Friday, August 7, 2026

Added and Updated FamilySearch Record Collections - Week of 1 to 7 2026

 Each week, I try to keep track of the number of Full-Text Search collections (indexed, searchable) and the Images collections (browsable but not searchable) -- see Sections 1) and 2) below. In addition, I list the genealogy historical record collections (often name-indexed) that are added, removed, and/or updated on FamilySearch and listed on the Historical Record Collection list  --  See Section 3.

1)  As of 7 August 2026, there are now 6,722 searchable and full-text transcribed image collections on FamilySearch Full-Text Search this week, an increase of 4 from last week. There are over 2 BILLION "results" in the collections.  It is not possible to see which collections are new, although a clue would be the Last Updated column.

 2)  As of 7 August 2026, there are now 25,847 browsable (some indexed, none transcribed) image collections on FamilySearch Images this week, an increase of 206 from last week. There are over 6.121 BILLION images in these collections.  There are 2,140 collections from the United States, 7,214 from Europe and 223 from Canada.  It is not possible to see which collections are new. Note that the listing now indicates the indexed percentage of some collections.

3)  As of 7 August 2026, there are 3,469 Historical Record Collections (many indexed, many browsable) on FamilySearch (an increase of 6 from last week):

The Deleted, Added and Updated Historical Record Collections this week include:

--- Collections Deleted ---

--- Collections Added ---

*  Africa, French Colonial Civil Registration Records, 1700–1950 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/5000626); 2,789,809 indexed records with 985,463 record images, ADDED 04-Aug-2026
*  Italy, Grosseto, Census, 1776-1921 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/5000450); 115,574 indexed records with 13,215 record images, ADDED 20-Jul-2026
*  Montana, Glacier County Records, 1919-1988 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2266459); 4,817 indexed records with 5,730 record images, ADDED 03-Aug-2026
*  Russia, Zhytomyr, Metrical Books, 1795-1916 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/5000561); 2,670,743 indexed records with 538,712 record images, ADDED 06-Aug-2026
*  Ukraine, Mykolaiv, Confession Lists, 1795-1925 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/5000397); 200,651 indexed records with 7,629 record images, ADDED 04-Aug-2026
*  United States, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America records, ca. 1800-1900 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2363041); 3,205,217 indexed records with 528,493 record images, ADDED 31-Jul-2026

--- Collections Updated ---

Argentina, Buenos Aires, Catholic Church Records, 1635-2017 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1972912); 2,900,520 indexed records with 978,396 record images (was 134,084 records with 978,396 images), UPDATED 01-Aug-2026
Argentina, Capital Federal, Catholic Church Records, 1640-1978 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1974184); 1,594,151 indexed records with 998,148 record images (was 175,308 records with 998,148 images), UPDATED 01-Aug-2026
Argentina, Catamarca, Catholic Church Records, 1724-1971 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1974178); 232,467 indexed records with 102,718 record images (was 231,281 records with 102,718 images), UPDATED 01-Aug-2026
Argentina, Corrientes, Catholic Church Records, 1734-2013 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1974183); 278,005 indexed records with 207,943 record images (was 277,437 records with 207,943 images), UPDATED 05-Aug-2026
Argentina, Córdoba, Catholic Church Records, 1557-1974 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1974182); 1,037,448 indexed records with 419,985 record images (was 137,383 records with 419,985 images), UPDATED 01-Aug-2026

Argentina, Entre Ríos, Catholic Church Records, 1764-2011 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1974185); 548,673 indexed records with 235,772 record images (was 345,942 records with 235,772 images), UPDATED 01-Aug-2026
Argentina, La Rioja, Catholic Church Records, 1714-1970 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1974188); 81,826 indexed records with 74,259 record images (was 79,234 records with 74,259 images), UPDATED 01-Aug-2026
Argentina, Mendoza, Catholic Church Records, 1665-1975 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1974189); 362,304 indexed records with 144,042 record images (was 198,739 records with 144,042 images), UPDATED 01-Aug-2026
Argentina, Salta, Catholic Church Records, 1634-1972 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1974193); 348,863 indexed records with 144,293 record images (was 347,971 records with 144,293 images), UPDATED 01-Aug-2026
Argentina, San Juan, Catholic Church Records, 1655-2013 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1974194); 206,360 indexed records with 83,087 record images (was 200,938 records with 83,087 images), UPDATED 01-Aug-2026

Argentina, Santa Fe, Catholic Church Records, 1634-2003 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1974196); 783,111 indexed records with 424,329 record images (was 176,332 records with 424,329 images), UPDATED 01-Aug-2026
Argentina, Santiago del Estero, Catholic Church Records, 1581-1961 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1974197); 172,336 indexed records with 102,368 record images (was 172,116 records with 102,368 images), UPDATED 01-Aug-2026
Argentina, Tucumán, Catholic Church Records, 1727-1955 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1974199); 662,965 indexed records with 184,969 record images (was 662,446 records with 184,969 images), UPDATED 01-Aug-2026
Australia, South Australia, Immigrants Ship Papers, 1845-1941 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2613135); 578,820 indexed records with 23,082 record images (was 578,819 records with 23,081 images), UPDATED 04-Aug-2026
Austria, Evangelical-Lutheran Church Records, 1783-1991 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1393793); 260,233 indexed records with 42,522 record images (was 260,233 records with 42,522 images), UPDATED 04-Aug-2026

Belgium, East Flanders, Civil Registration, 1541-1950 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2138513); 1,015,325 indexed records with 2,944,655 record images (was 1,015,324 records with 2,944,655 images), UPDATED 04-Aug-2026
Bolivia, Catholic Church Records, 1566-2020 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1922463); 9,827,520 indexed records with 1,649,601 record images (was 9,825,511 records with 1,649,601 images), UPDATED 01-Aug-2026
Brazil, Foreigner Files, 1653-2022 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/5000160); 139,252 indexed records with 3,067,261 record images (was 134,960 records with 3,065,047 images), UPDATED 05-Aug-2026
Chile, Catholic Church Records, 1633-2015 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/3405096); 9,364,787 indexed records with 1,789,792 record images (was 8,804,944 records with 1,250,421 images), UPDATED 04-Aug-2026
Colombia, Catholic Church Records, 1576-2019 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1726975); 27,939,556 indexed records with 12,659,776 record images (was 1,027,753 records with 12,659,776 images), UPDATED 04-Aug-2026

Connecticut, Marriages, 1640-1939 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2448940); 1,683,068 indexed records with 6,906 record images (was 1 records with 6,906 images), UPDATED 31-Jul-2026
Costa Rica, Catholic Church Records, 1595-2022 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1460016); 2,659,312 indexed records with 962,203 record images (was 2,627,282 records with 962,203 images), UPDATED 02-Aug-2026
France, Ariège, Parish and Civil Registration, 1583-1923 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/5000206); 2,306,239 indexed records with 966,562 record images (was 1,660,594 records with 691,421 images), UPDATED 05-Aug-2026
France, Hautes-Alpes, Census, 1896 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2820765); 215,741 indexed records with 4,178 record images (was 215,117 records with 4,178 images), UPDATED 04-Aug-2026
France, Landes, Parish and Civil Registration, 1580-1898 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/5000213); 3,896,260 indexed records with 1,189,085 record images (was 3,893,977 records with 1,187,890 images), UPDATED 05-Aug-2026

Guatemala, Catholic Church Records, 1581-2023 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1614809); 5,069,282 indexed records with 1,160,338 record images (was 4,875,195 records with 1,160,338 images), UPDATED 01-Aug-2026
India, Catholic Church Records, 1751-2014 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/4491581); 88,041 indexed records with 617,174 record images (was 75,383 records with 581,117 images), UPDATED 04-Aug-2026
Mexico, Sonora, Catholic Church Records, 1657-1994 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1473203); 629,605 indexed records with 383,518 record images (was 629,605 records with 383,518 images), UPDATED 04-Aug-2026
New Hampshire, Vital and Town Records Index, 1656-1938 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2366595); Index only (242,422 records), no images (was 242,417 records with 0 images), UPDATED 04-Aug-2026
New York, Land Records, 1630-1975 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2078654); 65,562,377 indexed records with 8,129,310 record images (was 65,562,372 records with 8,129,310 images), UPDATED 04-Aug-2026

Peru, Arequipa, Catholic Church Records, 1660-2020 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/4447275); Index only (80,938 records), no images (was 80,367 records with 0 images), UPDATED 02-Aug-2026
Peru, Catholic Church Records, 1556-2023 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1877097); Index only (3,479,671 records), no images (was 120,461 records with 0 images), UPDATED 04-Aug-2026
Philippines Civil Registration (National), 1945-1996 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1852584); 6,764,642 indexed records with 20,274,621 record images (was 6,757,579 records with 20,274,621 images), UPDATED 05-Aug-2026
Russia, Samara, Church Books 1748-1934 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1807365); 12,707,966 indexed records with 1,909,956 record images (was 11,854,952 records with 1,909,956 images), UPDATED 07-Aug-2026
Russia, Tula, Church Books, 1722-1936 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/5000050); 9,761,090 indexed records with 2,060,984 record images (was 6,204,115 records with 1,574,069 images), UPDATED 07-Aug-2026

Spain, Gerona, Municipal Records, 1566-1960 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2015355); 1,329,160 indexed records with 390,067 record images (was 0 records with 390,067 images), UPDATED 05-Aug-2026
Texas, Webb, Laredo, Arrival Manifests, 1903-1955 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2038112); 637,124 indexed records with 1,322,540 record images (was 637,082 records with 1,322,540 images), UPDATED 02-Aug-2026
Ukraine, Western Ukraine, Catholic Church Book Duplicates, 1600-1937 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1910265); 465,533 indexed records with 942,391 record images (was 465,531 records with 942,391 images), UPDATED 04-Aug-2026
Uruguay, Catholic Church Records, 1726-2000 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/4134697); 1,065,883 indexed records with 308,677 record images (was 1,065,845 records with 308,677 images), UPDATED 02-Aug-2026
Venezuela, Archdiocese of Caracas, Catholic Church Records, 1638-2020 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/4465438); 386,801 indexed records with 168,085 record images (was 383,085 records with 164,371 images), UPDATED 01-Aug-2026

--- Collections with new images ---

Argentina, Buenos Aires City, Civil Registration, 1811-1980 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/5000077); 1 indexed records with 10,194 record images (was 1 records with 10,193 images), last updated 26-Nov-2024
Argentina, Military Records, 1911-1936 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/5000280); 2,929,239 indexed records with 2,929,297 record images (was 2,929,239 records with 2,929,295 images), last updated 03-Apr-2026
Australia, Births and Baptisms, 1792-1981 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1770729); 411,266 indexed records with 531,824 record images (was 411,266 records with 531,822 images), last updated 17-Jun-2026
Brazil, Alagoas, Civil Registration, 1876-2023 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/4469403); 1 indexed records with 454,241 record images (was 1 records with 454,240 images), last updated 07-Jun-2024
Brazil, Maranhão, Civil Registration, 1827-2022 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/4469402); 1 indexed records with 906,244 record images (was 1 records with 906,243 images), last updated 07-Jun-2024

Find a Grave Index (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2221801); 272,435,265 indexed records with 283,045,436 record images (was 272,435,265 records with 322,576 images), last updated 26-Jun-2026
Italy, Firenze, Census, 1808-1871 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/5000441); 532,851 indexed records with 40,273 record images (was 532,851 records with 40,045 images), last updated 28-Jul-2026
United States, Census, 1950 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/4464515); 157,892,854 indexed records with 52,754,650 record images (was 157,892,854 records with 52,752,814 images), last updated 16-Jun-2024
United States, Obituary Records, 2014-2023 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/5000145); 1 indexed records with 28,206,731 record images (was 1 records with 28,206,724 images), last updated 22-Jul-2024
West Virginia, Births, 1853-1930 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1417341); 987,420 indexed records with 1,289,659 record images (was 987,420 records with 1,289,651 images), last updated 07-Apr-2026

--- Collections with images removed ---

--- Collections with new records ---

--- Collections with records removed ---

California, Marriage Index, 1960-1985 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1949339); Index only (4,879,198 records), no images (was 4,879,199 records with 0 images), last updated 06-Dec-2011
United States, GenealogyBank Obituaries, Births, and Marriages, 1980-2015 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2333694); 28,662,128 indexed records with 46,919,022 record images (was 28,662,129 records with 46,919,022 images), last updated 21-Jul-2026
United States, Public Records, 1970-2009 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2199956); Index only (875,600,543 records), no images (was 875,600,548 records with 0 images), last updated 29-Jul-2026
United States, Residence Database, 1970-2024 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/5000290); Index only (413,857,893 records), no images (was 413,857,915 records with 0 images), last updated 22-Jun-2024
Vermont, Vital Records, 1760-2008 (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2075288); 1,974,168 indexed records with 1,162,117 record images (was 1,974,169 records with 1,162,117 images), last updated 14-Jun-2024

===================================

My friend and SDGS colleague, Marshall, has come up with a way to determine which collections are ADDED, DELETED or UPDATED, and to alphabetize the entries in each category. Thanks to Marshall for helping me out here!

Marshall notes that there are:

  • 3,469 Historical Record Collection entries
  • 0 removed entries
  • 6 added entries 
  • 40 updated entries
  • 10 entries with more or fewer images 
  • 5 entries with more or fewer records
Marshall's list shows 3,469 Historical Record Collections this week, an increase of 6 collections. The image website image above shows 3,469 collections, so the website number is in sync with Marshall's list number.

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See previous FamilySearch-related blog posts in        https://www.geneamusings.com/search/label/FamilySearch

The URL for this post is:  

Copyright (c) 2026, Randall J. Seaver

Please comment on this post on the website by clicking the URL above and then the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post. Share it on X, Facebook, or Pinterest using the icons below. Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com.  Note that all comments are moderated, so they may not be posted immediately.

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Added and Updated Ancestry.com Record Collections - Week of 1 to 7 August 2026

   The following genealogy record collections were added to the Ancestry.com Card Catalog page by "Date Updated" during the period from 1 to 7 August 2026: 

The ADDED and Updated collections include:

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The complete Ancestry.com Card Catalog is at https://search.ancestry.com/search/CardCatalog.aspx.

By my count, there are 7 NEW record collections ADDED this past week, per the list above. There are now 33,972 collections available as of 7 August, an INCREASE of 6 from last week. 

==============================================

Disclosure: I pay for an All-Access subscription from Ancestry.com. In past years, Ancestry.com provided a complimentary All Access subscription, an autosomal DNA test, material considerations for travel expenses to meetings, and hosted events and meals that I attended in Salt Lake City.

The URL for this post is:  https://www.geneamusings.com/2026/08/added-and-updated-ancestrycom-record.html

 Copyright (c) 2026, Randall J. Seaver

Please comment on this post on the website by clicking the URL above and then the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post. Share it on Facebook, X, or Pinterest using the icons below. Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com. Please note that all Comments are moderated so they may not appear immediately.

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Ask AI: "Describe the Life of the Henry Austin Carringer Family in 1898 in San Diego"

  I asked my AI Assistant Anthropic Claude to provide information about my ancestral family's life in 1898 in Saqn Diego, California.  My great-grandparents Henry Austin and Della (Smith) Carringer had married in 1887, and had one living child in 1898, my grandfather Lyle Carringer. I posted ABC Biographies for Austin and Della in ABC Biography of #12 Henry Austin Carringer (1853-1946) of Pennsylvania, Iowa, Colorado and California and ABC Biography of #13 Abbey Ardelle "Della" (Smith) Carringer (1862-1944) of Wisconsin, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, and California.

I asked Anthropic Claude to create a description of the Henry Austin Carringer family life and work in San Diego, California in 1898 based on the biographies and social history.

(AI NotebookLM infographic -- Life of the Henry Austin Carringer Family in 1898)

Here is the Anthropic Claude Sonnet 5 response: 

A Year on Watkins Avenue: The Carringer Family in 1898

A historical narrative based on documented family facts, with author's note below distinguishing fact from creative interpretation.

The Household

The new year of 1898 found Austin Carringer, 44 years old, standing in the yard of the house he had just finished building on the corner where Ella Street met Watkins Avenue (now 30th and Hawthorn Streets), in the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood of San Diego. The permit had been issued the previous June — $600 for the residence, taken out in his wife Della's name, as was fitting since the nine lots themselves had been purchased in her name back in 1894. Now the two-story frame house stood finished, smelling of fresh-cut lumber and paint, facing Watkins Street just as they'd planned, with the porch and entry angled to the southwest corner of the block.

Inside lived a household of four. Austin and Della, married now nearly eleven years, anchored the family. Their son Lyle, six years old, was the light of the household — a bright, curious boy born in a house at 16th and H Streets back in 1891. And there was Della's mother, Abbie (Vaux) Smith, aged 54, a widow who had come to live with her daughter's family, as widowed mothers of that era so often did. Abbie had been born back East, in New York, the daughter of an Englishman, and she brought with her decades of stories and a steadying presence in the household.

The shadow of an earlier loss still lingered quietly in the family's memory. Devier David, their firstborn, had died as a nine-month old infant back in 1890, not long after the joyful newspaper announcement of his birth. Eight years later, the grief had settled into something the family carried rather than spoke of daily, but it shaped how fiercely they watched over young Lyle. Because of that loss, Austin and Della had lost their faith in God and preferred to do good deeds.

During 1898, Austin’s elderly parents (David Jackson born in 1828 and Rebecca (Spangler) Carringer born in 1832), and their son Harvey Edgar Carringer, age 45, had moved to San Diego, bought a lot, and built a house at what is now 30th and Ivy Streets, just one block north of the Austin Carringer home.

Austin's Work

Each morning, Austin either drove his horse-drawn surrey or walked to 16th Street and Broadway, and then rode the trolley toward his work as a carpenter, employed at the Russ Lumber and Mill Company at First and I Streets in downtown San Diego — a business that would remain his employer for years to come, well past the turn of the century. San Diego in 1898 was a city rebuilding itself after the real estate bust of the late 1880s, and skilled carpenters were needed for the steady, if modest, construction that was reshaping neighborhoods like Brooklyn Heights, University Heights, and the areas around downtown.

The work was physical and exacting. Lumber arrived by ship and rail, and mills like Russ's cut, planed, and prepared it for the builders who were slowly filling in San Diego's grid of streets with modest wood-frame homes very much like the one Austin had just built for his own family. Having just finished his own house — doing the finish work himself, as he always would throughout his life — Austin brought home-grown expertise to his daily labor, and no doubt his colleagues at the mill knew him as a craftsman who took real pride in doing things right.

Building the House

The house itself was the great project of the preceding year. The nine lots at Block 61 of Seaman and Choate's Addition had been sitting, waiting, since Della bought them for $450 back in 1894 — a purchase made when Lyle was still a toddler and the family was renting at 28th and Logan in the city. For three years, the family had saved and planned, Austin working at the mill and no doubt setting aside lumber and hardware as opportunity allowed.

When the building permit finally came through in June of 1897, construction began on the southwestern corner of the block, positioned to face Watkins Avenue. Austin built the two-story structure with his own hands — a skill he'd practice again decades later when the house would be moved and remodeled in the late 1920s. By 1898, the family was settled into their new home, and it would remain the Carringer family homestead for the rest of Austin and Della's lives, nearly half a century.

Education

Six-year-old Lyle was not yet enrolled in one of San Diego's public schools in 1898 — he was a very slight boy and protected by his parents. He would eventually attend Sherman School at 22nd and K Streets serving the growing residential areas east of downtown. San Diego's school system at the turn of the century was still relatively young but expanding rapidly as families moved into new subdivisions like Brooklyn Heights. Children walked to school, often in groups from the neighborhood, and the school day emphasized basic literacy, arithmetic, and civic training suited to the era.

For Lyle's parents, education had been valued as well — Austin's own school years in Iowa were noted in census records, and Della, who had worked as an art teacher, clearly placed value on learning and creative development. It's easy to imagine that evenings in the Carringer household included Lyle's schoolwork alongside his grandmother Abbie's stories of her own girlhood back East.

Community Affairs

San Diego in 1898 was a city of roughly 17,000 people, small enough that neighbors knew each other and community institutions mattered. Austin had already shown his community spirit years earlier as a member of the National City Fire Department's Active Hose No. 1, and the same civic-minded instinct likely carried into his life in the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood.

The nation itself was consumed that year with the Spanish-American War, which broke out in April 1898. San Diego, with its natural harbor, watched the war with particular interest, as the Pacific fleet and coastal defense took on new urgency. Newspapers like the San Diego Union — the same paper that would later chronicle the Carringers' own family milestones — filled their pages with war news throughout the year, and it's likely the war was a frequent topic of conversation among Austin and his fellow workers at the lumber mill.

Locally, the Brooklyn Heights and Golden Hill areas where the family lived were among San Diego's developing residential neighborhoods, with new streetcar lines slowly extending city services — including, eventually, the line from 16th and Broadway that the family would later extensively use.

Entertainment

Austin and Della's love of performance, first kindled back in Wano, Kansas, where they had starred together in local plays before their marriage, likely didn't fade entirely once they settled in San Diego. Though no specific record survives of their theatrical activities in 1898, the couple's demonstrated love of creative pursuits — Della's artistic talents that had flowered into painting, furniture design, and teaching — suggests a household that valued culture and creativity alongside hard work.

San Diego at the turn of the century offered various forms of entertainment for a family like the Carringers: traveling theatrical troupes that performed at local halls, band concerts in the city's parks, and the simple pleasures of visiting family and neighbors. Horseback and buggy outings to the countryside, still largely undeveloped beyond the city's core, were common weekend activities. Given Austin's ownership of a bicycle (documented in an 1895 family photograph), it's reasonable to imagine cycling was already a family pastime by 1898, an activity enjoying a nationwide craze during that decade.

Closing the Year

By the close of 1898, the Carringer family had much to be grateful for: a new home built by Austin's own hands, a healthy young son growing and learning, and a household made richer by Abbie Smith's presence. The nation's brief war had ended in victory that August, and San Diego continued its slow, steady growth toward the city it would become in the new century. For Austin and Della, the year represented a milestone — the fulfillment of a plan set in motion years earlier, and the beginning of four decades in the home on Watkins Avenue that would anchor their family for the rest of their lives.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Author's Note

This narrative is a creative reconstruction built around documented facts: the Carringer household composition in this period (Austin, Della, young Lyle, and Della's widowed mother Abbie Smith, as confirmed by the 1900 census taken just two years later); the 1894 land purchase and 1897 building permit for the Watkins Avenue house; Austin's employment at Russ Lumber and Mill Company; the earlier loss of infant son Devier David in 1890; and the couple's documented history as theatrical performers in Kansas before their marriage.

The family's participation in specific community or entertainment activities in 1898, and conversational or emotional content are creative interpretations meant to bring historical texture to the documented facts, not documented events themselves. The reference to the Spanish-American War and general San Diego civic conditions in 1898 are drawn from general historical record of the period rather than family-specific documentation.

As always, I don't have access to search or a verified historical database for this piece, so any general historical claims about San Diego or national events in 1898 should be independently verified if used for research purposes.

================================

The AI Google NotebookLM Video Overview of this story is below and on my YouTube channel:

This is historical fiction based on known events in the lives of my ancestors -- it might have been this way. Henry Austin and Della (Smith) Carringer are my great-grandparents, and I have significant information about this family from the available records, but I know little about their day-to-day lives.

As always, I am amazed at what life was like in any place over 120 years ago. This description of their family life in 1898 San Diego is interesting and so different from our current daily activities.

After I read these types of social history summaries, I wish that I could be a time traveler for one day to visit this Carringer family in 1898 San Diego and witness their daily lives.  I'm glad that the general lifestyles and occupations are known from historical records and witness accounts.

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Links to my blog posts about using Artificial Intelligence are on my Randy's AI and Genealogy page.  Links to AI information and articles about Artificial Intelligence in Genealogy by other genealogists are on my AI and Genealogy Compendium page.


Copyright (c) 2026, Randall J. Seaver

Please comment on this post on the website by clicking the URL above and then the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post.  Share it on X, Facebook, or Pinterest using the icons below.  Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com. Note that all comments are moderated, and may not appear immediately.

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Findmypast Friday: Uncover Stories of Crime With New Records

  I received this information from Findmypast today:

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There's so much to discover within this week's English and Scottish additions.

This week's exciting new additions offer a fascinating insight into criminality between the 18th and 20th centuries.

Understand the experiences of immigrants with new Metropolitan police registrations, and delve deeper into Scotland's courts with new database records.

Metropolitan Police, Aliens Registration Office

Spanning 1876 to 1965, this new collection is made up of the registration records of 1,257 immigrants into Britain.

Scotland, Court & Criminal Database

We've also updated our Scottish crime records this week, with 241,229 new additions covering 1791 to 1937.

New pages from Cornwall to Carlow

262,076 pages joined our newspaper archive this week, with six brand new titles and updates to 43 existing publications.

New titles
  • Bournemouth Observer and Fashionable Visitors' List, 1875, 1889
  • Carlow Independent and Leinster Agricultural Journal, 1879-1882
  • North Middlesex Weekly Standard, 1893-1901
  • Wimbledon Times and Mitcham Advertiser, 1886-1887
  • Wimbledon, Tooting and Merton Temperance Gazette, 1886-1887
  • Yorkshire Observer Budget, 1879,1895-1896, 1912
Updated titles
  • Aberdeen Herald & Post, 1991-1993
  • Andover Advertiser and North West Hants Gazette, 1889
  • Banffshire Journal, 1912
  • Catholic Times and Catholic Opinion, 1889, 1898
  • Cheltenham News, 2002
  • Chepstow Weekly Advertiser, 1858
  • Cornish Times, 1880
  • Cornubian and Redruth Times, 1874-1876, 1879, 1911-1920
  • Derby Exchange Gazette, 1877, 1889
  • Dudley Herald, 1877, 1889, 1912-1913, 1915-1919
  • Dundalk Democrat, 1891
  • Dundee Weekly News, 1855, 1885
  • Evesham Journal, 1877
  • Fairplay, 1915
  • Fifeshire Advertiser, 1857
  • Glasgow Mercantile Advertiser, 1852
  • Glossop-dale Chronicle and North Derbyshire Reporter, 1919
  • Ilkeston Pioneer, 1864
  • Illustrated Berwick Journal, 1874
  • Illustrated Police Budget, 1903
  • Isle of Wight Mercury, 1859
  • Jersey Evening Post, 1917-1918
  • Knaresborough Post, 2005
  • Lancing Herald, 2005
  • London Evening Standard, 1901-1902, 1904, 1917-1918
  • Man of Ross and General Advertiser, 1858, 1889
  • Missionary Herald of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, 1863
  • North Wales Weekly News, 2004-2005
  • Northwich Chronicle, 2000-2002
  • Oldham Chronicle, 1875
  • Orkney Herald, 1951-1961
  • Pembrokeshire Herald, 1881
  • Reading Evening Post, 2000, 2003
  • Rothesay Chronicle, 1901
  • Runcorn Weekly News, 2000-2002
  • Sandwell Evening Mail, 2002-2003
  • Shields Daily News, 1878
  • Southern Daily Mail, 1896, 1899-1900, 1905
  • Southport Independent and Ormskirk Chronicle, 1872
  • Staffordshire Sentinel, 2004
  • Stirling Journal and Advertiser, 1889
  • Torquay Times and South Devon Advertiser, 1966
  • Western Daily Press, 2002, 2004
A Family History Of... Peterloo: Britain's Forgotten Massacre

For the first episode of the series, Jen Baldwin is joined by historian David Olusoga to explore the lead up to one of Britain's deadliest political gatherings. Fuelled by hope, men, women and children gathered at St Peter's Field in Manchester in the summer of 1819. What came next would change their lives forever.

Watch this episode on YouTube -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txI8Jq79kCA

More on this topic:     English Records

=========================================

See all of my posts about Findmypast at   https://www.geneamusings.com/search/label/FindMyPast

Disclosure: I have a complimentary subscription to Findmypast, and have accepted meals and services from Findmypast, as a Findmypast Ambassador. This has not affected my objectivity relative to Findmypast and its products.

The URL for this post is:  https://www.geneamusings.com/2026/08/findmypast-friday-uncover-stories-of.html

Please comment on this post on the website by clicking the URL above and then the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post. Share it on X, Facebook, Instagram, Threads or Pinterest using the icons below. Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com. Note that all comments are moderated, and may not appear immediately.

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Thursday, August 6, 2026

Added and Updated MyHeritage Record Collections - Week of 31 July to 6 August 2026

 The following Record Collections were ADDED or Updated in the MyHeritage Collections Catalog during the week of  31 July to 6 August 2026:

The number of collections at the top of the list shows 1,703 collections (an increase of 1 from last week) with 39,871,927,243  records (a decrease of over 217 million records from last week).  The list above shows two NEW collections -- was one collection removed?

The Family Tree collections are not on the "Last Updated" list at all.  I collected the latest numbers for the Family Tree collections from the "Number of Records" list which does have the Family Tree collections (and a total of 1,702 collections).
 The number of entries in the family tree collections were last updated this week.  

                          ================================ 

See previous Genea-Musings posts about MyHeritage record collections and features in https://www.geneamusings.com/search/label/MyHeritage.com.

                          =========================================

Disclosure: I receive a complimentary PremiumPlus subscription to MyHeritage, and have received other material consideration in past years. I uploaded my autosomal DNA raw data to their DNA product. This does not affect my objective analysis of MyHeritage products. I am a paid subscriber to Family Tree Webinars and love it.

The URL for this post is: https://www.geneamusings.com/2026/08/added-and-updated-myheritage-record.html

Please comment on this post on the website by clicking the URL above and then the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post. Share it on X, Facebook, or Pinterest using the icons below. Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com.  Note that all comments are moderated, so they may not appear immediately.

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Ask AI: "Describe The Life of Mary Jane Sovereen at Age 14 in Norfolk County, Ontario in 1855" (Part 2 of 2)

  I wondered if the FREE AI tools could provide me with information about a teenage girl's life in  Norfolk County, Canada West in 1855. My 2nd great-grandmother, Mary Jane Sovereen (1840-1874)  was age 15 in 1855.  The ABC Biography for Mary Jane (Sovereen) Kemp is ABC Biography of #31 Mary Jane (Sovereen) Kemp (1840-1874) of Ontario.

My Prompt for Anthropic Claude Sonnet 5 Medium was:  "Please describe the life of 14-year-old Mary Jane Sovereen in Norfolk County, Canada West in 1855, based on the attached biography. Consider family, work, education, community activities, entertainment, fun?"

(AI NotebookLM infographic -- Mary Jane Sovereen's Life at Age 14 in 1855)

Here is the Anthropic Claude Sonnet 5 response (Part 1 was posted last week, Part 2 is below):

Mary Jane Sovereen in 1855

A Young Woman's Life At Age 14

Windham Township, Norfolk County, Canada West (Part 2 of 2)


continued from Part 1:

What Her Work Meant

The sheer volume of Mary Jane's domestic labor in 1855 is staggering by modern standards. She was, at fourteen, doing the work of a woman — managing a household alongside her mother, caring for three younger sisters including a newborn, and doing it all without running water, electricity, or any of the labor-saving technology we take for granted.

But this was not unusual. In 1855 Ontario, a fourteen-year-old girl from a farming family was expected to be fully capable of running a household. Many girls her age were already hired out as domestic servants in other households. Some would be married within three or four years. Mary Jane's situation — working in her own family home under her mother's guidance — was in many ways fortunate.

The work also gave her competence, confidence, and skills she would carry throughout her life. When she married James Abraham Kemp in 1861 at age twenty, she would be thoroughly prepared for the demands of running her own home.

Community Activities

The Baptist Church

The Baptist church was the center of the Sovereen family's community life, and for Mary Jane in 1855, it was her primary social world beyond the farm.

Sunday Worship:
  • The family dressed in their best clothes — Mary Jane's "Sunday dress" would have been carefully made and carefully preserved
  • They traveled by wagon to the Baptist church, likely in Delhi or the immediate area
  • The service lasted one to two hours: scripture readings, prayer, hymn singing, preaching
  • Sunday school before or after the main service — Mary Jane may have been old enough to help teach younger children
  • After the service: socializing on the church grounds — the primary weekly gathering of the community
What Church Meant to Mary Jane: For a fourteen-year-old girl whose world was largely bounded by the farm, church was:
  • The main opportunity to see peers and young people outside her family
  • A place of genuine faith — the Sovereens' Baptist convictions were deep and sincere
  • A place of music — hymn singing was one of the few musical pleasures available
  • A place of community identity — she was "Alexander Sovereen's daughter," a known and respected family
  • A place where young men noticed young women — the beginning of the long road to marriage
Women's and Girls' Activities at Church:
  • Sewing circles: Women and older girls gathered to sew quilts or garments for the poor or for missionary work — combining practical work with socializing and gossip
  • Missionary society meetings
  • Special events: revival meetings with visiting preachers, baptisms (by immersion, in the Baptist tradition, conducted in a local creek or river — a significant community event)
  • Temperance society events: Baptists were strong temperance supporters; Mary Jane would have grown up with anti-alcohol convictions
Community Events

The Neighbourhood Bees: Work bees were crucial social occasions for young people:
  • Quilting bees: Women and girls gathered at a neighbor's home to quilt together, combining labor with conversation, laughter, and food. These were women's events — Mary Jane would have been old enough to attend and participate. They were also occasions where community news was exchanged and friendships deepened.
  • Corn huskings: Evening events where neighbors gathered to husk the corn crop. These sometimes had a romantic element — tradition held that finding a red ear of corn entitled the finder to kiss someone.
  • Barn raisings: Whole-family events where neighbors gathered to erect a new barn. The women organized and prepared enormous quantities of food while the men built. Mary Jane would have been in the kitchen, not on the frame.
  • Threshing bees: When the threshing machine visited, Mary Jane and Eliza would have been cooking and serving food to the crew from before dawn to after dark — exhausting but sociable.
Delhi Village Life: When Alexander made trips to Delhi for supplies, Mary Jane occasionally would have accompanied him — a precious opportunity to see the wider world beyond the farm:
  • The general store, with its fascinating array of goods:
  • The mill, where grain became flour
  • Neighbors from other parts of the township
  • Perhaps a glimpse of Delhi's small but growing social life
Agricultural Fairs: The Norfolk County Agricultural Fair was an annual highlight. Mary Jane might have entered:
  • Domestic competitions: best preserves, best baked goods, best needlework
  • These competitions were serious and valued — a ribbon at the county fair was a genuine achievement
  • The fair also offered entertainment, novelty, and the pleasure of seeing people from across the county
Entertainment and Fun

At Home

Mary Jane's entertainment was largely domestic and family-centered, but that doesn't mean it was joyless:

Winter Evenings:
  • Sitting by the fire or lamp with the family — the most regular family gathering time
  • Knitting or sewing while her father told stories — Alexander was clearly a storyteller, given the vivid anecdotes he retained into his eighties
  • Singing hymns and perhaps folk songs together
  • Reading aloud if there was a book or newspaper available — Eliza leading, with Mary Jane listening and perhaps reading sections herself
  • Playing simple games with little Gertrude
  • Watching the firelight, talking quietly with her mother about the day, the neighbors, the world
  • Music: Music was central to Baptist family and community life:
Hymn singing at home and at church
  • Perhaps simple folk songs around the fire
  • No instruments unless a neighbor had a fiddle (dancing was sometimes frowned upon in strict Baptist households, but music itself was valued)
  • Mary Jane, growing up in a singing household, would have had a repertoire of hymns she knew by heart
Reading: The Sovereen household in 1855 would have had:
  • The family Bible — read regularly, central to their faith and education
  • Perhaps a hymnal
  • An almanac
  • Possibly a local or provincial newspaper shared with neighbors
  • Religious tracts and Baptist publications
  • Mary Jane, who could read, would have treasured any reading material available
Seasonal Pleasures

Summer:
  • Berry picking: Wild strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries grew in the cleared areas and woodlots of Norfolk County. Berry picking was both work (the berries were preserved for winter) and genuine pleasure — an outdoor escape from the house, often done with neighbors and friends, with singing and talking as they picked.
  • The creek and millpond: Swimming and wading in summer (though modesty codes restricted this for girls more than boys)
  • Exploring the farm: The woodlot, the fields, the creek — a young woman's territory was more restricted than a boy's, but the natural world was still accessible and beautiful
Winter:
  • Sleigh rides: When a neighbor had a sleigh and a willing horse, winter sleigh rides were a popular social occasion — cold, fast, exhilarating, and chaperoned
  • Skating: On frozen ponds and creeks, if skates were available (homemade wooden skates were common)
  • Sliding: The children (and perhaps Mary Jane, at the older edge of childhood) sliding down snowy hills on wooden sleds
Special Occasions:
  • Christmas: The Baptist tradition in 1855 was more restrained than modern Christmas, but the holiday was still observed — special food, church service, family gathering, perhaps small gifts
  • Easter: The most important Christian celebration — church, family, renewal
  • Harvest time: The satisfaction of a good harvest had its own celebratory quality — a full barn and root cellar meant security through winter
Social Life and Friendships

Mary Jane's social world in 1855 was small but meaningful:

Church Friends: Her closest friends outside the family would have been girls from neighboring farm families who attended the same Baptist church. These friendships were built through:
  • Sunday socializing after church
  • Shared attendance at quilting bees and other women's events
  • Occasional visits between farms
  • School attendance (when it overlapped)
Neighbors: The Sovereen family's reputation for hospitality meant regular visitors to the farm. Mary Jane would have known the neighboring families well — helping serve meals to visitors, listening to adult conversation, forming her understanding of the wider community.

The Putman Connection: Her mother's family, the Putmans, were also in the Norfolk County area. Cousins on the Putman side would have been part of Mary Jane's social world — family connections that added texture to her community life.

Looking Forward

At fourteen in 1855, Mary Jane Sovereen was on the threshold of young womanhood. In the community she inhabited, the next stages of her life were already foreseeable:

The Next Few Years Would Bring:
  • Finishing her formal schooling
  • Taking on full adult domestic responsibilities
  • Beginning to be noticed by young men (and noticing them in return)
  • Courtship — conducted within the careful social protocols of Baptist pioneer Ontario
  • Marriage — she would marry James Abraham Kemp on March 10, 1861, when she was twenty
  • Her own family — she would have five children with James before her early death at thirty-three in 1874
But in 1855, those futures were still ahead. She was fourteen — old enough to work like a woman, young enough still to feel the pull of childhood pleasures, standing at the hinge between girlhood and adult life.

Mary Jane's Character and Inner Life

What do we know of Mary Jane as a person? The historical record is thin for a girl of her station and era — women and girls of ordinary pioneer families left few direct traces. But from what we know of her family and world, we can sketch an impression:
  • Resilient: She had grown up surrounded by infant death. The loss of four siblings before age nine would have given her a maturity — and perhaps a gravity — beyond her years. She knew that life was fragile.
  • Capable: By fourteen she was running much of the Sovereen household alongside her mother. She was competent in all the domestic arts, a skilled and reliable worker.
  • Connected to Faith: Raised in a devout Baptist household, Mary Jane's faith would have been genuine and central — her anchor through difficulty, her community through the church, her moral framework through scripture.
  • Literate and Curious: Unlike her father, Mary Jane could read and write. In a household where books were few and precious, she would have been a reader — the Bible, certainly, but anything else available. Her curiosity about the wider world would have been fed by whatever printed material came through the Sovereen home.
  • Dutiful and Loving: As the eldest surviving child, Mary Jane occupied a particular place in her family — her parents' comfort, her little sisters' caretaker, her household's young pillar. She carried these responsibilities not (we sense) with resentment but with the quiet pride of being needed and being capable.
  • Named for Her Grandmother: Mary Jane shared her name with her paternal grandmother, Mary Jane (Hutchison) Sovereen. This naming was intentional and meaningful — a bond across generations, a sense of being part of something larger than herself.
Conclusion

Mary Jane Sovereen in 1855 was a fourteen-year-old girl whose life was bounded by her farm, her family, her church, and the small community of Windham Township — yet who lived with a depth of experience, responsibility, and quiet resilience that would humble most modern adults.

She had survived the deaths of four siblings. She was helping raise three younger sisters including a newborn. She was doing the work of a woman in a demanding frontier household. She was completing her education and preparing for the adult life that lay ahead.

She had pleasures too — the quilting bees and Sunday socials, the berry picking and winter sleigh rides, the hymns around the fire, the stories her father told, the quiet conversations with her mother over shared work. She had faith, family, and the particular satisfaction of being good at the things her world required.

In six years she would marry James Abraham Kemp. In nineteen years she would be dead at thirty-three, leaving five children behind. But in 1855, Mary Jane Sovereen was alive to all of it — the work, the love, the loss already known, the future not yet imagined — a pioneer girl growing into a pioneer woman, in the best tradition of the Sovereen family she came from.

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The Google NotebookLM Video Overview of this story is below and on my YouTube channel: 

As genealogists, we can occasionally find the 19th century town or church records for Canadian families, but we can usually find census, occupation, military, land and probate records. In addition, there are books and websites about the daily lives of people in those times.  The AI tools have been pre-trained on historical events, social history, geography, literature and other disciplines so they can provide information for questions like this one, and by 2025 they had the ability to search the Internet.  

After I read these types of social history summaries, I wish that I could be a time traveler for one day to visit the Sovereen family in Canada West and witness their daily lives.  I'm glad that the general lifestyles and occupations are known from historical records and witness accounts.

Anthropic Claude Sonnet 5 seems to vary the lengths of similar stories.  In this case, Mary Jane Sovereen's life at age 14 in 1855 was 11 pages (over 3,900 words).   Last week's story about Rebecca Spangler at age 14 in 1846 was only 4 pages (about 1,000 words).  I used the same Claude model (Sonnet 5 Medium) and prompt text for both (except for the name, place and year).  Perhaps the day of the week or the time of day of the story request is critical for story length?  Or it might be the length and depth of the source material.

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Links to my blog posts about using Artificial Intelligence are on my Randy's AI and Genealogy page.  Links to AI information and articles about Artificial Intelligence in Genealogy by other genealogists are on my AI and Genealogy Compendium page.

Copyright (c) 2026, Randall J. Seaver


Please comment on this post on the website by clicking the URL above and then the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post.  Share it on X, Facebook, or Pinterest using the icons below.  Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com.  Note that all comments are moderated, so they may not appear immediately.

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