Tracing her roots

Each year, New Zealand Genealogical Society head Aucklander Jan Gow, 7, travels to Salt Lake City to browse ribbons of microfilm and endless volumes of maps, cemetery and property records tucked inside the Utah city’s Family History Library.” Gow, who first visited in 1981 and has returned more than 25 times, says: “A woman once asked me to give her four words to explain why she should come to Salt Lake City and not just research it all from home online. I could think of one: Immediacy. When we’re here we can immediately pull out a film, or pull out a book, look at a computer, because it’s all here. There’s nowhere else, just nowhere else.” Gow has traced her family to the 14th century and claims both Charles Darwin and William the Conqueror as distant relatives. She leads a tour to Utah annually for stays of up to three weeks before heading on to the United Kingdom.