family reasearch the lazy way

[cellio]

I am somewhat curious about who my various ancestors are, but not curious enough to do actual research. It looks like things just got easier: tonight I received email from someone doing genealogical research who appears to be a cousin on my father's side. He provided enough correct information (and Google fodder) for me to believe he's not an identity thief, so I told him who's who in our branch of the family. He has promised to share what he has collected. Sounds nifty.

And I now know the names of my paternal great-grandparents, which I previously did not.

(Funny bit: he said he found me via my LJ (if he has an account I can't find it), but he seemed pretty sure that I wasn't a relative and (my inference) had married into the last name. He didn't say and I didn't ask, but I assume the Jewish content is what steered him wrong.)

Comments

[cellio]

I found the following sequence interesting:

Year N: great-grandfather came to US
Year N+1: grandfather born
Year N+5: great-grandmother and grandfather came to US

I knew in principle that it was common back then for families to be split up for a while as funds were accumulated to pay for transport. But it still surprised me. And I'm guessing that grandfather was a parting gift, so to speak, given the timing. Did my grandfather really not meet his father until he was four? Yikes.

My grandmother was born in the US but her father was not. She always spoke with a significant accent, so I'd wondered if she had been born overseas, but no.