Correspondence in Family History

Letter writing is becoming a lost art. First the telephone was to blame, now email has almost completely consumed what was once letter writing. But unless you have unlimited resources of time and money, you will need to write letters in order to further your family history research. Most of your information will come from government agencies, historical societies and long lost relatives, and a written letter is not only usually required, but written well can sometimes open some of the doors you hadn’t even known existed.

Many people are intimidated to send of requests for information. “Where do I send it?” “What do I say?” “What information should I include?” etc. are some of the questions people have and we are going to answer those. There are many resources available to you to help you in your correspondence. From pre-written form letters, to lists of addresses and contacts; knowing what is available to help you will take away that intimidation.

First, I must give credit to a few sources for some wonderful information on correspondence writing in Family History. The full articles can be found at:
Genealogy Correspondence: The Writing Rite Done Right, by George Morgan (http://www.ancestry.com/columns/george/09-11-98.htm)
Correspondence and Queries by Desmond Walls Allen and Carolyn Earle Billingsley (http://www.arkansasresearch.com/g-corr.html)

These sites have more links and additional information:
http://www.hvcn.org/info/gswc/links/toolletter.htm
http://www.cyndislist.com/correspd.htm
http://usgenweb.org/
http://worldgenweb.org/

Templates and Form letters:
http://www.familytreemagazine.com/forms/download.html#
http://www.genealogy.com/genealogy/00000023.htmlhttp://www.genealogienetz.de/misc/letters/

Tips for Success

1. Do as much research as you can first.

• Make sure you have the right location, and as much information as possible. Remember that county boundaries have changed throughout history and make sure you are sending your request to the right location.
• Make sure the agency you are making the request to has access to the information you need. Many institutions will let you know what records they have and for what periods of time. This information can be found online and in guides available in the Family History Library.

2. What to send

• When possible, call or email ahead and ask what is required. Some institutions have specific forms or requirements before they can release any information to you.
• Some institutions will send you a form or direct you to a website to download a form.
• With new HIPPA regulations, some requirements have changed in the last few years.
• Money. Call or find out any fees or donations required to process your request.

3. Who to write to?

• Historical societies
• Churches
• Cemeteries
• Government agencies
• Relatives

4. Where to send it?

• The Genealogy Handbook and The Genealogy Source Book are two books available in most libraries that provide addresses and contact information for most institutions around the
• US. There are other resource guides out there as well. Check at the library.
• The research guides put out by the church provide information for international institutions.
• www.google.com: search for the name in your favorite search engine.

5. Email or mail or fax?

• Depends on who it is going to.
• A letter will always get more attention than an email.
• Email is great to find out what information is required and if a group has the type of information you are looking for.

6. Writing the letter

• Be short, concise and to the point. Don’t include trivia about your ancestors, only the basic facts.
• Be sincere in your request and polite.
• Keep your requests to a minimum. Ask no more than 2 or 3 direct questions in a single letter.
• Don’t ask for ‘everything you have’. Be specific in what you want.
• Express gratitude for any information they can provide.
• Ask for any other local institutions or people who may have information (in the event they cannot fulfill your request).
• Offer to share information you have (if the request is sent to a distant relative).
• Include a Self Addressed Stamped envelope as well as any fees the institution may require.
• If you are writing to a Historical society it is good to send a Family Group Sheet as they will often keep this on file. (when you get more information send them an updated copy)
• Some of the links I’ve provided above have templates or form letters where all you need to do is fill in the blanks with the names and facts about your relatives.
• Writing to a foreign county and don’t speak the language? No problem, some of the templates available are already written in other languages and all you have to do is fill in the blanks.

7. Make a copy of the letter

• Keep a copy of the letter on file.
• Make a habit of reviewing the letters you’ve sent and following up with any letters you haven’t heard back from.
• Add any notes to your file with information you receive; when you received it, what it was, how you obtained it, etc. Most of this information should be put into the Sources and Notes sections of PAF.