RootsWeb Review: RootsWeb's Weekly E-zine 13 June 2007, Vol. 10, No. 24 (c) 1998-2007 RootsWeb.com, Inc. http://www.rootsweb.com/ * * * Having trouble reading this newsletter? The online version is available at: http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/review/2007/0613.txt * * * ROOTSWEB HELPDESK: Check here for site maintenance announcements: http://helpdesk.rootsweb.com/ * * * ROOTSWEB NEWSROOM: Check here for the latest RootsWeb news: http://blogs.rootsweb.com/newsroom/ * * * ROOTSWEB STORE: Check here for the latest in genealogy books, software, photos, and more: http://www.therootswebstore.com/ * * * ROOTSWEB REVIEW ARCHIVES: Check here for previous editions: http://e-zine.rootsweb.com/ ============================================================== IN THIS ISSUE: 1. Editor's Desk: News and Notes 1a. ISBGFH British Institute in Salt Lake City 1b. Britain Decides to Stack Graves 1c. Spotlight on Some Distinctive Websites at RootsWeb 2. Using RootsWeb: Message Board Surname Confusion: Who's on First? 3. Connecting Through RootsWeb: Uncanny Luck 4. Bottomless Mailbag: Finding Missing Grave Markers Family Reunions Bergdolt Family Reunions Reunion Ideas 5. New at RootsWeb 5a. New User-contributed Databases 5b. New/Updated Freepages and Homepages by Individuals 5c. New/Updated Freepages and Homepages by Counties, States, and Genealogical/Historical Societies 5d. New Mailing Lists 6. Humor/Humour 7. Subscriptions, Submissions, Advertising, Reprints ============================================================== IN THIS ISSUE: 1. Editor's Desk: News and Notes 1a. ISBGFH British Institute in Salt Lake City The International Society for British Genealogy and Family History (ISBGFH) is sponsoring the seventh annual British Institute in Salt Lake City, 8-12 October. Classes include Sherry Irvine's "British Migrant: Problems, Routes, and Strategies," David Rencher's "Irish Research: Sources and Methods for Research in Ireland," and a special one-day session on "Basic Wales Research" taught by Darris Williams. For registration and course description details, visit: www.isbgfh.org 1b. Britain Decides to Stack Graves According to the BBC, the British government has approved a process by which graves at least seventy-five years or older can be exhumed and deepened to make room for additional burials--up to six additional coffins per grave. This comes in response to predictions that there will not be enough burial ground left in England and Wales within thirty years. To read the entire story, visit: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/6722481.stm Thank you to Gary S. Collins, of Pullman, Washington, for bringing this story to my attention. 1c. Spotlight on Some Distinctive Websites at RootsWeb The Pottawattamie County Genealogical Society (Iowa) website. This is a new website at RootsWeb, with indexes and look-up requests for birth, marriage, death, probate, cemetery, church, and other records for the county. Also includes other county information and helpful genealogy links: http://www.rootsweb.com/~iapcgs/ 2. Using RootsWeb: Message Board Surname Confusion: Who's on First? By Joan Young joan@volunteer.rootsweb.com We've all laughed at one time or another listening to the old Abbott and Costello skit "Who's on First?" The comedy routine points out in a humorous manner how confusing surnames can be. No one knows this better than those of us who spend time researching our family history on the Web. Take, for example, the unlucky soul trying to find his BORN ancestors using a search engine that searches every word of the text. Or imagine trying to find your JAMES ancestors without the ability to separate James SMITH from John JAMES. Common words (cousin, post, carpenter), given names (Joseph, James, Robert), place names (Jackson, Mississippi, or London, England); any surname you want to find that doubles as a common word, thing, place, or given name, can present difficulty when every word is searched. You can't even count on a case-sensitive search option catching surnames. Many people type surnames in all capital letters and others type them using no capitalization. Towns, countries, and given names are generally typed with a leading capital letter followed by lower case, just as a surname is often typed. Message boards used for non-genealogical purposes wouldn't be apt to have (or need) a search feature for finding surnames because surnames are not crucial for discussing who will likely be the next person voted off the island on "Survivor" or whether the Yankees are expected to win the World Series. However, genealogists need to be able to locate ancestors, and most often this is accomplished by finding a surname. For this very reason, and for the reason that surnames can be confused with other words found in a message on a board, the RootsWeb/Ancestry message boards include an advanced search option with a dedicated "Last name (surname)" field: http://boards.rootsweb.com/AdvancedSearch.aspx?p=&cst=&csn= This surname field allows you to identify surnames as such so that other researchers can easily find the messages containing the surnames they are interested in; both the poster and the searcher can distinguish the surname WOLF from the animal of the same name, or the fact that a person was "born" from the surname BORN. For example, the person searching for BORN ancestors only wants to receive hits for messages about that surname and not for messages about your TROUT or SALMON ancestors. If you add the surname BORN to the surname field when it is not included in the post about your TROUT and SALMON families you have tossed the searcher a red herring and supplied him with fishy results. Groan, if you like, at my pun. Hopefully, you get the point. Listing names other than the surnames included in the message (or variant spellings of those surnames), skews the search results. People find board messages of interest to them either by browsing or searching. The format you use to display surnames in the dedicated surname field when you post a message is important for later searches and also as an aid for people who browse or scan new posts on a board. List surnames in the surname box by typing the surnames one after the other separated by a comma and a single space. For example: JAMES, POST, TROUT, SALMON, ENGLAND with no extraneous punctuation, symbols, or words. Do not include "and many more" or "etc." or even "and" or "or" or any word that is not a surname. Slashes or other symbols between surnames will interfere with the search results. Hyphens should be reserved for instances when a surname is actually hyphenated--such as HYDE-WHITE. Using a comma to separate surnames also aids the person browsing a board in knowing whether the poster is listing the surname VAN and a separate surname ALLEN or a single surname VAN ALLEN (i.e., VAN, ALLEN versus VAN ALLEN). When posting a message on the RootsWeb/Ancestry message boards, remember the surname field and use it properly to help others find your message. List only surnames in the surname field, include only surnames that are in your message, and list the surnames one at a time separated by a comma and a single space. Do not include any extraneous symbols or words. Then everyone will know WHO is on first and WHAT is on second and won't be thrown off base when they try to determine which words in your message are the surnames. If you are not familiar with "Who's on First?" it can be found and enjoyed here: http://www.baseball-almanac.com/humor4.shtml * * * * * * * * * * Advertisements * * * * * * * * * * REQUEST A SEARCH FOR YOUR ANCESTORS AT WORLD'S LARGEST GENEALOGICAL LIBRARY ANCESTOR SEEKERS researchers at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City will search this vast collection for your ancestors from the U.S.A., Canada, Australia, or Europe. Friendly service, affordable prices. For a no-obligation research assessment visit: http://www.ancestorseekers.com/research.rwr/ For help from professional genealogists in England or Scotland visit: http://www.britishancestors.com/ Or join us 30 SEPTEMBER-5 OCTOBER for our NINTH SALT LAKE CITY RESEARCH TRIP--the ideal genealogy vacation! * * * * * * * * * * End of Advertisements * * * * * * * 3. Connecting Through RootsWeb: Uncanny Luck By Michelle Duval Ule Santa Rosa, California I hit a wall ten years ago with one family line: what kind of a last name was Woody? My husband retired from the Navy out of Hawaii that summer and we treated ourselves to a drive across the United States visiting friends. Whenever we stopped near a significant genealogy site, my husband took off with the kids and I ran inside a library for a couple hours. The Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana, gave me several glorious clues--including the middle names of Catherine Bibb Woody Duval's seven sons--and then there was the DAR Library in Washington, D.C. Fifteen minutes before I had to catch the Metro, I found an article about Waddy's Mill in Louisa County, Virginia. Since this was the county where Catherine Duval was from and the name was similar enough to her apparent maiden name of Woody, I read through it and discovered Samuel Waddy had a daughter named Catherine who married a Duval. I checked the name and dates against the Allen County Public Library information and eureka, I discovered Catherine Bibb WADDY Duval (1806-47) named all seven sons with family first and middle names, enabling me to trace the family line back to circa 1620 Virginia. I was so excited I got on the wrong Metro line, but who cared? 4. 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.] ------------------------------------------------------------- Finding Missing Grave Markers By Barbara Peters Some recent articles in the Review have discussed the difficulty of finding overgrown grave markers. We have found missing grave markers by using a ski pole and tapping along the area we were sure held the remains of our ancestor. Grass had grown over the flat marker and the metal tip of the pole did the job for us. * * * Family Reunions By Jeany Garrison Roark Here are some of my positive reunion experiences: 1. Five years ago my niece Cheryl who lives in Texas had terminal breast cancer. Of course that family could not attend our reunion in Indiana. I had a large beautiful nylon banner made in Cheryl's favorite colors. I took it to the reunion along with magic markers and a video camera. I had all the families at the reunion sign their names on the banner along with a little note of love and encouragement, while my husband caught it on tape. Cheryl's sisters hung the banner in her room and they showed her the video, finding what each person in the video had written and identifying them. The next week my husband and I made the trip to Houston to see her. We had a glorious party in her bedroom with singing and dancing. The day after I came home she left this world for a better place. Her sisters said they had to watch that film every day. 2. Last year my husband and I made posters of each branch of my vast family. I am the eleventh child of twelve children and my father also came from a family with twelve children. We made a poster with my grandparents and each of their children on it. Then, we made a poster for each of those children who had a family--only four. We then made posters for all of my siblings, as we all have large families. I took clothesline and plastic clothespins and strung the posters on one end of the pavilion where we were having our reunion. I put Grandma and Grandad's family at the top on one side with each of their married children's families below them. On the other side I put my parents at the top with my siblings in order under them. Everyone was amazed at how easy it became to see where you came from. I also spent several days copying old photos and made a collage of them in a very large poster frame. We placed it on a card table in one corner. It was unreal the conversation all of this information brought out. Now, we are working on putting something together for all of our men and women who served our country. * * * Bergdolt Family Reunions By Beth Parker Las Vegas, Nevada Our family now consists of a core group of four siblings and our spouses, all in our fifties and sixties and living across the U.S. (Boston, Illinois, Nevada, and Washington). Our mother died very young (age forty-seven) and our father died in his sixties. With our parents gone, all our grandparents gone, and no other close relatives to tell our family stories, we decided that we should hold a family reunion every two years just to keep the family history alive. This past year I decided to create a special "Reunion Project" that would start before we got together and would be read during our reunion. I created questions about our childhood, our parents, our grandparents and extended family, and other general historical events. I e-mailed the questions to each of my siblings. When they responded (also by e-mail), I put their answers into a booklet. I then added any pictures that I could find that related to their answers--both family pictures and images off the Web. The result was a fifty-page booklet titled "Growing Up with those Crazy Bergdolts," which is a keepsake for each of us. (Office Depot will cover and spiral bind something like this for a very reasonable price.) Then, last summer in the Grand Tetons, we sat together and read our answers, laughing, remembering, and sometimes crying. It was the highlight of our reunion. Even the younger kids, aged sixteen to twenty- four years old, were fascinated by our responses. The questions I chose fell into four categories: 1) Our Early Years. Examples: 1) List three of your earliest memories; 2) List your favorite vacations; 3) What was your favorite music? 4) What was your most embarrassing moment. These questions were designed to help family members recall family activities and events. 2) Memories of Mom and Dad. Examples: 1) What trait did you most admire about Mom and Dad? 2) What lesson or responsibility did Mom and Dad stress to you? 3) If we ever got in trouble it was because *fill in the blank*. With both parents gone, we often found ourselves asking "who are we and why do we act this way?" These questions gave us the chance to see our parents and ourselves from four different points of view. 3) Memories of Our Extended Family. Examples: 1) What memories do you have of our grandparents, great-grandparents, cousins, aunts, and uncles? With a span of twelve years between the oldest and youngest siblings, it was important to talk about our memories of our extended family. I was amazed when my brother stated that he had never met our Great-Grandma Mary--I had a picture of him sitting on her knee when he was about five years old. 4) General History. Examples: 1) What were your politics growing up? 2) What was the first election you remember? 3) List three major historical events during your lifetime that changed you, and where were you when it happened; 4) What memories do you have of advances in medicine, technology, or transportation that impacted your life? In this section of the booklet I included Web images of various historical events that were mentioned, such as the Salk Vaccine Sundays, the Berlin Wall, Woodstock, and the advent of television. I know that this is a very long e-mail, but the end result of our "Reunion Project" was so important to each of us. It has created an even stronger bond between us and set an example for the younger members of our family. They have already stated that they intend to continue the tradition. * * * Reunion Ideas By Jenny Calvin jcalvin5@cafes.net In 2005, we had a reunion of the descendants of my great-grandfather, Ernest Green Burgess, with about seventy-five people in attendance. None of my great-grandfather's children were still living, but all but one of his grandchildren were. To save money on postage, I targeted these grandchildren for most of my correspondence in planning the reunion, relying on them to contact their children and grandchildren. I sent them all family information sheets to be filled out and returned. I opted for a homemade information sheet instead of a standard genealogy family group sheet so I could specify "mother's MAIDEN name," etc., to prevent answers such as "Mr. and Mrs. Jones." It took a little bit of nagging to get all of the information in, but we eventually got it all. A month or so before the reunion, I sent each of the first cousins a printout of what I had on their family so they could check it one more time. I started the planning about ten months before the actual reunion--it took a long time trying to find contact information for everyone, most of whom I had not seen or heard from in many years. We came up with a "signature scavenger hunt" to get cousins out of their immediate groups and meet more distant cousins and to get each generation out of their generational group. We passed a piece of paper to everyone with questions like, "Who has lived in the same house for more than forty years?" "Who will be attending college this fall?" "Who has traveled more than 100 miles to attend this reunion?" "Who plays a musical instrument?" and so forth. The goal was to go around and get signatures from people who fulfilled the requirement. Each person could only sign your paper once, no matter how many answers they qualified for. We also had a family history trivia quiz with questions such as, "What was the name of the creek that ran through the family farm?" and "What is Aunt Baby's real name?" It was a research quiz, not a prior- knowledge quiz, and since most of the first cousins knew the answers, it encouraged the younger generations to seek the knowledge of the older ones. I made sure to include one question about each of the original siblings. Each family was asked to bring a poster board with pictures of their family to display. That way, we got to "see" the family members who were not able to attend. We had one person assigned as the designated photographer to take a picture of each immediate family, then grandparents with their children and grandchildren, and then great-grandparents with all their descendants. She also took a picture of all of the first cousins together. We (somewhat) jokingly said that you could only get in line to get food if you had had your picture taken. Some people preferred to take off their nametags for the picture, but, from the standpoint of identifying the individuals in the pictures later, keeping them on has a very definite advantage. Nametags were color-coded--gold for the oldest (first-cousin) generation, blue for the second-cousin generation, and red for the third-cousin generation. The few fourth-generation children were also given a gold nametag since they were not likely to be confused with the oldest generation. In the bottom corner of the nametag, each individual wrote the name of the original sibling they belonged to. I printed off a descendant tree, taped it together, and hung it on the wall. Each person was asked to find his or her name on the tree and highlight it so we could see who all was at the reunion. I also had a descendant report printed off for everyone to look at. Someone brilliantly suggested having large envelopes on the table, with a sign saying that if you wanted a copy of the descendant report or the descendant tree, to address the envelope to yourself, write on the flap what you wanted a copy of, and put the designated amount for copying and postage into the envelope. That way, I was able to make updates from info received at the reunion, and I knew exactly how many copies to make. [Editor's Note: For more great ideas on planning family reunions, check out "Your Family Reunion: How to Plan It, Organize It, and Enjoy It," by George G. Morgan. Copies can be purchased in the RootsWeb Store: http://www.therootswebstore.com/ ] 5. New at RootsWeb 5a. 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. ILLINOIS. Sangamon County. Springfield. Springfield Junior College, class of 1960; 64 records; John J. Petterchak http://userdb.rootsweb.com/alumni/ 5b. 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 * * * Adrien's Grove. By Pat Korosec. Surnames include ALLEN, BACKMAN, BARNES, BARRETT, BIAGI, BOOKLESS, BREEDLOVE, CARMACK, CHUDZICKI, COOPWOOD, DETTER, DILLARD, ETZ, FOX, GLASIER, HOLMES, JAMISON, JOHNSON, JONES, KINNE, KOROSEC, MANLEY, MARTIN, MONCRIEF, MYERS, NEWMAN, NEY, ORAZEM, RECTOR, ROSS, SEBOLT, SEEMAN, SNODGRASS, TAYLOR, and WOODWARD. 5c. New/Updated Freepages and Homepages by Counties, States, and Genealogical/Historical Societies To Request a Free Web Account: http://accounts.rootsweb.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------- No New/Updated Freepages and Homepages by Counties, States, and Genealogical/Historical Societies. 5d. 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 AUST BELLIG BRUZAS CONARD DENN FAGG GUNNOE HOULSBY JOHNSTONBAUGH KOLHATKAR MACCLOY MACHADO MACLANE MACQUARRIE MACWHIRTER MASTEL MCARVER MCCAGHREN MCCARTHER MCCARTOR MCCLAVE MCCORQUODALE MCEUEN MCFATRIDGE MCGAHERN MCGRUDER MCKASKLE MCKEEGAN MCKEITHEN MCLAGAN MCLARNIN MCLUSKEY MCMANNERS MCMILLION MCQUAY MCSHANN MOLLENAUER MYERSCOUGH REALEY REMOUCHAMPS RUDERSDORF SHOBE TRITES NEW REGIONAL MAILING LISTS AUS-ADELAIDE-ASYLUMS -- This list is for all who are interested in and who are researching their ancestors who may have been in the Adelaide asylums. BEAUFORT-NC-GENWEB -- A mailing list for everyone interested in the history and genealogy of Beaufort County, North Carolina, area and the Beaufort County, NCGenWeb site. ENG-ARCHIVES -- A list to help you keep up-to-date with news released from the National Archives of England and Wales, to help with searches, and to help you get the most out of the service. Also to support The National Archives' online community IT-LAQUILA -- For the discussion of the genealogy, research, and history of the province of L'aquila in Italy. PAMLICO-NC-GENWEB -- A mailing list for everyone interested in the history and genealogy of the Pamlico County, North Carolina, area and the Pamlico County, NCGenWeb site. NEW ETHNIC OR SPECIAL INTEREST MAILING LISTS ANCESTRIAL_TECHNOLOGY -- Mailing list for the discussion of how our ancestors used the technologies that were available to them. Covers all aspects of life including business, farming, and home life. ANGLO-IRISH -- This list is for all who wish to communicate about their Anglo-Irish ancestors across Irish county lines and across surname lines. CAN-NF-OBITS -- A mailing list for the posting of obituaries and requests for obituary lookups pertaining to individuals of or from Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. CAN-PEI-OBITS -- A mailing list for the posting of obituaries and requests for obituary lookups pertaining to individuals of or from Prince Edward Island, Canada. DNA-R1B1C7 -- Y-DNA Haplogroup R1b1c7 is a defined population located in Northern Ireland, Lowland Scotland, the Western Isles and almost nowhere else--except places settled by those with roots in those regions. GEN-FINDERS -- The mailing list will be used for professional genealogists to discuss and exchange information within the many diverse roles of genealogy. This list is associated with www.GenFinders.com. IGSIOWAVETERANS -- This list will be used to contact members and to send special notices, meeting notices, and a monthly newsletter for the Iowa Genealogical Society Veterans Group. MA-BAY-PROVINCE -- For the exchange and research of genealogy and historical information pertaining to the former Massachusetts Bay Province, which existed from 1691 to 1775 and which was created from the merging of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and Plymouth Colony in 1691. MASSAR-COLOR-GUARD -- For communication between members of the Massachusetts Society of the Sons of the American Revolution Color Guard. MOZILLA-FIREFOX -- Discussion on using and enhancing Mozilla's Firefox browser. PLYMOUTH-COLONY -- For the exchange and research of the genealogy and history information pertaining to the former Plymouth Colony, which existed from 1620 to 1691 in several counties of present- day New England. SCT-GAELIC -- Discussion and sharing of Scottish Gaelic place names, surnames, and general knowledge. SOUTHARD-DNA -- The Southard-DNA mailing list is for the discussion and sharing of information regarding the application of DNA testing to genealogical research on Southard, Southworth, Southwood, Southern, Suthers, and similar surnames. UK-MILITARY -- Military questions pertaining to the UK: battalions, uniforms, abbreviations, records, placements. WIKI-GENPAGES -- To discuss wikis, their genealogical value, and how to create Wiki genealogy Web pages. WORDEN-DNA -- The Worden-DNA mailing list is for the discussion and sharing of information regarding the application of DNA testing to genealogical research on Worden, Warden, Werden, Wharton, and similar surnames. 6. Humor/Humour While searching in the 1920 census for Keanae, Maui, Hawaii, I finally found Tabitha Akiu. Her name was transcribed in the index as Taiter Skin. --Thanks to Joyce Collins * * * Two offices I often pass have signs as follows: Sherbyn W. Ostrich, VMD, Animal Hospital of Lebanon, Pennsylvania; Ernest F. Duh, Divorce Lawyer of Phillipsburg, New Jersey. --Thanks to Teresa D. * * * 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. 7. 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: 13 June 2007, Vol. 10, No. 24. * * * *