56
| SUNRAYS MARCH 2015
ONLINE:
SCTEXAS.ORG
PHOTOS BY PHOTO PHIL
Solving Mysteries:
The Genealogical Puzzles of Life
By Karen Swennson
The study of genealogy has become a popular hobby; research tools, including genealogy management software and
advances in DNA technology have helped those who enjoy this pastime gather information about their relatives.
I
magine taking on a puzzle you’ve
never seen before, with no idea how
many pieces it contains or what the
end results might be. Challenging?
Definitely. But for many, watching as
something recognizable takes form can
be a captivating process of discovery.
Such is the experience of genealogy
research. Between photos and names
and government documents, the
range of information available can
be overwhelming, but whether you’re
an investigative novice or a seasoned
research veteran, chances are, someone in
the Sun City Computer Club’s Genealogy
Special Interest Group (SIG) will be able
to steer you in the right direction.
Since its inception in 1997, genealogy has
grown from eight members to a current
mailing list of over 200. The only one
of the club’s original three SIGs still in
existence, the group hosted 625 meeting
attendees and 587 class participants in
2014 alone. Clearly there’s no shortage
of ancestral curiosity here in Sun City!
Betty Jean Steinke, Genealogy SIG
leader since 2007, and her support
group leads—Bonnie Berg (Family Tree
Maker), Lori Trenk (Legacy) and Betty
Fowler (DNA)—maintain close contact
with groups like the Williamson County
and Austin Genealogical Societies, both
rich sources of information and speakers.
The SIG’s monthly meetings offer a
wide variety of topics, including (but
not limited to): how to navigate specific
software; utilizing websites and blogs;
developing your own website; ordering
films from the LDS Family History
Center, and access online indexed records
(Genealogy SIG members frequently
volunteer to index files for the LDS
website). Speaker topics have included
how to prepare for a research trip; which
records to search, where to find them,
and what information might be gleaned
from each; and how to “read between the
lines.” The Genealogy SIG’s web page
lists educational opportunities, nearby
genealogy resources, websites, research
tips, regularly scheduled local meetings
and notices of special events.
Whenmany began tracing their families’
roots in the 1970s, therewere no genealogy
database applications. A limited number
of documents were stored on microfilm,
but in-depth research often required
writing numerous queries to genealogical
publications or trips to courthouses and
museums to review historic records.
In 1983, The Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-Day Saints (LDS) introduced
its free PAF (Personal Ancestral File)
genealogy management software.
Followed by the release of Genealogical
Data Communication (GEDCOM) in
1986, data from numerous different
software programs was linked together,
enabling users to review, save, and share
a robust amount of information, and
giving rise to the genealogy technology
industry as we know it today.
Locating an ancestral family home
can involve intricate research and
lead to surprising results. Betty Jean
began researching a man she thought
might be the brother of an ancestor and
discovered he had fought in the Civil War,
