TribalPages has an outstanding Genealogy community that is eager to help you find information about your lost ancestors.

Our Genealogy Forum has wonderfully helpful genealogists and family historians who can often find information in minutes or hours that can get you past dead-ends that may have lasted months or years.

These helpful folks aren't TribalPages employees, and they aren't paid (so be nice to them!). They have become experts in "the family history hunt" through online resources and local sources, and truly enjoy finding new information and sharing it.

How do I make a request?

1. Create a free online family tree site if you don't already have one. Only registered members can post to the forums.
2. Post a message to the Genealogy Forum asking for information about the relative you're interested in. Requests should include all of the following that is known:
   • The person's name. If you don't know the full name, state what you do know.
   • Where the person lived. Be as specific as possible, and always include the country and state if known.
   • When the person lived. Include any dates you have (birth, death, marriage, other event). Even "best guesses" based on your own knowledge will help.
   • What you want to learn about the person. If you are looking for a specific piece of information (for example a US Census Lookup), ask for it. Try not to ask for "Any Information About" unless you really will be happy with anything.
   • Information about the person's immediate family. Include any information you have about the person's spouses, children and parents.

   Your Subject line should be clear include at least a last name to make it easy to track.

3. Check for responses regularly, and answer any questions you get. Usually, you will get some response within a few hours.
4. Make sure to thank the people who help you. A quick note on the forum is all that's needed, but it makes sure they know you got the information.
5. Try to return the favor with any information you have.

A Successful Sample Request

Here is a sample request that successfully found information about a missing relative. You can follow the request and its responses here:

Sample Request: Parents of Francis W. Dooley (MO,US)

Notice that we included as much information as we had, as well as what we were looking for (information about the parents of Francis Dooley). By including information about his wife Lucy, we helped the researchers quickly find his family and provide us with a wealth of information.

In under an hour, our community had found his name, birth date, death date, marriage date, all of his children (including the death of a young son), his parents and his location during several of the US Censuses.

General Posting Tips

Here are some tips about posting on our forums in general that will help you get the most out of your research requests:

• DON'T YELL! - When you write in all capital letters, it sounds like you are yelling, even if you don't mean to.
• Be polite. - Everyone on the Genealogy Board is a volunteer: Please and Thank You go a long way.
• Appreciate Confirmation - If a researcher finds information you already have (but didn't volunteer), thank them anyway - they just confirmed your data and it was probably hard work!

Enjoy your search!

We hope this guide helps you in your search. If you have any suggestions on how to improve it, please contact us through the Feedback Form.

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