What to do if your posting goes unanswered

[smcarberry]

There are are at least two people who have recently sought help on this Forum and who have yet to receive any reply. I try to do a reply posting of some sort in such situations, just to get the ball rolling. However, maybe some advice would also be in order this time.

Without trying to embarrass or cause discomfort, I am using two recent queries as examples.

"I am writing about Ennis, between 1851 and 1926, and am looking for any information on industries in Ennis for the period."

"My great, great, great Grandfather, Mortimer Price was born in 1857 in Clare and came to Queensland, Australia as a free settler, possibly with an older brother, Thomas. Their father was Michael Price and his wife was Ellen O'Day or O'Dea. They may have come from Clare, I'm not sure because I can't find any trace of them. Michael and Mortimer were both farmers so it's difficult to trace them from here. Does anyone have any information at all? ..."


Strengths of these postings:

1. Dates are provided, so our knowledge of the time era can be utilized. Tip: Re-read your posting for accuracy of your typing, because readers may not see a later posting correcting a typo.

2. The topics are ones that should yield information. Both family history and industrial activities are in records for the indicated time periods.


Deficiencies possibly blocking responses:

1. From my perspective, this is the major one: What has been done to date to find the desired information ? Not necessary to be exhaustive but I need to know if you have consulted obvious sources of information and have found them lacking in some way. For instance, perhaps books on Ennis commerce don't cover the aspect of industry that is sought, or commercial directories of the time don't provide sufficient details. Note also that we readers need to know that aspect and those details being sought. For the family inquiry, we need to know if the requester has used basic Australian resources (government BDM records, ship arrival lists, newspaper articles, cemetery records, etc.), and for Clare data, what use has been made of the genealogy section of the Clare County Library website. Have possible surname variations been tried and found not helpful ? Price would be a rare surname in Clare, so any record with that name should be highly useful. Could the name have been changed at some time from another one, such as Pierse ?

2. When you receive no reply at all, try re-posting with a question of smaller range. A reader may not want to "write a book" in a reply when far less time and data is needed to get you what you need. A reader may not have information on the broad topic but may have something helpful on one detail, which can get you started in the right direction. For instance, if someone knows something about a particular trade or a specific product and posts a reply about that, you then find your way to a book or journal article on that trade or product that provides references for the broader topic you are researching.

3. However you phrase your postings, re-read it and try to ensure that appreciation is expressed for taking up other people's time and attention. This Forum is made of people who are not here for professional purposes. There are those who are paid to provide information to strangers; they are called reference librarians, history professors, etc. For us on this Forum, just a word of thanks suffices. (Well done in the Price posting.)

4. Additionally I am more inclined to reply when I can address a person by name, so signing your query may help produce a reply.

Does anyone else have similar observations to make ?

Sharon Carberry

[dw422]

Hi Sharon,
As the author of the question about Industries in Ennis, thank you for highlighting the post is as yet unanswered, I will be posting another question to the post string, hopefully, it will be answered.
Danny.