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Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter
| June 22, 1998 |
I must admit that I enjoyed the "week off" last week as I drove around the Netherlands and Belgium. I received many e-mail messages from newsletter readers, all of them encouraging me to have a good time. Rest assured that I did just that. But now, back to business…
- Australian Vital Records Index on CD-ROM I have written recently about the new genealogy data CD-ROM disks being offered for sale by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ( "the Mormons"). This year, in a major departure from past policies, the Mormons have begun selling CD-ROM genealogy data disks to the general public for rather low prices. This week I had a chance to take another of the new CD-ROM databases for a "test drive." The "Australian Vital Records Index 1788-1905" is a collection of four CD-ROM disks inside one package. It is an indexed collection of references to 4.8 million birth, christening, marriage, and death records. It is an index; it does not contain the original vital records certificates. This index covers the states of New South Wales (1788–1888), Tasmania (1803–99), Victoria (1837–88), and Western Australia (1841–1905). It does not include the states of Queensland, South Australia, or the Northern Territory. Even within the covered states, the index does not list every person. Only those who were registered by local religious and civil authorities are included within this index. Some births, marriages and deaths undoubtedly were never registered with the authorities. References on these four disks include names of individuals, the years and places that events were registered, and index references you can use to order certificates from the state civil registration office. References may also include names of the individual's parents or spouses, dates and places of events, ages of individuals when events occurred, and other limited information. As with any other genealogy information, you always want to consider how the information was obtained. This helps determine the likelihood of errors (and there certainly are many genealogy CD-ROM disks floating around with lots of erroneous information). To create these indexes, many individuals looked at the original records (either on paper or on microfilm) and transcribed the data to a keyboard created the Australian Vital Records Index. While errors undoubtedly did creep in, the quality of this database is probably quite good. Of course, you always want to look at original records after finding something in an index. That is always true for CD-ROM disks as well as for genealogy information transcribed on paper. As much as possible, the information on the compact disc matches the information on the original indexes. A few modifications may have been made to accommodate space and other limitations. The program specifications state that the CD-ROM disks will operate under Windows 3.1, Windows 95 and Windows NT. However, there is no Macintosh version. While the software will operate in 4 megabytes of memory, the producers recommend 8 megabytes or more. A super VGA video card supporting a minimum of 256 colors is also required. A 21-page booklet serves as the users guide but I never bothered to open it. Installation and operation of the CD-ROM disks seemed simple and intuitive at all times. Like the other new genealogy data CD-ROM disks recently released by the Mormons, this set uses Folio Views software as the search engine. I have long been a fan of Folio Views. It is simple to operate and has many features and options. To be sure, the producers of the individual CD-ROM disks select many of these options. If you see a particular feature on one CD-ROM driven with Folio Views that does not say that the same feature will be available on other CD-ROM disks using the same search software. Another feature that I like is that each disk is freestanding; all the required software is included on the CD-ROM disk itself. You do not have to obtain external software in order to use these CD-ROM disks. I did a search of all records looking for my own surname. I was pleasantly surprised with several hundred "hits." I guess the family is well represented "down under". Here is a typical listing:
Most of the information is obvious except perhaps for the "Ref Number." The reference number is a unique number assigned to a birth or christening record when it was registered. When ordering an original birth or christening certificate you specify the reference number as the item being ordered. As in most Folio Views-based data CD-ROM disks, there are many, many ways to search for information. Rather than trying to describe all the possibilities myself, I have taken the liberty of a "cut and paste" of the search instructions found in the CD-ROM Help file:
As you might imagine, a little time spent studying the above instructions results in the ability to make some very powerful searches. The original birth, christening, marriage, and death certificates usually contain more information than is cited within the index entry. You will want to obtain photocopies of the original records in order to obtain all the available information. These copies are provided by the civil registrar’s office in the appropriate state in Australia, prices for photocopies may vary. When you make a request, provide as much information as you can to uniquely identify the person you want, such as the person's full name as it appears in the index, the reference number (Ref. Number), the registration year (Reg. Year), the registration state (Reg. State), and so on. I suspect it is best to simply enclose a printout of the index entry as contained on the CD-ROM disk. The addresses of the appropriate state civil registration offices are included on the CD-ROM disk. Speaking of printing, one thing that I did not care for in this implementation of Folio Views was the lack of support for the Windows Clipboard. I am used to highlighting text and then pressing Control-C to copy that text to the Clipboard. I then go to another Windows application and press Control-V to copy that text into the second application. However, the Clipboard did not work on this CD-ROM disk and I have noticed the same behavior on other Folio Views disks. To be sure, there is another method of accomplishing the same thing: You can "tag" a record and then copy all tagged records to a text file on your hard drive. At a later time you can import the saved text file into another application. That is how I copied the index entry on Alfred Eastman into this newsletter. But this method is not intuitive and not in compliance with the standard Windows interface. I found this to be annoying but it is not a "show stopper." Of course, you do need to do quite a bit of disk shuffling in this four-disk set. You always start by inserting disk #1 into the drive and then launching the program. You search for your data, often you are prompted to remove disk #1 and to then insert a different disk. Anyone who has used the International Genealogical Index or the Ancestral File at a local Family History Center will know what I mean. All in all, I was pleased with the operation of the four disks of the Australian Vital Records Index. I only wish that I had Australian ancestors so that I could utilize the information. Now for the best part: this excellent set of four CD-ROM disks costs $20.00 U.S. funds. That would be approximately $33.00 Australian. That includes the Folio Views software. The disks are available now at the LDS Distribution Center in Salt Lake City. A couple of newsletter readers in Australia have told me that the disks are not yet in stock in Australia. For more information or to order the CD-ROM disks, anyone in the United States or Canada can call 1-800-537-5950. If you are calling from another country, the number is 1-801-240-3800. The Distribution Center is open 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM Pacific Mountain Time.
I received the following note from Cyndi Howells:
-Broderbund Launches GenealogyLibrary.com Broderbund Software, Inc. has launched GenealogyLibrary.com which the company bills as "a powerful new website guaranteed to help people who are tracing their family trees." The company’s announcement goes on to say that GenealogyLibrary.com combines a rapidly-growing online collection of books and "family finding" resources with powerful search features, an easy-to-browse structure, and daily updates. Plus, you can learn from more than 100 genealogy articles written by noted genealogists. Subscriptions to GenealogyLibrary.com are available on a monthly or annual basis, and a money-back guarantee ensures your satisfaction. The following is a "cut-and-paste" from Broderbund’s announcement:
Heritage Books is a well-known and highly respected genealogy book publisher. They too are beginning to offer much of their data in an online database. Quoting from their announcement:
Heritage Books Archives can be found at: http://www.hb-archives.com
- Genealogy Online For Dummies I suspect everyone has seen those bright yellow books in the computer books section of a local bookstore or computer store. The "Dummies" books are amongst the most popular computer books being sold today. There are hundreds of titles available, all titles end in the words "For Dummies." You can choose Netscape For Dummies, Microsoft Word For Dummies and many more. Lately I have seen even non-computer titles such as Gardening For Dummies, Mozart For Dummies and even Preparing Income Taxes For Dummies. (I need that last one!)
This book was a "must read" for me. I opened the cover. The first page inside the front cover was labeled "Some Genealogical websites To Remember" and the first listing on the first page was for Eastman’s Online Genealogy Newsletter. OK, I like this book so far! Seriously, the book then goes on for 333 pages giving page after page of simple instruction, coupled with hundreds of pointers to online sources. The book also has an exhaustive 23 page index. A CD-ROM disk is also included inside the back cover. This CD-ROM works on Macintosh as well as Windows 3.1, Windows 95 and Windows NT. It contains 9 genealogy-related shareware programs or demos of commercial programs, a number of Internet tools, multimedia tools and utilities. Now I admit that I haven’t read all 333 pages yet. But the pages that I have read are just like the other "Dummies" books I have seen: easy to read and organized in a logical manner. Here are the chapter titles:
In short, I like this book. It has the words "For Dummies" in the title but some of us not-so-dumb experienced online users will also find worthwhile information in this book. "Genealogy Online For Dummies" sells for $24.99 list price, I suspect you can find discounts at many bookstores. It was only published a few weeks ago, it should be showing up in book stores now. I would imagine that you can order it from any of the normal online sources as well. If you do order it, you might need the ISBN number: 0-7645-0377-4. Editor's note: This book is available at the Ancestry.com On-line Store. - Genealogy "Experts" Send Spam Mail I am used to unwanted junk mail arriving by e-mail. This so-called "spam mail" is a fact of life in the online world and most people have learned to simply delete such junk without reading it. But this week I received some spam mail that left me smiling for several days. I received several copies of messages started off with grandiose claims of:
The e-mail went on and on at some length, using language that is normally heard on TV infomercials. In other words, the whole thing sounded like a piece of ….. (insert your favorite expletive here). But what cracked me up was the company’s e-mail address: geneaology@doit.cc Look at the spelling. That’s right. These self-proclaimed genealogy experts with "25 years professional research" don’t know how to spell genealogy! Genealogy experts? "25 years professional research"? What do you think? The second part of the e-mail address is common amongst the con artists who send junk mail: For Internet providers outside the U.S., the last two letters in the address shows the country where the Internet provider is based (which may or may not be where the user is located). Addresses ending in .ca are in Canada, those ending in .uk are in the United Kingdom, etc. I checked for the letters .cc and found that it indicates an Internet service provider located in the Cocos (Keeling) Islands. That’s a country consisting of two coral atolls in the Indian Ocean. In fact, I believe that the domain names ending in .cc are located elsewhere and are a favorite "haven" for people trying to send spam mail. Replies sent to those addresses usually bounce back as "undeliverable." I set my e-mail program to automatically delete any e-mails received from any address ending in "@doit.cc". Now I don’t see this junk anymore.
Genealogists always focus of life’s major events, such as birth, marriage and death. I find unusual life events to be especially interesting, including one reported this week in the Omaha World-Herald. The report says that Janet Downes of Bellevue, Nebraska is sparing no effort for her June 27 wedding. There will be a choir, a wedding gown, the usual wedding cake and flowers -- but no groom. She is getting married to herself. June 27 is also Ms. Downes’ 40th birthday. She told the newspaper that she decided on the mock wedding as a way of celebrating the fact that she is "happy with herself", regardless of the men in her life. She'll exchange vows by reciting in front of a mirror, "I, Janet Downes, take myself with all my strengths and faults..." In a departure from wedding tradition, the bride also said she will be wearing black. The music program will include the song "My Way" and a ditty Downes penned herself:
More than 200 friends and relatives, including her fiancé of four years, are expected to attend, but there will be no priest. I want to see the state of Nebraska’s Vital Records’ entry for this "wedding."
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:
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.
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Traditionally, genealogists have traveled to distant libraries or had to wait for library loan programs in order to access rare books or private genealogy collections. GenealogyLibrary.com solves that problem by putting them at your fingertips, 24 hours a day, accessible from anywhere you like. Most of the books at GenealogyLibrary.com are difficult to find in print, and many are only available in certain libraries and private collections.
This week I received a copy of Genealogy Online For Dummies. This too is in the familiar bright yellow cover and is part of IDG Books’ popular series. What caught my eye first was the names of the authors: Matthew L. Helm and April Leigh Helm. I recognize those names as two experts in the use of online genealogy resources.