Finding missing generations

War-time machine gunner and airman, Jack from Tameside used 192.com to trace a hidden relative, unearthing a family secret leading back to 19th Century New York.

Jack Millin, 86 suspected he might have a secret family, when he learnt of a distant relatives' death.

Speaking to 192.com, Jack said: "I became interested in genealogy when I inherited a bible dated 1793 which belonged to my Great Grandmother which contained a record of family birthdays.

"I wanted to know where my family came from and how they went from living in a small village to being spread all over the country."

He added: "With people now living together and not necessarily getting married, it can be harder to find them using Births Death's and Marriage records, but then I stumbled upon 192.com."

By using the 2010 Edited Electoral Roll records on the site Jack was able to find Janet, his half-cousin once removed.

In just one evening on 192.com, Jack found Janet by entering her name and whereabouts which, through painstaking research Jack knew to be in Hyde or Stockport.

"A number of names came up, but I soon found Janet, it was just a question of going through the names." "I didn't know for sure I had found the right Janet until she picked up the phone, it was remarkable," he added.

Finding Janet enabled Jack to reunite two families oblivious of each other, only known about by 'whispering' great Aunts and the cousin's shared Great Grandfather, Henry Millin, born in 1830.

Born in Scotland, Henry Millin worked in Liverpool, Manchester and Ashton-under-Lyne, where he made brass valves and fittings for ships and cotton mills.

After marrying in Scotland and fathering two children there, Henry Millin moved to Liverpool where he fathered one child in a second marriage. He moved to Ashton under-Lyne in 1861, where he fathered three children. In a third marriage Henry fathered a further four children before appearing in the New York Census in 1880. In all, Henry had left seven known surviving children behind in Britain.

"I'm not sure why we knew nothing about Henry's extended family or why it was kept quiet," said Jack.

"With 192.com I found the missing link. It was remarkable that Henry's children never knew each other and lived only a few miles apart."

In 2010, the family whose links span generations and borders finally reunited. The reunion featured 60 people including partners.

Alastair Crawford CEO of 192.com said: "192.com helps reunite hundreds of families every year. The edited electoral roll is a crucial resource for finding living relatives, and we will continue to lobby for the public to have access to it. "