How will you Keep in Touch with Genealogy Contacts?

Genealogists will sometimes find new contacts with people while working on their family tree, attending a conference, or visiting an archive. How do you want to keep in touch with these contacts? It is something worth considering.

Stick with the site you met on

Someone who is a stranger to you connects to you through your favorite genealogy website. They might ask you some questions about whether or not you are related to them. One simple option is to continue communicating with that person through the genealogy website you met on.

Doing so makes it very easy to keep the conversation in one place. The disadvantage is that you might not like the site’s system that allows people to keep in touch.

Create an email specifically for genealogy

Making a new email, specifically for genealogy, can make it easier to keep in touch with a genealogy contact. One advantage of having an email account for genealogy stuff is that you can give it out to new contacts without having to share your personal email account with them. It also helps keep genealogy related emails all in one place.

One disadvantage is that you will need to remember which of your emails you used when you signed up with a genealogy website. Typing in the wrong one could result in the site making you reset your password.

Stick to your principles

A new contact that you met at a genealogy conference wants to keep in touch with you. That person recommends that you join their favorite social media site. The problem is you aren’t comfortable with that social media site, for whatever reason.

Politely decline their suggestion. Recommend a social media site that you are using and enjoy. Maybe the other person is on that social media site, too! The two of you can connect through it.

Related Articles on FamilyTree.com

Before you Attend a Genealogy Conference

Consider this Before Contacting a Long Lost Relative

How to Combine Genealogy and Social Media