RootsWeb Review: RootsWeb's Weekly E-zine Vol. 7, No. 19, 12 May 2004, Circulation: 839,791+ (c) 1998-2004 RootsWeb.com, Inc. http://www.rootsweb.com/ * * * Editor: Myra Vanderpool Gormley, Certified Genealogist Editor-RWR@rootsweb.com Certification: http://www.bcgcertification.org/certification/ * * * Search and share family trees: WorldConnect: http://wc.rootsweb.com/ Learn how to find your ancestors: http://rwguide.rootsweb.com/ Post and read 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/ =============================================================== IN THIS ISSUE: 1. NEWS AND NOTES. 1a. RootsWeb Message Boards: "Posting a New Query" 1b. Editor's Desk: "Kudos and Wills" 1c. Tips from Readers: "Changing Sexes and Other Census Anomalies" 2. Connecting Through RootsWeb: "Meeting at Old Burial Grounds" 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: "Another Look at Ancient Mothers"; "Mothers and Grandmothers"; "Logical Explanation"; "On the Celebrity Trail"; "Checking Folders and Files, Too"; "Tombstone Recording Customs"; "Another Scanning Tip"; "Finding Webmasters" 8. Humor/Humour: "Tales from the Crypt" 9. Submission Guidelines, Subscriptions, Advertising, Reprint Policy ======================================================================== 1. NEWS AND NOTES. 1a. Message Boards: Posting a New Query Have you read stories about people who put a message in a bottle and tossed it into the ocean only to receive a reply years later from someone continents away? Posting on message boards is somewhat similar. When you post your genealogical research along with a query listing the information you hope to learn about your ancestors on an appropriate message board, you might receive an instant reply from long-lost family members, cousins you never knew you had, or hear from complete strangers with information you have been seeking. You might not hear from anyone for weeks, months, or even years. However, researchers find and search the messages, both new and old, every day. Surprising connections and wonderful discoveries happen daily. But you have to post to let others know what information you seek about which ancestors. Sharing your information is the quickest way to get others to share theirs. Start here to find a message board for posting your query: http://boards.rootsweb.com/ You want to reach the greatest number of interested researchers as possible and you want those with information for you or looking for the data you have posted to be able to find it and you. That's why it is important to post your message on the most appropriate board. The boards are divided into Surnames, Localities, and Topics. You can locate a board either by typing in the subject or surname of the board upon which you wish to post a new message using the FIND A BOARD search box, or by navigating through the board hierarchy using the index pages accessible from the main board page. If your query primarily concerns a surname or single family, post it on the message board for that surname or request a board for your surname spelling -- if none currently exists -- by clicking on the REQUEST NEW BOARD link at the bottom of each board page. If your query pertains to several families or generations all living in the same geographic area, or if it is about a specific place, post on the locality message board. Pick the most specific locality board possible -- the county as opposed to a U.S. state (Unknown County) board, for example. Unknown County boards are only for posting when you do not know the county, or where more than one county is involved. If your message is more closely tied to a genealogical research topic such as an ethnic group, a religious body, or an occupation, you may elect to post on a message board for that topic. Pick the message board that most closely fits the subject about which you are writing. It isn't necessary, in most cases, to post your message on multiple message boards at RootsWeb/Ancestry because they are globally searchable. To post: You must be viewing a message board that has public posting enabled (designated by a white sheets of paper icon) or be viewing a message posted on such a board in order to post a new message. Note: You cannot post a message while on an index page for a category or subcategory (represented by a yellow file folder icon) and you cannot post a new message if you are viewing an admin board for which you do not serve as an administrator (there will be a black circle with a line through it and the notation "you are not an administrator on this board"). Occasionally you will come upon a "Read Only" board designated by an icon showing yellow sheets rather than white ones. Such boards are special ones and public posting on them is not permitted. Look for the POST NEW MESSAGE link. If you are viewing a message on a board and wish to post a new message unrelated to the one you are viewing, select the POST NEW MESSAGE link above the message box. After you have composed your message and completed all required items, select either the POST MESSAGE button (if you are absolutely certain that the message is exactly as you wish to post it) or the PREVIEW MESSAGE button, if you would like to view the message as it will appear on the board before it is actually posted. The preview screen allows you to select from EDIT MESSAGE or POST MESSAGE buttons. Use the EDIT MESSAGE button (and not your browser's BACK button) to make any changes to the message prior to finally selecting the POST MESSAGE button, which will put your message on the message board. After your message is posted sit back and relax and wait for a reply -- which may come immediately or might be weeks, months, even years later and when you least expect it -- just like the message in a bottle drifting in the ocean until someone finds it on a distant shore. Board messages remain searchable and findable -- there is no time limit for someone to find you and your query, or to post the information you have sought. * * * 1b. EDITOR'S DESK. Kudos and Wills Kudos for Pinellas County (Florida) Genealogy Society. The Pinellas Genealogy Society (PGS) of Largo, Florida is winner of a prestigious Organization Achievement award from the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation for its work in the restoration of historic Greenwood Cemetery in St. Petersburg. Starting in 2002 PGS embarked with its partner, Pinellas Heritage, on an ambitious series of cleanup, workdays, and a comprehensive review of the cemetery records and history. During the early days of the project, it was discovered that Greenwood Cemetery was the final resting place of Almon Strowger who had retired to St. Petersburg. He died in 1902. Strowger was the inventor of the automatic telephone switch, but sold his patents before the invention's true value was understood. After a local newspaper article detailing Strowger's life, the Verizon Foundation offered a grant to support the project's goals. According to PGS president. Lesleigh Butts, "The PGS members got involved to do the right thing by putting some work into a neglected cemetery and that seemed satisfaction enough. Now to have the project and our partnership recognized at the state level, it's almost forced us to realize that we've participated in something very special." The Pinellas Genealogy Society home page is hosted by RootsWeb.com http://www.rootsweb.com/~flpgs/ The Greenwood Cemetery (St. Petersburg, Florida) website is here: http://www.historicgreenwood.com/ * * * Wills of the Rich and Famous You can find wills of some renowned people on a number of websites. Some include transcriptions and digital images of the actual wills. Wills online of several who died during the 20th century include Diana, Princess of Wales; John F. Kennedy, Jr.; Elvis Presley, and famous American baseball players -- Babe Ruth, the Sultan of Swat; and Joe DiMaggio, the Yankee Clipper. http://www.courttv.com/people/wills/ At Britain's National Archives are the wills of more than 100 famous people, dated from 1553 through 1858. They include such well-known figures as Jane Austen, Sir Francis Drake, John Donne, and Sir Francis Bacon. Through the website's DocumentsOnline feature, you can search for and download any of these wills for a fee. William Shakespeare's will can be downloaded free of charge, but you must pay a fee for the others. http://www.documentsonline.pro.gov.uk/PROB1wills.asp * * * 1c. TIPS FROM READERS. Changing Sexes and Other Census Anomalies By Louise Nelson I have been doing genealogy since 1962 and have run across some real dillies in my research. Let me tell you about my MAUL/MOUL family, one of my earliest research projects. Heinrich and Christiana MAUL moved with their growing family from York County, Pennsylvania to Franklin County, Ohio apparently about 1846, where Heinrich (Henry) died 22 Oct 1847. There might have been an intermediate stop since I have not yet found them on the 1840 census. On the 1850 federal census for Franklin County, Ohio, I discovered a family headed by a man named Christian MOULE. I recognized some of the children's names as ones I had for siblings of my great-grandfather, Daniel Alexander MOUL. At the time I thought that perhaps Christian was a brother of Heinrich, and they both had given their children similar names. As I continued my research, I realized that there had to be more to the story. So about 1987 -- about 25 years after first finding the census record -- I decided to revisit this census. Here is the transcript of the actual record as it appears in the census film: Ohio, Franklin County, 2nd Ward, Columbus, p. 349, family 342: MOULE Christian 45 m PA laborer Keziah 27 PA Emanuel 24 PA cooper Catharine 21 PA Henry 20 PA laborer Barbara A. 19 PA Sarah 15 PA John 12 PA Elizabeth 10 PA Danl. 6 PA Mary Jane 4 PA As I re-examined the record, I discovered that the "sex" column had been erased, apparently changed from "F" to "M." I suspect that when the census taker looked back over the record, he thought he had made a mistake in the gender for head of household and changed it. Also, the ages given are not anywhere near right. Probably someone other than Christiana gave the information and perhaps someone misunderstood the directions about who to list. Family tradition says that the father of this family who was deceased by this time, spoke German, and others most likely did, also. So there might have been a communication problem. Often the name Christiana was shortened to Christian on other records I have seen for her. Emanuel, who appears here with his mother and siblings, is also enumerated with a wife and child in family 137. So, after 25 years of searching for my great-grandfather's family, I realized that I had had it all that time. I was then able to go on and find more information about this family that had remained in the "dead file" all that time. Moral: If the information fits, but it doesn't fit, go back for another look. 2. Connecting Through RootsWeb. (Thanks for sharing your stories.) ------------------------------------------------------------------ Meeting at Old Burial Grounds By Susan Kundert in Ohio Since I posted an update to my RootsWeb family tree, I have received numerous new queries from other researchers. One query in particular has led to a series of encounters with heretofore unknown, but closely related, cousins that is nothing short of phenomenal. The message that started this improbable sequence of events came from a cousin in Coldwater, Michigan, who is a descendant, as am I, of American Revolutionary War veteran Gorg Daniel CONRAD, born 1734 in Bavaria and who died in 1810 in Fairfield County, Ohio. Through an exchange of e-mails, we determined that this cousin's great-grandfather, George CONRAD, was the brother of Mary E. CONRAD, first wife of my own great-grandfather, Joseph Kesler BALTHASER. We decided we would meet, and I would guide my cousin and her husband to the family burial grounds in Clear Creek Township. Before heading to the Conrad Cemetery, we pored over old atlases and local history books at the Fairfield County Library. We noticed on one of the atlas pages an engraving of an elegant 1870s mansion that had originally belonged to a cousin, William CONRAD. I knew the mansion was on the way to the cemetery, so we stopped to take a photo of this lovingly restored part of our family heritage and then headed down the road to the burial ground. We had been at our destination just a few minutes when a new, shiny pickup truck pulled up. Getting out, the driver asked if we were CONRAD descendants. He said he was a descendant, as well, although his surname was SHUPE. From my research, I knew that anyone with the SHUPE surname in this area was almost certainly a descendant of my 3-great-grand- parents, John SHUPE and Elizabeth CONRAD. But I was flabbergasted to soon learn that this stranger by the side of the road was a direct descendant of not only my SHUPE/CONRAD line, but of all of my other maternal direct lines but one, as well. In fact, his great-grandfather was my own great-grandfather, the same Joseph Kesler BALTHASER whose brief first marriage to Mary E. CONRAD had brought the contact via RootsWeb with the Michigan CONRAD cousin standing beside us that day. His grandmother was my grandmother's half sister, who, because of family pride and hurt feelings, we had never met. As we celebrated our newfound relationships, our Fairfield County cousin suggested we continue our discussion at his home, which turned out to be that elegant, lovingly restored mansion we had stopped to photograph on our way to the cemetery. We are all e-mailing and plan to meet again and again, soon. We have a lot to discuss. 3. New Mailing Lists at RootsWeb Request a New Mailing List: http://resources.rootsweb.com/adopt/ ----------------------------------------------------------------- Brand-new mailing lists can be found under OTHER/MISCELLANEOUS until moved to their proper categories. For information and an index to the more than 28,100 RootsWeb-hosted genealogy Mailing Lists and for easy subscribing (joining) options go to: http://lists.rootsweb.com/ NEW SURNAME MAILING LISTS BOILES CERNIN, CLAIRDAY GILHOOLY LEDGER, LEMYNG MELUGIN NEJEDLY SHANKLAND THACKWRAY NEW ETHNIC AND SPECIAL INTEREST MAILING LISTS ANGLO-AUSTRIAN -- Genealogical discussions for people of mixed English and Austrian ancestry AUS-NSW-COLONIAL-HISTORY -- Early colonial history in New South Wales, Australia from 1788 to 1856 AUS-ORPHANAGES -- Genealogical discussions of individuals raised in Australian orphanages 4. New Webpages at RootsWeb To Request a Free Web Account: http://accounts.rootsweb.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------- Some of these webpages 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. For example, the Whitfield County, Georgia website is at: http://www.rootsweb.com/~gawhitf2/ U.S.A. gawhitf2 -- Whitfield County (Georgia) kybourb2 -- Bourbon County (Kentucky) kyclark2 -- Clark County (Kentucky) kygrant2 -- Grant County (Kentucky) kypendl2 -- Pendleton County (Kentucky) macharwi -- Harwich (city) (Massachusetts) tncampb2 -- Campbell County (Tennessee) tnsequat -- Sequatchie County (Tennessee) 5. New/Updated Freepages and Homepages --------------------------------------- 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 IVANS, IVENS, IVINS FAMILY. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~ivanfamily/ LAGACE. MIGNÉ DIT LAGACE. "The Descendants of Artemise Lagace." On April 25, 1882 Artemise LAGACE, the daughter of Joseph LAGACE and Hermine LAJOIE married Francios Xavier TURCOTTE the son of Francois TURCOTTE and Margurite ROBITAILLE in Old Town, Maine. Current family surnames being researched are: Turcotte/Turcott, Dube, Berube, Pelletier, Soucy, Brillant, Lagace/Lagasse, Cyr, Robitaille, Dupont and many others. This website has won a 2003-2004 Golden Web Award. Congratulations. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~turcottelagace/ About Golden Web Awards: http://www.goldenwebawards.com/ LACK. Tracing LACK/LAX ancestors from Virginia to Tennessee to Arkansas, Mississippi, Texas, and Illinois Other surnames include: COFFEEY, SWEENEY, ROBINSON, ROBERTSON, VANCE, LANCASTER, HENRY, KELLEY, ANDRISEK, BEAN, BRANDON, CAMPBELL, CLAY, CUNNINGHAM, CYPERT, DANENHOUR, EATON, GRIFFIN, HOWARD, JIMENEZ, JUSTICE, MANN, MEDLAR, PARKER, McCURDY, MOORE, RHEA, SMITH, and SUTTERFIELD. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~lack/ MASSACHUSETTS. Boston. Marriages recorded in Boston's city records to 1751; plus marriages in several Boston churches that were not recorded in the city records and marriage intentions recorded that did not have a marriage recorded in Boston. There are also some early birth and death records for other towns that were recorded in Boston. http://freepages.books.rootsweb.com/~rbrown/boston/ 6. New User-Contributed Databases at RootsWeb http://userdb.rootsweb.com/submit/ ---------------------------------------------- The following databases have come online recently. They are searchable, but not browseable. SCOTLAND. Aberdeen. 1820 Trade Directory; 1,380 records; Sue O'Neill http://userdb.rootsweb.com/uki/ U.S.A. (multiple states). Death Records: Selected death records from Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas; 15 records; Benjamin Pannell http://userdb.rootsweb.com/deaths/ ARKANSAS. Izard County (near Guion) Campbell Cemetery; 141 records; Bennie Leon Hutchins http://userdb.rootsweb.com/cemeteries/ CONNECTICUT. New Haven County. Guilford. 1645-1814 deeds; CARTER, POST, SMITH, and WRIGHT surnames; 170 records; Janece Carter Streig http://userdb.rootsweb.com/deeds/ LOUISIANA. Rapides Parish. Alexandria. Bolton High School Class of 1953; 204 records; Chuck Jackson http://userdb.rootsweb.com/alumni/ MISSISSIPPI. Jackson County. Wade. Goff-Carter-Cemetery (also known as Lost Goff-Carter Cemetery of Americus); 26 records; Brenda Waltman Knippers http://userdb.rootsweb.com/cemeteries/ SOUTH CAROLINA. Florence County.(near Lake City). New Town Baptist Cemetery; FLOYD surname; 70 records; Martin Graves http://userdb.rootsweb.com/cemeteries/ TEXAS. Wichita County. Wichita Falls. Rider High School, 1963 faculty and employees; 73 records; Jane Engbrock http://userdb.rootsweb.com/alumni/ Selected obituaries from Wichita Falls Times, Record News and Electra Star News, 1998-2004; 56 records; Jane Engbrock http://userdb.rootsweb.com/obituaries/ 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]. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Another Look at Ancient Mothers By John McLinden in the UK I read Gregg Bonner's note about "ancient mothers" with interest. The problem is that, prior to civil registration of births, at a time when only the baptism was normally recorded, we have no information whatsoever in the vast majority of cases as to when a child was actually born. We normally assume that a child was baptised within a week or two of birth, but there is a large body of evidence (such as "batch" baptisms (quite common in rural communities) and baptism occurring immediately before a marriage) that suggests that this was not true in all cases. There is also some evidence that births to "older" mothers caused many more health complications for both the mother and child than for younger mothers and these may have resulted in considerable delays before baptism occurred. I have noted a high (higher than usual) proportion of infant deaths preceded by or followed shortly afterwards by the death of the mother in these situations. Yes, some children were baptised quickly and privately at home because they were seen as being in mortal danger, but in many cases I think there were other priorities, such as keeping mother and child alive at all, which tended to over-ride this consideration. In these cases, it could be some time before a baptism took place -- if it was not forgotten altogether. This in no way negates Gregg's findings, of course, but I suggest that this factor alone could account for many "ancient mother" events, the unrecorded birth being much earlier than the recorded baptism. * * * Mothers and Grandmothers By Joan Wilson of Weymouth by the Sea In re the article on "Ancient Mothers" -- I have several in my tree, and assume that the mother is really the grandmother. The babies probably were born to their own unmarried daughters -- much more likely than just having the wrong dates. * * * Logical Explanation By Dr. Michael F. Fay in Kew, Richmond, Surrey Gregg Bonner wrote that records of children being born to women aged 50 and over are erroneous. In many cases (even until relatively recent times) children born out of wedlock to young mothers were absorbed into the family as younger "siblings" rather than grandchildren. An explanation of at least some of the records of "ancient" mothers is that they were in fact grandmothers. * * * On the Celebrity Trail By Richard S. Clark This is in regard to the recent article, "Hunting Down the Swamp Fox," by Cathy Berger. Perhaps it was just another one of those strange coincidences so often noted, but I had just made the remark a few days ago in an e-mail, that I didn't understand my BAILEY family's fixation with the name "Francis Marion." My BAILEY family has been traced back to Delaware and Maryland, also, to a John BAILEY born about 1800 in Delaware. I believe he probably migrated with his family as a child to Carrollton, Kentucky, where he married Sarah Weatherly GODDARD, born in Maryland. Of John and Sarah's descendants, there was a John Francis Marion BAILEY, several Francis M.'s, and many others whose first or middle name was either Francis or Marion, including my 2g-grandfather James Marion BAILEY. I had also found a James Francis Marion BAILEY born not far from Carrollton, and thought perhaps the name might suggest a relationship to my Baileys. I was not aware that the name "Francis Marion" belonged to a celebrity of the day. Such was the case with my great-grandfather, Lewis Cass MINCHER. After finding the name "Lewis Cass" in several related branches of the family, I became curious and searched for a reason why. I found that Lewis CASS (1718-1866) had been an early frontiersman and statesman, on the order of Daniel BOONE. Although he was a celebrity of the day, his name is more obscure today. There probably are few older American families that don't have a "George Washington", a "Thomas Jefferson" or even a "James Madison" namesake somewhere in their lines, honoring various heroes. Like many family historians, I was told that I was related to a celebrity. My granduncle Robert Lee HOY was supposedly named for General Robert E. LEE, to whom we were supposedly related. At first I believed what I was told, but as I researched my LEE family line, I didn't see that it could be possible. I traced my Lees back to James LEE, who survived the shipwreck of the "Faithful Steward" in 1785. I thought I had debunked the myth of our relationship once and for all, then I ran across a reference on the Internet. A source stated that Robert E. LEE was very much into genealogy, and that he believed the LEE family lost on the ship were his cousins. Others have researched this, and came to the conclusion that they very likely were related, although the exact relationship may never be found. Perhaps the same is true in Berger's case. It could be that the early members of the family knew of the relationship to Francis MARION, even if it extended back several generations before his birth, at a time when the family was still in Europe. I wish her the best of luck in finding it. * * * Checking Folders and Files, Too By Iris Lillie In re Laurie Dallman's letter and her frustration with the LINE search, because some people add that to their family pages in the form of Smith Line or Jones Line. I was helping a friend whose her main line is DIR. In the age of computers with all the directories abbreviated to DIR, you can imagine her problem dwarfs that one with lines. * * * Tombstone Recording Customs By Bill Baumbach I have a question that might be simple to some but I have always wondered why. I have been putting the cemetery records on computer for the small city of Indianola, Nebraska. I started two years ago and am not finished yet as I am going through all the old and new records, doing a map of the cemetery, and walking a good part of it. My question is why did people put their age at death instead of death date or birth date? I have seen so many that have recorded "died July 4, 1899 aged 57y. 18d. 4m." Some even have just "John Doe, d. 60yrs. 5m. 6d." For me to be accurate on the records, I have to figure out when they were born. The year anyway, for the software I'm using, and I put what is on the headstone in a "notes" area of the person's name. I thought at first it may have been because of the expense but it seems to me that "years, days and months" would be as much to engrave as the birth and death date. This has always been big question of mine and I hope you or your readers can give me your ideas. * * * Another Scanning Tip By Rod Dryer I have had success using a regular scanner by placing the negative on the scanner, then placing a mirror face down on top of the negative. That way the scanner light passes through the negative, bounces off the mirror, and is picked up by the scanner's CCD (charge-coupled device) sensor. I originally used the shiny side of aluminum foil, but a mirror works better. * * * Finding Webmasters By Dan Gamber As usual I found food for thought in recent issue of RootsWeb Review, and a frustration. One of the personal websites caught my eye as I seem to have DILLES scattered all over my in-laws. (My DILLES are particularly cluttered.) And sure enough there was some info there I had not seen before. But as far as I can tell there is nothing on the site giving the name of the author or how to contact her or him. Please encourage people setting up free pages (websites) to include contact info. 8. Humor/Humour: Tales from the Crypt ------------------------------------- Cemetery: A marble orchard not to be taken for granite. 9. Submission Guidelines, Subscriptions, Advertising, 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 TEXT (please, no attachments) to: Editor-RWR@rootsweb.com Search/download past issues of the RootsWeb Review: http://e-zine.rootsweb.com/ * * * SUBSCRIPTIONS. To manage your e-mail communications (i.e. to subscribe or unsubscribe to this newsletter, or to sign up for others), visit our newsletter management center any time at: http://newsletters.rootsweb.com/ The RootsWeb Review is a free publication of MyFamily.com, Inc., 360 West 4800 North, Provo, UT, 84604 * * * ROOTSWEB REVIEW ADVERTISING CONTACTS. Ad Sales Operations Mgr. Shana Davis sdavis@myfamilyinc.com U.S., WorldWide Sales: Sacha Yenkana syenkana@myfamilyinc.com * * * REPRINTS. 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. 7, No. 19, 12 May 2004. * * * *