Several people have told me I should repost this letter every so often and I was really flattered with the suggestion. Again I seem to be seeing quite a few letters that simply say "send information" on a certain surname, or people who have very little information to search further with out some legwork on their part. The "fun" of genealogy is the "hunt" so don't miss out on that. I have learned so much from this listserv, and find everyone a really helpful group of researchers that have so many great suggestions and this is such a great forum to exchange ideas--as you can see I am new to computers and love the almost instant answers to questions. >>Saw your post and I'd like to welcome you to the wonderful addiction of genealogy! Since you sounded so new I thought I would send you a few things to read that may help you get started. Please get Family Group Sheets to record your information otherwise you don't know what you have or don't have. When my husband was a teenager he collected stories and relationships from his family and when we started dating he had notebooks full of information but it was so unorganized we had to spend days just sorting it out. It was a great thing to do as a teen because we have information we would not have had otherwise, but it needed organized. >> >>Good luck, >>Joanne (Balon) Kennedy >>Central PA >>>>>>>Date: Tue, 25 Feb 1997 23:45:04 -050> >>>>>>>I just finished reading a few letters and felt I had to write and I probably will get a lot of feedback about this but I think it needs said to all those who are relatively new to doing genealogy. I have been addicted to genealogy for over 20 years and have done many lines of both my own and my husband's--some go back to the 1600 and some only go back to the late 1800's; we've covered England, Ireland, Germany, Poland, and Slovakia. And I realize it is every genealogist's dream to get information from somewhere other than the USA BUT you can't until you have exhaused EVERY source here in the USA. And there are many. I realize it is not as exciting but it is necessary! There are archives in countries but they need information to pinpoint a document. You can't write to an archive in Poland with only a name and a date and expect a positive reply. It would be like searching for a needle in a haystack.. They don't have every document ever issued in their country alphabetized and waiting at their fingertips just to send you. And then sometimes we wonder why they get so negative when they receive a request from those "Americans" who are so impatient for a baptism record of a great grandfather who was born about 1880 somewhere in their country. (!!???) >>>>>>> >>>>>>>There are many sources here in the US that are obvious--death certificates (but always remember these are "second hand" information), naturalization, census, etc. But also remember to get the declaration of intention. Other things to try: >>>>>>> >>>>>>>1. Check baptisms of their children here in the US. Many ethnic churches would also record the parents place of baptism on their children's baptism to "prove" their (i.e. parents) baptism. And look at ALL the children--my great grandparents had 10 children and only ONE had their church in Poland listed. And I might add this was the only document I found with their village listed and it wasn't on my grandmother's baptism! >>>>>>> >>>>>>>2. Check who were godparents for their children, who they were friends with, talk to everyone who may have known them. Many times a census here in the US almost reads like the church records in the ancesteral village--in other words many times more than one family came and settled in the same area here too. So if there is no information on your direct relatives try their friends records. This may at least narrow the area of you search down. My great uncle was a "runner" to Slovakia for the area coal mines--his son told me how his father had made at least 4 trip "back home" with the sole purpose of getting more men to come here to work the mines. And one row of company houses here reads just like the village in Slovakia. >>>>>>> >>>>>>>3. Funeral homes are usually very good and helpful sources of a great deal of information. Plus most have exactly the same information that was supplied for the death certificate so you can save yourself a few bucks. We found one of my husband's "lost" greatx2 aunt's descendants because the funeral director gave me the name of the person who paid to have the grass on the grave mowed every year--a call to this person turned up her granddaughter. Plus I have found funeral directors to go out of their way with information. When I asked for some information on a relative, he also sent me all the funerals they had handled with the same surname. What a gift! >>>>>>> >>>>>>>4. Also check the court house for unusual document--land transfers, wills, even disputes among neighbors, orphans, etc. My grandfather and his half brother filed a document in our local court giving up any rights they had to family land in Slovakia to their sister --there was her name and the address where the copy was sent in Slovakia. >>>>>>> >>>>>>>5. And I can't say enough about the LDS. If you look at the baptisms, marriages , and deaths yourself you will find so much more than what is just recorded on one document from an archive. Plus some records also list house # and this can lead to relatives as you go back thru records. And the cost is minimal when you see what you can gain. Also they usually did not travel great distances to marry so after I had looked at all the baptisms, marriages, deaths of my great grandparents and their ancestors in "their" village, I then ordered the records for the village churches within about a 10 mile radius. This led to the marriage record of my great X5 grandparents in 1812 in a village about 6 miles away from where they lived. Digging deeper in these records then gave me the family of my great X5 grandmother as this was "her" village--something I would not have know from the village records I initally looked at. So don't believe that all your records will be in just one location. Also remember "George" and "whatever you find " in the US records are probably Americanized names. For example in Poland, the Latin church baptism will have "Adalbertus" , his family called him "Wojtek", his marriage had "Wojciech", the German ship's captain listed him as "Albert" and the records her in the US call him "George" and this is all the same man and please don't say "they changed his name". >>>>>>> >>>>>>>6. Also talk with all the "Senior Citizens" in the US neighborhood. And please don't just ask specific names and dates. Let them talk about their lives and the lives of your relatives--record it if possible. Sometimes I have found that if you ask the elderly a specific date they will say they " don't know." Two very dear ladies in their late 80's helped me more than I can say by just telling stories... before I knew better I had previously asked if they knew if my great grandmother had any siblings here in the US they said they didn't know. But when they started remembering a funeral they attended as young girls the one thing that really seemed to impress them was a man who came in a "fancy buggy with a pretty horse". When I asked who this was they said "your grandmother's uncle". (in other words my great grandmother's brother). I got more names and relationships from the discussion of this one funeral then I would have every had from just asking specific dates and names. PLUS I learned so much of what life was like for my relatives which I believe is just as important to genealogy as a collection of names and dates. >>>>>>> >>>>>>>7. I think I may have sent this before but when you finally find a village and it is a "large, famous" city don't just look at records there. Yes I know people were born in these cities and they immigrated too, but many immigrants came here to work coal mines and steel mills and weren't the "shop owners" of the cities. But when asked where they came from would give a town that would be recognized by the ship's captain, Ellis Island clerk (who didn't speak their language no less could they write it right) so it was easier to just say Warsaw. And don't shake your head--we travel alot thru the US ( our girls have been in all but 3 states) and when we are asked where we are from rather than say the small town we live near (about 100 people) we just say we live "an hour south of Penn State." We don't even use a town!! Everyone will just shake their head in understanding--but genealogist in a 100 years will have fun trying to locate this on any map! So if you don't find your relative in the records of the city you think you should branch out to neighboring vilages too. >>>>>>> >>>>>>>I am sorry I have gone on so long but I hope this will make everyone see that there are lots of places to check before you can "get to (you fill in the country of choice!)". >>>>>>> >>>>>>>And one last thing genealogy is so much fun and we can all share our ideas, research methods and it benefits us all----this is not a solitary hobby--I have made so many friends thru this pasttime and they have helped me so much I hope I have at least helped someone else too. >>>>>>> >>>>>>>Joanne >>>>>>>tjk@csrlink.net >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>> >>>> >>> >> >