Dear Andrea Could it be that Joneen's reply to your question about silence on the list is part of the reason? She wrote: "I traced my alleged Huguenot BESSEY family back to the 1650s in Schoenaich, Wuerttemberg, not to England or France. I need to contact the German Huguenot Society for more information. Once I have more information I will be happy to share. I read your posts with amazement that so much information has survived in England and Ireland." Much as I enjoy the list, it has to be admitted that it is automatically limited by being in the English language. Since most listers are trying ultimately to get back to European countries where English is not the first language, the list on the whole does not reach the people most likely to be able to help (those with local knowledge). As I wrote last week I know that an enormous amount of information has survived in Geneva; I think also that there is plenty in certain parts of Germany and Andrea has told us about various French and Dutch sources. It is not that more information has survived in England and Ireland, it is that it is more easily accessible to English-speaking researchers. In my opinion, Andrea, if you want the list to thrive in its present form (and I am sure there are many faithful lurkers like myself who are addicted), you need some energetic members to test the waters on foreign language mailing lists and Internet sources and report back. As an example, for those who speak French and are researching in francophone countries, I have found this FAQ (particularly sections 3, 5, 10, 12 and 16) very useful: http://claire.b.free.fr/faq1frg.html <http://claire.b.free.fr/faq1frg.html> With best wishes Julia ********************************************************************** This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. If you have received this email in error please notify the postmaster at postmaster@sothebys.com. **********************************************************************