Shropshire (England) Council’s archives service has added its 500,000th image to its digital catalogue – meaning more information is available online to researchers and historians.

The main function of Shropshire Archives service is to ensure the preservation of archive documents, photographs and other media relating to the geographical county of Shropshire and to make these available for consultation by the public.

A wide range of items are acquired (by deposit or gift) from both official and private sources that relate to almost all aspects of the history of Shropshire.

The digitised items include photographs, documents, watercolours and maps and more items will be added as part of the service’s ongoing programme of digitisation.

You can read more in an article published in the shropshire.gov.uk web site at: https://newsroom.shropshire.gov.uk/2023/10/shropshire-archives-500000th-entry-digital-catalogue/ 

FamilySearch has renovated a 1932 revival-style Tudor chapel to create a new center in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The new center features a computer lab with 47 computers and 10 interactive discovery stations for visitors of all ages and groups interested in learning more about their family heritage. A play area for small children is also available for parents.

The free center also provides equipment for people who want to convert old photos, slides, negatives, 8mm film, VHS videos, books and other heirlooms to digital form. The center recommends bringing a portable memory drive to store new digital files.

You can read more in an article by Trent Toone published in thechurchnews web site at: https://www.thechurchnews.com/members/2023/10/13/23915880/familysearch-opens-new-center-in-las-vegas.

The following is a Plus Edition article written by and copyright by Dick Eastman. 

One of the things I detest about many web sites is that when you sign up for a subscription and pay with a credit card, the site automatically renews your subscription when it expires. Some web sites will automatically renew without even the courtesy of notifying you in advance. They keep on billing, and you cannot easily shut down the offending vendor. 

NOTE: Subscriptions to the Plus Edition of this newsletter DO NOT automatically renew. I consider that to be a shoddy business practice and I will not do that to my subscribers.

Of course, you could cancel the credit card itself, but that usually isn't convenient. 

Another risk, although rare, is that someone might obtain your credit card number surreptitiously and make illegal charges against it. While all online charges are insured by the credit card companies so that you will never lose any money, going through the process of filing a claim and getting your money back can be inconvenient, at best. I think it is better to stop such an illegal transaction BEFORE it occurs.

Luckily, these problems are easily prevented if you take appropriate steps in advance.

First, let's stop this "automatic renewal" process that is common on some web sites. I recently signed up for a (non-genealogy) web site's daily newsletter that provides investment advice. The site asked for my credit card number, requesting payment for one month's subscription. However, I did notice the small print on the sign-up page, stating that the site would automatically charge my credit card every month for renewal.

Such a policy apparently is perfectly legal, but I consider it inconvenient and a bit shady. I was signing up for something I had never seen before, something that I hoped would be worthwhile. In my mind, I was willing to pay for a month as a "trial subscription;" but I was not prepared to pay month after month for something I had not yet seen.

To be sure, there usually is a mechanism to cancel the subscription at any time. However, my past experience with such cancelation procedures is that they are often confusing and difficult to use. Often there is no method to cancel online; you have to call a telephone number and talk to someone with a nearly undecipherable accent. I suspect many people want to cancel, encounter the difficult cancellation procedure, and then give up. They continue to pay for something they no longer want. I decided to not let that happen to me.

I solved this by using a credit card that expires at the end of this month. If someone tries to renew a subscription after the expiration date, the credit card bounces because it has expired. This prevents any attempted new charges. (I could have made it expire 2 or 3 months from now or on any date I specify.) I know the company will need to contact me when the renewal time approaches. I can then make the decision whether or not I wish to renew. I am in the driver's seat, not the company that wishes to charge my card.

Unfortunately, you might not have a credit card that expires this month. In fact, neither did I – until I created one. Luckily, that is easy to do with some credit cards. A number of credit card companies will allow each customer to generate his or her own limited version of their real credit card – a disposable version that cannot be used beyond the limit that the customer dictates. In the earlier example, I used one such disposable credit card to thwart a web site’s automatic subscription renewal.

Disposable credit cards are useful for many purposes. In many cases, you can limit the amount to be charged on the card. For instance, I might want to make an online purchase for $49.95. I can create a disposable credit card number that is authorized for a maximum total of $60 in charges. The extra ten dollars will handle shipping charges and sales tax, if any, but will block higher charges. If anyone attempts to charge the card for more than my $60 max, the transaction will be rejected by the credit card company.

Some credit card companies, although not all, will also allow "one-time use" numbers. That is, the credit card number can only be used one time. If anyone tries to enter a second charge for the same card number, it will be rejected.

A "disposable" credit card number is sometimes called a "virtual" credit card number because it’s not quite real. There is no physical credit card. The credit card number only exists in the issuing bank's servers. The beauty of a disposable credit card number is that it provides a method to avoid using your real credit card number. I used to use Bank of America's ShopSafe service, but Bank of America apparently no longer offers that service. A few other banks may offer "virtual debit card programs" but fewer and fewer banks offer them these days. Luckily, one commercial company has stepped in and now offers "virtual debit card programs"to anyone.

The remainder of this article is reserved for Plus Edition subscribers only. If you have a Plus Edition subscription, you may read the full article at: https://eogn.com/(*)-Plus-Edition-News-Articles/13267144.

The following announcement was written by Findmypast:

OxfordshireBaptisms 

This brand-new collection includes over 233,000 records from the existing England Baptisms collection, in addition to 20,185 new records. As building blocks of your family tree, you’ll want to delve into these if you have Oxfordshire ancestors. You’ll typically find a name, birthdate, baptism date, place, and both parents’ names. The records span an impressive 426 years, from 1524 to 1950.   

Oxfordshire Marriages 

Also new, this set includes existing records and around 13,098 brand-new ones, totalling 67,864. Spanning 1538 to 1936, you should find a name, spouse’s name, place and marriage year.  

Oxfordshire Burials 

Lastly, there are 34,612 brand-new burials into this new set, totalling 37,241 with the existing records. Covering 1558 to 1976, there are records from every parish across Oxfordshire. You’ll usually find a full name, birth year, burial year and place.  

Newspapers 

One new title, updates to a further 22, and over 96,538 new pages make up this week’s newspaper release. 

New titles: 

·         Scottish Cinema, 1919-1920 

Updated titles: 

·         Aberdeen Free Press, 1881 

·         Ballymena Observer, 1959-1984 

·         Belfast News-Letter, 1987, 1990, 1992 

·         Bolton Journal & Guardian, 1910 

·         Brighton Argus, 1899 

·         Chard and Ilminster News, 1912 

·         Derry Journal, 1981, 1988, 1993-1994 

·         Downham Market Gazette, 1912 

·         Evening Star, 1910, 1912 

·         Evesham Journal, 1873 

·         Guernsey Evening Press and Star, 1899, 1910 

·         Kent Messenger & Gravesend Telegraph, 1900 

·         Londonderry Standard, 1853 

·         Maidstone Journal and Kentish Advertiser, 1911 

·         Man of Ross and General Advertiser, 1872 

·         Manchester City News, 1937 

·         North Middlesex Chronicle, 1876 

·         Northern Daily Telegraph, 1911-1912 

·         Northwich Guardian, 1897 

·         Southern Weekly News, 1900 

·         Uganda Herald, 1936 

·         Wicklow News-Letter and County Advertiser, 1914 

Pinpoint your English and Welsh Ancestors on the map

TheGenealogist has announced the completion of its project to link all the National Tithe Record Collection for England & Wales with its powerful Map Explorer™.

Family historians are now able to view their ancestors’ land and homes plotted on historic Tithe maps that have been georeferenced, allowing you to see the location on today's Modern Street and Satellite maps to see how the area has developed over time. 

Tithe record books and maps cover the majority of England and Wales and were created by the 1836 Tithe Commutation Act. This required tithes in kind to be converted to monetary payments, known as tithe rentcharges. The Tithe Survey was established to find out which areas were subject to tithes, who owned them, who occupied the various parcels of land, the usage of the land, how much was payable and to whom. These maps and apportionment books were the product of that survey and have been digitised by TheGenealogist.

Tithes usefully record all levels of society, from wealthy landowners to tenant farmers and cover the majority of England and Wales. They are a valuable resource for family and house historians as they can provide insights into land and property ownership, occupancy and usage, dating back before the first searchable census. 

TheGenealogist has painstakingly georeferenced their tithe maps, which means you can view them layered on top of modern day maps and satellite images, using their intuitive Map Explorer™. This allows you to pinpoint a record to the exact same location on various historical and modern maps, even when the landscape has completely changed over the years.

“This final release of the Welsh tithes marks the completion of our project.These records, in combination with Map Explorer, make it easier than ever to learn about our ancestors’ lives and the places they lived and worked.” Mark Bayley, Head of Online Content at TheGenealogist.

This week’s release adds to the many types of records that can be viewed in Map Explorer™. This includes the Lloyd George Domesday land tax records, the UK census 1871-1911, the 1939 Register, the Headstone Collection, War Memorials and the Image Archive.

To learn more about TheGenealogist’s powerful Map Explorer™, please visit https://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/maps/

Feature Article Case Study

Read our feature article where we use the records on Map Explorer™ to take a look at Thomas Rees, an agricultural labourer, leader of the first Rebecca Riots and, under a unique Welsh tradition, a freeholder of a cottage that he built in one night!
https://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/featuredarticles/2023/found-in-the-welsh-tithe-records-the-cottage-built-in-one-night-6801/

About TheGenealogist

TheGenealogist is an award-winning online family history website, which puts a wealth of information at the fingertips of family historians. Their approach is to bring hard to use physical records to life online with easy to use interfaces such as their Tithe and newly released Lloyd George Domesday collections. 

TheGenealogist’s innovative SmartSearch technology links records together to help you find your ancestors more easily. TheGenealogist is one of the leading providers of online family history records. Along with the standard Birth, Marriage, Death and Census records, they also have significant collections of Parish and Nonconformist records, PCC Will Records, Irish Records, Military records, Occupations and Newspaper record collections amongst many others.

TheGenealogist uses the latest technology to help you bring your family history to life. Use TheGenealogist to find your ancestors today!

Ever wondered if you have royal lineage flowing through your veins, but the demands of your day job keep you too occupied? Perhaps you’re curious about your great-grandmother’s wartime experiences but never had the time to dive into dusty archives. While online platforms grant access to billions of historical records, the journey of genealogy research can be time-consuming and daunting, deterring many from embarking on this quest.

All of this has changed with the introduction of YourTour™, a revolutionary genealogical service tailored for those eager to uncover their family history and heritage but lacking the time or expertise to navigate the complex world of historical records. YourTour, presented by Historic Productions Ltd in England, offers one-hour online sessions with expert historians and genealogist Guides who meticulously explore archive materials and online databases in advance, uncovering the secrets of your family history and unveiling them during a unique live experience.

Tom Holland, an award-winning historian, author, and broadcaster, enthusiastically remarks, “What a service!  Thank you so much for what was an absolutely eye-opening exploration of my forebears.  I am hugely grateful to my Guide, to her research and expertise. Amazing to discover that the Hollands can be traced all the way back to 1664, and that a great-great-grandfather on my father’s side knew Tennyson and met with a Napoleon!”

The YourTour experience goes beyond mere lists of names and dates; it’s akin to embarking on a museum tour of your own family history. Each guided session is engaging and entertaining, connecting individuals with their unique stories, culture, and traditions that shape their identities. It’s the perfect gift for anyone with a penchant for delving into their past, and because these sessions are conducted live on Zoom, the entire family can participate. Following the live session, participants receive a detailed color report filled with information, illustrations, and historical records, which they can treasure, share with family, or use as a starting point for further exploration.

Each YourTour session costs £162 and lasts one hour. Participants provide brief information about their parents (name, date of birth, etc.) in advance. To book a session for yourself or as a gift for others, or for more information, visit www.yourtour.live.

You can read more in an article by Sam Allcock published in the businessmanchester.co.uk web site at: https://www.businessmanchester.co.uk/2023/10/12/unveiling-yourtour-your-ultimate-live-genealogy-experience/.

These images are among the oldest known photographs of enslaved people in America. Tamara Lanier’s fight to gain control of them shows there is no clear system in place to repatriate remains of captive Africans or objects associated with them. The images are available at: https://tinyurl.com/3vwnhc4p.

Background information about these photographs is available at: https://tinyurl.com/2s45w3bw.

Boston-based philanthropists are coming together to help get banned books in the hands of Florida residents, where efforts to ban books has surged.

Tech entrepreneur Paul English, who co-founded Kayak, and Joyce Linehan, former chief of policy for the City of Boston and member of the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners, have founded BannedBooksUSA.org, an online platform that allows Florida residents to order banned and restricted books for just the price of shipping.

English said he hopes the initiative helps get the books in the hands of readers, but also prompts communities to fight harder against banning books.

“If you look at the authors behind the books that are banned, they're largely BIPOC, Black, gay, Indigenous,” he said. “They're people that have been marginalized with more attempts to marginalize them. And so what the bans are doing is they're not letting these marginalized people tell their story. They're instead trying to tell a very different story about American history and our society”

English and Linehan created the platform, launched Wednesday, in reaction to the book bans taking place in Florida, where more than 40% of book bans nationwide in 2022 have occurred in the state's school districts, according to a PEN America study. Last year, school districts in the state removed approximately 300 books from library shelves after more than 1,200 objections raised by parents, according to the Florida Department of Education.

Any Florida resident who wants a book can go on the website, choose one title to order and pay $3.99 to have it shipped. Florida residents, libraries and educational institutions can order a book — or someone out of state can send a book to someone they know, with the receiver having to approve the shipment. A Florida delivery address is required for the sale to process. 

The cost of the books will be covered by a $100,000 investment by English and any additional funding raised.

You can read more in an article by Haley Lerner published in the wgbh.org web site at: https://www.wgbh.org/culture/2023-10-11/local-activists-band-together-to-fight-banned-books. 

Don't look now, but today is Friday, the 13th of the month. That is an especially bad day for people who suffer from a phobia famously called triskaidekaphobia, a fear of the number 13. Any Friday that falls on the 13th of the month is especially bad, causing the fear of Friday the 13th, called paraskevidekatriaphobia, from the Greek words Paraskeví (meaning “Friday”), and dekatreís (meaning “thirteen”).

In the Christian world the number 13 has long been associated with many bad events. Jesus had 12 disciples, which meant there were a total of 13 people in attendance the evening of the Last Supper, with Judas being received as the 13th guest.

On Friday 13, 1307, King Philip IV of France ordered Knights Templar Grand Master Jacques de Molay and scores of other French Templars to be simultaneously arrested. The Knights Templar were charged with numerous other offenses, such as financial corruption, fraud, secrecy, denying Christ, spitting on the crucifix, idol worship, blasphemy, and various obscenities. The soldiers arrested and imprisoned all the Knights Templar they could find. Most of those imprisoned were tortured until they died. Many in France were burned at the stake, including Grand Master Jacques de Molay. Only a few Knights Templar survived, mostly those who were in distant countries at the time, and they went into hiding.

The German Luftwaffe bombed Buckingham Palace on Friday, the 13th of September, 1940.

Hip hop star Tupac Shakur died on Friday, September 13, 1996, of gunshot wounds suffered in a Las Vegas drive-by shooting.

The Costa Concordia cruise ship crashed off the coast of Italy, killing 30 people, on Friday, the 13th of January 2012.

In 1907, Thomas W. Lawson published a novel called Friday, the Thirteenth, with the story of an unscrupulous broker taking advantage of the superstition to create a Wall Street panic on a Friday the 13th. The novel became a best seller of the time.

Many skyscrapers still don’t have buttons for the 13th floor of a building, as though calling the 13th floor the 14th floor is a critical measure toward keeping everybody safe.

Then, of course, we have the hockey mask-wearing killer named Jason in the movie Friday the 13th, released in 1980.

How many Friday the 13ths have you survived? A calculator embedded in an article by Philip Bump in The Washington Post gives the answer. You can check it out at: https://wapo.st/2GE9u1Y.

In spite of these misfortunes, there is no truth to the idea that Friday the 13th is unlucky. Still, I am not taking any chances. You won’t see me this Friday as I am taking the day off and staying in bed.

From an article by  Sefenech Henok published in the abc6onyourside web site:

Close to a million people have had their DNA and personal information leaked through the popular DNA Biotech company, '23 and me'.

Gahanna resident, Alexandra Lee Klawitter and her father are two of the almost 1 million victims, many of whom she says are Jewish.

“I was shocked," Klawitter told ABC 6. "My family is scared. People I have seen on TikTok and Facebook are scared. I think it has something to do with what’s going on in Israel. Everything political has been heightened and we've been seeing an alarming rate of antisemitism and nazis in the news lately and all over the internet."

Klawitter says she first heard of the hack, not from the company, but from a post made on TikTok.

After searching online, she came across a document created by the hackers. A spreadsheet was posted online with thousands of names of people including herself, her father and a number of other people - including from here in Franklin County.

“I didn't get any notification from the company," she said. "That’s when I started looking it up and was able to found, the document. I was led to believe my information was safe and had I known originally that doing this would have me dox online for being Jewish, I would of not done it."

Klawitter says she immediately messaged the company on Facebook last week. They opened her message, but did not respond. She finally received a generic notification of the hack to her email, yesterday.

You can read more at: https://tinyurl.com/mwttw9xw.