ROOTSWEB REVIEW: Genealogical Data Cooperative Weekly News Vol. 1, No. 13, 9 September 1998; Circulation: 208,100+ Copyright (c) 1998 RootsWeb Genealogical Data Cooperative Editors: Julia M. Case and Myra Vanderpool Gormley, CG * * * * * CONTENTS: News and Notes from RootsWeb; Top 10 Uploads to the USGenWeb Archives (Digital Library); ROOTS-L: Largest and Oldest Genealogy Mailing List of Them All; Connecting through RootsWeb; Geek Speak; Mailing Lists; Web Sites; Behind the Scenes at RootsWeb: Excerpts from the Staff Diary; Finding Places; Humor; Reprint Policy; Author Guidelines; Unsubscribe Instructions * * * * * NEWS AND NOTES FROM ROOTSWEB ROOTSWEB WELCOMES AND THANKS all our new Members, Sponsors, and Donors who have joined within the last week. Many of our users may not realize it, but their generosity completely determines the rate at which RootsWeb can add new Websites, mailing lists, and other facilities for everyone's use. Contributions made in the last week should cover the costs of upgrading RootsWeb's main Web server to handle the recent increases in load, and should go a long way toward helping us upgrade the main list server. Folks who want to help us bring more data online for everyone's use can join the Cooperative by visiting: SEPTEMBER ROOTSWEB SURNAME LIST (RSL). The September RSL, including 485,336 surnames (36,139 new surnames in this release) submitted by 69,635 researchers, can now be searched at: ROOTSWEB INTERNET RELAY CHAT (IRC). Scheduled meetings are listed at: ROOTSWEB HELPDESK. For answers to your questions about RootsWeb, visit the HelpDesk at: * * * * * TOP 10 UPLOADS TO THE USGENWEB ARCHIVES (DIGITAL LIBRARY): 1887-1891 Marriages of Laramie, Albany County, Wyoming transcribed by Jack Murray 1850 Federal Census, Alleghany County, Virginia transcribed by Barbara White 1870 Federal Census, Charlotte County, Virginia (Actual images of the microfilm are also being uploaded, courtesy of the transcriber, Bernard Rodenhizer) Early Marriages, Dallas County, Texas Dallas County Genealogical Society World War I Civilian Draft Registrations: Idaho, Mississippi Courtesy of Raymond H. Banks 1880 Federal Census, Sedgwick County, Kansas Transcribed by Kary Wild 1910 Census, Skagway, Alaska Courtesy of Doreen Cooper Dallas County, Texas -- Marriage Book P, 1896-1897 Dallas County Genealogical Society Livingston Parish, Louisiana -- Cemeteries Lafayette Parish, Louisiana -- Cemeteries Civil War: 16th Maine Infantry Courtesy of Bruce Towers * * * * * ROOTS-L: LARGEST AND OLDEST GENEALOGY MAILING LIST OF THEM ALL by Karen Isaacson RootsWeb hosts more than 4,000 genealogical mailing lists, but one is especially near and dear to me. It is ROOTS-L, because it is the one that got me thoroughly hooked on Internet genealogy. ROOTS-L was started in late 1987 (yes, almost 11 years ago). Alf Christophersen, an engineer at the Institute of Nutrition Research in Norway, wanted to post to the USENET newsgroup soc.roots. Because Arpanet and Usenet didn't overlap anywhere near perfectly back then, he had no access to soc.roots. So he and Marty Hoag of North Dakota State University (NDSU) created the mailing list ROOTS-L, and gatewayed it with soc.roots (messages posted to one were reposted to the other). This was done manually for quite a while, but then it was automated. One of my favorite features was started in August of 1988: John Wilson started compiling a list of the surnames people were searching, along with the time frame and location. He'd post it periodically, and I'd eagerly scan it to see if a new cousin had joined the community. It didn't take that long as there were only a few hundred names in it. But when John announced in late 1989 that he'd not be able to continue the project, I volunteered to take it over, and have been maintaining it ever since. From those early beginnings, the RootsWeb Surname List has grown to be one of the most popular features at RootsWeb. Next month, it will break the half million mark on surnames. Almost 70,000 researchers have submitted their surnames for inclusion. Is one of them a cousin of yours? The odds are good. Stop by: Meanwhile, back at ROOTS-L, the list grew, and grew some more. By 1994, when the newsgroup soc.roots wanted to reorganize into multiple soc.genealogy newsgroups, ROOTS-L had more than 2,000 subscribers and opted to close the gateway and go its own way. That's a lot of subscribers: most of our mailing lists today don't have nearly that many. By mid-1995, our hosts at NDSU decided they wanted to better focus the usage of their resources, and we were asked to find a new home. Apple Computer had already rescued several other homeless genealogy lists (the lists gatewayed with the then new soc.genealogy.* newsgroups were hosted for a few months at Georgia Tech before being asked to move on), and it provided ROOTS-L a home, too. Meanwhile, over at RootsWeb ... Yes, by early 1996, there was a RootsWeb, although a big day then was 4,000 hits on the Web server. (We probably do that now in two minutes, at peak hours.) We installed SmartList, and started hosting some mailing lists. One of the first was RSL-UPDATE, a list to which are posted, approximately once a day, the new and modified surnames submitted to the RootsWeb Surname List. (If you'd like to subscribe, send a "subscribe" message to .) In July of 1996, we moved ROOTS-L from Apple to RootsWeb, and here it's been ever since. Currently there are approximately 10,000 subscribers. On a list that large, flame wars are likely to erupt, so, for the past few years, all messages are screened before posting to make sure they conform to ROOTS-L's fairly general guidelines (no flames, no commercial messages except for informative one-time announcements, etc.) We have queries; we have announcements; we have discussions of topics of general interest to genealogists. If you'd like more information, stop by our Web page at . To subscribe, send a message to . Put the word subscribe in both the subject line and the body of your message. What usually works best, after you join, is to monitor the messages for a week or so until you have a feel for the way the group works, then hop right in. Oh, those 10-plus years of messages? You can search through them, at (that's an ell-l not a one-1). Of course, the addresses on the older messages are often invalid, since people change addresses so frequently, but you still might find that vital clue. * * * * * CONNECTING THROUGH ROOTSWEB: Thanks for sharing your stories. Clare Peden Midgley sent this note, posted a few weeks ago to her Allegheny County, Pennsylvania mailing list by Dori House : I don't know where to begin. I want to thank you for your help in getting my two photos of a family reunion on the PA Allegheny page, and also for your work in maintaining this list. Sometimes I get behind due to health problems but I save the posts and soon I'm caught up again. In fact, when everyone was posting the surnames they were researching, I was one of the last to do it. I'm so glad I did. I received what I consider many inquiries. The people were wonderful, willing to share what little or lot they had. Some sent helpful ideas; some took the time to e-mail me with their recollections of people they heard of with one of my surnames. It was such a post I answered. A list member told me of a large family of EGERs in the Carnegie/Collier Township area. This area was close to the area I suspected. This woman put me in touch with my very first EGER cousin. She contacted her cousin and before I knew it I was on the phone with a cousin I never knew I had. The exciting part was that both of us had the same pictures (the ones I posted). We were on the phone identifying each other's family members with the same pictures in our hands. You should have heard us -- "go to the center two trees, the left center one ends in my grandfather's head." He verified the distinguished woman with white hair in the center as my great- great-grandmother, Magdalena SHARP. This was a dream come true. I recently told my husband and daughters that one day I will find out who those people in the photographs were. That day arrived. And it doesn't end there. This cousin's son e-mailed this morning with the offer to share Magdalena's husband's will, pictures of him I don't have, etc. The only sad part was when I found out they had a family reunion just one week ago! Now, my success came from a post, not the pictures on the Web page. But, when we were working together on the phone, I mentioned them. He was surprised that his son hadn't seen them. His son has a computer and is on the Internet, and through this wonderful new technology we can share family information electronically. I'm so glad I struggled to learn this new stuff. I was off in pinpointing the date of the pictures by one year. It was 1920 not 1919. (His older brother on his mother's lap was born in 1919, and he was not a newborn.) What a wonderful week! * * * * * GEEK SPEAK: Thanks to Dale ("Doc") Schneider for this: VULCAN NERVE PINCH -- The taxing hand position required to reach all of the appropriate keys for certain commands. For instance, the warm boot for a Mac II involves simultaneously pressing the Control key, the Command key, the Return key and the Power On key. * * * * * 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 wish to be added to the mailing list for Shelby County, Tennessee, send your SUBSCRIBE message to: TNSHELBY-L-request@rootsweb.com For an index to most user mailing lists hosted by RootsWeb, visit . (PLEASE NOTE: Although all of the new mailing lists mentioned in RootsWeb Review are "live," it might be a few days before they appear on the ~maillist site.) * * * 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 ANSPACH (includes Anspaugh, Aunspach, etc.) BURLEY CONGLETON COY (includes Coye) DEWHURST FIKE (includes Fyke and Fykes) FLINCHUM (includes Flincham, Flinchem, Finchem, Finchum and Fincham) FRY (includes Frei) KENDERDINE (includes Kinderdine) KOENIG (includes Konig) LATHROP MABE (includes Maib and Mayaab) MERIWETHER MIKELL ROTH ROY SPELL STARLING STEICHEN (includes other spellings) UHL VANHORNE (includes Van Horn, Van Hoorn, etc.) NEW REGIONAL MAILING LISTS U.S.A. KYOWEN -- Owen County, Kentucky LAFRANKL -- Franklin Parish, Louisiana MOCOOPER -- Cooper County, Missouri MSCARROL -- Carroll County, Mississippi NYWASHIN -- Washington County, New York OHPICKAW -- Pickaway County, Ohio TNSHELBY -- Shelby County, Tennessee TNWHITE -- White County, Tennessee TXNUECES -- Nueces County, Texas TXSMITH -- Smith County, Texas (East Texas Genealogical Soc.) WVLINCOL -- Lincoln County, West Virginia WVMINERA -- Mineral County, West Virginia NEW MAILING LISTS (ETHNIC, GENERAL INTEREST, MISCELLANEOUS) CENSUS-TECH -- Technical discussions among the USGenWeb Census Project volunteers CLEMENT-Benjamin -- Discussion of ancestors, descendants, and allied families of Captain Benjamin CLEMENT (ca 1705 - 1780) and Susannah HILL of Clement Hill, Pittsylvania Co. Virginia. NY-Military -- For people researching NY Military servicemen OKROOTS -- Oklahoma Roots ORCADIA -- Orkney history and culture (for genealogy, use ORKNEY-L) VAROOTS -- Virginia Roots * * * * * NEW WEB ACCOUNT REQUESTS. To request a Web account please e-mail the information to: * * * 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. (the ~[tilde] before the name is required) will work for most of the following. If not, you will find most of them at the USGenWeb Project or the WorldGenWeb Project . For example, if you wish to visit the Cheshire County, England Web site, visit: ENGLAND engchs -- Cheshire County engken -- Kent County engnth -- Northampton engrut -- Rutlandshire County IRELAND irllet -- County Leitrim POLAND polopole -- Poland Opole District SCOTLAND sctans -- Angus County U.S.A. blairgensoc -- Blair County (Pennsylvania) Genealogical Soc. gaclinch -- Clinch County, Georgia gacrawfo -- Crawford County, Georgia gaschley -- Schley County, Georgia inmartin -- Martin County, Indiana kyccgs -- Christian County (Kentucky) Genealogical Society kyjeffers -- Jefferson County, Kentucky laconcor -- Concordia Parish, Louisiana laliving -- Livingston Parish, Louisiana lastchar -- St. Charles Parish, Louisiana lasthele -- St. Helena Parish, Louisiana mdcbalti -- City of Baltimore, Maryland mecanaan -- Canaan, Maine mslaude2 -- Lauderdale County, Mississippi msnoxube -- Noxubee County, Mississippi nccolumb -- Columbus County, North Carolina ndgrant -- Grant County, North Dakota ohclinto -- Clinton County, Ohio ohauglai -- Auglaize County, Ohio ohpickaw -- Pickaway County, Ohio ohtrumbu -- Trumbull County, Ohio pabecgs -- Beaver County (Pennsylvania) Genealogical Society scfairfi -- Fairfield County, South Carolina tndigs -- Danville (Tennessee) Int. Genealogical Society tnhickma -- Hickman County, Tennessee txandrew -- Andrews County, Texas txdawson -- Dawson County, Texas txgaines -- Gaines County, Texas txsaghs -- San Antonio (Texas) Genealogical Society vamanche -- Manchester (now defunct, but from 1753-1910 was independent of the City of Richmond, Virginia) WALES wlscae -- Caernarvonshire County HOMEPAGES Black Sheep Society Homepage CORNISH Lookup Library KRUMWIEDGE NORCAL Genealogy Index NORCAL Lookup Library * * * * * BEHIND THE SCENES AT ROOTSWEB: EXCERPTS FROM THE STAFF DIARY 2 Sep 1998 (Dr. Leverich) [those who noticed the late delivery of last week's issue of RootsWeb Review please note] It's worse than we thought. Looks like DataCourse's UPS is toast -- must have been a powerful surge as the power went down. Also, DataCourse's SprintLink T1 seems to be hosed. I'm launching for Bakersfield in about 20 minutes with a 4x4 loaded with generator, power conditioners, portable uninterruptible power supplies, and chocolate. In worst case, I think we'll be back on line in no more than two and a half hours, *if* the SprintLink T comes back on line. I knew I should have followed a more sedate career path, like being a bullfighter or an air traffic controller. 3 Sep 1998 (Tim) It's a lovely day today. A monster bounce loop on HCPD-L (1,500 messages last night) [has been reported], from the system that hosts one of the listowners no less. I can't establish a connection to FP-1 or BL-30 to fix it because UUNET's routers have gone off to play canasta with each other again, and TIAC isn't returning any of my phone calls about why their portmasters keep dropping my connection. 4 Sep 1998 (Dr. Leverich) We're having about the first rain of the season, and SoCal Edison had a transformer explode (witnesses say it was dramatic). We have no power. The PMC NOC is now running on the new GENERAC. Seems to be working great. On the other hand, our batteries here at the house are about exhausted. I'm starting to shut things down, and K & I will mostly be off The Net. * * * * * FINDING PLACES by Stan Carman, Technical Support Supervisor Palladium Interactive, Inc. The task of finding information about a particular place can sometimes be overwhelming. Just like some distant relatives, county and city boundaries had a habit of not staying put. They moved frequently over the years. Since knowing the exact county name is important when searching for documents about your ancestors, these tools and sites may make your search easier. First, check out the Ultimate Family Tree Gazetteers. Originally published in 1833 and 1853, these publications on CD-ROM provide descriptive information for specific areas of the United States. You can search these publications using up to two keywords at a time and read the actual page from the Gazetteer. Next, visit , the online 1895 Atlas of the United States, which has wonderfully detailed maps of states and counties. If you don't find what you want there, try Odden's Bookmarks at the University of Utrecht in The Netherlands. This site has links to hundreds of maps around the world including early U.S. maps. . Looking for more current maps? 1990 U.S. census information can be found for specific locations at . Have you ever wondered what some of these locations looked like from space? Take a trip to for a neat look from the skies. The Getty Information Institute will provide you extremely detailed information about places, with latitude and longitude, as well as historical information about the place you're researching. Visit . Finally, the granddaddy of them all, the Roots-L resource page at . This site is a "must visit" with links to a wide variety of U.S. state information. * * * * * HUMOR: "CLOSE APART" in the U.S.A. Christine M. Burton writes: I have found your humor and data concerning accents in various English speaking countries very interesting, but I think it should be pointed out that accents in various parts of the U.S. also vary so much that some people who live (as my husband's Milwaukee Dutch uncle used to say) "close apart" have trouble communicating. I am originally from south Georgia and my husband from a little town in southern Wisconsin (Eagle in Waukesha County). For several years we lived in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, which isn't far from Eagle, Wisconsin and Uncle Walter used to visit, with his wife and daughters. With a new baby in the house and extra mouths to feed, I left Uncle Walter in charge of the baby while I prepared Sunday dinner. I almost had a heart attack when I heard him yell from the bottom of the stairs to his daughter at the top, "Hey, Mary, throw the baby downstairs a diaper!" When visiting, I sometimes got instructions from him on where to find things in Milwaukee, such as, "Go that way until you get to where the bus makes the corner round for a loaf of pumpernickel." Then, we got transferred to the South Carolina Low Country. One day, we went into Charleston for our annual physicals. The doctor sent us to the lab to have blood tests run. The lab technician was new at her job and when she heard us speak, a big grin crossed her face and she exclaimed, "Oh, thank goodness! It is so nice to hear people who speak English. I can't understand a word that these Charlestonians say!" Immediately, I thought that she was from some far off place, as we were, so I asked her where she was from. Her reply was, "Orangeburg." Now, Orangeburg is only a few short miles from Charleston -- no more, I think, than 50 miles, maybe less. Frank Gilbreth ("Cheaper by the Dozen") lived in Charleston and wrote a small book on "Charlestonese" and later on combined it with one on "Bostonese," showing some similarities. As a Southerner, I felt right at home in Maine. It seems to me that they speak with something very close to a Southern accent too. The Gullah and Geechee of the South Carolina and Georgia low country is further modified by a group of African Americans on one of the area's offshore islands. I think they are descendants of slaves owned by German-speaking people. They pronounce W as V and V as F. Anyone who watches "The Nanny" on television has heard the Queens/Brooklyn, New York accent. The most difficult accent to understand that I have heard is the one of the Yankee who comes south for a two-week vacation and goes back home and speaks with what he thinks is a "charming Southern accent" the rest of his life. For those who try that, let me say, you don't fool anyone. If nothing else gives you away it is your use of the two words, "you all." We don't say "you all" in the South and every time we hear it we know it's fake. Down here that's one word, "y'all!" * * * * * 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) full credit is given to RootsWeb Genealogical Data Cooperative and the author involved, in a notice crediting RootsWeb Review (volume, number, publication date, and the address of RootsWeb's main Web page at ) and the author (name, e-mail address, and URL, if applicable). AUTHORS MUST ADVISE THE EDITORS AT THE TIME OF SUBMISSION OF AN ARTICLE for consideration for publication in ROOTSWEB REVIEW if their special permission to reprint is required. * * * * * RootsWeb Review is e-mailed on Wednesdays to all RootsWeb Members, subscribers to RootsWeb-hosted mailing lists, submitters to the Roots Surname List (RSL), and others who use the resources provided by RootsWeb Genealogical Data Cooperative. Back issues may be downloaded from . UNSUBSCRIBE INSTRUCTIONS: If you would prefer not to receive future issues of RootsWeb Review, please e-mail: RootsWeb-Review-L-request@rootsweb.com and put ONLY the word "unsubscribe" (omit the quotation marks) in the subject line and in the body of the message. * * * * * THE EDITORS OF ROOTSWEB REVIEW, THE STAFF OF ROOTSWEB GENEALOGICAL DATA COOPERATIVE, AND THE WONDERFUL VOLUNTEERS AT THE ROOTSWEB HELPDESK ARE UNABLE TO RESPOND TO REQUESTS FOR GENEALOGICAL RESEARCH ASSISTANCE. THANK YOU FOR NOT ASKING!