Thank you. Actually I was corresponding with a researcher from Rowan County that was going to do some research for me.My email went down and I lost the address. So I am hoping that she will read this and write back to me or someone else that does professional North Carolina research will respond. I have enough work in the area to keep someone busy for a long time. Thanks so much, Michelle Hill-Jack ----- Original Message ----- From: Hdanw@aol.com<mailto:Hdanw@aol.com> To: rowanroots@rootsweb.com<mailto:rowanroots@rootsweb.com> Sent: Saturday, February 09, 2008 8:38 PM Subject: Re: [ROWANROOTS] [changed subject] Helping One Another Michelle - We all stumble along in rootweb, most of whose subscribers are friendly and helpful. And we were all beginners at one time--even before the internet!!! We had to write letters to anyone whom we thought could help us. Some of us even traveled to distant states and counties to look at the records in the courthouses. Are you wanting to ask about your ancestors, some of whom must have lived in Rowan Co., which was a huge county at its beginning? If so, post a query, but include not only the surname, but the DATES [most people leave these out. [ When you leave out dates, I and others don't know whether you are asking about someone living in the 21st century or in the 18th century]. We presume that the person(s) must have lived in Rowan Co. or else you would be on another list. Maybe you should go to rootsweb.com for some beginning lessons. But, since rootsweb was purchased a few years ago by Ancestry.com, I believe you will be directed to Ancestry's learning center. I don't keep up with all the changes in Ancestry, but from time to time, that database has been helpful to me. Do you belong to a genealogy society, Michelle? If not, I highly recommend that you do so because the members will help you a good deal. Many societies have monthly meetings with skilled [we hope] speakers who will help you learn your way around. You must have done some research to lead you to the Rowan Co. website. I frequently get good responses when I post a paragraph or two from a book or a film where my ancestor is featured. Then I ask, something to this effect: 1. Can anyone identify this person? 2. Can anyone lead me to some good sources? 3. Any other question you think appropriate? A lot of people *lurk* and read the messages for a few weeks and get the hang of it. I'll admit a lot of messages are not worth the time of day. I look at the subject, and if I think I don't know anything about the subject--or don't want to know--then I delete it. However, if you are just getting your feet wet with rootsweb, stick around for a while. I hope this is helpful. Go to your public library and ask the reference librarian [the one generally at a desk with a computer] and ask him/her, Do you have any reference books on genealogy? Do you have any family histories? Can I check out any of these books? Do you have Ancestry.com or HeritageQuest on your computers? Get some help from your local librarian. Best of luck. E-mail me privately for further questions. We all begin--every time we discover a new ancestor, and the wife of a very distant cousin, far from where I live, e-mailed me the other day with a NEW ancestor, who apparently came to North Carolina from Pennsylvania. So, now I have to begin again!!! E.W.Wallace **************Biggest Grammy Award surprises of all time on AOL Music. (http://music.aol.com/grammys/pictures/never-won-a-grammy?NCID=aolcmp003000000025<http://music.aol.com/grammys/pictures/never-won-a-grammy?NCID=aolcmp003000000025> 48) ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to ROWANROOTS-request@rootsweb.com<mailto:ROWANROOTS-request@rootsweb.com> with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message