How Do You Relate?

If you are doing research on these family lines you can benefit from the research that has already been done or can help others who are just beginning to do research. You can also interact with other cousins who may assist you in finding missing links to your family line. By tracking brothers and sisters and other relatives of your ancestor, you often find more information on your ancestor than by only tracking your direct line. Perhaps, you can find out where or why your ancestors' moved by communicating with descendants of the siblings of your ancestors. For example, tracing just my great great grandmother Patience DYE was a complete dead end because it seemed as if they had been abducted by aliens. Finally we found a descendant of her sister that gave us the answer of where and why they moved. Patience's sister was diagnosed with "consumption" and was told by her doctors to move to Minnesota for health reasons. Checking in Minnesota, we found the rest of the family, including the mother and father of Patience.

You will find that members on the list are very cooperative and will gladly give you information that they have found on your family. Soon, you'll be happy you found your new "relations" and wonder how you ever did without them. While nothing compares to doing the research for yourself, it doesn't hurt to have the help of those who have gone before you and can point you in the right direction.