How far has Lost Cousins got?

[Susan48]

I've been wondering if it's possible to tell how far Lost Cousins has got in coverage of the 1881 census. The relatives I've recently added to My Ancestors page have resulted in zero matches and sometimes I feel I'm ploughing a lone furrow down my ancestral lines, but it would be interesting to know if complete coverage is attainable.

 

[Bryman]

I've been wondering if it's possible to tell how far Lost Cousins has got in coverage of the 1881 census. The relatives I've recently added to My Ancestors page have resulted in zero matches and sometimes I feel I'm ploughing a lone furrow down my ancestral lines, but it would be interesting to know if complete coverage is attainable.

Only Peter would know but that might be subject to some fluctuation. I also get long periods without matches but the answer must be to add more relatives from as many different lines as possible. What I find really frustrating is that I have several DNA matches at the 2nd/3rd cousin level but which are totally missing from my tree because I don't know who they are and they do not reply to any of my messages. They have no tree linked to their results and their surname does not appear anywhere in my tree. I keep hoping.

If you ask Peter very nicely, he may offer to share the information that you seek on the subscriber's section of the LC web site whenever the match potentials are recalculated.

 

[peter]

I've been wondering if it's possible to tell how far Lost Cousins has got in coverage of the 1881 census. The relatives I've recently added to My Ancestors page have resulted in zero matches and sometimes I feel I'm ploughing a lone furrow down my ancestral lines, but it would be interesting to know if complete coverage is attainable.

Complete coverage is unlikely because there will be some people who have no identifiable living relatives. Currently we have just under 8% coverage - but it would be more like 80% if every member did their bit, since the most prolific 5% of members account for nearly two-thirds of that 8%.

 

[Susan48]

Currently we have just under 8% coverage

I'll just keep ploughing on then

 

[Liberty]

Um. I am probably part of Peter's 5%, and I can confirm I have a lot of cousin/matches. I have largely run out of census references to add, but the matches DO keep appearing -though slowly. There have been about 15 new matches/potential contacts in the last couple of years.
Do not despair Susan, if you keep ploughing on you may find *ME* waiting for you, or at least somebody who has been waiting for you.

 

[peter]

I am probably part of Peter's 5%

Actually you weren't, because the email address you use for your main account is not on my mailing list. But if you had been included in the analysis, you would have been in the top 0.05% along with the other Megastars.

Incidentally, most of the relatives added to my own My Ancestors page over the past couple of years have been the result of DNA discoveries - branches I hadn't been able to trace before, or 'brick walls' that I hadn't been able to knock down before. Something to think about, especially if your DNA matches aren't members (yet).