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Researching your family tree

by Denise Daubert

The study of generations within a family - genealogy - is unquestionably one of the fastest-growing hobbies in North America. Tracing ancestors has been embraced by many age groups, and both men and women find it enjoyable and worthwhile exploring their ancestors’ footsteps and stories through genealogy.

If you think you may be interested in researching your family tree, hopefully this article will be informative and inspirational. If you are already a seasoned genealogist, perhaps it will provide you with some new directions to explore.

The hobby of genealogy has grown vastly in recent years along with the research capabilities of the internet and the ability to communicate through email.

Along with this popularity is that of preservation initiatives by libraries, government departments, archives and genealogical groups and societies. Around the world genealogical records are being preserved, microfilmed, digitized and made available to researchers, sometimes free of charge and sometimes at a cost.

Basic or complex

Your genealogy project can simply be compiling and recording your personal history as a legacy to your family. Or it can be as complex as going back many generations in search of your family’s ancestry, searching out documentation from decades past, such as family charts, homestead claims, photographs and newspaper clippings.

I have had an interest in genealogy for about the past 10 years. My choice has been to explore and record both my maternal (mother’s family) and paternal (father’s family) history. And for the sake of our three young-adult-aged children, I have also chosen to explore and record my husband’s maternal and paternal lineage, too.

My project has taken me back one hundred and fifty years on each line - to the mid-1800s on the family trees. As both my husband and I are second-generation Canadians, it means our grandparents were born and raised in European countries and colonies. These ancestors emigrated to Canada in the early 1900s with thousands of others to make a new home. Our grandparents came from Russia, Germany, France, Algeria, Ireland and Switzerland.

Genealogy is an exciting journey!

If you would like to see more genealogy articles on our website, email us at contact@edmontonwoman.com.