​This time of the year…winter…makes me want to curl up with a good book. If you’re like me, you might have several genealogy books, but in my world you can never have too many books. Let’s look at book ideas.

Wishing you and yours a Happy Thanksgiving 2022! Enjoy time with your family and friends, sharing memories and making new ones! Enjoy the day!

The Archives of Ontario is using a new tool called Archives and Information Management System (AIMS)  to allow users to research their collection. Let’s look.

​This month there was an opportunity to attend a zoom course on Canadian Land Records. Even though I’ve delved into these records in the past, I am a firm believer in revisiting sources. New resources and your own personal growth may lead you to new discoveries. One of our assignments was to verify our land location and history. This led me back to sites I’d used in the past. Let’s look.

​We have all used census records to pinpoint our families’ location during a certain time. They are useful whether your ancestor is a city dweller or a farmer. If we find our farm families in census records, we are likely to find the clues needed to search for land records. One of the other census features that I find useful whether you are researching in Canada or the United States is the Agricultural Census Schedules. Let’s look.

​After a recent trip to Ireland, I am still pondering about ways that I can find more information about my Irish ancestors from County Kerry and County Cork. I have found records through most of their adult lives, but the elusive death records elude me. I have hopes that some day I will be able to find other family member ties to help me pinpoint their home area in Ireland. Family Tree Magazine has an interesting article about death records. Let’s dive into a few of their suggestions.

Those of you who have researched in Ireland know the sad tale of all those public records that were destroyed by fire in 1922. Sigh. A unique and welcomed project was to virtually recreate as many records as possible that were housed in the 1922 Public Records Building in Dublin. Look at what is available.

With fall chill in the air and the aroma of spicy pumpkin lattes wafting in the air, we wave goodbye to summer and look forward to time spent indoors doing genealogy. I was surprised to receive notice of the RootsTech 2023 open registration this week. While the event isn’t until March 2-4, 2023, it is good to get it on your calendar.
 
If you haven’t received notification, you can get registered here. This year they are providing both virtual and in person experiences. Virtual remains free while in person has a fee of $98.00. If you’re not sure which you would like to do, they have a handy page that explains your options. Winter is a great time to sharpen the saw and learn about recent technologies, databases, and opportunities to further our family history research.
 
Take time to determine what new skills you would like to build in your genealogy. RootsTech is a great place to find a variety of topics to help you. Happy Learning. 

​The BYU Family History Technology Lab was mentioned in the August/September 2022 issue of Internet Genealogy. This is a nonprofit that has ties to BYU and FamilySearch. Let’s look at what this site offers.

You have likely used the National Archives at various time throughout your family research. There is a wealth of information with more added each year. You may not have been aware of the History Hub. Let’s look.