Special Interest Groups (SIGs)

These groups usually hold their own meetings at places and times determined by the participants. The latest times/places can also be found in our online Calendar. Where the AFHS Library is referenced, it can be found at 712 - 16 Avenue NW unless otherwise stated.

 

Beginners SIG

The Beginners Special Interest Group is an informal monthly meeting of those beginning to do family history. The intent is to provide a forum where beginners can ask questions they might feel uncomfortable asking in front of the Society's bigger monthly general meeting, and where beginners can talk together about problems they want to discuss ad hoc, as distinct from a formal course or a set piece talk.

 

The group is led by experienced, but not necessarily expert family historians. All beginners are welcome. The group usually meets on the second Thursday of each month in, except for July and August, the AFHS Library.

 

The contact for the Beginners SIG can be reached at .

 

Celtic SIG

The Celtic SIG is for anyone with Scottish and/or Irish Ancestry. We meet on the fourth Saturday of each month (except December, July, and August), at 10:00 a.m. at the AFHS Library.

 

For further information, contact [Chair position is vacant]. See also the collection of Irish and Scottish website links that we've compiled.

 

English/Welsh SIG

Anyone with English or Welsh ancestry in their family tree are welcome to come and meet other genealogists with similar interests. Meetings take place in the AFHS library.

 

What can it offer?

• expertise in English genealogy
• small group discussion
• individual help with specific problems
• AFHS library - English section and the convenience of extra browsing time

 

Contact . See also the collection of English and United Kingdom website links that we've compiled.

 

Genealogy Computing Group

The GCG is the technology Special Interest Group for the Society, otherwise known as the Computer SIG. It is also the parent group for the various genealogy software SIGlets. The meetings are on the second Saturday morning of each month, except for the summer months of June, July and August. They are held at the AFHS Library, located at 712 - 16 Avenue NW.

 

The meetings consist of two sessions; beginner and speaker. The first half is an open question or beginners period, where a panel of senior members answer questions from attendees. The second half features a presentation on contemporary genealogy computer topics. For ongoing meeting details, see the AFHS web calendar or contact the Chair: .

 

Metis SIG

The Metis SIG is for those who have or are interested in Metis roots. This includes those who prefer the term “mixed-blood” and even those who are First Nations. The purpose is to share knowledge because “If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange apples then you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas.” (George Bernard Shaw). Submit your names and backgrounds by email to or fax to 250-859-7842 (in Kelowna, BC).

Our projects include:

• Keeping an email list of members interested in or having Metis/mixed-blood roots so we can forward information, such as news from various organizations or individuals.
• Collecting surnames and places of origin in the hope we will find others who are related to you or who may have known your ancestors.
• Helping members find resources and information to help in their research. (N.B. Specific research to help obtain status cards in various organizations will only be conducted for a fee.)
• Listing and reviewing resources (books and websites) of value to the members. These reviews appear in Chinook available to members of AFHS.
• Increasing the collection of resource material in the AFHS Library of value to our members.
• Bringing in a knowledgeable speaker at least once a year to Calgary for an annual meeting if there is enough interest.
• Planning a newsletter for our members to keep them in touch and to send out information on topics of interest.

 

Please contact to join the Metis SIG. Although she is now in Kelowna, her commitment to maintaining this group remains strong.

 

Ontario SIG

If you are interested in Ontario genealogy research, come and join us! Meet other genealogists with similar interests, connect with those with expertise in Ontario research, join in small group discussions, find out about new resources, get help with your Ontario brick walls and learn about the extensive collection of Ontario resources found at the AFHS Library.

 

Meetings are held at the AFHS Library, 7:00 pm on the 4th Monday of the month (except for December, July and August).

 

For more information, contact .

 

Quebec SIG

This group is currently inactive.

 

Ukrainian SIG

Have Ukrainian roots? Want to pool your energy with others in searching for your elusive ancestors? Join us to explore the resources and methodology for researching your Ukrainian ancestry. Submit your ancestral surnames and area (town, region) by email to or fax to 250-859-7842 (in Kelowna, BC).

Our projects include:

• Keeping an email list of members interested in or having Ukrainian roots so we can forward information, such as news from various Ukrainian organizations or individuals to them.
• Collecting surnames and places of origin in the hope we will find others who are related to you or who may have known your ancestors. So far, the coordinator has found several people from her grandparents’ village and one member received a photograph of her grandparents’ tombstone from another member. The member receiving the photograph did not know the existence of the tombstone and it contained names, dates and the ancestral village that she did not know.
• Helping members interpret their documents according to time and place. Without knowing the history and the structure of documents, a person fluent in modern Ukrainian can miss important information or translate sections incorrectly.
• Compiling a database of Ukrainian passengers arriving in Canadian ports.
• Listing and reviewing resources (books and websites) of value to Ukrainian genealogy and history. These reviews appear in Chinook available to members of AFHS.
• Increasing the collection of Ukrainian resource material in the AFHS Library.
• Bringing in a knowledgeable speaker at least once a year to Calgary for our annual meeting. There are no preset dates for this but having had speakers twice on a minus 30 winter day, we have been asked to try for warmer weather!
• Planning a newsletter for our members to keep them in touch and to send out information on topics of interest.

 

Xenia’s Ukrainian roots originate in the village of Czyszki (Czyszky) pronounced or Chishski in the deanery of Olesko (near Brody), raion of Zolochiv (Zolochev or Zloczow), oblast of Lvivska (capital Lviv or Lvov). The village is also found on various maps and in gazetteers as Tsishky or Ciszky. One of the problems in locating records is that there are five such villages in Lvivska. Apparently the name means something pleasant and so is not uncommon. Without knowing the deanery and raion it would have been difficult to pinpoint which of the five was the correct ancestral village. My grandfather's parents lived in house 29 in the village at the time of his birth on August 21, 1884. The village then was in Galicia and part of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire. Ancestral names are Szach, Kandia, Shengera and Denys going back two-three generations. My grandparents married in the village (around 1911) and were homesteading in Bladworth (nearest post office was at Kenaston), Saskatchewan by 1915. In the 1920s the family lived near Detroit, Michigan before returning to Canada and settling in Alberta.

 

Please contact to join the Ukrainian SIG. Although she is now in Kelowna, her commitment to maintaining this group remains strong.

 

USERS GROUPS

 

Reunion Users Group

This group is currently inactive. For information contact .

 

Legacy Users Group

The Legacy Users Group is for those members who use Legacy genealogical software for recording and organizing their family history research. They meet to study sections of the program and review new developments mainly through the more than one hundred webinars presented by some of the world's best genealogists, on the third Wednesday evening of every month from September to May at the AFHS Library.

 

For ongoing meeting details, please consult AFHS's online Calendar or contact the coordinator, .

 

The Master Genealogist User Group

Please contact for information.

 

The Family Tree Maker Users Group

This group is currently inactive.