Anglo-Celtic Roots - Winter 2010

"The cover image combines the Coat-of-arms for the Blakes of Wiltshire/Hampshire/Somerset, England, (courtesy Elizabeth Kipp) with an image of a DNA helix (Wikipedia: National Human Genome Research Institute)"

I wasn't able to go to the December 11th meeting because of work commitments, but my dear husband dropped in for a minute and picked up the latest copy of Anglo-Celtic Roots, the award-winning quarterly publication of BIFHSGO (British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa).

In this issue are three articles, a review of their annual Fall Conference held in September, news on the Home Children Book Project by Brian Glenn, the passing of long-time BIFHSGO member (and former president) and ACR columnist ("The Printed Page") Gordon Taylor, and a report of the writer's workshop by Carol Annett, which was also held during the Conference.

As well is "The Bookworm" by Betty Warburton, listing new holdings (with some interesting titles) for the Brian O'Regan Memorial Library, the "Members' Surname Search" by Elizabeth Kipp, a membership report by Tara Grant, a message from the president, Glenn Wright, and a note from the editor.

The first article by Elizabeth Kipp, Barrie Blake, and Bill Bleak — "Revealing the Blake Family - a yDNA Project" — looks into how the surname of Blake originated. It follows through the yDNA process, and outlines the ongoing research.

If you have questions about the Blake surname, Elizabeth can be reached at kippeeb@rogers.com.

The second article, by Anglo-Celtic Connections blogger, John D. Reid — "Local Roots of Governor General David Johnston" — tries to trace the ancestry of David Johnston, Canada's newest Governor General.

Although the Library and Archives Canada does not have some of the newspapers which could have BMDs in them, he does find the newspaper at the local library, and starts to trace back the family.

If you are researching relatives in the 20th century, this is an excellent article (with detailed endnotes) to read.

The third article is a "Great Moments" article by Chris MacPhail (the editor of ACR) who writes about his great-aunt Lillian and the surprises he found in "The Importance of Being Ernest".

Membership Month at OGS

Do you know that the OGS has a blog www.ogs.on.ca/ogsblog, and that it is open to the public?

An example of a posting is listed below -

December 8th, 2010

It's Membership Month here at the Ontario Genealogical Society. If you're a current member, you have received, or will soon receive, your OGS membership renewal form with your November issue of Families. If you're not a current member, now is the best time to join us to ensure you get a full year's worth of OGS membership benefits.

So, why join OGS?

OGS Members receive our journal, Families, and our print newsletter, NewsLeaf, and the electronic version sent by email, e-NewsLeaf.

Families is a quarterly publication that includes researched, referenced, and illustrated articles; the Game, a queries column that members may contribute to; and a book review section on books of interest to genealogists.

NewsLeaf is our newsletter which is published quarterly, as well. It includes OGS news and happenings; a section announcing forthcoming gatherings and special events; and current news from the 30 OGS Branches and SIGs.

The e-NewsLeaf has links to other websites of interest to members, as well as timely news items and announcements.

Join us to receive these publications.

To become a member, click on to the Membership page.

Since I am the editor of both publications, I can say—modestly—that they are top-notch in passing along the latest news to, and about, the OGS and its members.

In the February issue of both NewsLeaf and Families will be articles on how to discover Jamaican and Trinidadian roots from Canada, an article on the Library and Archives Canada, and one on an Irish family from the Ottawa Valley in Ontario.