Week 46 of 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Prompt - Random Fact

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

Week 46

Prompt - Random Fact

I was once told that Genealogy can be a relatively low cost hobby. 

In my case I have chosen to go high tech. I have a dedicated laptop for my genealogy. It was actually a Christmas present from Bill.

I subscribe to several genealogical sites. If one is good, more must be better. These sites cost a couple of hundred a year to subscribe to. The hints and matches keep accumulating making it impossible to cut it off because I always think that the next clue I investigate is the next big clue I need for the family tree. I am beyond addicted to genealogy. 

Most of you have heard about Ancestry. It is the one that I refer to the most. All you have to do is add a few names into their family tree and voila the hints start coming.... and they never stop! In a recent tree overview I was told the following.

In Ancestry I have built a tree with 2,367 individuals. Mostly they are relatives but since I have included Bill's side there are lots related through marriage. I have gathered over 3600 stories, photos but mostly records!  My family in Ancestry has essentially 4200 hints for me to go through and those hints are only in 958 people. It then tells me the types of hints that I have outstanding. 

The above example, Katharina Fehr is from my Ancestry Tree about “hints”. If you click on the leaf it shows that Katharina Fehr has 13 Hints. When I open up on her profile it tells me that she the “wife of husband of wife of 2^nd great-uncle”. Well that is something I have to think about. Luckily Ancestry spells it out for you. Just click on it and it plainly connects me to the person. 

At that point I would have to figure out if it is a member in my tree that I want to pursue. It is good to keep in mind that sometimes distant relations can give you clues to those nearer kin.

All of these hints mean another discovery. As you can see in the above example Ancestry has found potential father and mother match (its in green).  If I was to add these two I am sure that my hints would go up further.  

I also subscribe to the site called “My Heritage”. In the past year or so My Heritage bought out Ancestry but for now they still run as separate sites with very little cross over.

In My Heritage I have 1779 people in my family tree. Again this is for both me and Bill's side of family. However more frighteningly My Heritage tells me that 1290 of these people have been found in 22,000 matches to other Heritage trees. Oh good Lord where does one begin without being overwhelmed? 

What I like about My Heritage is it's overview family statistics. They are fun to go over. 

 

 I also subscribe to GRANDMA - (The Genealogical Registry and Database of Mennonite Ancestry) which is a project by California Mennonite Historical Society. One of the things that they do is numerically code each person with a unique number that helps you locate the right person. We all know how the Mennonites like to re cycle names. GRANDMA is a great place to find the Mennonites in your tree. It looks as follows.

I also belong to American Historical Society of Germans from Russia or AHSGR. That is to help me find information on the Krikau side of the family. However I think it is up for renewal.

Finally I have purchased Legacy which is a genealogy software program that can integrate with online databases and genealogy services. This is the program that I put the mostly verified family tree into. I usually only put those individuals that I have sourced or know personally. It is my definitive family tree. Legacy allows me to build the beautiful family tree. I add the photos of the people, the sources such as images of birth certificates or census etc. It can even create a book when I feel I am ready to do so and that's not anytime soon.

Then there is the Kelowna Genealogical Society that I attend monthly for a small nominal fee. Other costly incidentals are the certified birth, marriage and death certificates copies which can add up quickly. I buy books on genealogy to show me the correct way to proceed in genealogy. And lately I have bought an Ancestry DNA kit. By the way I did send away my DNA. According to Ancestry my DNA has been extracted and on its way to be analyzed. Sounds impressive.

The only thing I have not done, but probably will, is attend genealogy conferences held in other cities. I tried real hard to convince Bill to go with me this past month to one in Oslo that My Heritage was hosting. But alas we did not go. There is also the obligatory visit to Salt Lake City, the Holy Grail of Genealogy. AHSGR has yearly conferences and will be held in Lincoln Nebraska this summer. Every year Legacy has cruises with genealogy classes. This past year they did an Alaskan cruise. In September of 2019 they are doing an Italian Mediterranean Cruise. Wouldn't that be fun

So my random fact is that Genealogy is not really the cheapest hobby one can take on. In my case I have taken the hobby to the next level. It is my passion that I would not have wanted to do any other way.

Wendy