Ancestor Look-A-Like - What's Your Story

I have always told my husband he looks a lot like his great-grandfather. He doesn't see the resemblance but to me it's striking - especially in the mouth. What do you think?

Do you have an ancestor you think you or another family member looks like?

Hubs has a photo of a young girl in his family and it's a bit creepy because she looks just like me!

What's your ancestor look-a-like story?

DNA Results Leave us Gob-Smacked!

That's a British expression. It means dumbfounded, surprised as heck... you get the idea. I've been digging into hubs' DNA matches and results very closely and found a match that is one heck of a surprise.

To preface my story, this match (let's call him John) is listed as 64% .64% Sharing and with 47 cM. ^[FN1] That's a pretty close match, I estimate within 3 or 4 generations.

The matches that I've been able to confirm as matching me or my brother, are with a shared ancestor going back to 4th or 6th great grandparent - and they only have 20-25 cM matching. So finding this new match to hubs and such a close match was exciting.

The puzzler was that none of the match's surnames or ancestral tree are the same as my husband's. And we can both go back quite far with sources to prove the genealogy. So what gives? After scratching my head for a bit I had an "aha" moment.

I suddenly realized that one of the match's surnames was the same as the name bandied about as a bit of family lore from hubs' grandmother. Grandmother always claimed that her husband was the son of the hired man and not the son of the man he thought was his father, his mother's husband. We dismissed this as petty gossip on her part.

But now, having seen the lineage and done my own investigation, we have a compelling case that supports her claim. I don't want to use names yet so I'm going to make up names for each individual.

The Cast:

Sally, hubs' great grandmother
Sally's son Alex, hub's grandfather
Sally's husband William
Sally's brother Jim
Sally's hired man Mr. Smith
Hub's close match, John
John's grandfather Calvin Smith
John's great-grandfather Ralph Smith

Facts:

Great grandmother Sally came from England in 1913 to live with her brother Jim. Jim lived next door to Calvin Smith. (the grandfather of our match )

Great Sally was said to have had hub's grandpa (Alex) by the hired man (Mr. Smith) who was not her husband.

We also find that Sally's husband William was living next door to Ralph Smith and two sons in 1911. They were all farmers.

Ralph Smith and his sons were all farmers and farm hands. This fits with the story of Great Grandma Sally messing around with the hired man.

Given the presumed close relationship indicated by the DNA samples, we have a theory that either Man B (our match's grandpa) or one of his nephews (we have a good candidate) was the father of hubs' Grandpa.

Next Steps

Now the question is how do we tactfully suggest this to our  match (or do we even bring it up??) and how do we gather more evidence.

We plan on asking hubs' mother to have her DNA tested through 23andMe.com so we can see if she also matches hubs' match John, and if so, by how much.

We will also ask hubs' father to take a DNA test so we can see if he matches the same person as hubs'. One of them should match, the other should not. If it is hubs' mother who matches, that would fit the correct lineage. (maternal not paternal)

Hubs is going to join some surname groups for the lineage he thought was his. If he is not related he won't match anyone in those groups. 

Caveats

The new match's ancestors were all running around in the same very small community as hubs' ancestors. So there is a chance that the common ancestor is a secret that a wife or mother took to the grave. We would have to test more family members to try to narrow down the shared ancestor.

We'd like to get one of hubs' uncles to submit a DNA test if possible.

Meantime I'm doing some sleuthing to try to eliminate any possibility that there is a different shared surname and thus ancestor. But it certainly looks like hubs has a new cousin and many new family surnames to research! Mind you this is only in the theory stage, there is no definite proof of what the relationship is to our new-found match.

Footnotes:

FN1: cM  is  unit of genetic distance on a chromosome. Closer relationships have longer cMs because recombination has not occurred as often.

AncestryDNA™ Now a More Comprehensive DNA Test for Exploring Ethnic Origins

The following Press Release was received by Olive Tree Genealogy on October 17th but I held off announcing this great news until today. Earlier the website servers crashed due to high traffic as everyone rushed to see their new DNA results. 

Now the site is up and running and you can explore your new ethnic results! If you haven't tested yet with Ancestry DNA you might want to take advantage of their free shipping offer on DNA Kits. Just use this link and the coupon code FREESHIPDNA

Update to AncestryDNA gives a deeper level of insight with expanded information for twenty-six regions

(PROVO, Utah) – October 17, 2013 – Ancestry.com DNA, LLC announced today an update to its popular DNA test. Armed with one of the most comprehensive collections of location based DNA samples from around the world and the latest DNA testing technology, AncestryDNA now maps a test taker’s ethnic origins to 26 global regions, including expanded regions for people of European and West African descent.

“We are rapidly advancing DNA testing for family history,” said Dr. Ken Chahine, Senior Vice President and General Manager of AncestryDNA. “The greatest benefit of this test is that it provides an easy way to help explore one’s ancestral background and discover your family’s past in amazing detail never before available.”

Whether you’re just getting started researching your family history or you are an advanced genealogist tracking down a specific portion of a family tree where records are going cold, the new update to AncestryDNA can help people explore their ancestry beyond historical records.

The new update to AncestryDNA includes:

·        Increased number of ethnic regions to 26 from across the globe.

·        More detailed African ethnicity – a total of 10 African regions, including 6 different countries/regions within Western Africa including Benin/Togo, Cameroon/Congo, Ivory/Ghana, Mali, Nigeria and Senegal.

·        More detailed European ethnicity, including Ireland, Great Britain, the Iberian Peninsula and Italy/Greece.

·        A complete user interface redesign with improved visualization tools, regional educational materials and a detailed description of the science behind the results.

·        Improved science, including extensive testing, validation and an increase in the number of reference populations.

·        A database of more than 200,000 customers.

“Five years ago, a genealogical DNA test would predict the rough proportions of a person’s ancestry from Europe, Asia, or Africa – but most people could determine that without the aid of a DNA test,” said Dr. Catherine Ball, Vice President of Genomics and Bioinformatics for AncestryDNA. “Today, the AncestryDNA science team has examined more than 700,000 DNA markers to create a genetic portrait for groups of people around the world. By comparing someone’s DNA to this core reference set, we can calculate an ethnicity estimate based on 26 global populations.”

Updates to AncestryDNA Further Advances Family History Exploration

Last year, with the initial launch of AncestryDNA, a test taker was able to receive results that mapped back to 22 different ethnic regions. Today’s announcement marks an expanded range of genetic ethnicity and geographic origins that is currently not available in other consumer DNA tests on the market.

·        The journey of many African American’s ancestors can be difficult to research using historical records alone, as most lose the paper trail around the 1870s or before. But now thanks to expanded capabilities that detail African ethnicity into 10 regions, including 6 different countries/regions within Western Africa, AncestryDNA will help people of African descent better understand where their ancestors came from and the cultures of those places, in a way never before possible.

·        Previously identified as one ethnicity group, the British Isles is now broken down to expanded regions, divided into Great Britain and Ireland. This development provides additional insight to the approximately 21% of Americans who claim Irish or English heritage.

·        Southern Europe is also now separated into two groups including, the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and Italy/Greece, providing more detail for those with Mediterranean heritage where historical records are less likely to be available.

In May 2012, Ancestry.com launched AncestryDNA, a service that analyzes a person’s genome at more than 700,000 marker locations. It is available at Ancestry.com for $99, plus shipping and handling. The price includes a DNA testing kit, genetic lab processing, online results delivered in a private and secure account, as well as continual ethnicity and cousin matching updates. Additional information on AncestryDNA can be found at Ancestry.com.

DC Thomson Family History and FamilySearch.org to make billions of records available for people to search

LONDON, England and SALT LAKE CITY, Utah--Annelies van den Belt, the new CEO of DC Thomson Family History, the British-based leader in online family history and owner of findmypast and Genes Reunited, has announced a major new partnership with US-based FamilySearch.org that will give family history enthusiasts access to billions of records online and new technology to collaboratively research their family roots. 



DC Thomson Family History, formerly known as brightsolid online publishing, is collaborating with FamilySearch, which has the largest collections of genealogical and historical records in the world, to deliver a wide range of projects including digital preservation, records search, technological development and the means to allow family historians to share their discoveries. 



More than 13 million records from FamilySearch.org launched today on findmypast.com, including major collections of births, marriages and deaths covering America, Australia, and Ireland. Around 600 additional collections, containing millions of records, will follow. 

The two organisations have a long history of working together on historical projects, including indexing 132 million records of the 1940 US census and two hundred years of British Army Service Records (Chelsea Pensioners) in a joint digitisation project with The National Archives. 



Van den Belt said: “This is fantastic news for our customers all over the world. As a leader in online family history we will be able to offer access to a much wider variety of records dating back hundreds of years and the first batch are ready to search on findmypast. The convenience of searching many treasures from FamilySearch.org along with our own extensive collections will provide rich new insights for our customers. 

“This partnership with FamilySearch will accelerate the momentum of our next phase of global growth into new non-English-speaking markets and give more people more access to more records to uncover their family history. This really cements our position as a market leader.” 



“We are excited to work with DC Thompson Family History on a vision we both share,” said Dennis Brimhall, CEO of FamilySearch. “Expanding online access to historical records through this type of collaboration can help millions more people discover and share their family’s history.” 



DC Thomson Family History is the British-based leader in online family history, which operates major online sites including findmypast, Genes Reunited and the British Newspaper Archive. It launched in America last year with its findmypast brand.



DC Thomson Family History has a strong record of partnerships with non-profit and public sector organisations such as the British Library and The National Archives among many other major archives and organisations around the world.

Credits: "Handshaking Business People" by adamr on FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Operation Reunite - Returning Military Medals to Soldiers

Operation Reunite is a very impressive effort on the part of the Illinois State Treasurer. To quote from their website:

The Unclaimed Property Division of the Illinois State Treasurer’s Office presently has in its care nearly 200 items belonging to past and present servicemen and women. These items include military medals, artifacts, ribbons, and awards spanning more than a century of American conflict. One military medal even dates back to the Spanish American War circa 1898. Other priceless items include service records, dog tags and commendations from World War II, Korea and Vietnam.

It is the goal of the Illinois State Treasurer's Office to reunite these very important military medals and awards with the men and women who earned them through their great sacrifice and service. 

Please take a look at the list of names who either were given the medals or who have a connection to the original medal owner. Perhaps you will spot an ancestor or relative!

Before leaving, please take a moment to view Olive Tree Genealogy's Soldiers Dog Tag Cases. Some are still unresolved meaning we have not yet found a descendant to send the found dog tag home.

DNA Specials! Great Chance to Test Your DNA

My readers know how excited I am about DNA testing for genealogy (and other reasons). So far I've had results for my own DNA tests from  Family Tree DNA, 23andMe.com and the now defunct DNA-me.

I loved that 23andMe told me how much Neanderthal DNA I had! 

I've also submitted a DNA kit to Ancestry.com for testing and my results should be in any day now. Testing with more than one company is important as each company runs a different algorithm to test your sample. So combining all the results gives you a much better and more detailed look at your DNA.

So I'm excited to tell you that Ancestry is currently offering Free Shipping with Coupon Code: FREESHIPDNA on all DNA kit orders. Just use the link below to order your DNA Kit today!

Free Shipping with DNA Kit Purchase at Ancestry.com! Use Code: FREESHIPDNA



Caveat: Ancestry does not ship DNA kits to Canada.  I happened to be visiting a friend in New York and had mine shipped there.

Big News! MyHeritage and FamilySearch Partnership Announcement

TEL AVIV, Israel & SALT LAKE CITY, Utah--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

MyHeritage, the popular online family history network, and FamilySearch.org announced today the signing and commencement of a strategic partnership that forges a new path for the family history industry.

Under this multi-year partnership, MyHeritage will provide FamilySearch with access to its powerful technologies and FamilySearch will share billions of global historical records and family tree profiles spanning hundreds of years with MyHeritage. This will help millions of MyHeritage and FamilySearch users discover even more about their family history.

“For more than a hundred years, FamilySearch has been dedicated to working with the world’s archives to preserve their records for future generations”

FamilySearch will provide MyHeritage with more than 2 billion records from its global historic record collections and its online Family Tree. These records will be added to SuperSearch, MyHeritage’s search engine for historical records, and will be matched with family trees on MyHeritage using its matching technologies.

MyHeritage users will gain access to an unprecedented boost of historical records and family tree profiles, which are key to researching and reconstructing their family histories. This reinforces MyHeritage's position as an international market leader, with gigantic assets of family trees and records, which are the most globally diverse in the industry.

FamilySearch members will benefit from MyHeritage's unique technologies which automate family history discoveries. Smart Matching™ automatically finds connections between user-contributed family trees and Record Matching automatically locates historical records relevant to any person in the family tree. By receiving accurate matches between FamilySearch’s Family Tree profiles and historical record collections, such as birth, death, census, and immigration documents, FamilySearch members will be able to more effectively grow their family trees in size and in depth and add conclusions supported by historical records.

“For more than a hundred years, FamilySearch has been dedicated to working with the world’s archives to preserve their records for future generations” said Gilad Japhet, Founder and CEO of MyHeritage. “Their massive undertaking has made family history more accessible to everyone. This partnership highlights MyHeritage’s technology leadership and our firm commitment to adding historical records on a massive global scale, accelerating our vision of helping families everywhere explore and share their legacy online. We look forward to a fruitful future working hand in hand with our friends at FamilySearch.”

“FamilySearch values collaborative partnerships that enable more people, in more places, to discover their family history” said Dennis Brimhall, CEO of FamilySearch. “MyHeritage is an innovative company that has a fast growing, global online audience. We are excited to commence this partnership which enables FamilySearch to better serve the global family history community.”

Free Access Toronto Star Archives Newspaper Collection

Toronto Star Archives, formerly Pages of the Past, has free access to their Newspaper database until October 15th.  

The newspapers you can search are:

Toronto Star (text-only, January 1985 to present)

Toronto Star Page Archive (page images, January 1894 to December 2011)

The Record (text-only, October 1990 to present)

Hamilton Spectator (text-only, October 1991 to present)

Guelph Mercury (text-only, September 1999 to present)

Thanksgiving and Family

This weekend is the Canadian Thanksgiving weekend. We are having our Thanksgiving supper today and will be joined by my son, daughter-in-law and four of my 10 grandchildren. Also joining us are two friends.

Most of my planned meal is prepared and just waiting to be heated slowly in crockpots and microwaves: two turkeys, stuffing, candied yams, mashed potato casserole, Butternut Squash soup, green bean-mushroom-onion mix, Caesar salad, Kak's cukes, and for dessert Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Icing.

Thanksgiving in Canada isn't celebrated for the same reasons as in America. No pilgrims here! But we celebrate a bountiful harvest and good times with family and friends. 

What are you doing for Thanskgiving? What are your family traditions?

Shared Endorsements on Google - Opt Out if You Don't Want Your Name/Photo Used

Google has started something called Shared Endorsements and unless you change your Google account settings your photo and name can be used beside online ads.

Shared Endorsements is used to help your friends find things you have liked. So for example if you read a news story or watch a YouTube video and you click "Like", Google has the right to put your photo and name from your Google account in an ad related to that item.

It's easy to opt out if you don't like this idea - just log in to your Google account and go to  Shared Endorsements then untick the radio box labelled "Based upon my activity, Google may show my name and profile photo in shared endorsements that appear in ads"

These new Terms of Service are also in effect on Google + and apply to Google's use of your Page's name, photo and actions. To opt out of having your name and photo used, you must log in to your Google + Page account first.

Note that you can access this setting from your Page's Dashboard. If you turn the setting off, you may not be able to use certain features until you re-enable it.

YouWho - New Genealogy Website Sounds Intriguing!

YouWho.com sounds intriguing! It's a new Genealogy startup website co-founded by two former Ancestry.com executives. The premise is that YouWho gathers old photographs, both from outright purchases and from visitor uploads to the site. 

Through facial recognition software and visitors' tagging of individuals in the photos, YouWho will find descendants. Their slogan is "YouWho will show you who you are"

YouWho plans to allow visitors to upload documents, photographs and other memorabilia to the site. It can be public or private and according to a YouWho video, users can also sell copies.

The tagline is YouWho will “show you who you are.”
Read more at http://venturebeat.com/2013/10/10/ancestry-com-execs-to-launch-new-genealogy-startup-youwho-exclusive/#kCYxhiwFBAF9DRwR.99

The tagline is YouWho will “show you who you are.”
Read more at http://venturebeat.com/2013/10/10/ancestry-com-execs-to-launch-new-genealogy-startup-youwho-exclusive/#kCYxhiwFBAF9DRwR.99

That sounds great, I mean we'd all love to be tracked down and told there's a photo or letter online of one of our ancestors but that's a tall order! We'll just have to wait and see.  Olive Tree Genealogy will keep you posted when there is anything new to report. I just registered online for my home page on the site. I'm certainly intrigued even though their welcome popup was a little "cute" for my taste! 

Meantime why not visit my Lost Faces website where I have published almost 3000 photographs from the mid 1800s. Some are identified, some are not but you may find an ancestor or two there.

There are also letters on my site Past Voices so pop over there too and see if you can find an ancestor's letter in the collection.

Do You Want to be on Genealogy Roadshow? Here's How!

 If you've ever wanted to be on the new PBS series Genealogy Roadshow, now's your chance! The producers are calling for submissions for the 2014 season.

Here is the link to the online submission form.

Update Family Search Indexed Records & Images

FamilySearch Adds More Than 9.5 Million Indexed Records and Images to Collections from Argentina, BillionGraves, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Italy, and the United States

FamilySearch has recently added more than 9.5 million indexed records and images from Argentina, BillionGraves, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Italy, and the United States. Notable collection updates include the 2,399,826 images from the new Denmark, Church Records, 1484-1941, collection, the 1,734,150 indexed records and images from the Canada Passenger Lists, 1881-1922, collection, and the 2,171,641 images from the new Italy, Campobasso, Civil Registration (State Archive), 1809-1918, collection.

 Search these diverse collections and more than 3.5 billion other records for free at FamilySearch.org.
Searchable historic records are made available on FamilySearch.org through the help of thousands of volunteers from around the world. These volunteers transcribe (index) information from digital copies of handwritten records to make them easily searchable online. More volunteers are needed (particularly those who can read foreign languages) to keep pace with the large number of digital images being published online at FamilySearch.org. Learn more about volunteering to help provide free access to the world’s historic genealogical records online at FamilySearch.org.
 
FamilySearch is the largest genealogy organization in the world. FamilySearch is a nonprofit, volunteer-driven organization sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Millions of people use FamilySearch records, resources, and services to learn more about their family history. To help in this great pursuit, FamilySearch and its predecessors have been actively gathering, preserving, and sharing genealogical records worldwide for over 100 years. Patrons may access FamilySearch services and resources for free at FamilySearch.org or through more than 4,600 family history centers in 132 countries, including the main Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Thinking about Ancestors and Their Cars

A few days ago hubs and I purchased a new vehicle. Wanting to show it to friends and family we took photos and posted them on Facebook. That got me thinking this morning about my ancestors and their cars. Did they take as much (or more) delight in their new vehicles as we do?

Hubs and I chatted, trying to recall any photos we had of family or ancestors with their cars. After a half hour or more of hunting through folders on our two computers, we came up with the photos you see below. They start with hubs' great grandmother (in the hat) in her carriage going to town.

And they end with me in front of our new vehicle. It's fun to see the changes in cars and it makes me wish I'd taken more photos of all the cars I've owned in my lifetime and that my ancestors had done the same! My mom often talked about riding in the rumble seat of her dad's Model T. What I wouldn't give to have a picture of that.....

What photos do you have of ancestors and their cars?

Very early pre-car days!

circa 1920s

Hubs' grandparents drove off on their honeymoon in this car

My mother and grandfather (far right) circa mid 1930s

 

1930s. Hubs' grandfather is on the right holding the horse

Hubs' grandparents late 1930s

Car Pride 1950s

More car pride 1950s

A Young teenager (me) circa 1961/1962

I'm shovelling snow from my 1977 Pontiac Acadian

and now...

Civil War Photos Turned into Color

I hope everyone has seen the story and photos of Civil War Photos Reddit America Amazing American Civil War Photos Turned Into Glorious Color

On the Colorized History Subreddit, Redditors use photo manipulation to add color to historical black and white images. Using photos from the the Library of Congress website they have turned some Civil War photos into amazing images that seem to jump off the page






Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/amazing-american-civil-war-photos-turned-into-glorious-color-2013-10#ixzz2h4FzJM7E



Credits: Color by Mads Dahl Madsen/Photo From Library Of Congress

Understanding Your DNA Results: Comparison Charts

DNA is the latest genealogy tool and I've had my DNA tested with 3 different companies now (with one more pending). I used Family Tree DNA, 23andMe.com and DNA-me for testing. Since I'm a woman I can only test my Mt-DNA or my Autosomal. I have to leave the Y-DNA tests to a male relative. 

DNA results are not easy to understand and I don't pretend to understand them very well at all. So what I have done is make a spreadsheet of the summary of my DNA results - the Haplogroup I am in, my genetic origins and my percentages of various ethnicities. 

Each test is likely to show different results depending on the number of markers that were tested and the algorithms used to interpret the test. So I expected to find some differences but that is what makes testing with more than one company worthwhile. In fact it's important if you want to understand your DNA in more depth.

Definitions

You also have to do a lot of reading (aka research) to increase your knowledge of DNA testing, the various tests and what the results mean. What I have gleaned (admititily just the tip of the DNA iceberg!) Is this: 

MtDNA - Maternal DNA is passed from mother to child (of either sex) and does not change over the generations. A female testing her MtDNA is testing her female lineage from herself to her mother to her mother's mother and so on. This is the X chromosome

Y-DNA - Paternal DNA tests the Y chromosome which is passed, unchanged, from father to son. Thus if you wish to test for your surname and you are a woman, you must find a male relative with that surname to take the test. Women do not have the Y chromosome (We are XX while men are XY)

Autosomal: Autosomal DNA recombines with every generation and that means the number of markers you share with a common ancestor is halved with each generation. 

Haplogroups: The Haplogroup your DNA indicates you belong to will show your deep roots, your heritage going back thousands of years.  

This is very basic but it's a start to understanding. There's no sense paying money for DNA tests and then just letting the results sit there because you don't understand what was tested or what the results mean.




My DNA Test Results

Here is the chart I've finished which shows the comparison of the 3 companies whose results are in. My 4th company is still running my DNA samples so I don't have that yet.

Family Tree DNA is the one marked as FT DNA. They do not narrow down my ethnic origins as much as 23andMe.com but you can see that they both agree the majority of my ethnic origins are European of some sort. 

DNA-me is the surprise with their finding of a smidgeon of African origin. And their Haplogroup assignment of JT also throws me a bit. I have more research to do to try to understand how that happened. I am pretty sure they didn't test very many markers and the more markers tested, the  more accurate the results.

You can also see that 23andMe.com has both Standard (75% accuracy) and Speculative (50% accuracy) results so I included them. The East Asian was interesting especially when I compared my test results to my brother's. Since his tests include the full Y chromosome testing there are bound to be some differences. And I love that 23andMe.com tests for your percentage of Neanderthal ancestry in your DNA! 

My Brother's DNA Results

For example even though we know we have Native American heritage on my father's side, it does not show on my results with any company. But it does show on my brother's results through 23andMe (but not Family Tree DNA) and on tests that Professor McDonald ran on my brother's Family Tree DNA raw data. Again this points out the importance of testing with more than one company. 

You can see that testing my brother's DNA confirmed our Native American heritage and the Asian heritage shown for me in both 23andMe and DNA-me testing. The big surprise was the Ashkenazi in his speculative results. It's important though to note that these results are only considered to have 50% accuracy. They may be correct but they are equally likely to be wrong. 

DNA Matches

I've also been studying and reading about how to compare raw data with matches found for me in each of the DNA company's databases. I'm getting better and can now narrow down the ethnicity we share (based on what chromosomes we match on). This obviously helps with figuring out who our common ancestor might be, but I have much more to learn. When I have that a bit more figured out I will post here. 

Meantime if there are any readers who understand what I've posted today better than I do (or better than my explanation) please do leave a comment so we can all learn from each other's knowledge.  

WW1 UK Soldiers' Wills Online Database

Thanks to Jean-Yves Baxter of GeneaNet for spotting this new database. 

Wills and personal messages written by tens of thousands of Britain’s First World War soldiers killed in action are being made public online for the first time through an innovative project set up by Her Majesty’s Court and Tribunal Service (HMCTS).

All soldiers had to write their wills before heading to the front lines, and a copy had to be carried with them. Personal messages to loved ones were often added by the soldiers.
 
This new database has 278,000 scanned and digitzed wills and messages. Scanned copies of The First World War wills can be ordered online for a small fee.

You can also view one Soldier’s last letter to his mother in 1914 or the Will of a WW1 soldier

89 Year Old Woman May Go to Jail for Refusing to Fill out Census Form

As part of her personal protest against Lockheed Martin, an 89 year old woman has been taken to court for refusing to fill out the Canadian 2011 census form.

Audrey Tobias has no issue with the collecting of census information, instead her issue is with Statistics Canada's use of the American manufacturer Lockheed Martin's software to crunch the numbers.

In 2006 Lockheed Martin's role caused concerns in Canada that personal and private information from the Census might have to be released to the United States under their Patriot Act. Then the Canadian government decided they would use the software for the 2011 census forms.

That is when Tobias decided she could not, in good conscious, support the filling out of the form because Lockheed Martin is a foreign based arms manufacturer. She has been charged with violating the Statistics Act and a judge will deliver his verdict on October 9th. She faces possible imprisonment and a fine which she says she will not pay. She could also be ordered to perform  Community Service but she has stated firmly that she will not do so because to pay a fine or perform Community Service means that she believes she is guilty of wrong-doing.

How do you feel about her refusal? As a genealogist I want her to fill out her form but I do not agree with the Government forcing her to do so. I also think it is a waste of everyone's time and money taking her to court over her refusal when there are far more serious matters in the world today.

Read more about this story at: http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/toronto-woman-89-pleads-not-guilty-in-census-protest-case-1.1481472#ixzz2glEIHJXv

Scandal! Vice, crime and morality in Montreal, 1940-1960

Image courtesy of Archives de la Ville de Montréal

I can't decide how I feel about this. It's a piece of history and if your ancestor was one of these women you would likely be interested in her photo.

But I find it sad and feel that showing the photos in a sense dehumanizes these women even more.

An exhibit is scheduled to be shown which will include over 100 photographs of prostitutes and Madams in Montreal Quebec in the 1940s. The mug shots were entered as part of the Caron Inquiry of 1954 which was looking into corruption.

The exhibition Scandal! Vice, crime and morality in Montreal, 1940-1960 opens at the Centre d’histoire de Montréal on Nov. 15, 2013.

According to the museum's curator, the photos recently discovered in the Archives of Montreal are quite rare because the Madams did not usually allow photos of themselves.

Bright Solid Changes its Name

Bright Solid, the UK based company that brings genealogists GenesReunited and FindMyPast websites, has changed their name. As of now it will be known as D C Thomson Family History.

D C Thomson may be known in the corporate world but I am willing to bet that the majority of genealogists don't have a clue who he is and why on earth Bright Solid would choose that for the name of their company. For those who are curious, D C Thomson is the media company owner.

Dundee-based media company owner

Bright Solid didn't ask for my opinion but if they had I'd have advised them to take a look at Ancestry.com's attempts at re-branding over the years. Does anyone remember the Generations Network?

It's usually a bad idea for a company to change it's name. All it does is confuse their customers. To be honest I always thought the name Bright Solid was odd but  I finally got the name straight. Now I have to learn their new one.

For more details see the Bright Solid post The Future of Family History is Digital

Credits: "Man And Question Mark" by Master isolated images on FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Uh-Oh I Hear Cries of "The Sky is Falling!"

Here we go again. Yesterday the big news came out that Ancestry.com has purchased Find A Grave. And so it began... the nay-sayers jumped in immediately with cries of Ancestry Is An Evil Beast and Now The Site Will Not be Free.

But did those who were bemoaning this news read the Press Release from Ancestry.com? It clearly states they will keep the site free (just as they did for Rootsweb)

Jim Tipton, founder and owner of Find A Grave, had his own words of reassurance regarding the buyout.

Let's look at a couple of good things from this buyout:

1. Ancestry has much more money and resources to put into the site to expand it even more. This is a GOOD THING for genealogists

2. Jim Tipton is the founder and leader behind Find A Grave. Unless he left specific instructions and he knew someone who had the programming skills to continue with it if anything happened to him, the site could easily disappear. Now it has a more permanent home

3. The site was growing rapidly and becoming difficult to maintain. Now it has a huge team of skilled individuals ready and willing to tackle various technical aspects of running such a large site. 

We won't know how the buyout will affect Find A Grave until some time has passed. So let's just be patient, think positively, and wait to see. Oh yeah - and read the announcements from those involved!

Let's not all run around screaming "Run Chicken Little, the sky is falling!"