Another Successful Cousin Connection

L to R: Lydia Kerr, Will Kerr, Lulu (Kerr) Rothlisberger,
Ferne (Kerr) Malkow, Hattie (Kerr) Patterson.
Will Kerr is my great-great grandfather. The ladies are his sisters.

A few weeks ago I sat down at the dining room table of my maternal grandmother's first cousin and his wife. I've known them for years and they're wonderful people, which makes it so odd that it's taken me this long to visit them on a family history scavenger hunt.

I seem to spend a lot of time tracking down distant relatives looking for family clues that I sometimes forget to check with the most obvious sources - the people I already know. I've made it a concerted effort now to spend more time asking questions of the first cousins in my tree before reaching out to the seconds and thirds. Don't get me wrong, I've made some great connections and lasting relationships with second and third cousins over the years. I keep in touch with many of them regularly and see them when I can. But if I have someone with whom I already have a relationship, doesn't it make sense to ask there first?

L to R: Lew Gruver, Charlie Gruver, Will Gruver [father],
Anna (Gruver) Kerr, Mary (Hunsberger) Gruver [mother],
Alta (Gruver) Klingman, Alma (Gruver) Mason, John Gruver.
Anna (Gruver) Kerr is my great-great-grandmother.
Will and Mary are her parents, my third great grandparents.

I don't have that much more to write about my visit with Bill and Judy. It was great. They were great. They had incredible photos I had never seen before, or had seen and had not scanned. I'll share a few in this blog post (as always).

In addition to first cousin connections, I'm also working on more international research. I recently made contact with a church archive in Germany that has discovered the roots of the Sienknecht family. A package is on its way to the U.S. right now with records of my great-great grandfather's birth, as well as the birth of his four siblings! Until now I only knew of two! They also uncovered the marriage record of his parents, as well as their deaths. I have already contacted her to do additional research further back. It does cost money to have that research done, but it's cheaper than a plane ticket - though I would love to go there someday as well.

Happy hunting!