From Dave Liesse — This one doesn't involve finding a relative, but it does illustrate the "small world" idea quite well! I started working for a new (to me) company in Chicago in the spring of 1994.  My manager was about my age, and his name was Jerry. After the July 4th weekend we were talking about how we'd spent our time.  He told me that he visited his father, just across the state line in Indiana.  The conversation went something like this: D: "Oh, really?  Where in Indiana?" J:  "Oh, a small town you've probably never heard of." D:  "Try me!" J:  "Whiting." D:  "Oh, yeah?  Where in Whiting?" J:  "Well, not really in Whiting.  He's in Hammond, but everybody says Whiting." D:  "Okay, he's in Robertsdale. Go on." (Note: Robertsdale is a part of Hammond, but physically separated from the rest of the city by a couple of oil refineries.  It's served by the Whiting post office, so ...

Image by  Vilkasss  from  Pixabay WE ARE ALL CONNECTED I joined The South King County Genealogical Society years ago to learn about genealogy. The Society held a monthly meeting featuring educational speakers at a nearby church. It did not occur to me that I would meet people with similar interests who would become friends. I certainly didn’t realize that I would connect with relatives. It is a long-standing joke in the South King County Genealogical Society that MaryLynn Strickland is related to everyone. I am sure that I am related to her through the Dyer family in Colonial America. Recently, I hosted a social get-together for SKCGS volunteers. The group included members who had recently joined, as well as long-time members. I mentioned to one of the newer members that I had learned through a study group in which we had participated that our ancestors had married during the Revolutionary War era. At that moment, a very new member offered that she too was related to tha...