ROOTSWEB REVIEW: RootsWeb's Genealogy News Vol. 2, No. 25, 23 June 1999. Circulation: 320,000+ (C) 1998-1999 RootsWeb Genealogical Data Cooperative P.O. Box 6798, Frazier Park, CA 93222-6798 Editors: Julia M. Case and Myra Vanderpool Gormley, CG RootsWeb: RootsWeb HelpDesk: Surname Resources: U.S. County Resources: * * * * * CONTENTS. News and Notes at RootsWeb (Where Do Your Dollars Go? Family Reunions Calendar; RootsWeb Guide to Tracing Family Trees; Who Are We? Preliminary Survey Results; Anonymous Age Survey Results); Connecting through RootsWeb; Mailing Lists; Web Pages; USGenWeb Archives Project; USGenWeb Census Project; Letters to the Editors; Humor: Klingon Programmers; Reprint Policy * * * * * NEWS AND NOTES AT ROOTSWEB WHERE DO YOUR DOLLARS GO? When you become a RootsWeb contributor, your dollars go directly into providing more resources for genealogists. For example, we've just run out of hardware capacity -- CPU power and especially disk space -- on the server that hosts threaded archives for most of RootsWeb's mailing lists: . The contributions we receive now are earmarked for buying a new $11,000 server that should have the capacity to support those archives for at least another year. Donations to help support RootsWeb are greatly appreciated. For details about support levels, benefits, and payment options, visit or send e-mail to . RootsWeb's address is: RootsWeb Genealogical Data Cooperative, P.O. Box 6798, Frazier Park, CA 93222-6798. (Please include your e-mail address on all correspondence and checks.) * * * FAMILY REUNIONS CALENDAR. Looking for a place to post information about an upcoming family reunion? Wonder whether there is a family reunion coming up soon that you might like to attend? Post and read announcements at RootsWeb's new FAMILY REUNIONS CALENDAR . [Note: This is a long URL. Everything between the angle brackets must be included.] * * * ROOTSWEB'S GUIDE TO TRACING FAMILY TREES ("RootsWeb Guide") . More than 11,000 people visited Lesson One, "Where to Begin," during its first week online. Lesson Two, "What's in a Name?" is now available at: . Dewdrop Inn. * * * WHO ARE WE? PRELIMINARY SURVEY RESULTS. Approximately 85% of the more than 11,000 RootsWeb users who responded to the voluntary, anonymous RootsWeb audience profiler survey have been using the Internet for more than a year, and 82% said they spend more than six hours per week on the Web. E-mail (97%), research (90%), and education (53%) are far ahead of other Internet or online service activities in this sample. 87% access the Internet from home and 30% visit RootsWeb at least once a day. 55% said they spend more than 30 minutes per visit to RootsWeb. Digital cameras (45%), cell phones (30%), and personal copier or fax machine (19%) led the pack in the area of potential purchases, with DVD or laser disc player, video camera, and stereo equipment hard on their heels. 71% said it was likely they would purchase software in the next year, and 60% expected to travel by airplane in the same period. Sport-related products and services? Only 4% thought they would be purchasing a tennis racquet and 17% golf clubs, but 47% indicated interest in hiking or outdoor equipment (for tramping through the woods looking for old graveyards, perhaps). In the "other products and services" category, 71% responded they would be likely to purchase genealogy software or CDs and 70% genealogy books, catalogs, or magazines. The only other categories of goods in the range were gardening equipment and supplies (49%), kitchen supplies (41%), and tickets to performing arts events (38%). Those who are employed full-time (38%) and those who are retired (33%) are about equal. Of those currently employed, their industries were spread evenly over a wide range with two exceptions -- education and social services (17%) and military or government (10%) being much better represented than other categories. 13% responded they are age 39 or younger and the other 87% admitted to being older than Jack Benny; of that 87%, 10% are above age 70. Of the full sample, 62% are female and 38% male; 50% are college graduates (half with advanced degrees); 77% are married, and 25% have children under age 18 at home. * * * ANONYMOUS AGE SURVEY RETURNS. These are RootsWeb's anonymous age survey results after four weeks. A total of 9,713 RootsWeb users responded: less than 20 -- 33; 20-29 -- 295; 30-39 -- 933; 40-49 -- 1,798; 50-59 -- 2,962; 60-69 -- 2,323; 70-79 -- 1,218; 80-89 -- 129; 90-99 -- 6; 100-109 -- 2; 110-119 -- 0; and 120 and counting -- 10. Thanks for participating. * * * * * CONNECTING THROUGH ROOTSWEB. Thanks for sharing your stories. ROOTSWEB HELPS ANGELS DO THEIR WORK A woman wrote in May asking if I'd heard of her granddad, Oscar Woods (with birthdate, wife's name, and marriage date). Recognizing a branch of our WOODS kin descended from a mutual great-great-grandfather in Howard County, Indiana, I wrote back with excitement, outlining our information and including photos, with a copy to a mutual cousin, Tom, who is much closer to her line. Her response: My heart nearly exploded with emotion when I got your e-mail. For 20 years I've searched for information on Oscar. My dad never knew much about his father, only that he had owned a creamery in Colorado. As a final note, my father is dying. He always said he was from 'nowhere,' and knew of no relatives. The same day, I sent her four long e-mails, including their pedigree back to George BOONE I, noting that her elusive Oscar was a "1st cousin, 4x removed" of Daniel BOONE. She replied: Daniel BOONE? Dad will flip his oxygen tank when he hears this. You're making our day, dad's and mine. Next, cousin Tom supplied more family history, including the story and photo of the family's sod house in Nebraska. He also sent JPGs of photos of Oscar's parents: Ovid Boone WOODS and Clarissa ALLEN. I wrote to ask her how she found my name in the first place. In a touching reply, briefly excerpted here, she said: I tried for years to find our roots, and ran into brick walls. Finally, in desperation, I went into a spare room and prayed for a long time and cried, that if there is anyone 'up there' who cares, to please come and help. Within days, my husband became fanatically interested in purchasing a new computer and getting Internet service, even though he has full access at work. I sent out two or three e-mails; your name was from your Howard County, Indiana query of 1997. Your response was quick, and it rocked my world. The puzzle is falling into place in my lap, and I walk around excited these days. So, a warm "thank you" to all of you at RootsWeb -- and to the coordinator of the Howard County, Indiana page of USGenWeb, Tracey Morris -- for helping to answer a heartfelt prayer. Victoria Cheney * * * When I began to work on family history, I took a class in college on oral history. Armed with a tape recorder, 50 inexpensive blank tapes, and spare batteries, I began to interview my relatives. I found a lot of reluctant relatives. I also found that cheap tapes do not withstand heat in the car or backpack when you travel and a lot of what you have taped is ruined. To add to this, I found it is wiser to carry two recorders and plenty of batteries. Next, I went through telephone books looking for relatives in any town I found myself in. They usually thought I was being too nosy. Great responses were few and far between. When the phone bill started including other countries, I cut down some. I tried libraries and Family History Centers. This took many hours, travel expenses, and long waits for that right microfilm, and my family thought a cot at the library might be a better idea. I watched the credits on every movie and bought every book in which I found a familiar surname. All of this was addictive and expensive, but occasionally I would find gold. I found a seventh cousin right in my local directory and I found two cousins doing newsletters. It took me 25 years to get that far. Then my local cousin hit paydirt on the Web. A few weeks later, he set me up with a borrowed computer and here I am. For the mere cost of $19.95 to my local server and a $12 donation to RootsWeb, I have contacted more cousins than I can count. My husband and I have talked to cousins we have not seen in 40 and 50 years, not to mention the distant relatives online. I wish to thank everyone who has compiled data or in any way offered time and energy on RootsWeb. RootsWeb is a service to the memory of our ancestors and a gift to those yet to be born who will set out to find their history. Dorothy * * * * * MAILING LISTS. For an index to most user mailing lists hosted by RootsWeb, visit . IF YOU DO NOT HAVE WEB ACCESS but would like to know if a RootsWeb-hosted mailing list exists for a particular surname, send a SUBSCRIBE request in accordance with the instructions below, filling in the desired surname where the example shows [name of list]. If the list exists, you will receive confirmation that your address has been added to the list. If the list does not exist, your message will bounce back to you with a message advising there is no such address. Try alternate spellings. 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 "Contributors only" warning on the list request page. Please request new mailing lists at: TO SUBSCRIBE OR UNSUBSCRIBE from any RootsWeb-hosted 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 interest in the Exulanten, send a SUBSCRIBE message to: . NEW SURNAME MAILING LISTS (Note that new surname mailing lists were created this week only for surnames that did not already have a Surname Resource cluster page. Requests for new surname lists for which there are existing Surname Resource cluster pages will be processed in the order in which they have been received, once all relevant staff members are back from well-earned and all too brief vacations. We appreciate your patience.) BARING BOULINEAU (includes BOULENEAU, BOLINEAU, BEAULINEAU, and variants) FORBIS GEISINGER NECKLEIN PAULLIN PEBSWORTH (includes PEBWORTH) VREDENBURGH (includes FREDENBURG, FREDENBURGH, VAN VREDENBURGH, and variants) YOUNG-KY-WAYNECo (YOUNG family of Wayne County, Kentucky) NEW ETHNIC, SPECIAL INTEREST, AND MISCELLANEOUS MAILING LISTS AFGS-UPDATES -- A read-only mailing list for AFGS Members and anyone interested in the activities of the American-French Genealogical Society AL-NW-FRANKLIN -- For family groups in northwestern Franklin County, Alabama, centered around the communities of Belgreen and Pleasant Site. BOLTON, BONDS, JONES, MASSEY, CARPENTER, MCKINNEY, STRICKLAND, THORN, HORTON, MCAFEE, MCMURRAY, CHAMBLEE, GRAY, PETREE, HESTER, EZZELL, MALONE, and related families. CO-ROOTS -- Genealogy and history in Colorado. EXULANTEN -- The Exulanten were the Protestants who were forced to leave Austria in the 16th-18th centuries. LA-SLGS -- For members of the Southwest Louisiana Genealogical Society. TX-GCGS -- For members of the Galveston County Genealogical Society, Texas. WV-WAGS -- For members of the Wheeling Area Genealogical Society located in Ohio County, West Virginia. * * * * * NEW WEB ACCOUNT REQUESTS. Please see the instructions at . 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. . Note that the ~[tilde] before the account name is required. FOR EXAMPLE, to visit the Wilmot, New Hampshire Web page, go to . INDIA indbhwgw -- Bharat (WorldGenWeb) PITCAIRN ISLAND (British) pcnwgw -- Pitcairn Island (WorldGenWeb) U.S.A. flschs -- Sumter County (Florida) Historical Society invermil -- Vermillion County, Indiana ksfinney -- Finney County, Kansas mtwibaux -- Wibaux County, Montana nhcwilmo -- Wilmot (City), New Hampshire tncannon -- Cannon County, Tennessee tncoffee -- Coffee County, Tennessee vacarrol -- Carroll County, Virginia VENEZUELA venmerid -- Merida * * * * * USGENWEB ARCHIVES -- CENSUS IMAGES CALIFORNIA. 1860 Santa Barbara County http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/ca/santabarbara/census/1860/ GEORGIA. 1860 Harris County GEORGIA. 1870 Harris County LOUISIANA. 1900 East Feliciana Parish http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/la/eastfeliciana/census/1900/ WEST VIRGINIA. 1860 Hampshire County WEST VIRGINIA. 1870 Mineral County USGENWEB ARCHIVES -- OTHER SUBMISSIONS COLORADO -- MAPS. Colorado Digital Map Library KENTUCKY. 1803 Bullitt County Tax List KENTUCKY. Bullitt County Cemeteries KENTUCKY. Caldwell County Cemeteries KENTUCKY. Calloway County Cemeteries KENTUCKY. 1840 Clinton County Census KENTUCKY. 1850 Clinton County Census KENTUCKY. 1860 Clinton County Census KENTUCKY. Estill County Court Records KENTUCKY. Estill County Slave Records KENTUCKY. Estill County Land Records KENTUCKY. Estill County Education Records KENTUCKY. Estill County Railroad Records KENTUCKY. Estill County Family Records KENTUCKY. Jefferson County Cemeteries KENTUCKY. Marshall County Cemeteries KENTUCKY. Muhlenberg County Cemeteries KENTUCKY. 1820 Nicholas County KENTUCKY. 1840 Nicholas County Census KENTUCKY. Pike County Cemeteries KENTUCKY. Powell County Cemeteries KENTUCKY. Pulaski County Family Index: 1852-59 Vital Statistics MAINE -- MAPS. Maine Digital Map Library OHIO. Geauga County Cemeteries by Township VIRGINIA. 1840 Tazewell County Census VIRGINIA. 1850 Richmond County Census * * * * * USGENWEB CENSUS PROJECT ARCHIVES -- TRANSCRIPTIONS FLORIDA. 1870 Brevard County GEORGIA. 1850 Meriwether County GEORGIA. 1860 Warren County INDIANA. 1860 Newton County INDIANA. 1870 Newton County IOWA. 1860 Allamakee County (partial) (Union City Township) IOWA. 1850 Clayton County (partial) (Farmersburg Township) KANSAS. 1860 Breckenridge County. MICHIGAN. 1870 Keweenaw County (partial) (Amygdaloid Mine) VIRGINIA. 1850 Richmond County * * * * * LETTERS TO THE EDITORS may be posted to the GenConnect board at http://cgi.rootsweb.com/~genbbs/genbbs.cgi/RWR-LettersToTheEditor or sent to RWR-Editors@rootsweb.com. [This letter was dated 17 June 1999 and refers to the response to her "Connecting" story published in RWR 2:24, 16 June 1999.] Even though I have been dabbling on the Internet, I just didn't realize the far-flung empire waiting to send notes/letters and information to one person. The response has been heartwarming and overwhelming. I have received many loving and informative messages -- more than 75 now, some with some great ideas. One wonderful woman from the Netherlands immediately contacted LeRoux researchers and they are now checking their records. She said many LeRouxs came from the Loire Valley. We are already scheduled to visit the area, so will stay a little while if anything turns up. Thank you, thank you. Merci beaucoup. Evelyn Hoffman * * * I am a member of Tullow Historical Society here in Tullow, County Carlow, Ireland, and presently compiling a data bank on genealogy resources in the area. This includes information on emigrants who left County Carlow in the last three centuries. Any help or sources in this quest would be appreciated. John Keogh * * * In conjunction with a museum in Northern Ireland we are seeking 18th and 19th century buildings that are neglected or in need of rescue. Our brief is the area from Pennsylvania down to Georgia and west to Kentucky. In the case of community buildings (forts, churches, mills, schools) our remit is wide. They need to have had approximately 1/3 use by those of Irish descent but need not have been owned by them. Outbuildings, such as barns, forges, springhouses, and icehouses need to be authenticated as 18th- or 19th-century on a deed or historic map and must be salvageable, which means 75% sound if a log structure, and 75% original if a stone structure. As for dwelling houses, our remit is narrow. The buildings must have documented associations with immigrants from the province of Ulster in Ireland, including counties Armagh, Antrim, Donegal, Londonderry/Derry, Fermanagh, Tyrone, Cavan, Monaghan, and Down. Acquisitioned buildings will be part of an exhibit about Irish migration to America. Thank you for your interest in preserving the past and pride of history. Please contact: Jan Coxsey, P.O. Box 160, Marshall, VA 20116, USA; phone: 540-364-7499. Jan Coxsey * * * * * HUMOR. Thanks to Tim Pierce . TOP 12 THINGS LIKELY TO BE OVERHEARD IF YOU HAD A KLINGON PROGRAMMER 12. "Specifications are for the weak and timid!" 11. "This machine is a piece of GAGH! I need dual Pentium processors if I am to do battle with this code!" 10. "You cannot really appreciate Dilbert unless you've read it in the original Klingon." 9. "Indentation?! -- I will show you how to indent when I indent your skull!" 8. "What is this talk of 'release'? Klingons do not make software 'releases.' Our software 'escapes' leaving a bloody trail of designers and quality assurance people in its wake." 7. "Klingon function calls do not have 'parameters' -- they have 'arguments' -- and they ALWAYS WIN THEM." 6. "Debugging? Klingons do not debug. Our software does not coddle the weak." 5. "I have challenged the entire quality assurance team to a Bat-Leth contest. They will not concern us again." 4. "A TRUE Klingon Warrior does not comment his code!" 3. "By filing this PTR you have challenged the honor of my family. Prepare to die!" 2. "You question the worthiness of my code? I should kill you where you stand!" 1. "Our users will know fear and cower before our software. Ship it! Ship it and let them flee like the dogs they are!" * * * * * PERMISSION TO REPRINT articles from ROOTSWEB REVIEW is granted unless specifically stated otherwise, PROVIDED: (1) the reprint is used for non-commercial, educational purposes; and (2) the following notice appears at the end of the article: Written by Previously published by RootsWeb Genealogical Data Cooperative, RootsWeb Review: RootsWeb's Genealogy News, Vol. 2, No. 25, 23 June 1999. RootsWeb: TO SUBSCRIBE OR UNSUBSCRIBE, send e-mail that says only SUBSCRIBE (or UNSUBSCRIBE) to: .