It’s exceptionally rare for the internet to surprise me. Since I spend so much time online both at home and at work, there isn’t much that really impresses me. Occasionally, something will crop up. But it’s rare.

I was impressed last night.

I’ve been researching my family tree for about a few months. At the moment, I’m in the process of tracking down all of my great-great grandparents. I have reliable information on ten out of the sixteen of them, but a few have become a problem. My great-great-grandfather may or may not have changed his name from Cornelius Donnelly to George Teale. Why? The family legend is that he beat his landlord and had to flee England, then changed his name when he got to Canada. Since violent fugitives aren’t typically the sort to leave detailed records of their doings, he’s been difficult to track. I’m not certain if Cornelius and George are one person with an alias or two distinct individuals.

I’ve been able to track his wife back to Leigh, England. It’s a town in the north west of England outside Manchester. I found a mailing list related to genealogy research of the region and asked relayed Cornelius’s story along with a request for information. This was around 11 at night. I didn’t actually expect I’d get anything of value in return.

By the next morning, I had received so much information that I’m still entering it into my tree. A woman in Utah on the mailing list is descended from the same pair, and sent me an email addressed to “Cousin Marc.” She had names, immigration dates, locations they lived and when, marriage dates, and even a personal story about getting whacked by the cane of my great-great aunt! Another guy in New Zealand found Cornelius’s parents, grandparents, and even their professions. The woman from Utah is going to read through the diary of one of my ancestors to try to find more information.

I’m completely amazed by this. Not only did these generous people take the time to research my family history for me, one of them is actually my distant relative.