RootsWeb Review: RootsWeb's Weekly E-zine Vol. 6, No. 35, 27 August 2003, Circulation: 947,907+ (c) 1998-2003 RootsWeb.com, Inc. http://www.rootsweb.com/ Editor: Myra Vanderpool Gormley, Certified Genealogist Editor-RWR@rootsweb.com Certification: http://www.bcgcertification.org/certification/ * * * Find your ancestors: WorldConnect: http://wc.rootsweb.com/ Search and post messages on all relevant surname, locality, and topic Message Boards and Mailing Lists: Message Boards: http://boards.rootsweb.com/ Mailing Lists: http://lists.rootsweb.com/ Learn how to find your ancestors: http://rwguide.rootsweb.com/ * * * Miss last week's RootsWeb Review? Get it here: http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/review/20030820.txt * * * Do not send ANY subscription/e-mail address changes/requests/questions to the editor. She cannot help you. See Section 9 below for RootsWeb Review subscription guidelines and instructions or contact the RootsWeb HelpDesk for assistance. http://helpdesk.rootsweb.com/help.cgi =============================================================== In This Issue: 1. NEWS AND NOTES 1a. "In Search of the Wild LNUs": 1b. TIPS FROM READERS: "Exploring Online Census Indexes"; 1c. Ancestry Daily News Available through RootsWeb Mailing List; 1d. Upcoming Online Classes 2. Connecting through RootsWeb: "Cousins That Are Really COUSINs" 3. New Webpages at RootsWeb 4. New RootsWeb Mailing Lists 5. New User-contributed Databases 6. New/Updated FreePages and HomePages 7. RootsWeb Review's Bottomless Mailbag: "Saving England's MIs" 8. Humor/Humour: "Real Names and Occupations" 9. RWR Reprint and Submissions Guidelines; Archives; Addresses; Subscription Modification Instructions =============================================================== 1. NEWS AND NOTES 1a. In Search of the Wild LNUs A long time ago in a kingdom far away there lived a fair maiden by the name of Fnu MNU. She married a handsome young knight named Sir Arthur LNU and thus she became Fnu (MNU) LNU. Wait! Stop! Does this sound a bit like a page out of YOUR family tree? Are you spending sleepless nights prowling the Web in search of your elusive MNU and LNU ancestors? Or perhaps you've encountered them in someone's GEDCOM file on WorldConnect at RootsWeb, and after doing more searches have come to the conclusion that there are many researchers out there hunting those wild and crazy LNUs. Well, it's time to let you in on one of genealogy's best kept secrets: LNU, MNU, and FNU are not real names. They are acronyms. (Acronyms are combinations of the first letters/syllables in a group of words to form a new grouping of letters that can be pronounced as a word.) They are: First Name Unknown (FNU), Maiden Name Unknown (MNU), and Last Name Unknown (LNU). They are first cousins to the mysterious UNK ancestors that you might have spent time tracking down until you realized that UNK was short for "unknown." Researchers have used these acronyms and other symbols and abbreviations for years, with little or no uniformity from file to file, to indicate the unknown or missing names. The meaning of these acronyms is often unclear and can be mistaken for actual names by new -- and not so new -- genealogists. After all, we all have a few oddly spelled names in our trees, so what's a MNU or two? On another note, be careful should you encounter any DITTO ancestors in your line. DITTO is an actual surname, but it is frequently mistaken as a surname by those reading an enumerator's "ditto" entry to denote that the name is the same as the one listed above it. (DITTO and DITTOE are Anglicized forms of a Huguenot name of unexplained etymology. The names are found in North America by 1700. Ditto also is a short form of the Italian personal name Benedetto.) All of this name confusion serves to reinforce the notion that while user-compiled genealogies are a valuable tool in research, you need to examine original records to verify or refute what the compiled records indicate. When possible examine the records for yourself. What can you do to make your files clear as to the abbreviation or acronyms you use to indicate any unknown given names, maiden names, or surnames? There are no perfect solutions or worldwide standards. Some compilers, especially those who use genealogy software, put a question mark to indicate that a name is not known, but this is not recommended as some creative family historians use one question mark, while others use two or three, and a ? for a name might mean one thing to you and something else to another researcher A recent unscientific search at WorldConnect http://wc.rootsweb.com/ revealed the following are being used as names: Unknown-- 2,742,761 LNU/Lnu -- 14,134 UNK/Unk -- 39,332 FNU -- 139 MNU/Mnu -- 3,357 ?? -- 78,201 ?,? -- 605,694 ??? -- 140,665 ___ (underscores of variable lengths) 6,244 - (one hyphen) 6,491 MRS/Mrs (as a given name) -- 555,699 [--?--] 3,125 Obviously there is no standard for indicating that a name is not known -- hence the confusion. The search even turned up an ancestor by the name of Unk FNU -- with FNU probably used as an acronym for Family Name Unknown. Not surprisingly there was no birth date or place for her and one wonders why such information is even included. It serves no purpose. Unknown maiden names should be indicated by using square brackets with a single em dash (or two hyphens, if the software, typesetting or word- processing programs will not accept or use em dashes), or use a question mark amid the em dashes -- e.g. Catherine [--] or Catherine [--?--]. The same format can be used when the given name is unknown or in doubt. The latter happens sometimes when you learn your female ancestor married someone whose surname is known, but not his given name. Such references can be recorded as [--?--] Smith. Some of the popular genealogy soft- ware has to be forced to use this format. In formal genealogical writing, the English tradition of putting a woman's maiden name in parentheses -- Elizabeth (Smith) Jones -- is commonly used by many genealogists. Therefore nicknames should not be put in parentheses, but rather enclosed in quotation marks. Example: Catherine "Cathy" [--?--] Jones. Again, your genealogy software program may or may not handle nicknames in this format or might require some tweaking. For those female ancestors with middle names that might be (or mistaken for) surnames, such as Mary Morgan Kirby, it is important to indicate that Kirby is her maiden name. If her nickname was Polly, and she married a Smith her name should be recorded so that in a family history publication it appears as: Mary "Polly" Morgan (Kirby) Smith. Remember you do not have to fill in every field in your genealogy software. If you do not know the given or maiden name of a woman, either leave the field blank or use [--?--]. Her given name is not MRS, and certainly not Mrs. King William of England. Using acronyms or various symbols when names are unknown is not a good idea because you want to make it clear that the name is unknown so as not to send others and generations of future researchers on an endless and futile search for the wild LNU. Don't put your cousins in the position of having to ask "What's MNU? Or who is Unk FNU? * * * 1b. TIPS FROM READERS. Exploring Online Census Indexes By Jacqueline Auclair auclair@treeline.net I know that in the research of a family name, the spelling in various records will often be very off base. In my particular research, it hasn't been too bad. AUCLAIR has been spelled O'CLAIR, O'CLAIRE, and a couple of other forms, but nothing to give me much of a problem. Recently I decided to search the online 1880 census. I wasn't looking for anyone in particular in the AUCLAIR line, but was curious as to what might turn up. I, personally, had already researched the name in the 1880 census at the federal archives and had all my data. I searched Joseph O'CLAIR, nothing came up; next was Mary, nothing, Sara and her two sons, Joseph and John. No listing on any of them! How could this be? I had found them in the 1880 census and had all the information. I contacted Familysearch.org with the following comment: "I have a family of O'CLAIR that lived in Maine in 1880 census. I have their information from that census from the federal archives in San Francisco, California: Aroostook County, Presque Isle, Maine, Pg. 3, Line 38 shows Mary and Joseph O'CLAIR. Line 40 of same town shows Sara O'CLAIR, sons, Joseph and John. None of these people show up in the search of the 1880 census on your site. Why is that? The response was: "Those who automated the names occasionally misinterpreted the spelling of a name. This is what happened with the names you indicated. Joseph and Mary O'CLAIR are shown on the census under Joseph and Mary GLPAIN. Sara and her sons are listed under Sara O GLOW. If you search under these names, you will find the records." GLPAIN and O GLOW for AUCLAIR! Now that was really off base. How would I have ever known to search under those names on their site? So use the Internet with caution. If your family doesn't show up in the 1880 census indexes online, it may be because the name has been totally misspelled. If possible, try and look at the original census page. * * * 1c. ANCESTRY DAILY NEWS NOW AVAILABLE THROUGH ROOTSWEB MAILING LIST. We have created a new way for genealogists to get a "daily dose of family history" with the new "Ancestry Daily News" mailing list at RootsWeb.com. This text version of the newsletter contains all the same articles, tips, clippings, databases and quotes as the regular newsletter and has been created especially for those who are having trouble receiving their normal subscription because of blockages or filtering. To subscribe, simply send an e-mail to ANCESTRY_DAILY_NEWS-L-request@rootsweb.com including in the message body only the word: subscribe * * * 1d. UPCOMING ONLINE CLASSES: Each class is $29.95 with a 30-day subscription, which includes Ancestry's online census images. Instructors cover eight lessons, two lessons a week. You can work at your own pace on your own schedule. Prerequisite: A working knowledge of computers (please view the Beginning Computer Genealogy course outline to see if you know the basics). Details about all the online classes can be found here: http://www.myfamily.com/isapi.dll?c=home&htx=gentraining&_lin=1 EASTERN EUROPE RESEARCH CLASS. Starts September 9. Many immigrants came to America from various areas in Central and Eastern Europe in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This class shows you how to begin researching those roots using both traditional and online sources. Learn how to identify your ancestral village, locate and interpret vital records, contact possible relatives, trace your ancestors through census and immigration records, organize your research, and much more. http://ancestry.myfamily.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=4624&sourceid=481 IMMIGRATION AND NATURALIZATION RESEARCH CLASS. Starts September 11. Your ancestors didn't miss the boat, but what about you? Join George G. Morgan in this essential class and learn about your ancestors' migration patterns from various places in Europe to the U.S., to Canada, and to Australia since the mid-1500s. Morgan is an expert in locating records in countries around the globe. You'll learn all about immigration and naturalization records from various time periods, and about research using both traditional resources and online techniques. http://ancestry.myfamily.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=3598&sourceid=481 SLOVAK INTERMEDIATE RESEARCH CLASS. Starts September 11. There are a handful of "cluster" Slovak communities throughout the United States that blossomed during the immigration influx of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This class continues from the basic research class, focusing on how to expand your research into a more community-oriented protocol, how to network (on- and offline) with fellow Slovaks through groups and societies, research church records, develop a website, and much more! http://ancestry.myfamily.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=4667&sourceid=481 2. Connecting Through RootsWeb. Thanks for sharing your stories. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Cousins That Are Really COUSINs By Betty Cairns bob.bet@btinternet.com About three years ago I posted on RootsWeb and various other sites looking for anyone who could help me find any information on my great- grandfather Lewis Albert COUSINS who was born in Sedgwick, Maine on 17 January 1857. As I live in the far north of Scotland I was not getting very far with my research on him all I knew was he had deserted from the American Marines on 13 August 1882, which made me all the more determined to find him as my mother, his granddaughter, had coincidentally died on that date -- 13 August 1982. I received a nice e-mail from a woman who lived in Maine whose ancestors had married in and out of the COUSIN line and she very kindly offered to look for information on my Lewis Albert Cousins. Her name is Trudi MANN. Trudi was a godsend to me as she discovered that Lewis Albert had actually been born a TIBBETT as his father Andrew Jackson COUSINS had been a sailor. His mother Sarah TIBBETS and Andrew Jackson COUSINS were married in 1859 in Maine and Lewis Albert was known as COUSINS from then on. Trudi went on to find out more and more informa- tion for me and even went to the length of sending me some shells and sea glass found on the shore where the COUSINS' lived. In June this year Trudi and her friend Ginny came over to England for a visit. We were on holiday on the Orkney Isles so they came to visit with us. It was so amazing -- Trudi looked just like my Mum who had died on 13 August 1982, and it was as if we had known each other for all our lives. We have the same interests apart from genealogy, of photography and wild flowers and we laugh at the same things, I felt as if my Mum had come back to life. All too soon it was time for them to leave and carry on with their tour and there were a few tears flowed then. I just want to say "thank you" to Trudi and all the other wonderful people out there who help us long- distance genealogists to fill in the missing pieces of the jigsaw, and if anyone knows what happened to Lewis Albert COUSINS and his two daughters Jane and Emma after the 1930 census (where they were living in Kearney, New Jersey) I would love to hear from them. 3. New Webpages at RootsWeb To Request a Free Web Account: http://accounts.rootsweb.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------- Some of these pages might not yet be accessible. They are created by volunteers, so if one that interests you isn't up yet, please check again in a few days or next week. http://www.rootsweb.com/~[accountname] Note that the ~[tilde] before the Web account name is required. Example: The Sutter-Yuba Genealogical Society website can be found at: http://www.rootsweb.com/~casygs/ U.S.A casygs -- Sutter-Yuba Genealogical Society (California) caudc -- United Daughters of the Confederacy, California Division kswarml -- W.A. Rankin Memorial Library (Neodesha, Wilson County, Kansas) kyalle2 -- Allen County (Kentucky) kybph -- Brown-Pusey House (Elizabethtown, Hardin County, Kentucky) laoffla -- First Families of Louisiana msalhn -- Mississippi (state site for American Local History Network) njfrghs -- Fitz Randolph Genealogical and Historical Society of New Jersey nvtdgf -- Taylor Dean Genealogical Foundation (Henderson, Clark County, Nevada) 4. New Mailing Lists at RootsWeb Request a New Mailing List: http://resources.rootsweb.com/adopt/ ----------------------------------------------------------------- The following are Mailing Lists, not websites. For more information and an index to the more than 27,100 RootsWeb-hosted genealogy Mailing Lists and easy subscribing options go to: http://lists.rootsweb.com/ NEW SURNAME MAILING LISTS ALEY, AULPH BIBEE BOURCHIER-ENGLAND -- The BOURCHIER surname in England CHAPELLE, CUEVAS FULLER-ELIJAH -- The descendents of Elijah FULLER (ca 1754-1825) of Caswell County, North Carolina HOPMAN HUNTER-ROBERT -- The descendants of Robert HUNTER (wife Isabella ROSS) of Renfrewshire, Scotland IPOCK LETHBRIDGE MCGLENN ONGARO PHYTHIAN QUESADA SMEETON SMITH-CAN-ONT -- The SMITH surname located in Ontario, Canada VETTAL, VOLDENG WEIDER NEW ETHNIC AND SPECIAL INTEREST MAILING LISTS NZ-MILITARY -- Military as relating to genealogy research in New Zealand PA-PHILA-MOUNT-MORIAH-CEMETERY -- Mount Moriah Cemetery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania THREE-FIRES -- The Chippewa (Ojibwe), Ottawa, and Potawatomi (Native American) tribes in Michigan NEW REGIONAL MAILING LISTS CHEYENNE-ARAPAHO -- Cheyenne-Arapaho Lands of Oklahoma ======================= Paid Advertisement ======================== Free Magazine! Visit http://www.familychronicle.com/rootsweb/sf3.htm to get a free copy of Family Chronicle, the "how-to" genealogy magazine. Check out Family Chronicle's updated website http://www.familychronicle.com/ which now includes dozens of articles by well-known authors describing how to solve various problems. We also have an extraordinary clearance offer a genuine 75% off several special publications at https://familychronicle.com/rootsweb/catchup2_03.htm ==================== End of Paid Advertisement ===================== 5. New User-Contributed Databases at RootsWeb http://userdb.rootsweb.com/submit/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The following user-contributed databases have come online recently. They are searchable, but not browseable. ENGLAND. Lincolnshire, Burton Pedwardine Baptisms, 1729-1854; 315 records; Lou Mills for Gordon http://userdb.rootsweb.com/uki/ U.S.A. KANSAS. Lyon County. Admire Advance Index, April 1893, Admire. 74 records; Robert and Lois Hodge, for the Flint Hills Genealogical Society http://userdb.rootsweb.com/news/ Admire Advocate Index, April-July 1932, Admire. 141 records; Robert & Lois Hodge, for the Flint Hills Genealogical Society http://userdb.rootsweb.com/news/ KENTUCKY. Mason County. Marriage Records, 1838-1845. 2,381 records; Gail Childress, assisted by Kathy Hines http://userdb.rootsweb.com/marriages/ MICHIGAN. Saginaw Bay County. 1892 Portrait and Biographical Record, Saginaw and Bay Counties, Michigan 979 records; Carolyn Rau Gornowicz http://userdb.rootsweb.com/bookindexes/ MONTANA. Sweet Grass County. 1900 Federal Census, Big Timber Township. 1,607 records; Joan Shurtliff, U.S. GenWeb volunteer http://userdb.rootsweb.com/census/index/ NORTH CAROLINA. Durham County. Durham High School Class of 1948, Durham. 219 records; E. Kerley http://userdb.rootsweb.com/alumni/ PENNSYLVANIA. Luzerne County. James M. Coughlin High School Class of 1945, Wilkes-Barre; 380 records; James M. Coughlin High School Class of 1946, Wilkes-Barre; 347 records; Star A. Kline http://userdb.rootsweb.com/alumni/ PENNSYLVANIA. York County. Widows of Ministers, Central Pennsylvania Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church Members, 1908; 85 records; Karen Cuccinello http://userdb.rootsweb.com/groups/ TEXAS. Bexar County. Burial Permits, July 1910; 28 records; Marcia Snyder http://userdb.rootsweb.com/cemeteries/ VIRGINIA. World War II Draftees, as Reported in the "Richmond-Times Dispatch" June 1941; 263 records; Paula L. Delosh http://userdb.rootsweb.com/military/ VIRGINIA. Fredericksburg. Fredericksburg College Class of 1914; 7 records; Paula L. Delosh http://userdb.rootsweb.com/alumni/ VIRGINIA. Charlottesville. University of Virginia Law Graduates, Class of 1907; 56 records; Paula L. Delosh http://userdb.rootsweb.com/alumni/ VIRGINIA, Caroline County. Caroline County Graduates, 1933: Lee Maury School (Bowling Green), Sparta School, Edmund Pendleten School, and Union High School; 50 records; Paula L. Delosh http://userdb.rootsweb.com/alumni/ VIRGINIA. Giles County. 1975 Virginian Leader Obituary Index; 235 records; Lisa Link Herr http://userdb.rootsweb.com/obituaries/ VIRGINIA. Spotsylvania County. Spotsylvania County High School Graduates, 1924: Chancellor High School, R. E. Lee High School, Marye High School, and Margo High School; 23 records; Paula L. Delosh http://userdb.rootsweb.com/alumni/ 6. New/Updated Freepages and Homepages at RootsWeb -------------------------------------------------- Note: Comments and questions about any of these independently authored webpages should be directed to their respective compilers/webmasters. When your new, updated, or substantially revised personal pages located at RootsWeb (they will have "freepages" or "homepages" in the URL) are up and ready for visitors, please send the URL (Web address), along with a brief description, including the major pertinent surnames and what is available on your site, to: Editor-RWR@rootsweb.com COIL-KILE-KYLE SURNAME DNA PROJECT. Currently conducting a DNA study for the Coil-Kile-Kyle-Coyle-Coile surname to locate missing branches of our common ancestor. Known locations are Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky and Texas. Looking for German, Ireland, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Maryland COILS, COYLES, COILES and KEELYS to compare DNA. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~firebird/dna_intro.htm PEDDY GENEALOGY. Alphabetical list of PEDDYs, mostly born before 1920 including dates, parents, children, places, events; mostly in USA. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~peddy/ 7. FROM ROOTSWEB REVIEW'S BOTTOMLESS MAILBAG [Editor's note: The opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and are not necessarily those of the editor or of RootsWeb.com]. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Saving England's MIs By John Holden holden.john@btconnect.com Until recently, census information in the UK (United Kingdom) has not been what you could call accessible (with the exception of 1881, of course) but things have changed a lot in the last year. We now have the 1881 transcription online and available to all. The 1901 census is online too, with a free index and a small charge to view the original page. Ancestry.com is in the process of putting all available censuses online for viewing by their subscribers. Several companies are digitising the films of the original enumerators books, giving us the opportunity to view these images in the comfort of our own homes, and at a reasonable cost. We must not forget either, the magnificent and major project to transcribe all available censuses and place them free to view at http://freecen.rootsweb.com/ on top of all this we have many Family History Societies transcribing for their local areas. So, in a very short time we have gone from a shortage of easily available UK census information to the point where we can hardly turn without bumping into census information. OK, there is still a way to go but we are getting there quickly. All the transcribers and indexers in all these various projects must be applauded, but, while all this activity is going on, another equally important source of information is being largely ignored or carried out with very little publicity, nor any central access. More alarmingly, there is a clock running against the life of the information, some already lost, some disappearing on an almost daily basis. I am, of course, talking of MIs -- monumental inscriptions. These can yield, or imply many things. From simple dates and family relationships, to places of worship and potential location of registers, to occupations -- the MI says he died in battle, that must be why we haven't found him yet, he was in the Army! They can introduce us to unknown children, oh the possibilities are endless. I do think that the time has arrived where a site such as freecen or http://freebmd.rootsweb.com/ is established, where all transcriptions already carried out can be housed, or linked to, and accessed easily, where future transcriptions can be coordinated from and awareness of MIs can be raised. Imagine, sitting at your computer and searching every graveyard and cemetery, every war memorial and every commemorative plaque in the UK from one site. If a project of this nature appeals to you, whether you would become involved or if you only want to comment on the idea, join the MI-ENGLAND mailing list and drop in and chat about it. You will find links for easy subscribing here: http://lists.rootsweb.com/index/other/Cemeteries/MI-ENGLAND.html 8. Humor/Humour: Real Names and Occupations ------------------------------------------- Thanks to: Dennis Homan homden@uneedspeed.net who writes: Some of the unfortunate names of ancestors I have run across in my research are Consider CRAPO who married Mercy WASTE. [Editor's note: Crapo is the American spelling of the French name, Crépaux (Crépeau), and Waste is most likely a variant spelling of the surname WEST.] * * * Thanks also to: Steve Frevert frevert@lisco.com who writes: Perhaps some resentment towards a ne'er-do-well brother-in-law is reflected in the 1880 Jefferson County, Indiana census where David HUNTLEY is shown boarding with his sister and her broom-maker husband, but David's occupation is listed as "does nothing." 9. Submission Guidelines, Advertising Contacts, Reprint Policy ----------------------------------------------------------------------- The RootsWeb Review does not publish or answer genealogical queries, and the editor regrets that she is unable to provide any personal research assistance or advice. RootsWeb Review welcomes short (500 words or less) articles, humor, stories, or letters, and reserves the right to edit all submissions. All mail sent to the RootsWeb Review editor is considered to be for publication -- send in plain ASCII text (please, no attach- ments) to: Editor-RWR@rootsweb.com * * * ROOTSWEB REVIEW ADVERTISING CONTACTS: Ad Sales Operations Mgr. Shana Davis sdavis@myfamilyinc.com U.S. West Coast: Sacha Yenkana syenkana@myfamilyinc.com U.S. East Coast: Dan Arnold darnold@myfamilyinc.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: Previously published in RootsWeb Review: Vol. 6, No. 35, 27 August 2003. * * * SUBSCRIPTIONS: Do not send any subscription requests/changes to the editor. We have special e-mail addresses exclusively for this purpose. Send only subscription requests to: RWR-off@rootsweb.com -- this removes you from the RWR Mailing List. RWR-on@rootsweb.com -- this adds you to the RWR Mailing List. * * * *