ROOTSWEB REVIEW: Genealogical Data Cooperative News Vol. 1, No. 24, 25 November 1998; Circulation: 233,650+ Copyright (c) 1998 RootsWeb Genealogical Data Cooperative Editors: Julia M. Case and Myra Vanderpool Gormley, CG * * * * * CONTENTS. News and Notes from RootsWeb; Connecting through RootsWeb; Letters to the Editors; Mailing Lists; Web Sites; GenConnect Boards; Virginia Records; Holiday Humor: Don's Mom and the Turkey; Reprint Policy; Unsubscribe Instructions * * * * * NEWS AND NOTES FROM ROOTSWEB ROOTSWEB GENEALOGICAL DATA COOPERATIVE IS COMMUNITY-SUPPORTED. However, at the moment, it is supported by only 2-5% of those who use it. Your membership is crucial in enabling RootsWeb to continue to add more genealogical data, Web sites, and mailing lists. The degree of community support directly affects RootsWeb's ability to grow. Basic RootsWeb membership is $12 per year. Sponsorship is $24 per year. Higher levels of membership support carry with them additional perquisites. For details about membership options, perquisites, and payment options, please visit: . RootsWeb's mailing address is: RootsWeb Genealogical Data Cooperative, P.O. Box 6798, Frazier Park, CA 93222-6798. * * * ROOTSWEB HELPDESK. Looking for a place to submit a query? The RootsWeb HelpDesk FAQ titled "Queries and Surnames" directs you to various RootsWeb services, and to sites hosted by RootsWeb that will help you maximize your research. * * * * * CONNECTING THROUGH ROOTSWEB: Thanks for sharing your stories. Thank you so much for this service. It has been many years since I started searching for my birth mother and family. With the help of other members of your service, I have located my birth mother's family and will shortly be visiting with them. . .. [A]gain with the help of other subscribers, I am searching for my siblings. After years of feeling disconnected, I finally know where I belong in the scheme of things. You will never know how much that means to me, and probably to so many others as well. You not only provide connections, but also hope. Thanks, RootsWeb. Natalia Eyolfson * * * * * LETTERS TO THE EDITORS Barbara Large asked "have you ever seen someone else wearing your husband's face?" Yes, I have. My husband and I live in Australia. This year we received photos of a previously unknown family in the USA. My husband picked one up and said, "This looks like me." Gobsmacked is the only way to describe our reaction. His 6th cousin in Montana could be his identical twin -- same face, same smile, same glasses, same teddy-bear shape and six weeks difference in their ages. There are some strong WESTAWAY genes out there. Shirley Westaway * * * Regarding the SSDI article in Vol. 1, No. 23, there is another reason why a person might not be in the SSDI. Both my parents had worked for firms where they paid into FICA. However, their last and longest jobs were with the railroad from which they retired. They started to receive two monthly retirement checks, but after some time their Social Security benefits were transferred to the Railroad Retirement Board in Chicago. They then received a single check until their passing. And their names do not appear on the SSDI. I do not know how common this is nor if the Railroad Retirement Board has a list similar to the SSDI. John Burfiend [Editors' Note: If a person worked for a railroad after 1936 he might have qualified for a pension from the Railroad Retirement Board in lieu of Social Security. That's why researchers don't find those ancestors in the SSDI. Most of the RR employees' Social Security numbers begin with the digits 700 through 729. Researchers can write to: Railroad Retirement Board, 844 Rush Street, Chicago, IL 60611.] * * * See below for an addition to the Loch Ness Monster story. Originally, it was a skier and a grizzly bear. THE LOCH NESS MONSTER AND THE ATHEIST An atheist was spending a quiet day fishing when suddenly his boat was attacked by the Loch Ness monster. In one easy flip, the beast tossed him and his boat high into the air then opened its mouth to swallow both. As the man sailed head over heels, he cried out, "Oh, my God! Help me!" At once, the ferocious attack scene froze in place and, as the atheist hung in mid-air, a booming voice came down from the clouds. "I thought you didn't believe in Me!" "Come on God, give me a break!," the man pleaded. "Two minutes ago I didn't believe in the Loch Ness monster either!" The Atheist continues, "God, please let the Loch Ness Monster be a Christian." God replies, "So be it." The scene starts up, atheist falling. The Loch Ness Monster folds his claws together and says, "Lord, bless this food you have so graciously provided." John Sullivan * * * * * 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 have interests in Tasmanian research, send your SUBSCRIBE message to: AUS-Tasmania-L-request@rootsweb.com 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 BENN BISH (includes BISCH) BRICKER CHANEY DEWOLF (includes DEWOLFF, DOLPH, DEAOLPH, D'OLF, etc.) DINGMAN DOBBS FARNI (includes FARNEY and FORNEY) HAGAN HASSELL HUGGINS (includes HUDGINS) KELLY KINZER (includes variant spellings) LANGEN LAW_R_KELLY (Lawrence R. KELLY family research mailing list) LEHMKUHL MCMAHILL MOUSER MUSE (includes MEWES, MEWS, MUIS) NORTHCUTT (includes NORTHCUT, NORTHCOTT and NORTHCOT) PETREY PRESTON REMICK ROUNSAVELL (and the many variants) SALO STOWERS STRAUSS TARRANT THORNHILL (especially descendants of Capt. Cudbert THORNHILL, 1721/2-1809, of England and India) TIGNOR (includes TIGNER and TICKNER) TOLAND WHITSETT NEW REGIONAL MAILING LISTS AUSTRALIA AUS-NSW-Hunter-Valley -- Hunter Valley, New South Wales AUS-Tasmania -- Tasmania SCOTLAND MORAY -- Morayshire, Banffshire, and Nairnshire, Scotland U.S.A. ALJEFFER -- Jefferson County, Alabama COPARK -- Park County, Colorado COPUEBLO -- Pueblo County, Colorado FLSUWANN -- Suwannee County, Florida GACOFFEE -- Coffee County, Georgia GACOLUMB -- Columbia County, Georgia GAHARRIS -- Harris County, Georgia GAOCONEE -- Oconee and Clarke counties, Georgia IACALHOU -- Calhoun County, Iowa IAJASPER -- Jasper County, Iowa IAVANBUR -- Van Buren County, Iowa INDUBOIS -- Dubois County, Indiana INPIKE -- Pike County, Indiana LAMADISO -- Madison Parish, Louisiana MABERKSH -- Berkshire County, Massachusetts MAHAMPDE -- Hampden County, Massachusetts MAMIDDLE -- Middlesex County, Massachusetts MIBRANCH -- Branch County, Michigan MIMUSKEG -- Muskegon County, Michigan MO-RayCounty -- Ray County, Missouri [not new] MOSTEGEN -- Sainte Genevieve County, Missouri NCCASWEL -- Caswell County, North Carolina NCGRANVI -- Granville County, North Carolina NCLENOIR -- Lenoir County, North Carolina NCROCKHA -- Rockingham County, North Carolina NEBUFFAL -- Buffalo County, Nebraska NYRENSSE -- Rensselaer County, New York OHDELAWA -- Delaware County, Ohio OHSTARK -- Stark County, Ohio OKCOTTON -- Cotton County, Oklahoma OKJEFFER -- Jefferson County, Oklahoma SCLANCAS -- Lancaster County, South Carolina TNRUTHER -- Rutherford County, Tennessee TNTIPTON -- Tipton County, Tennessee TXBRAZOS -- Brazos County, Texas WVDODDRI -- Doddridge County, West Virginia WVLEWIS -- Lewis County, West Virginia WVWETZEL -- Wetzel County, West Virginia WVWOOD -- Wood County, West Virginia NEW ETHNIC, SPECIAL INTEREST, and MISCELLANEOUS MAILING LISTS ARCHIVES-RevPen -- USGenWeb Archives: Revolutionary Pensioners Board-Exec -- USGW Board OH-FOOTSTEPS -- Original Ohio source material -- wills, deeds, bible records, tax lists, cemetery files, pension applications, obituaries, old letters, marriage lists, etc. USGW-Nominate -- USGW Board WARof1812 -- Veterans of the War of 1812 and all the battles from 1812 to 1814 * * * * * 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) will work for most. If not, you'll find most of them at USGenWeb or WorldGenWeb . For example, to visit the site of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Society for Genealogical and Historical Research, go to: . AUSTRALIA ausshoal -- Shoalhaven, New South Wales ausvic -- Victoria aussa -- South Australia BANGLADESH bgddhaka -- Dhaka CANADA canpcbogs -- Perth County Branch, Ontario Genealogical Society canbc -- British Columbia bckooten -- Kootenay, British Columbia qcmtl-e -- Montreal-East, Quebec qcmtl-w -- Montreal-West, Quebec ENGLAND engcemet -- Cemeteries engnbl -- Northumberland NEW ZEALAND nzlwelli -- Wellington nzlmanaw -- Manawatu POLAND polswiet -- Swietokrzyskie U.S.A. colarime -- Larimer County, Colorado mobcgs -- Butler County (Missouri) Genealogical Society mosccgs -- St. Charles County (Missoui) Genealogical Society ncmcdowe -- McDowell County, North Carolina nejeffgs -- Jefferson County (Nebraska) Genealogical Society neholths -- Holt County (Nebraska) Historical Society njnjhhs -- North Jersey Highlands (New Jersey) Hist. Soc. ohoccgs -- Ottawa County (Ohio) Genealogical Society orlncogs -- Lane County (Oregon) Genealogical Society pasepsgh -- SE Pennsylvania Soc. for Gen. and Hist. Research sdsvgs -- Sioux Valley (South Dakota) Genealogical Society tnhcgsh -- Hawkins County (Tennessee) Gen. Hist. Soc. wiadamgs -- Adams County (Wisconsin) Genealogical Society * * * * * NEW GENCONNECT BOARDS: Link to GenConnect Fun Facts at . Pam Carey provided the following information. 158 new GenConnect boards were activated 11/8 - 11/21, as follows: ARCHIVES 5 (in beta-testing) AUSTRALIA 1 ENGLAND 8 FRANCE 1 PAPUA, NEW GUINEA 1 USA AL 4 FL 14 GA 7 IA 3 IL 1 IN 4 KY 4 MD 1 MI 2 MO 25 MS 1 MT 5 NC 5 NY 4 OK 1 PA 1 SC 5 TN 21 TX 1 VA 7 WI 9 WV 11 * * * * * VIRGINIA RECORDS (Part One of Two) by Brian Mavrogeorge, Director of Genealogy Initiatives Palladium Interactive Ultimate Family Tree When someone says "the records were burned" I immediately think they must be researching in Virginia. The original capital, Jamestown, was destroyed three times, Richmond was burned in 1865 and many courthouses were destroyed during the Civil War. Virginia research is a challenging quest. The Library of Virginia site states: "early official records of births and deaths in Virginia are almost nonexistent." Records for births and deaths were kept in the local parish; there are few marriage records prior to 1730. However, Virginia was one of the early states, after the New England states, to have vital record registration (1853) and to begin recording births and deaths at the county level. But that stopped in 1896 and it was not until 1912 that vital records were again kept statewide. So it is important to establish the parish or the county where an event took place in order to continue your search in church records, cemetery records, and newspapers. For that you need some kind of a statewide index. A good place to start is the "Virginia Historical Index" (1934-36; reprint, Gloucester, Mass.: Peter Smith, 1965). This multi-volume index, often referred to as "Swem's Index," has entries for several historical and biographical publications through the 1930s and 1940s. Don't overlook the Ultimate Family Data Library's Master Index to its collection of Virginia data. The Ultimate Family Data Library's online index includes abstracts of Virginia records from the mid-1700s to 1800s. You can subscribe to the data online or order it on CD-ROM. * * * * * HOLIDAY HUMOR: In 1996, Cindy Schultz sent this allegedly true holiday story to an Internet mailing list, one member of which, a relative of Myra's spouse, forwarded it to us. We first published this tale in MISSING LINKS, Vol. 1, No. 15, 29 November 1996. To date attempts to identify the author have been unsuccessful. DON'S MOM AND THE TURKEY It all started in July at a grocery store promotion. "How large is this turkey?" the local grocery store asked. Guesses ran to 30 pounds or so, but actually it was 42 pounds. This was, needless to say, a "large" turkey. But in July, no one wanted the turkey, and it was put in the freezer till a more auspicious time. And so it came to pass that Mom was in the store just before the Holidays in 1994, and since she is a naturally talkative person, she struck up a conversation with the butcher at the counter. "I need a kind of big turkey for my family coming," said Mom. To which the butcher replied, "Well, if you are looking for a big turkey, I may have just the thing." And he hauled out the 42- pound bird for Mom. "Nice big bird," said Mom, "but it would cost far too much for my fixed income budget." "Here's the deal," said the friendly butcher. "I can't move this bird at all at the usual price. No one wants a bird this big, so tell you what I'll do. I'll sell you this turkey for 49 cents a pound." Mom, being nobody's fool, thought that such a purchase would be entirely reasonable. After all, twenty bucks for a really BIG turkey would be a reasonable price. And besides, of such stuff are Really Neat Family Legends made. (Little did she know.) "Sold," said Mom. It took four days to thaw out. I showed up in Fargo two days before, and Mom was all a-twitter with ideas for how to put on a family dinner tour de force. We are talking "major" stuffing here. And so, off we went to the various stores to purchase dinner-making stuff. Let me point out something important here. No one makes a roasting bag to handle a 40 pound turkey. And few roasters can handle it either. So we bought one of those nifty open aluminum roasting pans, figuring to cover it with, oh, an acre or two of aluminum foil. But there were some other interesting engineering problems to deal with. Like how to lift it. "No problem," said Mom, "we'll just get some cheesecloth, wrap the bird in a kind of sling, and lift it that way." Elegant solution. Mom, methinks, has missed her true calling of engineer. And so, the Night Before, figuring we'd need a really long cooking time, we stuffed, slung, positioned, covered, vented the bird, and popped it in the oven at about 1:30 a.m. And so to bed, for a long winter's nap. Wrong. At 3:15 a.m., I heard my Mom calling my name. Now you have to understand, when things are going well, I am "Don" to everyone, including Mom. But when that is not the case, I become "Donald." And Mom has a special way of saying Donald. "Donald," she said, "oh, Donald!" I responded groggily. "What? Whatsamatter?" I know Mom, and waking folks at 3:15 a.m. is just not her style. "Donald," she said, "we have a problem." "What," I responded, "problem do we have?" "Our turkey is running over," said Mom. The shift from "the" turkey to "our" turkey was subtly done, in retrospect. At the time, it was effective. This was now a joint crisis. For those who do not see such things clearly, it turns out that turkeys, in the process of cooking, release large quantities of juices, which for normal birds often later becomes gravy. For this bird, it had become a flood, and had overflowed the all-too- shallow roasting pan into the bottom of a hot oven. Smoke. Small apartment. Smoke detectors at 3:16 a.m., roughly corresponding to opening the oven door. And cleaning turkey juices from the bottom of a hot oven at 3:19 a.m. is No Easy Thing, I can assure you. Many towels, not of the paper variety. Even some other cloth materials I still do not recognize. Mom is ready for any crisis of spill, it seems. And so it got cleaned up. The towels got put in the washer at about 3:30 a.m., the fans blew the smoke out of the apartment. The smoke detectors got reset, and so to bed, for an altogether shorter winter's nap. Wrong again. The turkey overflowed again at 5:20 a.m. Same scenario, in all relevant ways. We tried to suck up some of the juices from the roaster, but the turkey baster bulb was bad, and wouldn't create a vacuum. Smoke alarms, much general good-natured grousing, and Mom standing around saying gratuitous things like "If I had known this would happen, I never would have bought that darned turkey." There is no way an eldest son can respond to that appropriately, other than with variations on a theme of, "Oh, it's all right, Mom. This is just Another Neat Adventure on the Road of Life, and Someday We'll All Laugh At This Together." So we each played our preordained roles in the crisis, and by that time, it was time to shower and shave and get ready for the siblings, grandchildren, etc., and just hang out. By about 11:30 a.m., the tiny kitchen was crowded with sisters, each moving in a mysterious choreography, getting in each other's way, using the Very Dish That I Needed for things like glorified rice and other holiday dishes, and the general buzz of Big Holiday Meal Preparation. And when the time came to lift the bird, out it came in Mom's cheesecloth sling, just as nice as you please, and if I do say so myself, it looked like something out of a Norman Rockwell painting on its platter. Much frenetic activity followed, including the required Making of the Gravy from what remained of the copious turkey juices in the bottom of the pan. Mom is not one of your cornstarch gravy people. She does a flour paste, mixing it thoroughly and putting it in a bowl, thereafter to be stirred into the gravy juices for several minutes, and it really is quite wonderful. Now I have to tell you, I was standing right there, and I don't know how it happened. But somehow, the white glass bowl with the flour/water mixture in it ended up on top of the stove. On a burner. Which was on. The bowl was opaque white glass, not Pyrex, and not made for this kind of insult. And the bowl exploded. I don't mean cracked and fell apart, I mean "exploded," with a loud bang, and the throwing waist-high of glass splinters mixed with flour and water all around the kitchen, including onto the aforementioned hot burner, which promptly gave off a cloud of smoke, setting off the aforementioned smoke alarms yet again, which caused the smallest children to panic and cry -- well, you get the idea. Rising (well, stooping actually) to the occasion, I: a. turned off the burner b. threw everyone out of the kitchen c. disconnected the smoke alarm d. opened the windows e. started to clean up the mess Mom had been standing there all this time, watching this happen with an air of almost mystic detachment. I was looking directly at her when she recovered her equanimity. "Darn!," said Mom, "That was my last flour. I'll have to go to the store and get some more." And she put her coat on and out the door she went. Leaving yours truly to once again reorganize the scene. And when she got back with flour, about 15 minutes later, all was again In Order, and the day progressed more or less uneventfully. The dinner was magnificent. The quantity and quality of the leftovers were astonishing. It was, in every possible way, An Event of Significance. But (you may already have surmised) it was Not Yet Over. Afterwards, the sisters took over the kitchen, cleaning everything up and generally fulfilling the role of Dutiful Daughters (no sexism implied, as I had already fulfilled the role of Dutiful Son for most of the previous long winter's night), packing the dishwasher, putting stuff away, etc. And, as it turned out, Turning On the Self-Cleaning Oven. Now, for those not familiar with the technology, SCOs heat themselves up to a relatively high temperature, lock themselves (this is important) with a solenoid so that no one can open them again, then heat WAY up and literally burn the stuff off the inside, reducing it to a fine ash that can easily be wiped out or even sucked out with a small vacuum cleaner. Remember the turkey juice that had overflowed? Well, there was still a fair amount of it left on the bottom of the oven. We had not gotten around to sponging it out, and the late-arriving sister didn't know that needed to be done. So, oven REALLY hot and locked, turkey juice on the bottom, and a vent for excess heat. Smoke. Not just a little smoke; we are talking SMOKE here -- billows of smoke, clouds of acrid smoke, really serious smoke. And the aforementioned smoke alarms, causing little children to panic and cry. Open windows, and smoke billows out. Open doors to hallway, and smoke fills the entire apartment complex. Which, of course, has its own smoke alarms and automatic fire department call relays. And we can't open the oven, which takes a while to cool down, and still pours smoke out the vents. So, smoke, alarms, neighbors, fire department folks. We gave them all some fudge, put fans in the windows, and assured everyone that The Situation is Temporary and Really Under Control. Mom moved wraith-like through it all, and kept saying "Boy, we're going to remember this one for a long time." * * * * * 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 * * * * * 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. 1, No. 24, 25 November 1998. You may 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 . 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