WE ARE THE CHOSEN

We Are The Chosen

In each family there is one who seems called to find the ancestors.
To put flesh on their bones and make them live again,

To tell the family story and to feel that somehow they know and approve.

Doing genealogy is not a cold gathering of facts
But instead, breathing life into all who have gone before.

We are the storytellers of the tribe, all tribes have one.
We have been called, as it were, by our genes.

Those who have gone before cry out to us, "Tell our story", so we do.
In finding them, we somehow find ourselves.

How many graves have I stood before now and cried? I have lost count.
How many times have I told the ancestors, "You have a wonderful family;
you would be proud of us."

How many times have I walked up to a grave and felt somehow there was
love there for me? I cannot say.

It goes beyond just documenting facts.
It goes to who I am and why do I do the things I do.

It goes to seeing a cemetery about to be lost forever to weeds and
indifference and saying, "I can't let this happen."

The bones here are bones of my bone and flesh of my flesh.
It goes to doing something about it.

It goes to pride in what our ancestors were able to accomplish,
How they contributed to what we are today.

It goes to respecting their hardships and losses,
Their never giving in or giving up, their resoluteness to go on and
build a life for their family.

It goes to deep pride that the fathers fought and some died to make and keep us a Nation.

It goes to a deep and immense understanding that they were doing it for us.

It is of equal pride and love that our mothers struggled to give us birth.

Without them we could not exist, and so we love each one, as far back as we can reach.

That we might be born who we are, that we might remember them.

So we do.

With love and caring and scribing each fact of their existence,
Because we are they and they are the sum of who we are.

So, as a scribe called, I tell the story of my family.

It is up to that one called in the next generation to answer the call
and take my place in the long line of family storytellers.

That is why I do my family genealogy,

That is what calls those young and old to step up and restore the memory
or greet those whom we had never known before.

I felt called upon in 2001 to begin researching my family history, something I had not given one thought to previously. I believe it began with a lovely lady I met on our street in Redcliff named Della Stout. Della had been researching her family tree for many years, using the old fashioned methods of reading and transcribing microfilms at a family history library, using snail mail to send letters requesting information, certificates, etc, and rather than storing all her information in an electronic file in her computer, which she didn't have, she made up scrapbooks of information. She had many scrapbooks, full to the brim, of the different lines she had researched for both her family and her husband's family. She lovingly and proudly shared with me her work and encouraged me to give it a try. I remember those days, not knowing where on earth to start, and not having much luck with internet searches. I decided I better try to get a background and went to my Mom who gave me as much as she knew, which wasn't a lot but it was a good beginning to what has become a huge passion of mine. I now have several scrapbooks of my own on several family lines and also one of Bruce's family too. And I have a genealogy software program where I store my information.
I pestered many of my relatives over the past seven years for information that they could remember, for photos, documents, anything that I could use to glean information from and to put into my scrapbooks as momentos of the past. Looking back I remember the excitement and joy I experienced as the world of history opened up to me. Every new tidbit, every new contact discovered, helped to grow a history so rich and full I am in awe at how far I have come. A thirst for more knowledge and a hunger for more facts grew very quickly after my first few discoveries and I began learning where to look and who to ask and how to dig. I am proud to say I feel I have become a very good researcher, I have become very resourceful, and I never give up. Sometimes I have had to put a thought or intuition on the back burner for a while and come back to it; but I have always been able to eventually solve a complicated mystery. And the intense satisfaction that has come from that has given me a great sense of fullfillment over the years.
Another one of the joys of this endeavour is the wonderful group of people I have come to meet over the years, some have become life long friends and I have had the great fortune to meet distant relatives, some in far away places and some who were closer to home whom I came to discover had been living right under my nose for all my life.
One truly great friendship began in a genealogy class in 2002, a beautiful spirit, who went out of her way to help me out, to get me set up with a software program where I could store my information on my computer. She and her young daughter became close friends very quickly after that and she and I would visit and share our love of genealogy and we would travel together to a town an hour and a half away to do our research together, we would spend hours in the little library, reading microfilms, making photocopies and then when the day was done we would wearily make our way back home, discussing our finds all the way. Those were such great times shared together. Thanks for all your help and love, Tammy!
Most of my ancestors have passed on. And I came to discover that there were
many stories that were buried along with them. There were so few family members left who had the answers that I was seeking. There were few family photos passed down and whenever I would be lucky enough to receive any, I would be so grateful. I am fortunate to have been able to pass along my information to others in my family who are also interested in what I have accomplished. And I have been able to share my expertise with others who have an interest and have guided them and shown them where to look and have been able to use my resources to transcribe information for strangers researching their family history. Giving back, when one has received so much from others is a very rewarding experience and one of the things I cherish the most about this hobby.


One of the things I have been able to do is to gather photos from graveyards all over the world. The one above was taken by a very kind soul in Australia who actually went to a graveyard to take this photo of one of my ancestor's graves. There is a huge, worldwide community of people researching their family history and so many kind volunteers who do things like this to help out others who cannot make the trip themselves to the countries where their ancestors lived. There are many many of those who spend time transcribing documents and making the information available on the world wide web or by email to help someone out who has no money, time or options.
Most of my successes have happened within my Mother's family history. Her family came from the UK... England, Ireland, Scotland and some came by ships to find a better life in Canada.
My Father's family history on the other hand has been an almost impossible nut to crack. They came over from the Ukraine/Roumania and we know some of what happened after they arrived in North America but much of what occured over there is a mystery. Perhaps we may never know but with the constant barrage of information that has been made available it may only be a matter of time before we discover what has alluded us up till now.

My greatest fullfillment has been the strides I have made to breathe life into my ancestors. To put a human side to the pictures, documents, and information I have found over the years. To learn of their struggles, their achievements and their lives and just knowing they too were flesh and bone at one time, just as we are today, has opened up a whole new appreciation of the wonderful lineage I come from.