BellaOnline Forums Family Genealogy Sharing or Not Sharing your Genealogy

When someone calls you and has a common ancestor, do you share or share it with a fee? Does it matter if it is a distant cousin? There are no right or wrong answers. Just wanted your opinion as this has been on my mind recently.

I am a sharer and I hope that when I share they will share their information with me and my family group. In fact I started a group first on Delphiforums and then on yahoo groups for a particular family and encourage family members to share and discuss the line. That particular line has been very successful.

But, that not mean that I will copy all 6000 records that I might have in my possession free of charge.

I usually send information via snail mail once it is requested. It is rewarding to find relatives - distant cousins or not. If my genealogy ever expands to over 500 pages, I'll likely have to request postage and a copy fee. It is unreasonable to request 6000 pages for FREE.

Welcome - I do share a lot and either scan or make photocopies and send. In the old days, a requester always sent a self addressed, stamped envelope so that the person they were writing to would not have to spend a cent to respond. Of course, the hope was that you would get a response if you provided the envelope.

Over the years, it was polite to offer to pay for copies or to just send a check to reimburse for postage if you received a lot of copies. If there was give and take, then there might not be any charge.

I am a sharer. I have a scanner and send copies of documents and photos via email. I will make hard copies if anyone asks, but I haven't had to do that yet, with the exception of one family book.

A distant cousin and I were looking into our family line, he had a copy of a book written in the 1970's and he copied it and mailed it to me for free. I offered to pay for the copies and postage, but he refused. His only request was to "pay it forward" to the next cousin we find that doesn't have the information; and I did.

Welcome:

That is great. I do that every chance I can. My family group on Yahoo share a lot of information. Every piece of information helps fill in the tree and it is not good to have to re-invent the wheel each time someone begins researching.

I would like a to share a recent 'sharing' experience and get your opinion. Just for background, I have only been doing Internet research for about 6 weeks. I have done genealogy (by leg-work) for 35-40 years. So about a month ago, on a surname forum site, I found a posting from a person looking for information of a distant relative of his who was my uncle-in-law. In essence, he was looking for my first cousins. I sent him everything I had: dates, locations, births, deaths, current addresses - the works - all without his asking. It only amounted to a few sheets of paper, and almost no time, so there would never have been the thought of his paying for anything.

Wouldn't a "Thank You" from him have been appropriate. Granted he never asked for specifics, but he was looking for information, and he got it. I feel like some acknowledgement was called for. What do you think? As I reread this I sound bitter; that is not what I intented. I would just like to know what I should have expected?

GrannyH,

I think you should at least have gotten a "much appreciated thank you" note.

To share and get nothing in return is rude. This is family history and should be made available to every family member who is interested - but, if someone has gone to a lot of expense to duplicate info, then they should be compensated.

Unfortunately, that happens more often than you would think. The person should have definitely responded with a thank you and a follow up. After all, you're family and you might have more information and leads. Once in awhile something happens and a response might be slow in coming but ultimately you hope one will arrive.

Hey. Taking a break from studying for tomorrow's test to post a reply. I know how you feel. You do all this work and share it, and although you really are expecting payment, a nice thanks would suffice. Many times I get calls for info and as soon as they get it I mentioned if I could get their info and they all of a sudden have to go. It does not Always happen that way, but when it does it is really frustrating. Most of the time I find people to be nice, thankful and sharing but there is those exceptions. But as Angie said, sometimes it is slow. I did some genealogy for someone on my son's soccer team as a learning experience as it was an Italian name, etc. Sent it to her and soccer was over so never heard a word. I bet almost 3-4 months went by, I had forgotten about it. I got the nicest letter in the mail with a $25 check to say thanks. She had just been so busy and saw the genealogy one day on the desk and it trigger her to send a thank you. so, you may yet still get a thanks...I appreciate your sharing as it lets us see we may not be alone in how we feel.

Tina

Those who know me always talk about my lack of patience. I've probably put it out for display in this case. I don't know the circumstance on the other end. But I do know how excited I would have been and what I would have done.

Thanks to everyone for your comments.

Tina, what course are you studying? Or are you giving the test?

GrannyH

Hi.. I am in my last year taking Medical Administrative Assistance courses. My test is in Microsoft Applications. I am one of the "Older" students in the class. This semester for some reason has been my hardest adn takes me longer to work on. I am sure it will get better, but I feel I am neglecting my Bellaonline site. I do think of you guys often and appreciate your comments.

So good luck tomorrow. Test well while I'm busy making 21 kid's napping pillows (see the "Sewing Forum" - what people won't do for their grandchildren).

GrannyH

We've all got irons in the fire - work, school, hobbies. There is never a dull moment. Good luck Tina on your studies.

My talk is in next week. My presentation is ready but I need to review it and make sure I can present all my information. It should be fun.

I joined the Transitional Genealogist group and they are starting a study group for professional genealogy. We're review the book and break down into small groups to discuss it. I think it will run for about 18 months. There were quite a number of people who signed up for it. I'll keep you all posted.

Angie,

I am part of the first group for TGS and ProGen. I have learned so much from being a part of it. Here is how my group is set up:

TGS: We have NGS case studies to read. We get together via chats and discuss it. What you may miss someone else picked up on and what you got they may have missed. Plus learning the different styles and techniques. I am going to renew my NGS based on this group. Great learning tool.

ProGen is more in depth. WE are give assignments to do and turn into our little peer groups. The Assignments are based on our reading of ProGen material. Then, we have a monthly chat to discuss the material and any questions we may have had. Elissa Powell moderates our group. She teaches the Professional Genealogy course at Samford in June. I told it a couple years ago. And I am still learning from that book. If you don't own it, it is a great investment whether you go Pro or just do genealogy for yourself.

Well, I am in class so better go. I definitely think the groups are worth while. I don't think there are openings in the ProGen group as it is based on a course schedule, but they are starting a Transitional Study Group I think. I don't really keep up with the new groups since I am already in one. But, I'll try to find out and post it as soon as I can find out something.

Tina

Tina, this is ProGen2 and will be modeled after your group. Debbie Wayne is going to be one of the leaders. There are about 40 people interested in participating. There is a delay due to the hurricane damage and several people were affected by the power outages. I plan to get the book but just haven't had a chance to do so yet.

Thanks so much for telling me about your experience with this. I don't anticipate becoming a certified genealogist but I do help people and I am always trying to be a better researcher.

I used to share mine in the beginning but found that long lost family would come and take what i had and then disappear so I pulled everything from the rootsweb. I had people downloading my Gedcom then uploading it again claiming it as their own. I also had people show up take what they could and when I asked for stuff in return they fell off the face of the earth. I also discovered that if you upload a Gedcom to Rootsweb it wounds up getting sold on Genealogy.com I certainly do not want other people making money off of all my hard work and research. So as it stands now I wont share unless the other person gives me something first or if they offer to purchase what I have, but only in extreme cases do I do that. I'd much rather share what I have and get something in return as well.

We have a family group on Yahoo and before that on another forum. I did post on my AOL webpage too. I am sure some folks were gleaners but I am a believer in sharing. I feel the more people working on a family the more opportunities to solve the mysteries.