I get queries like this all the time via the form on the state site.
"Can you tell me everything about John Smith?" No date, no location,
no specific goal. For some reason they really expect you to know
everything about everybody (or be willing to do all the research). I
don't even know everything about my own family.
My husband came up with an idea: tell them some totally untraceable
tidbit like "your ancestor made the gun that John Wilkes Booth used
to shoot President Lincoln."
He was kidding, and, of course, as responsible genealogists, we would
never do that, but some days it certainly is tempting.
Have a good week, everyone.
Vivian
At 07:01 PM 10/9/2011, Mary Kathryn Kozy wrote:
I would suggest from my many years of involvement with USGenWeb it is
definitely a risk! Just a week or two ago I got an email that started
talking about houses built on a particular road and this gentleman would
like any information about his family in the county records. No mention of a
town for the road or a county for the records (never mind wanting "any
records on his family"... <sigh>). I had, of course, to write and ask him
WHICH county of mine he was referring to? I run 2 in GA, one in IL and one
in VA for the moment... :)
Just got another one very similar to it this morning asking me to post
someone's surnames on the site. Didn't happen to mention which one though...
I haven't had the time to go back over these 5 sites and make sure I have
email subject lines in the email links as yet. I'm sure that would help the
confusion issues, but certainly not the "can you please send me everything
on my family" requests! LOL!
Mary Kathryn Kozy
Monroe & Worth Co., GAGenWeb CC
-----Original Message-----
From: gagen-bounces(a)rootsweb.com [mailto:gagen-bounces@rootsweb.com] On
Behalf Of Pat Sabin
Sent: Sunday, October 09, 2011 3:04 PM
To: gagen(a)rootsweb.com
Subject: Re: [GAGEN] Opinion about Me Section
That's definitely a risk, Kemis. I think most researchers think we live in
our counties,
anyway. I have three counties in lowcountry South Carolina, and get lots of
queries about personal research and driving directions. If they only knew
how lost I am when I'm driving around those dirt roads!
Pat
----- Original Message -----
From: "Kemis Massey" <sobby(a)knology.net>
To: <gagen(a)rootsweb.com>
Sent: Sunday, October 09, 2011 2:38 PM
Subject: Re: [GAGEN] Opinion about Me Section
> imho, it let's the readers know you. Only problem, is some may think
> because you work in Gwinnett County you could run here or there and pick
up
> stuff they need for research purposes.
>
> Just a thought.
> kemis
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