Association of Genealogy Educators and Schools (AGES) conference - call for presentations

I've beee asked to plug the following call for papers, for the annual conference of the Association of Genealogy Educators and Schools (AGES):

Call for presentations

We invite participants and potential speakers to the annual conference of the Association of Genealogy Educators and Schools (AGES) (https://agesgenealogy.org/). This virtual conference, to be held 16 March 2024 on Zoom (from 08.00PST/15.00GMT/16.00CET to 13.00PST/20.00GMT/21.00CET) will bring together international participants involved with, or interested in genealogy/family history education at the college/university level.

Founded in 2018, the Association of Genealogy Educators and Schools supports developing the academic field of genealogy and family history via Teaching, Training and Research.

The theme of the conference is “The influence of technology on academic genealogy and family history”.

We are defining technology as ‘the application of conceptual knowledge for achieving practical goals’ [See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technology ] thus we anticipate a broad set of responses. Represented technologies could include DNA testing, software, generative AI, virtual learning environments, data modeling, databases and much more.  

Speakers from a variety of disciplines and backgrounds are invited to share their experiences and thoughts around the following topics:

• The use of technology in teaching genealogy and family history (for example to facilitate accessibility or to reach broader and more diverse audiences)
• What challenges or opportunities does changing technology provide?  (for example the use of DNA to promote biases or mis-information).
• Ways in which technology advances (or hinders) the ability for genealogy to work with other disciplines
• Social networking and the dissemination of genealogical research

Proposals outside these topics will also be considered.

Submission guidelines

The conference committee invites proposals for individual or co-presented presentations. Presentations can be 15 or 25 minutes in length and time will be set aside for questions and answers. Breakout sessions will be used for 15 minute presentations which will be grouped by topic and time provided for discussion at the end of each session.

Proposals must be submitted via email by January 15, 2024. Acceptance decisions will be sent out by the end of January 2024.

 Speaker proposal requirements:

●        Brief CV, including contact information (phone, address, email)
●        List relevant past conference or speaking experience
●        Choose from one or more of the topics above or summarize the topic you have chosen
●        Up to 200 word description of talk length, focus and content and a presentation title

Recordings of the talks will be provided to AGES members via a members’ only webpage. Submission of a proposal indicates your agreement to this recording and provision. If you wish to limit the time a recording is available, please indicate this in your proposal.

We encourage speakers to join AGES (US $50 annual membership includes conference entry) but entry to the virtual conference will be free to speakers. See https://agesgenealogy.org/ for membership application and information.

Send queries or proposals to AGESinbox@gmail.com

(With thanks to Tahitia McCabe)

Chris

Order Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors in the UK at https://bit.ly/BelfastAncestors. Also available - Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. For purchase in tthe USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, on Threads at @scottishgenesblog and via Mastodon at https://mastodon.scot/@ScottishGENES.

Ancestry adds Chelsea Pensioner admission records and Army officers records collections

I missed a couple of military collections added to Ancestry (www.ancestry.co.uk) last month - and not requiring access to Fold3.com. They are:

UK, Royal Hospital Chelsea Admission Books, Registers and Papers, 1702-1980
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/62624/
Source: WO 23: Royal Hospital Chelsea: Admission Books, Registers and Papers. Kew, Surrey, England: The National Archives.

About UK, Royal Hospital Chelsea Admission Books, Registers and Papers, 1702-1980

General collection information

This collection contains images of records from the Royal Hospital Chelsea dated between 1702 and 1933. The records include admission books, registers, and ledgers related to the payment of British military pensions. They are divided into four groups and are listed chronologically within each group, which includes out-pensioners, in-pensioners, officers, and civilian employees. In-pensioners were veterans who forfeited their pension in exchange for residency at the hospital. Out-pensioners lived in their own residences in the United Kingdom or abroad and received their pensions in cash payments. The records typically have dates associated with each pensioner's life events and information about spouses.

Using this collection

Records in this collection may include the following information:

• Name
• Age
• Rank
• Regiment
• Pension date
• Birthplace and date
• Marriage date
• Death date
• Place of residence
• Spouse's name
• Spouse's birthplace and date
• Occupation

The information in these records may tell you that your ancestor qualified for a military pension at a specific time. The records also can be used to verify the vital dates in your ancestor's life, and names of spouses can lead you to other branches of your family tree.

Further details via the link.


UK, Officers' Birth Certificates, Wills and Personal Papers, 1755-1908
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/62614/
Source: WO 42 War Office: Officers' Birth Certificates, Wills and Personal Papers 1755-1908. Kew, Surrey, England: The National Archives

About UK, Officers' Birth Certificates, Wills and Personal Papers, 1755-1908

This collection contains documents used to legally prove the pension claims of deceased or disabled officers in the British Military between 1755 and 1908. Documents may include wills, pension records, records of birth, baptism, marriage, and death. Although many records were handwritten on to pre-printed forms, the collection also contains many handwritten records that aren't standardised due to the diversity of the collection. Most records are in English, but you may also encounter German, French, Dutch, or Latin. With some exceptions, the collection is arranged alphabetically.

Using the collection

Records in the collection may include the following information:

• Name
• Sex assigned at birth
• Rank
• Regiment
• Occupation
• Birthdate and place
• Marriage date and place
• Death date and place
• Cause of death
• Enlistment date
• Family members' name
• Kinship of family members
• Family members' birth dates

Wills are an excellent resource for genealogical research because they contain personal information about your ancestor, their life, and their family. This collection is especially useful in that it also contains a variety of vital records used to prove the will.

The documents in this collection are bundled together and likely to span multiple pages. Click the arrow to the right of the image to access the rest of the record.

Further details via the link.

Chris

Order Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors in the UK at https://bit.ly/BelfastAncestors. Also available - Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. For purchase in tthe USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, on Threads at @scottishgenesblog and via Mastodon at https://mastodon.scot/@ScottishGENES.

RootsIreland annual subscription 25% discount offer extended

From the Irish records transcription website RootsIreland (www.rootsireland.ie):

25% Discount on Annual Subscriptions Extended!

Discover your Irish roots by taking out a 12-month subscription for Roots Ireland with a 25% discount! We have extended the discount for an additional day, until 11th December*.

*Offer applies until 12 midnight Irish time on 11 December 2023 only. Cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer. 

Further details via the website

Chris

Order Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors in the UK at https://bit.ly/BelfastAncestors. Also available - Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. For purchase in tthe USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, on Threads at @scottishgenesblog and via Mastodon at https://mastodon.scot/@ScottishGENES.

NRS General Register House front door re-opening, and holiday closures

The Edinburgh based National Records of Scotland (www.nrscotland.gov.uk) is to re-open its General Register House main front door on Wednesday 13th December 2023, after several years of closure, and has also updated its Visit Us pages, with details on its Christmas and New Year closures:

Visit our Search Rooms in Edinburgh

All public search rooms of the National Records of Scotland will be closed at 1pm on Friday 22 December and reopen at 9am on Wednesday 3 January 2024

The main entrance to General Register House  will reopen on Wednesday 13th December 2023, following the completion of specialist repair work. 

Customers should also be aware that significant works on New Register House began in June 2023. This work will future proof the building, ensuring it can continue to be used for the storage and protection of records into the future.

On site services and access will continue as usual and every effort will be made to minimise disruption.

Visitors to the Historical Search Room and ScotlandsPeople Centre should report to front door at General Register House, via Princes Street. 

Signage is in place to direct customers and visitors. The accessible entrance to General Register House and New Register House are located at the Archivist’s Garden.

For further details and links to relevant help resources, see https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/research/visit-us

Chris

Order Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors in the UK at https://bit.ly/BelfastAncestors. Also available - Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. For purchase in tthe USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, on Threads at @scottishgenesblog and via Mastodon at https://mastodon.scot/@ScottishGENES.

FindmyPast updates Irish Roman Catholic Parish Marriages collection

FindmyPast (www.findmypast.co.uk) has updated its Irish Roman Catholic Parish Marriages collection with a furtehr 19,000 marriage entries.  

For further details visit https://www.findmypast.co.uk/blog/new/northampton-roman-catholic-records

Chris

Order Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors in the UK at https://bit.ly/BelfastAncestors. Also available - Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. For purchase in tthe USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, on Threads at @scottishgenesblog and via Mastodon at https://mastodon.scot/@ScottishGENES.

6.9 million users affected by recent 23andMe data breach

DNA company 23andMe (www.23andme.com) has confirmed the extent of its recent data breach in October, which led to rivals Ancestry, MyHeritage and 23andMe implementing two factor authentication on log-ins. 

Hackers were able to initially hack into 14,000 23andMe user profiles. This then allowed them to gain access to the personal data of about 5.5 million people who had opted-in to the company's DNA Relatives feature, with stolen data including a person’s name, birth year, relationship labels, the percentage of DNA shared with relatives, ancestry reports and self-reported location. In addition to this hackers also gained access to the family tree profile information of about 1.4 million additional customers. In total, about half of the company's 14 million subscribers have been affected.

For more on the story visit https://techcrunch.com/2023/12/04/23andme-confirms-hackers-stole-ancestry-data-on-6-9-million-users/. 

Chris

Order Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors in the UK at https://bit.ly/BelfastAncestors. Also available - Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. For purchase in tthe USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, on Threads at @scottishgenesblog and via Mastodon at https://mastodon.scot/@ScottishGENES.

FindmyPast adds two Canadian military collections

FindmyPast (www.findmypast.co.uk) has released two Canadian First Wold War military collections, Canada, Military Honours and Awards Index and Canada, Courts Martial of the First World War Index. Further details are available at https://www.findmypast.co.uk/blog/new/canadian-honours-court-martials

Amongst the records I have found mention of the Military Medal awarded to my grandmother's cousin Lance Corporal Robert Currie in 1918, with the award noted as follows:

Chris

Order Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors in the UK at https://bit.ly/BelfastAncestors. Also available - Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. For purchase in tthe USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, on Threads at @scottishgenesblog and via Mastodon at https://mastodon.scot/@ScottishGENES.

National Records of Scotland's Annual Reports and Accounts for 2022-2023

The National Records of Scotland's Annual Reports and Accounts for 2022-2023 have been published. 

Amidts much of the spin, as can be seen on page 13, most of its key performance indicators have worsened since the pevious report, including "ScotlandsPeople customer enquiries are responded to within 3 working days", which has fallen from 99% to 93.8%. Amongst the few improvements are "Customer orders for records held on-site to be fulfilled within 30 minutes", rising from 63.75% to 75.69%. NRS also notes a massive increase in its cataloguing output, from 5863 records in 2021-2022 to 11,435 in 2022-2023 - but what does that mean, when there is absolutely no transparency on what the NRS has been cataloguing? Individual items, pieces, names in a few documents?  

You can read the report for free at https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/files//about-us/nrs-annual-report-and-accounts_22-23.pdf.

(With thanks to Fergus Smith)

Chris

Order Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors in the UK at https://bit.ly/BelfastAncestors. Also available - Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. For purchase in tthe USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, on Threads at @scottishgenesblog and via Mastodon at https://mastodon.scot/@ScottishGENES.

Scottish Archives and Records: The Year in Review publication

The Scottish Council on Archives has released an interestinmg publication online, Scottish Archives and Records: The Year in Review, in which archives from across the country have written about their work and experiences in the last twelve months. 

The publication is free to read online at https://www.scottisharchives.org.uk/latest/scottish-archives-and-records-year-in-review/.

Chris

Order Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors in the UK at https://bit.ly/BelfastAncestors. Also available - Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. For purchase in tthe USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, on Threads at @scottishgenesblog and via Mastodon at https://mastodon.scot/@ScottishGENES.

PRONI Stakeholder forum meeting notes, including the new on site PRONI catalogue

I'm just out of the latest PRONI (https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/proni) stakeholder forum meeting, chaired by Stephen Scarth, who reflected both on current developments and on the most extraordinary year for the archive experienced in many a year, with it celebrating its centenary as Northern Ireland's national archive.

The big topical news item was a presentation by Janet Hancock on PRONI's new onsite Axiel based catalogue system, which it is hoped will be rolled out in the search room in January/February, pending some last minute tweaks. This will replace the current Calm based system, as a more modern catalogue system, with additional functionality. Some key points:

• To log in you will need to use the details on your visitor pass (which you would currently use to order up specific items to consult on site). If you arrive for the first time at PRONI and get a user pass, you should be able to access the new catalogue system straight away. I did also ask about a scenario where someone might forget to bring a pass (it's happened to me once, travelling from Scotland!), and how might someone gain access then? I was advised that that is something they will still need to look at in terms of offering full search functionality (e.g. digital records) - for the moment, just make sure you bring your pass!
• When you perform a search in the catalogue, results will be displayed with an option to view the archival hierarchy within which an item sits (i.e. the piece, the folio, etc). 
• There will be some ability to filter results - for example, to only orderable items, to digital only items, to entries that can only be viewed at a table ("Table") or those on microfilm ("Booth").
• As is the current limit, a maximum of five entries can be lifted out at a time, but once you return them a further five can be ordered, and so on. 
• If an item is already out, this will be identified.
• There is a separate "Request a Will" screen, to allow you to order up copies of historic wills on site, but this remains based on the current calendar set up from 1858-1965. (The suggested update to this calendar may still be some time off due to other pressures on PRONI just now)
  

The online PRONI catalogue will remain the same, and any updates to the onsite Axiel system will be immediately available online, within the restrictions of the online system (e.g. you can't view some digitial items online, such as church records).

From what I have seen, the new Axiel system does look considerably more user friendly, with the current Calm system being very much an archivist's catalogue. A genie colleague, Gillian Hunt, asked if this would be rolled online at any stage, and the short answer is no. Down the line it is possible that the online catalogue may well be looked at as a separate exercise, but it is not on the cards for now.   

Stephen then gave a round up of PRONI's activites this year. From the Good Friday Agreement going on tour around the Province (on loan from TNA in England), and the archive's attendance at the Balmoral Show for the first time in eight years, to centenary celebration events for both the public and staff, at which comedian Tim McGarry's description of the archive will forever go down in history (if not in this blog post, for those of a sensitive disposition!), it has been one hell of a year for PRONI. Amongst other big events there was the Archives and Records Assopciaiton (ARA) Conference at the end of August/start of September (first time in Belfast since 2007, with 300 attendees, all well filled with curry!), a first ever royal visit (from the Duke of Gloucester), and with more to come, including a carol service at PRONI next week, at which a song celebrating the archive's centenary will be performed, amongst others.

PRONI has learned a lot from this year that it intends to take forward for future themed years (and for which we had a brief preview of subjects), including the coherence of a branded programme, effective messaging to partners and paymasters, strengths and weaknesses of social media, the importance of partnerships and collaborations, and much more. There will also be a book next year looking at PRONI's one hundred years, and ongoing articles and press coverage of PRONI's activities (including a forthcoming article on the history of PRONI in the next Familia journal from the Ulster Historical Foundation, and an article by yours truly in the next edition of WDYTYA magazine). I commented that from here in Scotland, we can only look on in envy at how all of this can be done, a lesson that other facilities can easily be inspired by, and learn from in terms of best practice.    

Congratulations to PRONI, and here's to the next century! 

Chris

Order Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors in the UK at https://bit.ly/BelfastAncestors. Also available - Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. For purchase in tthe USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, on Threads at @scottishgenesblog and via Mastodon at https://mastodon.scot/@ScottishGENES.