Gotta love the fall! The colors of the trees are great for photography. A seat by the fire with my hot chocolate (sugar free of course), my dog (an Ausie) plopped down beside me and my new Family Tree Magazine is perfect.

As I was reading the new magazine, I kept wondering what I would write about this week and how I would use this new information. Then my updated DNA came in. So how can I apply all of this. Well, maybe the dog is going to have to just be part of my story when I write that.

It did make me think about last week’s article, stories and how they fill the leaves of the trees. One of the articles in Family Tree Magazine this issue was by Sunny Jane Morton, “Days of Our Lives.” Like the message last week, it was about not forgetting to tell the stories of the people that are closer to us on our tree.

What do you know about your parents’ or grandparents’ youth? Were they involved with sports or theater or music or art at school? Did they have jobs? Did they pass those interests on to you? Do you have any artifacts that help you tell that part of their story? Maybe conversations with the family over the holidays would be a good place to answer some of that or find photos or other memorabilia that you don’t have. Maybe that isn’t an option for you, but can you find those answers in other ways?

We still must confirm the people, especially when we get beyond those we actually knew. I have one that intrigues me right now. I have parent names on 2 documents belonging to the daughter but no dates or locations or anything to say who they were, and the father’s name isn’t clear.  It seems this is as good a time as any to try some sites I haven’t ventured into much.

Here is where the DNA information may come into play. On the notice I got it gave me new numbers, particularly 8% Quebec. One of the cool things about this new information is that I can dig deeper into it and find more about the more specific location, history, something of the typical groups coming, and it gives a timeline of where the settlers in this location might have gone. For example, some went south into New York looking for lumber jobs. It also suggests which parent this DNA came from. With that information it is a good possibility that the Canadian birth of my 3 times great-grandmother is true, especially given that her daughter was born in New York. Now to find it.

I always say, “go back to what you know for certain.” That means I want to know more of the stories of the great-grandparents that came after this one. What were their stories? Where can I make their connections? And then I was looking for a speaker for us for next year and went to the Mid-Continental Public Library, searched for genealogy and what comes up, Canadian Genealogy and History. I think this is going to be my new site to explore.

Speaking of 2026, here are a few classes for the new year: Using City Directories, Brick Wall Busters, Genealogy Roll-up Essentials, Motivation, Naming Patterns, Dutch Roots, and WikiTree. They are not advertised yet, but keep watching for them.

Heidi Geise, education@hqrl.com