Online Genealogy

  Over the course of my research on our family history I started thinking that I had an uncle who moved out of state and started his family back some many years ago. This uncle lived, worked and died in the same area that he had raised his family. Then it occurred to me that just maybe there were members of his family still living that our family did not know about some place in that state. The other thing that came to mind was that with the every growing use of Face Book I would almost bet that that some of those family members would be found there. I had the state, the town and the last names that might fit into the profiles, all that was left was searching Face Book for answers to this question! 

 I started with last names that I had found thought records while working on Ancestry.com. By inputting these last names I came up with a list of a few possible connections. My next step might seem a bit bold but it was the only way to get connected. I had to contact these possible family members and find out if their family and mine was a match. They were a little unsure at first I think but we did make the connection and the next thing you know I made contact with some of the living grandchildren of my uncle. This was the first step in not only connecting for historical information but connecting family members to each other that would not have other wise ever got to know one another! An online family reunion of sorts. It has turned out to be a very rewarding find for not only me but some of our family who have gained new relationships, shared family history , photos and just enjoy getting to know members of our clan that were "lost" before all this.

The latest step I have taken to help in research is setting up a "secret" group on Face Book for sharing research, updating where we are going with the history project, sharing documents and photos, etc. It has turned into a very  helpful tool that only those who are members can see and thus makes sharing more openly much more active for all of us.