I struck an important cord with many readers in my January 12th column about homebound researchers. Here are just a few comments I heard from readers:
Before and After ComputersHere’s one story that was shared: "My mother-in-law’s address book provided several family members who I did not know, but who were part of the family I was then researching. I reached a woman in her 80s who was the last person in her family with the information I needed. She responded with a short, brusque note saying that everyone was gone, her children did not talk to her anymore and, ‘I don’t know nothing about the family.’ It was a depressing note. However, a couple of months later at Easter, I sent a card and said that I hoped she was doing well. I asked no more questions. She responded saying that it was good to hear from another Christian woman. We wrote for a couple of years until her death. I never asked questions, but she gave me many answers as she told me about her years growing up, her brothers and sisters, and even her children. Sometimes it takes a bit of kindness and a lot of patience to flesh out the family tree.
“Using the computer, I went to the web page of a local library in the town my cousin Bill was raised in. He was killed at age 18 in WWII and I could not find much information or any picture. I asked the research librarian if they had yearbooks for the high schools in the area. I received some clippings and a copy of a yearbook page. She could not find a picture of Bill but did send me the yearbook page with his sister’s photo. She also sent a couple of newspaper clippings about Bill and his death in the Hawaiian Islands. One of the clippings had his picture!"
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