This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: Roper, Foster Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/kgDBAEB/764.1 Message Board Post: Mr. Ludlow: Please bear in mind that DATES are enormously IMPORTANT in an investigation such as the one you are undertaking. It is imperative that you ground the specifics as to identity with a few specifics with respect to TIME. Even if you are unable to furnish precise dates regarding Elmer ROPER/FOSTER, it is important that you DO furnish the dates that you DO readily know or can estimate based upon the subsequent generations. For example, you assert that Mark FOSTER was your grandfather. Is he still living?? If NOT, when and where did he die? WHat was his precise or approximate date of birth. The SEQUENCE and approximate ages of Mark FOSTER's brothers and sister could also be very helpful in finding his household in one or more Census enumerations. PLACES are also very important. You mention that Elmer ROPER/FOSTER was from the AR/LA area. But you neglect to mention the PLACE of birthof your grandfather Mark FOSTER or his brothers and sisters. This tells us WHERE we should be searching for information! The more specifics you are able to furnish, the easier it will be to help you! By answering several of the questions posed above, we may be able to quickly locate records which are helpful to you in determining just how your Elmer ROPER fits into the ROPER family. If you review several of my other recent Posts, I believe that you will find that I have often been of some assistance where more specific information is available.