Researching our family trees brings me great joy when I find
extended cousins. The best way to discover these third, fourth, and even fifth
cousins is to put your genealogy out there. I do that by having a tree on
Ancestry and by writing about family on my two blogs.
I have two trees on Ancestry. One is private and is a complete
tree that I uploaded several years ago. The other tree is a public tree of my direct
lines to be used for DNA matching. I should probably upload a new private tree
because I have made changes and additions. I have also uploaded a direct line
tree for my husband’s DNA matching.
Cousin Bait
I primarily use Ancestry to access the wonderful records and only occasionally
look at other members’ family trees. But that can be a mistake. Looking at
their trees helps you connect with cousins, cousins who might have photos,
documents, letters, and other interesting items about the family.
Back in 2019, I reached out to a member who had Davey names
in her tree. I asked if she was a member of the Thomas N. Davey family, as I
was looking for photos of his parents and siblings. My husband’s
great-grandfather was the youngest brother.
Boy, was I surprised when she replied. She was not connected
to Thomas N. Davey, but rather to the father, Thomas Davey by way of Thomas’ younger
brother, James Davey, who was her 3rd great-grandfather. It turns
out that James Davey immigrated to Australia in 1848. Thomas immigrated to
America in 1852. James was a blacksmith just like Thomas. It has been easier to
locate information about Thomas in Cornwall records full of Davey men because
instead of being a miner, he was a blacksmith. Their sister, Jane, also went to
Australia with her husband.
Connecting with the Australian cousin gave me two more names
of the children of James Davey and Elizabeth Hocking. She did not have the photos
I was looking for but does have a photo of James the son and his son, Thomas.
Don’t you just love how they used the same names over and over?
Now I have cousins in Australia that we can meet sometime.
Conclusion
Don’t just take information and attached documents from other member trees. Do message
the owners, as you never know what you might learn!
#52Ancestors-Week 51: Cousins
This is my sixth year working on this year-long prompt,
hosted by Amy Johnson Crow (https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/)
at Generations Cafe. I write each week in one of my two blogs, either Mam-ma’s Southern Family or My Trails into the Past.
I have enjoyed writing about my children’s ancestors in new and exciting ways.
How fortunate that you heard from the Australian cousin! Too often my messages to others aren't answered, sorry to say, even when I offer to share photos that aren't on my public tree. Merry Christmas!
ReplyDeleteI think I get answers about 50% of the time. Some contact me, and then when I answer, I never hear from them again. This one is a serious researcher.
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