Every family history project reaches a moment when the question is no longer
Where do we start? but What are we building, and for whom?
MyCousins began as a personal search—one name, one ancestor, one unanswered question.
It grew into something larger: a shared record of people, places, and stories that
might otherwise have faded quietly from memory.
This Is Not a Finished Tree
Genealogy is never complete. Records surface. Memories change hands. New cousins
appear, sometimes unexpectedly, carrying photos, documents, or stories that no archive
could have preserved on its own.
What you see here is not a finished family tree. It is a working record—
grounded in sources, shaped by collaboration, and open to correction.
As one often-quoted truth reminds us:
Genealogy without sources is mythology.
That principle guides everything we publish. Where sources exist, we cite them.
Where questions remain, we say so.
What This Site Is — and Is Not
MyCousins.org is not intended to replace online family tree platforms.
Those live elsewhere—on Ancestry, MyHeritage, FamilySearch, WikiTree, and offline backups.
This site exists for something different.
It is a place for:
- Stories that do not fit neatly into tree software
- Context that explains why records matter
- Connections between surnames, communities, and migrations
- Preservation beyond subscriptions and shifting platforms
What Comes Next
Phase I focused on saving what already existed—stories written, research done,
relationships built.
Future phases may deepen individual surnames, add new exhibits, expand timelines,
or invite more voices into the record. Those decisions will be made carefully,
and not all at once.
For now, this is a place to pause.
An Invitation
If you found yourself here wondering, Are we related?—the answer may be yes.
And even if the answer is still unfolding, you are welcome.
Family history survives when it is shared.
This is what we leave behind—not certainty, but continuity.
— MyCousins.org