For a few years now I have been working on family history. I can't even begin to say how easy it is when using Ancestry. Ancestry helps with all the older things. Considering that the most recent census in Canada online is from 1921, you really need other sources to get the more recent things put together. For that the Lethbridge Genealogical Society were fantastic!
However, I have been able to trace some amazing things through Ancestry. My paternal grandmothers family lived in the same area which is now part of London for hundreds of years, so it made tracing it easy. I connected with a long lost cousin on Ancestry (our grandparents were siblings!). It is fun.
In our family the holder of family history has always been my Mom. Now it most likely will be. I guess each family has one person who holds the memories for the next generation.
I have also found out some cool things:
- My grandfather would have been 101 in the year I was born & he served at Vimy Ridge.
- My 4x Great uncle sailed with Captain Cook on the Endeavour
- One family group chased gold in Australia & California before heading back to the farm in England
- My Dad's family lived in the same area of what is now London for over 300 years before my grandparents immigrated to Canada.
Have you ever considered writing it up, as some sort of scrapbook or series of stories or even a sort-of novel format? My friend Lee Ann teaches a series of classes on writing family memoirs (after writing a couple of her own) and it's fascinating stuff, and, I think, so worthwhile to preserve these kinds of stories and discoveries for future generations. I think, if you're interested, she has some info on her website (leeanneckhardtsmith.com).
ReplyDeleteThanks Lynn! I took a look and sadly as a one car family east of downtown I can't make any of the classes this year. I would love to learn more about how to take everything I am finding and put it in a narrative and learn how to flush out the stories. I suspect I have my my lifetime to figure it out.
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