Tips for writing to family members
Only you know best how to write letters to your own family! However, we've included a few hints here just in case you need some help.
1. Open your letter with news of family interest. Diving right into requests for information may make you seem pushy. Make sure you show interest in both your living family members and the deceased ones that you are hunting for.
2. Offer to share your genealogical information with the people to whom you are writing. They may be interested in having copies of family trees or in adding information that you have collected to their own genealogical records.
3. Be sure to keep your requests reasonable. Unless the person you are writing to has already agreed to help you extensively, make sure that you aren't asking anyone to go out of their way to find information for you.
4. Even though it's "just" family, remember to say thank you.
5. Finally, don't forget to keep a copy of the letter for your records. For information about keeping track of your correspondence, see the topic Tracking your correspondence.