RootsWeb Review: RootsWeb's Weekly E-zine 10 January 2007, Vol. 10, No. 2 (c) 1998-2007 RootsWeb.com, Inc. http://www.rootsweb.com * * * ROOTSWEB HELPDESK: Check here for announcements: http://helpdesk.rootsweb.com * * * ROOTSWEB REVIEW ARCHIVES: Current and previous editions: http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/review/2007/0110.txt http://e-zine.rootsweb.com ========================================================= IN THIS ISSUE: 1. 1a. Editor's Desk: News and Notes News: MyFamily.com, Inc. Changes Its Name Conference: Baltimore, Maryland 1b. Using RootsWeb: Sharing Its Secrets 2. Connecting Through RootsWeb: Adding Branches to the Family Tree 3. RootsWeb Review's Bottomless Mailbag: Throwing More Light on False Copyright Claims 4. New at RootsWeb 4a. New User-contributed Databases 4b. New/Updated FreePages and HomePages 5. Humor/Humour: Pining for a Porker 6. Subscriptions, Submissions, Advertising, Reprints ======================================================= IN THIS ISSUE: 1a. Editor's Desk: News and Notes NEWS. MyFamily.com, Inc. Changes Its Name. In 2000, MyFamily.com, Inc. acquired RootsWeb.com as one of its network of online sites. Through its support, RootsWeb has been able to remain the largest, completely free, genealogy site on the Web. In December of 2006, MyFamily.com, Inc. announced that it has changed its name to The Generations Network, Inc. "We felt now was a good time to establish a company identity expansive enough to encompass everything that we do, but also completely focused on the family ... across the generations," said Tim Sullivan, the company's President and CEO. The company will continue to serve families online through its portfolio of leading brands and websites. For more information on The Generations Network, visit http://www.thegenerationsnetwork.com. CONFERENCE. Baltimore, Maryland The Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, Maryland is pleased to announce that its annual genealogy program will be held on St. Patrick's Day, Saturday, March 17, 2007 at our Central Library Building, 400 Cathedral St,. in downtown Baltimore. This year's program is entitled "New Frontiers in Genealogy: Genetics and Technology in Family History," and will feature morning and afternoon sessions, with presentations by two nationally known genealogists. In the morning, renowned genealogist Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak will present "Trace Your Roots with DNA," a talk based on her latest book (co-authored with Ann Turner), which has already been featured in Newsweek, The New York Times, on NPR, and in the Book of the Month Club. In the afternoon, Thomas Jay Kemp, genealogist, author, librarian and Director of Genealogy Products at NewsBank, Inc., will speak on "Adding the Details to Your Family Tree." Tom Kemp has served on national and regional library & genealogy boards including as Chair of the ALA Genealogy Committee ALA Genealogy & Local History Discussion Group; ALA History Section; Council of National Library & Information Associations (Washington, DC); Vice President of APG and as Director on the Board of Directors of the FGS. The day's programming will begin at 10:30 a.m. in the Central Library's Wheeler Auditorium and is free of charge. A light lunch will be served. Please call (410) 396-5468 or e-mail mdx@epfl.net for reservations or more information. For directions to the Library, see our website at www.epfl.net. * * * 1b. Using RootsWeb: Sharing Its Secrets Originally published in the RootsWeb Review 27 September 2000, Vol. 8, No. 28. Pssst! Wanna know a s-e-c-r-e-t? In researching our family history, what better secrets can we share than the hidden, or often overlooked, features at RootsWeb that assist us in the exploration of our roots? The common starting points in using RootsWeb's many resources are surname and locality mailing lists and message boards as well as searching WorldConnect family trees. But what additional tools that can be found beyond these resources? RootsWeb offers a wide variety of ethnic mailing lists and message boards, which can teach us about our heritage beyond the basics of names, dates, and places. Ethnic lists and boards enable us to discuss languages and dialects, common migration and immigration patterns of ancestors of a specific ethnic group as well as dialects, customs, culture, and even recipes, legends, and superstitions. Ethnic mailing lists can be found by starting here http://lists.rootsweb.com/ and scrolling down to the Other category. Click on the links to the various ethnic sub-categories. The ethnic message boards can be found here: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec?htx=board&r=rw&p=topics.ethnic Another well-hidden secret at RootsWeb is the fact that ethnic lists and boards, as well as other RootsWeb resources, are not all centered around European groups that immigrated to America. There are message boards and/or mailing lists for Maori, Ainu of Japan, Danube-Swabian German, as well as Cross-Race, Hispanic, Celtic, and Gypsy heritage. The scope is international and only limited by the bounds of your interests and imagination. If you want to brush up on your knowledge of wars and uprisings that influenced the lives of your ancestors, RootsWeb has an international array of military subject message boards: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec?htx=board&r=rw&p=topics.military Military board topics are as diverse as the Boer War, the Austro- Hungarian Military, and the Mexican Revolution. Military mailing lists of equally broad subject matter can be found here: http://lists.rootsweb.com/index/other/Military/ Military history we may have forgotten from school days comes alive when viewed within the context of our ancestors' lives and participation. What role did religion play in the lives of your ancestors? Perhaps religious persecution was a major force behind your ancestors' migration patterns. We can learn all about the role of religion by using the Religion and Religious message boards located here: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec?htx=board&r=rw&p=topics.religious Topics range from Quaker to Jewish, and Shaker to Shinto. And don't forget the wide selection of mailing lists on this topic: http://lists.rootsweb.com/index/other/Religion/ Perhaps your ancestors followed a specific occupation or trade -- or have some family members have been diagnosed with an inherited genetic disease so you would like to explore more about your family's genes and health concerns. See the RootsWeb's Topic message boards and look under the Other category of mailing lists for those of interest to you. Saving the best secret for last, once you have uploaded your family tree to WorldConnect: http://wc.rootsweb.com/ in addition to knowing that the results of your research can now be viewed and searched by others so that your cousins will be able to find you -- you can also rest assured that your complete, unaltered, family tree database will be available for you to download by using the original user code and password -- should you ever need to replace lost data on your own computers. And it happens every day -- computers crash, files become corrupted, and hurricanes, floods, and storms can strike anyone any time. These are but a few secrets to using RootsWeb -- use them to help you overcome your brickwalls. These features are often eclipsed by the more popular, widely touted, surname and locality lists and boards, but success in genealogy often requires exploring the roads less traveled. Side benefits, such as WorldConnect's archiving of your unedited genealogy file, often goes unnoticed and unappreciated -- until disaster strikes. * * * * * * * * * * Advertisements * * * * * * * * * * 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, England, Scotland, Australia, Ireland, Germany, Poland, Russia, Holland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Italy. Prices start from $55 (US). 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Sign up for special ancestry bulletins from VisitBritain and enter to win a fantastic vacation for two people to England and take a journey of discovery. The vacation includes: R/T Air on Delta from Washington DC to London, 10 day trip incl. accommodations and daily breakfast, dinner with the Duchess of Rutland plus one night's accommodation on the exclusive estate, luxury Mercedes rental car and more! Visit us online and enter for your chance to win: http://ancestry.visitbritain.ws/roots * * * * * * * * * * End of Advertisements * * * * * * * * * * 2. Connecting Through RootsWeb: Originally published in the RootsWeb Review 22 May 2002, Vol. 5, No. 21. Adding Branches to the Family Tree By Dennis Killmer dennismk1@earthlink.net When I signed on to RootsWeb.com about three years ago, I never dreamed how big my family was going to get. I was not adopted, but I was not raised by my birth mother. I was on RootsWeb.com searching for the name that I had gathered from my birth certificate and memory as a kid. I posted some queries and got some replies and people were helpful, one in particular. It turns out he was my cousin, and he contacted his mother (who was my mother's sister), and it all began. I had been e-mailing this person for about six months before we even know we were cousins. It's a happy story. I traveled to New Jersey and met my birth mother after forty-three years, plus I found an aunt, uncle, sister, brother, and seven cousins, and we are now up to seven second cousins. So, now thanks to RootsWeb, I have another whole family. This is the really, really short story about this. I just want to give thanks to all that helped me find a family I didn't even know that I had. I hear stories like this all the time, but I think the length of separation in this story, forty three years, is what makes it different. Thank you, RootsWeb for being there, and helping me find the other branches of my family. * * * 3. 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]. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Originally published in the RootsWeb Review 29 March 2006, Vol. 9, No. 13. Throwing More Light on False Copyright Claims By James F. Ramaley, Ph.D. (jramaley@hotmail.com) In "Examining False Copyright Claims" (RootsWeb Review 30 Nov 2005), I urged the genealogical community to avoid the practice of placing copyright notices on works that are not eligible for copyright. See: http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/review/2005/1130.txt Reader comments and questions to that article fell into three categories: 1. Exactly what is copyrightable in genealogy? 2. How can a person protect against further copying of his or her work (copyrightable or not)? and 3. What is the harm in inserting a copyright notice even if the work is not copyrightable? Before commenting on these points, let me call attention to one of the most readable (and thin! -- just 58 pages) books that covers general U.S. copyright: It's "101 Questions about Copyright Law," by Andrew Alpern, (Dover Publishing, 1999). Although I got my copy at the Library of Congress bookstore, the paperback is widely available at a price of less than $5. Alpern is an architect and architectural historian who is also a practicing attorney in New York, specializing in intellectual property law. His book should be required reading for anyone who wishes to, or needs to, understand copyright. Now to No. 1 point. It is important to restate the primary reason for copyright -- to spread knowledge. Copyright does this by protecting for an author the financial benefits that might be gained by copying his or her creative works for a limited period. The absolutely key criteria for any work to be copyrightable is that it must be ORIGINAL and CREATIVE. Original means original with the author -- don't expect to copyright something that you have discovered and copied or heard from another party. Also, facts -- such as birth, marriage, or death dates -- are never original and are usually given as prime examples of non- copyrightable material. Creative is more than a flowery description of facts. We recognize creativity in a new play or a new song but when we try to make our family histories more interesting by simply changing paragraph structure or by using various phrasing for "he died in 1839" we are not being creative -- in the legal sense. In genealogy, most citations are to works that are in the public domain such as the factual material in an obituary or in a church registry. Such data is not subject to copyright and so only the CREATIVE text that is original with the author is copyrightable. However, if you are preparing the "Definitive History of My Perfect Family in America", the entire book -- as a whole -- is copyrightable even if many of the citations and facts therein aren't. This means that you can't prevent people from copying any of the noncopyrightable material therein, but they can't (legally) copy or reprint your ENTIRE work without your explicit permission. Since most amateur genealogists are usually interested in just getting the facts of their ancestry correct and sharing this information with other people researching their direct and/or connecting lines, this may be enough on the first point. For more on what is copyrightable, please see Alpern's book. Point No. 2. Many who contacted me did so because they had had an unpleasant experience in which large sections of some genealogical work of theirs had been copied off their website, etc. and incorporated into someone else's genealogy -- without even the courtesy of an acknowledge- ment. They felt that the hard work they had done in assembling their history was unfairly taken and used by an uncaring cousin. This is all too common. We amateur genealogists are driven neither by a profit motive nor did we start our hobby with a goal of becoming famous as a family historian. Generally we began our study to learn more about our ancestors' lives and to share this knowledge with others. But we are only human and become upset when our work and efforts are slighted. This upset is probably magnified in genealogy because our study of ancestors leads us to appreciate the legacy we have been given. We are quite willing to share with a newly found cousin, but if that person re-copies the facts we worked so hard to discover and fails to mention our help, we become irritated. Ironically, a cause of the copier's failure to cite sources may stem from an implied threat of suing for "copyright infringement." Perhaps we would get better results if we replace the (usually false) copyright notice with something like: "You may use all data on this website but remember that genealogical work is always subject to revision. If you copy some of my material, your readers will appreciate a citation to my site so that they may see if my data has been updated." (And, of course, the "golden rule" of source citation requires that you cite your sources as you would have others cite you.) Assembling the facts that go into a family history is not usually a creative act in the view of copyright law. It does represent many hours of hard work and expense in visiting courthouses, copying census records, or analyzing conflicting "facts." This effort should be appreciated and acknowledged, but hard work and money spent do not necessary result in something that becomes protectable intellectual property. If you rely on copyright to correct bad manners (or ignorance about citations) you are certain to be disappointed. I was also told of instances where a local genealogical or historical society assembled public domain material (cemetery readings in one case), adding nothing original but a foreword, and placed the copyright symbol on the first page to "protect" it. This is risky as a fund-raiser because someone could come along and put up the same (public domain) information for free. If a society wishes to provide such information as a service to members and attaches a reasonable fee that recovers the cost of the materials, plus a small bonus for the society's treasury, fine. But don't set an exorbitant price hoping to get rich with such an item -- and don't make false copyright claims about it. It is possible that you could try to prevent further copying of your genealogy by inserting a "terms of use" notice for your work where you prohibit any user from redistributing the material to others. But this seems counter to the spirit of amateur genealogy. If you really don't want others to share in your discoveries, perhaps you should reconsider why you are even publishing anything. The bottom line is that if you have published or deposited in a public library some family history (or shared that information or GEDCOMs with anyone), it will certainly be copied and you will not be able to prevent that by a copyright claim. Since most genealogists are interested in having their family notes found and used by others, depositing and sharing genealogical work is good. But don't expect to be able to control further use or misuse of your work. Point No. 3. Question 111 (p. 56) of Alpern's book discusses the "intersection of copyright law and criminal law." I quote from his answer (with his permission): "At the lesser level of a violation, the copyright law provides that falsely representing a material fact in a copyright application or other written statement filed in connection with an application carries a fine of up $2,500. A maximum fine in the same amount may be imposed on one who fraudulently removes or alters a copyright notice on a copyrighted work, or who fraudulently places a copyright notice on an item, or who fraudulently distributes -- or imports with intent to distribute -- an item with a copyright notice on it that the person knows to be false." In other words, falsely asserting a copyright is also a violation of the law. I want to stress the value of registering material that you believe to be copyrightable. Since registration with the copyright office is no longer required in order to obtain some of the benefits of copyright, many people just put a copyright symbol on their work and forget about it. However the law specifically requires that a copyright must be registered before an infringement suit can even be initiated. Moreover, attorney fees and other damages can be recovered in an infringement suit only if the alleged infringement occurred AFTER the work has been registered -- a very valuable incentive for registration. If you have not registered your copyright and send a "cease and desist" letter to an alleged infringer, you are likely to get a letter back that says, in effect, "I will be glad to stop the alleged infringement if you will please provide proof of ownership and of registration." Registration costs only $30 and instructions are available at http://www.copyright.gov/ [Editor's Note: Prevent misunderstandings by citing your sources properly and acknowledge specifically the work of others (not a "thanks to everyone in the world" note). If you find information about your elusive JOHNSON family at WorldConnect, for example, posted by Mary SMITH, remember that her sources are NOT your sources. Don't claim to have found the information in the Johnson Family Bible (that she cites) if you haven't seen it. See "Creating Worthwhile Genealogies for our Families and Descendants" http://rwguide.rootsweb.com/lesson12.htm Doing genealogy "just for fun"? Why should you go to the bother of recording and citing your sources of information? Well, would you create a shoddily made quilt or dollhouse for your granddaughter? Of course not. Then why would you create a scruffy family tree for her?] * * * 4. New at RootsWeb 4a. 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. No new user-contributed databases. * * * 4b. 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 * * * HODGES. Hodges Family Association Newsletter. http://www.hodgesfamilyassociation.com/ OUR MATERNAL AND PATERNAL ANCESTORS: 300 YEARS OF HISTORY IN AMERICA.Features three separate family sub-sites as follows: (1) DELLINGER, KNECHT, PFEFFER, SILAR and allied families; (2) BOZARTH, PEIFFER, QUIGLEY, RHUBART and allied families; (3) MORELAND, MCVICKER, PINNELL, SCRUGGS and allied families. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~tqpeiffer/ A catalogue of the names of the first Puritan settlers of the colony of Connecticut; with the time of their arrival in the colony and their standing in society, together with their place of residence, as far as can be discovered by the records. &c collected from the state and town records. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~jdevlin * * * To Request a Free Web Account: http://accounts.rootsweb.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------- Some of these Web pages 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. arclewis -- City of Lewisburg (Arkansas) flgsoc -- Genealogy Society of Okaloosa County (Florida) gamacon3 -- Macon County (Georgia) AHGP ilslrhm -- Shabbona-Lee-Rollo Historical Museum (Illinois) ingibso2 -- Gibson County (Indiana) ALHN kyrrhsm -- Red River Historical Society & Museum (Kentucky) macrowle -- City of Rowley (Massachusetts) macmelro -- City of Melrose (Massachusetts) macnatic -- City of Natick(Massachusetts) misbcudc -- Stars & Bars (Michigan) Chapter UDC txcvan -- City of Van (Texas) ohathen2 -- Athens County (Ohio) AHGP ohcuyah3 -- Cuyahoga County (Ohio) AHGP ohmeigs2 -- Meigs County (Ohio) AHGPvaschs2 -- Scott County Historical Society (Virginia) scdac -- Daughters of the American Colonists (South Carolina) CANADA cancemet -- CandaGenWeb Cemeteries cancwhit -- City of Whitehead (Canada) AUSTRALIA ausholro -- Holroyd District (Australia) * * * New Mailing Lists at RootsWeb Request a New Mailing List: http://resources.rootsweb.com/adopt/ ----------------------------------------------------------------- For information and an index to the more than 30,000 RootsWeb-hosted genealogy Mailing Lists and for easy subscribing (joining) options go to: http://lists.rootsweb.com/ NEW SURNAME MAILING LISTS No new Surname Mailing lists NEW REGIONAL MAILING LISTS No new Regional Mailing lists NEW ETHNIC AND SPECIAL INTEREST MAILING LISTS No new Ethnic or Special Interest Mailing lists * * * 5. Humor/Humour: -------------------------------------- Thanks to Nancy Lambert I've been reading a local history about Eugene Township (Indiana) by Harold L. O'Donnell, which was published in 1963. In one chapter he mentions the Chicago and Eastern Illinois (C&EI) Railroad coming to town, and he discusses the danger it was to livestock. "Livestock in the early day were a constant source of trouble between the railroads and the farmers. Stock would be killed and it was, of course, always the fault of the railroads. In one case a farmer had a hog killed by a train and since he believed himself to have some ability as a poet, wrote the railroad claim agent as follows: My razorback strolled down your track, A week ago today. Your #29 came down the line, And snuffed his life away. You can't blame me; the hog you see, Slipped through a cattle gate; So kindly pen a check for ten, The debt to liquidate. He was surprised a few days later to receive the following: Old #29 came down the line, And killed your hog, we know; But razorbacks on railroad tracks, Quite often meet with woe. Therefore, my friend, we cannot send, The check for which you pine, Just plant the dead; place o'er his head; 'Here lies a foolish swine.' " * * * Found a funny or "proper name for the job" in old records or an amusing entry in census, parish, church, etc. records? Send them to: Editor-RWR@rootsweb.com 6. 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: rootswebreview@email.rootsweb.com The RootsWeb Review is a free publication of The Generations Network, 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: 10 January 2007, Vol. 10, No. 2. * * * *