Genealogy Chat

Couldn't agree more Rose. No doubt, like me, you have received PM's asking for help, maybe as the member has come across you helping out somewhere and likes the look of you!
I always advise them to start a thread, just too much responsibility just for one person!
Jan :-)

who prefer to help 'off' the boards rather than on.

None of us is infallible!

What I mean by this is that whilst one might think one is experienced enough to do research on someone's behalf without any assistance ( and that may well be so) PLEASE remember that giving help ON the board can open up the search to individuals who may have more specific knowledge of that area of research ( be it local knowledge, or access to 'unusual' records etc).

It can be tempting for a newbie to believe that the person helping them is so experienced that they 'must be right' and not look any further than the info that has been given them.

If I might humbly suggest that when giving info by PM, especially to newbies, that it is better to say " don't forget, this info needs proving with cert's or further research, and maybe posting for more help on the board will bring you more info' ...something to that effect.


I give as a small example the 'obvious' single marriage of my grandfather and his 'obvious' death in his hometown... even a good researcher might mistake the former as the only marriage, and the latter would be wrong. If one were giving out that info it would be essential to say 'this needs to be verified'.

:-D