A New Cousin

We have an active Ancestry.com account with a lot of family information. It is fun to add to it and to keep up with our family from the past. Listen to Sam's story: A couple of weeks ago I received a contact through Ancestry.com from someone looking for information concerning Reuben Cotter. I replied to say that Reuben was my uncle but that he had died three weeks before I was born in April, 1939. I assumed that someone was following Ancestry and just wanted some information on Reuben. I had always had an admiration for Reuben since he was just two years younger than my father as a child. They grew up together, and my Dad told me some fun stories of their childhood. The contact person responded back to me and began to ask some questions about Reuben's locations before he died in 1939 with a brain tumor. I answered back immediately only to be asked more questions and to begin to get a story from the past. The person contacting me finally introduced himself to me, told me a few more details, and said he was seeking information for someone that he thought was the son of Reuben Cotter. After getting my breath, we began to talk not only by email but also over the phone. His father in law was born in September of 1937, and it was only during the past few weeks that the father in law had given him information with the actual name of his father. Both of them had visited the grave site in Big Spring, Texas, and now, his son in law, was beginning the process of many contacts with people in the Cotter family. We have discovered that the older brothers and sisters of Reuben, all six of whom are dead, probably knew about this situation. They had probably chosen back in the 1930s to keep it as a family secret. But the six younger children, only three which are still alive in their 80s and 90s, didn't seem to have any information about the situation. All three of them are thrilled for the opportunity to meet their "new" nephew. There has been a tremendous outpouring of acceptance and excitement during the past two weeks from everyone in this large family. Everyone, most especially our new cousin, are thrilled that we have found each other. That's just the edge of the story; I'll tell you more in the coming weeks. Just know that this has been one of the most exciting journeys of our lives. Sam and Ruth Lynn