However, tracing one’s family history can also be a frustrating endeavor filled with roadblocks and dead ends.
A program that started March 1 at the Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph Library is helping attendees overcome the obstacles they encounter as they research their family trees.
“I hope to help those interested in family history make use of the available materials,” said instructor Donna Peterson, a member of Schertz Cibolo Valley Area Genealogists. “I want to educate them enough that they can find the answers they are looking for and if they can help others in the same way I will feel successful.”
Peterson, whose interest in family histories dates back more than two decades, to the mid-1990s, said the popularity of genealogy is due in part to shows such as “Who Do You Think You Are?” that show how mysteries can be resolved as well as those that deal with reuniting lost family members and finding the birth parents of adoptees.
“Another reason for the popularity of genealogy is the internet and the ready availability of records on a 24/7 basis,” she said. “Facebook and YouTube also contribute to its popularity.”
A library is a perfect setting for a genealogy program because of the many resources it offers to the public, said Melissa Lahue, JBSA-Randolph supervisory librarian. Among the JBSA-Randolph Library’s genealogy resources is ancestry.com, which is offered free at the facility.
“We’re keepers of information, and we want to give it out freely,” she said. “We have access to many more records than if you did this on your own.”
Genealogy is also one of Lahue’s interests. She has a Master of Science degree in information science, specializing in archives, local history and genealogy, and overhauled the archive collection at the Southern Prairie Library System in Altus, Oklahoma.
“Genealogy is near and dear to my heart,” she said. “We decided to start a genealogy program here and spread interest in it. If we give somebody the skillset to research their family history, then we’ve accomplished something.”
Peterson offered advice and insights gleaned through years of research experience during the introductory session of the library’s genealogy program. She mentioned census records, church records and courthouse records as excellent resources.
In addition to ancestry.com, some of the websites Peterson recommended as resources included rootsmagic.com and legacyfamilytree.com.
“Download the programs – the free ones – and see what you feel comfortable with,” she said.
Another site Peterson suggested is fold3.com, a collection of military records from the 18th century to World War II that allowed her to find information about one of her husband’s great-grandfathers, who served in the Revolutionary War.
“He had written his biography, which confirmed a whole lot of facts,” she said.
The Mormon Church has been instrumental in advancing family history research, Peterson said.
“The Mormons do it because they feel you need to be sealed to people,” she said. “They have sent their people around the world since the 1960s photographing church records. They make those records available to the public free of charge.”
Peterson advised patience in researching family histories.
“You learn all this stuff gradually, through trial and error,” she said.
Following the session, Peterson offered a glimpse into future gatherings. The next one is scheduled at 10 a.m. April 9.
“I think that today's participants would most like to learn their way around ancestry.com, which is free at the JBSA-Randolph library,” she said. “For the next session we will have a presentation on searching on ancestry.com and possibly do some live searches. I would also like to demo familysearch.com to show the similarity of the two programs so those in attendance can use both resources with confidence.”
Peterson and Lahue said the best starting point for genealogical research is the present.
“Begin with what you know best – yourself,” Peterson said. “Follow that with your parents and grandparents, gathering the documents and facts that you have. You need to build step by step, one generation at a time.”
“Start current,” Lahue said. “The past is the worst place to start. Start with your own family and work backwards.”
Family stories are an important part of history, Peterson said.
“We need to preserve our history – those family stories about great-grandma hearing the ‘little people’ in the hills of Ireland and the ancestor who left his farm with his wife and two children to travel for weeks to a foreign land for a better life,” she said. “It is a known fact that a family story can be lost in as little as two generations. What will we tell our children?”
For more information on the genealogy workshop, call the JBSA-Randolph Library at 210-652-5578.