Winter Blahs

Now is the perfect time to start researching family history. The snow and cold prevent you from leaving your house, so what are you suppose to do? Some people who have some time on their hands, an internet connection, and basic computer skills (I'm looking at you recently retired Baby Boomers) will attempt to do some exploration into their family history. I recently read in the December 2008/January 2009 edition of The Beaver" about a website designed to help people do just that. The new Roots webpage features "... past Roots columns, links to provincial genealogy sites, plus a forum where you can ask questions and discuss genealogy- related issues and topics," according to the Editor's note by Mark Reid. I decided to check out the site and see how useful it could be to the amateur genealogist.

Since the site was only recently established, there are only 99 registered members. To be able to fully benefit you would have to register on the website. But once you are a member you can post questions and answers on the forum, join and create groups, write a blog, post pictures, and create events. Since there are not a lot of members, the website is seeing little action, but hopefully over time this will change.

The best thing about this website, in my opinion, is the forum. So far, people have posted what aspect of history they are interested in, what they are researching, and various genealogical-type questions. So far, people have been pretty good writing back responses, offering advice and answering questions. However, the forum seems to lack organization. It does not organize posts by themes, and if site activity and the use of the forum increases, it could become very difficult to find a certain thread or topic.

The "Group" part of the website also has the potential to unite families and allow them to pool information. But I did not see the promised "Links" page, unless they consider the Google ad to be sufficient.

I predict that if this site grows, by adding links and more members, it could prove to be very useful to amateur Canadian genealogists who are looking for a little help or a good place to start research.