Brooke, I recently experienced the same thing, except he was standing in front of me and handed me cash!!! I tried to refuse, but he insisted and his wife only smiled when I looked to her for support in not accepting it. They said that so much work has been done that they appreciate it and wouldn't have the information if it weren't for me. So, I accepted, against my better judgement and intend to use the money wisely and only for research and supply them with the 'above and beyond'. These folks live in California and I live in Oregon, so I went to one of the cemeteries where their family is buried, visited the office, took a whole roll of film and developed it, labeled all the pictures, organized them and am sending them off today. Plus, am doing the same for some new-found family who didn't think they are connected. Genealogy is expensive and I guess they understand that, and they appreciate what you have done, since they couldn't or didn't do it themselves. And, I am sure they will have fun seeing what you have accomplished. Some people have a gift for doing genealogy, some don't, but I think all enjoy the benefits of the work. Hope this helps. Diane --- bmyers <bmyers@du.edu> wrote: > Hello... > > Several weeks ago, I sent out letters to some of my > father's cousins. I > introduced myself and offered to copy and send them > pictures of common > relatives. I also asked if they had any information to > add to the "family > tree." > > Recently, I received a letter from one of these > relatives. He had no > information to add, but sent a $35 check for any fees I > incure while > reproducing the promised pictures. > > I don't mean to sound like a fool, but I am not sure > what to do. My first > instinct was to send the check back with a thank-you > note. I am not doing > this for the money or any other reason than to discover > more about the family > roots. I asked for advice from my closer family members, > but it has been > split keeping the money and sending it back. I don't > want to risk offending > this relative by sending the check back, but I also am > hesitant to keep it, as > I did not ask for any money or intend to profit from > this. > > By the way, if anyone signed up for the Ancestry.com > free trial, please let > me know if you found any "catches" before I give them my > information. > > Thank You, > Brooke Myers > > > > ==== NYRENSSE Mailing List ==== > Barbara's Genealogy Page: > http://members.tripod.com/~JeffriesB > Rensselaer County Genweb page: > http://www.rootsweb.com/~nyrensse/ > GenConnect Board: > http://cgi.rootsweb.com/~genbbs/genbbs.cgi/USA/NY/Rensselaer > Listowner, Pat Connors: mailto:nymets11@pacbell.net > __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get Yahoo! Mail - Free email you can access from anywhere! http://mail.yahoo.com/