Making Connections: Archives Answers And Cousin Connections.

More Archives Answers?

Kudos to Paula Stuart Warren for an uncommonly clear, insightful article on navigating one’s way through the National Archives (October 2002). I’d encourage her in future articles, however, to include a section on the physically disabled researcher. Beyond the presence of elevators, what kind of assistance is available? Is there handicapped parking at the facility? Is there a place to store oxygen cylinders for those who would need more than one cylinder during a visit? Is there a medical area where patrons could leave insulin and/or other medications?

Katharyn L. Waldron
Reading, Pa.

Paula Stuart Warren replies: For special assistance at the downtown Washington, DC, facility, call toll-free (866) 272-6272 and ask to speak to security. With the current construction in parts of the building and outside, handicapped parking is sometimes at a premium. The security staff can direct you to the best place and also help with your oxygen storage. Security personnel at the buildings entrance can assist you on site. There are patron lockers where you could leave medications, as 1 do. For your insulin, you could bring a small, padded lunch cooler. I do this for my lunch, which I then eat in the building’s snack-bar area. If you need water for your other medications, you might consider purchasing a bottle of water at the snack bar.

Making the Cousin Connection

Your August 2002 issue suggested GenForum <genforum.genealogy.com> as one of the 101 Best Web Sites for 2002, and I couldn’t agree more. After randomly checking a few family forum pages for missing ancestors, I found two previously unknown cousins who had pages of data on two separate lines of mine. One was on a great-grandfather and took me back four more generations; another was on a fourth-great-grandmother and took me back three more generations. I’m now e-mailing three other newfound cousins who may have even more data on more family members. Each family forum page seems to have one or more “experts” who know the family lines well and who will respond helpfully to many of the queries.

Thanks for a recommendation that was right on the money!

Pat Kelly Chubb
Auburn, Wash.

From the February 2003 issue of Family Tree Magazine.