The Yorkton Branch of the Saskatchewan Genealogy Society can help you fast forward to the past! If you are interested in genealogy, group members can give you advice and share their experiences, whether you have been doing research for a long time or are just exploring the first branch of your family tree.
The group's next meeting is on Tuesday, April 10 at 7 p.m. in the History Room at the Yorkton Public Library. Special guest speaker will be Rita Chernoff, a certified genealogist, talking about how to do research. Rita has a lot of valuable experience in genealogy research, and can help you get started on your family search. Everyone is welcome! That's Tuesday, April 10 at 7:00 p.m. at the Yorkton Public Library.
If your family came from Eastern Europe, you will be interested to know about the Ukrainian Genealogy and Historical Society of Canada. The Society is a resource centre which collects family histories, books, memorabilia, and can help you in locating villages or existing research.
The objectives of the Society include promoting a sense of identity for families who have connections originating in Ukraine; to encourage individuals and families to research their family trees; to provide assistance to trace ancestral lines; and to act as a resource centre.
If you are just starting out, write down everything you know about your family, starting with your immediate family, and then start going backwards to grandparents, great-grandparents, and beyond, if you can. Try to fill in every gap, and talk to relatives and record any and all information they might have. Once you get started, you will find that there are many resources available, including the Saskatchewan archives, the family history centre of the Latter Day Saints, and web sites like ancestry.com.
The Latter Day Saints are one of the foremost sources of genealogy information. Their Family History Library is one of the largest of its kind in the world. You might wonder how this came to be. Mormon Church doctrine says that "saving ordinances", something like sacraments, are required for salvation of church members. It was straightforward enough for living members of the church to receive their saving ordinances, but provisions were also made for deceased members who may not have had the chance. Special services allowed deceased family members to receive the ordinances by proxy. So Mormons began intensive research of their family trees to seek out their own family members for this purpose, and this is how their great work with genealogy began.
The Family History Library in Salt Lake City began in 1894, and it contains billions of family records, and millions of microfilms. The internet is a wonderful tool for doing genealogy research. While you may not always find all the result you are looking for, the internet can begin your search quickly and easily. To access the LDS collections, you can log on to www.familysearch.org or www.ancestorhunt.com.
Searching closer to home can be as easy as talking to other people who are involved in genealogy research. The Yorkton Branch of the Saskatchewan Genealogy Society meets once a month, on the second Tuesday of each month, in the History Room of the Yorkton Public Library. New members are always welcome!
If you have been thinking about searching out your family tree "someday", there is no better time to begin than right now. Plan to be at the Yorkton Genealogy Society meeting on April 10; every family has a story: discover yours and fast forward to the past with the Yorkton Branch of the Saskatchewan Genealogy Society!
