I take back all my complaining, I decided to take a peak at a non cross-written letter and immediately got a Franklin expedition mention so this was worth it! Susan Best to Helen Anderson (nee Best), both sisters of Charles Best. Undated, but likely around Christmas 1856 or 1857.

FML I don't want to read this shit, why am I doing this to myself

OK I told myself if I helped get people identified then I would go on a Northwest Passage trip, and then I realized it’d be over 25k just to share a room onboard one. So I am taking suggestions for “Expensive vacation with Arctic vibes that doesn’t cost my uni tuition.”

We know Harry Goodsir sent back a couple of papers for publication while he was aboard Erebus. But there’s another one, that he sent to his brother John at the end of June 1845, that wasn’t published. I’ve transcribed it, and written about it, here 👇🏻 edwardforbes.net/2026/06/17/a...

The problem with Charles Best is that there are so many online and local resources about his family that I can actually dig in to him personally in a way that I can't with most sailors from Europe, and I've become a little obsessed.

A few days ago I spent the afternoon at the Randall House in Wolfville, Nova Scotia! Charles Best, AB aboard HMS Erebus on the Franklin expedition, lived in Wolfville briefly, and his mother Isabella ran a school out of the Randall House around ~1830-1840.

While I was going through Halifax baptisms to research the Best family, I was also double tasking by seeing if I could find some potential baptism records for Charles Johnson. I thought probably I‘d find a few dozen Charles Johnsons, given it seems like a common name. But somehow I found none!

Trying not to get up and scream in the middle of the Nova Scotia Archives because after multiple sessions here and going through microfilm records for 18 different churches, I finally found Charles Best‘s baptism record 🎉🎉🎉

I’m off to the Nova Scotia Archives tomorrow to see what I can scrounge up about HMS Erebus AB Charles Best’s family! And then later this week I’ll be visiting a house his mother ran a school for women out of.

I got a name drop on CBC Radio's Quirks & Quarks! www.cbc.ca/player/play/...

A huge story in Canada right now is the leaking of Alberta's voter lists. Basically the province's entire adult population had their name, address, and phone # exposed online. Meanwhile, England sells an edited voter list (name + address, not phone #) to genealogy websites (though you can opt out).

It was almost 30 degrees two days ago and now it's snowing again 🙃

I updated my Franklin expedition genealogy starter spreadsheet with the recent identifications! docs.google.com/spreadsheets... I'm actually not sure if I've linked this here before? I've been trying to keep track of which members of the expedition people online have talked about researching.

Peglar Papers are Peglar’s says paper

Posted the day before I found out about Peglar

So it turned out that was a lie 🤣 I just didn't know it yet! Also "the puck stops here" like ya'll know I'm Canada down

I wanted to do something for Terror Camp since early spring, my plan being 15 minutes about William Clossan and Charles Best. But after hearing about Bridgens/Young/Orren I kept going back and forth over whether I should stick to my original plan or try to find some way I could work them into it.

This was my "I just found out I helped to identify Bridgens but I can't say anything about it and I don't want to event hint at it for fear of giving it away so instead I'll post vaguely about being excited by the general genealogy I'm doing but really I mean I'm dying to share about Bridgens" post

So it turns out identifying a single sailor was not overly ambitious 😂

Smithsonian Magazine had a good article! Although I may be biased because I like that they linked my website 😅 www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/t...

It is William Orren's 220th birthday today

I am green with envy for everyone attending the Archaeological Society of Alberta Conference talks today on the Franklin expedition!

Front page of the Globe & Mail, under the fold!

I spoke to the Globe & Mail on Tuesday and am mentioned in their article: www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/scien...

The research paper about the identification of Harry Peglar is online now! www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

My write-up and response to the identifications of several members of the Franklin expedition is now live on my website! www.alongblank.com/2026/05/iden...

A huge congrats to Kaitlyn on her contributions to the recent ID of the remains of FOUR (!!!!) new Franklin Expedition men, as part of Dr. Douglas Stenton's research team. Full scientific paper in the thread. For access to Kaitlyn's 2025 TC presentation, please email command [@] terror dot camp.

University of Waterloo researchers are looking for descendants of those who perished in the Franklin Expedition willing to DNA test. #genealogy #geneticgenealogy uwaterloo.ca/news/media/d...

I take one (1) nap and FOUR SAILORS FROM THE FRANKLIN EXPEDITION WERE IDENTIFIED?!?!?!

If I comment on the post on the The Terror subreddit am I still gonna be in shadow ban jail because that'd be very funny

I booked the afternoon off work because I knew there'd be no way I could focus today 😂

Last year I was able to assist in identifying 4 (FOUR?!?) members of the Franklin expedition! I'm the amateur genealogist who researched Bridgens, Young, Orren, and Peglar, and was able to find and contact living descendants of their families who agreed to do DNA tests!

I'm free! I can finally talk about this!!!!! It's been ten months!!!

👀

Today, 5 May, is the National Day of awareness and remembrance for the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and 2SLGBTQI+ people.

OK I need to buckle down and actually finish getting these probate files organized soon like I said I would do literally a year ago.

I stopped by the Arctic Fever exhibit at the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library in Toronto last week! It's free to the public and ends in a few days. If you're in Toronto I highly recommend checking it out!

I have such FOMO! An entire day of fascinating sounding Franklin expedition research - I wish it was livestreamed! canadianarchaeology.com/caa/annual-m...

Another weekend in the GTA. Spring, 2026.

Back in Toronto next week and hoping to catch this exhibit this time! Also: Florence + The Machine, Alan Menken, and West Side Story in concert.

I'm being tormented by the The Terror subreddit where there's a comment that I'm pretty sure is talking about my spreadsheet, so I made a new account to link it but my comment isn't appearing because it's from a brand new account lol

Pi day weekend in Toronto, ON.

Today’s the anniversary of the death of Private William Braine of the Royal Marines, crew member of HMS Erebus, who died at Beechey Island in 1846. He was one of three members of the Franklin expedition to die there during their overwintering, and was buried there with his two comrades.

I've put together some NEW notes on Francis Crozier’s name and career seen in the light of his father’s local (and not so local) connections - at www.thethousandthpart.com/notes/george-croziers-choices

I stumbled on a collection of police records from Fife around the 1920s that include mugshots and it's my new favourite thing. These two lads were arrested for playing football -- I don't think they have any regrets

According to his seaman's ticket, HMS Terror quartermaster John Kenley had his wife's name tattooed on his arm 😢

!!!

Popping down to Toronto next week and I'm hoping to stop by and check this exhibit out!

I have a new post up on my blog outlining my genealogy research on Abraham Seely, an AB aboard HMS Erebus during the Franklin expedition. www.alongblank.com/2026/02/abra...