ROOTSWEB REVIEW: RootsWeb's Genealogy News Vol. 3, No. 12, 22 March 2000, Circulation: 410,736+ (c) 1998-2000 RootsWeb.com, Inc. RootsWeb.com, Inc., P.O. Box 6798, Frazier Park, CA 93222-6798 Editors: Julia M. Case and Myra Vanderpool Gormley, CG RootsWeb HelpDesk: Advertising: Media Contact: DONATIONS HELP ROOTSWEB HELP YOU AND ARE GREATLY APPRECIATED. For details about support levels, benefits, and payment options (check or credit card), e-mail or visit . Mailing address: RootsWeb.com, Inc., P.O. Box 6798, Frazier Park, CA 93222-6798. (Please write your e-mail address on all correspondence and checks.) * * * * * IN THIS ISSUE: o News and Notes at RootsWeb (WorldConnect Tip -- Where's the GEDCOM?; How to Correct Errors in the Social Security Death Index; RootsWeb's Guide to Tracing Family Trees) o Hidden Treasures at RootsWeb o Connecting through RootsWeb o New Genealogy Mailing Lists o New Genealogy Web Pages o GenConnect o USGenWeb Archives o Letters to the Editors o Humor o Reprint Policy, Back Issues, How to Subscribe/Unsubscribe * * * * * NEWS AND NOTES FROM ROOTSWEB WORLDCONNECT TIP: WHERE'S THE GEDCOM? Problem: You want to upload the GEDCOM file generated by your genealogy software program to RootsWeb's WorldConnect but WorldConnect perversely insists that you tell it where on your computer it will find the GEDCOM file. Solution: If you know the exact location of the file, simply type it in the blank box (item #8 on the standard setup page or item #18 on the advance setup page). For Windows users, this location might look something like this: C:\FTW\SMITH.GED -- the file will end with the extension .GED or it is not a valid GEDCOM file and WorldConnect will not accept it. Remember also that the locations of files on your computer include the backward, not the forward, slashes. What if you don't know or can't remember where the file is? Then use the BROWSE button, located just to the right of the blank box in the Upload Options section. Let's say you know the file is somewhere on your computer's hard drive (probably named the C drive), and you know it is somewhere within your genealogy program folder. Use the BROWSE button to navigate from the C drive to the appropriate folder. Open it and then look within the folder for the proper file ending in .GED. Highlight it and click on Open. This displays the GEDCOM's location in the box for item #8 (standard setup) or item #18 (advanced setup). Your GEDCOM is now ready to be uploaded to WorldConnect. For more tips on this subject, see "Preparing Your File for Submission": WorldConnect's GEDCOM database contains 24,728,773 names at last count, right on track to reach 100 million names by year's end. * * * HOW TO CORRECT ERRORS IN THE SOCIAL SECURITY DEATH INDEX (SSDI) RootsWeb does not create or correct information in the SSDI. This database is created by the Social Security Administration (SSA). If you believe that SSA has incorrectly listed someone as deceased (or has incorrect dates/data in the file) you should contact the local Social Security office (and provide proof) to have the error corrected. You can use Post-Ems to indicate your records differ with what SSA has, but that will not change the database. See for additional information about the SSDI. * * * ROOTSWEB'S GUIDE TO TRACING FAMILY TREES. In addition to brief, interactive online genealogy lessons, you'll find links to resources at RootsWeb and elsewhere on the Internet. Index to Lessons New This Week: Lesson 28 covers tracing ancestors in England, Wales, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and the far corners of what was known as the British Empire. **PAID ADVERTISEMENTS** Obtain a trial copy of April/May HISTORY MAGAZINE with articles "Connecting the World--The History of the Telegraph and Telephone," "1910--Highlights of the Decade," "The Country Store," "The 1918 Influenza Pandemic That Killed More People Than WWI," "Saffron, the World's Most Expensive Spice," and many others. Top columnists have this to say about HISTORY MAGAZINE. "Great Magazine."--Stacie Hunter. "Your magazine is riveting."-- Marianne Scott. "You have a second winner on your hands."-Donna Potter Phillips. "I think HISTORY MAGAZINE is the greatest."-- Carllene Marek, AncestreeSeekers. "You are one of the few helping us to relearn our past and take pride in our heritage."-- Anya Laurence. Find out how you can obtain a trial copy by visiting Check out HISTORY MAGAZINE's new Web site-only feature, TODAY IN HISTORY, compiled by history writer Nancy Hendrickson, and find out what historic event happened on this day at The March/April issue of FAMILY CHRONICLE features an article on "Researching Your Irish Roots" by renowned genealogist Angus Baxter. Other articles include: "10 Best Local Library Resources," "Organizing Your Family Records," "How to Choose the Right Genealogy Software," "Why Film Research May Still be Your Best Choice", "Web sites Worth Surfing," and many others. Top genealogy writers have this to say about FAMILY CHRONICLE: "About the best genealogy magazine I have seen."--Doris McManis, Camden, Relatively Speaking. "Excellent publication."--Carole Kiernan, Family Heirlooms. "Guaranteed to provide a helping hand to the beginner as well as to the advanced genealogist."-- Carllene Marek, AncestreeSeekers. Find out how you can obtain a trial copy by visiting * * * * * THE COMPLETE IDIOT'S GUIDE TO ONLINE GENEALOGY, by Rhonda R. McClure. Foreword by Shirley Langton Wilcox. Learn idiot-proof steps for finding online vital records, looking closer at overlooked but useful online resources, and using history sites to bring life to your ancestors. 395 pages. THE IDIOT'S GUIDE is a must for both beginning and master genealogists. HOW TO BECOME A PROFESSIONAL GENEALOGIST, by Carolyn Earle Billingsley and Desmond Walls Allen. This small book is your guide to the business end of being a professional genealogist. How to find clients, set fees, write research contracts, become certified, specialize in niche markets, and make a living doing what you enjoy. 26 pages. Get both books for only $21.95! To order, visit With every purchase RootsWeb gets a 10% donation. You can also call to order from the Family Storehouse Sales Department at 1-800-725-5013. **END PAID ADVERTISEMENTS** HIDDEN TREASURES AT ROOTSWEB by Robert R. Tillman, President and CEO RootsWeb's many treasure boxes can not be opened with just a simple "Open Sesame" as was done in "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves." First, RootsWeb is huge -- there are literally more than a million Web pages of content and hundreds of millions of names on RootsWeb. Second, RootsWeb actually consists of thousands of Web sites, databases and files that have accumulated in numerous different formats over more than 13 years, and continues to grow daily. However, because this accumulation was not planned, there is no single place where you can search through all of these dazzling jewels. Of course, genealogists know that half the fun is in the hunt. Here, in the first part of a series, are some tips and a treasure map to lead you to the gold buried at RootsWeb. There are the "searchable" parts which are accessible through the numerous search engines at RootsWeb, and there are resources at RootsWeb that are not searchable, but which must be browsed. Take time to "browse" as much as you "search," since the free association inherent in browsing can lead you down many interesting and fruitful paths. Finally, come back often, as many megabytes of new material are added daily. o Mailing Lists. Browsing is the best way to find mailing lists that relate to the surname, location and/or topic of interest to you. Genealogy-related mailing lists hosted at RootsWeb can be found at . Once you have found a mailing list of interest, you can search the messages year by year by using the Mailing List Interactive Search. It provides access to the millions of e-mail messages in the Mailing List Archive. Do a separate search for each mailing list and for each year that such mailing list is archived. Some messages date back to as long ago as 1987. o When choosing a promising list to search, be creative and thorough. Don't limit yourself to just surname hunts. While looking for a particular ancestor, check out also the mailing lists that relate to country of origin, places of habitation, migration routes, ethnic group and general interest topics, such as the Roots-L list . Wonderful gems turn up in the most unlikely places. o USGenWeb Archives National Search. Search a large variety of material, including census records compiled by the USGenWeb Project, the largest volunteer genealogy project on the Web. Tracing your roaming American ancestors? Try a state-by-state search in the USGenWeb Archives Digital Library o U.S. Town and County Database. Know the name of the town or city, but not the county? To find the name of the county, use o WorldConnect. Search the names of millions of ancestors in family trees submitted by other genealogists. More than 100,000 new names are added daily. Other places to dig for gold: much material at RootsWeb is not indexed by a search engine. In addition, it is often useful to browse certain material looking for associations, ideas, and inspiration. Search engines answer exactly the query you enter; however, you might not always ask the right question. Here are some places to browse: o Genealogy Web Sites on FreePages. This is a growing area. RootsWeb Resource Clusters. These are research templates that facilitate research by surname or location. In many instances, individuals with Web sites at RootsWeb of relevance to a particular surname or location have linked their Web sites to the relevant resource cluster. o Surname Resources at RootsWeb. o U.S. County and State Resources at RootsWeb. o World Resources at RootsWeb. o WorldGenWeb contains links to Web sites listing resources available for researching genealogy related to many countries around the World. o International Pages at RootsWeb: Good luck with this treasure map. May it lead to valuable new information about your ancestors. * * * * * CONNECTING THROUGH ROOTSWEB. Thanks for sharing your stories. My mother was born in 1926, raised in a variety of foster care situations, and knew little about her family. About 10 years ago, she went to the area where she came from and did some research. The results of the good, old-fashioned effort were impressive: a city directory listing for her family; birth certificates for herself, her mother, and her mother's twin sister; a death certificate and two burial permits for her father; census records from 1900 and 1910 for her mother's family; the graves of her father and many members of his family; and her father's obituary. But she could not find what had happened to her mother after her father died in 1931. It was a dead end. About a month ago I considered the problem. I did a cemetery search at RootsWeb at the Rensselaer County (New York) page. What luck -- I found my mother's maternal grandmother, grandfather, and three aunts all buried in one cemetery. One aunt was the other twin and the index contained both her married and maiden names. The married name was very unusual. Her husband was also buried in that cemetery. I ran a search on the RootsWeb Surname List (RSL) . There were two researchers with that unusual surname. I e-mailed both, and one was a niece of the twin sister and her husband. She kindly provided me the name of a cousin. I wrote to the cousin, and was able to get some information about the family. My mother now has relatives, after 74 years with none! Pamela A. Warren * * * Not long ago I received an e-mail from a young woman whose mother had died when she was six. She was raised by her father's parents and knew virtually nothing about her mother's family. All she had was an old photograph album kept by her mother's mother back in the 1930s. The pictures had names on them but the names "Aunt Mary" and the like meant nothing to her. She found me as a researcher of her mother's maiden name on WorldConnect . I was not only able to tell her about her family but also identify almost all of the photos in the scrapbook. She is now in touch with cousins she never knew she had and is very happy that she has a family after all. Such are the joys of genealogy. Barbara Jarvis * * * In early 1999 I posted information about my husband's family to the JACKSON surname mailing list at RootsWeb and shortly thereafter we connected with a previously unknown cousin of his in Canada. With her assistance, we traced the Jacksons back to Albany, New York in 1743 and up to present day in Canada -- a wonderful result and one that made my husband so happy it took days for him to quit smiling. In early 2000, I posted my maternal grandfather's information on the PAYTON surname mailing list at RootsWeb and soon we connected with another previously unknown cousin -- another wonderful result. This time, I was the one who couldn't stop smiling for days. All of our successes are due completely to your dedication and service. You have our eternal thanks, and our support from now on. RootsWeb is the best invention since record keeping began. Thanks with all our hearts! Richard and Donna Jackson * * * * * MAILING LISTS. For an index to most genealogy mailing lists hosted by RootsWeb, visit NEW MAILING LIST REQUESTS. 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 wish to receive the U.K. family history newsletter, FAMILY HISTORY NEWS, send your SUBSCRIBE message to NEW SURNAME MAILING LISTS, GENCONNECT BOARDS, AND CLUSTERS Adix, All Bilotta, Boot, Bosanko, Brosch, Brummett, Busby Canham, Ciantar, Cirullo, Condren Dates, Donn, Drennan Essex, Etzler Ferland, Foughty, Franciosi Ghee, Gicker, Gollwitzer, Gontar, Graton, Gravis Hambleton, Hobard Israel Jankel Kohout, Kojan, Kupcak, Kurfess Lawrenz, Lihou, Limpus McCampbell, Medin, Merredew Newitt, Niefergold, Nimrod Oglencki, Ohaver Pitzen, Pixler, Poland, Pribil, Princiotta, Purple Quebedeau Rederick, Reynierson, Rhorer, Ripple, Rizzo, Rollason, Roseborough, Ruppin Saranillio, Scourfield, Severo, Shepherd, Sibole, Skeens, Slavey, Space, Spawton, Streit, Sturt VanWye, Veech Wentz, Werk, Wetzel, Winget, Woodmore, Woolgar Yarnes Zellers, Zimple NEW REGIONAL MAILING LISTS AUSTRALIA AUS-MELBOURNE -- Melbourne, Victoria AUS-VIC-NE -- NE part of Victoria CANADA CAN-NB-KINGS -- Kings County, New Brunswick ENGLAND ENG-GLO-HAWKESBURY -- Hawkesbury parish, Gloucestershire RUSSIA RUS-SARATOV-FRANK -- Town of Frank in Saranov NEW ETHNIC, SPECIAL INTEREST, AND MISCELLANEOUS MAILING LISTS CONFEDERATE-TIMES -- Locating Confederate ancestors who vanished after the American Civil War IRISH-AMERICAN-OBITUARIES -- for posting obituaries of Irish-born Irish-Americans PRISONS-UK -- Prisoners and history of British prisons SAR-TALK -- Sons of the American Revolution chat list UK-FAMILYHISTORYNEWS -- United Kingdom genealogy newsletter * * * * * 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 Burgenland, Austria Web page, go to AUSTRIA autbur -- Burgenland CANADA onwellin -- Wellington, Ontario IRELAND irlcla -- Clare SCOTLAND sctinv -- Inverness-shire U.S.A. arjcgs -- Jefferson County Genealogical Society (Arkansas) cocghs -- Columbine Genealogical and Hist. Society (Colorado) midcgs -- Delta County Genealogical Society (Michigan) ohdcgs -- Defiance County Genealogical Society (Ohio) pacamero -- Cameron County, Pennsylvania txhall -- Hall County, Texas utmorgan -- Morgan County, Utah waewgs -- Eastern Washington Genealogical Society SOME NEW HOMEPAGES AND FREEPAGES CASEBY/CAISBY/KEASBY/etc. and related families in England, Ireland, Scotland, and Canada, among them CHERRIE, ANGUS, BARNET, BROWN, COSBY, DOSSO, MACFARLANE, MAKIN, MARTIN, RODGER, and WILLEY CHRISTMAS FAMILIES CLOPTON Family Genealogical Society COWGELL, COWGILL, SMITH, CLARK and related families in Daviess, McLean, and Jefferson counties, Kentucky (1850s on). CRAWSHAW, DUNN, EATHERLY, GODOY, LYBRAND, MCCLANAHAN, PINSON, SCHULTZ, TYRE, TYREE. CROUCH Mary ELLIS FRANKLIN GeDStrip (genealogy program by Dave Naylor that deletes living individuals as well as all links between the remaining ones). IMPSON -- Choctaw Branch 1912 IRONWOOD (Michigan) - HURLEY (Wisconsin) DIRECTORY JOHNSON, MCIVER, WILHITE, and YOUNG LANGFORD Family (English, Canadian and Dutch surnames) MENNONITE ARCHIVES - OBITUARIES - MAIN INDEX. Mennonite and Amish obituaries transcribed from "Gospel Herald" and "Herald of Truth," 1864-1998. ROBINS RYKER-RIKER Historical Society, Inc. STROCK, STRACK WRIGHT, Kivett and Allied Families YORK * * * * * GENCONNECT. RootsWeb hosts many surname GenConnect boards that are in need of people to maintain them. o For a complete list of adoptable GenConnect surname boards o For the form to request to adopt a GenConnect surname board (the same form is used for surname mailing list requests) Have you found a genealogical treasure, such as a photo album or an old Bible containing a completed family record page, that you would like to see reunited with its family? If so, in addition to submitting a notice for publication in the "Somebody's Links" section of MISSING LINKS or in the SOMEBODY'S LINKS NEWSLETTER (to subscribe, send e-mail that says only SUBSCRIBE to: , you can read and post notices to the GenConnect SOMEBODY'S LINKS board: * * * * * USGENWEB ARCHIVES -- THE ARCHIVES NEWSLETTER contains the current USGenWeb Archives submissions from the last week. 20 March 2000 issue http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/newsletter/2000/mar/mar20.htm USGW-ARCHIVES-ANNOUNCE-L is a read-only mailing list for weekly announcements of new updates and submissions to the USGenWeb Archives. To subscribe, send e-mail that says only SUBSCRIBE in the body of the message to this address: **PAID ADVERTISEMENTS** ========================================== AMERITRADE has been linking people to Wall Street for 25 years. Tap into the link with a minimum balance of $500 to open and fund an account. Start trading online. http://www.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/ameritrade/ =========================================== NEW ON-LINE GENEALOGICAL LIBRARY Try It Today! HERITAGE BOOKS, INC. 1540 Pointer Ridge Place, Bowie MD 20715 =========================================== **END PAID ADVERTISEMENTS** LETTERS TO THE EDITORS may be posted to the GenConnect board at http://cgi.rootsweb.com/~genbbs/genbbs.cgi/RWR-LettersToTheEditor or e-mailed to RWR-Editors@rootsweb.com. * * * Since the first of the year there has been little or no discussion anywhere about shorthand for years of the 21st century. Genealogists who took the proper first steps in beginning family research may remember phrases like "She was born two years after Aunt Minnie died and that was in `ought two' so she would have been born in `ought four,'" which suggests that years for this first decade could again be referred to as "oughts." And this first year has a wonderful sound that just rolls off the tongue: Ought Nought! Bob Wurtz * * * I want to encourage people to submit their GEDCOMs now [to WorldConnect at ], before they've "cleaned them up" or verified everything. The reason is I uploaded mine over a weekend and on Thursday I had e-mail from a distant cousin, who provided some corrected information. I don't have to do it all. I am diligently and systematically trying to verify my typing, sources, dates, etc., but . . . it's a daunting task. How wonderful if people who find their line in my information would contact me with corrections. . . Let's face it, this will always be a work-in-progress and never 100% correct, but if we help each other we can cut the work to a much more manageable load. Upload now. I was a [RootsWeb] contributor long before I could even think of doing this, and I am just too thankful for your Web site. Diane LaFontaine * * * Those who are only now discovering their family trees via the Internet often seem to believe that because someone sounds sincere the information they provide is absolutely correct. I think of them as the "I want it all, and I want it all right now" group. The long time researchers -- those who started with pencil and family group sheets 15, 20, or more years ago -- learned the basics of research, the necessity of citing sources, and the importance of obtaining copies of documents and vital records. The best Internet genealogy sites, RootsWeb being number one in my opinion, all feature articles and reference documentation regularly. But, so much of what I read in various newsletters and on the mailing lists make me wonder if the message is getting out. Worse than preaching to the choir, I have been preaching to some of my mentors in genealogy, but I only want to suggest that more emphasis be published on the importance of documentation and "proper" citing of sources. Diane Scannell, Wichita, Kansas [See RootsWeb's Guide to Tracing Family Trees, Lesson 12, "Creating Worthwhile Genealogies: Evidence, Sources, Documentation, and Citation," at ] * * * Re: Irish special, special Irish. Thank you! A wonderful tribute to a wonderful people, and me only being 25% Irish. But, herself is 100% Irish and so proud of it. Whoever put this together [Myra Vanderpool O'Gormley] deserves a true tribute, but I'd spill on my keyboard. . . God bless RootsWeb and all the cheerful volunteers. John Thies and Family, Kansas City, Missouri * * * HelpDesk board 18 March 2000 I am a rank beginner in the world of PCs and the Internet. I have been pleasantly surprised at the services you offer at RootsWeb, your excellent information and resource links, etc. With your help, my journey to the past will be an exciting one, I'm sure. Being Irish, I enjoyed your St. Patrick's Day presentation over the past few days. Many thanks. Dorothy Donison **PAID ADVERTISEMENT** Receive a FREE pack of Wildflower seeds from mySEASONS.com. mySEASONS is the ultimate gardening resource. We bring you more than a century of gardening know how, expert advice, and the finest perennials, bulbs, shrubs, fruit trees and roses from America's best-known gardening brands including Breck's and Spring Hill. mySEASONS.com is your gardening partner for all seasons. Get your FREE pack of Wildflower seeds now! **END PAID ADVERTISEMENT** HUMOR. Honestly, we don't make up these letters. The Eds. The writer of the line Mary NEE nee NEE reminded me of my own genealogy joke. One of my ancestor surnames is Skuce (from County Cork, Ireland). I wonder if a divorced person by that name would be an ex-Skuce -- and if he was not very well off, would that make him a poor ex-Skuce? Stan Hingston Note: My solution to Y2K was to set back my clock a year until I can afford to upgrade my hardware and software. This may cause your e-mail program to store my messages at the top of your lists if sorted chronologically. * * * * * 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.com, Inc., RootsWeb Review: RootsWeb's Genealogy News, Vol. 3, No. 12, 22 March 2000. RootsWeb: BACK ISSUES OF ROOTSWEB REVIEW may be read online or downloaded from TO SUBSCRIBE OR UNSUBSCRIBE from ROOTSWEB REVIEW and MISSING LINKS, send e-mail with only SUBSCRIBE (or UNSUBSCRIBE) in the message area to: .