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Social Media and Connecting
About thirty five years ago, I was given the picture to the left of this sentence. Now, normally, you'd think, "What is so interesting about being given a picture?", however, there is a story to this one. I was visiting the small village of Issiglio and it was my first or second visit to the town in the Piedmont region of Italy. A woman who had been introduced to me that lived in the town was walking along the street with me when she gave me the photo. She also pointed out the house that my great grandmother was born in on that same visit. The interesting thing about the photo, is that the woman to the left is my great grandmother's sister and her
second husband and her daughter from her first marriage. The photos was also taken in the United States and there I was getting the photo in Italy! That was pre social media and services such as Facebook, Ancestry.com, and other online platforms that help people connect. I remember the day vividly, even now, so many many years later. Clearly, my family that immigrated to the US continued to keep in touch with their relatives and family in Italy.
In recent years, I've posted pictures to Facebook groups in Terlizzi, Italy, after having those groups recommended by a friend, only to later have someone reach out and say to me, "Hey, that's my great grandmother too". Social media can be a game changer for genealogists and family history researchers trying to learn more about their family and make connections with living relatives.
I've also used social media to search for living relatives after finding names in obituaries and other online publications. Most often, people are great about circling back and sharing information that they have, sharing photos and also sharing family stories. I strongly encourage genealogists and other researchers to make the best use of social media in finding relatives. You really don't have anything to lose and you may gain a new found relative that enriches your life and shares family stories, photos, connects you to other family you haven't met, etc.
The most important thing, even greater than the photos and the information, is always the connection you make and finding another family member. I've been corresponding with a cousin from the Harper side of my family for several years now. She's in her 90s, lives in Texas, and has had a wealth of information about our Harper relatives. She is amazing and despite how great the pictures and information have been, I've been most fortunate to connect with her and keep in touch.
So, if you aren't on social media (which is very okay), consider using the Internet as a tool to help look for new relatives and connect with people that are part of your family. Simple searches can help turn up a wealth of information and help you make connections you may have never expected!
If you have done this successfully, what has been a connection that you've made? How has it helped you connect to your family's past and what would you share about the process with others?
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