Mark Felton wrote: > > Hi. I'm new to using the newsgroup but was keyed into this in the > hopes of finding some help on my family history. At this point > my research is broad: a family name "Herko" from eastern Europe > (maybe the Ukraine or the Slovakian region of the former Austro- > Hungarian Empire?). Any ideas or tips in my research efforts? > I'm also looking for two towns, named "Mattamorish" (sp?) and > "Kamuenke"(sp?) Thanks. Hi Mark, Check out Mapquest on the net for the towns; you might also check on when and where your ancestors came to the US. Census records from 1920 sometimes have the village of origin,as do death certificates and naturalization papers in many states. Check out some of the general genealogy books from your library (I see you're in NYC, so the NYC Public Library should be helpful); a good one is Angus Baxter's book, In Search of Your European Roots. Check out the sites for the National Archives and also the Federation of Eastern European Family History Societies (FEEFHS) on the net. These places can give you some jump off points in your research, as does this discussion group. Have fun, and let us know what you come up with (you may have some interesting surprises, I know I did)! Regards, Bonnie Cieslukowski Weissman