Faces of NextGen: Meet Brandy Fulton

Brandy Fulton, 19, Canada

Why genealogy? Well, I grew up around my dad being a part of a couple different genealogy groups, eventually my mom got into it as well, and I guess it just kind of took over our family. I have always liked history and learning about weird things in my family is always interesting.

What’s the coolest discovery you’ve made? My dad was trying to find some background on some land behind a church downtown. They were trying to build there but found human bones. My dad and I, alongside Mark Cripps, spent the afternoon in the library. I was reading through a book that said the workers from the Welland Canal would often spill out of the church and into the cemetery to listen to the service on Sundays. This helped my dad prove that there was a gravesite there and that they couldn’t build.

What are you working on this week? Right now I am working on a lot of stuff that isn’t genealogy. I do a lot of work for people who are swamped with work for their organizations. But I am working on a video that will show people they might be missing messages sent to them on Facebook. It will be sent to people within the genealogical world because I have had a personal experience where my dad has missed a lot of messages from people asking about family information.

What’s the number one secret to your success in genealogy? I don’t quite know if I have a huge reason for success in genealogy. I write the articles for the Welland Canal and a lot of that information is given to me. My dad helps me a lot with those articles as well. I’m not sure if it would sound weird if I said the fact that I am driven makes me more stubborn and thus I end up finding what I need and getting the job done.

What superpower would you want to help you uncover your family history? I feel like the obvious answer here is time travel. You would be able to talk to your ancestors, see what they did, and experience life. It would make family history so much easier.

What are we most likely to find you doing when you’re not researching family history? I am a journalism student at Conestoga College in Kitchener, Ontario, so a lot of my life consists of writing and photography. I listen to a lot of music as well. Luckily I am able to do those generally all at the same time.


The NextGen Genealogy Network is made up of young genealogists with diverse backgrounds, interests, and experiences. Faces of NextGen showcases a different member of our community each month. If you would like to be considered for an upcoming feature, simply complete our questionnaire and submit a selfie.

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