RootsChat.Com
General => The Common Room => The Lighter Side => Topic started by: Springbok on Tuesday 18 April 06 11:36 BST (UK)
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Reading the thread on The Lighter Side,"Compounding Errors",and the irritations of GR.,made me wonder where other people made family Contacts on the Internet,if not on GR?
Since Rootschat started ,how many of you have had, or made contact through here. I've tried a couple of times,getting no reply,but it is still a very young site.
Where else did others go?
Spring
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I started with my paternal grandmother's family. They came from the north Cotswolds, just south of Stratford on Avon. Gordon Beavington's census transcripts were on there quite early, the villages are small and easily looked through.
Also the Rootsweb pages have contacts for researchers in the Cotswold areas and I made my first contact with distant rellies through there.
www.rootsweb.com/~engcots/theParishes.html
Ellen
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I didn't know from where in the country my Grandparents came , so it was a case of BMD's and Census returns and Certs.for some time,and they only took me back to the mid 1837 of course.
It was only through GR that I got contacts which enabled me to get Family Trees researched by others.and the Villages from where our families had been for generations.
I am dependant on the Internet,so am ever grateful for their help.
Spring
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My first contact with someone sharing part of my tree was from a list somewhere on GenUk, that I had posted years before! My one and only contact Lol. and we are both stuck at the same wall!!
Keep hoping someone else will contact me one day to clear my brickwalls
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My very first contact came from inputting my (at the time) small family tree into a website...mytrees.com...if you did that then you got to find matches free for a while. I found a match for my Archibald family and contacted him.
As Ellen has already said using Rootsweb was good too as I found another rellie there.
By far the most contacts that I've had are through using GR - I've been really fortunate and have now found about 18 directly related to my family... I know that other people are not so lucky.
I have found one through Rootschat but it actually turned out that we had previously spoken to each other about another branch of the family on GR and hadn't made a match. It was only when I posted here that we discovered that we were related through another branch :)
Elaine
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I found an excellent Wallwork branch courtesy of a member of RC - she also put me in touch with another lady who passed on information.
I have information on GR and Lostcousins.com and there must be another half dozen or so sites, but I've only had luck with RC . . . . . . 'Long may it reign' :)
Barbara 8)
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My first cousin contact was through Rootsweb. :)
I think I have found 3 through Rootsweb altogether.
So far I have found 1 cousin contact here on Rootschat. :)
BD
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My first "finds" were through the LDS site and the info was actually correct. Then when I had Great Grandparents names and marriage certificate (hubby's side) I just put the name (Horsburgh) into the search engine and was given quite a few sites with links to the name.
As I had both sets of parents names for bride and groom I was able to make a link with a lovely man who turned out to be 3rd cousin to hubby. He gave me info from his 30 years of searching that took us back to 1478.
Then when I joined GR I got quite a few lines from that info alone. I am still finding links to both sides of the family even now - just found 3 of hubby's 2nd cousins on there as well as a 3rd cousin.
Through Rootschat I have found one of my 3rd cousins and a 2nd cousin of my Dad's both from the same family so able to share all with them both.
I know I haven't got that many connections on RC compared to GR but RC is still very young and I know that as time goes on I wil find more through RC.
RC is great for the help that you cannot always find on other sites and if you have your rellie's names in the post they do show up in searches on the search engines. So that means that others who are not members are also seeing the info
Carol
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I found a fourth cousin on Genes Reunited and we are in touch, though haven't made much progress. Another fourth cousin found me through my webpage, and she had lots of info on one branch of the family, which was great!
MarieC
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So far, I have found a first cousin and a great-uncle through GR, as well as several distant rellies.
Ancestry message boards have recently found me a couple more.
But that's it so far. No luck yet on finding anyone through RC, but there's time and a couple of distant possibles.
TB
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found 2 definite new rellies and there families on GR, and we are still in contact , :) :)
it seems well worth the small fee.
i have also gained information through the Suffolk Surnames website,
and since coming on here i have found out more infromation about people already on my tree :) :)
soooooo
in conclusion
;D :D
both sites have there uses
:)
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oops wrong there!!!
for all you spelling buffs out there
i should have used 'their'
but sometimes when your typing away the spellings go flying out of the window
:D
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Found my sister and my cousin on GR. Mind you I already knew them. Just didn't know they'd joined GR as well.
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Thanks Leytone,
That made me laugh!!
Spring
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Hi Springbok
Wouldn't mind but it cost me £7.50 to find out
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I found my second cousin in Canada through Netscape which led me to Canadisn phone books. I left a message on an answering machine and within 12 hours I had a phone call.
Since I joined RootsChat I have found another member's grandparents grave and have even visited it. We intend to meet in September when she comes to Ireland to visit the grave.
Mary.
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Met my 3rd cousin once removed the week I registered with RootsChat. Havnt met anyone else since but then I dont range too widely onto other sites.
Linda.
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Since I joined RootsChat I have found another member's grandparents grave and have even visited it. We intend to meet in September when she comes to Ireland to visit the grave.
Mary.
Goodonya, Mary! This is the kind of thing Rootschatters really excel at - finding things in their local area for other R'chatters who live far away! It's a wonderful gift that you make in this way!
MarieC
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I have done the same thing and I feel its my way of saying thanks to all the people who have helped me. And great fun as well. :)
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And goodonya too, linmey!! Those of us who live in other countries salute you!! ;D ;D
MarieC
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Well, I was doing a churchyard search for one lady in Holland, one in Oz and a chap from Shropshire, alias the Ware fan Club. Took a day off work,parked in the local town car park and got a £30 parking fine because my ticket wouldnt stick on the window and the traffic warden couldnt see it, and to top it all couldnt find a single thing in the church yards.
Apart from that I had a good time and found out a few other bits and pieces.
Please dont tell keith, Di and Anna. I will give them the bill at the Ware mini meet next year.
ONLY JOKING GUYS ;D
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I found my first rellie through Curious Fox, where you can post information or queries under a village, but either you or the person replying has to be a member. So I joined.
Someone replied who only had a particular interest in a particular village, and through her, not only did I find that I was distantly related to her husband, but she has put me in touch with at least three further distant cousins. Through this site I have had contact with another two three or possibly four. The last sent me 14 pages on three related families, which I was able to compare to and extend my research and in return, provide them with a couple of facts as I had purchased some certificates.
My other successes have come through GR, one of whose parents remembers visiting my grandparent's house and seeing photos of me. It was most wierd to receive a photo from them, asking if I knew the people - which was identical to a photo in our family album!
Watermusic
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You are right Watermusic, it is strange when people you dont know come up with photos of family that you also have. That has happened to me a couple of times. I have recently made contact with family who have photos of my gg grandfather and I cant wait to see them.
Linda.
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I've only had luck with GR. Someone messaged me quite a while back, and at the time, I thought nothing of it as there was no connection. That was almost a year ago! I reread the messages last week and a name appeared that I hadn't noticed. I sent her some new information, and it turns out her mother is my mothers cousins. She sent me a lovely photo of my great aunt, who we didn't know about, and there was such a resemblance between her and my mother.
I was also in contact with a descendant of my grgrgrgr grandfather, who had much more information that I did so I've been able to add to my tree.
Other than that, the only other luck I had was reading the Black Country Bugle. I sent a letter to a man (who lives 10 minutes at most from me!) who was interested in info on his great grandparents - who were my grgrgr grand parents! Since then, he has visited and even produced a small booklet type thing on my grgrgr grandmother.