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As a genealogist, you have first-hand knowledge of how families can become scattered. But, your visit with your elder relative should have provided you with some new names and addresses to help in your family search. The next step is contacting them.
Second, many may have no interest in genealogy, and will put aside your request with their stack of mail that they will "someday" get to. So, your request should provide something to pique their interest, and make it easy for them to reply. Your request should always be accompanied by an SASE (self-addressed stamped envelope). Dear Myrtle in her column Contacting Possible Relatives gives a unique idea on how to get their interest. Third, it could be very possible that they have no idea who you are. Include in your request how you are related to them. If the name was obtained from your elder relative, you might include a short reference to a positive memory he or she had of that person. Fourth, don't give up. There is sure to be a distant cousin out there as excited about genealogy as you, or one sitting on a goldmine of genealogical information. Now that your genealogical information is organized (see my previous article - Organizing Your Paper Records), your correspondence, too, can be kept in order with this great correspondence form found at Ancestry.com - Genealogy Forms. HOT TIP OF THE WEEK - The American Migrations Web Site is an ambitious attempt to provide migration and immigration information. Do you have a record you can add to it? NEXT WEEK - Searching for distant cousins part III, the Internet and Email
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