Your DNA Test Could Send a Relative to Jail

Your DNA Test Could Send a Relative to Jail

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/27/magazine/dna-test-crime-identification-genome.html?unlocked_article_code=1.RE0.vwAP.-5EcCnk9awzZ&smid=nytcore-android-share

Happy Spring

 Happy Spring! 

I am delighted to announce that Tammy and I will be teaching 'Introduction to Genealogy' May 2-20 as part of the Edmonton Lifelong Learners Association (ELLA) at the University of Alberta Faculty of Education Building. We absolutely love teaching this course!

Ancestry.ca Announcement

Hello! Today, Ancestry.ca announced the members of AncestryⓇ Canada Family History Advisory Board. https://tinyurl.com/vzgd5qh . It is both an honour and a privilege to be included in this dynamic group! 

One year later.....

Hello !

It's been a year (that flew by fast!) - time to check in.

This coming week is my and Tammy's last week of instructing "Introduction to Genealogy" through ELLA (Edmonton Lifelong Learners Association) held at the Faculty of Education- U of A. We were fortunate enough to instruct this 3 week course in 2016 and again this year. It's been wonderful to share knowledge and learn from our students too! More to come on this soon.

Alberta Vital Statistics
For anyone just learning about Alberta Vital Statistics, you might wish to review my blog posts from Spring 2017.

http://albertaresearch2.blogspot.com/2017/03/historical-vital-statistics-in-alberta.html

http://albertaresearch2.blogspot.com/2017/04/follow-up-to-release-of-alberta.html

Current availability of events found in indexes
Birth Registrations:     1898 and prior
Marriages                    1943 and prior
Death Registrations    1968 and prior

If you are using Ancestry's transcription of registrations, go to the original source and review the indexes found at the Provincial Archives of Alberta website. The correct information is required to order copies of documents.

http://provincialarchives.alberta.ca/how-to/find-birth-marriage-death-records/Default.aspx

Is the source you are sharing accurate?

Much activity on genealogy facebook pages - people sharing obituaries from newspaper databases, Sadly, do not source the copies correctly.

One example: Edmonton Journal
Beginning November 14, 1977 the Edmonton Journal started labeling pages using a letter/number system to number the pages in sections.  An obituary published February 20, 1978 is on page E2, not page 54 as newspapers.com shows it to be. Even if it is the 54th page (one doesn't know for sure unless one counts them) page 54 is not correct.  Be accurate. Be precise. The column the article appears is also important to source.

Should we be sharing the information from genealogical databases with others? To find the answer read the site's terms and conditions. Certainly, I have done it but doing it publicly could one get themselves in hot water? Something to think about.

Teaching Genealogy Research or Handing it Over on a Platter

Two quotes have been foremost in my thoughts lately:

Each One Teach One
and
Give a Man a Fish, and You Feed Him for a Day. Teach a Man To Fish, and You Feed Him for a Lifetime

Sharing our knowledge and experiences we have had on our genealogy journey with others is invaluable.

Teach others how to do genealogy research and do it correctly. Lead them to the website they need. Getting the document online for them does not teach them where to find it.

Simply sharing sources without teaching how it can be done is a further endorsement to the genealogy TV shows and commercials. You know the ones they make genealogy research look so darn easy not to mention fast. So many believe this concept, lets not empower it.

Til next time,
~Shannon

Check out my Alberta Adoption Search & Reunion page on Facebook

Information about the Alberta Adoption ~ Search & Reunion Facebook page
A place for adoptees born in Alberta and for birth parents that relinquished a child to adoption who are searching for each other.  Feel free to visit, post your search, and obtain help and assistance from the Administrator and others.

It is disrespectful to post the names of the birth mother and or birth father without their consent, so please leave full names out of the post, as it is not our secret to disclose publicly.

My name is Shannon Switzer Cherkowski.
I have solved over 450 adoption search files in the last 17 years.

I feel I have been blessed with a gift to be able to conduct this type of research and hope to advise participants on what can be done to have a successful search and reunion.

I offer research services, adoption related searches and Alberta genealogy. Feel free to contact me to discuss.

Update

This page has been quiet. It was my plan to take this year off from presentations, hosting conferences and volunteering.....not research.... I could never take a break from that!

I've been asked to provide a presentation at the Strathcona County Library Family Tree Trackers meeting June 14, 2018. The topic is "Newspapers". My all time favorite genealogy topic, how could I resist?  Hope to see you there!

Genealogy in the Park October 28, 2017

Save the Date

Genealogy in the Park presents

Dave Obee

Genealogist, Author and Journalist

Saturday October 28, 2017

We are very happy to welcome Dave back to Sherwood Park!

**Registration Closes October 25th**

October 11, 2017 - We are close to capacity.

Contact Shannon or Tammy ASAP to ensure you do not miss this wonderful opportunity.

Thank you!

Follow up to release of Alberta historical vital statistics indexes/registers

I have busy ordering registration documents during the last week and 1/2. How could I not? It's a genealogist's dream to have access to these valuable bits of history!

A few hints and tips from what I learned about the indexes in Alberta and access to them:

1. In scanning the typewritten death indexes, it's quite common that a handwritten entry or more are placed at the end of every year. There's no doubt that your "cntrl f" function will not read the handwriting, be sure to scroll and review all the pages for an accurate search.

2.  If you are ordering numerous registrations online, order all of them one after the other, preferably all before 3:00 pm Mon-Friday. If you order them separately, then, they are separate requests and you may be charged the mailing fee for each request.

3.  If you live in the Edmonton area, and are planning a visit to the Reading Room at the PAA, order the registrations online and click on "request to view at PAA in Reading Room". You will receive an email when they are ready for you.

Important: The maximum amount of photocopies, of any type, to receive the same day at the PAA is limited to approximately 12 pages. If the number of pages you need goes over the in-house limit, they will be photocopied in queue, and they will call you when they are ready, or pay the mailing fee to have them mailed out to you.

4. I searched for my Uncle Gerald in Google today (after a hint from a dear friend of mine).
"Switzer, Gerald" 1954
is exactly what I typed in.  The #8 hit, took me directly to the Deaths pdf online at the PAA. Over time, it will be easy for Google to pick up the typed words in the indexes. The handwritten entries? Probably not. Nothing searches better than your own two eyes.

I live within 20 minutes of the Provincial Archives of Alberta. It's been interesting (and fun!) to view the original registrations in person. If you live in the area, please do visit the PAA. There are so many genealogy resources there to help you in your research.

One ah ha! moment for me:
In my review of relative's vital statistic death registrations, a few of the causes of death were not a surprise. To see it in writing helped confirm the stories I was told by my Dad.  One that caught me off-guard was an 9 year old relative died from falling over a log and scraping her knee. She ended up with sepsis. How sad that something so "every-day", seemingly easy to treat nowadays, back then took this little one's life. This one document really cemented for me what family research is all about, honoring those that have gone before, understanding their trials and tribulations, and bringing their stories to life.

Have any tips or comments to share? Would love to hear from you,
~Shannon

Historical Vital Statistics in Alberta

Vital Statistics Alberta

For years, the question has been asked:
"When is Alberta going to get historical vital statistics online?"

The time is now! 
The Provincial Archives of Alberta has digitized vital statistics indexes and or registers and are now available online.

Under current legislation, registration documents are available publicly:

birth records that are 120 years or older*;

marriage records that are 75 years or older* 

death records that are 50 years or older* 

stillbirth records that are 75 years or older* 

                                                                         *from the date of the event

Indexes are now available online for you to view at the Provincial Archives of Alberta website http://provincialarchives.alberta.ca/
under "How To" then "Find Birth Marriage and Death Records"

Words of Advice
➦ Many of the older indexes are alphabetical by the first letter, then alphabetical by the first vowel.
For example: 
                    Brown would be found under "Bo"
                    Smith would be found under "Si"
There are a few exception. I found "Be" surnames in the "Bo" section. Human error, it happened then, it happens now, it will always happen. 

Information about the registers
➦Prior to 1917, letters were used in place of the year

YEAR	CODE
up to	II / III
1898	A
1899	B
1900	C
1901	D
1902	E
1903	F
1904	G
1905	H
1906	J
1907	K
1908	L
1909	M
1910	N
1911	O
1912	P
1913	Q
1914	R
1915	S
1916	T

➦Once you find the registration you are looking for, write down the following information (you will need it later):

• Registration Number
• Event type
• Year
• Surname, Given name
• Place

➦In some registers, there is a column for year born and beside it 'pr". The year born column speaks for itself. The province born column uses numbers to represent province/country born. 

I share with you what I learned from other genealogists over the last 15 years:

Canada
01-PEI
02-NS
03-NB
04-PQ
05-ON
06-MN
07-SK
08-AB
09-BC
10-Yukon
11-NWT
13-Newfoundland*

21 - England
23 - Ireland*
24 - Scotland
25 - Wales
26 - Jersey Channel Islands* 

33 - 
35 - 36 - 
37 - 

41 - USA
45 - 

52 - Austria*
53 - Belgium*
54 - Bulgaria
55 - Czechoslovakia
56 - Denmark
57 - 
58 - Finland
59 - France

60 - Germany*
61 - 
62 - Netherlands
63 - Hungary*
64 - Iceland
65 - Italy
66 - 
68 - Norway
69 - Galicia *Austria or Ukraine

71 - Bukovina
73 - Scandinavia / Sweden*
74 - Switzerland
76 - Luxembourg
77 - USSR

[*additions to the above list made June 27, 2017, with thanks to Donald K.]

Over time, when people share what they know the list above can become more complete. I encourage you to contact me and share your findings of what the other numbers stand for. alberta.research2@gmail.com


➦be patient, wait for the files to load, they are HUGE files. 

➦If you used "ctrl f" to find surnames on the PDF forms and no result was found, review the names line by line. Always be diligent about reviewing forms manually to ensure a complete search has been done. OCR is good but not always reliable.

Remember that information you wrote down? Now you are ready to order the registration document by clicking on the "Vital Stats request form" button.

Cost per photocopy: 35¢ 
Seriously, 35¢ !!!
Have it mailed to you 
$3.00 (in Canada) 
$6.00 (outside of Canada)
(see below)

It's a great day for genealogists! Alberta vital statistics for genealogical purposes online. Wonderful!!

I don't know about you, but I will be busy for the next little while.
~Shannon

Update: September 27, 2019 costs and services of ordering vital statistic records through the PAA has changed.
Digital Scans: $5.25  sent by e-mail when complete
Photocopy 79¢ sent through Canada Post
Shipping costs remain the same 

Follow up to Genealogy in the Park held June 10-11, 2016 Sherwood Park AB

It was our pleasure to host Pat Ryan at our 2nd Genealogy in the Park event. 

Pat is one of the absolute best presenters we know and also a very dear friend. 

Organizing Your Paper Files held Friday was well attended. Pat put the participants right to work, as you can see!

Saturday's presentations - interactive, informative, entertaining!

Claudine represented the AGS, brought a variety of books to sell

                                                               

                                               Jason of Shop The Hound

Kim, Shannon, Tammy and Kelley. Special thanks to Kim and Kelley who took care of welcoming the attendees, manning the registration table, set up and clean up

Our sincerest thanks to: 

Pat Ryan ...an awesome and innovating presenter

http://patryangenealogy.blogspot.ca/

Provincial Archives of Alberta – smart phone stands, travellers bandaids, pencils, post-its, etc. http://culture.alberta.ca/paa/

Shop the Hound - Jason   http://www.shopthehound.com/

Alberta Genealogical Society - Claudine N. 

Lou T. – providing audio equipment, set up and management

Chris - Park AV Rentals  http://www.parkavrentals.com/

Todd - muffins and squares – his contact information is in the programme…… Book him soon.

Winn - gluten free banana bread, orange loaf and cupcakes ...YUM!

John A. projector contribution

Denise D.  Photography

Family Tree Trackers & Camrose Branch group members - registration, hall set up and take down 

and to all who attended! 

Thank you!

Shannon & Tammy

Genealogy in the Park Update

Still space and time to register! 

You don't want to miss this awesome genealogy event! 
For more information, see tabs "Pat Ryan in Sherwood Park June 10-11, 2016 and "Registration" above to download your registration form.

See you there!

Announcing the 2nd Genealogy in the Park Event

Tammy and I are proud to present Pat Ryan at our 2nd Genealogy in the Park event being held June 10 & 11th, 2016.

See tabs "Pat Ryan in Sherwood Park June 10-11,2016" and "Registration" above for more information,

Register early as space is limited.

This is sure to be an exciting event!

See you there!

Provincial Archives of Alberta ~ Family History Day ~ February 15, 2016

Family History Day - Monday February 15, 2016

The Provincial Archives of Alberta is one awesome resource for genealogists.  Whether you have visited previously, or not at all, you will want to be sure to attend the facility on Family Day.

One must pre-Register to take part in:
     Behind the Scenes Tours
     Genealogy Resources in the Reading Room
     Navigating Genealogy Websites (presented by Shannon)

See poster for more details.....
Register early! Space is limited and fills up very quickly!

Get to know Pat Ryan

Genealogy in the Park is so very pleased that Pat Ryan will be providing 4 awesome presentations for us on June 11th in Sherwood Park, Alberta.

Olive Tree Genealogy posted a wonderful interview with Pat, which I am certain you will enjoy reading and getting to know Pat while doing it.
You may also experience some 'me too' moments.
Enjoy!

http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.ca/2016/01/introducing-patricia-ryan-canadian.html

Genealogy in the Park Presents Pat Ryan ! June 11, 2016

Happy New Year everybody! 

Mark your calendars and save the date! 


Genealogy in the Park Presents

Pat Ryan 

Saturday, June 11, 2016

Sherwood Park, Alberta

           

BIO
Ms. Pat Ryan is a first generation Canadian whose father was born in Scotland, and mother born in the USA. She has completed the Saskatchewan Genealogy Society’s Certification Courses; is a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists; and a founding member of the College of Certified Saskatchewan Genealogists as well as holding memberships in numerous genealogy societies around the world. Pat’s style is humorous, informative, and engaging. She will ‘involve’ you in her workshops which she has presented from Whitehorse Yukon, across Canada, and all the way to Scotland. She also teaches classes online, and in Regina, so you can participate no matter where you live! Pat offers sound, practical advice that will leave you energized and knowing what to do! Visit her at www.patryangenealogy.blogspot.com.  


Stay tuned for more information coming soon!

Wishing you the best of the season.......

It was the week before Christmas and all through the house, research was ongoing, can't keep up with my mouse....

Research never seems to stop does it?

Whether for genealogy, planning a trip, or learning how to fix the hot water heater..... every day is a research (and learning!) day.

Wishing you nothing but breakthroughs in your genealogy quests, happiness and good health in the New Year and always.....

May we cross paths in 2016, make intriguing connections and share new adventures!

~Shannon

Genealogy ~ All over the Place !

Genealogy, the more you know, the more you want to know....it's a learning experience at every turn. Oh, there is so much to learn! 

So grateful to learn from my friends, my genealogy friends......and to share the knowledge. 

I am active on Facebook "Shannon's Genealogy Friends" where people meet, exchange genealogy news and interests. Facebook's genealogy community as a whole is growing expeditiously. A few favourites: the Alberta Genealogical Society (AGS), several branches of the AGS, Genealogy & Historical Databases, Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness (RAOGK) International. The list goes on and on but let's step away from the computer shall we? 
A few goings on to note: 

Sherwood Park, Alberta
A great group of people meet at Family Tree Trackers in Sherwood Park at the Strathcona County Library, on the 2nd Thursday of the month .....next meeting is January 14, 2015.   All are welcome !

Camrose, Alberta be sure to check out the Camrose Branch of the Alberta Genealogical Society. Meetings are held on the 2nd Thursday of the month..... meeting next on January 14, 2015.  For more information:  http://camrose.abgensoc.ca/

If you have research interests in and around Camrose, contact the Camrose Branch for research assistance. 

Let's travel! 

RootsTech 2016 Salt Lake City www.rootstech.org  
Discover and share your family stories and connections at RootsTech, February 3-6, 2016. 

Coincidentally, I am trying to complete my registration form for RootsTech tonight. It will be my first trip there. I know it's going to be amazing!


Salt Lake City
From the good folks at Medicine Hat...... heard last years trip was a blast. And for every good thing, there should be an encore!
Salt Lake City Adventure 
May 15-22, 2016 
Book asap, it's bound to fill up quick!


~Shannon

Follow up ~ Genealogy in the Park Nov 7, 2015

Tammy Lough and Shannon Switzer Cherkowski

What a wonderful fun-filled day that was! Tammy and I are still spinning! Thank you to all who came out to enjoy the day! It was sincerely our pleasure to host this, our first Genealogy in the Park day.

Learning Opportunities

Networking & Sharing 

                                                                                

Re-Connecting and Connecting with Genealogy Friends!

                                                               

           
                              



                 

Dave's presentation "Decoding the Dash" .....Alberta sources and evidence of a 'lifelong resident of Spokane'.

Our sincerest thanks to: 

Dave Obee ...our presenter and vendor 

www.cangenealogy.com                     www.daveobee.com

Provincial Archives of Alberta – smart phone stands, travellers bandaids, lighted magnifying glasses, paper http://culture.alberta.ca/paa/

The Archives Store - http://culture.alberta.ca/paa/store/default.aspx

Shop the Hound - Jason   http://www.shopthehound.com/

Alberta Genealogical Society - Claudine N.

Lou T. – providing audio equipment, set up and management

Chris - Park AV Rentals  http://www.parkavrentals.com/

Todd - muffins and squares – his contact information is in the programme…… Book him soon….Christmas is coming!


Winn (Shannon's mom) - gluten free banana bread and orange loaf 

John H. audio visual technical programmer

John A. projector contribution

Kristen B. (Shannon's daughter) video cam contribution

Denise D.  Photography

Family Tree Trackers & Camrose Branch group members - registration, hall set up and take down 

The Recents - Ted http://www.albertagenealogy-research.ca/

Shannon's Research Services 

_______________________________________________________________

a few comments from the feedback forms:

What did you like the most?

"the friendliest group of people"

"everything"

"the whole thing was brilliant"

"information on sources we would not otherwise know about"

"location was excellent!"

"the peanut butter marshmallow bars - joke! - They are the 2nd best thing....Dave was the best part!"

What did you like the least:

"none of it"

"I didn't win a door prize"

"I ate too many sweets"

"Tables were a teensy bit close to the vendor tables...." "too squishy" 

     note from us:  We were advised the hall held 120 seated at tables.  (We had 83 people in the house) We will be getting a larger hall for our next event, and will ensure that people will be able to maneuver easily. ~ S & T

{ One person changed this question to read "What did you like  the least even better: the talks and information....spell binding. Great food...."

Comments: 

"Really enjoyed the day, even though I did not win a door prize.  Enjoyed my table mates. Drove 6.5 hours and was not disappointed."

"I'll watch for future sessions"

Wow! To bring a speaker of Dave's caliber to Sherwood Park!   ( note from us: We know....right!?!?!?!?  WOW!!. But seriously, Dave is the BEST! )

Comments received the week after: 

"Many thanks to Shannon and Tammy for organizing a TERRIFIC seminar with Dave Obee this past Saturday. He is a wonderful inspiration for rookies such as me" A.M.

"Congratulations to you & all who assisted (& baked) in the Genealogy in the Park conference.

It was awesome – you all did a marvelous job!" R.S.

"I’m tired from a wonderful day and I just imagine that you and Tammy are exhausted. You gals did a tremendous job right from the planning, publicity, set up and right through the day too. Lots of learning, lots of networking!" D.D.

"Put your feet up and enjoy some quiet time knowing you and Tammy did an excellent job." C.N.  

I'm still smiling ...learned a lot and enjoyed meeting people.  Thank you to both of you - very lucky to have had a chance to hear Dave Obee. T.A.

"You both did great last week, super impressed, super happy that I was a part of it". 
~Dave Obee

Summary of the day:

75% return on feedback forms - thanks to all who took the time to complete them. 


The appreciation showed to us has encouraged us to think about doing an event like this again! 

Wishes granted, look for upcoming breaking news about our next Genealogy in the Park event.

Shannon & Tammy

Find us on "Shannon's Genealogy Friends" on Facebook

The day after. . . .

Stay tuned for our "After the Event" summary, coming soon!

Egad! It's the night before!

Making a list, checking it twice.... sure it's only November, but tomorrow is "Genealogy in the Park featuring Dave Obee"!!!!

Tammy and I offer our heartfelt thank yous to all who helped and will be helping, for spreading the word, set up of the hall, advice on electronics, coffee makers, the list is vast....so many things to get done, It's impossible for two people to do alone.  Thank you!

Tomorrow is going to be such a fabulous day. Presentations by Dave, always fantastic!, networking opportunities, and seeing our genealogy friends!

Tentative Revised Schedule

8:00am - Doors open

8:50am - Announcements

9:00am – “Genealogy by Google”

10:00am-10:30am - break

10:30am – “Beyond the Online Basics”

11:45am - Lunch (may start a bit earlier)

1:00:pm – “Decoding the Dash”

2:30 pm – 15 minute break

2:45 pm “Geography of Genealogy in Europe” (approx. 1 hour).

Ready.....set.............................

~Shannon & Tammy

Genealogy in the Park featuring Dave Obee ---- fast approaching!

Ah, the week of an event, always a scurry of activity! 

If you have not reserved your pay-at-the door seat with either Tammy or myself....Imperative to do so by Friday as we are getting close to capacity! Our contact information is on the poster and brochure

It's been amazing to watch the unsolicited publicity Genealogy in the Park Featuring Dave Obee (this Saturday!) has received.

Our sincere thanks to 
Gail Dever, of http://genealogyalacarte.ca/ 
St.Albert's Place on the Web http://www.mybirdie.ca/ 
Clandigger (Edmonton Branch AGS newsletter)

Isn't that what genealogy is all about? Spreading the word of learning opportunities.
We are very grateful.

We will have just a few vendors -
Dave Obee - Book sales
Shop the Hound - Genealogy related items
Alberta Genealogical Society - Book sales and information about the AGS
and Strathcona County's Dave Drader will be in the house-more information about Strathcona County's people and self publishing than you ever knew possible.

Bring Cash!

Off and running, lots to do!