I found a distant cousin - Page 2

Stormygirl · ‎08-01-2015

All 11 of us were given up at birth, some fostered.......some lucky enough to be adopted. Met my biological Mum once at 25 yo (she didnt speak much English)....wasnt one of those gushy talk show moments really. Never met my Father....he died before I found out anything about where he lived and perhaps good thing...he wasnt the role model father I heard from those who had met him. When I was 25 I got curious and knew only the names of my siblings....some of them. Found several SIBLINGS on geneology site and a message from my dead brothers' kid who would be my nephew asking for family members to contact him.

Well it has been 3 years and 3 of us are FaceBook "friends" but I guess I had unrealistic expectations as noone has made an effort to meet. I dont know but maybe too much time has passed, too much pain? Only a few of us are still alive.........sad that too little too late may happen. I guess it takes more then blood to make a family.

vermint · ‎04-05-2010

Not through research, but quite by accident I found out that 2 of my DH's friends are related to me! One through my step-grandfather (who raised my dad), and the other through my paternal grandmother (who was a sister to my relative's sister). My dad's birth father is a mystery to me as he left when my dad was about 2 y/o, and never contacted them again--though they know where he lived.

My dad's family spread through 3 or 4 very small connecting towns from the 1930's on. I'm probably related to at least 85% of the people whose families date from 1930. I have no idea who most of them are, just that if I meet someone from that area with one of 3 surnames, they are most likely a relative.

I know very little about my mother's family. Her mother died in childbirth and was never really talked about. Her dad married the nanny he hired to care for my mom and her twin sister! Plus, we moved to SC more than 50 years ago, they all lived on the West Coast, and there was never enough money to travel when I was a kid.

MomCat · ‎09-12-2010

@Puzzle Piece wrote:
I happy for you if it is something that pleases you. I don't want a thing to do with the cousins I had and the one's I've never known.

LOL. Along with a few other family members on MY list. Ugh.

RedTop · ‎09-01-2010

I too have connected with several distant cousins thru my genealogy searches, and postings. Two male cousins had been coming to this area of West Virginia for several years, cleaning off a very rural cemetery where their relatives are buried. I responded to a post of theirs, which led to many emails, a meeting in town, a nice dinner, and a strong friendship.

Four years ago, I was contacted by a cousin in TX about her great, great, great grandmother, who was my great, great aunt. I knew a lot about this ancestor; where she had lived locally, her children, and where she's buried. This cousin flew out for a short visit in this area, and came to my home for Sunday dinner. She is a delightful person, and we enjoyed a nice visit. I surprised my cousin with a beautiful piece of glassware that had belonged to her ggggrandmother---which had been passed to my grandmother, her favorite niece, after this relative died. It felt so good to be able to give my cousin that piece of glassware, and feel it was exactly where it should be. We remain in close touch, and she says her trip to WV stands out from all her other trips, period.

I search the find-a-grave website quite often, and have found a lot of useful information, plus viewed graves of many ancestors online, which I never would have known about, otherwise.

My only negative experience was with the first relative I met online, who had a hard time keeping his connections straight. He had lived his entire life in CA, and found Internet info on his WV relatives, then posted his compiled information to another big go to website. The info he posted was incorrect, as he had my paternal grandmother in the wrong family group, and all info posted under her was incorrect. I provided the correct information with a way to verify it, but he never corrected his info online, which ended my contact with him.

151949 · ‎03-09-2010

@PinkSunsetThe only personal info is my name - all communication is thru the website's message board.

151949 · ‎03-09-2010

My DH also volunteers and goes out to find graves for find a grave - mows the grass and cleans the stones then photographs them and enters them when ever anyone writes to him and asks him to. Here in Pittsburgh you need to be half mountain goat to do this because all the cemeteries are on hillsides where they can't build anything. But - it gets us outside and getting some exercise, and doing something for someone. Heck, we spend a lot of time just driving around the tri state area looking for cemeteries.If we go past a cemetery anywhere in the city we have not had to visit we both shout - OMG - look - a cemetery. I am certain we have spent more time in catholic cemeteries than most Catholics around here. The Pittsburgh diocese has really good records on their website and we use that a lot.

151949 · ‎03-09-2010

So far my genelogy doesn't go back very far in the USA. One side of my Grandmas family has been here from before the revolutionary war but all the rest of my family goes back to Europe with in 2 generations and I haven't wanted to pay to get the records from Europe.

151949 · ‎03-09-2010

For anyone who may be interested going out and finding the graves, taking the pictures and entering the information is a nice volunteer opportunity for senior citizens as long as you are able to walk around the cemeteries and drive around to find them, and then put them in the computer. often we pack our lunch as they turn into all day adventures.There is usually a place we can sit in the shade and eat. We also take our weed whacker and a broom so when we do take the pictures they look as nice as possible.

Tinkrbl44 · ‎08-23-2010

@Imadickens wrote:
That's great! I found a some number cousin three times removed, whatever that means! I never did understand all those removed relatives! Seriously, I had a relative listed as great aunt of father in law of cousin 28 times removed! What?😳 Really?🙄 C'mon, get real!😉

Does anyone know how you "remove" a cousin .... and why you would want to do that?

Sooner · ‎03-10-2010

@Puzzle Piece wrote:
I happy for you if it is something that pleases you. I don't want a thing to do with the cousins I had and the one's I've never known.

@Puzzle Piece

I'm like you. I really don't want to go out looking for people who may or may not be related to me. If I never knew them, I can't see where we would have a lot in common. I'd rather concentrate on friends and what very little known family I have left.

I always joke that the next thing you know they will want a kidney. . . Some of my friends think I'm awful about that because they are into finding relatives they don't know. But they love me anyway!

My dad's family came to this country very very early. I know that from an aunt who was into this. She had all the records long back into England. Seems almost every one of the males joined the military so she was able to find better records.