RootsWeb Review: RootsWeb's Weekly E-zine 25 August 2004, Vol. 7, No. 34, Circulation: 830,131+ (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. RootsWeb's User-contributed Databases: Do You Hold Someone's Missing Link? 1b. Editor's Desk: Some Sites Worth Seeing 1c. Tips from Readers: "Utilizing Your Digital Camera" 2. Connecting Through RootsWeb: "Virus Destroys Genealogy Records" 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: "Tracing Ancestors Not a Game" "Throwing Away Branches and Twigs" "Guide for Tree Publishing" "Trees of Many Colors" "Altering Family History" "More Confessions by a Name Collector" "Changing Genders and Moms" "Ask the Genealogy Genie" 8. Humor/Humour: Problems in the "Big Apple" (New York City) and Alaska" 9. Submissions, Subscriptions, Advertising, Reprints =============================================================== 1. NEWS AND NOTES 1a. RootsWeb's User-contributed Databases: Do You Hold Someone's Missing Link? Rah, Rah, Sis Boom Bah! Has a high school or college reunion or maybe an upcoming homecoming weekend at the old halls of ivy, got you thinking back on your school days of yore? If you dusted off the old yearbooks to look up school friends and acquaintances, how about giving some thought to transcribing the genealogical data from them that could be typed up to create a database for submission to the RootsWeb User-contributed databases. Your data will be made searchable and others can easily find it. Just a few minutes of your time could bring great joy to another researcher. Information in your old yearbooks might be someone else's genealogical link to finding a grandparent, aunt or uncle, or some long-lost friend. You don't need any fancy or complicated database program to create a file for submission to the User-contributed Database Program. Type the data directly into whatever word-processing program you normally use -- Word, Word Perfect, Works, or even the Windows Wordpad. A yearbook transcription for the Alumni Lists, for example, can be as simple as listing the school, the year, the country, county/town/city, state or region, last name (surname) and first (given) name of each individual and any other pertinent information the book might contain about each individual. Just do it in consistent, labeled fields. When ready, submit your database(s) here: http://userdb.rootsweb.com/submit/ Using the submission form, browse to the location of the file on your computer or type in the path to the file, and upload it automatically for inclusion in a master database of similar records. See guidelines, tutorial, and examples of data formats for user-contributed data: http://userdb.rootsweb.com/guidelines.html TIP: SEARCH or BROWSE? Search means to look for a specified word, term, or string of letters in a database. Browse means to be able to view all of the data therein in one place. The user-contributed databases at RootsWeb utilize search engines that enable you to search, but not to browse, those databases. Only if the submitter of the particular database also has the data on a browseable webpage, and if they included the URL (Universal Resource Locator) to that webpage in their database, will you be able to browse the data. So, if you find yourself waxing nostalgic to once again assemble with the Whiffenpoofs or you are fondly recalling your days as the Sweetheart of Sigma Chi, dig out those historical pieces of your past and put them into the form of a database suitable for submission to the RootsWeb User-contributed Database Program. Such material may help to complete someone else's family tree. * * * 1b. EDITOR'S DESK. Some Sites Worth Seeing Tom McKeever is building a site dedicated to workers at the Kennedy Space Center who have passed on and has just added a search function. It is at: http://goflight.org/ A companion site for actual cosmonaut/astronaut biographies and memorials can be seen at http://high-flight.org/ "Emigration from Wales to America (major movements)," "Tracing an American family's roots with the aid of a Welsh Bible," "Mysterious Names from Wales," plus other articles on Welsh history and genealogy are available at Data Wales: http://www.data-wales.co.uk/ The American Jewish Archives has placed the late Rabbi Malcolm H. Stern's "First American Jewish Families" online with a searchable index. The book contains family trees of Jewish families that arrived in the America ca 1654-1838 and traces many families to the present. It provides birth, marriage, and death information, plus dates of arrival in U.S. and other data. Search the database by name or browse surnames by their initial letter. Click on a particular name to bring up the page in the original book (PDF file) that shows the family tree on the page. The book itself is out of print. http://www.americanjewisharchives.org/aja/FAJF/intro.html * * * 1c. TIPS FROM READERS: Utilizing Your Digital Camera By Maryellen Horrigan I received my first digital camera in 1998 -- 1,000 pixels, very cutting edge! It delivers a superb 6x4 picture, a really nice 5x7, and a lovely soft 8x10 landscape. The 8x10 is too blurry for a people shot. But perfect for text. My best library for genealogy research is downtown. Parking is expensive and I have to fit in between the rush hours while still getting a slot in the busy garage. I must make the most of my time there, so I take my camera and a small notebook for minimal notes. But, I have discovered that other researchers were not using this new tool, or having difficulties with file size. Here are a few tips. STORAGE--bring a lot. You will fill a memory stick too easily. Either bring several or bring some means of downloading to laptop, Palm, etc. Mine is so old it uses floppies and I bring about a dozen. PIXELS--adjust downward. You want the least number of pixels possible. This is not a photo contest. Print can be sharpened up in the printing process, if needed. Smaller pixel count will get you more pictures. Best buy here would be the cheapest low-pixel count possible. I have a fellow researcher who advertised in her local paper and bought someone's old low-pixel camera. You want 2,000 or less pixels. BATTERIES--bring your charger. You will shoot almost nonstop and it eats up batteries. Most libraries have desks with plug-in spots for re- charging. PREPARATION--get your books first. Jot down every page you may want to record and then shoot away. Don't bother to read--just shoot. Save the reading to fit your leisure. CLIPS--are most important. Get some potato-chip bag clips to hold the books open flat without damage. Remember, you will do less harm than squashing a book in a copier machine. REFERENCE--take a picture of the title, author, and publisher page first, then click away. If you have to move to new storage in mid-text, snap the title again so you remember where you are. Label and/or jot a sequence menu. Sometimes SC looks just like GA or TN in print as they share so many county names. Label, label, label. SHOOTING--small books will get two pages to a shot. Stand up to shoot, with book flat on a table or chair so picture will not be askew and hard to read. Most books will need one page to a shot and some more. If you need two or more shots, be sure to overlap a bit of text so you know where you are when viewing later. Do not get too close. You can enlarge on the computer screen. Try to fill the viewing screen with all the text you wish to shoot and nothing else. The exception is a two-picture page where you need to back off a bit to avoid huge pictures of just a few words. VIEWING, PRINTING, SAVING--Now's the time to hit the magnifier for up- close viewing. Do not print your page in magnified position or it will not fit on the paper. Learn to crop. Get rid of the excess words, your thumb, and the cute plaid pants you wore to the library -- you don't need to waste the ink. Change the name now from "photo No. 7" to "SC Land Records-Jones" or whatever. Before printing, click "properties" on your print menu and change the setting to "gray scale." Old books tend to print out in strange hues of purple and yellow and are hard to read, and again, a waste of ink. If possible, now is the time to save the whole day's work on a disk and get the photos off your computer. This is not ordinary text storage. Photos are big files and can devour your available computer space. In front of me right now are more than 600 pages of text containing references to one surname in my database. After preparation, it took me about an hour and a half to shoot these pages. Tonight I'm going to put on some music and read my way through the 1805 Georgia land lottery. Come join me. 2. Connecting Through RootsWeb. Thanks for sharing your stories. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Virus Destroys Genealogy Records By Corine Wiggins I am writing to say thank you for RootsWeb. If it had not been for it I don't know what I would have done. You see this last week I lost all my family records to a virus that caused a problem to our computer. These were records I have been collecting for more than 20 years and in just a short time they were all gone. I found help on your site to reclaim some of the records that were lost. Once again, thank you. [Editor's Note: Uploading your GEDCOMs at WorldConnect provides you with an offsite back-up source of your family tree: http://wc.rootsweb.com/ ] 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 28,400 RootsWeb-hosted genealogy Mailing Lists and for easy subscribing (joining) options go to: http://lists.rootsweb.com/ NEW SURNAME MAILING LISTS BERLIT, BERNAL CREACY FORBY GAYDON WENTZELL, WHEATCROFT 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 Bermuda Hundred Chapter DAR (Virginia) website is at: http://www.rootsweb.com/~vabhcdar/ U.S.A. azacbiog -- Apache County Biographies (Arizona) flbd1812 -- Benjamin DeVane Chapter United States Daughters of the War of 1812 (Florida) gadcgs2 -- Douglas County Genealogical Society (Georgia) injj1812 -- Jonathan Jennings Chapter United States Daughters of the War of 1812 (Indiana) okwhs -- Wynnewood Historical Society (Oklahoma) pamfmcoc -- Matthew Fontaine Maury Chapter Children of the Confederacy (Pennsylvania) sclcbiog -- Laurens County Biographies (South Carolina) scncbiog -- Newberry County Biographies (South Carolina) utbiog -- Biographies Project (Utah) vabhcdar -- Bermuda Hundred Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) (Virginia) 5. New/Updated Freepages and Homepages -------------------------------------- Do you have a new, updated, or substantially revised website located at RootsWeb (it will have "freepages" or "homepages" in the URL)? 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 SOUTH DAKOTA. Lawrence County. December 1950 telephone directory for Deadwood, Lead, Spearfish, and Whitewood exchanges. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~sddir/1950tel/ VERMONT. North Danville. Tombstone listings from Drew-Kelsey Cemetery. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~nekg3/files/cemetery_drew.htm Note: Comments and questions about any of these independently authored webpages should be directed to their respective compilers/webmasters. 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. MISSOURI. Osage County. Marriages 1930-1939; 2,032 records; compiled by Hallie Mantle, indexed by Bill Schwegler. http://userdb.rootsweb.com/marriages/ WEST VIRGINIA. Cabell County. Huntington. Marshall University, Class of 1978; 271 records; Lynda Turner. http://userdb.rootsweb.com/alumni/ WISCONSIN. Columbia County. Roster of Wisconsin National Guard, Co. F, 128th Infantry, 32nd Division, Spanish American War and World War I; 231 records; Tamara Parrott-Jorstad http://userdb.rootsweb.com/military/ 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]. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Tracing Ancestors Not a Game By Lavone Major of Marietta, Georgia I take great exception to statements contained in the letter titled "Lighten Up," by Gloria Lee Reeves, and published in the 11 August issue of the RWR. In particular, Ms. Reeves says "It's a game, folks, and has nothing to do with the present." Perhaps this is the case for her. If so, I feel sorry for her. But for myself and every other amateur genealogist I know, tracing one's ancestors is definitely not a game. It is often fun, sometimes frustrating and always absorbing. But it is never just a game. And it has everything to do with the present. We are who we are because of those who came before us. The longer I research my forebears, the more I realize this. Certainly, some seem more real than others. But, there is a bond of family and blood with each and every one of them that should be recognized, acknowledged, and respected. I have recently been following with interest both sides of the debate concerning posting one's family tree on the Internet and the distress felt by some who have had that information pirated by others. Before the Internet, there were no frivolous genealogists -- only serious researchers. Real researchers are always happy to meet and share with those of a like mind. That is the reason organizations like the DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution), historical societies, etc. have flourished in this country for many years. I believe the Internet can be a great tool, if used properly, and I am grateful for the cousins I have met online who I would have never known otherwise. But I do believe that, due to the Internet, there is now a class of so-called genealogists out there who, like Ms. Reeves, treat genealogy as if it were just a game like some scavenger hunt for the deceased. How sad and what a shame! * * * Throwing Away Branches and Twigs By Frances Willess In response to "Guilty as Charged" by Jennifer D. Shelley, I could have written that letter. I started collecting information on my family strictly for my own use 35 years ago when I realized I knew nothing about my family and there were few people left to ask. As I found proof I filled out family sheets, but did not see the need to write down my source in all instances. s I ran across other family members I made copies of what I had and exchanged information with them and in some instances included things that I considered strictly for family use. After nearly 30 years I finally got a computer and genealogy program, and while I only have a small part of my information on the computer now, in my haste to get families put together I didn't initially include my sources in the notes. I would like to emphasize that I spent many long hours and a lot of money gathering my information. As a legal secretary, I wanted proof that would stand up in court and much of it would. I have some information that nobody else had, including some 60-year-old letters sent by a generous cousin who tried to join the DAR in the 1920s. I do not want that hard work and information lost and have tried to give copies to as many family members as possible. Others were equally generous with me, sometimes sending me much more than I furnished them. Then the Internet came along and information that had been strictly family was suddenly being posted on the Internet, including some information that should not have been made public. I was shocked to see some of my information published by people I didn't even know, but with errors in dates and even in parents. I don't feel the need to be given credit for my work, but do want the facts to be posted correctly. It took me a while to realize that some things I had copied from the Internet I could not find again, because in my ignorance I didn't make a note of the Internet address -- the URL (Uniform Resource Locator). I have four file cabinets and several boxes filled with documents, and most of that is not in my genealogy notes; yet what I have in my genealogy program has been either documented or is noted it came from members of a particular branch of the family and that I have not verified it. But I have no hesitation including information I have on extended family, such as parents and siblings of in-laws, because it could help someone else find information on that family. I recently gained several generations of wonderful documentation about my grandfather's brother through contacting a man who had put his wife's family on WorldConnect. He only had my uncle's name on the Internet, but very generously sent me loads of documentation and I was able to furnish some helpful information to him. It might have its faults, but the Internet has enabled most of us to get information we could never have found without it, and to contact so many unknown relatives. Several years ago a woman who had been married for many years had divorced her husband, but came to a birthday party for a family member. She told my aunt she felt odd coming when she was no longer a part of the family, but she had been invited and thought so much of the honoree she had wanted to come. My aunt assured her, "In our family we don't throw anybody away." That pretty well states how I feel. * * * Guide for Tree Publishing By Ed Crump in Alexandria, Louisiana I have read with interest over the past few months about what information should be given to the world, and how to handle living persons (in our trees). My approach to publishing information on WorldConnect -- and other Internet publications -- has been not to publish information that is not available from the latest U.S. census (now 1930). I use the reasoning that the most recent generation should know the information back to that date. So, that's what I use. For several years I used 1900, but then realized that there was information out there in the public domain through the last published census. As a result I have never had a problem with anyone criticizing my information in this regard. * * * Trees of Many Colors By Cindy Dorfler The question has been asked about what others are doing when you realize members of the family have been passing for white for years . . . I submit that if they have been "passing for white for 50-100 years, then they must be pretty much "white" in appearance and one shouldn't deny this part of their heritage. I don't know what difference it should make . . . They are who they are and it shouldn't make any difference what color they are, they are still relatives and should be included. I haven't encountered this color identification attribute as a problem yet, but probably because I didn't think about it. My husband's cousin married a man from Africa (he is black), they do have children and I did not think to include his race in the tree. I suppose I should, I am guessing this is a good thing to include when looking for someone with a common name. So would I say he is a black African in my information? I personally don't think anyone should be left out in the family history. They are all important to me because whether we like it our not, they are still a small part of you no matter what...whether by biological or environmental connection. I agree that hiding them doesn't make them go away and won't present a true picture to future generations. * * * Altering Family History By Tom Olenio The question was asked if it was wrong to change the history even though it was something a 15-year-old daughter wanted. My response: You cannot change history. None of us has a perfect genealogy and there are things we would like to change, but what is the sense of a genealogy that is false? Five generations from now, someone in your family will once again research the genealogy and your omission and/or revision will be found and that will raise an eyebrow or two, as to why. Honesty is the best policy. Trace both family lines indicating blood and adoptive lines, My great-grandfather was an abandoned infant at birth, parents unknown. His foster family treated him like their own son. They hid the fact he was not theirs, but the truth slammed home at age 19 for him when mandatory military service arose. We treat the foster family as family today, but we do not rewrite history, and would follow the bloodline if it was possible. * * * More Confessions by a Name Collector By Kathie Dunham I too could be considered to be a name collector. One example is, I might have a direct ancestor whose brother married "Miss X." I would trace the family of "Miss X" -- not just to see my number of names go higher and higher, but simply because I can and being hooked on genealogy it's hard to stop with just my direct line. I can not always verify the family of "Miss X" other than through the census records and that is not always proof positive, but I do usually feel confident that I have tracked the right family. I do try to find anything to verify, but I really have no intention of trying to locate records for the family of "Miss X" -- it's hard enough to get records for my direct ancestors. The family of "Miss X" often plays an important, if only a small part, in the history of the community where my ancestors were born and/or raised, plus I have a couple times found that someone in "Miss X's" family married someone else connected to my direct line, and that is probably common in smaller communities. Recently I added names for my great-grandfather's cousin's husband's family (quite a stretch from my direct line), but I found my great- grandmother's sister also married into this family, I am still amazed at this one especially since the players were in New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. Still working on this and trying to discover how it came about -- who knew who first, etc. My son-in-law's father also claims he is from this same family, so I'm trying to verify that, too. So I am a name collector, but I can't stop, nor do I want to. * * * Changing Genders and Moms By Anggie Thompson I personally know of two folks who have had gender changes (I am not related to them), but how do you list someone in your family tree that was born David, but is now Veronica? Since I work in a law firm, I know that anyone can change their name to whatever they want, but can they also get a new birth certificate with the new name? In one instance, a guy was adopted by his stepmom (during his youth) after the death of his birth mother. He was upset that his "new" birth certificate had his stepmother's name on it instead of his birth mom's. He wanted to "un-do" the adoption so he could honor his birth mom. * * * Ask the Genealogy Genie By Nicole Henke There is definitely a chance when you explore local shops that you might luck out and find some family photos. Two months ago I was at an antique store in Slidell, Louisiana and it had all the family photos for one family. Apparently there were no more relatives around to pass them onto (whether any existed elsewhere across the country, it is unknown). The collection went from pre-civil war to present, and there were photos it looked like of every family member in between. I stood there looking at all those pictures and thought how sad that such a precious legacy was relegated to being sold to anyone who wanted an "instant family tree." Had the cost not been so high, I would have considered buying it and trying to find a relative to pass them onto! In my personal search for family photos, I've found that putting requests on county or county genealogical sites to be better that local stores in larger areas. The more rural the area (small towns), the better odds for finding someone in your family tree (or an in-law). Chicago (or large cities) would be difficult, but you never know, the genealogy genie might grant your wish! 8. Humor/Humour: Problems in the "Big Apple" (New York City) and Alaska ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Corralling Our Ancestors Thanks to: Dorothy Shillinglaw From: 1855 New York State Census, New York City, New York County, 7th Ward, 6th ED, Marriages and Deaths Schedule, under Remarks. [Editor's Note: And you wonder why your ancestors' names are spelled so creatively in the censuses?] "I should think one third of the Population of this District are in the Habit of moving from once to four times a year Rendering it Imposabell for the Marshel to Render an Ackret account of the Deaths that has taken plase In the District for the last year, the friends of Desist having moved to sum other Part of the city. I can find only the mariag of one cuppell in the District and they cleared out the next morning and haven't been heard from since." * * * State of Befuddlement Thanks to Grace in Alaska The doctor who saw my mother shortly after my birth put "Disorganized" in the township blank. The correct term is "Unorganized." This has amused many agencies requiring me to show my birth certificate. * * * 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: 25 August 2004, Vol. 7, No. 34. * * * *