"To have these documents really allows us to see something about the character of the people who made up these lodges over the years in the history of the town and some of them truly were the movers and shakers of Whitby," he said, listing several former mayors who were masons including Tom Edwards, Marcel Brunelle and Bob Attersley.

"These documents are sometimes the only source we have for information on the early history of Whitby," he said, adding that records from earlier than 1850 are extremely difficult to come by.

"Family history is still the cheapest, most accessible, most time-tested way to get a rough estimate of the genetic component of disease risk," says Rear Adm. Robert C. Williams, the acting deputy surgeon general.

If that sounds a little morbid it depends (as with all things) on your perspective. But most doctors and clinics the world over, always, always, always ask you for your family history and what better way to find out - but to ask your relatives to fill in your medical knowledge gaps, and in doing so, you may find a whole new reason to keep working on your family history.

The Vineland facility, which is the second-oldest historical society in the state, was established in 1864, just three years after the city of Vineland was founded.

"When we have events like this, it's not just about us opening our doors and offering these resources, it becomes a forum for people to come forward and share their own history,"

The beauty of going to a genealogy fair of course is having access to other people who are also conducting family history research as well as the 'professionals' who work with the Society.

Ancestry.com wants to put down some roots. The genealogy Web site hopes investors will provide $100 million in an initial public offering, valuing the whole thing at $572 million. That seems too high for Ancestry to cement a happy legacy with investors.

How do you as a genealogist pay for access to vital information? Would you be willing to pay a monthly subscription fee, or would you prefer a pay as you go model? As a family history researcher myself I do find it interesting that some months I can be constantly working on my genealogical research and others - rarely find the time to climb the family tree. I can therefore see the benefit and the drawbacks of both pricing models.

I'd be interested to hear people's views on the topic.

Finding Your Roots - 15th Annual Family HIstory Seminar - Surrey BC
17 October, 2009, Saturday - All day - 8am to 4 pm

“People don’t realize how important this office is,” said Barbee. “We’ve got your records from birth to death and anything in between.”

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The Times pieced together Michelle Obama's ancestral map using 19th century marriage licenses, photographs, census records – and also the memories of elderly people who knew her family.

The Archives' holocaust collection consists mostly of records seized by the U.S., military in the closing days of World War II and during the occupation of Germany. It is probably the world's third most significant collection of such documents, behind holdings kept in Germany and the archives of the Yad Vashem holocaust memorial in Jerusalem.

The heart of the Archives holdings is the Ardelia Hall Collection, millions of documents mostly dealing with the Nazi looting of art and cultural treasures in Europe that was compiled by the U.S. State Dept.