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Living Relatives - finding them

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KathleenBell

KathleenBell Report 6 Sep 2008 11:24

I would send them a letter (including a s.a.e. and your email address or telephone number) and simply say you are trying to find descendants of ..give the name...and hope they might belong to the same family. Ask if they would send back the envelope empty if they don't think they are relatives or don't wish to help as this way you will at least know they have received the letter and you can eliminate them from your search.

Sometimes it is better to enclose a list of questions you would like answering as this makes it easier for them to help you without having to think about what you might like to hear from them.

Kath. x

Madmeg

Madmeg Report 6 Sep 2008 02:04

Hi all

I had it in mind to try to trace a living relative from each main branch of my and hubby's tree. Several I already knew about of course, but now I am onto siblings of ancestors. A recent find has been the Uncle Noey that my husband remembers visiting as a child. Not a clue what his surname was but Janey (previously Kathryn B in Canada) provided the answer, and I have now managed to trace three children from that family all aged around 50-60 in the Preston area. I'd like to contact them, if only to see if they know anything of the mysteries of hubbies grandma and great grandma, cos they have continued to live in the area where they were born, where as hubby did not.

Anyone done this? Since Directory enquiries disappeared, there are a couple of free sites to find contact details. I have found three possible names in the current directory. Do I send them a speculative letter, or might I be stirring up trouble? The names I have found might be totally wrong, would I be seen as pestering people?

Advise gratefully received.

Margaret