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

Some Recent Discoveries

 

Image by SimoneVomFeld on Pixabay

You may already be familiar with some or all of these websites, but I’ve only recently come across them! I found them all really useful and enlightening, and have bookmarked them for future use.

A Dictionary of Occupational Terms Based on the Classification of Occupations used in the Census of Population, 1921

Some twentieth-century occupations may have changed their name, be very niche, or no longer exist. For instance, what’s a kapok worker? What’s kapok, for that matter?! What does an uncallower do? Which industry would a brilliandeer work in? Find out in the Dictionary of Occupational Terms that was produced to accompany the 1921 UK census.

Scottish Mining Website

A friend recently pointed me in the direction of this tremendous resource. It lists mines operational in Scotland for certain years in the 19th and 20th centuries, and has a mining accident section from before 1840 up until 1939.

Various resources such as government reports and newspaper articles are included throughout the site. One fascinating page lists miners’ wages and the cost of living from the 17th century until after World War Two. If your Scots ancestors were mineworkers, you’re sure to learn something new about the lives they led, as well as their work.

2025 Rhind Lectures on Scotland’s Place-Names 

I recently watched these lectures live. They’re sponsored by the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland and were free to view over the weekend when they took place. Now they’re available to watch on YouTube. This year’s theme was “Scotland’s Place-Names” and I learned so much about the survival of various languages in Scotland via the names that were given to places by their inhabitants and others. 

Several topics were addressed, including archaeology and religion. The lectures were delivered by Dr Simon Taylor, an academic in this field with over 30 years’ worth of expertise, and it was a pleasure to listen to someone so knowledgeable about his subject.

Presbyterian Historical Society of Ireland

In a previous blog post, I extolled the virtues of joining a family history society – but other historical societies and heritage groups can also be of help to genealogical research. One such is the Presbyterian Historical Society of Ireland. Whether your ancestor was a congregant or a minister of a Presbyterian church on the island, the society has records and advice for your research.

You can learn more about the organisation and its purposes by viewing the slide collection which explains the origins of different forms of Irish Presybterianism.

The society also has an active events programme and some of their previous lectures can be found on YouTube.

Free Census access and Mining History

Image by Sabine from Pixabay

Until the 9th of March, Ancestry are offering free access to the 1921 England & Wales census to mark Women's History Month. If you haven't already searched this census for your relatives, it's definitely worth a dive, especially as it's free. However this is a shorter free run than Ancestry's standard 14-day trial subscription, and the sign-up procedure will be pretty much the same, plus the two-week trial gives you access to all Ancestry's records, not just the 1921 census.

My discovery of the week is the Eco-Museum of Scottish Mining Landscapes, guiding you on a virtual tour of the mining areas of central Scotland. Explore the site, and the mining communities, by clicking on the website's map. Plan and make your journey on foot or by bike, using the map's guide to industrial archaeology, geology, heritage, and, most essential, cafes along the routes. Parking and public transport access points are included to make the trip easier. Once the better weather is here I hope to try it out on the ground. The site is also looking for volunteers to build some of the walks in their local area. Their Facebook account highlights the latest developments.

The whole project (which also covers mining areas south of the border) is a tribute to our ancestors who laboured below and above ground to earn a pittance - no, it's not a pun - and provides a real-time way to experience and learn more about their communities and environment.