Kudos to the Alberta Genealogical Society (AGS) for the May issue of its journal, Relatively Speaking. The issue is chock full of excellent articles about brick-and-mortar sources for genealogists. The how-to articles in the more than 50-page journal describe what can be found in archives, court houses, public libraries, record offices, and family history societies, and they explain how to conduct research in each of them.
It is also nice to see that the majority of the articles are by Alberta-based writers, and that the editor of Relatively Speaking, Wayne Shepheard, has sought articles from genealogists and other experts elsewhere in Canada and in England.
The theme of the May issue of the Alberta Genealogical Society’s journal, ‘Relatively Speaking,’ is brick-and-mortar sources for genealogists.
Local, provincial and national archives
Archivist Michael Gourlie writes about what is held at the Provincial Archives of Alberta, and one of my favourite genealogists, Patricia Greber, explains how she used the files of the South Peace Regional Archives to find information about old school records.
The article about Library and Archives Canada, written by LAC’s genealogy consultant Nicole Watier, is a terrific primer about the collections where she works, what they contain, and how to access them.
Quebec
Suzanne Maynard, whose father’s family has a long history in Quebec, shares how the Dictionnaire généalogique des familles du Québec by René Jetté and other resources helped her discover family members who lived in the 1600s.
Court houses
In an article about researching court house records, Gloria (Kennett) Cathcart writes about her very fruitful experience researching in American county court houses.
Public libraries
Christine Hayes, a genealogy specialist at the Calgary Public Library, writes about the wealth of resources for genealogists that can be found in many libraries. “There are public libraries in most towns and cities and most of them have a great assortment of weird and wonderful things relating to their locale. Many maintain clippings files, obituary files, indexes of residents, maps, yearbook collections, family histories, organization directories, church records, voters’ lists, cemetery transcriptions and many unpublished indexes.”
Website projects include one to generate dialogue
On a different note, the AGS communications and web content manager Lyn Meehan lists seven projects planned for the website this summer, including the Alberta homestead databases, a digital database of more than 40 years of Relatively Speaking, and expanding the surname search to include individuals researching worldwide.
AGS also plans to create new web pages to recognize sponsors and volunteers.
Perhaps the most interesting addition to the website is the new section, Let’s Talk, that is intended to “foster dialogue between members and the AGS Board.” It will feature news, comments, anecdotes, snippets from Board meetings, and vision statements. A comment form, Talk to the President, allows members – and even the public – to state their opinion and make suggestions, in confidence, directly to the AGS president. While still in the early stages, Let’s Talk is a zero-cost initiative that other societies may want to explore.
To read a copy of Relatively Speaking, visit your local genealogical society, provincial archives, or Library and Archives Canada. You can visit the AGS website here.
A very helpful and informative post. Thank you so much for sharing, and warm greetings from Montreal, Canada. 🙂