Monday, June 19, 2017

Family History Blogging Can Help Others Find Their Ancestors


I am so excited to share with you that a previously unknown cousin contacted me recently to tell me some wonderful news.

He left a comment here on my blog. His comment began with this sentence:
"I was so happy to stumble onto your blog, as it has helped me finally crack the mystery of who my three times great grandfather was."
Isn't that awesome!? This previously unknown cousin and I share an ancestor in my Norwegian family line. My cousin's ancestor was one of the brothers of my third great-grandfather, Michael Christian Christopherson. My cousin also said,
"...and thanks to you I now have their parents names as well :) Thanks!"
Wow! You're very welcome cousin!

My cousin went on to say that I was a good DNA match with his grandmother on GEDmatch. Yay!

My new cousin's comments made me feel so good! It really is worth all of the time and effort to write about my ancestors in my blog. Not only is blogging about my ancestors beneficial to me, it's also helpful to others.

Have you had any cousins contact you because you shared your family history in your blog?

Thanks for stopping by!

Jana

© 2017 Copyright by Jana Iverson Last, All Rights Reserved

17 comments:

  1. That is great!
    Yes, I wrote an article about knowing your family medical history as a hereditary deadly heart disease runs in our family and 2 of my cousin's kids have it. A previously unknown 3rd cousin contacted me a couple of weeks later that she was so glad to stumble upon my blog as her doctors thought she may have it, but were reluctant to confirm it because no one else in her family had it. Now she is getting the treatment she needs.

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    1. Wow Dianne! What an amazing story! Thank you for sharing it here.

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  2. Marvelous! That is why we blog, to connect with cousins!

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  3. Hi Jana, congratulations on your newly-found cousin and on helping him crack his brick wall! In 9 years of blogging, I've had 3 or 4 cousins contact me after their online searches for family names brought them to one of my posts. No wonder I keep blogging. Genealogy really is fun, as your Twitter handle says.

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    1. Thank you Marian! And congrats on your cousin connections!

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  4. Hi Jana I agree completely - I get a real sense of achievement when I make a new contact via my blog, especially when it gives new information to a previously unknown relative. Keep up the great work.

    Mike
    You Don't Choose Your Family

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  5. Wonderful---congratulations! When I started my blog, I never knew it would be "cousin bait," but I have had so many wonderful cousins find me while searching for their family history. It's a real blessing!

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    1. Thank you Amy! Congrats on your many cousin connections!

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  6. Congratulations on your newly-found cousin!
    Yes, I've had a few cousins find me because of my blog, From Maine to Kentucky, as well as cousins of my husband's because of my blog, A Jewish Genealogy Journey. I also enjoy hearing from family, near and far, who enjoy what they find on my blog.

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    1. Thank you Elizabeth! And congrats on your cousin connections too!

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  7. Oh how exciting!!! I'm yet to have any long lost cousins contact me but I hope that comes with time as I put more information on my website.

    Cousins are one of the reasons i started the blog. We have a couple of unusual names in the family tree. After i 'googled' the names one day, the thought struck me that I could put myself out there for others to find when they googled the name too!

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    1. Thank you! I hope you have success with cousin connections in the future!

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  8. Congratulations! That is one of the best perks of blogging family history. Here's to many more fruitful connections just like it.

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  9. I love this Jana! I have had three really cool cousin connections in the last three weeks that have kept me VERY busy. The first was a completely unknown cousin who was adopted at birth that I found through DNA - a first cousin no less! The other two found me from my blog and both are helping me with some long standing questions I had, while I am able to tell them more about our deeper roots and share my research. It's so exciting to make these kind of connections!

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    1. Oh wow, Amberly! How exciting for you and your family! Congrats on your cousin connections!!

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