As a genealogist, I’ve carried many notebooks in various forms with me while I gathered information about my ancestors. That included the old floppy Campfire Notebook popular in the 70s and 80s. When notebooks were filled or I didn’t have access to one, I scribbled notes on loose paper. My goal was to save my original notes made from visiting cemeteries, archives, cenotaphs and similar places, but after much research, I found myself extremely disorganised. My scraps of paper were stuffed into boxes and in the pocket of a few binders I had dedicated to genealogy. My best organisation was the l ..read more

Shortly before Christmas, I received a copy of North America’s Maritime Funnel: The Ships that Brought the Irish 1749 – 1852 by Terrence M. Punch from Genealogical Publishing Company. Most genealogists in Nova Scotia, perhaps many in Canada, are familiar with the late Terry Punch and his long history in digging up ancestors. I already own several books written by him, including Genealogical Research in Nova Scotia. It was one of the first books I bought to help me with researching my family tree. North America’s Maritime Funnel is prefaced by The Mice in the Minster, a story written by Susan ..read more

Historians Melanie Ballard and John N. Grant are set to release a wonderful piece of Nova Scotia history involving one student’s experience at the Normal School located in Truro, Nova Scotia. Over the past several years, they’ve been compiling material for the book, which includes the diary of Mary Kaulbach, a brief history of Mary’s life, images related to the subject and details to elaborate on the people, places and events mentioned in the diary. Who was Mary Kaulbach? Mary Kaulbach was one of nine children born to Elizabeth and Francis ‘Frank’ Kaulbach. She was born May 22, 1874 on the fa ..read more

A few weeks ago, I stumbled upon the YouTube channel The Woodland Escape. It features Peter Kelly, a reenactor for pioneer life in the 1800s, his wife Catherine Wolfe behind the camera, and their son Shane Kelly as producer and editor. Most of the shows I’ve seen like this are usually located in the United States. However, The Woodland Escape is made by Canadians, and it’s produced in Ontario. I’ve watched several episodes so far. The first one was released in October 2020, so it’s still relatively young. The channel follows Peter as he and his wife construct a small log cabin that the averag ..read more

Centuries ago, folks in Scotland bought land in New Scotland and gained a title during the Baronet Order era. This month, this woman (a descendant of Alexander McDonald) in New Scotland bought a plot of land in Scotland and became a Lady. How did I do it? Why did I do it? I posted the story about how I became Lady Diane McGyver on the website that hosts my works of fiction. Check it out here: Introducing Lady Diane McGyver ..read more

During this time of uncertainty, newspapers are struggling and some are halting publishing temporarily. As such, Roots to the Past has been put on hold. Whether it will be resurrected after the pandemic is over is uncertain. Take care. Be safe. We will see this through ..read more

In 2008, I visited Rose Blanche, Newfoundland, and its historical lighthouse. I created a YouTube video to share the pictures I took and history I learned along the trail. The video is called Rose Blanche Lighthouse, Newfoundland. The stone lighthouse has been keeping mariners safe since 1873. The lighting apparatus was designed by D & T Stevenson, Lighthouse Engineers in Edinburgh, Scotland ..read more

Life is always changing, faster now it seems since technology is setting the pace. At one time, Roots to the Past appeared in 13 newspapers across Atlantic Canada. In its hay days, it appeared in – to name a few – The Western Star (Corner Brook, NL), Journal-Pioneer (Summerside, PEI), The Daily News (Halifax, NS) and The Kings County Record (Sussex, NB). Nowadays, readers find it in only two newspapers: The Lunenburg County Progress Bulletin (Wednesday) and The Citizen, Amherst (Saturday). Before time and further changes cause the disappearance of the column in print newspapers, I started a ne ..read more

The following column appeared in newspapers in November 2016. Catholic Irish and Protestant Irish in Canada Diana Tibert I haven’t studied any religion in depth. I’m more of a browser, reading bits and pieces of various religions and cults that have been created over the centuries to try to understand why people lived the way they did. With this curiosity, I began reading about the religions that separated the Irish. During most of my early life, I heard news reports about Catholics and Protestants battling in Northern Ireland. When I was younger, I thought they were stories from long ago beca ..read more

A ..read more