I haven't been researching all that long compared to many others. I've been online approximately a year. In that year's time, I have connected with six cousins. Three on the my husband's side, three on mine. I think the biggest hurdle was with my husband's paternal lines. I was subscribed to another list, and received a message from a gal on the East Coast. She asked about my Modlin lines. I wrote back and gave her what I had, which was only as far back as 1816 to my husband's GGGrandfather's birth. I knew that he had come from Indiana, but that was all. The information ended there. To make a long story short, it turned out that the name had changed in spelling. It used to be Maudlin! As far as I know, and from what my husband's mother says, no one around here knew of the change of spelling. I now have information dating back to 1670, after getting together with a wonderful lady that lives 70 miles from here. Turns out her GGGrandfather, and my husband's GGGrandfather were brothers. Her information was well documented. If it weren't for the Rootsweb Mailing lists, I'd still be struggling with this one. Not all information is going to be found by way of computers and the internet. But, sometimes there is connections made, and we owe a debt of thanks to those who have made this possible. There's also another message in this.....never leave a stone unturned. Even what seems an impossibility might turn out to be the answer you're looking for! Mari