Hey, I *never* find my ancestors written up in these books. I figure it's probably a sure way of eliminating someone as being a candidate for my family IF I find them in one of these books. :) They are, however, a fascinating look at a time gone by. They're also interesting because you can tell what was most important to which families by the things they mention. All in all, I love biographical entries, whether I know the person or not! I always feel like I *do* know them after reading these biographies. For such a far away place (for me) as Wisconsin, it also helps me feel like I know a bit more about a very personal part of the history. My answer to not ever finding my ancestors in the Biographies is ... to write them myself, and post them, print them, give them to relatives, shirt-tail relatives, county historical and genealogical societies, etc. In 100 years ... there won't BE tidy little books of biographies of the people who lived in Dunn County, WI or Fresno County, CA during the past 40 or 50 years. Researchers and historians then will have newspaper archives -- maybe television archives -- and the history archives we've been so busy saving. But what about the people living in our communities in the last several generations? :) Anyway, that's my answer, I'm preparing bios of family members, both living and deceased. I only hope that in 100 years someone doesn't burst out laughing at my writing when they find these. Because I'm telling you, the language of these 100+ year old books is barely readable at times. They take run-on sentences and obscure word use to new heights! :) If anyone has family who lived in Fresno, Tulare, or Kern counties, California, let me know, I've got custody of two of these huge old books that I'm slowly getting online, and I'll be happy to look them up for you. deb (ask me about the lady who blamed someone contesting her father in law's will for her husband's early demise... in her bio entry! -- or the guy who discovered a cave full of stalagtites and stalagmites that you could hammer a tune on...) P.S. Thank you to everyone who looks things up and provides information to everyone. I guess we just can't say it too often. Central California History Pages http://www.hellofresno.com/history/index.html