Have you entered your surnames onto the Wake County Genealogical Society website? This is a member benefit, and it’s a great way for others to find your names and get in contact with you while preserving your privacy. And it’s easy to do!
Here’s how!
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After logging in, select the “Profile” submenu under the “Members Area”. Then select the surname tab. To enter a surname, click on the “+” button on the top right. Fill in the requested information and save. Besides the information shown above, the surname input screen has a field for alternate spellings and one for any other comments both of which will be available for visitors to see.
As shown, it is recommended that there is only one surname, one county, and one state per line entry to optimize the success of visitors in finding your names. However, the only required information on the surname input screen is the surname itself. The rest can be left blank if you choose. Once you have entered your surnames, you can always come back later and add more information by clicking on the pencil icon beside the surname.
Now that you have your names entered, here is what visitors will be able to see and do. From the Surname page on the main website, visitors can search for the surname of their interest.
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In this example, two lines have been found. For the first listing (Ingham), the surname which was searched (Ingram) had been included in the alternate spelling area when the member entered the data. By clicking on the “eye”, the visitor will see all the details for the selection, including the alternate spellings and any other comments which the member entered onto the surname listing. If the visitor wishes to contact the member associated with the surname, they can click the “envelope” to send an email. Their message will go to the member’s email address on record. Note that for the privacy of our members the email pop-up does NOT show the email address of the member. However, the visitor is required to enter their email address in order to send a message. Thus the member can review and then choose whether to respond to the message from their email server.
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Since these messages will come to your inbox, be sure that WCGS has your correct email address, or you may lose out on receiving messages from others who are researching your ancestors!
