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Honored Contributor
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Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Doing genelogy research my DH found a company in Germany that is his last name , and the picture of the  owner is a spitting image of DH's dad.So DH e mailed him and sent a picture of his Dad with the e mail. The gentleman wrote back & he & my husband have occasionally been writing , as well as this gentleman's Mom. We are definitely related , though we have not as yet figured out exactly how close. 

The man's company makes items for the home and today- out of the blue - we received a huge package in the mail -I think it is just about one of every item they make. Also a big group picture of all the relatives who work for this family business and all their kids & grandkids. 

How cool is that? We want to invite them to come and visit us. They have been to Florida once and loved it here, plus it would be cool to meet them in person.

Super Contributor
Posts: 367
Registered: ‎01-07-2012

That is really great!  I connected with a few people over the years while doing genealogy research, but nothing like this! 

Honored Contributor
Posts: 25,929
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Much of this man's family resemble my DH's dad's family. Unfortunately, my DH looks just like his Mom, so he doesn't fit in that group. But some of his cousins are spitting images of ladies in the picture.

Respected Contributor
Posts: 3,710
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

That's really neat! 

My whole family in Germany was wiped out, along with records.

Honored Contributor
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Registered: ‎05-10-2010

It's a nice story but you don't know if you are related in some way.  Only genetics testing can tell you that.  

Honored Contributor
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Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: This is so cool!

[ Edited ]

@hennypenny  My grandmothers  great grandparents were married off in an arranged marriage when they were 13 & 14 years old and sent to America to live because there was a war going on in Germany between different Barons and there was fear the families would be killed. As it turns out the kids who came to America were the only ones to survive on both sides of their families. They did have some family already here in the US so , in my grandmas family , only the ones who came to the USA have survived. Things were brutal back then! 

Was you family in the Holocaust?

Honored Contributor
Posts: 25,929
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

@chrystaltree wrote:

It's a nice story but you don't know if you are related in some way.  Only genetics testing can tell you that.  


You don't need genetic testing. You can follow your family tree and find where it connects. Then once you find that connection AND find the families physically resemble each other it's certain. My DH had sent some family pictures to this gentleman's  Mom & she was shocked by the resemblence of my DH's cousins to their family. 

Respected Contributor
Posts: 4,520
Registered: ‎03-04-2012

I love hearing about connections that happen randomly!  How cool is that?  I definitely think you should invite them to visit.  Maybe you'll be able to figure out the connection if there is one.  If not, you've made yourself some lifelong friends. 

Honored Contributor
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Re: This is so cool!

[ Edited ]

Removed due to misinterpretation.

Honored Contributor
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Registered: ‎03-09-2010

@151949 I have read some horror stories on these boards about visitors from abroad so take it slow and get to know them better before extending the invite.