RootsWeb Review: RootsWeb's Weekly E-zine 1 March 2006, Vol. 9, No. 9 (c) 1998-2006 RootsWeb.com, Inc. http://www.rootsweb.com/ * * * Editor: Myra Vanderpool Gormley, Certified Genealogist Editor-RWR@rootsweb.com Certification: http://www.bcgcertification.org/certification/ * * * ROOTSWEB HELPDESK: Check here for announcements: http://helpdesk.rootsweb.com/ * * * ========================================================= IN THIS ISSUE: 1. NEWS, NOTES, AND SOME SITES WORTH SEEING 1a. Editor's Desk: "100 Years Ago: San Francisco Earthquake Hits" Book Notes: Montana First Families; and Erath County, Texas Marriage Indexes Sites: "Territorial Kansas"; "Travelling Over Oregon Trail" 1b. Tips from Readers: "Get Out There!" "Utilizing Small Libraries" 1c. Using RootsWeb: "When the Mail Stops" 2. Connecting Through RootsWeb: "Locating Families of WWII Indiana Servicemen Buried in Manila" 3. New User-contributed Databases 4. New/Updated FreePages and HomePages 5. New at RootsWeb 6. RootsWeb Review's Bottomless Mailbag: "Healing the Past's Wounds" "Etiquette, Editors on Mrs. John Doe" "Numerically Speaking" "One Letter Changes Ancestor's Name" 7. Humor/Humour: "Surprise!" 8. Subscriptions, Submissions, Advertising, Reprints ======================================================= IN THIS ISSUE: 1. EDITOR'S DESK: NEWS, NOTES; SOME SITES WORTH SEEING 1a. EDITOR'S DESK: 100 Years Ago: San Francisco Earthquake Hits LONG-LOST LETTERS GIVE FRESH LOOK AT THE 1906 SAN FRANCISCO EARTHQUAKE. The California Genealogical Society announces a new book published to coincide with San Francisco's earthquake's centennial year. Dorothy Fowler's work, "A Most Dreadful Earthquake: A First-Hand Account of the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Fire," presents the vivid personal letters of a young San Francisco woman to her sweetheart in Schenectady, New York. The ribbon-bound packet of 40 faded letters, written between February and July 1906, turned up in the archives of California Genealogical Society in 1998, with little to identify the writers or to explain how the letters came to the society. Now, 100 years later the author details the painstaking search to learn more about Sarah Elizabeth PHILLIPS and the Mr. JONES she planned to marry. Sarah's account begins dramatically in the early hours of April 18, 1906, when "we were awaked by a most dreadful earthquake." Through the letters, Fowler follows Sarah PHILLIPS and three other correspondents as the events of that hectic spring and summer unfold, providing a unique insight for today's readers. Fowler is a researcher and volunteer at the California Genealogical Society and she happened to be on hand when the letters were discovered, Her immediate perception was that there must be quite a story to be found in them. Soon she found herself immersed in what she calls "the little project that grew." Using standard genealogical methods, the author was able to identify the parties involved and uncover a fascinating link to America's recent past. Details and how to order the 176-page paperback book -- "A Most Dreadful Earthquake, A First-Hand Account of the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Fire"-- ($15) is available at the society's website: http://www.calgensoc.org/ * * * BOOK NOTES: MONTANA. "First Families and Early Setters of Montana," Volume 2. Contains photos and articles on each person. The "first families" started arriving in November 1889. Available ($34.95 postpaid) from: Montana State Genealogical Society, P.O. Box 5313, Helena, MT 59604 http://www.rootsweb.com/~mtmsgs/ TEXAS. Erath County. Marriage Records. Bride and Bridegroom Indexes, compiled by Dee Dee King. Vol. 1, 1869-1900, County Volumes A-H, more than 5,100 records, $25; Vol. 2, 1900-1908, County Volumes I-K, more than 2,700 records, $18; Vol. 3, 1908-1921, County Volumes L-O, more than 3,850 records, $23; Postage paid for books shipped to libraries or historical and genealogical societies. http://www.genealogyfinder.com/Publishing/GenealogyfinderPublishing.html * * * SOME SITES WORTH SEEING: TERRITORIAL KANSAS: ONLINE, 1854-1861. "A Virtual Repository for Territorial Kansas History" http://www.territorialkansasonline.org/ TRAVELING OVER THE OREGON TRAIL. See "The Overland Trail Pages" at: http://home.netcom.com/~symbios/geneal.html * * * 1b. TIPS FROM READERS: Get Out There! By Connie Trier Recently I received an e-mail from a woman who was interested in learning more about her husband’s family. She saw his name listed on my RootsWeb site and wondered if I had any more information. I was able to help her find his family back to the 1860s, but noticed when I did a search that she didn't have anything listed on RootsWeb. One of the best ways to get information is to make yours available. Don't hide, get found! * * * Utilizing Small Libraries By the Rev. John Gray, president Franklin County (Ohio) Genealogical and Historical Society http://www.rootsweb.com/~ohfcghs/ Since online research has become so viable and available we have lost a lot of foot traffic in our small library. Like every genealogical library everywhere we have unique holdings, including a lot of index cross-referencing that makes it easier to find a family or subject. These are not online anywhere. Again, like most small, local libraries, we have genealogies on local families that were privately published because the compiler could not afford to have them published in large quantities, so they cannot be found outside the area of residency. These are not online anywhere. We are going to lose these small libraries and their volunteers if we do not use them. In most cases the cost for nonmembers to use a local library is very small or there is no cost at all. Thank you for using your local genealogical library. * * * 1c. USING ROOTSWEB: When the Mail Stops When Lonnie LISTON first realized his mailbox was nearly empty and began to take inventory in his usually packed full inbox, he soon concluded that it was his RootsWeb mailing list mail that had gone missing. He had no idea why his mail suddenly stopped arriving from RootsWeb and was not sure what he should do to resolve the problem. Lonnie didn't know it at the time, but recently, when RootsWeb list servers were moved to a new location, some ISPs (Internet Service Providers) had trouble keeping up with the changes, and as a result, some mail was blocked or rejected as spam until records were updated. If you should ever experience the unsettling feeling of staring at cobwebs in your empty mailbox where your RootsWeb list mail should be overflowing, here are the steps you should follow. --Check the RootsWeb HelpDesk yellow notices box to see if there's an announcement about any technical problems either on RootsWeb's end or between RootsWeb and your ISP (http://helpdesk.rootsweb.com/). --Check with Password Central http://passwordcentral.rootsweb.com/ (or click on the Passwords tab in the RootsWeb masthead on any RootsWeb page) and have a list of all lists to which you are subscribed e-mailed to you. Perhaps you've been unsubscribed. This can happen for a number of reasons. If you are not subscribed, send a new "subscribe" request. --If you are subscribed but not getting mail, check the archives of the mailing list(s) in question to be sure there have actually been messages posted that you have not received (http://archiver.rootsweb.com/). --If there are posts in the archives and you are not receiving them, write to the mailing list administrator at: LISTNAME-admin@rootweb.com (replace the word LISTNAME with the actual list name and with no -L or -D appended). Ask the administrator if he/she has received any bounces for your mail, and if so, request copies so that you can show them to your ISP's tech-support representative. Whether there have been bounces or not, you should still contact your ISP's tech-support representative about your non-receipt of list mail. Once list mail has left RootsWeb, it is your ISP's responsibility to determine why you are not receiving it. --If your ISP assures you it is not blocking your RootsWeb mail and the list administrator(s) have not received bounces, check your personal spam filters to be certain that your filters are not accidentally trashing some or all of the list mail. --Check your e-mail program to be certain that you are not directing your list mail to a folder where you are not expecting to find it. Sometimes settings get corrupted or folders are renamed. Once Lonnie followed the above suggestions, it wasn't long before he was back in the swim of things and his list mail was flowing once again, just as he wanted it. We won't embarrass Lonnie by telling you what he had inadvertently done to his spam filters that had caused the mail to stop. Hey, it can happen to any of us. * * * * * * * * * * Advertisements * * * * * * * * * * Internet Genealogy is a new magazine from the publishers of Family Chronicle and History Magazine. The first issue is now available on newsstands across North America. For a limited time, you can download a FREE preview issue of Internet Genealogy. You can also take advantage of a limited time introductory subscription offer of $20 (US) or $23 (Cdn) for one year and start your subscription with the very first issue. Call toll-free 1-888-326-2476 or visit http://internet-genealogy.com/IG_subsRW.htm * * * GET HELP WITH YOUR BRITISH GENEALOGY British Ancestors, a British company with researchers throughout England and Scotland has helped more than 4,500 satisfied clients worldwide since 1999. Researchers will search the records of your English and Scottish ancestors stored in archives throughout England and Scotland, most of which are unavailable on the Internet. Friendly service, affordable prices and free research assessments. For a FREE! no-obligation research assessment visit http://www.britishancestors.com/consultrwr/ * * * * * * * * * * End of Advertisements * * * * * * * * * * 2. CONNECTING THROUGH ROOTSWEB: Locating Families of WWII Indiana Servicemen Buried in Manila By David L. Dwiggins in San Pablo City, Philippines My wife Apple and I were inspired a year and a half ago to find the families of Indiana servicemen buried or honored on the "Tablets of the Missing" at Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines (http://www.aenet.org/philip/crossa.htm). Our project commenced when we were mere visitors at the beautiful memorial and gazed over the graves that have seldom been visited. We traveled the three-hour trip home with a gut-wrenching pain in our stomachs, a heartfelt throb in our throats and a handful of photographs we had taken. Today we sent the free photos to our 100th Indiana family that had lost a loved one in the South Pacific during World War II. The achievement took a tremendous amount of work by countless journalists, librarians, genealogists, historians, historical societies and some good American citizens. It would not be fitting to go to sleep tonight smiling and counting the families in our minds without thanking RootsWeb.com and Ancestry.com for giving us a tool by which we could work as a team. We utilized the message boards much of the time and we apologize for the occasional posting in the wrong place, the errors we may have made, and most of all making so many postings that we seemed to be in everyone’s way. We offer our utmost apology for that. Most of all we want to share the joy of finding these families. You played a big part in the success. The 100 families did not include the many other groups wishing to have the free photographs and it did not include the 30 other photos we worked overtime to provide families from other states and schools, churches, and historical societies. We did not receive one negative remark in this time span. The project is worthy of many more blessings. Time is of the essence because this generation of those that genuinely felt the pain of their losses is thinning out. Last of all we hope you have been able to visit our website while we have been directly in your path. We hope you take the time to see first hand what you have been a part of in helping these war-torn families find a bit of joy in such horrible tragedies. Nothing depicts our project any more than Mrs. Martha Creed of Shelbyville, Indiana. She is pictured on the entry page. She had never seen the grave of her lost husband, Claude Creed, and neither had their daughter Claudia. Claudia never met her father. We thank you for the large part you have played in our successes over the past year and a half. Visit: "Indiana Soldiers and Sailors" at: http://fizkid.tripod.com/ * * * Tell us how you smashed through your brickwall. Have you found a special cousin? A photograph of your great-grandparents? Solved a missing link that enabled you to take your roots back to Charlemagne? Did you leap over some brick walls or cleverly figure out where your grandmother was hiding in a census? Do tell! Dazzle us with your brilliant sleuthing or uncanny luck. We're all ears. Send your tales of genealogical adventure to: Editor-RWR@rootsweb.com 3. New User-Contributed Databases at RootsWeb http://userdb.rootsweb.com/submit/ ---------------------------------------------- No new databases this week. SHARING OPPORTUNITY. Does your alma mater, old military unit, church, parish, province, county or state 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 genealogy) 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 such material. http://userdb.rootsweb.com/submit/ 4. New/Updated Freepages and Homepages -------------------------------------- Can your cousins find your website at RootsWeb? Has it ever been mentioned here or do you have a new, updated, or substantially revised website at RootsWeb (it will have "freepages" or "homepages" in the URL)? Send the URL (its Web address), along with a brief description, including the major pertinent surnames and what is available on your site, to: Editor-RWR@rootsweb.com ALABAMA. MY KITH AND KIN. Covers the webmaster's families in Pickens and Wilcox counties as well as many other related families, churches, cemeteries, etc. of the area. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~kithandkin2000/ ENGLAND. The site has been updated with more than 18,000 words covering deaths at the Crimea and in the Baltic fleet on the military page, plus shipping and BMDs, crimes, etc. -- an ongoing project. http://www.old-merseytimes.co.uk/ HOLCOMBE: This database has been updated recently with hundreds of names. It contains more than 4,000 descendants of brothers John and Jacob HOLCOMBE who came to Philadelphia in 1700. They were Quakers who came from England with their sister Juliann. John settled in Hunterdon County, New Jersey and accounts for most of the descendants. Sources are annexed to the names. http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?db=john_holcombe WASHINGTON. Okanogan County. Updated with Omak and Okanogan High School senior class yearbook photos http://freepages.school-alumni.rootsweb.com/~heeyjude/ http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~heeyjude/Okanogan/resources.html 5. New 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] CANADA canqbogs -- Quinte Branch Ontario Genealogical Society (Canada) canrbsgs -- Regina Branch Saskatchewan Genealogical Society (Canada) cansacem -- Saskatchewan Cemeteries (Canada) TURKEY turiadhs -- Izmir American Dependent High School U.S.A. caehmduv -- Elizabeth Hill Mills (California) DUVCW colitcem -- Littleton Cemeteries (Colorado) flrbgs -- Roots and Branches Genealogical Society (Florida) flvcgs -- Volusia County Genealogical Society (Florida) inlaport -- LaPorte County (Indiana) inposey3 -- Posey County (Indiana) kycemet2 -- Cemeteries (Kentucky) macarlin -- Arlington City (Massachusetts) macweymo -- Weymouth City (Massachusetts) macwilmi -- Wilmington City (Massachusetts) micemete -- Cemeteries (Mississippi) molcgs2 -- Laclede County Genealogical Society (Missouri) njcemete -- Cemeteries (New Jersey) pahpfs -- Heckler Plains Folklife Society (Pennsylvania) tncamcem -- Campbell County Cemeteries (Tennessee) KEY TO ABBREVIATIONS: DUVCW = Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War * * * 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 29,600 RootsWeb-hosted genealogy Mailing Lists and for easy subscribing (joining) options go to: http://lists.rootsweb.com/ SURNAMES BRINSFIELD, BROW, BROWNRIGG CATTO DARTNELL, DETHKE ELSMAN GROEPLER KOONCE MCHATTIE, MUMM OSINCUP SMALING (includes SCHMALING) TEULON REGIONAL MAILING LISTS CAN-NS-OBITS -- for the posting of obituaries and requests for obituary lookups pertaining to individuals of or from Nova Scotia (Canada). CAN-QC-GASPE -- Settlers of the region of Gaspé Peninsula and Magdalen Islands, Quebec, Canada. Includes those people who settled from Point St. Peter to the south to Cap Gaspé in the northeast. ETHNIC OR SPECIAL INTEREST MAILING LISTS CARNIVALS-AND-SIDESHOW-ACTS -- Genealogical and historical discussion of traveling carnivals, sideshow acts and others who worked in them. DALCASSIAN -- DalgCais (tribe of Cas) for those connected or interested in family history and heritage of the 119 related Irish families who descend from Cormac Cas. TIARA -- The Irish Ancestral Research Association focuses on assisting members with research in Irish records, with an emphasis on the TIARA- sponsored research trips and travel opportunities to Ireland. 6. 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]. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Healing the Past's Wounds By Peta Proctor in Australia When I was 21, I got a little bit interested in my family history -- just a little, I did not have computer, but I faithfully interviewed a few family members and bought a book on how to trace your family tree. I wasn't brave enough to interview my grandmother, as my father warned me that she had a very painful childhood and didn't like to talk about her family at all. I didn't get far and life went on, but seven years later I was pregnant with my first child and decided it might be worth giving my father the present of a family history that went a little bit further than just to his great-grandparents. So with my how-to-guide and a beautiful baby boy in arms, I visited my grandmother and asked if she would mind telling me a little bit about her childhood, about any names and birthdates she might remember, and also about her marriage to my grandfather. She told me more information than anyone had ever gotten out of her. She told me about how she was raised by her grandparents and that she thought they were her mother and father. She told me about her real father marrying her mother and then how he left her mother when she was about to deliver her. She told me that she didn't like her name of REAKES, but that she had taken on our family name. She told me of the sadness and the hurt, of the poverty, and of being a frightened child in the Australian outback. Her surname didn't register with me until I checked my book on researching a family tree. The lady who wrote the book had the same surname as my grandmother. This lady turned out to be Janet REAKES, a well-known and respected genealogist in Australia. A quick e-mail bought forth a wonderful response from this lovely lady (who sadly died a few months later -- she was such a generous and loving woman). She sent me reams of information as she had already traced the line back to the 1500s. It is by shear luck and good timing that I now possess our family history. My grandmother has just recently asked me for a copy of her family tree. I hope that she reads it with the same pride that I have when I look at it and that she remembers that a rose by any other name still smells as sweet, despite the journey it may have taken. * * * Etiquette, Editors on Mrs. John Doe By Anne Peterson in Emmett, Idaho, USA When I went to work as a feature writer in 1960 at the Arizona Republic (on the woman's page), it was required to use the man's name if a woman was married or widowed (Mrs. John Doe). The editors and the Amy Vanderbilt Etiquette book were adamant that if a woman was married or widowed (no matter how long ago), we were to use her husband's name. If a woman was divorced, we were to use her given name with the title Mrs. (Mrs. Jane Doe). Even in 1960, some women who had been widowed for many years did not want to be Mrs. John Doe in the engagement or wedding announcement of their son or daughter but wanted it to read as: "the daughter of Mrs. Jane Doe and the late Mr. John Doe." We were relentless in sticking to the book. When I was married in 1963, I took my husband's last name (it was easier for people to spell) but I kept my given name for all uses and seldom used Mrs. When Ms. because common, I checked that on forms but seldom used it otherwise. To the distress of my mother, I felt there was no reason to give up my identity because I was married. She, on the other hand, had refused to use the calling cards that had been a wedding gift in 1937 because they were imprinted with her given name instead of her husband's. Within a few years thankfully, the whole issue became moot. * * * Numerically Speaking By Neal F. Jordan Madeline De Long inquired about the odds of the first three children in a family being born on the same date every other year. To simplify the calculation, let's not worry about the odds of their being born every other year but just assume that is so and then ask about the odds of it being the same month and day. The first child has to be born on some day, so the probability of that is 1, a certainty, as long as we don't specify the date in advance, like insisting that it be the fourth of July. Assuming that any day in the year two years later is equally likely, means that the probability of the same particular day is 1/365 (one out of 365). The odds are 365 to 1 against it. The probability of the third child being born in the year four years later on the day in question is again 1/365. To get the probability of both the second and third children being born on the day in question, multiply the two previous probabilities to get 1/133225. Stated another way, the odds against this happening are 133,225 to 1 against it. If you want to specify the date before any of the children are even thought of, multiply by another 365 to get odds of 48,627,125 to 1 against your prediction coming true. Since Ms. De Long insists it happened, it is likely it did and that other factors are at work, such as the parents habitually having a really good time on New Year's Eve or anniversary of their own choosing. Looking at it another way, though 133,225 to 1 against seem like long odds, they suggest that this ought to happen on average in 1 in every 133,225 families that have three or more children, with the first three having birth years two years apart. Dividing 133,225 into the number of such families in the U.S. suggests that there ought to be several cases in each of our more populous states. One further observation is that had the children been born at only one year intervals the odds against coincident birthdays would have dropped dramatically, since ruling out the first nine months after the first child's birth reduces the number of available days in the next year to the extent that the nine months laps into the next year. By the above reasoning each probability is then 1/N with N likely smaller than 365. The overall odds against are (N times N) to 1, a situation more favorable than 133,225 to 1 against. * * * One Letter Changes Ancestor's Name By Yvonne Cooper in Tannum Sands, Queensland, Australia Twenty-five years ago, I was told our Francis RACE was in Barnsley, Yorkshire, England in 1871. He was born in 1857 in Retford, Nottinghamshire and in later life was known as Frank. I had searched over and over again and could not find him. I searched the 1871 census at Ancestry.com and entered Frank, born about 1857, and living at Barnsley. I checked all the Franks that came up and there he was -- Frank EACE. I then checked the entire England and Wales 1871 census for the surname EACE and found he was the only one. The census image shows the name as EACE, so I can only assume the enumerator made the error copying the sheet to the book. I was also pleased to discover that Ancestry.com has a system where I could submit a correction to his name. Now when anyone searches for Frank EACE or RACE he will appear, at last. 7. Humor/Humour: Surprise! ---------------------------------------------- Thanks to: Tony Jones Several years ago, my mother-in-law ("Mimi") was "celebrating" her 60th birthday. My wife was carefully planning a surprise party to recognize the moment. My son Sheldon, who is quite literal in his approach to life, was nine at the time. Caught up in the excitement of the preparations for the party, but not clear exactly as to what was significant about it, he asked his mother, "What's going on? Why is everyone excited?" His mother replied, "We're going to have a party for Mimi's 60th birthday -- and it's a surprise!" Sheldon responded, "Mimi is going to be 60 and she doesn't know it? * * * Found a "proper name for the job" or humorous sign, amusing entries in census, parish, church, etc. records? Send them to: Editor-RWR@rootsweb.com 8. Subscriptions, Submissions, Advertising, Reprints ----------------------------------------------------- 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/ If you use a spam-filtering program, in order to receive the RootsWeb Review please make sure that you're allowing e-mail from: newsletter@reply.myfamilyinc.com The RootsWeb Review is a free publication of MyFamily.com, Inc., 360 West 4800 North, Provo, UT, 84604 * * * 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. The announcement of books and products is provided as a community service and is not an endorsement in any way. 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 * * * ROOTSWEB REVIEW ADVERTISING CONTACTS. Ad Sales Worldwide: Shana Davis, creative@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: 1 March 2006, Vol. 9, No. 9. * * * *