In a message dated 98-03-25 20:50:54 EST, sandal@superior.net wrote: << I am asking for advice on how to word a request to the Diocese for the records. To whom's attention should I address the letter? What details should I include? What areas should I avoid? Has anyone had any experiences with the Syracuse Catholic Diocese? >> Last September, I wrote to the Catholic Diocese of Syracuse Archives asking for records of my HANIFAN family. Within two weeks, I received a lovely handwritten letter from a volunteer telling me where I might find additional records, along with photocopies of records: one baptism and one marriage. In reply, I sent a donation to help support the maintenance of the archival records. Simply write a polite letter stating what you want (which is basically what you did in your e-mail to the NYONONDA-list), to: Carl H. Roesch Diocesan Archivist Catholic Diocese of Syracuse Archives PO Box 511 Syracuse, New York 13201-0511 The phone number is (315) 470-1493; the street address is 240 East Onondaga Street, Syracuse. Call ahead to make arrangements if you are planning a visit -- they are not open to the public all of the time. Hope this helps, Diane