Are you contemplating a major effort to digitize old paper records, either at home or at a local archive? If so, read "Six Steps To Consider Before Scanning Vertical Files" in the North Carolina Digital Heritage Center Blog first. A bit of thought and planning might save you a lot of work later!

Look at https://www.digitalnc.org/blog/vertical-files/.

The following is an announcement from Findmypast:

Discover marriages, pub landlords and more this Findmypast Friday. Here's what's new this week.

Britain, Marriage Licences

Search over 100,000 new additions from the Diocese of Durham dating all the way back to the 16th century.

With records from as early as 1115, this useful collection covers fifteen English counties including London, Lancashire, Suffolk, Exeter, Lincoln, Yorkshire, and more. Marriage licenses will reveal your ancestor’s intended spouse, father’s name, and the intended marriage place.

Cambridgeshire, Licensed Victuallers

Were your Cambridgeshire ancestors pub landlords? Discover the name of their establishment, its location and when they ran it.

The surviving records for Cambridgeshire 1764-1828 are kept in the Cambridgeshire Archives in Ely. They have been photographed and transcribed by members of the Cambridgeshire & Huntingdonshire Family History Society, which has kindly licensed the records for the use of researchers on Findmypast. 

Each record normally includes the name and abode of the victualler, the name of the alehouse, tavern or inn, and the name and abode of the person providing surety.

United States, Inspection Roll Of Negroes, 1783

Search the records of Black Loyalists evacuated by the British from New York in 1783 after defeat in the American War of Independence. Please note that the terms used in historical records reflect the attitudes and language of the time and may now be considered inappropriate, derogatory or offensive.

A page from the Inspection Rolls documenting Harry Washington (see attached), former slave of George Washington, who escaped to British lines in 1776 and rose to the rank of corporal in Lord Dunmore's regiment of "Black Pioneers".

The records in the Inspection Roll are highly detailed. The exact content varies according to the status of the individual evacuee (for instance, whether free, or former slave, or slave of a Loyalist), but most will include a combination of their name, age, status, physical description and the vessel they were evacuated on.

Newspapers

Explore11 new titles covering diverse locations from India, China, Dominica and Antigua to Beverley, Birkenhead and Blandford. Brand new to the collection this week are:

Findmypast have also added additional pages to 19 existing titles as follows;

In partnership with the Center for Family History and Genealogy at BYU (Brigham Young University), and the Center for Family History and Genealogy at BYU, a research effort is underway with one major goal: to prevent hereditary cancer.

Leaders behind the project say Utah is the best place to start because people in the state know their family history really well.

Brian Shirts, an M.D., Ph.D., an associate professor of laboratory medicine and pathology at the University of Washington is spearheading a research effort to prevent hereditary cancer. In partnership with Brigham Young University (BYU), Shirts joined Jill Crandall, the director of the Center for Family History and Genealogy at BYU, and an associate professor in the history department, and professor of family history, along with Julie Stoddard, the center coordinator at the Center for Family History and Genealogy at BYU, to conduct such research.

Dr. Shirts had a thought: what if people knew about their cancer risks based on their family history? And he started to dive in to the question.

“We’re working in conjunction with the University of Washington to identify individuals who may have cancer-causing genetic variants,” Stoddard said. “These individuals are identified through genealogical research on the different lines of these participants who have the same variants.

“What Dr. Shirts does is he finds these participants who have the variant and then he sends them to our BYU team. We do the research on their pedigrees to help them identify which ancestor may have had the variant. And then look for those descendants of those ancestors so they can be identified, and the participants can reach out and tell them of their increased chance of cancer.”

“Hereditary-cancer risk is something that affects about 1 percent of the population. But this is inherited in families, so it’s not just a random 1 percent of the population,” Shirts said.

These inherited genes — such as BRCA1 and BRCA2 that cause breast cancer or one of four genes that causes Lynch Syndrome, which creates a higher risk for developing certain types of cancer, particularly of the colon — cause more than a 50 percent lifetime risk of cancer for the people who inherit them, Shirts observed.

You can read a lot more in an article by Curt Gresseth publish in the KSL News web site at: https://kslnewsradio.com/1943437/genealogy-cancer-research-beginning-in-utah/.

A new study looked at a stretch of DNA on chromosome 12 where a haplotype — a cluster of genetic variants that are inherited together — that affects susceptibility to the coronavirus is located. For each copy of the Neandertal haplotype a person inherited, the risk of needing intensive care fell approximately 22 percent, researchers report in the March 2 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The variants may affect the activity or function of genes involved in a biochemical chain reaction that ends with the destruction of viral RNA, including the coronavirus’s. The protective variants are largely absent among people in sub-Saharan Africa, where few people carry genes inherited from Neandertals. About 25 to 30 percent of present-day people of Asian and European ancestry carry the protective variants. Some Black people in the Americas also inherited the protective haplotype, presumably from Asian, European or Native American ancestors.

You can read more at https://www.pnas.org/content/118/9/e2026309118.

From an article by Trent Toone in the Deseret News:

"With the world’s largest family history conference less than a week away, Feb. 25-27, more than 315,000 participants from more than 200 countries and territories worldwide have registered with nearly 90% of those participating for the first time.

Thousands attend RootsTech at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2020. This year’s free, virtual RootsTech Connect is expected to draw hundreds of thousands of participants. Photo by Scott G Winterton of the Deseret News.

That’s a dramatic increase from previous years in the Salt Palace Convention Center, with about 30,000 attending in person and an average of 100,000 online viewers, according to Jen Allen, one of RootsTech Connect’s director of events at FamilySearch and one of the event’s main organizers.

"'It has been a challenge and a learning curve,” Allen said. “But the fact that so many people can engage in the learning and the inspiration from around the world, it’s been just incredible to watch that grow. ... This is a game changer. The global approach of it will never go away.'"

There is a lot more information, including a list of the 2021 keynote speakers, at http://bit.ly/37sYtvX.

The following is a press release from Vivid-Pix:

Vivid-Pix will Help Family, Class Alumni, and Military Reunion Participants & Planners

Relive the Past, Make New Memories, & Find New Ways to Celebrate

Press Release: http://www.thomas-pr.com/vividpix/vividpixreunionsmagazinerelease.html

Savannah, GA, February 18, 2021 – Vivid-Pix www.vivid-pix.com, the leading provider of AI-powered image restoration software, announced today that it has acquired Reunions magazine, a leading publication for reunion planning and celebration for the past 30 years. From its beginnings as a print magazine and expanding online, Reunions magazine provides education, resources, and event sharing – pre, during, and post the reunion event. 

Reunions magazine will be Updated & Expanded for Easy Access to Ideas, Features, & Education

Vivid-Pix will operate the expanded Reunions magazine website and online magazine as a resource to assist families, class alumni, and military reunion participants relive the past and make new memories. The Reunions magazine site (https://reunionsmag.com/) will be redesigned and updated to provide easy access to ideas, features, and education for reunions and reunion planners alike.

Edith Wagner, Editor and Founder of Reunions magazine, said, “We are delighted to be able to continue our long service of information, inspiration and ideas to reunions and reunion planners. Working with Vivid-Pix expands our reach with a redesigned website as well as appealing to their audience. Their services are of great interest to our readers who are always looking for new ways to celebrate. The eagerly awaited future of reunions will be bright.”

Vivid-Pix Provides Patented Photo Restoration Software & Education to Relive and Share Memories 

For the past 8 years, Vivid-Pix has provided patented image improvement software and helpful education to relive and share cherished memories from yesteryear and yesterday. “Reunions are a great way to stay connected with family and friends. These events often include ‘a journey down memory lane.’ Photos provide the best way to relive these journeys and reminisce,” said Rick Voight, CEO, Vivid-Pix. “Reunions create new memories and, of course, new pictures. It’s our sincere pleasure to be working with Reunions magazine, organizations involved with reunions, and all the family and friends, as you plan, get together, and celebrate!”

For more information on Reunions magazine and Vivid-Pix, see www.reunionsmag.com and www.vivid-pix.com.

About Vivid-Pix

Vivid-Pix RESTORE patented AI software automatically restores faded old black and white, sepia, and color photos and documents; and provides image organization, editing, and saving. Vivid-Pix recently launched a new version of RESTORE that improves a wider variety of image formats; metadata tagging for research, transcription, and sharing of family stories; and Crop/Recalculate to hone-in on specific areas that need fixing – details essential for genealogists and family historians.

The U.S. Patent Office has awarded two patents to Vivid-Pix for its image processing techniques used to automatically correct images. Vivid-Pix RESTORE is available for Mac and Windows for $49.99 at: https://vivid-pix.com/restore/buy.html with a 10 Free-Fix Trial without a credit card required at: https://vivid-pix.com/restore/free-trial.html. See Vivid-Pix RESTORE in action at:  https://Vivid-Pix.com/restore. For more information, see the website at: https://vivid-pix.com/.

Vivid-Pix was founded by Rick Voight and Randy Fredlund, who have a combined 47 years of experience from Eastman Kodak Co. They brought Kodak’s “You Press the Button, We Do the Rest” philosophy to the design of Vivid-Pix RESTORE software. For more info, see: https://vivid-pix.com/.

The following is an announcement from Findmypast:

• • Findmypast announce a variety of new tools and features designed to enhance user discoveries
  • Major update improves accessibility to detail rich genealogical resources
  • Users can now locate and decipher the hidden details within images of original documents 

Leading family history website, Findmypast, have today announced a major new update to their record image viewer.

Now available to all users, the upgraded viewer introduces a raft of new tools and features all designed to enhance user discoveries.

For both beginner and expert family historians, digitised images of original documents are an essential resource that often provide significantly richer levels of detail than transcripts alone.

With many millions of images available to explore and with millions more being added to the site each month, Findmypast have launched this upgrade to help users make the most of this vast genealogical goldmine by making the contents of historical documents easier to access and understand.

These new features and tools include;

• • Brightness and contrast adjustors – to help improve the legibility of difficult to read documents. Also included is the option to ‘invert colours’ for those who prefer to read light text on dark backgrounds
  • Previews of previous subsequent pages - Thumbnails of the images either side of an individual record have now been added. This helps users understand what might lie beyond the page they’re initially looking at - whether a volume cover, new volume or record. For the 1911 Census, Findmypast have also created thumbnails for additional information about each volume
  • Page numbers - where available, page numbers have also been made visible. To help navigate volumes in their entirety, users can now see exactly where they are within the document, the total number of pages available, and can jump to any one of them immediately
  • Easier access to transcripts - Where an image has transcripts available, Findmypast now enables users to access any transcript for a person featured in that image from within the viewer itself. This enhances users’ ability to ability to see what names are included in any given image, particularly helpful in cases where old handwriting may be difficult to read. This is available on many record sets such as the 1939 register, Crime and Punishment record set, Passenger Lists etc. 
  • View transcript on the page within the 1939 Register - Findmypast have used data coordinates to show users transcripts in situ when viewing on desktop, making it much easier to identify individuals and households at a glance
  • Enhanced viewing on mobile or tablet devices – including an improved interface and the ability to flip documents for improved viewing of landscape images
  • Simplified access to important tools – Findmypast have grouped the most popular user actions such as printing, downloading and adding to tree at the top of each image and have added explanations for new users

As well as making it easier for users to quickly and accurately access the information they need, today’s announcement also lays solid foundations for future updates.

Following significant and continued investment in the development of new tools and features, Findmypast will continue to work hand in hand with their passionate online community to further enhance their unique offerings and deliver the best possible experience for all.

I received an email message a while ago from a newsletter reader asking about an experience she had with a county records clerk. I answered her in email but decided to also publish my reply here in this newsletter because I suspect her experience is going to become more common with every passing year.

I deleted the name of the city, county, and state because I believe this is a nationwide and even international issue. It could have happened anywhere. Let's focus on the issues, not on the location:

"Hi, Mr. Eastman

"I wanted to share this with you. I am researching genealogy for a friend of mine. He told me that his parents were married in {city and state deleted} and he wanted proof of that. He did not have any more information than that.

"Today, I contacted the County Clerk of that location to verify that they were married there. The clerk found the record. I asked how much would it would cost to obtaine a certified copy. She said that 'I will mail the original to you.' I said, 'The original?' She replied, 'Yes, we do not keep original documents anymore. We scan them into the computer system and mail them to the nearest family member.'

"I just wonder how many genealogy seekers know this about {city deleted} or is it this way throughout {state deleted}? I thought I would let you know about this."

My reply:

That is still unusual but not unheard of. I have heard that a number of other places do the same thing.

All government offices are cost-constrained. Buying filing cabinets to keep millions of pieces of paper is expensive. However, creating new buildings or expanding present buildings to provide space for all the filing cabinets, along with the required climate controls (heating, air conditioning, and humidity controls), building maintenance, and salaries of people to maintain the place are cost-prohibitive… always costing millions of taxpayer dollars. In addition, storing paper is a poor method as it is sensitive to fires, floods, mold, insect damage, theft, and other problems.

Storing digital copies (with backup copies stored in second or even third locations) is more reliable, safer, easier to handle (such as giving copies to those who ask), and is always much cheaper for the taxpayers.

My guess is that, within 25 or 50 years, no government office will be storing paper, except for a very few exceptions of important historical documents, probably kept in a local museum.

Just think… if that marriage certificate had already been digitized in the past, when you recently talked to the clerk, he or she could have asked, “What is your email address?” and you then would have received your copy within 15 or 20 seconds. Faster, more convenient, and much cheaper for the taxpayers of the county.

- Dick Eastman

What is your opinion? Should government offices keep purchasing filing cabinets, expanding their buildings or making new buildings for their archives, and pay for the “required climate controls (heating, air conditioning, and humidity controls), building maintenance, and salaries of people to maintain the place?”

Do you have Wyoming ancestors? If so, you will be interested in an announcement from the Wyoming State Library:

University of Wyoming Libraries and the Wyoming State Library have partnered to launch the Wyoming Digital Newspaper Collection online.

This collection of historic newspapers combines the digital holdings of both institutions with a new interface that is more robust, providing easier, customizable searches and better results. More than 800,000 pages are now available, with new content added monthly. To search the Wyoming Digital Newspaper Collection, go to www.wyomingnewspapers.org.

“This collaboration is yet another example of libraries working together to bring additional information resources to the people of Wyoming and bringing the world to Wyoming,” says Thomas Ivie, Wyoming State Library research and statistics librarian.

The Wyoming State Library has long been home to the Wyoming Newspapers database, which includes more than 340 historic newspapers with over 800,000 pages consisting mostly of newspapers from 1849-1922. Along with this existing content, the Wyoming Digital Newspaper Collection includes content digitized by UW. In 2019, UW received a National Endowment for the Humanities grant to digitize 100,000 pages of Wyoming newspapers -- dating from 1863-1963 -- as part of the state’s participation in the National Digital Newspaper Program.

“Combining the newspaper holdings of both the Wyoming State Library and University of Wyoming Libraries gives users an opportunity for increased access through a single point of contact,” says Bryan Ricupero, UW Libraries metadata librarian and interim department head of Digital Collections. “This should make for a much improved research experience.”

UW Libraries and the Wyoming State Library also teamed up with the Colorado State Library to launch the Plains to Peaks Historic Newspapers database, a one-stop collection that combines the Wyoming and Colorado historic newspaper collections. The combined regional collection can be found at www.ppc-historicnewspapers.org.

Monument on top of the gravestone for Malcolm Alexander MacLean, the first Mayor of Vancouver, at Mountain View Cemetery

An article by Eve Lazarus probably will interest anyone with relatives buried in Mountain View Cemetery, Stanley Park, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is a brief history of why the cemetery was formed and the burial, exhumation, and reburial practices of that cemetery.

The article also states, "Mountain View Cemetery may have been Vancouver’s first official cemetery when it opened in 1886."

You can read the article at https://evelazarus.com/the-lost-cemetery-of-stanley-park/.

My thanks to newsletter reader Jim Benedict for telling me about this article.