In a message dated 97-10-03 02:23:56 EDT, you write: > Mame, > Could you please explain to me the system you discribed on how > to obtain proofs. Who would I contact? What do the letter's mean? > Would I receive this information through e-mail? > > Thank you and respectfully, Some one wrote and asked this question so before I'm flooded with e-mails about the info I sent to the list yesterday, PLEASE let me try to explain: You would obtain these types of records from the county in which the person lived. To get the address for the county you'd need to look in one of the genealogy "handbook" type books or check the GenWeb pages for the address. A GUIDE TO THE USE OF RECORDS AS "PROOFS" "Proofs" are those records which are used to literally prove one's ancestry. The most often used records are: A. Wills B. Deeds and Land Grants (Land Grants were the first deeds issued by the U.S. Government to the first owners of a particular piece of property.) C. Birth Records D. Marriage Records E. Death Records F. Church Records G. Census Records H. Emigration Records I. Military and Pension Records, including widow's pensions J. Bible Records K. Newspaper Records L. Cemetery Records (tombstones/headstones) Which records you want to search depends on what information you are trying to find. The following may help you to decide: IF YOU WANT TO FIND: SEARCH IN: Birth Dates C, D, F, G, I, J, K, L Marriage Dates D, F, I, J, K Death Dates A, E, F, I, J, K, L Parents of a Person A, C, D, F, G, K, I, J Wife's Maiden Name D, G, I, K, L Where a Person came from B, C, E, H, I (If using B, one has to guess, and then hunt in the area guessed for a deed.) Names of Children A, F, G, I, J, K The letters are in reference to the same letter listed above. For example: It's telling you that if you're looking for the death date to look for it in: A. Wills, E. Death records F. Church records I. Military and Pension records J. Bible records K. Newspaper records Hope this helps. If anyone else has any better of an explanation please send it to the list. Dana ==== HOWELL Mailing List ==== A message from the listowner: For more info on the HOWELL list please see: http://members.aol.com/TreeCrazyD/howell_l.html Note: that is HOWELL _L just like in the list name. It is case sensitive.