Since this will be the final post to the 24/7 Family History Circle blog, I look forward to staying in touch with you on the Ancestry.com blog in the future! Click here to read my first post on the Ancestry.com blog.
]]>Make a lasting impression at this yearâ€s family reunion with a descendant family tree poster or descendant-based family history book. In this hour-long webinar, youâ€ll learn how to create a book or poster that your relatives will be talking about long after the reunionâ€s over. Descendant books and posters also make great birthday and anniversary gifts. During the webinar, three randomly chosen participants will receive coupons for a free 36″x24″ poster (a $39.95 value).
]]>Come join our Ancestry.ca specialists, Lesley Anderson and Karen Peterson, and Canadian Genealogist, Glenn Wright, in this one hour online seminar as they walk through the history of the Canadian Census. Theyâ€ll tackle effective search techniques, and tips which will cover each census year – 1851, 1861, 1871, 1881, 1891, 1901, 1906, 1911 and 1916.
]]>(Toronto, June 10, 2009) – Ancestry.ca, in partnership with Library and Archives Canada (LAC), today completed the world-first online launch of the Historical Canadian Censuses, 1851-1916. Never before have all of the nine available national censuses[i] been published online, fully indexed and including original document images.
Together, these censuses contain more than 32 million names – all searchable for the first time – of those living in Canada from the mid 19th century through to the early 20th century – a period of nationhood, new arrivals, great change and significant growth.
It is estimated that half of all living Canadians (16 million people)[ii] will be able to trace their ancestors in the censuses – Ancestry.ca has found those of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Opposition Leader Michael Ignatieff, jailed businessman Conrad Black, singer Alanis Morissette and actress Pamela Anderson (original images available).
So what is a Canadian? Canadians have been asking themselves this very question for as long as we have existed as a country.
A recent national online survey[iii] showed that 74 per cent of Canadians consider themselves ‘Canadian†first and foremost yet more than half of all Canadians still identify with a nationality other than Canadian. Furthermore, a quarter cannot trace their ancestors back more than 50 years (beyond their grandparents), and just 16 per cent can trace their ancestors back more than 150 years (five generations).
The good news is that despite this lack of general knowledge, 85 per cent indicated that they were keen to learn more about their family history. With a one in two chance of finding ancestors in the Historical Canadian Censuses, 1851-1916, the originals of which are held by LAC, Ancestry.ca expects the collection to explode interest for family history in Canada.
Digitizing and indexing the nine censuses, which contain a range of information about individuals, families and residents living at a particular address, took an estimated 600,000 man hours to complete (the equivalent of a person working 24 hours a day, seven days a week for approximately 70 years).Â
Making all the historical censuses available and fully searchable online will enable both new and advanced family history researchers to learn more about all members of a given household including family, lodgers and ‘the helpâ€, on the day that census was taken.
For many, this will mean having first-time access to vital information to help them search and map their personal history: of family members, their ages, occupations, religions, native tongue and ethnicity, addresses and house type, parents†birth place where applicable, and immigration year and military service (in selected censuses) at both given and multiple points in time.
Given the richness of the information they contain, censuses are considered the ‘backbone†of family history research, representing both a comprehensive starting point and a vital guide for researchers by providing further clues on other record sets such as birth, marriage, death, military and immigrations records, which may also contain information about their family members.
In making this collection available online, many Canadians who are interested in knowing more about their family history but who simply donâ€t know where or how to get started may now be inspired to do so.
The Historical Canadian Censuses, 1851-1916 contain records from the ancestors of present day politicians, business moguls, actors, movie directors and athletes. These prominent names have roots firmly planted in Canadian history.
Josh Hanna, Senior VP, Ancestry.ca, comments: “Canadaâ€s early censuses are among its most valuable historical documents, providing a broad snapshot of life in a particular place and time as well as detailed accounts of the lives of millions of individual Canadians during a period of change, growth and prosperity.
“Ancestry.caâ€s partnership with LAC has ensured the digitization of these vital records and will enable millions of Canadians, not to mention countless others around the world in countries such as the UK, France and the US, to access the records online for the first time and search for their family.”
Familysearch International also worked on this ambitious project to deliver the images and indexes for the 1861, 1871, 1881 and 1916 Censuses.
The Historical Canadian Censuses, 1851-1916 are now available to Canada and World Deluxe members and through a 14-day free trial and can be viewed at www.ancestry.ca/census.
Media Profile                                                                                      Â
Erin Oâ€Reilly / Jeri Brown                                                                     Â
416-504-8464Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
erlich@mediaprofile.com / erin@mediaprofile.com                                    Â
Library and Archives Canada
Richard Provencher, Chief, Media Relations
819-994-6030
richard.provencher@lac-bac.gc.ca
ABOUT ANCESTRY.CA
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Ancestry.ca was launched in January 2006 and has 425 million Canadian names in such collections as the Historical Canadian Censuses, 1851-1916, Ontario and British Columbia vital records from as early as 1813, Quebec vital records (The Drouin Collection), 1621-1957, Canadian Passenger Lists, 1865-1935, and U.S. / Canada Border Crossings, 1895 -1956.
Ancestry.ca is part of the global network of Ancestry websites (wholly owned by The Generations Network, Inc.), which contains eight billion names in 28,000 historical record collections. To date more than 10.5 million family trees have been created and one billion names and 19 million photographs uploaded. 8.7 million unique visitors logged on to an Ancestry website in April 2009 (comScore, April 2009).
The Ancestry global network of family history websites – www.ancestry.ca in Canada, www.ancestry.com in the US, www.ancestry.co.uk in the UK, www.ancestry.com.au in Australia, www.ancestry.de in Germany, www.ancestry.it in Italy, www.ancestry.fr in France, www.ancestry.se in Sweden and www.jiapu.com in China.
ABOUT LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA
The mandate of Library and Archives Canada is to preserve the documentary heritage of Canada for the benefit of present and future generations and to be a source of enduring knowledge accessible to all, thereby contributing to the cultural, social and economic advancement of Canada. Library and Archives Canada also facilitates co-operation among communities involved in the acquisition, preservation and diffusion of knowledge, and serves as the continuing memory of the Government of Canada and its institutions.
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The Canadian Genealogy Centre (www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/genealogy/) includes all physical and online genealogical services of Library and Archives Canada. It offers genealogical content, services, advice, research tools and opportunities to work on joint projects, all in both official languages.
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[i] Due to Canadian privacy laws, no Canadian census may be made public until 93 years after it has been commissioned therefore the 1916 Census of Canada is the latest to be made publicly available. 1851 marks the first time a comprehensive census of the Canadian population was taken.
[ii] Using Statistics Canada data, the cumulative immigrant population post 1916 was mapped, including births within this population. This was then subtracted from the current population to give the number of Canadians who descend from the eight million people living in Canada in 1916 (approximately 16 million).
[iii] MarketTools online survey of 1,000+ Canadians, commissioned April, 2009
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It includes a “fudge factor” of five years before and two years after. If you only specify a birth year it will search for 100 years after that date; if you only enter a death year it will search for 100 years before that date. So, if you enter a birth year of 1901 and a death year of 1929, the search engine will return records between 1896 and 1931. If you put in a death year of 1920, but no birth year, the search engine will return records from between 1815 and 1922.
To learn more, read Anne Mitchellâ€s post on the Ancestry.com blog.
And There’s More
Soon, Ancestry.com will be launching new site navigation to help you get where you need with fewer clicks. Drop-down menus are being added to the familiar tab navigation bar, allowing you to go directly to one of your trees, search a specific collection, or visit message boards with just one click–from anywhere on the site. You’ll also be able access a list of your favorite Ancestry.com pages and your to-do list from a new “Favorites†link that can be accessed with one click anywhere on the site. Click here to learn more about the navigation improvements.
]]>It is with great pleasure that the Board of the Utah Genealogical Association announces the awarding of the UGA Silver Tray Award to Loretto “Lou†Dennis Szucs. Instituted in 1973, the award was initially given to an individual or organization for “Scholarly Contributions in the Field of Genealogy.†Since 1988 the award has focused on efforts in the field of publications.
Mrs. Szucs†untiring efforts as an author, compiler and editor of superior quality genealogical publications such as The Source and They Became Americans: Finding Naturalization Records and Ethnic Origins uniquely qualify her for this recognition. Her publications are considered “go to” resources for professional and amateur genealogists.
Loretto Dennis “Lou†Szucs, FUGA, holds a degree in history, and has been involved in genealogical research, teaching, lecturing, and publishing for more than thirty years. Previously employed by the National Archives, she is currently executive editor and vice president of community relations for The Generations Network. She has served on many archives and genealogical boards, and was founding secretary of the Federation of Genealogical Societies. Currently, she serves as a director on the Board of the Federation of Genealogical Societies.
She has edited newsletters and quarterly journals for several genealogical societies, including the Federation of Genealogical Societies†FORUM. She authored They Became Americans: Finding Naturalization Records and Ethnic Origins; Chicago and Cook County Sources: A Genealogical and Historical Guide; Ellis Island: Tracing Your Family History Through Americaâ€s Gateway; The Archives: A Guide to the National Archives Filed Branches (with Sandra Luebking), and Finding Ancestors in U.S. Census Records (with Matthew Wright).
Since 1980, Lou has lectured at numerous genealogy workshops and national conferences. She has presented at the American Library Association conference and has been interviewed for the Ancestor series, ABC News, CNN News, and most recently on the ABC show, The View. In 1995, she was awarded the designation of fellow of the Utah Genealogical Association and has received numerous other awards.About UGA
The Utah Genealogical Association was chartered December 1, 1971, by the State of Utah as a nonprofit educational organization, with the expressed goal to provide genealogical information, sources and education through personal instruction and published media on state, national and international family history topics, while promoting high standards and ethical practices. UGA sponsors the annual Fall Conference and the annual week-long Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy in addition to publishing the UGA quarterly, Crossroads.Media Contact:Luana Darby
2009 UGA President
P.O. Box 1144
Salt Lake City, UTÂ 84110
Phone: 1-888-463-6842Â
E-mail: info@infouga.org
www.infouga.org
The definitive collection of records detailing the rich history of London and its inhabitants over 400 years is available online for the first time today at leading social and family history website Ancestry.co.uk, in partnership with London Metropolitan Archives and Guildhall Library Manuscripts following a competitive tender by the City of London to digitise and exclusively host their collection online.
Starting with records from Londonâ€s infamous Victorian workhouses memorably depicted by Charles Dickens in Oliver Twist, the London Historical Records, 1500s-1900s will include more than 77 million records, providing an unprecedented insight into the colourful history of one of the worldâ€s greatest cities.
Key record types include parish and workhouse records, electoral rolls, wills, land tax records and school reports. According to a recent family history survey, more than half of the current British population will have an ancestor in the London Historical Records, 1500s-1900s.
Furthermore, it is estimated that approximately 135 million people from the U.S., Canada and Australia will also be able to trace ancestors in the collection due to Londonâ€s status as the city at the centre of the British Empire for centuries.
Assembled over time direct from various London institutions, the collection includes the names of millions of ordinary Londoners alongside famous and infamous figures from the cityâ€s past. Notable examples include Oliver Cromwellâ€s marriage record, the baptism record for poet Samuel Pepys and the burial register listing for writer and statesman John Milton.
A number of modern day celebrities can also find ancestors within the collection. JK Rowlingâ€s 3x great-grandfather, William Richard Rowling, appears in the Mile End marriage registers for 1872, while Patsy Kensitâ€s ancestor Thomas Kensit can be found in Shoreditch Baptism records from 1815. David Beckhamâ€s London roots are also well documented; with his 3x great- grandparentâ€s marriage listed in the collection. Even international pop star Britney Spears can find her great-grandfather, George Portell, listed in the Tottenham marriage records for 1923.
The workhouse or ‘Board of Guardians†records now online contain the names of anyone who was born, baptised or died in a London workhouse in the 19th and early 20th century. During this time, men, women and children who couldnâ€t support themselves were forced to live in these institutions, working long hours in tedious jobs in exchange for minimal food and board.
The conditions were kept intentionally poor to deter others and unofficial beatings or starving of inmates were not unheard of. Overcrowding was also a major problem, compounded by the influx of Irish immigrants after the potato famine of the mid 19th century. While conditions improved slightly in the early 20th century, the workhouses were still a feared ‘last resort†by most until their abolition in 1930.
The workhouse records cover 12 key London regions[iii]. Also included today are a variety of workhouse creed registers, admissions, discharges, apprenticeship papers and lists of ‘lunaticsâ€.
Workhouse records are just one of the record types which comprise the London Historical Records, 1500s-1900s. Others include:
Parish Registers – from 1538, priests had to keep records of all baptisms, marriages and burials in their parish. These records are taken from over 10,000 Greater London parishes, and as they pre-date both civil registration and censuses, they are the essential ‘next step back†for people wishing to trace their family history beyond the 19th centuryÂ
School Admissions and Discharges – contain records taken from 800+ London schools dating from the early Victorian times through to 1911. They provide admission details and information about millions of London students
Non-Conformist Registers – details the birth, baptism, death and burial of religious dissenters who did not worship at the established church in England from 1694 to 1921. The majority of the records are for Methodist, Baptist and United Reformed churches, although there are smaller collections of other denominations such as Quakers and Seventh Day Adventists
Diocesan Divorce Exhibita – one of a number of interesting records from the London diocesan courts, when applying for divorce, a husband or wife would submit evidence for their partnerâ€s marital failings, including love letters, witness accounts and sworn testimony, which were then kept on record.
Josh Hanna, Senior Vice President of Ancestry, comments: “We estimate that half of Brits will be able to find an ancestor in this collection, which pre-dates civil registration and censuses, and documents the history of a great city and its people, their birth, poverty, fortunes, faith, education, marriage and death.
 “No city in modern history other than London can claim to have been the capital of such a far reaching empire, which really is why this collection is of such significance not only to Brits, but also to many others around the world with ancestral ties back to England.â€
Dr Deborah Jenkins, Assistant Director of the City of Londonâ€s Department of Libraries, Archives and Guildhall Art Library, comments: “We were delighted to work with Ancestry.co.uk to digitise this impressive collection of documents.
“Not only will this mean that millions of people will be able to access this resource from the comfort of their own homes all over the world – it also ensures that we will be able to support the long term preservation of the documents and provide fast, free access to researchers who visit our sites.â€
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[i] When complete in 2010[ii] London roots – research methodology
In order to estimate the percentage of the population with London roots in four major countries (U.S., Canada, Australia and the UK), more than 9,000 people who had researched their family history were surveyed using Zoomerang International. The percentages of people who found London ancestors (more than three generations back) in each country was as follows: UK (60%), U.S. (55.6%), Canada (59.6%) and Australia (70.8%).These percentages were then applied to the white/European fraction of the population based on national census data, giving the following results: UK (33 million), US (107.8 million), Canada (14.6 million), Australia (12.7 million) = 168.1 million – approx 165 million.[iii] Records launched today cover 12 major London regions: Poplar, Paddington, St Marylebone, St Pancras, Southwark, Islington, Stepney, Westminster, Lambeth, Wandsworth, Holborn and Hampstead. The remaining regions will launch online in the coming months.
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]]>Ireland, Index to Griffithâ€s Valuation, 1848-1864
This database, an index to one of Ireland’s premier genealogical resources, Griffith’s Valuation, references approximately one million individuals who occupied property in Ireland between 1848 and 1864. The Griffith’s Valuation, or Primary Valuation of Ireland, was executed under the direction of Sir Richard Griffith to determine the amount of tax each person should pay towards the support of the poor within their poor law union. This involved determining the value of all privately held lands and buildings in rural as well as urban areas to figure the rate at which each unit of property could be rented year after year. The resulting survey was arranged by barony and civil parish with an index to the townlands appearing in each volume. The original volumes of the survey are held in the National Archives, Dublin and Public Record Office, Belfast.
Ireland, Tithe Applotment Books, 1824-1837
The Tithe Applotment Books record the results of a unique land survey taken to determine the amount of tax payable by landholders to the Church of Ireland, the established church until 1869. They are known as the Tithe Applotment Books because the results of this land survey were originally compiled in nearly 2,000 hand-written books. This data set represents a virtual census for pre-Famine Ireland. Since it covers all of Ireland it is immensely important in terms of constructing, not just an image of a particular family line, but of wider social conditions in the country. Only the six counties that constitute present-day Northern Ireland – Antrim, Armagh, Derry, Down, Fermanagh, and Tyrone, covering 223 parishes, are included.
Irish Flax Grower’s List
In 1796 the Irish Linen Board published a list of almost 60,000 individuals who had received awards for planting a specified acreage of flax. Those who planted one acre were awarded 4 spinning-wheels, and those growing 5 acres were awarded a loom. The records include the name of the individual, county, and parish. The records cover most of Ireland. The Flax Growers List is arranged by civil parish in each county except for Dublin and Wicklow, which were not included in the records. The counties available are; Antrim, Armagh, Carlow, Cavan, Clare, Cork, Derry, Donegal, Down, Fermanagh, Galway, Kerry, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Leitrim, Limerick, Longford, Louth, Mayo, Meath, Monaghan, Offaly, Roscommon, Sligo, Tipperary, Tyrone, Waterford, Westmeath, Wexford.
The Royal Irish Constabulary 1816-1921
The Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) was created in 1816, and initially staffed mainly by Irish-born men. However, toward the 1900s, and especially afterwards, the RIC recruited men from countries such as England, Scotland, Wales, and the United States. The records of the RIC were only indexed annually by the date of enlistment. Until this database was created, the only way to identify whether an ancestor joined the forces was an extremely time-consuming search. Some people joined for a few days or weeks, others stayed for years, and quite a few migrated. There are mentions in the index on whether a person emigrated, died, or married.
Cassell’s Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland
This database contains the last five volumes of the six volume series titled, Cassell’s Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland, being a complete topographical dictionary of the United Kingdom. Gazetteers like this one are very useful sources for genealogists because they help us locate and learn about the places our ancestor’s lived.
Irish Records Extraction Database
This 100,000-name database of Irish vital records is the result of many years of research in Irish records. It contains records of births, marriages, deaths, burials, cemeteries, wills, immigration, census, and so forth. It includes records from many different locations in both Ireland and Northern Ireland and it includes over 120 unique sources. The records include information from as early as 1600 and as late as 1874. This collection seeks to allow users to search otherwise inaccessible or hard-to-find collections.
Irish Immigrants: New York Port Arrival Records, 1846-1851
This database is a collection of mainly Irish immigrants between 1846 and 1851 whose names were extracted from the originals of New York, USA, port arrival records (Customs Passenger Lists). Information from the following categories can generally be found for each of the more than 600,000 entries: Surname, Given Name, Age, Gender, Literacy, Native Country, Residence, Destination, Transit Type, Compartment, Port of Embarkation, Ship, Number of Passengers on the ship, Arrival Date, and Occupation. Also, try searching the entire Immigration Collection at Ancestry, which will include additional years for the port of New York, as well as other U.S. ports.
And sometimes you’ll find the records of your Irish ancestors in record collections created beyond the shores of the Emerald Isle:
UK Medical Registers, 1859-1959
This database contains annually published books listing all of the names of doctors who were licensed to practise in the United Kingdom and abroad from 1859-1959. Also included are foreign doctors who qualified in Britain and you’ll find the names of many Irish doctors within the pages of these registers. .
UK Incoming Passenger Lists, 1878-1960
This database is an index to the Board of Tradeâ€s passenger lists of ships arriving in the United Kingdom from foreign ports outside of Europe and the Mediterranean. They include records from some Irish ports, as well as Irish passengers traveling to or through other UK ports. In addition, the names found in the index are linked to actual images of the passenger lists, copied from The National Archives (TNA) collection series BT26.
New South Wales, Australia, Assisted Immigrant Passenger Lists, 1828-1896
This database contains a collection of assisted immigrant passenger lists to New South Wales, Australia for various years between 1828 and 1896. “Assisted immigrants†are individuals whose passages were either subsidized or paid for by another person or through another agency. This collection is comprised of four different series of records. They are:
British Army WWI Service Records, 1914-1920
and
British Army WWI Pension Records, 1914-1920
About 210,000 Irish men served in British forces during World War I.
PROVO, UTAH – March 5, 2009 – The Generations Network (TGN), parent company of Ancestry.com, today announced that current Senior Vice President of Technology, Mike Wolfgramm, has been appointed the companyâ€s Chief Technology Officer. Additionally, Jonathan Young has joined The Generations Network as Ancestry.comâ€s Vice President of Development.
“For the last ten years, Mike has spearheaded efforts to stay ahead of the companyâ€s continually increasing technology needs, making him a natural choice for this position,†said Tim Sullivan, CEO of The Generations Network. “This new role gives Mike strategic oversight in key areas of growth. He will continue to direct the overall management of and responsibility for all technologies driving our core Ancestry.com platform, in addition to playing an important role for technology matters pertaining to TGNâ€s international businesses and strategic corporate initiatives.â€Â Â
Mike Wolfgramm has been with TGN since 1999, serving in executive roles over global technology. His responsibilities included overseeing Ancestryâ€s global network sites and MyFamily.com and most recently served as the companyâ€s Senior Vice President of Technology. With more than fifteen years of experience in the area of technology and product development, Wolfgramm has served in senior development roles at a number of successful technology and web-based businesses, including Open Market, Inc, Reed Elsevier, Mead Data Central, and WordPerfect. Wolfgramm is a graduate of Brigham Young University, where he received a bachelor’s in computer science.
To support Wolfgrammâ€s new role as Chief Technology Officer, Jonathan Young has recently joined TGN, reporting to Wolfgramm as Vice President of Development. Youngâ€s responsibilities include orchestrating the development and delivery of Ancestryâ€s global platform, currently incorporating nine international sites. Additionally, Young will partner with Eric Shoup, Vice President of Product, to drive Ancestry product strategy.
“We are pleased to have Jonathan Young join the Ancestry.com team,†said Sullivan. “With Jonathanâ€s breadth of experience, heâ€ll be able to advance the growing number of Ancestry.comâ€s development efforts. Heâ€s a great addition to our team, and Iâ€m confident that heâ€ll make a very significant contribution to the future success of our organization.â€
Jonathan Young joins TGN from Earthlink, where he most recently served as Vice President of Development and was responsible for all development, testing, subscription and billing platforms across multiple sites. Prior to his two years at Earthlink, Young spent ten years at Turner Internet Technologies. While at Turner he served as the Vice President of Product Development, where he was responsible for product management and development functions for Turner’s internet properties. Young earned his Bachelors Degree in Astrophysics and Asian Studies from Williams College.Â
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