And I especially love being found by others who are researching my family and by friends who know my family or me. Twice in the past seven days people have used the contact tab at the side of my blog to get in touch with me. One person is a descendant of my Fithan/Bell ancestors who has already done lots of research. Another is the daughter of one of my mother's nursing school friends who I remember from childhood and who has photos and stories to share. It has been wonderful to meet the first and to become reacquainted with the second.
When I started this blog 16 months ago I though, Oh, I'll just be anonymous. I'm not important and no one needs to know who I am. It didn't take me long to realize that was a poor attitude and a near impossibility, considering that I was posting about my parents, my grandparents, my home town, etc.
So I added a contact tab on the side of my blog. I found it at VisitorContact and it was probably recommended by Thomas McEntee at GeneaBloggers. It's one of the best things I've done -- besides publishing the names, dates, and locations of ancestors and encouraging others to get in touch with me.
If you don't have some way for others to get in touch with you, I encourage you to make your email address available in your profile or add a contact tab.
A Note Added Later: To be fair, this is not the first time I've been found because of this blog. Two high school friends found me earlier this fall. It's been very fun catching up with them. Before that another Meinzen researcher (though not my line as far as we can tell now) and a descendant of Abel Armitage and his second wife have contacted me. It's been very rewarding to make connections like this.
"And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to the fathers...." Malachi 4:6
Congratulations! For me this is what blogging about your family history is all about - making that connection!
ReplyDeleteHooray for finding new connections! And thank you for sharing about the contact tab. I will be looking at adding one to my own blog when I get home tonight.
ReplyDeleteYes, Thomas, the connections are one of my reasons to blog, but I also write about my ancestors so they won't be forgotten. I know family members read my posts now and then and, hopefully, they take away some new perspective or knowledge about a forefather or -mother. Thanks for visiting.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on being *found*. It's one of the best rewards of having a blog.
ReplyDeleteIt's a thrill every time a new contact is made for me. It's so much fun to find new relatives and learn from them.
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