Although long lost relatives turn up in soap operas with impressive regularity, this doesn't usually happen in real life. Instead, you are left to think 'what happened to...?' and long to find out. Years, even decades go by and still that unresolved question nags away at the back of your mind. They could be living around the corner or on the other side of the world - you simply don't know.
Although genealogy has become a popular pursuit, with hordes of people keen to find out about their ancestors, finding living relatives hasn't enjoyed a similarly high profile. Perhaps this is because it can be a more sensitive topic. In the case of lost fathers and mothers, there may have been painful decisions made decades previously; lost brothers and sisters may have been separated; lost aunts and uncles may have been the victims of a now forgotten family feud.
Other cases are more straightforward. Much-loved neighbours moved house and gradually communication faltered and fell away; or perhaps a cousin married a foreigner and the distance gradually became too much of an issue and letters faltered - then stopped. Their relatives and friends continued to say 'I must write to so-and-so' but never found the time, and as time goes by it becomes harder. Suddenly, the relative or friend is 'lost'.
Most people, at this point ten years ago, will have imagined themselves in a dusty library with an electoral roll in front of them, valiantly trying to 'find' their relative; or perhaps hopefully trying to find the phone number of a distant relative who might know the last but one landline of the lost relative. These weren't tempting scenarios unless you were either very scholarly or very sociable.
But thankfully today, finding long lost relatives requires surprisingly little effort and expense. The Internet supports a handful of companies who will help reunite family and friends. In the earlier days of the World Wide Web, people-finding search techniques were available, but not really that effective. Recent developments now allow some companies to help you find relatives by using their multi-source databases. Some of these allow instant access to Electoral Rolls and the better companies update these regularly.
At this point it is tempting to see if there is a 'free' option - because so much on the Internet is free - but in the case of people searching you really get what you pay for.
The only other option left for you to consider is what you will do when you have the name and address of your long lost relative? That must be an incredible and even daunting feeling, but at least it is one that can now be arrived at swiftly and efficiently.
If you have a long lost relation that you have always thought about finding then go ahead and search online. They are probably thinking about you too.
Andrew Regan is an online, freelance author from Scotland. He is a keen rugby player and enjoys travelling.
