To make your query work harder for you... keep in mind the old rules of news reporting and include as many of the following as possible: SUBJECT FIELD: To get the most from your query and make your query command attention, place the FULL NAME, LOCATION, YEAR in the subject field. Remember ! ! ! ! Many subscribers belong to multiple mailing lists; therefore, many go through their mail looking at subject fields... only reading those that have descriptive subject names. Unfortunately, messages entitled "Question", "Help", "IMPORTANT!", "My Family", "My Line", "My Grandfather", etc., are deleted without ever being opened. WHO: State the names of people as completely as you can. WHAT: Try to limit your query to one or two specific questions or bits of information. Post other queries with additional questions rather than load all your questions into one query. In this way, each of your questions will stand out and get attention. WHEN: Dates are important, if you don't know the day, month and year try to put in a period (1790s, late 1800s etc.) WHERE: Mention the location of events (birth, marriage, death, etc.) in the body of the query. Include their migration path if you can. WHY: Why are you searching for this(these) individual(s)? Describe your connection to him/her. HOW: How your query appears will often get subscriber's attention. Check spelling, grammar and format. Apply the KISS system: Keep It Simple Simple. REPETITION: Once you have an acceptable looking query, save it and update it as necessary. Use it again about once a quarter to touch base with new members. Also, you may use it on web sites that accepts queries. REMEMBER: Your goal is to get information. A list server (discussion group), such as this, is an excellent forum for helping you get that information. Make your query work! By following these recommendations, your query stands a better chance of being read and you may make that great contact that you need. GOOD QUERIES CONNECT... Please note that BURKE queries are addressed to: [email protected] CAUTION... You may wish to consider withholding personal data on living descendants. Because, at the moment, once your message has been archived on RootsWeb, neither the data within nor the message can be removed from the archives. Happy Huntin' Jim Young List Moderator and RootsWeb Donor --------------------------- It is not mandatory to pay a user fee to subscribe to any RootsWeb surname discussion list, post queries and search archived messages. However, by becoming a Contributor, Sponsor, or Donor in exchange for specified benefits, you will help RootsWeb provide: (1) mailing lists for thousands of groups of genealogists with shared interests; (2) search engines to make huge amounts of genealogical data freely available to Internet genealogists; and, (3) Web and FTP space on thousands of genealogical topics. Explore the services provided by RootsWeb at the following URL: http://www.rootsweb.com