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Better Queries = Better Results

The idea of posting a query is to encourage people to reply. Others are more likely to do so if they recognize your family as related to people they have researched. Include enough clues about when and where your family lived, but don't overwhelm the reader.

Use your subject line wisely. 
Put surnames and locations in subject lines. Many people only scan the subject line, especially on large list and those in digest form.  Putting something like "Help" in a subject line probably won't get you much of it.

 

Successful queries are: Klear
Informative
Specific
Simple

The following should be near the beginning of a query

  •   Specific individual's name or research problem
      Specific location - if you don't know, say so
      Surnames in capital letters 
      A date - if unknown, estimate the time period


Unclear query:
Susan Bird lived in the Choctaw Nation in Oklahoma. She left when she married a man with the last name Higgins and moved to Texas.


Improved query:
Susan BIRD (b 1830 TN) lived near Poteau, Choctaw Nation, Indian Territory (now Atoka Co. Oklahoma) from 1880-1902 per the 1880-1900 census records and family history. She married about 1902 to __?__ HIGGINS (no other information) and moved to Texas, county unknown.

Looking for 1910 census records and her marriage record.

 

Above example told what was known, where the information was obtained, and what they  want to find out. It was also brief, includes enough information, but not every detail of their lives. If anyone is interested enough to contact you, further details can be given to them privately.

A good query should cover these three basics:

(1) Tell us what you know-- that includes what you have searched, where you got your information from, dates, and locations. This prevents others from suggesting you search a certain census or other resource if you have already done so. 

(2) Tell us what you don't know -- if you don't know the parents names, or when they came to Oklahoma, or where they were born - say so.

(3) Tell us what you WANT to know -- otherwise it's just a shotgun query into the dark. Probably the worst thing you can say is "looking for information on...".

WHAT information do you want? Be specific, do you want to know how to find them on the census, how to find a marriage record, how to find their parents?


Shotgun query:
Grandfather was born on the Choctaw Reservation in 1898, looking for any records pertaining to the events on the reservation.

How can anyone help this person? 

There are no other details, not even his name. 

There were no Choctaw Reservations. The query screams "I didn't do my homework and I want someone else to do it for me." My first reaction to this type query is to delete it, if comes to my mailbox or is posted to one of my query boards.  Time is valuable and if you want others to read and respond to your queries you must make it worthwhile.


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Linda Simpson, State Coordinator
Mel Owings, Assistant Coordinator