Several years ago Ilene Johnson spent nine days in Ireland after she located a relative from the U.S. who was born and raised in the same house that her family lived in during the early 1800s. Johnson along with her relative went to her great-grandfathers home, a location that was stated on his birth record that she has to this day. Traveling from Canada to Ireland and being able to stand in the home of her ancestors was a pivotal moment for Johnson.
"I've been working on that family tree since 1967 and verifying anything anybody told me and getting documents to prove it and to actually stand in the house where my relatives were in Irelandthat was awesome," she said.
Ilene Johnson is a certified Canadian genealogist from Weyburn and she delivered a presentation on genealogy at the Stoughton library on Saturday, Feb. 22. More than a dozen people attended and Johnson explained the intricacies of investigating ones roots. She had a similar session in 2011 but returned to answer questions people in town had.
"[I'm here] just to help them out and share my experiences, hopefully that helps them and promotes the study of genealogy," she said.
Johnson said she has been researching her family's history and learning to do it the right way, which she said is citing credible sources.
"I want it to be something I pass down to the family and in order to do it, I learned from other people. I'm always interested to do it whether it's my research or not, and so, I took classes and became certified in Saskatchewan," she said.
"Now I've taken five years of training through the Ontario National Institute of Genealogical Studies and I've become a certified in Canadian research there. I've taken digital classes and doing research in England and Ireland because of my family."
The Stoughton branch librarian Laura Sabados said many members of the community are interested in genealogy and wanted Johnson to return for another session. Sabados said having such an event in town is important as it allows people of find and have a connection to the past.
"My father was an only child and he had no other relatives in Canada, until a few years ago when he found out he had a cousin who lived in B.C. He lost track of them and could not remember their married names " she said, explaining the difficulty she faced in trying to track he father's cousin.
She indicated that Johnson's advice on how to search can be beneficial to those who attended, including herself, as she now understands that a search must be done in stages.
"It's very interesting finding out other people's background too," Sabados said.
One of the primary tools employed by Johnson and a tool she encourages those who attended is the genealogy session was the website ancestry.ca. The website provides subscribers with historical records such as birth and death certificates, census information and baptism records. All information that can be used to build a family tree and track existing family members or learn more about your ancestors. Johnson broke down the ways one can make connections to the past and said joining the Saskatchewan Genealogy Society is one way someone can dig deeper into their past. She said the society goes beyond ancestry.ca and can help to point you in the right direction.
Lorna Bossenberry was one of the attendants at the info session praised Johnson saying she provided good information.
"I came because I'm interested in genealogy, I work on my own family tree it's always good to hear information," she said.
