RootsWeb Review: RootsWeb's Weekly E-zine 04 April 2007, Vol. 10, No. 14 (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/2007/0404.txt http://e-zine.rootsweb.com/ ============================================================== IN THIS ISSUE: 1. Editor's Desk: News and Notes 1a. Grants from "Honoring Our Ancestors" 1b. Some Sites Worth Looking At (3) 1c. Indexers Needed for Digitized Granite Mountain Vault Records 1d. Using RootsWeb: Ten Tips for Taking a Cemetery Survey 2. Connecting Through RootsWeb: Imperfect Data Can Yield Perfect Results 3. Bottomless Mailbag: Re: "Be Careful with Ages in Census Records" Due Credit Correcting Mis-transcriptions Not to Be a Broken RECORD Recording D-Day Memories "L" and "S" Not the Only Problem More Tricky Handwriting Re: 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. Grants from "Honoring Our Ancestors" Yes, there is intrinsic value to be found in honoring our ancestors but sometimes it's nice to get a little credit for our work too. Megan Smolenyak, a recognized name in the genealogy community, gives small grants to genealogical societies, local and specialized libraries, and individual genealogists for their service to the genealogy community. Grants are awarded for producing quality family history newsletters, hosting a website, organizing reunions, etc. For more information about the grant program and to see past winners, visit Megan's website at: http://www.honoringourancestors.com/grants.html 1b. Some Sites Worth Looking At: Historical Directories Created and maintained by the University of Leicester, this site is a digital library of local and trade directories for England and Wales, from 1750 to 1919. http://www.historicaldirectories.org/hd/about.asp * * * Prisoner 4099 The National Archives of Britain recently released a mini-site on its award-winning "Learning Curve" website titled "Prisoner 4099." The mini- site was part of a project in which the national archives worked with twenty-six young adults to teach them how to conduct original research in the archives. They created a site exploring Victorian-era punishment of children. The youth used the archives to search for original documents about William Towers, a twelve-year-old boy from Richmond in Surrey who was imprisoned in 1872 for stealing two rabbits-possibly as food for his family. The website includes information about the project, original documents found by the students, an audio version of a play created by the students, and more. http://www.learningcurve.gov.uk/prisoner4099/ * * * Digitalarkivet (Digital Archives): National Archives of Norway If you're tracing your Norwegian heritage, this website is a good place to start. It has migration, court, church, census, and military records; emigrant lists; maps; real estate books; and registers of conveyances and mortgages. It also has maps, online exhibitions, forums, an article on tracing your ancestry in Norway, and a directory of links to additional resources. http://digitalarkivet.uib.no/index-eng.htm 1c. Indexers Needed for Digitized Granite Mountain Vault Records The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is in the process of digitizing 5 billion genealogical records stored in the Granite Mountain Vaults near Salt Lake City. These records will be connected to www.familysearch.org, the Church's website and one of the preeminent genealogy sites on the Web. Tens of thousands of volunteers are at work helping to index the collection and more are welcome. To read a news article on the indexing project go to: http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,660205784,00.html To volunteer for the project, visit the following website: http://www.familysearchindexing.org/en/index.jsp 1b. Using RootsWeb: Ten Tips for Taking a Cemetery Survey By Mary Harrell-Sesniak As a genealogist, I know it is important to give back. Although I do not live near any of my ancestral cemeteries, I have benefited from the kindness of others who have taken pictures of family plots. These acts of kindness are special and have made me happy. Although it is hard to repay these favors directly, one way is by doing the same for others. Over the years, I have uploaded more than 3,000 photos to websites. Researchers who find the pictures are appreciative, and I realize that is what it is all about--making others happy. So please get started, and make someone happy by taking photos in your own community. Here are my ten tips for taking a cemetery survey: 1. Set a reasonable goal and start with a small cemetery or a small section within a larger one. Don't set goals you cannot achieve. Many cemeteries seem small but actually contain thousands of burials. 2. Do background research. Look for official records and previous surveys. Use them to determine if there are persons buried without stone markers, or if markers are missing. Note changes and corrections, and when you're done, make your own original record. 3. Introduce yourself to the management staff and explain your mission. If the cemetery is private, you will need permission. And for all cemeteries, know the rules. Laws can vary by state, county, and country. Carry credentials such as a letter of introduction. 4. Before starting, take a small sampling in a well-defined area and create a system. Work in a logical order and decide if it is easier to transcribe at the cemetery, or to read images on the computer. 5. Pick a reasonable schedule. Weekends are busy days at cemeteries and you will need to be respectful of ongoing funerals. Avoid the heat of the day and days after rain when the ground may be soft and muddy. 6. Be flexible. Avoid areas where the grass needs mowing, and if possible learn the maintenance schedule. Your pictures will look better if the lawn looks trimmed. 7. Wear proper attire. Take along a hat, gloves, windbreaker, and comfortable walking shoes. You may prefer long pants to avoid sunburn and bugs or be more comfortable in shorts. 8. Don't forget the digital camera and extra batteries. Erase or format your memory card so pictures will appear in order. It is best to include only one section on a card, and if working in a group, a laptop will be useful for downloading at the site. 9. Make a supply list. Sunscreen, bug spray, paper towels, a notebook, and a clipboard with an attached pencil are useful. Do not disturb tombstones, but if possible take along a small broom to brush away debris. 10. Not everyone in your team will be an accomplished photographer. Some will take crooked pictures or cut off parts of stones. Explain techniques to get better results. These are some of my favorites: a. Take the entire stone with the surrounding area and if difficult to read, also take a close-up. b. If a family plot is defined, take a group shot as well. And if two stones are of similar style, but have different names, treat them as a family. c. Look at the back of the stone. You may find additional information there. d. Use your camera to note landmarks, sections, and rows. e. Choose the proper resolution. Low settings allow for more photographs, but higher settings are preferred for hard-to-read stones. f. Higher resolution photos are time-consuming to resize. Some websites require sizes no larger than 250 KB. g. Avoid taking photos with the sun directly behind you. The shadow will be unattractive and you may recognize your own image in the photo. However, if this is the only option, take the photo and return at a later time for retakes. h. Plan your camera position. Stones that are flat to the ground need to be taken from above. However, stones that are positioned vertically will produce better results if taken from a low position. Put your camera at waist level or kneel down. i. Keep your camera in the same horizontal position for each shot. Rotating photos in your software can be time-consuming. j. Make backups before processing your photos and give copies to a team member. If you cannot read a resized one, you will need to return to your original, and if you lose your photos, all of your time will be wasted. * * * * * * * * * * 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, 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: Imperfect Data Can Yield Perfect Results By Robyn Dowd rdowd@santa-clarita.com To all those who feel that there is no value in uploading your family files to the Web because it may contain errors or isn't done yet, please do it now! I just received a handwritten note from my ex-husband's cousin who, because of my research and uploaded files, made contact with a long-lost cousin of fifty years. Just how does that happen? I received an e-mail through my subscription to Ancestry.com saying that someone was interested in one of the members on my tree--my ex-husband's grandmother, Emma Barrett. I e-mailed back to ask how they were related and explained my connections. He advised me that his father, Emma's son, had died at a young age after marrying and having two sons. His mother remarried and moved to Hawaii around 1958. He was reaching out to find out more about his father's family and was sorry that it had taken him this long. This man was e-mailing from Hawaii. I e-mailed back and told him that one of Emma's daughters--his aunt--was living in Arizona and that I would make contact with her. I immediately called "Aunt Fran" in Arizona and asked if she would want this man to contact her. She was so excited and shared with me the loss the family suffered in not only losing her brother, but his children as well. So, yesterday I received a note from a member of the family letting me know how much my research and reconnection to their cousins meant to them. She said, "Now that they have been found, every red- headed man in the world can now rest easy as I won't be stopping them on the street asking them their family history!" (Due to her brother's hair color, her brother's nickname was "Red.") So, even if you aren't sure that birth date is correct, or think maybe you made a connection to the wrong "John Smith," please upload. You never know what good can come of it. (P.S. Be sure to update your e-mail address so people can contact you.) 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: "Be Careful with Ages in Census Records" By Karen Abel needler@att.net David Richardson was correct in last week's Review that we should be careful with ages in census records. However, he makes an error that I first made when looking at these records. The ages of the individuals were not based on the date that the enumerator visited the house (the date on the census page) but on a specific date set for that census year. It might be worth revisiting an article in Vol. 8, No. 10, of 9 March 2005 entitled "Editor's Desk: Knowing What Enumerators Were Instructed." This article explains census day. In 1910, the census day was 15 April. No matter what date in 1910 the enumerator visited the home, the residents' ages were to be calculated as of 15 April. This is especially important if you are looking at children whose ages were calculated as twelfths of a year. If a child's age was given as 2/12 in a census enumerated on 15 June 1910, it can be assumed that he/she was born in February, not in April. Of course, this is all assuming that the enumerator followed instructions. To read the comment in last week's Review visit: http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/review/2007/0328.txt To read the article titled "Knowing What Enumerators Were Instructed," that Karen Abel mentions, visit: http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/review/2005/0309.txt [Editor's Note: In 1850, the year mentioned by David in last's week's article, the census day was 1 June.] * * * Due Credit By Cari Thomas western37@cox.net I was astounded by the bit about the birth of twins 86 HOURS apart in last week's "Humor/Humour" section: 'The following is an extract taken from the parish register 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 September27 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. DeoGloria. William son of James Sedgewick of Field House near Ferryhill was baptised November the sixth. . . ." ' But the truly sad part is that only God and the father got any credit! * * * Not to Be a Broken RECORD By Joanne Holtje jwholejay@aol.com Not to be a broken RECORD, but in regards to Lew Holt's piece in last week's Review, I hope Lew also made a transcript of his friend's tape- recording of his memories of D-Day. Cassette tapes and CDs won't last for long, and all technology is prone to becoming obsolete. Have a written record, make multiple copies, and keep them in different locations to increase the chance that Bunky McFee's story will survive a good, long time. To read Lew Holt's comment in last week's Review visit: http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/review/2007/0328.txt * * * Recording D-Day Memories By Amy Martin Wilson Please contact Mr. Lew Holt of Salem, Oregon, and tell him to take a look at the oral history page on the National D-Day Memorial Foundation website. According to the website, "The National D-Day Memorial Foundation is seeking oral histories, written reminiscences, diaries, ship's logs, letters, photographs, published histories of units involved in the invasion and personal recollections of D-Day veterans." If he cares to contact them, they just might be interested in the CD he has recorded. The National D-Day Memorial Foundation Oral History Page: http://www.dday.org/index.php?page=oralhistory * * * Correcting Mis-transcriptions By Margaret J. Leonard m.leonard23@ntlworld.com In last week's Review, Michael Sandover reported finding missing Sandover ancestors indexed as Landover. The "L" and "S" problem works the other way too--I have found LEONARD families indexed as SEONARD. My favourite Leonard family--not ancestors of mine--consists of the following individuals: John Seonard and his wife Bardines, with their daughters Saysa and Ellen. Mrs. Bardines Seonard--sorry, Leonard--was actually Caroline Leonard, and her daughter Saysa was baptised Laura. If you find mis-transcriptions of your own family in Ancestry.com, you can really help other searchers by entering the correct name, with your explanation of how you know it is correct, under the "Comments and Corrections" link next to the record. These corrections are periodically updated. Of course, not all the mis-transcriptions are as simple as Landover/Sandover. I recently found a missing SHEARGOLD family indexed as MONYAK in the 1871 census. So if you think your missing ancestors "must be in there somewhere," they probably are. But they might be buried pretty deep! To read Michael Sandover's comment on his Sandover/Landover relatives, visit: http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/review/2007/0328.txt * * * "L" and "S" Not the Only Problem By Christine Clement cmclement@clear.net.nz Further to the Lawyer/Sawyer correspondence, when transcribing our local births, deaths, and marriages, we had enormous problems with two surnames--Innes and Jones. When written in beautiful Victorian handwriting, a capital "I" and a capital "J" look very similar. So if you are looking for missing Innes, try Jones (and vice versa). * * * More Tricky Handwriting By Cecilie Gaziano cgaziano@prodigy.net Here's an addendum to the problem of names that begin with "S" or "L" being confused with each other in old handwriting. This can also be true of names beginning with "Z." I once found one of my Zimprich relative's marriage records filed under "Limprich." * * * Re: Too Many Passwords? By Richard L. Morgan morganscouts@aol.com Last week a reader from the UK recommended using Roboform to manage all your passwords. CyberScrub KeyChain is possibly a better choice on this side of the pond. http://www.cyberscrub.com/keychain/ 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. NEW JERSEY. Essex County. Caldwell Grammar School Graduation List, 1925. 63 records. Judy Ullman. http://userdb.rootsweb.com/alumni/ NEW JERSEY. Essex County. Caldwell High School, Class of 1927. 65 records. Judy Ullman. http://userdb.rootsweb.com/alumni/ NEW YORK. Genesee County. Batavia "Daily News," 1944-45. 10,429 records. Leilani Spring. http://userdb.rootsweb.com/news/ 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 * * * Brevard County, Florida Casualties in all Wars. By Jim and Bonnie Garmon. Names and military history of men from Brevard County, Florida, who died in World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, and Iraq/Afghanistan. http://freepages.military.rootsweb.com/~brevardwardead/index.htm SHERRIN and TODD Families. By Adrienne Sherrin. Major surnames are TODD, SHERRIN, BERTRAM, MANNING, LOCKWOOD, KNIGHT, MUSS(O), and DODGE, from England, Scotland, Ireland, Italy, and Canada. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~dasherrin Genealogy of the KLEPFISZ Family. By Sarah Lasry. Major surnames include KLEPFISZ and similar sounding surnames-KLEPFISH, KLEPFISCH, KLAPFISH, STERN, GOLDFLAM, and INGBERG. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~klepfiszfamily/ http://freepages.family.rootsweb.com/~klepfiszfamily/ Zacher Family Tree. By Allan Zacher. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~zacherfamily/ 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 DAC = Daughters of the American Colonies CAR = Children of the American Revolution USGW = USGenWeb County Account U.S.A. cajscdar -- Jedediah Smith (Califorina) Chapter DAR casfcdac -- San Francisco (California) Chapter DAC ctcandov -- City of Andover (Connecticut) USGW ctccolum -- City of Columbia (Connecticut) USGW ctcsomer -- City of Somers (Connecticut) USGW ctcstaff -- City of Stafford (Connecticut) USGW ctcunion -- City of Union (Connecticut) USGW ctcwilli -- City of Willington (Connecticut) USGW scemmcar -- Elizabeth Marshall Martin (South Carolina) Chapter CAR wappcdar -- Peter Puget (Washington) Chapter DAR NEW ZEALAND nzlnom -- North Otago Museum (New Zealand) 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 BEGLAR CLAUDA COONFIELD DAVIDOVITZ EISENSTAEDT KALIN KIOUS LAMPRELL MANDELKOW MOTHERSOLE ORIEL ORMANDY RENFROW SCANTLIN SKJEGSTAD SPONSLER NEW REGIONAL MAILING LISTS ACADIAN-FRENCH-CANADIAN -- This list is for all who are researching their Acadian and French-Canadian genealogy and history. Our focus will be the Acadian communities of northern New England, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Quebec. ENG-NFK-NORWICH -- A mailing list for all those who are researching their family history in the Norwich area. NEW ETHNIC OR SPECIAL INTEREST MAILING LISTS HYMNOLOGY -- A list for the discussion of the authors of hymns from the past as well as those now being written. LA-3RDINF -- A mailing list for those researching the 3rd Regiment Louisiana Infantry during the American Civil War. 5. Humor/Humour My friends, whose last name is Quiring, were the parents of a fine bouncing baby boy. They named him Justin. Think he might have problems with that name? --Thanks to Jan McClintock * * * My grandfather was the ninth son and therefore his name became the number nine. His name was Nine Davidson. He signed his name with the numeral 9. My brother also carries the name Nine as his middle name. --Thanks to Glenna Williams * * * As one of the volunteer transcribers for FreeBMD, I encounter many strange names. Two of my favorites are Godbehere and Gotobed. --Thanks to Yvonne P. Harris * * * 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. AdSales 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: 04 April 2007, Vol. 10, No. 14. * * * *