Is researching your family tree a project that you have been interested in pursuing, but you are not sure where to begin? The Yorkton branch of the Saskatchewan Genealogical Society meets on the second Tuesday of each month (except July and August) at 7:00 PM at the Yorkton Public Library. Meetings usually have a featured topic or speaker, and genealogists at any stage of research are welcome. Whether you are just beginning to trace your family tree or have been researching for a long time, you will find conversations and experiences that will help you on your family quest.
You don鈥檛 have to wait until September to meet with the group, though! The Yorkton genealogy group will be at 63rd Annual Threshermen鈥檚 Show and Seniors鈥� Festival, August 4 and 5 at the Western Development Museum in Yorkton. The show is open August 4 from noon till 6:00 p.m. and on August 5 from 9:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. If you have been working on your family tree over the summer and have some questions, this is a great chance to chat with group members and perhaps get some answer on how to proceed with your research.
If you will be in Regina, the Saskatchewan Genealogical Society Library in Regina has a vast listing of books, maps, periodicals, magazines, microfilm, microfiche and CD鈥檚 available on a wide variety of topics. The library listing has recently been revised and contains even more valuable information.
The library is located in Room 110 鈥� 1514 11th Avenue in Regina, and is open to the public Monday to Friday from 10:00 am 鈥� 4:30 pm. If you visit their website at www.saskgenealogy.com, and click on 鈥渓ibraries and catalogues鈥� you will see that the library is described as follows: 鈥淭he Saskatchewan Genealogical Society Library and Research Room is made up of materials based on the needs and interests of its membership and the general public. These resources range from how to get started doing research in each area to indexes and records that enable the researcher to trace their ancestors from Saskatchewan back to the 1600鈥檚 in Canada and the United States, the 1500鈥檚 in Great Britain and Scandinavia and the 1700鈥檚 in Europe. A selection of gazetteers and maps help the researcher to find the names and locations of communities their ancestors lived in. This information helps with learning the current names of communities and points to possible locations where the records they need could be found today. The SGS Library and Research Room collection began with how-to books and a collection of genealogies put together by members. As the membership grew, so did the collection. At the end of 2017 the collection consisted of 22,470 books, 25,757 microform, 652 maps, 105 CD/DVDs.鈥�
It is never too soon to start a genealogy project, but it can sometimes be too late. Senior members of any family are a treasure of valuable family history and stories. Talk to them and record or write down what they have to share. This doesn鈥檛 apply only to marriages, births and deaths, but also family stories about everyday life.
If you have family photos, try and find out who is in each picture and write it on the back. A boxful of family photos may be full of history but absolutely useless if no one knows who anybody is. Don鈥檛 delay: begin this family history now!
Every family has a story: discover yours with the Yorkton branch of the Saskatchewan Genealogical Society!
submitted by
Debbie Hayward
