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Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter
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| March 16, 1999 |
- Newsletter Discussion Group Formed Have you ever wished you could pose a question while reading this newsletter or wanted to talk to the author? I have now formed a discussion group on CompuServe’s Genealogy Techniques Forum to discuss articles published in these newsletters. I will be able to answer questions and ask a few questions of my own. You can find comments there from other readers as well. I also expect to occasionally post articles there before they are published in this newsletter, especially articles that I am still writing. I appreciate input from other people and look forward to hearing from readers. This new discussion group will be sort of a "live, working edition of the newsletter in progress." I would like to encourage all CompuServe members to drop by and take a look. If you are using Classic CompuServe, the "GO word" is ROOTS. If you use Netscape, Internet Explorer, CompuServe 4.0, or the new CompuServe 2000 software, the URL is http://go.compuserve.com/GenealogyForum. - U.S. Census Indexes Are Now Online Here is an announcement that US genealogists have waited years to read: OREM, UTAH, March 11, 1999 -- Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com), the Internet's leading site for genealogy research, announced today the exclusive online availability of a 35 million-name index to state and federal census records dating from 1790 through 1870. Often the most comprehensive resource from the beginning of the federal government through the Civil War and Westward expansion, federal and state census indexes list the name and residence for millions of Americans. "Census data is an important resource for researching family history in America," said Curt Allen, CEO of Ancestry.com. "By offering the census data on the Internet, we have placed an unprecedented amount of information at the average person's fingertips." In addition to traditional census data, the collection includes "non-population" schedules, which include listings of deaths, military service, and slave ownership. These schedules provide additional details that assist in locating family members or developing more extensive personal profiles. "This is one of the most useful databases to be made available since the inception of online genealogy," said Marsha Rising, certified genealogist and fellow of the American Society of Genealogists. "Virtually any genealogist who researches the 19th century will find this collection invaluable. These indexes are absolutely essential references for genealogists and the series has previously been accessible only at major libraries." The collection of census data is available at no extra charge to Ancestry.com subscribers. A one-year subscription of $69.95 to Ancestry.com provides access to more than 1,480 fully searchable genealogical databases containing over 240 million individual records. The census indexes are part of Ancestry’s subscription-based service. However, you can search in the free area to see if a name is listed. For instance, I looked for my great-great-grandfather in the free area and found the following: YOU SEARCHED FOR: WASHINGTON EASTMAN This indicates that men of that name are found in one census index in Maine and three census indexes in Arkansas. The exact census records available vary a bit from state to state. Here is Ancestry’s description for census listings in Maine: This collection contains the following indexes: 1800 Federal Census Index; 1810 Federal Census Index; 1820 Federal Census Index; 1830 Federal Census Index; 1840 Federal Census Index; 1840 Pensioners List; 1850 Federal Census Index; 1860 Federal Census Index; 1870 Federal Census Index; 1890 Veterans Schedules; Early Census Index. Another database that will soon be available will include the Mortality Schedules. These were included in the 1850, 1860, 1870, and 1880 censuses and were a separate set of questions regarding those who died in the twelve months prior to the enumeration of the regular census. I entered the subscription area and performed a search for my great-great-grandfather in the Maine census records. Here is the result: Year 1840 From the above I know that I can rent the microfilm of the 1840 Federal census for the town of Corinth in Penobscot County, Maine and turn to page 70 to find the entry for my great-great-grandfather. Another method of obtaining that page is to write directly to the National Archives and ask for a copy that particular page. That is done by using the National Archives’ Form 82. The information shown in the index is very brief. However, when I rent the microfilm or obtain a photocopy from the National Archives, I know that the 1840 census records will contain the following information: Name of head of household; number of free white males and females in age categories 0 to 5, 5 to 10, 10 to 15, 15 to 20, 20 to 30, 30 to 40, 40 to 50, 50 to 60, 60 to 70, 70 to 80, 80 to 90, 90 to 100, over 100; number of slaves and free "colored" persons in age categories; categories for deaf, dumb, and blind persons and aliens; town or district; and county of residence. Additionally, the 1840 census was the first census to ask the ages of revolutionary war pensioners and the number of individuals engaged in mining, agriculture, commerce, manufacturing and trade, navigation of the ocean, navigation of canals, lakes and rivers, learned professions and engineers; number in school, number in family over age twenty-one who could not read and write, and the number of insane. If you are a subscriber of Ancestry.com and want to search the census indexes, go to: http://www.ancestry.com/census/. If you are not yet a subscriber, you can join immediately online. Ancestry.com’s web servers run secure sockets so that your credit card information is encrypted for the protection of your personal financial information. There are several membership options, ranging from $69.95 to $99.95. Once subscribed, you have immediate access to the census indexes plus all of Ancestry.com’s other online databases. Ancestry.com says that the total data available to subscribers is worth more than $1,300. That figure is derived by comparing the online data available by purchasing the same information on CD-ROM discs. Online databases are almost always more cost-effective than CD-ROM discs. Complete information can be found at: http://www.ancestry.com/subscribe.htm The newsletter you are reading right now is also available in Ancestry.com’s free area at: http://www.ancestry.com/columns/eastman/index.htm - Ancestry Magazine Increases Distribution Outlets In other news from Ancestry.com, their Ancestry magazine is now available at Barnes & Noble, Crown, Tower, Hastings, Shinders, Lichtmans and Media Play. It is also available at a number of independent stores throughout the United States and Canada. The March/April issue includes: "American Courts: Mirror of a Nation" by Loretto D. Szucs ----- What was the trial of the century? - UK Public Record Office Census Digitization Project The Public Record Office (PRO) held a meeting on March 9 at the Family Records Centre (FRC) in Islington, London. Geoff Wright attended and sent along this report. He kindly gave permission to have it republished in this newsletter: 1901 Census Digitization Project On March 9, the Public Record Office (PRO) held a series of meetings at the Family Records Centre (FRC) in Islington, London aimed at updating users on the progress to digitize the UK 1901 census before the release date of January 2002. The well-supported session I attended heard from representatives of the PRO team about the reasons for the project and progress to date, after which followed a lively question and answer session. Following a short introduction from Margaret Brennard - FRC's Manager, Information Services, she explained that the meeting was one of a series the PRO planned over the next few months to keep users informed. They also hoped for feedback from those attending on this project. She then went on to introduce Iain Watt, Head of Reader Information Services. Iain explained that unless some action was taken the quality of service at the FRC would be seriously affected by the volume of visitors using the facilities in the future. During the financial year 1990/91, whilst still at Chancery Lane, the PRO had some 51,000 visit, whereas during the last year for which details are available (1997/98), visits to the first floor at the FRC had grown to some 140,000. Through some simple arithmetic Iain suggested that the maximum visits per year would be in the order of 210,000 and at the present growth, excluding any effect resulting from the release of the 1901 census and with the current treads continuing, this figure would be hit by 2003. This figure equates to about 300 visits per day per seat after which systems start to breakdown; reference areas become overcrowded and photocopiers start to breakdown, an effect already experienced by some users at peak time. So what are the options, Iain asked; more space possibly? This would be expensive. Longer opening hours? This was not a practical solution due to the lack of staff. The FRC already has something like 50 percent more staff than originally planned. These extra members of staff being taken not by additional recruitment but by removing staff from the PRO at Kew which is also beginning to show signs of creaking systems, which anyone visiting recently will be aware of. As this saturation point is rapidly approached, some forms of control may be necessary to protect the overall service. It was for this reason, in addition to the aim of the PRO to make their records more easily accessible to both those in the UK and overseas through electronic means, that the FRC had embarked on the 1901 Digitization Project. Iain is suggesting that if the 1901 Census was on-line, it would have great benefit to those within the UK who for one reason or another could not visit the FRC, (if they lived outside of easy traveling of London or were disabled in some way) and also those overseas. There would also be great benefit to the educational sector; the last thing the FRC needed now were bus loads of school children turning up at its door step! A recent survey conducted by the FRC suggests that 30 percent of visitors already use the Internet in connection with there research and that 75 percent to 80 percent would be interested in doing so. For this reason the PRO had been looking for a commercial partner to digitize these records and make them available on the World Wide Web as both the considerable capital expenditure and running costs were outside of any budget the PRO had at its disposal. As this partner was a commercial concern, it was likely that once available on the web there would be some cost associated with accessing the site, for the home user perhaps via credit card. In the case of institutions, a number of options were under consideration which could see anything from the institution carrying the total cost, to it being on-passed to the end user. No conclusion had yet been reached on any of the charging issues. The 1901 census would still also be available in more traditional forms such as through a visit to the FRC or fiche; however, mass free access such as these would make the project unattractive from a commercial view point and would therefore be limited. At this point Iain invited Janet Mason (the PRO's Consultant managing this project) to tell us a bit more about the positive benefits project. Janet opened by highlighting the three major elements of the project: (a) Selection of a suitable commercial partner (b) Digitization (c) Setting up of a comprehensive Internet access structure. Back in December 1998, the PRO had some 30 replies to invitations for "high level" proposals which have now been short listed to around 5 potential partners. Discussions continue at a more detailed level with the PRO presently on target to exchange contracts with the successful partner by September 1999. It was hoped to hold another user meeting after this with the partner present as well as a model (software) of the system. Returning to the theme started earlier by Iain, Janet went on to discuss the quality control issues involved with the project. The commercial partner's systems must allow online viewing of images of the census and it must be possible to print these images. Locating these images would be through a suitable search engine with access to a range of indexes. At present no final decision had been reached about the information contained within the index as these along with the level at which the user could zoom into detail were to be driven by market research and not defined by either the PRO or their partner. Access to the system should cater to all and not discriminate against various systems or non PC users. At this point the meeting was opened to questions from the floor, with a major debate following on why the PRO were considering charging for the system at all. It was unfortunate that the PRO had chosen Tuesday March 9 for this presentation, being also Budget Day in the UK where their lords and masters were raising more money through increased taxation! A number of times various members of the PRO repeated that both the capital and revenue costs of such a project were well beyond any budget they may have access to. Other questions also focused on suggestions from the floor that no one within the UK would be able to access the system as users from America would soak up the entire resource because they had "free" Internet access. I was disappointed at the level of understanding by the large majority of the audience on what was of offer here and what was likely to happen within the UK over the coming years in technology terms. Turning to other issues, in answer to a question as to whether the images would be in colour, Janet replied that testing has proved black & white images provide better clarity and readability. In answer to my question about stability of the site following the recent experience of the CWGC site <http://www.cwgc.org/>, Janet said that they had learnt a lot from the incident and were also talking to other services providers who had experience in high volume sites. One member of the audience asked whether there were plans to digitize other census, to which Iain replied that if the 1901 is a success then the 1911, 1921 and the remains of the 1931 which were not destroyed would be considered. It was a very informative meeting; unfortunately perhaps not the best opportunity was taken by those attending to learn more about the proposed system because to the time taken up on the political question of charging and funding available to the PRO from central government. Lack of understanding of the power of the Internet and tomorrow’s technology advances, such as the Internet being available through your TV in the not to distance future, also in my view wasted valuable time. Geoff Wright Peter J. Gagne has published three new books: Links to Your Canadian Past: Tome 1 – Acadia and the Maritimes I scanned through these books and found that they are very impressive. The author obviously has spent hundreds, probably thousands, of hours surfing the Web looking for sites of interest. In the Introduction, Gagne writes: This book is a result of hundreds of hours of online research. It is meant to serve as a "Yellow Pages" for your genealogical and historical research in the Maritime Provinces of Canada. This book is meant to save you time and confusion in your online research. By organizing information geographically, then by resource type, I have attempted to provide you the shortest route to find whatever you’re looking for on the Internet The Web can often seem overwhelming, and it’s easy to get lost or caught in it and feel more like the fly into the spider. Sure, there are many "lists" out there on the Internet, but none of them provide the organization and the descriptions that you’ll find in this book. Many lists just point you to another list, then another and take you to a site three or four clicks from what you are actually looking for – and good luck finding your way back to where you started. Others claim to link you to a specific site, but merely point the way and force you to find it in the context of a larger website. Still others merely give you a list of names with no description, and you waste time chasing down links that don’t help you at all or miss sites that could provide valuable information for your research. I have personally visited every site listed in this book and written the accompanying description, so you know that when you type in the URL, you’ll be taken exactly where you want to go. In the case of pages contained within frames where all the frame choices are not relevant to the topic, I have linked to just the individual frame that is appropriate. Originally the intent was to write one book of Canadian links, but it soon became apparent that there was just too much material for just one book. The end result was 3 books! The sites covered include archives, ethnic organizations, libraries and research centers, vital statistics information, census information, passenger and immigration lists, adoption information, land records, museums and historic sites, military, Metis, Loyalist, geography, local history, cultural groups, family associations, surnames, one-name societies, chat rooms, newsgroups, genealogical and historical societies, parish records, cemetery lists and more. I have a lot of experience with genealogy research of Maritime and Quebec records but was pleasantly surprised by some of the sites listed in these books. I found quite a few that I had not known about previously. Mr. Gagne has obviously spent a lot of time cataloging these sites. Not only are websites listed, but Gagne also includes chat rooms and mailing lists that are devoted to these topics. He also includes a glossary of Internet and computer terms in each book. An interesting twist is the capability to obtain electronic updates to these printed books. You can subscribe to a mailing list operated by Quintin Publications, the publisher of these three books. Once subscribed, you will periodically receive updates via e-mail. Readers also are invited to submit updates and corrections via e-mail. If you have Canadian ancestry and Web access, you may find one or more of these books to be quite valuable. My own ancestry is 50% Canadian so you know what I will be doing for the next few days: surfing the (Canadian) Web! The "Links to Your Canadian Past" books will retail for $22.95 each (US funds). Orders received before April 1, 1999 will receive a $3.00 pre-publication discount, which results in a price of $19.95 each. An additional 10% discount may be taken if all three books are ordered at the same time. These prices do not include shipping charges. Full details are available at: http://www.quintinpublications.com/links.html - Pocket Pedigree for Windows CE Do you have one of those pocket-sized Windows CE computers? If so, you may be interested in a new genealogy program for that operating system. You can use your pocket-sized computer to transcribe records while visiting a local library or archives, then go home and directly import the data into your favorite genealogy program. Pocket Pedigree is described as "the first genealogy software made for the Windows CE environment. It allows you to enter individuals' basic information (i.e. name, birth date & place, christening, death, burial, and LDS information) and export it to a GEDCOM file." You can enter data for 25 people at a time. 25 seems to be the maximum number that will fit in the Windows CE system’s memory; you need to export the data as a GEDCOM file before entering the next 25. Pocket Pedigree was written by Phil Hanney and Richard Corbridge. I haven’t used this program yet as I do not have a Windows CE version 2.0 system available. However, the description looks interesting. Pocket Pedigree is in beta test right now and is free to beta testers. It is available at: http://members.tripod.com/pbhanney/pocket_pedigree.html My thanks to Dave Stott for letting me know about Pocket Pedigree on CompuServe’s Genealogy Techniques Forum. One of the nicer Windows genealogy programs available today is Legacy 2.0 by Millennia Corporation. For a review of it, look at the January 26, 1998 newsletter at http://www.ancestry.com/home/Dick_Eastman/eastjan26-98.htm and at the October 31, 1998 newsletter at http://www.ancestry.com/columns/Eastman/eastOct31-98.htm. One thing that is different about Legacy compared to other genealogy programs is its update policy: Millennia Corporation does not to release major upgrades every 6 to 12 months like other software producers. Instead, they release minor updates every 2 or 3 weeks on their website. This week they released the "9 March 1999 Build." It includes a new Name List, improved Master Lists, new reports, new options for sources, a new feature for GEDCOM exports, an improved pedigree view and more. One feature in this week’s announcement that caught my eye is the new Clooz Export. Clooz is an interesting program that serves as a computerized "filing cabinet" for all those somewhat random pieces of information that you accumulate during genealogy research. Clooz helps organize and sort the information. I wrote about Clooz in the July 14, 1997 newsletter available at http://www.ancestry.com/home/Dick_Eastman/eastjuly14.htm and in the October 12, 1997 newsletter available at http://www.ancestry.com/home/Dick_Eastman/eastoct12.htm. One of the major drawbacks to Clooz is that, up until now, all the data had to be entered manually. Legacy is the first genealogy program that I know of that can directly export data to Clooz without the need to manually reenter the data on the keyboard. For more information about Legacy’s latest updates, look at: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com - More on the Guion Miller Roll of Eastern Cherokees on CD-ROM Last week I wrote about the Guion Miller Roll of Eastern Cherokees on CD-ROM. Laird Towle of Heritage Books sent a nice e-mail with more information. I will quote part of his message here: The book was published by Indian Scout Publications, but the CD was published by Heritage Books, Inc. Our name & logo should have been on the CD label, and the welcome page should have begun with "Heritage Books, Inc. welcomes you to ..." We have the electronic rights to that work. You stated "you cannot search for text within this book...." which is not true. We published this book in all-electronic form, and it is fully searchable provided one uses the Adobe Acrobat Reader 3.01 with the search engine. This version of the reader is provided on the CD. You can tell if you have the version with the search engine as soon as you start the reader because it has two sets of binoculars on the tool bar, one large one, and a second one (to the right of the large one) that is smaller and superimposed on an image of a page; there are also several more buttons associated with the search function to the right of the smaller binoculars. If you are using the reader without the search function, there will only be one set of binoculars, and not buttons to the right of it. My thanks to Laird for this update. Did you ever receive an e-mail with a dire warning about a new e-mail virus or new FCC charges for Internet expenses? This week I received an all-time record number of these "warnings." The latest hoax circulating by e-mail claims that the US Congress is about to impose stiff fees for Internet access. The warning then goes on to quote a supposed FCC proceeding. I suspect that hundreds of thousands of these "warnings" have circulated in the past few weeks. One problem: they are false. Anyone who forwards such a message is a gullible victim of a cruel hoax. For the truth, look at: http://ciac.llnl.gov/ciac/CIACHoaxes.html#internetcharge. The next time you receive a warning of e-mail viruses or new charges or anything else that seems a bit out of the ordinary, please check http://ciac.llnl.gov/ciac/CIACHoaxes.html before you forward the message. You will save yourself a lot of embarrassment. Please, please do not send these "warnings" to me. I am flooded with this garbage. - Man Sends Postcards To Friends After His Cremation Friends of a British man who died of lung cancer received "wish you were here" postcards several days after his cremation saying he was enjoying heaven, newspapers reported Thursday. Former builder Johnny Morgan signed the address "Heavenly Heights" on hundreds of notes reminding friends of the good times they had shared. Morgan, who was 66, gave the cards, many adorned with pictures of harp-playing angels, to a friend with orders to distribute them after he died. His campaign from beyond the grave started at his cremation at Narberth, near Haverfordwest in Wales, when a letter handed to a friend said the undertaker had forgotten to put a fire extinguisher in the coffin. A note to the crematorium said: "I told you I was ill." Morgan has requested that his ashes be blasted out to sea in a rocket later in March. 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: Gruber Wagon Works, a National Historic Landmark located in Berks County, PA. Take a Virtual Tour of this fantastic historical relic: Home page Family Ivens: Would like to find family in Warwichshire and information about Robert Brekespere Ivens. This site has pages written in Dutch, English and French: Sherritt family name (Aaron Sherritt ran with Ned Kelly gang in 1800s): Rush family tree with links to many other names: Dailey Family of Ontario, Canada Genealogy plus allied families: Genealogical Society of Page County, Virginia providing historical and genealogical information for those researching their Page County roots: Hanslips and associated families worldwide: Wilkins Genealogy Links - links to Wilkins history, family trees, other Wilkins genealogy websites, and more: Bramhall Family History: Madden family in Australia: 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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