Why I started a crowdsourced genealogy website.

Walk My Past
Nov 6 · 5 min read
Join WalkMyPast.com, the crowdsourced genealogy website.
Join WalkMyPast.com, the crowdsourced genealogy website.

My grandpa’s name was Brian Lockhart Martin. He was the person who led me towards my obsession with family history. I’ve now given my third daughter the middle name Lockhart, in honour of him.

Yet there was a mystery. Where did the Lockhart middle name come from? As I searched my family history, I saw many other family members who had been given the middle name Lockhart. However, I could see no direct link to a Lockhart surname on either side of the family. I finally got back to my 3rd Great Grandmother, Margaret Lockhart Brown, born in Kircaldy, Fife, Scotland, and who arrived in South Australia as a teenager.

After much searching (the full story of which can be found here), I discovered, to my surprise, that on one census she was listed as adopted! This is where the crowdsourcing concept becomes a part of the story.

I spent many hours attempting to solve the mystery myself. With no luck, I was at a loss as to where I should turn next. I decided to get in touch with the Fife Family History Society. This is when I ‘met’ Roddy. He quickly responded via email to my questions, although couldn’t definitively solve the mystery. I thought this was the end of it.

However, two months later I received another email from him. Roddy had recently visited the National Archives of Scotland, and took it upon himself to see if he could find out more about Margaret Lockhart Brown. I was absolutely stunned that he remembered me. I was equally stunned that he took the time, and volunteered, to research my family whilst he was visiting the Archives for his own research.

Roddy is the reason I started WalkMyPast.com. Roddy demonstrated how generous the genealogical community is. It prompted me to recognise that I too would happily do the same for other family history researchers. If ever anyone was in need of some help here in South Australia, I would be happy to assist. Yet, how would they find me? How would I find other people like Roddy? I realised that if I could create a website which made it easy for people to (a) find help in the location they required and, (b) list their own availability including how and where they could help, perhaps I could, in turn, help hundreds, or potentially even thousands of people who are trying to solve their own family tree mystery. Thus, WalkMyPast.com was born!

Many people have asked me how WalkMyPast.com is different to the other RAOGK (Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness) sites, groups and forums. In many ways they are very similar. However, as I see it, there are three key differences.

  1. We are open to anyone who has access to the internet. You don’t need to be part of another social media site or involved in another genealogy platform. You don’t need to hunt down individual social media groups in the region you need assistance and join each one.
  2. The main focus of the site is to find people ‘on the ground’ as opposed to online research (although this is not restricted). Much genealogy research can be done online today, but there is still a lot of information that can only be found by going to a specific location. The local cemetery, a library, the country’s National Archives. The global nature of genealogy research means this isn’t possible for most of us to travel to the homes of our ancestors. Hence, being able to crowdsource this assistance is amazing.
  3. I am hoping to make this site truly global, with Genies from every country and region of the world. It is a huge goal, but already, with our site only three months old, we have people from Australia, England, Ireland, Scotland, Canada, America, the Netherlands, Sweden, Italy, South Africa, Portugal, and France.

The support I have received so far has been well beyond my expectations. Just some of the comments I have received include:

“One of my two lifelong walls has just come tumbling down, thanks to Walk My Past.”

“This is fabulous new information! Thank you, Abbie, for assembling this amazing resource. I was already a believer, but this is magical!”

“We’re so glad you got inspired to create this — I can’t wait to see it grow!!!”

“Thanks Abbie for setting this site up. Great resource of genies that are willing to help and share their knowledge!”

“I’m so happy to have been introduced to Walk My Past and to have met so many great people.”

We’ve also solved numerous family history mysteries already— and at the time of writing we are only three months old! Many of these brick walls have been standing solid for numerous years. Yet, very quickly, with the crowdsourced genealogy help of Walk My Past, these brick walls have come tumbling down. It has been a pleasure to be a part of this, to see the excitement when new information is found, and to watch how our community is growing and supporting each other.

I have many goals for Walk My Past. One of them is to have 1,000 Genie volunteers listed on our site. We have a long way to go before we reach that goal, but with the success and support we’ve had after only three months, I cannot wait to see how far we can take Walk My Past. No matter your genealogy experience, anyone can become a Genie on Walk My Past, as long as you are willing to help others.

“So, has the Mystery of Margaret Lockhart Brown been solved?” No, I am still yet to find out the true story of Margaret’s birth and the origin of the middle name Lockhart. My Help Request is still marked as unsolved on WalkMyPast.com, awaiting the right person to help me solve the mystery.

Walk My Past was founded by Abbie Allen. Abbie lives in South Australia with her husband and three young daughters. She has had a passion for family history since she was a teenager.

If you’d like to join Walk My Past, click here for more information. I’ve also created a video guide showing you step-by-step how to set up your own Genie profile. If you are needing help with your own Genealogy brick wall, you can either (a) search for a Genie in the region you need assistance or, (b) create a Help Request listing and put it out to the world! Remember, everything is free and help is offered by our crowdsourced volunteers. Plus, when you create your Genie profile or add a Help Request listing, you will be invited to join our private Walk My Past community where we are all chatting about genealogy and working together to solve mysteries. Do you have any further questions? Please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me admin@walkmypast.com

Walk My Past

Written by

The family history website connecting you for free with people all over the world to help you with your genealogy research. By Abbie Allen www.walkmypast.com

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