Free access to LostCousins website this weekend

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Next weekend (Friday 22nd August to Tuesday 26th August) the LostCousins website will be completely free - this means that every member will have all the privileges of a subscriber, but without having to pay a penny.

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Whilst it won't take long to enter the rest of your relatives from the 1881 Census - for the typical member it takes about an hour to enter them all - these days we're all so busy that finding a spare hour at short notice can be difficult. By giving you some extra time it makes sure that you can take advantage of this great opportunity to knock down some of the 'brick walls' in your family tree.

Of course, finding 'lost cousins' isn't just about knocking down 'brick walls'. Someone who shares your ancestors is likely to have photographs of some of your relatives - and if you're really lucky, they might even have inherited the family Bible, or original birth certificates.

In my experience finding a 'lost cousin' is also like making a new friend, perhaps because having a shared interest in family history is more important than simply sharing the same ancestors.

Interestingly, recent research has shown that the people we choose as friends are genetically as closely related to us as 3rd or 4th cousins - and those are the cousins you're most likely to find at LostCousins.

If it's a while since you last entered someone on your My Ancestors page, or if you'd simply like a refresher, take a look at the 'Getting Started' guide at the top of the Help & Advice page - there are three versions, depending whether you prefer to use Ancestry, findmypast, or FamilySearch.

Remember that the 1881 England & Wales census transcription is completely free at all three of those sites, so it won't cost you a penny to get the information to enter relatives from that census (in fact 5 of the 8 censuses we use are free online).

IMPORTANT: whilst it's natural to start by entering our direct ancestors and their households, remember that it's the members of their extended families who are most likely to match you with you 'lost cousins' - because they're the ones from whom your 3rd and 4th cousins will be descended.

Other free censuses you can use at LostCousins are:

Canada 1881
USA 1880
USA 1940
Ireland 1911

There are three other censuses we use which aren't available free online:

Scotland 1881
England & Wales 1841
England & Wales 1911

But as you can currently get a month's subscription to findmypast for just ONE POUND - see my latest newsletter for details - entering relatives from those censuses won't break the bank.

Please bear in mind that it's the 1880/81 censuses that your cousins are most likely to have used, as they're the ones we've been using for longest - so it's better to enter distant relatives from those censuses than close relatives who were recorded in other years.

When you're entering relatives on your My Ancestors page please read the notes on the Add Ancestors form carefully - they're there to make life easier for you! The form and the notes change when you select a different census, so it's particularly important to read them when you're using a census for the first time.

Have a great week - I hope you find lots of new cousins!

Peter Calver
Founder - LostCousins

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