Director, Janet Skiba

 

How did you become interested in genealogy?

My father was a great storyteller, and I heard many family stories of his childhood growing up in Halifax. I loved listening to him, and this sparked an interest in history. I knew a little about my family genealogy, mostly my close relatives, but at that time I was more interested in the stories of people and the area rather than dates and lineages. As I grew older other things in life took over until one pivotal day. In the mid 90's I was visiting my parents and my father asked me to get something from his desk drawer. While I was searching for his request, I found a large, folded document. I opened it up to find it contained 5 generations of genealogy information on my dad’s family starting with my 5th great grandfather, who immigrated to NS in the mid 1700's, right down to my great grandfather. He must have seen the excitement on my face and told me I could have the document, from then on, I was hooked.

What is your most exciting or interesting genealogical discovery?

There have been quite a few exciting and interesting discoveries since that day but finding that document was the most exciting thus far. It started me on this fascinating journey.

What brought you to GANS?

When I started genealogy, I was not aware of GANS. There wasn't much online and thus I spent many hours at the NS Archives, in museums and visiting graveyards. My life got busy with career and raising a family, so genealogy was put on the back burner for a while. It wasn't until the early 2000's - I attended a lecture by Terry Punch, and he mentioned GANS. I checked it out and became a member in 2013. I enjoyed the newsletters and other publications, browsing the website and attending a few workshops and lectures. At one of these workshops, they were looking for volunteers to help with a specific project to digitize all the back issues the Nova Scotia Genealogist publication. This work could be done from home, so I decided to sign up. I completed that project and have moved on to others.

What is your position/responsibility at GANS?

Currently I am assisting with the ongoing organization and data entry (cataloguing) of genealogy research donations. In 2024, I became a member of the GANS Board of Directors.

What is your professional background?

I spent 36 years in the Federal Government working for the Department of Unemployment Insurance, which is now Service Canada. I started right out of high school as a file clerk and worked various positions within the department, including claims agent, supervisor, claims investigator, policy developer and writer, insurance advisor, and eventually became the Workload Manager for the Province of Nova Scotia working out of Headquarters.

What are your interests outside of genealogy?

Other pursuits are gardening at home and with a local community garden, volunteering at a local food bank once a week, attending committee meetings and functions at my church. I have a deep interest in all things Herbal and love walking in the woods foraging for plants. I have been a quilter for over 30 years and like to spend time during the winter playing with fabric. I also enjoy socializing with family and friends and spending special times with my grandkids.