Welcome to WikiTree! I am Dave Draper and I am delighted to see you join our community. Here, we are passionate about building a single family tree and discovering our ancestry. I hope you find WikiTree as exciting and rewarding as I have. There is a learning curve so here is a link that might help you get started. WikiTree How To Here is How To Do IT
Please feel free to ask anyone about anything on this G2G forum!
That being said, some pretty neat things will happen as you enter your pedigree into the system. You may find that some your family has already been profiled here by cousins you never knew you had!
Here is an illustration:
Illustrated another way: You can't get a vacuum cleaner to run with out plugging the cord into the electrical outlet. Likewise, when your pedigree is plugged into the WikiTree, the Connection Finder (Vacuum) will suck in every ancestor you never knew you had and populate your family tree automatically. That's what happed to me! That is what has happened to everyone of us here on WikiTree. That is the magic of WikiTree!
To connect to the tree, you will need to keep adding your grandfathers and grandmothers in our system until your personal tree hooks into our community tree. Once someone in your pedigree merges with the same person already profiled here, you will be connected to the WikiTree! Then you will find who you seek and so many more! Presidents, Mayflower passengers, movie stars, Kings and Queens are all related or connected to you. You don't know it yet but you are related or connected by a marriage to half the members on this site!
That being said, Lucy Selvaggio-Diaz answered your post. I have never met Lucy. I ran the WikiTree connection finder and it turns out we are cousins! Hi Cousin Lucy!
Lucy and David Draper are 19th cousins twice removed
Lucy's pedigree connected to the WikiTree and my pedigree connected as well. The computer figures out how we are connect by marriages or related by blood. In this case Lucy and I are blood related. Even though we are distant cousins, we share a grandfather or grandmother way back when and that's works for me! Wait till you discover you and your wife are related! That happened to me! My wife and I are 17th cousins.
So please keep adding your pedigree and if you get stuck, we are here to help.
How To Use WikiTree YouTube Video by Family Tree with Sunny Jane Morton
Here is a poem I "baptize" new members with: (hope you enjoy it!)
- We Welcome you to WikiTree
- We think it’s better than Ancestry
- We’ll help you find your family
- And all your genealogy
- But be Warned: It’s been predicted
- That soon you too will be addicted.
- It happened to others, and to me!
- Adding your family to the WikiTree!
- The next thing here to be remembered
- Is to upgrade to a FAMILY MEMBER
- And then you will be kindly told
- To click on and sign the Honor Code!
- But, don't you fret, 'cause it's all FREE
- This is really one great community
- We can help you with your ancestry!
- Thanks and welcome to WikiTree!
- Genealogy saying: "Genealogy is all about chasing your own tale."
Have a lovely day chasing your TALE!
