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spiderpig

(10,419 posts)
Tue Sep 13, 2016, 12:45 AM Sep 2016

Facebook may be passe, but you can make some astonishing connections

I linked up with a guy across the country who is my somethingth cousin and maintains a detailed family record.

He even had old photos of my mom and her brothers taken in the early 30s.

He's put to rest old stories of where my great-grandfather emigrated from. (He didn't. His family had come from Scotland in the 1700s and settled in Virginia, Pennsylvania and Ohio.

Fascinating stuff I'd never know without The Intertubes.

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dixiegrrrrl

(60,010 posts)
1. Same thing here.
Tue Sep 13, 2016, 12:53 AM
Sep 2016

distant cousin had a passion for geneology and traced my matrnal family tree all the way back to 1792, posted it on Facebook and my brother clued me in.

Turns out the lineage went from New Jersey to Ohio to Washington State. Quite fascinating.

Man, when I think of what I could have done had the internet been available in the 1970's............

Hassin Bin Sober

(26,272 posts)
2. I have a friend who keeps getting contacted by half brothers he didn't know he had.
Tue Sep 13, 2016, 02:10 AM
Sep 2016

Poppa was a rollin' stone.

It's to the point he is afraid to look at Facebook.

malthaussen

(17,065 posts)
3. My mother's uncle did a geneology of the family in the 50's...
Tue Sep 13, 2016, 12:16 PM
Sep 2016

... and claimed the first known ancestor of the family was a Covenanter martyr whose descendants fled to Ireland and then Pennsylvania circa 1750. Around the turn of the present century, the Internet allowed me to exchange a few emails with the head of the family still in Scotland, who was quite frank that the connection was probably spurious, since there was no unambiguous chain-of-evidence to link the family members. Not quite the same thing, although facebook has made it possible for me to post pictures of the little monument that has been erected to our putative ancestor for the delectation of the surviving members of the family on this side of the puddle.

-- Mal

TexasBushwhacker

(20,043 posts)
4. I have a friend who was contacted by her long lost daughter!
Tue Sep 13, 2016, 08:06 PM
Sep 2016

She had the girl when she was only 17. The paternal grandparents had her declared unfit, even though it was their son who had raped her. They got appointed guardians and wouldn't let my friend see her or contact her. My friend's name isn't all that common and her daughter, now 15, sought her out. My friend is hoping to get custody. She has a great job and even bought a house, by herself.

catbyte

(34,169 posts)
5. Facebook allowed me to reconnect with my college boyfriend after 40 years.
Wed Sep 14, 2016, 11:54 AM
Sep 2016

He lost his wife of 34 years in 2013 to ALS (horrible coincidence--I lost my dad to it in 2000), I lost my husband and best friend of 30 years to complications of 55 years of DM Type I in 2014. We now live in the same city, we're having a great time traveling and just hanging out, and are planning on getting married within the next year or so. He tells people that we dated during the Nixon Administration, broke up during the ford Administration, and got back together during the Obama Administration. Puts the timeframe into perspective--yikes! I don't think it would've happened without Facebook, so thanks, Mark Zuckerberg.

spiderpig

(10,419 posts)
7. I too connected with my first boyfriend of 50 years ago
Fri Sep 16, 2016, 02:50 PM
Sep 2016

I'm happily married to Old Grumpy, but it's fun to share memories of hamburger joints and movies from our teen years with somebody from my home town.

catbyte

(34,169 posts)
8. That's great! People always seem so surprised when they hear about our history.
Fri Sep 16, 2016, 03:07 PM
Sep 2016

I don't think it's that odd, because your personality is pretty much set by then. We got along great, our romance just sort of fizzled out because we were both too young to settle down. Now we're not. Congrats and I wish you two the best!

 

LanternWaste

(37,748 posts)
6. It's a damned good platform for its purpose.
Wed Sep 14, 2016, 04:10 PM
Sep 2016

It's a damned good platform for its purpose. I get to see photos taken during my HS days I'd never thought had existed (and some of them shouldn't exist, dammit). Family reunions and school get-togethers are a snap now, and getting reacquainted with friends I haven't seen in thity-five years is a blast!

I doubt I'll ever get the Cool, Trendy, Hipster, Got-the-T-Shirt© criticisms against what is little more than a mere web site.

spiderpig

(10,419 posts)
10. Agreed. You don't have to post a daily diary of your hourly habits.
Sat Sep 17, 2016, 09:04 AM
Sep 2016

But I'm able to keep up with former coworkers I haven't seen for years. (And, sadly, have found out about some who are no longer with us.)

I've seen pix of kids going into Middle School whom I remember before they were born, when Mommy was pregnant and we were all excited. Or when Mommy and Daddy were eagerly anticipating adopting a child who's now 12!

Most of us have work friends and we naturally drift away, but Facebook allows us to keep in touch. In a good way!

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