I started with pencil and paper gathering family information about 8 years ago. When my paper trail got to hard to follow Steve helped me with purchasing a family tree software. Ooo lala this was way better you could even print your tree. But there were internet sites that would take me way further. They have a monthly fee. So the deal was made I would need to try get everything I could from living members of the family then we would pay for the internet sites.
In the years that followed I have traced our eight family lines back a long ways. I have committed hours to losing my self in family history. I often find myself lost in an old world as I try to glean all the details out of a census or baptism record.
Coming to Ireland has been especially exciting for me after a discovery that took years to find. In the movie Shrek, Shrek mentions Ogres are like onions they have layers. So does family history. As much as we would like to just pull back the cover and see everything it often has to be revealed one layer at a time.
My moms paternal side of our family was giving me serious trouble. Any web searches for the last name Weeks turned up lots of things most of them not people. I knew my great grand father Oscar Weeks was born in Rhode Island, USA. So I searched the USA data banks looking for my family but to no avail. Finally on a wedding notice in the Prince George newspaper archives, I found his parents names, Harold and Byah Weeks. That cracked the door wide open. Byah is a very uncommon name a search for it quickly turned up that they were both Irish Canadians who made a trip/short move to Rhode Island, USA where my great grandfather was born. They were back in Nova Scotia, Canada for the birth of their daughter the next year.
From there it was easy to trace their family as they are a first family of Canada. I soon had the family back to 1750's in Ireland. Where Stephen Weeks left Ireland with his wife and family. They settled in PEI and raised their families there.
Researching Irish family genealogy is hard from any where but Ireland. The Irish prefer that their records are searched from their offices. In Northern Ireland they have a beautiful new building right behind our apartment. It is set up with a lot of security that some might find silly but they are letting you see original documents. Before you leave the main floor you need to rent a locker for your things. The only stuff you can take with you past that point is a pencil, notes, paper and your pass card. You are not allowed to have a cell phone as they can photograph documents and that is partly how they fund their office, by photocopies.
The first room you visit is a bank of computers hooked to their database. Once you find a document or five that you would like to see you move to another bank of computers and order the documents to the reading room. Once your documents are found your confirmation number is displayed on a board and you swipe out of the research room with you pass card and swipe into the reading room with it. The help desk gives you the documents you ordered and assigns you a desk to read you information at.
Seeing the old church records, census and land deeds ordered out for people to read was amazing. All in hand written detail saved for generations and available to us today. For those who love this sort of thing it is just as exciting as seeing a fancy car. To me it also serves as a reminder our lives are a small part of history but we will leave a mark behind that generations from now people will be able to trace. Our family trees go back to the 16 and 1700's. As I trace our history it is so easy from this side of conflicts to hope that our family picked the right side of this war or that vote. But in this moment with what is happening with our world am I making choices that will make my descendants cheer or wonder what the heck I was thinking.
I will have to visit the PRONI again. the book I was looking for was out for a couple weeks. lol Weeks get it. It is a book of wills and had been borrowed by the University. In it I hope to find my first link in Ireland to our Weeks family. For the rest I may have to travel to Dublin which houses the Irish records. My family originates from south of Dublin.
The most amazing part was how good the kids were while I lost myself in research. The girls did try to help with searching for family names of the Weeks spouses. I can foresee many happy days searching out our family together. It was a good way to pass a very blustery Irish day.
What the kids might have done on a rainy day.
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| Sabrina eating chips/crisps in mommy's bed |
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| Samuel drawing pictures he searches for on the computer |
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| Sarah recreating a questionnaire about living in Ireland to one for purchasing a horse from an agent. Kept her busy for hours. I had a great time being the buyer later. Do you plan to buy a friend for your horse? Yes, a big cat like a cougar. How ofter do you plan to exercise your horse? Every time I let the cat out. She was not impressed with my humor. I was of course joking. |
1 comment:
I love this post Shelli! I loved your comment about researching for you is like a fancy car for others. I am glad you had so much fun following a passion.
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