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Lorena Smalley

GENEALOGY DROP-IN CLASS
FACILITATOR: PAUL ROSE

Paul Rose is a dedicated historian and registered genealogist, has passionately pursued genealogy since his teens, tracing his ancestry back to 1100. 

Paul would love to discuss some points of interest with you at pr*******@***il.com

Meeting 1st Wednesday of each Month until June 2025

  • WSAC Boardroom
  • 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
  • Facilitator: Paul Rose
  • $3.00 drop-in fee
  • Bring your interest in Genealogy
  • laptop, IPAD, tablet, or paper and a pen!

New members are always welcome! Guests are welcome to join for a one-time visit.

QUESTIONS?  PLEASE CONTACT OUR PROGRAM TEAM

  • Phone: 780-483-1209 Ext. 228
  • Email: pr******@*******rs.ca
  • Visit our front desk

GENEALOGY DROP-IN UPCOMING TOPICS

There will be no meetings during the months of July and August.

Our next meeting at WSAC will be Wednesday, September 3.25 in the WSAC Boardroom at 1:00 pm. Stay tuned for more upcoming discussions!

ARCHIVED TOPICS

Polish Immigration and Settlement in Western Canada

  • Wednesday, June 4, 2025

At our June 4th meeting we welcomed John Szumlas, Honorary Polish Consul for Northern Alberta, who spoke on the settlement of Polish immigrants in Alberta and the Canadian Prairies.

Poland of course is located in Eastern Europe and has been ‘wedged’ between some of Europe’s major powers through its history. As a nation, it ceased to exist in the late 1700s when it was amalgamated into the Russian, Prussian (Germany) and Austrian Empires. As a result of the disappearance of Poland as a country, the Polish people have lived through several years of struggle and hardship in their efforts to retain their culture and heritage. Immigration was seen as one means to achieve that goal. There has been five major waves of Polish immigration to Canada:

Phase 1:         Pre-1890 Polish immigration was in Eastern Canada and the United States.

Phase 2:         1890s to 1939 with the promotion of Western settlement by the Canadian Government and the post World War I years when Poland became an independent nation, but struggled during the Depression years.

Phase 3:         1939 to 1956 with the invasion of Poland by Germany and Russia and the onslaught of Communism following the end of World War II.

Phase 4:         1956 – 1990s during the Communist regime in Poland and the exit of many Poles seeking freedom and opportunity in the West.

Phase 5:         Today and into the Future with a democratic Poland enjoying strong economic growth under the shadow of neighbouring Russia.

In the early stages, most Polish immigrants came to Canada as poor peasants with dreams of building a better life for themselves and their families. For the cost of $10.00, they could obtain 160 acres of land while retaining their culture, language and religion. Next to Winnipeg, Strathcona (now southern Edmonton) was the second largest immigration distribution center for new arrivals. Twenty-two Polish families were the first to come to Alberta. The men would leave their families at the distribution center and travel to their allotted homestead of bush, rocks and hard work. Their families would then follow and faced the hardship of working alongside their men building a self-sufficient life on their homestead. They integrated well with their Ukrainian counterparts who shared similar origins, culture and language, and together they created a life for themselves. They shared three common elements – Faith, Hope and Opportunity.

In addition, many Poles worked in the mining industry in southern Alberta. Coal was needed to fuel the growing railway network throughout the province, and several Polish immigrants had worked as miners in their homeland and it was only logical that they continue working as miners in Canada.

With the onslaught of the Depression, the German-Russian invasion of Poland in 1939 and then the Communist rule of Poland in the post-World War II years, Polish immigration continued. Many Poles simply ‘escaped’ the hardships in their homeland and made their way to western Canada to find a better life for themselves and their families. These were troubled times for Poland when the country was brutalized by German invaders, then Communist Russian rule. It was a period when many thousands of Poles were distributed around the world where their descendents live today.

John enhanced his presentation with several personal experiences of his own family immigration to Alberta which added to a better understanding of the challenges Polish immigrants faced, the hardships they overcame, and the ultimate success they achieved in their new homeland.

Polish immigrants have contributed significantly to Canadian culture and heritage. The Poles fought valiantly during the Second World War alongside other Canadian troops, and have played prominent roles in the governing, the economy and the culture of Canada. Today there is a estimated three million Canadians with Polish ancestry. Next to Toronto-Mississauga in Ontario, Alberta claims the second largest Polish group in our country. There are approximately 173,000 citizens in Alberta who can claim Polish heritage, 134,000 of whom live north of Red Deer. Today many of these are in their third and fourth generation and continue to contribute to the success of Canada in a wide variety of sectors.

The presentation was well received by those members who attended, and has contributed to our understanding of another facet of Alberta’s heritage.

Some additional notes from our June 4.25 meeting:

 

LEARNING MOMENT:

One resource that many of you may find of value with your genealogy research is ‘The Genealogy Gems Podcast’ with Lisa Louise Cooke. Lisa provides a weekly discussion on a wide variety of genealogy topics such as:

  • Hidden Gems: 15 Under-the-radar websites for genealogy
  • AI for Genealogy Research and Family History Writing
  • How to Find Maiden Names

Visit her website link at www.genealogygemspodcast.com where you will access to 295 available podcasts.   Thanks Ashley for bringing this suggestion to the group.

SALE OF 23andME:

23andME has been purchased by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., a biotechnology company that develops life-transforming medicines. Regeneron has stated that “They will not utilize any personal data acquired from the purchase that will contradict the

intended purpose for which it was shared with 23andME. Contributor’s personal data will not be employed for research without explicit consent”.

UPCOMING EVENT – Alberta Genealogical Society Fundraiser:

The AGS Edmonton branch will be having a fundraiser this coming October and are looking for volunteers from amongst their members. Some positions available are manager, banker, cashier, chip runner, count room workers and supervisors. If you are interested, contact Laura Turnbull at lj******@***us.net.

WSAC GENEALOGY GROUP SUMMER BREAK:

Our June 4.25 meeting was the last of the 2024-2025 season and we will adjourn for the months of July and August. Our next meeting at WSAC will be Wednesday, September 3.25 in the WSAC Boardroom at 1:00 pm.

Enjoy your summer and best wishes for successful genealogical research.

Researching Your Family’s Military History

  • Wednesday, April 2, 2025

Do you have ancestors who participated in Canada’s involvement in the Great World Wars? Did your grandfather fight at Vimy Ridge? Did your father land in Normandy as part of the Allied invasion of France in 1944? If you have an ancestor or relative who participated in one of Canada’s past military events or was a member of Canada’s military forces, you may be interested in this month’s meeting topic.

 I am pleased to welcome to our meeting Matthew Ostapchuk, Curator of Military and Government History with the Royal Alberta Museum here in Edmonton. Matthew’s topic is “Researching Your Family’s Military History” where he will explore how to research a family member’s Canadian military service particularly in the First and Second World Wars. This should be an interesting presentation and should help address those challenges you may have faced in learning about your relatives’ military history.

Our April 2.25 meeting of the WSAC Genealogy Group was very well attended and I thank all those who were able to join us. This is a summary of the meeting:

 

Learning Moment:   23andMe Bankruptcy

As many of you may be aware, the DNA analysis company 23andMe has filed for bankruptcy protection with the intention of either selling their activities or alternatively reorganizing. If the company is sold, then the next custodians of their genetic data will be awarded to the highest bidder with no future certainty as to the use of the company records and files.  Should they go bankrupt, all their websites, services and servers will likely close down and the data will be lost.

If you have used 23andMe for genealogy DNA analysis, you should do the following to protect your data and continue to access your results:

  • Download your data
  • Screenshot your matches
  • Backup your data
  • Delete your data from their website.

There are several websites detailing these procedures, but one source I have found to be useful is

https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/23andme-data-bankrupt/

 

Presentation:  ‘Researching Your Family’s Military History’

We were fortunate to welcome Matthew Ostapchuk, Curator of Military and Government History at the Royal Alberta Museum in Edmonton, who spoke on researching family military history during the First and Second World Wars.

Matthew broke his presentation into three principal parts:

  • Military objects (or artifacts) held at the RAM. He described army uniforms worn during World War I and the insignia/buttons/ epaulets attached, weapons used, medals awarded and other memorabilia from the war. Sources for tracing the background of several medals and awards were provided.
  • Personnel Records: Matthew walked the group through the research process of using the Library and Archives Canada website to find military files and documentation on enlisted personnel during both wars – service records, attestation papers, casualty details, and other records. It is important to keep in mind that World War I records are available for viewing and can be obtained either in paper format, electronically or viewed in person. World War II records have limited access; for those enlisted who are deceased, generally all documentation is available. For those enlisted still living or who have died in the last 20 years, this documentation is restricted to the enlisted person themselves or their legal representative.

Beware that receipt of requested documentation for World War II enlisted may take upwards of three years to be received.

  • War Diaries:  These records can be a useful source to ‘fill in the blanks’ about the actual history and events that surrounded the combat activity of ancestors. War diaries were kept by each unit and detailed the daily activity that the unit experienced. They speak of actual combats and the events the unit experienced during the combat. The diaries go beyond the actual documentation provided in the Personnel Files and give description to what the units were experiencing at any particular time during frontline combat.

I have provided a copy of the listing of websites below that Matthew provided that are useful in researching each of these three components of which he spoke.

In addition, the military used a significant series of acronyms in their documentation, the meaning of which are unfamiliar to the average researcher. A dictionary of these acronyms can be found on the Library and Archives Canada website at the following address:

https://library-archives.canada.ca/eng/collection/research-help/military-heritage/Pages/military-abbreviations.aspx

In addition, Matt has provided the electronic version of the resources that he had shared. He has added a link to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website and advises that users can use their search tool to find where individuals are buried or commemorated.

 

Researching Your Family’s Military History: Resources

Researching your family’s “Objects”

 

Personnel Records 

 

War Diaries

 

Military abbreviations used in service files

 

Commonwealth War Graves Commission

The Harvest Excursions and Women on the Prairies

  • Wednesday, March 5, 2025

These two events may have been the reason behind some of your ancestors migrating to Western Canada and should provide some insight into the life and challenges they may have faced.

 

The Harvest Excursions

With the growth of the grain growing industry in western Canada beginning in the early 1890s, the Prairies became one of the world’s largest grain producers. Farming the grain crops was very labour intensive in these times particularly in the harvest period from August through to October. The grain was usually cut either by scythe or a horse drawn cutter, then stooked to further dry and ripen, then gathered on wagons and taken to a thresher to be separated into grain kernels and straw for animal bedding. The process required many hands – the farmer, farm labourers, sometimes the farmer’s wife and older children, and neighbouring farmers – all very labour intensive. Still there was a shortage of hands to meet the harvest in the short time available.

The CP Railway saw an opportunity to improve this process by encouraging men and sometimes women to come west to assist with the harvest. This opportunity was intended also to promote western settlement, the sale of railway lands to new settlers, as well as increase the harvest yield hence increasing the need for railway transport of grain to shipping terminals. Beginning in about 1900 until 1930 thousands of young men took advantage of reasonable rail rates to experience the West. During the mid 1920s, over 50,000 men travelled to the Prairies annually. For many, the lure of The West brought many to take up homesteading and remain permanently on the Prairies.

We looked at their life on the prairies while harvesting, the challenges they faced, and the contribution the harvest excursions made to Western Canada. With the advent of the combine in the late 1920s and the onslaught of the Great Depression, the Harvest Excursions came to end.

 

Women On the Prairies

In 1911, the ratio of men to women on the Prairies was such that for every 1,000 men there were 730 women. Part of this discrepancy was the settlement of men who came on the harvest excursions. Men exceeded women by about 25% which put the growth of families and family life at risk as well as created a shortage in some labour sectors such as teaching, nursing, domestic help, seamstresses and general labour. The Government of Canada launched a campaign to bring women west, and through advertising in magazines, billboards, and posters they created an idyllic image of life on the Canadian Prairie for women. We looked at the actual reality of that “idyllic life” and the experiences many women encountered. Theirs’ was often a role of spouse, mother, farm labourer, factory worker, teacher, etc. They faced tremendous challenges – loneliness, long labouring days, large numbers of children, disease and illness, loss of their spouse and the need to “go it alone”. They had few rights compared to their male counterparts, earned less money for equivalent work, and had few legal privileges. It was a hard life for sure.

What came from looking at these two elements of history on the Prairies was that both the Harvesters and the Women who followed demonstrated an undoubtable strength and courage to face the challenges they encountered. But as one woman said “these folks were ones of courage, strength, humour and determination. And for those who endured and survived, they would do it all over again.”

CHECK OUT THE GENEALOGY GROUP NEWSLETTER

 

March / April 2025

January / February 2025

November / December 2024

Active Aging Series: GENEALOGY & HISTORIC EDMONTON

On Thursday, October 24, 2024, we hosted our Active Aging Series: Genealogy & Historic Edmonton.  It was a wonderful morning as we learned about the City of Edmonton Archives, the different resources available at the Edmonton Public Library and the Genealogy group hosted at our centre!

CLICK HERE to see all the resources the guest speakers provided!