Thanks. We can all use reminding!

I would like to expand on what Jackie said. Many people post messages with a subject line that is identical to the name of the List, for example, a subject of just "Ripley County" on this list or "Moore 1850-1900" on the Moore List. This will not pinpoint what you need because EVERYONE on the list is looking for "Ripley County" information or for their "Moore in the years 1850 to 1900." If the person you are searching for had a very common name, you need to make the subject line even more descriptive, something like "John Moore, killed during the Civil War, probably in Missouri." If someone gives you his wife's name, and you now want to know about her family, change the subject line to "family of Mary Smith, wife of John Moore killed in Missouri during Civil War." You have eliminated other John Moores killed during the CW in other states, those who weren't killed during the Civil War, all of the women not named Mary Smith who married a John Moore, and everyone who did not live in a time or place affected by the American Civil War. The process of elimination is a powerful tool. Buy a gazetteer for the state(s) you are searching. De Lorme is a good brand, not expensive and available at bookstores or online. You will have a wealth of close-up information, such as terrain, rivers, lakes, highways, dirt roads, mountains, historic sites, springs, etc. A road atlas (Rand McNally) is also handy. You will be able to see how far it is to the state capital, the state line or what counties surround the one you are most interested in. It gives population figures, counties, county seats and the location of small towns in each state. You won't have to ask what county Poplar Bluff or Van Buren is in. (What county a town was in 100 years ago IS a valid question because county lines and even state lines sometimes were changed and new counties or states were often "carved out" of other counties and states.) Join Rootsweb Lists rather than using Message Boards. Message Boards are too anonymous. Members of the Lists often get to know each other and are extremely helpful. You can also easily refer to old topics in the Archives. If you choose to use Message Boards rather that Lists, please give enough information each time you post to let people know who you are talking to and about. The Message Board message is posted to the matching List, but most of the time it is not possible to follow the conversation. It gets very confusing when there are 2 or 3 Judys using the Board for a variety of topics and someone answers "That's not the one I was looking for." Who ARE you looking for? When and where did he/she live? Who were the parents, siblings or children? Give us something to help YOU! Maybe you had just the information I need, but I can't tell what you are talking about. Just my personal opinion: Message Boards are like living in an apartment with thin walls--sometimes you hear some juicy information, but mostly just a lot of noise! Judy judymcg@aculink.net