Discovering ancestors: Conference teaches how to trace family history

By Kristine Thomas

Roxanne Walstrom discovered she’s related to a Mayflower pilgrim and there’s a possibility she has an English knight in the family, though she hasn’t confirmed it yet. Ethel Bryant has traced her mother’s genealogical roots to Joan of Arc.

Both Silverton women love the adventure of tracing their family’s history and discovering who they are related to.

“I think it is important to know who you are,” Bryant said. “There is a legacy and a history that has been left to each of us and knowing where you came from makes you a fuller person.”

When people ask Walstrom why she investigates her ancestors, she tells them it is exciting and addicting.

“Finding your ancestor’s name in an old, dusty record or a wedding picture in a yellowed newspaper clipping or learning how their lives interacted with historical events of this country, gives you a personal link to history,” Walstrom said, adding the search requires some research skills.

The Silverton Family History Center and the Silverton Ancestry Detectives are inviting community members to discover their roots at the Passport to Genealogy Research conference Saturday, April 30, 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.  at the Silverton Latter Day Saints Church, 745 W. Main St. The cost is $5. Classes include Hiking on The Immigrant’s Trail; DNA Your Paper Trail; Beginning Genealogy; What I Wish I’d Known, Photo Restoration and Preservation, and Census Records.

“We have invited a lot of local experts throughout the area to speak at the conference and share what they know about researching your genealogy,” Bryant said. “Anyone can trace their family’s history with a little curiosity and perseverance.”

There are many reasons people are curious about their family’s history from wanting to know medical history to determining their ethic origin.

Bryant began researching her family history when she was 15 by asking her grandparents to share their stories.

“I believe talking to your relatives is the place to start when beginning your research,” Bryant, 62, said.

“Putting together your family history is like a puzzle with some pieces easy to find and others hard as you fill in the blanks.”

Walstrom lived in Salt Lake City where she did research at the Family History Library and took college classes. She enjoys learning about her predecessors’ daily lives and how they interacted with history.

What both Bryant and Walstrom have found fascinating is how something they do can be traced to their family’s roots. Bryant discovered she has a long line of family members who love music. Walstrom found a strong family belief and pride in “our country.”

“Every generation has a career military man in it, either officer or enlisted, dating back to 1700, before our country became the United States of America, right up to the present,” Walstrom said. “My husband retired from a 30-year military career and to discover that other women in my family have been married to military men was a connection I was not expecting.”

Walstrom is a member of Silverton’s Ancestry Detectives, a group that meets 10 a.m. to noon the second Tuesday of the month at Silverton Senior Center.

With the popularity of genealogy and the advancement of technology, Walstrom said it’s important to know what Web sites are trustworthy, how to access public records and where to go when you hit a brick wall. The discovery is worth the search, she added.

“So many people think their ancestors were just ordinary people,” Walstrom said. “They could not be more wrong. Our ancestors’ lives and hardships made this country. The further back you go, the more extraordinary they were.”