20 July 2007 LostCousins Late July newsletter
Newsletter - Late July 2007
CONTENTS
* Newsletter experiment gains excellent feedback
* Exclusive offer: discounts on reproduction maps
* New series: "Who Do You Think You Are?"
* Ireland: the genealogy butler
* Special feature: member websites in the spotlight!
* Last chance: online genealogy courses with Pharos
To visit the main LostCousins site please go to www.LostCousins.com
“I didn't even know that this branch of the family existed. I can not thank LostCousins enough”
“He didn't know about any Australian connection… contact had been lost over the last two generations”
"I joined LostCousins just a few days ago and I am already exchanging information with a newly found cousin. We both live in the US but our common ancestor was in Scotland.”
“We thought that side of the family was lost to us.…. we have discovered a whole host of relations that we knew nothing about”
“Thanks to LostCousins I made contact with an unknown distant cousin in Australia on Christmas Day”
“It's really exciting when something turns up - whoever thought this idea up was brilliant, and I am passing the word around to anybody who is interested in family trees. Can't wait for the next match!"
We thought we’d begin this newsletter with those brief extracts from some of the Success Stories sent to us by members, as a reminder of just how exciting it is to discover a new cousin – and a new branch of your family tree.
Every relative you enter on your My Ancestors page, no matter how distant, is a potential link to a ‘lost cousin’ – so the more you enter, the better your chances.
Why not log-in now at http://www.LostCousins.com and enter a few more? To log-in you’ll need your email address and your password (just click “Forgotten your password?” on our home page to get an instant email reminder).
NEWSLETTER EXPERIMENT GAINS EXCELLENT FEEDBACK
As an experiment the last issue of the newsletter was produced in two versions, one aimed at members whose research interests are mainly in North America, and one that covers the rest of the world (mainly Britain and Australasia).
The overall reaction from members was excellent! Understandably we couldn't predict in every case which members would like to see which newsletter, but that's why we provided in each version a link to an online copy of the other version.
In the near future we'll be adding extra items to your My Details page so that you'll be able to tell us which newsletter you'd like to receive - but until then we're going to produce a single version of the newsletter (as we have always done in the past).
Please bear with us while we implement these changes. You can still access last issue online (remember to log-in first):
http://www.LostCousins.com/pages/members/0707_1na.pdf (North America)
http://www.LostCousins.com/pages/members/0707_1.pdf
EXCLUSIVE OFFER: DISCOUNTS ON REPRODUCTION MAPS
We've spent the past two years trying to persuade Harry Margary, publishers of fine reproduction maps, to offer a discount to LostCousins members - and at last they have relented!
Members will receive a 20% discount on all purchases made through the Harry Margary website - the only thing that can't be discounted is postage and packing, which is charged at cost.
The 'A to Z' range of Elizabethan, Restoration, Georgian, Regency, and Victorian London is in a class of its own. Harry Margary also offer maps of North America at the time of the Revolution, Georgian Dublin, and large scale English county maps.
We're looking right now at their reproduction of the Chapman and Andre map of Essex, which dates from 1777. On 25 individual sheets of very high quality paper it would be 10 ft by 7 ft 6in if assembled - it's simply overwhelming.
The discount offer runs until 30 November 2007. To get the discount you must mention LostCousins and quote your personal code in the comments section of the checkout page of their website.
This poem by an unknown author was published in the July 2007 edition of RSS News, a magazine for members of the Royal Statistical Society in London. Have you ever seen it before - do you know who wrote it?
He said "Your occupation please",
This census-taking guy.
I started to enumerate
And said quite frankly, "I
Wash the dishes, scrub the floors,
Shine the windows, polish doors,
Bathe three children, wipe their noses,
Work a little in the roses.
Do the washing, iron the clothes,
Pick up playthings, mend the hose,
Sweep out daily, close britches,
Sew a dress with tiny stitches,
Nurse a sick one, make the beds,
Kiss hurt places, shampoo heads,
Wash the blood off, hunt the mittens,
Wipe up after pups and kittens,
Tuck in covers, hear each prayer,
Brag a little, ease a care,
Take your pick. I get no pay,
But that's what I do every day".
He listened very carefully,
That's why I'm so annoyed,
Because that man just scribbled down
'Housewife. Unemployed.'
NEW SERIES: WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?
The fourth series of the highly-successful celebrity genealogy programme will be broadcast this autumn by the BBC.
It's the programme that has done more than any other to increase interest in family history in Britain, and it made Nick Barratt into a household name.
However, Nick Barratt and his expert team at Sticks Research Agency don't just work with celebrities - you too can employ them to research your family tree! To find out more, click Nick's photograph on any page of the LostCousins site.
According to the August edition of Your Family Tree, the Shelbourne Hotel in Dublin, Ireland has announced a "genealogy butler service" for guests looking to trace their Irish ancestors.
Perhaps more significant for researchers will be the online launch of the 1901 and 1911 Ireland Censuses, which was originally due this year, but looks as if it may be deferred until 2008. We'll let you know when we have more definite news.
SPECIAL FEATURE: MEMBER WEBSITES IN THE SPOTLIGHT!
From now until the end of August the My Links page at the LostCousins site will be devoted to the websites of our members.
Already there are dozens of sites, and we'd encourage you to take a look at them and leave your comments. There's an enormous variation in style and content, and if you're thinking of creating your own website it's a chance to see what others have done.
If you have a website and would like it to be included please contact us right away: email info@LostCousins.com with 'August links' as the subject. We'll then send you full details of how to take part.
LAST CHANCE: ONLINE GENEALOGY COURSES WITH PHAROS
If you book and pay for a Pharos course before the end of July, then provided you quote your personal code you'll get a free 12 month subscription to LostCousins worth 10 pounds.
To find out more about the range of courses on offer visit:
AND FINALLY…..
A reminder that LostCousins is run by genealogists for genealogists. Every email you send to us is read and replied to by someone who understands the joys and tribulations of family history.
We particularly enjoying hearing about the discoveries members have made as a result of finding 'lost cousins', and we'd love to hear from you if you have a tale that we could include on our Success Stories page.
The LostCousins Team
http://www.LostCousins.com
info@LostCousins.com
© Copyright 2007 Peter Calver & Lost Cousins Ltd
Please do NOT copy or republish any part of this newsletter without permission - which is only granted in the most exceptional circumstances. However, you MAY link to this newsletter or any article in it without asking for permission - though why not invite other family historians to join LostCousins instead, since standard membership (which includes the newsletter), is FREE?