RootsWeb Review: RootsWeb's Weekly E-zine Vol. 6, No. 50, 10 December 2003, Circulation: 939,863+ (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/ Search/download past issues of RootsWeb Review: http://e-zine.rootsweb.com/ * * * Search and post messages on all relevant surname, locality, and topic Message Boards and Mailing Lists: Message Boards: http://boards.rootsweb.com/ Mailing Lists: http://lists.rootsweb.com/ Find and share your ancestors: WorldConnect: http://wc.rootsweb.com/ Learn how to trace your family tree: http://rwguide.rootsweb.com/ * * * SUBSCRIPTIONS: Do not send any subscription requests or e-mail address changes to the editor. Use these special e-mail addresses: RWR-on@rootsweb.com -- this adds you to the RWR Mailing List. RWR-off@rootsweb.com -- this removes you from the RWR Mailing List. * * * If you need assistance please visit the HelpDesk: http://helpdesk.rootsweb.com/help.cgi =============================================================== =============================================================== IN THIS ISSUE: 1. NEWS AND NOTES. 1a. "WorldConnect Secret" 1b. Editor's Virtual Desk: "International Reply Coupons" 1c. Tips from Readers: "Matters of Life and Death" 2. Connecting through RootsWeb: "A Brick Wall Since 1958 Tumbles" 3. New RootsWeb Mailing Lists 4. New Webpages at RootsWeb 5. New/Updated FreePages and HomePages 6. New User-contributed Databases 7. RootsWeb Review's Bottomless Mailbag: "Dating Errors"; and "Bridging the Atlantic Ocean" 8. Humor/Humour: "These Ancestors Cannot Be Displayed" 9. RWR Reprint and Submissions Guidelines; Archives; Addresses; Subscription Modification Instructions =============================================================== 1. NEWS AND NOTES 1a. WorldConnect Secret. A secret shared among the smartest genealogists on the Internet is the fact that you can create a safe and secure backup of your genealogy files by uploading them to RootsWeb's WorldConnect: http://wc.rootsweb.com/ Most of us backup our irreplaceable files, such as our genealogy data, on our computer's hard drive, on floppy disks, a zip disk, or even burn them onto a CD. However, stop to think what would happen if your hard drive decided to go belly up, or theft or fire or some other unimaginable catastrophe befell your files -- and your backups. Sadly, CDs and zip disks can fail, be lost, broken or damaged, or even be stolen. WorldConnect, on the other hand, provides a storage facility that is physically removed from your computer and your house. In addition, WorldConnect also makes your data accessible to you when you travel or are using a computer in a library or someone else's home -- anywhere that you can connect to the Internet. As a submitter, you have total access to your own unedited files. From the main WorldConnect page click on START HERE and enter your user code and password to access the set-up page where you can retrieve your complete unaltered GEDCOM. Or, maybe you merely want to access a portion of your file to print out some of the data to share with a cousin -- perhaps an Ahnentafel or Register report. You can do all of these things instantly if your GEDCOMs are housed on WorldConnect. But . . . shhhh! It's a secret. Tell only a few thousand of your best friends. * * * 1b. EDITOR's VIRTUAL DESK. International Reply Coupons RootsWeb Review reader, Chris McRitchie ( chrismcr2001@yahoo.ca ) asks: "Have you sent snail mail to anyone requesting information and if you have, what is the usual amount of postage to include for return postage, and what is the normal procedure? The international postage coupons [actually they are called International Reply Coupons (IRCs)] are very expensive -- is there any cheaper way of doing it? This isn't a subject I've seen dealt with in any depth at all, so I have no guidelines to go by. I would appreciate any help." International Reply Coupons are issued by the Universal Postal Union: http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Universal-Postal-Union/ and sold through post offices in many countries. They sell for about US$1.75 and Can$3.50 each. These coupons should be accepted as payment for postage in any post office of a UPU member country. Supposedly a single coupon is sufficient to send an regular-size envelope from one country to another through international airmail, although in some countries two coupons are required. Many genealogists send three IRCs, especially if they are expecting to receive a stack of genealogical information. Perhaps readers will share their experiences in this area. * * * 1c. TIPS FROM READERS. Matters of Life and Death By Duane F. Alwin, Ph.D. dfa2@psu.edu [Endnote #1] I remember seeing the movie Paper Moon in the early 1970s, in which Ryan O'Neal played the part of a dishonest Bible salesman. Traveling from town to town, he would read the obituaries in the local newspapers in order to find the names of women who were recently widowed. O'Neal's character -- Moses Pray -- would pay the woman a visit for the purpose of showing her the expensive Bible her deceased husband had presumably ordered -- for her -- just days before he passed away. This was a scam. He would produce the brand-new Bible and a falsified bill of sale, along with the story that her husband had put only a few dollars down on the purchase. He would then ask if she might pay the bill so that she could claim the Bible her husband had intended for her. Of course, Mr. Pray had never met the husband and there had been no such agreement to purchase the Bible.[Endnote #2] His interest in obituaries was purely for their income-generating potential. Over the past few years I have spent a lot of time seeking and reading obituaries, although not for the purpose of preying on grieving widows. For me obituaries have frequently been a starting point on a quest for more information about the lives of deceased family members. Obituaries are one of our portals to the past and can be rich sources of information and much more. Finding an ancestor's obituary may tell you something about his or her life, or death, which was not already known. Or, it may confirm what others have told us. In addition to learning when he (or she) died, an obituary may give the date and place of the ancestor's birth and who their parents were. The obituary might tell something about the ancestor's education, about how he (or she) spent his (or her) life working, and typically it will tell about survivors: his (or her) spouse, children, grandchildren, siblings, or even parents. In other cases, an obituary may give none of the factual material one is seeking. In still others, the obituarist [one who writes obituaries] may knowingly or unknowingly take considerable liberty with the truth. The problem is that for the most part we do not know the "truth-value" of the content of newspaper obituaries -- and in some cases we literally cannot "believe everything we read in the newspaper." Although obituaries can contribute to genealogical knowledge, sometimes they contradict other sources of information, and because of this they may be of questionable value by themselves. Some people put a great deal of faith in obituaries, as if they somehow offer definitive proof of certain genealogical "facts." In my experience, however, one should maintain a degree of skepticism and place obituaries in proper perspective. Obituaries may in some cases be the only source we have on a particular set of life events, and consequently it may be difficult to verify the information given. WORDS TO LIVE FOR. The word obituary is derived from the Latin word for death - obitus -- and the verb "obire" meaning "to die." Historically, in the Roman Catholic Church, an obituary was simply a list of the dead, or a list of anniversary days for services commemorating the dead. In its modern meaning an obituary is not simply a notice that someone has died. In America today, death notices are published in the newspaper and are typically accompanied by a brief biographical sketch about the life of the person who has died. I do not know when this practice began, but it is somewhat ironic that an obituary is often as much about life as it is about death. In days past the role of obituarist typically fell to newspaper editors or journalists specializing in local news. Certainly in the days prior to mass literacy, such people were likely to be among the few people in a particular community who had the skills necessary to write a narrative about the deceased. One can imagine the difficulties faced by the obituarist when they have little to go on and in some cases might not have known the deceased very well. Such a situation is ripe for exaggeration and the tendency to put the deceased's best foot forward, so to speak. Often they must rely on the survivors, who may not necessarily have their facts straight either. For example, the obituary of my great-grandfather, a Civil War veteran, is an illustration of a somewhat exaggerated account of his service as a soldier in the Civil War, one that his descendants have been inclined to believe. After the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, he enlisted for a nine-month term of service with the 134th Regiment of the Pennsylvania Volunteers, and was assigned to Company C, from August 11, 1862 to May 26, 1863. His obituary states that as a member of this regiment he "served in the battles of Antietam, Second Battle of Bull Run, Chancellorsville and Gettysburg." After checking into the military activities of the 134th Pennsylvania Regiment, I learned that he scarcely fought in all these battles. The 134th came close to being at the Second Battle of Bull Run and later at the Battle of Antietam, but they did not actually participate in the fighting. My great-grandfather's brigade did do battle at Fredericksburg in December of 1862, but the winter weather kept the fighting to a minimum. Also the 134th participated in the Battle of Chancellorsville in April of 1863 and later in the great Battle of Gettysburg. His obituary to the contrary, he could not have fought at Gettysburg because his term of service had ended more than a month prior to its occurrence on July 1-3, 1863. For this I am grateful, given the high death toll of the Civil War. Later my great-grandfather would re-enlist in the 204th Regiment, 5th Artillery [Battery L] from August 30, 1864 through to the end of the War. In his second tour of duty the 204th Regiment saw very little military action and mainly spent the winter near Washington building stockades and blockhouses. His obituary states that after the war he "was detailed as one of the body guards of President Abraham Lincoln" and on the fateful evening of April 14, 1865 "was just off duty a short time, and had not yet reached the barracks, when the word came of Lincoln's assassination." It has been impossible to verify these claims, but it's certainly the kind of reading that fuels the imagination. CALLED HOME. Sometimes an obituary can provide a detailed description of the circumstances of death. A few years ago I found the obituary for one of my great-grandmothers from the St. John Weekly News in St. John, Kansas that appeared on October 21, 1898. "One of the saddest deaths which has occurred in this vicinity for some time was that of Mrs. C. L. Shank of Ohio township, who was called from this life Monday evening. Her death was a surprise to all as she was in town trading Saturday, and seemed to feel as well as usual. "Sunday afternoon she was taken suddenly ill with cramping of the stomach and grew worse until it was thought necessary to summon a physician. Dr. Sparks of St. John was called Sunday evening and Monday morning she seemed to be suffering untold agony and desiring not to leave anything undone, the husband thought it best to summon other medical aid, and Dr. Wilcox was called Monday about noon, but upon examining the patient the doctor pronounced the case as hopeless. Yet the husband was not satisfied and Dr. Hoaglin was sent for, but Mrs. Shank was dying when he arrived. The cause of her death is not exactly known. She leaves six small children motherless, one a babe of about six weeks, who will never know a mother's loving care. "Mrs. Shank was a member of the Baptist church of this city and a faithful Christian. She is a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. H. B. Smith, who reside north of St. John. "The funeral service was held in the Baptist church Tuesday at 3 p.m. and was conducted by the Rev. Shepherd, the pastor, after which the remains were borne to their long resting place in the St. John cemetery. "To the relatives, and especially the heart-broken husband and little children, the News wishes to join the many in extending the most sincere sympathy." This obituary presents a rather moving account of my great-grandmother's death, including her husband's unyielding efforts to get her the medical attention she needed, and the sad situation of the young children she left behind (one of whom was my grandmother). I should note, however, that in the contemporary period, except perhaps for celebrities, such a narrative would be rare. Newspapers of today seem loath to report much about the circumstances of the death, much less provide a dramatic account of the event. In most modern obituaries one often has to read between the lines to even surmise what the cause of death might have been. JUST THE FACTS, MA'AM. I am sure things have changed, but in many run- of-the-mill obituaries I have read from past years, the typical narrative has a number of obvious shortcomings. While my great- grandmother's obituary above provides a priceless account of the circumstances of her death, it gave little in the way of biographical information. In fact it gave almost none, and other sources must be relied upon to confirm the timing of various events in her life, for example, the date of her birth, where she was schooled, or the date of her marriage to my great-grandfather. In the above case, the exact death date is difficult to discern from the actual newspaper account -- it gives only the day of the week, that is, Monday evening. One would have to know that the St. John weekly was published on Friday, October 21, 1898 in order to know that she died on Monday, October 17, 1898. All too often obituaries are handed down from generation to generation without recording the exact day the person died, either because the obituarist did not know it, or because he or she considered it irrelevant. In many cases the obituaries of most interest to me appeared in newspapers in the early part of the last century when the contemporary standards of professional journalism did not prevail. Newspaper journalists today are more likely to record the "who, what, when and where" of an event, and are more likely than not only concerned about the facts. But the "facts" are often hard to come by. How many times have you noticed that the date of death from a newspaper obituary does not agree with what is inscribed in stone on the tombstone at the grave of your deceased ancestor? The age of death given in the obituary for my 2great-grandfather, John ALWINE, was not even close. His obituary, appearing in the Beaver Valley News and Daily News hailed him as "the oldest male resident of Rochester, and one of its most highly esteemed citizens (who) died Friday evening (Jan. 11, 1901) the deceased having attained his 94th year some months ago." In fact, the records of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Adams County, Pennsylvania, otherwise known as the Conewago Chapel, records the birth of John Adam ALWINE and his brother Peter -- twin sons of Conrad and Susanna (ECKENRODE) ALWINE -- as occurring on October 1, 1816. You can do the subtraction -- the obituary was off by 10 years. An honest mistake, journalistic license, or typographical error? Perhaps no one really knew how old he was, but the idea that he was the oldest living resident certainly made for a good story. CONCLUSION. While obituaries traditionally began as a way of giving notice of those who had died, in the modern era, the obituary clearly contains as much information about the deceased person's life as about his or her death. This is, of course, one of their attractions. I spend quite a lot of time bemoaning the inadequacies I find in some of the obituaries I encounter. Sometimes, however, my complaints are not so much with the obituary itself, but with those who have copied it. Often neither the name of the newspaper in which it was published, nor the date on which the obituary appeared in print is transcribed. In the absence of the death date being given or the date of the obituary, it is difficult to deduce much from phrases like "last night," or "this past Monday." On the other had, this is part of the detective work that makes genealogy challenging and fun. Although obituaries often make for very interesting reading, it may be helpful to realize that they may not necessarily have been intended to be taken all too literally. I am reminded of the comments by a writer friend of mine (who evidently borrowed from Mark Twain), and says he "never lets the facts get in the way of a good story." While I value the obituaries I have found, I also appreciate them both for what they are and for what they are not. This perspective is based on my experience, but also encouraged in part by what my dear mother always says: "Don't believe anything you hear, and only half of what you see," and although she did not give any explicit instructions about what you read in the newspapers, I'm guessing she would urge caution there as well. ENDNOTES 1. Copyright, 2003. Duane F. Alwin. All rights reserved. Address correspondence to the author at 516 East Irvin Avenue, State College, Pennsylvania 16801 (e-mail: dfa2@psu.edu). The author is McCourtney Professor of Sociology, Demography, Human Development and Family Studies, Pennsylvania State University. 2. O'Neal's character was assisted in this con of mourning widows by his youthful traveling companion Addie -- a nine-year old child whose parentage was uncertain -- a character played by O'Neal's daughter in real life, Tatum O'Neal. Her portrayal of this tough-talking, cigarette- smoking young con artist won her an Oscar as best-supporting actress -- the youngest person ever to win that award. 2. Connecting Through RootsWeb. Thanks for sharing your stories. ---------------------------------------------------------------- A Brick Wall Since 1958 Tumbles By Denise Crawford crawford@cableaz.com A tattered, torn Bible page found on my grandmother's attic floor said that Harriet FARNUM was born in 1818 in Auburn, New York. Harriet was my great-great-grandmother and she married in Sangamon County, Illinois at age 14. The county has no record of parental permission being given and there are no FARNUM-FARNAM-FARNHAM families living anywhere in the county or any neighboring counties at the time of the marriage. Harriet died in Iowa before vital records or obituaries and is not listed in any cemeteries where the family was living. First, my parents tried to find her family and then I tried. Hoping to catch the eye of a FARNUM researcher who had more family records than I did, I posted my GEDCOM on Rootsweb.com at WorldConnect One morning, several months later, I found this message in my e-mail: "Hi Denise, I pulled your message from RootsWeb. I am doing research on the FARNUM/FARNHAM family and have a Harriet FARNUM born about 1819; she had three children and lived in Iowa in 1866." A family at last! This kind soul had in her possession a family letter written about 1907 by an elderly man who was reminiscing about a visit to a cousin named Harriet. In the letter he names Harriet's parents and gives the names of her siblings. He also tells of the family moving from Vermont to New York and then further west. 3. 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 27,500 RootsWeb- hosted genealogy Mailing Lists and for easy subscribing (joining) options go to: http://lists.rootsweb.com/ NEW SURNAME MAILING LISTS ASHDOWN-UK -- The ASHDOWN surname in the United Kingdom BARGET, BOSCHONG, BOUYER COSTANZO DORTON, DREWITZ GASTAUER, GROMATZKY HAID, HALLBACK, HAMMESFAHR, HESNAN, HIRSCHMANN HARRIS-AB -- The HARRIS surname in Alberta, Canada HARRIS-BC -- The HARRIS surname in British Columbia, Canada HARRIS-DE -- The HARRIS surname in Delaware HARRIS-IA -- The HARRIS surname in Iowa HARRIS-NJ -- The HARRIS surname in New Jersey HARRIS-NS -- The HARRIS surname in Nova Scotia, Canada HARRIS-NY -- The HARRIS surname in New York HARRIS-NZ -- The HARRIS surname in New Zealand HARRIS-ON -- The HARRIS surname in Ontario, Canada HARRIS-QC -- The HARRIS surname in Quebec, Canada KLEHM LAI, LATIMORE, LATTIMER, LEXOW, LOUIS MAUDE OUTWATER, OWLE PRITZLAFF ROLEN SCHIMMER, SKILLERN, SROKA, STRINGFIELD SIMMONS-ELITHOMAS -- The Eli Thomas SIMMONS descendants TODD-IRISH -- The TODD surname from Ireland VANDENBUSCH YEWELL NEW ETHNIC AND SPECIAL INTEREST MAILING LISTS AUS-ABORIGINE -- Genealogical research of the Aborigines in Australia CW-OZARKS -- The Civil War in the Ozarks region (specific to southeastern Missouri and northeastern Arkansas) TMG-OHIO-USERS -- Ohio users of The Master Genealogist (software). WA-EWGS -- The Eastern Washington Genealogical Society NEW REGIONAL MAILING LISTS CAN-BC-OK-SIM -- The Okanagan-Similkameen region of British Columbia, Canada DEU-BAD-URLOFFEN -- The village of Urloffen, Offenburg, Baden, Germany POL-PODOLE -- The Old Polish District of Podole, Poland 4. 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 West Pasco (Florida) Historical Society website can be found at: http://www.rootsweb.com/~flwphs/ CANADA onogsssm -- Ontario (Canada) Genealogical Society, Sault Ste. Marie Branch ENGLAND fosopc -- Friends of Sunderland Old Parish Church NEW ZEALAND nzlsgkb -- Society of Genealogists, Kapiti Branch U.S.A. flwphs -- West Pasco (Florida) Historical Society gajenki2 -- Jenkins County (Georgia) ilsccdar -- Silver Creek (Illinois) Chapter DAR infrabio -- Franklin County (Indiana) Biography Project mddorche -- Dorchester County (Maryland) pacahs2 -- California Area (Pennsylvania) Historical Society scaccgs -- Anderson County (South Carolina) Chapter Genealogical Society txlndmrk -- Landmarks (Texas) 5. New/Updated Freepages, Homepages, and WorldConnect Uploads ------------------------------------------------------------- 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 BATH (family). Contains the lineage of the BATH family -- metal and shipping merchants of Swansea, South Wales. Included are contemporary photos, historical background, coats of arms, various connected family trees and dozens of related surnames, such as FRANCIS, OSLER, LLOYD, PADDY, and TRIPCONEY. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~bathonia/AlltyferinBaths.htm BUSHMASTERS. Devoted to the 158th Regimental Combat Team, which was one of the outstanding units in the South Pacific during World War II. The members of the organization that are still living have formed an organization this web page is devoted to their activities and well as relating some of the history of the unit. http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~webbkerr/ ENGLAND. Windsor and Eton Express Newspaper (updated). Articles mainly concerned events in the towns and villages of Buckinghamshire and Berkshire, but there are also a fair number of entries from Middlesex, Surrey, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, with strays from Devon, Kent, Ireland and Scotland, etc. Transcripts and indexes from about 200 issues, which have been taken from 1826-1842 (so late Georgian to early Victorian); includes 13,000+ names. Click on the index at the top of the page and follow the link to the "Alphabetic Index." http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~dutillieul/index.html GRÜNEKLEE, GREENEKLEE. The history of the surname GRÜNEKLEE, which originated in Germany in the village of Weende and about the immigration of three brothers to Australia in the 1800s, where they changed the spelling of their surname to GREENEKLEE. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~tazz/ ======================= Paid Advertisement ======================== GET HELP WITH YOUR RESEARCH FROM MY ANCESTORS Let My Ancestors help you find your family history. We offer Research Retreats in Salt Lake City and free online e-mail consultations for your research queries. For more info visit www.myancestorsfound.com http://www.myancestorsfound.com/ =================== End of Paid Advertisement===================== 6. New User-Contributed Databases at RootsWeb http://userdb.rootsweb.com/submit/ ---------------------------------------------- The following user-contributed databases have come online recently. They are searchable, but not browseable. MINNESOTA. Ramsey County. St. Paul. Mechanic Arts High School, Class of 1924; 177 records; Charles Deutsch Class of 1925; 83 records; Charles Deutsch http://userdb.rootsweb.com/alumni/ NEBRASKA. Kearney County. Minden. Minden High School Alumni, 1889-1904; 184 records; Sherry (White) Casper http://userdb.rootsweb.com/alumni/ TEXAS. Wichita County. Wichita Falls. Wichita Falls Times Record News, Obits, Nov. 26-30, 2003; 66 records; Jane Engbrock http://userdb.rootsweb.com/obituaries/ U.S.A. Military Records: 387th Field Artillery Battalion, 104th Infantry Division, World War II; 543 records; Robert O. Nay http://userdb.rootsweb.com/military/ Co F 4th BN 2nd TNG BR, Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri; Vietnam War; 188 records; Robert O. Nay http://userdb.rootsweb.com/military/ 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]. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Dating Errors By Rebecca Rodgers washbrook@mindspring.com Administrator for WASHBROOK-L@rootsweb.com Researching RODGERS in INDIA and WASHBROOKs worldwide If reference to "Watching Those Dates" by Joyce Rorabaugh about incorrect dates -- I felt I had to answer. The information that I have posted about the LUHMAN(N) family is a direct transcription from a book put together by my husband's great-uncle back in the mid 1970s. This man went to Germany and researched the family there. All mistakes are therefore his and not mine. As I felt this was of genealogical interest I transcribed and posted to RootsWeb. Yes, some of the dates are wrong, but not by my hand. I personally have no interest in researching this particular family and therefore do not plan on trying to correct the dates. But if someone out there is looking for this family line and wants to correct it if they can. I'm willing and ready to make any provable changes. * * * Bridging the Atlantic Ocean By Alexandra de Grandpré grandpre@global2000.net I highly recommend your service! Some time ago, I posted a request for information on the BATTERTON family. Yes, I did hear from a source in Liverpool, England and six months later, I heard from her with volumes of information. We have since exchanged at least 20 e-mails. Many thanks for providing this website. 8. Humor/Humour: These Ancestors Cannot Be Displayed ------------------------------------------------------ o Some ancestors were deposited on Earth by UFOs. Please check passenger lists for UFOs which are not housed anywhere on Earth. o Your family tree may have tree rot. Check with your local nursery for appropriate treatment. --From Michael John Neill's humorous webpage : "These Ancestors Cannot Be Displayed" http://www.rootdig.com/error.htm 9. Submission Guidelines, Advertising Contacts, Reprint Policy ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 ASCII text (please, no attach- ments) to: Editor-RWR@rootsweb.com * * * ROOTSWEB REVIEW ADVERTISING CONTACTS: Ad Sales Operations Mgr. Shana Davis sdavis@myfamilyinc.com U.S. West Coast: Sacha Yenkana syenkana@myfamilyinc.com U.S. East Coast: Dan Arnold darnold@myfamilyinc.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. 50, 10 December 2003. * * * *