Links Family History Blog

Continued Progress. In an earlier post, I introduced a family mystery and a controversial family question:  Who was the biological father of my paternal grandmother?  In a recent update to that post, I discussed my approach and early progress on developing a research plan for identifying my grandmother Fern's biological father. Fig. 1: Fern Caroline ELDER in early 1954 In working to develop the broader research project plan, it became clear that a lot of traditional research would need to be performed to try to answer this research goal, with no guarantee of success. Without even a name for my grandmother's biological father, it would be like searching for a needle in a haystack - not impossible, but definitely labour-intensive. The question had to be asked, "Was this effort necessary? Or was the answer already before me in research already done, or in DNA test results and associated matches already available?" The answer was, "Possibly." So, I paused work ...

From my family to yours, I wish you all the best this holiday season and for 2026.

10,000 individuals in my Ancestry tree.  When I first began the Links Family History blog two years ago, on 25 December 2023, my public tree at Ancestry.ca contained 4,200 individuals. A couple of days ago, my Ancestry tree crossed a major milestone: It now contains over 10,000 individuals. Reaching a major milestone in my public tree at Ancestry.ca Over 15 years to get here. However, it's not just about the number of individuals in my tree; I have done my best to add only those individuals verified through my own legwork, using best practices I have learned over the years, and backed up by credible sources.  The number of individuals in my tree reflects over 15 years of sometimes painstaking research to "collect ancestors" and trace their movements, as well as recent work done on two private family pedigrees (focused on two Canadian descendants of my Irish Palatine COLE family founder Henry COLE and his English-Irish spouse Elizabeth CHURCHILL - part of a larger research...

Introducing the BRANT family.   In this post, I focus on The British Side of my family to introduce my English great-grandparents (my father's paternal grandparents), Canadian BRANT family founders Jack BRANT and spouse Edith Jane BROWETT. Meet Jack BRANT and Edith Jane BROWETT. The first ancestor in my BRANT family line (see Note 1 below) to migrate to Canada, Jack BRANT was born on 9 February 1876 at 39 Caroline Street in the industrial city of Leicester, England. Son of a bricklayer, Jack was the youngest of two children born to parents John BRANT and Elizabeth RICHARDSON. Fig. 1: Snip from Jack's birth registration recording his 9 February 1876 birth in Leicester, England.  (Photo credit: General Register Office of England, 2008; click to enlarge) By the time Jack was five years old, the family was living within St. Margaret’s Parish in Leicester, at 25 South Church Gate. By 1891, when Jack was 15 years old, he was already working as a shoe maker. His family still li...

Two Favourite Scottish Ancestor Resources In this post, I talk about two DIY genealogy resources that, in my experience, are foundational to researching Scottish ancestors in Canada and in Scotland. For those interested in researching their Scottish heritage but aren't sure where to start, as a Canadian genealogy enthusiast with Scottish heritage these two resources have stood out for me as being invaluable:  Dictionary of Scottish Emigrants to Canada before Confederation (Volumes 1-4); and Scotland's People online database with pay-to-view scans of original documents. Disclaimer: This post is not a paid endorsement and I do not receive any royalties or associate fees from either Ontario Ancestors or Scotland's People; my discussion of these resoruces reflects my own personal opinion and research experience, which I freely share in the spirit of collaboration. Dictionary of Scottish Emigrants to Canada before Confederation Compiled from primary sources and family lore coll...