Connecting with Czech Cousins

What started as a simple search through online records turned into an amazing journey of connecting with living relatives in the Czech Republic. The story began when I found my grandmother's birth village in the digitized records of the State Regional Archive in Prague. Through careful research in parish registers, I discovered that while my great-grandfather immigrated to America, his younger brother remained in Bohemia. Using social media and genealogy forums, I was able to connect with his descendants who still live in the same region. The most touching moment was when my Czech cousins shared pre-war photographs that included my grandmother as a child – images our branch of the family had never seen before. They also helped translate old family letters that provided insights into why our ancestors decided to emigrate. This experience taught me that genealogy is not just about collecting names and dates; it's about connecting with living relatives and understanding our shared history.