For the longest time I could feel that my family lacked tradition and a sense of unity. Nothing was passed down through the years, no incredible stories, just nothing. After awhile you begin to wonder, where do I come from and what history does my family name have? Well, maybe not everyone. I most certainly have been hooked on it for the past while. It all began a few years ago when I got fed up with how disconnected my family was. I decided I wanted to get a signet ring and start a tradition. Unfortunately, signet ring engravings are quite expensive so I skimped on the ring and it wore down quite quickly. I decided I’ll return to it once I begin to start a family. But in the meantime, I would look into my own ancestry.

Looking up family histories gets easier year after year as more documents are converted to digital. Also some people online have already begun your family tree and you don’t even know it! Imagine my surprise when bridging gaps in my Mom’s family tree lead me to finding out all of the Slauenwhites as far back as the Schlagentweits in the sixteen hundreds! It’s been incredible seeing where I’ve come from; from Germany on my Mom’s side and England on my Dad’s side. However it’s nearly a thousand years of being in Canada before my family history is on another continent.

To help anyone just starting out, here is exactly what you need to do. Start with questioning your relatives and go as far back as you can. If you’re lucky your grandparents will remember their grandparents names, the trick is to get back at least one hundred years. The reason for you to get back that far is because after one hundred years, all the birth and death certificates and immigration notes become free for public view. After getting back as far as you can, begin searching their details. You will have to Google them and probably do a little Googling about where to actually find the information you need! Hell, even just Google is a good enough tool! As morbid as it sounds, looking up your ancestors obituaries and birth and marriage certificates traces a path through history that we can’t walk ourselves. It makes me think about the journey I’ve been taking going west across Canada and then eventually moving to Australia.

I think that this whole journey has been rather informative and interesting. In fact it’s been so interesting I’d be willing to help someone with their search if they’d like. Just feel free to email me if you have any questions or concerns! Thanks for reading!