Now and next

 

Image by Gerd Altmann at Pixabay

Social media is a bit of a Marmite* thing - people tend to either love it or hate it. But like any aspect of technology, it can be used positively or negatively, and if you're aware of how to make it work for you, it can be a great route to learning about new family history resources and events.

In the past week I've come across some familiar and new sources of information that I'll share here. I believe it's important to share what we learn about becoming better genealogists because ultimately, we all benefit from building our skills and our trees!

My first find promotes one of my local groups' meetings, the Renfrewshire Family History Society, on Thursday 19 February at 7.30pm. It will be held in Paisley South Church at 123 Rowan Street and and also on Zoom. It's free to join and details are on the society's website. The guest speaker will be Gillian Brogan, who will give a presentation about Summerlee Museum of Scottish Industrial Life. This museum is a great free attraction showing many aspects of Scotland's industrial heritage that you can explore, including trams and a coal mine. 

The next item on my list of recent discoveries is The Canadian Letters & Images Project, a digital archive of photographs and correspondence relating to the Canadian experience of World War I, on both the home and battle fronts. Rather than official government or military documents, this collection is made up of personal letters and photos shared by families. You can search or browse the names listed for any relatives who might be mentioned. This could very well include some of my family who emigrated from Scotland to various parts of Canada including Nova Scotia, Ontario, and Saskatchewan, although I've yet to discover any in this particular archive.  Fortunately, the letters have been transcribed alongside the scans of the originals, so reading the handwriting isn't a problem. If you have any material that falls into this category you may consider sharing it with the project.

Last but not least, the annual family history conference RootsTech is coming soon, 5-7 March. For most of us the free online event is what we can sign up for and enjoy, although for others there is an in-person conference in Salt Lake City. This year there's also a series of live webinars in the run-up to the event itself, in the next week or two. There's a huge number of activities to take part in online, including "Relatives at RootsTech", a tool to help you link up with your distant cousins who are also joining the conference. 

There are hundreds of video presentations available from previous RootsTech years, covering many topics relating to family history. You can watch a few of mine at https://tinyurl.com/yk8msuac

*Marmite - a Love and Hate Story

Six (free) family history things to do when the archives are closed

 

Well, I was going to write another post about archives re-opening, but with potential changes on the horizon for public building access (The National Archives at Kew have already announced they have suspended bookings for the moment), I thought it might be more useful to share some things that won't be affected by changes in local or national regulations.  So I've collected a variety of family history activities you can do from home, whether your ancestors are from Britain, Ireland, Canada or Australia.

☙  Kew are still providing free downloads to their digital documents, which include wills and military records.  Their online guides give a good overview of their collections and the kind of information they hold that can help build a family tree.

☙  A great opportunity to pick up Irish research skills starts this week.  South Dublin Libraries are offering a six-week series of Zoom evening classes beginning on Thursday 7th November.  While priority will be given to local students, overseas applicants are being accepted.  It’s totally free and you can learn more about the content of the course, and sign up for it, at their Eventbrite registration page.   

☙  Looking for a free place online to store and share your family tree?  Check out this short video from the US Family Tree magazine about WikiTree, a free tree hosting service with a difference. 

☙  You may have heard of the historical forced migration of young people from the United Kingdom to countries around the world.  Many genealogists trace relatives who experienced this, and Canadian organisation British Home Children has been helping families find each other for many years. Their website includes indexes of home children who served in the military, and transcriptions of records from the UK National Archives.

☙  Also drawing on British archives is the Australian Convict Queenslanders database. Find ancestors who left the UK for entirely different reasons, and read profiles of some who shook off the shackles and made good in their new country.

☙  And finally, if you’ve come up against a no-birth-certificate brick wall, professional genealogist Mish Holman takes you step by step through her excellent strategy for breaking it down. 

Happy hunting!

 

O Canada!

Image by toptop54 from Pixabay

As it’s Canada Day, I thought a whistle-stop tour of my favourite free Canadian family history websites was in order!

First off, covering the whole of the nation, is CanadaGenWeb, the self-styled “gateway to free Canadian genealogy”.  It contains a multitude of resources, organised by province, as well as research tips, information on current projects and lots more.  

Then, working from west coast to east through the provinces, we have:

British Columbia City Directories 1860-1955.  This page also has links to such eclectic resources as fire insurance maps, historical photographs of B.C. and the Yukon, and a database of heritage society building permits for Vancouver. 

Peel’s Prairie Provinces is a University of Alberta digital resource aimed at all researchers of western Canadian history.  It hosts online books, newspapers, images and maps relating to Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.  

The Ontario Vital Statistics Project has indexed vital and census records and other sources.  Home to Toronto and the capital city Ottawa, Ontario is the most populous province and has been a common destination for incoming settlers throughout the centuries. 

The Place-Names and Places of Nova Scotia is a useful reference tool.  Many Nova Scotians claim British or European heritage, and their genealogist relatives who remained on the opposite side of the Atlantic often find familiar names in the geography of the province, like Colchester, Halifax and Inverness.  

Newfoundland’s Grand Banks website is home to genealogical resources for the Maritime province of Newfoundland & Labrador.  These include transcriptions of gravestones, wills, passenger lists, directories, newspapers, and BMDs. 

Of course, there are several other provinces and territories not mentioned in this brief list.  These are included in the Canada GenWeb resources, as well as in the Canadian collection and learning courses on FamilySearch.