RootsWeb Review: RootsWeb's Weekly E-zine 28 February 2007, Vol. 10, No. 9 (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/2007/0228.txt http://e-zine.rootsweb.com/ ============================================================== IN THIS ISSUE: 1. Editor's Desk: News and Notes 1a. Conferences (2) 1b. Book Notices (2) 1c. Using RootsWeb: The RootsWeb Masthead: Hiding in Plain Sight 2. Connecting Through RootsWeb: Exchanging Photos and Stories 3. Bottomless Mailbag: Re: "Using Acid-Free Paper" Re: "Locating Information about Your Veteran" (4) 4. New at RootsWeb 4a. New User-contributed Databases 4b. New/Updated Freepages and Homepages by Individuals 4c. New/Updated Freepages and Homepages by Counties, States, and Genealogical/Historical Societies 4d. New Mailing Lists 5. Humor/Humour: Strange Last Names 6. Subscriptions, Submissions, Advertising, Reprints ============================================================== IN THIS ISSUE: 1. Editor's Desk: News and Notes 1a. Conferences (2) GERMAN CONFERENCE HOSTED BY THE IOWA GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY 29-30 June 2007 The German Interest Group of the Iowa Genealogical Society will hold their fifteenth annual German Conference Saturday 30 June 2007 at the Des Moines Botanical Center. The speaker will be Ernest Thode, author of the popular "German-English Genealogical Dictionary." There will be a session at the IGS Library Friday evening, 29 June, titled, "Coping with German Border Changes and the Importance of Dates." This session is free and open to the public. For more information e-mail cmitsch@ix.netcom.com. * * * SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY FAMILY HISTORY WRITERS CONFERENCE 20 June 2007 The Southern California Genealogical Society is dedicating an entire day of its annual three-day jamboree to family history writing. The keynote speaker is writer Carolyn See, who will discuss how to handle family secrets with discretion, honesty, and sometimes humor. Other writers include Linda Lawrence Hunt, author of "Bold Spirit"; Thomas Curwen, editor-at-large at the "Los Angeles Times"; Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak, official family historian for Ancestry.com; and others. Discounts are available for early registration (before 1 April) and for SCGS members. For more information visit their website at www.scgsgenealogy.com or call (818) 843-7247. 1b. Book Notices (2) MURRAY'S CITY DIRECTORY FOR LOUISVILLE/JEFFERSON COUNTY, KENTUCKY, FOR THE YEAR 1820 Compiled by SSG Alan D. Murray This book begins with a brief sketch of Jefferson County, Kentucky, followed by a small listing of persons from Bullit and Shelby counties in Kentucky, and New Albany and Jeffersonville counties in Indiana. The bulk of the work consists of directory information about individuals living in Jefferson County, gathered from more than twenty different original sources. Directory information is given for businesses, churches, schools and libraries, newspapers, banks, the Militia Company, and the Masonic lodge. Also includes a list of Revolutionary War veterans, a partial cemetery listing, and more. The book may be obtained in soft copy, library hardbound format, or CD- ROM, and varies in cost from $28.00 to $88.00, depending on the format. For more information or to order contact: The Gregath Publishing Company PO BOX 505 Wyandotte, OK 74370 (918) 542-4148 http://www.gregathcompany.com * * * SOPHIE By Mary Sunderlage This book, to be released by Tate Publishing on 10 April 2007, is the story of the author's grandmother, Sophie NELSON FULKERSON, from Wisconsin. Sophie married John Will FULKERSON from Illinois. They homesteaded in North Dakota in 1896, where John died in a blizzard. The book tells about the life of Sophie and her four young boys after John's death. Also discusses their later homesteading in Canada. The research took the author to Idaho and Wyoming to connect with Sophie's sister's family, by the name of VERHEI. $17.99 plus s/h For more information contact Mary Sunderlage at giantrock6@yahoo.com. 1c. Using RootsWeb: The RootsWeb Masthead: Hiding in Plain Sight By Joan Young We've all heard someone in our family ask, "Now where'd I put my glasses?" only to have us remind them that their glasses were sitting on their forehead in plain sight. "If they were a snake, they'd have bitten you," we most likely told them. Well, the most frequently used features at RootsWeb are also hiding in plain sight and we need only to "look up"--to the top of the page--to find them. These features are the tabs on the RootsWeb masthead, located at the top of every RootsWeb page. They provide convenient links marked Home, Searches, Family Trees, Mailing Lists, Message Boards, Web Sites, Passwords, and Help. The RootsWeb masthead not only gives us a sense of bearing in letting us know we are, indeed, on a RootsWeb site, but it also provides us with an important navigational tool to find our way around RootsWeb to other resources on the site that we might want to use. Think of the RootsWeb masthead as a compass. The Home tab always returns us to the RootsWeb homepage, no matter how far from "home" we might have strayed. The Searches tab takes us to a page of links to the various searchable databases and records tucked away in every nook and cranny at RootsWeb. The Family Trees tab deposits us on the main WorldConnect page where we can either search the combined WorldConnect/Ancestry World Tree database or upload our own GEDCOM to be added to the master database. The Mailing Lists tab takes us to the lists homepage from which we can search or browse a list of our choice. The Message Boards tab takes us to the main entry page for the RootsWeb/Ancestry message boards. The Web Sites tab leads us to a vast array of RootsWeb hosted pages including privately owned and maintained pages from volunteer organizations and individuals who each contribute to making RootsWeb the valuable overall genealogical resource it is today. The Passwords tab takes us to Password Central, which isn't just for passwords but also for retrieving information about forgotten or lost usernames and account information, including mailing lists you subscribe to or administer. Last but not least, the Help tab leads us to the HelpDesk main page, which is also the entry point to the various RootsWeb help pages and FAQs, not to mention the yellow announcements section that lets us all know about any problems or newsworthy items that have an effect on our use of RootsWeb. A link from this page enables us to contact the RootsWeb HelpDesk if we don't find the answer to our question or problem on the main HelpDesk page or within the help links and FAQs. There is also something relatively new to notice when you look up at the RootsWeb masthead--a new link that says "Welcome to RootsWeb.com Sign in," located just above the tabs in the upper, right-hand corner. The words "Sign in" provide the link that takes us to the new RootsWeb My Account page (https://myaccount.rootsweb.com) where we can register and log in to keep track of all of our RootsWeb resources, including lists we administer, message boards, websites, GEDCOMs, and Post-em Notes--all of our personal RootsWeb resources. So, when you are clicking around the various pages at RootsWeb, don't forget to look up--up to the top of the page at the RootsWeb masthead. It is your center of navigation, the compass to help you find your way around everything at RootsWeb. If it was a snake, it would have bitten you! * * * * * * * * * * 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 (U.S.). For a FREE! initial e-mail consultation visit http://www.ancestorseekers.com/research.rwr/ Or join us JUNE 24-29 at our EIGHTH SALT LAKE CITY RESEARCH TRIP-- THE IDEAL GENEALOGY VACATION--a whole week at the Family History Library, accessing the world's largest collection of genealogical records with help and advice from accredited genealogist professionals. * * * * * * * * * * End of Advertisements * * * * * * * 2. Connecting Through RootsWeb: Exchanging Photos and Stories By T. L., Utah Much of my recent family history has already been done by my parents so my interest has turned to gathering and sharing photographs of my ancestors. One day as I was browsing through the RootsWeb message boards, I found a discussion about my great-great-grandfather. I contacted the person who had started the thread and told her I had several photographs of the individual in question and asked if she would be interested in having copies for herself. I received an e-mail almost immediately and sent off the photographs. She had seen one of the photographs before but there were several, including two photos of our mutual great-great-great-grandfather and great-great- great-grandmother, that she had never seen. In return she sent me a touching family story that I had never heard. Apparently, my great- grandmother had taken care of one of her ancestors for a year after his mother died in childbirth. I look forward to continued communication with my new-found relative and also the others out there that RootsWeb will help me find! * * * 3. 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]. ------------------------------------------------------------- Re: "Using Acid-Free Paper" (http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/review/2007/0221.txt) By G. David Thayer gthayer4@tampabay.rr.com Most good quality paper being sold today is acid-free. You can usually find this declaration somewhere on the package. Multi-use, acid-free paper in 20-lb weight and 96 brightness can be purchased at places like Wal-Mart for as little as $3.74 a ream (500 sheets). It is not possible to over-emphasize Madelyn Bader's advice to use acid- free paper for anything one wishes to preserve for any length of time. Oddly enough, acid-treated paper is a fairly recent invention. Its usage began in the late nineteenth century. I have a book published in 1835 that has been handed down through my family, father to son. The binding has long since succumbed to the ravages of time, but the paper looks as good as new. It has not even begun to yellow or to fade in any way. Not all inventions are good ones. * * * Re: "Locating Information about Your Veteran" (http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/review/2007/0221.txt) By Rusty Macon Weber My dad served in the army in WWII. As with most everyone else, his records were involved in the fire in St. Louis. I had never thought much about his military records as I felt sure that he had them. Going through his things after his death, I found his medals and a paper showing that he qualified for separation, but not his actual DD 214. I tried everywhere that I could think of to find a copy of it. He had spent a year in the VA hospital in Atlanta. When I called to ask if they had any records on him, they looked it up on the computer and told me that they had a folder, but couldn't tell what might be in it. I printed out a request and faxed it to them. Within twenty minutes they faxed back a copy of his DD 214. I was on cloud nine. I finally had what I had spent two years looking for. About two weeks later, I got a surprise package in the mail. I had been so excited to get the DD 214 that I forgot that I had requested a copy of the complete file. In the mail were about fifty pages from his hospital stay, which included his dental records, x-ray reports, operative reports--the whole works. So don't ever give up--there is usually a stray source out there somewhere, and it's up to us to find it. * * * Re: "Locating Information about Your Veteran" (http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/review/2007/0221.txt) By B. Gillespie When my uncle, Jack Gillespie, passed away without heirs, I undertook the task of seeing that he was honored for his WWII service in the navy. I first worked with the local lawyer assigned to assist veterans but he was unable to obtain anything from the VA. I then went into microfilm records of the local newspaper and copied information about his enlistment, information about where he served, information about being home on leave, and information about his having a piano concert in Boston, MA, while serving in the navy. Even with this information the VA said that his records could not be located probably due to a fire in the records storage. Later, while talking with a state senator, I mentioned my problems with the VA to him. He had his aide contact the VA and they were able to "find" his original signed documents. Needless to say, I am not a fan of the VA, even though I am classed as a Vietnam Era Veteran. * * * Re: "Locating Information about Your Veteran" (http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/review/2007/0221.txt) By George McKinney That was a nice article on finding information on veterans. I recently worked to find information on my Uncle Cecil's service and his flight crew (he was a B29 bomber pilot who died in WWII, and his records were destroyed in the fire). However, you omitted five sources I have found useful. First, you have the WWII enlistment records. I use the ancestry.com version since I'm a subscriber, but there is a free version out there as well. Second, you have organizations of veterans who are associated with specific military units. Third, you have family letters and photos. Fourth, you have libraries for the military units themselves. Fifth, you have Google. Here's how I used the above. From an old family photo I found a picture of my uncle and the names of his flight crew. My grandparent's home was flooded and it was the only information from his service. I put the names of each member of the flight crew in Google and found that one crew member had dictated an oral history to his local veterans organization. His oral history gave the nickname and number of his unit. I then searched using Google again and found an Army Air Forces website that contained lots of information. I corresponded by e-mail with them and discovered there was an Army Air Force historical document center that had flight records for all flights during WWII, including those my uncle flew on. I then went back to the WWII enlistment records and found the home towns of all the members of his crew. I went back to Google (white pages) and found several crew members who were still living in their original hometowns. I wrote to them and found one was still living. He had excellent memories of my uncle's service, and even had additional pictures of interest. From this I have completely reconstructed his service, have a number of photos of his unit, and have established contact with several of his crew or their families. * * * Re: "Locating Information about Your Veteran" (http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/review/2007/0221.txt) By Katrina Hargus I think you gave out some great information on the VA office, but here a few things you might want to add: 1) If you think your relative was a veteran, check the state as well as federal military cemeteries. 2) Double-check with NARA (National Archives). Even though the record center in St. Louis burned, there are hundreds if not thousands of records held in other repositories and veterans offices, etc. Keep hunting; chances are they exist. 3) The "magical" one piece of paper does exist. It is referred to as a DD 214. This is the official separation/retirement document. One copy is held by the service department, one is held by the Veterans Administration (if they requested aid or pension), and one copy is given to the veteran. 4) If you do find your veteran you can request replacement medals for your family if you contact the department in which he/she served. Again, your veterans office or your local recruiting office can help with this. 5) When you call the VA 800 number listed in the phone book, you will be connected to the office nearest your home. When you talk to them, explain where your veteran was inducted/discharged. They may give you another phone number to contact. 6) If your veteran or family member worked for the VA in any capacity, their records are not held at the VA office where they worked. For example, my father-in-law and sister-in-law worked for the VA in St. Louis. Both his records and my husband's are held and processed in Lincoln, Nebraska. Not the first place I would look. 7) If you believe your veteran was "career" military or served longer than just the period of conflict, look at the children's birth records. Is there one that seems oddly out of place? If so, check for military bases in the area. This can help narrow your search. My daughter was born at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, near Dayton, Ohio. Her legal birth certificate is filed in Green County, Ohio. Again, not anywhere people would start looking 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. INDIANA. Jefferson County. "Records of the Carmel Congregation of the Associate Presbyterian Church" near Hanover, Jefferson County, Indiana. These are loose pages removed from the original congregation record book and are the only pages remaining; 452 records; transcribed from the originals by Lt. Colonel John M. Anderson, USAF, in 1975; transcribed into computer format by Janeane Luby in 2007. http://userdb.rootsweb.com/churchrecords/ TENNESSEE. McNairy County. Stantonville Cemetery; 349 records; Carrol Heath. http://userdb.rootsweb.com/cemeteries/ WEST VIRGINIA. Grant County. Petersburg High School Class of 1946; 31 records; Barbara Weese. http://userdb.rootsweb.com/alumni/ 4b. New/Updated Freepages and Homepages by Individuals To Request a Free Web Account: http://accounts.rootsweb.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------- 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 * * * No New/Updated Freepages and Homepages by Individuals * * * 4c. New/Updated Freepages and Homepages by Counties, States, and Genealogical/Historical Societies 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] DAR = Daughters of the American Revolution USGW = USGenWeb GAR = Guardians of the American Revolution NZSG = New Zealand Society of Genealogists U.S.A. illgsdar -- Letitia Green Stevenson (Illinois) Chapter DAR ilssdar -- Illinois State Society DAR mdsmcgs -- St. Mary's County Genealogical Society (Maryland) mtpowell -- Powell County (Montana) USGW ncodcgs -- Old Dobbs County Genealogical Society (North Carolina) nycgar -- New York Chapter GAR nzlpnzsg -- Palmerston North Branch (New Zealand) NZSG pacemete -- Pennsylvania Cemeteries wafvcdar -- Ft. Vancouver (Washington) Chapter DAR wimagg -- Marshfield Area Genealogy Group (Wisconsin) winpgg -- North Pines Genealogy Group (Wisconsin) MEXICO mexmicho -- Michoacan County (Mexico) * * * 4d. New Mailing Lists To 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 CLAN-MACMILLAN-DNA -- A list for any Clan member interested in DNA testing and asking questions concerning testing and results. See the Clan MacMillan website for a comprehensive list of included surnames: http://www.clanmacmillan.org/Spellings.html * * * 5. Humor/Humour: Strange Last Names ------------------------------------------------------------- I have been collecting strange names for several years--first and last. I couldn't believe there were really such names until I looked on GenForum. Here are two lists of names--some I got from GenForum and some I collected on my own. Anyone know the meaning of some of the stranger ones? Surnames on GenForum: Boo Barefoot Blizzard Bowser Bratt DeCay Easter Fix Fudge Laughter Oyster Purchase Songs/Songster Trick Wedding Worst Yankee Yawn _____________ Names not on GenForum: Bang Economy Gotcha Inthisone La Flesh Phlegm Savior Suchadoll --Anonymous submission * * * 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@tgn.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: 28 February 2007, Vol. 10, No. 9. * * * *