The following announcement was written by the folks at Findmypast.com:

This Findmypast Friday we're highlighting the stories of female ancestors with an exciting new set of Women's Land Army service records. Plus, we've added a brand new collection of Irish Land Commissions and updated our Northamptonshire Militia Lists, along with over 200,000 new newspaper pages. 

Women's Land Army Service Cards 1939-1950

With the 128,440 service records in this brand new collection, discover women's contributions to the Second World War in more detail than ever.

View this record here.

Originally set up in 1917, the Women’s Land Army was reformed in June 1939 in preparation for the Second World War and these records will tell you all about your ancestors' time with the Land Army, including name, marital status, date of birth and details about their enrollment. 

Ireland Land Commissions

Next up we have another brand new record set, Irish Land Commissions which includes 741,255 records.

Covering 1891 to 1920, these records contain details of tenants who were able to buy the farm they occupied from their landlord and will contain the names of both parties, as well as where the farm was and how much was paid. 

Northamptonshire Militia Lists 1762-1819

Our final addition this week sees 13,351 records added to our existing Northamptonshire Militia Lists. 

Militia lists were recorded annually and sent to either the Justice of the Peace or the Lord Lieutenants and include information such as name, occupation the year the record was taken. 

Discover over 200,000 new pages

Rounding out this Findmypast Friday we have a brand new newspaper title from Kent, with the Tunbridge Wells Standard joining our collection, alongside updates to over 20 existing titles. 

Here's everything that's been added to our newspaper archive this week. 

• Ballymena Weekly Telegraph, 1998
• Buchan Observer and East Aberdeenshire Advertiser, 1918
• Deal, Walmer & Sandwich Mercury, 1987-1988, 1991, 1993-1998
• Derry Journal, 1995
• Durham County Advertiser, 1916
• Fleetwood Weekly News, 1988
• Fraserburgh Herald and Northern Counties’ Advertiser, 1988-1989
• Horncastle News, 1990
• Kent County Standard, 1882
• Kentish Express, 1978, 1988-1989, 1993, 1995-1997
• Kentish Gazette, 1987-1989, 1992-1993, 1996, 1998
• Londonderry Sentinel, 1995
• Louth Standard, 1995
• Maidstone Telegraph, 1979, 1988-1991, 1994, 1997
• Market Harborough Advertiser and Midland Mail, 1954-1959, 1989
• Melton Mowbray Times and Vale of Belvoir Gazette, 1973, 1982-1984, 1990, 1995
• Morecambe Visitor, 1963, 1969-1974
• Pateley Bridge & Nidderdale Herald, 1993
• Rugby Advertiser, 1855
• Sheerness Times Guardian, 1988-1989, 1991, 1994-1998
• South Eastern Gazette, 1971, 1978
• South London Press, 1914

Last week, we added important Home Children records to our collection. Explore the full release for yourself here.

The Florida Senate has cleared legislation aimed at increasing law enforcement capabilities to solve crimes by identifying human remains through genetic genealogy.

The bill (SB 678) heads next to the Governor for his signature. If signed, it would establish a grant program within the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) to help state and local agencies or medical examiner’s offices access advanced forensic technology techniques.

The bill aims to address Florida’s backlog of 19,000 cold cases, 75% of which have DNA evidence awaiting further analysis. The program would also help agencies identify at least some of the 904 unidentified human cases — 99% of the cases are suitable for forensic genetic genealogy testing. There are also more than 1,000 unsolved sexual assaults in Florida, whose investigations could also benefit.

“Today marks a pivotal moment in our ongoing effort to pursue public safety and justice in Florida. With the passing of SB 678, we’re not just adopting a new set of tools for law enforcement; we are embracing a future where technology and genetics converge to unlock cases that have remained unsolved for too long,” said House bill sponsor Rep. Adam Anderson.

“This legislation is a testament to our unwavering commitment to the victims and their families, guaranteeing that no stone is left unturned in our pursuit of justice. It embodies our collective resolve to leverage every scientific advancement at our disposal to make our communities safer and bring solace to those who have been waiting for answers.”

You can read more in an article written by Janelle Irwin Taylor and published in the floridapolitics.com web site at: https://tinyurl.com/4dxtsut6

We are pleased to announce the launch of two new digital tools on the European Heritage Hub website, the Heritage Library and the Policy Monitor. Both are now readily accessible, free of charge, and without registration requirements.

The Heritage Library is a digital repository offering a rich and multilingual collection of heritage-related materials, ranging from research papers, articles and case studies to audiovisual content. With advanced filtering options by category, document type, language, geography, and publication date, this platform aims to enhance accessibility and foster knowledge-sharing within the sector. You are encouraged to contribute your own resources via our submission form. Explore the Heritage Library here.

The Policy Monitor is an online tool mapping out policies impacting cultural and natural heritage at EU, national and local level. Users can navigate the developing policy landscape by using an interactive map and access dedicated country profiles, spanning the whole of Europe. Beyond data collection, the Policy Monitor aims to analyse trends and identify regulatory gaps, with quarterly snapshots shared by our Policy Team. Visit the Policy Monitor hehttps://www.europeanheritagehub.eu/policy-monitor/re.

For more information, visit the landing page of each tool or refer to the dedicated FAQ sections. We look forward to seeing your contributions!

The Leddy Library at the University of Windsor has received a donation of nearly 40 years of the local French-language newspaper Le Rempart, marking a significant step towards preserving and making accessible the cultural and historical records of Southwestern Ontario’s francophone community. 

As far back as 2016, publisher and proprietor Denis Poirier began searching for a permanent home for the newspaper’s archive of back issues. He had already taken them home with him rather than see them end up in a dumpster, when Le Rempart had to move from the Place Concorde community centre to much smaller premises on Walker Road. Although this step preserved the newspapers, it was not a long-term solution to the question of access.
 
In 2024, the plight of Le Rempart’s back issues came to the attention of Leddy Library after an inquiry by Denise Leboeuf, a songwriter with roots in Essex County. While working on a project highlighting important moments in the history of the francophone community, she had found valuable online resources at the Leddy Library, including digitized copies of other francophone newspapers. She hoped to gain access to Le Rempart, a crucial source of insight into the local francophone community for the mid-to-late-20th century.
 
“Newspapers are enormously valuable as primary sources because they offer unique windows into the communities they serve,” says Leddy Library archivist Sarah Glassford. “No other single primary source offers such a wide range of insights into a community. The duration of Le Rempart’s 

publication makes it especially valuable, as it tracks the unfolding history of the community it serves during decades of major social and cultural change.”

You can read more in an article at: https://tinyurl.com/5xwm56sv.

The following is announcement written by the Colorado Supreme Court and Colorado Court of Appeals:

Published opinions issued by the Colorado Supreme Court and Colorado Court of Appeals dating to 1864 are now easily available free of charge through a new website.

The Judicial Department, through a competitive bidding process, hired a vendor in 2022 to comply with the terms of House Bill 22-1091. The bill called for the Judicial Department to build a website to allow public access to all Supreme Court opinions and all published opinions of the Court of Appeals, or those opinions selected by that court as setting precedent in case law. Later this year, all Court of Appeals unpublished opinions will be added to the site, https://research.coloradojudicial.gov/.

“This new website, offering free and easy access to every opinion by both of Colorado’s appellate courts, provides anybody with important information as they make decisions about their own legal matters or simply seek to study the law,” said Supreme Court Chief Justice Brian D. Boatright. “We were happy to work with the sponsors of this important legislation to make this valuable service available.”

Chief Justice Boatright also said he was pleased with the choice of the bill’s short title: the “Justice Gregory Hobbs Public Access to Case Law Act” to honor the memory of the former Colorado Supreme Court justice who was a passionate advocate for improving Coloradans’ access to justice through the courts.

The website will be updated within a day each time new opinions are issued: Mondays for the Supreme Court and Thursdays for the Court of Appeals.

Unesco has published a list of 343 cultural sites verified to have suffered damage since Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February 2022.

The list includes 31 museums, along with 127 religious sites, 151 buildings of historical and/or artistic interest, 19 monuments, 14 libraries and one archive.

The list has grown by nearly 100 since Unesco published a previous assessment in spring last year. 

The damage is worse in regions that have seen the heaviest fighting; the Donetsk region, on the frontline of the war, has suffered the most damage to its cultural sites, with 88 listed, following by the Kharkiv region with 56 and the Odesa region with 49.  

The country's capital Kyiv and its surrounding region have also suffered significant damage, with 39 sites listed, as has the Luhansk region, with 34 sites listed.

Among the museums and galleries on the list are the Memorial House-Museum and Estate of Mykhailo Kotsiubynskyi in the Chernihiv region, the Ivankiv Museum and the Kyiv Art Gallery in the Kyiv region, as well as Kharkiv Art Museum and Odesa's art, maritime, archaeological and literary museums.

The list does not detail the extent of damage to each site; media reports indicate that many have suffered extensive damage, such as Odesa Fine Arts Museum, which was hit by a missile strike last November, while a number have been completely destroyed.

Unesco carries out preliminary damage assessment for cultural properties by cross-checking reported incidents with multiple credible sources. The international body says it is also working with partners organisations to develop a mechanism for "independent coordinated assessment of data in Ukraine, including satellite image analysis". 

The cost of rebuilding Ukraine’s culture and tourism sectors is estimated at $9bn, up from a projected $6bn last year. Unesco has pledged $10m towards the eventual rehabilitation of the country's cultural sector.

You can read more in an article written by Geraldine Kendall Adams and published in the museumsassociation.org web site at: https://tinyurl.com/mwv8fpt6.

Here is an article that is not about any of the "normal" topics of this newsletter: genealogy, history, current affairs, DNA, and related topics. However, I believe it is important for everyone to recognize the need for online privacy. I consider online privacy to be a basic human right worldwide:

The backlash against the encryption-busting Online Safety Bill continues to grow, suggesting the United Kingdom could soon face a looming exodus of secure messaging apps.

First drafted in May 2021, the Online Safety Bill would allow the U.K. government to compel backdoor access to any end-to-end encryption system. While the government claims the complex legislation would make the internet safer by requiring social media giants to remove illegal and harmful content online, such as revenge porn and hate speech, the bill has been met with widespread criticism from tech giants, security experts and privacy advocates.

The criticism largely centers around an amendment to the bill that would allow Ofcom, the U.K.’s communications regulator, to require that tech giants scan for child sex abuse material (CSAM) in end-to-end encrypted messages. One more privacy-minded way of doing this is through the use of client-side scanning, where images are inspected on a user’s device before being encrypted.

Apple — which attempted to introduce a similar feature in iMessage in 2021 before reversing its decision — on Tuesday became the latest tech giant to speak out against the proposed legislation. In a statement given to the BBC, the iPhone maker called for the bill to be amended to offer protections for end-to-end encryption.

“End-to-end encryption is a critical capability that protects the privacy of journalists, human rights activists, and diplomats,” Apple’s statement said. “It also helps everyday citizens defend themselves from surveillance, identity theft, fraud, and data breaches. The Online Safety Bill poses a serious threat to this protection, and could put UK citizens at greater risk. Apple urges the government to amend the bill to protect strong end-to-end encryption for the benefit of all.”

Messages sent between two iPhones are always end-to-end encrypted, which means no one else, including Apple, can read them.

It’s not clear whether Apple would comply with the bill’s requirement to weaken end-to-end encryption, and the tech giant did not respond to TechCrunch’s request for comment. Companies that fail to abide by the bill’s requirements could face hefty fines of up to 10% of global turnover and the threat of prison time for law-breaking senior execs under recently expanded criminal liability.

Apple’s warning comes after other end-to-end encrypted messaging apps, including Signal and Meta-owned WhatsApp, spoke out against the upcoming Online Safety Bill.

Despite mounting backlash, the Online Safety Bill is expected to pass into law this summer.

You can read more in an article by Carly Page published in the TechCrunch web site at: https://tinyurl.com/3f2ctdsc.

Are you old enough to remember daytime TV being pre-empted for the Senate Watergate Committee hearings? Or young enough to wonder why every scandal seems to end in “-gate”?

The University Libraries’ new digital-only exhibition, “A Southern View of Watergate: Tar Heels’ Impact on a Nationwide Scandal,” appeals to both. It provides a valuable record of events from the 1970s and a resource for today’s discussion about presidential immunity.

The digitized collection became available online March 1. On that day 50 years ago, a grand jury indicted seven aides and advisers to then-President Richard Nixon and named the president as an unindicted co-conspirator. The exhibit spotlights key documents that all came to be housed in the Southern Historical Collection at UNC-Chapel Hill’s Wilson Library: two Nixon subpoenas, Nixon’s written refusal to comply and a copy of the president’s infamous “enemies list.”

Many point to the Watergate scandal as the beginning of American distrust in public institutions. That makes the preservation of artifacts related to the scandal particularly relevant.

“Archivists are always there in the background saying primary sources are how we’re going to get at the truth,” said Biff Hollingsworth, collecting and outreach archivist for the Southern Historical Collection at Wilson Library.

The Watergate scandal began with the 1972 break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Watergate Office Building. The burglary’s coverup by the Nixon administration led to a Senate investigation and charges of obstruction of justice. With impeachment looming in 1974, Nixon became the only U.S. president to resign from office.

Over the years, UNC-Chapel Hill acquired what Hollingsworth called several “national treasures” related to the scandal. They were among the papers donated by Tar Heels who were also key Watergate investigation figures, Sen. Sam Ervin ’17, chair of the Watergate Committee, and Rufus Edmisten ’63, Ervin’s deputy chief counsel. The archive also includes the personal diary of the hearings and other papers from journalist and author Jim Reston ’63, whose book “The Conviction of Richard Nixon” was the basis of the play and movie “Frost/Nixon.”

You can read more in an article by Susan Hudson  available at: https://www.unc.edu/posts/2024/03/04/library-develops-all-digital-watergate-exhibit/ 

Taylor Swift and iconic American poet, Emily Dickinson, are distant cousins.

According to new data from Ancestry.com released Monday, "The Tortured Poets Department" singer and Dickinson are sixth cousins, three times removed. With family trees, "removed" means you and a cousin are one generation higher or lower. So three times removed means three generations apart.

"The remarkable connection between Taylor Swift and Emily Dickinson is just one example of the incredible things you can discover when you explore your past," Jennifer Utley, the director of research for Ancestry, said in a press release Monday. "Even if we don't know it, our pasts can influence our present."

The for-profit American genealogy company used its vast records to find that Swift and Dickinson are both descendants of Jonathan Gillette, a 17th century immigrant and early settler of Windsor, Connecticut (Swift's ninth great-grandfather and Dickinson's sixth great-grandfather).

You can read more in an article by Bryan West in the USA Today web site at: https://tinyurl.com/5n8zc47h.

Here is an article that is not about any of the "normal" topics of this newsletter: genealogy, history, current affairs, DNA, and related topics. However, it is important and I suspect it will be of interest to many readers of this newsletter.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro on Thursday announced the creation of Fact-checking PA-related Election Claims​, a new website to provide voters with accurate election information and curb the spread of misinformation and disinformation ahead of the 2024 presidential election in November.

Voters can search the website for nonpartisan information on upcoming elections, election security, state voting systems, post-election audits, as well as fact-checked claims about previous elections. 

“Pennsylvania is the birthplace of American democracy, and we are working to continue defending Pennsylvanians’ fundamental freedoms and ensure we have a free, fair, safe, secure election this November,” Shapiro said in a statement.

You can read more in an article by Sophia Fox-Sowell  published in the statescoop.com web site at: https://statescoop.com/pennsylvania-fact-checking-website-2024-election/.