RootsWeb Review: RootsWeb's Weekly E-zine 20 June 2007, Vol. 10, No. 25 (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/2007/0620.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. Genealogy Magazine Has a New Blog 1b. Scrapped Scrapbooks 1c. Book Notice: Colonial Records of the Swedish Churches in Pennsylvania 2. Using RootsWeb: Nominate Your Favorite Volunteer 3. Connecting Through RootsWeb: Do You Know How Many Cousins You Have? 4. Bottomless Mailbag: Online Storage More Soundex Screw-ups Who Are You Sending Your Information to? 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. Genealogy Magazine Has a New Blog We've all chuckled at interesting finds during our genealogy research--"Santa Claus" listed in a city directory; a poem scribbled in the margin of a census record by a witty enumerator. Check out Genealogy Magazine's new blog, which has a list of humorous newspaper clippings. You can comment on the articles and read others' comments too. http://genealogymagazine.blogspot.com/ 1b. Scrapped Scrapbooks They're sold at Salvation Army and Goodwill by the dozens, but who actually buys those old, abandoned scrapbooks? Just ask Cindy Furman. When a bizarre article in one orphaned scrapbook caught her eye, Cindy passed it over to Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak to track down its rightful owner. Read the whole story in "Something Squirrelly Going On" in the May/June issue of "Ancestry" Magazine. Or visit "Ancestry" Magazine on the Web at www.ancestrymagazine.com. 1c. Book Notice: Colonial Records of the Swedish Churches in Pennsylvania The Swedish Colonial Society is pleased to announce the publication of the first two volumes of the series "Colonial Records of the Swedish Churches in Pennsylvania." Volume 1: "The Log Churches at Tinicum Island and Wicaco, 1646-96." Volume 2: "The Rudman Years, 1697-1702." Each volume contains 240 pages in a library binding with an every-name index. Each book costs $30 (including $5 postage and handling). Orders may be placed by sending a check or money order payable to Gloria Dei Church to: Gloria Dei (Old Swedes') Church 916 South Swanson Street Philadelphia PA 19147-4332 (215) 389-1513 (215) 389-7817 (fax) 2. Using RootsWeb: Nominate Your Favorite Volunteer By Jana Lloyd Editor-RWR@rootsweb.com If you've ever tried creating a genealogy website on one of RootsWeb's freepages, you know how daunting it can be. If you were lucky, you had someone to guide you through your first attempts at creating HTML tags or baby-stepped your way through CSS. If you were really lucky, you ran into Pat Geary. Pat Geary is something of a superhero in the freepages world. Ever since teaching herself how to create Web pages in the early nineties, she has been helping others do the same. She monitors the Freepages-Help, Freepages-Advanced, FontPage-L, and Expression-WebL mailing lists, looking for people who need help. The admin of the Freepages-Help list said, "As a volunteer for the Freepages-Help list, Pat not only answers questions but will often copy a problem page, redo it, and put it up for the questioner to copy. She will create entire HTML or CSS templates as illustrations in response to questions. Since she began volunteering on the Freepages-Help mailing list, I have had to do very little in the way of answering difficult HTML or CSS questions." But Pat Geary is only one of thousands of users--like you--who donate their time to bettering others' experience on RootsWeb. Countless volunteer hours go into making RootsWeb the great site that it is. If you know of someone who has gone above and beyond, please nominate them for recognition on the Volunteer Spotlight page. Although this page has been around for a while, it was updated and given a new look this week. A new link to the page was also added to the RootsWeb homepage. You'll find it under the new "Volunteering at RootsWeb" heading: http://bigfile.rootsweb.com/vols/ On the updated page you'll find information on our first nominee, Pat Geary. You'll also see a link, called "Nominate Someone for the Volunteer Spotlight," where you can nominate fellow volunteers. RootsWeb staff will sift through your nominations and contact the nominees for more info and a photo--because even though we do it out of love, sometimes it's nice to get a virtual pat on the back. P.S. Check out the page Pat made to teach others how to make their own family websites. Very neat. http://www.genealogy-web-creations.com/ * * * * * * * * * * 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: Do You Know How Many Cousins You Have? By Wally Caviness I received an e-mail several weeks ago on my Humphrey message board. The lady said that had read my query seeking for information on any descendents of my great-grandparents, Francis Marion and Amanda "Sis" Moody Humphrey, and thought that her mother might be related to me. I had a paranormal experience while visiting their graves and that of their daughter, Sara Etta Mae Humphrey Evans, in October of 2005. Their tombstones are side-by-side in the Shilo Cemetery, about four miles southwest of Mammonth Springs, Arkansas. Well, I called the lady's mother and, lo and behold, she was my mother's niece; her father was the younger brother of my grandmother, Sara Etta Mae. We talked on the phone for more than an hour-and-a-half. She filled me in on a lot of Francis Marion's family happenings. Since then, I have been contacted by two more Humphrey cousins. My message to you all is, "Just keep putting queries on your various family lineage messages boards." 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.] ------------------------------------------------------------- Do you have Native American ancestors? Tell us the successes and setbacks you've had trying to track them down. Send your emails to Editor-RWR@rootsweb.com. * * * Online Storage By Connie A couple of years ago I accidentally deleted my entire genealogy database. Thank goodness I had uploaded a GEDCOM to RootsWeb just a week before. I was able to restore my entire database. I can't imagine a better way to store all that precious information. For information you would rather not share, there are lots of free online file storage sites available. [Editor's note: Online data storage is a great option because you back up your things away from your home or office. Information is protected not only against hardware malfunction but against natural disasters. Listible.com has a list of 175+ online storage services. Some are for PCs, some for Macintoshes, some free, and some for pay: http://www.listible.com/list/online-file-storage ] * * * More Soundex Screw-ups By Pat Smith Winne Tallahassee, Florida jwinne@nettally.com I enjoyed the comments on Soundex screw-ups several issues ago. Regarding the not-so-accurate Soundex: Our last name is Winne, pronounced Win'-nee, with two syllables--like the sound a horse makes or the name of Winnie the Pooh. Soundex alternatives are Winn and Wynne, both of which are pronounced with only one syllable. There are variations of Winne that are spelled Winnie, Winney, and Whinney; however, even though they are pronounced like Winne, they are not assigned the same Soundex code. It took me longer than it should have to learn to check both Soundex variations. To read the article titled "Soundex Screw-ups," visit: http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/review/2007/0606.txt * * * Who Are You Sending Your Information To? By Louise Power power_louise@hotmail.com I've been doing research on one of my family lines to see if any of the family still lives in this state. I discovered some queries about my family on Ancestry.com, and postings about one particular line from a person with a very unusual middle name and a last name that was somewhat common, but not a standard spelling. He used a couple of e-mail addresses, which I tried to contact to discover where his information came from, but found that both accounts were closed. I even left a sticky note at one site. After a year or so of not being able to contact him, I did a Web search for his name. Since he has such an unusual middle name and his last name is not a standard spelling, I figured something might pop up. It did. One of the hits was to an article in a Texas newspaper. The article was from 2003 and is still in the archives. It said that a person by this name was in the county jail on charges of child sexual abuse and spousal abuse, and the story was horrific. I couldn't believe it was the same person that was looking for genealogical information on my family until I went to Genealogy.com and pulled up his family page. All the contemporary names of wives and children match exactly (including dates and places of birth), with those mentioned in the article. I can only put two and two together and come to the conclusion that the person I was looking for and the person in the article are the same person. The question now becomes, why was he putting information on our family online? I didn't recognize any of our family names on his family page. Who provided him with our family information, and should they be notified about this latest turn of events? His last entries were dated in 2002. I assume that after this article came out, he probably went to prison, so hasn't been working on any genealogies. I guess what it boils down to is this: I'm not sure what to do with this information now that I have it other than to tell other family members what I have discovered. Any suggestions? Most of the people who contact us are good people, actual distant relatives with a legitimate interest in our family lines. But how do we know? There's no litmus test other than caution and common sense to determine how much we should reveal about ourselves and our families. 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 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. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~adriengrove/Indexx.htm * * * 5c. 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] * * * Note that the ~[tilde] before the Web account name is required. For example, the Lamar County Genealogical and Historical Society website is at: http://www.rootsweb.com/~allcghs/ * * * AHGP = American History and Genealogy Project DAR = Daughters of the American Revolution USGW = USGenWeb Project County Site U.S.A. allcghs -- Lamar County Genealogical and Historical Society (Alabama) flfccdar -- Fort Cooper (Florida) Chapter DAR fljnfc -- Jamestowne North Florida Company ilwgs -- Whiteside Genealogy Society (Illinois) ingibcem -- Gibson County Cemeteries (Indiana) kylchmgc -- Laurel County History Museum and Genealogy Center (Kentucky) macmedfo -- City of Medford (Massachusetts) USGW msmchs -- Monroe County Historical Society (Mississippi) nccurrtu -- Currituck County (North Carolina) AHGP nycolhs -- Cayuga-Owasco Lakes Historical Society (New York) okbgs -- Bartlesville Genealogical Society (Oklahoma) txgpgs -- Grand Prairie Genealogical Society (Texas) vaslc -- Salyer-Lee (Virginia) Chapter 1417 UDC wacrcdar -- Columbia River (Washington) Chapter DAR 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 BOENMAN EISMANN FABRICIUS FAIRBROTHER FRALICK GOPE HAHENFELD JURGENSEN KRANZUSCH MACLAGAN MCCHAREN MCCLATCHEY MCCLERE MCCULLOM MCGEOCH MCGUFF MCHUGHES MCKECHNIE MCKINTOSH MCLOUTH MCNICKLE MCSWINEY PERUGINO RANCKER RISSIK SCHLIPKE SHABACKER SIGMUND STALLFORT STRADAL VOELSKE NEW REGIONAL MAILING LISTS No New Regional Mailing Lists NEW ETHNIC OR SPECIAL INTEREST MAILING LISTS MA-1812-SOCIETY -- This list is for communication between members of the Society of the War of 1812 in the commonwealth of Massachusetts. MOZILLA-SEAMONKEY -- A mailing list for the discussion and sharing of information on using and enhancing Mozilla's SeaMonkey browser and mail program in support of genealogical research. PYLE-DNA -- A list for discussion of DNA studies for PYLE, PYLES, PILE, PILES (and other spelling variations). US-SUBMARINEFORCE -- This is a list to focus on the submarine force of the United States Navy. 6. Humor/Humour I found this marriage announcement in the Atlanta, Georgia, "Daily Constitution," 8 January 1878, p. 5, column 4. "On Sunday morning at 10.30 o'clock, Mr. Jno. Long, of Clayton county, was united in marriage to Miss Leonore Little. The ceremony was performed at the residence of Mr. W.A. Belk, in the country, Esquire Green officiating. The happy couple, after a sumptuous dinner, departed for home. We wish them much joy, and trust that their troubles will be "little" ones, and that they will live "long" and be happy. 'Man wants but little here below, But wants that Little Long.'" By the way, on the 1880 census for Poplar Spring, Clayton County, Georgia, I found John E. Long, twenty-two, with wife, Lenorah, twenty- three, and daughter, Lener, one. --Thanks to Eva B. Mayes Webmaster and historian, Athens Historical Society www.rootsweb.com/~gaahs and webmaster for Heritage Papers www.heritagepapers.us * * * 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: 20 June 2007, Vol. 10, No. 25. * * * *