----- Original Message ----- From: "Bill Tarkulich" <bill@iabsi.com> To: <SLOVAKIA-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, September 10, 2002 8:55 AM Subject: RE: Need HELP please --- SLovak ancestor Dear Bill, I wish that when a lister brags about a good web-site found that has helped them in many ways, that they would take the time want to share and to post the urls for all these goodies. Thanks, Vera > Hi Diana, > Glad the information moves you forward. > > Many, many people who are young at research make similar comments about > wishing they had paid attention in History Class. Then again, it's our > families that make it real for us. For example, if you asked me to > study about Botswana (no offense to those citizens) I'd probably still > yawn as loud as I did in 8th grade. > > There are probably more records squirrelled away in govt archives for > you. Sometimes even the archives or INS will respond with "no records > found," which turns out to be a mis-truth. What I mean it that the > clerk didn't try hard enough - I have had to persist more than once with > the INS on the same name before my GP's file was found. Don't give up > on a source simply because you may get one "rejection letter." > > You indicate you have not located immigration records - have you > submitted a Freedom of Info request to the INS? Oft times this yields > better records than county courthouses (for people of our heritage > anyways.) Census - For all we know they were not counted or momentarily > lived elsewhere. > > You comment:.... I found some there with the variation > spelling, but the dates didnt match when they reported entering the > country" > This is no surprise to anyone who has studied genealogy for a while. > You can count on finding erroneous dates all over the place. There is a > column on most post-1904 manifests which indicates whether they had been > in the US prior. It might be a clue. I have immigrants who came back > and forth a few times (we never knew this) and each time, their name was > spelled differently on the manifest. Keep an open mind and keep up the > good work! > > Bill Tarkulich > > > ============================== > To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237 >

> There are probably more records squirrelled away in govt archives for > you. Sometimes even the archives or INS will respond with "no records > found," which turns out to be a mis-truth. What I mean it that the > clerk didn't try hard enough - I have had to persist more than once with > the INS on the same name before my GP's file was found. Don't give up > on a source simply because you may get one "rejection letter." Amen to that statement!!! I have been trying for several years to find a death certificate regarding a child who died on Ellis Island. Several tries yielded no reply or a reply that it wasn't there. Gave it another try earlier this year and received a copy. Same information that was sent in years past. Now, is there a place an immigrant might have registered if he never became a citizen? Or a way to find out if he did become a citizen? He came over around 1906 and died in 1965. Ancestry touts WWI registration records but so far they have only posted a few counties in Pa and NC. Would LDS have these records? I made my first trip to the closest center which is about 50 miles away and the people who volunteer there seem to be in awe of someone researching somewhere other than England. Marlene Norton __________________________________________________ Yahoo! - We Remember 9-11: A tribute to the more than 3,000 lives lost http://dir.remember.yahoo.com/tribute

Hi Vera, Are you talking about me??? ;) maybe??? :o) That's OK... I have hundreds of pages of disorganized tips, pointers, web sites, documents, books, history and resources. One document I have collected them in is over 60 pages alone. I've just begun to write about them all. The other problem with web sites is that they reformulate themselves every year or so, making for a lot of "broken links." The other problem with discussion groups is that people come and go. If you've been with any list for a while, you find that the same questions are repeated and answered over and over again. So if you weren't here when the INS discussion occurred, you missed it, unless your discussion group has an archive. I'm attempting to alleviate that by building a web site, but at my rate, it will take years, since for most of us, this is a hobby. Let me know if you want more information on contacting the INS, guides for the manifests, the Family History Center and so on. I usually just "cut and paste" advice I've previously provided. Bill -----Original Message----- From: Vera Holman Cox Mail [mailto:loverangel@lvcm.com] Sent: Tuesday, September 10, 2002 1:20 PM To: bill@iabsi.com; SLOVAKIA-L@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: Need HELP please --- SLovak ancestor ----- Original Message ----- From: "Bill Tarkulich" <bill@iabsi.com> To: <SLOVAKIA-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, September 10, 2002 8:55 AM Subject: RE: Need HELP please --- SLovak ancestor Dear Bill, I wish that when a lister brags about a good web-site found that has helped them in many ways, that they would take the time want to share and to post the urls for all these goodies. Thanks, Vera > Hi Diana, > Glad the information moves you forward. > > Many, many people who are young at research make similar comments > about wishing they had paid attention in History Class. Then again, > it's our families that make it real for us. For example, if you asked > me to study about Botswana (no offense to those citizens) I'd > probably still yawn as loud as I did in 8th grade. > > There are probably more records squirrelled away in govt archives for > you. Sometimes even the archives or INS will respond with "no records > found," which turns out to be a mis-truth. What I mean it that the > clerk didn't try hard enough - I have had to persist more than once > with the INS on the same name before my GP's file was found. Don't > give up on a source simply because you may get one "rejection letter." > > You indicate you have not located immigration records - have you > submitted a Freedom of Info request to the INS? Oft times this yields > better records than county courthouses (for people of our heritage > anyways.) Census - For all we know they were not counted or > momentarily lived elsewhere. > > You comment:.... I found some there with the variation spelling, but > the dates didnt match when they reported entering the country" > This is no surprise to anyone who has studied genealogy for a while. > You can count on finding erroneous dates all over the place. There is a > column on most post-1904 manifests which indicates whether they had been > in the US prior. It might be a clue. I have immigrants who came back > and forth a few times (we never knew this) and each time, their name was > spelled differently on the manifest. Keep an open mind and keep up the > good work! > > Bill Tarkulich > > > ============================== > To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy > records, go to: > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237 >