Hello, everyone, As listowner, I find that Roll Calls are not helpful at all UNLESS we have a LARGE majority of people who are following the directions for making them worthwhile, and this has been a problem the last couple of times we have done this. Several people have suggested having a web page where people could put their surnames. I have felt that the best way to handle this would be to have a GenConnect Query board. Some months ago, I wrote and requested one and it was turned down, because they are not giving GenConnect boards for "regions". This morning when I came on and received HUNDREDS of "Roll Call" messages, I again wrote to the powers-that-be and asked them to reconsider. I even asked if they would give us one for a few months and then evaluate it. Unfortunately, I have received an answer and it is still 'No'. I will give some thought to what other alternatives might be available. In the meantime: It is okay with me if people want to have "Roll Calls" PROVIDED that everyone follows the Guidelines. I am going to set out the Guidelines, and I am going to ask everyone to pay attention and please follow them. I know there are a few people who think that 300-400 messages with the Subject: Roll Call, and message body content that gives NOTHING BUT a list of surnames is "fun" and helpful. This is simply not true and it really is not an option. Period. In order to have a Roll Call that is most effective and most helpful for ALL the members of East-Texas-Roots, please follow these Guidelines. 1. DO NOT use the the Subject Header 'Roll Call' all by itself. Put a Surname or two, County, and Dates -- briefly -- in the header. Ex: WHITE 1830s on Shelby->Nacogdoches. Or 'Roll Call: WHITE 1830s on Shelby, Nacogdoches. The best way to AVOID the problems involved in replying to someone else's header is to start a NEW MESSAGE rather than replying, and put your own meaningful subject heading. If your email software allows you to change the subject header and you know how to do it, great. Otherwise, start with a fresh message. 2. Please REPEAT the info from the Header in the body of the message for the sake of continuity and for those whose headers don't show up properly. 3. In the body of the message, you MUST give us more than just a SURNAME. EVERY query that you send, to East-Texas-Roots or anywhere else -- should have 3 elements: Name: it is best if you give both a GIVEN name and a SURNAME. Ex: Sarah WHITE. 2. Date: You MUST give a date in any query you send. If you do not know exact dates, give a range. NO QUERY that says 'WHITE' or even 'Sarah WHITE' is worth ANYTHING unless you tell us what *time period* you are talking about! Sarah WHITE ca 1787-1856. Or Sarah WHITE early-mid 19th C. or Sarah WHITE d. 1856 would all help the recipient of the query get a sense of WHEN your Sarah WHITE lived. 3. Place. You MUST give a geographical location. TEXAS and even EAST TEXAS is a *huge* place. Jasper, Harris, Cherokee, Red River -- it makes a *difference*. If Sarah WHITE lived in more than one county, specify the ones you know about. Ex: Sarah White ca 1787 NC ->Shelby 1830s -> Nacogdoches 1840s on. If you don't know some information and are looking for it, you can tell us that. I like to write detailed queries. Some people have complained that my queries are too wordy. You can write as much detail as you like or you can condense into one line: Sarah WHITE ca 1787-1856 NC->TN ca 1820->Shelby Co 1830s->Nacogdoches 1840s-1856. 4. You can list a number of individuals in the same message following the examples above. Sarah WHITE ca 1787-1856 NC-TN ca 1820->Shelby Co, TX 1830s->Nacogdoches 1804s-1856. Asa MOORE 1815-1890 NC->???->Nacogdoches, TX 1840s-1890. William Barnett CAMPBELL 1818?-early 1900s AL->Nacogdoches 1860 etc. or you can send a separate query for each related family. 5. If you are a NEWCOMER to Genealogy and/or to computers and/or to the Internet, please don't be discouraged by all this. It is a recurring issue and you are NOT to blame. Everyone was new once, and there is a great deal to absorb all at once. PLEASE just do the best you can and we will be glad to help. 6. If you are NOT a newcomer, then you need to take stock. What are you trying to accomplish? What do you want to give and receive on East-Texas-Roots? I believe that it is the responsiblity of the person who is LOOKING for information to take the time and trouble to gather the information they already have, assemble it into the correct form (as described above), and write a good query, then *proofread* it to make sure you don't have typos in either names or dates, and then send it. I do NOT believe that it is the responsibility of those who RECEIVE your query that says 'Surnames I am looking for: WHITE' to have to take the time and energy to write back to you and say, Please tell me more about your WHITE family. When did they come to Texas and where did they settle? Do you have a Sarah or an Elizabeth? What about a Wiley G. What about a Joseph?' The person who is writing a query -- and Roll Calls should be a series of well-written queries -- is asking for someone else to help them find their ancestor. I think we have gotten off the track re: what genealogy is all about if we assume we can dash off a message to East-Texas-Roots or anywhere else, not bother to put a meaningful subject header (just reply to 'Roll Call'), slap a list of surnames with no further information, send it to the list and expect the RECIPIENTS of the message to do all the work of finding out needed information and then proceed from there to help you find your ancestors. YOU are the person who needs help in finding your ancestors. YOU are the person who needs to do the work. You MUST take time and effort to write a reasonable query, proofread it, include the necessary information as described above: Surname and Given Name, Dates, Location. If you have a lot of surnames, it still applies. YOU must do the work. People (in general) have gotten the idea that finding ancestors on the Internet is super simple and easy and involves no work. It's not. What East-Texas-Roots provides us with is the chance to make *connections* with other researchers and exchange information. Very often, if it were not for the Internet, we would NEVER be able to connect with these other researchers, who may live anywhere in the world. It also gives us a chance to ask questions, like, does anyone know where the Christian Cemetery in Nacogdoches is located? -- and someone -- in this case, me -- may well have the answer. But no one should expect anyone else to do their research FOR them, and no one should get the mistaken impression that genealogical research -- on or off the Internet -- is not a lot of hard work. It is FUN and enjoyable and VERY rewarding -- but it is a lot of work. The Internet is a tremendous boon, but to use it well, we have to do our homework, and we have to be prepared to do our part. IF everyone follows the Guidelines I have set out, having a Roll Call will give everyone a chance to let everyone else know who they are searching for, and I believe that loads of connections are bound to be made. For instance, I have my WHITE family back to the 1600s. But if you just write "WHITE" in a Roll Call message, you will NEVER hear from me. WHITE is such a COMMON name, and I simply need to know more about it to know if there is a likelihood of a connection. Unless you give me that needed information, I don't have the time or energy to write to you and ask for it. BUT if you tell me that you are researching the WHITEs in Shelby and Nacogdoches County from 1840s on, you definitely WILL hear from me, and hopefully we can share information. Obviously, these procedures apply to ALL other surnames, not just WHITE (although this is a real example, and I would love to hear from anyone interested in this WHITE family). I am really disappointed at the decision not to grant us a GenConnect Board. I am going to be looking into various other options. One possibility is a free web-based forum (which is what GenConnect essentially is). It would involve each person registering. You'd then need to go to the web site, enter your query, and then check back from time to time. I don't think it has the option of email notification the way GenConnect does. In the meantime, here are a few more suggestions. 1. IF your ancestors were primarily in one or two counties, EVERY county in Texas now has its own email list. By subscribing to those county lists, you can connect with other researchers who are honing in on that county also. That makes the chance of making a connection greater. Of course, you are welcome to stay on East-Texas-Roots as well. 2. IF your ancestors were all over the map, and you don't want to subscribe to 6 different county lists, stick with East-Texas-Roots and we will work on coming up with our own "GenConnect Board" equivalent. 3. IF you know some counties but are not sure of the others where you ancestors lived, there is or will soon be a GenConnect Query board for 'Texas County Unknown' that you can use leave your queries on. One more thing. I can put up a web site for East-Texas-Roots that will give these and other general guidelines, instructions for subscribing and unsubscribing, etc. while I am researching what further we might want to do to provide a "permanent" web-based place for our surnames and queries. I hope this has been helpful. Please do NOT respond to this message on the list. Send comments or suggestions to me at [email protected] Thanks very much. Sincerely, Pam Phillips Listowner: East-Texas-Roots