Genealogy Interest Group

No matter where you are in your genealogy journey, this group is for you! For 2009/10, the group will be meeting on the second Thursday of each month from September through May, with a few exceptions (please stay tuned to the event calendar of our website).

Many of us get started in genealogy because we are just plain curious - Who were these characters who are responsible for my being here today? As we get into our research, this curiosity is unabated. However along the way we discover that there are some unexpected rewards:

• You come to know and appreciate relatives as good friends;
• You have a greater sense of your heritage;
• You will discover ‘cousins’ where you never expected to find them;
• History comes alive.;
• You make new friends;
• Travel, photography and other hobbies and pursuits will have a historical dimension;
• The time spent in libraries, archives, museums and yes, graveyards will stand you in good stead in any other research projects you undertake;
• Genealogy is Fun!

The Vermilion Public Library has many great resources for the genealogy enthusiast:

• Finding Anyone Anywhere Anywhen
• In Search of your British and Irish Roots - a complete guide to tracing your English, Welsh, Scottish and Irish Ancestors.
• Searching for your Ancestors - the how and why of Genealogy
• Links to your Canadian Past - Tome 3 Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia, Yukon and Northwest Territories
• Genealogical Research Directory - National and International
• Preserving Your Family Photographs - organize, present and restore precious family photos.
• Your Guide to Cemetery Research
• Organizing and Preserving Your Heirloom Documents
• Your Heritage to Discover, To Share - an indepth study of genealogy (Video)
• A Preservation Guide - saving the past and the present for the future
• Family Tree Magazine
• More Brickwall Solutions To Genealogy Problems
• 500 Brickwall Solutions to Genealogy Problems
• Dating Old Photographs: 1840-1929
• More Dating Old Photographs: 1840-1929
• Numerous local history collections
• A binder of tips that the Genealogy Interest Group is developing. There are many methods of information gathering in this binder.
• Online databases (accessible with a valid library card), including: 1) HeritageQuest Online, designed specifically for patrons in public libraries who are either just beginning their family research or who after years of work are still uncovering their past. With over 25,000 books, the entire U.S. Federal Census, PERSI™, and other expanding collections, tap in to one of the largest collections of genealogy material in the country; 2) Ancestry Library, which has unparalleled coverage of the United States and the United Kingdom, including census, vital, church, court, and immigration records, as well as extensive record collections from Canada and other areas (please note that this database is only available in the library); and 3) Peel's Prairie Provinces, a resource dedicated to assisting scholars, students, and researchers of all types in their exploration of the history and culture of the Canadian Prairies. The site contains both an online bibliography of books, pamphlets, and other materials related to the development of the Prairies and a fully searchable collection of the full texts of many of these items.

On Microfilm:

• The Vermilion Standard(our local newspaper) beginning in 1906 and running to present
• The Vermilion Signal (the Standard’s predecessor) March 1, 1906-February 27, 1908)
• The Link 1918-1919 & the Mannville Empire January 1923 (other local papers)

You may not have realized it, but there’s a Golden Rule of Genealogy: Leave for your descendants what you wish your ancestors had left for you. How to be a great ancestor:

1. Assemble an album. Scrapbooks of events in your life, photo albums with labels, binders for those census, wills, vital records that you have collected; all of these will be treasured by your children.
2. Transcribe diaries and letters. Photocopy and distribute the documents with your annotations and research findings.
3. Label the needlework heirlooms, ancestral artifacts, and family recipes that you own.
4. Save the dates. In a special calendar record the year and events of your life (currently and past).
5. Write or tape record family stories. Capture the past for the future.

Did you know that genealogy is North America’s fastest growing hobby? Put simply, genealogy is “the study and tracing of family pedigrees”. The basic steps in genealogy help you to begin family research. Once you have completed these steps you will have a better understanding of the direction you wish to go in your research and will be able to expand your family tree accordingly:

1. Collect all family records in your home- family Bible, old letters, diaries, old Christmas cards, birth certificates, wills, deeds and even old recipes.
2. Carefully extract all genealogical information from the records you’ve collected. Use a family group sheet to record all information for a particular family. Remember to record your sources.
3. Compile the information from the family group sheets onto the pedigree chart. The pedigree chart is your basic road map to your family research.
4. Decide which family line you would like to pursue at this time. It is easier to concentrate on one line to start with.
5. Interview older members of the family who are likely to have information about the line you are researching.
6. Record the information you have gathered from your interviews.
7. Before you go too far, determine if there is some member of your family or distant relative already doing research on your line.
8. Evaluate the information you have gathered to see what is missing. You will be able to obtain much information to fill the gaps through local, provincial, county, state, regional and national record depositories. The family group sheets you have compiled during your preliminary research will provide you clues as to where and which record depositories to search.