Back to newsletter listDate:
Wed, July 25, 2007 04:38:02 AMFrom:
Rootsweb Review
Subject:
Rootsweb Review, 25 July 2007, Vol.10, No. 30
RootsWeb Review: RootsWeb's Weekly E-zine
25 July 2007, Vol. 10, No. 30
(c) 1998-2007 RootsWeb.com, Inc. http://www.rootsweb.com/
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IN THIS ISSUE:
1. Editor's Desk: News and Notes
1a. Family Tree Maker 2008
1b. GeneaSofts
1c. Book Notice (1)
2. Using RootsWeb:
3. Connecting Through RootsWeb:
I Couldn't Remember the Date
4. Bottomless Mailbag:
RE: Yearbooks at RootsWeb and Elsewhere
Yearbooks on EBay
Permanent E-Mail Addresses
Second Cousins
5. New at RootsWeb
5a. New User-contributed Databases
5b. New/Updated Freepages and Homepages by Individuals
5c. New/Updated Freepages and Homepages by Counties, States,
and Genealogical/Historical Societies
5d. New Mailing Lists
6. Humor/Humour
7. Subscriptions, Submissions, Advertising, Reprints
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IN THIS ISSUE:
1. Editor's Desk: News and Notes
1a. Family Tree Maker 2008
If you're a Family Tree Maker fan, you'll want to check out the latest
version, which can now be pre-ordered for a discount.
I've checked it out and love the new interface. Plus, it has other
great features, like a new mapping component that uses Microsoft
Virtual Earth to find maps of places where your ancestors lived, an
enhanced Web search, media storage features, and more.
To purchase a copy, go to the RootsWeb store:
http://www.therootswebstore.com/ProductDetail.aspx?P=mfsku4454(shops)
Stay tuned for "The Official Guide to Family Tree Maker 2008."
1b. GeneaSofts
GeneaSofts, a French blog about the latest in genealogy software and
technology, has recently come online in English. Author Jean-Yves
Baxter is a software developer and avid genealogist. He has often
contributed to "La Revue Francaise de Genealogie," the number one
genealogy magazine in France.
http://geneasofts.geneanet.org/en/
1c. Book Notice (1)
History of the O'Maddens
By Gerard Madden
If your name is Madden, Madon, Madigan, O'Madigan, or one of numerous
other variants, this publication is a must for you. This 205-page,
indexed book traces the history of the Maddens since their earliest
times and has chapters on their castles, churches, and burial places.
It costs $30, including postage.
Purchase a copy from the author:
Gerard Madden
East Clare Heritage
Tuamgraney, County Clare, Ireland
eastclareheritage@eircom.net
2. Using RootsWeb:
Getting to the Heart of the Subject: Are You Guilty?
By Joan Young
joan@volunteer.rootsweb.com
Have you ever posted a query on a RootsWeb mailing list or message
board and gotten absolutely no response? Does it seem like everyone
but you is getting the answers and feedback they need while you are
shut out in the cold? If so, let's try to pinpoint the reason and
improve your odds of making that RootsWeb connection.
THE PROBLEM
Most people are constantly on the go. They try to "multitask" to cover
a lot of ground as quickly as possible.
When we scan our inboxes for new e-mails, or search new message board
posts, we generally don't read every word of every message. Many of us
scan the subject lines and then only read those messages that appeal
to us; that is, we read the message if we find a name, location, or
fact in the subject line that attracts our attention.
Digest mailing list subscribers, especially, are notorious for quickly
scanning the subjects in the index of a digest before deciding which
messages to read and which to ignore. If we have books at our disposal
that allow us to do lookups, we often only read those posts that
mention the topics covered by our books.
PITFALLS TO AVOID
When we encounter a subject line that says "no subject," or a generic
subject line such as "Looking," "Searching," "Genealogy," "My Family,"
or worse yet, "Help!" we tend to disregard the message and move on to
the next e-mail.
Another red flag for someone perusing a mailing list is the digest
subscriber who merely clicks "reply" to a digest message and leaves
the digest as the subject of the reply. I think we'd all admit that a
subject line of "SMITH Digest, Vol 2, Issue 171" isn't exactly telling
us much about the content of the message within. When replying to a
digest message be sure to change the default subject to an informative
one.
A WELL-WRITTEN QUERY IS MEANINGLESS IF IT IS NEVER READ
Quite possibly you have drafted an informative, well-written query
with the names of the people you are researching, details of the times
and places where they lived, and the information you wanted to learn.
However, it may still be lost if no one reads your message because of
a poor subject line. Your message body should embellish your subject
line and provide additional details.
THE SOLUTION: CREATING A MEANINGFUL SUBJECT LINE TO ATTRACT READERS
Provide concise but specific information about the content of your
message. Include the name, location, and time frame of the individuals
in your message. Tell us what information you are looking for. In
other words, briefly outline your reason for posting the query. If
your query includes an interesting story about your ancestor, provide
the reader with an indication of the story enclosed so that your
message attracts his attention.
Some examples of good subject lines follow:
--Maiden name needed for Sophie who married John SMITH in 1900 in
Chicago, Illinois
--Seeking parents of Joseph JONES born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
in 1765
--Looking for Obituary of James JOHNSON who died in Clearwater,
Florida, in 1965
--Seeking Descendants of Henricus GEIGER who Died in 1746 in Lembach,
Alsace, France
--James O'REILLY, born New Jersey, 1830; killed at Battle of
Gettysburg, 1863; need marriage information
--Morris FRIEDMAN, immigrated in 1900 to Philadelphia, PA, from
Russia--Seeking Village of Origin
Note: It is typical to capitalize surnames so that they quickly catch
readers' attention.
CONCLUSION
The success of your query rests largely on your ability to create a
subject line that will grab readers. Readers will be more likely to
take the time to study your message and consider whether they have an
interest or an answer for you. So stop crying for HELP in the
wilderness and SEARCHING and LOOKING aimlessly, and start providing
specifics in your subject lines.
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3. Connecting Through RootsWeb:
I Couldn't Remember the Date
By Lora M. Lewis-Handiboe
This story deals with a brick wall surrounding the death date of my
great-grandfather, John M. LEWIS.
My great-grandfather was one of my all time favorite people. After the
Civil War, his father came to Washington, D.C., out of necessity to
earn a living. He owned a little construction company and helped build
what is today Florida Avenue. In turn, my great-grandfather took over
the construction company.
Great-Grandpa often took care of me when I was young, but he was
murdered in Washington, D.C., when I was about ten. In those days,
they didn't usually allow children in the hospital, and, if they did,
you really had to be well-behaved and quiet. However, I remember being
allowed in the hospital to see him before he died.
My memory of that event has always been a little hazy, though, and I
just haven't ever been able to remember exactly how old I was at the
time; therefore, while I could estimate his death date, I was not
sure--even of the exact year.
After years of research, I discovered a wonderful book that my
great-grandfather's father had written about the Civil War
("Recollections from 1860 to 1865"), and I discovered his birth date
through a contact I received from a nice lady claiming to be a
great-great-great-granddaughter of John's father. However, no matter
what I did, I just could not find his date of death. It didn't help
that his name was John M. LEWIS.
Of course I looked in the "Washington Post" and all over Ancestry.com
and everywhere else I had access to, but with no luck. After
discovering his birth date, a new cousin, and other information, I
told myself that I was plenty lucky enough. But secretly, not having
his death date bothered me quite a bit.
One day it occurred to me that there was something very obvious here.
My great-grandmother had died in the 1940s, quite a few years before
my great-grandfather did. My great-grandfather never really got over
her death--he was that kind of person. So, of course, I thought, he
was probably buried next to her.
I remembered that two years earlier, my new-found cousin, who has
helped handle the LEWIS list at RootsWeb at various times, had sent me
his wife's obituary. I suddenly realized that her obituary could give
me one very important clue--where she, and he, were buried. From there
I could obtain the date of death.
I called the Mt. Olivet cemetery in Washington, D.C., where Mary LEWIS
was buried, and the lady there was kind enough to tell me the
internment date. Sure enough, I was able to find a tiny mention of a
John LEWIS in the "Washington Post" in March 1964.
Even when many years pass by--or maybe especially when many years pass
by--those that one cared about can seem closer and more important; we
want to know about and honor them. Thank goodness that with my
cousin's help and many other resources, I now have a pretty detailed
sketch of the great-grandfather I knew and loved.
4. 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.]
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RE: Yearbooks at RootsWeb and Elsewhere
By Rex Everage
Enterprise, Alabama
In the interesting article "Yearbooks at RootsWeb and Elsewhere,"
published in last week's Review, Mary wrote that at Wabash College,
her great-grandfather's Hare and Hound Club members "shared a special
yell: Brekety Kek Ko-Ax Ko-Oo, Brekety Kex O, Ninety-two."
Did the school offer courses in classical Greek? That yell is lifted
and adapted from the chorus of frogs in Aristophanes' play "The
Frogs." One sits back and marvels at how much the curriculum has
changed during the intervening century. No, I never had a course in
Greek, only a good survey course in classical literature. But how many
schools offer even that nowadays? Oh, the constancy of change.
To read "Yearbooks at RootsWeb and Elsewhere," visit:
http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/review/2007/0718.txt
* * *
Yearbooks on EBay
By John A. McCall
I noticed your mention of yearbooks in the most recent issue of
RootsWeb.
You might also want to mention looking on EBay for yearbooks. I found
just by random luck that someone had advertised a copy of my 1947 high
school yearbook from Rantoul Township High School, Rantoul, Illinois.
I was the editor of the yearbook. There had been a gap of many years
without a yearbook at this school until 1947. I do believe there is
still an Eaglet produced each year since that time. This was not a
large school, so there would not be too many known copies still in
existence. And, yes, I do still have my copy.
* * *
Permanent E-Mail Addresses
By Bill Buchanan
http://billbuchanan.clawz.com
The message "Updating E-mail Addresses," by Lyndall Maxwell definitely
touched a nerve in my case. Too often I have found an interesting
posting, or a scrap of information that some contact of mine was
looking for, only to have my message "bounce" into oblivion.
E-mail address books and contact lists quickly go out of date,
stopping the flow of genealogical information. I would like to give my
opinion on a partial remedy for this.
The usual reason why e-mail addresses get outdated is because many
people still post with e-mail addresses from their ISP (Internet
Service Provider).
Instead, may I suggest you use one of the free web-based e-mail
accounts from places like Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo, or Excite. These are
independent of your ISP and provide a permanent e-mail address (so
long as you continue to actively use the web-based account).
They have the additional advantage of being accessible anywhere,
without needing to reconfigure your host's computer. They also have
generous-sized inboxes (handy for off-site storage of your genealogy
databases), and when you change computers or reinstall Windows you
don't lose your e-mail archives or e-mail address book.
To read "Updating E-mail Addresses," visit:
http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/review/2007/0718.txt
* * *
Second Cousins
By John Sandy
In the "Connecting" section of Volume 10, No. 29, Jean Neale
questioned the relationship between herself and her newly found
cousin. She indicated that this newly found cousin was the child of
the children of her mother's father's brother. The way I figure out
the cousin relationship is to identify the siblings (in her case, it
would be her mother's father and his brother). Children of siblings
are first cousins. The children of first cousins are second cousins,
etc. Therefore, this new cousin is her second cousin.
To read Jean Neale's article, " How Come We Left It So Long?" visit:
http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/review/2007/0718.txt
[Editor's Note: You can also think of it like this: Your first cousins
are the people in your family who have the same grandparents as you.
Your second cousins are the people in your family who have the same
great-grandparents as you, but not the same grandparents.
Your third cousins have the same great-great-grandparents as you, and
so on. Also, you can easily find relationship calculators online to
help you if you get stuck.]
5. New at RootsWeb
5a. New User-contributed Databases at RootsWeb
http://userdb.rootsweb.com/submit/
-------------------------------------------------------------
No New User-Contributed Databases at RootsWeb
5b. New/Updated Freepages and Homepages by Individuals
To Request a Free Web Account: http://accounts.rootsweb.com/
-------------------------------------------------------------
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, the title of the website, the name of the
author, and a BRIEF description of the site, including major
surnames, to: Editor-RWR@rootsweb.com
* * *
If your genealogy- or history-related site is located somewhere
other than at RootsWeb.com, you can add the link here:
http://resources.rootsweb.com/~rootslink/addlink.html
* * *
No New/Updated Freepages and Homepages by Individuals
5c. New/Updated Freepages and Homepages by Counties, States, and
Genealogical/Historical Societies
To Request a Free Web Account: http://accounts.rootsweb.com/
-------------------------------------------------------------
No New/Update Freepages and Homepages by Counties, States, and
Genealogical/Historical Societies
5d. New Mailing Lists
To Request a New Mailing List: http://resources.rootsweb.com/adopt/
-------------------------------------------------------------
For information and an index to the more than 30,000 RootsWeb-hosted
genealogy Mailing Lists and for easy subscribing (joining) options go
to: http://lists.rootsweb.com/
NEW SURNAME LISTS
BUCKTON
HARBOLD
HERBACH
HNIDOWICZ
JOSEFCZYK
MACCABE
MACINNIS
MACIVOR
MACKINTOSH
MACMEEKEN
MACNAUGHTAN
MACWILLIAM
MCCARSON
MCCOLLOUGH
MCCRATE
MCCRIGHT
MCCUISTION
MCDOUGLE
MCDUFF
MCELDOWNEY
MCFADYEAN
MCFERRIN
MCGAHA
MCGARRAUGH
MCGAVIN
MCGEEHAN
MCGIBENY
MCGIVNEY
MCGLOTHAN
MCILROY
MCKELVA
MCKINNERNEY
MCKINNISS
MCMEANS
MCMORRIES
MCPHEETER
MCROBIE
MCWHINEY
MCWILLIAM
POTOCKI
NEW REGIONAL MAILING LISTS
TX-GREER -- This mailing list is for the purpose of
discussing the records, people, and area known as Greer County,
Texas,
a defunct Texas county.
Current site: http://www.rootsweb.com/~txgreer/
NEW ETHNIC OR SPECIAL INTEREST MAILING LISTS
FL-OBITUARIES -- A mailing list for people to post and
request obituaries of people who died in the state of Florida.
WW1-UK -- For the exchange of information about all aspects of
the British military and civilians in the first World War.
6. Humor/Humour
Over and over during her lifetime, my mother and other relatives used
to share family tidbits. One was that an ancestor had died in a snow
bank with his thumb in a whiskey bottle--presumably to protect the
contents.
Just recently, I found the death registration for my great-great
grandfather John Anson of Ontario. The cause of death was listed,
"from exposure due to alcohol."
I didn't know the story had been about my maternal grandmother's
grandfather. No wonder she always adamantly denied the story her
daughters told and was horrified that we would think such a thing
about any relative of hers.
--Thanks to Linda Sherlock
* * *
Found a funny or "proper name for the job" in old records, or an
amusing entry in census, parish, church, or other records? Send them
to:
Editor-RWR@rootsweb.com. We also welcome other humorous
genealogy-related submissions.
7. Subscriptions, Submissions, Advertising, Reprints
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SUBSCRIPTIONS. You received this newsletter because you are subscribed
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Provo, UT, 84604
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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 and please include your full name and e-mail
address in the text.
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ROOTSWEB REVIEW ADVERTISING CONTACTS.
AdSales Worldwide: Tami Deleeuw, tdeleeuw@tgn.com
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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: 25 July 2007, Vol. 10, No. 30.
* * * *
