The following article is taken from The COUSIN FINDER Directory,  
Vol. 1, 1985, compiled by Maxine BEAR ROBERTS. 
  
"GENEALOGICAL CORRESPONDENCE - Making It Work For You" 
  
One of the most enjoyable and expeditious ways of performing your  
genealogical research--certainly the most economical--is through  
correspondence.  Most people find varying degrees of success in the  
pursuit of familial data through the prolific writing of letters,  
and even those who are unable to accumulate much data in this way  
usually find rewards in other aspects of the endeavor. The  
establishment of new relationships or the recultivation of old ones  
brings unexpected and indescribable gratification. 
  
Attention to a few simple rules of genealogical correspondence  
etiquette will bring more satisfying results.  Here are ten basic  
rules for your consideration. 
  
1. Use large envelopes (No. 10) for your letters.  Be sure to affix  
adequate postage. 
  
2. Always include a SASE (Self Addressed, Stamped Envelope) with  
your initial letter and subsequent ones, unless you told not to do  
so.  This SASE should be a No. 9 size envelope.  It does not need  
to be folded to fit into the No. 10 envelopes, resulting in a less  
bulky, more attractive, and more business-like mailing piece.  If  
you expect many pages of text to be returned to you, enclose a  
second stamp for your respondent to use, should it be necessary. 
  
3. Rarely--almost never--use a small, personal-size envelope for  
inquiries. They are acceptable, however, for your acknowledgments:  
thank you's. 
  
4.  Be brief.  In your contacts with officials, ask only one  
question in any letter and explain only the facts absolutely  
necessary to get your answer. Brevity is the rule also in your  
initial contacts with potential "cousins". You may establish a  
"chatty" relationship later on, if both of you seemed so inclined.   
If you do, incidentally, it is likely to turn into a most rewarding  
relationship.  Many opportunities to travel to ancestral localities  
have resulted from these relationships. 
  
5.  Write only when your mind, body, and eyes are fresh.  Write  
carefully. Write carefully.  Write carefully.  (Say it again!)  We  
ALWAYS do, right? WRONG?  Usually, in our haste to get a letter  
completed or to catch the mail delivery that day, we are not nearly  
careful enough.  Avoid strikeovers, both typed and hand written.   
YOU may know what it says, but the reader has two guesses, either  
of which may be the wrong one. Strikeovers are the most dangerous  
when dates are involved.  (Listen to Your Old Cousin & Editor now,  
she knows!)    Keep in mind your initial letter is your  
introduction.  It will set the stage, probably permanently, for  
your future relationship. 
  
6.  Label all pages, charts, envelopes, etc., with your name and  
address.  It is wise to date them, also. 
  
7.  Be a "Giver" as well as a "Taker".  Offer--and mean it--to  
exchange data. Answer queries you see in genealogical publications  
with any answers or clues you can offer.  Don't just sit there and  
wait for your queries to be answered.  "What goes 'round, comes  
'round," Your Cousin & Editor always says. 

8.  Include payment, if you know the cost, of copying, etc., or  
make it clear you will reimburse for it promptly.  Then do so,  
promptly! 
  
9.  Procrastinate (Did I say that?  Yes!) overnight.  Reread your  
letter the day after you write it.  If it says what you thought it 
said and is easily read and understood, mail it.  It is prudent, if  
possible, to ask someone who is unfamiliar with the subject to read  
it.  If that person understands you, it is likely that your  
intended recipient will, also. 
  
10. Acknowledge--always--and promptly--any response you receive,  
whether or not that response has brought the desired results.  You  
may wish to include another SASE with your acknowledgment, asking  
that your contact keep it in his files in case he should come  
across something for you later on.  Always reimburse postage for  
any reply whatsoever. 
  
Those are ten basic rules.  Here are five further suggestions: 
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a.  You may wish to write your question on the upper half of a  
sheet of paper, leaving the lower half for the response.  Anything  
you can do to make the action easier for your reader is advisable.   
If you suspect your contact may want to keep your letter for his  
files, include a carbon copy with the original.  He can then keep  
whichever he needs, or he can return both to you.  (Your Editor &  
Cousin hates carbon paper but loves "carbon sets". Investigate this  
neat way of making copies, or use some type of "no carbon required  
[NCR]" sets. 
  
b.  Some people like to say "If you have no information for me,  
won't you please drop my SASE in the mail.  That way I'll know you  
did receive and consider my request," or words to that effect.   
(Your Editor & Cousin doesn't like that; it makes it too easy for  
the contact to ignore your letter.  Maybe he's not feeling well  
that day, or busy, and it's a way to get rid of one piece of mail.   
I say "Let it sit there on his desk and haunt him day after day  
until he decides to answer it!") 
  
c.  Advertise that you will perform research in your local area  
records in exchange for research in another area where your  
interest lies. 
  
d.  For special favors, where payment is not expected to compensate  
for value received, send a personalized or localized gift.   
Products indigenous to your locale and sometimes easily acquired  
are often highly valued in another area.  A small item handcrafted 
by you demonstrates your special gratitude. 
  
e.  You've spent a lot of time and thought on putting your letter 
together. Now, let's get someone to read it.  Draw attention to it 
in clever ways.  A neatly addressed envelope is a must, of course, 
but you can individualize it to separate it from the rest of the 
bunch.  Use colorful postage stamps appropriate to the subject. 
Use other "stick-ons" on the back of the envelope, or use rubber 
stamp designs.  This is not recommended for business letters to 
public officials, but it may bring some enjoyment to your "cousin" 
contacts. 
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