
My oldest cousin was celebrating her 85th birthday. The local community hall was rented and over 50 folks attended with lunch, wine, hundreds of photo opportunities and the guest of honor. A head table, adorned with old family photographs and family heirlooms proved a constant attraction. After the event, most of the close family retired to her nearby home.
I brought out my laptop and proceeded to invite every person in attendance to spend a few minutes with me to review their segment of our family tree. I sat on the couch in the living room and captured a small mountain of new data while the after party swirled around me.
Within minutes, I was able to update a segment for each person, challenging their memory to recall their wedding dates, locations, their children’s birthdates, etc. By the end of the evening, I had collected a large update to the family tree.
Of course, my new data was purely anecdotal. Over time, I will work to secure “proof” documents for each item (for example, a birth certificate, a census record, etc.). We all know that your family tree is not built in one day, but birthdays and family reunions represent major opportunities.
It was interesting to hear parents sometimes struggle a bit to recall specific dates and locations. In some cases, folks promised to send me further details.
For further information on building your family tree, consider joining your local genealogical society. Here you will find all manner of support for sources of information, technology, education, etc. And you will hear some of the most amazing stories of journeys of discovery.
Ron Gilmore
Email: rvg3@me.com
Website: https://rgenealogy.ca