There are lots of ways to find historical records about your ancestors online. But it can be just as helpful to know who else is looking for and using the same records you are! Use these hints to make connections with living relatives and grow your family tree.
Here are two ways to learn who else has added a specific record to their trees, and who else is researching the same people you are:
1. On Ancestry.com, when you are looking at an image of a record, there’s a sidebar to your right called “Related Content.” Click on it. Below other suggested records you will see a list showing anyone who has saved this record to their trees. You’ll see a link to that username and you can contact them. (See image right.)
2. On LostCousins.com, you can enter the names of relatives whose names appear on specific censuses. Their database will search for others who are looking for the same people. This is a great resource for people with British Isles roots, as the site originates from there. Here are the censuses they support:
- England and Wales, 1841, 1881, 1911
- Scotland, 1881
- United States, 1880, 1940
- Canada, 1881
- Ireland, 1991.
Basic membership at LostCousins.com is free, but has limited functionality. You can only contact new people during certain windows of time during the year. With a £10 annual subscription, you can make new contacts anytime.
Looking for more ways to find living relatives? Check out the Premium eLearning Video: Unleash Your Inner Private Eye! Lisa reveals 9 strategies and tools that will help you connect with long-lost cousins who may just hold the key to your genealogy brick wall! Available to all Premium eLearning members now. Not a member? Sign up today!
