At the risk of boring the 'old hats', I have a suggestion. I see this happen on all the lists I subscribe to. Someone closely works with their own family lineages. They're nose to nose with the data, maybe daily. They *know* by heart what States and Dates, yet often I see an inquiry looking for William Whos-Its, but there is no State and no Date ... not even educated guesses At the moment two other subscribers and myself are trying to develop a system to sort out the seemingly endless number of William Rainwater(s). Any idea how MANY there were? I have nearly 70 in my own database, from 20 or more States, across 250 plus years. Be more specific with your inquiries. After all, when we send a message/inquiry don't we do it in hopes of receiving a positive response from a new cousin? I don't know about you all, but I get very excited when I am contacted by a new cousin. That's the name of this game ... at least from my perspective. Actual SAMPLE... Looking for Julius Schimmel, b 12/1857 someplace in Germany. First identifed in Cook County Chicago 1880 census married to Louisa. Died in Cook County 1916. Children fround in Cook, Lake and McHenry Counties of Illinois. OKay, so I don't *know* everything about him. He was my mystery great grandfather, but I'm not ashamed to admit it. Anyone with name/date/place close to fitting the above info would have no difficulty recognizing the connection ... which is exactly what happened because their was enough information given. She was born and raised in Rock Island County, Illinois, but recognized that her grandfather was from McHenry County ... and we *connected*. Excited? You bet! We're second cousins and she has two sisters to boot! Furthermore, my new cousin's older sister had a picture of an Otillie Schimmel in an album handed down to her. Who was the pictured woman? None of us knew ... until a marriage record was found. Otillie Schimmel married Ludwig Heicher and it all came together. Julus Schimmel's obit named a surviving sister Ophelia Heicher. Otillie was her nickname. Be more specific with your family inquiries. Works for me. Bob Schimmel, listowner