Now & Then Genealogy Website

Welcome to Now & Then a genealogy website, dedicated to the spirit of family and our ancestors. Be sure to visit again as a genealogist's work is never done and these pages shall be updated on a regular basis. The information contained on this site has been verified through documentation and to the best of my knowledge is accurate. Should you find any discrepancies please contact me so I can make the necessary corrections. By luck if you happen across this site and are a close or distant relative please feel free to contact me if you have information you would like to share.

I first started researching almost 20 years ago with some "bits and pieces" of information my maternal grandfather, Albert Joseph LaFortune, had left at his passing. At the time I made a trip to historic Fort Langley in British Columbia, Canada and added some more "bits and pieces" to what I already had. Not knowing what to do with the information from Fort Langley that told me my ggggrandfather, Francis Xavier Vautrin, was a "middleman" I "filed" away what I had. Finally 20 years later after some "closet cleaning" I dusted off my collection of information and started researching again. That was almost 3 years ago and I now have a database of over 1500 individuals and many new found cousins. What an exciting experience it has been to uncover the history of one's ancestors.

This site contains the genealogy of my maternal and paternal lines also including my husband's. Areas of the world covered in this research are Canada, England, France, Ireland, Norway, Scotland, the Ukraine and the United States. Researching my maternal grandfather's family has been relatively easy as many of them were some of the pioneer settlers on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada; as I live in the province I have easy access to archival resources. Researching my paternal line has taken me first to Newfoundland, Canada which has been somewhat more challenging. Mind you genealogy research would be boring if it did not require some sleuthing on the researchers part. The Newfoundland section of the Canada GenWeb has been extremely helpful, it is an extensive site with some great online databases.

Researching my husband's branch of the tree has proven to be the most challenging of all as it is focused ultimately in Norway and the Ukraine. My publication of the Now & Then Family History Newsletter has been a huge help with this area of research. That, and some persistent research online, has enabled me to take one line back five generations. Nonetheless this branch is slowly but surely increasing in size. I have included a link to a site for Norwegian research which I think is one of the best on the internet. I may be somewhat biased in stating this as it was from that site I was able to go back five generations.

As mentioned above I publish the Now & Then Family History Newsletter. What a great way to reconnect with long lost family members and meet new ones as well, to collect names, dates etc. that may fill in missing pieces in the genealogical puzzle. Combined research efforts with cousins has been very rewarding; a date or a name that may seem insignificant to you but could be a much needed piece of information in someone else's research.

While researching my maternal grandfather's line I was surprised to discover that at least five men worked for the Hudson's Bay Company and were posted at historic Fort Langley in British Columbia, Canada as well as other forts throughout Canada and the Pacific NorthWest of the United States. Since then, I have uncovered a history rich in Aboriginal and French Canadian ties as well as English and Scottish. As was the custom of the country these men all had "country wives" and were frequently married more than once. It has been a very rewarding experience to discover the role these men and their "country wives" played in the early history of Western Canada and the Pacific NorthWest. Please check out the link to The Children of Fort Langley site if you are interested in this line of research or may have had an ancestor who worked for the Hudson's Bay Company.

SITE DIRECTORY

I Am a Proud Member Of:

Phenomenal Women Of The Web

Genealogy Webring of the
Phenomenal Women Of The Web�[Next] [Previous]
[Random Site] [List Sites] [Join]
[Apply for PWOTW membership]


View My Guestbook Sign My Guestbook			Support freedom

Visitors since September-04-2001