To Sally, and others new to research: A few years ago, when I was just beginning to do my actual research (as opposed to entering family lore into my database), I asked an experienced genealogist what her first steps were when she found new people to research. Her answer: find them in the census records. I have found this to be an invaluable tool, as it places them in a specific place at a specific time and, beginning with the 1850 census, with specific other individuals. If you can afford it, a subscription to ancestry.com's census collection is wonderful, as they have most of the US censuses transcribed. Many years are indexed, with a couple having all-names indexes. (Don't get tripped up by exact spellings, however! Names are often spelled wrong.) The 1880 census is online at familysearch.org for free, with every name indexed. The USGenWeb Project has a project for census transcription located at http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/cen_img.htm which you can check to see if your counties of interest have been transcribed. Otherwise, you can use borrow census films from the National Archives http://www.archives.gov/publications/microfilm_catalogs/how_to_rent_microfil m.html Speaking of the USGenWeb Project, that leads to specifics about Neshoba County. http://www.usgenweb.org/ is the link for the main project. Click on the state's pages, find the county of interest, and you'll be amazed at what all you can find online. Counties vary as to the content available. The Neshoba County GenWeb coordinator, Marsha Bryant, has done a wonderful job of soliciting and obtaining information from volunteers and Neshoba County. http://www.rootsweb.com/~msneshob/ is the home page for the site, which also has a search feature. Plugging in "Wayne" I got 19 hits, which would lead to the individual pages on which Wayne is found. You've already found a third method: the Rootsweb email lists. Did you know you can also view the archives ( http://archiver.rootsweb.com/ ) for the lists as well as do a search ( http://searches2.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/listsearch.pl ) in email list archives? Also, explore Rootsweb thoroughly. There is a wealth of information here. There are lessons to learn how to do genealogy research, submitted databases (WorldConnect), message boards, etc. Another good search tool is www.cyndislist.com, which is basically a catalog of web sites, broken down by topic. Just about everything you wanted to know can be found here. What information do you KNOW about your Elizabeth (Betty) Wayne? Birth date? Death date? Marriage date? Is Wayne her married name or her birth name? Who did she marry? In what locations can you specifically place her? In general, one should start from what is KNOWN and work backwards to the unknown. Good luck in your searching. Genealogy is an addicting hobby! Susan Marston in Edina, MN Researching in Neshoba County: Sharp, Jackson and collateral lines (Rivers, Posey and others) > I've been receiving emails about the McKees of Neshoba County, Ms. I am > looking for information about the Waynes of Neshoba County. My great great > grandmother was Elizabeth (Betty) Wayne. I think her husband died in the early 1800s, > possibly during the Civil War. I am "brand new" in genealogy and would > appreciate any help or suggestions.

Susan & others, A word of advice about the 1880 census at family search, make sure that you check the adjoining households. In Neshoba Co I found a Johnson family whos four-year-old was listed as the head-of-house next door and their youngest son and daughter as the next household. Tim --- Susan Marston <smarston@mn.rr.com> wrote: > To Sally, and others new to research: > > A few years ago, when I was just beginning to do my > actual research (as > opposed to entering family lore into my database), I > asked an experienced > genealogist what her first steps were when she found > new people to research. > Her answer: find them in the census records. > > I have found this to be an invaluable tool, as it > places them in a specific > place at a specific time and, beginning with the > 1850 census, with specific > other individuals. If you can afford it, a > subscription to ancestry.com's > census collection is wonderful, as they have most of > the US censuses > transcribed. Many years are indexed, with a couple > having all-names > indexes. (Don't get tripped up by exact spellings, > however! Names are > often spelled wrong.) The 1880 census is online at > familysearch.org for > free, with every name indexed. The USGenWeb Project > has a project for > census transcription located at > http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/cen_img.htm which > you can check to see if > your counties of interest have been transcribed. > Otherwise, you can use > borrow census films from the National Archives > http://www.archives.gov/publications/microfilm_catalogs/how_to_rent_microfil > m.html > > Speaking of the USGenWeb Project, that leads to > specifics about Neshoba > County. http://www.usgenweb.org/ is the link for > the main project. Click > on the state's pages, find the county of interest, > and you'll be amazed at > what all you can find online. Counties vary as to > the content available. > The Neshoba County GenWeb coordinator, Marsha > Bryant, has done a wonderful > job of soliciting and obtaining information from > volunteers and Neshoba > County. http://www.rootsweb.com/~msneshob/ is the > home page for the site, > which also has a search feature. Plugging in > "Wayne" I got 19 hits, which > would lead to the individual pages on which Wayne is > found. > > You've already found a third method: the Rootsweb > email lists. Did you > know you can also view the archives ( > http://archiver.rootsweb.com/ ) for > the lists as well as do a search ( > http://searches2.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/listsearch.pl > ) in email list > archives? Also, explore Rootsweb thoroughly. There > is a wealth of > information here. There are lessons to learn how to > do genealogy research, > submitted databases (WorldConnect), message boards, > etc. > > Another good search tool is www.cyndislist.com, > which is basically a catalog > of web sites, broken down by topic. Just about > everything you wanted to > know can be found here. > > What information do you KNOW about your Elizabeth > (Betty) Wayne? Birth > date? Death date? Marriage date? Is Wayne her > married name or her birth > name? Who did she marry? In what locations can you > specifically place her? > In general, one should start from what is KNOWN and > work backwards to the > unknown. > > Good luck in your searching. Genealogy is an > addicting hobby! > > Susan Marston in Edina, MN > Researching in Neshoba County: Sharp, Jackson and > collateral lines (Rivers, > Posey and others) > > > I've been receiving emails about the McKees of > Neshoba County, Ms. I am > > looking for information about the Waynes of Neshoba > County. My great great > > grandmother was Elizabeth (Betty) Wayne. I think > her husband died in the > early 1800s, > > possibly during the Civil War. I am "brand new" in > genealogy and would > > appreciate any help or suggestions. > > > ============================== > To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion > online genealogy records, go to: > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237 > __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Free Pop-Up Blocker - Get it now http://companion.yahoo.com/