Back to newsletter listDate:
Wed, August 01, 2007 04:50:37 PMFrom:
Rootsweb Review
Subject:
Rootsweb Review, 01 August 2007, Vol.10, No. 31
RootsWeb Review: RootsWeb's Weekly E-zine
1 August 2007, Vol. 10, No. 31
(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. RootsWeb Has a New Header
1b. New Historical Society Website
1c. Book Notice (1)
2. Using RootsWeb: Hidden Gems Lurking at RootsWeb
3. Connecting Through RootsWeb:
What a Will
4. Bottomless Mailbag:
Not the End of Preserved Fish
Illiterate Enumerator?
Remembering the USS Grunion
Burgenland Bunch Website
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. RootsWeb Has a New Header
You probably noticed that RootsWeb got a new look last week--a
different header was introduced.
The header is part of a re-branding effort by RootsWeb's parent
company, The Generations Network, Inc. The change obviously doesn't
affect anything about the identity or mission of RootsWeb. We are
still "the oldest and largest free genealogy site."
1b. New Historical Society Website
The Historical Society of Washington County, Virginia, has just
created a new website. It is available at:
http://hswcv.org
1c. Book Notice (1)
The Burdens of Loyalty: Refugee Tales from the First American Civil
War
By Stephen Davidson
stephendavids@gmail.com
Those with Loyalist ancestors (or distant Tory uncles and aunts) will
enjoy this account of the refugee experiences of the Redding,
Connecticut, family of John and Hepzibeth (BETTS) LYON.
The author traces the family's flight from Connecticut in 1776 to a
Long Island refugee camp, to their journey away from the new United
States of America. It ends with them founding a new settlement in
1783.
During their journey, the LYONS met revolutionary war refugees from
many parts of New England. More than 100 of these Loyalist stories are
also given. Of special interest is the annotated passenger list of the
"Union," the first ship to bring Loyalists to modern day New
Brunswick, Canada--including the first black Loyalists to enter the
province.
This e-book is available for $5.25 (CDN) from:
http://www.loonielink.com
By visiting this site, you can also download the opening pages of the
book for free to see the chapter names as well as the names of those
whose stories have been researched.
2. Using RootsWeb:
Hidden Gems Lurking at RootsWeb
By Joan Young
joan@volunteer.rootsweb.com
Even the newest and most casual RootsWeb user is most likely familiar
with RootsWeb's mailing lists and message boards. Most users have also
probably searched or uploaded a GEDCOM to WorldConnect. These are
among the major features you immediately learn about when you discover
RootsWeb. However, if you delve a bit further beneath the surface you
find some hidden gems lurking at RootsWeb just waiting to be
discovered. I'd like to share a few of my favorite hidden treasures
with you.
At the top of my list of little gems is an old message I found within
the extensive archives of ROOTS-L, the granddaddy of all RootsWeb
mailing lists. Everyone should read this article, especially if you
are new to genealogy. The message provides excellent pointers on
getting started in your research:
http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/roots-l/genealog/genealog.fhsearch
How many times have you looked at your family tree and stopped to ask
yourself, "Is cousin Harry my second cousin twice removed, or is he my
first cousin three times removed?" You can find the answer by using
the relationship chart located here:
http://www.rootsweb.com/~rwguide/chart_relations.htm
Another helpful chart in determining relationships is the Kinship
Chart (or Consanguinity Chart) located on the following
RootsWeb-hosted site:
http://www.rootsweb.com/~longstrt/consangu.html
You need forms for completing a family group sheet, or you are looking
at a census record on Ancestry and can't quite make out the column
heading for the information you are attempting to decipher. If you
only had a sample form for comparison. You can get the following forms
free, in PDF format: Ancestral Charts, Research Calendars, Research
Extracts, Correspondence Records, Family Group Sheets, Source
Summaries, U.S. Census Forms, 1790-1930 (plus 1850 and 1860 Slave
Schedules and 1890 Veterans Schedules), and UK and Canadian Census
Forms. Just visit this RootsWeb page:
http://helpdesk.rootsweb.com/get_started/charts_forms.html
Now that you have those census forms and have deciphered the column
headings, the next thing you need to know is the official dates for
U.S. censuses, which you can find here:
http://www.rootsweb.com/~rwguide/lesson9.htm#Official
Your favorite search engine allows you to search using an exact match
or Soundex. But what exactly is Soundex? You can find out at the
Understanding Soundex page:
http://www.rootsweb.com/~rwguide/lesson9.htm#Soundex
You can also use RootsWeb's Soundex Converter here:
http://resources.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/soundexconverter
Your great-grandpa's obituary states that he belonged to the I.O.R.M.
and that your grand-aunt Martha was a member of the DAR. You are not
quite certain what the organizations are. Acronyms and abbreviations
for these organizations and many others that you may encounter are
explained on this site hosted by RootsWeb:
http://www.rootsweb.com/~njmorris/acronyms.htm
You know the name of the town where your ancestor lived but you don't
know the county in which the town is located. Try using RootsWeb's
Town-County finder. Type in the name of the town and the state in the
appropriate boxes and the Town-County finder will tell you which
county or counties in the state had towns by that name. If you are not
sure of the state but have a town name, type in the town and leave the
state blank and you will get a list of all the states in which towns
by this name are found:
http://resources.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/townco.cgi
Or perhaps you know the county where your family member lived but not
the state. You can find which states have counties of a certain name
by using the RootsWeb County Finder located here. Type in the county
name and leave the state blank to obtain a list of all the states with
counties of a specific name:
http://resources.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/county.cgi
Above are only a few of the hidden gems you can find by poking around
in the dark corners at RootsWeb. Do you have a favorite RootsWeb
treasure that you would be willing to share with other RootsWeb users?
We would love to hear about it.
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3. Connecting Through RootsWeb:
What a Will
By PJ DeHoog
My great-grandmother was a Smith. Through many years of research I
settled on her birthplace as Connecticut and her death location as
Colorado. I was able to get her father's name and some of her
siblings'.
As I continued my quest for information about her and her family I
discovered that most of her siblings were half-siblings. I think I
have their mother's first name, but not her last. I know many of the
family moves but not all.
Ultimately, I needed to make some factual discoveries in Connecticut,
so I hired a local researcher to find a birth, marriage, or death
certificate for any of my ancestors. The response I got was totally
disappointing.
Then, about a week ago, I had the opportunity to go to LaSalle County,
Illinois, where my great-grandfather came from and where he married my
Smith grandmother. The Genealogy Guild in Ottawa, LaSalle, Illionois
was a gold-mine, not for my great-grandfather, but for my
great-grandmother Smith. One of her brothers stayed in LaSalle County
and became a successful farmer. When he completed his will just a few
months before he passed away in 1915, he chose to split half of his
estate with his siblings and their children and the other half with
his wife's family. The actual probate took ten years as his wife
passed away a decade after he did. By that time most of his siblings
had passed away so the probate was delineated down to the children or
children's children of the siblings.
The fantastic part of it all is that every name of the heirs was
listed--both those alive and deceased at the time of the probate.
Further, there were addresses for nearly every one of them. I was
thrilled. I copied nearly 100 pages of this probate and once home
began entering them into my Family Tree Maker database. I have the
2007 version so it triggered me to possible matches. By the time I
finished adding all the information, I had nearly 300 more people in
my database.
I always thought the Smith side of my family was going to be like my
White family--nearly impossible to find--but thanks to a successful
sibling I was able to put nearly every piece of this family's puzzle
together, including their connection with Connecticut.
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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Not the End of Preserved Fish
By Barbara Agosin
A posting several months back regarding unusual names listed the name
of Preserved Fish. The 23 July 2007 issue of the "New Yorker" contains
a review of Eric Jay Dolin's book on whaling, titled "Leviathan." On
page seventy-seven, the review mentions Preserved Fish and provides a
short quote from testimony he gave in court in 1818.
* * *
Illiterate Enumerator?
By Joan Sambrotto
The 1880 census had a column to be filled in by the enumerator that
asked if people were sick or disabled and what the sickness or
disability was. A particular enumerator's last name was FEYL. A
soundex search for that name gives many choices, such as FILE, FALE,
etc. I'm going with FALE because this guy failed in his usage of the
English language.
In the district he was assigned to canvas, many people had
"information" of some sort--of the liver, of the kidneys, of the
lungs, etc. There was even "information of the bowls" going around,
and a poor shoemaker had "hammerhoids." Then, there were also seven
"hunchbags."
I checked my bowls and sure enough I did get some information. It
seems my husband was doing a poor job washing dishes. I may end up a
hunchbag from sitting at the computer too much. I even may end up with
information of the hammerhoids.
* * *
Remembering the USS Grunion
By Rhonda Raye
This past July 2006, I was contacted by Bruce Abele, whose father,
"Jim" Abele, had commanded the submarine USS Grunion. He had found an
old RootsWeb post of mine about my great-uncle Paul Banes, who was
serving on the sub when it disappeared in July/August 1942.
His family was soon to conduct a search for the sub based on new
information found by a Japanese researcher. This information steered
them to a promising location off the island of Kiska in the Aleutians.
My grandmother always told me the families never learned what actually
happened to their loved ones.
I decided to put what I've learned of genealogy over the last few
years to work and started hunting for the other sailors' family
members to inform them of the search. I found a WWII memorial website
where one could find USS Grunion crew members' "hometowns" listed:
http://www.wwiimemorial.com/default.asp?page=registry.asp&subpage=search
This gave me a starting point and also quickly put me in touch with
another researcher related to Merritt Graham, who also served on the
sub. After getting permission from RootsWeb, we posted all the men to
the relevant boards and have had help from people all across this
country who have not forgotten those who served and wanted to help
with the project. One also posted a link to a great website NARA has,
where we found the names of the crew members' officially listed
next-of-kin: http://www.archives.gov/research/arc/ww2/navy-casualties/
This was a huge help in finding many of the men but not all of them.
After that we received help from the past in the form of "Jim" Abele's
wife. After the submarine disappeared, she wrote to all the families
and many wrote back. She kept these letters and the Abeles sent us her
notes on family members and also went through the letters for other
clues, which led us to some families.
In August 2006, a sonar search revealed an object believed to be the
Grunion. It will take an ROV this August to confirm it, but in some
ways the Grunion is found already just in the stories and pictures
many have shared about their family members on the sub both personally
and on the following website:
http://www.ussgrunion.com
This year other USS submarines were also found, giving closure to
their families as well. Those subs were the Wahoo, Perch, Legarto, and
Snook. More can be found about these subs by contacting the Bowfin
Museum in Honolulu, Hawaii at: http://www.oneternalpatrol.com/
I just want to say thank you to everyone that helped us in the search
for the Grunion families.
* * *
Burgenland Bunch Website
By Gerry Berghold
The Internet family history group known as the Burgenland Bunch (BB),
which specializes in the Austrian province of Burgenland, is now
entering its twelfth year of operation.
The Burgenland was formed in 1921 from the Hungarian counties (Megye)
of Vas, Sopron, and Moson. The people are of German, Croatian, and
Hungarian origin, and settled in this region over periods spanning
hundreds of years, with much subsequent emigration to the Americas in
the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries.
The BB Website, containing more than 500 pages of subject surnames
(4,680 names), village and ethnic data, and links and archives, had a
complete overhaul at the beginning of the year. New features have been
added, including links to a new site that features immigrant cemetery
data from Burgenland ethnic enclaves in the U.S.
The BB has a monthly e-mail newsletter distributed to listed members
through the courtesy of Roots-L. There are archives of all of the
previous newsletters.
The BB website also has a link to a Query Site
(WorldGenWeb-Burgenland) courtesy of RootsWeb, now showing more than
3,500 Burgenland family history queries and answers.
Burgenland Bunch members' names (almost 1,400 worldwide) are listed
with family surnames, villages of origin, and places settled. Members
can be contacted via e-mail in order to exchange information.
Membership is ongoing and the site is maintained by fourteen specialty
editors in the United States and in Austria.
If you are a descendant of immigrants from the above mentioned area
(there were more than 40,000 immigrants for the period 1880-1924
alone, plus more following WWII), or feel you may have a link to such,
you would do well to visit this site:
http://www.burgenland-bunch.org/
5. New at RootsWeb
5a. New User-contributed Databases at RootsWeb
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.
KENTUCKY. Lewis County. Aills marriages in Lewis County, Kentucky. 116
records.
Nance Shaw.
http://userdb.rootsweb.com/marriages/
ILLINOIS. Selected Erickson obituaries. 5 records. Karyn Erickson.
http://userdb.rootsweb.com/obituaries/
CALIFORNIA. Santa Clara County. Palo Alto. 1902 Leland Stanford Junior
University alumni. 167 records. M. Hellam.
http://userdb.rootsweb.com/alumni/
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 genealogical or historical 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/
-------------------------------------------------------------
Some of these Web pages might not yet be accessible. They are created
by volunteers, so if one that interests you isn't up yet, please
check again in a few days or next week.
http://www.rootsweb.com/~xxxxxx[accountname]
* * *
DAR = Daughters of the American Revolution
USD = United States Daughters of 1812
USGW = USGenWeb
U.S.A.
azcwcdar -- Cactus Wren (Arizona) Chapter DAR
azhodpar -- Hereditary Order of Descendants of the Loyalists and
Patriots of the American Revolution (Arizona)
azwdaha -- National Society Women Descendants of the Ancient and
Honorable Artillery Co. (Arizona)
casjcms -- San Joaquin Colony Mayflower Society (California)
mobgtusd -- Brigadier General Thomas A. Smith (Missouri) Chapter USD
njcjhdar -- Captain Joshua Huddy (New Jersey) Chapter DAR
njobtdar -- Old Barnegat-Tennent (New Jersey) Chapter DAR
nswwfhg -- Wyong Family History Group NSW (Australia)
txkgs -- Kingsland Genealogical Society (Texas)
txschs -- Smith County Historical Society (Texas)
usgwgc -- Grievance Committee USGW
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/
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 MAILING LISTS
LOVINGGOOD
NEW REGIONAL MAILING LISTS
No new Regional Mailing Lists
NEW ETHNIC OR SPECIAL INTEREST MAILING LISTS
No new Ethnic or Special Interest Mailing Lists
6. Humor/Humour
A chain of funeral homes in Buffalo, New York, is called Amigone
Funeral Home. It is pronounced Am-a-gone, but reminds me of "Am I
gone?"
--Thanks to Kathy
* * *
We met up with some friends while on holiday in Devon, England, where
their ancestors originated. The wife declared her marital name to be
"Bowdy"; however, her husband pronounced it as "Body."
As we passed the local church we saw the vicar leaning on the wall in
the sun. "Hello," said our friend, "Can you tell me if you have any
'Bodys' in the graveyard?" "Many," said the vicar. "Which particular
one were you interested in?"
It took a minute for us to explain to the vicar what the laughter was
about, as well as to our friend.
--Thanks to Jean
* * *
Found a funny or "proper name for the job" in old records, or an
amusing entry in census, parish, church, etc. 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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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
* * *
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: 1 August 2007, Vol. 10, No. 31.
* * * *
