Most people who have traced or tried to trace their ancestors will have a bit of knowledge where to look, whether it be online or at repositories such as a records office. Many of our ancestors left 'footprints', in places such as the census, electoral roles, parish records or in newspaper articles to name but a few but how do we trace someone that is still living?
Last year (2010) whilst studying online for the Learning, Technology and Research degree, a conversation arose between me and a fellow researcher regarding how people were traced for my (then) hobby of genealogy. Having explained how and where someone could be pinpointed and then by following their trail the rest of the family usually falls into place and whilst in the throw of rampantly sharing my knowledge and going into 'genealogy' mode, it was asked if a living family member could be traced. My immediate answer was 'yes' although in hindsight this was probably not the best answer, a 'maybe' would have been more appropriated.
After sitting down and thinking about how to approach this, it seemed that all my knowledge on tracing past relatives were irrelevant. For the purpose of this story we'll call the person in question 'Jack'.
The story goes, Jack was an only child of 'Jane' and 'Thomas' and was born in Scotland. When he was about six, Jane left Thomas and moved to London taking Jack with her. There were whispers that Jack studied at Hull University in his adult life but in all fairness he vanished along with his mother with no-one knowing where they were or even if they were still alive.
Finding Jacks birth registration gave his parents names and his date and place of birth. It was indeed in Scotland that he was born. You've no doubt heard of the saying 'A little knowledge is a dangerous thing', well in this case it was. I spent several weeks trailing through newspaper articles and Online genealogy websites trying to find any reference to Jack or Jane but to no avail.
The London Electoral Role showed a Jack that fitted our Jacks age, living in London in 2002 but that was the only proof that he, if indeed it was him, had lived in London. Pushing forward with what little information was available, paid sites were used to delve deeper but again, nothing showed-up.
The routes for researching were running dry, in a last ditch attempt to find Jack, I phoned Hull University. A very kind lady answered the phone and after explaining our dilemma, she told me that Jack had indeed attended Hull University and was an alumni member. Following the correct data protection act, the lady could not reveal any private details and asked me to send an email which she would forward to Jack.
A short email explaining who, where and why was written to Jack and sent to the lady at Hull University. Then it stopped. Nothing, nothing at all for over two months until one day out of the blue, I received a phone call.
A man asked who he was talking to and on reply he asked what I wanted, I stopped dead in my tracks as I didn't really understand the question. Then the penny dropped, it was Jack and a very sceptical Jack wondering why a complete stranger wanted to contact him. After the initial shock, I explained that his cousin (the husband of the researcher with whom I studied) wanted to find him. We talked for nearly an hour and Jack gave me his mobile number. As soon as he hung up I contacted my research buddy and told her the good news. She was astounded and absolutely delighted. I passed on Jacks mobile number to her and left it to them to arrange a meeting, if indeed they decided to.
Why have I left it so long to share this story? Read the following testimony....
“Bridgwater Gene Pool [now Somerset Genealogy] found my husband's estranged cousin after 38 years of no contact. He met his father and extended family this week for the first time since he was 10 or 11 years old. Bridgwater Gene Pool found him with just a name, town of birth and rough date of birth. The whole process was handled sensitively, ensuring that all parties were happy with contact before any details were revealed. THANK YOU for finding the last missing piece of jigsaw”.
J Wren. Chelmsford. 21st November 2010.
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