Crista would have needed nearly 1,000 of my hands – thumbs included. 

It wasn’t just a giant family tree that Crista was trying to populate. She was gathering all of the living descendants of one of her own ancestors, a great-great-great-grandfather, for a family reunion. One very, very big family reunion. 

Using a combination of Internet tools, genealogy tricks, and the kindness of relative strangers (who happened to be descendants of the same g-g-g-grandfather), Crista tracked down almost 5,000 living descendants of Samuel Milliner for the celebration of his 200th birthday last summer. Better still, Crista survived to talk about it – and to start planning another reunion for next summer.

Crista’s how-to tale is just one of the stories in the November/December issue of Ancestry magazine. You’ll also find features on how history affected courtship, spotting a child from another mother in a family tree, and the latest from columnists Myra Vanderpool Gormley, Howard Wolinsky, Megan Smolenyak Smoleyak, and more. Plus you’ll get to see what happened when we put our own family history wish-lists up for bid on Expert Connect at Ancestry.com (hint: we’re all celebrating a bit early this year).

Ancestry magazine subscribers should start receiving the November/December issue this week. (Not a subscriber? You’ll also find individual copies in larger bookstores and on the Shop button at Ancestry.com. Or visit www.ancestrymagazine.com for articles and more information).

As always, I’d love to get your feedback on the articles we write. You can reach me via email at jcroasmun@ancestry.com or become a fan of Ancestry magazine at Facebook and drop me a line there. And if there’s something you’d like to see Ancestry magazine cover in 2010, I definitely want to hear that, too.

Record Pickup – Hire a researcher in another state or country to visit a specific archive, collect the record you need and send it to you.

Local Photo – Pay a researcher in your ancestor’s hometown to snap a picture of a headstone, historic building or other landmark.

Ask an Expert – Post a question to a range of professionals and get the advice and direction you need.

Record Lookup –Work with a professional to track down hard to find records and retrieve a copy for you.

Custom Research – Recruit a seasoned professional to take on a complex project that may be beyond your experience or time availability.

Starting a project is simple and there are hundreds of experts available to help from the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, and the United Kingdom. More are joining everyday offering their unique services. These are terrific, dedicated people with a passion for genealogy and a real desire to help you discover more of your family history. With their help you just may find that brickwall in your research start to crumble.

Check out the beta site at expertconnect.ancestry.com. Please provide your feedback as you use the service. We are excited to offer yet another way to help you discover your story.