Through the years, Cheri has developed a slew of useful techniques and special tricks for locating people and getting in touch. Now she's written a handy how-to guide to give other genealogists a head start. Especially if you've never tried to trace a living relative before, or haven't tried recently, this book is for you.
Genealogy in Reverse: Finding the Living is a concise (54 page) book with a listing of resources and a mini-case study as well as step-by-step explanations.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Methodology
Chapter 1: Building a solid foundation
Chapter 2: Looking for clues in records
Chapter 3: Researching online
Chapter 4: Researching on location
Chapter 5: People finders and social media
Chapter 6: Reaching out to family
Chapter 7: A word about DNA
Chapter 8: Working through a soldier repatriation case (steps for finding living family)
Tools and resources for genealogy in reverse
Each chapter explores an aspect of the process, including creative tips for research and communication. In Chapter 2, for example, Cheri recommends checking obituaries carefully for names and clues, and looking at Find a Grave memorials as well. In Chapter 6, she cautions that sometimes living family members are reluctant to respond to your call, email, or letter--and she provides good ideas for productive approaches when reaching out to kin.
Yes, Genealogy in Reverse is a slim volume, but the content is solid, based on the author's own experiences and expertise. I found the illustrations mostly helpful as I learned about the process--although I would have appreciated larger images, especially screen shots in the chapter about people finders and social media. The mini-case study in chapter 8 was good, but would have been even better with more specifics.
Still, I've bookmarked a number of pages that I'll return to again and again as I continue to look for living cousins and in-laws.
To complement the book's brief content, I suggest viewing Cheri's RootsTech presentation on this topic, viewable for free here.
Genealogy in Reverse is affordably priced and available on Amazon. Check it out if you want a road map to follow in finding living cousins or relatives!
NOTE: I received a free review copy of this book from the publisher, but this did not at all influence my review. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own.
