RootsWeb Review: RootsWeb's Weekly E-zine Vol. 6, No. 13, 26 March 2003, Circulation: 1,002,674+ (c) 1998-2003 RootsWeb.com, Inc. http://www.rootsweb.com/ Editor: Myra Vanderpool Gormley, Certified Genealogist Editor-RWR@rootsweb.com Certification: http://www.bcgcertification.org/certification/ * * * Do not use your e-mail application's "REPLY TO" option to respond to the RootsWeb Review. RWR-on@rootsweb.com -- adds you to the RWR Mailing List. RWR-off@rootsweb.com -- removes you from the RWR Mailing List. Do not send subscription requests and modifications to the editor. RootsWeb's HelpDesk: http://helpdesk.rootsweb.com/ ======================================================================= In This Issue: 1. News and Notes. (1a. RootsWeb Mailing Lists: Picking the Mode; 1b. Mailing Lists: More Than Names and Places; 1c. Tips from Readers: "Citing Electronic Sources") 2. Connecting through RootsWeb: "Cornish OPCs Set Sterling Example" 3. New Webpages at RootsWeb 4. New RootsWeb Mailing Lists 5. New User-contributed Databases 6. New FreePages and HomePages (personal webpages at RootsWeb) 7. RootsWeb Review's Bottomless Mailbag: "Coming Full Circle"; "Branches Between the Leaves"; "Invoking Pet Names"; "Perfect Pedigrees"; and "Tree Hoarders" 8. Humor: "He's Your What?" 9. RWR Reprint and Submissions Guidelines; Archives; Addresses; Subscription Modification Instructions ====================================================================== 1a. ROOTSWEB MAILING LISTS: Picking the Mode New to RootsWeb Mailing Lists, or thinking of subscribing to some? To find and join the RootsWeb's Mailing Lists that meet your needs for surnames, localities, and other topics, click on the Mailing Lists tab near the top of the RootsWeb Home Page at: http://www.rootsweb.com or go to: http://lists.rootsweb.com/ When you initially subscribe to a Mailing List you will receive a "Welcome" message. Keep this "Welcome" message (it is a good idea to print it out and as well as to save an electronic copy) as it contains valuable information about the list as well as instructions for unsubscribing. You might do as many do and create a folder on your computer to store all of your RootsWeb Mailing List "Welcome" messages for easy future reference. While you are subscribed to a list, you may post messages for distribution to all list subscribers and you will receive copies of all messages posted by the other list members. Not all of the messages you receive will be of interest to you personally, so ignore and/or delete those that are not relevant to your research. You may subscribe in regular mail or list mode (almost always designated by: -L as in SMITH-L) and receive a single copy of each individual message sent by other list members to the list, or in what's called digest mode (almost always designated by: -D as in SMITH-D) and receive a digest -- a collection of several messages lumped together into one e- mail. You do not have to join (subscribe to) both modes since the same messages are posted to the list mode as the digest mode. If you prefer to receive every message as soon as someone posts and do not mind receiving every message as a single new e-mail, then the -L (list) mode is the one you to which you want to subscribe. On the other hand, if you prefer to receive fewer e-mails, perhaps only one or two per day (depending upon the activity of the specific list to which you are subscribing) and you don't mind the messages being delayed until a sufficient number of messages are received to warrant issuing a digest, then choose the digest mode. There are a few list subscribers who like to subscribe in both modes -- in list mode so that they receive each and every message immediately when posted, and in digest mode because they like to receive a summary of all posts for their review and possibly want to save the digests as they are easier to store on the computer. Although RootsWeb provides both searchable and browseable archives for most lists some subscribers prefer to keep a copy of the digests from lists of special interest to them for easy future reference. Most people prefer to receive either list or digest mode rather than both, but the choice is yours. * * * 1b. MAILING LISTS: More Than Names and Places If you are like most genealogists you search by surnames and localities. While RootsWeb offers thousands of mailing lists on these topics, there are some excellent mailing lists pertaining to other categories, such as how to operate and get the most out of genealogy software. Among the popular genealogy software programs with mailing lists devoted to them are: AFT, BK, FTM, LEGACY, PAF, ROOTSMAGIC, and TMG, plus various other software-related topics available. Check them out at: http://lists.rootsweb.com/index/other/Software/ * * * 1c. TIPS FROM READERS. Thanks to: Bonnie Kohler kohlerbj@earthlink.net CITING ELECTRONIC SOURCES I picked up a guide sheet from the Palm Beach County Library called "Citing Your "Sites," which I have used so often that it is tattered. The information in the guide sheet was taken from "Beyond the MLA Handbook: Documenting Electronic Sources on the Internet" http://falcon.eku.edu/honors/beyond-mla/ Here are three examples: E-MAIL. Author. (author's e-mail address) "Subject Line." Date of post. Personal e-mail. (Date read). Example: Andrec, Mike. andrec@glyco.chem.yale.edu "New England School of Bandura." 18 April 1996. Personal e-mail. (19 April 1996). WEBSITE. Author (if known). "Title" (Main title if applicable). Last date updated or revised (if known). (URL) (date accessed). Example: Ignatius. "To the Trallians." Early Church Documents (circa 96-50 A.D.). 1994. http://listserv.american.edu/catholic/church/fathers/ignatius/ign- trl.txt (20 June 1996). MAILING LIST. Author (if known). (author's e-mail address) "Subject Line." Date of post. (mailing list address) (date accessed). Example: Tracz, Orysia. tracz@cc.umanitoba.ca "Shevchenko in Love." 1 May 1996. ukes-social@sema.crl.mcmaster.ca (23 June 1996). * * * [Editor's Note: See also the following articles by Drew Smith: "Citing Messages" http://www.ancestry.com/library/view/gencomp/2707.asp "Citing the Sites" http://www.ancestry.com/library/view/gencomp/2719.asp as well as: Citing Sources topic at Cyndi's List: http://www.cyndislist.com/citing.htm A great misconception of family tree hobbyists is that citing sources is only for professional or "serious" genealogists, and if you are doing genealogy for fun or "just for your family" you don't need to bother. Wrong -- unless, of course, you have lots of time and money to waste (so you can do the same research over and over again because you don't know where you have looked or where you found the information or can't determine which source is more likely correct when various "facts" start to argue), or if you don't care whether your genealogy is as accurate as possible and worth being passed along as a gift to your descendants so they can continue the work without reinventing the wheel. One of the most difficult concepts about genealogical research for many to grasp and accept is that when you are citing sources you should use YOUR sources -- not your cousins' and not mine. If you obtain some information from my material posted at WorldConnect, for example, then I am your source of that information. Always cite the source that you actually used, not the one that someone told about or the one someone else makes a reference to. If Cousin Jack tells you that he obtained your mutual grandfather's birth information from a census, then your cousin is your source for that information. However, if you examine the census yourself, then it is your source and not Cousin Jack. SOURCE OR EVIDENCE: What's the difference? --Source is the means by which information comes to a researcher. --Evidence is the physical form in which information is presented to the senses.] 2. Connecting Through RootsWeb. Thanks for sharing your stories. ---------------------------------------------------------------- CORNISH OPCs SET STERLING EXAMPLE --Julia Mosman, OPC for St.Austell,Charlestown, and Treverbyn http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~staustell/ I belong to an organization that’s existed for two years now -- the On- line Parish Clerks (OPC) for Cornwall, England. Three Cornish gentlemen, Paul BREWER, David STICK, and Michael McCORMICK, came up with the concept, formulated the ideas and goals, and posted a request for volunteers. The results exceeded their expectations. Very quickly, more than 80 persons volunteered to help in the effort each taking one or more parish. While many OPCs are from Cornwall, two-thirds are from elsewhere, including New Zealand, Australia, and the U.S. (For those not familiar with these terms, a parish is the equivalent of a county in the U.S., and Cornwall might be likened to a state.) Each volunteer agreed to gather whatever information they could regarding their adopted parish, and offer their knowledge to researchers for free. Many have done this work for years and some are new recruits. All share the enjoyment of helping fellow researchers. Recently, a lady from Massachusetts contacted me regarding her newly- discovered link to Cornwall. She knew only that her great-grandmother had come from St. Austell, Cornwall. She found my website at RootsWeb, and contacted me. I searched what records I had, and confirmed the baptismal record, which showed the parents' names. I found the family in the "1841 FreeCens" census database, so we knew where they were living, all the names of the living siblings, and the father’s occupation. Then the father appeared in a city directory, which confirmed his occupation. Unfortunately, the parents weren't born or married in St. Austell so there were no more recordsT and the trail went cold. So I contacted OPCs of neighboring parishes. Jessie Evans, of New Zealand, was quick to reply; she had the marriage of the parents. Additionally, she had the birth of the mother, and the names of the mother’s parents. Rita Bone Koop, from the U.S., checked her records too. Success. She found the baptismal records of the father, and his parents -- in fact, 3 generations in all. Of course, what we found had to be confirmed/corroborated by certificates, etc., and in time our work proved correct. Needless to say, the lady from Massachusetts was thrilled. And we were overjoyed to have helped her find her family. It was a real success for all of us. There have been so many stories like this one. In fact, another OPC found eight generations of my family for me, which lead me to volunteer for the project (luckily for me, my family had stayed in one parish for a very long time). If you have questions regarding your Cornish researches, please check the list of active OPCs at http://west-penwith.org.uk/opc.htm, which has links. Devon has a similar project which has run for some time, and Dorset is establishing a project. Hopefully the idea will spread to other counties. But, in the meantime, if you've got a question regarding research in Cornwall, please contact us. We'd love to hear from you. ======================= Paid Advertisements ======================== Family Chronicle's March/April issue is now on newsstands. In this issue: 10 Ways to Find an Ancestor's Birthplace, How to Read Difficult Handwriting, The Scottish Clan System, Genealogy and Genetics, Surprising Finds Online, Researching Maritime Canadians, Websites Worth Surfing. . .and more. SPECIAL until 31 March: Get a FREE copy of our book "Dating Old Photographs," a $12 value, with your paid subscription. This useful guide has more than 650 photos of known date for comparison purposes. To subscribe, and see a sample article online, "A Quick Guide to Dating Old Photos," visit: http://www.familychronicle.com/rootsweb/ * * * Sylvan Learning Center Help your child feel more confident about school. If your child is struggling with schoolwork--getting frustrated or feeling bored in class--contact Sylvan now. http://ad.doubleclick.net/clk;5293126;7920027;g?http://www.educate.com/p romo/myfamily.htm ==================== End of Paid Advertisements ===================== 3. New Webpages at RootsWeb To Request a Free Web Account: http://accounts.rootsweb.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------- Some of these pages might not yet be accessible. They are created by volunteers, so if one that interests you isn't up yet, please check again in a few days or next week. http://www.rootsweb.com/~[accountname] Note that the ~[tilde] before the Web account name is required. Example: The DeKalb County, Indiana website is located at: http://www.rootsweb.com/~indekalb/ U.S.A. alntgs -- Natchez Trace Genealogical Society (Florence, Lauderdale County,Alabama) armpgs -- Melting Pot Genealogical Society (Garland County, Arkansas) calccdar -- Los Cerrritos Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (Long Beach, Los Angeles County, California) casanmat -- San Mateo County, California ilkg -- Kishwaukee Genealogists (Boone and Winnebago counties, Illinois) indekalb -- DeKalb County, Indiana kyperry3 -- Perry County, Kentucky laslgs -- Southwest Louisiana Genealogy Society (Lake Charles, Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana) macworce -- Worcester (city), Worcester County, Massachusetts migogebi -- Gogebic County, Michigan mnmgscig -- Minnesota Genealogical Society Computer Interest Group mnsgsm -- Swedish Genealogical Society of Minnesota ncdurham -- Durham County, North Carolina ncrockin -- Rockingham County, North Carolina nhcrumne -- Rumney, Grafton County, New Hampshire nyscogo -- New York State Council of Genealogical Organizations sclexing -- Lexington County, South Carolina txhood -- Hood County, Texas txrusk -- Rusk County, Texas usnscfa -- National Society of Colonial Families in America wajbcdar -- Jonas Babcock Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (Spokane, Spokane County, Washington) 4. New Mailing Lists at RootsWeb Request a New Mailing List: http://resources.rootsweb.com/adopt/ ----------------------------------------------------------------- For more information and an index to the more than 26,400 RootsWeb- hosted genealogy Mailing Lists and easy subscribing options, go to: http://lists.rootsweb.com/ NEW SURNAME MAILING LISTS BAELOW, BELOW CLARK-WV -- The CLARK surname in West Virginia DAHLGREN EHALT, EKAS FREEHLING KAULFUS LICKO MCCANTS OEHLER PARRINGTON, POSSEHL TRIST NEW ETHNIC AND SPECIAL INTEREST MAILING LISTS NCGS -- North Carolina Genealogical Society NEW REGIONAL MAILING LISTS NE-ALABAMA -- NE Alabama counties of Blount, Cullman, Dekalb, Jackson, Jefferson, Madison, Marshall, and Morgan 5. New User-Contributed Databases at RootsWeb http://userdb.rootsweb.com/submit/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Who Has the Data? Does your state, province, county, parish, church, old military unit, or alma mater have material with a few names or thousands of names available that you think would be of interest to genealogists and historians? Do you have a list of names or a database that you think would be of value and interest to others? In most cases, RootsWeb would be proud to host it. Such user databases are other than your family tree since family trees can be posted at WorldConnect: http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/ See the guidelines, tutorial and examples of data formats for user- contributed data. Large or small files are welcome. http://userdb.rootsweb.com/guidelines.html Please use this submission form: http://userdb.rootsweb.com/submit/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The following databases have come online recently. They are searchable, but not browseable. NEW JERSEY. Morris County. Holland (Mountain) Cemetery 261 records; Susan Clark http://userdb.rootsweb.com/cemeteries/ NEW YORK. Onondaga County. 1880 Federal Census 4867 records; Jim Dougherty, indexed by Donald E Mortin http://userdb.rootsweb.com/census/index/ VIRGINIA. Blacksburg, Montgomery County. Virginia Polytechnic Institute, 1906-1907; 194 records; Paula L Delosh http://userdb.rootsweb.com/alumni/ VIRGINIA. Blacksburg, Montgomery County. Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Class of 1909; 238 records; Paula L Delosh http://userdb.rootsweb.com/alumni/ VIRGINIA. Campbell County. Randolph-Macon Woman's College, 1934 95 records; Paula L Delosh http://userdb.rootsweb.com/alumni/ VIRGINIA. Fork Union, Fluvanna County. Fork Union Military Academy, 1918-1921; 28 records; Paula L Delosh http://userdb.rootsweb.com/alumni/ VIRGINIA. Stafford County. Stafford High School, Class of 1958 82 records; Paula L Delosh http://userdb.rootsweb.com/alumni/ WISCONSIN. Milwaukee County. 1936 Girls' Trade and Technical High School -- Graduates; 202 records; Kevin Harding http://userdb.rootsweb.com/alumni/ WISCONSIN. Milwaukee County. 1936 Girls' Trade and Technical High School -- Faculty; 66 records; Kevin Harding http://userdb.rootsweb.com/alumni/ WISCONSIN. Milwaukee County. 1936 Girls' Trade and Technical High School -- Students; 1,314 records; Kevin Harding http://userdb.rootsweb.com/alumni/ 6. New Personal Freepages and Homepages at RootsWeb ---------------------------------------------------- Note: Comments and questions about any of these independently authored webpages should be directed to their respective compilers/webmasters. When your new, updated, or substantially revised personal pages located at RootsWeb (they will have "freepages" or "homepages" in the URL) are up and ready for visitors, please send the URL (Web address), along with a brief description, including the major pertinent surnames and what is available on your site, to: Editor-RWR@rootsweb.com EYDEN, EYDON, EDON. The EYDEN family of Northamptonshire, England ca 1600-now. With a recent submission of almost 500 new people from Teresa Wycherley (nee Eyden), this list of names is worth checking if you're researching EYDEN in Northamptonshire or Warwickshire. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~tomrobin/Eyden.html INTERNET RELAY CHAT (IRC). BRICK WALL CHIPPERS. A cooperative place for brick wall research. Companion site for an IRC channel dedicated to helping each other with genealogical brick walls. To visit the channel either use the Java link provided on the site, or come to server irc.maddoc.net on your IRC software. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~canthro/BW_Chippers/home.htm #BW_Chippers MOZHAYSKI (MOZHAYSKY, MOZAYSKI, MOZAJSKI, MOJAISKY) and of the MOZAROWSKI (MOZHAROVSKI, MOZHAROVSKY, MOZHARIVSKY, MOZARIWSKYJ) families. It is believed that Gavrila Semenovich, the prince Mozhayski (g-g-grandson of St. Dmitri Donskoi, the Grand Prince of Muscovy), and his wife Anna Andreievna the princess SOLTAN (niece of Greek Catholic Archbishop of Kiev) are the ancestors of all living members of the two families in the world. A brief history of the family, as well as complete family trees for Gavrila Mozhayski since Rurik (the 1st ruler of Russia) and since Mieszko the 1st (the 1st ruler of Poland) have been provided. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~mozhayski/ NORTH DAKOTA. Links to North Dakota federal census online, 1880-1930. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~cats61/ndcensus/index.htm PAVLICEK, LASTOVICA, ZARUBA GENEALOGY. This site has more than 3,799 Texas Czech obituaries with new ones added each month. It also has a surname listing for those looking for Texas Czech connections. Other surnames include: SLIVA, MLCAK, HLUCHAN, SOLOLAK, WASICEK, HAMALA, SRDA, SMESNY, ORSAK, LEZAK, JEZ, SULA, HICKL, KUBIN, and ZAPALAC. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~alvarez/ 7. FROM ROOTSWEB REVIEW'S BOTTOMLESS MAILBAG [Editor's note: The opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and are not necessarily those of the editor or of RootsWeb.com]. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Coming Full Circle Regarding family "names" for relatives, in our family, who are Jewish, my great-grandmother's sister was always known as Mima. My research has been unable to discover any trace of this lady although I remember her daughter well. It was only a few weeks ago that found that Mima is Yiddish for "auntie"! Now I'm completely back to square one. --Alan Cohen, Pinner, UK abcohen@compuserve.com * * * Branches Between the Leaves Finding an elusive ancestor can be quite frustrating, but I did just that from a sheet of paper stuck between pages of a book belonging to my grandmother.(Bessie CONKLIN PARDEE Bryden). The 4g-grandmother's name was Ruth BARTO. In a family tale "Thru Poverty's Vale" (a treasure trove of family history) written by her grandson, Henry CONKLIN, she was described as a French lady in New York where she met and married John CONKLIN. They lived in Suffolk County in the vicinity of Huntington, New York. She was left a widow (John was lost at sea during a fishing trip in Long Island Sound). She later remarried (possibly a Mr. BARKER) but I have been unable to find further trace of her. Searching every BARTO/BARTOW that could be found in libraries and dusty archives, I always came up empty -- unable to determine her parents or siblings. Finally after many years of search while helping an aunt dispose of some books, I found one book containing a small piece of paper. Written on that fragile sheet was a list including Ruth's father's name and birth date: Obadiah BARTO, b. 6 Oct. 1740. All the children were listed, including Ruth. Immediately recognizing the importance of this discovery, a photocopy was sent to Henry Hoff, the editor of the "New York Genealogical and Biographical Record." His subsequent research revealed Obadiah's wife was Anna KETCHAM. Hoff published a transcript of that sheet of paper in the next quarterly of the "Record," citing his research. He had been unable to find a record of the birth of the children in Long Island, New York records. The only things known about the family were the names of the two sons of Obadiah and their progeny. The females lose their identity.* Needless to say this discovery led to more generations of the BARTO, KETCHAM, CARLL, and BETTS lines. --Helen Rogers helenrogers@juno.com [*Editor's Note: Actually they don't -- it is the researchers who lose track of the daughters by not tracing their families -- changing surnames does not change the bloodline.] * * * Invoking Pet Names My sister-in-law has always been known as "Sister" to all the extended family. My husband, being the youngest, has always been known as "Baby." He is retired now and still answers to it. He was a policeman and was called "Mr. Baby," and when the younger relatives would try to finagle themselves out of a ticket, by asking the officer, "Do you know my Uncle Baby?" --Sally Walton, North Carolina,USA ncwalt@dnet.net * * * Perfect Pedigrees I have some comments about the misinformation recently found online at various genealogy sites. I have been researching a particular name for many years and collect anything I find on it as it is an unusual German name. I recently found information on the Family Search.org site on my great-aunt whom I have documentation of birth, etc. I found her and two others on the IGI as born in Northumberland, England, in 1877 -- with the German name, parents, and correct birth date. The same person is in Ohio with same parents, same birth date, etc. There is a batch number given but no film number. A call to Salt Lake Family History Library to question this has not shed any light on this. I do know for fact that this person was never in England. Her parents are my great-grandparents. Apparently this was submitted and put in the UK IGI -- without definite documentation or research. It was said to be an extraction of original records, but can not find it in the original record . . . There are other sites with postings of bad or misinformation that I have found with this particular name and have sent corrections to the submitters as I have the correct documentation, but alas, the stuff is still on there as it was originally. This does not help those who are just starting their family histories as many I have found through my work in the library have said they have all this great information way back that they found online. Asked if they have sources, usually they respond with no, but it is online, so it has to be correct. I also find that many new researchers have not seen a census for their family so I really encourage checking the facts with censuses and vital records. I encourage new as well as more experienced researchers to examine the information they are finding and compare it to the original records for accuracy before publishing or putting it online. --Mrs. F. Myers wlm@psu.edu * * * Tree Hoarders I was saddened to read in the Woodie Thomas' letters in RootsWeb Review recently that people horde their "hard-earned" genealogical research. I come from a family of hard-working genealogists who spent lifetimes finding their ancestors. My mother and father each donated hundreds of hours to the LDS church name-extraction program in unpaid research of those not even related to them so that everyone could research those records. We never dreamed of hiding our own family research from others. And, in the case of my own research, thanks to a large family group that has its own website and shares its "hard-earned" information freely, I was recently able to find a family line that I had been seeking for 30 years. The name of the person who helped me is cited in my genealogy along with all the work I've done myself and is open for all to see. I have suppressed some sources out of respect to family members, but the rest is all there. Shame on those who hide their genealogy under a bushel basket just because they sweated a little bit to find it themselves. Sharing is what genealogy is all about. I think these people are worried more about attribution, not contribution, and are forgetting that those "who don't do any real research" (whatever THAT means) are also part of their extended family. --Warren Smit smitty18245@aol.com 8. Humor: He's Your What? -------------------------------------------------------- Thanks to: Jim Lee jimlee@beachlink.com Perhaps the most awkward of relationship designations comes when you want to introduce your first wife's second husband to someone. Finding myself in that situation at a daughter's wedding reception, I settled on: "This is Hal. He's my husband-in-law." Fortunately, he has a good sense of humor, and it's worked ever since. 9. Submission Guidelines, Reprint Policy, RWR Archives ----------------------------------------------------------------------- The RootsWeb Review does not publish or answer genealogical queries, and the editor regrets that she is unable to provide any personal research assistance or advice. RootsWeb Review welcomes short (500 words or less) articles, humor, stories, or letters, and reserves the right to edit all submissions. All mail sent to the RootsWeb Review editor is considered to be for publication; send in plain text (no html, stationery, or attachments) to: Editor-RWR@rootsweb.com * * * Search/download all back issues of RootsWeb Review: http://e-zine.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; and (2) the following notice appears at the end of the article: Previously published in RootsWeb Review: Vol. 6, No. 13, 26 March 2003. * * * Do not send RWR subscription requests and modifications to the editor. Please use the following addresses: RWR-on@rootsweb.com -- adds you to the RWR Mailing List. RWR-off@rootsweb.com -- removes you from the RWR Mailing List. * * * *