ROOTSWEB REVIEW: RootsWeb's Genealogy News Vol. 3, No. 6, 9 February 2000, Circulation: 395,387+ (c) 1998-2000 RootsWeb.com, Inc. RootsWeb.com, Inc., P.O. Box 6798, Frazier Park, CA 93222-6798 Editors: Julia M. Case and Myra Vanderpool Gormley, CG RootsWeb HelpDesk: Advertising: Media Contact: * * * * * IN THIS ISSUE: o FreeBMD Makes Its First Million o Evergreen State Spearheads Cemetery Project o Valentine's Day Cards o Sally Hemings and Thomas Jefferson: A Genealogical Enigma o Notes from the CEO o Photos from GenTech o RootsWeb's Guide to Tracing Family Trees o Connecting through RootsWeb o New Genealogy Mailing Lists o New Genealogy Web Pages o GenConnect o USGenWeb Archives Project o Letters to the Editors o Humor: Foreign Valentines o Reprint Policy, Back Issues, How to Subscribe/Unsubscribe * * * * * FREE BMD MAKES ITS FIRST MILLION On 3 February 2000, FreeBMD announced that, as of 1 February 2000, there are has more than one million entries in its database of transcribed vital records of England and Wales that are more than 100 years old. FreeBMD co-Leader Camilla Gemmingen von Massenbach thanked all the volunteers who transcribe the records and RootsWeb for providing FreeBMD with a new server (dual Pentium III/500 with 1 GB RAM and 8x18 GB of RAID hard disk) and access to 45 Mb of bandwidth, commenting: "[t]his should remove the overload problem for FreeBMD and give plenty of room for expansion." * * * * * EVERGREEN STATE SPEARHEADS CEMETERY PROJECT Kevin Fraley , Director, Washington Cemetery Project and State Coordinator, USGenWeb Tombstone Project in THE ARCHIVES NEWSLETTER reported on 31 January 2000: Of the state's 39 counties, 22 now have comprehensive cemetery pages online. In each case, the names and locations of all known county burial places are given . . . In every case, the listing and information shown is the most accurate and comprehensive ever done and published for that county, and draws upon all known sources. Washington leads all other states in USGW in getting this sort of material online, and I have not found any non-USGW Web pages for any state that can compare. When finished this will be a model resource, unique to Washington GenWeb. At the same time I can report to you that our effort to place online the burial lists of the state's cemeteries is moving forward rapidly, and that Washington leads all other states in this regard. . . In the Washington Cemetery Project we now have almost 150 past and present volunteer transcribers, and approximately one-third of the more than 2,000 cemeteries in the state are being worked on. Within the next month or two I hope to get online several dozen cemetery transcriptions which have already been completed. * * * * * VALENTINE'S DAY CARDS. Cards at RootsWeb has free Valentine's Day electronic greeting cards that you can send to your online friends and loved ones. * * * * * SALLY HEMINGS AND THOMAS JEFFERSON: A Look at a Genealogical Enigma. **PAID ADVERTISEMENT** The March/April issue of FAMILY CHRONICLE features an article on "Researching Your Irish Roots" by renowned genealogist Angus Baxter. Other articles include, "10 Best Local Library Resources," "Organizing Your Family Records," "How to choose the Right Genealogy Software," "Why Film Research May Still be Your Best Choice," "Websites Worth Surfing" and many others. Top genealogy writers have this to say about FAMILY CHRONICLE: Myra Vanderpool Gormley--"If you haven't discovered Family Chronicle you are in for a treat"; Dear MYRTLE--". . . this is a must have magazine"; Bob Meeker--"Family Chronicle has matured into the acknowledged finest genealogical magazine available." Find out how you can obtain a trial copy by visiting . You can also obtain a trial copy of the February/March HISTORY MAGAZINE with articles "Life and Death on the Oregon Trail," "The 1820's," "The Impact of Refrigeration," "History of Contraception," "The Suez Canal," "The Grand Review to Celebrate the end of the Civil War," "History notes -- Tobacco, The Sewing Machine, Ice Cream, The Toothbrush," and many others. Top columnists have this to say about HISTORY MAGAZINE: Joyce Parris--"HM should arouse your imagination of what life was like for your ancestors"; Donna Potter Phillips--"I'll be crowing like a rooster about this new magazine"; Tamie Dehler--"Articles are written in a style that appeals to the average person rather than the historical scholar." Find out how you can obtain a trial copy by visiting . Save $5 on FAMILY CHRONICLE's Introduction to Genealogy special publication by calling 1-888-326-2476. Mention RootsWeb. Offer good until 29 February 2000. **END PAID ADVERTISEMENT** NOTES FROM THE CEO, by Robert R. Tillman o FOLLOW-UP TO LAST WEEK'S WORLDCONNECT ARTICLE. Last week's list of excuses for not uploading a GEDCOM to the WorldConnect Project evidently hit home. The day after ROOTSWEB REVIEW (RWR) was sent, about 350 RootsWeb users uploaded GEDCOMs containing more than 800,000 names to WorldConnect. As of today, there are nearly 19 million names to search on WorldConnect. We hope to top 20 million names by next week. Nevertheless, only about 7,000 GEDCOMs have been uploaded to WorldConnect. (See for the exact number.) With the circulation of RWR approaching 400,000, this means that fewer than two percent of you reading this article have uploaded a GEDCOM to WorldConnect. RootsWeb has set a goal of reaching 100 million names uploaded to WorldConnect by the end of 2000. Based on the average number of names uploaded in a GEDCOM to date, if about 40,000 of you (or about 10% of RWR's readers) upload a GEDCOM to WorldConnect before the end of the year, this goal will be achieved. WorldConnect has the potential of growing into one of the most important genealogical resources on the planet, but only if you participate. If you have entered genealogical data into virtually any genealogical software application, you probably can generate a GEDCOM and upload it to . If you have any questions about generating, uploading, or editing a GEDCOM file, or if you wish to provide feedback to RootsWeb on how to improve WorldConnect, please post to the WorldConnect Project Suggestion Board at . o ADDITIONAL EXCUSES FOR NOT UPLOADING A GEDCOM TO WORLDCONNECT. Some additional excuses have emerged since last week, including: I STILL DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT A GEDCOM IS. GEDCOM is the acronym for GEnealogical Data COMmunications. It is a text file in a special format that lets you swap files between different genealogy programs. Most genealogy software programs offer this option for a file format. It results in a second file in the GEDCOM format, leaving your original file intact. I ALREADY UPLOADED MY GEDCOM TO ANOTHER SITE. A number of other sites on the Web where you can upload your GEDCOM charge for access and/or burn your data onto a CD and sell it. Although you may not object to this use of your data, many genealogical researchers are on fixed incomes, cannot afford to pay for access fees or CDs and hence, cannot search your GEDCOM. Even if you have uploaded your GEDCOM elsewhere, you should also upload it to WorldConnect so that everyone on the Web can access it free of charge and so that all researchers with a common interest can find you. I DON'T KNOW HOW TO CREATE A GEDCOM FILE USING MY GENEALOGY SOFTWARE. Instructions on how to create a GEDCOM using the major genealogy software applications are located at . Creating a GEDCOM is easy and quick, so do it now while you are thinking about it. I ALREADY HAVE UPLOADED A GEDCOM TO WORLDCONNECT. You can upload as many different GEDCOMs to WorldConnect as you like, although you must create a different account for each GEDCOM you upload. SOMEONE MAY MISAPPROPRIATE MY GEDCOM SOURCE NOTES. The WorldConnect software has a variety of upload options that allow the user to remove sources and/or notes from a GEDCOM. SOMEONE MAY DOWNLOAD MY GEDCOM AND SELL IT. Your entire GEDCOM is not available for download. You can determine how much, if any, of your file can be downloaded. The program supports optional subset download via the "Allow User GEDCOM Download" option. Selecting "no" for that option means other researchers can only look at the displays of your file and cannot download anything. I DON'T WANT TO GIVE UP OWNERSHIP OF MY GEDCOM. The GEDCOM files uploaded to WorldConnect remain the property of the submitter. The following appears at the bottom of each of the main WorldConnect pages: "Unlike with certain other Web sites, you have full control over your GEDCOM. You can change or remove it completely at any time and RootsWeb will never burn it onto a CD-ROM or charge others to access it." o Did your ancestor fight at the Battle of Bosworth Field? Upload your GEDCOM to RootsWeb's WorldConnect Project then use a Post-em to add such interesting details to your ancestors' records. * * * * * PHOTOS FROM GENTECH. If you weren't able to attend the recent GenTech Conference but would like to feel as if you were there, take a peek at the snapshots of pre-conference preparations in San Diego, the RootsWeb, Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild (ISTG), and International Black Sheep Society of Genealogists (IBSSG) booths, and the RootsWeb and head tables at the banquet. Additional photos will be posted over the next few weeks at * * * * * ROOTSWEB'S GUIDE TO TRACING FAMILY TREES. In addition to brief, interactive online genealogy lessons, you'll find links to relevant resources at RootsWeb and elsewhere on the Internet. Index to lessons: * * * * * INNOVATIVE BINDING INC. specializes in short-run, hardcover bookbinding of genealogies. They can do one book at a time, or as many as 100 or more. Why spiral bind your hard work? Hardcover bookbinding your family tree will ensure that your hard work will be admired for years to come. Do you need a gift idea for your children or grandchildren? You can use family stories, pictures, and memories and create a family heirloom, one at a time, personalized for each family member. For more information, contact Innovative Binding Inc. at 1-800-837-1732 ext. #1. Tell them RootsWeb sent you. * * * * * CONNECTING THROUGH ROOTSWEB. Thanks for sharing your stories. GO AROUND THE WALL by Edward Hagerty I am a sponsor of two mailing lists on RootsWeb, HAGERTY and DONNELLY, but I also subscribe to a number of other mailing lists. For more than a year I have subscribed to the (Androscoggin County, Maine) mailing list but I hadn't posted a question about my Irish ancestors who settled in the 1850s in Lewiston, Maine and the surrounding until recently. The response then was light but the quality of the responses was excellent and they were very helpful. Our family thought that my great-grandparents Dennis HAGERTY and Honora O'BRIEN married in Ireland and emigrated together, arriving in America around 1867. In the beginning, I based my research on the assumption that they weren't in Lewiston, Maine until 1867 and so I searched only the 1870, 1880, and 1900 census records for Lewiston. I came away satisfied that they, my grandfather John, and his siblings were all accounted for; but how could an illiterate farmer and wife immigrate to America, start a family of 10 children, and still have money to build an imposing three-story house six years later? After posting my family information on MEANDROS recently, I had the answer. A researcher e-mailed me to say she had the 1860 census, there were a number of HAGGERTYs listed, and would I be interested in looking at them. I knew at least one of my great- grandfather's brothers had come first to Lewiston, so I asked if I could see the census pages. There, in addition to his brother John, was my great-grandfather Dennis living in Lewiston at least seven years earlier than previously thought. My great- grandmother Honora was on the list too, but living with her parents and brothers, so although they may have married in 1867, they met in America and not in Ireland. For anyone new to researching ancestors, don't be surprised as you go back in time that the present spelling of your name will change perhaps more than once. Brothers and cousins will spell their surnames differently. As a case in point, I received a message from someone who had information on another HAGERTY family that spelled the family name as HEGARTY, which is phonetically correct. Members of the other family were first cousins to my great-grandfather and while we have been for all these years unable to confirm where in County Cork the HAGERTY family is from, I now know where the HEGARTYs are from and hope soon to confirm that the HAGERTYs were from there as well. If you are subscribed to a mailing list, don't hesitate to post a question on your ancestors as I did. Feel free to post a question again and again every few months. In time you should get results. Also, if you hit a wall on a direct ancestor, try going around the wall by researching a sibling or cousin. [Vowels are interchangeable. Try them all. Further, how you spell your name now and how your family spelled it 150 years ago are less important than how a clerk or census taker recorded it then or where a clerk files your record today. See "What's in a Name?" in "RootsWeb's Guide to Tracing Family Trees" at Eds.] **PAID ADVERTISEMENT** Everton's Genealogical Helper Will Make a Donation to RootsWeb. Now is your opportunity to help RootsWeb and start reading the best magazine for family research in the United States. With every subscription to Everton's Genealogical Helper, RootsWeb will receive a 15% donation to help keep it free for genealogists around the world and you will get a free issue to boot! To help RootsWeb and subscribe to Everton's Genealogical Helper, visit In Everton's Genealogical Helper, you can read dozens of articles to walk you through the research process, read about successes of family research, learn tricks of computer software, read reviews of genealogy Web sites, use categorized links in every issue of the magazine, read columns on helping children do family history, learn how to use your scrapbook to share your family history, read book reviews and queries from around the world. The newsstand price would be over $48 if you purchased each of these magazines separately. However, by subscribing now, you will help RootsWeb, receive a FREE issue and pay only $24 for an entire year of Everton's Genealogical Helper. (You can save more with a two-year subscription and RootsWeb will receive even more.) Remember, for every subscription, RootsWeb receives a donation of 15% to help keep it free. **END PAID ADVERTISEMENT** MAILING LISTS. For an index to most genealogy mailing lists hosted by RootsWeb, visit NEW MAILING LIST REQUESTS. Please request new mailing lists at: TO SUBSCRIBE OR UNSUBSCRIBE from any RootsWeb-hosted 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, to join Freepages Help (for advanced topics), send a SUBSCRIBE message to NEW SURNAME MAILING LISTS, GENCONNECT BOARDS, AND CLUSTERS Agoston, Albridge, Althouse, Artz, Arvin, Autrey, Ayotte, Ayris Bammel, Barriskill, Bibler, Blanding, Blansett, Boskill, Brew, Bridgford, Bridenstine, Briskey Canton, Casagrande, Casbeer, Catchings, Center, Chartrand, Clauser, Clyburn, Cogar, Cota, Cranswick, Craun Dake (Deake), Dancer, Danieley, Derham, Deridder, Deskins, Dietrick, Dijkgraaf, Dool, Dreidoppel Ealy, Ebanks, Eberting, Ege, Elhoff, Engebretson Favata, Fingerson, Finnis, Flewwelling, Flint-UK (Flint in the U.K.), Frostig, Frugar Glenroy, Green-Jacob (descendants of Jacob GREEN of North Carolina), Greeson, Griffitts (Griffitt, Griffit, Grifit) Haden, Hammaker, Hartrum, Hotrum, Huett Jeffco Kanallakan, Keatley, Kernohan, Kettwig, Kinkle, Kouwenhoven, Kreul, Krogman Laborde, Lamendola, Loghry, Lones, Luddy Macaluso, McChristian, McCuen, McJunkin, McManness, McQuilkin, Mancey Orphey, Ouzts Paladino, Palmertree, Pellegrini, Perazzo, Pirrone, Podesta, Prye, Pullin Quattelbaum, Quattlebaum Radford-UK (Radford in the U.K.), Raterman, Ren, Riese Sagraves, Sauceda, Selch, Sesma, Shepherdson, Silar, Silvertooth Slygh (Sligh, Sly), Solis, Stallworth, Stillwagon, Stoudt Utzs Viles (excluding Voiles), Vonschulmann Waterfield, Weinhold, Wenstrom, Wepking, Whitlow, Winthrop, Wiswall, Wygold NEW REGIONAL MAILING LISTS AUSTRALIA AUS-SA-YORKE -- Yorke Peninsula, South Australia GERMANY DEU-BALTISCHE -- Deutsch-Baltische genealogy (German Baltic, bilingual) KRUMMHORN -- Krummhorn area of Ostfriesland, Germany ITALY ITA-PIEDMONT -- The Piedmont area of Italy MALTA MALTA -- The Island of Malta SCOTLAND SCT-WIS -- Western Isles (Outer Hebrides) Scotland U.S.A. ITUNASSI -- Unassigned Lands of Indian Territory KY-WEST -- Western Kentucky SC-RIDGEVILLE -- Families from the town of Ridgeville, Dorchester County, South Carolina NEW ETHNIC, SPECIAL INTEREST, AND MISCELLANEOUS MAILING LISTS EOLFHS-EXEC -- East of London Family History Society Committee Executive Committee FREEPAGES-ADVANCED -- Freepages Help list, advanced Topics KCGS-BOARD -- Kansas Council of Genealogical Societies Board KCGS-MEMBERS -- Kansas Council of Genealogical Societies Members List OKTERR-NA -- Oklahoma Territory (not Indian Territory) Native Americans PSYCHIC-ROOTS -- Psychic Roots TXARCHIVE -- TXGenWeb Archives working mailing list * * * * * 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. FOR EXAMPLE, to visit the Genealogical Society of South Africa Web page, go to SCOTLAND sctshi -- Shetland Islands SOUTH AFRICA zafgssa -- Genealogical Society of South Africa U.S.A. akangoon -- Angoon Borough, Alaska aksitka -- Sitka Borough, Alaska calags -- Livermore-Amador Genealogical Society (California) caplacer -- Placer County, California inbrown -- Brown County, Indiana mdpgcgs -- Prince George's County Gen. Society (Maryland) minemgs -- Northeast Michigan Genealogical Society neswngs -- South West Nebraska Genealogical Society pastgc -- Susquehanna Trails Genealogy Club (Pennsylvania) sdpotter -- Potter County, South Dakota sdsully -- Sully County, South Dakota * * * * * GENCONNECT. RootsWeb hosts many surname GenConnect boards that are in need of people to maintain them. o For a complete list of adoptable GenConnect surname boards o For the form to request to adopt a GenConnect surname board (the same form is used for surname mailing list requests) Have you found a genealogical treasure, such as a photo album or an old Bible containing a completed family record page, that you would like to see reunited with its family? If so, in addition to submitting a notice for publication in the "Somebody's Links" section of MISSING LINKS or in the SOMEBODY'S LINKS NEWSLETTER (to subscribe, send e-mail that says only SUBSCRIBE to: , also you may post a notice the GenConnect SOMEBODY'S LINKS board at * * * * * USGENWEB ARCHIVES -- THE ARCHIVES NEWSLETTER contains the current USGenWeb Archives submissions from the last week. February 7, 2000 issue USGW-ARCHIVES-ANNOUNCE-L is a read-only mailing list for weekly announcements of new updates and submissions to the USGenWeb Archives. It is open to anyone who wishes to subscribe. To subscribe, send e-mail that says only SUBSCRIBE to this address: * * * * * LETTERS TO THE EDITORS may be posted to the GenConnect board at http://cgi.rootsweb.com/~genbbs/genbbs.cgi/RWR-LettersToTheEditor or e-mailed to RWR-Editors@rootsweb.com. * * * Over a year ago I purchased three rolls of microfilm for counties I can't travel to. Shortly after the film came in, I contacted the USGenWeb Census Project telling them about my purchase and that I would be willing to transcribe the film for the project. I had good intentions when I first said I would do it. I started transcribing and everything was going as well as could be excepted. Then I ran into a huge problem . . . the images in some of the frames were cut-off right through the names. After seeing this I scanned forward and found other problems. Some images were overexposed, while others were underexposed. I found other frames where the image was cut in half. I used to work in a dark room in high school. I loved photography and those lessons are still with me. I know bad filming when I see it. It upset me that not only had I purchased bad quality, but also I had to explain to the people at USGenWeb why I couldn't transcribe the film. I know many people were counting on me to get this film online for them. I have two suggestions for anyone who orders film: (1) check it immediately for quality and (2) don't say you'll transcribe it until you've checked the quality first. After this ordeal, I now work on transcribing film from the county I live in. If everyone reading this would work on transcribing the records from the counties they LIVE in regardless if they are researching there, then I think records across the country would get online quicker. This could be the biggest volunteer effort ever, and one that we could all be proud of. Joy Mack * * * I would like to thank RootsWeb. Now, I don't have one of those "I connected with people in Transylvania" stories (YET), but I do have pretty amazing results. Within the space of two years (while returning full-time to college and preparing for my upcoming wedding!) I have gone from knowing two to three generations of my ancestry to (in some cases) knowing 11 generations, and have increased my database from around 60 names to nearly 560 -- and more than half of the increase is directly traceable to information on RootsWeb! I have not done this by searching all over the place, nor have I even used RootsWeb to its fullest potential. I have done this by applying the lessons provided by RootsWeb during my visits to the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana (an *excellent* genealogy library), subscribing to the JESTER-L surname list (an extremely active and helpful group), and most recently, by using WorldConnect. I have been able to find all kinds of new names in this new RootsWeb feature, and as soon as I'm done with this note I'm adding my own GEDCOM. My fiance recently remarked that RootsWeb "sounds too enormous to be freeware" but, indeed, it is what you offer -- FREE access to our ancestors. I countered that it's more like shareware, where you can try it, decide if it's what you need, then make a financial contribution to future developments of the software -- and I'm sure RootsWeb deserves financial backing much more than the makers of my genealogy software! I am pleased to become a sponsor of such a wonderful community, and would encourage anyone to do the same. Jennifer Friel * * * Kudos on your "Guide to Tracing Family Trees" . . . They are informative, interactive and written in a way that those of us who are technology-challenged can learn. I would certainly recommend them as "must reading" for genealogists of all levels. Frederic Davies * * * [In last week's "Announcements from the CEO," a reason sometimes heard for not posting genealogical information on the Internet was mentioned and answered: "SOMEONE MIGHT STEAL MY RESEARCH. WorldConnect provides you with the ability to restrict downloads of your GEDCOM . . ."] Just because I have heard this before, can you please attempt to explain [what] the people with this rationale are doing genealogy for if they don't intend to share it? Beyond the personal satisfaction of solving a mystery, "showing off" by sharing genealogy research is the only enjoyment I get out of it. Please, I may be really "thick," but I really want to understand. Pete Daggett [A reasonable explanation eludes your editors, but judging by the motto "Non Nobis Solum" (not for ourselves alone) of the National Genealogical Society , which was established in 1903, that distressing attitude has been around for a long time.] * * * * * HUMOR. Thanks to "The Original Joke of the Day" FOREIGN VALENTINES The Pentagon once did a study on why so many American servicemen marry women in the countries where they are stationed. Contrary to popular belief, loneliness had nothing to do with it. Once the men rotated back to the U.S., all their in-laws were thousands of miles away. * * * * * 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: Written by . Previously published by RootsWeb.com, Inc., RootsWeb Review: RootsWeb's Genealogy News, Vol. 3, No. 6, 9 February 2000. RootsWeb: BACK ISSUES OF ROOTSWEB REVIEW may be read online or downloaded from TO SUBSCRIBE OR UNSUBSCRIBE from ROOTSWEB REVIEW and MISSING LINKS, send e-mail with only SUBSCRIBE (or UNSUBSCRIBE) in the message area to: . **PAID ADVERTISEMENT** American & European Family Forest Millennium Edition CD If you have European Ancestors, much of your family history is probably already lineage linked in genealogical format and fully sourced. Many lines extend at least 10 generations, and some for more than 60 generations. The software contained on this breakthrough CD can actually produce pedigree charts with more than one million boxes filled in! Contains greatly expanded and enhanced versions of databases sold individually for over $240! The American & European Family Forest represents more than 12,000 hours of journeying through hundreds of historical and genealogical books and society periodicals. Fascinating stories about ancestors of most of the people in America and Europe were located. You can instantly zoom in to any point along the journey. Great resource to connect history and genealogy. Also includes enhanced and updated version of everything from the Presidential Family Forest CD. According to Dick Eastman the American-European CD is "very intuitive." Normally $50 American- European CD is on special for $39.95 until Feb. 16, 2000. Place your order for these products on the secure site at or call the FamilyStoreHouse sales department at 1-800-725-5013 and mention RootsWeb. Familystorehouse.com will donate 10% of all purchases to RootsWeb.