Connecting With Other Researchers Who Share the Same Surname

By reaching out to link up with fellow genealogical researchers with the same surname your investigation can produce some of the most valuable sources. Between family heirlooms, diaries and bible records to the research done by other people, a wealth of information can be learned and shared.

The following are some of the most fruitful places to start connecting.
Web sites to assist:

Ancestry.com -- There is a Research Registry to help you link up with fellow researchers who share the same surname name or similar interests in geographic regions, historical events, religions, occupations and ancestral homes.
http://www.ancestry.com/community

Rootsweb -- The site has a surname listing. In the request box place a certain surname and a listing appears of fellow researchers who are also investigating that participator name. There are some 1,215,204 different surnames listed.
http://rsl.rootsweb.ancestry.com/#search

The RootsWeb also has its surname message boards. This site has ‘Find A Board’ where you place the surname you are requesting. The various available surnames, even with similar spellings will appear. Select the one or two you are interested in to then find hundreds of individuals who are searching for ancestors with that particular surname or have the very surname themselves.
http://boards.rootsweb.com/

Another section of RootsWeb has registry of websites on an assortment of surnames. There are tens of thousands sites in the registry. Not every surname will be there, considering there may not be any web sites developed for that specific name. Here is where you try variations in the spelling of the surname. An additional link is shown providing the freepages of Rootsweb with over 14, 034 web sites.

Besides searching for other websites with the surname you are looking for, if you have a website on a family name, you can register that site with RootsWeb so others can locate you.

http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~websites/
http://freepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/directory/genealogy.html

Google -- Use this search engine to discover additional websites on specific surnames.
In the search box place the surname then a plus mark (+) and the word ‘genealogy’. That way you will only get sites related to family history and not products or celebrities with the same name. Another method is placing the surname with the plus mark and the word ‘surname’. Both will provide varying results. Review every site and if an email address of the creator of the site is provided, don’t hesitate to contact them.

Allen County Public Library -- Their online site offers a listing of fellow researchers based on certain surnames. Use this link http://friendsofallencounty.org/search_gensurnames.php to place a surname and view if any individual matches. If there is a match, the researcher’s name, email and regular addresses are given along with the date their name was added to the list. This ‘Genealogical Center Surname File’ might prove to be very helpful in connecting with others who share the same surname.

Hamrick Database of Surname Distribution -- To get a sense of where most people of a given surname lived within the United States, the Hamrick Software provides a U. S. Surname Distribution map.

Place the surname in the locator box and then select a year; either 1850, 1880, 1920 or 1990 to view on a map where the greatest concentration of individuals (based on U.S. Federal census records) with that surname resided. There are the top 50,000 surnames in the database. http://www.hamrick.com/names/

Genealogical Societies -- By belonging to genealogical societies in certain regions or counties where you had generations of ancestors can provide additional sources of fellow researchers who share the surname you are examining. Your common interests of the surname and the region can benefit everyone. There are also genealogical societies focused on broad geographical locations, ethnic, ancestral homelands, languages and even family name based societies.http://www.genhomepage.com/societies.html

Locations and Surnames -- If your ancestor lived in a certain county or area for decades, a check of Internet people search sites might provide some additional contacts of individuals with similar surnames.
Switchboard - http://www.switchboard.com/

From across the United States; names, phone numbers and mailing addresses of current individuals can be found. If most family members came, for example, from the town of Manchester, Maryland, just place that location and the surname and see how many names might appear. Yahoo People Search - http://people.yahoo.com/ and WhoWhere Search http://www.whowhere.lycos.com/ Both have a similar search as Switchboard but an email address might also be located.

The advantages for locating individuals with similar surnames are plentiful. Not only the shared basic information of ancestors’ names and vital dates can be exchanged but additional bonuses of photos, letters, obits, etc that you may have been totally unaware of can be gained.

The key element is the willingness for each to share information and sources with another possible branch of the same family. Rarely is a person uninterested in sharing even the tiniest fragment of information with another person, especially when it comes to their family history.

Connect with other researchers, particularly in this world of easy communication. The rewards are tremendous.

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