{"id":1656,"date":"2026-05-01T09:40:34","date_gmt":"2026-05-01T14:40:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nmrt.ala.org\/notes\/?p=1656"},"modified":"2026-05-02T09:48:22","modified_gmt":"2026-05-02T14:48:22","slug":"finding-the-past-to-connect-to-the-present-genealogy-basics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nmrt.ala.org\/notes\/finding-the-past-to-connect-to-the-present-genealogy-basics\/","title":{"rendered":"Finding the Past to Connect to the Present: Genealogy Basics"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>By: Mars Brint, NMRT Communications Committee<\/strong>\u00a0<strong>Chair<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Welcome to Spring! \ud83c\udf31<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It seems that the snow has finally calmed down here in Canada, and spring flowers are peaking out of the dirt\u2013a great time to learn some new skills or brush up on some others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In honor of <a href=\"https:\/\/preservationweek.org\/\">Preservation Week<\/a> (April 26th to May 2nd), I\u2019d like to discuss the importance and enjoyment of digging through old records.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As someone who leans further and further towards a Special Collections Librarian or Archivist, the opportunities I have had to explore the past of others have always been a true treasure of an opportunity. And in Canada, with the passing of Bill C-3 (amending the Citizenship Act), these requests have been increasing in demand significantly!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>People want to know their history, understand their roots, and create a connection with the past, and it is such a pleasure to be able to help bridge that information and share resources. So I\u2019ve decided to include some of my own basic tips, tricks, and resources that can help others find genealogical information in a pinch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Start with a solid, <em>or at least partial<\/em>, foundation! And set expectations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Ask the patron who they are looking for, including their full name, date of birth, date of death, marriages, and where they may have lived. Most likely, a patron will have only partial information, but as long as there is any, more can be found.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>Also make note of any (nee) or maiden names, shortened names, various surname spellings, and abbreviations\u2013these are equally as important!<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Understand that genealogical research is a long, challenging, and at times fruitless process. While it is hoped that the information will be there, it is not guaranteed, and both you and the patron must be aware of this possibility.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Most importantly, understand and create expectations of the lengths, time, and dedication you are able to allocate towards these endeavours. Oftentimes, you want to be able to provide resources, suggestions, and minimal assistance, as this process is usually extremely long and can take days to weeks to complete. Some institutions will charge for research based on time, while others may not, but know the specific policies at your library or information institution.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Understand the vital records in your collections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>This includes but is not limited to: birth rolls and certificates, death rolls and certificates, marriage certificates, newspaper obituaries, city directories, census, land assessment rolls, and tax assessment rolls. Understanding what you have will allow you to know what resources you can guide the patron to, or if you\u2019ll need to suggest external support.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>A brief sidenote: City directories were an evolving form of record keeping, meaning that street names and addresses were constantly changing as the town or city developed, and could take years before the name of the owner was identified at the specific address, as people frequently moved.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Genealogical information can also come in more convoluted and less direct ways! These can be newspaper clippings, passenger logs, immigration records, or military records\u2013but these are often not kept by local archives or special collections in libraries.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Understand the Online Resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Oftentimes, certain public or academic libraries and archives will have in-house subscriptions to genealogical resources and databases such as Ancestry, which houses a large repository of records.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Other American resources include:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.archives.gov\/research\/genealogy\">Resources for Genealogists and Family Historians | National Archives<\/a> \/ <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ancestry.com\/search\/collections\/3599\/?geo_a=r&amp;geo_s=us&amp;geo_t=us&amp;geo_v=2.0.0&amp;o_lid=62916&amp;o_sch=Partners&amp;o_xid=62916\">American Genealogical-Biographical Index (AGBI)<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Other Canadian resources include:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.canadiana.ca\/\">Canadiana<\/a> \/ <a href=\"https:\/\/www.canada.ca\/en\/library-archives\/collection\/research-help\/genealogy-family-history.html\">Genealogy, family history, and census research and help &#8211; <\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/canada.ca\/\">Canada.ca<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Be aware that some of these resources do have fees, costs, or subscriptions, but the information is vast and expansive!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Build from the roots up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Diving into family history can be complicated, confusing, and overwhelming. Starting with what the patron knows at the base is the easiest way to begin a family tree, including any information on their siblings, parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents. This can be done using a physical organization of records or using digital applications.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Encourage the patron to talk to family members to fill in further information; there\u2019s likely information that others know that wasn\u2019t previously shared, and this is a great opportunity to open those pathways.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Guide them to the resources, and let them begin the exploration. Unless you are tasked with or fulfilling a specific, quick, or paid-for request, this is where the reins of this project are handed over to the patron. Remember, genealogical research can take years to complete unless they are looking for a specific and identifiable piece of information\u2013this is their journey to undergo!<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>I sincerely hope everyone has an opportunity to look through an old census record, or a passenger list, and feel the excitement at seeing your family surname from years long ago. And if you haven\u2019t tried it yet, maybe this spring is your opportunity to try!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By: Mars Brint, NMRT Communications Committee\u00a0Chair Welcome to Spring! \ud83c\udf31 It seems that the snow has finally calmed down here in Canada, and spring flowers are peaking out of the dirt\u2013a great time to learn some new skills or brush &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nmrt.ala.org\/notes\/finding-the-past-to-connect-to-the-present-genealogy-basics\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[6,110,160,376,56,12,35],"class_list":["post-1656","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-ala","tag-ala-nmrt","tag-discussion","tag-geneaology","tag-new-members-round-table","tag-nmrt","tag-research"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pbhMj7-qI","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nmrt.ala.org\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1656","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nmrt.ala.org\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nmrt.ala.org\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nmrt.ala.org\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nmrt.ala.org\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1656"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.nmrt.ala.org\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1656\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nmrt.ala.org\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1656"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nmrt.ala.org\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1656"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nmrt.ala.org\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1656"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}