Lost Cousins

[Alexander.]

LostCousins is a nice idea, but the problem is that very few people have entered their ancestors. I have entered 770 people, but had only 1 new contact. So I wouldn't say it's worth subscribing to at this point, especially since the owner has several free periods throughout the year.

The newsletters, about 2 per month, often contain interesting articles. A lot of the articles are about saving money on various subscriptions, mostly findmypast, so if you are thinking of subscribing to a genealogy site you should read the recent newsletters.

Alexander

[KentishChris]

Thank you so much everyone for all your help and advice  .

I've been using family search 1881 census, and found it very helpful! All the details I've needed to enter onto lost cousins is listed clearly on familysearch!

However, after entering many ancestors over the course of about 2 hours, I've only got one contact, with is my uncle (who I know of), but unfortunately passed away just under 2 years ago now!
But maybe someone else will enter their details and get in contact with me!

I've come to the conclusion, which comes in line with what Freckneale said, that as very few people have entered their ancestors, I'm not going to subscribe just yet. However, if the newsletter is a good read, then I think registering for free is brilliant!

As a family history beginner, gaining information about resources is really important, so I thank all the rootschatters that have helped me in this thread.

Chris 

[pete_uk]

Chris,

As the founder of LostCousins I can tell you that you're absolutely right - there's no need to pay a subscription until you find a new cousin, and even then you have the option of waiting for them to contact you, or for one of the free periods (which are announced in advance my newsletter, so yet another reason to read it!).

About 1 in 20 of all the people recorded in the 1881 Census have been entered by your fellow members - so if you stick to that census the odds of finding new cousins are actually pretty good. Certainly beats the lottery!

However, it's worth noting that you're more likely to find new cousins by entering relatives who are not in your direct line. For example, you may have already entered your great-grandparents and their children, but it's actually their brothers and sisters (in this case your great-great uncles and aunts) who are most likely to link you to 'lost cousins'.

Hope this helps - and remember that I reply personally to ALL emails from members, even though there are now nearly 89,000 of them!

[IgorStrav]

I would also go along with the recommendation of the Lost Cousins Newsletters, which I find most interesting and informative (thanks, Pete_uk!  ).

I've entered a lot of cousins, some of which I did recently.

I found links, but all were to people who I was already in contact with - except one person who had listed one of my cousins as he was a boarder in the house of her own relatives, in 1881, but she knew nothing and cared less about him 

[KentishChris]

Pete, I love the site, and the thought of getting in contact with cousins, second cousins etc! I'm definitely going to keep using it, entering more ancestors, and now people that are not in my direct line.
Thank you for the advice! 

I know I have relatives in the US, some in California, and some.... elsewhere....  , so I'm hoping to get in contact with them mainly!

Chris

[JonathanC]

I have had a very positive experience of using the LostCousins site.  I entered all my 1881 records (England/Wales and Scotland), some 1911 England/Wales and some 1880 US.

At the last count I had 'matched' with 15 people.  I recently took advantage of a free offer to contact all of these and so far six have responded.

I'm hoping that they will add the 1940 US census at some stage, as this fits their (initial!) criteria of being free to search on the web.

[pete_uk]

Good news, Jonathan - you CAN now enter relatives from the 1940 US census on your My Ancestors page!

Peter

[JonathanC]

Thanks Peter.  I have loaded them up.  No matches so far, but I guess its early days.  Would be useful if the 1940 numbers showed on the My Summary screen.

[pete_uk]

Would be useful if the 1940 numbers showed on the My Summary screen.

Good point - and now they do!