Author Topic: ***HOW TO REQUEST A LOOKUP***  (Read 40757 times)

Offline krisesjoint

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***HOW TO REQUEST A LOOKUP***
« on: Monday 16 March 09 21:06 GMT (UK) »
HOW TO REQUEST A LOOKUP

To get the best possible result from our lookup volunteers,  please take a moment to read these instructions.  There are many new requests each day and posting a clear outline of your requirements will make it easier for them to help you.

Firstly be sure to check the Australia Resources Board. where you will find so many wonderful links listed to help you in your journey.

If you could each please start a "New Topic" with subject line very clearly stating the RESOURCE  and the SURNAME of the person(s) you are seeking as follows:

South Australia Birth - William THOMAS (SURNAME ONLY should be in CAPITALS)


Then in the body of the message enter the details of your request. A person willing to carry out a lookup for you will then simply reply to your message.

RootsChat does not tolerate breaches of copyright. Please do not request any lookups from specific commercial sources and other sources where fulfilling the request would require such a breach.

Very important bit !

We have some excellent RootsChat members with some very special talents who try there best to help everyone who posts a message on the site. I know of quite a few (you know who you are) who have gone out of their way and spent there own “brass” (money) in some cases just to bring a smile to RootsChatters face here and there.

A few of us who reply are often left thinking what happened next, did I help ???

Please let us know !

Regardless of whether or not the information helped,
a "Thank You for your time and efforts" always goes down well  :) :)

... and the 'Thank you' also helps to let us know if the request is completed  ;) 


N.B. a "Thank you" sent in a PM is also nice, but it is a "Personal Message",
i.e nobody else knows that you have said "Thank you", so please, do reply on the topic.
(but you can still send a PM as well, if you wish; I'm sure it will be appreciated.)
All Census Look Ups Are Crown Copyright from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk

Offline krisesjoint

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Re: ***HOW TO REQUEST A LOOKUP***
« Reply #1 on: Monday 06 July 09 03:06 BST (UK) »
Have You Checked Our Wonderful Resources Board?

At the top of the page you will see all of the wonderful Free Resources we are aware of have been conveniently listed State by State. Be sure to have a good look about.

http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/board,399.0.html

INFORMATION TO INCLUDE WHEN REQUESTING A LOOKUP
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We Hope This Advice Will Help You To Get a Positive Result.

When requesting a lookup, the title is the first thing we see. It is very important. To enable us to see exactly what you are looking for, and attract others with an interest in your family, please begin with a title which tells us this.

Sometimes it is difficult to work out which name is the Christian name and which name is the surname.  Look at the name I have used above. "William Thomas" – Some people put the surname first, some people put the Christian Name first - In an example like this it is hard to know if his surname is William or Thomas, but if we put the surname in Capitals it becomes apparent. It is also genealogically correct to place the surname in Capitals. The surname is the only thing which should be in capitals in the title - William THOMAS makes this very clear to us.

There is no singular BMD database in Australia as in the UK – Here in Australia each State must be searched separately. For this reason if you know the State your Ancestors settled in it is very handy to include it in the title.

Now we get to the bulk of the request. When searching for Australian BMD information it can be very important to list the person’s whole name - including any known middle names. (A middle name may help pinpoint the correct person.) The persons parents names can be extremely important, so if known always include this.

RootsChat members have compiled a list of things they would find helpful in providing you with a successful lookup.

Please Note: These are only suggestions of things to add if they are known to you. Most importantly

Please Do Not Feel You Do Not Have Enough Information to Request Our Help.  We will always try to help even if you know very little about your ancestors.
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Let us start with the title – Please make it as clear and concise as possible.

South Australia Birth – William THOMAS    or    William THOMAS – SA Birth

This will let us see at a glance who you are looking for, the type of lookup you require such as Birth/Death/Marriage/Burial/Electoral Roll etc and which State you would like us to search.

In the bulk of the request please provide us with as much or as little information as you have. We realise, particularly when you are just starting out you may not know much. If that is the case just let us know what you do have and how you came by the information, and we will always try to help. Any information you have may be helpful – if you do not have much information please do not let it put you off posting. Australia is a big country and we have a multicultural heritage. At this stage you may not know if your family hail from England, Scotland, Ireland, Europe, America etc. That is fine; sometimes it can be very difficult to make that first step out of Australia on your journey back in time.

Below is a list of things we would find helpful. Please use this as a guide only and add as much or as little as is known to you.

1.   Full name of the person, including any middle names.
2.   The State you wish searched, and the town/area of the State may also help.
3.   When and where the person was born. (Even just a rough idea)
4.   What are the person’s parent’s names? – This can be very important when searching Australian Records.
5.   Do you have Immigration details – or have a rough idea when the family arrived in Australia.
6.   Do you know the likely occupation for this person either before or after immigration?
7.   When did you last locate the family in an official record such as BMD, census, electoral roll etc? (before or after immigration)
8.   The information you have – Do you have any documentation of this or has the information been provided from family lore or another person’s tree etc? It can be very important to separate proven facts from fiction (or unproven information you hope we can confirm.) - Remember family lore is not always accurate.

Regardless of what you know or do not know we will do our best to help.
Now Post away!
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Just One More Thing
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We all know how frustrating it can we to desperately require information that is not forthcoming. Duplicate Requests do cause problems.  Our volunteers can become grumpy when they realize that they have just used their time and resources on a problem which has been answered elsewhere. We also have those posting the queries becoming upset when somebody mentions the duplication. The last thing we want is anger and hurt feelings. We all want a smooth running board with queries being answered as quickly and efficiently as possible. Far better for the Poster's and for the Look up Volunteers alike.

If you do have other threads where you previously received help with this person, please be sure to add the link(s) your new thread.
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All Census Look Ups Are Crown Copyright from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk

Offline krisesjoint

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Re: ***HOW TO REQUEST A LOOKUP***
« Reply #2 on: Sunday 12 July 09 06:55 BST (UK) »
RootsChat - Our Policy on Living Persons.

Here on RootsChat we are very concerned that the privacy and security of the living is protected. For this reason we do not allow searches for living persons. Although we fully understand you would like recent information to add to your tree, or that you may wish to make contact with birth families, relatives you lost contact with when they immigrated to Australia, missing family or friends, we are afraid we are unable to assist you.

We are very sorry for the inconvenience this causes you but we are sure you will appreciate the reasons for this.

Please See:- http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,142443.0.html

We do have a few suggestions which may help:-

Telephone Directory. We would suggest when looking for Living Persons be sure to try the Telephone Book

http://www.whitepages.com.au/wp/initResSearch.do

Recent Electoral Rolls. These can be a very good source: They are available to view at Australian Electoral Commission Offices and in major libraries.

BMD Cut Off Points. In Australia Each State has different cut off dates for access to BMD index information and requirements for the purchase of certificates: some of these birth dates are too late for us to publish on a public forum.

http://www.jaunay.com/bdm.html

Passenger Lists. Among other things, if your family immigrated after 1921, you may just find it listed on the National Archives Site. Dates of birth are often included. Be sure to check.

http://www.naa.gov.au/collection/recordsearch/index.aspx

Information on WW2 Veterans - A lot of these men were born in the 1920’s – Some of them now in their 80’s use the internet, or a loved one finds something and shows them. They can become most distressed to see that someone has published personal information about them on a public forum. Remember these Government Sites are not accessible to search engines – we are!

http://www.ww2roll.gov.au/

If you are looking for living descendants, that is fine provided you do not provide details of these living persons. If you are providing details of someone we are likely to suspect may still be living, but you know is deceased, please state this.
 
Although we are keen to help you make connections, there are times, however, when other community networks will be able to do more and this is especially so in the case of people searching for their birth parents/missing people. We suggest using Google Search will lead such searchers in the right direction.

We are sorry we are unable to help you with any searches for the living but may we wish you every success in your hunt  ;D
All Census Look Ups Are Crown Copyright from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk