Recently I had a run of luck that was through an unusual source that I wanted to share with the list. It is a bit of a long story, but I hope you will bare with me. As background, I knew very little about my only paternal aunt, even though I had corresponded with her as a child because my father was crippled with arthritis and could barely sign his name. I knew that she lived in the East Liverpool area when I wrote to her, but didn't remember her name. I knew is was an unusual name and not one easily remembered by a child. I found her daughter listed living with my grandparents in 1910, but was sure her surname was not the name to which I had written. My cousin found my grandmother's obituary and it listed my aunt by a name under which we could find nothing. Then my cousin found a 1920 Census index and looked my aunt's daughter up in it. Her name too, was an unusual name. She found her living in Maryland, living with her mother and step-father, with two step-brothers, Harry and Thomas. The last name was the same as the Obituary listed except it was spelled with a "V" instead of a "B". That little change in the spelling had caused us countless hours of frustration. Several times, I have posted on Genforum and Ancestry in appropriate areas, under both the surname and the County where I knew my aunt had last lived - with no result. So the other day, on a hunch, I went to the computer and went to Switchboard.com and put in the surname only of my aunt and Ohio as the state of residence. There was two pages of addresses and phone numbers of people in Ohio with that name. I decided that, if necessary, I would call everyone on that list if necessary, to find someone that knew something about my aunt. Well, I looked down the list and recognized the name of one of the two boys that were listed on the 1920 census. It never dawned on me that it might be the same person. I thought it might be a grandson or greatgrandson of my aunt. But I called it first, and guess what: It was my long lost cousin. He is 85 and he knew as little about my family as I knew about his. I am now corresponding with him and have shared his address with the rest of the family genealogy team that has slowly grown to several families. The reason I wrote this little saga is to remind everyone that, no matter how unusual your methods, sometimes they work. Don't hesitate if they are legal, moral and above board. My method was unconventional, but it got results. That is what we are all looking for, results! That is what I am wishing for all of you! Good luck and good results! Maryann