Von: Jim Eggert[SMTP:EggertJ@LL.mit.edu] Gesendet: Donnerstag, 20. Mai 1999 20:23 An: webpages-l@genealogy.net Betreff: Re: [webpages-l] Forwarded: english version please

Rick wrote:

...

Is it really so bad? I maintain the Alsace pages and get perhaps 5-6 emails a year about it. Can it really be true that Hessen would get 1000 requests in a year? What is the experience of the owners of the other regional pages?

I maintain the Schaumburg-Lippe pages, admittedly about the smallest of the former German states. I receive essentially no unsolicited e-mail on it. Quite the opposite, I usually go on search missions for other Schaumburg-Lippers!

This shows that genealogy is like real estate. Location, location, location! -- =Jim Eggert EggertJ@LL.mit.edu

This will depend on many factors, I guess, population being just one of them. How does the population of Hessen compare with Switzerland (7 mio. nowadays, incl. 1 mio. foreigners - my family contributing 4 to this number) ? I get between 3 and 5 unsolicited requests now each day - has calmed down a bit since I have a standard reply for all non-St.Gallen/Appenzell queries (and a few more interesting exceptions) - the word seems to spread ;-). I have to agree with Rick : even if you don't answer individual requests, the page in English alone will be much more than nothing in English at all. And you may want to draft a standard reply with a few general hints, plus an explanation why you just cannot answer in any more detail. Many people send very positive acknowledgments even after receiving the following (just FYI) : ----------- Dear ........., I apologize for this standardised response : I receive some 5+ requests like yours each day, and just do not have the time to reply to all of them in detail, in addition to maintaining and expanding my webpages - and doing the job I'm getting paid for. I therefore have to restrict detailed answers to my area of expertise, which is the St.Gallen/Appenzell area. If you already have an idea where your ancestors originated (e.g. the Canton they came from) I would recommend to contact the people mentioned on some of our cantonal pages - see http://www.eye.ch/swissgen/kanton-m.htm Unfortunately many Cantons are still missing, or don't mention an e-mail contact. In these cases you best contact the regional genealogical society (usually snailmail only) - see http://www.eye.ch/swissgen/verein-e.htm If you don't have any information but "Switzerland" for the origin of your ancestors, the first source to check is "Familiennamenbuch der Schweiz" (Register of Swiss Surnames). You find a short description within context on http://www.eye.ch/swissgen/intro-e.htm and a more detailed description with a link to an example page on http://www.eye.ch/swissgen/famnam-m.htm Should you not have access to this source (large library or LDS Family History Centre) you are invited to ask the "Swiss Surname Dictionary" for a look-up. From the description on http://www.eye.ch/swissgen/surnam-m.htm you'll find a link to the "query page" : if data are already in our database you can just have them e-mailed to you (make sure your address is typed in correctly !); if there are no data yet, you may request a look-up by our volunteer team. If you haven't done so already, I would further recommend to post your query to the Switzerland mailing list. To subscribe you send the word subscribe in the body of the message (and nothing else !) to Switzerland-L-request@rootsweb.com You will be given information on how to proceed in the welcome letter. You'll find many helpful people on this list. I wish you success with your further research, and send my best regards - Wolf ---------------------- Wolf W. Seelentag, PhD, e-mail : wolf@swissmail.com Reherstr. 19, CH - 9016 St. Gallen, Switzerland Tel (home) : +41-71-2885121 Tel (work) : +41-71-4942233 Fax : +41-71-4942893