Bill's Genealogy Blog

Bill Buchanan is a long-time genealogy enthusiast, living in Spruce Grove, Alberta, Canada. This blog will describe my experiences as I research my family history and help others.

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Location: Spruce Grove, Alberta, Canada

I am a retired online school teacher. I love family history. From 2007-2020, I spent much of my time providing part-time support for the world's largest free family history site https://familysearch.org This is very rewarding. I have helped others with the Family Tree and related FamilySearch products.
In 2010-2018 I served in the Edmonton_Alberta_Riverbend_Family_History_Centre..I have a FHC blog at Bill's Family History Center Blog Since 2020 I have been a family history consultant for Edmonton Alberta North Stake. For information on the Latter-day Saints and family history click https://www.comeuntochrist.org/

Sunday, January 26, 2014

Indexing - A special opportunity

I hadn't done indexing for a while and decided to start again. I chose to download a batch of Saskatchewan Catholic records, which were written in French. As a retired French teacher, this seemed like a perfect choice.
   As I read the name of the priest who recorded these christenings, marriages and burials, I felt a thrill! E Lacombe, OMI. Unless there were two Catholic priests by the name of Lacombe who were members of the Oblate order, this was the legendary Father Lacombe: frontier missionary and peace-maker between hostile Blackfoot, Cree and white inhabitants. He helped persuade the powerful Blackfoot Confederacy to let the CPR build railway tracks through their land. He convinced the Blackfoot Confederacy to stay out of the Northwest Rebellion. He saved hundreds and possibly thousands of lives. They loved him and trusted him and that love and trust was mutual. He was a great man by any measure. As a young priest he was transferred back to the safety and relative obscurity of serving in Quebec, but at the first opportunity he came back to live among the Indian people that he loved so much. 
By indexing records that he created, I felt privileged to be walking in the footsteps of a man I greatly admire. 

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