The Yorkton Branch of the Saskatchewan Genealogy Society will be holding their Christmas meeting on Tuesday, December 11. This meeting is for members only; for full details call Dave at 783-1093 or Glenn at 782-7969. Regular meetings will begin again in January, the second Tuesday of each month. New members are always welcome; no matter what stage of genealogy research you are at, you will find helpful ideas and kindred researchers who will be happy to share their experiences with you.
Did you know that there are over 3300 cemetery and burial sites in our province? The Saskatchewan Cemeteries Project aims to record the vital information from each cemetery, and currently has 1081 cemeteries transcribed and photographed and indexed. This is a valuable on-line tool that can help a great deal with your family research. The site lists the community or district, the name of the cemetery, the municipality, and the cemetery location. Within these entries, you will find the names of all the deceased within a particular cemetery. Sadly, there are always some "unknowns" where the writing is completely illegible, or the marker has disintegrated beyond reading.
Volunteers are invited to help with this project. If you know of a small country cemetery and have transcribed some or all of the stones, you can pass this information on to Ron Isherwood in Nokomis at [email protected]. As with all genealogy research, it is vital to record this type of information as soon as possible, before time and weather destroys the important information recorded on the stones or markers.
If someone in your family has expressed an interest in exploring your family tree, encourage them to begin now, however informally, to record family information. You don't need fancy paperwork of spreadsheets to get started: a notebook and a pen will do just fine. Begin with your current family and start working back as far as you can. Sit down with older family members and ask them to talk about family members, family gatherings, and record any and all stories that they remember. If you have old family photos, ask them to identify who is who, and record this information on the back of the picture. You will never regret encouraging the budding genealogist in your family.
With Christmas less than a month away, you might be searching for gift ideas. The genealogist in your family might appreciate some practical items to help with their research: a good, sturdy binder and a supply of paper to record notes and data; transparent sleeves to hold clippings and certificates; a box of pens and a small notebook so that information or websites can be recorded quickly. Camera memory cards would also be appreciated, especially for family gatherings .
Maps are a helpful resource; grid road and municipal maps are very good for reference. You can find where various maps are available on-line. A very helpful book, as well as a very interesting read, is "Geographic Names of Saskatchewan" by Bill Barry. This catalogue-sized book is jam-packed with fascinating stories and tidbits of information about every community in Saskatchewan.
Every family has a story: discover yours with the Yorkton branch of the Saskatchewan Genealogy Society, and fast forward to the past!
