Piute County: Effective Queries

Tips on Writing an Effective Query

1. Keep your query focused. We need to know that you're looking for John Jones, but not that he's your wife's second great-grandfather on his mother's side, or that you're desperate-and-have-hit-a-brick-wall.

2. State the connection to Piute County, including the town if known. No query without a Piute County connection will be posted.

3. Provide as many connecting points as possible: Names of relatives, approximate dates, locations, occupations &endash; anything that will help us recognize your target or know what sources to search.

4. Historical queries should also indicate that you've done your homework. We'll try to provide useful information but you have to do your part.

Examples:

Poor genealogical query:

Oh my gosh, I'm so glad to finally find your site because we have looked everywhere and can't find him and I'm so desperate. It's a brick wall, you know? Send me all the information about my grandfather Johnson right away. He left his family in St. Louis and nobody ever heard from him again. Thanks, and I can hardly wait to hear from you!!!!!!

Better genealogical query:

I'm looking for Stephen Thomas Johnson, born about 1896 in Illinois, who left St. Louis in 1915 to look for work. He was probably a laborer, maybe a miner or railroader. Our last sighting of him was a postcard dated 1917 and postmarked Marysvale. He referred to his job at "the Mill".

Poor historical query:

I am doing a report on Piute County. Please send me some information. Thank you.

Better historical query:

I am doing a report about sheriffs in Utah. Do you know any stories about how your sheriff tracked down robbers in the pioneer days?

or:

I am researching Prohibition in Utah. I have found references in [cite references] to a raid on the pharmacy in Marysvale on [date]. Can you identify the pharmacist? If you know of local sources that provide more information about this raid, I would also appreciate those references.