How to Ask for Genealogy Help Online and Get Good Answers
Volunteers on forums, Facebook groups and Reddit solve hard problems every day. How to write a question that gets answered, where to post it, and how to protect living relatives' privacy.
One of the best things about genealogy is the community. Thousands of experienced volunteers answer questions every day on forums, in Facebook groups, on Reddit and in society mailing lists, often for free and often brilliantly. But a vague question gets a vague answer, or none. Here's how to ask well.
Where to ask
- FamilySearch Community: a free forum with groups for countries, states, record types and research skills, answered by volunteers and staff.
- Reddit's r/Genealogy and related communities for DNA, specific countries, and handwriting and translation help.
- WikiTree's G2G ("genealogist to genealogist") forum.
- Facebook groups for specific counties, states, countries, surnames and ethnic groups. County groups often include people who live there and can visit courthouses and cemeteries.
- Genealogical society forums and mailing lists, and the old RootsWeb and Ancestry message boards, which still hold decades of searchable answers.
- Heritage-specific sites like JewishGen, AfriGeneas and Italian or Polish genealogy forums.
Before posting, search the forum's past threads. Your question may already have a detailed answer.
How to write a good question
1. Give the who, when and where
"Looking for info on John Smith" is impossible to answer. "John Smith, born about 1835 in Ohio, lived in Clark County, Indiana, in 1860 and 1870" gives helpers something to work with.
2. Say exactly what you want to know
Ask one focused question: "Who were John Smith's parents?" or "Where would 1840s marriage records for this county be held?" or "What does this word say?"
3. Say what you've already done
List the records you've checked and what they showed, including searches that found nothing. It saves helpers from suggesting things you've tried, and shows you've done your part.
4. Share the evidence
Include links to records, or images of documents, so helpers can see them for themselves. For handwriting or translation requests, post the clearest, highest-resolution image you have, say what kind of record it is, where and when it was made, and which words you need help with.
5. Use a clear subject line
"Help!!" gets skipped. "Smith family, Clark County, Indiana, 1850s: who were John's parents?" gets read by the people who know that area.
Protect living people
Don't post names, birth dates, addresses or other details of living people, including yourself, your children and your parents, in public forums. Forums are public and searchable, and that information can be misused. Focus on ancestors who have died, and say "my grandmother (living)" rather than giving her details. Be especially careful with DNA results and sensitive family discoveries.
Evaluate the answers
Volunteers are generous and often expert, but anyone can post. Good answers point you to specific records you can check yourself. Treat every suggestion as a lead, and verify it in the records before you add it to your tree. Be wary of anyone who posts a long, unsourced pedigree for your family.
Be a good community member
- Thank people, and follow up with what you found. Others with the same problem will search for your thread later.
- Mark solved questions as solved where the forum allows it.
- Read the group's rules, especially about self-promotion, DNA and privacy.
- Pay it forward. Once you've learned a record type or a county, answer others' questions about it.
Other help
Don't forget free help from libraries: reference librarians, genealogical societies and the Family History Library's free virtual consultations. See Your Public Library and The Family History Library.