Hi,
I have been a member of this list for some time now and have made some valuable contacts,
met a few cousins and in general, have found it to be a wonderful source of information.
I have previously stated how much I LOVE ACPL! We visit as often as we can.
However, a situation has occurred which leaves me in a quandary. I was recently contacted
by a list member concerning a connection to one of my family names. She has a cousin who
is researching this name and asked permission to have the cousin contact me. I thought
that was great. That particular name is something of a "brick wall" to me, so I
was thrilled to have a possible new link to him. The cousin and then her sister contacted
me. Their line goes back to France with much documentation. I offered to share whatever
I had with them.
The quandary I am asking advice on is this. This person was not interested in a free
exchange of information but rather offered to sell me the information for $35.00. I wrote
back and outlined my own research, which is extensive and includes her SPECIFIC ancestor
and offered to share with her. I also told her that the person she had information was
not my gggrandfather but that I was still interested. She stated that since she had the
line "as far back" in France as she could go, she was not interested in sharing
her research or any information I might have.
The problem is, I do have valuable information for her that she can get no where else but
Allen County. The genealogist in me wants to share it with her. But I also do not want
to provide her with other information she can sell to someone else. Let me be clear, I
would not be posting this to the list at all, if I had not lost the original post. I
would have contacted the person who referred her to me. I hold that person blameless. I
know that we are not supposed to use the list for personal gain and I am sure that person
does too.
My question to the list is: Am I silly for even wanting to send this info to her? I have
her name and mailing address, as well as her email address. What would you do? For the
sake of the listowner and not clogging the list with what is essentially a personal
situation, please reply to me privately. I just am amazed with the whole thing because I
never met anyone who refused to share because there was no element of personal gain. Off
my soapbox. I will be interested in your comments and/or suggestions. Would love to talk
to anyone who shares any of my surnames from Allen Co.: MOSSBURG/HAMILTON/ISABEY/BIXLER
Lucy