Inviting Group Members

Konnor Crewe

Hi,

I haven't invited any family tree group members yet. And the reason is this: I am estranged from most of my family members. I think that my more distant family from my great grandparents' lines are more friendly than the ones who know me. So exactly how would you go about creating a group when most of the people you know, are not so terribly willing to join a group created by you? I don't know how to even begin to approach this. And I think you'll find that a whole lot of genealogists feel estranged or isolated from our families which is one of the primary motivations. Although I don't presume to speak for everyone, I just find there is this feeling of wanting to connect to family roots. Dead people are fascinating, but the living... Not so eager to connect.

AnneLoForteWillson

@Konnor Crewe You have posed a very valid question, How would you create a group with your more distant relations, instead of close ones? You certainly can do so. The Admin page gives you some suggestions for the scope of your family group:

You could certainly make the group for more distant relatives if those are the ones that will talk with you. But you might also look into the Together by FamilySearch experiment and see what ideas and suggestions for sharing show up there. Try out the new way of tagging memories. These tools might give you some ideas of even one or two people in your family who would be interested in sharing...and they might tell other family members and your group could grow as people show an interest.

I am working in a family group with my dad's cousins and their children. A little distant for many folks, but we all lived in the same area and have been researching our shared grandparents for years. We have visited at each others houses and naturally share details of our lives with each other. This family group is an outgrowth of our real relationships with each other and we are so excited that the memories that we share with each other will be saved for future generations to see. (Text messaging and snapchat just don't have that longevity!)

So don't limit yourself to one way of thinking. Explore how these different tools interact with each other and consider how that might best fit your family.

I hope other folks jump in with some of their thoughts on connecting with family using the family groups and family group trees!