Cousins, knowledge, DNA and enhancing the family tree of knowledge.

+19 votes
264 views

About this time last year, I found a cousin of my mothers whom she didn't know she had. Up to that point, she had NO cousins. Imagine that? She came from a large family, but had no cousins.

Flash forward to March 2018 and from across the miles (England to New Zealand) he will travel to meet her. This will be the result of me looking at his family tree and seeing his last name and then seeing another name that was technically unrelated to either of us but I knew who that was and knew he had to be a relation of mine. Now, despite the age difference, it's like he's an older brother whom I'm just getting to know.

Yesterday, I received an email from a lady whose husband had given her an Ancestry DNA test as a gift. I had done my DNA a few months back but didn't really follow through with it. It seemed to be a dead end, or I was finding 5-6th cousins. I wanted closer LOL. Well, this lady who emailed me is my father's cousin. She remembers him from childhood and she has images of my great grandparents whom I have never seen before. I will get those in the New Year after the hubbub of Christmas has died down. I get to look at what physical traits I inherited from my great-grandmother, but I can already see it in the face of my cousin.

I also possibly found out something about my genetics on which I might need to look into for prevention. (Just a matter of being practical - not obsessed). Anyway, why I'm posting this is that you never know who might be looking for their family and who one day might take up the ancestral search when you're gone. Having started your own genealogical quest, it will never be complete (I have already figured this out for myself) - there are still more details to be added, even if you think you have everyone listed. There's the person to flesh out - to figure out what kind of person they were. What traits did they have?

It was another of my father's cousins who got me interested in my family history, thanks to the work he had done pre-internet. It was interesting. It was relevant. We often read about people in history that we have no direct connection to...this is YOUR chance to make history completely relevant to YOU and YOUR family.

We now have so many advances in technology to make some of the work easier, but the further back you go, the more you will rely on books and anecdotal records such as family bibles and 'stories' handed down. There is some truth in some family rumors too. When someone says it's just a family rumor...find out if it is. There might be a kernel of truth in that which could help tear down that brick wall. And with DNA  - that can confirm some things, but typically you'll need to know a few basics in order to get true confirmation. However, that too can help take your family line further back as we learn from each other.

Wikitree is a collaborative site and yes, the devotion is to connecting the global family tree, but it also highlights the need to collaborate with known family members who are still living right now. Many will be delighted to hear from you, even if they've never heard from you before! We are all walking encyclopedias - we just don't know at which point our information becomes relevant, until....someone asks. So, don't be afraid to start asking, before those with the knowledge are gone.

Happy researching :)

in The Tree House by Raewyn Vincent G2G6 Mach 7 (77.0k points)

2 Answers

+15 votes
 
Best answer
Wow, What a great way of encouraging others to dig deeper and to communicate with living relatives to find out family connections and ancestors. I just wish I did that years ago before my aunts and uncles passed away. Taking on ancestry studies of my own family ties lead to many discoveries but also many questions.

Now I have to rely on those "rumors" you mentioned and bits and pieces from cousins and from records that were made available through the internet. I couldn't imagine going to various libraries looking up census reports where today with just a click away we can find so much information. Thanks for sharing your story Raewyn, you gave some awesome tips.  And best of luck in future discoveries!!
by Dorothy Barry G2G Astronaut (2.7m points)
selected by Susan Laursen
Thanks Dorothy. I have found it encouraging either finding or being found. While I'm not necessarily looking for living peoples these days (I think I know of the ones who are alive), there have been a few surprises and genealogists in their 20s, or even teens are encouraged to talk to their elders about the family. First source is usually family, unless you're adopted, and even then it can still be your first source if the family is open about it (despite it being a potentially closed adoption - adopting parents don't stop being Mom or Dad, after all!).

Yes, the rumors can have some truth. Some of my Vincent rumors hold a lot of truth, but one in particular is still locked in myth at this point. It would literally take a DNA test to confirm or deny, but I don't have the means to hop on a plane right now and go stalking descendants of Barons to find out if I am the great xxxxx grand daughter of a possible illegitimate union and at this point, not sure if that's possible, or whether it would be welcomed. The title means little to me, but rather, if confirmed, would set me back to the time of the Norman Conquest, which is almost 1000 years! However unlikely that it is true, it would be interesting if it were.
+13 votes
Awesome. I am new to wiki, about one month, and yesterday I received my first email saying, "Hello cousin". The feeling of connecting with family cannot be defined. It encompasses the emotions, senses, etc.
by Lois Staggs G2G2 (2.3k points)
Wow, Lois! That's awesome! In just a month or so you found family! Now, that is inspiring!

There is a shared connection for sure. Even if you may not know them first hand, you come to know them. The difference is not knowing them as you were growing up. It's a wonderful feeling and it's good for them too!

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