‘IT’S LIKE A PUZZLE’
Genealogy group says finding family is addictive By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski Nancy Roy comes from a small family, one that didn’t share a lot about their lineage. When she was 21, she met with her grandmother to discuss her family’s history and thus began her 50-year genealogical journey. As president of the Daisy Mountain Genealogy Group, Roy helps others find joy in learning about their family. “More and more people are getting interested in genealogy because of the DNA craze,” she says. “It’s exciting to start your family history. You want to know about your grandmother and grandfather and their lives and occupations. “You can find out other things about the family that are personal and exciting. My grandfather was in theater. He became prominent. He had the biggest costume provider in New York City. He’s fascinating to me. I wanted to learn more. What was their life like? Were they poor? Wealthy? It’s really exciting to find out those little details.” The group was formed 18 years ago by
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members of the women’s group at Anthem Country Club. “We just all loved genealogy,” she says. For eight years, they met at members’ homes and then the community center. Now the Daisy Mountain Genealogy Group is open to the public and holds meetings at the North Valley Regional Library at 9:30 a.m. the first Monday of the month. “Now we’re a library-sponsored group. It’s open to everyone,” Roy says. “We have a speaker every month and they’re experts in genealogy. They speak around the Valley. Most of them we get from the West Valley Genealogy Club’s speaker’s bureau.” Pamela Blair-Sheldon, North Valley Regional Library’s library manager, says it’s been a “wonderful partnership.” “Our new Friends of the North Valley Regional Library help with the presenter fees,” she says. “It’s been nice to give the general public an opportunity to learn about genealogy. It’s one of our most popular library
programs.” Between 25 and 50 people attend the meetings each month, according to Roy. Speaker topics include the LDS Church’s role in genealogy with familysearch.org and websites like HeritageQuest Online powered by Ancestry. “There are so many advances with DNA and information,” she says. “There are a million documents a day that go online that come through the LDS Church that they put out to everyone. It’s free. It’s been really great. “It’s like a puzzle. It’s my passion. I love it.”
Daisy Mountain Genealogy Group When: 9:30 a.m. the first Monday of the month Where: North Valley Regional Library at Boulder Creek High School, 40410 N. Gavilan Peak Parkway, Anthem Special Presentation: “Using Timelines with Suzanne Young Brayer,” 9:30 a.m. Monday, March 9 Cost: Free admission Info: mcldaz.org/locations/northvalley
