ROOTSWEB REVIEW: RootsWeb's Genealogy News Vol. 3, No. 47, 22 November 2000, Circulation: 725,027+ (c) 1998-2000 RootsWeb.com, Inc. http://www.rootsweb.com/ 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/ Data Submission Form: http://userdb.rootsweb.com/submit.html New Databases (check often): http://searches.rootsweb.com/ IN THIS ISSUE o News and Notes from RootsWeb (New Searchable Databases; Who Has the Data?; Royal and Noble; FreeBMD Update; WorldConnect Tip; Tips from RootsWeb Users; Ask a Genealogist at RootsWeb; Thanksgiving Cards from RootsWeb; Shaking Your Family Tree; RootsWeb's Guide to Tracing Family Trees; Heirloom Family Tree) 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 48.4+ 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 SEARCHABLE 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 INDIANA, SAINT JOSEPH COUNTY. Marriage Index 1927-1954 171,392 records; Mark A. Davis, South Bend Area Gen. Society http://userdb.rootsweb.com/marriages/ KENTUCKY, MEADE COUNTY. Benham Cemetery 20 records; Thelma Pack Whelan http://userdb.rootsweb.com/cemeteries/ MICHIGAN. Death Records 1872-1881 (surname ELLIOTT) 82 records; Roger Elliott http://userdb.rootsweb.com/deaths/ MICHIGAN, EATON COUNTY. Records of First Methodist Episcopal Church of Eaton Rapids 4,000 records; Sherri VanWyke http://userdb.rootsweb.com/churchrecords/ * * * 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 * * * ROYAL AND NOBLE. A look at some American ancestors of Princess Diana. http://www.rootsweb.com/~rwguide/royal/princess-di.html * * * FreeBMD UPDATE. http://freebmd.rootsweb.com/ "FreeBMD" stands for Free Births, Marriages, and Deaths. The FreeBMD project's objective is to provide free Internet access to the Civil Registration index information for England and Wales. The Civil Registration system for recording births, marriages, and deaths in England and Wales has been in place since 1837 and is one of the most significant single resources for genealogical research back to Victorian times. The FreeBMD database was last updated on 17 November 2000 and currently contains 4,012,334 records, an astounding increase of about three million records transcribed and added to the FreeBMD database by the project's more than 700 volunteers worldwide in slightly less than 10 months. FreeBMD has revamped its Web site, attempting to make it more user friendly. Note that if you have bookmarked any of the FreeBMD pages, there is a possibility these may not work with the new site. You might need to create new bookmarks. * * * WORLDCONNECT TIP: Titles, Headers, and Footers Three items to complete on the set-up page when uploading your family tree to WorldConnect are the Title, Headers, and Footers. A Title is required, while Headers and Footers are optional. They will appear on every page of your file. Don't confuse "user code" and Title. The "user code" is selected when establishing a new account and is an identifier for your family tree at WorldConnect. It becomes a part of the URL (address) of your file. The Title introduces researchers to your WorldConnect site. It should be specific, giving a clue to the contents of your file and the family outlined in it. "My Father's Ancestors" or "The Smith Family" are not good titles. "Samuel Smith Family of London, England" is more descriptive and better identifies a family. If you are uncertain what to use for the optional Headers and Footers, leave them blank. You can always go back through the set-up page and add a Header or Footer by reprocessing your file. You do not have to upload your file again to do this. While you can be creative with Headers and Footers, most contributors use them to give other researchers important additional information about their files. Example of items to include: Thank and give credit to others who have helped you obtain and compile the data; include the fact that not all of the data has been verified; and say that you welcome additions and corrections. Browse through files at WorldConnect to see how others use Titles, Headers, and Footers. For more information about Titles, Headers, and Footers see http://helpdesk.rootsweb.com/FAQ/wcsubmit3.html * * * TIPS FROM ROOTSWEB USERS (Send tips to rwr-editors@rootsweb.com) In response to the WorldConnect Tip of the Week (RWR 3:46, 15 November 2000) "Finding Files on Your Computer": I solved the problem of "where" my GEDCOM went by creating a folder just for GEDCOMs. I named the folder "My Gedcoms" on my main hard drive so it would appear right after the "My Documents" folder and I also created a subfolder "Other Gedcoms." GEDCOMs I create are always saved to the "My Gedcoms" folder, while GEDCOMs sent to me by others are saved in the "Other" folder. Jackie Wilson Smith fizzbomb@yahoo.com [Re WorldConnect Tip, RWR 3:46, 15 November 2000] "MAC users can find a file from the Desktop by pressing the COMMAND key (looks like an apple) and "f" key to start FINDER. Type in part of the file name and click FIND. On some Macs FINDER is now called SHERLOCK." Once you are in Sherlock, click "Find by Content" until you find the command that lets you INDEX volumes. Allow plenty of time for this -- the initial index might take an hour or more and the best idea is to let the computer do this overnight. Once that is done you can find any word in any file. This means that that if you can't quite remember where to locate g-g-g-g-uncle Arlo Skreebenowsen, you can type in either name and the computer will list all the files it is in. Then you can double-click on the one you want to open. (If you can't be sure of the spelling, just type in "skreeb," or part of any word you are sure is in there.) You can also index CD-ROMS and disks. It is a good idea to update the index on a regular basis, and the updates are much faster. I can't tell you how many times this has saved me. Thanks, as always, for your fabulous work. Carol Cason CarolC11@aol.com If you are looking for ancestors not too far back in history it might help to contact people in the town they lived in. My great-great-grandfather and his family were mentioned in a small local history book. The author was dead but I found one of her nephews who still lived in the area. To make a long story short, I recently made contact with a cousin of my grandfather's whom he had never met. He never knew most of his aunts and uncles and never knew that any of them had children. Amy Weggeland aswegg@centurytel.net * * * ASK-A-GENEALOGIST AT ROOTSWEB. The subjects of this week's questions and answers include the California Gold Rush, Cherokees, Cowboys, Bohemian vital records, County Armagh, Ireland, Belgian records, 18th-century German immigrants to America, 19th-century U.S. adoption records, and many more. http://rwguide.rootsweb.com/ask-a-genealogist.html Before posting a new query, please read the GUIDELINES at http://www.rootsweb.com/~rwguide/askguidelines.html Ask-A-Genealogist at RootsWeb ARCHIVES http://rwguide.rootsweb.com/askarchives.html * * * ELECTRONIC CARDS FROM ROOTSWEB: http://postcards.rootsweb.com/ E-mail FREE cards from RootsWeb to online family and friends. Send Thanksgiving Day cards to online family and friends. http://postcards.rootsweb.com/thank.htm * * * SHAKING YOUR FAMILY TREE (SYFT) by Myra Vanderpool Gormley, CG. Fact or Fiction? Did the Pilgrims feast on popcorn and whortleberries 379 years ago? http://www.rootsweb.com/~rwguide/syft/curcolumn.htm 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) http://rwguide.rootsweb.com/ English, Welsh, Australian, New Zealand, South African Ancestors http://www.rootsweb.com/~rwguide/lesson28.htm * * * HEIRLOOM FAMILY TREE. Give your family something special this year. Create your Heirloom Family Tree. Now you can create a beautiful print of your family tree. http://www.ancestry.com/oft/hft/HFTLandPage.asp?Login=true The Heirloom Family Tree (HFT) is a new product exclusive to MyFamily.com, Ancestry, and RootsWeb. You can take the Online Family Tree (OFT) you have built at MyFamily.com or Ancestry and order a completely personalized, quality keepsake document that can be framed and shared with others. A RootsWeb user can take advantage of this by creating an OFT either at Ancestry or MyFamily.com. You can create an OFT by uploading a GEDCOM or by typing, so users with existing GEDCOM files as well as users who are new to genealogy can benefit. Heirloom Family Tree will give users the flexibility of creating a unique family tree with their choice of tree view (four options), size (three options), background (10 options), and color, as well as framed or unframed. Later there will be the ability to add photos to the tree. See the how-to details, available backgrounds, and more information at: http://www.ancestry.com/oft/hft/HFTLandPage.asp?Login=true ** PAID ADVERTISEMENTS ** U.S. FEDERAL CENSUS IMAGES Have you seen the U.S. Federal Census Images at Ancestry.com? Now you can view original documents online! Ancestry.com continues the census images project with 1920 postings for parts of MI, MA, MN and NM. Get access for only $39.95. Go to: http://www.ancestry.com/search/io/about/main.htm ***************************************** FREE TWICE-MONTHLY E-MAIL NEWSLETTER Dozens of Books & CDs at Publisher-Only Sale Prices in Each Issue Subscribe now at http://www.heritagebooks.com/ HERITAGE BOOKS, INC. 1540 Pointer Ridge Place, Bowie MD 20715 ***************************************** You can obtain a FREE trial copy of FAMILY CHRONICLE by visiting http://www.familychronicle.com/. Articles include "Reading the Omens . . . a key to genealogical breakthroughs," "Railroad Records," "Using State Censuses," "Becoming a Genealogical Detective," "10 Frequently Asked Questions at Family History Centers," "Getting Past the Brick Wall," "You Wanted to Know," and "Web sites Worth Surfing." Top journalist Myra Vanderpool Gormley, CG has this to say about FAMILY CHRONICLE: "If you haven't discovered FAMILY CHRONICLE you are in for a treat." Find out how you can obtain a FREE trial copy by visiting http://www.familychronicle.com/ You can obtain a FREE trial copy of HISTORY MAGAZINE by visiting http://www.history-magazine.com/. Articles include "Working Women in New York," "Bloodletting, a Now Discredited Medical Practice," "Privateers of the Caribbean, pirates who operated with government sanction," "Poor Richard's Almanac, Franklin's book that rivaled the popularity of the Bible," Noble Learned Corporation, the history of the Royal Society," and many others. HISTORY MAGAZINE articles cover the social conditions that affected the lives of our ancestors. Check out our Web feature "This Day in History" at http://www.history-magazine.com/ Visit Ancestry.com for a FREE 14-Day Trial and enjoy access to the No. 1 Source for Family History Online. Search more than 600 MILLION NAMES and trace your family tree today. Go to: www.ancestry.com/subscribe/subscribetrial1y.asp?sourcecode=F11GC Holidays Savings at http://www.censusmicrofilm.com/ New genealogy microfilm reader ONLY $470. INDUS 4601-11. Plus links to most genealogy research tools you need. RootsWeb users get a FREE electronic Federal Census Catalog (it has a search engine) and two FREE microfilm take-up spools. Buy four census microfilms priced at $12.95 and get one free (best price by more than $10 each). FREE U.S. MAPS show changing boundaries 1790-1870 informative; a $15 value at http://www.censusmicrofilm.com/fedcens.htm Internet's largest selection of new-used microfilm readers. Test on-line Soundex Converter. View all 75,000 Catalog census microfilms. Census search services, photocopies and digital census images. These are two Web sites worth surfing. Librarians see a complete line of Canon Microfilm Reader Printers, refurbished and like new and all options. Every GENEALOGY item you want is available at the American Genealogy Mall http://www.genealogy-mall.com/ ** END PAID ADVERTISEMENTS ** CONNECTING THROUGH ROOTSWEB. Thanks for sharing your stories. ADOPTION RESEARCH by Barb VanderRoest vanderb@telusplanet.net Although I had always known that I was adopted, it wasn't until the birth of my daughter that I began my search in earnest. I found that my natural mother's name was Shirley Jean TAPLIN of Nova Scotia and that she had married Robert CHANDLER and moved to Hamilton, Ontario, Canada in the early 1950s. According to the story, she disappeared in the mid 1950s and was reported to have been killed in an auto accident sometime between 1955-1960. Robert Chandler died in 1965. Over the years I have checked the death records of all Canadian provinces as well as several in the U.S.A. I have checked with the Canadian Social Security and they have indicated that she had not applied for an "Old Age Pension" and has never had a Social Security number. Her brother, Earl TAPLIN, fought in World War II and had not been heard of since the mid 1950s either. Since the advent of the personal computer and thanks to RootsWeb, I have traced my natural family back to the 1770s in England. I have corresponded with my natural father and have met many cousins, aunts, and uncles, who have been very generous in sharing information and photos. I am still intrigued by the circumstances of the disappearance of my mother and her brother and am amazed that, even though I can find information about ancestors from 1700, I can't seem to trace the closest person to me. Shirley Jean TAPLIN is most certainly my "missing link." * * * MY WILDEST DREAMS COME TRUE Mary Jeanne Bray-Monhardt Maryjeanne1942@cs.com I have been trying to find my BRAY relations for several years. Not only is it a hard name to find because it is so common in England, but also everyone keeps telling me that it is an exercise in futility. I kept on trying and had to go in the back door through my grandpa's sister, who married a Michigan state representative named Thomas Frederick FRANCIS, whose family has been wonderful. It seems that John S. BRAY's sister, who appears in the Ishpeming, Michigan census as Elizabeth, was listed in her death notice as Lily and Lillie, and on her death certificate as Lyda. One little scrap of information sent by Mary TURVY led the way. I had just received the death certificate of one of Gramp's sisters, indicating their father was born in Cornwall, England. Some of the rest of the family is buried there, too. I was so happy, I thought it could not get any better. When I looked at the clippings about Elizabeth a.k.a. Lilllie and Lily, her husband, T. F. FRANCIS, turned out to be quite famous, having written more than 1,000 songs and many poems. I opened the mail one day recently and found in it two copies of sheet music he had written and published. I coaxed my husband into whistling one of the tunes, "When Our Soldier Boy Comes Back," copyright 1918; published by Thomas Frederick FRANCIS. It is dedicated to Lieutenant Clarence B. RANDALL, 169th Brigade, Michigan, and to the Soldier and Sailor Boys of Ishpeming. I will gladly share the music with anyone who is researching Clarence B. RANDALL. I could never have found these family treasures if I had not been looking at RootsWeb often. * * * * * 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 Laprarie, Quebec, Canada, send a SUBSCRIBE request to CAN-QBC-LAPRARIE-L-request@rootsweb.com NEW SURNAME MAILING LISTS, GENCONNECT BOARDS, AND CLUSTERS Allmond Baglion, Baillargeon, Benbow, Bolstad Carron, Clader, Coffron, Culwell Dansby Goold Hadan, Hannay, Hotvedt Kazes, Keelyn Lassen Maralongo, Mendes, Mendes-da-Costa, Minney, Minny, Mohundro, Mushrush Nitowski, Nyhard Ofer, Ohmann Propes Reagin, Rencher, Repine Schurr, Segars, Selph, Shillito, Slisky Yearick NEW REGIONAL MAILING LISTS CANADA CAN-QBC-LAPRARIE -- Laprarie, Quebec U.S.A. MO-LIV-CEMPROJECT -- Livingston County, Missouri Cemetery CD-ROM Project TN-SCOTT-HISTORY -- Scott County, Tennessee, Historical tidbits and stories ETHNIC AND SPECIAL INTEREST MAILING LISTS FTM-HELP -- Family Tree Maker Genealogy Program Users Group GEN-FRATERNAL -- For family historians using fraternal or benevolent society resources in their research * * * * * NEW WEB ACCOUNT REQUESTS. Please see the instructions at http://accounts.rootsweb.com/ 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 Monroe County, New York Web page, go to http://www.rootsweb.com/~nymonroe/ U.S.A. nymonroe -- Monroe County, New York SOME NEW HOMEPAGES AND FREEPAGES CUSENBARY Association, providing resources for research of CUSENBARY, CUSHENBERRY, CUSENBERRY; focus on descendants of Moses CUSENBARY of Kentucky. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~cusenbary/ DEBI MCGEE CUNDIFF'S GENEALOGY HOMEPAGE AND BOOK INDEX LINKS. McGEE and CAMPBELL in South Carolina and Florida; FORE in Mississippi and Florida; HELMS and BAUCOM in North Carolina; DRIGGERS, BROWN, and MEARES in Florida; CUNDIFF, HARDING, and CARROLL in Virginia. Links to every-name indexes for books about Frederica, Glynn County, Georgia; Old Salem, Forsyth County, North Carolina; and Clearwater, Pinellas County, Florida. http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~debic/ ENGLISH GENEALOGY. Contains documents relevant to English genealogy and downloadable copy of a family tree that includes ADAMS, SAWTELL, COWLEY, MILES, SHRUBB, STEVENS, HOOPER, HARPER, CORNISH, and POWELL. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~nmfa/genealogy.html FREER GENEALOGY. FREERs and related families, including ASH, BENNETT, BLUNDELL, BURKE, CLOW, EVANS, FELL, FITTON, HACKEL, HEFFER, HODGSON, JENKINS, KEMP, KENNEDY, KING, MARINER, PRENDERGAST, SIMMONS, STANTON, and THOMAS, from the late 1700s in England to the present in Canada. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~kfreer/ ILLINOIS. Southern Illinois Photo Exchange. Photos, early church records, and links to Gholson Cemetery in Hamilton County. http://freepages.misc.rootsweb.com/~jgholson/southern.htm OHIO. Barberton (Summit County) Ohio Central High School's 1919 Senior Yearbook, "TAPS." [Note two-line URL] http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~censusresearch/ BarbertonHighSchool/Barberton.htm SNODGRASS SOCIETY. An enormous database of information about SNODGRASS in the United States. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~wjhonson/ * * * * * 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/ * * * * * USGENWEB ARCHIVES. USGW-ARCHIVES-ANNOUNCE is a read-only mailing list for weekly announcements of updates and submissions to the USGenWeb Archives. To subscribe, send e-mail that says only SUBSCRIBE to USGW-ARCHIVES-ANNOUNCE-L-REQUEST@rootsweb.com. DAILY-UPLOADS-L is a read-only mailing list that announces every file uploaded or changed in the USGenWeb Archives. To subscribe, send e-mail that says only SUBSCRIBE to DAILY-UPLOADS-L-REQUEST@rootsweb.com * * * * * LETTERS TO THE EDITORS. Please send letters and all submissions as plain text e-mail messages (no attachments or html) to RWR-Editors@rootsweb.com I have only recently found RootsWeb and have been amazed at the varied questions, stories and information to be found. But above all, I have been overwhelmed by the warmth, generosity and friendliness of people toward each other. They will probably never actually meet but are so caring and giving of their time in order to help each other, if only this friendship could be spread to the world in general. Susan Walker ed-walker@sumar-publications.fsnet.co.uk Thank you for the Thanksgiving story from MISSING LINKS ["Don's Mom and the Turkey," http://www.rootsweb.com/~mlnews/turkey.htm] I really enjoyed it. I sent it to my friends and they enjoyed it too. Millie momwing@aol.com Thank you [for the] California Death Index [1940-1995] . . . [http://userdb.rootsweb.com/ca/death/search.cgi] For two years I have been trying to find out when my great-grandmother died and to learn more about where she was born in Ireland. Finally, now, I have a CLUE (date of death and her mother's maiden name)! Kim Callahan Hedden Kim@wizard.net I ordered two Heirloom Family Trees for Christmas gifts. I received them in approximately two weeks after placing my order. These pictures are beautiful. They are so cool! I can't wait to give them as Christmas presents. I would love to hang them up now in my own home. Thanks for such a wonderful idea! [This was received by MyFamily.com] Judy I have been reading your newsletters for almost a year now, and it is always enlightening to know that there are so many people out there trying to help others and trying to return keepsakes or photos to the right families. I always feel like those people I read about, and every other genealogist, are part of a different kind of family, and it is encouraging to know that you are never alone in your desire to find your roots, and that there are people out there wanting to help. Thanks. Rhonda Neff Rhonddacastle@aol.com I just wanted to thank you for the wonderful success I have had filling so many missing holes in my family genealogy. . . [W]ith this site I have found no less than five distant cousins, all coming from the FITCH family in England and the Rev. James FITCH in Connecticut. Thanks again. Jerry Fitch JerryFitch@aol.com I just want you to know how much I love SOMEBODY'S LINKS and even though I haven't seen the surnames I'm looking for yet, I still enjoy reading the finds and the connections to the rightful families. Thanks for doing such a good job. Karen Davis Newstead KNewstead@aol.com * * * * * HUMOR. Thanks to David W. Dole , who passed along the material from which this is excerpted. On Election 2000 I thought that I would never see The networks all so up a tree. There once was a U.S. election That called for some expert detection. How thousands of pollers Could become two-holers Like outhouses of recollection. O' Captain! My Captain! our fearful trip's not done. The ship has weather'd every rack, but nobody knows who's won. [Apologies to Walt Whitman.] Perhaps the best way to stop complaints that are raucous is Start over again, with the Iowa caucuses. * * * * * ROOTSWEB REVIEW and MISSING LINKS do not answer or publish queries. You can subscribe to the relevant surname and locality mailing lists (complete index at http://lists.rootsweb.com/ )and then post queries to those lists. You can do searches of all of RootsWeb's resources by starting at RootsWeb's main page http://www.rootsweb.com/. You will also want to search the WorldConnect database frequently, as new material is added daily (that database now contains more than 48.4 million entries). Any letter, story, or article submitted for consideration for publication in MISSING LINKS or ROOTSWEB REVIEW should be sent as a plain text e-mail message to rwr-editors@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; 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. 47, 22 November 2000. RootsWeb: http://www.rootsweb.com/ BACK ISSUES OF ROOTSWEB REVIEW and MISSING LINKS are fully SEARCHABLE. Search all or download a specific issue by following the links at http://e-zine.rootsweb.com/ 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