How do you find lost relatives?

Question

i've searched births, deaths and marriage records i can't find anything.. does anyone have any idea how to do this? i've been trying for about three years..

thanks in advance..

Answer 1

this isn't a flippant answer... you are in the genealogy area, and we don't know if you are looking for living relatives, or dead ones.  It makes a difference, especially as to WHAT records will be open for finding someone.

OVERALL.. if the person you are hunting is still living, you are unlikely to locate birth records.  Death records would be in the social security death index (in the US) if they died after 1960ish. Those are not the full record.. just an index to confirm a death and the date.  Marriage records are public documents.. public does not translate into always being online.  

If you believe that the person you need is living, yahoo rules will not allow us to post personal info here.  I can suggest www.zabasearch.com often works for an address (it may be out of date).  Again, that is only a US source. People do post names of live persons here all the time... technically, it is a violation, not to mention that they often go way overboard in including details that might be embarrassing. You can drop me a note at my profile if this is the situation, however, most of us are cautious if there are minors involved.  We really can't know your situation.

The best way to get good results on any search is being explicit on what you want, including an estimated time and more important, a country or state/ province, etc.

If it is an ancestor, you are welcome to post the name and place/time.  This gives all of us something to work with, and perhaps find what you need.