Digging for roots & links to the past.

What's in a Name?

Besides using names to identify themselves, most people seldom give their names a second thought.

But when Barbara Wright discovered the name Washington in her family Bible, connecting her to the George Washington, she gave the name a lot more consideration.

The discovery had such an impact on the St. Catharines' resident, she started researching her family history and has now documented six United Empire Loyalists in her family.

"Loyalists are very proud of their ancestors because they experienced the very first hardships in this country," she says, adding that one out of every six Canadians is of Loyalist descent.

"And in terms of ancestors, the majority of people who settled in Niagara were from Butler's Rangers," says the 38-year-old district genealogist with the John Butler Branch of the United Empire Loyalists' Association of Canada.

"Many people are interested in the local branch because Col. John was their ancestor, "says Wright, adding Niagara and the Kingston area were two of the first areas to be settled by Loyalists, around 1775. The local branch has a focal group of about 110 members in the area, with many others across Canada and the US.

"Butler's Rangers was a group of men who followed Col. John Butler, a prominent and wealthy man from New York state who wished to stay loyal to King George III, as opposed to the colonies, and didn't want to break away," she says. "When you look at the names in the roster of Butler's Rangers, you'll see a lot of familiar names.

"To qualify for Loyalist status, and a Loyal grant, it must be proven that land was confiscated in the colonies during the American Revolution of 1775, or ancestors were in a regiment that took up arms during the revolution. Or, as of April 19, 1775, a Loyalist could have been a resident of Canada or of one of the colonies that declared themselves independent of Great Britain, but remained loyal to the Crown during the American Revolution.

"But to become a Loyalist is no easy task," says Wright, adding, "you have to prove your lineage."

"You have to document your line from yourself back to your Loyalist, and prove through double documentation, all the way back to who the Loyalist was.

"Much documentation was kept on the Loyalists themselves," says Marilyn Jackson, chairwoman of the Niagara Chapter of the Ontario Genealogical Society, adding that most of those who settled in Niagara were of German descent.

"Discovering a `scoundrel' or two in the family just makes it all more fun."

"Because of problems in Europe, many went to England as refugees, then came to the colonies to work on the farms, eventually settling here because they still wanted to stay loyal to the king who saved them from persecution in Europe," says the genealogist. "It's a very political thing."

Wright even has documentation that one ancestor is buried on a 200-acre homestead located on First Street Louth in St. Catharines, Ontario, and believes a total of four ancestors could be buried at the location.

"I've been told genealogy is the fastest-growing hobby," says the mother of two young daughters, who volunteers three days a week helping others with their family histories. "And when I find something for someone, I'm just ecstatic."

"People start studying their family history out of curiosity. But then it becomes a matter of pride to know where you came from," says Marilyn Jackson.

The OGS is an organization founded to encourage the study of family history, providing materials of interest to genealogists, as well as offering assistance to both the beginner and the advanced researcher.

The Niagara Peninsula Branch received its charter in 1980, and is now one of 27 branches in Ontario under the umbrella of the OGS. It has about 130 members and covers the geographical district of old Lincoln and Welland counties. Numbers in the OGS have grown steadily and it now boasts over 500 Canadian and International members.

"I wanted to know where I came from, who my ancestors were," says Jackson, who has been involved with the OGS since 1988.

"Some people search because they want to find if they come from royalty, but personally, I don't care," says the St. Catharines resident, noting some of her ancestors were here before the Loyalists.

And discovering a `scoundrel' or two in the family just makes it all the more fun, she says.

"It makes you feel complete somehow," says 52-year-old Jackson, adding she understands why adopted children have the need to know who their real parents are. "It's very fulfilling and also very frustrating."

"And everyone always wishes they had talked to a family member before they died," she says, adding there are many techniques for compiling family history.

Family group sheets are used to record information on family members and, with each marriage, a new chart is filled out, each married person being done twice, once on the father's chart and once on their own, says Jackson.

"Then you start asking your relatives, parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents, what they can remember and fill that information in on the charts."

"And there is an absolute wealth of information at the Land Registry Office," says Jackson, noting when people died and willed their land to their children, the will was attached to the land documents.

Census records are useful for finding age, religious affiliation, marital status and residence when searching for family history.

"You spend a lot of time at the archives in Toronto and in Ottawa, and you go to any seminars you can," she says.

And genealogists also spend hours going through the Latter Day Saints' reference records. Many public libraries have valuable reference departments with genealogy information, including the special collections department of the St. Catharines Centennial Library. And the Niagara Falls Public Library has extensive genealogical resources, as well as the inter-library loan department in which the Ontario Archives and the Public Archives of Canada participate. The Ontario Archives Catalogue of Microfilm and the PAC Tracing Your Ancestors in Canada booklet are available as archival resources.

Historical maps and atlases are also useful for locating lots and for descriptions of early towns, industries and historic buildings; and church registers are also useful for verifying birth, marriage and death records. Genealogists search just about every record available for missing links to the family tree, including military records, school records, ship passenger lists, assessment rolls, directories and voters' lists.

"And no matter where you go, there is always somewhere to gather information," says Jackson, who has personally documented her own family back to around 1730 and, with information gathered by others, back to about 1548.

"And every genealogist spends half their life in cemeteries, transcribing information or taking pictures to preserve the information on the stones," she says.

"But the stones are deteriorating at such a great rate. with the vandalism and acid rain," says Jackson, adding one of the mandates of the OGS is to transcribe all of the cemeteries to preserve the information.

"Sometimes cemeteries are the only evidence that someone existed," she says. "And it's important to document your sources as you go."

Jackson says many keep their family history on computer now. Most genealogists also have vast personal libraries at home.

"It doesn't matter how long you've been researching your family you'll never be finished." When people say they are finished tracing their family history, Jackson laughs.

"You think you are, eh?"