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Durlene’s Genealogy

Let me introduce myself.

My name is Durlene Germscheid and I live in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. I have been researching my family history for over twenty-five years and it’s a hobby that has given me a great deal of pleasure. Along the way, I have communicated with many helpful people – in person, by correspondence, and by e-mail. This collaboration has been one of the most enjoyable aspects of my research and this is one of the main reasons for this web-site. First, I want to be able to share my data with others who may be connected to my family tree; and secondly, I would like to hear from other genealogists who may be able to help me with some of my unanswered questions.

My ancestors

My grandparents were both born in England. James Foley came to Canada in 1895 and Vyceniae Alway arrived in 1912. They met and married in the small prairie town of Neepawa, Manitoba. For the next forty years, James worked for the Canadian National Railway and Vyceniae was active in the Salvation Army while they raised five children who, in turn, provided them with 29 grandchildren. In 1951, James retired, and he and Vyceniae left Neepawa. Other than a few years spent with their daughter in Ontario, they lived out the remainder of their lives in Winnipeg.

I have been most successful with the genealogy of my grandmother. Vyceniae Alway was the daughter of Edwin Alway and Elizabeth Jane Yalland. The Alway family lived in Gloucestershire, and I have been able to trace this line back to about 1500. My documentation of the Yalland line goes back to about 1600 in Devon. My research into the ancestry of my grandfather, James Foley, has been less productive. James is the son of Edward Foley and Sarah Rodgers. Both the Foley and the Rodgers families originated in Ireland, emigrating to Newcastle upon Tyne to escape the Great Potato Famine of 1845-1850. However I have been unable to discover where in Ireland either family originated, so my research has been blocked at this point.

Click on My Ancestors to access the results of my research into the genealogy of these families.

Mysteries, contradictions, and dead ends

As we all know, genealogy is far from an exact science and every so often we will learn that another researcher has reached a very different conclusion about an individual or a family relationship. This could be because their information comes from different sources or because they have interpreted the information differently. In any case, I think it is very useful (and a lot of fun) to compare notes, share our source information, and see if we can agree on which version is more likely to be the correct one.

I have also found that it can be very helpful to consult with others when we think we have reached a dead end in a particular area of our research. Someone else may have discovered a source previously unknown to us, or they may have discovered that this particular family moved to a different community. Access to this information can open up entire new areas of research.

Click on Mysteries to see a list of some of my unanswered questions.

Updates to these pages

Obviously there will be changes to the information in these pages from time to time. Click on Updates to see a record of these changes.

If you can help me with my unanswered questions or if you have some comment about this web site; I would love to hear from you.

You can send me an email at durlene@mts.net