The first exciting moment came when I started looking up surnames on the ROOTS-L and GENWEB database. I entered several surnames that I happened to be researching, and with one of them, Masters, I found a list of matching names.

As I looked more closely at the list of surnames similar to the one that I was interested in, I noticed that there was an entry that stood out as being too close to be coincidental. I immediately looked up the submitter's name and fired off an e-mail.

In just a few hours a response came and the connection that I had hoped for existed! Not only that, but the information that was shared by this genealogist took me back six generations in ancestry and was documented! I can't explain the excitement at finding other individuals who were interested in the same family and genealogical history that I was researching.

Aside from all of the emotions and exhilaration that occurred then, it created just the spark that I needed to continue researching, and to put forth the time and financial commitments that sometimes go along with researching one's family tree. I haven't regretted either yet.

Although the database resources available were excellent sources of information, it was just the tip of the iceberg. The next big event occurred when I found an index to genealogical sites on the Internet and Cyndi's Genealogical site.

These two sites have provided me with the names, addresses, and telephone numbers to historical societies, archives, vital statistics databases and offices worldwide. It was by using these sources that I was able to locate a previously elusive great-great-grandmother who died in British Columbia.

My paternal great grandmother passed away before anyone in her immediate family became interested in genealogy. After her death, there was no one to interview or to talk to about her ancestry, as no one except one of her recently deceased sons had ever had any desire to find out about their mother's parents and grandparents.

My great uncle's wife graciously gave me his handwritten notes, which provided one little clue about his grandmother, my "elusive" great-great-grandmother. The clue was that she had remarried in her middle age, and it provided a second surname that had been previously unknown.

After finding the genealogical information on British Columbia from Cyndi's Genealogical site, I noticed what looked like a database for vital statistics in British Columbia. I was overwhelmed, and began to enter my great great grandmother's name into the database, Mary Jane Allen Rhian, and had only one "hit".

At the time I didnıt want to get too excited only to be disappointed, but I couldn't help myself as this "hit" finally provided what could be Mary's date of death. I knew that with that information, were it accurate, a wealth of information could then potentially open up to me.

I then turned to the Roots-L mailing help list, and entered a query about my possible find, asking for help from other genealogists in the area of Armstrong, British Columbia. I received one extremely generous reply from a fellow genealogist, and from that connection, have received more than I had ever hoped for.

I was provided with Maryıs brief obituary, which listed her place of birth. From the information in the obituary, I was able to obtain Mary's death certificate, which provided the names of Mary's parents, and their countries of origin.

This same person has spent hours of volunteer time in the local archives, obtaining additional information about Mary's children. She went so far as to go to the cemetery to do gravestone rubbings of Mary Rhian and her son, again, all at her own expense and on her own time. Needless to say, I feel very fortunate at this chance connection with such a helpful and truly generous person.

Since that initial success with the two database sources, I have experienced numerous other amazing and gratifying results with the use of the Internet. Unfortunately, the valuable Family History Centers are not within a reasonable distance to be of much use in my personal situation, but the Internet has given me access to resources that are purely too numerous to mention, and all for the cost of a monthly connection fee.

Not only have I had great luck at obtaining wonderful documented information on my family histories, but just as rewarding has been the opportunity to mingle with distant cousins and helpful, friendly genealogists the world over.