Geneology: life in the past lane
by Pat LushMy Dad always said that one
of our ancestors was the Sheriff of Sheffield and another was hanged as a horse thief.
Many families have stories like that. Yours probably does. Maybe you’d like to do
some digging—figuratively speaking—to find out more about your ancestors and
check those family legends.
If so, you’re one among many. Genealogy is said to be the developed world’s
fastest growing pastime and computers have fuelled this explosion. There are thousands of
Web sites devoted to genealogy and thousands of email groups of people seeking and sharing
information on topics ranging from obsolete names of diseases and occupations to
area-based research into census records, parish registers, hearth tax lists, monumental
inscriptions and wills.
You can get an idea of the scope by checking out www.rootsweb.com
Among its many resources, it hosts email lists for people researching ancestors all
over the world.
The world’s biggest holder of genealogical records is the Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter Day Saints, often called the Mormons. Genealogy is an obligation for church
members, so the church sends crews all over the globe to microfilm records held by
governments, religious bodies, archives and libraries.
In return for gaining access to these records, the LDS offers its resources freely to
all people and in that context, makes no attempt to convert anyone to the LDS faith. The
church has built research centres, open to all, all over the world, including 40 in B.C.
Addresses are on the LDS website at www.familysearch.org
—click on Library and then Family History Centres.
At the LDS site, you can also see some of the resources they offer, including their
invaluable online International Genealogical Index.
If you have roots in the British Isles, then www.genuki.org.uk
is the Web site for you. It’s an enormous repository of information, too wide-ranging
to describe here. Both Genuki and Rootsweb offer how-to articles for beginners and more
experienced genealogists.
Finally, the source of sources for genealogists is Cyndi Howell’s list at www.cyndislist.com with almost 90,000 links. Last
year the site recorded more than 26 million hits.
I’ve been intently hunting ancestors for nine years. I’ve not yet found a
sheriff or a horse-thief but have traced three of my family’s lines back to the 1600s
and have found among them some confectioners, curriers, a bacon dealer, a hatter, a
medical doctor and a railway engine driver.
I’ve also found several living third and fourth cousins and made some fine
friends. Genealogy seems to attract some of the kindest people into its international
community. It’s a lovely place to spend some spare time. |
