[deltaphi94]

I moved here 2 years ago, and I knew no one aside from my husband. Now, I know that some of my mothers aunts and at least one of her uncles settled here, but I never met any of them. For the record, I believe the official count was 16 born, 14 surviving infancy, so we're not a small family.

I had joked with my mother about being related to everyone I saw and having no idea. (pop here is about 30,000) She told me that if I ran into anyone with a certain last name, we're related. So, several months after my move, I went to this little church down the street from my house. Lo and behold, one of the deacons had the last name she told me to watch for. I went back the following Sunday and met his wife. I had forgotten to say anything to him, so I told her what my mother had said. As it turns out, the deacon's wife is my mother's first cousin. She hadn't seen my mother since the 1950's.

This past April, I went back to my hometown for my band director's last concert before he retired. I ran into a couple who lived across the road from my parents when I was very young. I hadn't seen these people in over 4 years, so we played catch up. Come to find out, one of their sons lives maybe 2 miles from me now.

The most recent came from working on my family tree. I had some trouble finding my maternal grandfather -- he passed away 7 years before I was born, so all I knew was his name. I collected a few more details and posted a message on a genealogy board with what I knew. A few months ago, I got a message from a woman telling me that her children descend from my grandfather. Her message gave her location.... the same town as me.