Finding living relatives and reuniting lost family treasures is just one way genealogists do random acts of kindness. Our Gems reader has a passion for reuniting photos from eBay to living relatives, but needs to find them first. I have some tips for finding living relatives using Ancestry family trees.
Years go by and dust collects on old photos left on shelves. Sadly, some will choose to sell those once treasured photos on e-bay or at a local flea market. But the good news is there are genealogists who are actively searching for living relatives to reconnect with these pictures of the past.
Finding Living Relatives
A Gems reader recently asked:
I love doing random acts of kindness and when I find photos on eBay and other sites, I love trying to find some family members to enjoy the treasure. There was an email from a listener that I wanted to see if you could expand on for me. She asked who she should contact via Ancestry to ask about a found item. You had great suggestions, but I am hung up on one thing you said.
You said to look at their tree and look at the relationship to the person who created the tree, and the person mentioned in the picture. I would love to do this, but alas, I do not know how.
I have a very specific example right now. I found this listing for Ora Shields barn on eBay this morning. Ora is not my relation, but this would be a neat picture if he were! I looked in Ancestry and found lots of trees for him. I found a couple of people with lots of sources for him, and I always look to see the last time the tree owner logged in. But, what next. I am not sure how to tell how the tree owner is related to Ora. Any suggestions?
P.S. Love your show and now I am addicted to Google Earth thanks to listening to the premium video! Keep the good stuff coming!
Using Ancestry Family Trees for Finding Living Relatives
I’m so glad our Gems are loving Google Earth and our Premium videos! It is wonderful to hear how our Gems Premium Members are using these tools! It is also spectacular that they are seizing the opportunity to help others and I want to help them do that!
Step 2: Click the down arrow on Find Person and choose Home Person from the pull-down menu.
Step 3: Quickly scan the names and find someone with the last name Shields. In this example, this is the Home Person’s great-grandmother.
Step 4: Click the up arrow above the Home Person’s great-grandma (Cora Shields) to see the Shields’ ancestors.
As you can see, Ora Shields is great-grandma Cora Shield’s brother!
Determine the Relationship
Isn’t this an amazing tool? I wish the best of luck to our reader and others who are finding living relatives to reunite with these treasures. And, I love sharing these feel good stories on in our blog and podcasts so thank you, reader, for letting us share your question with our Genealogy Gems.
More on Finding Living Relatives
“Who Else Has Viewed This Record?” Find Living Relatives
Premium Episode 3 – Seven Strategies That Will Lead You To Living Relatives
Not a Premium Member yet? The Genealogy Gems Premium Membership is the best way to get the most out of Lisa Louise Cooke’s Genealogy Gems! Premium Members get exclusive access to incredible content to help you further your research – all for one low annual price! Click here to subscribe!
