Family near and far

With Christmas behind us and the new year ahead, it's a great time to reflect on your family.  And I mean the whole family including extended family like distant cousins too.  Have you made contacts with distant relations while conducting family history and genealogical research?  I have with the most distant being in Switzerland.  But I've also met wonderful relations in the US and it's sparked the "need" to travel and learn more about those places.  I've purchased a number of local history books to help me understand my ancestors better and their motivations.  My ancestors were early in the move west since the American Revolution and especially so after the War of 1812.  Why they moved is as interesting as where they went.  And understanding where their friends and relations moved to and from also helps to break through those roadblocks in research!  While our ancestors were adventurous and moved to unknown places, they tended to move with people they knew and were related to. 

And buying local history books help support the small historical societies around the country.  What better gift to yourself, your family, and the communities they touch than to keep the information flowing.

So resolve to find a new living, distant relative this year and share information.  You might be surprised by what you find out.