RootsWeb Review: RootsWeb's Weekly E-zine 29 August 2007, Vol. 10, No. 35 (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/2007/0829.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. 1 Million Mark Reached on the USGenWeb Archives 1b. "The Official Guide to Family Tree Maker 2008" 1c. Book Notice (1) 2. Using RootsWeb: Tips and Tricks: Preventing the Unthinkable Computer Crash 3. Connecting Through RootsWeb: USGenWeb Archives Had the Answer 4. Bottomless Mailbag: Miracle Viewfinder Finding Outdated Websites Cleaning Headstones 5.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. 1 Million Mark Reached on the USGenWeb Archives As of 2 a.m. (MDT) on Friday, 24 August 2007, the USGenWeb Archives had 1,000,569 files stored, browsable, and accessible by a single search. The 1 million mark was reached when Cynthia Daigle uploaded a compiled cemetery listing for Moses Baptist Cemetery, Lafourche Parish, Louisiana. The USGenWeb Archives was developed in June 1996 to present transcriptions of public domain records on the Web. This huge undertaking is the cooperative effort of volunteers who either have electronically formatted files on census records, marriage bonds, wills, and other public documents, or who are willing to transcribe this information to contribute. The USGenWeb Archives is hosted by RootsWeb. Thanks to all USGenWeb volunteers for the hours they've spent walking cemeteries, hunching over microfilm readers, and scouring courthouses and libraries to provide the first million files. http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb 1b. "The Official Guide to Family Tree Maker 2008" What if you could see an ancestor's homeland with the click of a mouse? Move information from the Web to your family tree in two simple steps? With Family Tree Maker 2008, you can do both of these and so much more. To take advantage of all its great features, you'll want "The Official Guide to Family Tree Maker 2008." This step-by-step guide shows you how to build your family tree, customize charts and reports, search for ancestors using powerful Web Search tools, and that's just the beginning. Order your copy today at the RootsWeb Store: http://www.therootswebstore.com 1c. Book Notice (1) The Rockwell Family of Fairfield County, Connecticut, and Beyond: Some of the Descendants of John Rockwell, an Early Settler of Stamford, Connecticut By Kenneth W. Rockwell This book follows the male line of John ROCKWELL to the seventh generation. It includes indexes of names, places of residence, and selected subjects, as well as some supplementary essays, such as a report on the Rockwell DNA Project. The author has also set up a website to report on updates, including details on more recent generations. http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~rootrock/JohnRockwellBook.html Book price: $40.00 including shipping costs. Contact the author at kwrockwell@yahoo.com or by mail: Kenneth W. Rockwell 732 6th Avenue Salt Lake City UT 84103 2. Using RootsWeb: Tips and Tricks: Preventing the Unthinkable Computer Crash By Mary Harrell-Sesniak maryh@volunteer.rootsweb.com "Genealogy is not just a pastime; it's a passion." Before the days of CD-ROMs and flash and external drives, backing up was a real chore. And judging from the droves of recovery companies, it still is. But why don't people take time to back up? I think it is human nature. Most of us love that little gadget called computer and don't expect it to fail. We multitask like we're using supercomputers: we instant message, surf the Web, watch movies, transfer pictures, read censuses, scan, and enter genealogical data into our neat little files every day-- and sometimes all at the same time. That is impressive, if not foolish. If someone asked you to keep track of one or two things, you could do it, but five or six activities at one time? Probably not. Our computers try and usually perform quite well. But factor in computer surges, spyware, viruses, and mechanical failures, and crashes are predictable. After all, you are working on a machine, and, just like us, they eventually die. But believe it or not, most crashes are from human error. AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION Start by making a backup of your hard drive or important files. Hire an Internet backup service and store your information online, or use an external hard drive. I have one, along with a zip disk, several flash drives, and CDs; however, I use RootsWeb for some backups, and wish to compliment them on this feature. RootsWeb has a backup feature? That's not on the menu. No it is not, but it is one of their more popular features, called WorldConnect. Did you know that if you submit your data to WorldConnect you can download it again? And if for some reason your computer crashes, your GEDCOM can be retrieved completely intact, from the last date of upload. Thank you RootsWeb. That is a great feature. And more kudos to RootsWeb for free Web pages that can serve the same purpose. Not to mention most genealogy programs offer personal pages, which are a wonderful idea for preserving photos and documents. But beyond backing up, take care of your computer on a regular, if not daily, basis. OPTIMIZE, ORGANIZE, AND UPDATE IT To keep your computer in tip-top shape, it's important you optimize, organize, and update. This includes removing unnecessary files; emptying the trash or recycle bin; defragging; testing for drive errors; and updating your operating system, software, and security. Before performing any maintenance, close all programs, and be prepared to spend some time. If your system has been neglected, or if it is not powerful, these procedures can take hours. In Windows, many of these maintenance utilities--such as Disk Cleanup and Disk Defragmenter--are located in the Control Panel, or under All Programs>Accessories>System Tools. You can also find them in My Computer. Right-click on the drive name (usually C: ) and select Properties. Start with Disk Cleanup. Disk Cleanup searches your drive; then it shows you temporary files, Internet cache files, and unnecessary program files that you can safely delete. You can direct Disk Cleanup to delete some or all of those files. I usually check most of the boxes provided, including the ones for removing temporary files, emptying the recycle bin, and removing older versions of setup files--if I am certain that I do not need them. The tool for testing a drive for errors is not found in System Tools, but you can always locate it by searching Help or using the My Computer/Properties method described above. Once there, select the Tools tab and then select Error Checking. Next, use the Disk Defragmenter, which "defrags" your computer. You may think your files are all contiguous, but they aren't. Each time you add something new, the file is expanded, and if there is not enough room for it, the file is split. Defragging is a process that puts all files that are stored hither and yon into one place. Keep in mind that different operating systems such as Windows Vista have slight differences in mechanics, and that each update adds new features. Vista has expanded the available maintenance options in the Control Panel, but the old and newer systems both use the methods I have described. Finally, don't forget to update your computer. You need to update your operating system, genealogy program, office suite, and especially your security suite. They require updates to patch security flaws and errors. Each manufacturer determines how their own programs should be updated. If you are lucky, a prompt will pop up and remind you, but in other cases look either under the menus or visit a manufacturer's website for instructions. And after updating, shut down and reboot. Reboot? Yes. Restarting is important. I recently helped someone with a browser problem. She had updated it and it didn't work, so I got the call. "Did you shut down and restart your computer after installing the update?" I asked. "No. It's boring and takes too long, so I just hibernate it." There are networks that go long periods without rebooting, but I would never complete a day without shutting down my PC. It's like not taking your job home at the end of the day. Shut it down and let it forget about everything. Some installations even require it. There was a bit more to fixing the browser issue, but rebooting was a necessary step. For more sophisticated maintenance, you may want to consider visiting a computer store and asking the "geeks" for recommendations. I am not going to recommend specific products, but when I make purchase decisions, I read the reviews of experts and of everyday users. I suggest you do the same. GENEALOGY NEWBIE FORUM A great place to search for help on computers and genealogy is RootsWeb's GEN-NEWBIE forum. It started in 1996 as an electronic mailing list for people who were new to computers and genealogy. Join the list, share information, and ask questions--not just about genealogy, but also about technology. The accompanying Gen-Newbie website is administered by Elaine Maddox and Jack Webster. Their e-mail addresses are at the bottom of the page, along with a computer resource link, where you will find definitions and places to solve computer issues. Also, select "Click Here for Genealogy Links." I particularly liked two selections at the bottom of this page: "Joyce Ragels' Web Site List" and "Brian Besley's Gen-Newbie Page." http://www.rootsweb.com/~newbie/ COMPUTER/INTERNET RESOURCES MAILING LIST John Fuller manages a website of RootsWeb mailing lists called "Genealogy Resources on the Internet," and it contains one list called Computer and Internet Resources. It gives many good computer-related mailing lists you can join on RootsWeb. http://www.rootsweb.com/~jfuller/gen_mail.html http://www.rootsweb.com/~jfuller/gen_mail_computing.html Towards the top of the website is a link to a mailing list called Computer-Help. I think you will find it useful, and if you want to browse the archives, visit: http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/index/COMPUTER-HELP * * * * * * * * * * 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 dream genealogy vacation! * * * * * * * * * * End of Advertisements * * * * * * * 3. Connecting Through RootsWeb: USGenWeb Archives Had the Answer By Tyler R. Although I have acquired quite of bit of information about my maternal great-grandparents over the years, it always bothered me that I never knew exactly where either of them were buried; I had death dates that had been passed down, but I wanted proof. Because of census records, I knew that their last known residence was in Beaver, Oklahoma. I searched the USGenWeb Archives using their surname and in the second search result I pulled up, there were the names and death dates of both my great-grandparents--on a page of cemetery transcriptions. And with them were two of their children. Most family history questions aren't answered so easily but thanks to a generous RootsWeb volunteer my search was over. And best of all, as I continued scrolling through the list, I saw a name and birth date that I recognized. It was my great-grandmother on my paternal side! I knew that the two families had lived in nearby areas in earlier years but I had no idea that members of both families had been buried in the same cemetery. One search, one website, and I had found the resting places for five members of my family. Thanks to all those who take time to post this type of valuable information. 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.] ------------------------------------------------------------- Miracle Viewfinder By Debbi Geer dgirth@yahoo.com One of my habits is to take a photograph of the gravestone of anyone who is a member of the family, regardless of the type of relationship. In my early years of research, I didn't want to trust the conventional camera for taking the gravestone photos. I wanted to make sure I had a good photo for my files. Then, as now, you don't want to have to make a second trip of a few hundred miles for just one or two stones that need to be re-photographed. Thus I bought an "instant photo" camera. At the time I did not know that I had more than just a camera. The camera had the best viewfinder I have ever used. It brought out the letters and numbers on gravestones that appeared to be illegible. I even used it when recording cemetery inventories. I looked at the gravestone through the viewfinder and my husband wrote down what I related. Unfortunately, the camera was later taken off the market by the manufacturer. When I could no longer get film for the camera I kept it for a few years and then made a big mistake--I threw it out. There have been times when I want to kick myself for doing such a thing, but I was thinking of travel weight--especially of those times when I was alone on some genealogy venture. When shopping for a film camera, check out the viewfinder of several models before making a final decision. You might be surprised at what you see. * * * Finding Outdated Websites By Jaime Teas Dilger jtdilger@sbcglobal.net Houston, TX While reading the paragraph in Joan Young's article last week about how to find outdated websites, I thought of another suggestion: Use Google (or another Web browser) to search for the website. Enter the address exactly as you found it. You may be lucky enough to find a cached version of the page. A cached page is one that has been stored in short-term memory for faster retrieval. So, if the page has been viewed before, you may be able to find an image of it even if the original is non-existent. I'm not sure how long pages are cached, but sometimes this works. Also, you might want to try the Internet Archive at www.archive.org. It "photographs" and stores old pages from the Web. I've searched for an outdated page there and found it when I couldn't find a cached page. To read Joan Young's article from last week, visit: http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/review/2007/0822.txt * * * Cleaning Headstones By John Banbury john.banbury@cox.net Reading Mary Harrell-Sesniak's bottomless mailbag piece from last week on using non-invasive techniques to read illegible tombstone inscriptions got me looking around on the Web for headstone cleaners, etc. I found a company called Cathedral Stone Products, Inc. that has a product called D/2 for cleaning organic growth off of masonry. It looks like an excellent product and their website shows a video of the U.S. Navy cleaning one of their graveyard stones with it. It might be worth a look. http://cathedralstone.com/Product.aspx?id=20 To read Mary Harrell-Sesniak's comments from last week, visit: http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/review/2007/0822.txt 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. Ogle County. City of Bryon. Byron Express Index for September 1882-February 1883. 505 records. Robert W. Hutchins. http://userdb.rootsweb.com/news/ ILLINOIS. Ogle County. City of Bryon. Byron Express Index for March-July 1883. 501 records. Robert W. Hutchins. http://userdb.rootsweb.com/news/ ILLINOIS. Ogle County. City of Bryon. Byron Express Index for July- November 1883. 500 records. Robert W. Hutchins. http://userdb.rootsweb.com/news/ ILLINOIS. Ogle County. City of Bryon. Byron Express Index for November 1883- February 1884. 499 records. Robert W. Hutchins. http://userdb.rootsweb.com/news/ NEW YORK. Broome County. 1930 City of Binghamton Directory. 85 records. Richard W. Nabinger. http://userdb.rootsweb.com/citydir/ WWI. War Diary of the 27th Field Ambulance RAMC WO95/1758. 1915-1917. 2395 records. Peter Jennings. http://userdb.rootsweb.com/military/ 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 genealogy- or history-related site is located somewhere other than at RootsWeb.com, you can add the link here: http://resources.rootsweb.com/~rootslink/addlink.html * * * The Sloan Connection. By Frank Mitchell. This website is dedicated to the SLOAN surname, including the alternate spellings of SLONE, SLOANE, and SLOWN. The website features thirty-two different Sloan-related genealogy topics. It also serves as background for the Sloan Connection database, which is posted on WorldConnect. It contains old Sloan photos and Sloan tombstone photos. Contribution of these photos have become very popular lately since I discovered how to link and display the photos along with the individual on WorldConnect. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~fmitchel/sloan/ 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 be accessible yet. 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 Sumter County (Florida) USGW website is at: http://www.rootsweb.com/~flsumter/ * * * DAR = Daughters of the American Revolution USGW = USGenWeb AHGP = American History and Genealogy Project ALHN = American Local History Network U.S.A. flsumter -- Sumter County (Florida) USGW gabhf -- Berrien Historical Foundation (Georgia) macbradf -- City of Bradford (Massachusetts) USGW ncgcfr -- Green County Family Researchers (North Carolina) ncmcdowe -- McDowell County (North Carolina) AHGP scabbevi -- Abbeville County (South Carolina) USGW tncarter -- Carter County (Tennessee) ALHN tnhawki2 -- Hawkins County (Tennessee) USGW tnunion2 -- Union County (Tennessee) USGW vacalexa -- City of Alexandria (Virginia) USGW vafairf2 -- Fairfax County (Virginia) USGW waggl -- Gage Genealogy Library (Wahington) wichs -- Clinton Historical Society (Wisconsin) wycemete -- Wyoming Cemeteries zafarchi -- Archive of All Military Burials (South Africa) SCOTLAND sctislay -- Isle of Islay (Scotland) 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 HALLMAN NEW REGIONAL MAILING LISTS No New Regional Mailing Lists NEW ETHNIC OR SPECIAL INTEREST MAILING LISTS No New Ethnic or Special Interest Mailing Lists 6. Humor/Humour In researching tax rolls for Buchanan County, Missouri, from the late 1880s, I came across a gentleman named "Early Bird." I can only imagine the jokes the poor fellow had to endure. --Thanks to Doni Mollus Fry * * * The name Comfort Sandwich always struck me as funny, and I guess her name came well before dieting became fashionable. Comfort married my great-great-great-grandfather Francis Woolhouse Saunders on 25 January 1869 in St. Peters Church, Walworth, Newington, Surrey, England. --Thanks to Mark P. * * * Found a funny or "proper name for the job" in old records, or an amusing entry in census, parish, church, or other 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: 29 August 2007, Vol. 10, No. 35. * * * *