Hi List.... I found a great site that explains what Soundex is, and also has a "Soundex Machine" which quickly gives you the Soundex code for any surname. To explain the meaning of Soundex, this is what it says on the site. The URL of this page is: http://www.nara.gov/genealogy/soundex/soundex.html "The Soundex is a coded last name (surname) index based on the way a name sounds rather than the way it is spelled. Surnames that sound the same, but are spelled differently, like SMITH and SMYTH, have the same code and are filed together. The Soundex coding system was developed so that you can find a surname even though it may have been recorded under various spellings. Knowing a surname's Soundex code is an important first step in research using NARA's census microfilm holdings (1880-1920)". One draw back to Soundex, is if you don't know the first letter of a name (ie. Costella vs. Kostella) , but that would only happen in a small percentage of names. Hope this helps Thanks, Mike Donaldson ([email protected]) Allenport, PA ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://www.my-ged.com/donldson ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Listowner of: Monongahela River Valley of Penna Rootsweb mailing list: [email protected]