 |
 |
Member Login | My Account | Guest Registry |
 |
 |
| Getting Started | Learning Center | Reference | Publications | Articles & Columns |
| Learn > Articles & Columns > Daily News > Current Article | |
Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter
| IN THIS ISSUE: |
| The Census Book More on Dictionnaire Genealogique des Familles Acadiennes Yankeys Now: Immigrants in the Antebellum U.S. - 1840-1860 Names.com Do It Yourself Genetic Sampling Jackson Wasn't Poisoned Home Pages Highlighted |
|
Click Here for Dick Eastman's Archive |
| August 17, 1999 |
Bill Dollarhide is a well-known and prolific genealogy author and lecturer. He has just released a new book that will be of interest to most people researching ancestors who lived in the United States. The full title of the book is "The Census Book - A Genealogist's Guide to Federal Facts, Schedules and Indexes." The 183-page book indeed does live up to its full title. It gives detailed descriptions of each census schedule and identifies every known U.S. census index ever published. The Census Book gives a complete tabulation of all U.S. Federal Censuses including non- population census schedules and where the records are located today. It gives many unknown facts and peculiarities about census records. The Census Book also includes maps of the United States as it changed and grew over the years. Looking for ancestors in the 1820 census in the area known today as Wisconsin? A quick look at the map on page 29 shows that present-day Wisconsin was a part of the Michigan Territory in the 1820 census. Therefore the ancestors would be listed in the 1820 census as living in the Michigan Territory. Do you want to know if a particular census return for a state has been indexed? Or, even better, has it been transcribed to CD-ROM? If so, The Census Book will tell you. It lists all the census indexes as well as the Broderbund CD-ROM census CD-ROM disks. According to a reference in the book's preface, "this review spends considerable space correcting errors found in the descriptions of censuses and indexes found on CD-ROM publications." The Census Book apparently does not cover census CD-ROM disks made by companies other than Broderbund, however. The Census Book also contains blank census extraction forms. You can photocopy these forms and then use them to copy and track your ancestor's information as you view these original source documents. Now for the fun part: a CD-ROM of the entire book is included inside the back cover. When you purchase this book, you actually receive two copies: one printed on paper and an exact duplicate in electronic form on CD-ROM. You can search for every word in the book. Since I have many ancestors who lived in Penobscot County, Maine, I did a search on the word "Penobscot." Within seconds, I found every reference to that word contained in the book. I was able to print any or all pages of the book. Before going to the library or a local Family History Center, I can print a copy of the page that describes the microfilm reel that I wish to view, including the Family History Library Call Number. The blank census extraction forms described earlier are also available in the CD-ROM version. The user can print very high- quality blank forms on a laser or inkjet printer. The Census Book CD-ROM uses Adobe Acrobat 4.0 software, an excellent choice. The required software is included for use with Windows 95, 98 or NT. The Census Book CD-ROM should also operate properly on a Macintosh although the Mac software is not included. You can download Adobe Acrobat for Macintosh at no charge from Adobe's website at http://www.adobe.com. Most of the normal Acrobat commands are supported in The Census Book CD-ROM. However, I could not find any method to cut-and-paste data from the book to other Windows applications using the Windows Clipboard. The CD-ROM uses bookmarks as a sort of Table of Contents. It does not seem to have the capability for adding new bookmarks or annotations. "The Census Book - A Genealogist's Guide to Federal Facts, Schedules and Indexes" by William Dollarhide is a valuable addition to the bookshelf of any genealogist doing research in the United States. The availability of "twin copies," one on paper and another on CD-ROM, is an excellent method of meeting everyone's needs and preferences. "The Census Book" is published by Heritage Quest and lists for $24.95 U.S. funds. However, when I looked at Heritage Quest's website, I noticed that the price there was shown as $22.45. Shipping charges will add a bit more to that price. For more information about this excellent new book, look at: http://www.heritagequest.com. - More on Dictionnaire Genealogique des Familles Acadiennes Last week I wrote about Stephen White's new Dictionnaire Genealogique des Familles Acadiennes. Tim Hebert read the article and then wrote to add a bit more information. Tim wrote: I just saw that you had a bit of info on CMA and Stephen White's Dictionnaire. If you need any more info I have a comprehensive Congres Mondial Acadien Louisiane site at http://www.acadian-cajun.com/wac.htm. For example, I was at the Genealogical Symposium and videotaped it. I'm writing up a detailed report for the web this week. As soon as CMA is over I'll be posting a wrap-up of the reunions and will try to list the genealogical books and other materials that are still available... I also have information on ordering the Dictionnaire at http://www.acadian-cajun.com/dictionnaire.htm, including a link to get the most current conversion from Canadian dollars to US dollars. - Yankeys Now: Immigrants in the Antebellum U.S. - 1840-1860 Joseph P. Ferrie has written a scholarly book about immigration patterns to the U.S. Ferrie used computer analysis of immigration data, along with other historical sources. I have not yet seen the book but have just read a review written by Richard H. Steckel, Department of Economics, Ohio State University. The review sounds good, and I am now looking for the original book. Steckel writes: The quantitative center piece of "Yankeys Now" is a sample of 2,595 European emigrants who were listed on ship arrival records in the port of New York between 1840 and 1850. All were male family heads or unaccompanied males, of whom 1,456 were located in the 1850 census, 1,647 were located in the 1860 census, and 508 were found in both censuses. For comparison purposes Ferrie also linked a sample of 4,271 native-born Americans and 667 emigrants in the 1850 and 1860 censuses.
Steckel's review is actually much longer than the above extract. You can read it in its entirety at: http://www.eh.net/BookReview/reviews/0177.shtml My thanks to Paul W. Romaine for letting me know about this book and its review..
It sounds like another questionable ad by Halberts, but this is apparently a different company. "The Historical Research Center" is an online website that emulates the pushcarts you often see in shopping malls proclaiming "Family Heirlooms and Heraldic Giftware." This website claims to provide your family name history and even a family coat of arms. Names.com is long on advertising claims but light on hard facts. The advertising says, "You are linked to the past by your family name, which has been in existence for hundreds - perhaps thousands of years. What is its origin? Was it taken from the name of a village ... an occupation ... an ancient landmark? Who were your ancestors who proudly bore this fine family name? Those mysteries can now be answered by the Historical Research Center, compiled and presented on the unique Family Name History. It reveals the origin and meaning of your name, vital facts about people who carried it, intriguing details and the earliest records found." Yet I could not find any place on the website for the purchaser to enter any known facts about his or her ancestry. The order form simply asked for one surname and for the country of origin. The company promises to deliver a "family name history" for the name you supply. With the millions of immigrants and all the name changes that have taken place in North America, the odds of finding the right family are indeed slim. For instance, my own surname is rather common in England with many families in different parts of the country, all apparently unrelated to each other. There is no explanation on the website indicating just how the company provides the proper "family name history" for my family. They might be providing a family history for a different Eastman family. Even worse, how about the more common surnames of Smith or Green or Brown? In the advertising, the company asked the question, "Who were your ancestors who proudly bore this fine family name?" Yet they apparently do not provide the answers. The Historical Research Center sells "family histories" on paper that looks like parchment. These actually are mass-produced computer printouts, available in a variety of picture frames. The thumbnail illustrations on the website indicate that the framed products should look impressive when hanging on the wall in your home. However, anyone familiar with genealogy research will snicker when they see these so-called "histories." The same website also sells so-called "Family Coats of Arms," again in a variety of picture frames or even imprinted on a mouse pad. However I could not find any mention of one of the basic facts of heraldry (the study of coats of arms and other regalia): there is no such thing as a "family coat of arms" in western Europe or in the British Isles. Coats of arms are issued to one individual. Upon that person's death, the eldest son may assume the same coat of arms. If there is no living son, the right to use the coat of arms follows some complex rules. Other descendants may apply for a "differenced coat of arms" under rules that vary a bit from country to country, but only one person is authorized to use the original coat of arms. I will skip a discussion of all the rules of heraldry because (1.) they are lengthy and (2.) I am no expert. But I am told by everyone who has seriously studied heraldry that the so-called "family coats of arms" sold by mass merchandisers are worthless. The Historical Research Center always describes their products carefully. For instance, when describing the coats of arms for sale, the website proclaims, "People are fascinated to learn something about the history of their family name. They may also find information relating to an authentic coat-of-arms which was actually granted to a namesake, perhaps centuries ago." Notice the word "namesake." They do not say "ancestor." Yes, someone with the same last name as yours may have been granted a coat of arms at some time in history. But that person probably is not your ancestor, and you certainly are not authorized to display and use the coat of arms without proper documentation. Is the advertisement illegal? No, not at all. But it certainly sidesteps some pertinent facts. Caveat emptor. The Historical Research Center also offers an "associates program." If you have a website of any sort, you can provide a link to Names.com and then receive a 15% commission on sales made to anyone who linked there from your site. Well, I own a couple of websites, but I don't think I will provide such a link. If you really want to see this stuff, look at http://www.names.com. However, I suggest that you hang onto your wallet tightly. - Do It Yourself Genetic Sampling DNA Identification Systems of Birmingham, Alabama has released a new product that may be of interest to genealogists: a $20.00 genetic testing kit. To be sure, the company is focusing its advertising in legal circles, not amongst genealogists. The figure of $20.00 covers only the cost of the materials used to collect the samples; clinical analysis of DNA samples remains a costly process. But this new kit may be the first of a number of new products that will appear in coming years. DNA Identification Systems says that the kit can be used to resolve inheritance disputes, provide genetic medical records in adoptions, identify victims of child abductions, predict disease risk in future generations and also to prove genealogy. The kit contains two sterile swabs and a specially treated cardboard card. Users swab the inside of the cheek, dab the saliva on the card, seal and store it in a filing cabinet or desk drawer. For extra legal protection, DNA Identification Systems suggests that the seal be witnessed and notarized. Marketing the kit at the annual conference of the American Bar Association in Atlanta, Florrye Cleveland, co-founder of DNA Identification Systems, said she thought estate planners would be the company's biggest market. "That way, if anyone contests the will, you don't have to exhume the body," she pointed out. "Nobody can just come along and say 'That's my Daddy!'" Genetic material from biological parents and grandparents could also be anonymously stored in the kit and provided in an adoption so that adoptive parents could have a full genetic medical record for their child. Ms. Cleveland advises clients to take genetic samples from their own parents or grandparents now, to keep for the day when treatments are available for illnesses which can be predicted genetically. Because the science of DNA sample storage is so new, DNA Identification Systems only guarantees the kits for ten years. "But there is no scientific reason the material wouldn't last forever," according to Cleveland. She added that a family can now provide a genetic record for generations to come.
Historians have long believed that Andrew Jackson slowly died of mercury and lead poisoning from two bullets in his body and the 19th-century medications he took for intestinal problems. 154 years after his death, two strands of the seventh president's hair appear to have proven otherwise. Researchers have now concluded that Old Hickory died of kidney failure at age 78. The researchers analyzed hair clipped from Jackson in 1815 and 1839 and preserved by The Hermitage, his Tennessee plantation. While the mercury and lead levels found in the hair samples were "significantly elevated,'' they were not toxic, said Dr. Ludwig M. Deppisch, a pathologist with Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine and Forum Health. The research is published in last Wednesday's edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association. The researchers believe that Jackson's elevated mercury level was caused by the calomel and that much of the lead came from two bullets, one lodged near his heart and the other in his shoulder. Jackson was shot near the heart during an 1806 duel with Charles Dickinson but managed to get off a fatal shot. The duel began as an argument over a horse race and escalated when Dickinson insulted Jackson's wife, Rachel. Jackson was also shot in the shoulder during an 1813 fight in downtown Nashville with Jesse Benton and his brother Thomas Hart Benton, who went on to become a senator from Missouri. That bullet was removed in 1832, but the 1806 bullet remained in Jackson's body until his death. Jackson, who served from 1829-37, was among the sickest of all presidents. Many of his symptoms were consistent with mercury and lead poisoning, including excessive salivation, rapid tooth loss, colic, diarrhea, hand tremors, irritability, mood swings and paranoia. Some historians believed Jackson's frequent ingestion of calomel (mercurous chloride) and sugar of lead (lead acetate) -- medicines he took for intestinal ailments -- caused the symptoms and led to his death. One has to wonder what other medical treatments of the time caused our ancestors to suffer needlessly from the "cures" they consumed.
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: Coombs Family Page has family tree, some census records, births, deaths and marriage ONS London references , photographs etc.: http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/roncoombs Searching for information on grandfather Carson Dunn of West Virginia: http://members.aol.com/gaylenks/CarsonDunn.html Cass County, Texas Genealogical Society Web Page including links to member pages: http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~danasite/CCGS/index.htm Hightower Family Genealogical Database - The descendants of Joshua and Eleanor Hightower of Virginia and allied families. Some other Hightower families are also listed: http://www.my-ged.com/hightowr Hightower Family Genealogical Database - The descendants of Joshua and Eleanor Hightower of Virginia and allied families. Some other Hightower families are also listed: http://www.my-ged.com/hightowr Goodson Family History Site: http://goodson-family.com The Allman and Helms Genealogy Home Page contains a database of over 6,000 individuals: http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Pointe/5191/index.html. Cheek family genealogy: http://www.cheek.com/~genealogy Jamaican genealogy - contains 1840 Jamaica Almanac, the official list of over 7,000 property owners, names and size of their property. Contains some eyewitness accounts of early Jamaican life. Offers research of Jamaican vital records. Offers family book tracing family from UK, and Germany to Jamaica and USA: http://maxpages.com/jamaicanfamily A brief history of the families Stoyke, Bomke, Schiemann, Schmidt in Westprussia. This site is in German: http://private.freepage.de/olafschmidt/ The Goldsby family of Vancouver, WA: http://www.worldaccessnet.com/~rgoldsby/ Castleman and related genealogy, including any spelling of Castleman: http://members.xoom.com/Northing/castleman.html Day and related genealogy, with any spelling or location of Day: http://members.xoom.com/Northing/day.html Dodd and related genealogy, with any spelling or location of Dodd: http://members.xoom.com/Northing/dodd.html Northington genealogy: http://members.xoom.com/Northing/northington.html van de Woestijne/Vanderstyne and Mabelis and related genealogy: http://members.xoom.com/Northing/van_de_woestijne.html 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.
Click Here for Dick Eastman's Archive
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.
COPYRIGHTS: While the contents of this newsletter are copyright by Richard W. Eastman and by Ancestry Publishing and by others so designated, you are hereby granted rights, unless otherwise specified, to re-distribute articles from this newsletter to other parties provided you do so strictly for non-commercial purposes. Please limit your re-distribution to one or two articles per newsletter; do not re-distribute the newsletter in its entirety. Also, please include the following words with any articles you re-distribute:
Thank you for your cooperation.
Subscription information: To subscribe to this free newsletter, send an e-mail message to the following address: The message title is unimportant. The first line of text in the message must have the words SUBSCRIBE ROOTSCOMPUTING followed by your first and last names. For instance, if your name is Jane Doe, you would write a message of: subscribe rootscomputing Jane Doe That is the entire message; nothing else should be in the message text. To cancel an existing subscription, send an e-mail to: The message title is unimportant. The text of the message must be exactly: signoff rootscomputing Please note that the address of listserv@peach.ease.lsoft.com is an "e-mail robot" and messages sent to that address are only read by a computer. If you send any more text in the message, it will be ignored. If you want to see the current issue as well as back issues of the newsletter, look on the World Wide Web at: Please feel free to copy this subscription information and pass it on to anyone else who you think might be interested in obtaining a free subscription.
|
Terms and Conditions | Privacy Statement |