We each have gifts, abilities, and specific knowledge that can contribute to our communities. I have benefited so much from genealogy that I think it’s part of my duty to give back a little to the people and field who have so enriched my life. Following are a few ways to become more involved and to “pay it forward.”
Volunteer to help at your local genealogical or historical society.
It was a family historian’s dream come true. As an anniversary present, my husband Bob gave me a trip to Ireland–the country some of my ancestors called home.
We climbed from the car to take in the lush green beauty of the Irish countryside where my ancestors lived a century and a half ago. Progress hadn’t spoiled the remote patch of land.
Even if you can’t read or speak French, searching for the records of your French-Canadian ancestors is almost easier than it seems.
The Roman Catholic Church was a guiding influence in the lives of our French-Canadian ancestors.
If you have British ancestry, the decennial censuses will provide the critical information you are seeking—now from the comfort of home.
Researchers of English and Welsh ancestry in the nineteenth and even the late-eighteenth centuries have benefited greatly from the birth of the dynamic duo: civil registration and census enumeration.
Do you have an Indian princess in your family tree? You may want to check again. While the myths in your family tree are fun to consider, the true stories you find will be even better.
It seems like every family has fascinating stories about an ancestor which, although sometimes a bit curious, are considered true by most family members.
Genealogical research in the past always meant spending days in archives, looking at countless pages of faded handwritten documents or searching through miles of microfiche. Record availability has always been an issue: were the records available and, if so, where? Often a research trip meant traveling thousands of miles to examine original records.
Celebrating the Family: The MyFamily.com Guide to Understanding Your Family History
By the editors of MyFamily.com. Friedman/Fairfax, 2002. 256 pages. Softcover. $19.95 s/h.
Technology often provides us with shortcuts designed to improve efficiency. We write e-mail instead of posting a snail mail letter. We search CD-ROM indexes instead of looking in books. We view scanned images on the Internet instead of looking at microfilm.
Technology makes many tasks easier, and the new speeds can be addictive.
Once you make contact with your distant relatives overseas, consider making a visit.
Genealogy is a powerful hobby. It has the power to connect people between generations, states, countries, even continents. Most importantly, it has the power to connect two people who are not even aware of each other and who are separated by thousands of miles, cultures, and languages.
Before you volunteer to be the family photographer, here are a few pointers you’ll need to use your digital camera effectively.
Digital imaging offers family historians an easy way to share pictures, edit heritage images, and import photos into websites and genealogy programs.