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Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter
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MyFamily.com |
| January 04, 1998 |
Ancestry.com has created a new website that you can use to share your news and genealogy discoveries with family members. I tried out the new service this week and can report that MyFamily.com is a winner. I should point out that Ancestry.com also sponsors this newsletter. However, I have tried to make this report as unbiased as possible. I suspect that anyone who looks at MyFamily.com will agree with most of my observations. MyFamily.com says, "You can now share genealogical data and other family information through your own private Website at MyFamily.com. MyFamily.com allows you to share news, photos, calendar events, family history information and more, with your extended family in a secure, password protected environment. " To try this out for myself, I set up an Eastman Family website. The process was simple: I read the legal agreement, clicked on "I accept" and then filled out an on-screen form asking for some basic information. I selected my own user name and password to be used in maintenance of the family website. I clicked on "Create Your Family Site" and the site was created within seconds. One unique feature is that the software will automatically send e-mails to people I designate, informing them of the new website. I could easily notify all my distant relatives who have contacted me by e-mail in the past, assuming I have saved their e-mail addresses. The system sends an e-mail to each person I select, telling them about the new service. It also gives them temporary User IDs and passwords, which they can use to log on and check out the site. (The new users can change their temporary User IDs and passwords at any time.) Each new family website is like a "mini-forum." It has a message board, space to store photos, a files section where you can store any files you wish, a place for reviews of books, software, CD-ROM disks or whatever else you care to review. It also has an online calendar for birthdays, upcoming family reunions and events. The forum also has an address book of all the forum members, an online chat room, and a list of who else is online in the family forum at this moment, to whom you can send an "instant message." This is an impressive selection of features for a free site. Of course, the software creates a "shell" without information. It is up to you and the other participants to contribute messages, files, and photos. A properly managed family forum can become a very valuable resource over a period of time. The software at MyFamily.com even includes a "Notify Service." This service sends a daily e-mail to the "owner" of the forum, listing any new data contributed by anyone since the previous report. There is an option to turn off the automatic notification e-mails for those who do not care to receive them. The family website you create is private. Nobody can access it unless they obtain a User ID and password from you. Luckily, it is easy to generate these User IDs and passwords by simply entering their e-mail addresses into a form on the MyFamily.com site and then clicking on "Invite Members." Temporary User IDs and passwords will then be generated automatically and sent by e-mail to the people invited. Each free family website includes 10 megabytes of disk space. I was surprised at that amount, ten megabytes is a lot of space for a free service. That will hold many thousands of pages of textual information and probably quite a few graphics files as well. However, if you decide that you want to store hundreds of graphics files, exceeding ten megabytes total space, you can purchase additional storage space for a modest fee. I was also a bit surprised at just how little advertising is built into MyFamily.com. To be sure, you always know that it is operated by Ancestry.com, a commercial company. Yet I could only find one link in the menus that takes the user to a sales pitch; called Shopping, that link takes you to a page that displays many of Ancestry.com’s products. Everything went smoothly as I experimented with entering messages into the message board and with uploading pictures and other files. The menus seem simple and straightforward. The people who created MyFamily.com obviously spent a lot of effort in designing a user-friendly interface. I noted that the statements on MyFamily.com assure the user that all personal information gathered will be kept confidential. The site says, "In no case is the personal information about individual members sold or otherwise shared with advertisers, sponsors, partners or other 3rd parties. And under no circumstances is this information collected or distributed in any form without your prior knowledge and consent." That’s a reassuring statement these days; some other companies have been known to sell personal information that they gather. You should always look for assurances of confidentiality before entering personal data on any website, genealogy-related or not. For a bit of background information, here is a cut-and-paste from some of the information on MyFamily.com:
As part of the announcement publicity, MyFamily.com is sponsoring a sweepstakes. Here is part of the announcement:
There is more to the complete announcement, including an opportunity to improve the odds of your entry. Full details are available at: http://www.myfamily.com/sweepstakes/sweep.html. This looks like a very easy way to set up a "genealogy family forum" for your interests. Best of all, it is entirely free. I predict that MyFamily.com will become very popular. For more information about this free new service, look at: http://www.MyFamily.com - Mayflower & New England Families website Expands The Mayflower & New England Families has had a rather major expansion in recent weeks. The site focuses on the pre-1800 period of Massachusetts with some mention of other parts of New England in the same time period. Recently added features include: Before Plymouth -- A Pilgrim Slideshow To View or Download The Curse Of Salem Village - Slideshow To View or Download John Billington Genealogy (Mayflower Families, Genealogies) Plymouth County Marriages Added New (Vital Records, Plymouth) Charleston, New Hampshire Roll Call 1777 Names Appearing in the Massachusetts Bay Charter 1629 Massachusetts Bay Colony Freeman 1630-1636 (I-V) Brief Bio Notes William Cheney Brief Bio Notes Ebenezer Standish, Daughter Hannah The American Genealogist, Article Contents, 1998 Mayflower Ship -- History, Pics & Schematic William Hoskin Notes General Laws & Liberties 1641-1648 A Piece Of The Plymouth Rock? Robert Crossman of Taunton -- Notes John Alden Jr. -- Accused of Witchcraft Crackstone & Fletcher Notes John How(e) of Sudbury Richard Williams Will Willis Notes Philemon Whale Notes Native Americans - Misc. MA & RI Births, Marriages, Deaths, Census Massachusetts Enquirer: A New England Ghost, Get Out Of Town--Warning Out, Plague Devastates London, Wills to Die For, Yet Another Name For King Philip?, and more! Brewster, Cooke, Rogers & Winslow Through 2nd Generation & Children More New Wills & Deeds (Mullins, More, Doty, Eaton, Dean,etc) The Disposition Of Indian Children Following King Philip's War Disposition of Indian Populations Following King Philip's War Bumstead Diary, Continued Early Plymouth Marriages (Part 1) Saybrook Connecticut Vital Records Barnstable Proprietors Bridgewater Proprietors Sudbury Proprietors Dartmouth Purchase New Links Important Connecticut Dates Good stuff. All of this can be found at: http://www.mayflowerfamilies.com Love letters exchanged between Queen Victoria and her gamekeeper, John Brown, have been discovered in the attic of a private home in Scotland, according to a British newspaper. The letters, which also included photographs of the couple, had been stored for many years in a trunk belonging to one of Brown's descendants at a home near Balmoral Castle, The Times said. Balmoral is the British royal family's estate in Scotland. The unusual relationship between Queen Victoria - who was mourning the death of her German-born husband Prince Albert - and her servant sparked many rumors in the mid-1860s and was the focus of a hit 1997 movie, "Mrs. Brown." Victoria never remarried and died a widow. For more information, see: http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2557791114-98b.
- "Washington" Crosses the Delaware by Bridge? Every year on Christmas Day, players reenact General George Washington’s famous crossing of the Delaware River to attack the Hessian mercenaries on the same day in 1776. The participants take turns playing the role of General Washington, and this year it was K. Ward Vinson’s turn. Vinson was suitably dressed in period costume, including a gold-rimmed, tricorner hat. He had the boats, the people and everything else needed except for one critical ingredient: water. Months of drought have reduced the Delaware River’s water level by several feet. There wasn’t enough water to row, or even to float the boats and oarsmen. The costumed participants were forced to abandon their plans to row across the river about 30 miles north of Philadelphia. Instead, they marched across a nearby narrow steel bridge. "The boats weigh 6,000 pounds apiece, and the river's at the lowest that anyone can ever remember in over 100 years, so there's just no possibility," said Vinson, 69, who has served as a boat man in the past. Next year, it will be someone else's turn to portray Washington. "Yeah, it is a little disappointing," said Joe Becton, 46, part of the first black contingent of re-enactors in the event's history. On Christmas Day in 1776, the troops ferried 2,400 soldiers, 200 horses and 18 cannons across and marched eight freezing miles downstream to surprise Hessian mercenaries at Trenton, New Jersey. Two Americans froze to death on the march, but none died in the battle, which cost the Germans 30 casualties and netted Washington 1,000 prisoners and six cannon. The victory electrified the struggling nation and Europe, and Congress promptly declared Washington absolute commander.
The Upcoming Events section of the newsletter is published once per month. Each event will be listed very briefly: title, date(s), location, and sponsoring organization, all followed by either an e-mail address or a Web page that you can use to find more information. Since detailed information is available via e-mail or the Web, I will not list the details in this newsletter. If you do contact any of these organizations, please tell them where you heard about the event. Here are the listings, arranged by date. An asterisk indicates a new listing that has been added since the last time this list was published: *The Sun Cities Genealogical Society of Arizona will hold their Annual Seminar, presenting John Philip Colletta, Ph.D. on January 15th and 16th 1999. For information, contact mdececo@aol.com "Tracking Your Ancestors," an all-day seminar with Jim and Terry Willard, hosts of the PBS series "Ancestors", will be held in Fort Myers, Florida, on January 16, 1999. Details are available from: pabetty@peganet.com *The Computer-Assisted Genealogy Group of Northern Illinois will present Pat Weisshaus discussing, "So you're finally going to Salt Lake?" on January 17th, 1999. Details are available from: lolson@mountprospect.com GENTECH99 – The premier "Genealogy Technology" conference will be held in Salt Lake City, Utah, on January 22 and 23, 1999. Full details are available at: http://gentech.org The Lake Havasu (Arizona) Genealogical Society, Inc will hold its 6th annual seminar January 23, 1999, in conjunction with Leland K. Meitzler and the Heritage Quest Road Show. Full details are available at: http://www.ctaz.com/~shadgraf/society.htm *The Czech & Slovak Genealogical Society of Arizona will meet Saturday, January 23, 1999, in Mesa AZ at 1:30 pm. Speaker Paul Bingham will talk on "Zamagurze Research Project." Details are available from: thorpetk@futureone.com The Pinellas Genealogy Society of Largo, Florida, is holding its Annual Education Seminar on January 30, 1999. Details are available at: http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Plains/8283 The McAllen Genealogical Society, McAllen, Texas, will hold their 8th Annual All-Day Seminar January 30, 1999, with speaker Helen F. M. Leary. For info, contact: ecmacey@ibm.net The Genealogical Workshop of Mesa, Arizona, will present a seminar by James L. Hansen, FASG, Feb 13, 1999. For more information contact: mmmsch@futureone.com *The New England Historic Genealogical Society will present a program in Irvine, California on February 13, 14, and 15. The topic is "English Family History for Americans" with guest speaker Dr. George Redmonds. Details are at: http://www.nehgs.org * The New England Historic Genealogical Society will present a Weekend Seminar in Lakeland, Florida, on February 19 and 20. For more information, look at: http://www.nehgs.org *The Humble (Texas) Area Genealogical Society's annual seminar will be held 21 February, 1999. For information contact Julia Avery at julia@hal-pc.org. Carl Sandburg College in Galesburg, Illinois, will be sponsoring a series of day-long computer workshops March 5 through 11, 1999. Topics include FamilyTreeMaker, Telnet, Putting Your Genealogy on the Internet, Genealogy on the Internet, PAF, PAF Companion, and more. Information is available at: http://www.misslink.net/neill/home.html. National Genealogical Society Regional Conference in Phoenix, Arizona, March 12 & 13, 1999. For details, send an e-mail to: conference@ngsgenealogy.com Brigham Young University’s annual Computerized Genealogy Conference will be held March 18-20, 1999. Details are available at: http://coned.byu.edu/cw/cwgeneal/ The Slippery Rock Heritage Association will hold its annual genealogy workshop on Saturday, March 20, 1999 at the Slippery Rock (Pennsylvania) University Union. For info, send an e-mail to: hmssagt@aol.com Genealogy Fair; a celebration of the resources in northern Indiana and southwestern Michigan will be sponsored by the South Bend Area Genealogical Society on March 20, 1999. Details are available at: http://www.rootsweb.com/~insbags The Massachusetts Genealogical Council will present "Discovering Your Heritage" an Everton Publishers workshop, 10 April 1999 in Wayland, Massachusetts. For more information contact: Jim Holmes 76312.1377@compuserve.com *ROOTS XV, "Family History: Basics and Beyond", the 15th annual all-day seminar sponsored by The Genealogy Workshop of the Huntington Historical Society will be held in Huntington, New York on April 17, 1999. For information, send an e-mail to: wchamber@suffolk.lib.ny.us The "Computers In Family History Conference" will be held 24th April 1999 at Salford University, Manchester, UK. It is sponsored by the Society of Genealogists and the Manchester and Lancashire Family History Society. Information is available at: http://www.mlfhs.demon.co.uk/conference *The Genealogy Association of English Speaking Researchers in Europe (GAESRE) is putting on their third annual Genealogy and Family History Day on Saturday 24 April 1999 in Mannheim, Germany. Additional details are available from: whit@jas-net.de The Indiana Genealogical Society will hold its 1999 Annual Meeting and Conference May 1, 1999 in Fort Wayne. Details are available at: http://www.IndGenSoc.org. National Genealogical Society’s Annual Conference in Richmond, VA May 12-15, 1999. Information is available from: Macdonald@ngsgenealogy.org. *The Sonoma County Genealogical Society is planning an all day seminar on May 22, 1999, in Santa Rosa, California, featuring Dr. John Philip Colletta in a day-long program. For details see: http://www.rootsweb.com/~cascgs/colletta.html. The DUVAL Family Association will hold its first meeting in over half a century on June 4-6, 1999, in Richmond, Virginia. Details are available at: http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Ridge/7508. The descendants of John Morgan MINTER (1792-1856) and Dorothy Brooks MATHIS (1792-1852) will celebrate their memory with a reunion at Hopkins County, Texas, June 11, 12, 13, 1999. For information, send an e-mail to: djr@swbell.net. The LAY Family Genealogical Association (including Lay, Leigh, Lea, Leh, Ley, Loy etc surnames) will hold a meeting in Branson, MO June 25 through 27, 1999. Details are at: http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Acres/8896. *Dr. George K. Schweitzer will speak on German Genealogy on July 10, 1999, in a workshop sponsored jointly by the German Interest Group and the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Area Research Center in Whitewater, Wisconsin. Details are at: http://www.angelfire.com/biz/origins1/gig.html. The New Brunswick Genealogical Society will present its 20th Anniversary Conference "New Brunswick Ancestors - Arrivals and Departures" July 30th to August 2nd, 1999 in Moncton, New Brunswick. Details are available at: http://www.bitheads.ca/nbgs/conf.html. Brigham Young University’s 1999 Genealogy and Family History Conference will be held August 3–6, 1999. Information is available at: http://coned.byu.edu/cw/cwgeneal/. BROWN/MCNATT/RICHARDS Reunion, Aug 7, 1999, in Clayton, Delaware. Details are available from: mbluehen@sensible-net.com. *"New York.... Gateway to America," the 19th Annual Conference on Jewish Genealogy, hosted by the Jewish Genealogical Society, Inc., will be held August 8-13, 1999. For information, look at: http://members.aol.com/nyc99conf. The descendants of Catharine MAHONY and John McCARTHY of Prescott, Ontario, will hold their second reunion August 13-15, 1999 in Ottawa, Ontario. For information, contact: grandpre@global2000.net. The 1999 National HANKS Family Reunion will be held on August 20, 21, 22, 1999 in Plymouth, Massachusetts. The reunion is to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the arrival of the New England Branch of the Hanks family to America. More information can be found at: http://www.enol.com/~hanksdc/hanksplace/reunion.html. If you would like to see your event listed, send an e-mail to: meetings@rootscomputing.com. You must include either a Web page that gives details or an e-mail address for the organization or for someone within the organization who is willing to supply the meeting details upon request. Please limit your listings to events where you expect 100 or more people to attend.
The following is a list of some of the genealogy-related World Wide Web home pages that have been listed recently on http://www.rootscomputing.com. Some of these sites may charge a fee for their services: Family Genealogy - A Passage In Time: http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/1146 Seven generations of descendants of Francis Ballantyne (builder of the first house completed in Newcastleton, Roxburghshire, Scotland in 1793): http://www.familytreemaker.com/users/b/a/l/W-R-Ballantyne History of the Staton/Staten/Stayten family of Pike County, Kentucky: http://members.tripod.com/~PatStaten Swedish genealogy resources, newspapers, message boards, chat, links: http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Park/7147/swedegen.html Northern New York genealogy resources, St. Lawrence County, New York message boards, chat, links: http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Park/7147/Ogdens.html Drumm News is a genealogy of the Drum and Drumm surname: http://hometown.aol.com/DRUMMNEWS/DrummNews.html The Beidelman Genealogy Researchers List is for anyone who has an ancestor with the surname of Beidelman or any variation of that spelling: http://members.aol.com/KarenBeid/beidlist.htm Telephone Directories on the Web - probably the most complete and up-to-date index to free online phone books on the internet. It includes pointers to the White Pages directories for many countries: http://www.teldir.com/ Robinette surname website: http://www.robinette.org Packard History website, but more specifically about the descendants of Noah Packard & Sophia Bundy: http://members.aol.com/azpack/family/index.htm Braniff family Web page, includes similar spellings: http://members.tripod.com/braniffcentre/index.htm Guide to Blair Genealogy: http://members.home.net/jcblair/blair.htm Orman Surname Page - contains online vital records, message board, researchers page, links to other homepages with Orman surname: http://members.tripod.com/dunderwood/ormanindex.html Wofford Family Clearinghouse Database and Wofford Mail List. Woffords anytime anyplace worldwide: http://www.angelfire.com/ok2/kristi/index.html VALLETTE family of New Orleans, with some history and photos: http://www.geocities.com/BourbonStreet/Bayou/3653/tree
The following is a list of some of the genealogy-related World Wide Web home pages that have been listed recently on http://www.rootscomputing.com. Some of these sites may charge a fee for their services: Scircle family genealogy pages, including the spellings of Scircle, Circle and Zirkle: http://www.geocities.com/~gscircle. Kenney family of Virginia and Kentucky: http://www.geocities.com/HotSprings/Villa/1442 . The Genealogy Exchange & Surname Registry: http://www.genexchange.com. Pridgen/Pridgeon family home page: http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Meadows/6297. Cousins family from Wexford, Ireland: http://cftp.cjb.net/. Rollenhagen family of Germany, Sweden, and the United States: http://www.rollenhagen.de/. Noah's American Indian Genealogy Resources: http://members.aol.com/tallige/gene1.htm . Belbin/Belben surname home page: http://www.homeusers.prestel.co.uk/belbinmania. Acker family genealogy research: http://members.aol.com/jaacker/index.htm. To submit your home page to this newsletter, enter the necessary information at: http://www.rootscomputing.com/register.htm. Due to the volume of new Web pages submitted, I am not able to list all of them in the newsletter.
If you would like to submit news, information or press releases for possible inclusion in future newsletters, send them to roots@compuserve.com. The author does reserve the right to accept or reject any articles submitted.
DISCLAIMER: This newsletter is being written and sent via e-mail at no charge. I expect to write one new issue on a more or less weekly basis. However, life sometimes interferes, and the need to earn a living may create an occasional delay.
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