RootsWeb Review: RootsWeb's Weekly E-zine 28 March 2007, Vol. 10, No. 13 (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/2007/0328.txt http://e-zine.rootsweb.com/ ============================================================== IN THIS ISSUE: 1. Editor's Desk: News and Notes 1a. Nova Scotia Vital Statistics Now Online, Free of Charge 1b. ISBGFH Annual Writing Contest 1c. Time for Hands-on Preservation with Park Day 2007 1d. Book Notice 1e. Using RootsWeb: My Start in Genealogy and Cemetery Surveys 2. Connecting Through RootsWeb: Just Two Stamps 3. Bottomless Mailbag: Top Dog Learch with Care Be Careful with Ages in Census Records If It Wasn't Recorded . . . Too Many Passwords? 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 6. Subscriptions, Submissions, Advertising, Reprints ============================================================== IN THIS ISSUE: 1. Editor's Desk: News and Notes 1a. Nova Scotia Vital Statistics Now Online, Free of Charge Welcome to 1 million new possibilities in searching for your Nova Scotia roots! Nova Scotia Archives and Records Management is pleased to announce the launch of an outstanding new resource for genealogical and historical research--Nova Scotia Historical Vital Statistics, available at www.novascotiagenealogy.com. The website contains a fully searchable database containing the names of 1 million Nova Scotians whose births, marriages, or deaths were registered with the province in the following date range: births, 1864-1877; marriages, 1864-1930; and deaths, 1864-1877, 1908-1955. Each name in the database is linked directly to the corresponding original record and public access is free. The database will grow by approximately 12,000 records annually. 1b. ISBGFH Annual Writing Contest The International Society for British Genealogy and Family History (ISBGFH) is launching an annual writing contest. The competition encourages researchers to write articles about British research problems they have encountered and successfully resolved. The winning article will be featured in an upcoming issue of "British Connections." The winner of the contest will also receive a complimentary registration to the British Institute held in Salt Lake City in October each year. For detailed contest rules and more information about the British Institute, write to ISBGFH, P.O. Box 350459, Westminster, CO 80035-0459; or contact Gordon Gray, ISBGFH president, at ggray01@aol.com; or see the website at see www.isbgfh.org. 1c. Time for Hands-on Preservation with Park Day 2007 On Saturday, 7 April 2007, volunteers throughout the U.S. will work together to clean and repair the grounds at more than 100 Civil War sites. Last year, approximately 4,000 volunteers played a vital role in sustaining these parks, providing more than 12,000 hours of service. Helping hands are needed everywhere for a wide variety of short- and long-term projects, providing rewarding volunteer opportunities for individuals, couples, schools, families, corporations, citizen groups, service organizations, and Scout troops. At each site, volunteers will get a free t-shirt and have the opportunity to hear historians tell them about the land they are helping to preserve. To learn more, visit www.civilwar.org and click on "Park Day" on the right-hand side of the website. 1d. Book Notice The Hunt for Old John Godbold, Volume I, Parts One and Two Compiled and edited by Edward L. Godbold, Sr. This book is about Englishman John GODBOLD, who first appeared in South Carolina about 1725. Part one reviews information about him from various published sources, provides historical context for his life, and presents a new version of his story. Part two contains a family tree about the first five generations of his descendants. Some names indexed include BETHEA, BLUE, BROWN, BUTLER, BRYNE, CLOY, CUPIT, DAVIS, ELLERBE, ENGLISH, EVANS, FLEEMAN, FOXWORTH, GIBSON, HASELDEN, HUNT, JONES, KNAPP, MCREE, SMITH, STANLEY, TARVER, THOMAS, WALKER, WATTS, WRIGHT, and more. 8.5" by 11", laminated soft cover, perfect binding, 548 pages, indexed. ISBN 9781595266682. $29.95 plus shipping. Order from Llumina Publishing by calling Diane Cabral toll free at 866-229-9244 or going to Llumina's website at http://www.llumina.com/store/johngodbold.htm. 1e. Using RootsWeb: [Editor's Note: I asked our two new columnists, Joan Young and Mary Harrell-Sesniak, to write a brief article introducing themselves, explaining how they got interested in genealogy, and describing the topics they plan on covering in their respective RootsWeb columns. This is Mary's article. Joan's article was published in last week's Review. Their regular columns will begin running after that.] MY START IN GENEALOGY AND CEMETERY SURVEYS By Mary Harrell-Sesniak When I was young, my mother became interested in researching our ancestry. My father's grandfather had been adopted, and when he discovered who his birth parents were, he hired genealogists and published his ancestry in a two-volume book called "The Genealogical History of Edgar Hanks Evans." My mother soon discovered that genealogy was a frequent topic of conversation in her husband's family, so she set out to discover her own. We lived in Cincinnati and her parents in Camden, Maine. Her research showed New England roots, including some family who arrived on the "Mayflower." Not surprisingly, trips to Maine resulted in genealogy stops, and the less inviting were to cemeteries. My older brother had a sense of humor and convinced me of many things. After visiting Niagara Falls, I thought I had gone over it in a barrel, and after visiting a cemetery, I was convinced something terrible would happen if I inhaled cemetery air. "Hold your breath," was the drill. "We're passing a cemetery!" That worked splendidly, except when we actually stopped at one. There was no way that my lung-power would hold up. Eventually I exhaled to great laughter and teasing, and I resolved that I would never take my family to cemeteries! Unfortunately for my family, that resolution has been broken many times. About ten years ago, I was working as a consultant in Fort Myers, Florida, and a client hired me to fix his computer problems. Afterwards we worked on his genealogy and he asked if I knew how to pursue a dead end. I was adept at surfing the Web, even though dial-up was slow. I discovered RootsWeb and other sites and quickly tied his line into a tree traced to the 1600s. That seemed easy, so I began putting my ancestry into "Family Tree Maker." Ella (Malott) Evans, my great-grandmother, had traced our family to the Macy, Coffin, and Starbuck founding families of Nantucket Island. In 1774, Ella's ancestors, who became Quakers, moved from Nantucket, Massachusetts to Guilford County, North Carolina, and in 1819 the family moved to Randolph County, Indiana. Over the years, I have visited many graveyards and photographed many gravestones, including those of my Quaker ancestors. However, one stone in particular sparked my interest in taking digital surveys of cemeteries. It was that of Ransom Harrell, the young son of Byrum and Sally (Hubble) Harrell, who died in 1842; he is buried at Brandywine Cemetery in Shelby County, Indiana. My first visit to the sweet family cemetery was in 2000 or 2001. It was somewhat hard to find and separated from its church by an expressway. We found many family members there, including Byrum, who died in 1874; his first wife, Sally Oldham Pertle, who died in 1836; and his second wife, Sally Hubble, my third great-grandmother, who died in 1881. Byrum's stone was originally tall, but had broken. The pieces were stacked on top of one another and I remember thinking how grand it must have looked before being damaged. The wives' stones were in better shape but starting to deteriorate. Propped against Byrum's stone was a smaller, unreadable one. I used my computer to enhance the digital image and I learned it was baby Ransom Harrell's. Learning that a digital camera could decipher an image started me on a quest to take as many stone pictures as possible. So this is a call to readers. Time is passing and the deterioration of gravestones is ongoing. If you do not act now, many graves will never be identified. Start organizing photographic surveys and transcribe the data for RootsWeb. Then publish the pictures on the Web. You will do fellow genealogists a great service and make many people happy, including yourself for giving back to others who have helped you along the way. In my upcoming columns, I will discuss how to organize cemetery surveys and how to contribute to WorldConnect. If you are interested in the family lines mentioned, visit WorldConnect at http://wc.rootsweb.com/. In the field "Jump to a specific database," enter CoffinFamily or ShelbyInHarrells. Please note that most of my databases are published under Mary Harrell. Ransom Harrell's stone is published at www.findagrave.com. * * * * * * * * * * Advertisements * * * * * * * * * * ANCESTOR SEEKERS EIGHTH SALT LAKE CITY RESEARCH TRIP-- THE IDEAL GENEALOGY VACATION! JUNE 24-29, 2007 Join others from throughout the USA and Canada for the ideal genealogy vacation. Spend 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. Opening social, theatre trip, and sightseeing tours! "Thank you all for such a wonderful experience." (Marsha, Iowa) Call TOLL-FREE at 877-896-0974 (9-6 MDT) or visit http://www.ancestorseekers.com/ * * * * * * * * * * End of Advertisements * * * * * * * 2. Connecting Through RootsWeb: Just Two Stamps By Cynthia Brott Biasca "The Price of Looking for Something Lost," in last week's "Connecting Through RootsWeb," reminded me of my search for a third cousin. My great-grandfather Oliver Brott had a sister named Mary who married a man by the name of Peter Sterling. I found this on a page of research sent to me from the Rensselaerville Genealogical Society by a lady I wrote to asking about my Oliver's father. From this I had her date of birth and death, as well as her husband's name. Census by census, I followed them, then their children and grandchildren. The most recent census available at the time--early 1980s--was the 1915 state census of Fulton County, New York, where I found Mary's granddaughter Harriet Sterling living with her husband, William Smith, and two sons, Kenneth S., age four, and Harold C., age two, in the little town of Dolgeville. A local relative from another side of my family looked up persons in the vicinity of Dolgeville in the phone book for Kenneth S. Smiths and Harold C. Smiths. One of my daughters said, "Mother, do you think there is any likelihood of a person now about seventy still living in the same place he was born? With the name of Smith?" I realized it was a long shot at best. There were no Kenneth S. Smiths in or near Dolgeville, but there were two Harold C. Smiths. I wrote to both of them explaining who I was looking for. I had a reply very quickly from one of them saying he was not the right person. And then it came--a letter whose first words were, "I am the Harold Smith you are looking for." I called him that night from California and we talked for an hour or more. He confirmed some family stories I was in doubt about and told me all about his own family. Since then, we--my three sisters and I--have gotten together with Harold on our New York genealogy trips, and it has been such a reward, both personally and genealogically. As it turned out, it was just as well I didn't write him earlier. He had left Dolgeville at some point and only returned when he retired, not long before I sent my letter. And all it took was two first-class stamps, some census records, and a great leap of faith. To visit last week's Review and read the article that sparked Cynthia's comment, see: http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/review/2007/0321.txt 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.] ------------------------------------------------------------- Top Dog By Colyn Blundell In regards to the letter and editorial comment about pit-sawing in last week's Review, there is another expression with which readers will be familiar if connected to this trade--that of "top dog." The "top dog" was the top sawyer and his was a coveted position since the top sawyer did not get covered with sawdust, some types of which can be highly irritating. Hence, even today, the best position to be is that of "top dog." To visit last week's Review and see the letter that Colyn is commenting on, see: http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/review/2007/0321.txt * * * Learch with Care By Michael Sandover mike@sandover.co.uk The article from the 14 March issue of the Review titled "Tricky Handwriting" and written by Ron Kirlew about his lawyer or sawyer ancestor, illustrates a much wider problem that your comment covered. However, for the benefit of the less experienced family historians who may have missed it, I am setting out below an article I wrote some years ago that appeared in several family history magazines. LEARCH WITH CARE This is a simple piece of advice (or warning) for those researching family names beginning with "Sa," "Se," "Si," "So," or "Su." If you cannot find the entry that you are seeking in indexes to the census returns or other nineteenth-century material, then look under the corresponding name spelled with a capital "L." The problem arises because of the way Victorians wrote the capital letter "S." It often looks like a capital "L." I discovered the problem by accident when researching my wife's family. Despite seeing several birth and marriage certificates, as well as census returns, we still couldn't tell whether he was a Lawyer or a Sawyer. We only discovered the truth (a Sawyer) when we visited the cottage in which he lived. The current owner pointed us to a book published with the childhood memories of one of the sons, which gave us the answer as well as much else besides. That discovery set me thinking. From the index of the 1881 census, I was missing quite a number of Sandovers. A quick look under Landover gave me most of those "missing." That is not an isolated case. The excellent work being carried out on the 1891 census (and available on the Internet) has approximately a third of the Sandovers transcribed and indexed under Landover. Even the DFHS index of post-1837 Plymouth has one Landover entry and I suspect that the problem could be quite widespread. To visit the 14 March issue of the Review see: http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/review/2007/0314.txt * * * Be Careful with Ages in Census Records By David G. Richardson dave.richardson@mindspring.com The census records from 1850 and after record the age of the person at the time the census was taken. To get the birth year some just take the census year and subtract the age. The top of the census page has the actual date of enumeration, say 13 August 1850. If the census taker asked the correct question, the responder understood and knew the answer, and the taker understood and wrote it down correctly, then the correct age of the recorded person was written. Say John Smith, age twelve. Thus, John Smith was born between 14 August 1837 and 13 August 1838. Most genealogical programs cannot handle this date spread so 1837/8 is a good alternative. Not 1838 or abt. 1838. The notes should have "13 August 1850 census has age twelve thus born between 14 August 1837 and 13 August 1838." The age from several census records can narrow the date range closer to the actual birth. * * * If It Wasn't Recorded . . . By Lew Holt Salem, Oregon Ten years ago Bunky McFee died. He was one of my old-time fiddler friends. The morning he died, his wife, Tillie, called me up and said, "Lew, get out here and get this stuff out of the house or I'll throw it in the trash bin." Bunky's living room was stacked high with fiddle- related items. One box I brought home was full of cassette tapes. Occasionally I would play one. Most of them were recorded with a recorder sitting on Bunky's lap and not too close to the fiddlers so the quality wasn't the best. I didn't pay too much attention to them. This winter when I was rummaging through the tapes, I found one that was labeled "My story of D-day." I listened to the tape and found it very interesting. Bunky said on the tape that the family had wanted him to write down his story of D-day but instead he was taping it. He must have talked for a half hour telling about the invasion, about how he felt when his job was to take dead American soldiers back to the beach, and other related stories. I burned the cassette tape to a CD and made several copies. Last week when Bunky's daughter-in-law came by the house, I gave her three of the CDs and the original tape. Yesterday Bunky's son called to thank me for the CD and the tape. He had no idea that his father had ever made such a tape. The son's voice quivered as he told of listening to his father tell the story and not knowing that it even existed. I read one time that "if it wasn't written down, it never happened." How true. I have carried it two steps farther: "if it wasn't recorded, it never happened." And "if it wasn't videotaped, it never happened." Through old letters, through cassette tapes, through hundreds of video tapes, I can enjoy being with my friends again who are no longer with me. And if Bunky hadn't taken a few minutes to record his story of D- day, his participation would never have happened. And if I hadn't dug a little deeper into the box of cassette tapes, Bunky's story of D-day would never have happened. I am glad that I read the caption on the tape. * * * Too Many Passwords? By Charles Cresswell ccc@esmeralda.fsnet.co.uk The increasing numbers of message boards, research sites, etc.--all requiring registration--makes the accumulation of IDs and passwords difficult to handle. I have found that using Roboform, a little program that remembers these for you and enables you to log in using just one encrypted password known only to yourself, is helpful. This program will also generate passwords for you. See details at www.roboform.com. 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 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, the title of the website, the name of the author, and a BRIEF description of the site, including major surnames, 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 * * * Genealogy of the KLEPFISZ Family. By Sarah Lasry. Major surnames include KLEPFISZ and similar sounding surnames--KLEPFISH, KLEPFISCH, KLAPFISH, STERN, GOLDFLAM, INGBERG. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~klepfiszfamily/ http://freepages.family.rootsweb.com/~klepfiszfamily/ The GILLE Family Tree from Germany to Quincy, Illinois, and Beyond. By Pam Gille. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~gille/index.htm HARTMAN, PALTZGRAF CONNECTION. By Jim Hartman. This website is a chronology of Jacobina PFALTZGRAF (PALTZGRAF) from her birth in 1757 in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, through to her marriage to Johannes HARTMAN, the birth of their eleven children, and her death in 1836. Prior published research did not extend beyond her teenage years. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~hartman1/ 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 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] DAR = Daughters of the American Revolution UDC = United Daughters of the Confederacy U.S.A. azsgg -- Sunflower Genealogy Group (Arizona) ilhcgs -- Illinois, Henry County Genealogical Society has updated their website. There is information on more than 300 pioneer families that came to Henry County as early as 1837. Driving directions with pictures of cemeteries in Henry County have also been added. okpcgc -- Pottawatomie (Oklahoma) Genealogy Club orlptdar -- Lone Pine Tree (Oregon) Chapter DAR txlfcudc -- Lamar Fontaine (Texas) Chapter UDC ITALY itacisne -- Comune of Isnello (Italy) itacpoli -- Comune of Polizzi Generosa (Italy) itapvibo -- Province of Vibo Valentia (Italy) itapcose -- Province of Cosenza (Italy) itapcrot -- Province of Crotone (Italy) itapregg -- Province of Reggio Di Calabria (Italy) 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 ALBERRY ARKINSTALL AUDILL BOOZELL DANTZLER DEHOYOS DOVEY ENDALL HERLIEN MCVAN MUSHOTZKY MUTCH NIXEY OLVER OSTROVARI SCARTH SLITER TERRITTS WADSLEY NEW REGIONAL MAILING LISTS ESSEX-ROMFORD -- A list for discussion regarding the town of Romford, Essex, England. IRL-CLANWILLIAM -- A discussion group centered on the genealogy, history, and/or culture of the Clanwilliam Barony located in Counties Tipperary and Limerick. ITA-ABRUZZO-CHIETI -- For the discussion of the genealogy, research, and history of the Chieti Province, Abruzzo, Italy (Provincia di Chieti). NEW ETHNIC AND SPECIAL INTEREST MAILING LISTS ACADIAN -- To provide a central site for all descendents of the original European settlers of the Maritimes and their Amerindian relatives no matter where in the world they settled after 1755. EXPRESSION-WEB -- The Expression-Web Mailing List was created for discussing the use of Microsoft Expression Web. Anyone from a novice to expert is welcome to join the list. LINCS-CONVICTS -- Discussion regarding Lincolnshire convicts sent to Australia and elsewhere. NC-MAYFLOWER -- To be used by members of the NC Mayflower Society to communicate regarding events and issues related to the Society and the website. NFLD-LAB-DNA -- A mailing list for the Newfoundland and Labrador mtDNA Project, as well as for any other discussion that pertains to genetic genealogy in Newfoundland and Labrador. OH-2NDINF -- A mailing list for those researching the 2nd Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry during the American Civil War. SC-BUSHRIVERQUAKERS -- The list will focus on discussion of the Quaker community of Newberry, South Carolina, in the late 1700s and early 1800s. TOTGS -- This is a mailing list for members and others interested in the Tip of Texas Genealogical Society, based in the Harlingen, Texas Public Library. UVAPG -- Utah Valley Chapter, Association of Professional Genealogists. This list is for discussing any topics relevant to professional genealogy, especially for those living in the region. WSGS-REGION3 -- Genealogical society board members from Washington state Region 3 counties: Clallam, Grays Harbor, Jefferson, Kitsap, Mason, and Thurston. For the sharing of announcements of programs, workshops, speakers, and administration, etc. 5. Humor/Humour Baptismal recordings are very standard as everyone who has spent hours looking at parish registers probably appreciates. The vicar probably became quite bored at this recording chore, but it would seem that some events just had to be put in the register. The following is an extract taken from the parish register of Kirk Merrington. Hett is now a small village south of Durham, England, but in 1769, Hett was a very small hamlet in the large parish of Kirk Merrington. Extract -- 1796 "Bartholomew son of Ralph Watson of Hall Heads was baptised September 25 Thomas son of Gilbert Brach of Little Chilton was baptised September 27 Jane daughter of Simon Litster of Hett was baptised October 9th Susannah daughter of Charles Hobson of Hett was baptised October . . . George son of Simon Litster of Hett (twin brother to Jane above mentioned) was baptised October 14th. Jane was born on Monday about midnight and George born on Friday about 2 in the afternoon. Deo Gloria. William son of James Sedgewick of Field House near Ferryhill was baptised November the sixth. . . ." --Thanks to Peter Edwards * * * My mother's maiden name was "Mabee." Upon admitting her to the hospital several years back, my sister was asked by the administrative worker if she could tell her Mom's maiden name. "Mabee," my sister responded. "Can you tell me it or not?" "Mabee." --Thanks to Valerie J. Wood * * * 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. We also welcome other humorous genealogy- related submissions. 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: Tami Deleeuw, tdeleeuw@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 March 2007, Vol. 10, No. 13. * * * *