BS: Help Finding Someone

Subject: RE: BS: Help Finding Someone
From: quokka
Date: 25 Aug 08 - 12:27 PM

that's great that you found your friend, I've recently joined facebook and have found a few, also got in touch with cousins overseas that I have lost touch with, and am enjoying having that contact. I've also made some new friends on Mudcat, I guess as much as you can 'be friends' online! I'm careful on facebook only to add people that I actually know- or are related to, in real life. Good luck keeping in contact with yr friend.
Cheers,
Quokka

Subject: RE: BS: Help Finding Someone
From: irishenglish
Date: 25 Aug 08 - 11:07 AM

***UPDATE***

First of all, thank you again everyone for your suggestions. The letter that I sent made it to this girls parents house, who passed it on to my old friend. She sent me an email, she did remember me-I think she was a little taken aback by me trying to find her again, but told me what she has been up to since the last I saw of her. So, I'm not sure if it will be a "lets be friends again" situation, but I am absolutely delighted, thrilled, and touched that I found her again.

Much thanks-IE (Robert)

Subject: RE: BS: Help Finding Someone
From: Georgiansilver
Date: 22 Aug 08 - 02:57 AM

If searching for a past female friend or acquaintance (pre-marital)... I have found Friends Reunited to be the best as you can feed in the persons name as you knew them in childhood.... you can also check their school to see if they are registered there.....
Best wishes, Mike.

Subject: RE: BS: Help Finding Someone
From: GUEST,Monica
Date: 21 Aug 08 - 10:58 PM

Hello Sorcha,

Sorry to tap in to this thread..... I found an old post by you where you gave a link to a website to order a book on Czech folk (fiddle) tunes. Unfortunately, the link no longer works. Any chance you still have the link? I have been unsuccessfully searching for a book just like this...

thank you so much!
Monica

Subject: RE: BS: Help Finding Someone
From: irishenglish
Date: 21 Aug 08 - 12:21 PM

Thanks all. I have something of an update. The one who I thought might be her, actually is not her. I thought I had the right high school, but was definitely off. Once I found the right school, I looked again. I thought I was in luck at this point, because I was going through on facebook based on that school, and plus or minus a few years, when I saw-one mutual friend. Turns up a friend of a friend went to the same high school, so I asked her if she remembered my friend. Unfortunately she did not, but I did-courtesy of all the Find A Friend websites out there, find an address for the same name, in the same town, that looks to be up to date. I just sent a letter-I'll let you know the status

PS, I only hope that if I do find her, and she does contact me, that it can be a friendship renewed, and not a situation where she is annoyed that I tracked her down.

Subject: RE: BS: Help Finding Someone
From: Alice
Date: 21 Aug 08 - 11:49 AM

You can try here:
http://www.pdcpages.com/ps/
When you type in location, type the city then comma then two letter abbreviation for the state. You can also check the box to include surrounding areas. I work for PDCpages. I hope this helps.

Subject: RE: BS: Help Finding Someone
From: Bee
Date: 21 Aug 08 - 11:24 AM

"One I haven't heard back from, one (who I thought really, really was) emailed me back and said, nope, she never had the last name I knew her as. Part of me thinks it really is her, maybe she just doesn't want to be known by that name, but I thanked her for emailing me back and told her I won't bother her again." - Irishenglish

Most likely she told you the truth. If anyone looked for me by my maiden name, they'd find several women about my age, from the same general area, with similar employment and arts histories. The name is not terribly common anywhere else, but it is in my birth area, and most of the results would not be women closely related to me, either.

If she is a woman over fifty, you run into the fact that when she entered the workforce, most women were confined to a limited choice of profession, so many will have similar employment histories. And most will have changed their surname on marriage, and may have kept it if divorced, or remarried and changed surnames again.

Women are harder to find than men, particularly those of us past middle age. We are usually more careful in maintaining anonymity online, as well.

There are always ongoing arguments among bloggers and particularly professionals who have influential blogs about the practice of anonymity. Male bloggers more often argue on the side of using your real name because it is more honest and establishes that you are willing to stand behind your opinions. Female bloggers are more likely to argue on the side of anonymity for reasons of avoiding harassment, and there are plenty of horror stories floating around of women who did use their real names, or were tracked down, being harassed to the point of discontinuing their blogs - and there are a much smaller number of men who have had the same experience, usually men with children.

Subject: RE: BS: Help Finding Someone
From: GUEST,Neil D
Date: 21 Aug 08 - 11:20 AM

Ooops. I'll try again. Finding someone's parents is often easier since they don't usually change their names and often live at the same address, even have the same phone number. If they don't remember you and are wary about giving out her number, just give them yours and ask that they forward it on to her. I just recently contacted an old friend that way.

Subject: RE: BS: Help Finding Someone
From: Barry Finn
Date: 21 Aug 08 - 01:07 AM

Use the white pages of her local & call a few folks with the same last name. Some one might say "she's my cousin, here's her number".
Heard that's how they caught a criminal from the 60's civil rights days after 40 yrs on the lamb, bah.

Barry

Subject: RE: BS: Help Finding Someone
From: Bobert
Date: 20 Aug 08 - 06:24 PM

Just how old is this lady??? I mean, it might be easier finding a family member and work your way to her thru them... Of course, if she's 70 then that's prolly out...

Good luck... I been lookin' for one of my ol' hunting buddies for the last 6 months and ain't had much luck...

B~

Subject: RE: BS: Help Finding Someone
From: Ythanside
Date: 20 Aug 08 - 06:04 PM

A private investigation company could trace the person you're looking for. Here in the UK the cost of that service is around £100.00, I believe, which seems a small price to pay to meet up with a long-lost friend.
Hope that helps.
Good luck.:-)

Subject: RE: BS: Help Finding Someone
From: ragdall
Date: 20 Aug 08 - 05:30 PM

Until recent years, city directories were produced which had the names of almost everyone in a household who was over 18 years of age. Major libraries have copies of these. I've found them to be invaluable for family history research. They may serve for your purpose as well?

I'd go back to the most recent year that you knew where she was and search every 5 years since then, as necessary. From the directory you can get the names of her parents and siblings. (I'm assuming that she was living with her family when you knew her?)   You may be able to find a recent listing for a brother or parent and contact that person for more information about her. Another source is obituaries. If either of her parents has passed away, you may be able to locate a notice in a newspaper. These notices often give the married name of female relatives.

It's possible (for a fee) to obtain print outs of directory pages and newspaper obituaries from libraries in the areas of interest if you are unable to travel there yourself.

There are also online "people search" sites that seem to have access to personal information. They also charge fees for their services.

rags

Subject: RE: BS: Help Finding Someone
From: irishenglish
Date: 20 Aug 08 - 05:29 PM

Lox, I've done well on facebook with some people too, but I already tried it for this person. Thanks for the links bobad-I'll see what happens.

Subject: RE: BS: Help Finding Someone
From: GUEST,lox
Date: 20 Aug 08 - 05:22 PM

have you done the online alternatives?

I joined facebook around this time last year and I have caught up with numerous friends that I hadn't seen in 25-30 years and thought I'd never see again.

Frinds reunited hadn't yielded any results up until that point.

Facebook is free too.

Ignore the doom mongers.

Subject: RE: BS: Help Finding Someone
From: bobad
Date: 20 Aug 08 - 05:22 PM

Some resources at this site.

Subject: RE: BS: Help Finding Someone
From: irishenglish
Date: 20 Aug 08 - 05:15 PM

Thanks, but she's from another part of the state, but I'll give that a try.

Subject: RE: BS: Help Finding Someone
From: Sorcha
Date: 20 Aug 08 - 05:11 PM

Your old hometown newspaper?

Subject: BS: Help Finding Someone
From: irishenglish
Date: 20 Aug 08 - 05:01 PM

I was wondering if anyone had any other ways of locating someone from their past they could pass on to me. I started looking for an old friend of mine, from the early 90's when I found some letters she had written me. I've looked for her on facebook, and myspace, and googling her name. That's all assuming she's not married. I know what high school she went to, I'm not sure if its where she graduated from though. I did find someone by that name on classmates.com, but I'm not paying the money just to be able to send her an email that may or may not reach her. I found two people on facebook from that time frame with her first name (lets just say its a common name, but not THAT common). One I haven't heard back from, one (who I thought really, really was) emailed me back and said, nope, she never had the last name I knew her as. Part of me thinks it really is her, maybe she just doesn't want to be known by that name, but I thanked her for emailing me back and told her I won't bother her again.

So does anyone have any other methods, especially looking for someone who may now go by another name? I hate to give up-this person was very important to me at one stage of my life, not in any romantic way, but as a friend, and I'd love to be able to tell her that. Much thanks.