Finding out about the people who came before us is a fascinating topic which is gaining momentum around the world. Even here in the Uintah Basin people are enjoying getting to know more about their past by using technology from the future.

The most exciting part for most of these family history buffs is finding about the lives of their great-grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins beyond just a name a few ticks up on the family history chart.

More than a name

Weekly volunteer at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Family History Center in Vernal Rebecca Richards said she recently discovered more about one of her ancestors as she researched family who came to America in the 1860s.

“When I first started all he was, was a name on a pedigree chart,” Richards said of her ancestor William Beddoes. “I’d heard his name and I’d seen a picture of him and I didn’t know much more about him; but by looking through not only the British censuses but the American ones, I was able to find out a lot more about him.”

Richards became animated as she explained that she discovered through the American records that her relative was the mayor of Salem, Mass. And was therefore mentioned in a book about the history of the town called “Summer Spring.”

“He’s in there a lot because he was the mayor and he started the canal, the Salem canal, and all that,” she said of the book. “He did all of that and I’d never known that before.”

Richards also learned that he was one of the first to come to America out of his family, his brother came later.

“Now he’s no longer just a name, he’s like, well wow, why doesn’t Salem have a statue of my ancestor?” she said.

A sense of community

Sally MacDonald, who attends the St. James Catholic Church in Vernal, said although she is not LDS she comes to the family history center to associate with other people who are interested in family history work.

“I’m the only genealogist in my family,” MacDonald said. “You really need somebody who is as interested as you are.”

She said coming to the Family History Center she has been able to find a focus. For nearly eight month she said she was “fooling around” and didn’t find anything until she came to the center and found the correct name spelling for one of her ancestors. Coming to the center helped her find a focus.

“I’ve learned you have to know what you’re looking for, you have to be specific,” MacDonald said.

She encourages others to visit the center.

“You will find out things that will just surprise you,” she said.

Exciting work

Twenty-one-year-old Brittany Tobiasson said her love for genealogy came when she was just a teenager. She said her mother often did it and she said her spark started then.

“I just didn’t have time with college and work when I lived in St. George, so when we moved here things kinda slowed down a little bit, and I wanted to come back and start again,” Tobiasson said.

Now she volunteers once a week at the Vernal center and teaches a class on “fan” pedigree charts. If no one comes in she will search her own family.

Recently in hear search she came across details about a family by doing a Google search online.

“I was able to find my third-great uncle and four of his kids and a picture, so that’s really exciting,” Tobiasson said.

She said the photo came up on a blog titled “old forgotten photos.” Tobiasson said she doesn’t know where the photos on the site come from but she was able to find out that her ancestor had a set of twins who died that were never on the census.

How to begin

Tobiasson said it’s easy to become overwhelmed when you begin a search.

“I think you’ve just got to remember, don’t give up. Just try to devote, whether it’s two hours a week or if you can do five hours or 10 hours, whatever it is, just set aside some time and just take it one step at a time, try not to get overwhelmed,” she said.

Volunteers say the easiest way to begin searching for your ancestors is by starting small and taking it a day at a time.

“It’s really hard for somebody to start, so we like to try to tell them to start with you, start with yourself and add your family bit by bit,” Richards said.
People like to jump to the end of the line and get the exciting stuff, Richards said.

“Try not to jump into the 1700s until you’ve worked your way back there,” she cautioned. “Start with yourself and start with what you know.”

About the center

Nearly a dozen volunteers at the Family History Center at 480 W. 500 North in Vernal are ready to help assist patrons who would like to know more about their family history.

The facility offers 20 computers, free access to Ancestry.com, tutors and advisers, a library and large study tables. The 9-year-old facility is one of the largest in the state and sends and receives information from the Salt Lake City Family History Center.

“We’re just here to help people,” director Fran Richins said. “This is for everybody.”

The only thing people have to pay for is printing and copy paper.
“We have one of the best small facilities in America here,” Richins said.

Directors Richins and Jim Shewell said the facility is underused.

“It does not have enough use, we would like to have a lot more people take advantage of this building,” Shewell said.

He encourages people to come stop by the center and discover what Vernal has to offer.

“It’s really been delightful, exciting and addicting once you get started it’s hard to get away from it,” Shewell said. “It can be very addictive.”

The center is open Mondays from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m., Tuesday-Thursday 9 a.m.- 9 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. Closed Friday and Sunday.

More about the center can also be found at Vernalfhc.org.