27 February 2008, Vol. 11, No. 9

Table of Contents

Editor's Desk: News and Notes

Last week I wrote about the death of Julie Case, one of the founding editors of the RootsWeb Review.

Myra Gormley, the other founding editor of the Review, has since written her thoughts on Julie, which I am including here.

"Julie Case and I met at a national genealogical conference almost twenty-five years ago—we were taking many of the same classes and went on some tours to local repositories together.

"As we chatted during breaks, we discovered our ancestors had lived in and migrated to and from many of the same places in the same time periods. We also learned we had many other bonds—a love of American history, DAR, old cemeteries, epitaphs, literature, politics, and wicked senses of humor.

"Through the years we attended many genealogical conferences and seminars together and took trips all over the United States and the British Isles. When the opportunity came along we worked together at Prodigy, an early Internet Service Provider, when it launched its online genealogy forum. In 1996, Julie came up with the idea for the electronic genealogy-related newsletter we named Missing Links. It was her labor of love. Her delightful sense of humor can be found throughout this newsletter, such as when she calls herself the 'editor at fault' and me the 'co-editor to blame.'

"A couple of years later she convinced me (as she often did while creating more work for us and deflecting my protests to retire and just work on MY families), that it would be fun to be co-editors of the RootsWeb Review. She was right. It was fun.

"Julie and I began as 'genie buddies' and became sisters."

Last week, I announced that after many years of being outdated, Search Thingy was now up and running on RootsWeb. Search Thingy is a special search engine that will search all the Web pages created by RootsWeb users and hosted on, or linked to, RootsWeb.

This announcement confused some readers, who thought Search Thingy would search the entire RootsWeb site for information—including mailing lists, message boards, WorldConnect, etc. It will not. Once again, Search Thingy only searches websites created by users.

Read last week's article on Search Thingy.

Discovering Family History is a new beginners' magazine from the publishers of Family Chronicle and Internet Genealogy.

You can download a free, fifty-six page, online preview issue at their website. It contains such articles as "Free Family History Websites," "Obituaries," the "Ultimate Guide to Subscription Databases," "Who Else Is Researching Your Name?", "What Is a Vital Record?", "Citing Sources," "Computer Basics," "Genealogical Societies," and more.

To download a free preview copy and get more information, visit their website.

Using Rootsweb

I received renewal information for my homeowner's insurance in the mail yesterday; it came in an envelope about an inch thick. A copy of the policy was enclosed with a cover sheet that briefly outlined a few changes in coverage. Like most of us, I quickly scanned the changes, paid the renewal fee, and tucked the policy (unread) into my desk drawer for safekeeping.

This got me thinking about the RootsWeb Acceptable Use Policy (AUP). While most RootsWeb users are vaguely aware that their use of RootsWeb resources is governed by an Acceptable Use Policy (you'll find a link to it at the bottom of every RootsWeb page), I wonder how many of us have actually read the AUP and taken the time to understand it. If you've applied for a website at RootsWeb, no doubt you've clicked on the link that confirms you understand the terms of use—but do you really? I know that over the years I've seen quite a few misstatements and misunderstandings about the terms of use quoted as facts on mailing lists. This leads me to believe we all need to take a closer look at the terms we agree to when using RootsWeb resources.

Let me start by saying I'm not an attorney, and I am not giving legal advice. If you feel you need legal advice, consult an attorney. But for most of us it is only necessary to understand the terms of use as written in the AUP.

When you read the AUP, be sure to note the section on Adoption Message Boards if you are going to use the adoption topic boards. There are specific terms of use for those resources. Also, pay special attention to the section on User-provided Content so that you understand how your submission of a family tree, mailing list, message board post, or other content is treated. RootsWeb acts as distributor of information you provide while you maintain copyright to any original content. RootsWeb is granted certain rights to distribute and archive your data. This is necessary to make your data searchable, to house it, and in some cases to make it accessible to those using RootsWeb co-branded sites. Remember that facts are not copyrightable and can be copied by anyone—you don't "own" facts.

The AUP also covers the details of how you may use the data submitted by others. Remember, RootsWeb provides no guarantee that information you find on the site is accurate. It is up to you to verify the information yourself.

Registration with a username and password is also explained. Registration serves as a security measure to protect your data by making it so that only you can edit or remove it. You may not select a username that is deemed to be offensive, or that misrepresents your identity or impersonates someone else. Using a username does allow you to maintain a certain degree of anonymity if you so desire—as long as you don't seek to misrepresent yourself.

You are responsible for safeguarding your password. Do not share it with anyone else. See the AUP for instructions if you believe your password has been compromised. Representatives of RootsWeb or Ancestry will never ask you for your password—remember to keep it confidential.

The AUP also states that additional policies may apply to websites, mailing lists, message boards, and other facilities at RootsWeb. When you are using a RootsWeb feature for the first time you should pay attention to specific rules spelled out for that resource.

Understanding the RootsWeb Acceptable Use Policy will provide you with the knowledge to keep your submitted content secure and allow you to pursue your research more efficiently and safely.

Connecting

About six years ago I submitted a genealogical query about Nord relatives in Sweden; approximately a year-and-a-half later, I received an e-mail from a person in the U.S. who requested additional information and put me in contact with a distant cousin in Sweden who had been seeking information about his Nord family member who had come to the U.S.

The cousin in Sweden was able to provide me with the Nord family genealogy we shared back to the fifteenth century and I, in turn, was able to provide him with information about my great-grandfather Nord who came to the U.S. We have exchanged pictures, legal documents, and much information.

I was able to send him a picture of my great-grandfather Nord (our common ancestor), which he later had enlarged and framed. He gave it to his mother for Christmas. He said she cried; she had never seen a picture of her grandfather before.

The person in the U.S. who read my query had been looking for two years for this Nord family; when I offered to pay for the contact, he declined and said it was repayment for a debt he felt he owed the cousin in Sweden for information the cousin had provided him: rather than monetary payment the cousin in Sweden requested the person in the U.S. put him in touch with some of his Nord family in the states. Mission accomplished.

Did someone find your genealogy query on the message boards and come to your rescue? Did you find five more generations of your family in WorldConnect? We want to hear your genealogy success stories. Send your family history triumphs to Editor-RWR@rootsweb.com.

Bottomless Mailbag: Readers Write In

My wife and I have worked on both of our family lines for several years. During this past summer my wife received a call from an eighty-year-old second cousin who had a problem. It appeared that while additions were being made to a local college, several tombstones were found in a lot that was being cleared. One stone had the name of Frederich Zacher, 1831-1895, on it.

The construction company was in a panic; they feared they had unearthed a forgotten graveyard. After much research on their part, they found the tombstones had been there "forever," although there were no graves. A local researcher went online looking for family links, found the eighty-year-old great-great-grandchild (our second cousin), and asked her to come get the tombstone from the construction lot.

She picked it up and drove around with it in the trunk of her car for a few weeks—she got plenty of strange looks when she asked for help putting the groceries in her trunk! Finally, not knowing what else to do with it, she called my wife and asked her to "come and get it."

We went searching for the grave it went with, only to find that no one seems to know where the body was put to rest. It seems some bodies were moved from a graveyard near a Catholic school sixty to seventy years ago when additions were made to the building. Frederick was Catholic—and those records indicate he was moved across the street to another cemetery.

We visited this cemetery and found several unmarked, old graves, but little to no records of who is where, or if he is even there. We thought about just placing it on a grave there, but that is not the best idea for some other person looking for a lost ancestor. Plus, how do you explain what you're doing to the police when they pull up and ask why you have a tombstone in your truck? "Uh, we were putting it back?"

So, for now, Frederich Zacher's tombstone is sitting in our flower bed, with roses and flowers around it, waiting for the time it can go home.

Last week, Pat Bell recommended asking local fire departments and mail carriers for information on finding local cemeteries. Don't forget to also contact the local funeral home. When I asked a local funeral director about the cemetery where one of my ancestors was buried, not only did he know exactly where this very rural burial ground was located, he took us there. We would never have found it on our own.

I once searched for a lost cemetery in a small Connecticut community. My method was to visit the local coffee shop at breakfast time. All the "regulars" noticed me and spent time wondering who the stranger was.

Towards the end of my meal I asked the waitress if she had ever heard of the cemetery or knew anyone who might have knowledge of it. Without hesitation she approached the regular crowd with the answer they sought ("Who is that guy?"), and the question I had. Within seconds I had half-a-dozen friends, the way to the cemetery, and the history of how the surrounding land developed.

Our town—Canterbury, New Hampshire—takes care of all the cemeteries in town, including the little ones located on farms. Other towns may do the same, so people seeking a small family cemetery should check with town officials. The local historical society often also has a cemetery list, so make sure to check the local societies as well.

Another method while looking for "lost" cemteries is to ask the road graders. They know the roads and sometimes the cemeteries too—it worked for me in South Dakota.

Here's another suggestion for finding "lost" cemeteries:

Utility companies that must string aerial or underground lines often know more than others. In West Virginia I knew a general location of a cemetery, but the local gas company gave me the exact location.

I was on a trip to research my family from Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, and was looking for the family burial places.

Our family farm was part of the Big Intervale in Victoria County, and I knew my great-great-grandfather, Colin Urquhart, was buried in the Campbell graveyard, but no one knew where it was.

The Big Intervale is now part of the Cape Breton National Park, so I went to the rangers at the park and asked them. They had the graveyard on their maps and told me whenever they find a graveyard they mark it on the map. They gave me the directions and I found it, but there were no gravestones left—just mounds.

I went to the museum and was surprised to find they had the names of the people that were intered at the Campbell graveyard, but didn't know where it was! You never know where you will find information that will help your research.

Last week, Marilyn T. Burkle wrote about a photograph stuck to glass in a frame. To get it unstuck, I would suggest taking it to a professional photo lab.

The lab can soak the photo off the glass and dry it properly. After the photograph is removed from the glass, have it framed properly. The photo should never, ever, touch the glass. Have it mounted on acid free mounting board using "dry mount," which is a heat activated adhesive designed for mounting photographs. The photo should be separated from the glass by a "window mat" of acid free mounting board. The mat should be attached to the mounting board with hinges of acid free linen tape.

A professional photographer should be able to do this for you or tell you where you can have it done. You could cut the mat yourself, but it is much easier with professional tools. Note that the acid free part is very important. Brown cardboard typically contains residual chemicals, which, over the years, can bleach or stain a photograph.

A black-and-white photographic print that has been properly processed, mounted, and cared for should last for a hundred years or more. Color photographs will generally not last as long.

I've been doing family history research on and off for about fourteen years. Through RootsWeb and other online sources, I've met many distant cousins who have been generous in sharing information. I'm also lucky that ancestors and living relatives have done much research in the past. But there are the inevitable brick walls and gaps in information.

Thus, I was interested in trying out "Search Thingy," which you mentioned last week was now up and running.

Many lines of my family were in Cumberland County, Virginia, in the 1700s and into the early 1800s, so I searched for that locale. Search Thingy brought up thousands of hits. Imagine my surprise when the first one referred to my direct line. Scanning briefly down the first page I found another hit for a page on another family of mine. It listed an alternate spelling—one I had not thought of—opening up a new avenue of research. Thanks RootsWeb.

Have a story, question, genealogy resource, or tip you'd like to share with RootsWeb Review readers? Send it to Editor-RWR@rootsweb.com.

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What's New: Databases, Freepages, and Mailing Lists

VIRGINIA. City of Portsmouth. Selected marriage records. 32 records. Contributed by Wanda Wall.

These databases have come online recently. They are searchable, but not browseable.

Submit Your Genealogical Data to a RootsWeb Database.

The Lapensee/Leroux/Cote/Butts Family Genealogy. By Wendy Anctil. Surnames on this Web page include Amell, Butts, Calvert, Cote, Gadbois, Guay, Hamel, Lapensée, Larue, Laperle, Leroux, Pezette, Pike, and Vandandaigue.

If you have a new or substantially revised freepage at RootsWeb and would like to see it mentioned here, send the URL, the title, and a BRIEF description, including major surnames, to Editor-RWR@rootsweb.com.

If your genealogy- or history-related site is located somewhere other than RootsWeb, you can add the link to RootsWeb here.

Request a Freepage (Free Web Account).

ALHN = American Local History Network
SMD = Society of Mayflower Descendents
USGW = USGenWeb
DAR = Daughters of the American Revolution
SAR = Sons of the American Revolution

U.S.A.

• azdlcdar — Dry Lakes (Arizona) Chapter DAR
• azdwcdar — Desert Wells (Arizona) Chapter DAR
• fljccsmd — James Chilton Colony (Florida) Chapter SMD
• iljackso — Jackson County (Illinois) USGW
• macbrook — City of Brookfield (Massachusetts)
• mocccsar — Christopher Casey (Missouri) Chapter SAR
• ohbcaih2 — B.C. Algonquian Indian Historical Society (Ohio)
• pacolum2 — Columbia County (Pennsylvania) USGW
• pamonto2 — Montour County (Pennsylvania) USGW
• tnrobert — Robertson County (Tennessee) ALHN

Canada

• cannor — Northern Ontario Region (Canada)

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.
www.rootsweb.com/~xxxxxx

Note that the ~[tilde] before the Web account name is required.
For example, the Dry Lakes (Arizona) Chapter DAR website is at
www.rootsweb.com/~azdlcdar

Request a Freepage (Free Web Account).

New Mailing Lists

New Surname Mailing Lists

• DEVERELL
• DOELGER
• HOLROYD
• LEMBKES
• MAPPES
• NEWSHAM
• ROGERS-OK
• SIMCIK
• YUMA
  

New Regional Mailing Lists

• No New Regional Mailing Lists

New Ethnic or Special Interest Mailing Lists

• SC-OPDGS — A mailing list for genealogical research queries of the Old Pendelton District, SC Genealogical Society members, and other interested researchers.

Find archived posts to RootsWeb's 30,000 genealogical mailing lists or find and subscribe to a list

To find or subscribe to a mailing list, or to search archived posts to more than 30,000 RootsWeb-hosted genealogy mailing lists, go here.

Request a Mailing List.

The Darkroom

The photo shows my maternal grandparents, Elgin Epps Ashford and his wife Mary Fay Ashford, who is holding my Aunt Mavis Elvira Ashford. On the car bumper is Elgin Epps Ashford, Jr. and my mother, Mary Margaret Ashford. This photo was taken in the northern California redwoods about 1922/24.

For a chance to see your ancestor's photo in the RootsWeb Review, send it to Editor-RWR@rootsweb.com. Make sure to include your name and a brief description of the photograph.

You Found It

I thought you would be interested in seeing these humorous tombstone inscriptions, which were passed on to me by someone else. I can't verify their accuracy, but whether they're true or not, they're still worth a good laugh.

Harry Edsel Smith of Albany, New York
Born 1903—Died 1942:
"Looked up the elevator shaft to see if the car was on the way down. It was."

* * *

In a Thurmont, Maryland, cemetery:
"Here lies an Atheist, all dressed up and no place to go."

* * *

On the grave of Ezekial Aikle in East Dalhousie Cemetery, Nova Scotia:
"Here lies Ezekial Aikle, age 102. Only the good die young."

* * *

In a London, England, cemetery:
"Here lies Ann Mann, who lived an old maid but died an old Mann. December 8, 1767."

* * *

In a Ribbesford, England, cemetery:
Anna Wallace
"The children of Israel wanted bread, and the Lord sent them manna.
Clark Wallace wanted a wife, and the Devil sent him Anna."

* * *

In a Ruidoso, New Mexico, cemetery:
"Here lies Johnny Yeast. Pardon me for not rising."

* * *

In a Uniontown, Pennsylvania, cemetery:
"Here lies the body of Jonathan Blake.
Stepped on the gas instead of the brake."

* * *

John Penny's epitaph in the Wimborne, England, cemetery:
"Reader, if cash thou art in want of any, dig six feet deep and thou wilt find a Penny."

* * *

Anna Hopewell's grave in Enosburg Falls, Vermont:
"Here lies the body of our Anna,
Done to death by a banana.
It wasn't the fruit that laid her low,
But the skin of the thing that made her go."

* * *

On a grave from the 1880s in Nantucket, Massachusetts:
"Under the sod and under the trees,
lies the body of Jonathan Pease.
He is not here, there's only the pod.
Pease shelled out and went to God."

Found a funny name or humorous tidbit in old records, or an amusing entry in census, parish, church, or other records? Send these and other genealogy-related humor/humour items to Editor-RWR@rootsweb.com.

Subscriptions
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Submissions
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. Pictures for "The Darkroom" should be at least 72 dpi, preferably jpgs.

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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: 27 January 2008, Vol. 11, No. 9