ROOTSWEB REVIEW: RootsWeb's Genealogy News Vol. 3, No. 31, 2 August 2000, Circulation: 656,892+ (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 (New Searchable Databases; Who's Got the Data?; RootsWeb in the News; 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 37.6 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 NEW DATABASES AT ROOTSWEB. RootsWeb thanks all of the individuals and groups who contribute their data to share with the genealogical community. See the full list of contributors at http://userdb.rootsweb.com/contributors.html * * * 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 * * * ROOTSWEB IN THE NEWS. "Family History on the Internet" on the Family History page at http://www.lds.org/ mentions RootsWeb and several sites hosted by RootsWeb as well as other major family history resources. * * * ASK ROOTSWEB. Q. URLs don't appear as hyperlinks that can be clicked on in my e-mail program. What can I do short of changing programs? A. Windows users: Highlight the entire URL (address) taking care not to include the angle brackets that surround the URL. Then copy the URL to the Windows Clipboard and paste it into your browser window. Click "Go" to access the page. MAC users: Some MAC users who are using AOL's integrated (built-in Microsoft Internet Explorer) browser apparently cannot directly access URLs with extensions and so need to start with the indexes and/or search boxes accessible from this page: http://genconnect.rootsweb.com/ * * * WORLDCONNECT TIP. http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/ Q. I have some new information and have learned that some of my old information is incorrect. I want to update my GEDCOM. Should I remove my GEDCOM or my account first? A. There is no need to remove your existing GEDCOM or your WorldConnect account before you upload revisions. Create your revised GEDCOM and replace the old GEDCOM by using your original user code and password to access the set-up page. N.B.: The set-up page should display the options you selected when you last updated your file and should not be a new blank page. Specify the location of your new GEDCOM in the appropriate box. Click Upload/Update and the new GEDCOM will replace the old one. For more detailed information see http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/tips/tip-02.html 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. Learn about various genealogy programs available and find links to tips on scanning pictures. http://www.rootsweb.com/~rwguide/lesson3.htm * * * SHAKING YOUR FAMILY TREE (SYFT). BLACK DUTCH and MELUNGEON ANCESTRY: If you want to start a heated genealogical debate about American ancestry, mention "Black Dutch" or Melungeon. The scholars can't agree on who they were or where they came from, and we all tend to believe our family's legend is the correct one. 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) African American, Native American, Jewish, Melungeon, Black Dutch http://www.rootsweb.com/~rwguide/lesson25.htm ** PAID ADVERTISEMENTS ** The August/September issue of HISTORY MAGAZINE is on the newsstands now and is full of social history articles about the conditions that affected the lives of our ancestors. Articles include "The California Gold Rush," "Development of Photography," "The Underground Railroad," "History of the Insurance Business," "Highlights of the 1690s Decade," "History of the Shakers," and many others. Columnist Ann Burton writes, "HISTORY MAGAZINE appeals to people who are curious about the everyday events that affected the lives of their ancestors." You can obtain a free trial copy of HISTORY MAGAZINE by visiting http://www.history-magazine.com ********************************************* FREE COMPLETE CATALOG 1,300+ BOOKS & CD-ROMS all published by Heritage Books, Inc. Request Catalog #150 1-800-398-7709 or heritagebooks@pipeline.com HERITAGE BOOKS, INC. 1540 Pointer Ridge Place, Bowie MD 20715 ********************************************* 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/ * * * 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. I just wanted to thank you for having this wonderful site. It started out with me looking for known family members. Then I decided again to search for my brother. I listed my name and the name I thought was his on nearly every adoption registry site on the Internet. I had been at RootsWeb searching before also. I decided to try once more. About July 10 or so, I put the other name I thought might be right. It came up with a "Jimmie" Ludwick. As soon as I saw it, I knew it had to be him, but I went ahead and posted that information on one of the lists I was reading, and someone saw it and sent me contact information and physical description. It was when I saw that message that I really knew it was him. To make a long story short, we called and talked, decided to meet, and now we both know what happened to the other and where we are now. Thank you many times over. Barbara Murphy barb.murphy@azone.net * * * Thanks to WorldConnect, the descendants of three brothers who left England between 1835 and 1872 are now connected. My husband's great-great-grandfather, John CLEMENT, came to New Zealand from Eddington, near Hungerford in Berkshire, around 1848 after joining the British Army and a spot of convict duty in Australia. He was brought to New Zealand to fight in the Maori wars and took his discharge here. His brother Benjamin left England for Canada and later moved to Mira Valley, near Ord in central Nebraska. We have been in contact with this family and visits have been made both ways -- between Nebraska and New Zealand over the years. The third brother, Daniel CLEMENT, left England for Ontario, Canada in 1872, and a few days ago a descendant from this family found my entry for the CLEMENT family on WorldConnect. Nancy lives in Florida but is Canadian. Lots of excited e-mail was exchanged and now the three branches are connected after more than 165 years. Now we would like to find their sister Charlotte, who married Zedekiah DANCE and went to Ontario with Benjamin around 1835. Of the original family of seven CLEMENT children born to John CLEMENT and Hannah WHITE in Eddington, two went to Canada, one to the U.S.A. (via Canada), one to New Zealand, one to South Australia (they had no issue), and two died young and unmarried in England. My husband and I were fortunate enough to visit Eddington last year but unfortunately the church has been turned into a home complete with headstones in the garden and is now private property. The three brothers had 49 children between them (with second marriages), so there are a lot of CLEMENTs in the world. Thanks again to RootsWeb and WorldConnect. http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/ Christine Clement cmclement@clear.net.nz Te Puke, New Zealand * * * More than 10 years ago, I identified my 5th-great-grandfather as Thomas RUSSELL, a shoemaker, living in Euclid, Ohio and worth $3,500 in 1850. Who was this wealthy ancestor? I visited the Euclid area and could not uncover his secrets. Earlier this year, while surfing on RootsWeb, I did a search for RUSSELL. Up popped the results, which listed all the same surnames I had been looking for in Euclid -- RUSSELL, FOREMAN, and HERRIMAN. I e-mailed my new cousin and found we were researching the same family. My new cousin, Jim Herriman, had photos to share on all branches of the family, including the wedding picture of my divorced great-grandparents. Their children had never seen the picture. In his pile of treasures also was information about Thomas RUSSELL. He was also a dollhouse maker. He had left behind at least four dollhouses with his photo and poem to the child who played with each house. He also included his date of birth, 14 March 1794, in old England. Two of the houses are located at the Western Reserve Museum in Cleveland, Ohio, for all to enjoy. Thomas RUSSELL was killed by a train while hauling coal to his home at the age of 84. The story of his death indicated he had written his autobiography. But where was it? Others have been searching without success. With the help of others on the CUHYAHOGA-L list, I decided to pursue my research in Cleveland. I was given many great suggestions about doing research in the Cleveland area. I was told about the wonderful library at the Western Reserve and I knew I also had to go to the Western Reserve Museum to see the dollhouses. I began by pulling many items off the shelves with published genealogies. The first book I began to read was YESTERDAY, TODAY AND TOMORROW, by Pearl Ghormley. I could not believe my eyes. Published in the book were portions of the diary of Thomas RUSSELL. In a letter to his grandson, George FOREMAN and wife Lucy he writes, "I, Thomas RUSSELL, was born on March 14, 1794, in the Parish of Greenwich in the County of Kent in Old England. My father Randall Russell, was born at Hampton, 20 miles from London." Thomas continues with descriptions of his youth, learning the shoemaker's trade, hints about his siblings and his life in Euclid. He made the dollhouses to stay out of debt after he gave up his shoemaker's job in Cleveland due to old age -- he was 72 years old. The book also contains a large amount about the FOREMAN family history. Thanks to the help of others on RootsWeb, I had hit the jackpot. I now have a tremendous amount of information on Thomas RUSSELL. He has a real personality, beyond just the census record facts I had started with. My success would be complete if I could locate the family of Pearl Ghormley and see the letters and diaries. They are a true genealogical treasure. Thank you. Peggy Oberbeck poberbeck@asapnet.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 Herefordshire, England, send SUBSCRIBE request to: ENG-HEREFORD-L-request@rootsweb.com NEW SURNAME MAILING LISTS, GENCONNECT BOARDS, AND CLUSTERS Arismendez, Armacost, Aspinwall Bailiff, Bettin, Bickham, Bodsberg, Borstlap, Bransfield Caplin, Carvalho, Caviness, Clubbs, Clunk, Conlisk Dorscher, Dorsher, Driskell Gile, Groseclose Hardister Isner Latendresse, Level, Linkous, Linsay, Lopp, Lust McArter, Metheny, Monley, Mullikin Nelder, Niebrugge Oliverio Pedneau Quain, Quarve, Queton, Quigg, Quinones Roquemore Santee Testerman, Torscher, Tourcher Umbarger Verhoof Whitebessie, Wilbraham, Willover, Wisecup, Wolstencroft NEW REGIONAL MAILING LISTS ENGLAND ENG-HEREFORD -- Herefordshire U.S.A. KY-KNOTT-COUNTY -- Knott County, Kentucky TN-ROOTWALKER -- regional list for northern middle Tennessee tied to http://www.rootsweb.com/~tnnmid/index.htm TXREEVES -- Reeves County, Texas OTHER NEW MAILING LISTS (ETHNIC, SPECIAL INTERESTS) GENEALOGY-LOOKUP HARBINERS -- Harbiners or Harbinites (Russian refugees stranded in Harbin, China in the late 1920s and early 1930s who later settled in the U.S., Canada, Brazil, and Paraguay) POLICE-UK -- Police in the British Isles MORRISON-CLARENCE -- for those researching Clarence MORRISON, who is said to have married a Cherokee * * * * * 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 Mississippi Web page, go to http://www.rootsweb.com/~mississi/ CANADA qcsaguen -- Saguenay, Quebec U.S.A. ctpgscne -- Polish Gen. Soc. of Connecticut and the Northeast mississi -- Mississippi pahstba -- Hist. Soc. of the Blairsville Area, Pennsylvania gacandle -- Candler County, Georgia gaemanue -- Emanuel County, Georgia gajenkin -- Jenkins County, Georgia gajohnso -- Johnson County, Georgia gatreutl -- Treutlen County, Georgia txfortbe -- Fort Bend County, Texas SOME NEW HOMEPAGES AND FREEPAGES BARRETT. Descendants of Reuben Barrett of South Carolina and descendants from his 12 children's lines; also list of books available written by researchers of this family. Surnames include BARRETT, BOBO, LARRISON, JACKSON, PRINCE, HUTCHINS,MANNING, WARD. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~barrettbranches/ BAUMANN, BEHRENS, BERTRAM, DAHNERT, HEYS, ITZEN, KLUGMANN, OMMEN and STERNBERG. Large database of surnames from Ostfriesland, Germany. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~brewcanoe/ BLANEYS of Buffalo. Descendants of James D. BLANEY and Mary Ann MCCOURT, who immigrated to Canada from Ireland in 1830 and settled in Buffalo in 1850. http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~blaneys/ CRACROFT, CRACRAFT, CRAYCROFT, CRAYCRAFT. A brief history of the English Cracroft name and the genealogy of all spellings of this surname; also includes LONG, LUCAS, JONES, and TAYLOR. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~danlcc/ CRAYCROFT, BRESNAHAN AND BRESNAN Family Page. CRAYCROFT, BRESNAHAN (in Ireland and Australia), BRESNAN (in America), and REEDY, TUETH. Site also contains photos, documents, and GEDCOMs. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~craycroftfamily/ FUQUA. All branches and variant spellings of the FUQUA family in America. http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~fuqua/ KENTUCKY. Kentucky Network of professional genealogical and historical researchers; Includes membership list. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~knpg/ UNITED KINGDOM: Lost and Found in the U.K. If you have found a stray visitor, servant or boarder from another county, send them to Lost and Found, a collection of strays in U.K. and Ireland. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~lostfound/ * * * * * 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/ 31 July 2000 issue http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/newsletter/2000/july/july31.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 as plain text e-mail messages (no attachments or html) to RWR-Editors@rootsweb.com THANK YOU FOR POST-EMs! I found my unknown second cousin four days after she placed a "post-em" note on her mother's birth record in RootsWeb's California Birth Records index. I had been searching for her branch of the family for years, and it only took four days once the "post-em" was placed. There was no given name on her mother's birth record, so it was my curiosity about the "post-em" that brought our family together. The California Birth Index http://userdb.rootsweb.com/ca/birth/search.cgi and Death Index http://userdb.rootsweb.com/ca/death/search.cgi are my favorite RootsWeb tools because you can do complex partial searches. For example, you can find someone if you only have the first name, county and year of birth. These searches are impossible with fiche or microfilm, and even on other Internet genealogy sites. But with RootsWeb the impossible is practical and the results are unbelievable. Bill Principe ThePrincipes@earthlink.net * * * My favorite Web site is RootsWeb. My favorite site at RootsWeb is http://resources.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/metasearch? The result of the search for PANKAU grows from week to week. Thank you. Peter Pankau, Heikendorf, Germany pankau@foni.net * * * My cousin and I have been searching for a couple of years for a death record for Alex RASNICK to no avail. Thanks to RootsWeb for posting the Kentucky death records, I found him. http://userdb.rootsweb.com/ky/death/search.cgi I searched for Alex RASNICK but there was none. I then searched Pike County and went through them one by one and, much to my surprise, there he was -- only he was listed as RASMICK. My cousin Rodney had written the courthouse asking for Alex RASNICK and they had none. Now, thanks to RootsWeb, we are able to obtain the death record. I'd also been helping another RASNICK to search for an Elizabeth Dykes RASNICK. I decided for fun to search the RootsWeb Surname Helper. http://rsl.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/rslsql.cgi Again, I was pleasantly surprised. There was one, and I was expecting it would be Alex RASNICK, again, but there she was -- listed as Elizabeth Dykes RASMICK. The surname RASNICK has been spelled many ways, but never before had I seen it with an "m". Thanks again, RootsWeb. Nancy Lambert geniebug@prodigy.net * * * I want you to know how much I enjoy reading both the ROOTSWEB REVIEW and MISSING LINKS. You somehow manage to present a wealth of information without boring your readers to tears or sounding as though you are giving lectures. The pieces you choose show your interest both in easing our frustrations and sharing our joys as we dig into our histories. Thanks for the wonderful e-zines. [Thank you for making our day. Eds.] Marcia Kathleen McCullough marcia@mccullough.net * * * * * HUMOR. SPY HUNTER (from Joke of the Day http://www.joker.org) The CIA loses track of one of its operatives and calls in a top spy hunter. The CIA boss says, "All I can tell you is that his name is Murphy and he's somewhere in Ireland. If you think you've found him, say the code words, 'The weather forecast calls for mist in the morning.' If it's really him, he'll answer, 'Yes, and for mist at noon as well.'" The spy hunter goes to Ireland and stops at a bar in a small town. He says to the bartender, "Maybe you can help me. I'm looking for a guy named Murphy." The bartender replies, "You're going to have to be more specific because around here there are lots of Murphys. There's Murphy the Baker, who runs the pastry shop on the next block. There's Murphy the Banker, who's president of our local savings bank. There's Murphy the Blacksmith, who works at the stables. And, as a matter of fact, my name is Murphy, too." Hearing this, the spy hunter figures he might as well try the code words on the bartender, so he says, "The weather forecast calls for mist in the morning." The bartender replies, "Oh, you're looking for Murphy the Spy. He lives right down the street." * * * * * 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. 31, 2 August 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