This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: jrb65 Surnames: Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/localities.northam.usa.states.newyork.counties.niagara/3450.1.1.1.1.1/mb.ashx Message Board Post: What a lot of people do not realize is that you can search on Ancestry with just a first name. Add that with a town and you can narrow it down to just a few names. It is especially useful to use if you can't find someone in a certain census. I have even searched all of Niagara County by a first name if it is somewhat uncommon. You can also search by just the siblings first name too. Say Jack and Mary were brother and sister. Just put in Jack as the main name and Mary as the sibling name with no last name and it will show all in the town or county that you specify. It can be really useful sometimes when you hit a brick wall. Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board.