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| Crossing Paths ww.photos-public-domain.com (search "Trails in the Snow") |
I notified Larry Wassman who had submitted Erasmus D. Walrod and Keith Reeves who had submitted James Vokes to their family trees in ancestry.com that I had documents written by their ancestors which I had posted on this blog. I later received responses from them on ancestry.com. These documents were in the papers of my great great grandfather, Stephen Sherwood.
Larry Wassman of Lacey, Washington wrote he (Erasmus D. Walrod) was "not very close-- brother-in-law of 4th cousin 5x removed."
The second e-mail was from Keith Reeves of Arlington Virginia. He wrote a lengthy letter about his ancestry. I will quote three sentences.
"James (Vokes) was my fourth great grandfather, directly descended....... Are preparing to gather around the Thanksgiving table at the beach house we annually frequent here in Dewey Beach, Virginia. It's lovely and I'm so glad to write about family on such a wonderful family day."
These responses made me realize once again we all have family information that can help somebody else. I am thankful for all those who have contributed to my research endeavors, and hope that somebody can benefit from the information I have.
I responded to Keith Reeves, "Our ancestors crossed paths at one time, but just in a different way than we did today." The photo above reminded me how that happens.
Thank you for the nice welcome! I really enjoyed this post. I love how generations later the paths meet again.
ReplyDeleteTwo very satisfying replies to your outreach emails! I agree with you that "We all have family information that can help somebody else."
ReplyDeleteI've also emailed several people from ancestry.com who from their public family trees have helped me with information, or who also might be helped by references or info I give them.
That said, I have a private family tree because I've been so often warned about automatic family tree "merging" that might go on if my tree is public. I'm cautious about who I email, and also about whose public trees I accept information from. Some public family trees seem haphazard, and others well backed up with documents.
Ancestry.com can be very helpful! I'm just cautious. Sharing information is a good thing.
Thank you for visiting my blog and commenting!