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Though our family history research
is often focused on researching those who are long dead, as we embrace
autosomal DNA testing, seek modern cousins to collaborate with on our family
tree, (as adoptees) try to find biological parents or relatives, etc, we find
ourselves needing to do more “modern” research.
Sometimes finding “living” people can be as hard if not
harder than finding those long dead ancestors.
With privacy laws, modern records not being a focus of digitization
projects, mobility, the shift to cell phones (vs land-lines) and other
obstacles, we can be quite challenged when trying to track a living person.
For a project a couple of years ago, I was able to find the
sale of some land from the previous year and yet could not locate these individuals. They had moved to NYC and the address given
on the NC paperwork was not “correct,” the forward on their mail had expired,
no land-line phone number could be found and they did not “own” property in
their new home town! Incredibly
frustrating to be “this” close to a living cousin for my client and get stuck!
To help you find living people, here are a few posts that
will hopefully help you make contact:
- People Search Online (Kimberly Powell, About.com)
- Reversing Gears: How To Find Living Relatives (Martin Fischer, Archives.com)
- Finding Living People (Cyndi’s List)
- Finding Living People (SJCPL Subject Guide)
- Finding living family using Facebook (Robin Foster, Examiner.com)
- Using Facebook to Grow Your Family Tree (Ancestry.com Blog)
- Where is the Lost Relative: Finding Living Family Members (Lorinda Mann)
- They're Alive! Finding Living Relatives OnDemand Webinar (Thomas MacEntee, Family Tree, $)
- How To Search For People On The Internet (Softwatricks)
Do you have other
suggestions for tracking down living people?
What has worked “best”
for you when seeking a living “cousin?”
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Obituaries are also a great resource!
ReplyDeleteI generally use a combination of resources - whatever works. One of the characteristics I look for in the databases I use is the ability to link the name, names of related persons, and residences. A site I often use is usa-people-search.com . Also helpful are sites like classmates.com which may include maiden or spouse's names.
ReplyDeleteObituaries are great if they have enough detail, but sadly, the principal person is no longer available to contact. Too often, a death notice is all that is available.