Find Your Cousins

06/09/2024

OY VEY..

05/15/2024

Don't take a "no" as an answer. From every situation that seems like a dead end, there is a way to break through. I'm working on a difficult case - not just from the tree-building perspective, but also from the emotional side. This is a non-parental event (NPE) case.

After years of research, we've found a close match from a branch that's been a black hole. The match has accepted our invitations to connect, but they've ignored all our attempts to exchange family names and locations. There are a bunch of people with the same first and last name, so it's taken an enormous effort to build the trees for all the namesakes. It's starting to feel like a dead end.

We can't triangulate anymore, we can't identify the match, and it seems like we've hit a wall. But that's when I realized we need to shift our perspective. Instead of focusing on what we can't do, let's think about what we CAN do.

And that's when it hit me! We can check this match against all the other unrelated kits I manage and see if there are any common matches that could help us identify the right person. And sure enough, a second cousin of this match showed up for one of the other kits I manage! Now, I no longer need the match to respond to my questions about their ancestral locations and names.

This case has been incredibly challenging, both logistically and emotionally. But by staying persistent and looking for alternative solutions, we've managed to break through the dead end. It's a great reminder that even when things seem hopeless, there's usually a way forward if we're willing to think creatively and not take "no" for an answer.

01/27/2024

Using secondary resources to learn more about your family history. Genealogist at work :)

01/27/2024

Searching through the archives..

12/31/2023

Best wishes in New Year!!!

07/18/2023

Things that make me very very happy - family reunions ! It took only 110 years for the members of the same family to meet and hug each other. I'm so happy for them! I truly hope they won't lose the connection anymore!

04/13/2023

National Archives provides access to 1950 Census

The 1950 census records were released by the U.S. National Archives on April 1, 2022. This website provides full access to the 1950 census images, including population schedules, enumeration district maps, and enumeration district descriptions.

02/05/2023

Rashkov's vital records are not in the database yet, but they are already helping researchers to break through the brick walls! It's amazing what one word on that vital record can lead to, especially if this word points to a place where your ancestor came to Rashkov from! This one word is like a magical pathway that leads you to more discoveries!

01/27/2023

There is a small shtetl of Rashkov in what's called Transnistria Republic today. It had a decent Jewish population at the beginning of 1900s. Limitted Jewish vital records have survived and will be available in my database soon.

01/07/2023

Communication is a key when working on research and reaching out to potential relatives or resonding to their emails. Unfortunately, sometimes we are running into issues that are outside of our control. One of this issue is a recently impemented policy by Google that requires owners of private domains to set specific keys in order for their emails to reach to google email accounts. What does this mean to us? When we send an email to a gmail user from another domain, the email either bounces off or goes straight to spam where your potential relatives less likely to find it unless they make a habit of checking spam. So if you were wondering why someone isn't responding to your emails including me.. now you know.

I am switching to a gmail from my private domain webaddress and hoping that this will resolve the issue. Please check your spam and share this message. Hopefuly, it'll help someone to find their long lost relative. Good luck!

Google article about the new policy
https://support.google.com/mail/answer/81126?hl=en

12/31/2022

Happy New Year! Wishing you to make many interesting discoveries in the new year and connect with new relatives!

12/31/2022

Wishing you a Happy and Healthy New Year! Wishing you many more new discoveries and meeting new relatives in the New Year!