ROOTSWEB REVIEW: RootsWeb's Genealogy News Vol. 3, No. 30, 26 July 2000, Circulation: 650,556+ (c) 1998-2000 RootsWeb.com, Inc. http://www.rootsweb.com/ RootsWeb.com, Inc., P.O. Box 6798, Frazier Park, CA 93222-6798 ROOTSWEB REVIEW and MISSING LINKS are free, weekly e-zines. Editors: Julia M. Case and Myra Vanderpool Gormley, CG RWR-Editors@rootsweb.com Advertising: sbrenay@myfamilyinc.com RootsWeb HelpDesk: http://helpdesk.rootsweb.com/ E-Mail Changes: http://helpdesk.rootsweb.com/FAQ/address.html Data Submission Form: http://userdb.rootsweb.com/submit.html New Databases (check often): http://searches.rootsweb.com/ IN THIS ISSUE: o News and Notes at RootsWeb (SSDI Update; New Searchable Databases; Who's Got the Data?; RootsWeb in the News; FreeREG Project; Ask RootsWeb; WorldConnect Tip; Shaking Your Family Tree; 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 o Letters to the Editors o Humor o Reprint Policy; Back Issues; How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe RootsWeb's WORLDCONNECT contains more than 37 million names and new GEDCOMs are added daily. Have you searched WorldConnect lately? Have you uploaded your own GEDCOM? Remember, unlike any other GEDCOM database on the Web, WorldConnect allows you to include references and notes. Don't delay; upload today! http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/ NEWS AND NOTES FROM ROOTSWEB SOCIAL SECURITY DEATH INDEX (SSDI) UPDATE. The June 2000 SSDI update is in place at RootsWeb and has 64,039,763 records (up from 63,861,027 in the May 2000 version). http://ssdi.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/ssdi.cgi * * * NEW DATABASES AT ROOTSWEB. RootsWeb thanks all of the individuals and groups who contribute their data to share with the genealogical community. See full list of contributors at http://userdb.rootsweb.com/contributors.html New fully searchable user databases added to RootsWeb in the past week and their contributors are: ALABAMA LAND PATENT RECORDS 333,578 records; Bureau of Land Management http://userdb.rootsweb.com/landrecords/ MICHIGAN LAND PATENT RECORDS 229,023 records; Bureau of Land Management http://userdb.rootsweb.com/landrecords/ MINNESOTA LAND PATENT RECORDS 271,762 records; Bureau of Land Management http://userdb.rootsweb.com/landrecords/ OHIO LAND PATENT RECORDS 104,783 records; Bureau of Land Management http://userdb.rootsweb.com/landrecords/ * * * ROOTSWEB IN THE NEWS. RootsWeb is mentioned in Roxanne Garrett's "Tracing Your Family History" feature in Net4TV Voice at http://www.net4tv.com/voice/story.cfm?storyid=2564 * * * FreeREG Project: ENGLISH PARISH REGISTER TRANSCRIPTS AND INDEXES http://freereg.rootsweb.com FreeREG stands for Free REGisters. The FreeREG Project's objective is to provide free Internet searches of baptism, marriage, and burial records, which have been transcribed from parish and non-conformist church registers in the United Kingdom. The recording of baptisms, marriages, and burials in parish registers began in England in 1538. There are three FreeREG databases, one each for baptisms, marriages and burials. FreeREG is a new project and has only several million records in the database, so you should not expect to find all your ancestors in the database yet (but you might). FreeREG is a part of the FreeUKGEN Project and companion project to FreeBMD http://FreeBMD.rootsweb.com , a database of the GRO birth, marriage, and death indexes from 1837. Records are to be made freely available through a search engine only, not as complete sets of data for a church. For complete transcriptions, where available, refer to the local County Records Offices, or Family History Societies. The FreeREG database is just a finding tool. It should not be considered to be proof, or indeed that it is always 100% accurate, or contains all of the information in the actual register. Once you have found a record, then write to the relevant Family History Society or County Record Office, who, for a small fee, will obtain a print from the original register for you. FreeREG is looking for transcribers and for those who have already made transcriptions. If you would like to help, see Contributing to the Project at http://FreeREG.rootsweb.com/ If you would like to become involved in the project, please join the mailing list FREEREG-L@rootsweb.com * * * WHO'S GOT THE DATA? Does your state, province, county, parish, or church have a database available that has not yet been placed on RootsWeb and that you think would be of interest to genealogists and historians? Do you have a database that you would like to share that you think would be of value and interest to others? In most cases, RootsWeb would be proud to host them. Please use the new data submission form to tell us about such databases: http://userdb.rootsweb.com/submit.html * * * ASK ROOTSWEB. Q: I have seen several times recently reference to RootsWeb continuing to be "free" only through July 2000. I have been a RootsWeb user for quite some time and certainly don't want to miss out on the wonderful sites/information that have been made available. How do I go about "subscribing" or paying for membership? A: Don't worry; you will not be charged to access RootsWeb. RootsWeb's resources will continue to be freely available to all and other promises made by RootsWeb over the years will continue to be honored. It appears that you might have been confused by the special limited-time offer for RootsWeb users of free access to resources at Ancestry.com. (That offer is repeated elsewhere in this issue.) Q: Why does GenSeeker have hearts all over it, making it almost impossible to read? A: Your system has stored a test page. Reload the page by holding down the SHIFT key while clicking REFRESH (or RELOAD or UPDATE). If that does not work, clear your browser's cache by deleting the "temporary Internet" files. See also http://helpdesk.rootsweb.com/questions.html#background * * * WORLDCONNECT TIP -- http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/ If you are an AOL/MAC user and encounter problems uploading a GEDCOM to WorldConnect with AOL's built-in Internet Explorer browser, use Netscape to upload your GEDCOM. More WorldConnect Tips: http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/tips/ WorldConnect Suggestion Board and Help: http://genconnect.rootsweb.com/genbbs.cgi/gedcom/ RootsWeb's Guide to Tracing Family Trees (Using Technology to Dig up Roots): http://www.rootsweb.com/~rwguide/lesson3.htm * * * SHAKING YOUR FAMILY TREE (SYFT). A family reunion can be a great way to reintroduce the younger generation to their culinary roots since potluck tables at these affairs often take on an ethnic or regional flavor. See this week's SYFT column at http://www.rootsweb.com/~rwguide/syft/curcolumn.htm Myra Vanderpool Gormley's Los Angeles Times Syndicate SYFT columns are archived by subject and can be browsed at http://www.rootsweb.com/~rwguide/syft/ * * * ROOTSWEB'S GUIDE TO TRACING FAMILY TREES (RWGuide) Where to Begin? http://www.rootsweb.com/~rwguide/lesson1.htm * * * Access to all databases at Ancestry.com is free through 31 July 2000. Among the resources available are the 1890 [U.S. Federal] Census Reconstruction Project, the Periodical Source Index (PERSI), AIS [U.S. Federal] Census Indexes, the [U.S.] Civil War Research Database, Slave Narratives, American Genealogical- Biographical Index, Civil War Pension Images, New York Naturalization Petition Index, 1907-24, Gene Pool Individual Records (20 million names in 5 million records), and Canadian Immigrant Records. Sign up for free access today at: http://www.ancestry.com/subscribe/freepromo.asp?sourcecode=A11AC ** PAID ADVERTISEMENTS ** ********************************************* NEW ONLINE GENEALOGICAL LIBRARY http://www.heritagebooks.com/library/ Try It Today! HERITAGE BOOKS, INC. 1540 Pointer Ridge Place, Bowie MD 20715 ********************************************* The June/July issue of HISTORY MAGAZINE is full of social history articles about the conditions that affected the lives of our ancestors. Articles include "Let's Eat, a history of what our ancestors ate," "The Stirrup, considered to be medieval technology's greatest achievement," "The Natchez Trace, a look at an historic route of the Old Southwest," "Costs in New York, the price of goods and services in 1866," "Eli Whitney, inventor of the cotton gin and one of America's great inventors," "The 1900 House, a preview of an interesting new series coming to PBS." Columnist Ann Burton writes, "HISTORY MAGAZINE appeals to people who are curious about the everyday lives that ancestors led." You can obtain a free trial copy of HISTORY MAGAZINE by visiting http://www.history-magazine.com/ The July/August issue of FAMILY CHRONICLE is on the newsstands now and is full of articles by top genealogy writers. Articles include "Internet Research Success Stories," "10 Habits of Highly Effective Genealogists," "Using a Palm Pilot Computer as Part of Your Research Kit," "Genealogy Software for the Mac," "Discovering Your Scottish Roots," "A Broader Look at the U.S. Federal Census," "The Origins of Family Names," "Web sites Worth Surfing," Profile of the New England Historic Genealogical Society," and others. Top genealogy columnist Myra Vanderpool Gormley, CG writes, "If you haven't discovered FAMILY CHRONICLE, you are in for a treat." You can obtain a free trial copy of FAMILY CHRONICLE by visiting http://www.familychronicle.com/ ***ENTER mySEASONS.com WIN A TRIP TO HOLLAND*** This is your chance to win a trip to Holland, courtesy of mySEASONS.com, your online gardening partner. Experience Holland's famous tulip gardens and discover special sites and attractions few tourists ever see. Click here for a chance to WIN A TRIP TO HOLLAND http://206.132.8.137/mySEASONS/n.cgi?ins=4460&e=2&evtstr=PT *************************************************** More than 10,000 German Immigrant QUERIES Search by surname, ship name, locality of origin or destination. Make connections and share information with other researchers. Queries, Books, Links. Genealogy queries about German emigrants and immigrants, throughout the world, any time period. http://www.germanmigration.com/default.asp *************************************************** Some fun and new Web sites: http://www.censusmicrofilm.com is full of links to all the family research items you need. RootsWeb users get a FREE electronic Federal Census Catalog (it has a search engine) and two FREE microfilm take-up spools. U.S. census microfilm priced at $12.95 plus express mail and e-commerce also available. Census Microfilm images are three times more readable -- clearer -- than digital images. View the Internet's largest selection of lowest priced new or used microfilm readers. Test our Soundex Converter. See a catalog of all 60,000 Soundex microfilms. Research services include census index/Soundex searches, census copies or e-mailed digital images. This is a Web site worth surfing. Librarians will want to view our selection of Canon microfilm reader printers -- used but like new. These are must-see and bookmark Web sites. You'll like 'em! Also linked at: http://www.genealogy-mall.com Kindred Konnections has to be the best Web site I have come across. "I have found more of my family tree here in 2 days than in several years of research." B. Peltier. Over a Billion Names -- World's Largest. http://www.kindredkonnections.com ** END PAID ADVERTISEMENTS ** CONNECTING THROUGH ROOTSWEB. Thanks for sharing your stories. So many times I would read the happy stories of others who made connections to long lost kin via RootsWeb. I used to think that it could never happen to me as my family group was from Bohemia in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. How do you make a connection with a place like that? What if my surname was changed during immigration? My only male of that generation, Charles ERBAN, died two weeks after having his first child here in Providence in 1895. I was beginning to believe that he lied on his immigration papers. I had thought that none of his family information had passed to his English widow as he died so unexpectedly at age 40. So for years, I enjoyed other people's discoveries while I stood up against my brick wall. Several months ago I posted a query for the surname of his sister's spouse. An answer came in recently and as unbelievable as it seems the person answering my query was a fourth cousin with dozens of old documents and letters written in German, Czech, and Russian; dating from 1825 to 1891. More unbelievable is that she knows my father from high school in the 1940s but admits she didn't realize that they were living within three miles of each other for more than 50 years. Can you imagine? My great-grandfather's information did not pass to his widow; it was safely tucked away in a shoe box in the possession of his sister's descendants. Much to our mutual delight, we have connected two branches of a very elusive family and made the world just a little smaller by finding the name of my great-grandfather's birthplace in what is now The Czech Republic. Many thanks to RootsWeb for making this service available to all of us amateur genealogists! Dianne Erban Varr DianneV91@aol.com * * * I have been doing genealogy for more than 25 years and was not having any success with one line, my grandfather STANANOUGHT's wife's FRITH family. Getting online opened up a whole new area to me. At last I found my Mary FRITH so sent for her birth certificate, but when it came it was the wrong one. By this time I had joined RootsWeb's Lancashire list so I posted information about the birth certificate. I received an immediate response from a lady that it was her great-great-grandmother, so I sent it to her in London, England. Two weeks later my Mary Ann FRITH's birth certificate was in my mailbox. She had found her for me along with some work she had done on the IGI. I then joined the Cheshire list and just got great help. I now am back in the early 1800s. I posted to the list my 4th-great- grandparents' marriage information, Peter FRITH and Betty BURCHALL, 1803 in Alderley, Cheshire, that I had found in parish registers. I received e-mail from a lady saying that they are hers also. She took me back further to 1710 and Samuel FRITH's birth in Snelson. This lady lives in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, and I live in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, so 290 years after Samuel FRITH's birth, his fourth-great-grandchildren met in the year 2000. What a great feeling. We were both only children, widows with daughters, have some of the same hobbies, and shared a quest to find family. Thank you RootsWeb for your part in our discovery. And to all the other people just ready to give up on one line, keep searching. They are waiting for you to find them. Good luck everyone. Mary from Surrey BC Canada maryt@telus.net * * * * * MAILING LISTS. For an index to most genealogy mailing lists hosted by RootsWeb, visit http://lists.rootsweb.com/ NEW MAILING LIST REQUESTS. Please request new mailing lists at http://resources.rootsweb.com/adopt/ 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, if you are interested in Newfoundland, Canada, send SUBSCRIBE request to: CAN-NEWFOUNDLAND-L-request@rootsweb.com NEW SURNAME MAILING LISTS, GENCONNECT BOARDS, AND CLUSTERS Ballenberger, Beshear, Bevelheimer, Bevelhimer, Bevelhymer, Beyette, Bosserman, Brill Carrere, Caves, Costilow, Coupland DeFreitas, Dupes Easterwood, Edmenson, Ennever Foisset Giquel, Glendening, Greaton, Guglieri Hibel, Homoki, Honkanen Kagan, Kantor Landwehr, Littlechild Millie Nutbeam Otoski Perciabosco Rotzler Sagle, Schweissguth, Shapleigh, Stilson Trewhitt Wilken Yeakel Zillgitt NEW REGIONAL MAILING LISTS CANADA CAN-NEWFOUNDLAND -- genealogy only list for Newfoundland GERMANY DEU-POMMERN-GREIFENHAGEN - Kreis Greifenhagen, Pommern ITALY ITA-CUGGIONO -- Cuggiono or Milan area U.S.A. PENNSYLVANIA PA-PHILA-GESU-PARISH --Gesu Parish in Philadelphia TEXAS TX-DAR-DOUGLAS -- Jane Douglas Chapter, DAR OTHER NEW MAILING LISTS (ETHNIC, SPECIAL INTERESTS) PALM-GEN -- discuss uses of Palm PDAs in genealogical research PORTUGUESE-WESTINDIES -- Portuguese immigrants to West Indies * * * * * NEW WEB ACCOUNT REQUESTS. Please see the instructions at http://cgi.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/acctform.cgi 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. http://www.rootsweb.com/~[account name]. Note that the ~[tilde] before the account name is required. FOR EXAMPLE, to visit the Wilson County, North Carolina Web page, go to http://www.rootsweb.com/~ncwilson/ U.S.A. flgssb -- Genealogical Society Of South Brevard (Florida) iltccgs -- Coles County Genealogical Society (Illinois) itpicken -- Pickens County, Indian Territory machs -- Chester Historical Society (Massachusetts) moschs -- Stoddard County Historical Society (Missouri) ncwilson -- Wilson County, North Carolina tnnmid -- Northern Middle Tennessee Region txhunt -- Hunt County, Texas wrldobit -- World Wide Obituaries SOME NEW HOMEPAGES AND FREEPAGES BAUMANN and CORUJO -- The Family Web Page. Family trees, pictures, and stories by Tom Corujo and Scott Baumann. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~corbaumgen/ DUNBARTONSHIRE Surnames List. A list of surnames being researched in the County of Dunbartonshire, Scotland. http://www.rootsweb.com/~sctdnb/surnames.html HANNA-HANNAH-HANNAY Clan. U.S.A. descendants of this name whose origins can be traced to this same Scottish clan. http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~lmhannah/Clan_Hanna_Han/ HANNAH. Loring M. Hannah's Genealogy Page: HANNAH, HENDERSON, SHICK, WEAVER, TWIFORD, WHITE, BURNS, BRISLIN, GRAY, MANNY. http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~lmhannah/Loringen/indexx.html HUDSON-MCNAMARA & more -- Stories, photos, etc. HUDSON of NY, PA, NJ, MN; SWINGLE, ENSLIN of Germany, PA; BUCKLAND of CT, PA; ROBINSON of NY, PA; LEACH of Scotland, Ontario, Canada, IL, KS; UGENT of Ontario, Canada; FRIEDMAN of Baden, Germany, OH. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~hudmc/index.html JEROME Genealogical Research: Specializing in the Verde Valley: Jerome, Clarkdale, and Cottonwood, Arizona. http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~laura/research.html LUCAS, HAINES, HANES, LAMP, GORRELL, SMITH, CLARKE. New Jersey through Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and Ohio. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~go2will/lucas/ OROSZ, NAGY, HOLOSI, SZUCS. Search for Hungarian ancestors. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~go2will/orosz/ ROBERSON, William Hughes, Jr.: Maternal and paternal Ahnentafels for my ancestry in South Carolina and southeast Pennsylvania, along with a special tribute section to all of the veterans in the family. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~bhughes/ SERAFINO, HORTON, BAILEY, FINCH, DOWNEY, WEST, BOSWORTH, ALDEN, and MULLINS. From the MAYFLOWER to California and the Heartland. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~go2will/serafino/ SMALL in the Weald area of Kent and eastern Sussex, U.K. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~ssmall/Small/ STOTZER, STTTZER and STOTSER Family Home Page. Family trees of various U.S., German, and Swiss family members. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~stotzer/allstotz.html WILLIAMSON: A Scotch-Irish family's tree. John and Thomas from Maryland through Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia and Ohio. Includes Revolutionary War documentation. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~go2will/index.html * * * * * 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 http://genconnect.rootsweb.com/surnames/adoptable/ o For the form to request to adopt a GenConnect surname board (the same form is used for surname mailing list requests) http://resources.rootsweb.com/adopt/ 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, you can read and post notices to the SOMEBODY'S LINKS board at: http://genconnect.rootsweb.com/genbbs.cgi/SomebodysLinks/ (Subscribe by sending e-mail that says only SUBSCRIBE to: Somebodys-Links-Newsletter-L-request@rootsweb.com ) * * * * * USGENWEB ARCHIVES -- THE ARCHIVES NEWSLETTER contains the current USGenWeb Archives submissions from the last week. Back issues of THE ARCHIVES NEWSLETTER are archived at: http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/newsletter/ 24 July 2000 issue http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/newsletter/2000/july/july24.htm USGW-ARCHIVES-ANNOUNCE-L is a read-only mailing list for weekly announcements of new updates and submissions to the USGenWeb Archives. To subscribe, send e-mail that says only SUBSCRIBE in the body of the message to this address: usgw-archives-announce-l-request@rootsweb.com * * * * * LETTERS TO THE EDITORS. Please send to RWR-Editors@rootsweb.com [Posted 20 July 2000 to HelpDesk http://helpdesk.rootsweb.com/] http://userdb.rootsweb.com/tx/birth/general/search.cgi I just wanted to tell RootsWeb, that a part of this site, the births in Texas, helped me locate my family I have been searching for, for 20 years. I was adopted at birth, 50 years ago, but I had several siblings. I have now found my family. Thanks. Linda L. Winfield lwinfield@texpetro.com I began subscribing to RootsWeb some time ago and have enjoyed reading about others people's success stories. Each one gives me another idea about searching for my own ancestors. It was through RootsWeb that I learned about the California Birth and Death indices [ http://userdb.rootsweb.com/ca/birth/search.cgi and http://userdb.rootsweb.com/ca/death/search.cgi ] and I found information about several family members there, including the deaths of three of my great-grandparents, William Henry FARRELL and Susannah Elizabeth LETT FARRELL, and Jennie HART ROBERTSON. From that information, I am attempting to find their birth records in Canada, though that is a bit more of a challenge. Jane Garoutte jagwire@airmail.net I've read of several cases where a GEDCOM on WorldConnect has saved lost files, but for sheer convenience, I like having my GEDCOM on WorldConnect. http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/ Recently, I was in Nebraska (1,500 miles from home) doing some research. I couldn't recall whether a great-great-grandmother's brother belonged to the CARRs or if the Frank I'd found was the same Frank who had been adopted by an aunt whose married name he subsequently used. I found a computer in the library, looked up my GEDCOM and found my own notes and lists. I realized that I'd gotten wires badly crossed. No wonder I couldn't find Frank in my hard copy files. The individual I was thinking about wasn't even a CARR but was from the other side of that family. What a convenience! Thanks Judy Ryden jryden@rogue.cc.or.us http://www.rootsweb.com/~necass/ I often do searches on the RootsWeb WorldConnect site http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/ and have read about the Post-em feature, but I had not seen one until today. I did a routine search on my ancestor Miles SLEDGE, as I have done several times before. The same results appeared that have been there previously, all of which were posted by Donna Rogers with whom I have had previous contact. This time, I followed the pages back to Miles Henry WILLIAMS, Miles Cary SLEDGE's great- grandson, and the end of that line as posted. There on the page was that bright little Post-em flag. Well, after my initial shock and first read of the Post-em, I was really excited. The person who placed the Post-em is the great-granddaughter of Miles Henry WILLIAMS, one of two dead-end searches on the line of my great-great-grandfather Asberry G. WILLIAMS. She has the obituaries on both Miles Henry and the other missing one, Benjamin H. WILLIAMS, as well as an 8"x10" tintype photo of our mutual great-great-grandmother, Mary Ann (Polly) SLEDGE and several other WILLIAMS family photos and other information. I can't adequately express how happy I am to have found this and how appreciative I am to the posters of the information and of RootsWeb's providing such a great resource to allow this to happen. Thanks to all for all your work. Leslie B. (Les) Williams lesliebwilliams@email.msn.com ** PAID ADVERTISEMENTS ** TIPS TO HELP YOU GET OVER THE BRICK WALL by Liz Lieber, Genealogy.com Every genealogist, at one time or another, has encountered a brick wall in his or her research. When you hit a brick wall it is a good thing to remember that every research challenge allows you the opportunity to grow as a family historian. Every time you get over a brick wall, you've learned a new research technique that you may be able to apply later. Here are some tips to help you along: o Check for Misspellings. It is always a good idea to remember that generations ago, name spellings weren't standardized and people often spelled their own names many different ways. Also, since lots of people couldn't write, they had other people write things down for them. This, too, resulted in multiple spellings. Even official documents (for example, a census, marriage record, or immigration document) may contain misspellings. In the end, remember to check many different spellings of a name you are having trouble finding record of. o Take a Break, Then Review What You Already Have. Sometimes putting your research away for a little while will help you see things in a new light when you come back to it. You'll often find new clues or hidden significance in your existing research when you take a step back and reevaluate your sources or reexamine any assumptions that you have made. o Look for the Person, Not the Name. Sometimes you'll hit a brick wall when you find two people with the same name living in the same area. In this case, only further research will help you determine which one is yours. One way to identify an individual is to expand your research to include his extended family. Why not look for record of your ancestor in documents relating to his siblings or his wife's family? Try to determine if friends or associates mentioned him in their wills or deeds. Perhaps he was active in his community and may be mentioned in a local history. By making your ancestors more than just a name, you not only spice up your family history but also make it easier to trace. o Make an Educated Guess. When absolutely no records exist, you can often make an educated guess to help further your research along. For example, to determine someone's age when there are no birth or census records available, you may wish to estimate based on that person's marriage date. Generally, in colonial times, girls were married for the first time between the ages of 17 and 21 and boys were married for the first time between the ages of 18 and 21. You'll want to do a little research to determine what the general rule was in your case but you can see how an understanding of some historical demographics can sometimes help you get past a brick wall. o Ask Your Fellow Researchers for Help. Genealogists are often willing to help each other out and you might be surprised by the amount of assistance you'll receive. Posting a query, for example at www.genforum.com, is a great way to get in contact with other researchers who may be researching the same family lines as you. ** END PAID ADVERTISEMENTS ** HUMOR. "Where is the reference desk?" This was asked of a person sitting at a desk who had, hanging above her head, a sign saying "REFERENCE DESK." * * * * * 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 [author's name, e-mail address, and URL, if given]. Previously published by RootsWeb.com, Inc., RootsWeb Review: RootsWeb's Genealogy News, Vol. 3, No. 30, 26 July 2000. RootsWeb: http://www.rootsweb.com/ BACK ISSUES OF ROOTSWEB REVIEW and MISSING LINKS are fully SEARCHABLE at http://search-rwr.rootsweb.com/ and may be DOWNLOADED from ftp://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/review/ and ftp://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/mlnews/ A paid advertisement in ROOTSWEB REVIEW or MISSING LINKS should not be construed as an endorsement of the product or service. TO UNSUBSCRIBE from the free weekly genealogy e-zines, ROOTSWEB REVIEW and MISSING LINKS, send any e-mail to: rootsweb-review-unsubscribe@rootsweb.com TO SUBSCRIBE, send to rootsweb-review-subscribe@rootsweb.com