Brothers, apart for decades, 'didn't feel like' strangers
KIHEI - When David Braxton greeted his brother in the driveway of his Kihei home this week, it felt like they had "never been apart."
But the brothers had been apart, for more than 45 years.
Braxton was just 2 years old in 1965 when his mother had placed his infant brother up for adoption. Raised as an only child in Pasadena, Calif., Braxton didn't even know he had a younger brother until his wife, Kelli, learned of his exis-tence through an adoption registry while doing genealogical research online this spring.
After months of phone calls and emails, Braxton and his long-lost brother, Jim Marcotte, were reunited Tuesday on Maui, in a visit organized by Kelli as a surprise for her husband.
After doing an initial double-take, Braxton, 48, said it felt completely natural to invite his brother into his home and into his life.
"It was like it wasn't the first time I'd met him," he said. "I feel like I've known him my whole life."
"I didn't feel like I was talking to a stranger," said Marcotte, 46. "There's something there that's not like just having a good friend. I'd been looking for that my whole life."
Braxton had known from childhood that he had an older brother who had been given up for adoption after his parents' divorce. But his mother never told him about her youngest child, and she died when Braxton was 17.
"The secret died with her," Kelli Braxton said.
With an interest in tracing her family's genealogy, Kelli Braxton signed up with an online adoption registry several years ago, looking to learn more about her husband's side of the family tree, including his older brother.
But when she entered information about her husband and his older brother into an ancestry website, "up popped three birth certificates - and one of them was younger than my husband."
By cross-checking information with the registry and online, Kelli Braxton was able to confirm the existence of the younger brother, find out his current name, trace his contact information via family members on Facebook and send him a tentative email asking if he'd be open to contact.
Reunion Genealogical Software - News
Contact Ali Drumm at Jewish Genealogical Society of Illinois member Skip Bieber will present “Tips, Tricks and Tools to organizing your genealogy records with Family Tree Maker,” a genealogy software program at 2 pm Jan. 29 at Temple Beth Israel,
Raised as an only child in Pasadena, Calif., Braxton didn't even know he had a younger brother until his wife, Kelli, learned of his exis-tence through an adoption registry while doing genealogical research online this spring.
Genealogy Software Stars | Susan's Genealogy Blog
Last summer while attending the Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research, I sat around the lunch table with about eight other genealogists. I asked each person which genealogy software they used?
They’re responses were varied. There was No common denominator.
This was nothing new. If you ask 10 genealogists what software they like, you’ll get a broad variety of answers.
In fact, most genealogists I know use more than one genealogy software program to store their data. Different programs have different strengths.
Me? I currently run three genealogy software programs on my computer: Family Tree Maker, RootsMagic, and Legacy Family Tree.
Here’s a sampling of some programs that will help keep data organized and why they are useful:
Family Tree Maker for Mac2 or for Windows (links are on my sidebar). Family Tree Maker has recently launched their latest version that links your Ancestry online tree to your computer database or Iphone. I have used Family Tree Maker for many years. I like the shaking leaf when the computer matches a family member with a record in their database. Most of the time, I’ve already found that record, but if I were new to research it would be a great tool, assuming I checked further to assure it really was my family member and not just grab every shaking leaf that came my way. I’ve also found living descendants, or they have found me, through the shaking leaf. The links on my sidebar offer a 25% discount on FTM 2012 for the PC, or 20% discount for pre-ordering FTM 2012 for Mac2. RootsMagic, includes RootsMagic to Go for storing your data on a flash drive for portability. I have used RootsMagic for many years. It is user friendly, easy to navigate. I like it for documenting my sources and attaching source images. I use it for my cleaned up database.