Genealogy Chat

Hi Debbie + All Please dont give up i have been lucky and had about 4 branches of my tree contact me since i have been a member from Dec 2004. Found one last night sent a message to her and got a reply this morning . kind regards June

Thank you for your replies and comments.

I have been contacted, sent all my information (promptly) which was used, and 10 months later, all the stuff I was promised in return has never arrived. We are all busy, we all have to fit this in around rest of our lives, but personally I feel I have been taken for a ride. Who knows, they might even read this and have the decency to feel ashamed! Sal

I joined GR on 12/9/05 with much excitement and on the strength of one match I had when I did the free search thingy. I'm almost certain there is a connection as when I typed in other family members names this particular member also had them on their tree. Three or four e-mails later - nothing ! It is sooo disappointing - but after reading the other posts it seems there is still hope - so I'll carry on hoping ! The other members comments were encouraging and helpful. Angela

I got an email about a month ago from someone who said that she had some information for me on my Bamberry's. I was so excited because this family is impossible to trace. Anyway i emailed her with my other email addy and how i was connected to the family and i've not heard from her since. Plus i emailed again with my email addy again just to make sure she had it. Keeping my fingers crossed though because i know things can go wrong with comps and people go on holidays ect but i'd really love to see what she has. Mhairi

Thank you for your replies, I will just have to hope they will e-mail me soon. Thanks again, makes me feel loads better

This is an old chestnut.......... it happens to all of us. you need to remember that the database has names entered by people that arent that active on this site anymore or have changed their email so that the reminders dont show on their outlook express or equivalent when someone has usd the gr email system. As an indication of the inconsistency of email responses,I made a request to an archive in barbados-i gota reply with great info within 2 days-i made a less demanding request to a library in birmingham and will be luckyif i get a response. I get emails from members 10 weeks or so after ,and ive forgotten the name !! I even got one from a member 2 months after responding to a thread of hers-she had just gone off....turns out she put the thread up,went on holiday for 8 weeks,as she normally does(!) then responded!!!! Take a sharp intake of breath .....and breathe out slowly lol!!

Thanks Kathleen, I thought once the membership had lapsed there would be no more contact.

Grace, Even if the person is no longer a member, as long as they haven't changed their email address, they will still be told there is a message for them, and they are able to reply. I managed to contact a distant relative of my husband in this way. However, if they HAVE changed their email address there is no way of GR contacting them to let them know about the message. Non-members can still use the site, but can't make the first contact with someone else. Kath. x

I've contacted 2 people who from the info shown on the site are definitely related but was disappointed whenthey never replied. I wonder if their membership had run and that being the case whether they received the emails. Perhaps it would help if the person we are trying to contact is no longer a member GR would notify us.

I got a reply about 4 weeks ago to a message I'd sent in February, so I wouldn't give up hope. Kath. x

or even worse when they reply and give you so much info its frightening , I know this will sound silly and probably ungrateful but somebody contacted me and had done the whole world family tree thing , there were so many people involved it scared the life out of me, such a lot of things to take in I just copied it all off and am still ploughing through it. On the other hand I have also had people give me a wonderful bit of info promise to get back and then nothing its very frustrating. I write to every informant on the death certs now, and have had a lot of luck even finding 2 aunts from over 40 years absence, and of course they know quite a bit of info.

What's even worse - is when you get a reply back confirming the connection, so you send them a pile of info... and then get nothing back in return - not even a ''thank you''. Have had that happen to me a few times - so now I just send a few snippets at first, and wait until I get a reply before sending more. Some people have no manners - but it's their loss really. Richard

Debbie, I live in Australia, some folk respond almost instantly. Others, after long intervals, especially if they dont check this site or their emails regularly. KEEP ON KEEPING ON. PERSIST, someone will respond kindly Robert

Thanks for your replys, I dont feel alone now.

We must be emailing the same people lol. I think some people just lose interest, or are not as keen as others,or maybe even dont go on the PC very often. I emailed one lastnight first time was 2003. He did let me see his tree. He has 20 in it and while looking at the names again I noticed a middle name that goes back a few generations. So it just might be the same family.I dont expect he will reply but no harm in asking. Marion

happens to us all I'm afraid! I guess some people are not as keen as us, maybe joined GR ages ago, changed their e mail and never check for messages! Even worse is when they do reply, reveal a few tit bits and then never reply again! netti

I feel I am the only one, but I have emailed people off this site, hoping they would give me information from their trees on people, which I hope are linked to my tree. I havent asked to see their trees, just the general questions, but in the last 10-14 days, I have had no replys. Am I aiming too high for responses to my emails. Let me know your views.