our members started into "Genealogy".
| awp_44 | My reason for taking up genealogy was to keep my mind
active while I was on sick leave a few years ago.
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| cagletigger | My reason was when I was in the 7th or 8th grade. There
was a history/geography project due to the fact "Roots" came on tv. Back
then I had only 3 generations done. I hit a lot of brick walls then. Since
then, I have 4 generations done on 3 sides of the family and 5 generations
done on one side of the family.
thanks, Cagletigger |
| cj_31_1968 | Here is my beginning! As a child I loved to listen to my stories of what life was like for my grandparents when they were growing up as I got older I loved reading about historical events and happenings. I listened to the stories over and over until I am sure my grandparents were tired of telling them to me.
I only knew one set of my grandparents and fortunately they doted on me as I lived with them for many years and was more of a daughter to them than a grandchild. After my grandfather died, my grandmother continued telling me the stories of when she was a child and some of the things my mother and her siblings did as children. After my grandmother died I realized that even though I had heard the stories over and over I really didn't know who all of the people were in those stories or how they were related to me. I asked my mom but she didn't know all the answers and the ones she thought she knew she only knew bits and pieces. I did what I could with what my mom gave me but my questions just weren't being answered, so my mom gave me a book that my grandmother used to record all the things that happened to our relatives such as births, deaths, weddings and anniversaries. This told me some info, but really didn't explain who belonged to who or how they fit into the big picture, and because of my unquenchable thirst for knowledge I started my Genealogical Research. The only trouble now is I am hooked and not only do I do mine and my husband's genealogy, but I have also started to include the parents of people who married into our families, who are not actually my relatives but they fit into my tree so nicely and if not for them the person who did marry into the family would not exist, so the way I see it they belong there just because they are a part of someone's roots whether they are directly related to me or not. I hope this is what you are looking for! CJ |
| daisy_the_dog | I got interested in genealogy 3 years ago after my mother passed away. I realized only then how little (and I mean little) we knew about her family. I have two old photo albums of hers dated pre-1950 chock full of people we don't know. I do recognize my grandparents and need to somehow remove the photos and frame them. There weren't any names on the backs of any of the photos, just the occasional year and place:(So I've been on a mission and making very slow progress: ( Methinks a trip to Europe is in order).
I had better success with my father's line. I managed to get a copy of a partial family tree that someone in the family had started. It's a game of patience waiting to learn more from across the Atlantic. And I've learned alot of history along the way, and met some wonderful fellow genealogist too! Riitta |
| danielmoore55 | Thirty years ago the family was staying in my Meister grandparents home while house hunting. Got to visit many of the local relations. Struck gold at an aunt of my mother who also wrote the community column for the local paper. She showed me a multi-page listing of relations. It only contained names but it intrigued me to see it all on paper. Several years during a return visit she handed me the entire envelope. She passed on several years later and I was at a loss for additions and updates. It was time for me to take the reigns. That was in over 10 years ago. The original list of 150-200 names now numbers 880+ with more added each week. Even started on my fathers side just last year. Dan Moore |
| froglamp | Hmmm...I am trying to remember what got me started in genealogy...I suppose it was the picture of Great Uncle Adolf in his Austrian cavalry uniform (he was a vet for the army, when Poland was part of the Empire). Also, my dad WOULD go on and on about the Russians and the family farm...hehehe I also loved my grandfather Bronislaw very much, and I miss him. froglamp |
| genzoli | I think I was born to do genealogy. I grew up on a farm surrounded by all kinds of critters. We had lots of cows dogs cats pigs, etc etc. When I was about 5-6 years old, I already knew several generations (maternal lines only) of our barn cats. I could tell you which was auntie kitty, and who was cousin kitty. The second cousins was explained, as well as the first cousin removed thing by my grandmother. She thought it was cute I knew all about the Kitty family. As I grew older I was put in charge of the breeding charts for our dairy cows. I really enjoyed following the lines back over several generations. I am not positive what made me think of doing the same thing with people. I do remember making my own first pedigree chart on butcher paper. It was more a descendent chart, as I really knew very little past my grandparents. My tree has grown since then. I learned more about proper research from the wonderful people from the local LDS. The best gift I had ever gotten at the time was their starter package for new genealogists. (Imagine my surprise when I found there were PRE-PRINTED ancestor charts! You didn't have to make your own!!!) I believe I was born to do genealogy. I love doing it so much that when I get stuck and can't seem to find any information, I just keep doing genealogy. I work with my friends, and my club and the local genealogy society. If I can't do my own genealogy, I will do someone else's. O.K. grammy, that's my story and I am stickin to it! Good luck with your project.
genzi |
| grammyof9_ca | What got me started in Genealogy? As I was growing up, many times different people would ask me to help with genealogy. Of course I didn't even know what they were talking about. It was when we moved to Nova Scotia that someone asked me again, but I was still not interested. That time, it was for my side of the family which is BANKS. This time however, I did gather some family information for him, but sorry to say he was not doing this for real or he wouldn't have had so many mistakes. These mistakes being information that had already been given to him. He hadn't even copied them down correctly. (Bad experience) Then my brother-in-law, who has since passed away, was working on my husband's family tree, which is WHITMAN. Bill had a lot of the ground work done, but there was still lots for me to do. If I was going to do this, I had to verify all the information that he had already gotten. It was at this point, that I was told of a site online called "Whitmania". Well, did that help me! All those questions that I couldn't seem to find, because of different name changes and nicknames all came together. But, this didn't stop there. Bill had names and dates of living people, which at that time, I thought was great. Since then, I have had people ask me to think long and hard on whether I wanted to include the living. This was not an easy decision to make. But, in the end, I did decide to go with the updates and include the living. All those people who had sent me their information were so excited about someone updating our family tree, that I couldn't just drop the whole thing. So, I have stated on my homepage that if anyone wants some of their information removed, I will do so, but leave the names. I have had no one contact me. The other reason I did this genealogy, is like a legacy to my children and grandchildren. As John stated in his reasons, when kids have a school project to do a family tree, the information will be available for them. While I have been doing this research, I have come in contact with many other people who are also doing their genealogy. These people have been so helpful and encouraging to me, that it really makes what I'm doing worth while. Plus, all the new family members that you would never ever make contact with, let alone visit you. I have been very lucky to join a few genealogy clubs online who have not only helped me, but have become my friends. What else could anyone ask for!! grammy |
| granny_red_wing | I, like many Americans at the time, got caught up in the
saga of ROOTS by Alex Haley. I had read an exerpt in Readers Digest, then
was glued to my television every night in January of 1977 when ROOTS was
broadcast. I was completely mesmerized by it. It naturally made me wonder
when my husband's ancestors immigrated to Canada from Ireland. His surname
is O'Neill and I wanted to know about the O'Neill's. In 1983 I began a
wonderful correspondence with his father's aunt who was a nun and seemingly
the "keeper of the family history". The only problem was that she was on
my fil's mother's side. So she gave me loads of information on the FOUBERT
side. I eventually made some contact with some O'Neill relatives and have
got some information which put me on the right track. Sadly, all these
family members who helped me in the beginning have passed away. God Bless
them for all their help! Once I got started on my husband's family, I
naturally started on my own. So, folks, I have been at this since before
home computers were commonplace and just as genealogists were discovering
what a wonderful tool the computer can be.
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| HubCal | I didn't go out looking for Genealogy. In fact I was not
sure how to spell it. Genealogy was thrust on me by my father. From his
taped records he says "I was doing research on the family lines at home in
1952. In 1957 Irvin and Harriett went from California to the east coast
searching and recording. By 1957 enough information had been gathered for
the Autobiography of Irvin Hubbard. A hardcopy book of 140 pages of text and
pictures. This is a story book that includes his birth on the Indian
Reservation, Puyallup, WA to the year 1960. Unfortunately, it is the original
typewritten manuscript bound in hard cover. It is interspersed with
26 pictures covering over 100 years. In addition to the autobiography, my father and his wife, Harriett Wright Hubbard produced a 122 page Descendants of George Hubbard 1594-1960 on stencils, and a manual typewriter. One Hundred copies of this were printed and sold at $5.00 each to pay for the cost. Now you can see why I am involved in Genealogy. I could not let all this work end on my desk. So, I went on the internet for two reasons, to be able to have email and do research. I never dreamed I would meet so many nice people, but that is just one of the benefits of our facing that old brick wall. |
| johnhoul | I suppose a lot of people got interested in the chance of finding some one famous,(if that doesn't start the ball rolling I don't know what will). Like I said in my little letter, the youngest daughter at the age of 14 came home from school, dad I have to do a family tree for some subject. (here I go again upsetting teachers now) well she had two days (put your hand up all those who have knocked up a family tree in two days). Anyway, I got back to my grandparents on both sides of my family, then realised that was all I knew, I knew my dads brother missing in action 30-03-1943 dads dad died in 63, dads mum died in 83 mum and dad died in 93 and I'm dreading the year 2003, (sorry my sense of humour). Cannot remember much of mums side gran died around 1978 grandad 72, grans maiden name was Smith, (now if that is not a name to make you want to open a search for your relatives meaning theres a lot of them) I'm having enough troubles with Houlgrave, Just in case I appoligise to any Smith's now. My wife was adopted as a baby, well from when I first met her she hummed and arred about finding her birth mum, now this was in 78 finally in 98 she decided to give it a go, well after searching and hiring a searcher in England we found her mum had remarried and her married name was Smith, and yes the story did work out well she now has a brother in England a sister in Bermuda an aunty in California plus mum and aunty in England. Time to shut up again.
John Ps My biggest regret is I didn't start looking when I was younger and had people around who I could ask for information and why did I wait till I left the country. |
| judym5604911 | My beginnings was as a town clerk in a small town in Maine, just 25 years ago. I was researching information for a woman and discovered that her great grandmother was sister to my husbands great grandmother, and thats how I got interested in genealogy.
Judy |
| mjalyn | I started to do ours out of fascination with the past and
wanting to find out exactly where our families had come from. Little did
I realize that I would be able to get information that dates back to the
Elizabethan era, have an granfather that was in Minnesota around the time
of Laura Ingalls, that I would meet cousins thousands of miles away that
we didn't know exsisted, or that I would help out other friends in their
search for the past. Or that I actually can celebrate St. Patrick's Day
for all the irish in us we didn't know we had, that our Australian family
on just 1 side has 3 convicts, 2 murderers, and a managa-trois! I also
do it because I am very proud of my heritage. My husband and I often joke and call our little boy, Heinz 57 because with him coming from the West Indies and my family coming from Canada and Australia we figure that we have 57 different countries in our background. Marea |
| monarda2002 | I think I'd been interested in my ancestors for some time
(starting in my teen years) but didn't really pursue it until my mother
passed away. My aunt promised to get some information together for me but
sadly she also passed away soon after. I sort of gave up until meeting up
with my late father's side of the family and they had info and photos that
I hadn't seen before. My father died at an early age when I was a baby, so
my mother re-married so previously I had not much contact with that side
of the family. Sorry for rambling on about my personal story, I'm in my middle years now and I just think as you get older you realize that you are one small link in a long chain of family members and it's a shame that your interest in others usually only arises after they are gone. Even though my own children are quite bored with the subject of family history now, I know they will eventually thank me for researching and writing details down. |
| oldbeatlefan53 |
About 2 years ago, (actually, I remember it was Nov, 2001), my good friend, who is in ill health, was saying that she wished she could find her sister. It seems that when my friend was 18 mo. old, she, her mother and her sister came to Canada from England to be with the man who was their father. Her mother and father met in the war, but never married. When the war ended, he came back to Canada, leaving behind two children. So, the mother decided to come to Canada and see if she and her man could make it. But it was not to be. I guess the guy was being controlled by his mother and they could not get along. For some reason, not really clear, my friend was left with her father and grandmother and her sister and mother went back to England. My friend did not find out about her mother and sister until she was 18. So she instituted a search, but it was futile really because her father would not give her much information, until he was on his death bed many years later. So, cut to 2001. We were talking on the phone and she wistfully said that she wished she could find her sister. I had a computer so I said, well give me what information you have and I will see what I can do. I don't know what made me say that as I had never attempted anything like it before. But, I went on the internet and after 4 months I found her sister - with the help of a pastor that lived in the same town - and it seemed that the family lived on the same street all of these 50 years but in different houses. The pastor went to the last address I had in 1940 something and you guessed it, a brother was still living on the street and was well known. The rest is a happy ever after ending. I really don't know how I did it because I just posted everywhere and had no plan. And to top it off, her sister's maiden name was Smith. You couldn't ask for a more common name. Well, armed with my victory, I thought why not trace my own name. How hard could it be? ha! I don't believe there are very many other people researching my name because I haven't found one yet. But I joined some genealogy lists, posted everywhere again and hoped for the best. I talked to my aunt, my father's sister and oldest living relative, and she gave me the names of my grandparents (her parents). I didn't even have that much because my father died when I was 13 and we never met them. I only saw my aunt at funerals and didn't know her very well. She is 83 now and still kind of active and a very nice woman. I wish I had gotten to know her sooner, not only because she is a lovely woman, but because now she can't remember very much. With the info she gave me, this was in Aug 2002, I went to the National Archives in Toronto and found a little bit more info. I have been there a few more times, but I have been stuck trying to find any further info for about 10 months now. I have searched the census', I have posted everywhere, I have looked at BMD's, been to the FHS website. Written to the Methodist Church and the United Church. Most of the normal things. But no luck. |
| sandiew2000 | I was always interested in the family history, and asked lots of questions as a kid! I just wish now that I had WRITTEN DOWN THE ANSWERS!!! I think it really grew (my interest) the first time I held one of my babies in my arms...but only really began my search with the purchase of this computer (I LOVE IT!) this past November. Sandie |
| shejag | Growing up my grandma used to take me to all the cemeteries with her when she put flowers on the graves. She would tell me that I was to remember where they were and who they were so that when she was gone someone would take up her yearly trips to each grave. I have taken further and want to know more about my ancestors then JUST where they are buried. So now have made it a "HOBBY?" of mine to do when I can.
shejag |
| tuffieca | I started researching my family about 12 years ago, just for fun. I heard that my gr gr gr grandfather was an important guy, so I started researching the name FARR, cuz I thot my mothers siblings were the last of the line. Wow, was I shocked!!! Now I got tons of relatives!!! And then that research snowballed into all the other names I am researching. I didn't have a computer until about a year ago, so everything was on paper, and it still hasn't been completly put into a program yet!!! I have now met a ton of people who are related to me, and found a wealth of new information thru the internet, and now I have found this site!! Thank you |
| ukbrithoosier | I'm VERY new to genealogy but what got me started was a cousin sending me some copies of a few old family letters.
Pat |
