ROOTSWEB REVIEW: RootsWeb's Genealogy News Vol. 3, No. 32, 9 August 2000, Circulation: 658,578+ (c) 1998-2000 RootsWeb.com, Inc. http://www.rootsweb.com/ RootsWeb.com, Inc., P.O. Box 6798, Frazier Park, CA 93222-6798 ROOTSWEB REVIEW and MISSING LINKS are free, weekly e-zines. Editors: Julia M. Case and Myra Vanderpool Gormley, CG RWR-Editors@rootsweb.com Advertising: sbrenay@myfamilyinc.com RootsWeb HelpDesk: http://helpdesk.rootsweb.com/ E-Mail Changes: http://helpdesk.rootsweb.com/FAQ/address.html Data Submission Form: http://userdb.rootsweb.com/submit.html New Databases (check often): http://searches.rootsweb.com/ IN THIS ISSUE: o News and Notes at RootsWeb (New Searchable Databases; WorldConnect Enhancements; WorldConnect Tip; Who Has the Data?; Shaking Your Family Tree; RootsWeb's Guide to Tracing Family Trees) o Family Research Does Not Have to Be Expensive 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 or Unsubscribe RootsWeb's WORLDCONNECT contains more than 38.1 million names and new GEDCOMs are added daily. Search WorldConnect and upload your own GEDCOM(s) to http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/ NEWS AND NOTES FROM ROOTSWEB NEW DATABASES AT ROOTSWEB. RootsWeb thanks all of the individuals and groups who contribute their data to share with the genealogical community. See the full list of contributors at http://userdb.rootsweb.com/contributors.html AMERICAN CHILDREN's GRAVES 1952-1971 -- Kaiserslautern, Germany 462 cemetery records; John T. Halbert, Genealogy Association of English Speaking Researchers in Europe http://userdb.rootsweb.com/cemeteries/ UTAH STATE ARCHIVES 19,398 miscellaneous records; Utah State Archives http://userdb.rootsweb.com/utahstatearchives/ * * * WORLDCONNECT INCREASES SPEED, FEATURES, AND CAPACITY WorldConnect now supports alternate shorter URLs (Web addresses) such as http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/~usercode (substitute your actual user code for "usercode"). This should make it easier for you to remember your WorldConnect database's URL. In addition to faster searches, other new features users will appreciate include: o Global search on names of father, mother, and spouse. These features support first and/or last name searches. All support "trailing wildcards" -- three or more characters followed by an asterisk. All possible results are displayed. o "Fuzzy searches" available. Fuzzy in geek-speak means "not exact," but a fuzzy search will find variant spellings. WorldConnect fields (excluding birth and death year) are Soundex searchable. The surname field has a drop-down menu offering the option for an exact spelling, a Soundex, or a Metaphone search. For more information about Soundex and Metaphone, see http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/tips/tip-13.html o Birth and death place searches support recognition of two-letter state abbreviations (KS) as well as the state's full name (Kansas). o Date range searches added. Birth year and death year are searchable with a drop-down menu with the selections of exact, plus or minus 2, 5, 10 or 20 years. This gives a range to the searches of a maximum of 40 years -- 20 years in either direction from the year you are using as your starting point. o Christening dates and/or places will be used automatically if birth dates and/or places are missing; burial dates and/or places will be used when death dates and/or places are missing. This feature has been added to simple and advanced searches for individual databases as well as Global Search. o Advanced searches available on an individual file. Start within the database you wish to search and click on the "advanced search" link. Among the new items added to the Advanced setup page are: o Ahnentafel reports (item #12). On the Advanced setup page you can select two through six generations for this genealogy- style report. For more information about Ahnentafels see: http://www.rootsweb.com/~rwguide/lesson3.htm#Ahnentafel The default is six generations on the Standard setup page or for GEDCOMs already on file at WorldConnect. o Additional individuals to remove (item #36). This allows you manually to select an individual or individuals, or even certain individuals and their descendants, mark them as living or mark them for removal, without having to create and upload a new GEDCOM. Use the identification number for the individual you wish to remove or mark as living as follows: I0001 removes individual I0001 I0001,L marks individual I0001 as living I0001,R* removes descendants of I0001 I0001,L* marks descendants of I0001 as living I0001,R* # Removes descendants of I0001; allows for comments (example: "this person requested that they be removed"). Removal of an individual or his descendants has no effect on the display of the spouse of the removed individual unless you remove the spouse separately. Each entry must be shown on a separate line. Items on the Advanced setup page have been renumbered to accommodate these new options. WorldConnect is not only faster, with more options, but has increased capacity to allow for its continued growth. * * * WHO HAS THE DATA? Does your state, province, county, parish, or church have a database available that has not yet been placed on RootsWeb and that you think would be of interest to genealogists and historians? Do you have a database that you would like to share that you think would be of value and interest to others? In most cases, RootsWeb would be proud to host them. Please use the data submission form to tell us about such databases: http://userdb.rootsweb.com/submit.html * * * WORLDCONNECT TIP: Retrieve File Information Anytime and Anywhere http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/ Have you ever researched your family history at a library, historical society, courthouse, or on a trip far from home, and wished that you had access to the information in your genealogy files, but didn't have your computer with you? WorldConnect GEDCOM owner, Judy Ryden, found a solution to that problem [RWR 3:30, 26 July 2000]. Ryden was "in Nebraska (1,500 miles from home) doing some research. I found a computer in the library, looked up my GEDCOM [at WorldConnect] and found my own notes and lists." Not being able to lug all your data with you need not be a problem. Anywhere you have Internet access you have access to your data when you have a GEDCOM at WorldConnect. Researching at the library or on vacation with your laptop anytime, anyplace, your data are at your fingertips. Be sure to bookmark the WorldConnect URL on your laptop, or otherwise make note of it, for use when your own computer is not accessible. http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/ WorldConnect Tips: http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/tips/ WorldConnect Suggestion Board and Help http://genconnect.rootsweb.com/genbbs.cgi/gedcom/ RootsWeb's Guide to Tracing Family Trees: USING TECHNOLOGY TO DIG UP ROOTS. What is a GEDCOM? What is an AHNENTAFEL? What genealogical software programs are available and how do they differ? Find answers to those and other questions related to making the best use of modern technology in your research at: http://www.rootsweb.com/~rwguide/lesson3.htm * * * SHAKING YOUR FAMILY TREE (SYFT): EXPLORING SSDI FOR GENEALOGICAL PURPOSES. The Social Security Death Index (SSDI) is a huge database -- currently more than 64 million records -- that is a valuable tool for family historians. By using it one can pinpoint where ancestors and relatives died and once that information has been determined, clues can lead to living relatives who just might have the family Bible, pictures, or other genealogical information to share. See this week's SYFT column at http://www.rootsweb.com/~rwguide/syft/curcolumn.htm Myra Vanderpool Gormley's Los Angeles Times Syndicate SYFT columns are archived by subject and can be browsed at http://www.rootsweb.com/~rwguide/syft/ * * * ROOTSWEB'S GUIDE TO TRACING FAMILY TREES (RWGuide), Exploring the Social Security Death Index (SSDI) and Railroad Retirement Board Records: http://www.rootsweb.com/~rwguide/lesson10.htm U.S. PRESIDENTIAL PEDIGREES. Are you kin to a U.S. president? Compare your pedigree chart to theirs and perhaps you'll find a clue: http://www.rootsweb.com/~rwguide/presidents/ ** PAID ADVERTISEMENTS ** The August/September issue of HISTORY MAGAZINE is on the newsstands now and is full of social history articles about the conditions that affected the lives of our ancestors. Articles include "The California Gold Rush," "Development of Photography," "The Underground Railroad," "History of the Insurance Business," "Highlights of the 1690s Decade," "History of the Shakers," and many others. Columnist Ann Burton writes, "HISTORY MAGAZINE appeals to people who are curious about the everyday events that affected the lives of their ancestors." You can obtain a free trial copy of HISTORY MAGAZINE by visiting http://www.history-magazine.com ********************************************* FREE TWICE-MONTHLY EMAIL NEWSLETTER Dozens of Books & CDs at Publisher-Only Sale Prices in Each Issue Message "subscribe email newsletter" to heritagebooks@pipeline.com HERITAGE BOOKS, INC. 1540 Pointer Ridge Place, Bowie MD 20715 ********************************************* The July/August issue of FAMILY CHRONICLE is on the newsstands now and is full of articles by top genealogy writers. Articles include "Internet Research Success Stories," "10 Habits of Highly Effective Genealogists," "Using a Palm Pilot Computer as Part of Your Research Kit," "Genealogy Software for the Mac," "Discovering Your Scottish Roots," "A Broader Look at the U.S. Federal Census," "The Origins of Family Names," "Web sites Worth Surfing," Profile of the New England Historic Genealogical Society," and others. Top genealogy columnist Myra Vanderpool Gormley, CG writes, "If you haven't discovered FAMILY CHRONICLE, you are in for a treat." You can obtain a free trial copy of FAMILY CHRONICLE by visiting http://www.familychronicle.com/ * * * LOCATE LIVING FAMILY MEMBERS RIGHT NOW Last year, more than ONE MILLION FAMILIES asked BigHugs.com to reunite them with missing family members. Tell them who YOU want to find! Fill out a 30-second short form and who knows, your Dream Reunion may be next! (specializing in adoption search) http://216.167.82.165/ad/adredir.asp?id=118&way=txt * * * Kindred Konnections has to be the best Web site I have come across. "I have found more of my family tree here in 2 days than in several years of research." B. Peltier. Over a Billion Names -- World's Largest. http://www.kindredkonnections.com ** END PAID ADVERTISEMENTS ** FAMILY RESEARCH DOES NOT HAVE TO BE EXPENSIVE by Sharon (Miller) Suter, New Zealand sharonsuter@netscape.net I have only been researching my father's family for the past 12 months, so was not expecting to get so far with parts of it so soon. It all started with a conversation at my uncle's 60th birthday party in mid-1999. Several of us MILLER "children" were starting to wonder about our English heritage. For years my father and his brothers and sister had talked about why their father James Augustus MILLER and his brother John William MILLER had emigrated from Essex, England to New Zealand. James came out in 1924; John later followed when he was old enough. Their sister Hetty was the youngest, and she stayed with their mother in London. This happened due to my great-grandfather John MILLER having been killed while serving in the Royal Marine Light Infantry in World War I, on 22 September 1914, when the German U-boat U9 torpedoed three HMS Cruiser ships, the HMS's ABOUKIR, HOGUE, and CRESSY. John had been stationed on board the CRESSY, which was the last to be sunk. The family was very poor, and after 10 years, James followed his mother's wishes to emigrate to have a better start in life. After the 60th party, I went home with the intent to do some research, as I have Internet access, and found the Commonwealth War Graves Commission site. I found great-granddad John MILLER's commemoration within five minutes. It was more than anyone had hoped for or expected. I burst into tears. The commemoration gave me his wife's name and their address (which we already knew) and also that of his own father, James MILLER of Maryland Point, Stratford, WestHam, which we sort-of knew, but this fact brought to our attention that James had still been alive at the time of John's death. In the 1881 census, John is shown as living at 5 South St., Stratford, Essex, along with his younger siblings, Edward and Ann, and their parents, James and Ann MILLER. I had put off ordering his birth certificate, as finances are a bit tight, but this will lead me to establish his mother's maiden name, and go back yet another generation. On trying to find out more about my MILLER background, and realising the enormity of having to trace one of the most common surnames around, I started to look at researching John's wife, Keziah MALES, while awaiting the arrival of his certificate. I had tried to find out more about Keziah earlier on, without much success. Keziah apparently had no immediate family living anywhere in Essex. After many months of futile searching databases, IGI, message boards, etc., not knowing where she was born, I joined the Essex-L mailing list hosted by RootsWeb, and was lucky enough to be spotted by an Essex family historian, who knew some MALES from Hertfordshire, and she suggested I try that list. Thank you, thank you, thank you! Upon posting to this list I was rewarded with a reply that a Keziah MALES was listed as living in the Hitchin Union Workhouse, Hertfordshire, during the 1881 census, along with her mother Elizabeth, aged 38, and her brothers William, Augustus, and Charles MALES. This had to be my great-grandmother -- her two sons' middle names being named after her two brothers William and Augustus. Another Hertfordshire lister suggested I post on his own site "Hertsweb," and within 24 hours I had a reply from a fellow MALES researcher who had my MALES family listed as part of his research -- no descendants from them down, however, heaps of ancestors, right back to the 1700s. Incredible. This Keziah MALES's father was listed on his tree as being Underwood MALES, christened in Pirton, Herts, October 1842. He married Elizabeth nee CLARKE of Huntingdon. Now to order the marriage certificate of John and Keziah. A few anxious weeks later it arrived, and indeed Keziah's father was an Underwood MALES of Pirton (deceased), Carpenter. I had been going about my research backwards. I guess with being new to this genealogy stuff I should have checked out the "Newbies" section. The funny part is that I have a sister who lives in Hertfordshire, not far from Pirton. Uncanny. She is planning a drive to Pirton to take photos at the local cemetery. So, with the help of the RootsWeb and Hertsweb mailing lists and message boards I have uncovered one side of my father's family, although another researcher had already done all the hard work, but had not known what had happened to my great-grandmother's family. My family is all that has been found so far, and we are trying to find descendants of the brothers William, Augustus, and Charles. If only finding my MILLERs were this easy. This whole ordeal has prompted most of the MILLERs in New Plymouth, New Zealand, to make contact with John William MILLER's descendants in other parts of New Zealand, and I have now been e-mailing madly with a second cousin who lives in London, who has also been trying to do research from there. It's uncanny how we all became interested at about the same time. This highlights the successes (and frustrations) of family searching without spending too much. I have managed to spend (so far) only $27.00 NZD for one marriage certificate. The rest of the information has come free of charge from the various mailing lists and message boards on the Web. My thanks go out to all concerned, and mostly to RootsWeb, for hosting such a fantastic array of ever-expanding databases and mailing lists, etc., completely free of charge. Anyone can do it, even me! * * * * * CONNECTING THROUGH ROOTSWEB. Thanks for sharing your stories. For years I have been working to document the residents of Piute County, Utah. Most of my material is in text files, but I did construct a partial database to help me keep straight the interconnectedness of the county's families. I haven't gotten around to entering information on many of the miners and sheepherders and others who had no family in the county. The GEDCOM which I contributed to WorldConnect names a few of these loners, but not many. I am glad it contains a few of these single men. Recently I was contacted by a woman in New York who recognized the name of her Greek great-grandfather -- what on earth had Ioannis ANTONION been doing in Marysvale, Utah in 1917? Well, he was a railroad section hand and just happened to be in the county during the week when he was required to register for the World War I draft. I was able to report to my contact the information her great- grandfather had written on his draft card, plus the dates of his enlistment and discharge from the service -- and one thing more. In 1919 the State of Utah issued large, ornate certificates of appreciation to all Utah veterans of the Great War. The soldiers' names were written in calligraphy and the governor hand-signed each one. Most of those certificates were distributed to the soldiers immediately after the war. But for some reason, the Piute County certificates remained in the courthouse where they were discovered three or four years ago; they were given to the descendants of veterans whenever we could find them. But some of the men left no families here, so their certificates remain in the county where strangers sort through them like the forlorn photographs and documents we all mourn at flea markets. But after 80 years, one of those orphan certificates is being mailed to the great-granddaughter of the man it was intended to honor -- largely because RootsWeb has made it possible for her to connect with a piece of her ancestor's history, across a continent from anyplace she had ever known he had lived. Ardis Parshall AEParshall@aol.com * * * I just want to encourage everyone to keep looking. I have probably done about 100 searches on RootsWeb for my missing grandfather. I have subscribed to the MISSING LINKS newsletter, and I have probably been searching for some trace of him for 20 years. Several weeks ago, I finally hit pay dirt, thanks to the California birth (1905-1995) and death (1940-1995) indexes being put online at RootsWeb. http://userdb.rootsweb.com/ca/birth/search.cgi http://userdb.rootsweb.com/ca/death/search.cgi I entered a search for King Earl FORRESTER once again, and then nearly choked when I found one death record for the same. My whole family got e-mail that night. My mother and her sister were under five when my grandparents divorced in the late 1920s. He disappeared from their lives, and they assumed he didn't care about them, but over the years we discovered that he tried to see them, but wasn't allowed. Aunts and Uncles forbade him access to the two girls after their mother died. He sent a postcard when my mother married, and my aunt received two paychecks in his name in the early 1950s. He died in Sutter County, California, and I now have his death certificate. There are still mysteries, as it appears he drowned in the Feather River there, but a wonderful man who runs a funeral home has volunteered to look this up in the newspaper from 1952. At long last, we have found what happened to him. There are still mysteries, but at least we have a starting point. My mother feels like it is all a dream. Thank you, RootsWeb, and all the many thousands of volunteers who have transcribed information and made records available. D. Anne Jones DAJSB@aol.com * * * * * MAILING LISTS. For an index to most genealogy mailing lists hosted by RootsWeb, visit http://lists.rootsweb.com/ NEW MAILING LIST REQUESTS. Please request new mailing lists at http://resources.rootsweb.com/adopt/ 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 are interested in the Dutchfork area of South Carolilna, send your SUBSCRIBE request to: SC-DUTCHFORK-L-request@rootsweb.com NEW SURNAME MAILING LISTS, GENCONNECT BOARDS, AND CLUSTERS Anthony Bala Chisham Cross-Flood-Descendants -- Descendants of Charles CROSS and Rose FLOOD, convicts to New South Wales, Australia, on the NEPTUNE in 1790, and associated families Foster, Fulbright Gaul, Geibel, Gombos, Grossart Jakes Kall, Kimes LeFaucheur McCallie Mundt Oeltjenbruns Parman, Passailaigue, Pendelton, Presland, Protivinsky Shireman, Soltes, Stulce Vardy, Viggers Ziaja, Zotsky, Zurbriggen NEW REGIONAL MAILING LISTS SAMOA SAMOA -- Samoan genealogy, research, and history to go with the SamoanGenWeb page U.S.A. OKCCGS SC-DUTCHFORK -- Genealogy of Dutch Fork area, South Carolina * * * * * NEW WEB ACCOUNT REQUESTS. Please see the instructions at http://cgi.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/acctform.cgi 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. http://www.rootsweb.com/~[account name]. Note that the ~[tilde] before the account name is required. FOR EXAMPLE, to visit the Web page for Greenville County, South Carolina, go to http://www.rootsweb.com/~scgreenv/ AUSTRALIA ausqld -- Queensland CANADA mbpembin -- Pembina Valley Region, Manitoba U.S.A. codcdar -- Denver Chapter National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (Colorado) cojackso -- Jackson County, Colorado ilchs -- Catlin Historical Society (Illinois) ohclecgs -- Clermont County Genealogical Society (Ohio) okegs -- Edmond Genealogical Society (Oklahoma) scgreenv -- Greenville County, South Carolina uswills -- Wills Project vagriv -- Genealogical Research Institute of Virginia SOME NEW HOMEPAGES AND FREEPAGES AUSTRALIA, Queensland. Associated with the AUS-QLD mailing list. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~slund/aus-qld.htm MASSACHUSETTS: Vital Records of Braintree, Massachusetts 1640- 1793, in alphabetical order for birth, death, and marriage by bridegroom surname and also bride's surname: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~dyer/braintre.htm * * * * * 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 http://genconnect.rootsweb.com/surnames/adoptable/ o For the form to request to adopt a GenConnect surname board (the same form is used for surname mailing list requests) http://resources.rootsweb.com/adopt/ 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, you can read and post notices to the SOMEBODY'S LINKS board at: http://genconnect.rootsweb.com/genbbs.cgi/SomebodysLinks/ (Subscribe by sending e-mail that says only SUBSCRIBE to: Somebodys-Links-Newsletter-L-request@rootsweb.com ) * * * * * USGENWEB ARCHIVES -- THE ARCHIVES NEWSLETTER contains the current USGenWeb Archives submissions from the last week. Back issues of THE ARCHIVES NEWSLETTER are archived at: http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/newsletter/ 7 August 2000 issue http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/newsletter/2000/aug/aug7.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: usgw-archives-announce-l-request@rootsweb.com * * * * * LETTERS TO THE EDITORS. Please send as plain text e-mail messages (no attachments or html) to RWR-Editors@rootsweb.com I have tried without success for years to find information about two of my husband's cousins in California. One morning last week I checked the California birth and death indexes at RootsWeb: http://userdb.rootsweb.com/ca/birth/search.cgi http://userdb.rootsweb.com/ca/death/search.cgi I found a death record for one of those cousins, which included the birth date and place, but no records on the other cousin. There was also a death record for their father. Their mother (sister of my father-in-law) died in Hawaii. Thanks for making this possible. Jean Wheeler mowheel@earthlink.net * * * [Posted to the WorldConnect Suggestion Board on 6 August 2000 http://genconnect.rootsweb.com/genbbs.cgi/gedcom/ ] Without the links I thought this board was gone. Took me all day to find it. Love the new look and can't wait until all is up and running. Randy, of course, is a genius, who obviously never eats, sleeps or walks the dog. A wholehearted "thank you" from one of the millions. Lou lcurtis3@bellsouth.net * * * * * HUMOR. Editors' Favorite Haiku Stay the patient course. Of little worth is your ire. The network is down. Login incorrect. Only perfect spellers may enter this system. * * * * * 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 [author's name, e-mail address, and URL, if given]. Previously published by RootsWeb.com, Inc., RootsWeb Review: RootsWeb's Genealogy News, Vol. 3, No. 32, 9 August 2000. RootsWeb: http://www.rootsweb.com/ BACK ISSUES OF ROOTSWEB REVIEW and MISSING LINKS are fully SEARCHABLE at http://search-rwr.rootsweb.com/ and may be DOWNLOADED from ftp://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/review/ and ftp://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/mlnews/ A paid advertisement in ROOTSWEB REVIEW or MISSING LINKS should not be construed as an endorsement of the product or service. TO UNSUBSCRIBE from the free weekly genealogy e-zines, ROOTSWEB REVIEW and MISSING LINKS, send any e-mail to: rootsweb-review-unsubscribe@rootsweb.com TO SUBSCRIBE, send to rootsweb-review-subscribe@rootsweb.com