• Only registered members can see all the forums - if you've received an invitation to join (it'll be on your My Summary page) please register NOW!

  • If you're looking for the LostCousins site please click the logo in the top left corner - these forums are for existing LostCousins members only.
  • This is the LostCousins Forum. If you were looking for the LostCousins website simply click the logo at the top left.
  • It's easier than ever before to check your entries from the 1881 Census - more details here

Contacting Cousins help

J

Julia

Member
Hi, I know this is probably going to sound like a silly question, but when a cousin makes contact, how do I read the message(s) they've sent?!

On the My Cousins page there are links for name, email address and how they are related etc, but nowhere is there a link that says "Read Message(s)"! I click the Reply link hoping that will show me what they've sent me, but again, nothing! How can I reply if I don't know what they've said?!

In the past I've managed to read their message if it was included in the contact notification email I received, but when I visit My Cousins page there doesn't seem to be a message history.

Thanks.
 
Julia
Have you exchanged messages, or have you just been told that they want to make contact? I.e are you trying to find the cache of past correspondence, or are you both saying 'Here I am!' If the second, there probably are no messages so far. There should be a little envelope at the right end of the line, and you can send a message and start the conversation. If you have 'lost' correspondence that you know existed, then that's probably one for Peter. Good luck.
 
Hi Liberty, Thanks for replying.
Bit of both really! I had a message today that someone wants to make contact so I clicked the reply button but couldn't see if they had sent a message with the contact. I've figured now that they probably hadn't

But I also have a contact in My Cousins that I have definitely corresponded with several times via the site (emails still hidden), and each time I've only been able to read their message in the emails I've received saying that they had sent a message, not actually anywhere on the My Cousins page, if you see what I mean. Are messages kept on the My Cousins page, like they are in Genes Reunited?
 
Julia said:
I also have a contact in My Cousins that I have definitely corresponded with several times via the site (emails still hidden), and each time I've only been able to read their message in the emails I've received saying that they had sent a message, not actually anywhere on the My Cousins page, if you see what I mean. Are messages kept on the My Cousins page, like they are in Genes Reunited?
Click to expand...

I also have a record of correspondence only in the form of emails sent to me headed e.g. 'Copy of message to Julia X'. I don't think there is a record on LC site. However, there has been a comment on this forum to the effect that on either Genes or Ancestry, the 'other person' can delete messages and they disappear from your cache, so it is probably safer not to rely on what is stored on a website.
 
Julia said:
But I also have a contact in My Cousins that I have definitely corresponded with several times via the site (emails still hidden), and each time I've only been able to read their message in the emails I've received saying that they had sent a message, not actually anywhere on the My Cousins page, if you see what I mean. Are messages kept on the My Cousins page, like they are in Genes Reunited?
Click to expand...

Here's the thread where I asked the same question and was told it's not something that is planned.
 
Thanks Liberty. I was sure I'd been able to read the messages on LC when replying, but maybe not!
I must admit it would be a nice feature to be able to store messages received and replies sent for ease of reference.
Thanks for your help.
 
Julia said:
I must admit it would be a nice feature to be able to store messages received and replies sent for ease of reference.
Click to expand...

Julia, I believe that it's far better to have all the messages on your own computer - because at some point you're going to exchange email addresses with your relative. From my own experience at both Genes Reunited and Ancestry I know that it's very confusing to have some correspondence in one place and some in another.

Also, as I pointed out in an earlier discussion, if a Genes Reunited member closes their account, all the correspondence to and from that person is deleted. I suspect that the same thing happens at Ancestry.

Having all the correspondence on your own computer in your own email program gives you total control - you can file it where you want, when you want (and you don't have to log-in at LostCousins just to check out the correspondence). However, if there's something that you'd particularly like to see on your My Cousins page alongside a relative's entry you can always paste it into the relevant Notes box.
 
Probably a silly question, but I am about to replace my computer and in the past this has meant I lost all my e-mail correspondence. Can some be kept?
 
What email program do you use? Outlook, Outlook Express for example. Or do you use a web based email system like Hotmail, Gmail etc. If your email address is one of the later (and you don't collect your mails in Outlook or somesuch) then you don't need to worry. If your mails are kept on your PC then you need to back them up and store the backup away from your computer.
 
Norman said:
do you use a web based email system like Hotmail, Gmail etc. If your email address is one of the later (and you don't collect your mails in Outlook or somesuch) then you don't need to worry.
Click to expand...
Norman is quite right , gmail for example is very reliable even if a bit annoying on occasion for wanting to connect you with the whole world! One tip is to be rigorous in filing your emails into categories or use an automatic option to put incoming emails into the appropriate category. I still have a hotmail account that I had when I joined LC that now neatly files forum replies, Facebook and Ancestry updates for my future perusal. I have whiled away many moments of potential boredom when I've been in a WiFi Hot spot by scrolling through accumulated messages!!
 
Last edited:
I use Windows mail. I have got a g-mail account but find it incredibly difficult to use, so it's for emergencies only. I haven't the foggiest idea how to back up an e-mail, and even less how to retrieve it if I did, I am afraid. I do have separate sections for FH e-mails, family and friends, utility suppliers, insurance, Lost Cousins etc and of course for receipts for goods ordered on e-mail, but in 2007 when I last changed my computer I didn't have things like insurance policies and receipts online. However, due to the enormous amount of junk mail I have been receiving recently, coincidentally since I started using Ancestry so much having acquired FTM, I might decide to change my e-mail address...... or maybe keep one somehow for junk mail and another for friends, family etc.
 
I mainly use Windows Live Mail and, like Chrissy, don't like gmail much. It's reserved for certain special purposes only, e.g. LOTFWW started by Britjan, although all kinds of things slip in uninvited. And then I have a hotmail account, which I barely ever use. My Mr Fix-It wanted me to have it, so there it is. My calendar events go into it, probably Mr Fix-It's doing. He showed me how to copy e-mails into dropbox or an external hard drive so you don't lose them next time you change computers. Perhaps there's an even better way.
 
Thanks, Norman, but is that really better than just copying everything into my external hard drive, which is what I do now? It's certainly more professional but isn't the end result the same?
 
Are you sure you are copying everything? Your email data is held in a hidden folder and the datafile will be locked if you have your email program open at the time.
 
Email data?????? All I know is that if I want to read an old e-mail, I simply look in my external hard drive, find the e-mail, click on it and there it is. What more do I need? I've a feeling there are all kinds of complications I'm happily unaware of!
 
For more than 20 years I've used Pegasus Mail - it will work with any email provider and, other than spam, I have a complete record of the emails I sent and received using the program (although the oldest are archived away). The program isn't perfect, but it does what I want. And it's free (though I have given donations over the years to support David's work).

Sadly I have no record of the emails I wrote and received when I used Compuserve and CIX in the early 90s, and only an incomplete record of the emails I sent using the Open University's First Class system in the late 90s.
 
I use Outlook and have done for a similar number of years. But what we use doesn't help Chrissy get her emails backed up or archived.
 
Gillian said:
I've a feeling there are all kinds of complications I'm happily unaware of!
Click to expand...
Yes agreed and am unaware of most of the problems raised and as a matter of fact cannot recall ever backing up my email. My web based Gmail is instantly available whichever computer or laptop I use and old mail shows back to 2012 at this time. Likewise Hotmail (or Outlook.com) exactly the same regardless of computer used.

My main email is read in TalkTalk web based mail which allows new, old, spam and deleted mail at the click of an icon. It allows to file into categories and best of all to mark 'keep as new' and I do so for about 3-6 months. After that they can be found in old mail or under it file category. If I am away I can read all from my laptop which depending on the browser used has a tab for each email program I use.

Last weekend I was visiting a cousin whose husband is contemplating buy a NEW PC with Windows 10 and he was worried about retrieving his email in the new computer. When I found out he used Hotmail I said that will not be a problem and invited him to use my W10 laptop to log in via MSN to his account and it came up instantly.

I also posted recently about setting up a new computer for a friend who uses BT email. I opened the BT webpage, clicked on mail and entered his details. Up came his mail, new and old alike just like my own TalkTalk.

Web based email can of course be read in Outlook if one chooses (I don't normally) but since Windows 10 has a built in Mail 'grabber' (my terminology) for all types of mail -and easy to set up and use - I do not see a problem to set up any email within Windows 10. This is not saying there isn't one for the dedicated PC based email read in Outlook (I don't think Outlook express is longer in use) so I think if problems do exist it will be with these. My advice for what it's worth is use a web based email or rely on the Mail app in Windows 10, and let others advise how to back up your current email.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top