ROOTSWEB REVIEW: Genealogical Data Cooperative News Vol. 1, No. 20, 28 October 1998; Circulation: 224,200+ Copyright (c) 1998 RootsWeb Genealogical Data Cooperative Editors: Julia M. Case and Myra Vanderpool Gormley, CG * * * * * CONTENTS: News and Notes from RootsWeb; Connecting through RootsWeb; Mailing Lists; Letters to the Editors; Web Sites; GenConnect; Ultimate Family Tree and Your Family Reunion; Humor (Computer Terms); Reprint Policy; Unsubscribe Instructions * * * * * NEWS AND NOTES FROM ROOTSWEB SPAM ATTACK. On 10/26/98, Dr. Brian Leverich wrote: Tim Pierce and a Spammer and I Attack the Web Server. Just a bit ago I checked out the main Web server and found it operating at load factor 26, which is way high for peak hours and extremely weird for this time of the evening. Turns out that Tim Pierce and a spammer and I were cooperating to attack the server. Here's what happened. The spammer flashflooded our 4,000 mailing lists with massively cross-posted garbage. Because it was massively cross-posted and because Tim's filters prevented it from going out to the lists, the posts all made it onto the listservers without the load climbing on the listservers enough to slow the flow. Because Tim CCs all the "Spam Detective" catches to himself on the Web server (that's where he reads his mail), the listservers cheerfully tried to force 4,000 pieces of spam onto the Web server simultaneously with 4,000 SMTP connections. Ordinarily this wouldn't be a problem, because the sendmail on the Web server would have started choking off incoming as the load factor skyrocketed. But I had the load choke-off set *very* high because, before I upgraded the server in June, I'd had to do that so rootsweb-help would keep working. So the Web server just sat there and got pounded. I've rationalized the sendmail settings now so the Spam Detective can no longer dangerously mailbomb the Web server. RootsWeb continues to improve our facilities for surviving spam attacks and preventing spam from reaching our mailing lists. On Monday of this week, RootsWeb brought a new mailhub server online. The new mailhub server, which is one of RootsWeb's fastest and most expensive servers to date, has the speed and capacity to support the more sophisticated spam filters that we will be implementing in the future. * * * SPAM ATTACK UPDATE: On 10/28/98, a RootsWeb listmember wrote to Tim Pierce, RootsWeb's senior system administrator: "I got over 27 (blocked spam from your list) messages today, WOW! I hope someone crams a high voltage lead up this guy's computer. Good job for the Spam Detective!" Tim responded, in part: This morning, we received more than 5,000 spams (and counting) from these turkeys in a little more than an hour and a half [by mid-afternoon, the count had risen to 9,000]. I think that sets some new kind of record for us. The load on our systems is skyrocketing just trying to keep the junk off the lists, and our network pipes are clogged with the extra traffic. * * * TECHNO: GENEALOGY ONLINE. Climbing the "family tree" has never been so easy! Find out what you need to know about researching family genealogy online and get tips for tracking down ancestors via the Internet. Dr. Brian Leverich, Karen Isaacson, and Cyndi Howells were interviewed several weeks ago for a segment on "New Attitudes," to be aired on Friday, 30 October 1998 (see time schedule at For more information, visit: * * * WANT TO HELP BRING MORE GENEALOGICAL RESOURCES ONLINE? RootsWeb is entirely community-supported: your membership is crucial in enabling RootsWeb to continue to add more genealogical data, Web sites, and mailing lists. The degree of community support directly affects RootsWeb's ability to grow. For details about levels of RootsWeb membership and sponsorship, please visit: * * * ROOTSWEB HELPDESK. For answers to your questions about RootsWeb, visit the HelpDesk at: . * * * * * CONNECTING THROUGH ROOTSWEB: Thanks for sharing your stories. I posted my information on the SELBY list and homepage. Nearly a year after the posting, I received e-mail from a third cousin in Texas. We exchanged information and even old photos of the great- great-grandparents we share. She made a trip recently and we met for the first time. It's great to have someone who loves genealogy, as I do, to share the search and information with. Thanks for making this possible. Lisa Davis * * * Thought you'd like to know that folks online at RootsWeb have helped my mom to find her missing brother and his family. Though her brother died last year, she has been able to meet her sister-in-law and niece. That was really special! Kate Carty * * * Out of sheer genealogical frustration, some of it centered around the non-indexed Morrow County, Ohio 1850 census, I took this county on and am more than three-fourths finished with it. Today, while tearing along, I got into that meditative census- transcription state, and suddenly solved one of my thorniest problems. How? I noticed that four women in one township were of a similar age, had hauntingly familiar first names, and all came from New Hampshire. One of them was the woman whose parents I sought. The other three, incredibly, all married men named GRANDY. I went to the International Genealogical Index (IGI) and found that many GRANDYs were married to BROCKWAYs. I remembered I had seen Brockways buried near my mystery woman's daughter. And bingo! With confirmation from the Brockway mailing list at RootsWeb, I have her parents and, since her dad was a Revolutionary War soldier, got generations back to the 1600s. I would not have figured this out without the slow trudging that the transcriptions require. It occurred to me that having the census in database form is very powerful. Have you realized you could easily, by importing your .dbf into another program, hunt for everybody named Joseph who is between 12 and 15 years of age? Or everybody from Ireland whose first name is John? This would be a way to catch some of your misspelled and lost relatives, and another reason to transcribe the census. Jane Peppler [Jane Peppler is a USGenWeb Archives Census Project volunteer. The foregoing is an abbreviated version of a message Jane posted on the CENS-CART-L@rootsweb.com mailing list. Thanks to Kay Mason for bringing it to our attention.] * * * * * MAILING LISTS: To subscribe or unsubscribe from any RootsWeb mailing list, send an e-mail message with only the word SUBSCRIBE (or UNSUBSCRIBE) in the subject and the body of the message to [name of list]-L-request@rootsweb.com (for mail mode) or to [name of list]-D-request@rootsweb.com (for digest mode). For example, if you have interests in New South Wales, Australia, send your SUBSCRIBE message to: AUS-NSW-SE-L-request@rootsweb.com For an index to most user mailing lists hosted by RootsWeb, visit . NEW MAILING LIST REQUESTS. USGenWeb and WorldGenWeb hosts may have FREE locality mailing lists for the areas they host and for that purpose may ignore the "Sponsors-only" warning on the list request page. Please request new mailing lists at: NEW SURNAME MAILING LISTS ASHBY (especially from Virginia and South Carolina) BILYEU (includes BILLIOU, BALEW, BALLOU, BELIEU, BELEW, BOILEAU, etc.) BOYNTON CALL (includes CALLE, CAULE) CHICHESTER (CHICHESTER/CHIDESTER in North America) DARLAND (includes DARLANDT, DORLAND, DORLANDT, DURLAND, DURLANDT) GALLIVAN GERARD (includes GERRARD, GARRARD) HARRIS-VA (HARRIS families of Virginia 1600-1800) HENDRICKSON LEATHERMAN (includes LEDERMAN) JARRETT JETTON (includes JETON, GITTON) MOYE NOTHNAGLE (includes NOTHNAGEL) PEARSALL S425 (Soundex code S425 surnames) SHOTWELL SLAUTER (includes SLAUGHTER) SPENCE-BLUFORD (descendants of James SPENCE b. 1748 and Sarah BLUFORD in Augusta County, Virginia) STONE-Spencer (ancestors and descendants of Spencer STONE, born 3 Jun 1755 in Culpeper, Virginia and died 1 Jan 1838 in Lincoln County, Kentucky) STRADTMAN (includes STRATTMAN, STRADMANN, STRATHMAN, etc.) TIMBRELL (especially from Gloucester and Wiltshire, England) VANCE WISELY WOOLFORD (especially from Wiltshire, England) WOOSLEY NEW REGIONAL MAILING LISTS AUSTRALIA: AUS-NSW-SE -- New South Wales: concentrating on the southeast portion of NSW, with particular emphasis on the coastal area from Helensburgh to Moruya and westward to the Great Divide. AUS-NQ -- North Queensland U.S.A.: ALCLEBUR -- Cleburne County, Alabama ALRANDOL -- Randolph County, Alabama COCHAFFE -- Chaffee County, Colorado COMOFFAT -- Moffat County, Colorado CORIOBLA -- Rio Blanco County, Colorado GAFAYETT -- Fayette County Georgia GAPUTNAM -- Putnam County, Georgia GAWARE -- Ware County, Georgia IAJONES -- Jones County, Iowa INGRANT -- Grant County, Indiana INWASHIN -- Washington County, Indiana KSFINNEY -- Finney County, Kansas KYKNOX -- Knox County, Kentucky KYSHELBY -- Shelby County, Kentucky LAEASTCA -- East Carroll Parish, Louisiana LAPOINTE -- Pointe Coupee Parish, Lousiana LAWESTCA -- West Carroll Parish, Lousiana LAWESTFE -- West Feliciana Parish, Lousiana KSSUMNER -- Sumner County, Kansas KYBOYLE -- Boyle County, Kentucky MOCOLE -- Cole County, Missouri MOHOLT -- Holt County, Missouri MOMONITE -- Moniteau County, Missouri MORALLS -- Ralls County, Missouri MOSHELBY -- Shelby County, Missouri MOWAYNE -- Wayne County, Missouri MOWEBSTE -- Webster County, Missouri MOWRIGHT -- Wright County, Missouri MSLAUDER -- Lauderdale County, Mississippi MSSMITH -- Smith County, Mississippi MSSTONE -- Stone County, Mississippi MSSUNFLO -- Sunflower County, Mississippi MTBIGHOR -- Big Horn County, Montana MTGALLAT -- Gallatin County, Montana MTGRANIT -- Granite County, Montana MTLAKE -- Lake County, Montana MTPARK -- Park County, Montana MTSANDER -- Sanders County, Montana NCALAMAN -- Alamance County, North Carolina NCDAVIDS -- Davidson County, North Carolina NCDAVIE -- Davie County, North Carolina NCRANDOL -- Randolph County, North Carolina NCSTOKES -- Stokes County and Forsyth County, North Carolina NCWILKES -- Wilkes County, North Carolina NDEMMONS -- Emmons County, North Dakota NDLAMOUR -- La Moure County, North Dakota NDLOGAN -- Logan County, North Dakota NDMCINTO -- McIntosh County, North Dakota NDRAMSEY -- Ramsey County, North Dakota NDRANSOM -- Ransom County, North Dakota NESHERID -- Sheridan County, Nebraska NJSOMERS -- Somerset County, New Jersey OHHENRY -- Henry County, Ohio OHHOCKIN -- Hocking County, Ohio OHLUCAS -- Lucas County, Ohio OHMORROW -- Morrow County, Ohio OKHASKEL -- Haskell County, Oklahoma OKMCINTO -- McIntosh County, Oklahoma OKMUSKOG -- Muskogee County, Oklahoma OKPITTSB -- Pittsburg County, Oklahoma ORLINN -- Linn County, Oregon TXPECOS -- Pecos County, Texas VABATH -- Bath County, Virginia VACAROLI -- Caroline County, Virginia VACHARLO -- Charlotte County, Virginia VAHALIFA -- Halifax County, Virginia VAJAMESC -- James City County, Virginia VAMECKLE -- Mecklenburg County, Virginia VAPRINCE -- Prince Edward County, Virginia VASURRY -- Surry County, Virginia VAWARWIC -- Warwick County, Virginia [defunct -- consolidated with the city of Newport News after World War II] VTCHITTE -- Chittenden County, Vermont WIRICHLA -- Richland County, Wisconsin NEW ETHNIC, SPECIAL INTEREST, and MISCELLANEOUS MAILING LISTS CGC -- Council of Genealogy Columnists IRL-BALLYKILCLINE -- The Ballykilcline Society: an association of people bearing a surname, or having descended from an ancestor with a surname, of the tenant farmers from Ballykilcline, Kilglass Parish, County Roscommon, Ireland. ITCREEKN -- Creek Nation, Indian Territory KC-NGS-NEWS -- The Northland Genealogy Society of Greater Kansas City newsletter OHCAGG -- Computer Aided Genealogy Group of Cleveland, Ohio SCBATTLES -- Historical military battles or activity and relatives or ancestors in South Carolina military units in the 18th or 19th century * * * * * LETTERS TO THE EDITORS In addition to the Board for Certification of Genealogists (BCG) and Association of Professional Genealogists (APG) codes of ethics, you should tell everyone about the three Genealogical Standards that the National Genealogical Society (NGS) has developed. These are more pertinent to the non-professional. They are posted at the NGS Web site: . Shirley L. Wilcox, CG President, National Genealogical Society * * * I noticed in the 10/21/98 RootsWeb Review, in the section on new Web sites, one called something like "Jane's Web site." A name such as "Jane's Web site" or "Linda's Web site" tells readers nothing about the Web site, and most readers will not bother to check it because it could be a fluff page or something we don't want to waste time on. [It would be more useful] to name the site something to clue the reader as to its contents. The best I can think of is a name that includes the surname and location of the first or oldest family mentioned at the site. * * * I've been keeping an eye on your newsletters and most so far seems to be American material and research. My only connections with that country were wartime food parcels from a wonderful family called TOOKER in Ohio (love to know if any relations are around) and calls many years ago as a Merchant Seaman. Do you have any research into England? I actually live in Australia, and find it a battle and expensive to search from so far away. Tony Weekes Perth, Australia * * * I finally became an upstanding citizen and joined RootsWeb about a month ago. I apologize for not doing so sooner -- just didn't take the time to read the darn FAQs about what it takes to keep a resource like this up and running. I actually know Frazier Park. I figure that I'm maybe one of 10 people who actually does. Having moved from Valencia/Canyon Country/Magic Mountain area 16 years ago, I remember Frazier Park as that place "on the other side of the world" where Angelenos could go to actually get a taste of what "normal" folks might live like. Thanks for taking me on a memory walk. And you folks do a wonderful, wonderful job. When I started this quest a little over two years ago, I counted exactly 12 genealogy sites on the Internet. At one time, I had each and every one of them bookmarked. My, how times have changed! I can't tie my successes directly to RootsWeb -- never thought to keep track exactly -- but I (like thousands of other people) can credit the Internet in general for bringing my ancestors to life and for helping me to meet numerous cousins that I otherwise never would have met. Everyone who works on this project is a hero. Thank you! Gretchen Pike * * * After the recent "Firth of Forth," how about the Scottish football result football commentators are dreading: Scottish football. Division Two. East Fife 4 ... Forfar 5 Michael Linane * * * * * NEW WEB ACCOUNT REQUESTS. To request a Web account please e-mail the information to: NEW WEB SITES: Some of these might not yet be accessible. If one that interests you isn't up yet, please check again in a few days or a week. (the ~[tilde] before the name is required) will work for most of the following. If not, you will find most of them at the USGenWeb Project or the WorldGenWeb Project . For example, to visit the Almeria, Spain site, go to: POLAND: poldolno -- Dolnoslakie SPAIN espalmer -- Almeria espandal -- Andalucia U.S.A.: gaforsyt -- Forsyth County, Georgia gapeach -- Peach County, Georgia inpcrp -- Indiana Pioneer Cemeteries Restoration Project mdaahgs -- Maryland African American Historical and Gen. Soc. mnitasca -- Itasca County, Minnesota ncdobbs -- Dobbs County, North Carolina ncmitche -- Mitchell County, North Carolina nyclinto -- Clinton County, New York nyerie -- Erie County, New York nyfrankl -- Franklin County, New York sdmcpher -- McPherson County, South Dakota txmidlan -- Midland County, Texas vtchitte -- Chittendon County, Vermont wiiron -- Iron County, Wisconsin * * * * * GENCONNECT. 109 boards were activated the week of 10/18-24/98. ARCHIVES 18 (in beta-testing) AUSTRALIA 1 BVI 5 CANADA 1 CARIBBEAN 4 ENGLAND 8 GERMANY 5 ITALY 4 SAN MARINO 1 WALES 1 USA AR 9 USA CO 1 USA DE 6 USA GA 12 USA IA 1 USA IL 5 USA IN 3 USA MI 1 USA MO 1 USA MT 3 USA NC 2 USA ND 2 USA OK 1 USA TX 1 USA VA 4 USA WI 5 * * * * * We thank RootsWeb's corporate sponsor, Palladium Interactive, for the following. ULTIMATE FAMILY TREE AND YOUR FAMILY REUNION by Mae Westlake-McLean, Marketing Coordinator Palladium Interactive Ultimate Family Tree makes planning and organizing your family reunion a snap. From mailing labels for your invitations to box charts to hand out at the reunion to calendars for reminders of birthdays and important events, Ultimate Family Tree can help make your reunion easy, memorable and fun. To easily keep track of addresses, enter each person's contact information while in the individual record. Click on the More button, then Miscellaneous, and enter the information in the appropriate lines. You can have a person on one or many types of mailing lists (e.g., Birthday, Newsletter, Holiday, etc.). To print out mailing labels, chose Lists under the Reports menu and then select Mail. Select the order in which you want the addresses to be printed in the Order group. Select the type of labels desired and print the reports.You can also export the report to an external program such as Microsoft Excel by selecting Export prior to clicking Print. To get the children (and adults) more involved and excited about a family reunion, don't forget to print out Descendant Box Charts of their ancestors. Adding pictures to each person and a meaningful background image makes your printouts all the more sensational. If you know in advance of the reunion which children are coming, you can make a personal box chart for each one with their name on it (e.g., Alexa's Family). Make fun scrapbook pages to document the great time you had at the reunion or to show everyone the wonderful trip you went on. Using Family Album Maker, you can easily make photo collages and add clip art and text to make a beautiful reminder of your event. The Calendar feature of Ultimate Family Tree comes in very handy to remind you and your family of important dates, such as birthdays, anniversaries and other special events. A calendar would be a wonderful way to follow up with each person after your reunion. Don't forget to print out a couple of blank family group sheets to help people with their research. A few diskettes of your GEDCOM file, along with a printout of your family journal, will complete your list of things to take to your reunion. Last, but not least, be sure to relax and have fun! * * * * * HUMOR. Thanks to Dale "Doc" Schneider, system administrator and all-around guru for RootsWeb, for the following computer terms. COMPUTER TERMS BIT: A word used to describe computers, as in "Our son's computer cost quite a bit." BOOT: What your friends give you because you spend too much time bragging about your computer skills. BUG: What your eyes do after you stare at the tiny green computer screen for more than 15 minutes. Also: what computer magazine companies do to you after they get your name on their mailing list. CHIPS: The fattening, non-nutritional food computer users eat to avoid having to leave their keyboards for meals. COPY: What you have to do during school tests because you spend too much time at the computer and not enough time studying. CURSOR: What you turn into when you can't get your computer to perform, as in "You $#% computer!" DISK: What goes out in your back after bending over a computer keyboard for seven hours at a clip. DUMP: The place all your former hobbies wind up soon after you install your computer. ERROR: What you made the first time you walked into a computer showroom to "just look." EXPANSION UNIT: The new room you have to build on to your home to house your computer and all its peripherals. * * * * * MISSING LINKS: A Weekly Newsletter for Genealogists, co-edited by Julia M. Case and Myra Vanderpool Gormley, CG, is a free, weekly e-zine that is distributed late on Fridays. Back issues are available for download from . To subscribe to MISSING LINKS, send an e-mail message that says only SUBSCRIBE to: Missing-Links-L-request@rootsweb.com * * * * * PERMISSION TO REPRINT articles from ROOTSWEB REVIEW is granted unless specifically stated otherwise, PROVIDED (1) The reprint is used for non-commercial, educational purposes. (2) This notice must appear at the end of the article: Written by Previously published by RootsWeb Genealogical Data Cooperative, RootsWeb Review, Vol. 1, No. 20, 28 October 1998. You may visit RootsWeb's main Web page at . * * * * * ROOTSWEB REVIEW is e-mailed on Wednesdays to all RootsWeb Members, subscribers to RootsWeb-hosted mailing lists, submitters to the RootsWeb Surname List (RSL), and other RootsWeb users. DOWNLOAD BACK ISSUES FROM . UNSUBSCRIBE INSTRUCTIONS: If you would prefer not to receive future issues of RootsWeb Review, please e-mail: RootsWeb-Review-L-request@rootsweb.com and put ONLY the word "unsubscribe" (omit the quotation marks) in the subject line and in the body of the message. THE EDITORS OF ROOTSWEB REVIEW, THE STAFF OF ROOTSWEB GENEALOGICAL DATA COOPERATIVE, AND THE HELPDESK VOLUNTEERS ARE UNABLE TO RESPOND TO REQUESTS FOR GENEALOGICAL RESEARCH HELP.