I recently happened upon a book in a public library that seemed like it might help me with my family history project. Although it focussed on Dutch settlement in Alberta, and I am studying Saskatchewan, I took it out and read it anyway.

It was a translation of a series of letters submitted to Dutch language newspapers in the United States and the Netherlands and these letters discussed the settlement experience in the settlers’ own words. This gave me a broader understanding of what my ancestors could have gone through and incorporating these details will give a truer feeling to my own story. This was useful in itself, however, this book offered a clue to more information.

The bibliography listed the newspapers, and I then took these titles and began searching to see if they had become more accessible since the book had been published. While I no longer have to travel to far-off libraries to see the newspapers because I could order some of them through interlibrary loan of microfilm, I would still be hampered in my quest for family particulars by my inability to read Dutch.

So then I tried searching the internet to see if these papers were available on-line, thinking that I could then use Google Translate to search through them – tedious, but maybe possible. Unfortunately I could not find them on-line. But, I found something else.

Some kind soul, several years ago, found himself looking through one of these papers in this distant library and out of the goodness of his soul he translated four years of the births, marriages, and deaths and posted this data on-line. I initially thought how generous this was and that the chance of me finding anything related to my own family was remote in the extreme. But worth a try, since I had discovered this translation, no matter how limited it was.

Well, before long I recognized a last name, but the tie to my family was tenuous. I found myself feeling hopeful. After struggling against the distraction of reading all the details of the deaths (and some of them were not only tragic in the extreme, but bizarre as well), I recognized my family! The details I already knew matched those in the paper, but the obituary furnished a treasure trove of relationships I could not even have guessed at. My great-great-grandfather’s siblings were listed and so were details of his step-family, of which I had been completely unaware! When I recovered from my shock, I continued to skim the translation more out of a sense of completing a task than anything, when I was flabbergasted to find the other side of the family represented as well! A report was given of a death in the neighboring state and the relatives left behind, thus providing details about the siblings of my other great-great-grandfather!

So, when doing your own research, here are some thoughts to keep in mind: Read broadly about various aspects of the history you are focussed on. When you find specifics applicable to your work, note bibliographic details. Look for foreign language newspapers on-line and check out what is available through inter-library loan. Translation of foreign language documents is possible: it may be costly, or may be unexpectedly affordable – even Free! Evaluate the usefulness of resources based on the author’s location and audience, as well as time period. Be open to serendipity! Think tangentially. Be helpful to other researchers; even if you don’t believe in karma, if you foster a helpful community of researchers, someone may be there to help you when you need it.

This article was originally printed in the Bergen News and is being reprinted with permission.