FOR FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS, GO TO THE END OF THIS DOCUMENT. "I just received the batch of HUGGINS family group sheets. I cannot tell you what excitement I experienced when, lo and behold, I found one of those great missing links. For several years my efforts had been hitting a dead wall everywhere I looked. There (at the bottom of the pack and the last one I checked) stood my dear old ancestor and a list of his offspring. I put in a call to Mrs. Jo Wilson who had submitted the data to you. I don't know which one of us was the most excited, as she had been searching for data on my specific line also. Thanks ever so much for this data. You made my day." --FCH, San Jacinto, CA "Need to thank you for the FOREMAN sheets I ordered. Near the bottom of the stack I was astounded to find my family! An hour later I was talking on the phone to the submitter, the first person I've found researching this family in forty years of looking - and he has access to the family Bible!" --CB, Napa, CA "I ordered the SPRAGUE family group sheets and looked them over - didn't see any that I thought would connect to me and thought I had wasted my money again. I put the envelope aside for a month. Then I thought before I put them away I would look at them again more closely and lo and behold I found a connection. Was I elated. I was able to go back six generations on both sides." - -PMC, Bull Shoals, AR "The sheets I got from you for the FRAZEE family really helped me a lot. It gave me 2 more generations and gave me a new line to follow." --GE, Harborcreek, PA "The DUNGAN group sheets that I received have proved very fruitful. I wrote to a recent submitter, included an SASE, and was fortunate to receive a prompt reply from a distant cousin who is also a committed genealogist. The information that I have received from her is well documented and has expanded my knowledge of my ancestors tenfold. My Iowa farm cousin literally saved me years of work. Thank you, Yates Publishing, for making that contact possible." MJ, Brookville, PA "I received the 24 NUNNALLY sheets, and they are, if not a gold mine, then a silver mine. Thank you!" --DJN, Hastings, NE "Received sheets on VIA recently. It included 5 generations unknown to us! Many thanks." --GLS, Nacogdoches, TX "Yesterday I received the family group sheets on TATE and HECK. I am so pleased. Your service was prompt, and I found three sheets on HECK that I had been working on. The compiler is from my neighboring state of Texas, and I hope to correspond with her." --BRF, Shawnee, OK "I recently purchased a set of family group sheets from you with the surname MCGINNIS. I was thrilled at all of the information I received. Thank you for your wonderful service. It helps people like me communicate with so many others researching exactly what I am." --NB, Corpus Christi, TX "Sometime ago I ordered the Light family group sheets. I will have to say I was a little skeptical, but to my surprise this took me back three more generations. Thanks so much and keep up the good work." --JML, Macks Creek, MO "My husband and I are both pleased with the NEWSOM and GILBERT sheets received a few days ago. We are ordering more ancestor name sheets. Thanks for your ad we saw. This is fascinating!" --DGN, Vernon, FL "I recently ordered and received sheets on NUNNALLY and found more than a years searching had revealed." --HJB, Baileyton, AL "I hit a jackpot on the WOOTEN'S. The last order I received from you took my wife's family back two more generations." --VW, Norwalk, OH "The information you sent to me has been a source of vast information." --DGS, Livingston, TX "Recently I purchased 70 MARSH charts from you. The first person I wrote to sent me 6 generations of my MARSH line! Your service really works." --JR, Eden, NC "I have made several wonderful discoveries because of the FGSE, and I have been able to help several other people connect their lines as well. You provide a real service, and it really works!" --MHT, Kingsport, TN "We have just received the CHAMBERS family sheets, and have found as much as 5 generations. So we are real pleased with it." --ART, Moultrie, GA "Received my order today on the CARTER and FRENCH families. Thank you so much. I have found my missing link and picked up four new generations of ancestors. I'm so excited by your service." --CRF, Prescott, AZ "I recently ordered papers on Joseph MACKEY by specific document numbers. I received information made up by relatives. I was so elated as it contained three generations further back than I had. You have saved me so much digging in land records, wills, etc. I'm going to order more information on other ancestors. I can't praise you enough for this genealogy service." --MJH, Sandwich, IL "On my first order to you (re: LUNA) I was able to contact a source who has connected my direct line all the way back to the Isle of Man in c.1730. My mother and I had no info beyond her father, who had died when she was 11 years old." --PEL, Sacramento, CA "When I received my STANLEY sheets I took that line back another generation. Since then, with the information on that one chart, I've gone back still another generations." --ST, Lakewood, CA "I recently had a name ARNOLD which was given to you, and the results were astounding!" --GS, Folsom, CA "After seeing your ad I decided to inquire about my O'REARS. Out of 40 family group sheets you sent, 39 were my ancestors. This took me back four generations beyond what I had to my sixth great grandfather. I never expected anything like this, and I am so happy about it I am still dancing on air. I am recommending your service to everyone I know who is having trouble finding their roots." --CBB, Vancouver, WA "My friend, Percy Putnam Jackson, had me do work for her and through your sheets on the PUTNAM line she connected with the Eben Putnam volumes which took her back to Louis IV." --MKD, Austin, TX "I am pleased to tell you that on BOYD and HENRY I found my line. I was so excited. I have made contact with people from both lines, and on the BOYD line, have completed 3 more generations. I have given out your order forms to several people at our genealogy library with my success story. You have saved me years of work and put me in touch with long lost relatives." --VBG, Conroe, TX "I sent for my first batches and hit pay dirt with LEBO. Only 3 set of families and one was mine. Such a joy and what fun! I think this is a great opportunity to find what we're looking for!" --CTG, Buena Park, CA "Well you did good with my first request. I found over 50 ancestors with two potential contacts for more." --TWL, Shawnee, KS "As you can see by the fact that I have ordered sheets on six more names and have submitted five sheets with the order, I feel that there is a great deal of information to be gained from your service. Keep up the fine work." --BJB, Chester, NJ "You offer a great service. I have found numerous leads from the record sheets I have ordered in the past. As my research progresses, I refer back to your sheets for more possible clues." --TDW, Homeland, CA "I recently ordered and received group sheets on MATHEWS and had a breakthrough after 15 years. I'm a believer. Thanks." --JKS, Tucson, AZ "My day was so exciting when the mail came. The missing link was found on my AMICK ancestors. Many thanks." --JD, Nampa, ID "Thank you for your prompt attention. My NURSE contact proved to be gold mine of information!" --RW, Fargo, ND "Thank you very much for my recent group sheets that I ordered on the SHIPLEYS. I gained a new cousin and a lot more Shipley information for my Shipley Family Newsletter. You do real quality work for a real fair price, especially when you figure the cost of placing a query and waiting for an answer you might not receive. --GLS, Woodstock, IL "I was so pleased at the fast response I received from my first order. Your presentation of the materials is excellent. The numerous designs of the family group sheets give me many ideas for my own research organization. I have been tracing for about ten years and am at the 'fill in the blanks' stage. I know through your company I will have the opportunity to begin to fill in some of those blanks, and yes, of course, to make new blanks!" --JKH, Altus, OK "Enclosed is a check for $10. Please send group sheets for BELCHER family. Last order was a Bonanza!" --JDB, Ormond Beach, FL "I recently received your packet on COMBS and found 6 possibilities and my second letter produced results which took me back two generations earlier than I had. Thank you for your excellent service." --LSC, Livermore, CA "With the help of Yates Publishing I've managed over three more generations to the SHARP family. Thank you so much." --CC, Hartford City, IN "Bingo! From one sheet of the bunch you sent me on DOGGETT, I solved a problem of several years, and advanced one branch of that line by one generation. It also gave me clues on another search." --APB, Atascadero, CA "I was very pleased to find in the papers you sent me information 9 generations back on Nicholas NEWTON & Melony MELTON". --JR, Hannibal, MO "I was going through the many sheets you sent to me and feeling somewhat disappointed because none of them appeared to have any relation at all to my family. Then, Bingo!, there were three generations. It was worth all the money I spent on the names that didn't help. But, who knows, some of those names might also fall right in and fill a big hole one of these days". --LR, Belmont, CA "This is a great idea. I like having the individual family group sheets on file. I have put lots of people I correspond with in touch. I have also enjoyed having them when I find a new link to my family and have a built-in FGS to check on". --ME, San Clemente, CA "I ordered some of your sheets on the NICKELL family in Va. and West Va. Contacts made from these sheets revealed several family lines. I believe you have the best line of information available". --WD, Dodge City, KS "I recently purchased a family sheet on the HARRELL family and hit pay-dirt. A dozen new ancestors from a school teacher in Missouri". --CM, Charlottesville, VA "My initial order arrived today, and turned up not only my 3rd great grandfather, but also my 4th great grandfather! Am most anxious to see what more treasures you send". --LGK, Pleasanton, CA "I was extremely pleased with sheets received for FUGETT. I found direct line to my GGGG grandparents. Wow! The time saved for research is phenomenal. I am a believer in this service." - -LAS, Webster, NY "Several months back I joined and received my first family group sheets on the name WILLIAMS. I just can't tell you how easy it was, after 15 years of searching, to find my 4th and 5th great grandfather's charts with your help. Since then I have recommended your services to several friends." --CWC, Vallejo, CA "I recently purchased a set of family group sheets from you with the surname MCGINNIS. I was thrilled at all of the information I received. Thank you for your wonderful service. It helps people like me communicate with so many others researching exactly what I am." --NB, Corpus Christi, TX "Sometime ago I ordered the Light family group sheets. I will have to say I was a little skeptical, but to my surprise this took me back three more generations. Thanks so much and keep up the good work." --JML, Macks Creek, MO "My husband and I are both pleased with the NEWSOM and GILBERT sheets received a few days ago. We are ordering more ancestor name sheets. Thanks for your ad we saw. This is fascinating!" --DGN, Vernon, FL  FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS: Q. Who or what is Yates Publishing? A. Yates Publishing was started in 1972. We published genealogical quarterlies for several years and also took printing jobs for genealogical books and periodicals. In 1981 I started the Family Group Sheet Exchange, which continues to be the major emphasis of the business. There are over 50,000 members of the Family Group Sheet Exchange. Anyone who orders photocopies from our files automatically becomes a member. Many of the members have participated by submitting their own research results, often the fruit of many years of research and much expense. The sheets are a great reference tool, and in most cases, the submitter would be overjoyed to receive correspondence and to exchange information. We have advertised for many years in THE GENEALOGICAL HELPER (Logan, Utah) and in THE FAMILY TREE (Moultrie, Georgia). Q. What are Family Group Sheets? A. The family group sheet is one of the most handy tools ever invented for the genealogist. It is second only to the familiar pedigree chart (aka ancestor chart) in usefulness and popularity. There are many different formats which have been published over the past fifty years or so, but each form concerns the family unit - husband, wife, and children. There are spaces for births, deaths, and marriages, and usually some room is provided for notes and sources. Most versions call for the name and address of the person filling in the form. While the pedigree chart maps out the skeleton of a genealogy, the family group sheet provides the details. The first of three essential uses for this ubiquitous tool is as an intermediary between raw data and a finished manuscript. Many people have prepared very extensive family histories by simply filling in the blanks on family group sheets. Secondly, the family group sheet serves as a guide when gathering information. At a quick glance it is easy to see what information is known and what is missing. As soon as the blanks are filled in for the parents and for each of the children, complete with some form of documentation, work can proceed to the next generation. Many people gather data from relatives by sending a blank form to each aunt, uncle, and cousin, asking them to return the original or a copy when completed. A third and very important use for the family group sheet is as a means of exchanging information with other researchers. It is a good idea to balance your efforts by spending 50% of your effort doing original research and 50% trading with other family historians. A great way to accomplish the trades in an efficient manner is to swap photocopies of family group sheets. Realizing this, I started a clearinghouse for several of my ancestral surnames in 1974. I called it the Cooperative Research Exchange, or CORE. Then in 1981 I expanded the concept to include all American (U.S.) surnames and called it the Family Group Sheet Exchange. We now have hundreds of thousands of family group records in our paper files, with more being added on a weekly basis. We have by far the largest collection of its kind anywhere. Q. How will the sheets help me, especially if my family is not included? A. As you can see by the testimonials above, it is not unusual to find a connection right away. Even if you do not, the sheets are great for reference as you continue your research. It is likely that you will find a connection as time goes on. Also, from the sheets you can see who has researched what families, and can usually contact them for an exchange of information. Many people maintain large collections on a family surname, including many of the surname who are not related, and are willing to share whatever might be useful to you, especially if you are willing to reciprocate. Q. What area of the country are the sheets from? A. Most of the sheets concern families from the eastern half of the United States, that is, east of the Mississippi River. Of course, that is because the east was the first to be settled, and most families have origins there if they came to this country before 1850. Q. Is the information documented? A. Many of the sheets include brief documentation, but virtually all of them include the name and address of the submitter, which is the most valuable documentation you could have, because it often leads to a wealth of information. Q. What if the submitter is deceased or cannot be reached? A. That would be unfortunate, but remember that the sheet which was submitted to us may be the only surviving example of the results of many years of research by that person. By verifying and extending that research, you may be able to make great progress with your genealogy. Q. Do you have any surnames not offered on eBay? A. Yes, just contact us by e-mail.