Finding Help with Those Brick Walls
Lookup Volunteers
Researchers for Hire
Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness
It doesn't get any better than this. Need a genealogical favor?... a will...a marriage record...a tombstone photo? Go to R.A.O.G.K. and ask for it. You may not get it tomorrow, but you'll likely get what you wish for. Participants agree to perform at least one genealogical kind act every month. Your only fees are actual expenses (such as photo copies and postage) and a "Thank You". Of course, there's nothing preventing you from signing up to do a kind act for someone else.
Fannin County Message Boards
There are several places online where you can post a query seeking help in locating information for your research. One of these is the Fannin County Message Boards at Rootsweb. You will need to register for a Free account. This registration benefits you so don't worry about it. (If you already have an Ancestry.com account, Rootsweb will automatically use your Ancestry.com identity and you don't need to re-register.
You can also search previously posted information. You may find the information you are looking for without even having to ask your questions.
If you are searching the Fannin message Board at Rootsweb be sure to make sure you are searching FANNIN and not ALL the boards at Rootsweb.
Another excellent place to post your queries is on GenForum. Both sites have good reputations, respect your privacy and have lots of users to help you with your queries. Both sites have location forums such as TXFannin but also have Surname Forums and a variety of subject forums such as The Civil War or even Circus Performers!
The benefit to you of registering for a free Rootsweb or GenForum account is that your email address will be either hidden or displayed as a graphic image. If you elect to hide your address (the default choice) people will only be able to contact your through the message boards. If you elect to display your address, only real people will be able to see the graphic image and read the address. The spam robots skip right over picture files. They can't collect your address and start sending you junk.
If, after several years of being a member, you change your email address, you can go to your Rootsweb or GenForum account and change your address in ONE PLACE. Your address will be changed to the new address on all your earlier postings.
None of this will do you a lick of good if you don't Write a Good Query!
Fannin County Mailing List
Search the TXFannin Mailing List Archives
Browse the TXFannin Mailing List Archives
Subscribing to a mailing list means that you recieve an email of every query and response posted to the mailing list. This sounds pretty overwhelming. Not so! We averaged fewer than 2 emails a day for all of 2008 and many days there were none. The Fannin mailing list is not very busy but it is VERY helpful. One nice feature of the mailing list is that the Rootsweb Message Board (described above) is gatewayed to the list, so you receive a copy of queries posted to the Message Boards without having to monitor the Board by checking it yourself. Subscribe to TXFANNIN-L
If you are still reluctant to subscribe, try subscribing to the Mailing List "Digest". This version will send you one email on days when there is activity on the list which summarizes the correspondence of the day. Most day's you'll have no Fannin Mail at all. Subscribe to TXFANNIN-D (digest)
There are some very knowledgeable subscribers to the mailing list and all of them so very helpful. I have been stunned by the generosity of spirit, time and expertise shared on the TXFannin mailing list. Thank you all!
If you change your email address, unsubscribe with the old address and re-subscribe with the new address.
Unsubscribe from TXFANNIN-LUnsubscribe from TXFANNIN-D (digest)
Queries from the Early Days
The TXFannin GenWeb was established in 1997. At that time, all queries were posted directly to the GenWeb sites. In March of 1999, Rootsweb graciously offered webspace to the US GenWeb and provided their query system for the posting of queries from that point forward. All queries posted after February 1999 are fully searchable at the Rootsweb Message Board. Queries posted prior to March 1999, however, are still housed on this site. However, few of the email addresses have been kept up to date and, more than likely, they no longer work. The queries continue to be posted here in the hopes it may provide some possible leads for researchers.
These early queries ARE included in the general site search and hits will turn up using the search boxes found on this page or the Home page for each section OR you can browse the early queries.
