on the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Commission and some of the sad stories told by their families last week in Manitoba. It is a heart breaking story that I'm sure every parent/child/grandparent/aunt/uncle hopes they never have to face. What does this have to do with the burial records for the city of Leeds Yorkshire you ask? Welllll ....

I was reading emails on my phone at the same time as I was wiping tears, and so when this notice popped up I paid attention as my husbands mother's family came from Leeds Yorkshire England. I Love databases!!!! So for the next 30 minutes I input names of her families and found about 12 relatives. Names, dates of death, age at death, cause of death!, parents names!, occupation of parents!, address where they lived, and location of burial. There is an index and then there is also the option of opening up the image attached to the indexed information - and it's all FREEEEEEE!!!!! Make sure to ALWAYS get back to the original record and don't just stop at the index, not just here, but in every record type you search.

I am always a bit jealous when I work on Al's English families. There is not one farmer, or labourer. Nope. They were: a flock merchant (yup, had to look that one up), artist, portrait painter, butcher and this morning I discovered a new one who was a sculptor! Let me tell you how much easier that makes knowing you've got the 'right guy' ... 'cause they all have the same old names - Charles, Richard, Joseph, Harold, Ann, Mary, Martha etc. So for anyone with ancestral lines back to Leeds here ya go https://blog.library.leeds.ac.uk/blog/special-collections/post/484

Now back I go to my own families of: farmers and labourers and a few grocers. Lol


Cheers,
Pat

Discover Freedmen.org

This is NOT just for those with African American ancestors. It's a fabulous, amazing database with virtually everyone who lived in the southern USA following the Civil War 1861-65. And it never hurts to learn a little history. http://www.discoverfreedmen.org/

The Legal Genealogist has written an excellent article here http://www.legalgenealogist.com/2016/12/06/freedmens-index-an-amazing-feat/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheLegalGenealogist+%28The+Legal+Genealogist%29


Cheers,
Pat

Sunday, December 4, 2016

DNA Results - WHAT??????

This is the true story of a real life man, still alive, who innocently took a standard DNA test to please his cousin. The results were NOT what either of them expected. It is an amazing story that reminds us again, when we do genealogy research we better be prepared for what we learn! http://www.cnbc.com/2016/09/06/cnbc-anchor-bill-griffeth-got-the-shock-of-his-life-after-a-simple-dna-test.html

PS On my screen I had to grab the side bar and scroll down to see page 1 of the excerpt. Will I be buying this book? OH I think so!!


Cheers,
Pat

UK National Army

Military research holds no special interest to you, but this site might be helpful to some of you searching for your United Kingdom [made up of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland] relatives. To me, the most interesting sections are tabs across the top, including Exhibitions, Collection & Research. http://www.nam.ac.uk/exhibitions


Cheers,
Pat

Saturday, December 3, 2016

Ontario Marriages FREE databases

This is for those of you who have not been using the wonderful records recorded by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, aka the LDS, or the Mormons. There is lots to learn so you can spot the difference between records within their website that can be totally trusted, and those that need to be questioned. So the following two databases are trusted ones. Best of luck!!

1801 - 1858 Ontario District Marriages https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2569151?collectionNameFilter=false

1858 - 1869 Ontario County Marriage Registers https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2568642?collectionNameFilter=false



Cheers,
Pat

Do NOT Wait

It's one of the topics I always attempt to stress to my students - do NOT wait. And it's one topic that far too many of us have in common - that we waited too long! We didn't ask questions of any of our relatives, when they were still able to share some of their precious memories - many of them stored only in their own brain. Darn!! So the Legal Genealogist has just penned an article about this. She is American so that's her focus, but the message is clear - Do NOT Wait. http://www.legalgenealogist.com/2016/12/03/a-generation-of-memories/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheLegalGenealogist+%28The+Legal+Genealogist%29


Cheers,
Pat

Friday, December 2, 2016

FREE Books!

Thanks to those who wrote and suggested some books I'd like. I appreciate it.

This morning I discovered another great website associated with the Internet Archives. My old website still exists on the WayBack Machine and it's fun to look at [for me]. But they also host this free book site called openlibrary.org and the owners are seriously considering hosting it in Canada as they are nervous about the USA President Elect and his weird ideas of 'free speech' amongst a ton of other concerns they have about him. Anyway ...

You need to create an account [which is FREE]. Then they sent me the following "Once that's done, you're all set. Free to roam the Open Library, discovering treasures, making connections, correcting errors, or sprinkling tidbits you know about books across the catalog. Naturally, you're also welcome to simply explore. Apart from over 20 million bibliographic records, we also have over 1 million free, readable books available for you to read, right now.

Enjoy!

Regards,
The Open Library Team

P.S. If you need help using the site, you can find it here: https://openlibrary.org/help P.P.S. Have you seen our blog? http://blog.openlibrary.org"


Cheers,
Pat [FREE is good, right? 1 million free, readable books, available right now? I'm in!! Hahaha] Merry Christmas!