Understanding the basics of genealogy and family research

Genealogy is the second most common hobby within the United States, and its growing in popularity. The Richard I. Bong museum held a beginners course in learning how to research your family history. A great way to start your journey researching your family history is finding photographs, records, and even keepsakes.

Jay Hagen, the Veterans Memorial Hall Program Assistant at the St. Louis County Historical Society led the Genealogy course. “The first caveat would be telling everybody here is that if they’re a completion person. They’ve come to the wrong place because of genealogy and family tree work. It will never be done. So, just get what you can and pass it on to your next of kin and then they’ll carry on.” Hagen said.

Hagen also talked about how websites like 23 and Me or Ancestry.com, are potential resources to learn more about genealogy. “There are so many websites on genealogy out there. Every race, creed, orientation, you name it, we have documentation and everybody has repositories of data that can be accessed.” Hagen said.

Ryan Jost, a Volunteer at the Richard I. Bong Museum, talked about how he wanted to learn more about genealogy. “There was an individual who was knighted and given a crest and I have that crest; but I don’t have his story, because that was before 1720. So I want to learn more.” Jost said.

Genealogy can do more than just reveal stories about your family history. You can also find out your family’s inheritance and medical history. “My grandfather moved up near the northern border. Why did he go up there? There’s nothing there. As it turns out, the twenties and thirties, the areas that he was in did exceptionally well, raising crops, people even made so much money. But he only lasted one year. His father and two brothers died of the Spanish flu in 1918.” Jost said. The Douglas County genealogy club is meeting at the Richard I. Bong museum Feb. 8th to talk more about their family research.

For more information about genealogy you can look here https://www.archives.gov/riverside.

For another story in Superior you can look here https://www.wdio.com/front-page/top-stories/lake-superior-ice-festival-wraps-up-on-another-icy-saturday/.