The Moose Jaw Genealogical Society returned from their two-month summer hiatus with their first monthly meeting on Sept. 24, where they’ve planned some interesting topics for the rest of the year.
The branch hosts a new speaker at each monthly meeting, which take place on the fourth Tuesday of each month at the Public Library. Topics range from research tips and database how-tos, to the interesting experiences and discoveries by members during their own research.
For the upcoming meeting in October, branch president Marge Cleave will begin the year by sharing her recent trip to Ireland and the research she did there. A couple of branch members will also give a presentation on researching surnames and their origins.
On Nov. 7, the Genealogical Society will offer a presentation on how to research military records, which is sure to be useful.
“That'll be a very interesting afternoon, with that one,” said Cleave. “It will be right before Remembrance Day.”
The Genealogical Society holds meetings as a space for sharing, to offer a network of support in each members’ quest to uncover their family history.
“We're there to help anybody who wants to get started in their genealogy,” said Cleave. “And if you do get stuck on something, or you hit a brick wall, there's always somebody who's there to help you, to tell you what direction to go in, and so it's always very helpful to attend.”
Cleave encourages anyone in the community interested to consider attending a meeting — because although it may seem like a daunting project, genealogical research uncovers interesting parts of personal history.
“We always say, you start with yourself and you work backward with the information that you know,” said Cleave. “You always want to find where your roots are, where you've come from. And everybody has stories. You can always collect the names and the dates and everything, but it's always good to research stories about your ancestors.”
Cleave even shared a story of her own recent discovery, where she uncovered her great-great grandfather’s admittance record to a mental asylum in Ireland — something she didn’t know still existed.
“We actually held those records right in our hand, and they're covered in dust because they're really, really old,” said Cleave. “I also went to the church where my grandparents were married and got to see the records of their marriage right there, that's always interesting.”
Membership isn’t required for the first few meetings, but it does offer access to a ton of useful resources.
The Moose Jaw branch is part of the larger Saskatchewan Genealogical Society, and both organizations have databases available to members listing things like obituaries, marriage licenses, and cemetery records.
The next monthly meeting will be on Oct. 22 at 7 p.m., in the Herb Taylor Room at the Public Library. Cleave hopes to see some new faces stop in, and encourages people to utilize the databases available on the branch’s website.
“Come out to an evening and let us know what your interest is in genealogy. We're here to help anybody who wants to get started researching their family tree,” said Cleave.
