'Solving puzzle' of family histories

From transcribing ancient headstones to researching ancient royalty, searching through decades of family history can be a lot of fun.
There is no right or wrong way of searching for your ancestors - the trick is to start with yourself and work backward, said one genealogist.
Genealogy has been alive in the Western Bay of Plenty for 40 years, first as a combined Bay of Plenty branch. It established in 1970 when Irene Davies decided to set up a group for genealogy enthusiasts.
She was the first convenor and increased the profile of genealogy in the Bay of Plenty. It was the seventh genealogy branch of the New Zealand Society of Genealogists.
By 1978, membership had grown substantially. Genealogists from Te Puke separated and started their own branch. The group's name changed and is now the Tauranga branch. Today there are about 86 genealogy branches nationwide.
One of the longest-serving genealogists in Tauranga is Heather McLean. She joined the club in 1972. Her passion is transcribing old headstones and researching the people who lay deep beneath the earth.
"[Genealogy] is much like detective work and I find that very catchy," she said. "It's like a jigsaw puzzle and you have to find all of the different pieces ... and I really like helping people when they are stuck, we point them in the right direction."
When Mrs McLean started she said it was hard to access information. Over the years as technology changed and improved, she said these changes had improved the availability of information.
"Back in 1972, everything was done at snail's pace. It would take three months to send a letter to England and another three months before it would return," she said. "New technology has definitely helped us, especially emails, and there have been many changes that have impacted how we work.
"Every week something new is going online - it's the names and dates that people want and on the internet you cannot always trust what is there. You have to take it with a grain of salt because now there are more opportunities for errors."
Current convenor Billie Carpenter said there were many risks involved with internet use.
"You have to be very careful and thorough when searching through these internet sites, you can only trust them about 50 per cent of the time," she said.
"... and with more websites, people can pinch things, which can lead to privacy issues and identity fraud."
Mrs Carpenter took on the role of convenor this year. For her, genealogy is about "solving puzzles".
"This is part of an ongoing puzzle ... you never know what you might find."
Mrs McLean said some people claimed to trace their ancestry back to Adam and Eve but others couldn't go back further than 1830s. "The official registration began in England in 1837 so a lot of the time it's harder to go back further than that because you have to prove it," she said.
The New Zealand Society of Genealogists Tauranga branch are celebrating their 40th anniversary with two celebrations. Yesterday, Robyn Williams from the Auckland society came to Tauranga and spoke about Moving On - what's been and what's ahead. Then on September 12, about 50 past and present genealogy members will gather at the RSA for a lunch celebration.
THE DETAILS:
Name: Tauranga branch of the New Zealand Society of Genealogists.
Number of members: About 80.
How long it's been going: 40 years.
How often it meets: Once a month.
If interested to join: Phone secretary Christine Meredith on 543 2855.
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