County clerks and reference librarians frequently receive these requests with no name, vague dates and locale.
Genealogists have to write letters.
Our hobby requires that we search for information in many far-away places. Unfortunately there are few guidelines on how to obtain information via mail. Most librarians hate to handle queries from family historians. Because we don't know how to write our questions so they can help us. We are so wrapped up in our families that we fail to understand the research problem.