Have you ever heard of "trolling for cousins" or "fishing for cousins"?
You can use social media like Facebook to find distant cousins. These cousins may have the key to a family tree branch that has you stumped.
There's nothing sinister about it. It's a simple way of gaining an introduction and making a new connection.
The idea is to post a bit of family history that will interest the cousins you know. Tag those cousins in your post and ask a question.
If they don't have the answer, they may tag their cousins from the other side of their family. Engage those cousins in the conversation. Share what you know, and ask them for any details they can offer.
Example 1
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| Found by accident, I recognized the names! |
But there was one name on the tombstone I didn't know. Luckily, one of the cousins I tagged reached out to her cousin from her grandmother's family. He had lots of answers for me, and his elderly mother gave him even more information to share.
Example 2
A while ago I used Google Street View to capture an image of the house in Italy where my grandfather was born. I posted it in a Facebook group dedicated to my grandfather's hometown. My goal was to see if anyone knew who lives there now.
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| My grandfather's house still stands. |
I mentioned my grandfather's last name of Leone. Someone responded that no one with that name lives in town anymore. I replied using the name of a Leone cousin I know, saying that he lives nearby. Then I listed out the names of his siblings. These were names he told me years ago when we first me online.
Two of the siblings I mentioned responded, saying "Here I am!" in Italian. Now I have two more connections to my grandfather's town. I'd like to try to meet them when I visit again.
Facebook is still a place for those dog and baby photos, and that's great! At no other time in history has it been this easy to reconnect with old friends and find unknown relatives.
Remember: Treat any genealogy facts you learn on Facebook, or from someone's own mouth as leads. It's up to you to find the documents that prove the names and dates you may learn from a cousin's cousin.
What documents or photos do you have that someone else can help you better understand?
Great idea. I have to try this. Thanks.
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