RootsWeb Review: RootsWeb's Weekly E-zine 20 October 2004, Vol. 7, No. 42, Circulation: 827,414+ (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/ Search/download past issues of the RootsWeb Review: http://e-zine.rootsweb.com/ =============================================================== IN THIS ISSUE: 1. NEWS AND NOTES 1a. Editor's Desk: News, Notes, and Sites Worth Seeing "History of the Victoria Cross" "Pilgrim Hall Museum" "Canada in Khaki" "Telling Stories": Contest 1b. Tips from Readers: "Out of the Mouth of Babes" "A Case of Mistaken Locality" "Using the Right Tool" "Creating Problems to Solve a Problem" 1c. "Putting Some Shine on the Sterling Tree" 2. Connecting Through RootsWeb: "Finding a Home for Old Photo Album" 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: "Shipmate Unravels More Than Yarn" "Supporting Local Societies" "Reflecting on the Why of Genealogy" 8. Humor/Humour: "What's Really in a Name?" 9. Submissions, Subscriptions, Advertising, Reprints =============================================================== 1. NEWS AND NOTES 1a. EDITOR'S DESK. News, Notes and Sites Worth Seeing HISTORY OF THE VICTORIA CROSS (VC) -- Britain's highest award for gallantry. This site contains a history of the VC as well as an index of all Victoria Crosses held by regimental museums and miscellaneous organizations -- worldwide, plus burial location of holders (by name) in the UK and Ireland, Belgium, France, and worldwide. Also lists of living VC holders, arranged under British, Commonwealth, and Gurkha and Indian. Additionally, there's a list of the participants of the first investiture of the Victoria Cross -- 62 Crimean War veterans -- in Hyde Park, London on 26 June 1857. You can follow the links to many personal VC websites for biographical and genealogical data. http://www.victoriacross.org.uk/aahistor.htm http://www.victoriacross.org.uk/vcross.htm http://www.victoriacross.org.uk/ccmisclo.htm http://www.victoriacross.org.uk/aalinks.htm PILGRIM HALL MUSEUM. Contains artifacts and records of the Mayflower passengers and other residents of early Plymouth Colony. The section labeled "Beyond the Pilgrim Story" contains a growing section of biographies containing all the primary source documentation from the 17th century for various residents of Plymouth Colony with texts of wills and inventories, when available. Includes information about these families: ALDEN, BRADFORD, BREWSTER, COOKE, HOPKINS, HOWLAND, SOULE, WARREN, WHITE, and WINSLOW. http://www.pilgrimhall.org/ CANADA IN KHAKI. A description of the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) in World War I. with details of campaigns, medals, maps, memorials, and badges, plus naval and air details. http://www.militarybadges.info/canada/ * * * TELLING STORIES. Everyone has a story around their family's history -- we'd love to hear yours. If your story is selected to use in our company's television advertising campaign, you may receive a free one- year subscription to Ancestry.com. We are anxious to hear more about why you've started doing family history research, what you hope to find, and what exciting discoveries and people you've already encountered. Please take a few minutes and tell us in detail about your experiences. http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=34434662384 * * * 1b. TIPS FROM READERS Out of the Mouth of Babes By Steve Gaunt My least-researched family line was, until recently, the GEAL line. I had never spoken to a family member about this line and had only seen the surname on paper. I automatically assumed that the surname was pronounced with a hard g as in my surname, Gaunt. My research ran into a brick wall when I could find no members of this family in the censuses of the village they were supposed to come from (Hooe in Sussex). I put them on one side for many months and researched more easily attainable lines. One day, my five-year-old daughter climbed onto my chair and peered at the names of our family on the computer screen. She tried reading them out and when she came to Geal, she pronounced it with a soft g, as in gentle. Struck with the simplicity of my possible error, I had another look at the 1841 and 1851 censuses for Hooe. There were my family -- exactly where they should be, entered under the surname CHEAL. I have since found them under JEAL. I suppose the moral of the story is not to assume how a name is pronounced -- or listen to your kids. * * * A Case of Mistaken Locality By Dave Ireton Many years ago I found a marriage record giving the place of birth as "Kilkenny Co. Wicklow." At the time I didn't know whether the county in Ireland was Kilkenny or Wicklow. Since then I have learned that the people in question were from Coolkenn(a/oe), which is in Shillelagh in County Wicklow. I have seen this error in other databases as well. I still don't know if it was the local pronunciation or a case where the recorder knew about Kilkenny and Wicklow and didn't see any reason why they should be exclusive * * * Using the Right Tool By Jodie Gil When labeling photos, use a photo-safe [archival quality] pen or pencil (available at craft and stationery stores). If you use ink it will ruin the photo. And don't press down so hard that it comes through the photo. [Editor's Note: "Why Label Your Photographs?" by Ancestry Daily News columnist, George G. Morgan, offers some excellent advice on this subject. You can read it in the "Along Those Lines" archives]: http://www.ancestry.com/learn/library/article.aspx?article=5349 * * * Creating Problems to Solve a Problem By Madeline De Long Recent letters in the RootsWeb Review ("Rudeness Irks Researcher" and "Lack of Manners Can Be Costly") mention frustration experienced from a lack of response to shared information through e-mail. While people in general may fail to exhibit the common courtesy extended 20 years ago, there may be another reason for the lack of response to those e-mails. Spam blockers/filters may be the culprit. A couple of weeks after subscribing to one I realized that it created more problems than it solved. Before you subscribe to or download a spam-blocking program, be sure you fully understand how it works and what recourse you have if the program is not suitable for your needs. Be aware that most ISP's have spam filters in place as well. If you have requested genealogy information and did not receive a reply, a check of your own spam filter(s) is probably in order. In addition, it might be wise to send a second e-mail including your snail-mail address and/or telephone number. And, by all means, send extend an expression of appreciation. You never know how much additional genealogy information you may receive following the acknowledgement. * * * Have you solved a pesky research problem? Share it with the RootsWeb Review readers. Send to: Editor-RWR@rootsweb.com * * * 1c. Putting Some Shine on the Sterling Tree Last week Susan STERLING uploaded her GEDCOM to RootsWeb's WorldConnect. However, bits and pieces of the data she has gathered do not fit into a GEDCOM or family tree format, so she set out to find a place to display those items online. Susan inherited a diary that her great-grandmother, Martha GEIST, kept during her teen years and it is bubbling over with family stories and items of historical interest. Martha described in detail the events of her short, but happy, life. Susan is transcribing the text of the diary and wants to put it online in a customized journal format. Additionally Susan has a photo collection of her ancestors she wants to display publicly, plus some scanned images she copied from the family Bible. She walked the small cemetery where her grandparents are buried, photographed the stones, and has copied those inscriptions into a formatted database. Each of these types of genealogical records she would prefer to place on a site she could personally craft and customize. Susan's search leads her to Freepages at RootsWeb where she can have unlimited space for those genealogical keepsakes. http://freepages.rootsweb.com/directory/genealogy.html She fills out the request form located here: http://accounts.rootsweb.com/ Soon her account is approved and ready. She is informed that she is now automatically subscribed to the FREEPAGES-HELP mailing list digests. She finds many experienced webmasters familiar with the Freepages sites posting messages on the list. With a minimum of assistance she uploads her files and names her webpage: "My Sterling Family Mementos." The helpful folks on the FREEPAGES-HELP list tell Susan how to put links from her WorldConnect tree to her website and vice versa. She decides to add links to the footers that appear on every page of her WorldConnect file. She accomplishes this change without having to actually upload a new revised GEDCOM because she is merely making a change in the options that display on the pages of her database. She simply goes back to the set-up page by clicking on the link on the main WorldConnect page at: http://wc.rootsweb.com/ that says: "Also, go here to update or correct your existing Family Tree" and types in her original usercode and password. To draw attention to her new WorldConnect database and Freepages site (and knowing it pays to advertise to find your cousins), Susan posts a few messages on relevant RootsWeb message boards and mailing lists to which she is subscribed. http://boards.rootsweb.com/ http://lists.rootsweb.com/ She is careful not to "spam" her announcement on too many lists and boards -- only those where her surnames and family lines are relevant. She also decides to list the surnames included in her database with the RootsWeb Surname List (RSL): http://rsl.rootsweb.com/ in hopes this will attract others researching the same family lines. As a final touch, in her effort to make as much data as possible freely available to all researchers, Susan contributes her cemetery inscription database to the RootsWeb User Databases by uploading the file here: http://userdb.rootsweb.com/submit/ By contributing her file in this manner, it will be made into a searchable database, which will complement the browseable data she placed on her Freepages site. RootsWeb even provided Susan a search box she can place so that visitors to her cemetery file on her Freepages site can search the data, as well as browse through it. With the completion of the WorldConnect file and her new Freepages site, Susan relaxes. It's time to sit back and let her cousins around the world beat a virtual path to her doorstep. Right? Or is the chary and methodical Susan Sterling going to find herself entangled in some precarious predicaments? Next week: Oops! A Spot of Tarnish on a Sterling Tree 2. Connecting Through RootsWeb. Thanks for sharing your stories. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Finding a Home for Old Photo Album By Denise Whitman An antiques dealer by trade, I often come across old photos, tintypes, ambrotypes, etc. when I buy estates. When these heirlooms or other "genealogically important papers" are found I always inquire if there are family members that should take custody of these family treasures. Often the response from family members is "not interested." Several years ago, while perusing a flea market, I ran into an old photo album. It contained about 200 photos ranging from the 1870s until 1910. A rare find indeed. What made it all the more spectacular was that every photo was identified with a first and last name and family relationship. Done in the quavery kind of handwriting that comes with old age, someone meticulously labeled every image. I questioned the dealer about the estate. He replied that it belonged to a very old woman with no heirs other than a great-niece and great- nephew, who were uninterested in the album. He was asking $40 for the album -- a reasonable price because a single tintype would sell in an antique shop for $20 and there were two dozen tintypes in the album. I haggled the dealer down to $35, but was unable to get him any lower. I paid the $35 and scooped up the album. Once I got home I poured through the photos. They contained many names that are well-known in the Baltimore, Maryland area. Someone in the area must care about these photos, I reasoned. Finally I went to the surname message boards. A kind board moderator connected the dots and found a direct descendant. He was an elderly gentleman without Internet access and a cousin of the photo album's former owner. He hadn't seen her in 10 years, but had heard that she was ill. I broke the sad news to him that his cousin had passed away. As it turned out, he had previously asked his cousin for the photos and she promised him that the album would be his. He correctly identified relationships of individuals in various photos and I was satisfied that this was the person that should own this treasure. I shipped the album to the board moderator, who had asked to be allowed scan the photos, and she then shipped the album on to him. I received a lovely "thank you" note from the gentleman who promised to treat me to dinner if I ever got to Nebraska. Sounds like a treat to me! * * * Do you have an online "connecting" story to share? Send to: Editor-RWR@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 28,500 RootsWeb-hosted genealogy Mailing Lists and for easy subscribing (joining) options go to: http://lists.rootsweb.com/ NEW SURNAME MAILING LISTS AIREY BIGLAND, BOTTKOL DUTEIL ESWORTHY FINKLESTEIN FARMER-DNA -- Discussing the FARMER surname DNA project HASHINSKY NICCUM PODDOCK STAVENAU, SULLWOLD STRAUB-DNA -- Discussing the STRAUB DNA project THOROMAN 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 National Institute on Genealogy Research Alumni Association website is at: http://www.rootsweb.com/~nigraa/ Australia ausfohbf -- Friends of Horseshoe Bend Farms (Victoria) U.S.A. nigraa -- National Institute on Genealogy Research Alumni Association ohmadogs -- Madison County (Ohio) OGS orlccdar -- Lewis and Clark (Oregon) Chapter DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution) txbell2 -- Bell County (Texas) 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 BLANCHARD. Family DNA Project--sorting out the relationships among the various families worldwide carrying the surname BLANCHARD and variants. http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~blanch-l/bldna.html ENGLAND. Merseyside Snippets. A selection of old newspaper snippets, BMDs, shipping, deaths and inquests, crimes, passenger lists, etc. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~dadds/MERSEYSIDE.index.html KINNEY, McKINNEY and variations, such as KEENEY, KENNY, McKENNEY, etc. Y chromosome DNA project. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~gkbopp/KINNEY/Research/ LATHAM, MACDONALD, LAWRENCE, GALLANT, DAINE, MCCULLOCH, THOMPSON, NOWE. Includes photos, a database, calendar of ancestors' birthdays and anniversaries, and scans of vital documents of these families, mostly from Nova Scotia, Canada. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~platham/ LENHART. Y chromosome DNA project. All variations welcome, including LINHART, LANEHART, LENHARDT, etc. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~gkbopp/LENHART/DNA/ NETZLEY. The NETZLEY family. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~confido/netzley-Hill.html PHIPS, PHIPPS, FIPS and FIPPS. Y chromosome DNA. A worldwide study of these families with ancestry from the United Kingdom and Eire. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~scperkins/PhippsDNA.html STRUNK, STRUNCK, STRANK and STRONK. Y Chromosome DNA. A worldwide study of these families with ancestry in Pennsylvania, New York, North Carolina, Kentucky, and Europe. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~scperkins/StrunkDNA.html VINES. A worldwide genealogy project to act as a central point for all VINES and variants, with emphasis on DNA tests to find connections in puzzling situations. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~vinesfamhist/ WYATT, WIATT, and WYET. A worldwide Y Chromosome DNA study of these families with ancestry from the United Kingdom and Eire. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~scperkins/WyattDNA.html 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 ---------------------------------------------- The following databases have come online recently. They are searchable, but not browseable. Search: To look for specific data or occurrence of text in a file. Browse: To view the entire contents of a file or a group of files. CANADA. Prince Edward Island. Kings County. Dundas. Old Dundas People's Cemetery; 6 records; J Edward "Bud" and Marion Josey http://userdb.rootsweb.com/canada/ U.S.A. Cemetery Records: Assorted cemetery records for Reeves, Smith and Spurgin surnames; 58 records; Greg Reeves http://userdb.rootsweb.com/cemeteries/ CALIFORNIA. Sacramento County. Sacramento. Sacramento High School and branches; faculty and staff, 1923-1925; 208 records; Sacramento High School Class of 1922; 214 records; Sacramento High School Class of 1923; 307 records; Sacramento High School Class of 1924; 233 records; Sacramento High School Class of 1925, 302 records; Pat Scott http://userdb.rootsweb.com/alumni/ FLORIDA. Orange County. Orlando. Orlando Morning Sentinel and Sunday Star-Sentinel obituaries, January 1 through February 12, 1938 (partial); 312 records; Brian Salmons http://userdb.rootsweb.com/obituaries/ ILLINOIS. Peoria County. Peoria. Distilling and Cattle Feeding Company, Committee Stockholders, April 1895; 16 records; Paula Lucy Delosh http://userdb.rootsweb.com/groups/ IOWA. Union County. Creston. Creston High School students in 1925; 481 records; Curtis Killman http://userdb.rootsweb.com/alumni/ NEW YORK. Genesee County. Batavia. Daily News Index for 1927; 8,171 records; Leilani Spring, Volunteer of the Genesee County, New York, Historian http://userdb.rootsweb.com/news/ OHIO. Cuyahoga County. Parma. Parma Senior High School Class of 1963; 592 records; Joanne B. Auth http://userdb.rootsweb.com/alumni/ PENNSYLVANIA. Fulton County births, 1872-1900; compiled from World War I Draft Registration Cards; 1,529 records; Scott L. Byrd http://userdb.rootsweb.com/births/ VIRGINIA. Fredericksburg (independent city). Collegiate Institute, Faculty of 1895; 19 records; Paula Lucy Delosh http://userdb.rootsweb.com/alumni/ WISCONSIN. La Crosse County. "Memoirs of La Crosse County," by Benjamin F. Bryant; 5,904 records; La Crosse Area Genealogical Society http://userdb.rootsweb.com/bookindexes/ 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]. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Shipmate Unravels More Than Yarn By Kathy Dracup Several years ago, just after our father passed away, I was cleaning out his things and came upon his old address book. In looking through it, I discovered a person listed by his Navy rank, complete with his name and address. We knew my father had served in the military during World War II, but it was before we were born. One day I dropped this "Navy man" a note, letting him know that our father had passed away and mentioned that we had no information about his time in the service. A few days later a reply arrived, advising me that we were invited to the ship's reunion to be held in a few weeks. Also enclosed was a photograph of our father receiving the Purple Heart on the deck of his ship, along with the man from the address book and a photocopied page out of the Navy's newsletter telling about the heroic actions taken by these two men on the day. The kindness of this stranger brought tears to our eyes, and a most treasured photograph to our family. This only goes to show again, that important genealogical information can come from the least expected places. * * * Supporting Local Societies By Jane Grezlik in Ohio I would like to address an issue that many genealogical and historical societies are experiencing in this day of busy schedules and Internet access -- the loss of membership. Internet researchers should be aware that much of the information available on the many research sites is there because genealogical societies all over the world have done a wonderful job of abstracting and publishing that information. However, without members this work and these wonderful small libraries can not survive long. Both financial support and volunteers are needed. Larger libraries are having difficulties, too. These are special libraries, run by the local societies, and are not part of the public library system and therefore not funded by them. I want to encourage every researcher to support her or his local society and/or the society that is in the area they do most of their research. Many of these societies have a nominal annual fee that most anyone should be able to afford. It goes a long way in helping to cover operating costs of the library and the publishing costs of larger books. While sales of their books do offset costs, it is the membership that is most important. Join and support genealogical and historical societies. Help to ensure the continued flow of information and research availability at the local level. * * * Reflecting on the Why of Genealogy By Teri Durham I feel sad that genealogists would demand recognition for their work or dole out information in return for "thank yous." The comment from the curator is accurate--we do not "own" any of the information that we research, collect or stumble across--no matter how many years it has taken us to accumulate. If we were able to find it in public records, then anyone could do the same. I think we all need to remember why we engage in this hobby, or anyone researches family history. We want to know about our ancestors--where we came from; what they did for a living; who were their children, etc. Have we forgotten the thrill we personally have when we find a morsel of information? Or hovering at the mailbox waiting for a vital record to arrive? Or stomping through a graveyard and unearthing a family stone? Or just happening upon someone who knew details about one's family? These are the things that sustain us. No one can "steal" these experiences from us. The information is secondary to the joy my research gives me. I was the one that traveled to Ireland twice to pour through dozens of microfilms of parish records and hand recorded more than 50 pages of names and dates. One of my contacts in Australia posted my GEDCOM and sources on the Internet with this family name and with him as the contact. So! I had not done it myself, and it is done for others to enjoy, and I am happy. The things I treasure are driving the townland roads my ancestors traveled; the photo from Australia at a reunion with the fourth gentleman I was able to prove belonged in a family of three known cousins; being inside the parish church built in the 1690s with the same font my family were baptized from; and having my breath taken away when I opened an original book of estate maps at PRONI (Public Records Office of Northern Ireland) and seeing my 3rd-great-grandfather's name written on a townland map identifying the farm by name that was confiscated in 1845 during the Potato Famine. After delivering a book of information I had accumulated on a family to the current descendant running the farm, I shared with him that although they were not my ancestry, I had spent so much time trying to find them that I felt I knew them personally. I believe when I leave this life and go to the next, I will know these people. That warms my heart. It brought tears to his eyes. And that is something one does not enjoy by just copying someone else's information to avoid spending the time themselves. So you see they really can't take the valuable part of genealogical research from you. I do appreciate a "thank you" when I share information. But I don't expect it. I believe in "what goes around, comes around." Some day another researcher may have found details I need and do not have ready access to. I hope they will be willing to share. Let's all open our files, roll up our sleeves and get the big "puzzle" solved. Many hands do make light work! 8. Humor/Humour: What's Really in a Name? ----------------------------------------- Thanks to: Jill Healand in Canberra, Australia I have a certified copy of a parish register entry from the Cornwall County Council in England. Under a column headed "By whom the ceremony was performed" is written: "E. Hodge, Lecherer" I had quite a giggle about that one! * * * Thanks to: Stephen Lignowski I was researching my mother-in-law's family history for my wife and I came across the entry for her great-grandfather in the 1870 U.S. census. I found his name to be very funny. In fact, it was "Hillarius!" * * * 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 * * * 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: 20 October 2004, Vol. 7, No. 42. * * * *