Genealogy Boot CampPresented at the

2012 Saskatchewan Library Association ConferenceMay 5, 2012

May P. ChanPrairie History Room, Regina Public Library

©2012

Or as I like to call this session…

How Not to Let the Genealogists Scare

You!

Does this sound familiar?

My ancestor, Harris Klein/Kline, livedin various places in Canada, including Morris,Sask., circa 1909. He came to Canadaapprox.1888. Do you have reference material,ie, old directories, that you would be willing tocheck? If not, are you able to direct me tosources? He was a farmer and acarpenter.

- Patron from Chicago, Illinois

Reaction #1

Reaction # 2

Workshop Objective

When “genealogists” approach the reference desk…

They often arrive unprepared or only have a short time to do research

Think staff can pull up the information from the computer if they just give you a name

Give you way too much information all at once (“genealogy ramble”)

Don’t know the difference between a library or an archives and don’t know their way around a library (e.g. Dewey system)

Don’t understand research methodology or about genealogical resources in general

Steps to Follow for Staff…(reference interview)

FOCUS, FOCUS, FOCUS!!! Ask specific questions to narrow down what the

patron is looking for (who, where & when) – “What do they need to find out today?”

Help them to focus on one family branch at a time

Extremely helpful if the patron has the information written down (e.g. variant spellings of the names)

Ask where and what they have already looked at Don’t be afraid to ask why they need the records

Family Chronicle’s Record Selection Table

www.familychronicle.com/records.html

This chart provides an

excellent overview of where

genealogists can track down

specific information!!!

Most Frequently Asked for Records/Materials @ PHR

1. Obituaries/Death notices from the Leader Post (1883 onwards)

2. Newspaper articles3. Local or church histories4. Census records 5. Immigration records, especially passenger

lists6. City Directories

Basic Resources to Have in Your Library’s Collection

Local history of your community/RM Church/business/family histories

Maps of your community Old phone books or directories Local newspaper (print or microfilm) and

indexes; also any local clippings on prominent individuals or businesses in your community

School yearbooks

Basic Genealogy Handbooks List

Saskatchewan Tracing Your Saskatchewan Ancestors, ed. Laura

Hanowski. 3rd edition. Regina, SK: SGS, 2006 Tracing Your Aboriginal Ancestors, ed. Laura

Hanowski. Regina, SK: SGS, 2006.

Basic Genealogy Handbooks List Geographic Names of Saskatchewan by Bill Barry. People

Places Pub., 2003 Age Shall Not Weary Them by Bill Barry et al. People

Places Pub., 2005.Canada Finding Your Canadian Ancestors by Sherry Irvine and

Dave Obee. Ancestry Publishing, 2007.

Genealogy Magazines

SGS Bulletin published by SGS (quarterly) Internet Genealogy published by

Moorshead Magazines (bi-monthly) Family Chronicle published by Moorshead

Magazines (bi-monthly)

Additionally… Keep in constant contact with all of the applicable

community groups that have similar-typed collections or interest Genealogical societies

Sask. Genealogical Society www.saskgenealogy.ca (20 branches across the province and one of the largest lending library of local histories in Canada)

Archives (local & church) - Sask. Council of Archives & Archivists institutional members: http://sain.scaa.sk.ca/collections/index.php/;repository/browse

Museums Historical societies Schools/churches/community groups (e.g. Legion)

Some Basic Programming Ideas…

Discovering the library’s resources – Encore/Classic Catalogue, ILL service, newspaper databases, etc.

Online genealogical resources Basic information literacy – e.g. how to identify

and locate reliable and trustworthy genealogical websites, how to use Google more effectively, etc.

Invite a local genealogical chapter/archives/museum to come and talk about their resources

**Helpful tip: try to find a suitable day & time that worksfor most of your users. For example, PHR always holdsits genealogy sessions Saturday mornings from 10 amto12 pm from February to May.

Really Useful Genealogy Websites

to Know About

Canadian Genealogy Centre (CGC) www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/genealogy/index-e.html

Canadian Genealogy Centre (CGC)

The Centre includes all physical and online genealogical services of Library and Archives Canada (LAC). It offers genealogical content, services, advice, research tools and opportunities to work on joint projects in both English and French.

Website launched in 2003 and is consistently cited as one of the best free resources for Canadian genealogists

Major Resources found on CGC Federal Census records (1871, 1881, 1901, & 1911

returns) Prairie Census records (1906 & 1916) Marriage bonds (Upper & Lower Canada, 1779-1865) Divorce records (1841-1968) Passenger lists (1865-1922 and 1925-1935) Immigration records (Home Children database, 1869-1930

and Immigrants from China, 1885-1950) Land grants (Western Land Grants, 1870-1930) Military records (Soldiers of the First World War and

Second World War Service Files: Canadian Armed Forces War Dead)

City directories (Who Was Where, 1861-1901)

In addition… Site offers a number of useful research

guides covering a wide range of topics “how to begin” is especially useful with free

downloads of major genealogical charts (pedigree & family group sheet)

Search by Topics is also good for specific records such as military and immigration

Site also offers virtual exhibits, a Flickr page of historical images, and podcasts

Microfilm Digitization Page (CGC) http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/microform-digitization/index-e.html

FamilySearchwww.familysearch.org

FamilySearch.org Website began in March 1999 and is available on

any internet accessible computer Created and maintained by the Church of the

Latter Day Saints (LDS), better known as the Mormons

Site offers over 1 billion records, including census and vital (BMDs) records as well as family histories

Free for anyone to use. In some cases, depending on donor, you maybe required to sign in to view the records (note: registration is free!)

Browse by Location feature

Major Canadian Resources found on FamilySearch.org

Sask. Probate Estate Files, 1887-1931 Sask. Judicial District Court Records, 1891-

1954 (**images only!) Sask. Provincial Records, 1879-1987 –

Homestead files (**images only!) Federal census records – 1851, 1871-1891 Ontario BMDs – 1869-1937 British Columbia BMDs – 1984-1986 **Hint: Make sure you read the description

notes for each record/collection set!!!

FamilySearch’s Learning Centre

Offers a variety of free online genealogy courses including how to begin your genealogy, reading old handwritten documents, locating German records, etc.

Additional Websites Saskatchewan GenWeb

http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cansk/Saskatchewan/

Canadian GenWeb Project http://www.canadagenweb.org/

Cyndis List http://www.cyndislist.com/ - meta site with a global focus

Automated Genealogy http://www.automatedgenealogy.com – Canadian census

Our Roots http://ourroots.ca - local histories

Continued… Canadiana http://www.canadiana.ca/en/home -

history books Google News http://news.google.com -

newspapers, especially Leader Post & Star Phoenix

Interment.Net http://www.interment.net/ - cemeteries

Find a Grave http://www.findagrave.com – cemeteries

Canadian County Atlases http://digital.library.mcgill.ca/countyatlas - Ontario maps

Staying Up-to Date Prairie History Blog

http://www.reginalibrary.ca/prairiehistoryblog/ - Saskatchewan

Dick’s Eastman’s Newsletter http://blog.eogn.com/ - global

Ancestry Insider http://ancestryinsider.blogspot.com/ – Ancestry & Family Search websites

Genealogy Blog Finder http://blogfinder.genealogue.com/ - global

CLA’s Local History & Genealogy Services Network

A new CLA chapter created in 2012 Info about the network can be found on the

CLA website: http://tinyurl.com/852jkhv Blog (still in progress):

http://cdnlocgen.wordpress.com Membership to the network is free regardless

of whether or not you have a CLA membership!

First official meeting of the network will be at this year’s CLA Annual Conference in Ottawa

My Contact Info

Email: maychan@reginalibrary.ca Blog: www.reginalibrary.ca/prairiehistoryblog Website: www.reginalibrary.ca/prairiehistory Slideshare: www.slideshare.net/maychan