Whenever I visit a library or a bookstore I am astounded by the number of books and periodicals that exist on military history. You can find books about armies, navies and every other military branch in existence, or historical. There are numerous accounts and analyses of individual units, engagements and strategies, form the present back to ancient times that have been published in books, journals, magazines and other media. You van find books and magazines about specific military equipment and …
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One of the biggest headaches I’ve received from trying to find my relatives in the census is the inconsistencies I’ve noticed when giving the location of their birth. Several times I have found an ancestor, or thought so, only to find in the next or previous census that the person of that identical name and age had given a different birthplace. After much confusion, frustration and countless checking and re-checking of records, it turned out that I had the right …
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Canadian Veteran’s Week begins every year on November 5th and runs to November 11th. This year there is a wealth of events being held across Canada to recognize the achievements and contributions our veterans have made over the years, and to honour those who gave their lives so that we could freely live our own. Veterans Affairs Canada is asking people to show appreciation for our military patriarchs with their actions rather than by their emotions this year. They have …
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When I began this Blog I never dreamed I would one day be writing a technical piece on anything, let alone QR codes. In fact if you had asked me three months ago what a QR code, I wouldn’t have been able to tell you. I know Q&A and Q-tips, but QR codes? I hadn’t the foggiest – until I recently visited a local cemetery searching for tombstone inscriptions. I came across a particular headstone featuring what looked like some …
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One of the most important free genealogy resources – the Irish National Archives – has recently updated and improved their website. The improvements have made the site a genealogists dream. I was really excited to visit it and noticed that it is especially designed to make genealogy research faster, easier, and more comprehensive. The new layout is exceptionally clear and concise, navigation is painless, and there are especially written guides to help researchers with their expanded records collections and genealogy …
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Timelines are one of my favourite genealogy tools to create. They’re a great way to grasp your family history at a glance, and a convenient way to quickly share you family history with others. You may have seen timelines in your history books at school. They are usually used to show important historical dates in chronological order. In genealogy we use them to show important family events; births, deaths and marriages, even anniversaries and graduations from school, college or university. …
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There are over 30 million Americans claiming Irish ancestry; more than seven times the population ofIreland. It is no wonder that so much attention is given to finding Irish surnames. I have found an exceptionally useful source for pinpointing the original location of your ancestors to be Sir William Petty’s Irish Census of 1659. It is not a census form in the official sense as it gives only the names of those who held deeds to parcels of land and …
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As they it is with food and fine wine, the French approach to family history is one of pride and passion. I found this out recently when a friend of mine from Montreal asked for some advice on finding her French ancestors. Initially I was a bit embarrassed; I didn’t know as much as I should about French genealogical records and sources! I went quickly to work, hit the books, and scoured the internet. I was amazed at how many …
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