My genealogical research has led me many different places. That's partly because the family branches that I've studied did just that, they branched. Not that they strayed far from the areas that immigrants from the UK were known to travel. It's just that they weren't content to get there and put down roots. Some of them even went back to the country where they came from.
Their journeys and migrations have led to many different settlements and points in history. So to understand them and the times they were living through, I've delved into the history in an effort to try to come to grips with the events that affected them. Good thing I'm a history buff. I've learned a lot and enjoyed doing it.
The trick is to keep learning as you go along. It was in a class on writing family history stories that I first heard about the Regina Cyclone of 1912. That perked up my ears. My grandfather had just come to North America in 1911 and from my research I knew that he'd lived in Regina for a time. Was he there for the cyclone? Drawing up a timeline I was able to pinpoint where he was living when the cyclone hit Regina. Then later I visited Regina to find out more.
But most of the families I've researched have similar stories, times when historical events have touched their lives. It just pays to be aware of the things that were going on around the places they lived then digging to find out if they were affected.
No comments:
Post a Comment