Christian County - A Researcher's Guide
Christian County
History and Genealogy: A Researcher's Guide
WHO TO ASK

QUERIES

Publications of most historical and genealogical societies accept and print queries from members or subscribers.

Societies whose publications cover Christian County and who print queries are: The Christian County Historian, P O Box 442, Ozark, MO 65721; Ozarks Genealogical Society's Ozar'Kin, P O Box 3835, Springfield, MO 65808 and White River Valley Historical Society's White River Valley Historical Quarterly, P O Box 841, Forsyth, MO 65653-0841.

The Springfield News-Leader also accepts queries about southwest Missouri genealogy in an on-line column edited by Gloria Carter . Family, state, and national periodicals may also print queries.

Among the most useful on-line query opportunities are the WorldGenWeb; USGenWeb; Missouri GenWeb; GenForum ; and Rootsweb . Lists of query sites are available at State Historical Society of Missouri Links and Virtual Free Sites

Several search engines may lead you to on-line sources. Try Ancestors Lost and Found ; Family Search ; GenCircles ; GenTree's Online Geneaological Database Index ; Surname Helper ; and WorldConnect . Finally, although most portions of the sites listed above are free, there are numerous subscription or pay websites for genealogical research. Most will find you once you begin submitting queries and exchanging data.

The Christian County Museum and the Christian County Library want to help. However, demand for infomation exceeds available time. For best results:

  1. First, verify that your family actually lived in Christian County.
  2. Ask to check a specific census, marriage or tax record - not "everything" on your subject.
  3. Include adequate dates, places and names to identify the person you are researching.
  4. Mail requests with business-sized self-addressed stamped envelope. Staff cannot search records request by telephone. E-mail responses can be considered only if the information is in a staff-produced database, and the query can be answered by a simple copy and paste. For instance, time does not permit an attempt to search, hand-copying and type an obituary which is not already in a computer file
  5. A search is $1.00 charge in advance. Charge will pay for up to four microfilm copies, not including your SASE. No refund if information not found Charges, in person or by mail, are: photocopies .10, computer printouts .10, and microfilm copies .25. Library will consult indexed works only. When requesting mail, add an extra stamp for each five pages or ounce you wish to have copied.
  6. If you have internet access, check library holdings at http://coolcat.org/screens/ccl.htmn before requesting a photocopy. We cannot photocopy from a book the library does not own.
  7. For more than very limited material from one book, contact the author or publisher rather than the library. Most books are copyright protected.
  8. If you need a lot of information, come to the library or museum to research. If you cannot come in person, arrange for a friend, relative, or paid researcher to look for you.
  9. Remember that the people who answer your requests are the same people who produce the databases to make the search easier for current and future researchers. Time spent doing what you can do yourself takes away from time that could be used to develop pathways to the information you need and want.

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This page last updated on Saturday, August 19, 2006
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