Meet our Members: Peggy Watkins

Question

Hi everyone!

It's time to get to know another one of our wonderful WikiTreers. This week's member is Peggy Watkins.

Peggy became a Wiki Genealogist in August 2018. She is very active in leadership roles in our Canadian project and also participates in our England and Nordic projects.

When did you get interested in family history?

I was inspired to learn about my family history and local history from my dad. He was an avid historian and a great storyteller. In his retirement, he wrote a blog to record the family stories he knew so that his family would always have a record of that. I started researching in 2007 but took a break and returned to it when I discovered WikiTree.

What are some of your interests outside of genealogy?

I love to be creative; I draw, paint, collage and more. I enjoy walking in nature, riding my e-bike and travelling. This spring I have a couple of trips planned, the biggest is a trip to Scandinavia in June, a part of the world that has fascinated me for a long time. 

What is your genealogical research focus?

Now that I have my main family profiles built, I spend my time improving those profiles and adding to my CC7 count. I also do a lot of work on the profiles of Notables, particularly those from British Columbia and the rest of Canada. I think it is important to recognize those people who made significant impacts on their communities (large and small). Being a part of the waves of newcomers to Canada, I find it interesting to learn about what brought people to this country and the hardships and triumphs they had here. I am also interested in helping to document the First Peoples of this land.

Are you are interested in certain locations?

As team lead of the British Columbia team, I spend a lot of time adding and improving profiles for this region. I also have two one-place studies of very small communities with particular significance to my family.

Do you have a favorite ancestor?

One of my favorite ancestors is Lavinia (Walker) Watkins who came to Canada from Ireland on her own as a teenager and eventually found herself in the Canadian Rockies. I admire the determination, perseverance and courage that would have taken. My dad told me stories about her so she does not seem so far in the past. Her family is also a brick wall and I would love to learn more about her branch of the family.

(interview continues in comments)

Comments

How long have you been on WikiTree?

I joined in the fall of 2018 and was drawn to the fact that it was a free and accessible site. I also liked the combination of a reliance on facts and sources with a creative and open platform to write stories about people based on those facts. I started getting further involved by participating in my first Source-a-Thon.

What do you spend the most time doing on WikiTree?

I probably spend about 75% of my time improving and expanding profiles, 20% of the time adding new profiles and 5% of the time on other things like communicating with other members and administrative tasks. There’s always something that needs improving or further digging into. That’s what makes this work challenging, fun, and rewarding (and addictive).

Which projects are you most involved in?

My main project is the Canada Project. I am currently the Trans-Canada Trail coordinator, team lead of the British Columbia team, and member of the Notables and First Peoples teams. I am also a member of the England project and the Nordic project (Norway team). The Trans-Canada Trail is a relatively new trail so there are still things we are doing to improve the experience and fine tune the process. For the other teams I am on, I like to contribute by sourcing unsourced profiles, fixing suggestions, writing biographies and adding new profiles.

How can others help the Canada Project?

The Canada Project always welcomes new members! I think it is important that each member choose the focus that appeals to them. Whether they have a little time to contribute or a lot, it all helps. For example, if I come across a profile of a person who served in one of the world wars, I have to stop and improve that profile. I think that if a man or woman has put themselves in harm's way for their country, they should be honored and recognized. So I would suggest finding the things you like to do and helping out in that way. 

What inspires you to contribute so much of yourself to WikiTree's mission?

I like the idea of genealogy as history for regular folks. I like to think that my small contribution to this effort will be a lasting legacy that will help future family and local historians. As a new grandmother, I hope that my work on WikiTree will be enjoyed by the generations of my own family as well as the families of other people from this part of the world.

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What is your favorite feature or function on WikiTree?

I like the fact that we get a free space to write the biography of each person. This gives us an opportunity to tell the story of that person instead of just presenting a boring list of facts, dates, and locations.

What feature or function would you most like to see added or improved?

I think there’s things we could do to make the site more user friendly for members with less technical skills.

Do you have a story about how you were helped through the work of others on WikiTree?

One of my favorite things is when someone new connects with me to either provide feedback on work I have done or ask for my help with their work. For example, I was contacted by a member of a family I have done a fair bit of work on. This family was connected by marriage to my husband’s family (but as it turns out, not in the way I'd expected). They included me in some of their email threads and provided me with info that I would never have found on my own. And they weren’t even WikiTree members. 

Do you have any tips for someone who wants to get more involved in our community?

Dive in! Find a project or task you like doing and do that. Try out a few things and if some don’t work out, that’s okay. Once you find the thing you like, it doesn't matter if you have only a few minutes a week to contribute, every little bit helps.

What could we do to inspire more people to participate?

Keep doing (and expanding) the things we are doing: making the new member experience better and easier, expanding our presence on the web, and finding fun and collaborative ways for members to interact. For example, I admire the work of the US Black History project for the important work they are doing and think it would be great to use that project as a template for projects of other underrepresented groups like Indigenous peoples around the world. 

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Answer 1

Congratulations on your M.O.M. recognition!

Quote: I hope that my work on WikiTree will be enjoyed by the generations of my own family as well as the families of other people from this part of the world.   It already is now and will be forever! 

Comments

Thanks, David!

Answer 2

Thanks Eowyn for introducing us to member Peggy Watkins.

Nice to meet you Peggy. 

I will be waiting for the travel snaps of Scandinavia on G2G when you get home.

William

Comments

Sounds good, William.

Answer 3

Congratulations Peggy on being Member of the Week and thank you Eowyn for her interview!

Comments

Thanks, Gary!

Answer 4

Thank you Eowyn for introducing to us to the people behind the names.  It has been wonderful getting to know you Peggy and everything you do for WikiTree!  I may see you along the Trans Canada Trail as funny enough I just accidentally found this on Friday and signed up.   Here's hoping that by letting yourself be introduced to WikiTree as a whole, that someone will come forward to help break down Lavinia's brick wall!

Comments

Thanks! Good to have you on the trail! You can always drop me a note if you have any questions.

I'm wondering if anyone has noticed the place where I am standing in the photo above.

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Well done, Peggy!  We all should be more attentive to details, shouldn't we? 

Answer 5

Congratulations on this well deserved recognition and the excellent interview, Peggy! I admire the care with which you coordinate the Trans-Canada Orphan Trail.

I recently found that my granddaughters' mother has Norwegian ancestry; so I may need to ping you for tips at some point in the future.

Comments

Thanks, Rick -- sounds good!

Answer 6

Congratulations Peggy on the recognition.

And a huge thank you for all that you do for Canadian profile improvement, especially here in BC.

I also have Irish brick walls that I hope someday to crumble.

BTW, we are connected through your New Brunswick Dickinsons.

Keep up the awesome work Peggy!!  And thanks again.

Comments

Thanks, Brad!

Answer 7

Peggy helped me with my  Trans-Canadian trail questions before Dave came along to start me off and ending with my Trans Level 2 complete.  TYVM for all your help on Discord.

Comments

Happy to help, Anne. Cheers!