Genealogy Chat

I've got an unusual surname I'm researching, so wondered if it was worth writing to all people of the same surname living in Durham (the area the family is mainly from) with a view to seeing if any of them were related. Has anybody else done this, what kind of things to say in the letter & what responses (if any) did you get? I'd value any opinions thatyou may have. Thanks....Zoe

i have done it with a relativly common name and struck gold

We did just this, Zoe and enclosed stamped addressed envelopes. We had some great replies. One chap wrote saying he couldn't help much but he thought his sister could, - by now she was a SMITH so hadn't been sent a letter. Over time, we realised there was a link, our grandfather's were brothers but mine had left the home area to take up an apprenticeship. I now have a copy of her photograph of my great grandfather with his 4 sons. Keep the letter fairly brief. Tell of your interest in family history, name perhaps a greatgrandparent or occupation from that area to let them see that you actually do have a real interest. You may want to consider whether or not you want to give them your phone number and to ask if they would mind you calling them. If the name is unusual, is there a one name study being carried out? The people who run these often have alot of information to share.

Well I would go for it. back in March I found a book with a picture of my gggg Grandmother in the woman that wrote the book was very old or had died. So I took a name from the back of one of the people she was thanking. And 2 days ago I recieved a letter back from a fourth cousin who was into family history that can tell me loads. The man I wrote the letter to had handed this man the letter. I asked the same question on here before I wrote the letter and they said go for it. Even if you dont get any replies at least you have tried. Good Luck Debbie My thread is on this page somewhere about when I asked

you only have the postage to lose. I have tried it with no luck, had some nice letters back and someignored my letter, stamped envelope and all. So go for iut, you never know. ann Glos

It will cost you time to write and the price of stamp, paper etc. You may get nothing in return. BUT you may get lucky and someone will be able to slot more pieces into your family jigsaw. If you don't do it, you'll never know.

Definitely go for it Zoe - like the others have said, you have nothing to lose except the cost of a few stamps! Good luck!

Zoe, Go for it, with encouragement from GC members I did this a couple of weeks ago after visiting the area my family came from and realising there might still be family members there. Sent 9 letters, with sae, so far have already had 3 responses - one "sorry I'm not related but good luck", one "don't think I'm related but I'll check with family" and one who is probably related way back, doesn't have much info but knows someone who is researching our family :-))))) Good luck Judith

I tried it 25 years ago. I wrote to my birthplace, searching for my Mumford ancestors. Most of the people wrote back and most of them were related to each other -- but not to me! Its a long story, but as it turns out we are 99% sure I AM related to them! I still keep in touch with one lady; we just corresponded because we had similar interests and now within the past two years we've found out our ancestors were (almost positive) cousins. I tried it with other less common surnames and also found distant relatives. It is definitely worth trying. Good luck!!

Hi zoe, I did the same thing recently and i am now in email and phone contact with one of the people i wrote to, u have nothing to lose and you never know what you may come up with from anyone that replys.The person i wrote to was a distant relation to rus as its his side i was researching at the time,but after we talked we realised that we were also related on my side via my granmothers side talk about coincedences. kaz

Wow-thanks very much everyone. I'm impressed by the number of people who've already gone down this track, & with some pretty exciting results! My main problem now is how to get the stamps for the self addressed envelopes as I live in Wellington, NZ!!! My mum still lives in Surrey so maybe I'll try to get her involved. Unfortunately she's not very helpful at the best of times about this family tree stuff (& probably will be even less inclined, when she realises she'll have to part with some money-LOL!) Anyway-great to hear all your experiences. Good luck with your own research. Best wishes Zoe

Hello Zoe, It worked for me!! Its definitely worth a try!! If you go on a cheap phone plan it'd cost as much as the postage and you get instant results.. Ask your phone company about the calls that are less than 10 mins. If you need to call them back you call a different prefix and can talk for up to an hour for $2.50. If you write letters don't forget to include your email address and fax no etc., Some websites have email address lookups, so perhaps you can contact some this way. Infobel is good for searching for addresses and phone numbers, and the electoral roll will help you find all of them. Good Luck Diane NSW Australia

Zoe My brother is interested in what I'm doing because we know practically nothing about our dad's family (the name of an uncle, the place he was born!) so once I'd found dad's marriage certificate and birth certificate and had some names, he decided to get involved. He sent me a copy of a letter he had written to a Mr Nicholas Small in South Shields (found in a phone book) on the off chance he might be related. I couldn't believe when he rang a couple of days later to say this chap had rung him. Nicholas is 89 and the son of our grandfather's brother! Our grandfather (who may not be our grandfather!) separated from our grandmother and came to live with Nicholas' family. Nicholas had never heard of our father which means the split was fairly complete. However his niece has done some family research and we hope to contact her for details. So....go for it! You never know what will turn up! Jan

Definately, go for it! I sent off about 10 letters, researching very unusual surname, and got one letter back and another telephoned. Both were relatives. It is definately worth it!

Zoe, I would definitely say,go for it.I did this a few years ago,also in Co Durham,I sent 23 letters with SAE's in them.About 2 weeks later I started to get letters,phone calls and emails from very excited people.I didn't get a huge amount of information altogether but got some.I got photocopies of family trees,certificates,photos.I still keep in touch with some of the people and keep them updated with information every now and again. Like several others have said,you have nothing to lose and a lot to gain. Let us know how you get on. Wendy