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I have accepted the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge and am starting my first blog. The first decision in creating this blog was to name it. This took some thought and I finally decided on Hobson’s Choice Genealogy Blog. I feel the name is fitting since we have no choice in who we are related to. It is also fitting since Hobson is my last name and my readers may accept my writings or not.

Hobson’s Choice is a phrase that means there is no choice or there is a free choice in which only one thing is offered and there is no real alternative. The choice is to take either that which is offered or nothing.

According to Wikipedia the phrase is said to have originated with Thomas Hobson (1544–1631), a livery stable owner in Cambridge, England, who offered customers the choice of either taking the horse in his stall nearest to the door or taking none at all.  According to a plaque underneath a painting of Hobson donated to Cambridge Guildhall, Hobson had an extensive stable of some 40 horses. This gave the appearance to his customers that, upon entry, they would have their choice of mounts, when in fact there was only one: Hobson required his customers to choose the horse in the stall closest to the door. This was to prevent the best horses from always being chosen, which would have caused those horses to become overused. Hobson’s stable was located on land that is now owned by St Catharine’s College, Cambridge.

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The Unravelling of Secrets and Lies

1985 found us moving to a new neighbourhood in Winnipeg and the first neighbours we met, Sandra and Dennis, became good friends. Over the years we learned more about their family and background. Dennis’ history is one that some, who are searching for their biological past, might relate to. Dennis’ story begins in the spring …

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Genealogy and the Importance of Research

As I find a new normalcy from the events over the past year I have decided to revive my genealogy blog. As a genealogist I have learned many important Do’s and Don’tsover the years from a wide range of genealogists. These lessons have caused me to ‘Start Over’ and re-create my tree.  I started my journey (my …

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About Me

Hello, my name is Shaun Hobson. I have been working on genealogy since 1999. I have researched and expanded my paternal line while my older sister works on the maternal one. I am always learning how to research and document better. This has resulted in me starting a “Do-Over” tree and I am working hard to make more “do’s” and less “don’ts”.

I enjoy genealogy and time will disappear when I sit down in front of my computer. Before I know it, the day has gone and my intended work for the day has not been done. I enjoy getting to know the person I am currently working on and always wish I could have the opportunity to ask them the questions I cannot find the documents to answer.

In addition to my tree, I have also worked on the trees of six friends to help find their biological family. This process presents different dynamics since their biological families may not all be open to acknowledging them. The first tree I worked on, which involved DNA, was for a friend who was adopted at birth. The matches found, helped us build a mirror tree which enabled us to triangulate the people and narrow down the focus to fewer and fewer branches. We received DNA results from descendants of the known paternal grandparents and were able to determine who the father was.

I have gone on to use DNA to help two other adoptees find their biological family, two friends find their fathers and to identify secrets in my family, such as, non-paternity events (NPE). An NPE is when someone who is presumed to be an individual’s father is not in fact the biological father. With this sleuthing I have welcomed three half-first cousins to my family (their father was discovered to be my father’s half-brother), as well as, a second cousin once removed (2C1R).