I’ve done a little reading online about how to go about the process of making cold calls to relatives in search of genealogy information. Yesterday, I finally worked up the nerve to call serveral relatives of mine on the McNair side and I am so glad that I did! I spoke to four McNairs all living in my grandmother’s hometown of Plymouth and they are all aged 75 or older.
It was an amazing experience for me. I learned some of the history of how the McNair family reuntion got started. I learned the circumstances surrounding my great-grandfather’s death and who found him. I learned more about some great-uncles of mine that I’d never met. All in all – I spent about three hours on the phone with the relatives and am very glad that I made contact.
I definitely plan to keep the relationship open too. It is so important to capture their memories and their knowledge and I’m so glad to have had this opportunity to further enrich my family tree. So now, I have work to do in following up with each of them. I plan to mail them some of the information I’ve gathered to use as a springboard for further conversations. Wish me luck!