Letter Help Needed Toogood's

[Daryl]

I am intending on sending letters out to Toogood's who currently live in the area that I am investigating.....

.....But what do I put into the letter?

I want people to realise that it is a legitimate letter without them thinking that it is some sort of scam.

I want  to give them enough information for them to realise that they may or may not be part of my tree without sending the whole family tree.

I want to send them some interesting facts about the name and family inorder to get them to read  the rest of the letter.

Do people have any advice or even have a smaple letter that they have used?

[daval57]

I did something similar in glasgow and all but one person replied.  I actually discovered a cousin that I'd never met but lives 1/2 a mile from my home.  Meeting him and his wife next week.
i'm on holiday at the moment but i'm sure i've kept a copy of the letter i sent on my hard drive.  I'll be back home on Tuseday if you'd like me to send a copy to give you an idea of what to write.
Dave

[Daryl]

Dave

That would be fantastic!

Yes please!

[daval57]

one thing i did put in my letter to show i was genuine was a link to my website.
anyway, i'll get back ti you on Tuesday.  If I don't feel free to remind me.

[ali607]

hi i started a thred on this last year when I was trying to find my grandad (who is now found). A rootschatter very kindly posted this letter template which I thought was very useful. I hope the original rootschatter doesnt mind me posting this - i just though it would be useful:

Dear x,

I hope you don't mind my getting in touch rather out of the blue.  My name is ____, daughter of X; my mother has always spoken very fondly of the times she spent with your family as a child.

The reason I am writing is that I have become very interested in tracing the family history, and it is the X line which I am particularly working on at the moment.  As you can see from the family tree which I enclose, I'm having trouble tracing the line back beyond ________ X, and unfortunately nobody on my side on the family has any more information than I already have.  I was wondering whether you might know anything which might help me to progress further.  Of course I will completely understand if you are unable to help...

Alison

I have changed the orginal personal details in the letter which the rootschatter originally wrote.

Hope this is of some help
Alison

[KathMc]

Daryl,

I have sent out many letters and sometimes gotten responses and sometimes not. I always include a self-addressed stamped envelope for them to respond, along with my email address, for an even quicker response. I put in some relalvent info for that branch of the family, let them know how long I have been researching, etc.

I have other things I do, but I don't want to digress from the Toogood thing. My ggg grandmother's sister, Ann Collins, married Alfred Toogood. They were both from Coventry but Alfred got sent to Australia and I believe they married there, returned to England for a time but went back to Australia. It's a relationship only by marriage, but I have found it fascinating, due to Alfred's history, and I do love that name, Toogood.

I would love to share what I have on them and find your Toogood connection.

Kath

[daval57]

hi i started a thred on this last year when I was trying to find my grandad (who is now found). A rootschatter very kindly posted this letter template which I thought was very useful. I hope the original rootschatter doesnt mind me posting this - i just though it would be useful:

Dear x,

I hope you don't mind my getting in touch rather out of the blue.  My name is ____, daughter of X; my mother has always spoken very fondly of the times she spent with your family as a child.

The reason I am writing is that I have become very interested in tracing the family history, and it is the X line which I am particularly working on at the moment.  As you can see from the family tree which I enclose, I'm having trouble tracing the line back beyond ________ X, and unfortunately nobody on my side on the family has any more information than I already have.  I was wondering whether you might know anything which might help me to progress further.  Of course I will completely understand if you are unable to help...

Alison

I have changed the orginal personal details in the letter which the rootschatter originally wrote.

Hope this is of some help
Alison

Daryl, this is very similar to the letter I sent and, as I said before, the majority replied.
Good Luck
Dave