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From: MS JULIA M CASE
To: RootsWeb-Review@rootsweb.com
Subject: RootsWeb Review, Vol. 2, No. 1
Date: Wednesday, January 06, 1999 9:13 PM
ROOTSWEB REVIEW: Genealogical Data Cooperative News
Vol. 2, No. 1, 6 January 1999; Circulation: 247,200+
Copyright (c) 1998 RootsWeb Genealogical Data Cooperative
Editors: Julia M. Case and Myra Vanderpool Gormley, CG
* * * * *
CONTENTS. News and Notes from RootsWeb (IIGS Newsletter; HelpDesk
Tips); FreeBMD Hosted by RootsWeb; Geek Speak; Connecting through
RootsWeb; Peering into the Future; New Mailing Lists; New Web
Sites; New GenConnect Boards; U.S. Census Transcriptions Uploaded
to USGenWeb Census Archives; Cemetery and Mortuary Records;
Humor; Reprint Policy; Unsubscribe Instructions.
* * * * *
NEWS AND NOTES FROM ROOTSWEB
IIGS (tm) NEWSLETTER. The January 1999 issue is now available at
. Articles include
"Genealogy As Story," "Another Great Library Resource," "No
Shelves Here!" (about the completely digital Odessa Library, an
online resource for German-Russian researchers), "Starting Your
Research the Right Way," and "Query With Precision."
* * *
HELPDESK TIPS. Your new computer is connected, you've ventured
onto the Internet, you've discovered RootsWeb, but where should
you begin? RootsWeb has a Web page especially for "newbies" at
, and the HelpDesk
is always available at .
* * * * *
FreeBMD HOSTED BY ROOTSWEB
by Camilla Gemmingen von Massenbach
FreeBMD co-Leader
FreeBMD stands for "Free Births, Marriages, and Deaths." The
FreeBMD project's objective is to provide free Internet access to
the Civil Registration index information for England and Wales.
For more information see (please
note the new URL).
Why did we decide to ask RootsWeb to host the system?
FreeBMD is a huge project with upwards of 120 million records to
transcribe and store, all needing double keying, search engines,
bandwidth to support the access requirements, Web space, and so
on.
RootsWeb is the future of free data access on the Internet.
RootsWeb can supply the hardware we need today and is dedicated
to scaling for next year and the year after.
RootsWeb is responsive to system administration needs, providing
software and technical support on the servers as well as on the
associated mailing lists.
RootsWeb is there in an emergency. We can confidently leave the
running of the system to the staff and volunteers in our
temporary absence.
Because it's RootsWeb, people will find it and know it's a real
project.
Thank you, RootsWeb, and all RootsWeb contributors who make this
possible.
* * * * *
GEEK SPEAK. Thanks to Ben Laurie , who kindly
provided the following definitions of some terms used in Camilla
von Massenbach's FreeBMD article in this issue.
SCALING: The process of increasing a computer's capacity in order
to accommodate increased demand for its services. This may mean
increasing the number of hard disks, the hard disk speed, the
amount of memory, the network bandwidth, the power of the CPU, or
the number of CPUs. It could even mean splitting the work across
several machines. Often a combination of several upgrades is
required to have any noticeable effect.
SCALABILITY: A measure of how much scaling is available before we
run out of steam, money, or ingenuity. Geeks think that a "highly
scalable application" is a Good Thing.
KEYING: The process of entering data (usually when transcribing
from another medium). Named after the keys on a keyboard, of
course.
DOUBLE KEYING: Entering data twice as a crosscheck (of course, if
they disagree, you must triple key). This is commonly used where
it is important that the keyed data is correct, or the original
source is difficult to read (for example, a microfiche of
handwritten records).
* * * * *
CONNECTING THROUGH ROOTSWEB. Thanks for sharing your stories.
Just wanted to thank you for your site and all of the incredible
information it provides. A lot of us want to find out more about
our family backgrounds and ancestry, but it is difficult
dedicating the time it takes to continue the search. RootsWeb
provides the inspiration and interest on an ongoing basis that
keeps me in the process. Thank you and Happy New Year.
Peter Jesionek
* * *
My 1998 success story actually began late on Christmas evening in
1932, when, just after midnight, my father was born in Panama
City, Panama. Although the details have not been verified, the
facts remain that my father and his mother parted company, my
father remaining in Panama with his grandfather and his mother
returning to the United States. Family rumor states that my
grandmother was married to an Olympic swimmer named McCann before
the 1932 Olympics. She was an Olympic diver and apparently had an
accident while preparing for the Games in Pasadena, California.
She went south to Panama to recuperate at the home of her father,
who was a Panama Canal pilot. Family rumor says while she was
under anesthesia, her father told her that an adoption had been
arranged for her son, my father, and that the marriage mentioned
earlier was ended somehow, possibly annulled. Some time after
this she went to New York, and my father remained in the Canal
Zone.
My father was raised believing that his grandfather was his "dad"
and that the person who in reality was his mother was an older
sister. He never had any contact with the "sister." Fifteen years
later he was vacationing in Florida with his family when his
"dad" had a coronary and passed on. His "mom" (who was not his
biological grandmother) took him to California to be near her
relatives. A couple of years later she also passed on, leaving my
father without any family knowledge other than that the family
was from Kingston, New York.
In 1975 I began the search for my missing family history. I began
the "old-fashioned" way by using a mailing list of people with my
surname gleaned from the telephone companies. The name is rare
and only 300 addresses were found, mostly in the South, but
several were around Kingston, New York. I wrote them all letters
and only received about 15 responses, none professing any
knowledge of my father's family. The search stalled in 1988. In
1997 I finally acquired a 486 computer and an Internet
connection. I restarted the search.
I searched databases and Web sites; I joined RootsWeb and browsed
USGenWeb. I signed up for the RootsWeb Surname List (RSL). I
aggressively followed each lead. Still no success. I found a
Query Board for the Ulster County, New York USGenWeb site, and I
posted a query about my missing grandmother.
I received a note one day from a researcher in Ulster County, New
York, who had recognized the surname as the maiden name of
another researcher she had known, who had moved to Texas. My
correspondent copied my query and forwarded it to the other
researcher, to whom "The Story" looked familiar and who sent me
her line. I had found a second cousin. Our grandmothers were
sisters. The bad news was that my grandmother had passed on 14
years before.
The good news is there are seven half-brothers and half-sisters
who are still living and with whom my father is now in contact.
RootsWeb and the USGenWeb Project put my family, separated for 65
years, back together.
Jeff Scism Listowner Bullock-l, Scism-L,
Peffley-L, BlackSheep-L, and PROUD RootsWeb Sponsor+
* * *
No, I didn't find a parent, brother, or sister through RootsWeb,
but can I thank you for making it possible to "meet" a close
ELLIS cousin who lives in Australia, who didn't know she had a
bunch of American cousins? And for a close WHEELER cousin I
didn't know about? And for being able to show my offspring and
theirs, through WYATT-L, that my late husband's descent was as
royal as mine! I'm expressing my warm feelings by initiating
DEWITT-L, hoping it will give others as much as those three lists
have given me in a short time.
Roberta Hart Dutton, Lakewood, CO
* * * * *
PEERING INTO THE FUTURE
by Myra Vanderpool Gormley, CG, Co-editor, RootsWeb Review
Recently Mattel, the toy maker (Hot Wheels, Ken and Barbie),
announced it would buy The Learning Company, Inc. Earlier in
1998, The Learning Company purchased Mindscape (producer of
Family Tree Creator) and Broderbund (producer of Family Tree
Maker), and then in December it acquired Palladium Interactive
(producer of Ultimate Family Tree).
What does this mean to genealogists? It appears Mattel is going
to wind up with all of the genealogy toys, so to speak -- owning
the major popular genealogy software programs and the companies
that produce most of the genealogy CDs.
Additionally, the "Wall Street Journal" in its December 17, 1998,
issue announced that CMG Information Services, Inc., will invest
$10 million in Ancestry for a 30 percent stake in that company.
CMG is betting that genealogy is about to make a big breakthrough
on the Web. However, the CMG investors are not talking about
helping you find that long-lost ancestor when they refer to a
"breakthrough." They mean making money.
Where is all this going in 1999? I have as much trouble peering
into the future as I do digging up the past, but it appears to me
that the costs of computer genealogy (software and CDs) are
likely to increase. Moreover, the price of admission to many
genealogy sources on the Web is probably going to go up. Many
surfers are already paying $5 to $10 per month ($60-$120
annually) to have access to various sources or finding aids. Many
onliners are discovering their "free" Web space or e-mail account
comes with hidden prices -- loaded with ads and their names and
e-mail addresses sold to cyber-merchants.
RootsWeb is one of the "Top 25" or so sites on the Internet and
continues to swim against the tide by providing free access to
huge amounts of genealogical data. Yet currently less than three
percent of its users are providing financial support. If RootsWeb
users contributed only $2-$3 per month ($24 to $36 annually)
there would be adequate financing to maintain and build an
incredible genealogical resource. If they don't, the future of
Internet genealogy looks expensive.
* * * * *
DONATIONS TO HELP SUPPORT ROOTSWEB ARE GREATLY APPRECIATED. For
details about support levels/benefits and payment options, please
visit:
or send e-mail to: . RootsWeb's address is:
RootsWeb Genealogical Data Cooperative, P.O. Box 6798, Frazier
Park, CA 93222-6798. (Please include your e-mail address on all
correspondence and checks.)
* * * * *
MAILING LISTS. To subscribe or unsubscribe from any RootsWeb
mailing list, send an e-mail message with only the word SUBSCRIBE
(or UNSUBSCRIBE) in the subject and the body of the message to
[name of list]-L-request@rootsweb.com (for mail mode) or to [name
of list]-D-request@rootsweb.com (for digest mode). For example,
if you're interested in genealogical trivia, send your SUBSCRIBE
message to: .
For an index to most user mailing lists hosted by RootsWeb, visit
.
NEW MAILING LIST REQUESTS. USGenWeb and WorldGenWeb hosts may
have FREE locality mailing lists for the areas they host and for
that purpose may ignore the "Sponsors-only" warning on the list
request page. Please request new mailing lists at:
.
NEW SURNAME MAILING LISTS
BALLERSTEDT (BALLENSTEDT, BALLERSTADT, BALLENSTADT,
BALLERSTEADT)
BANDY
BASSETT
BASTABLE
BEARSE (BEARCE)
BEAUREGARD (BEAUREGARD dit JARRET; dit VINCENT of Quebec;
BEAUREGARD dit DAVIGNON of Quebec; BEAUREGARD Toutant of
Louisiane)
BETTS
BUZZARD
CADDELL (CADDEL, CADELL, CADDLE, CATTELL)
CARRICO
CHECKLEY (CHECKLY, CHICHELE, CHICHELEY)
CHIDDY
DANNAR (DANNER)
DECOSTE
DITTMAN (DITTMANN)
DONAGHY (DONEGHY, MacDONAGH, O'DONAGHY, McDONOUGH)
DUNLAP
FARQUHAR (FARQUHARSON)
FEATHERS (FEATHER, FETTER, FETTERS, FETHER, VETTER)
GAULDING (GAULDIN, GOULDING, GOULDIN)
GRALEY (GRAYLEY, GRAILIE)
GUTHRIE
HALFACRE (HALFAKER, HUFFAKER)
HASLETT
HATHAWAY
HECTOR
HENDERSON-CANADA -- HENDERSON lines of Canada
HERD (HEARD, HIRD, HURD)
HUBER
JACO
JANES
JEFFERS
LANGHORN (LANGHORNE)
LARRABEE
LAYZELL (LAZELL, LASELL, LAYZELL, LAYSELL, LASELL, LAZELLE,
LASCELLES)
LEDLOW (LEDLOWE, LEDLOE, LEDLO, LEADLOW, LETLOW, LETLOWE,
LETLOE, LETLO, LUDLOW, LUDLOE, LUDLO)
LIGON
LINTNER
MACDOUGALL (McDOUGALL, MacDOUGAL, McDOUGAL, MacDOWELL,
McDOWAL)
MARDORF (MORTORFF, MURTIFF, MONDORF)
MASTIN (MASTEN and MASTON)
MATZ (MOTTS, MOTZ)
MCCOLLUM
MCELWEE
MCKEON (McKEOWN, McKEONE)
MCLEES
NEEP
NEGRYCH (NEGRICH) from Galicia (western Ukraine)
ODOR (ODER)
OSTROM (OSTRUM); OOSTEROOMs of New Netherland
PEDLEY
PEEK
PENCE (PENTZ, PENSE, BENTZ) in the U.S.A.
RADLEY (RADLY)
RASEY
REMINGTON
RENNIE (RAYNIE); a diminutive of REYNOLDS
RICKER
SCOBEE
SHEEHAN
SPECK
STAPLES
TEVAULT (DEVOLT)
TOCA
TOTTY
TOWNER
TREAT
TYO
WALTON
WINELAND (WEINLAND)
YEAGER (YAGER, YAEGER)
NEW REGIONAL MAILING LISTS
U.S.A.
CAAMADOR -- Amador County, California
CABUTTE -- Butte County, California
CACALAVE -- Calaveras County, California
CAELDORA -- El Dorado County, California
CAIMPERI -- Imperial County, California
CASUTTER -- Sutter County, California
CATUOLUM -- Tuolumne County, California
INUNION -- Union County, Indiana
LAEVANGE -- Evangeline Parish, Louisiana
MDCAROLI -- Caroline County, Maryland
MNWILKIN -- Wilkin County, Minnesota
MODALLAS -- Dallas County, Missouri
MOMACON -- Macon County, Missouri
MSNEWTON -- Newton County, Mississippi
NCHAYWOO -- Haywood County, North Carolina
NDHETTIN -- Hettinger County, North Dakota
NDCAVALI -- Cavalier County, North Dakota
NVCARSON -- Carson County, Nevada
NVCLARK -- Clark County, Nevada
NVDOUGLA -- Douglas County, Nevada
OHPERRY -- Perry County, Ohio
PACARBON -- Carbon County, Pennsylvania
TNROBERT -- Robertson County, Tennessee
UTDAVIS -- Davis County, Utah
UTSALTLA -- Salt Lake County, Utah
MSWILKIN -- Wilkinson County, Mississippi
UTUTAH -- Utah County, Utah
UTWEBER -- Weber County, Utah
VANEWKEN -- New Kent County, Virginia
NEW ETHNIC, SPECIAL INTEREST, and MISCELLANEOUS MAILING LISTS
AL-MOBILEBAY -- Mobile Bay (Alabama) area genealogy
BYEGONE-TOWNS -- Extinct towns, communities, settlements
GEN-TRIVIA-UNIVERSAL -- Genealogy trivia from any country (an
offshoot of the GEN-TRIVIA-ENG list for sharing ancestral
recipes, poems, rhymes, ditties, slang words, sayings, etc.)
GHFHC-NEWS -- Newsletter for Geneva Heights Family History
Center, Orem, Utah
KY-DAR -- Kentucky State Daughters of the American Revolution
(DAR) members and potential members
MGS-MEMBERS -- Mobile Genealogical Society (Alabama) members
NC-ALEXANDER-ROOTS -- Alexander Co., North Carolina genealogy
NC-IREDELL-ROOTS -- Iredell County, North Carolina genealogy
NJ-MEMORIES -- For reminiscing about New Jersey
TOLPUDDLE -- Ancestors/descendants/siblings/families related
to James and George LOVELESS, two English Tolpuddle Martyrs
WARBRIDES -- World War II war brides and their children
* * * * *
NEW WEB ACCOUNT REQUESTS. Please see the instructions at
.
NEW WEB SITES. Some of these might not yet be accessible. If one
that interests you isn't up yet, please check again in a few days
or a week. . Note that
the ~[tilde] before the account name is required and will work
for most. If not, you'll find most of them at USGenWeb
or WorldGenWeb
. For example, to visit the page for
Cabarrus County, NC, go to: .
U.S.A.
flpolk -- Polk County, Florida
nccabarr -- Cabarrus County, North Carolina
HOME PAGES
Ted CASH. Genealogy of BREMER and CASH families; also
ANDERSON, BAHLMAN, BATTERMAN, COBLE, CORNELIUS, THISIUS
CLIMBING the Branches. MCPHERSON, HARMAN, BRINSON, COLSELL,
DEWHURST.
GUILE, GILE, GUILES; especially descendants of Samuel GUILE of
Haverhill, Massachusetts.
HAKMILLER Genealogy. Includes BRADEN, CARLE, COLLINS, EDEN,
LAWSON, and WEST.
HOMME.
Bernard W. HORN, A Tribute to. Dedicated to information about
individuals who received the Purple Heart.
JOHNSON Acres. Clay County, Kentucky genealogy of surnames
EVERSOLE, BROUGHTON, JOHNSON, HUNTER, BYRD, and ISAACS.
Elton and Bonnie LACEY's Family Home Page. BRICE, CLENDENIN,
COVEY, HUSTON, LACY, LACEY, and YANCEY.
PARKER.
Samuel Henry PHELPS Family of Cordell, Washita Co., Oklahoma.
PRYOR.
Annette WOMACK. ESTES, GREENWOOD, BEVILLE, and HAND.
* * * * *
NEW GENCONNECT BOARDS. Link to GenConnect Fun Facts at
. 654 new GenConnect
boards were activated 12/27/98 to 1/2/98, as follows:
ARCHIVES 6
BAHAMA ISLANDS 6
IRELAND 6
POLAND 5
U.S.A.
Ar 4
Ca 3
Co 1
Fl 24
Ga 12
Ia 2
Il 1
In 5
Mi 4
Ms 3
NC 6
ND 1
Ne 1
NJ 6
NY 3
Oh 14
Ok 2
Pa 6
Tn 2
Tx 8
Va 16
Wi 18
WV 14
SURNAME BOARDS
475
* * * * *
U.S. CENSUS TRANSCRIPTIONS UPLOADED TO USGENWEB CENSUS ARCHIVES
.
ARKANSAS. 1880 Sharp County (Lebanon and Strawberry Townships)
* * * * *
AND NOW, A WORD FROM THE CORPORATE SPONSOR.
CEMETERY AND MORTUARY RECORDS (Part 1 of 2)
by Brian Mavrogeorge, Senior Development Manager
The Learning Company
Americans rely heavily on the censuses for family group
information. But when searching for children or women who lived
prior to 1900 in the United States, these records are not
reliable. Infant mortality was high, and children who were born
and died between census enumerations don't appear on the census.
If you are looking for a woman in the U.S. who died before the
1850 federal census enumeration, the only information you'll find
under her own name might be on her tombstone or in a cemetery
card file. Tombstone inscriptions, cemetery records, or
undertaker records might be the only tangible evidence of these
lives. The Family Tutor for Basic Genealogy Records
, by Johni Cerny, offers this advice.
Start your cemetery search by finding the names and addresses of
churches in areas where your ancestor may have died. The National
Society of the Sons of the American Revolution has a Web site for
locating cemeteries: .
Churches with affiliated burial grounds usually kept records of
interments in their ecclesiastical registers (sometimes called
"Sexton's Books"). The local minister might be able to tell you
where these registers are now -- in the original meetinghouse, a
central church archive, in the possession of the heirs of the
then-presiding minister, or at the office of the current
minister. Also, thousands of church burial registers have been
microfilmed and can be found in genealogical collections, or at
the LDS Family History Library and Family History Centers.
* * * * *
HUMOR. Thanks to Sharon Chappius for sending this tale.
THE WEDDING
A little boy was in a relative's wedding. As he was coming down
the aisle he would take two steps, stop, and turn to the crowd,
alternating between bride's side and groom's side. While facing
the crowd, he would put his hands up like claws and roar . .. so
it went, step, step, ROAR, step, step, ROAR, all the way down the
aisle. As you can imagine, the crowd was near tears from laughing
by the time he reached the altar.
The little boy, however, became distressed at all the laughing
and began to cry. When asked what was the matter, the child
sniffed, "I was just being the Ring Bear."
* * * * *
PERMISSION TO REPRINT articles from ROOTSWEB REVIEW is granted
unless specifically stated otherwise, PROVIDED
(1) The reprint is used for non-commercial, educational purposes.
(2) This notice must appear at the end of the article:
Written by
Previously published by RootsWeb Genealogical Data Cooperative,
RootsWeb Review, Vol. 2, No. 1, 6 January 1999. Please visit
RootsWeb's main Web page at .
* * * * *
ROOTSWEB REVIEW is e-mailed on Wednesdays to all RootsWeb
Members, subscribers to RootsWeb-hosted mailing lists, submitters
to the RootsWeb Surname List (RSL), and other RootsWeb users.
DOWNLOAD BACK ISSUES FROM .
UNSUBSCRIBE INSTRUCTIONS: If you would prefer not to receive
future issues of RootsWeb Review, please e-mail:
and put ONLY the word "unsubscribe" (omit the quotation marks) in
the subject line and in the body of the message.
* * *
MISSING LINKS: A Weekly Newsletter for Genealogists, edited and
published by Julia M. Case and Myra Vanderpool Gormley, CG, is a
free e-zine usually distributed on Fridays. Back issues are
available for download from .
To subscribe to MISSING LINKS, send an e-mail message that says
only SUBSCRIBE to: Missing-Links-L-request@rootsweb.com
* * * * *
PLEASE NOTE: The editors of ROOTSWEB REVIEW, the staff of
RootsWeb Genealogical Data Cooperative, and the HelpDesk
volunteers are unable to respond to requests for genealogical
research help.
____
Julia M. Case
Co-editor of ROOTSWEB REVIEW
Editor-at-Fault of MISSING LINKS
To subscribe, send SUBSCRIBE message to
RootsWeb-Review-L-request@rootsweb.com
Missing-Links-L-request@rootsweb.com
ROOTSWEB GENEALOGICAL DATA COOPERATIVE
P.O. Box 6798, Frazier Park, CA 93222-6798
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