Bill's Genealogy Blog

Bill Buchanan is a long-time genealogy enthusiast, living in Spruce Grove, Alberta, Canada. This blog will describe my experiences as I research my family history and help others.

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Location: Spruce Grove, Alberta, Canada

I am a retired online school teacher. I love family history. From 2007-2020, I spent much of my time providing part-time support for the world's largest free family history site https://familysearch.org This is very rewarding. I have helped others with the Family Tree and related FamilySearch products.
In 2010-2018 I served in the Edmonton_Alberta_Riverbend_Family_History_Centre..I have a FHC blog at Bill's Family History Center Blog Since 2020 I have been a family history consultant for Edmonton Alberta North Stake. For information on the Latter-day Saints and family history click https://www.comeuntochrist.org/

Saturday, March 21, 2020

Pandemic and research

Recently I have done a lot of research for a distant cousin. Fortunately , his ancestors came from England, where I have researched my own family lines. I am comfortable using many of the research tools available. Recently I discovered a useful trick for systematically checking Ancestry's Suggested Records list on the right-side of the screen. The issue I was having was that each time I looked at one of the suggested records I lost track of which one it was in the long list. This led to viewing the same record multiple times and missing others. The solution was so simple that is should have been obvious right from the start. Start at the top of the list and open each one in a new tab, For example:

Suggested Records
Northamptonshire, England, Church of England Baptisms, 1813-1912
Alice Pullen

England, Select Births and Christenings, 1538-1975
Alice Pullen

England, Select Births and Christenings, 1538-1975
Alice Pullen

1891 England Census
Alice Pullin

Northamptonshire, England, Church of England Burials, 1813-1912
Alice Pullen

England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1837-1915
Alice Pullen
(etc)

Then check each tab for useful information. Easy peasy! No time is wasted and no Suggested Record gets missed.


Pandemic
As we do family history research we come across a previous pandemic. The Spanish Flu Pandemic of 1918-1919 is said to have killed more people than World War I, which immediately preceded it..My great uncle and great aunt lost two adult children in the space of two days.

Elizabeth Jane Buchanan Livingstone, aged 25 died 10 Nov 1918 leaving a husband and an infant daughter.

John James Buchanan, her older brother died 11 Nov 1918, at age 34.leaving a wife and 3 children.
They shared a funeral service.

Many families lost loved ones during that pandemic. The same is happening around the world during the current pandemic. So far, the effects have been minor in my corner of the world, but unfortunately that will change, Please help your loved ones to stay safe. May this be a chapter of your family history (and mine) that will have a happy ending.