Again, I return to the AGM at the end of September this year. The newly elected Vice President of TLSARL, Roy McLeod, stopped me as I was entering the venue. He’d found some articles written by my great-aunt in a couple of old copies of Saskatchewan History, and kindly, he gave them to me. Imagine my excitement when I found her contributions were (an annotated copy of) a journal her aunt kept while on a canoe trip made in the 1920s!

One of the participants in the forum I set up for Red River Descendants mentioned an ancestor, and I remembered collecting something on him some time ago as he was a relative of my own, too. I was able to send her the quote I’d extracted from a 1927 article in another Saskatchewanian historical society’s bulletin.

Another person who signed up at the forum mentioned she had a book on one of her Red River ancestors. It was one I didn’t have in my library, so I ordered a copy…. It came in yesterday, and I will write more about it when I finish going through it, of course!

One of the best ways to learn more about the shared history of the Red River Settlers and their descendants, to learn more about specific people within that group, and to learn where to find more material about them is to network with other researchers.

There are several ways to do that:

• Visit the blog here and read about our history – and discuss it through comments (free).
• Join TLSARL, if you are a descendant, get our quarterly Newsletter and participate in our Reunion every year (small annual fee – Contact Us for more information).
• Join the Red River Settlement, Rupert’s Land (Manitoba, Canada) forum at GenealogyWise (free).

You will meet people who are deeply engaged in their history, people who are just starting to explore their Red River roots, and undoubtedly you will acrue some new relatives! Discussing your stories, sources and knowledge with others will help deepen and re-enforce your understanding of your own history as well as bring others closer to theirs.

A lot of people email in wanting us to provide them with genealogical information – information we might have about their ancestors, or even about ancestors of their friends, for whom they are doing genealogical research.

TLSARL only supplies this sort of information within the limits of Canadian Privacy Laws to its members. Membership is restricted to people who can prove that they are descendants, or spouses of descendants of original settlers (pre-1836). Membership is not expensive, but it is ‘limited’.

Members have also been asking for a forum to discuss with others their shared heritage as Red River Settlers.

It’s here, folks! <FANFARE; raucous CHEERING>

I’ve set up a discussion group called Red River Settlement, Rupert’s Land (Manitoba, Canada) at GenealogyWise. It is a place where you can meet descendants and learn more about where to find information on your Red River ancestors and their culture/history, and includes fur traders, First Nations, Scots/Irish/Swiss Selkirk Settlers, and Métis ancestors.

Of course, if you want access to the information we’ve gathered over the last century at TLSARL, you must still become a member. But there are lots of other places with information we don’t have, too, and this forum will help guide you in your own research and allow you to meet with other interested people anytime you feel the urge to connect.