To: All the Howells and researchers From: Marvin Howell Here's a friendly reminder to our family from the editorial writer for this list, and the former editor of the column, "HOWELLing." We are the "Howells," not the "Howell's." Avoid making the mistake of using an apostrophe to the make a family name plural. More than one Howell is written as Howells. More than one Johnson, is Johnsons. Example: "There are many Howells, Bushes, Johnsons, Burtons, Joneses, and Clarks in Middleton." Write it "Howell's" only to show ownership, as "Joseph Howell's residence was in Morrow County." "The Clarks' lineage can be traced back to Benjamin Clark." If someone uses this error in a subject line, correct the error in YOUR subject line before you reply. Avoid insulting a family by calling them the Howell's, the Bush's, or the Burton's, and perpetuating the error in post after post. Another tip: Give your full name, town, and state when posting to a genealogy list. This is very helpful, and the polite thing to do. We wouldn't think of just signing "Mary" or "Carl" from nowhere, when we make an inquiry by US mail. People don't like to read anonymous letters--or anonymous e-mail. And it's often very helpful to learn the surname and location of the writer, and can result in other contacts with helpful genealogy information. AOL and many other servers provide a "signature" feature that affixes name, address, website, and even a quotation, to each e-mail message that we send, so that we don't have to type it each time. Try it! Your readers will appreciate it! Marvin Howell Sacramento, California [email protected] http://ourtown.sacbee.com/179