Dig out family history roots at ROOTS 2007

Interested in delving into your family history? Why wait when one of this province’s foremost genealogical societies is right in your neighbourhood?

Celebrating 30 years of volunteer community service, the Quebec Family History Society is gearing up for ROOTS 2007, its fourth international conference to be held at McGill University from Friday, June 15 to Sunday, June 17. “It will be the largest ever family history conference held in English in Quebec,” said president Gary Schroder during a tour of their Pointe Claire meeting space and extensive library. “A great opportunity, a once in every five years chance, to meet a number of family research experts and others who share the same interests all in the same room.”

Don’t let their name fool you. They have resources and access to information on Quebec families, but also those from other parts of Canada, the United States and the British Isles, Australia and New Zealand. The society works closely with Jewish Genealogical Society of Montreal.

Notably their expansive library collections include sections on United Empire Loyalists, families that lived in the Gaspé, and recently acquired works on the Quebec City area. Inter-library loans are also available.

Doug Pope, 70, of Pointe Claire and retired architect who worked on Montreal’s Expo 67, is part of the conference organizing committee and a regular on librarian roster. “When I joined 17 years ago, I found you could meet and connect with people very easily. Before long I was meeting cousins in all parts of the world, California, Newfoundland/Labrador, who contributed to the making of my family tree,” he said.

Despite the many online tools and resources, Pope stressed the value in joining a local group. “Attending conferences and learning from experts are vital to the process. They don’t happen all that often, but they can give you that kick-start to get started or prod to keep going when you hit those dead-ends.”

For anyone who has gotten what genealogists speak of as “the bug for family history,” Pope says there’s “lots of fun and it keeps me healthy, my brain active. Really, all that’s needed is an inquiring mind and an interest in organizing details.”

Kirkland resident Dawn Ouellette, vice-president and a 12-year veteran member, is the editor of Connections, the Quebec Family History Society’s quarterly published journal. “The conference attracts so many knowledgeable people. Meet old friends, make new acquaintances and hear stories. Genealogists love sharing and are just as happy to tell you about their ancestor who was a horse thief or hanged, as the one who was famous,” she said.

ROOTS 2007 includes a gala banquet, book fair, tours of nearby archives and two full days of workshops and lectures. Learn how to find ancestors through censuses, wills and estate files, court and land records or preserve your family history documents and photographs. The weekend ends with a panel of experts that will respond to specific participant inquiries. For more information about ROOTS 2007 and the Quebec Family History Society is located at 173 Cartier Ave. or call 514-695-1502 or visit www.qfhs.ca/.