My History

OF FAMILY HISTORY

1960 I started to go to the Royal Danish archives in 1960, to find my ancestors.   I worked for the Government in the Department of Finance and the Government Genealogical archives happened to be just next door, so it was very convenient for me to sometimes spent some of my lunch time or a little time after work.

At the archives, I met Gregers Hvidkjœr, who worked there.  He was very helpful and was telling us that Mormon church was putting all the Danish church records on film and stored them in the granite mountains in Salt Lake City, Utah.

I became friends with Gregers and his wife Ceta. Gregers taught me a lot about genealogy, which was not only his job but his hobby.  His excitement over genealogy caught on to me and I have been doing genealogy ever since – with some breaks in between to raise my children and helping with grandchildren.

John Hvidkjœr (sitting in the back) - Ceta Hvidkjœr, Nina Hvidkjœr and Gregers Hvidkjœr

At that time everything was written by hand on pedigree charts and family group sheet.

I found the ancestors on my Father’s side, but my mother never knew who her Father was, so I could only find my ancestors on her Mother’s mothers side. I had personally visited my Grandmother Minna since I was 11 years old, but she was closed as a book when it came to the questions about “ who was my grandfather”?.

I kept doing genealogy off and on while I was raising my children, but in…….

1985 I found myself single after 28 years of marriage and had to find work to support myself and my son Harly. I moved from Vernon, British Columbia, Canada to Calgary, Alberta.  

1986 I started working in an office where there was a little Macintosh computer that nobody in the office  knew how to use. Those little Macintosh computers had already caught my attention in 1984 - when I lived in Vernon -  and I was very interested in finding out how they worked.

So, I asked my boss if I could use my lunch hour and after work to teach myself how to use the Macintosh computer.  He agreed and I was HOOKED on computers. After practicing for a while on that little Mac I could see how it could make graphics and  I decided that I wanted to learn how to do Desktop Publishing.

At that time 95% of all printing was done in a “regular” print shop, but I could see that this little MAC could change all that, so……

1987 I got an opportunity to work for the first Desktop Publishing company in Calgary on 7^th Ave.

It was two young oil men who had been laid off from the oil Industry, who started the business.

That year 1987 The LDS church introduced PAF 2.0 DOS VERSION OF PAF on Windows.

That same year the name of the LDS Church’s Genealogical Department was changed to the Family History Department, and the name of the Genealogical Library was changed to the Family History Library.

But people – like me -  who used Macintosh at that time, did not pay much attention to IBM DOS programs, which we MAC fans felt were very inferior to the Macintosh windows programs, so I have to admit that I not only did not want to use PAF 2.0. I felt that the only advantage of IBM computers was the larger monitors, besides I was a HUGE  fan of Steve Jobs.  He was my idol. I even went to Oakland to see his house.

1993    I moved to Vancouver and took a certificate in DESKTOP PUBLISHING on the Macintosh computers who of course at that time had improved greatly from the small computers we used in 1985 where we had shuffle the disks in and out of an external drive.  Now we were using large wonderful monitors where we could do a lot of graphic on and I loved every minute of it. I learned how to make business cards, flyers whatever you name it.  As long as it was graphics, I was interested.

We had to create a Newsletter for our Examen and I decided to create a Newsletter called  “ The Family Search”. I used  it to try to find out who my Mother’s Father was.

That same year – 1993 I decided to input all my genealogy in on the Macintosh computer in the ANCESTRAL QUEST program.

1994    I started to teach and help others with their genealogy.  Especially if it was Danish.

I helped a friend with her family history in PAF 2.0 (in windows) but was still not convinced that it was a the best program. Nevertheless, it became obvious to me that if I wanted to keep working and expand my usefulness in “any” office,  I could see and recognized that IBM had taken over the business world, and I had to succumb in order to keep working. So d I went and took two computer certificates for IBM users.

1997 the LDS church announced and update PAF 3.00  which had some improvements, but I still liked my Ancestral Quest program better so I kept going with my ANCESTRAL QUEST.

1999  A MIRACLE HAPPENED FOR GENEALOGIST.

everything changed, not only for me, but for millions of other members who were doing genealogy.

The 4.0 PAF “Personal Ancestral File” program became available from the church via the Internet.  the LDS Church began allowing Internet users to make free downloads of Personal Ancestral File 4.0

One could get it through the church’s website familysearch.org.

But not only that, the new church website was helping people with their family history.

Well, that convinced me. I decided to start all over again entering family history names to my PAF 4.

I made the decision for the last time to try and find out who my Grandfather was.   I got in contact with a genealogist in the area where my grandmother lived – in Sjolte – (Snesere Parish) in Denmark and she did her very best, but had no luck and I had actually given up trying to find anything about that family when  in the year:

2000    I came home from the office there was a letter from this lady saying: I am sorry, but I have not been able to find out who your grandfather was, but your grandmother Kristine – called Minna’s brother Anders Rasmussen’s burial ground is still being paid for by somebody who lives in Alberta, Canada.

I did not know how to approach this and I was telling one of my co-workers Lynn at the City of Calgary about my story of over 40 years trying to find out who my grandfather was and now I did not know how to approach this. Lynn was just laughing and said.  You try to get the phone number and phone them.

I was pretty nervous about this, but she told me to take some time off work and do it. I got hold of the phone number and called and a woman voice was on the other line, who had the same accent as my grandmother.

I asked her if she knew Anders Rasmussen from Snesere.  She said, yes, it is my Dad.

I don’t think I have ever been so excited.  I had not found my Grandfather, but I had found my mother’s cousin Elly Rasmussen who is the daughter of my grandmothers brother Anders Rasmussen -  just 2.5 hour drive from Calgary and that year Elly Rasmussen and her husband Ernok Nielsen made a family reunion, where we were 57 people gathered together in Devon. Alberta.   Elly at that time was 80 years old.

2002    I planned a trip to Denmark and Elly encouraged me to find the family of all my grandmother’s siblings and I was able to meet siblings of Karen Rasmussen – my grandmothers sister’s family. “the Hemmingsens. It was great to meet more of my newfound family in Denmark

2003    Denmark made history by being the first country to create a government genealogical website – arkivalieronlin.dk  and make their church records available directly on the internet – at no cost. (Many other countries charge if you want records)

2004    I worked in the family History Center in Calgary, helping people finding their Danish ancestors’.  One year on 17^th Ave and one year on Cres. Road

2007    The LDS church launched the newfamilysearch.org program as a pilot program. I got a phone call from the church asking me if I could be one of their “testers” of the program since Calgary Stake was being a testing ground

2007    I found the Klank Family.  (see the story about my grandfather Hans Peter Madsen KLANK)

2008    I set some personal goals of increasing my search for my ancestors.

2011    I moved to Utah and in

2012    Worked 6 months in the Hurricane Family History Center to help people find their ancestors.

2013    I decided to change to the “what I felt was a better genealogy ROOTSMAGIC 6.0

2014-2016  I again worked in the Hurricane Family History Center helping other find their genealogy.

I started to help people who were looking for their “Danish” ancestors and

 I am still doing that.

  

Vibeke Lindhardt

14 April 2017