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Yesterdays Journal Tables of Contents and Indexes
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This journal contains a lot of information on area residents, cemeteries, town histories, etc.

1. Your GOAL is to submit a Query that will bring you responses that provide you with the information you are looking for, and to provide information that may be helpful to others searching your surname. Your chances of being successful will increase dramatically if you follow the instructions below. Even if you do not get the breakthrough of the century, a carefully constructed Query has a good chance of putting you in contact with other researchers who are engaged in the same search so that you can pool what you do know and provide mutual encouragement.
   
   
2. So -- please be as *specific* as possible. Give full names, give dates as specifically as you can, give place wherever known. "I'm seeking as much information as possible on John Smith" isn't very helpful and any responses you get are likely to be just as vague and unhelpful. "I'm seeking parents, siblings, any info on John SMITH b. in the early 1800s, possibly in NC or SC, and married Mary BROWN in AL sometime after 1850 is a *lot* better. Listing children's names and birthdates/places when known, and their spouses names when known also helps to pinpoint a person in a particular family, especially when they have a common surname.
   
   
3. There is a growing concern among genealogists on the Internet about asking for or providing information about living individuals in the context of genealogical research.
   
   
   • If you are searching for an old friend, or are doing an adoption search, there are many, many wonderful sites and sources on the Web that will both support you in your search and provide you with the help you need to be successful. Try the 'Adoption' and "Finding People" categories at http://www.cyndislist.com/.
     
     
   • If you do not know enough about earlier ancestors to construct a good query, please interview those relatives who are still living to find out as much about their parents and grandparents as you can. Then, query only about those who are already deceased. This is also for your protection and that of your family, as some people have made unscrupulous use of information about living people.
     
   
   
   
4. I personally think it is a very good idea to gather the information you have, and write it down ahead of time rather than making it up as you go along. It only takes a couple of extra minutes and makes your query more accurate, detailed and well-organized.
   
   
5. When you input your query, email address, web site address (URL) and name on the query form, please proofread it. When I tested the New Query system, I found I had made a typo. So, check carefully.
   
   
6. Good luck! People *do* make important breakthroughs through the use of county queries. I hope you will be one of the lucky ones!