A prospective cousin living near Zurich is researching the archives there looking for our HASLER connections. Many of the names like Jakob, Karl, and Rudolf are often preceded by the abbreviation of "Hs." Is there anyone who can confirm that this stands for Hans and tell me why this was done? Some of my Swiss friends (from Graubunden) send me transcriptions of records without any mention of this prefix or first name so up until recently my ancestors were known only as Jakob or Rudolf and now I'm receiving transcriptions (from Zurich) that show a Hans precedes the names I've known. Going back about six generations there is a Hans in front of every male name until suddenly there is a Georg with no Hans in front. Also is there anyone who can tell me if public records are worth ordering; specifically the Gemeindeakten (community records), Protokoll (minutes of town meetings), Kopialbuch (copy book), Zinsurbar (Tax records), UrKundenregister (misc. community documents), and Landbuch (land book). Would I glean much from these? I'd like to comment too that after a long absence from this list, it's good to be back. The community herein is as friendly and helpful as ever. Thank you. Peg