RootsWeb Review: RootsWeb's Weekly E-zine 18 October 2006, Vol. 9, No. 42 (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/ * * * ROOTSWEB REVIEW ARCHIVES: Current and previous editions: http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/review/2006/1018.txt http://e-zine.rootsweb.com/ ========================================================= IN THIS ISSUE: 1. 1a. EDITOR'S DESK: NEWS, NOTES, AND SOME SITES WORTH SEEING NEWS: Updating Your Accounts at RootsWeb BOOK NOTES: North-east Victoria, Australia SITES: British DocumentsOnline; American Nicknames; Behind the Name; 1883 German Empire Atlas 1b. Tips from Readers: Beware of Relatives Hiding the Truth 1c. Using RootsWeb: Outfoxing Aunt Harriet 2. Connecting Through RootsWeb: Kind Step-cousin Saves the Genealogy Finding Family Online 3. New User-contributed Databases 4. New/Updated FreePages and HomePages 5. New at RootsWeb 6. RootsWeb Review's Bottomless Mailbag: Transcribers Turn Son into Sister Another Look at Naming Patterns Redundancy in Locality Names Obfuscating Family History with False Obituaries Being Perfectly Clear Hunting Hannah in a Maine Cemetery My Ancestor Spelled His Name -- How? 7. Humor/Humour: Burying the Relatives 8. Subscriptions, Submissions, Advertising, Reprints ======================================================= IN THIS ISSUE: 1a. EDITOR'S DESK: NEWS, NOTES; SOME SITES WORTH SEEING NEWS: Updating Your Accounts at RootsWeb It is important that you maintain the correct address on your RootsWeb Web accounts. The HelpDesk will only give out account information to the address of record. If you forget to keep it updated, then you will need to e-mail accounts@rootsweb.com first to get that corrected. In the case of societies where more than one person may be involved, the president of the society may request a change of address on the account. See: http://helpdesk.rootsweb.com/addresses/ Societies should be exceedingly careful about sharing their passwords. It is crucial that you (the webmaster) keep a backup of all your files on your computer (and also on a backup disk). While RootsWeb might be able to restore a file, it probably will not be the most recent and thus you will lose any changes you made since that backup was created. * * * BOOK NOTES: North-east Victoria, Australia Chris Wild, of Wodonga, and Denise McMahon, of Brisbane, have combined efforts and produced a small book -- "Old News Today, Tales of the Upper Murray." It is aimed at family researchers, historical or family groups, local historians and readers of general history books of the north-east area of Victoria, Australia. The book contains newspaper snippets from random years of 1876-1900, with news, gossip, business and family matters in areas such as Tallangatta Valley, Mitta, Eskdale, Upper Murray, Khancoban, Tumbarumba, etc. as reported in the Ovens & Murray Advertiser and the Corryong Courier during those 25 years. This softcover book (144 pages) is indexed with more than 950 surnames. It retails at AUS $22 (plus pph). Contact the authors by e-mail (denisem@powerup.com.au or wildmob@dodo.com.au). Only a limited number is still available. * * * SOME SITES WORTH SEEING: DocumentsOnline at the British National Archives Search the Domesday Book (with modern English translations) and service registers of more than 500,000 Royal Naval seamen. http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline/ 18th- and 19th-century American Nicknames http://www.cslib.org/nickname.htm Behind the Name (etymology and history of first names) http://www.behindthename.com/ 1883 Atlas of the German Empire http://www.library.wisc.edu/etext/ravenstein/ * * * 1b. TIPS FROM READERS: Beware of Relatives Hiding the Truth By Marie Lefebvre in Bedford, Texas, USA Talking to living relatives is always a great way to get information. I have obtained most of my date information for the first two generations from family members. That part is easy. I knew when my folks were married and all the birthdates of my siblings, my cousins gave me the marriage dates of their parents and their birth dates. My one roadblock was getting to my maternal grandparents' wedding date. Had my dad's side but couldn't find my mom's side. Asked all my living aunts and uncles -- but they had "no idea" or "we didn't ask about those things." Or the old "I forgot" excuse. Now I can trace my family back about 400 years so this seemed a bit strange to me. I was getting a bit miffed -- who wants to pay for a certificate when living relatives know the information. When all else failed I went to the city courthouse. I asked about the wedding date of my grandparents, gave them all the information I had, maiden names and approximate date. My mother was the eldest in the family and was born early in 1907 so I assumed the marriage date was in 1906. The city clerk notified me that no one by that name was married in 1906. So I tried 1905, 1904, and 1903 but by that time my grandmother would have been only 16 years old. I could not imagine where or when they could have married. I knew my grandmother -- she was a stiff and proper lady. I could never imagine her being anything but very cold and so having nine children was amazing (to me). Then I received an e-mail from the city clerk. She was as stumped as I and decided to go "Sam Spade" on me. She found the marriage certificate. My grandparents were not married in the French church and they were not married in 1906. It seems that my aunts and uncles thought they were "protecting" me and my family. My mother -- God rest her soul -- was born 34 days after my grandparents were wed. They were married in the Polish church (evidently so no one would be wiser?). Hmmmm -- small community -- married in Polish church to avoid detection -- I guess it didn't occur to them that having a baby a month later would be a bit obvious? My siblings and I had a great laugh over it. So even though you should speak to relatives -- don't take anything at face value. Check and recheck dates and places. You just never know what skeletons are hiding in the closet. * * * 1c. USING ROOTSWEB: Outfoxing Aunt Harriet When you upload a new or updated family tree to RootsWeb's WorldConnect (http://wc.rootsweb.com/) there is a little-known feature built into the program that could prove very useful to you. That feature is the lag period during which your tree is directly accessible from the link provided to you upon completion of uploading your tree; but the tree isn't yet searchable by the general public (and your nosy Aunt Harriet) until the search engine is updated -- approximately 24-36 hours after your tree is uploaded/updated. This means you have time to browse through your file making sure that all entries are displaying exactly as you intended them to show up. No matter how careful you are in preparing your tree some display issues you hadn't planned on showing could slip through. This lag period allows you to check that living person data has been properly filtered and isn't including the fact that Aunt Harriet was married at age 16 when she lied about her age and ran off with a circus clown. WorldConnect's living filters identify those individuals that your GEDCOM information has tagged as having been born after the default WorldConnect cut-off date (or the cut-off year you have selected on the Advanced Set-up page), and for whom no death field information is included in the file. Those individuals will be listed as LIVING plus their surname (LIVING HECKENDORFER, for example) with no additional details displayed. Uh oh! Just as you feared. Aunt Harriet HECKENDORFER is showing up in your file with full details about her when you click on her name in the index. What did you do wrong? How can you fix the error quickly before some busybody finds this and learns the family secret about your eccentric aunt and the circus clown? The default WorldConnect cut-off year is 1930 for displaying information about living persons. However, in view of Aunt Harriet's longevity (she's 86 years old and going strong) you probably will want to go to the Advanced Set-up Page (using your original user name and password) where you can change the cut-off year to reflect that Harriet is still living: http://wc.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igmuser.cgi The solution is pretty easy and can be done quickly. You do not need to upload a new GEDCOM or change anything in your file to make this adjustment in the display options on the Set-up Page. Just change the cut-off year in item 24 of the Advanced Set-up Page. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click on Upload/Update -- then wait while your existing GEDCOM is reprocessed reflecting the change in display options. When changing WorldConnect options only, and not uploading a new GEDCOM, be sure to leave the "location of GEDCOM" item on the Advanced Set-up Page blank. That tells WorldConnect that you are reprocessing an existing GEDCOM -- not uploading a new or revised file. Changing the cut-off year will result in the change affecting every entry in your file for those born after your selected cut-off year and not just Aunt Harriet. However, if you wish to filter only her data and no one else's, there is an alternate means of doing this. To accomplish a change only for Aunt Harriet, ascertain her ID (identification) number. This number is on her individual entry page in your WorldConnect database. Each individual has his/her own ID number. These ID numbers begins with a capital I (not the number one) followed by a series of unique numbers for that specific file, such as I426. Type Aunt Harriet's ID number--I426--into the box, if you want to remove her entry completely from being displayed in your WorldConnect file. Now if you type in I426,R* (note the asterisk) Aunt Harriet and all of her descendants will be removed from display. Typing in I426,L marks her as LIVING in your file while I426,L* (note the asterisk) marks her descendants as LIVING -- regardless of their real status. Remember that removing Harriet from display in your WorldConnect file means that she does not show up at all, while marking her as LIVING means that her entry will be displayed only as LIVING HECKENDORFER and nothing more. So, the next time you upload a new or revised family tree to World- Connect make the most of the lag time before your new file becomes searchable to go over all entries with a fine-tooth comb to ensure that everything is being displayed (or not displayed) as you intend. In this way everyone, including Aunt Harriet, will be pleased with your "discretion" in sharing your family history while maintaining the privacy of living family members. * * * * * * * * * * Advertisement * * * * * * * * * * REQUEST A SEARCH FOR YOUR ANCESTORS AT THE FAMILY HISTORY LIBRARY ANCESTOR SEEKERS researchers at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City will search this vast collection for your ancestors from the USA, Canada, Australia, Ireland, Germany, Poland, Russia, Holland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Italy. If you commission the work (there's no obligation to do that!) prices start from $55 (US). For a FREE! initial e-mail consultation visit http://www.ancestorseekers.com/research/rwr/ For help in finding ancestors from England or Scotland request a FREE e-mail assessment from http://www.britishancestors.com/ or join us FEBRUARY 18-23 for our Seventh Salt Lake City Research Trip -- the ideal genealogy vacation! * * * * * * * * * * End of Advertisement * * * * * * * * * * 2. CONNECTING THROUGH ROOTSWEB: Kind Step-cousin Saves the Genealogy By Karen Laird Olson My father was 10 years old when his mother passed. His father sent him away to live with anyone who would care for him, so my father never really knew much about his mother's side of the family. When I started doing my research, my paternal grandmother was a mystery to me. All I had was her first and last names, her approximate age at her time of death and a possibility as to where she was born. I went to a message board and listed just the few things I knew about her, and let me tell you, they were just a few. In a matter of weeks I received an e-mail from a woman who told me that her 2-great-grandfather (a widower with children) had married my 2-great-grandmother, Elizabeth (a widow with children), and together they had one child before Elizabeth passed away. In the little time she actually spent with her stepchildren she made a huge impact. When one of her stepdaughters started doing genealogy research, she also started researching Elizabeth's family. All the information she collected was passed from one family member to the next until it came into the hands of my "cousin" (who answered my message board post). She told me that numerous times she had thought of tossing the information since the majority of it didn't pertain to her family. But each time she was ready to toss it she said something in her told her that at some point one of Lizzie's grandchildren was going to want this information. I have not only spoken to my new "cousin," but she has sent me a huge box of all kinds of information along with pictures. It was wonderful to finally know about this part of my family and even better to have met such a kind and caring woman as my new "cousin." * * * Finding Family Online By Betty Boot My cousin, Lionel REPPE, found me on the Internet by a query I had put up on my family. It has opened the family information beyond the grand- parents to me, as he is nearly the youngest relative of my great- grandparents. His mother had the family Bible, records and picture! It has been so wonderful to find all of them. * * * What's your story? 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/ ---------------------------------------------- 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. FLORIDA. Brevard County. Florida Today 1973 newspaper obituaries; 1,655 records; Dee Swink for the Brevard County Genealogical Society http://userdb.rootsweb.com/obituaries/ MINNESOTA, Brown County. Sleepy Eye. 1912 Sleepy Eye High School graduates; 17 records; Carrie White http://userdb.rootsweb.com/alumni/ * * * SHARING OPPORTUNITY. Does your alma mater, old military unit, newspapers, church, parish, province, county or state have material available that you think would be of interest to genealogists? 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 * * * If your genealogical or historical related site is located somewhere other than at RootsWeb.com, you can add the link here: http://resources.rootsweb.com/~rootslink/addlink.html * * * METCALF. Metcalfs in America. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~metcalfsinamerica/ SCARRITT of Connecticut. Descendants recently added include surnames of PLUMB, WIARD, GRIGGS, BEACH, BARKER, SLOCUM, MUZZY, ROWE, ROBINSON, FISHER, BURR, LYON, and REYNOLDS. These families started in Branford, Wolcott, and Wallingford (Connecticut) and spread to Bristol, Plymouth, and New Haven (Connecticut) and to several other states. http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~dlddvm/ * * * 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/~xxxxxx[accountname] U.S.A. azoccdar -- Oak Creek (Arizona) Chapter DAR dccsdiw -- Continental Society (District of Columbia) DIW ilperry2 -- Perry County (Illinois) ilwchs2 -- Williamson County Historical Society (Illinois) macswamp -- Swampscott City (Massachusetts) ndmrlgs -- Mouse River Loop Genealogical Society (North Dakota) njwcdar -- Westfield (New Jersey) Chapter DAR KEY: DAR -- Daughters of the American Revolution DIW -- Daughters of Indian Wars * * * 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 29,800 RootsWeb-hosted genealogy Mailing Lists and for easy subscribing (joining) options go to: http://lists.rootsweb.com/ No new mailing lists this week. 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]. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Transcribers Turn Son into Sister By Charles I. Davis in Eureka, California, USA I don't know if this problem has been addressed before, but after finding another error in the Familysearch.org version of the 1880 census, I wrote to them asking if there was any way to correct it. I was told that there is no way to correct errors in the transcription. This is a shame, because in this case it resulted in a child being left out of a family. The Familysearch.org 1880 census for Downsville, Washington, Maryland (FHL Film No. 1254517) shows the family of John SPRANKLE, age 59, with his wife, four sons, one daughter, and a 12-year-old sister -- Marchal L. SPRANKLE. I went to Ancestry.com and checked the original 1880 census. The original lists "Marchal L. SPRANKLE as a male, a son, age 12. The person I was helping with this family had left this child out because she thought Marchal was a sister. It makes me think twice about accepting the transcribed 1880 records on Familysearch.org. [Editor's note: Another example of why you should never rely on indexes or transcribed records -- especially when you have access to the original (or microfilmed or digitized) records and can read them for yourself]. * * * Another Look at Naming Patterns By Kathie Kloss Marynik in Granite Bay, California, USA In response to the "Assuming Relationships" article re the use of Junior and Senior in names, my great-great-grandfather, James CROSLEY, had a different idea for their use. His first two sons, James Woodward CROSLEY and Abraham Hughes CROSLEY, died as toddlers. Later sons were given the same exact names as the first two sons. In the family Bible, James added the notation "Sr." to the first two boys' names, and "Jr." to the other two boys' names. * * * Redundancy in Locality Names By Alan Stoner In last week's RootsWeb Review Mark Andrew noted that Yorkshire is the correct name and not York County. It may help to note that usage when referring to UK Counties is more akin to that for US states than for US counties. I've lived in North Carolina or the "state of North Carolina" but not in North Carolina State. The latter seems to be used adjectivally as in North Carolina State University. The same is true (of most) English counties. Sussex is normal usage, "county of Sussex" unexceptionable, but "Sussex County" is again used only in forms such as Sussex County Council or Sussex County Cricket Club, and not on its own. * * * Obfuscating Family History with False Obituaries By Juanita Diggs I know in my family some incorrect information was deliberately placed in obituary notices. My mother was seven years older than my father. When my father died at age 78, she was 85 years old, but did not want people to think that she had "robbed the cradle" so she made my father the same age as herself. Then when my son was killed while in the Navy, the husband that I had been legally separated from for over 15 years, did not want people to know that I had left him, so in my son's obituary he put me as living with him -- and my other minor children, as if they were living alone in another state. Remember that obituaries are a secondary source and sometimes are works of fiction. * * * Being Perfectly Clear By Jim Lancaster in Bury, Lancs. (that's somewhere in UK -- we think) In last week's RootsWeb Review, there is further correspondence about the need for care in writing and for understanding that what you write may not make the sense you understand to a reader in another "culture." I have my own preferred form but that is less important than clarity. I would support the use of letters for the month when writing dates. Most of us know about 9/11, but the equivalent English event, the plot to blow up the Houses of Parliament by Guy Fawkes, commemorated on 5th November, would be recorded in numbers in England as 5/11, very similar but very different! The other point that has been raised refers to the geographical terms that change meaning across countries and, perhaps more difficult, change meaning with time in the same place. For English terms there are two very useful sites covering this topic http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/types/index.jsp http://homepages.nildram.co.uk/~jimella/counties.htm These do not cover exactly the same group of terms and you may need to look at both to find what you are seeking. * * * Hunting Hannah in a Maine Cemetery By Eileen G. Pelletier I'm trying to take photos of all my ancestors' graves, but one 2-great- grandmother evaded me. She was a Civil War widow, I found in the 1880 census that she was living in Lewiston, Maine and a relative sent me information that she died there in 1890. I did not check there as I presumed she was taken back to where she had lived before her husband had enlisted in the army, I went there and found lots of his relatives, parents, etc., but no Hannah. There is a large beautiful cemetery in Lewiston called Riverside -- not far from where she lived, but no records of older graves were available so went through it two times. Nothing. On the third visit as we were traveling along I spied another family name, which was not hers, but I was just curious. My husband stopped the car. I got out and proceeded to walk to this other plot when I glanced to my left and there was Hannah's grave -- plus those of four of her daughters. Her husband's name was on the stone, although he is not there being most likely buried in a common grave in North Carolina. The stone we had stopped for wasn't a relative, but it led me to Hannah. * * * My Ancestor Spelled His Name -- How? By Cheri Astrahan in Los Alamitos, California, USA I read with interest the article about surname spelling problems. In my own family research it has been interesting. My great-grandfather came to the USA in 1881 under the name of Anders GUSTAFSON. He changed his name to Andrew SNORIN. What it means exactly I don't know, but a grandaunt thought it had something to do with a noose or buttons. My great-grandfather had six children by his first wife including two sons. The oldest son spelled that last name as SNOREN. The younger son spelled it SNOREEN. When his first wife died, he married again and had umpteen children but only three sons. One son used SNORIN. Another used SNORINE, which my grandfather used, EXCEPT when he served in World War I and is in the Veterans Administration records as SNORENE. So, how is that for a interesting situation where male siblings spell the invented surname five different ways? [Editor's Note: In legalese this is called Idem Sonans. For more adventures in the whacky world of spelling see the RootsWeb Guide, "Why You Can't Find Them" at http://www.rootsweb.com/~rwguide/lesson8.htm] 7. Humor/Humour: Burying the Relatives ---------------------------------------------- Thanks to: Lynn Gray in Nashville, Tennessee, USA Our family had experienced several deaths in one year and when the next death came I called my uncle who lived out of state to let him know I had gone to the funeral. His response was, "These funerals are killing me." * * * 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 and please include your full name and e-mail address in the text. * * * 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: 18 October 2006, Vol. 9, No. 42. * * * *