My name is Bob Maynard and one of my hobbies is genealogy, or “family history.” I have traced my family back to 1447 in England and have over 1,000 people on my tree.
Tracing family research for the first time is going bravely into the unknown. We do not know what we are going to find.
If we are like the many family history enthusiasts, we are older and have more time to invest in this new hobby. We listen to genealogy jargon and have not a clue how to start.
Hopefully this new monthly column in the Leduc/Wetaskiwin Pipestone Flyer will help get you started and have great fun with your research.
Genealogy can be a difficult river to cross but over time you will acquire the qualities to see you cross that river of time. Good family researchers have a huge capacity for labouring on hard tasks and learning and stockpiling knowledge from reliable sources.
The gift of total involvement can see past family history emerge from obscurity, which is like seeing water pore from a new well for the first time. With the Internet it is much easier to find information.
With this column I hope to help new family researchers and get the unknown known and find new family.
Frame yourself into the picture and expand it until you are part of a large family postcard stretching back many centuries. Learn about your ancestors, learn about how they worked and lived and then pause to be glad that’s your task.
Bob Maynard is a local historian and genealogist, and will be writing a monthly column about the topic in The Leduc/Wetaskiwin Pipestone Flyer.