Forgotten No More: The Lost Men of the 78th

The remains of eight Canadian WW1 soldiers are found in a French garden, nearly 100 years after they died in the Battle of Amiens.  Five have been identified so far, and tonight (Thursday August 6th) at 9 p.m. CBC presents Forgotten No More: The Lost Men of the 78th

Genealogist Janet Roy helped find descendants of this group. DNA was used to positively identify four of the eight: Lieutenant Clifford Neelands and Privates Lachlan McKinnon, William Simms and Sgt. John Lindell . 

Forgotten No More tells the stories of these men and follows their descendants to France. Guided by historian Andrew Iarocci, the descendants visit the battlefields where the men fought, the Canadian National Vimy Memorial where they are commemorated and the cemetery at Caix where they will be buried with full military honours in 2015.

Read more on CBC News

Photo: Imperial War Museum 
 

Don't Miss the Top Ten Canadian Genealogy Websites

The voting closed early yesterday for the top Canadian Genealogy websites
  
Even though it is a shame the voting had to be shut down, I'm very pleased to say that Olive Tree Genealogy website took 8th place! Thank you to everyone who voted for my site.

There were many great sites nominated and I'm honoured to be ranked in the Top 10

Easy Steps to Creating a Family Tree Book

Are you eager to create a beautiful book of your family tree to share with relatives? 

There are several online self-publishing websites where you can create such a book. The one I use most is Shutterfly so I've put together a series of step-by-step videos to walk you through the process.

The videos are freely available on my Olive Tree Genealogy Youtube Channel

Enjoy and have fun!

Creating a Family Tree Book in Shutterfly (Tutorial 1)

Creating a Family Tree Book in Shutterfly (Tutorial 2)

Creating a Family Tree Book in Shutterfly (Tutorial 3)

Why Canadians Missed Out on JK Rowling Episode of Who Do You Think You Are

Last week Canadians saw many promos for the upcoming episode on Who Do You Think You Are? featuring J.K. Rowling. TV guides showed that it would be airing Sunday at 9 p.m. Eastern. 

But Canadians found themselves watching a repeat of an earlier episode with Cynthia Nixon. Twitter started buzzing with annoyed Canadians posting on TLC's Twitter Feed, wanting to know what was going on. Facebook also saw its share of questions on TLC Facebook page. But no answers were forthcoming.

However I reached out in private communications with my TLC contacts and am pleased to provide my readers with the explanation of why Canadians could not watch the J.K. Rowling episode.

“Apologies for any inconvenience you may have experienced. TLC Canada sometimes has different programming than TLC in the United States. At this time, the J.K. Rowling episode is only airing in the U.S. and unfortunately, there is no way for us to prevent the U.S. promos from airing in Canada."

It's straightforward and makes perfect sense. The rights to air a program in Canada can be prohibitively expensive.  And so the airing is denied which is why Canadians often get the blank screen on You-Tube or TV station sites that announce they are unable to display the video to anyone in Canada. 

Bottom line: If you live in Canada, unless you have a proxy server set up on your computer you may not be able to view the J.K. Rowling episode. I believe the original UK version is available on YouTube.  As a TLC screener I had private access to it and really enjoyed it. So if you get the chance, be sure to watch it.

Got Blacksheep Ancestors? Join the PhD Study

A Criminal Record is a compilation of historical legal and crime resources for genealogists, historians and students

The site owner tells visitors that a Criminal Record exits to bring together resources for the study of the history of crime in Britain and Ireland. There are also links to Canada and USA resources. Historians and genealogists are being called upon to participate in a survey if they have an ancestor who was involved in some way with criminal records, either as a victim or an instigator.

"I am interested in hearing from anyone who has utilised online resources to further their understanding of the history of crime: genealogists, student, teachers, authors, playwrights, historians etc.   If your ancestor or the subject of your research was recorded as part of a court, prison or other record relating to crime please do get in touch."

Why not take a few minutes to fill out the surveys?

I have completed one ancestor for this survey but between my husband and myself we have dozens who were were involved in court proceedings! I will be creating a list of all our blacksheep ancestors for another blog post so please do watch for it in the next couple of days. I'll be hoping to see my readers list their blacksheep ancestors.

And if you have not visited my son's website Blacksheep Ancestors please take a peek!

Nursing Sister WW1 Photo Album: 23V Sketch

This Photo Archive consists of a small autograph album (6.5" by 5.25") kept by Constance (Connie) Philips as a memento of her time serving as a nurse during World War One. 

The majority of the photos and items are from 1915, when she served as a nurse in France and Britain.

G.A.G. QWR's 3-6-15

The album and all photographs, postcards, and other ephemera contained in the album belong to Karin Armstrong and may not be copied or republished without her written permission. The images will be published on Olive Tree Genealogy with permission.

Each image has been designated an "R" for Recto or a "V" for Verso plus an album page number. Recto is the right-hand side page of a bound book while Verso is the left-hand side page.

I will be posting the entire album and my additional research on the individuals identified in Connie's album over the coming months so please check back frequently to view these historic photos. The easiest way to see what has been published is to click on the topic "Nursing Sister WW1 Photos"

Murdoch Mysteries aka The Artful Detective Coming to USA

This morning my Twitter Feed was buzzing with this tweet

Great news, U.S. viewers! Season 8 of #MurdochMysteries aka #TheArtfulDetective debuts on @ovationtv on Sat Feb 21 at 7pm!

I live in Canada and I've been watching Murdoch Mysteries since Day 1. If you've never heard of it or never been able to watch it, you are missing out. Murdoch Mysteries is a Canadian television drama series and is called The Artful Detective in the United States, featuring Yannick Bisson as William Murdoch, a police detective working in Toronto Ontario around the turn of the twentieth century. The television series is based on characters from the novel series by Maureen Jennings.

It's funny, it's serious, it's historical and it has really interesting story lines. The writers often choose a historical event or person and craft an episode around that.  For example I first heard of the Jubilee Singers from a Murdoch episode! Murdoch is somewhat of an inventor with wonderful ideas on using fingerprinting, using black light to see invisible organic matter and other modern techniques which were not in use during his time. 

The historical aspect of the show is fascinating as is Murdoch's creative mind and the interaction of the main characters. For those of us in Canada it's also lots of fun to see the individuals who are coaxed into appearing on the show, including our own Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who had a brief scene as a desk clerk at the Police Station in one episode.

One of the episodes (Murdoch Ahoy) was filmed not far from where I live. You can read about the ship they used at The S.S. Keewatin is Back Home!


Murdoch Mysteries is worldwide now:
 
CBC in Canada
Ovation in the United States
UKTV’s Alibi and Drama Channel (Freeview 20) in the UK
Distributed in 110 countries worldwide by ITV Studios Global Entertainment
And on France 3 in France

Skeletons of Four original settlers of Jamestown Colony identified

The bodies of four original settlers of Jamestown Colony have been identified! They are minister Robert Hunt, Sir Ferdinando Wainman, Captain Gabriel Archer and Captain William West.

"One of the bodies was just 5 feet 5 inches long, and missing its hands, most likely from four centuries of deterioration. It had been jostled during burial, so the head and shoulders were scrunched long before the wooden coffin lid and the weight of the dirt above had collapsed on it. Flesh no longer held the jaw shut; when this skeleton was brushed free late in 2013, it looked unhinged, as if it were howling. The bones, now labeled 3046C, belonged to a man who had come to the New World on the first trio of ships from England to the spot called Fort James, James Cittie or, as we know it, Jamestown. He survived the first wave of deaths that followed the Englishmen’s arrival in May of 1607. Over the next two years, he conspired to take down one leader and kill another. This man had a murderous streak. He died, along with hundreds of settlers—most of the colony—during the seven-month disaster known as the "starving time"." [Source: http://www.smithsonianmag.com]

 Read the whole story at New Jamestown Discovery Reveals the Identities of Four Prominent Settlers

J. K. Rowling on Who Do You Think You Are? This Sunday

Who Do You Think You Are? “J.K. Rowling” (US premiere, originally aired in the UK)

Tune In: J.K. Rowling’s episode of Who Do You Think You Are? airs Sunday, August 2 at 9/8c on TLC

 Ancestry.com , the leading family history company, is teaming up again with TLC as a sponsor. As part of the show sponsorship, Ancestry provides exhaustive family history research on each of the featured celebrities to help make discoveries possible and build out the story of each episode.

Famed Harry Potter author and philanthropist JK Rowling is eager to trace the  French roots of her maternal side, having always been very close with her mother who’s passed away. She knows that her great-grandfather, Louis Volant, received the Legion d’honneur for his WWI efforts, but she doesn’t know why. 

She embarks on a journey in France to trace her mother’s roots. She discovers that a family war story might not be what she thought when military records reveal a surprising truth. Tracing the trail even further back, Jo learns of her 2x great-grandmother, who had plenty of struggles both as a poor, single mother and a witness to German invasion during wartime, which forced her family to choose sides in a time of turmoil.   

I'll be watching! Will you?


Photo credit: Andrew Montgomery

Nominate Your Favourite Sites For Best Canadian Genealogy

Now's your chance to nominate your favourite site for Canadian genealogy.  Nominations are open until August 3rd so don't delay.

Local society and municipal sites, and sites that are primarily blogs are excluded. Any site you nominate must have substantial Canadian content. 

I'm pleased to see Olive Tree Genealogy website on the list of pre-nominated sites! Check the list and see if there are some missing that you think need to be considered.

Banished Gets a Thumbs Down From Me

Banished is a new 7-part series on CBC Television, premiering July 27, 2015 at 9pm. In 1788, Britain banished its unwanted citizens & convicts to Australia. Last night's episode focused on two convict lovers who are forbidden to marry, and their best friend. 

(Semi-spoiler alert ahead!)

I was looking forward to Part 1 but confess that it disappointed me. It had a very predictable storyline and characters. We had the obligatory evil convict, the hero convict who will suffer death rather than relinquish what he believes are his rights as a human being, the good-guy convict who puts on a good show of bravery but in reality is a coward. 

Then you have the oh-so-horrid soldier, the overly practical officer who sees all problems in terms of what's best for the troops (with no humanity shown), the governor of the colony who is at heart a decent man constrained by rules and laws, the overly sympathetic and empathic minister's wife and on and on it goes! 

Every major character was straight out of a beginner's handbook on writing romance novels. 

Even the costumers and sets were too polished. The convicts' clothing was not dirty or torn enough. The soldiers in the field had immaculate uniforms. Everything looked like a stage set to me. Yes Elizabeth Quinn's hair was matted and rumpled, but it looked like the way we teased our hair with rat-tail combs back in the 60s. It just didn't have the ring of authenticity. 

I was expecting more history, more of a documentary feel, and not quite so much fluff. 

Yes I will watch the next episode (reluctantly) if only because I hope the writing and story line will improve.

Banished, a New Series on CBC Television Starts Tonight!

Banished is a new 7-part series on CBC Television, premiering July 27, 2015 at 9pm.

In 1788, Britain banished its unwanted citizens & convicts to Australia.

Among the first convicts to be exiled are close friends Elizabeth Quinn (MyAnna Buring), Tommy Barrett (Julian Rhind-Tutt) and James Freeman (Russell Tovey).

In this new world, relationships between convicts aren't allowed, but Elizabeth and Tommy break the rules.

When their romance is revealed to the soldiers in charge, it sets in motion a series of events that put friendships and ideals to the test, at a time, and in a place, where survival depends on having the back of those you love.

Image: Screenshot from CBC website. 

Nursing Sister WW1 Photo Album: 27V Nurses & Staff

This Photo Archive consists of a small autograph album (6.5" by 5.25") kept by Constance (Connie) Philips as a memento of her time serving as a nurse during World War One. 

The majority of the photos and items are from 1915, when she served as a nurse in France and Britain.

Nursing Sisters & Staff

 The album and all photographs, postcards, and other ephemera contained in the album belong to Karin Armstrong and may not be copied or republished without her written permission. The images will be published on Olive Tree Genealogy with permission.

Each image has been designated an "R" for Recto or a "V" for Verso plus an album page number. Recto is the right-hand side page of a bound book while Verso is the left-hand side page.

I will be posting the entire album and my additional research on the individuals identified in Connie's album over the coming months so please check back frequently to view these historic photos. The easiest way to see what has been published is to click on the topic "Nursing Sister WW1 Photos"

The Origins of Red-Haired Mummies in China

 Archaeologists and scientists  have found the oldest and best-preserved mummies in the Tarim Basin area of China. Within a Bronze Age cemetery first discovered by Swedish archaeologists in 1934, some of the oldest mummies every found have had their DNA tested. The findings were a surprise. 

Previously the origins of the earliest settlers in this area were thought to be either  nomadic herders from the steppes of Russia and Kazakhstan, or from modern Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, and Turkmenistan. But DNA results indicate the most common mtDNA haplogroup was C, suggesting origins in southern Siberia.

“Considering the presence of haplogroups H and K in the Xiaohe people and the geographical distribution of shared sequences, we conclude that the west Eurasian component observed in the Xiaohe people originated from western Europe, and maternal ancestry of the Xiaohe people might have close relationships with western Europeans,”

Continue reading at DNA Reveals These Red-Haired Chinese Mummies Come From Europe And Asia

Credits: Image is a screenshot from Forbes.com

A Relationship Calculator Helps with DNA Matches

If you are like me, whenever you get a DNA match that says the match is possibly a 3rd or 4th cousin, you can't remember or are not sure how to figure out where your common ancestor might be in your ancestry - a grandparent, a great-grandparent....??  In other words, how do you narrow the list of suspects candidates?  

I recently found this relationship chart which I love because it allows me to quickly determine that if a match is a 3rd. cousin we share 2nd great-grandparents. If the match is a 4th cousin we share 3rd great-grandparents. It's not that complicated and I wish I could remember that the common ancestor is one number less than the cousinship... but my brain won't retain that. 

On the chart I'm using, you simply look for the projected relationship, so let's say your DNA match was 5th cousin - look on the chart for 5th cousin (it is row 7, column 7). Now look UP to the top row, which in this case says "4th great-grandson or daughter". Okay that means you and your match share 4th great-grandparents. See how easy it is?

There are other charts online for understanding the term "cousin removed" and for figuring out the relationship of a person if you know their ancestry and how it connects into your family. 

FIngerprints From The Past

Sometimes ancient fingerprints are preserved in artifacts later found by  archaeologists. Some very intriguing fingerprints have been found and studied to determine age, gender and ethnicity of the last person to handle the object. Many were created thousands of years ago!

Here is a list of the 10 fingerprints discussed (with images) in the fascinating story What 10 sets of ancient fingerprints tell us about the people who made them

1.   Leonardo Da Vinci’s Middle Eastern ancestry – 525 years ago
2.   Medieval Europeans prayed mostly for themselves – 600 years ago
3.   Fashion conscious women of Roman Britain get the pale look – 1,900 years ago
4.   Division of labour in an Italian pottery workshop – 2,400 years ago
5.   Data management in Europe’s oldest city – 3,300 years ago
6.   Ancient Egyptian bakers pack bread for the trip to the afterlife – 3,300 years ago
7.   Youth employment in Stone Age Sweden – 5,000 years ago
8.   First farmers – 10,000 years ago

9.   The child who picked up a figurine – 26,000 years ago
10.   The Neanderthal weapon maker – 80,000 years ago
        

Who Do You Think You Are? Ginnifer Goodwin

Who Do You Think You Are? Ginnifer Goodwin

Airtime: Sunday, July 26 at 9/8c on TLC

Actress Ginnifer Goodwin knows nothing about her paternal grandfather’s family because he refused to talk about his parents. She goes on a journey to uncover the truth behind her great-grandparents’ story, and is shocked to discover turbulent lives filled with court cases, drugs and incarcerations.  

Actress Ginnifer Goodwin never knew her paternal grandfather, John Barton Goodwin, who died when she was an infant. She’s been haunted by the lack of information surrounding his family line; he never talked about his parents to her father, Tim. Understanding the generations that laid the foundation for her has grown more important to her since becoming a mother herself. The birth of her son Oliver has reignited her desire to know why her grandfather never spoke of his mother and father.    

Ginnifer starts her search for information with her dad, who recalls that his father John Barton’s parents were named Nellie and John “Al” Goodwin, and that for some unknown reason, John Barton was abandoned when he was just 11 years old.  

Photo Credit: TLC

What Family Secrets Will Your DNA Reveal?

Great news! Ancestry DNA test kits are now available to Canadians. If you've been waiting for the chance to order a kit to Canada, now's the time.

I've had my DNA (and my brothers, and my husband's, and my sons and my in-laws..) DNA tested at other companies and now is my chance to do the same with Ancestry DNA in Canada  

The more places you test, the better so I'm really excited about this! So far, with our DNA tests we've learned many new things - not just our ethnic background but family secrets. That's right.

We learned, for example, that the family rumours were true and that hubs' grandfather's father was not the man married to his mother. Nope, the rumour that Great-Grandma had been messing around with the hired man named Cooper turned out to be true! DNA connected my husband and his mother with first cousins through the Cooper family. 

We also were able to verify our paper research showing my Native American heritage, and my husband's black ancestry. 

One more secret recently came to light, and this was something no one had any inkling of. Not a whisper, not a rumour, nothing - so it was a real bombshell. We had a first cousin match to one of my sons. A first cousin we'd never heard of. No one in the family knew of this person. I'm sure my genealogist readers can figure out pretty quickly that a first cousin match meant that a sibling to my son's father (or to me) had a child no one knew about.

I can't reveal more (yet) as I don't have this person's permission but if/when I do have it, I'll tell the whole story here. It's mind-blowing! And it's been wonderful to learn. Because of DNA this amazing person is now in our lives and attends our family functions. It was a win-win situation except for one tiny blimp on our delight at finding this match.  I promise I'll share all this in a future blog post once I have the thumbs up to do so.

Meantime, why not find out what secrets lie in your family tree? Take the Ancestry DNA now.

Ask and Ye Might Receive!

Have you ever hit that proverbial brick wall and wondered where to look next for a reclusive ancestor? Often we genealogists find ourselves stuck because the records we want are in another country and we aren't sure how to access them.. or  if they even exist!

Don't overlook asking Libraries, Archives and Museums for help. My husband's ancestor Michael Jackson (yes truly that is his name) lived in Nenagh, Tipperary Ireland. Finding details on him or his family have been challenging! 

Marriage Michael Jackson & Mary Moynahan 1835

What I had found in my research was that Michael married a woman named Mary Moynahan (Minihan) on 14 February 1835 in Monsea Parish, Tipperary. I found the christening records of three children in the online Catholic Parish Registers at the National Library of Ireland. I also found instances of Michael and a man I believe is Mary Moynahan's brother in  Parish Poor Law Union Records for Loughnora, which is where the two families lived. 

4 February 1847: Rate for the Relief of the Poor of Nenagh Union: Michael Minihan"  house and land, Sarah Minihan, Michael Jackson 

But I wanted details! After a search of various websites to find out where these records might be held, I learned from the National Archives of Ireland that the Tipperary Public Library had the Rate Books. An hour on their website didn't yield any information that led me to believe they offered any research services, and I could not find a working email address. 

Since I'm not one to give up, I ended up "creating" a few email addresses based on their domain name tipperarylibraries.ie. Most websites have an admin address and other standard ones such as "info".  So I wrote to info@tipperarylibraries.ie and a few others I thought might work. None bounced back so that seemed successful. Of course whether or not anyone would respond was another matter. I kept my email request concise but provided necessary details, offered to pay for research services and requested assistance.

To my surprise and delight, early this morning I received a lovely email from a woman who is part of a Tipperary Studies project. I guess one of my emails was forwarded to her. She took quite a bit of time to research all the Rate books on my behalf, as well as gravestone inscriptions and prison records. She also provided a link to a subscription Irish Newspaper site where I could search for the individuals in question. 

What a lovely surprise that was! I now have more details on Michael Jackson and his possible brother-in-law Michael Minihan. 

So never hesitate to ask.  Offer to pay for services, keep your email brief but be sure to give details needed (names, dates, locations), and ask for help with ONE question. You never know - you might get lucky.

Solving the Mystery of London's Great Plague

Will excavating a 16th century graveyard solve the last mystery of London's Great Plague?

Skeletons unearthed during the construction of the commuter railway line Crossrail are giving scientists a glimpse of how we lived - and died - in the 16th century

London's Lost Graveyard: the Crossrail Discovery will be shown on Sunday 18th July at 8pm on Channel 4

Continue reading this story at RadioTimes.com