A Researcher Database?

Do you keep any address book of genealogists you know who are descendants of your ancestors? For one reason or another, you may not communicate with them regularly, but it can be helpful to have such a list handy.

This was helpful to me personally when I found a DNA match who was probably connected to me through a known 5th great-grandfather. Right off my head, I knew of a fellow researcher who was also descended from that 5th great-grandfather, but was not a DNA match (it’s too distant for us all to match). Because I kept a spreadsheet of contacts, including emails, most common shared ancestral couple, and their actual name, I was easily able to message this person. My spreadsheet contains:

• email
• first name of contact
• last name of contact
• last name of most common shared (MCS) male ancestor
• first name of MSC male ancestor
• last name of MSC female ancestor
• first name of MSC female ancestor