28 April 2008 LostCousins Spring newsletter
Newsletter - Spring 2008
CONTENTS
* Play your part the LostCousins project
* Who Do You Think You Are? Live
To visit the main LostCousins site please go to www.LostCousins.com
On Thursday May 1st the LostCousins project will be exactly 4 years old.
Each year more new members have joined, and more 'lost cousins' have been found than in the previous year. In fact, we've calculated that between them our members now have over 83 MILLION relatives on their family trees - a phenomenal total for an independent website founded by one person with a dream!
How has all this been achieved? EVERY PENNY that we've received in subscriptions since 2004 has been ploughed back into the project enabling us to include new censuses, new countries, and new features - almost all of them suggested by you, the members.
With YOUR help the next year is going to be the best yet - see the article below for some suggestions.
LostCousins isn't the only genealogy project that began as one person's dream, and in this birthday newsletter we'd like to mention two of the other sites where the efforts of one individual have benefited other researchers.
Hugh Wallis in Canada has created a number of websites to help others, and the one that we find particularly indispensible is his IGI Batch Number site. See the article 'Unlock the Secrets of the IGI' on our Help & Advice page for full details.
In England, LostCousins member Richard Heaton has made available online over 800 extracts and full transcripts of mainly English and Irish regional newspapers from the Georgian and early Victorian period.
These are just two examples out of many: across the world thousands of researchers, including hundreds of LostCousins members, are carrying our One-Name or One-Place Studies and making their information freely available to others.
Play your part in the LostCousins project
* SPREAD THE WORD
If you've found new cousins, or made other useful contacts through the LostCousins site do please let others know. Most new members join on the recommendation of an existing member, and since most of the matches we make involve one new member and one existing member it's obviously important that there is a steady flow of new members.
* COMPLETE YOUR 'MY ANCESTORS' PAGE
We can only match you with other members who share your ancestors or your research interests if you have both entered the same person from the census. This means that the more entries you make, the better your chances.
* ASK FOR HELP
If you're having difficulty using the site, can't find your relatives on the census, or feel that you ought to have found more cousins, please email info@LostCousins.com so that we can help and advise you.
* SEND IN YOUR SUGGESTIONS & COMMENTS
Most of the improvements we make are suggested by members, so we value very highly the feedback we get.
If you have photographs that are faded and worn, cracked or torn then Pauline Prynne at "Retouched by Prynne" can repair them. You'll probably be reassured to know that they won't be sent abroad - Pauline will carry out the work herself at her premises in Bedfordshire.
It's very simple. You can send the original photograph by post (Recorded Delivery recommended), or else send a scan on CD or by email. Pauline will personally review the damage, then carefully Repair, Refine, and Reprynnt it.
When, and only when, she is completely satisfied she will return your untouched original and a good quality restored print, mounted and ready for the frame or album of your choice.
BONUS OFFER: as a member of Lost Cousins you will also receive your restored photo(s) on a CD ROM
See examples of Pauline's work on her stand at ‘Who Do You Think You Are?’Live which takes place at Olympia from 2-4 May. If you have any questions, but can't attend the show, you'll find Pauline's email address and phone number on her website:
Who Do You Think You Are? Live
Next weekend thousands of researchers will be making their way to London's Olympia exhibition centre. We don't have anything to sell, so rather than take a stand we'll be looking after our members over email as usual - but there will be several familiar faces there, including Dr Nick Barratt, probably the UK's best-known genealogist.
www.whodoyouthinkyouarelive.co.uk
And finally….
Remember that you don't have to log-in every time you visit the LostCousins site. If you have selected 'Yes' against the ' Auto Log-in on each visit?' on your My Details page then you'll stay logged-in permanently (or until you log-out).
If you haven't chosen this option and have forgotten your password, don't worry - you can get an instant email reminder if you click Password reminder on our home page, then enter your email address.
THE LOSTCOUSINS TEAM
www.LostCousins.com
info@lostcousins.com
© Copyright 2008 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?