Rossland Genealogy

Have you considered exploring your/a loved one’s Family History, but don't know where to start? 

The study of genealogy can be enticing, fascinating, frustrating, and wonderful — often all at the same time!

RMDC volunteer Linda Gomez is finishing up and extensive training course in the art and science of genealogy research, and she'd like to help those of you who are interested in studying your family history or genealogy by providing tips, answering questions, and offering consultations.

Learn about our research policy here: Archives & Research Requests

Send your genealogy questions and requests to Linda Gomez via email to volunteers @ rosslandmuseum.ca!

Tip No. 1

Always start your search with a plan, however simple it may be! If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll end up somewhere else.  If you have no idea where you are going, you’ll soon be running here and like the wild turkeys we see on the roads between Rossland and Castlegar.  What is it they’re looking for? Fun, yes.  Results, no. 

 Eg. Goal: Find out when the E Browns moved to Rossland. You think the first name might be Edward or Eduard? You think it was mid 1890s. 

Tip No. 2

Try to start your search using the census. The census is an amazing tool - and it’s free! Access the census online at Library and Archives Canada-Census. Take some time to read the instructions. If you are not sure how to spell your family name, use the * (e.g. Edward/Eduard = Ed*)

One of the great things about the census is that you see who else is living in the household, who the head of household is, dates of birth of all members, where they were born, religion, occupation and other fabulous bits of information. You also see who else lived on the street, who the neighbours were. There might have even been other family members. Statistics Canada doesn’t release the individual census results for 92 years, so the 1931 census is due to be released sometime in 2023.

Tip No. 3

When you are researching, write everything - and I mean everything - down. Buy a scribbler or use the computer; either way works.

Eg. 2/3/23 Ancestry. Attempted to trace Marvin Pasties DOB, without luck in Canada. Note: Will try UK tomorrow. Auntie Dot always said he was born in Canada, but now I’m not so sure.

Rationale

By writing your actions down, you will ultimately save time, and will save you from repeating your actions. You can certainly reread your notes. I’ve taken to using a scribbler rather than my computer screen, as I don’t have 2 or 3 screens on my computer and I can more easily scroll through my notes in a book - but of course, the choice is yours. I am not the boss of you.

Tip No. 4

When doing online work, use Family Search (FS)(free) and Ancestry (subscription) together to research the same topic.  They are both owned by the same company, but have different search engines, hence come up with different information at times, so it’s worthwhile.

Tip No. 5

Use other sources. Talk to family members who are still around. They will not be there forever. Get out the family Bible, look at the work that has been started, but by golly VALIDATE it.  Why do I say that?  So often, it is incorrect, and can cause a hornet’s nest of problems, unless there are documents to validate the work.  Uncle Herman may have been a fine woodworker in his day, but his blade may not be as sharp as it once was – i.e. his recall for family dates and such would be better served if they could be substantiated by primary documentation rather than him. 

Tip No. 6

What’s in a birth or marriage certificate? Oh, so much more than a name. Of course, you’ll get the full name of the person you are researching. The kicker is, you’ll get other gems like the name of the mother and father in a birth certificate and an address if you are lucky. These are considered original documents. When you are researching, make sure you go to the section for ‘genealogy’ in the vital statistics (not every province has a genealogy section. If you order a copy for genealogical purposes, it only costs a few dollars. In a marriage certificate, they also include the parents’ names of the bride and groom (if known) and witnesses, which can take you back another generation!

Tip No. 7

Have you heard of a Brick Wall? Some describe a ‘brick wall’ in genealogy as an ‘unsolvable problem’. There are many factors involved with brick walls; no mind. These factors may be the same or similar surnames, misinterpreted research, families who have moved seemingly without a trace, lack of documentation, or any other number of problems. Stumbling blocks. They are not without solutions. I just spent a couple of months going down the wrong line looking for my paternal grandmother’s parents. Then I got her marriage certificate and found out I was WRONGO. Now I know which direction I need to travel. Was I upset? Not really. It’s a journey, down a long, windy road with so much learning.

Tip No. 8

Use Timelines to sort out people/families. When you’re gathering a lot of information ie births, deaths, occupations, marriages, divorces, moves. I like to pop them into an excel spread sheet or a table and then put all the information into a chronological table to see what’s been going on. It helps to make sense of a person’s life. You can then put it in context with what has been happening with the rest of the family and within society. Ex. Why were so many babies born 2020? Why did so many couples decide to call it quits during Covid? 

Tip No. 9

Ever heard of Genealogy TV? It’s on YouTube. Go to the search function on Youtube, type it in and you will find lots of short blurbs by Connie Knox and others about genealogy. Connie Knox is well informed, ethical and always comes back to ‘documentation. She is also well informed about DNA. She provides free information but encourages you to join her channel where she provides handouts. She is a very good teacher and you can pick and choose topics some of which will be at your level, other topics which will not.

Tip No. 10

When do I take a break? Sometimes, in the quagmire of data and repeated searches, you might just get lost in the black hole of genealogy. Believe me, it happens. This a time that is ripe for errors; you may even find you wake your dear cat who has supported you during the entire journey. You are entering dangerous territory. If you recognize any of these signs, or the cat can read (of course he or she can), please read further. Close everything down. Clean your workstation. Document what you have done. Do something else for a time. Go for a hike, a ride, play bridge, garden, bake, wash your hair, play with the cat, talk to your partner. Get it! Something else. When you can trust yourself again, go back to it again.

Tip No. 11

As you incredibly smart amateur genealogists have probably figured out by now is that there are more than one type of genealogy. In fact, there are two: paper and genetic. Up until now, I’ve really focused on paper genealogy. Paper genealogy includes the collection of birth, marriage, death certificates, family bibles, letters, parish records, pictures, Wills, land records, any record in existence that may have the person’s name on it.  As you can imagine some of the paper sources carry more weight or credibility than others. For example, a Will, or a birth, marriage or death certificate are a lot more credible than a handwritten family bible as too many errors may occur in the bible.  The birth, marriage and death certificates contain information that can be verified whereas the bible will not.

Tip No. 12

OK, let’s talk about genetic genealogy and have some real fun.  Have you had your DNA tested?  There are a bunch of companies who test and they each tell you something different. First, I should explain what it is. “Genetic genealogy is the use of DNA testing in combination with traditional genealogical and historical records.[1] Genetic genealogy involves the use of genealogical DNA testing together with documentary evidence to infer the relationship between individuals.” In the next few newsletters, I’ll discuss what DNA testing can tell you and review four companies to let you know what each of them provides. You can decide which company you might choose to give your swab to

Source: International Society of Genetic Genealogy Wiki  (ISGGW)

Tip No. 13

There are at least five reasons for having your DNA tested. In no particular order, DNA can identify paternal lineage through the Y chromosome, which comes from the male. It will identify the father in a relationship; hence the saying ‘DNA doesn’t lie’. Maternal DNA comes from the mother and is also known as mitochondrial DNA.  Maternal DNA is given to all children. A third use is to discover one’s ancestral origin which is also known as the biogeographical origin. For example, I have England 40%, Scotland 37% Norwegian 15% Germanic 5% ethnicity  It is an approximation. Another use is to uncover the human migration patterns of migration. The idea is to also connect individuals to indigenous groups anywhere in the world.  The fifth and most common reason to test DNA is for law enforcement and forensic reasons. DNA can be used to identify suspects and/or the remains of a deceased person.

Tip No. 14

Let’s look at a few DNA testing sites. Many of you will be familiar with Ancestry.  It is known as an autosomal site.  It has a huge database and is a great site to start with.  Not only will this huge database provide you with potential familial ‘matches’ but it will also give you an estimation of your ethnic origin as I described in the last newsletter. Check the prices during holiday times, as they vary dramatically. Another popular site is 23andMe. 23andMe provides familial matches, but its focus is on health and wellness and simple genetic traits like hair colour and taste preferences.  A third testing site is called My Heritage.  Similar to Ancestry, it predicts where your ethnicity lies and how many matches you have within the ‘Heritage’ system. Finally, FamilyTreeDNA has quite a few different testing aspects and they include several bundles. They test for paternal DNA, maternal DNA, as well as migration paths, cousin matches and health and wellness insights. As with previous advice, always check the prices, as they often go on sale. Google the company and you can find out more.

Tip No. 15

Once you have got your results from your testing, you will know a bit more about your heritage. You may even have some matches. Welcome to a whole new world. You can start to contact these matches or simply pop them into your family tree and saviour them until you decide what you want to do with them. You might even compare them to your paper records.

Tip No. 16

Things are not always as we expect and so it is true with the results of DNA.  You may KNOW who your family is right down to the last cousin, right? Maybe not.  No secrets in your family, eh?.  But DNA doesn’t generally lie. That’s when things begin to unravel. When you get the results, you may realize you have a half-brother, sister, or maybe even a different father. Alas, the writer of Game of Thrones found out after he wrote the series that the reason he looked a bit different from his siblings was because his father was a different man from them. His mom kept it from him.  That’s DNA for you!  Who owns your DNA test? You. Who owns your brother’s DNA test even if you paid for it? He does.

Tip No. 18

Many of you will have heard about The Domesday Book; not the novel, but the one commissioned by William the Conqueror completed in the year 1086. It is the oldest piece of English text, it is the first census in the world and it’s chocker block full of juicy information. I have been dying to get a copy for years. Geek.  What you may ask is,- does The Domesday Book (pronounced Doomsday) have to do with genealogy? Given that it is a census, it is the earliest original source of census data in existence, and you know that genealogists virtually always start with the census. True, the data that was collected then is somewhat different than that collected now. Notwithstanding, I’ll spend the next few weeks pulling out some of the main points from the book as they are foundational.  In any case, the next census was not carried out until eight hundred years later.  Stay tuned.  

Tip No. 19

In the end, the enumerators for the Domesday Book went to 268,984 households, all of whom lived in rural households. They noted the heads of household, as was done when the census the Canadian Census was first conducted. The geographical area included all of the UK and part of Wales. Based on those numbers, it was estimated the population was about 1.2 to 1.6 million people in the year 1086. As you read through this page-turner, of a book, you will not find London, Winchester, Northumberland or Durham in there, because they were cities and they didn’t assess cities. City dwellers did not own land, hence they could not be taxed, so they were exempt from paying taxes! A little different from today.