The Real Starting Line

By week three, I had put together a list of information that could be used to launch the search of my father's family in a serious way — although I did not know if it were all true.

1. The family came to Canada from Yorkshire England in the 1920s.
2. One branch was rumoured to have come to England from Ireland as a result of the potato famine, which started in 1845.
3. Another branch of the family was rumoured to have moved from Scotland to Yorkshire in the 1800s.
4. My father said that we also had roots going quite far back in Yorkshire, so some branch was probably native to Yorkshire.
5. Dad’s birth certificate showed he was born in Halifax, Yorkshire in 1920 and it showed his parents names.
6. The marriage certificate for my grandparents showed they were married in Leeds in 1913 and also showed the names of their fathers
7. Miscellaneous family documents and photographs indicated family surnames were Lowe, Pickles, Dawson, Connell and Rochester.
8. Documents showed that my grandfather served in the British military during World War I.
9. I had correspondence from my grandmother that showed a couple of her sisters names.
10. I had correspondence from my grandfather that showed one of his sisters' name.

I used this list to continue searching FamilySearch.org but either found nothing or far too much (the issue of common names coming up again and again).

I needed help. Our local genealogy society hosts a booth at the Highland Games each year, and each year I stop by and pick up a brochure. The previous year, I'd even signed up for the society's mailing list and had been getting a regular newsletter by email (which to be honest, I only read sometimes). Because of this, though, I knew they had an office with a library and even where it was.