This week,"Along Those Lines ..."discusses how to keep track and control of all those letters you write. The tool? A simple correspondence log.

Letter Writing 101
Letter writing seems to be something of a lost art. We can thank the telephone for that in part. With the advent of e-mail, however, people write short, informal, electronic notes. These are, for the most part, throwaway correspondence. Few people print e-mail and fewer still maintain hardcopies in a file.

Government entities, however, are still paper intensive. It is incumbent for these agencies to maintain paper copies or microfilm images in files for extended future references. Thank goodness! That makes our work as genealogists possible.

In order to obtain copies of any records maintained in government locations, such as courthouses, vital records bureaus, state archives, etc., you have to write letters of inquiry and request the copies. A well-written letter can open many doors, and an SASE encourages expedient replies. The following is a sample of a letter I might have used to obtain vital records.

Alamance County Offices
Attn.: Department of Vital Records
124 W. Elm Street
Graham, NC 27253

Dear Gentlemen and Ladies:

I am researching my family history and am interested in obtaining copies of vital records for a number of my ancestors and family members who lived in Alamance County. The records I am seeking are as follows:

Marriage Records NAMES DATE OF MARRIAGE LOCATION Samuel Thomas MORGAN 25 January 1933 Mebane, NC and Sarah Edith WEATHERLY Death Records NAME DATE OF DEATH COMMENTS Walton Carey WEATHERLY 17 April 1948 Died in Mebane, NC Elizabeth Holder WEATHERLY 4 December 1962 Died in Burlington, NC

I have tried to provide as much information as possible above. I hope it will be enough for you to locate these records for me. Please advise me of the cost of locating and providing me with copies of these records. I will send a check immediately or provide credit card information, whichever you prefer.

Thank you in advance for your invaluable help with my family quest.

Sincerely yours,
[Signature]

Always be sure to do your research in advance. Make certain you've got the right county's office. Remember that country, state, county, and local boundaries changed many times. There are few things as frustrating as having written to one county courthouse for a marriage record, only to find that the next county over was the one that had jurisdiction at the time your great-grandparents were married. Frustrating for you and irritating for the clerk whose time you wasted.

Also, make sure before you write that the particular state or county maintained records at the particular time for which you are writing. For example, in the above letter, I checked in the Ancestry Red Book and determined that no place in NC maintained any birth records until the North Carolina General Assembly approved an act on 10 March 1913 requiring births and deaths to be recorded. It wasn't until about 1920 that there was full compliance. Although I am searching for proof of birth dates for ancestors in that county, I knew that the two people whose births I am researching were in 1905 and 1909. Had I included a request for birth certificates in the letter above, it would have been a waste of my time and the clerk's time.

Always print two copies of each letter you write. The original is to be mailed, and you will keep and file a copy. More on that later.

Quick Replication
In this era of computers and word processors, creation of letters of inquiry is a simple thing. One trick that I use is the "template" letter. A template is a shell which I simply open in my word processor, save as another document, and alter as necessary to fit my inquiry. For instance, I'll change the letter above to add a new county courthouse address, change the names, dates and comments, and add and delete information as needed to create a new letter. I maintain templates for courthouses, libraries, genealogical/historical societies, and for individuals. I maintain templates for birth records, marriage licenses, death notices/obituaries, wills/probate packets, and for deeds/land records. This saves me many hours of trying to be creative making up new letters.

Another thing I always send with a letter of this sort is an SASE (self-addressed, stamped envelope). This really encourages replies. I use my word processor and printer to periodically create 25 such envelopes, add stamps, and put them in the drawer for use as I need them. (I have a genealogist friend who had a printer make 500 self-addressed envelopes for her a few months ago. She said it was quite inexpensive.)

The Correspondence Log
If you write as many records inquiry letters as I do — probably 100-150 a year — you're probably overwhelmed with keeping track of who has responded and with what. And you're also sure to have a bunch that have not responded.

The way I keep track of correspondence is with a correspondence log. It sounds like a lot of work but it really is not. The choice of how you keep a correspondence log is up to you. Here is how I keep mine.

My correspondence log is maintained in an Excel spreadsheet program, and contains the following columns:

~ Addressed To: (This the person or government agency to which the inquiry was addressed.)
~ Date: (This is the date of the letter.)
~ Regarding: (This is the name of the person about whom the inquiry was sent - the format is SURNAME, Firstname MI. I use one line per name. Therefore, in the letter above, I have six (6) lines for the same letter, which makes for simple sorting.)
~ Record Type: (Birth, death, marriage, military, etc.)
~ Resp. Rec'd: (Date a response was received.)
~ Disposition/Comments: (These are notes on whether any record was received or whether my inquiry was referred elsewhere.)

I'll admit to not updating it every time I write letters. However, I will update it every 2-3 times I write them. By maintaining the information in a computerized spreadsheet, I can sort the log by date, addressee, the surname (in the "Regarding:" column), responses received (or not), and any combination of sorts. Then, by printing the spreadsheet, I have a current correspondence log that can be filed or which can be used as a reference to contact the "no replies."

You may choose to maintain separate spreadsheets, or correspondence logs, by surname or research area, depending on your needs. Everyone's research is different. Used in conjunction with a genealogy "research calendar" and/or a log of where you've already searched, you can help yourself avoid covering the same tracks multiple times.

Filing the Letters
Your filing system is a personal thing. I personally file all letters in a "pending" file. When I get a response, I file it in a "closed" file. If I received information about an individual, I file that information in binders I maintain by surname and individual. If I receive advice to contact another person or agency, I write another letter. The way you file your letters and responses is entirely up to you.

The Power of the Pen
There is a special thrill when you receive genealogical records by mail that can't be matched anywhere else. I remember the joy of receiving a copy of my great-great-great-grandparents' marriage license dated 22 March 1810 by mail. There's nothing like it!

Never underestimate the power of your letter-writing skills. With some preliminary research, a well-written letter and a little organization, you can gather a tremendous amount of information. By the way, in the letter above, I obtained copies of everything I requested. You can accomplish similar success!

Happy hunting!

George