edmontongenealogy

Ray Whidden

Specializes In: Edmonton area resources, though I'm still learning (having lived 35 years in Toronto where I'm more familiar). I'm also going to begin photographing Edmonton cemetery headstones when weather allows. Comprehensive research in Whidden/Whitten of NH and NS -> USA and Canada leading to the publication of two-volume, 1650+ page book "Whidden NH, NS and beyond 1662-2002 a family odyssey" and "In Memory of Maria Syrjanen on the Hundredth Anniversary of her Arrival in Amerika" recounting the Syrjanen and Jarvinen families from Finland (Karelia and lake district). Very familiar with the internet and will subscribe to some pay sites this year. However can get obits, land records, wills, cemetery info/photos. Not available for trips outside of Edmonton as don't have a car but will go where ever ETS can take me - that includes Sherwood Park and St. Albert.

About Me:

Retired former tech support specialist in the computer industry from the days when a mainframe by Honeywell Information Systems was a 16 KB core memory CPU with tape drives, printers, card reader/punches and paper tape reader/punches thru the introduction of keyboards, disk drives, laser printers and computer networking. Ended my career as phone tech support for ATT/Comcast/Time Warner high speed internet customers from coast to coast in the USA. Have been doing Whidden/Whitten and Whiddon/Whidden genealogy since 1980s starting with Personal Ancestral File v1.0 in CP/M moving to MS-DOS and on to various Windows versions. Experimented with The Master Genealogist, RootsMagic and others but currently consolidating two 25,000 individual databases with PAF and Family Tree Maker v16 to move the resulting GEDCOM to PhpGEDView. Much more so if you have questions ask, but I could write a book, but not here.

Genealogical Training, Certifications, or Society/Association Memberships:

ten week Ontario Genealogical Society night course on genealogy; no certificate; experience searching NS and Canadian census microfilms; online research for family originally settling in NH 1662, NS 1760 whose descendants have settled in all provinces and states in Canada and USA. Have had access to Ancestry for census and other records - expect to become a home subscriber later in 2010. U of Alberta libraries have an amazing catalog including 1703 Prince's "Worthies of Devonshire" and 1793-1806, 1977 3 vol. Kohler and Coombes, Dorking 1977 Polwhele's "The History of Devonshire." Many years member of Ontario Genealogical Society and sysop of their Kintracers BBS before the internet came along; have been a member of Alberta Genealogical Society and will join again to gain access to their excellent library and electronic resources including homestead database.