Making the most of a short genealogy excursion

June 7, 2006 7:18 AM

I'm going on a spur-of-the-moment 1½ day trip to Manitoba to visit relatives I have never met before and do genealogical research. How can I make the best of such a short time? What preparations should I make beforehand?

Accommodations are covered. There are Roman Catholic churches and grave sites I would like to visit and obtain records from, as well as photos and other such miscellaneous curios to collect. Trouble is I'm new to the genealogy game and this may be the only shot I have at getting valuable records and uncovering more names. My mother (whom I've had limited contact with over the years), has suggested she give me a tour. What am I overlooking?

posted by rinkjustice to sports, hobbies, & recreation (6 comments total)

You might try contacting the Manitoba Genealogical Society and/or the Archives of Manitoba. Whereabouts in Manitoba are you planning to go?
posted by Johnny Assay at 7:47 AM on June 7, 2006

It really depends on where you are going. There are a lot of resources in Winnipeg, for example, but 1½ days doesn't give you a lot of time to just browse.

If you're going out to the sticks, a tour would be a great idea. Also, a lot of small towns often compile these really neat books featuring local history and family biographies to celebrate centennials and similar events. You should see if one's been issued for the area you'll be visiting.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 7:54 AM on June 7, 2006

Alvy and John: I'm going to Winnipeg, The Portal of the West
posted by rinkjustice at 8:37 AM on June 7, 2006

May god have mercy on your soul. :D

In that case, considering time restraints, you'd probably be best served by checking out the archives.
The Winnipeg Millennium Library is also a hop, skip, and jump away from a lot of the Government archive buildings, conveniently located in Winnipeg's lovely and only sometimes hobo-infested downtown.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 9:00 AM on June 7, 2006

I'm a genealogy buff as well so I'm definitely excited for you. It sounds like you have your research at least fairly organized. Focus on information gathering. I would suggest maybe coming up with 1-5 goals you'd like to accomplish or bits of information you would like to get. Focus on information that you can't otherwise get either online or by mail. I would definitely spend more time interviewing relatives, looking through their photographs and personal papers than at the archives, especially if these relatives are older. If you have a tape recorder, bring it. Personal stories and anecdotes are invaluable.

Do you have a digital camera? Mine came in handy because a lot of the things that I couldn't make or get copies of, I could take pictures. I took pictures of the only photo anyone has of my great grandmother and I took pictures of every page of the guestbook from her funeral. I took pictures of everything that I thought was even remotely relevant and I'm glad I did....you never know what will pop up later in your research. Take pictures of the graves sites, churches, homes, people, documents, anything that you can.

Also it may be helpful to have cheat sheet of surnames, locations, etc. for quick reference. When dealing with long passed ancestors it can be difficult to remember what great great great grandmother married which great great great grandfather.

Good luck!
posted by SoulOnIce at 9:43 AM on June 7, 2006

Bring granola bars, caffine tablets, and a video camera.

The trick with the camera is run it all the time. you think you might run it later. run it all the time. run it now. run it as you get off the plane. Run it for introductions... goodbyes... trust me.
posted by ewkpates at 9:47 AM on June 7, 2006