""Dr. Joe Q"" <DoctorQ@comcast.net> wrote in message news:3F63A56A.7020108@comcast.net... > 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, (IPRCs) 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. Oh I see and California is a part of old Spain! One would think that those who voted for independence would get some respect and that we could simply call the country..... Slovenia! Yugoslavia 1929-2003 RIP! > > 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, its farms, the church, > the mountains, its 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 >