Queries

Hopefully by now you've posted a query to the soc.genealogy.surnames.* newsgroup (described in the previous lesson), so you should be familiar with what a query is, and what a useful resource a database of queries can be. What we didn't talk about in the previous lesson was how to write an effective query. Sure -- you can just slap together a couple of names and dates, but if you want to reach the right person, you need to put a little bit of thought into your query.

Many surname-specific sites have query areas or message boards where interested researchers can post their related queries. I've encountered hundreds of such sites; if you'd like to know what sites are available, visit your favorite search engine and enter the words "genealogy" and "query" -- or the surname you are interested in, and the word "query."