Errands

15 drafted and not yet sent · 18 sent — 3 answered, 3 acknowledged but not yet answered, 12 silent, and 14 due to be chased

Only this archive's letters. The same mailbox carries correspondence for the sibling archives, which is tracked there.

Why this page exists

This archive has eighteen letters out for its own research alone — more again in the sibling archives that share the mailbox — and had no schedule for chasing any of them, which means they get chased either too early, which annoys archivists, or never, which is worse. It had already sent one correspondent two emails in four hours and a second correspondent a duplicate enquiry it had forgotten making.

So each letter now carries an interval chosen for the recipient, not a single global one. A parish office open three hours a day is not a commercial researcher. A national archive in another hemisphere is not a man who has quoted for work. The page recomputes on every build, so the dates below are live rather than written down once and forgotten.

Drafted, and not yet sent

fifteen letters are written and waiting on David. They are kept here rather than in the work list, because a letter that exists and has not gone out is an errand and not a research question. This archive drafts; it does not send. Each one is a file under requests/ in the repository.

To	What it asks	Before sending
Ms Mavis Xaba, Reading Room, National Archives of South Africa `21-SEND-THIS-to-mavis.txt`	Accepts her offer to retrieve TAB, WLD 2545/1950, and answers the two things she raised: all correspondence on one thread from now on, and an apology for the enquiries that reached her from several addresses at once.	Reply on her existing thread.
Anne, private researcher, Pretoria `22-SEND-THIS-to-anne.txt`	Accepts her terms — R2,850 for the first file and then by the work, capped — confirms the date she offered, and supplies the detail she asked for and was not given.	She has quoted; this is the letter that starts paid work.
Paul, a DNA match `25-SEND-THIS-to-paul.txt`	Tells him the shared great-grandparents are not the couple he guessed: they are GEORGE W CASTLE 1862–1916 and CAROLINE WALLIS 1862–1957, already on the far right of his own tree.	—
SANDF Documentation Centre, Irene `26-SEND-THIS-to-sandf.txt`	An addition to the enquiry of 15 September about WEAR, Leonard Aubrey Robert at Roberts Heights: supplies FORCE NUMBER 141272, found on the British side, which should save them the search they were asked for.	—
Paul, a DNA match — a correction `27-SEND-THIS-to-paul-correction.txt`	Withdraws a claim made in the previous letter: “if Martha Giddings died in 1863 she cannot have known her son at all”. Three further points that belong to him rather than to this archive.	Send after 25. It corrects it.
Archiwum Państwowe w Koszalinie, Słupsk branch `28-SEND-THIS-to-koszalin.txt`	Acknowledges their answer on case O-S.6342.406.2026. Polish, with an English translation beneath.	—
Arolsen Archives `29-SEND-THIS-to-arolsen.txt`	Asks about one tracing file in particular, stating that the consent declaration is in place and that a good deal has already been read in the online archive.	—
National Archives of Australia `31-SEND-THIS-to-naa.txt`	An access examination request covering five Luwinski and Leibholz items, 1939 to 1965. Four of the five are already open and are listed so the reference staff can answer for the whole family in one reply.	Free — under the Archives Act an examination costs time, not money.
Landesarchiv Berlin — Entschädigungsbehörde files `32-SEND-THIS-to-landesarchiv-entschaedigung.txt`	An addition to the letter of 14 September about Kurt and the Leibholz brothers, naming the compensation files as a new subject. German.	Send as a reply on the 14 September thread, so it lands against the same file.
Bundeszentralkartei, Bezirksregierung Düsseldorf `33-SEND-THIS-to-bzk.txt`	Asks the national card index of compensation claims about four people of the LUWINSKI and LEIBHOLZ family. It exists because § 185 BEG decided WHICH Land’s authority was competent, and a Berlin-only enquiry can come back empty while the file sits elsewhere. German.	—
Archiwum Państwowe w Olsztynie `34-SEND-THIS-to-olsztyn.txt`	The East Prussian enquiry — the Allenstein and Kreis Rössel entries named by the Geneteka sweep. Polish.	Its own thread. Postal address held as the fallback if the email bounces.
Landesarchiv Berlin — two reproductions `35-SEND-THIS-to-landesarchiv-urkunden.txt`	Asks for TWO entries by exact register number: Kurt’s birth, Standesamt Berlin VIII 1912 Nr. 963, and his mother’s marriage. They answer each other — if Kurt was legitimised by that marriage the note is in the margin of both. German.	Same thread as 32, and it reads as a follow-up to it. A reproduction carries a fee, so it is David’s to send.
Archiwum Państwowe w Bydgoszczy — the Jewish community registers `36-SEND-THIS-to-bydgoszcz-jewish-registers.txt`	Thanks them and asks a further question on the Szubin Jewish community books. Polish.	Reply on case IU.631.434.2026.
Immaculate Conception, Rosebank — Arlene `37-SEND-THIS-to-rosebank-thanks-and-parish-register.txt`	Thanks her for the Wear/Robertson marriage of 7 September 1940 and asks the one question that is left. ITS FIRST DRAFT MUST NEVER BE SENT: it asked for a register she had already described in the body of her email, which had not been read because only the attachment had.	—
Archiwum Państwowe w Bydgoszczy — the fourth question `40-SEND-THIS-to-bydgoszcz-1820-1847.txt`	Asks for ONE year of the Szubin Jewish registers, which survive for 1820–1847 only: ABRAHAM SCHMUL, born 1846, whose entry would name the same parents as Friederike’s if he is her brother. It opens by reporting what their last answer produced, including that their archivist’s reading corrected this archive. Polish.	Reply on IU.631.434.2026, the fourth on one thread. It asks a single question and offers to pay.

And one draft must not be sent. Archiwum Państwowe w Bydgoszczy — Asked for the Szubin marriage entry of 1874. THE DOCUMENT HAS SINCE BEEN READ — Bydgoszcz answered on 22 September by pointing at genealogiawarchiwach.pl and the entry was read at the image the same hour: akt nr 9, USC Szubin Miasto sygn. 141, scan 10. The file is kept rather than deleted, so that nobody writes it again.

The address check that did not work Rule replaced

This archive’s standing rule was “MX check before sending any email”. On 15 September all twenty-six addresses the project has used were re-resolved and audited against the six that have actually failed. MX caught one of the six.

Address	MX said	What happened
`ahm@mail.exercito.pt`	no MX	Caught NXDOMAIN bounce
`sandfdoc@mweb.co.za`	live	550 relay access denied
`enquiries@dac.gov.za`	live	NXDOMAIN, from DSAC’s own gateway
the same, earlier	live	department renamed DAC → DSAC
`NMphetshwa@justice.gov.za`	live	the person had left the section
SANDF, Visagie Street	live	the office had moved to Irene

And here is why a DNS check can never catch the commonest failure. dac.gov.za and dsac.gov.za resolve to the same mail gateway. The dead department’s domain keeps a perfectly valid MX record, the shared gateway accepts the mail, and the rejection happens inside, where DNS cannot see it.

The replacement, ordered by what actually catches things: search the sent mail first, for prior contact and prior bounces — that has caught three failures; prefer an address the institution itself gave you over one from a directory; check the institution still exists under that name and at that address; then MX, last, to catch a mistyped subdomain; then watch for a bounce for a day.

Answered, and kept

Off the chase clock. The answer is printed in full, because a negative that cost a letter is worth as much as a hit.

08 Answered Sent 14 Sept 2026

Schubin / Szubin records

Archiwum Państwowe w Bydgoszczy · kancelaria@bydgoszcz.archiwa.gov.pl

Reference: 1a0a19fe2cf2d1de
What it settles: Answered 25 Sept 2026. *** ANSWERED, AND IT IS A YES. *** IU.631.434.2026, dated 22 September 2026, signed by the Director KAROLINA KAWCZYŃSKA, case officer dr MAŁGORZATA URBANOWSKA-CHYŁA. The reply says the digital copies of the BIRTH, MARRIAGE AND DEATH registers of URZĄD STANU CYWILNEGO SZUBIN MIASTO “have already been made available some time ago” on www.genealogiawarchiwach.pl, and supplies a direct link to THE BIRTH REGISTER FOR 1884 — the year Jacob Leibholz was born at Schubin on 8 August. It explains how to expand the table of contents on the black bar to the left, and says the scan of any record found may be downloaded straight from the portal. NO FEE, NO QUERY SERVICE, NO ACKNOWLEDGEMENT REQUESTED — unlike the Koszalin reply, this one asks for nothing back. THE CONTRAST WITH KOSZALIN IS THE WHOLE POINT: the Hammerstein registers are gone and the Szubin ones were online the entire time this archive was writing letters about them. || *** SECOND ANSWER, 25 SEPTEMBER 2026, AND IT ANSWERS ALL THREE QUESTIONS. *** IU.631.434.2026, Director KAROLINA KAWCZYŃSKA, officer dr MAŁGORZATA URBANOWSKA-CHYŁA. (1) THE JEWISH REGISTERS OF SZUBIN SURVIVE, 1820-1847 ONLY — wrong span for Friederica b. c.1852, RIGHT SPAN FOR ABRAHAM SCHMUL b. 1846. (2) DEATH INDEXES SURVIVE 1874-1878 AND 1894-1924 AND NOTHING ELSE ('wyłącznie'), so 1879-1893 is a stated gap; they attached sygn. 246, the 1894-1908 volume, WHICH THIS ARCHIVE HAD PUBLISHED AS NON-EXISTENT. (3) AND THE SMALL FAVOUR PAID BEST: an archivist read the 'Tochter der...' line — 'GASTWIRTH JUDA I JUTTA Z DOMU MACHOL SCHMUL JEGO ŻONA'. FRIEDERICA'S FATHER KEPT AN INN, and the mother is read JUTTA née MACHOL against the index's JETTE MACHOT.
Acknowledged 14 Sept 2026. Automatic acknowledgement: passed for handling, applications taken in order of receipt
Our thanks: Not required — the letter asks for no confirmation of receipt.
Followed up. SECOND LETTER SENT 22 September 2026 on the IU.631.434.2026 thread, message 1a0c8d2a92207d0f: asks directly whether Bydgoszcz holds the akta gminy wyznaniowej żydowskiej w Szubinie, since Friederica Schmul was born about 1852 and Prussian civil registration began only on 1 October 1874. Text at requests/sent/2026-09-22-bydgoszcz-jewish-registers-SENT.txt. || THIRD LETTER SENT 27 September 2026 on the same thread, message 1a0e23f9d737321a, cc sdonczyk@: corrects two errors this archive put in their case file — the marriage is 24 DECEMBER not November, and the reading WILHELMINE is withdrawn — admits that the 'no alphabetical death index' claim was wrong and why, and asks whether an equivalent index survives for 1874-1893. *** IT WAS SENT BEFORE THEIR OWN ATTACHED LETTER HAD BEEN READ, AND THAT LETTER ALREADY ANSWERS THE INDEX QUESTION. *** Text at requests/sent/2026-09-27-bydgoszcz-correction-SENT.txt.

09 Answered Sent 14 Sept 2026

Czarne (Hammerstein) civil registers 1847 and 1884, and the synagogue books — the Leibholz family

Archiwum Państwowe w Koszalinie · kancelaria@koszalin.archiwa.gov.pl

Reference: 1a0a1a01f08ce480
What it settles: Answered 16 Sept 2026. ANSWERED IN FIVE LINES AND IT IS A NEGATIVE. O-S.6342.406.2026, signed by Krzysztof Skrzypiec, Head of the Slupsk Branch. The Koszalin holdings contain NO registers of the former German civil registry office at Czarne (Standesamt Hammerstein, Kreis Schlochau) FOR 1874 TO 1899, and NO synagogue-community books for Czarne AT ALL — and no information about what became of either, or where they might now be held. *** ACKNOWLEDGED 17 SEPTEMBER, message 1a0ac71a500bc77f, in their own thread 1a0a98796538c64b, to slupsk@ as they asked and copied to the case officer. The acknowledgement tells them WHY a negative was useful — that it closes the only route to Georg Leibholz’s parents — thanks them specifically for saying they do not know where the books went, and closes the correspondence so they need not spend more time on it.
Our thanks: 2026-09-17

14 Answered Sent 15 Sept 2026

The parish marriage register of 7 September 1940

Immaculate Conception, Rosebank · Info@rosebankcatholicchurch.co.za

Reference: 1a0a3b72c965ecf1
What it settles: Answered 22 Sept 2026. *** ANSWERED IN FULL, IN A WEEK, AND THE ANSWER ON PARENTS IS NO. *** Arlene at the parish office replied to all five numbered questions. The 1940 parish marriage register SURVIVES and CONTAINS the entry; it DOES NOT NAME THE PARENTS — “Unfortunately not, as attached”. There is no second book: “the Catholic Church keeps one Marriage Register, the banns are included in the attached”, so the Original Marriage Register no. 13 of 1940 IS the parish register. Fr W. P. Whelan confirmed as parish priest at Rosebank from 1935, so the parish is the right one; the registers are held there, not at the Archdiocese. THIS CLOSES ROUTE 2 OF THE TWO ROUTES TO LEONARD'S PARENTAGE. A pure thank-you was sent the same day, message 1a0c8d21508292fb — no further request, because she answered everything asked.
Our thanks: Thanks sent 22 September 2026, message 1a0c8d21508292fb, on the same thread.

Due to be chased

The interval chosen for this recipient has run out.

16 Due to be chased Sent 16 Sept 2026

Accepted her terms and Tuesday 22 September; three ante-nuptial contracts with parties named; all 26 references in cuttable groups

Anne, private researcher, Pretoria · digitalphoto@icon.co.za

Reference: 1a0a234a65602bca
What it settles: 19 days overdue. Waited 26 days against an interval of 7.

10 Due to be chased Sent 14 Sept 2026

Rates first; then MHG 10245/69 and the Deeds Registry

The private researcher, Pretoria · digitalphoto@icon.co.za

Reference: 1a0a234a65602bca
What it settles: 18 days overdue. Waited 28 days against an interval of 10.

13 Due to be chased Sent 15 Sept 2026

Leonard's UDF service record and medal rolls — FOLLOWED UP 16 Sep with force number 141272, Corporal, POW

SANDF Documentation Centre, Irene · archive@dod.mil.za

Reference: 1a0a3b70c6389154
What it settles: 13 days overdue. Waited 27 days against an interval of 14.

18 Due to be chased Sent 16 Sept 2026

Accepted her WLD 2545/1950 offer; consolidated every Transvaal reference into one thread; asked whether a naturalisation finding aid exists

Ms Mavis Xaba, Reading Room, National Archives · mavisx@dsac.gov.za

Reference: 1a0a30c59c9c8405
What it settles: 12 days overdue. Waited 26 days against an interval of 14.

03 Due to be chased Sent 14 Sept 2026

Henrique's military record (resent after a bounce)

Arquivo Histórico Militar, Lisboa · ahm@exercito.pt

Reference: 1a0a17d8bf87cdba
What it settles: 7 days overdue. Waited 28 days against an interval of 21.
Acknowledged 14 Sept 2026. Automatic acknowledgement: received, and they will send the information if it exists An acknowledgement is not an answer and this date does not move.

04 Due to be chased Sent 14 Sept 2026

Henrique's estate, 12294/2023

Master of the High Court, Johannesburg · MorSello@justice.gov.za

Reference: 1a0a17f97b34a912
What it settles: 7 days overdue. Waited 28 days against an interval of 21.

06 Due to be chased Sent 14 Sept 2026

Estate file MHG 7584/69 — Luwinski, Kurt

National Archives (TAB), Pretoria · archives@dac.gov.za

Reference: 1a0a19b526d2be6e
What it settles: 7 days overdue. Waited 28 days against an interval of 21.

11 Due to be chased Sent 15 Sept 2026

J294 death notices, estates 10761/2024 and 018561/2021

Master of the High Court, Cape Town · DKeyster@justice.gov.za

Reference: 1a0a2e876b71886f
What it settles: 6 days overdue. Waited 27 days against an interval of 21.
Acknowledged 15 Sept 2026. ANSWERED, and it is an invitation to apply. Mr Keyster: "Please, apply for copies. Application form is attached. Please, submit proof of payment and the application on groundfloor." Two things his reply does not give: whether an applicant in Australia may submit by email rather than in person, and the fee and banking details. Both have to be asked. REPLIED 15 September asking the two things his message left out: whether an applicant in Australia may submit by email rather than in person, and the fee and banking details for the required proof of payment. The reply also states plainly, in advance, that David is not a relative and makes no claim on either estate — so that a standing objection comes before the fee rather than after it. An acknowledgement is not an answer and this date does not move.

12 Due to be chased Sent 15 Sept 2026

TAB: WLD 1950/1948, 497/1951, 2368/1951, 2545/1950, MHG 10245/69

National Archives (DSAC) · Enquiries2@dsac.gov.za

Reference: 1a0a30c59c9c8405
What it settles: 6 days overdue. Waited 27 days against an interval of 21.

17 Due to be chased Sent 16 Sept 2026

The shared ancestors are Castle, not Brown; Martha Maude's death and both 1939 sailings given back

A second-cousin DNA match, United Kingdom · MyHeritage message thread

Reference: myheritage-222465518
What it settles: 5 days overdue. Waited 26 days against an interval of 21.

01 Due to be chased Sent 14 Sept 2026

Recruitment-district records, 1950s–60s

Arquivo Histórico de Moçambique, Maputo · ahm@uem.mz

Reference: 1a0a1759f0462e00
What it settles: Due to be chased today. Waited 28 days against an interval of 28.

02 Due to be chased Sent 14 Sept 2026

Ivone's 1924 birth certificate

Arquivo Histórico de Moçambique, Maputo · ahm@uem.mz

Reference: 1a0a17e3f001a60d
What it settles: Due to be chased today. Waited 28 days against an interval of 28.

05 Due to be chased Sent 14 Sept 2026

Kurt and the Leibholz brothers in Berlin — THREE numbered asks: (1) Gertrud Leibholz née Leibke's death entry of 27 February 1943, (2) the Leibholz/Luwinski marriage of 5 January 1924 AND the date of the later divorce, with a question about a Landgericht divorce file, (3) Kurt Luwinski's 1912 birth entry and its Randvermerke. Full text now saved at requests/sent/2026-09-14-landesarchiv-berlin-SENT.txt. SUPPLEMENT DRAFTED 20 September supplying the exact register numbers for (2) and (3).

Landesarchiv Berlin · info@landesarchiv.berlin.de

Reference: 1a0a19a926964a01
What it settles: Due to be chased today. Waited 28 days against an interval of 28.

07 Due to be chased Sent 14 Sept 2026

Ivone's death record at Porto

1.ª Conservatória do Registo Civil, Porto · 1crc.porto@dgrn.mj.pt

Reference: 1a0a19ca284bfb51
What it settles: Due to be chased today. Waited 28 days against an interval of 28.

Out, and still inside its interval

Chasing these now would be chasing too early.

15 Inside its interval Sent 15 Sept 2026

Henrique's military record — by referral from the ADN

Arquivo Geral do Exército, Lisboa · arqgex@exercito.pt

Reference: 1a0a40447162eada
What it settles: Chase from 13 Oct 2026, in 1 days — waited 27 of 28.
Acknowledged 15 Sept 2026. Automatic acknowledgement: received, and it will be handled by their services An acknowledgement is not an answer and this date does not move.

Intervals: 7 to 10 days for a private researcher who has been asked for rates; 14 days for a documentation centre or a reading room with a named officer; 21 days for a Master’s office, a national archive or a parish; 28 days for an overseas archive in another language. An acknowledgement is not an answer, and this page keeps the two apart: a row marked Acknowledged has been received and queued by a human or a mail robot, nothing more. Its chase date does not move. A row that is genuinely answered comes off the chase clock and is kept under Answered above, with what it said.