New Years is a good time to follow up with those relatives you haven’t heard from in awhile. Did you get a Christmas card from them that just had their name. What a waste of a stamp and card. It only confirms they are still alive. Give them a call. You can check for their phone number on Switchboard, White Pages, etc. then call them. Give yourself lots of time, because once you have found them, they may have lots of family information to share. Make notes about your conversation, so you can follow up later on some of the stories they share. Then record them in your database.
Years ago my Aunt told me we were related to Carson Long of Carson Long Military School in New Bloomfield PA. So I wrote to them and got a letter back saying, no, we were probably not a direct descendant because he was 16 years old when he died. They did give me a name of a fellow, Harry Lenig, who could probably help. I got in touch with Harry and he had been tracing my family for 40 years. He shared lots of family information with me. I thought I had hit the mother lode with all of his research. When Harry died, he left all of his information with The Perry Historians. If you have never been to visit The Perry Historian library in Newport, PA, you are missing a great treasure trove of information about Perry County people. Needless to say, I’m a Life Member and find new information every time I visit.