RootsWeb Review: RootsWeb's Weekly E-zine 17 November 2004, Vol. 7, No. 46, Circulation: 823,673+ (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/ Search/download past issues of the RootsWeb Review: http://e-zine.rootsweb.com/ RootsWeb HelpDesk: http://helpdesk.rootsweb.com/ =============================================================== IN THIS ISSUE: 1. NEWS AND NOTES 1a. Editor's Desk: Back up and Running; Some Sites Worth Seeing 1b. Tips from Readers: "Coming to America" 1c. "Passwords: Your Data's Protection" 2. Connecting Through RootsWeb: "Bermuda, Bahamas, Come on Pretty Mama" 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: "When He's a She" "Updating Your E-mail Address" "STUMPS of the Family Tree" "Hush, Hush, Sweet Sister" "Encountering Imperfect Ancestors" "'Double-crossing' Son Puts Mom Online" "Pictures of Early Ships to America" 8. Humor/Humour: "Syntactician Laid to Rest" 9. Subscriptions, Submissions, Advertising, Reprints =============================================================== 1. NEWS AND NOTES 1a. EDITOR'S DESK. BACK UP AND RUNNING. Hopefully the mailing lists and digest problems on Lists5 have been resolved after the recent disk failure and replacement problem. All the backup mail should be flowing again. Your patience is appreciated. Obviously if a mailing list is not functioning, information about the situation can not be distributed that way. That is why all announcements about technical problems are posted at the HelpDesk. To be informed, always check here: http://helpdesk.rootsweb.com/ * * * SOME SITES WORTH SEEING: LOST IN THE TRANSLATION? Free online multidirectional dictionaries in seven languages -- Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish. Translates up to 20 words at a time. http://www.langdy.com/dacc_g.htm * * * BRITISH NATIONAL ARCHIVES. Families of British and Commonwealth soldiers who fought in World War I can trace their relatives' war records through a website that was launched recently. The National Archives site lists the records of more than five million men and women of the Army and Royal Flying Corps who won service medals during the war. Members of the Royal Navy are not included in the register. Among the famous to be found in this index are former British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill and the then future King Edward VIII. Medal records can be valuable to family histories. They often provide the only account of a soldier's wartime service since many other records were destroyed by bombing during World War II. Searching the index is free, but it costs 6.50 USD to download a document. http://www.documentsonline.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ * * * CURRENCY CONVERTER: http://www.x-rates.com/calculator.html * * * 1b. TIPS FROM READERS Coming to America By Madeline De Long I experienced a little déjà vu as I read Juli Morgan's "Looking Beyond the Index" (10/27/04 RWR). When searching the passenger records at the Ellis Island website for my great grandfather, Bernhard CORNELIUS, I was quite puzzled when I didn't find any record of his second journey to the United States. Naturally I didn't expect to find Bernhard's original journey from Germany to America in 1884, as Ellis Island had not yet opened. Yet, Bernhard's obituary stated that he returned to Germany in May of 1895 "to visit his folks. While there he met Miss Anna USBECK and the two were united in marriage on July 22, 1895." Shortly after their marriage, the pair returned to America. This 1895 voyage, occurring after the opening of Ellis Island, should have been listed at http://www.ellisislandrecords.org/ I returned to the site often, checking for Bernhard's passenger entry. I reviewed the facts: In the U.S., he was known as Bernhard or as B. CORNELIUS. I knew he had immigrated from Germany. I had located the record of his original passage in "Germans To America," and was relatively certain his date of birth was January 1860. Therefore, Bernhard would have been age 35 at the time of his trip in 1895. By all accounts, he should have been easy to locate in the Ellis Island database. Yet I remained unable to unearth any record for him among the passenger manifests. Then, it occurred to me that Anna's passage should have been booked once they were married. After this revelation, I searched for passenger records for Anna CORNELIUS, I found a record for a young lady with the correct name and age, sailing in the proper time frame. Could this be my Anna CORNELIUS? Fortunately, the Ellis Island website allows the reader to view actual passenger records. Much to my amazement, Bernhard was listed 12 passengers prior to Anna. His name is spelled Bernh, followed by a superscript letter d. Nowhere in the index is Bernhard listed. The website allows for annotations. I created an annotation stating that Anna was married to and traveling with Bernhard CORNELIUS, who was not listed in the index. When searching passenger records, be certain to search for all passengers who may have traveled together. [Editor's Note: Don't forget to check for your female ancestors under their maiden names, too. Many European ladies are so listed, even though they were married at the time. See "Tracing Your Immigrant Ancestors" http://www.rootsweb.com/~rwguide/lesson15.htm] * * * Have you encountered and solved a pesky research problem? Share it with the RootsWeb Review readers. Send to: Editor-RWR@rootsweb.com * * * 1c. Passwords: Your Data's Protection Larry Lockhart is an experienced family history researcher and makes full use of the data and tools available at RootsWeb. Larry knows that since RootsWeb resources are free most do not require the use of a password or any special user code to access them. However, a few resources do. In most cases they are ones that Larry selects or creates for his own use. When Larry first submitted his family tree to WorldConnect, he had to create a password and user code. This serves the purpose of allowing him, and only him, to upload, remove, or update his GEDCOM; to download the full unedited version of his GEDCOM; to set options for the display of his family tree; and to remove Post-em Notes others might have added to his file (should he choose to do so). Obviously the purpose of the password is to protect the data and help him preserve the integrity of his submitted file. From time to time, Larry adds Post-em Notes to databases throughout RootsWeb (on WorldConnect files, User-contributed Databases, and SSDI entries) and when he attaches a new note he knows that each requires that he establish a password of his choosing so that he, the submitter, (and only he) can edit or remove the note. The only exception is that WorldConnect database submitters may remove (but not edit) any Post-ems attached to their files. RootsWeb mailing lists, while free, require that you join (subscribe) in order to participate. They do not require a user code or password of any sort unless you serve as a mailing list administrator. Larry serves as a list administrator for a few mailing lists and, in that capacity, he chose administrator passwords to enable access to the list management tools. One of the first resources Larry used at RootsWeb was the RootsWeb Surname List (RSL) where he established a password and user name (called a "nametag") when he first submitted entries to the RSL. The nametag and password allow Larry to return and edit, update, or remove entries. The passwords for all of the above RootsWeb areas are user set and user controlled and exist for the security and convenience of the user to protect information and settings. Should Larry forget any of his user names and/or passwords they can be retrieved from Password Central by clicking on the PASSWORDS tab near the top of any RootsWeb page or by going to: http://passwordcentral.rootsweb.com/ An exception is that for mailing list administrator passwords, which are retrieved directly from the admin list tools page and message board passwords, which are retrieved via the "FORGOT YOUR PASSWORD?" link when logging in on the boards. The RootsWeb/Ancestry message boards require registration and the establishment of a password and user name for some (but not all) features. For example, Larry does not have to register and login to search or browse the boards or to post a message or to reply to a message on the boards. However, he chooses to do so because it provides him with the capability of globally updating his account information should his e-mail address or other account information change. Registration is required for the message boards in order to use features such as: --Request the creation of a new board --Serve as a board administrator --Report abuse on a board --Establish a "My Favorites" list of favorite boards or authors with easy access links to the "My Favorites" --Utilize the "My Notifications" feature of boards that lets you know when new posts have been made Larry has only two types of passwords at RootsWeb that he cannot set for himself. They are: his webpage account and his PML account (Personalized Mailing Lists). PML is a service limited to former RootsWeb sponsors like Larry. Both of these RootsWeb services require a greater degree of security, which is the reason they cannot be personally selected. Web accounts grant a limited access to RootsWeb servers and, therefore, require a secure password. These may not be changed. However, Larry made use of available webpage accessories -- a RootsWeb guestbook and a counter -- and these required that he establish a user-created password for them. These passwords are retrievable from Password Central with the exception of those for webpage counters, which Larry knows he must maintain on his own. No record of counter passwords is maintained by RootsWeb. When using RootsWeb resources that require a password and/or user code, Larry knows that he should keep them private and not share them with others. He knows not to post them publicly such as on a mailing list or message board and to be careful not to copy any correspondence he has received that includes any of his passwords, such as responses from Password Central. Posting passwords publicly could enable others to gain access to Larry's accounts and to remove or edit his information. Larry knows that if he should accidentally expose his password publicly, he should change it immediately. Passwords are Larry's keys to protect and preserve the integrity of his data and he knows he needs to guard them diligently. 2. Connecting Through RootsWeb. Thanks for sharing your stories. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Bermuda, Bahamas, Come on Pretty Mama By Debra J. Richardson On an August day in 1907, a young Norwegian immigrant woman, Constance Taiet CHRISTIANSEN, arrived on American shores from Høland, Akershus, Norway. Accompanied by a married aunt, she settled in east-central Minnesota near previously immigrated family members. Less than a year later she'd married a Swedish-born logger, and began assimilating herself into American life. Constance and her Swede, Ludvig, were my grandparents. As were many immigrants of her generation, Constance was willing, almost intent, to leave the past behind her. She raised seven children without a one of them hearing her speak her native tongue. Only during the occasional lively marital tiff, when she would revert to Norwegian, while my grandfather spoke Swedish, would Constance abandon the American ways she so fully came to embrace. In May of 1959, a few months before my grandmother's death, one of her daughters sat at her side, taking notes from Constance's oral stories. This handwritten two-sided report was all I would be bequeathed once I began my research into Constance's Norwegian ancestry. With the siblings, save one, deceased by the time I began genealogy, the last remaining member of my father's family was institutionalized, in the advanced stages of Alzheimer's disease. I was on my own with a piece of paper, sketchy recollections, and few clues. Included in the more than 41-year-old data, was a notation that Constance's half sister, Anne SOARES, resided in Bermuda at the time of her sister's death. The two sisters apparently had limited communication with each other following their departure from the family homestead in Norway. After a silent passage of nearly half a century, "Anne in Bermuda" proved a family mystery for me. Armed only with a name and an island, I posted a RootsWeb message board query late one summer evening. Lacking any further details, I felt my chances of finding a needle of an aunt in a haystack of an island were slim. When I awoke the next morning to find a reply had already been posted to my query, I pinched myself. I was dreaming, surely! In a four-paragraph response, a kindly genealogist in Bermuda explained that once she'd noted my query, her genealogist's skills immediately set into motion. After some preliminary checking and later a few phone calls, she'd left a voice mail message at the residence of the lady she believed was my great-aunt's daughter. I had hardly dared hoped to locate descendants, much less ones yet living in Bermuda. I leapt off my computer chair to launch into a frenetic, if off-key, rendition of the Beach Boys' "Kokomo"--the "Happy Genealogy Dance" may have attended it. As my newfound cousin and I became acquainted, the story unfolded. My Great-aunt Anne left Norway later than had my grandmother, immigrating to Canada with a friend, to work there as a domestic. As her employer owned a winter home in Bermuda, she traveled there often with the family. On one such visit she'd met a local gentleman, and eventually married him. Ah, a love story! Of Anne's two children, daughter Ingrid, yet living on the island, was as delighted as her American cousin that we had found each other. Locating and getting to know Ingrid has been one of the highlights of my genealogy quest. I am indebted to RootsWeb for providing the forum in which two long-lost cousins were able to meet each other. I am as well indebted to genealogist Judy in Bermuda, who not only read my plea, but set feet to my genealogical prayers. The story doesn't quite end here, because a reporter for the Royal Gazette in Bermuda also noticed my RootsWeb query (it pays to advertise) and e-mailed to ask if she could do a story on our meeting. The feature was published in the island newspaper in late September. http://www.theroyalgazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040921/LIFESTYLE/109210076&SearchID=73189464463640 Often we genealogists are called upon to work our bottoms off to scale those brick walls, coming up with new cousins. Other times, it's as easy as an island breeze. Thanks, RootsWeb, and you, too, Judy! And, Ingrid, just to let you know: my bags are packed. * * * Do you have an online "connecting" story to share? Send to: Editor-RWR@rootsweb.com 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 28,600 RootsWeb-hosted genealogy Mailing Lists and for easy subscribing (joining) options go to: http://lists.rootsweb.com/ No new mailing lists were created this week. 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 Deer County, Montana website is at: http://www.rootsweb.com/~mtdeerlo/ Canada abmgrc -- Mayerthorpe (Alberta) Genealogical Resource Center Scotland sctdfsfc -- Dumfries Free Census U.S.A. afamer -- African American Resources Project gawilke3 -- Wilkes County (Georgia) machanso -- Hanson (city) (Plymouth County, Massachusetts) mtdeerlo -- Deer Lodge County (Montana) ohscogs2 -- Scioto County Chapter, Ohio Genealogical Society (OGS) pacamer2 -- Cameron County (Pennsylvania) pachest2 -- Chester County (Pennsylvania) 5. New/Updated Freepages and Homepages -------------------------------------- CROWELL. Crowell Family Tree Project. http://freepages.family.rootsweb.com/~crogen/welcome.htm HERBST, GROSSMAN(N), BLACKBURN, and DETTMANN/DEPPMAN. Other surnames are: SWAN, McCANN, JOHNSON, and ANDERSON. Branches include: HATHAWAY, ALE, LEMMER, KISTER, GRAF, GOBEL, OLSZEWSKI, KNAUTZ, MORETT, PULS, FLEEGE, NAGLE, JUNGELS, SUCHARSKI, RADEKE, KATZWINSKY, SASEK, and GRAY. Plus a travelogue, with photos on recent trip to Europe tracing the roots of German, Swedish, and Irish ancestors. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~bjsrootsandbranches/ SPEIDEL. One-name study project. Research of SPEIDEL, SPEITEL, SPIDEL, SPIDELL, SPIDLE, SPYDEL, and other surnames matching Soundex code S134. Includes cemetery, census, church, death, immigration and marriage records; American Civil War soldiers, coats of arms, distribution maps for the United States and Germany, surname DNA project, and photos of individuals, places and tombstones. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~spidlefamily/spidle_html/ * * * Has your website ever been mentioned here or do you have a new, updated, or substantially revised website located at RootsWeb (it will have "freepages" or "homepages" in the URL)? 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 6. New User-Contributed Databases at RootsWeb ---------------------------------------------- SHARING OPPORTUNITY. Does your alma mater, old military unit, church, parish, province, county or state have material available that you think would be of interest to genealogists and historians? Do you have any compiled lists of names or databases (other than your personal genealogy) that you would like to share and that you think would be of value and interest to others? In most cases, RootsWeb would be proud to host such material. http://userdb.rootsweb.com/submit/ The following databases have come online recently. They are searchable, but not browseable. Search: To look for specific data or occurrence of text in a file. Browse: To view the entire contents of a file or a group of files. DELAWARE. New Castle County. Glasgow. Pencader Cemetery, (partial listing); 35 records; Courtland Yockey http://userdb.rootsweb.com/cemeteries/ ILLINOIS. Cook County. Chicago. Montrose Cemetery (partial listing), 4 records; Ronald W. and Loretta M. Sbertoli http://userdb.rootsweb.com/cemeteries/ NEW YORK. Genesee County. Batavia. St. Joseph's Cemetery; 9,818 records; Leilani Spring http://userdb.rootsweb.com/cemeteries/ OHIO. Hamilton County. Cincinnati. Wesleyan Cemetery Burial Records, (also known as Cumminsville Cemetery), 244 records; Sherri Hall for the Wesleyan Records Transcription Project http://userdb.rootsweb.com/cemeteries/ 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]. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- When He's a She By Alan Campbell in Canada In trying to track Israel SIMS, one of my elusive ancestors, I searched for a marriage record for him. A "trip" through the Ontario Vital Statistics indices did not turn up an Israel SIMS. On a second "trip" through the indices, I noted that an Isabel SIMS had married in Hamilton, Ontario in the same time period. What were the possibilities that it was an indexing error? To my surprise, I found that it was not an indexing error, instead the husband was listed as Isabel. The writing was very clear and left nothing to speculation. A check of "her" parents' names, provided in the record, confirmed that I had found my Israel. He is still making things difficult as I have not found his death registration [he died shortly after getting married]. As well, his obituary and his funeral records indicate that he was buried in Hamilton Cemetery, but the cemetery personnel claim that they have no record of him. Oh well, if it was easy, I wouldn't be a family historian. * * * Updating Your E-mail Address By Vi Parsons While checking several RootsWeb sites, I noticed that detailed information and even my research notes from my book "Jacob Dragoo and Our Susanna Bright Side," ca 1998 are being published with credit given to people that I don't even know. When I send e-mails to the addresses shown, most of those are returned as "undeliverable." I followed the instructions on the RootsWeb site for returned e-mails and I leave "Post-em Notes," but received no replies. Please remind your readers to check their own websites regularly, reply to Post-em Notes and most of all, update those e-mail addresses. * * * STUMPS of the Family Tree By LeRena Stump While working on my STUMP family tree in 1995 I came across a cousin named Philander T. STUMP who lived in Indiana. So I sent away for some records and found out his daughter, Lillie, had married a Philander S. STUMP. These families were offshoots on my tree and though I don't usually get too involved with them, this one aroused my curiosity, but the more I dug, the more I scratched my head and got no place. Finally in the 1880 Indiana census I found Philander S. living in the home of Philander T. and he was listed as nephew and born in Illinois. At the same time there were two of Philander T.'s brothers unaccounted for. So I continued to look around. This summer I went down to the local Family History Center and punched the name STUMP in the computer under the Illinois census and what I came up with made me laugh. In the 1860 census he is listed in the home of his father Joseph as Faltander. In the 1870 census he is listed as Slander. * * * Hush, Hush, Sweet Sister By Jean M. Coleman My grandfather's sister, Lillie BAKER, was listed in the 1880 U.S. census. Her occupation was given as "crying." I imagine she did. Our family has certainly laughed over that entry. * * * Encountering Imperfect Ancestors By Rod Whale, Andover, Hampshire, England Whilst searching the baptismal registers for Cann in Dorset, England, for SIMS and WHITMARSH entries, there was one SIMS girl who had her third illegitimate child baptised within a few years. In the "occupation" column the clerk had written "strumpet." * * * 'Double-crossing' Son Puts Mom Online By Frances Willess I have been loving your story of the Sterling family. Except for the fact I have never had the nerve to try to submit a GEDCOM to the Internet, it could be the story of my life. Like Jamie Johnson Hunter, about 1996 I was also fighting the battle of the Internet. I only wanted a computer so I could put my genealogy on it. I had no intention of getting e-mail or Internet service, or at least not until I had an almost 30-year accumulation of genealogy on the computer ready to print out and exchange. My son double-crossed me and installed first e-mail, then Internet, on my computer. It is so much fun to search the Internet that now I have a 34-year accumulation of genealogy to put on the computer and have stacks and stacks of printed-out information I need to get on my family tree, as I can't find a thing. Also like Jamie, I had cancer in 1999, and I hope hers turns out as well. Genealogy is a wonderful way to keep your mind off your worries. Thanks to RootsWeb queries and WorldConnect (as well as the RootsWeb Review) I have found many, many distant relatives with wonderful information. They have been generous about sharing, and I have been able to help many of them. The days are just not long enough for all the things I want to search, and my children really laugh about this old woman spending all my time on the computer. I have wonderful children who every Christmas give me something to help with my genealogy -- a CD writer, scanner, photo printer, and all kinds of accessories. Thanks for your wonderful websites. * * * Pictures of Early Ships to America [Editor's note: Many readers responded to "Finding Sailing Ships Pictures," by Linda Garrett in last week's RootsWeb Review. However, many overlooked her specific quest for 17th- and 18th-century vessels. Here's some of the suggestions.] From Steve Smith: First, I would go to "Cyndi's List" and see what resources she has listed for ship's pictures. http://www.cyndislist.com/ships.htm#Famous From my own experience, I can recommend the following: --If the ship you are looking for is of British origin (as many Colonial and pre-Colonial era ships were), then you might be able to order a photo, drawing or plan from Greenwich, if you know the ship's name. National Maritime Museum at Greenwich (London) http://www.nmm.ac.uk/cgi-bin/empower?DB=ShipsPlansAndPhotos --For German emigrants, you may have success at the German ship museum in Bremerhaven. However, I do not know if it will do any research at all for you by correspondence. It will also be more cooperative if you can communicate in German. Deutsches Schiffahrtsmuseum Bibliothek, Bremerhaven, Germany http://www.dsm.de/2bibk.htm * * * From Connie Trier: I found this site after a quick Google search for +"art prints" +mayflower. There are also several hundred images of the Mayflower online. The other ships might require a bit more research. http://www.intaglio-fine-art.com/products.php?cat=19&pg=6 * * * From Kate McCarter: Here is a source for prints of the Mayflower. http://www.mikehaywoodart.co.uk/mayflower.html * * * From: Norma Ennis Wilkinson: A Google search of "Prints of 17th 18th Centuries Sailing Vessels" showed several sources of prints. The one I tried had prints of the Mayflower at: http://www.allposters.com/ * * * See also: Maritime History on Internet http://ils.unc.edu/maritime/shiprsrch.shtml 8. Humor/Humour: Syntactician Laid to Rest ------------------------------------------ Thanks to: "Uncle Ray Lubow" On a headstone in Mount Sinai Memorial Park in Los Angeles: Helen Lois Schultz Nee Jacobs A very special person whose greatest joy was giving of herself She is fondly remembered as a most gracious, devoted and special wife mother grandmother friend and for correcting everyone's grammar. Does she lay or lie here? May 25, 1914 March 16, 2001 * * * Found a humorous sign or entry in census, parish, church, etc. records? Send to: Editor-RWR@rootsweb.com 9. Subscriptions, Submissions, Advertising, Reprints ----------------------------------------------------- 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 * * * 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 * * * 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: 17 November 2004, Vol. 7, No. 46. * * * *