Branching Out Online

Helplists

[Contents]
[Intro]
[How to]
[Starting Out]
[Surnames]
[Vital Records]
[Relatives]
[Helplists]
[Example]
[Census Research]
[Choosing Software]
[Success Stories]

A cemetery in another state has a tombstone that you would love to see. A library across country has a city directory that could break a brick wall. A CD-ROM has only one name on it that might be of interest. You could buy a plane ticket, that book or that CD-ROM for just one small piece of information. Or you could just ask someone who lives across the street from that cemetery, who goes to that library every week or who owns that CD-ROM. This is where Helplists come in.

General Rules for Asking

Read the instructions. Know what is offered and what isn't.
You are asking a complete stranger, a fellow genealogist, for a favor. These are not search engines. Act accordingly.
Be very specific about what you are requesting. Large look-ups are rarely appropriate.
Give enough information to find what you're looking for. If you have no idea where something might be found, you are not at the point where you should be asking for free help.
Don't take shots in the dark. Know that the information might reasonably be found in the resource they have.
Send a "thank you," no matter if the information was helpful or not.
Volunteer. Everyone has something they can offer, no matter how obscure.

Genealogy Helplist

http://posom.com/hl/ This one comes first, since I am a volunteer administrator for a few of the pages. The site is organized by country and then by state. The available look-ups vary widely by state and change as often as new volunteers sign up. Generally, the resources are separated by county. Census records, vital records, obituaries and books are the most common offerings.

Genealogy CD Helplist

http://genweb.net/~gen-cds/cdlist.html Limited look-ups on CD-ROMs can be requested here. Most of the Broderbund CD-ROMs are listed. (Realize that volunteers can not provide contributor information.) Other databases are available as well.

Books We Own

http://www.rootsweb.com/~bwo/index.html
This great list of hard copy resources is organized by state. Again, limit your request to a look-up rather than a transcription.

GenWeb Lookups

http://worldgenweb.org
Most GenWeb pages include a list of available lookups. These are arranged by county.

Newsgroups

Only after checking above resources, a lookup request in the appropriate newsgroup should be made. The subject line should mention that your post is a request and which resource you need. For example, in soc.genealogy.german, a request for a lookup in Germans to America might have the subject line, "Req Ger to Amer Lookup."

[Helplist] [Boettcher Tree]
[Contents] [Intro] [How to] [Starting Out] [Surnames] [Vital Records] [Relatives] [Helplists] [Example] [Census Research] [Choosing Software] [Success Stories]