Your Ancestors Can Lead You to More Relatives
I’m a fan of shows that connect family. Shows like Finding Your Roots or Relative Race where they use family history research to connect people with other family members. I remember a recent episode where Lena Dunham found that Larry David, who was greatly admired by her family, was actually a close cousin. She was ecstatic at the news! She found a way to grow her family.
You and I will probably never be invited to appear on one of these shows, but we can find relatives in the same way, by researching our family history. Let’s look at some ways we can make our families bigger.
Family History Websites
Facebook seems to be the place genealogists and family historians hang out online. At last count there were over 16,000 groups on Facebook that concentrated on family history. If you want, you can find that list here. So how can you find your relatives? Just find a group that is researching your family’s ancestors, the places where they lived, or something else about their lives.
Pretend one of your ancestors lived in a small county in South Dakota, say Union County. Union County has a group on Facebook. By joining that group you can connect with other people who have ancestors in Union County. Since we know that families often moved across the country together, odds are good that there is someone else in that group that is also researching your ancestor, or their brother, or their uncle. That means you have a new cousin. You’ve just grown your family!
DNA
DNA testing is another way to grow your family by finding new relatives. When you get your results back from a DNA test, you will get a list of matches. These are people that are genetically related to you. While the test results may not tell you how you are related (you must figure that out on you own), you absolutely share DNA with your matches, so you are related. Look through the list to see if you recognize the names of your matches, especially those that are 2nd cousins or closer. If you see some names you don’t recognize, send them a message, introduce yourself, and make your family bigger!
If all this seems overwhelming or you just don’t have the time, we can help! At Heroes of the Past we are all about connecting you with family. You can contact us here.
