A “Long Lost Relatives” Successful Search
Attracting large audiences has been the ITV series “Long Lost Relatives” reuniting family members after many years of searching. .
Hawick’s Heritage Hub was recently delighted to make its own contribution to an emotional family reunion, with a visitor from England, spending a week in the Borders to trace a family member whom he had not seen sine the 1950’s.
Apart from the name and some local addresses, the starting point for the trail was slight. However staff at the Hub identified street names on a town map, suggested searches of electoral rolls, and useful websites, pointed the visitor in the direction of the Registrar Genealogy Service for help with births, marriages and deaths, and advised putting a letter in local newspapers seeking information.
The visitor came back the next day to report “great success”. A call at one of the addresses resulted in a referral to a neighbour who, as a child, had known the family. The friendly Borders community sprang into action and by the evening a reunion took place – resulting in a very happy visitor full of praise for help given by the Borders people.
