Tag: genealogy

Researching Your Family History

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Have you thought about exploring your family tree? Or have started and have hit a road block? The South Peace Regional Archives has partnered with the Grande Prairie Branch of the Alberta Genealogical Society to bring to you a free workshop focusing on your family tree.

There will be classes that will help you further your research, compile it into a story as well we will show you how to preserve special documents or photographs. With that in mind we have printers on-hand to walk you through the process of publishing your family book so it can be shared with a wider audience.

We are very excited to have vendors who will be giving demos of their products. Shop the Hound has the Flip-Pal Scanner which is a wonder for scanning those old photos, there will be scrapbooking tables, preservation supplies, demonstrations, and displays.

Grab a friend, come to the Golden Age Centre on Feb. 17th and start climbing your family tree!

resized right poster

Help Identifying a Photo

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Frank, Charlie, Arthur, Lena Father, Jack, Fanny (mother) Annie not in picture

Frank, Charlie, Arthur, Lena
Father, Jack, Fanny (mother)
Annie not in picture

The Archives needs your help, we have a photo that we would like help identifying. The photo arrived with items belonging to the Gilmour family but it does fit with the information we have on the family.

Here is what we know about the Gilmours – William Gilmour was born in Paris, Ontario Aug. 5, 1891 s/o Joseph and Hattie Chase. He farmed at Port Robinson in the  Muskoka district and married Priscilla Ryckman Phillips of Sarnia. After lightning struck their barn the family decided to head West. They settled on SW 22-71-8-W6, just north of where the Wembley elevators now stand.

The Gilmour family consisted of William & Priscilla, along with children George, Ernest and three daughters Sarah Wood, Hattie May & Mrs. Ernest Wilson.

The back of the photograph in question identifies the people in the picture as –

Frank, Charlie, Arthur & Lena

Father, Jack, Fanny (mother), Annie not in picture.

Our hopes in posting this photograph is to find an answer as to how this photograph connects with the Gilmour family.

Busy at the Archives

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New fonds that soon will be finding their way onto our on-line finding aid and are now available to come in and search are:

1)      Bay Tree Community Club

2)      Bay Tree Community Hall

Getting the records processed and ready for the public.

Getting the records processed and ready for the public.

3)      Many Creeks Cemetery Company

4)      Lake Saskatoon Community Club

5)      Saskatoon Lake Agricultural Society

6)      Buffalo Lakes Community Society

7)      Many Springs (Buffalo Lakes) Ladies Club

8)      Buffalo Lakes New Horizon Group

9)      Buffalo Lakes Curling Association

10)   Kleskun Lake Community Association

11)   Kleskun Lake Ladies Club

What a wonderful view into a community by processing these records. I found out what they did for entertainment; dances, bazaars, quilting, card parties, Halloween gatherings. It was also quite apparent how giving and generous our pioneers were by organizing hot drinks for school children, giving a silver spoon to the first baby born to a family, wedding suppers, funeral lunches, gifts for families who had lost their homes to a fire to name a few. Money raised at the events hosted by these clubs would always be gifted out to the needy in the community, whereby a donation to the Cancer Society, Red Cross, Johanna’s Maternity Home in Sexsmith, or any organization in need. The Community Societies were a way for the people to socialize and do so much more, they were the catalyst for community life.

For more information on these fonds or any other at the archives send us an email at spra@telus.net or call 780-830-5105.