Scott Crevier's Family History Scott Crevier's Family History
I've been working on my family history for 27 years. And since I retired, I've picked up the pace considerably. I offer these suggestions and resources based on my experience, so that you can be as successful as possible when you explore your own family tree.
Many people who ask me about getting into genealogy are not only unsure about how to get started but they're also not sure about spending a lot of money on it, at least not at first. So, if you've never done it, I recommend just taking a look a the free online tools below. Just create an account on those sites, get started, and see what you think. Then wait until later to decide if it's worth it to start spending money to find what you're looking for.
If you're interested specifically in my family tree, here are my profiles on several sites that I describe below in the "Online Tools" section:
I offer these recommendations for anyone looking to research their genealogy, but I'm using the perspective of my own family. My own personal research is what I know best, so don't be turned off by my first person language here. I just want you to understand why I suggest what I suggest. With that in mind...
Though I've been doing this for 27 years, I discovered WikiTree.com in 2025 and I absolutely love it. Here are some points to keep in mind:
Let me expand on point #2 above. Start by knowing that I've already created profiles for all 4 of my grandparents, all 8 of my great grandparents, and all 16 of my 2nd great grandparents, etc. All of those people are dead, so anyone in the world can read those profiles. And if you and I share grandparents, you will not be entering their data. You'll take advantage of my research and connect to the profiles and trees that I've already created.
So, if you're my cousin, do these three steps:
So at this point, you've only entered info about a few people and you're automatically connected to all of my research. And now, consider these points:
If you're so moved, start doing your own research and create some profiles for your ancestors. It's very rewarding. Be sure to also see additional info about WikiTree in my "Online Tools - Free" section below.
The first three websites listed here are completely free. I highly suggest you create an account at each one. Each of these sites has their little quirks and methods, so just be patient as you learn how to navigate them and use their features.
▶ WikiTree.com — This is my main tool for recording my genealogy finds. The concept is simple; they want to maintain a single worldwide family tree, instead of being host to thousands of people doing their own thing. So, for example, when I created a new profile for my 2nd great grandfather, the site prompted me to tell me that he's already on there; someone else had already created a profile for him, so I just linked to that instead. And just like that, I'm now connected to that entire tree that others have worked on over the years.
WikiTree is very focused on privacy of living individuals. So, I have not entered info for my kids, although one of them created a profile for herself. And when she entered her Dad's name (me), she simply linked to me, and now she can see her entire tree. This is a great way for others in your family to see all of your hard work. You no longer have to print reports or send them screenshots. Just have them create their own profile and link to what you already have.
WikiTree is also heavily focused on sources. They prefer that you not just add info about someone unless you can cite the source. And it's okay to just note that it was info passed down through the family. Just know that someone else may have additional info about that person and may edit the record. It's a collaborative effort with the goal of having accurate data.
WikiTree also has a great relationship calculator. They made it easy for me to see how I'm related to Pope Leo XIV (9th cousin once removed) and Glenn Frey (8th cousin twice removed) and Matt LaBlanc (11th cousin) and Madonna (8th cousin twice removed). These are all blood relatives of mine. So, if you're related to me, perhaps you'll also see these connections once you've entered enough data.
WikiTree works well on both traditional computers and mobile devices (no separate app needed).
Examples:
▶ FamilySearch.org — This site is a service provided by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who are heavy into genealogy. It's a great resource for public records like census documents and military records. Most all of the profiles that I've created on WikiTree have citations to records found on FamilySearch.
Example:
▶ FindAGrave.com — This site hosts photos of tens of thousands of headstones and grave markers, all submitted and maintained by volunteers. I once stumbled on a volunteer who had contributed over 200,000 photos! People love doing this and we all benefit from it. After creating an account, just search for your grandparents and you may be surprised to see a photo of their headstone. And if you don't, then contribute your own photo so others can see it.
Example:
▶ Chronicling America — This site from the Library of Congress hosts old newspapers. There are a few ways to find what you need. I suggest starting by clicking on "All Digitized Titles," then click on "View all Titles on a Map." Then zoom the map to a location to see what newspapers that have for that area.
▶ NPS Civil War Soldiers & Sailors — The Civil War was the first war in American history in which a substantial proportion of the adult male population participated. The service records of these men, North and South, are contained here. The site is only an index of the men who served in the Civil War with only rudimentary information from the service records (including name, rank and unit in which they served).
▶ National Archives — This organization houses a wealth of government records. There are a handful of sites for different purposes. These are a few that I've used:
▶ Facebook Pages
I've read messages from people who just flat out refuse to pay for technical tools. While I disagree with that sentiment, I get it. If you can't afford it, well, then you can't afford it.
That said, I want to share some links to tools that I know of that I've heard are good. My general advice is that every such tool has its own product and its own content to sell. And since we genealogists also have our own needs, different families, different ancestral homes, etc. it stands to reason that some tools will be more beneficial to some people than others.
So, if you see what you think is a hefty monthly or annual fee, maybe consider the fact that you don't have to subscribe forever. Maybe there's a free trial period. Or maybe you just subscribe for a year and see how things go, and if it's not as helpful as you expected, just cancel and use that money on a different tool.
Of the tools I've listed here, the only one that I pay for is Newspapers.com. They happen to have in their archive most of the newspapers I need, and I've been fortunate to find some treasured stories and photos (Mom was such a beautiful bride). And if you're like me, you remember the days when, in order to see your parents' wedding announcement, you had to go down to the central library and scroll through pages and pages of microfiche. It's nuts how much time we had to spend. So, having these newspaper articles literally at my fingertips is very valuable to me.
▶ Newspapers.com — This site is not free, but it has been SO valuable to me in finding obituaries and marriage announcements. I also find MANY articles about the careers and day-to-day lives of my ancestors.
The best feature is that I can "clip" a specific article to use as a source on a WikiTree profile. And everyone in the world can read that clipped article without an account. So, it doesn't cost anything to read other peoples' clippings. But you do have to pay in order to do your own research and clip your own articles.
Examples:
▶ Geni.com — This site is a service provided by the MyHeritage and has a similar goal as WikiTree, in that they want to build a single worldwide family tree.
They have some nice features in their free account and offer additional functions in a paid account.
Example:
▶ Ancestry — This site allows you to create and maintain your own family tree. In addition to those tools, they also have archives of critical records like the U.S. census. I had a paid account with them for a while, but then it just got to be too expensive for me. My favorite feature is that their system reguarly scans other family trees to see if they can find someone related to you, then they notify you of those finds and you can check them out for yourself. So even while you're sleeping, you've got someone doing your family research for you.
They definitley have many more features than what I've described.
▶ ArchiveGrid — Historical documents, personal papers, etc. from over 1,400 archival institutions.
▶ Archives — Their data includes photos, newspapers, and vital records.
▶ fold3 — Owned by Ancestry, their data includes military records.
▶ GenealogyBank — Their data includes newspaper archives, census records, social security death index etc.
▶ OldNews — Their data includes newspaper archives.
In addition to the online tools I mentioned above, it can be handy to have something installed on your home computer or your phone where you can track everything you want, inputting data as you receive it, with or without sources.
Windows
▶ The Master Genealogist (TMG) for Windows. This is the app which I've been using for many years and I love it. It's a very advanced program and can be somewhat technical, but it works great and it can track everything you'd ever want to track in your family history. Unfortunately the guy who created it ended its development and support in 2014. But TMG still works well and has a great user community (just no more updates). So I don't necessarily recommend it for everyone, but it's my main genealogy program.
I also use an Android app called GedStar Pro. It comes with a companion app for Windows that reads my TMG data and creates a data file that I then sync over to my phone. Unfortunately, this is also an app that is no longer developed (yeah, I know, I'm an old-timer and love these old apps), but it still works great. I really like the format of the family data on my phone. It displays photos and families very nicely and I love the relationship calculator.
▶ Family Tree Maker for Windows. This is pretty good app that I used many years ago. My uncle still uses it and likes it.
▶ GEDKeeper for Windows. This is a simple, free program that allows you to browse the contents of a GEDCOM file. I use it if someone else (like my uncle) has data that I want, but I don't want to import it into my tree yet. I just want to browse through it and see what's there. Sometimes I'll view a person in GEDKeeper in one window while manually entering the data into TMG or WikiTree in another window.
Android Phone
▶ TurboScan for Android phone. This is a great app to scan photos and documents. If you're at the library doing research and you want to save a copy of a few pages, just scan each page with your phone. If you're at a relative's house and you want to save your own copy of a photo, just scan it with your phone. You can upload all of your scanned images to Google Drive, or you can even merge them into a PDF file first and then upload that. Or just keep them on your phone.
▶ Family Gem for Android phone. This is a nice free app that simply displays the contents of a GEDCOM file. It's great if someone else wants to share their data with you and you just want to browse through it. Or you can also export your data to a GEDCOM file and someone else can use this app to view your family tree.
▶ GEDexplorer for Android phone. This is similar to Family Gem, it just displays your data a little differently.
▶ Belgian Roadside Chapels
Belgian emigrants started settling in northeast Wisconsin in the 1850s. The most important thing that they brought with them was their Catholic faith. Every story you hear includes elements of their faith: building (or rebuilding) a church, praying the Rosary, honoring Mary, following Fr. Edward Daems to Bay Settlement (a fellow Belgian, not only from their homeland but who also spoke Walloon), and yes, building roadside chapels. Roadside chapels are just that, chapels built along the road, most of them open all the time for any traveler to stop by pray. Every resource shared below, whether it's a PDF document or a book, includes stories of roadside chapels. Here are a few resources with a specific focus on these chapels.
Here's a photo of the roadside chapel located on my family's homestead in Rosiere, Wisconsin, the LeGrave homestead, dedicated to St. Jude, the patron saint of lost causes:
Here's a short video recorded by Fr. Edward Looney about this chapel. It's part of a series he did in 2020 while visiting over two dozen such chapels. (Note the sound at first is rough due to the wind, but it gets better quickly.)
And here are a few more resources specifically focused on roadside chapels:
"Faith Along the Road: The Belgian Roadside Chapels of Northeastern Wisconsin" (video) — by Fr. Edward Looney (2023)
In the state of Wisconsin where the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to a Belgian immigrant named Adele Brise in 1859, a cultural devotion from her homeland would make its way into the local community, that of roadside (or wayside, votive) chapels dedicated to Jesus, Mary, and the saints. The Belgian Roadside Chapels of Northeastern Wisconsin serve as a place for devotion for locals and pilgrims alike as they seek the intercession of saints both popular and unknown. Join Fr. Edward Looney, host of Faith Along the Road as he brings you to these chapels, shares their history, and helps to tell their story.
The LeGrave homestead and its chapel (pictured above) appears at "12:47 in this video.
"Wisconsin Hometown Stories: Door County" (video) — by PBS Wisconsin (2022)
This video includes an 8 minute section called "Ethnic Island", about the Belgians' settlement, their struggles, their faith, and their Walloon language. It's heartwarming to hear that no matter what happened, they were a tight community, always helping each other out.
Belgian Roadside Chapels of NE Wisconsin (Facebook)
This is a Facebook group where people share stories and pictures of their favorite roadside chapels.
▶ "The History of Belgian Settlements in Door, Kewaunee, and Brown Counties" — by Math S. Tlachac (1974)
Math Tlachac (pronounced Klahatch) wrote a series of articles which were published in the Algoma Herald in 1970. After his death, his daugther compiled those articles into this small book. Fortunately, the family has also made the PDF version available on their website.
There are a couple of interesting articls about Math in this PDF document:
The Tlachac family maintains a great website with many articles and resources about their ancestry:
▶ "Historical and Genealogical Information on our Belgian Ancestors" — by Joseph J. Pierre and Mary A. Pierre (1976)
For my fellow Belgians, you should checkout this book written by one of my relatives. After reading it, and realizing that these settlers are my direct ancestors, I finally had a real appreciation for their sacrifices. If you think you've got problems, imagine a time when there were no fire departments or snow plows. Many of my ancestors walked over 100 miles to register their land claims. I could go on and on. Fortunately, the author was kind enough to allow me to transcribe his book into electronic format, and make it available here on the web. So, now you and the rest of the world can gain your own appreciation for how we got here.
▶ "Francois" — by Josie Wautlet (1990)
This is an incredible book written by my first cousin twice removed about my 2nd great grandfather. It includes stories of his emigration from Belgium to Wisconsin in 1856 at the age of 10. While he and his family faced significant struggles and tragedy, they also experienced great joys and never lost their faith and prayer life and devotion to the Rosary.
Around the time when the book was publshed, there were several newspaper articles about it which you may find interesting.
You can purchase a copy of this book at the Belgian Heritage Center in Brussels, Wisconsin.
▶ "Our Marchant Relatives" — by Jean & Les Rentmeester (1995)
Herman Joseph Marchant, son of Jean-Joseph Marchant (1744-1816) and Anne-Francoise Moreau (1754-1824), was born in 1786 in Marilles, Belgium. He married Marie Albertine Allard (1787-1852), daughter of Albert Allard and Marie-Joseph Beaufays. They had ten children. Ancestors, descendants and relatives lived mainly in Belgium and the United States.
I have not spent much time in this book. It's a big book and does not touch on my specific families much. But I reconize many of the names covered, people who married into my family. The people whose stories are told knew my ancestors well and there stories, struggles, and triumphs would be very similar to those of my own ancestors.
Jeanne and Less have written several books about their family histories. This book may be available from the Howard-Suamico Historical Society.
▶ Door County Library Newspaper Archive
This is a colletion of old newspapers managed by the Door County Library. Included are many issues of the Door County Advocate, Port Light, The Advocate, The Democrat, The Expositor, The Independent, The Republican, The Sturgeon Bay Advocate, and the Weekly Expositor Independent.
It's very easy to search this collection and find articles about your ancestors.
▶ "Our French Canadian Forefathers" — Lucille Fournier Rock (1982)
As the title indicates, this book explores the lives of many of our ancestors who came from France through Canada. I spoke with the author in May, 1999, and she was kind enough to grant permission for me to publish this excerpt here on my web site.
The book consists of nine chapters, each featuring the lives of a particular family in Canada. The sixth chapter, "The Crevier Family", chronicles the experiences of the descendants of Christophe Crevier (the first Crevier to emigrate to Québec). The author not only provides a look into our forefathers' lives, but she also gives a very nice look into the seigneurial system in Québec.
Geographic areas covered include Boucherville, Pierreville, Saint Cande le Vieil, Saint Christophe, Sainte Croix Saint Ouen Sorel, Trois Rivieres, and of course Saint Francois, where five generations of Creviers nobly held the title of Seigneur.
Key Creviers covered include Christophe Crevier (1611-1662), his son Jean Crevier, 1st Seigneur of St-François (1642-1693), his son Joseph Crevier, 2nd Seigneur of St-François (1667-1717), his son Joseph Crevier, 3rd Seigneur of St-François (1698-1734), his son Joseph Crevier, 4th Seigneur of St-François (1725-1776), and his son Joseph Antonie Crevier, 5th Seigneur of St-François (1762-1841). It also briefly mentions Christophe's daughter Marie Jeanne Crevier, the 7th great grandmother of Pope Leo XIV.
This is a must-read for anyone researching the Crevier name.
▶ "Our French-Canadian Ancestors" — by Thomas J. Laforest (1980s)
Thomas Laforest wrote this book in 30 volumes. So if you're researching a particular family line, you've got to find the volume that covers your family.
For example, I found a chapter about Christophe Crevier, my 9th great grandfather, in volume 7.
▶ "Dictionnaire généalogique des familles canadiennes" — by Cyprien Tanguay (1871)
This is a very large book, written in French, documenting the Québec French Canadian church records as summarized by Cyprien Tanguay. I managed to get a copy of it from a bookstore many years ago. This link is a collection of PDF documents, the first volume lists records for all names up to the year 1700. The subsequent volumes contain information up to the end of the 18th century and contain ranges of names listed alphabetically.
Surnames are listed alphabetically, so it's easy to search. I easily found the pages with the CREVIER family.
When reading books like these, it can be difficult to understand the abbreviations used, because the text is in French. Many of those abbreviations are explained here:
▶ CanGenealogy — by Dave Obee
This site provides many resources for searching out your Canadian ancestry. It lists sites by region (province) and by category.
▶ Helpful Documents
In my travels, I've stumbled on a few documents that provide info and tips on how to research Canadian ancestors:
▶ Specific Family Names
I also have links to many, many resources that are specific to certain names in my family tree. I'm starting to include some of those links here in case you also find them helpful.