RootsWeb Review: RootsWeb's Weekly E-zine 21 December 2005, Vol. 8, No. 51 (c) 1998-2005 RootsWeb.com, Inc. http://www.rootsweb.com/ * * * Editor: Myra Vanderpool Gormley, Certified Genealogist Editor-RWR@rootsweb.com Certification: http://www.bcgcertification.org/certification/ ============================================================ IN THIS ISSUE: 1. NEWS, NOTES, AND/OR SITES WORTH SEEING 1a. Editor's Desk: "Colorado Sues Genealogy Company"; "Writing Contest Deadline"; and "A Reader's Christmas Story: The Visiting Angel" 1b. Tips from Readers: "Just Keep on Looking" 1c. Using RootsWeb: "Spirit of Sharing" 2. Connecting Through RootsWeb: "Passing the Torch" 3. New User-contributed Databases 4. New/Updated FreePages and HomePages 5. New at RootsWeb 6. RootsWeb Review's Bottomless Mailbag: "Brushing up on Latin Dates" "Going to Web-based Mail" "Gnarled Roots and Entwined Branches" 7. Humor/Humour: "Shambling About a Graveyard" 8. Subscriptions, Submissions, Advertising, Reprints ============================================================ IN THIS ISSUE: 1. NEWS, NOTES, AND SITES WORTH SEEING 1a. EDITOR'S DESK: "Colorado Sues Genealogy Company"; "Writing Contest Deadline"; and "A Reader's Christmas Story: The Visiting Angel" COLORADO SUES GENEALOGY COMPANY. "The suit, filed in Arapahoe County District Court against Maxwell MacMaster and his company, Morphcorp LLC, seeks to cease the operation and penalize him up to $2,000 per book sold, which could amount to $300 million," according to the Denver Post. The suit claims 150,000 people nationwide were swindled out of $49.95 each when they bought a book with fake family histories from Morphcorp of Denver. People who bought these genealogical "yearbooks" got the same family coat of arms, the same family recipes and even the same family jokes, according to a lawsuit, which was filed in late November. Consumers with complaints regarding Morphcorp or the "Family Yearbook" may call the Colorado Consumer Line toll-free 1-800-222-4444 (in Colorado) or 1-800-332-2071 (out of state) or may download a complaint form from: http://www.ago.state.co.us/consline/complaint.pdf For more information see the press release at the Colorado Attorney General's website: http://www.ago.state.co.us/press_detail.cfm?pressID=733 and read the newspaper article at: http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_3247588 * * * WRITING CONTEST DEADLINE. The deadline to enter Southern California Genealogical Society's writing contest is 31 December. Details are on its website: http://www.scgsgenealogy.com/contest-faq.htm * * * A READER'S CHRISTMAS STORY: The Visiting Angel By Don Colpitts in Lynn, Massachusetts, USA It was three days before Christmas in 1963 and I was lying in a bed at Lynn Hospital, recovering from back surgery that took place just seven days before. I was only 34 years old. A strange man walked into my room just before visiting hours were over. "Hi, how are you doing?" he asked. "I'm still in a lot of pain," I replied. "I'm Rocco Caviello," he said introducing himself. "Are you going home for Christmas?" he asked. "I'm not sure," I said. "Do you have any children?" he asked. "Yes, three boys," I answered. "How are you set for presents for them?" he asked. "Being here in the hospital, no money to buy anything, it's going to be a bad year for me and my family," I answered. "How old are the children?" he asked. I gave him their ages and he asked for my address. "I'll see that Santa comes to your home with presents on Christmas Eve," Rocco said. After he left the room, I started crying. Here I was -- helpless, no money and this strange man offered to help my family. With the surgery I had just under gone and feeling so low, I just couldn't stop crying. One of the nurses came in and asked if I was in pain and needed some medication, I couldn't answer her I was crying so hard. She went out and returned with the head nurse and I still couldn't answer them. This must have gone on for five or 10 minutes and they got the head director of nursing, and now my room was filling up with six to 10 nurses around my bed. Finally, I was able to control myself long enough to explain that this kind stranger was going to bring presents for my three boys on Christmas Eve. There wasn't a dry eye on any of them as they left my room. Rocco Caviello was an angel that year and he is an angel today with God. God bless you, my friend. * * * 1b. TIPS FROM READERS Just Keep on Looking By Wayne Klotz in Louisville, Kentucky, USA I could not find my wife's 2-great-grandmother in 1880 census. I had found her living in Anamosa, Jones County, Iowa in 1870 and 1860 and knew that she was buried there in 1894. Her obit said she only had left Anamosa a few years before dying. Additionally, newspaper stories were in the Manchester, Iowa paper in the 1880-1890s indicated she lived in Anamosa. In searching the county listings I could not find Rachel MERRILL. She just did not appear anywhere. I eventually searched the 1880 census in Iowa for all women born in New York in 1803 (her birth year) and found about six women. Still no Rachel or MERRILL, but there was a listing for R. CLEVELAND. This stuck out like a sore thumb because her daughter married a CLEVELAND and her daughter was in Anamosa, Iowa. In fact, Cleveland Street in Anamosa was named for her husband, who was killed in the Civil war. When I looked at the census detail I found the daughter living about three houses away. Rachel was living as the housekeeper of the local editor of the newspaper. Both the editor and his wife were dumb and because of not being able to speak, the census taker must have known she was the "mother of Mrs. CLEVELAND" and just wrote it like that, Her age, birth place, and first initial were all correct. So I backtracked looking for another Mrs. CLEVELAND in 1870 and 1860 and found none. This had to be the woman I was looking for. I went to Anamosa last summer and stopped by the library. Telling the story to the librarian, I asked where I could find the house. She turned around and pointed out the back window -- the house was directly behind the library. The editor had donated the land in about 1900 to build the library. She knew the current owners and thought they would like the story. I knocked on the door and the owners and I talked for a few hours about the editor and what I knew about the place in the 1800s. We had a pleasant chat -- and I met some new friends. * * * 1c. USING ROOTSWEB: Spirit of Sharing As Frieda FRAME stood in front of the mirror putting the last dab of powder on her slightly shiny nose, she thought to herself that she was as ready as she'd ever be for her annual visit to grandaunt Veronica's house where the large extended family gathered each year for the holiday meal and gift exchange. She knew the yearly family photo session would also be a part of the celebration and she wanted to look her best. One change this year is that Frieda is going to be using a snazzy new digital camera. This will give her the capability of making printed copies of the photos directly from the photo printer that came with her camera and also the capability of storing the digital images on her computer. Frieda wondered how many more years the family would be gathering for the holiday meal at her grandaunt's old country farmhouse, which had been in her father's family for several generations. Veronica had never married and lived with her parents, inheriting the ancestral home upon their death. She was also the keeper of the family heirlooms and many photo albums. Frieda made a mental note to go through the old albums with her grand- aunt this year because she was beginning to lose track of all the now- deceased family members whose images were stored in the albums. Besides, auntie wasn't getting any younger -- she'd be celebrating her 90th birthday next summer. Frieda hoped that her grandaunt would allow her to scan the old photos for her growing digital collection. And she hoped to be able to label accurately each picture before it was too late -- that was her goal. She was especially rusty when it came to the female relatives who had married into her family along the way and the daughters who had married (some of them several times) and changed their last names. She hoped that her auntie was up to providing her with a refresher course in all the relatives' and in-laws' names. There was an ulterior motive behind Frieda's desire to be certain she could identify all of the faces in the photos. She had begun to research her family history and placed a GEDCOM online at WorldConnect (http://wc.rootsweb.com/). In the year since she'd uploaded her family tree she'd been contacted by many distant cousins who had never seen pictures of the ancestors and family members that they shared with Frieda. Some had photos but were unable to identify the people in the pictures. Frieda thought that if she could share her photos with others online that perhaps she could help them identify the people in their albums and maybe Frieda could also learn more genealogical information. She also thought that possibly she might obtain pictures of family members who were not in her collection through sharing with her distant cousins. Frieda requested a Freepages website account here: http://accounts.rootsweb.com/index.cgi?op=show&page=freagree.htm The Freepages website is planned to supplement her WorldConnect database. Frieda wants to upload copies of the family photos and link them to her WorldConnect family tree file so that anyone viewing her tree there can see the photos housed on her website. Additionally, those photographs of family members that are not included in her tree, she plans to upload to appropriate message boards (http://boards.rootsweb.com/) as attachments, in hopes they will be pictorial treasures for other researchers. The thought of sharing and having others share with her in return fills Frieda with the spirit of the season. How about you? Are there old family photos tucked away in albums at your house that need to be labeled, scanned, and shared so the names and faces of your departed family members won't be forgotten in years to come? 2. Connecting Through RootsWeb. Thanks for sharing your stories. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Passing the Torch By J. Mickle in Manitoba, Canada Still in the beginnings of my own research, I was once again sitting at the computer trying to locate documents to support entries in my family tree. One by one, my 11-year-old and 10-year-old boys cruised by to see what I was up to. Both said the same "Mom, why are you so interested in DEAD people?" You can imagine my delight when son number three (age 8) stood beside me and asked, "Mom, please introduce me to my family." Well, thus begun the labour of love for his "sharing day" the next day. We sat at the dining-room table and he carefully printed out the names from my research into a traditional grid. He also included a copy of a census record from 1871. I got such a smile when he squealed his delight in realizing that "Mom, I make eight -- generations right?" His presentation to the grade three class the next day was received so well that everyone had a question (teacher too!). I guess we have another budding genealogist in the family. It is a great feeling to know that my research will be carried on in the future. Not to mention that it has inspired his father to do some deeper digging on his family. ========================== Advertisements ============================ BOOK NOTES: "CELEBRATING FAMILY HISTORY" is a 278-page anthology of the most memorable entries sent to the writing contest of the Southern California Genealogical Society in the contest's first five years (2000-2004). It includes 44 stories from all across the U.S. and Canada, and from the Australia, Israel, New Zealand, and the U.K. -- available in paperback, with index, $25, from Heritage Books, Inc. http://www.heritagebooks.com/ * * * "PRINTED SOURCES FOR OKLAHOMA GENEALOGICAL RESEARCH," compiled by Paul Follett, Genealogy Librarian, Lawton Public Library, $55. Available from Southwest Oklahoma Genealogical Society, P.O. Box 148, Lawton OK 73502. 688 pages, hardcover, compilation of genealogical and historical printed materials for Oklahoma. For more information: http://www.sirinet.net/~lgarris/swogs/paulbook.html * * * Request a Search for Your Ancestors at the Family History Library ANCESTOR SEEKERS researchers at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City will search this vast collection of genealogical records for your ancestors from the US/Canada, Ireland, Germany, Holland, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Latin America. Let them have the details and they will have one of them give you a FREE e- mail consultation If you commission ANCESTOR SEEKERS to do the work (there's no obligation to do that!) prices start from $50 US. For a FREE e-mail consultation visit http://www.ancestorseekers.com/research/rwr/ ====================== End Advertisements ============================== 3. New User-Contributed Databases at RootsWeb http://userdb.rootsweb.com/submit/ ---------------------------------------------- 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. PENNSYLVANIA. Lancaster County. Articles of Incorporation of the Bart Township Fire Company; 36 records. E. Sue Gregg http://userdb.rootsweb.com/courtrecords/ Northumberland County. Shamokin. 1925 commencement, St. Edward School; 98 records. Carolyn Taby Larkins http://userdb.rootsweb.com/alumni/ SOUTH DAKOTA. Hand County. Miller. GAR Cemetery; 2,850 records. Ronette Stewart http://userdb.rootsweb.com/cemeteries/ UTAH. Davis County. Bountiful. Lakeview Memorial Cemetery and Mortuary; 1,410 records. Aaron Andersen http://userdb.rootsweb.com/cemeteries/ VIRGINIA. Richmond (independent city). The 1916 Honey Fruit Chewing Gum Contest; 79 records. Paula Lucy Delosh http://userdb.rootsweb.com/groups/ 4. New/Updated Freepages and Homepages -------------------------------------- Can your cousins find your website at RootsWeb? Has it ever been mentioned here or do you have a new, updated, or substantially revised website at RootsWeb (it will have "freepages" or "homepages" in the URL)? Send the URL (its Web address), along with a brief description, including the major pertinent surnames and what is available on your site, to: Editor-RWR@rootsweb.com NEW YORK. Monroe County. Includes church records, Civil War roster, 1877 map, cemetery listings, photo galleries for Rochester (city) and the Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, 1877 business directory and research tips for the county. Also has a section on author's family research, which includes family biographies, photo galleries and links to material at WorldConnect. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~monroenys/ 5. New 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] AUSTRALIA ausghs -- Gresford (New South Wales) Historical Society U.S.A. njgchs -- Gloucester County Historical Society (New Jersey) txsdwavf -- Society of the Descendants of Washington's Army at Valley Forge (Texas) mnduvcw -- Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War (Minnesota) 6. 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]. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Brushing up on Latin Dates By Sue Swiggum (http://www.theshipslist.com/Forms/faq.html) Often we encounter abbreviations used in contemporary documents and newspapers in reference to dates. For example, in a report of a shipwreck, an item might say "On Sunday night, the 18th inst." or "the ship left Liverpool on the 8th ult." or "the inquest will be held on the 25th prox." These are Latin abbreviations which were commonly used. The meanings are: inst. is short for instant, which means "in the current month"; ult. is short for ultimo, which means "in the month preceding" (before the current month); and prox. is short for proximo, which means "in the next month" (following the current month). * * * Going to Web-based Mail By Richard Petersen Recently there have been some articles in RootsWeb Review about using a web-based e-mail to keep your genealogy mail sorted out. In my case, I had to start such an account after my regular ISP began spam-blocking my message board notifications and the RWR -- and refused to stop. I decided it was easier to try web mail than to change ISPs and notify everyone about my new e-mail address. The RootsWeb HelpDesk had a list of some problem mail providers, so I just picked a different one and changed my message board settings. Curiously, this ISP was also blocking newsletters and stuff from NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration)! I put that on a different web mail. * * * Gnarled Roots and Entwined Branches By Alex Dow in the UK I have photos of the Golden Wedding (50th) celebrations of my great- grandparents ROSS back in 1923. Nothing exceptional you might think, other than that the photos exist of a relatively rare event from that era. The first is of my great-grandparents and their (grown-up) children. The second is the same as the first plus the children's spouses. The third is the same as the second, but with the grandchildren included. The fourth is of everyone at the celebration. I am doubly-related to everyone in the first three photos and to the majority in the fourth. My two grandmothers DOW and TANT were sisters Helen and Margaret ROSS, hence they appear in all four photos. I have only three sets of great-grandparents compared with the normal of four. My parents were first cousins, so I even have double-relationships with them. 7. Humor/Humour: Shambling About a Graveyard ------------------------------------------ Found a humorous sign or entry in census, parish, church, etc. records? Send to: Editor-RWR@rootsweb.com * * * Thanks to: John. R. Chapman (http://www.jaydax.co.uk/genlinks/) Some time ago, when I was involved with the Cleveland Family History Society (in England), a call went out for volunteers to copy the gravestone inscriptions in the churchyards surrounding Hartlepool, Durham, England. I chose to record Hart parish church. It's easier to record in winter when the grass has died down and the day I selected was very cold, with about four inches of snow on the ground. Since it's not easy to write with gloves on, I chose to dictate the inscriptions into a tape recorder. To keep the batteries warm, I put the tape recorder under my coat and fastened the microphone to my lapel. I took with me a small brush to clear snow and moss off the stones. Transcribing went smoothly until I got to an area of the graveyard near the wall where the snow had drifted. I tripped over a root and fell flat on my face into the snow. After muttering a few choice words, I heard, "Tut, tut, tut!" and looked up into the eyes of two policeman. Apparently they had received a phone call about a strange man, shambling 'round the graveyard, scrabbling at the stones, and muttering to himself! I had to play back the recording to avoid being arrested. 8. 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/ If you use a spam-filtering program, in order to receive the RootsWeb Review please make sure that you're allowing e-mail from: newsletter@reply.myfamilyinc.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. The announcement of books and products is provided as a community service and is not an endorsement in any way. 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 HELPDESK: Check here for announcements: http://helpdesk.rootsweb.com/ * * * For best results, when contacting the RootsWeb HelpDesk, provide information about your computer (PC or Macintosh), its operating system (Windows 2000, XP, Mac OSX, etc.) and your Web browser and its version. If the question pertains to something you have found on a RootsWeb site, please include the URL [that's the Web address; starts with http://]. http://helpdesk.rootsweb.com/form1.html * * * ROOTSWEB REVIEW ADVERTISING CONTACTS. AdSales Worldwide: Shana Davis, creative@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: 21 December 2005, Vol. 8, No. 51. * * * *