RootsWeb Review: RootsWeb's Weekly E-zine 4 August 2004, Vol. 7, No. 31, Circulation: 838,091+ (c) 1998-2004 RootsWeb.com, Inc. http://www.rootsweb.com/ * * * Editor: Myra Vanderpool Gormley, Certified Genealogist Editor-RWR@rootsweb.com Certification: http://www.bcgcertification.org/certification/ Search and share family trees: WorldConnect: http://wc.rootsweb.com/ Learn how to find your ancestors: http://rwguide.rootsweb.com/ Post and read 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/ =============================================================== IN THIS ISSUE: 1. NEWS AND NOTES 1a. Mailing Lists: A Peek Behind the Scenes 1b. Editor's Desk: Some Sites Worth Seeing 1c. Tips from Readers: "IAAO Website" 2. Connecting Through RootsWeb: "Family Bible Finds Its Way Home" 3. New RootsWeb Mailing Lists 4. New Webpages at RootsWeb 5. New/Updated FreePages and HomePages 6. New User-contributed Databases 7. RootsWeb Review's Bottomless Mailbag: "Accuracy for Medical Reasons" "Compiling a Tree of Many Colors" "Collecting Old Pictures" "Peering into the Past" "Returning Pictorial Treasures" "Fixing Mistakes" "Correcting Errors in the IGI" "Disrupting the Family" "Worthless Genealogy" "Who Controls Our Family History?" 8. Humor/Humour: "Eh?" 9. Submissions, Subscriptions, Advertising, Reprints =============================================================== 1. NEWS AND NOTES 1a. Mailing Lists: A Peek Behind the Scenes Ever wonder what goes on behind the scenes when you subscribe to a RootsWeb mailing list? RootsWeb mailing lists use a mailing list software program called SmartList, which has been customized by RootsWeb developers to meet the specific demands of RootsWeb's system. SmartList actually lives up to its name most of the time and handles the vast majority of list functions automatically without a hitch -- subscription and unsubscription requests, mailing list messages, and correspondence intended for the list administrator. The process of mail handling at RootsWeb begins with you sending an e- mail to an address associated with a mailing list. Your e-mail arrives at RootsWeb's mail hub where it is sent on to a list server, much in the same way that post offices sort incoming mail and deliver it to its intended destination. When you first join (subscribe to) a mailing list, you receive a confirmation message letting you know you are subscribed and giving you information about the list -- how to post a message and how to unsubscribe. Then from that point on you receive all messages sent to the list by other list members. You can merely read those messages and lurk or reply to them. You also can post queries and get responses from others. When a list subscriber's e-mail becomes invalid -- permanently or temporarily -- SmartList sends the resulting bounce notices to the list administrator for review. When you e-mail in your subscribe and unsubscribe requests, the welcome and goodbye letters you receive as a confirmation are handled automatically. Although the text of those messages is often customized by the list administrator to fit the needs of the specific list, the messages are sent out in an automated process by SmartList. SmartList is even capable of generating a "Help" message for you, if it doesn't understand what to do with a message you send. RootsWeb has more than one list server to house its more than 28,000 lists. A server is much like a regular computer processing unit, but is configured to handle an incoming and outgoing traffic load on a continuous 24/7 basis. A list server is a server dedicated to the processing of list mail. At present RootsWeb has three main list servers -- lists5, lists2, and lists8. The latter is the new server, established recently to take some of the load off of the overburdened lists2 server. When you address your messages to a list you don't need to know on which server the list to which you are writing resides because the mail hub will know where to send your message automatically. So, why would you even care on which list server your favorite mailing lists are located? Most of the time you don't need to know, but there are rare occasions when that information can be useful, such as: --If a list server is ever having problems or is down for service, you will know whether your subscribed lists are affected. --Occasionally an ISP (Internet Service Provider) will mistakenly block mail coming from RootsWeb lists as being spam, usually due to the volume of mail received from RootsWeb. When this happens, it is important for you to be able to determine whether all list mail is being blocked or just mail from one list server, so that you can file an informative complaint report with your ISP and have the matter corrected. If you suspect that you are not receiving mail from some of your lists, the first thing to do always is check the yellow HelpDesk announcement box at http://helpdesk.rootsweb.com/ to see if there are technical problems associated with a specific server on which the lists in question reside. By opening the full headers of any mailing list message you can see a header field that tells you the list server name. To learn how to expand the headers in most popular e-mail programs, go to http://helpdesk.rootsweb.com/listadmins/headersfull.html So, while most of the time it isn't necessary to know about all that is going on in the background involving RootsWeb mailing lists, it can be fun to understand a bit about the process. Moreover, in certain instances such knowledge can splash some light on a murky situation. * * * 1b. EDITOR'S DESK. Some Sites Worth Seeing Swiss Genealogy on the Internet (English, German, French and Italian). http://www.eye.ch/swissgen/home-m.htm "The Yellow Fever in Norfolk and Portsmouth, Virginia, 1855," as reported in the Daily Dispatch of Richmond, Virginia. Compiled for the Kirn Memorial Library in Norfolk, it includes several indexes to aid your search. http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/va/yellow-fever/yftoc.html Some Civil War veterans interred in Connecticut, plus Connecticut troops buried elsewhere, along with interesting and sometimes humorous epitaphs of earlier "Yankees in Eternity" can be found here: http://pages.cthome.net/fwc/ * * * 1c. TIPS FROM READERS: IAAO Website By Hattaway The IAAO -- International Association of Assessment Officers -- website is helpful for the U.S. county (and Canada) assessment databases. http://www.iaao.org/1234.html 2. Connecting Through RootsWeb. Thanks for sharing your stories. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Family Bible Finds Its Way Home By Anita Clayton in Port Republic, New Jersey In June I received an e-mail from Jack DAVIS of Pennington, New Jersey, that made me hyperventilate with excitement. He said he had found a December 11, 2000 posting of mine at RootsWeb. The message was one I had put on the NJMonmou-L (Monmouth County, New Jersey) mailing list and mentioned my 3-great-grandmother Mary Ann CONK (born 1803) and her husband Hezekiah AYRES (born 1797), who lived near Crosswicks, near the border of Burlington and Mercer counties, in New Jersey and also Mary Ann's parents John CONK and Sarah RICHMOND, who lived in Howell, Monmouth County, New Jersey. He wrote, "Over the weekend I purchased a small family Bible from the 1860s in a box lot at an auction near Crosswicks. It is Mary Ann (CONK) AYRES' Bible, and lists her children (with birth dates), and also mentions that she is the daughter of John and Sarah CONK." He had done a Google search on AYRES and CONK and found my old message in archives for the list. All the details fit. "If you're interested in having it, I'd be happy to mail it to you in the next week or two." Well, of course I was interested. He continued, "I don't want anything for it -- I paid very little and it would be fun to reunite it with a family member, especially since I'm also interested in genealogy." A couple of weeks later I went to Trenton and met him on the front steps of the New Jersey State Archives, which is near his job. He handed me the small worn, but well-preserved Bible that had been given to my 3- great-grandmother more than 150 years ago. Isn't that exciting? Thanks Jack and RootsWeb! 3. New Mailing Lists at RootsWeb Request a New Mailing List: http://resources.rootsweb.com/adopt/ ----------------------------------------------------------------- Brand-new mailing lists can be found under OTHER/MISCELLANEOUS until moved to their proper categories. For information and an index to the more than 28,300 RootsWeb-hosted genealogy Mailing Lists and for easy subscribing (joining) options go to: http://lists.rootsweb.com/ No new lists were created this week. 4. New Webpages at RootsWeb To Request a Free Web Account: http://accounts.rootsweb.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------- Some of these webpages 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. For example, the Tarentum (Pennsylvania) Genealogical Society website is at: http://www.rootsweb.com/~patgs/ U.S.A. azmcdar -- Mogollon (Arizona) Chapter DAR mobcagc -- Bollinger County (Missouri) Archives and Genealogy Center ndmhs -- Mandan (North Dakota) Historical Society patgs -- Tarentum (Pennsylvania) Genealogical Society wahhgs -- History House of Greater Seattle (Washington) 5. New/Updated Freepages and Homepages -------------------------------------- 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 Note: Comments and questions about any of these independently authored webpages should be directed to their respective compilers/webmasters. ENGLAND. Newspaper extracts from old newspapers in the Merseyside area, BMDs (births, marriages, deaths), crimes, shipping, deaths and inquests, etc. -- continually updating, so keep popping back. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~dadds/MERSEYSIDE.index.html ENGLAND and IRELAND. More newspapers (now 22,600 surnames) have been added to this website. There is an index by surname linked to the transcripts. Most are late 18th- to early 19th-century newspapers with a Wiltshire bias. Because one of the papers is the Salisbury and Winchester Journal there is also a lot of information covering individuals from local counties (including reports from Dorset, Hampshire, and Somerset) .Also added are some Irish newspapers (mostly copies of the Dublin Journal, entries from the Sussex Advertiser and the a couple of issues of the Leeds Intelligencer. Features a blend of local adverts (from tradesmen, parish officials, etc), and the usual local news (inquests, lists of marriages and deaths, court cases, and individuals to be transported. Click on "Local Newspaper Index (excluding Windsor and Eton Express)." Search alphabetically by surname. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~dutillieul/index.html RATLIFF, SMITH Genealogy. An American tree; includes many photos. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~monticue/index.htm VERMONT. West Charleston. Newspaper listings (deaths and marriages) from the North Union (newspaper), 1884-1886; Brunswick Springs. List of deaths and marriages from the annual town reports, 1932 to 1985 http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~nekg3/nekg.htm 6. New User-Contributed Databases at RootsWeb ---------------------------------------------- Who Has the Data? Does your state, province, county, parish, church, old military unit or alma mater have material available that you think would be of interest to genealogists and historians? Do you have any compiled lists of names or databases -- other than your personal family tree because genealogies can be posted at WorldConnect: http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/ -- that you would like to share and that you think would be of value and interest to others? In most cases, RootsWeb would be proud to host them. http://userdb.rootsweb.com/submit/ The following databases have come online recently. They are searchable, but not browseable. Browse: To view the entire contents of a file or a group of files. Search: To look for specific data or occurrence of text in a file. IDAHO. Bonner County. Priest River. Priest River High School Class of 1970, 66 records; Priest River High School Faculty 1970, 19 records; Priest River High School, 1970 Underclassmen, 216 records; Priest River High School, Underclassmen 1972, 231 records; Contributed by Lynda Turner http://userdb.rootsweb.com/alumni/ MINNESOTA. Douglas County. Alexandria. Alexandria High School Class of 1922, 69 records; Karl H Schwerin http://userdb.rootsweb.com/alumni/ PENNSYLVANIA. Northumberland County. Watsontown. Watsontown Cemetery, selected records--Goodlove and Hockley surnames; 14 records; Diana Knight http://userdb.rootsweb.com/cemeteries/ TEXAS. Cooke County. Gainesville. New Rest Haven Cemetery and Memorial Garden (1996), 989 records; Jack Ware on behalf of the Cross Timbers Genealogical Society http://userdb.rootsweb.com/cemeteries/ VIRGINIA. Fredericksburg area. Baseball team members, 1927, Richmond (Independent City) Golf pros of Richmond, 1927, 13 records; Members of the Bar, 19th Judicial Circuit, 1927, as reported in the Richmond Times-Dispatch, 31 records; Rotary Club members, 1927, 53 records; Contributed by Paula Lucy Delosh http://userdb.rootsweb.com/groups/ WEST VIRGINIA. Harrison County. Bridgeport. Simpson Creek Baptist Church, 1944 membership, 242 records; Diana Knight http://userdb.rootsweb.com/groups/ Mingo County. Lenore. Lenore High School Class of 1974, 66 records; Lenore High School Faculty and Staff 1974, 42 records; Lenore Junior and Senior High School, 1974 Underclassmen, 519 records; Contributed by Lynda Turner http://userdb.rootsweb.com/alumni/ 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]. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Accuracy for Medical Reasons By Beverly Bouldin Having just read the pros and cons regarding compiling genealogy inaccurately, thank you, genealogists for being honest in your attempts to protect relatives. However, there are numerous medical conditions that can be hereditary. From the comments of protecting secret, emotional, or whatever kinds of information, how are we to now what info is accurate? Apparently we cannot rely on the numerous hours and expense already devoted to researching ancestors' information for accuracy? What a letdown! Therefore it is recommended that any individual or family who is researching ancestors in the effort to trace such valuable genetic conditions, start from scratch. Thoroughly document your work. It will take valuable time but accuracy is vital. Don't take anything for granted. Perhaps there needs to be a specific genealogy program used mainly for medical research. One may already exist. If so, how do we access it? * * * Compiling a Tree of Many Colors By Kay Ohana My granddaughter, white, married an Afro American-Native American boy. His father is half-Afro American and half-Native American, his mother is also half Afro American and Native American. I offered to help his mom with genealogy research and with tongue in cheek, said "it'll be the pits if I find out that some of my ancestors owned some of yours." She just laughed and said, "I already know that some of my ancestors owned some of my other ancestors." My granddaughter's in-laws are wonderful people with very interesting backgrounds. I have no problem claiming them in my family tree. * * * Collecting Old Pictures By Ronald Mesnard I collect pictures. My sub-hobby is tracing physical traits through family trees. I have spent many hours identifying subjects and tracing down persons. I saw "Exploring Antique Shops for Pictures" in last week's RootsWeb Review and can advise that I have experience in both figuring out who subjects are and locating the living. Both require a great deal of resources. I have enough trouble figuring out my grandmother's pictures. I really would not even know where to begin with an unknown. Many of my 19th- century pictures were taken at the closest photographer, which some times was more than 100 miles away. Most pictures are not dated or labeled. I know of pictures that are sold states away from where they were taken. Unless the photographer's name is on the picture, you will have no idea where it was taken. Look for pictures with both the photographer's name and a subject's name before purchasing the picture for the purpose of finding a descendant. I have found in some cases, after spending years and dollars locating distant kin for which I have a "to die for" collection of pictures to give them that they will not talk to me. However, none of the work can be considered wasted. I did get one picture out of the 20 persons I contacted, as well as two new leads for more kin. I suggest concentrating on scrapbooks with pictures in them. These have enough clues to locate a family, if they exist. Mind you most of this is real difficult to do since accessing some modern vital records to find living relatives can be difficult or impossible. Good luck! * * * Peering into the Past By Betsy Michaels I owned an antique shop in a small town for many years and many people consigned photos, albums, and Bibles there. I was amazed at the reasons that customers bought these items. One person worked for the movie industry and used old photos in scenes, commercials and still shots. Another, just framed them and told everyone that they were her ancestors. Sometimes, just for entertainment, the customers and the store clerks would just use their imaginations and make up lives and stories about the people in the photos. The best incident was a young couple who were looking at a box of photos and found some of their relatives. So, yes, it is a good idea to look through antique shop photos, even if you don't find who you are looking for, you will surely be entertained. * * * Returning Pictorial Treasures By Susan Whalen In answer to the query about the value in exploring antique shops for pictures, I can tell you that it's one of the most interesting genealogy games I play. I myself was bit by the family history bug when my husband's grandmother bequeathed us her collection of turn-of-the-century photos of her family. After cataloguing it, I set out to find the descendants of these second and third cousins so I could share the pictures with them. Now I've expanded the fun to other people's ancestors. I've never found a picture of someone related to me, but when I find a photo with a name, place or date I can work with on the back, I buy it and then try to trace the descendants so it can be returned to them. I'm not looking for any compensation, I just enjoy returning these treasures to their family as a way of paying back all the happiness I've received from generous others who have shared so much family history with me. * * * Fixing Mistakes By Mary Gully in Spring Hill, Florida Maybe some of us are name collectors for now, but as we research further we may eventually find the documentation we're searching for. I have found family members in other's trees, sometimes direct and sometimes collateral lines, and whether they are documented or not, I add them to my file. If they are documented, this is great, but usually they are not, but at least I have something to go on and I will continue researching using this information as a starting point. I will then attach a note to that individual in my file stating that the information is not documented and will search until I am able to document it myself. It would be wonderful if everyone only published documented information, but even the undocumented information can be of great help -- it has been for me. It may take a lot of time sorting through the various files that are submitted, but if it eventually leads to a connection the research and time has been well worth it. I am a member or the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) and our submissions are to be documented before we submit them. Some- times you find incorrect submissions because of mistakes, or because someone might not have received credible documentation. This is the same in every genealogical site that I have ever visited. The information is left in the IGI (International Genealogical Index) because it was submitted by someone who either researched and knew their information was correct or believed that their information was correct because they received it from a source they thought was reliable and credible. Of course I can't speak for all of the members of our church, but we are taught, and it is up to us as individuals and as members of the church, to research and submit only correct, documented information. I, personally, have made a few mistakes in my submissions and have corrected them, but others may not even know that they have submitted the wrong information and this is why it would stay in the IGI. The church is made up of people and people make mistakes. The church itself is not responsible for the mistakes of its members concerning the information they submit to the IGI. We, as members, are solely responsible for what we submit and changes that are made in the records that we submit are made only when we find our mistake and correct it, so we need to be very careful when submitting our findings. Sometimes information about the family you're researching and the submitter (name, address, etc.) can be found in the Ancestral File or the Pedigree Resource File -- both found at FamilySearch.org, which is the same site where the IGI is located. * * * Correcting Errors in the IGI By Jerri Stephenson in Punta Gorda, Florida In response to Joyce Maxwell in Rhode Island, re the LDS Church's unwillingness to correct incorrect submissions in a recent RootsWeb Review I became interested in searching my genealogy in late 2001. To my surprise, my parents were listed in the IGI records, but my mother's name was in error. After writing to the church advising the error, they responded, in part: "Please keep in mind that changes are granted only when requested by the original submitter, or, in the case of errors in extraction records, sufficient documentation is supplied." I submitted a copy of my mother's birth certificate and the record was corrected. It was made to the IGI records, within 30 days of my original letter. * * * Disrupting the Family By J T Reagan in Missouri I have been reading with interest the discussion regarding what to do when a relative doesn't want his or her "secret" in the family history. My solution has been the phrase "Information withheld due to request." This shows that the information was available but is so private that the author (me) thought that the information should only be shared on a "need to know" basis. Further, the person who wants to keep his or her secret shall decide who needs to know. So far, no family arguments -- about this question, that is. Information that is crucially private has not been shared with me. I don't pursue it. If public records are available, I still respect my living relatives' needs. After all, why have a family history that disrupts the family? * * * Worthless Genealogy By Mary Harrell In a recent RootsWeb Review was an interesting statement regarding a family book with mistakes in it. The writer implied that it has no genealogy value. I disagree! I have yet to see a genealogy reference that couldn't be corrected in some way. I bet the rest of the book has wonderful data in it and this error merely needs to be footnoted, or the book reprinted with the corrections. It is our duty, as genealogists, to note in the pages of these books, our own corrections. The value in this mistake, is the more interesting history and family story behind the error. We shouldn't be remembered just for our lineages and vital statistics. * * * Who Controls Our Family History? By Darrell A. Martin, a native Vermonter in exile in Illinois People often claim, usually falsely, that they have a right to control information about themselves. There are many resources available online that discuss this contentious issue, but even if it were established exactly what the rules are, there is still one thorny problem left to solve. If two people are involved in one relationship (siblings, parent- child, or spouses/life partners), which of the two owns the information if they do not agree? In one of my maternal lines, this is far from hypothetical. A mother has children A and B, plus others. I have published some information on the mother and her children -- all of which is legally available to the general public and decidedly bland -- on my website. However, both A and B have contacted me and "strongly requested" changes. A wants me to add more detail because she feels that my incomplete information is misleading, and at the same time has provided information on her own (adult) children who, I am led to believe, really want to see it on my website. B wants me to remove all information about "his family," including his siblings, until his entire generation has passed on. He feels it improper to say anything in public about living people, whether they agree or not. He also fears that if he is left out, but the rest of his siblings are reported, it will be misleading and possibly embarrassing to explain. Meanwhile, one of B's (adult) children has contacted me separately and provided me with information about her father, herself, and her child which she would really like to see on my website. She seems genuinely puzzled and maybe even a little hurt that I have not included her already. I do not publish information on minor children without their parents' consent; I do not publish information that is not already in the public domain without the permission of the person who gave it to me; and I certainly do not intentionally hurt anyone's feelings. But this sit- uation does not look like it is going to resolve itself any time soon. One book that is full of wisdom states two maxims that seem to apply: "The truth shall set you free" and "Speak the truth in love." Both obviously true, and seemingly simple -- but possibly contradictory. It's figuring out how to put them both into practice at the same time that can be hard. 8. Humor/Humour: Eh? ---------------------------------- Thanks to: Mick McAllister Came across an entry in the local census of 1871 in Staffordshire, England and I could just imagine the enumerator asking the head of household, "Any more children, Mr. Smith?" Head of household replying, "Oh, our kid." And there it was, child -- Oharkid Smith, age 3 months. (Sounds better with a West Midlands, Black Country accent though!) * * * Found a humorous entry in census, parish, church, etc. records? Send to: Editor-RWR@rootsweb.com 9. Submissions, Subscriptions, Advertising, Reprints ----------------------------------------------------- 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 TEXT (please, no attachments) to: Editor-RWR@rootsweb.com Search/download past issues of the RootsWeb Review: http://e-zine.rootsweb.com/ * * * SUBSCRIPTIONS. To manage your e-mail communications (i.e. to subscribe or unsubscribe to this newsletter, or to sign up for others), visit our newsletter management center any time at: http://newsletters.rootsweb.com/ The RootsWeb Review is a free publication of MyFamily.com, Inc., 360 West 4800 North, Provo, UT, 84604 * * * ROOTSWEB REVIEW ADVERTISING CONTACTS. Ad Sales Operations Mgr. Shana Davis sdavis@myfamilyinc.com U.S., Worldwide Sales: Sacha Yenkana syenkana@myfamilyinc.com * * * REPRINTS. 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: 4 August 2004, Vol. 7, No. 31. * * * *