By Connie Weight cweight@nebraska.tv Twitter @ntvconnieweight
Genealogy. It's that link to your past that shows where you are today. A local organization helps people take that first step into building your family tree.
Saturday afternoon, the Ft. Kearny Genealogical Society hosted an introductory workshop, sharing tools on how to find out more about one's family history.
It's like a puzzle, taking the desire to learn the good and the bad things about ancestry, and finding where to go to get the information.
Even with technology to help guide you through, the simplest part is starting.
"You start with a notebook, and you start with one line of your family, say let's start with dad. Who was dad's mom and dad, do you have a birth date, and you kind of make a chart on your own. That's where you start," said society president Donna Richards. "Put mom's name on the other side, keep them separate. It just goes and goes. It's like you're building a pyramid, but you're going backwards."
The society will also do the searching for you if you're not able to, including going to courthouses, museums, and even cemeteries.
REPORTER'S NOTES: The Ft. Kearny Genealogical Society lists five reasons to start looking into family history as follows:
5. You can dig up your ancestors without a shovel or getting dirt on your clothes. 4. You can learn the grave facts without getting tombstoned or disturbing any body. 3. You can get a rise out of your stuffy aunts while learning family secrets. 2. You can realize that your family history has some grave plots, and they just might be her-story. (plots=stories, get it?)
And the Number 1 reason to do Genealogy: You can finally use some branch of that history you memorized in school. But, be forewarned, you could find yourself in a tree!
If you would like to get started, contact Donna Richards at (308) 293-2258.
