People were able to learn about how to research their family history during a Red Deer event this past weekend.
The Alberta Genealogical Society hosted its annual Family History Fair at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Red Deer on Saturday, April 26.
"We're helping people find their families," Lianne Kruger, Alberta Genealogical Society president and co-chair of the Family History Fair.
"We're also talking a little bit about how people can write their own story because those stories are important for their descendants. We all wish our ancestors had written stories about their lives, so we need to do it for our kids."
When researching your family's past, you start with "the know," explained Kruger.
"You ask yourself what you already know. You write that information down, look at it and then start working on the unknown," she said.
"You look at one person or one couple at a time. You don't try to eat the whole elephant at once. You look to find a birth or baptism record, a marriage record, and a death or burial record for each person. We'll focus on our direct family line, such as grandparents, great-grandparents and great-great-grandparents. But we also want to know about their siblings because you might find living relatives out there who can help us learn even more about your family."
Kruger said she feels people have become more interested in learning about the history of their family over the past number of years.
"People are interested in learning where they came from and what their ancestors did in their lives. They'll have questions like, 'Why do I look the way I do?' ... It's cool to learn more about who we are," she said.
About 120 people attended the 2025 Family History Fair in Red Deer. This event, which has been running since 2014, features sessions with different speakers.
"This year, for the first time, we opened up one-on-one opportunities with people who know how to do genealogy. People can come in and say, 'Here's what I know about my family history. What do I do now?'" said Kruger.
"After learning about the process, they can go into the family search centre here (at the the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), which has access to records from all around the world. If you're from Sweden, for example, there's a database you can access," said Kruger.
For more information on the Alberta Genealogical Society's Red Deer branch, visit www.abgenealogy.ca/red-deer-district-branch.
