RootsWeb Review: RootsWeb's Weekly E-zine 7 November 2007, Vol. 10, No. 45 (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/2007/1107.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. Two UK Newspapers Now Available Online 1b. New Maps Online at the National Library of Scotland 1c. Book Notice 2. Using RootsWeb: Posting Data on RootsWeb Message Boards and Mailing Lists 3. Connecting Through RootsWeb: Distant Relations, Or an Odd Meeting 4. Bottomless Mailbag: Nameless Children Stamping Your Books Traveling Names Change Pennsylvania Open Records Law 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. Two UK Newspapers Now Available Online The "Guardian," a famous UK newspaper, and the "Observer," the world's first Sunday newspaper, are going digital. So far, issues of the "Guardian" from 1821-1975 and the "Observer" from 1900-1975 are available. In early 2008, both of the newspapers will be online in their entirety (from 1821 for the former and 1791 for the latter). Both newspapers are searchable. Searching is free, but you must buy a timed access pass to view entire articles. Visit the "Guardian" website for more information: http://archive.guardian.co.uk/Default/Skins/DigitalArchive/Client.asp?Skin=DigitalArchive&enter=true&AW=1194298449025&AppName=2 1b. New Maps Online at the National Library of Scotland The National Library of Scotland recently added more than 100 maps to its online collection--one of the ten largest library map collections in the world. Visit the website to see the available maps: http://www.nls.uk/maps/index.html 1c. Book Notice The Isle of Wight Cooks: Some Descendants of Richard Cook, ca 1557-98, Bristol, England By Robert W. Witt robert.witt@eku.edu This book traces the Cook family from its known origins in Bristol, England, through seventeen generations of family. The Cooks settled primarily in Virginia, North Carolina, Kentucky, and Tennessee. The birth record of the son of the Cook immigrant who first came to America was discovered in a parish register in Bristol, dispelling the myth that he was born at sea. The book includes an every-name index. Cost: $32.50. Available from the publisher, Heritage Books, at: http://www.HeritageBooks.com, or from Amazon.com. 2. Using RootsWeb: Posting Data on RootsWeb Message Boards and Mailing Lists By Joan Young joan@volunteer.rootsweb.com Are you aware that in addition to being great places for posting queries, RootsWeb mailing lists and message boards are the perfect places to post data? This data can be easily located in the future through the mailing list archives or through conducting a global search of the message boards. Let's examine when and where we should consider posting data to the RootsWeb mailing lists and message boards. POSTING DATA AS A REPLY TO A QUERY When you read a query and have access to a book or other resource that includes the information the poster is seeking, consider taking the time to post the data. For instance, the answer to a question about an ancestor's date of birth might be contained in a book you own listing baptismal records. Death information might be found in cemetery listings in your possession. Take inventory of your available publications and research materials and have them at the ready to answer queries. POSTING DATA AS AN ORIGINAL MESSAGE However, you don't need to wait until someone asks a question to post data you have collected. My second great-grandfather, Joseph ROBINSON, bought and sold land in Salem County, New Jersey, on numerous occasions during his lifetime. Since I have not learned Joseph's mother's maiden name, I decided that obtaining copies of all of the deeds, transcribing them, studying the names of the people listed in the transactions, and posting the data might be productive. I posted the deeds on the Salem County Message Board, which is gatewayed to a corresponding mailing list. Therefore, each deed was copied onto the mailing list and into the mailing list archives as well. If posting the deeds helps other researchers looking for the ROBINSONs or other people listed in the deeds now or in the future, that is wonderful. I receive a feeling of accomplishment when I provide information needed by others. But, I wasn't being entirely altruistic when I posted the deeds. Researchers who find the data in the future may be able to add to my knowledge. In addition, transcribing the documents meant carefully examining every word and noticing details that had previously escaped my attention. And, I can now refer to the deeds on the board even if I'm accessing the Internet from a library or on a trip away from home and I do not have my personal research materials with me. So, posting data without anyone asking for the information is beneficial to all concerned. WHAT TYPE OF DATA CAN I POST? Most types of data, such as wills, deeds, marriage records, family Bible entries, birth/baptismal records, tombstone transcriptions, obituaries from older newspapers, and pension information are in the public domain. These may be freely posted by anyone. While you may post data in the public domain without attributing a source to it, I advise you to list your source to explain where you obtained the information. And remember, not all data is in the public domain. Be careful to post only information that is in the public domain, or copyrighted information that you created yourself or have permission to post. In the latter situation, include the fact that you have obtained permission from the copyright holder. Generally, anything published before 1923 is in the public domain; however, recent obituaries or biographies, newspaper clippings, or even scanned images could be under copyright. A helpful website for determining when a copyrighted work from the U.S. enters the public domain can be found here: http://www.unc.edu/~unclng/public-d.htm If in doubt, you can always abstract the factual data instead of copying something from a work verbatim. An obituary or a biography contains names, dates, and places that you may freely use in your post. Facts are not copyrightable. FINDING THE DATA You can used the Advanced Search feature on the message boards to search the boards by classification (categories include "Bible," "Biography," "Birth," "Cemetery," "Census," "Death," "Deed," etc.). If you are posting data, remember to select the proper classification to help future researchers locate it. http://boards.rootsweb.com/AdvancedSearch.aspx?p=&cst=&csn= You cannot search a RootsWeb mailing list by classification, but the mailing list archive is globally searchable. In other words, you can search the entire content of all archived messages. http://lists.rootsweb.com Remember that no snippet of data is so small or so insignificant that it might not be of importance to another genealogist researching his or her family history. By posting a single obituary or family Bible entry, you might be providing just the puzzle piece someone out there has long been seeking. [Editor's Note: Although posting unsolicited data to a message board or a mailing list is acceptable, use discretion in the type and amount of material you post. Excess information posted at random can clutter boards and lists, irritate readers, and take up valuable server space. Make sure the data you post is relevant and useful. Individual message board and mailing list administrators may also choose to filter material they deem irrelevant.] * * * * * * * * * * Advertisements * * * * * * * * * * REQUEST A SEARCH FOR YOUR ANCESTORS AT THE 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 plan and quotation visit: http://www.ancestorseekers.com/research/ For help from professional genealogists in England or Scotland visit: http://www.britishancestors.com/research/ Or join us 13-18 April for our TENTH SALT LAKE CITY RESEARCH TRIP--the dream genealogy vacation! * * * At the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy you can learn in one week what would normally take years. From 7-11 January 2008, expert genealogists will teach courses in American, Western U.S., Welsh, French, or Scandinavian research, plus Multimedia Publishing and Producing a Quality Family Narrative. There will also be a course especially for librarians who serve genealogists. The institute is at the Radisson Hotel, just two blocks from the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. For more information or to enroll online, visit www.infouga.org. The early-bird registration discount ends 17 November. * * * * * * * * * * End of Advertisements * * * * * * * 3. Connecting Through RootsWeb: Distant Relations, Or an Odd Meeting By Sylvia McClelland-Morrison I have a distant cousin in Cincinnati with the last name of McClelland. As common as the name McClelland is, she is only the second person I've met from my branch of the family. This cousin was trying to find more information on her grandmother's mother-in-law, Amanda, who had remarried in Boyd County when her son was young. I found the son by contacting Amanda's second husband's wife, but he was too old to remember much except going to Amanda's grave with his dad. Then I came up with the idea of finding this man's daughter since he said she was into family history. I found her marriage certificate and name, but couldn't find anything else. I told my cousin that I hadn't been able to pick up anything past a marriage certificate and a name and she made the comment that her accountant in Cincinnati had the same last name. Since it was so unusual, she asked him if he had any kin in the Boyd County area by that name. To the shock of us both, the person we were looking for was the accountant's daughter-in-law. What are the odds? 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.] ------------------------------------------------------------- Nameless Children By Barbara Woodruff baw41@verizon.net In regards to the discussion going on in the RootsWeb Review of late about why babies have not always been given names at birth or for some years after, I submit another possible cause. Some religions do not give babies a name until they have participated in a religious service. During the service the child is formally given a name. I have found this a few times in some birth certificates and was told the child would receive a name once baptized. Evidently, it was not considered a problem in the early recording of babies' names. I guess they never figured that many years later family genealogists would be trying to find their relatives. * * * Stamping Your Books By Cari Thomas I found Gene Ewert's suggestions about things to do when taking a genealogy trip of great value, and several "rookie mistakes" he mentioned were ones I've encountered through my years. Thanks Gene. Gene suggested that the greatest rookie mistake was to not write identification and contact information in your notebooks so that they could be returned if lost. I would like to pass along an additional suggestion. I say "pass along" because this tip comes compliments of my late mother- in-law, Mary Lib Tipton Thomas, who was a junior high school librarian in Ohio for many years. Mary Lib's practice was not only to write identifying information on the insides of the front and back covers as Gene Ewert suggested, but to include it in the middle of the book as well. She always put the school logo stamp on page fifty of each book in her library or in the middle of the book if it had less than fifty pages. A book would still be identifiable (and therefore returnable) because of that interior stamp, even if it had lost its cover or end pages. This tip is especially valuable for irreplaceable genealogical notebooks and records. To read Gene Ewert's article, "What I Learned from my Genealogy Trip," visit: http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/review/2007/1031.txt * * * Traveling Names Change By Susan Scouras Charleston, West Virginia Regarding the article "Counted Twice," by Mary Steffens, which was published in the RootsWeb Review, 24 October 2007, I would like to say that I have encountered families being enumerated twice in the census many times over in my years of census searching. Usually the family has been that of an itinerant blacksmith who has moved from farm to farm and town to town providing his services. As Ms. Steffens reported about her family, usually the given names or spelling of the surnames are slightly different. I did find one family where a child had been born between the two reports, and although by the census rules the baby was born after the enumeration date and should not have been reported, the patron I was helping was delighted to find it listed. Don't pass by a second census entry that looks like it could be the same person or family without checking the full entry. Individuals and families may have been enumerated twice if they had a town and a rural home or if a family member had a job that required travel or moving. Besides ministers and blacksmiths, others who traveled for their jobs included loggers, railroad workers, pack peddlers, some construction workers, and seasonal agricultural workers. Oh, and don't forget circus workers. The 1880 census for Wheeling, Ohio County, West Virginia, lists all the performers and workers in W. C. Coup's Circus, including many reportedly born in exotic locations such as Borneo. To read "Counted Twice," visit: http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/review/2007/1024.txt * * * Pennsylvania Open Records Law By Justin K. Houser Bellefonte, Pennsylvania Pennsylvania is considering an Open Records Law, currently known as House Bill 343. In its current state, the bill would "deem inaccessible" any record containing a birth date or address, among other items. If interpreted literally, this bill would seal birth, marriage, death, deed, probate, divorce, and hosts of other county court records. For as long as can be remembered, these records have been publicly accessible (with the exception of birth and death records after 1906, which are available through an application process), and have been abstracted, indexed, published, and disseminated in whole or in part by many genealogical societies. Going to the county offices and wading through these records is not the major source of identity theft this bill makes it out to be. Identity theft derives chiefly from carelessness with correspondence, which is rummaged through by thieves after it is discarded, or by thieves obtaining credit card and other information through fraudulent communications. This bill would make the work of genealogists, local historians, missing heirs, researchers, and individuals seeking to trace the history of a particular piece of property nearly impossible. I feel that the genealogical community needs to make its voice known by contacting the Pennsylvania Legislature and the governor's office to voice opposition to House Bill 343--particularly Section 307--and to push for an exception to be made in the case of the county "row office" records that have traditionally been available. In no way should the centuries-old ability to use these records by law-abiding citizens be shut off. We already have provisions in place to protect the most sensitive of these records. Marriage records do not even contain Social Security Numbers--they were redacted and are no longer visible. The same could be done with other instances of Social Security Numbers, which are generally not necessary in most public documents. (The Social Security Numbers of all deceased persons are already posted online at the Social Security Death Index. Rather than enhancing identity theft, this tool prevents it by enabling individuals to quickly check for fraudulent uses of Social Security Numbers.) Adoption records are sealed and accessible only by court order. Records of births and deaths are available for a $9.00 fee from the Department of Health. Other states are making their records more accessible, rather than less accessible. Several years ago, Texas released the index to births, marriages, and deaths as an online database, covering the years 1905 to the present. The city of Chicago, Illinois, is planning to digitize and release its records for historical inquiry in January. California has released a complete index to its death registers from 1940 to 1997. Ohio has also made death record indices available for a nominal cost, and records can be ordered through the state by any interested party. Arizona has released its death records via a public website, as has Utah and West Virginia, which I believe is also contemplating a similar procedure for marriage records. Georgia is releasing all of its death records to online public access, beginning with 1919. The leadership of the Pennsylvania Legislature can be found here: House: http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/member_information/house/officers.cfm Senate: http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/member_information/senate/officers.cfm Governor: http://www.governor.state.pa.us/ 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. KANSAS. Bourbon County. Woods Cemetery. 26 records. Robin Hixon. http://userdb.rootsweb.com/cemeteries/ 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 Tuscola County, Michigan, Page. Updated information includes Tuscola County marriage licenses from 1900-59; Michigan executions; and an updated, searchable funeral home list covering all of Michigan. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~caillet101/michigansearchable.html 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 Las Animas County (Texas) USGW website is at: http://www.rootsweb.com/~colasani/ * * * DAR = Daughters of the American Revolution USGW = USGenWeb U.S.A. colasani -- Las Animas County (Texas) USGW gaafamer -- African American Griots (Georgia) gafgcjs -- First Georgia Company (Georgia) Jamestown Society infhcdar -- Fort Harrison (Indiana) Chapter DAR insccdar -- Schuyler Colfax (Indiana) Chapter DAR inwtcdar -- William Tuffs (Indiana) Chapter DAR kyrchs -- Rockcastle County Historical Society (Kentucky) mtcicdar -- Chief Ignace (Montana) Chapter DAR pajscdar -- Joseph Schantz (Pennsylvania) Chapter DAR paktcdar -- Kushkuskkee Trail (Pennsylvania) Chapter DAR IRELAND nirnorth -- North Down (Northern Ireland) NEW ZEALAND nzlhvrsg -- Hutt Valley Branch (New Zealand) Society of Genealogists 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 FLOAT VOOGHT MCHARDY NEW REGIONAL MAILING LISTS MALAYSIA -- A mailing list for anyone with a genealogical interest in Malaysia. (Malaysia is on the Malay Peninsula in southeast Asia. The nation also includes Sabah and Sarawak on the island of Borneo to the east.) NEW ETHNIC OR SPECIAL INTEREST MAILING LISTS No New Ethnic or Special Interest Mailing Lists 6. Humor/Humour I found the births of Nothing Knower and Very Curious Knower, a brother and a sister, recorded in New Orleans, in 1850 and 1856 respectively. --Thanks to Emily Randall * * * While my mother worked in the records division in a government job, she came across a funny name. I have never forgotten it: Icy Louise P. Green. -- Anonymous 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: 7 November 2007, Vol. 10, No. 45. * * * *