Finding distant rellies

[MarieC]

Having read Keith Sherwood's thread and many other similar threads, I thought it would be useful to find out what have been the most successful ways in which Rootschatters have found distant rellies.  It might be a pointer to what we can all do to maximise our chances of finding third, fourth, fifth etc cousins!! 

Will post a summary of my experience in this separately.

MarieC

[MarieC]

I found one on GR, and two found my webpage.  The last one, in the last couple of days, is a direct descendant of a Premier of Queensland who was the brother of my ggrandmother.  He now lives in Somerset, very close to where the family originally lived, so is ideally placed to do research on them! 

The fourth, I found purely by accident when we were both guests at dinner in someone's home.  But she lives in France half of each year, and is proving wonderful at helping to research our mysterious French ancestors! 

MarieC

[deeiluka]

I have linked up with many distant cousins....in more than one sense of the word "distant".  Exchanges of information and more have taken place with second, third, fourth, and fifth cousins in the USA, Canada, and England, as well as in Australia.

I have made contact, or had contact made with me, through Rootschat, GR, a couple of individual webpages, other message boards, and Surnames lists. I've also found some English cousins by taking a punt on names and addresses found in the phone book, and writing letters.

With some of them, the contact has been minimal, but with others it has been an ongoing and rewarding experience. Two of the third cousins , one from the USA and one from England, have come to Australia and visited. On one of my lines of research, there have been up to 16 of us who have linked up around the world by email....we called ourselves the "Nunley International Forum".      

I was in contact with a Canadian cousin back in 2003,; due to a move of home on their part we lost contact.....and a recent Scavenger Hunt and googling by this cousin has put us back into contact again. Thanks Rootschat!  

......dee

[Gadget]

I found most of mine by a kind of snowball sampling. Once you've found one, they have siblings and know others and so on, using the telephone mainly and letters.

I managed to get about 100 descendants of one set of great grandparents together a few years back. Most had moved from the village and it was a pretty common surname.  It was one of those 'determined to do it' efforts. 

Gadget

[MarieC]

From the limited voting we've had, it looks as though Genes Reunited is indeed a fertile source of finding unknown rellies!  This, despite the reservations that people have voiced about it.  Perhaps I should overcome my inertia and join it! 

MarieC

[perth tiger]

i think gr will be the obvious choice of most people. even with all its shortcomings its still in my opinion the best way of finding people.
mariec try it out, just put what part of your tree you will be happy for people to see online.

perth

[Dancing Master]

I cringe when I hear "rellies" Cuzzies"  etc.,   urrgggghhh.

I have ancestors, descendants, cousins, relatives, but I do not acknowledge any of the Rellies, Cuzzies claims.

I am afraid that I went to school when such references would have been in serious trouble for the use of "slang "

[aspin]

One of my Dads cousins daughter's found me in curiousfox and she only live about 30 mile from me we both shop at the same super market and could have stood next to each other at the till without knowing, others I have found or they have found me through GR .I have just found a relative this past month on my mothers side we both share the same grt grandparents


One found me in rootschat and I have passed rootschat onto them

Elizabeth

[Arranroots]

I cringe when I hear "rellies" Cuzzies"  etc.,   urrgggghhh.

I have ancestors, descendants, cousins, relatives, but I do not acknowledge any of the Rellies, Cuzzies claims.

I am afraid that I went to school when such references would have been in serious trouble for the use of "slang "

I'll bet your rellies are delighted to find you DM! 

Personally, I can't bear the word "cringe" ...