Want To Start Researching Your Family Tree? Here’s A Few Tips To Get You Started

I got hooked on my family tree after Mr. C gave me a DNA kit from Ancestry on Christmas of 2020. After I sent my DNA off and waited for the results, I began to work on my tree. Which quickly became an obsession. While I am not near being an expert, here’s a few tips I learned in the last year, for anyone starting on their journey.

My great grandfather, Robert Patey. He was killed in a mining accident (runaway trip) as a young man.

Get a DNA kit. Honestly, this has been a huge asset. It’s helped me connect with cousins I never knew existed, and helped me fill in parts of my history. Several cousins have become friends and we even help each other out and update each other with new finds. Whatever company you get your kit from, once you get your results, download your raw DNA. This can be uploaded to several other sites for FREE. Which means you get more DNA info PLUS more matches. I had given hubs a kit as well that Christmas. It wasn’t until he uploaded his DNA to My Heritage that he connected with one of his half sisters. (Mr. C is adopted, and in 2021 he found his birth father’s family, which has been amazing. Bio dad has passed away, but Mr. C has been getting to know his awesome aunts, uncles and cousins). Also our DNA is uploaded to GEDmatch and Family Tree DNA. Oh, and wait for sales. Certain times of the year these DNA companies put their kits on sale.

Talk to family. I wish I had started this years ago. The more time that passes, more of the stories and info you lose when loved ones pass away. Start talking to parents, grandparents, aunts, etc… My mom had dementia when I started this, but on her good days she could tell me stories and she helped identify people in old photos. Her mind was in the past so she was able to help me for a little while. And she loved it. At every visit, soon as I’d walk into her room, she would ask “Did you bring any pictures today?” My aunt was practically a family historian, and I’d give my eye teeth to have one hour with her to pick her brain. So, reach out. Talk to your loved ones. Any little piece of info or photo is a piece of the bigger picture.

Obits are gold. The best obituaries to find are the ones that list as much info as possible. Children’s names, where they lived, if they served in the war. All of these tidbits huge! When my mom passed last year, I wrote her obit. I made sure to mention all her kids and step kids, that she was a grandmother, great-grandmother and more recently a great-great grandmother. I also made it personal, of coarse. I didn’t want her to have a generic obit. I wanted people who didn’t know her to read it and felt that they knew her. This might also help future generations know their great great nan.

Start Small. Start with your parents. Your mom’s maiden name, their details on where they were born, when etc….Then start your grandparents. If they have passed, look for those obits. (And save them! I reached out to a library service program here in Nova Scotia. They located my nan’s obit, sent it to me. It’s been since printed off and added to my records) Look for marriage certificates, birth records, etc…

Join Groups. There are only two reasons I haven’t left Facebook. And one of those reasons is for research purposes. I joined genealogy groups for various provinces my family came from, groups in England and Scotland. There I have learned of websites to read into, and even found distant cousins. One woman in a group based in England pointed me to a distant cousin and a book he had published, which happened to be my 4th great grandfather. I contacted him right away and purchased the book as well. (Book review coming of that in the not to distant future).

My last tip: be prepared for what you find. There might be old skeletons lurking about. I went into this prepared for the good, the bad and the ugly.

What else do you think should go on this list? Are you thinking about digging into your family tree?

New Year, But Not A New Me

Like this photo I’m taking a leap of faith for the new year. *Photo not mine*

2020 is finally over, and we’ve moved onto what I can only hope to be a better year.

At the end of 2019, I had been hopeful for 2020. In 2019, my mother was diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia, put into a hospital, and my husband (who was born with polycystic kidneys), was told that he had a large tumor on his right kidney, and they weren’t sure if it was cancer or not. He under went surgery at the end of the year.

When 2020 came, we found out he didn’t have cancer, the remaining kidney wasn’t great but holding its own. My mom was put into long term care and started to improve. I felt good. Like the nightmare was over. I got back to reading, I even started using a planner and getting organized.

But before long, the corona virus was world wide, my business was mandated to shut down (which lasted for two and a half months). I wasn’t able to see my mom for a long time (for her safety), and when I could it was limited but I was grateful. I worried about the future of my business, my creative side of my brain was too busy worrying and feeling uncertain that my plan to write a novel during shut down went quickly down the toilet.

On top of all that, my husband got the news his kidney took a drastic decline, he was told he wasn’t allowed to go away for work by his doctor since he now needs a kidney transplant. We don’t know how long this will take. The process is a long one, and I am still waiting to hear if I am a match or not.

By this time, the hope I had for 2020 was down the toilet, too. With everything that was going on, a lot took a back burner. Including this blog.

But, in all the mess there were good moments. Work reopened and I was busy. My husband is otherwise healthy and soon will start dialysis. I wrote 50,000 in November for National Novel Writing Month (not the full novel but a good chunk), and of coarse the news broke that there was a vaccine. Hope to eventually get back to normal. Or, “normal-ish”.

Not to mention the second season of The Mandalorian was EPIC. (I am obsessed with Baby Yoda/Grogu). I hit the books and read seventeen novels. I know there’s people who read way more then me but I’m happy with the number. My book club, The Happy Bookers, kept going. We met online. We didn’t let a pandemic slow us down! 😉 It helped give me something to do and focus on. Things like snail mail started making a come back and people began to connect more and even re-connecting with people from their past. I’m happy to say I created a stronger friendship with one person, and I heard from a former pen pal of mine, and we have picked up where we left off.

At the end of December I was hesitant coming into the new year. I felt happy and hopeful and to be honest, that scared me. Because in the last two years I have learned that when I feel that way, it doesn’t last long.

So I decided to tip toe into 2021. With some hope and keeping my enthusiasm to a minimum for now. I’m not making any plans or resolutions. There’s things I want to do but that has nothing to do with a new year beginning. I just have some major catching up to do. 😉 I also plan to get back to my Nano novel soon, as I forgot how much I loved to write and turns out, I can still do it. I can still get words in, create new worlds and characters.

So, it’s a new year but same old me. But I’m okay with that. I do hope that each one of you have a wonderful year. That good things happen for you and to you. I think we all deserve that after this crazy time that will go in the history books.

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My Unique Thanksgiving Tradition

So we all (ok, a good amount of us) have the usual way of celebrating Thanksgiving. Family. Food. And turkey. Lots and lots of turkey.

My Thanksgiving tradition is a bit different. Yes, we have the turkey. And the family is around. Oh, and Mom’s pumpkin pie. Yum.

Several years ago, my family started doing something extra. We basically pack up some cars (sometimes there’s five, sometimes there’s two), with food and family and take a mini road trip. And some of us doing something that gets the attention of any tourists. Which is something I started. 😛 (More on that in a bit 😛 )

Since my niece is getting married this weekend (which I so can’t wait for!) some of us took our little road trip yesterday. The only downside: my cam was basically dead when we started. Boo.

I live in Cape Breton, which is home of stunning scenery, especially along the Cabot Trail. We take in some of this on our road trip.

First thing is a drive towards Kelly’s mountain and a turn off to Englishtown to catch the ferry for a two minute ride.

View from Kelly’s Mountain. I took this photo last year.

A quick pic from the ferry!

Almost to the other side!

Then we start stopping off at various shops. (There are a lot of artisans around here!)

My sister and cousin outside of Sew Inclined.

One of these stops took us to ‘Sew Inclined’. The owner makes and sells some funky, cool, and stunning hats. She let us try some on. One made us laugh, while another I really wanted to buy. The owner is a sweet, chatty lady with great talent behind her!

We didn’t stop here this year, but when we do I love checking out the used books! 🙂

We continued on and began the drive up Smokey mountain. It is a twisty drive and there is a great view of the ocean.

*NOT my pic* Here’s a pic I found of a view of the mountain. Told ya it was twisty! 🙂

Pic I did take 🙂 Just one view from the top of the mountain.

After our stop on Smokey, we continue to Ingonish. We found a spot that has ‘our’ tree.

Momma Fudge on the left, my sister on the right. This is ‘our’ tree. We (as in, my fam) have been taking pics here since long as I can remember.

Before the pictures we had some grub! There was some great eats, and my mom’s carrot cake was my dessert. 🙂

This cozy spot had a hut, stove, and several picnic tables.

My FAVORITE part came next. The event I was looking forward to since last October. The thing we do that grabs attention from tourists.

Ingonish Beach.

See this wonderful sandy beach? See those waves? See that wooden pathway?

I ran down it, and straight into the water!!!

If you don’t live around here, then you don’t know that swimming this time of year-especially the ocean!- isn’t common.

Me heading into the water.

A tourist, a very sweet lady who was wearing a coat and scarf, laughed and said she would take a couple of photos for me while I waited for the others to change. She didn’t think my run would end with me actually getting into the water.

I LOVE this pic.

The waves were crazy awesome! Some knocked us off of our feet!

We felt so good and refreshed after our time in the water.

I enjoy watching the bundled up tourists have a laugh or looked shocked. Yesterday we were asked if we were from Alaska. Nope, we just have Cape Breton blood in our veins. 😉

This isn’t everyone’s Thanksgiving, but it’s mine. And I wouldn’t change a thing about it. ❤

My Newest Additions

I spent a rainy Sunday afternoon visiting my mom and sister. My mom’s place is the best place to be. It’s warm, cozy, there’s always yummy food, and yesterday it included books!

The last few times I have gone to see my mom she’s had a book or two to give me. These are the newest to my bookshelf.

Two hardcovers that are just like new!!!

One of the items on my reading challenge for the year is ‘a book your mother loves.’ So, ‘Down the darkest Road’ will be that book, once I get around to it.

And surprisingly, my mother loved ‘Skin Game’, by Jim Butcher. It’s not a genre that would normally appeal to her, but she read it and loved it as well.

I am ashamed to say that I have yet to read any of Jim Butcher’s books, but they ARE on my ‘To Be Read’ list. And now that I have one, I have extra incentive to hunt down the first in the series and start reading them.

Have you read either of these books? If so, what did you think?