What's in a name?
26th March 2008
Whether your ancestors were Montagues, Capulets, Cholmondeleys or Warners you probably feel an affinity with other people who share the same surname - but you may also wonder whether there is, in fact, any family connection.
LostCousins is teaming up with the Guild of One-Name Studies to help family historians answer that question. The Guild is the world's leading organisation for one-name studies, with thousands of members who between them are studying over 7500 individual surnames and variants.
By implementing a One-Name Studies category LostCousins aims to make it easier for members to learn about studies that involve the surnames in their family trees - and to increase awareness of the work of the Guild and its members.
Guild members who participate will be able to reach out to people whose ancestors bore the surname that they are studying; LostCousins members will automatically link with relevant participating surname studies when they click the Search button.
Peter Walker, Chairman of the Guild of One-Name Studies, commented "I have been a member of LostCousins for several years, and I'm delighted that it has proved possible to incorporate one-name studies within the LostCousins framework - this will at last enable Guild members to use the site to its full potential."
The LostCousins website has a unique system that matches people with a common interest automatically, confidentially, and with virtually 100% accuracy. But what makes the LostCousins really special is this - you'll know how you're related or otherwise connected to the other member even before you get in touch!
All this is achieved with a very simple system that utilises census data as a 'key' to open the door to new contacts, new information, and new opportunities. Once LostCousins members have entered their information from the census it takes just one click to look for matches with the data entered by other members, and you can repeat the search as often as you like.
Because the LostCousins system is fully automatic the information members enter remains hidden - there's no chance that anyone else can see your entries. At a time when concern is increasing over the disclosure of confidential personal data it's reassuring to know that, from the very beginning, the LostCousins system was designed to protect members' privacy.
Basic membership of LostCousins remains FREE and, for those who want to upgrade, a 12-month subscription is still only £10 ($20).
If you're running a One-Name Study see the Help & Advice page for details of how your study can be included.
For the latest LostCousins member newsletter click here
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