On Sept. 25, the Victoria Genealogical Society will be presenting an Introduction to Genealogy at St. Andrews Anglican Church Hall.
The presentation will provide a window on what has, in the United States, become the second most popular hobby in the country, just behind gardening.
“Genealogy can be addictive, that’s for sure,” chuckled Merv Scott, a director-at-large.
“My mother used to do crossword puzzles. She loved them. For me, genealogy is like that. It’s a puzzle and you can always go a little deeper to solve it and find out more.”
Scott recounted how he has tracked some of his ancestry back to Scotland and England, and how he has now returned to those countries on seven occasions, exploring the areas that represent his roots.
“The last time I went my two grown sons came with my wife and I and we showed them the farms where our ancestors worked, the towns where they lived and we relaxed by the same stream they would have played in as children,” recounted Scott.
“I was concerned that he might be bored, but he admitted to me that he was having the ‘best day ever’ and that he was hooked and intended to come back to explore his history.”
History is certainly a part of the attraction for those involved in genealogical research, and Scott explained that getting an understanding ones roots helps to build connections with the broader world. It can also pose some intriguing questions.
“We discovered that one of my wife’s ancestors left Scotland to go to Australia where he immediately signed up for the Australian army and was shipped to Gallipoli, where he was killed and buried,” said Scott.
“Why did this 16-year-old travel to Australia to join the army? What happened to him in Gallipoli and what was that battle all about?”
To find the answers to those questions the Scotts travelled to the burial site of the young man in question and Scott has now read a lot of the history about the battle and the events leading up to and following the event.
“It’s also about connections,” said Scott. “I’ve now found distant relations from Scotland to Australia and am in contact with some of them on a regular basis. It’s just a lot of fun.”
Genealogy is estimated to be a multi-billion dollar industry in North America and has spawned a plethora of profitable websites, television shows, scores of books and, with the advent of over the counter genetic test kits, a cottage industry of DNA ancestry testing.
“I’ve done quick on-line look-ups for folks at events like the Highland Games and had people react with laughter, cheers and even tears as I can tell them where their great grandmother was born,” said Scott.
“I think that, for a lot of people, it’s important for them to have a sense of where they came from and who their ancestors were. It brings history alive and tells us our place in the bigger fabric of the world.”
For more information on the Sidney presentation, or to contact the Victoria Genealogical Society, visit victoriags.org.