Could someone provide me with a sample letter to send to people in Zohor, Slovakia who have the same surname as that of my mom's parents who emigrated from Zohor? They may be related, but I don't know and I'm not sure how to write them and not be offensive. Each culture has its own way of speaking and I just don't want to blurt out, "Are you relatives?" And, if you can provide a sample letter, any suggestions on where to get it translated into Slovak? elaine summerhill

Below is some general information regarding letters about ancestors written by John A. Hudick regarding Slovak and Rusyn Roots, sorry I don't have the URL. 9. BLIND LETTERS TO THE ANCESTRAL VILLAGE If you think you may have relatives in a certain village but are not sure you can write a blind letter and address it to the mayor of that village. Insert a few U.S. Dollars into the envelope, or use two International Postal Reply Coupons, (IPRC’s) available from U.S. Post Offices. The address to write to the town mayor of the town of Hostovice in the Humenne District with a zip code of 06735. In SLOVAK In ENGLISH Starostovi mesta Hostovice Mayor of the town of Hostovice 06735 Hostovice Hostovice 06735 Okres Humenne Humenne District Slovak Republic Slovak Republic Be sure that the U.S. Postal clerk understands that this is going to the Slovak Republic, (U.S. Postal Country ID number 333) and not to Slovenia, which is a part of the old Yugoslavia. The following is a letter I wrote to the Mayor of the village of my ancestors. The first is in English and the second is the translation in Slovak To the Mayor of the town of [village name] District of [ ] Slovakia If there are any persons in [Slovak village name] with the family name [enter family names], please give this letter to them. My name is {your name}. I am the grandchild of {Grandmother} and {Grandfather} who came to America in {year of immigration} and lived in {state}. I have been investigating my family ancestors and would like to communicate with [family name] family members who live in [Slovak village name]. I live in near [your nearest major city], in [your town] , [your state] . I am [age] years old. I am a university graduate with a degree in [your degree]. I work as a {your occupation}. I would like to hear from you. Please write to me. Tell me about yourself and your family. Tell me about the town of [village name], what kind of town it is, the people, how many people, it’s farms, the church, the mountains, it’s industry and so forth. There is a possibility that I may visit Slovakia and [village name] this summer. I am sending two International Reply Coupons for your reply postage. You should exchange them at your post office for stamps. If you can make your reply in English it would be helpful to me because I do not know the Slovak language. This letter was designed for those people who do not understand Slovak. Sincerely, For the following letter, the diacritical marks are lost in e-mail transmission. If you would like a copy of this letter, send a SASE (Self Addressed Stamped Envelope) to me at my address listed below. Mention “Slovak letter”. John Hudick 123 Baywood Road Boulder Creek, California 95006 FAX: 408 338-2120 eMail: hudickj@pab281a.ssd.loral.com or mtnmann@aol.com or mtnmann@got.net Starostovi mesta [village name] Okres [District name] Slovensko Vazena Ak su v [Slovak village name] osoby, ktore maju priezvisko [family names], odovzdajte im prosim vas tento list. Ja sa volam [your name]. Som vnuk [Grandmother (GM)] a [Grandfather (GF)] , ktorii prisli do Ameriky v roku [year of immigration] a zili v [state]. Robim si vykum o predkoch mojej rodiny a rad by som sa spojil s clenmi [GF family name] a [GM family name] rodiny, ktori ziju v [Slovak village name]. Zijem blizko [your nearest major city], v meste [your town] v [your state]. Mam [your age] rokov. Mam skoncene univerzitne vzdelanie v odbore [your degree]. Pracujem ako [your occupation]. Prosis by som Vas, keby ste mi odpisali. Napiste mi o sebe a o svojej rodine. napiste mi o meste (obce) [village name a o tom, ake je to mesto, aki l'udia tam ziju, kol'ko ma obyvatel'ov a podobne. tiez by som rad vedel, ake su tam polia, hory, priemysel, atd'. Je celkom mozne, ze tohto leta navstivim Slovensko. Posielam Vam dva Medzinarodne predplatene postove kupony na znamky. Tieto kupony sa daju vymenit na poste za znamky. Obracian sa na Vas prostrednictvom listu, ktory bol zostaveny pre osoby, co nevedia po slovensky. Ak Vasa odpoved' bude v anglictine, privitam to, lebo patrim prave k tym, ktori po slovensky nevedia. s uprimnym pozdravom, [your name] I hope this helps, you're welcome. Dr. "Q" Rob & Elaine wrote: > Could someone provide me with a sample letter to send to people in > Zohor, Slovakia who have the same surname as that of my mom's parents > who emigrated from Zohor? They may be related, but I don't know and > I'm not sure how to write them and not be offensive. Each culture has > its own way of speaking and I just don't want to blurt out, "Are you > relatives?" > And, if you can provide a sample letter, any suggestions on where to > get it translated into Slovak? > > elaine summerhill

On Sun, 14 Sep 2003 12:09:34 -0600, Rob & Elaine <dyno-mutt@abq.com> wrote: >Could someone provide me with a sample letter to send to people in >Zohor, Slovakia who have the same surname as that of my mom's parents >who emigrated from Zohor? http://www.iabsi.com/gen/public/blind_letters.htm

Go to www.slavicroots.com and look at the article titled: "Slovak and Rusyn Roots: Getting Started" Tthere is a sample letter in the article. John Hudick