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| EOGN Note: The information in this archived copy was accurate on the date of publication. Since then, Web sites have appeared and disappeared, companies have been merged and many other facts have changed. You may find references in this archived copy that are no longer accurate. EOGN: Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter A Weekly Summary of Events and Vol. 5 No. 49– December 2, 2000 This newsletter was sponsored by Ancestry.com, To learn about Ancestry.com’s Past issues of this Newsletter Copyright© 2000 by Richard W. Eastman. All rights reserved. If you do contact any of the companies or societies mentioned in this newsletter, please tell them that you read about their services in this newsletter. IN THIS ISSUE: - Announcement: Best Genealogy Site on the Web - Announcement: Best Genealogy Site on the Web For the past few weeks this newsletter has been running a "Best of the Web" contest. I asked the readers of this newsletter to cast votes by e-mail for the one Web site they think is the best. The word "best" is subjective: I wanted each person to decide for himself or herself what makes that site the "best." This is the fourth year of the contest. According to the majority of unique votes cast by the readers of Eastman’s Online Genealogy Newsletter, the best genealogy site on the World Wide Web this year is: RootsWeb at http://www.RootsWeb.comActually, RootsWeb won in two different ways. I’ll explain that in a moment. RootsWeb was founded by Dr. Brian Leverich and Karen Isaacson. In the early days it was not called RootsWeb. In fact, the word "Web" was not commonly used in 1989 when Karen began maintaining the Roots Surname List, or "RSL." This list was distributed primarily by e-mail and message boards on a variety of servers. The World Wide Web was in its infancy at the time. In 1993 Steven Woods created the first Web-based search engine for the RSL. Shortly thereafter the RAND Genealogy Club was formed, and space on RAND’s corporate servers was made available. In 1996 RootsWeb.com was created, and all the data moved from RAND to a new server. In the past four years RootsWeb has grown at an astronomical rate. In June, 2000, MyFamily.com acquired RootsWeb, assuring financial stability for the popular service. (I will also mention that MyFamily.com sponsors this newsletter.) RootsWeb now includes:
RootsWeb now has become the best genealogy Web site on the Internet, according to the readers of this newsletter. Here are some excerpts from the votes cast for http://www.rootsweb.com:
I would like to add my congratulations to RootsWeb for being "The Best Genealogy Site on the Web." RootsWeb.com is now authorized to use the special logo created for this award, if they wish. That logo can be seen at: http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/roots/bestlogo.jpgIf you want to see what everyone is talking about, point your Web browser to: http://www.rootsweb.com- A Unique Twist to the Best Genealogy Site Voting In this year’s voting for "Best Genealogy Site on the Web" the readers of this newsletter presented a quandary to me. The quandary revolved around the definition of "a site." Luckily, the solution was simple. The question is, "If someone casts a vote for just part of a Web site, does that count as a vote for only that part or for the entire Web site?" For instance, many votes were received for http://www.rootsweb.com. Then there were other votes cast for http://www.rootsweb.com/~irlker/, http://www.rootsweb.com/~irlwgw, http://www.rootsweb.com/~kywebste/, http://www.rootsweb.com/~mikent/, http://www.rootsweb.com/~nydelawa/, etc. You will note that each of these votes is for a specific section of RootsWeb.com. I wasn’t sure whether I should count that as a separate vote or as a vote for RootsWeb.Luckily, the question was moot this year. The RootsWeb URL of http://www.RootsWeb.com by itself accounted for almost 10% of all the votes cast in the Year 2000 contest. That alone was more votes than those cast for any other Web site. Then the other sites under RootsWeb, such as those listed previously, accounted for another 15% of the votes cast. In other words, RootsWeb.com won the Year 2000 vote either way; whether the sites were counted separately or all together.Unlike some other recent voting procedures in Florida, this one was a landslide. There will be no court challenges and no recounts. However, I suspect there will be a change in the rules for the 2001 "Best Genealogy Site on the Web" contest. - NEHGS Announces 2001 Technology Excellence Award The following is an announcement from the New England Historic Genealogical Society: NewEnglandAncestors.org , travel expenses for the recipient (or recipient's representative) to the award ceremony and $500 in products of the recipient's choice from the Society's Book Shop at NewEnglandAncestors.org . The award winner will be determined by a committee appointed by NEHGS. Nominations are welcome and may be submitted to nehgs@nehgs.org with "Tech Award" in the Subject line. The committee will also consider initiatives which fit its criteria but have received no nomination. The deadline for nominating is December 8, 2000. To be eligible for consideration, a project must demonstrate or enable the highest standards of genealogical research in electronic form, and do so in an innovative and replicable manner. The award is intended to recognize appropriate use of technology to achieve genealogical results; eligible projects must therefore present a worthwhile genealogical result obtained through technological tools. "Gee whiz" technology devoid of genealogical merit will not be considered, nor will pure genealogical content outweigh technological shortcomings. Examples of projects which might fit these criteria are:
- Help Wanted in Boston Speaking of the New England Historic Genealogical Society, I noticed they have a "help wanted" ad on their Web site. If you live in the Boston area and are looking for a new job, why not consider something in genealogy? New England Historic Genealogical Society is looking for:
Details are available at: http://www.newenglandancestors.org/whatsnewsection/whatsnew_genealogy_detail.asp?key=902- Howery and Howry Families Linked by DNA Study I believe that DNA testing will revolutionize genealogy research. Another example appeared this week. Fred Haury wrote the following: fredhaury@juno.com, and Justin Howery, justin@howery.net, submitted DNA Y test samples (to Family Tree DNA, 1919 North Loop West, Suite 685, Houston TX 77008) for analysis and comparison. On 15 November, Bennett Greenspan, bcg@usernet.com, (President of FamilyTreeDna.com) notified them by e-mail: that they matched perfectly for all 12 sites on the Y chromosome, as compared by the lab. This represents a 99.9% probability that they share a common paternal ancestor, without any "non-paternal events" (scientific euphemism for adoptions or marital infidelities) in their paternal ancestry. In 1711 religious/political refugee ancestors of Mennonite Jakob Haury's (1718 Hamm Bavaria-1789 Froshauerhof Bavaria) Hauri branch migrated to Bavaria from Switzerland, with subsequent migrations to USA in 1800s. Justin's branch departed Switzerland around 1700 and continued to Pennsylvania. A joint theory assumes a "Most Recent Common Ancestor" (MRCA) existed in Switzerland prior to the 1700 families exodus. The DNA Y-test match supports the theory, without proof thereof. The MRCA lived within the past 800 years, the probable time frame when a common ancestor selected the Hauri surname. This time frame also agrees with the Staatsarchiv des Kantons Aargau proposal that: "There is only one Hauri family, that originated in Beromuenster about 1400 (perhaps coming from Interlaken), and spread throughout Switzerland and southern Germany". The theory does not imply that all HAURIs descended from a single family, but includes those identified by DNA Y tests and/or genealogy records. Other Hauri men are encouraged and invited to submit DNA Y-samples for testing and comparison. Test results are solicited from French, German, Scott, and other national sound alike surnames such as: Hauri; Howrie; Howry; etc. which may document if surnames are Y-linked or resulted from separate individual surname selections. Tests may reveal differences of genealogical significance, and help identify and combine various Hauri family branches. Test results for living members of other Beromuenster families could be significant. Some Beromuenster families may have common paternal ancestry with Y-linked HAURIs, but have other surnames. DNA tests may expand the ancestor tree, plus add information on arbitrary surname selection by ancestors. How else can DNA tests be useful to genealogists? HAURI sound alike surnamed individuals, plus others with an interest in, or having related information, may subscribe to the HOWERY@RootsWeb mailing list. They also may contact Justin Howery at justin@howery.net or Fred Haury at fredhauy@juno.com. Fred's MRCA could be Jakob Haury's (1718-1789) grandfather, making Fred an 8th generation descendant. Bavaria Mennonite Jakob Haury's family descendants are on GEDCOM files at http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/ with related data on: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~fredhaury/ and http://freepages.family.rootsweb.com/~fredhaury/- American Society of Genealogists Announces New Fellows The American Society of Genealogists issued the following press release on 21 November 2000:
- Windows Version of TempleReady LDS members will be interested in the Family History Department's new TempleReady software. The software is in beta test and has not yet been announced. I haven’t seen the new version, but beta testers report that it will automatically cross-match a Personal Ancestral File database against the International Genealogical Index or Ordinance Index and fill in missing information. It does this using the new (beta) version of the 31 CD-ROM IGI Addendum. The release date for the software is unknown. - Genealogy.com Announces Seven New Titles Genealogy.com has announced the addition of seven new titles to its Internet Family Archives collection, expanding available names and information by over 10 million people. With this release, called Phase Five, the Internet Family Archives collection now features more than 34.5 million names, in 42 different titles. "These seven new titles greatly expand both the breadth and the depth of the Internet Family Archives," said Genealogy.com CEO, Rob Armstrong. "Combined with our newly designed, easier to use Web site, Internet Family Archives promises swift success to people who are new to the exciting area of genealogy research. And, our experienced customers can now search longer time periods and broader geographical areas than ever before, as well as access expanded census and immigration data." All the data can be viewed in a standard Web browser on any operating system. The Web site does not require the use of any specific genealogy program. The seven new titles found on Internet Family Archives include:
These new titles join 35 previously released titles on Internet Family Archives, including family genealogies (including Mayflower Genealogies), international/U.S. census records, and extensive U.S. and Canadian immigration records. Pricing for individual Internet Family Archives title range from $29.99 to $59.99. Internet Family Archives can be viewed using any Internet-ready computer that has Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 and higher or Netscape Navigator 4.0 and higher. CDs of individual online titles may be purchased for an additional $5.00 each. For more information, look at: http://www.genealogy.com/ifa/co_current.html- Scotland On Line Scotland On Line is a Web site that seems to be directed at Scots, both at home and overseas. However, its "Heritage" section will appeal to anyone with Scottish ancestry. The heritage section offers a genealogy service, allowing users to determine their Scottish ancestry or find out their family tartan. In addition, you can plot Scotland's history or find out about `Great Scots' through the ages. I have just a bit of Scottish ancestry, so I immediately checked the tartans page. I found several tartans for my ancestors. Then I moved around the site to see what other genealogy info they might have. The site primarily advertises Scottish Roots, a professional Scottish Genealogy service that will undertake ancestral research into your Scottish family history for a fee. However, the site also has a list of Scottish heritage associations that can be useful. A timeline of Scottish history also looks good. If you are planning a trip to Scotland, Scotland On Line offers a guide to current activities and events across the country. Date and location searches provide a full listing, including detailed map, directions and a local amenity directory with information on the areas pubs, restaurants, hotels and B & Bs. If I were planning to visit Scotland soon, I would be checking this site! Another very popular section of the site is the underwater and surface Loch Ness Webcams, the ideal place to spot the famous Loch Ness Monster. Nessie did not make an appearance when I was watching, however. Scotland On Line claims to be Scotland's number one site with over 350,000 customers already accessing the site every month. You can find it at: http://www.scotlandonline.com.Now, if they could just learn the proper spelling of "genealogy" on their heritage page at http://www.scotlandonline.com/heritage ……- Upcoming Events The Upcoming Events section of this newsletter is published once per month, usually in the first newsletter of each 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: http://www.azgab.org/ The Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy 2001 will be held 8-12 January 2001 at the Wyndham Hotel, Salt Lake City, UT. The following courses will be held: 1) American Records and Research: Focusing on Localities; 2) Tracing Immigrant Origins; 3) Scottish Research; 4) Scandinavian Research; 5) Preparing a Family History in the New Millennium; 6) US Military records; 7) and 8) Research Methodology: Problem Solving I and Advanced Methodology: Problem Solving II; 9) Making the Most of Your Computer As a Serious Genealogist; 10) The Internet: A Tool for Genealogical Research. For more information, see: http://www.infouga.org/institut.htmThe Lee County (Florida) Genealogical Society will sponsor a seminar in Ft. Myers on January 13, 2001. The guest speaker will be Linda Woodward Geiger, C.G.R.S. Sessions topics include Designing An Efficient Research Plan, Documentation: Never Having to Ask "Where Did That Come From?", Using Deeds to Solve Genealogical Problems, and Using Federal Naturalization Records. Details are available from: pabetty@peganet.com The 3rd Annual Mesa (Arizona) Genealogy & Family History Fair will be held on January 27, 2001 in Mesa. More details will be forthcoming from: TonyO@i-link.net.The Northern Arizona Genealogical Society annual Family History Center Workshop will be held in Prescott, Arizona on January 27, 2001. For additional information, check the society’s website: http://www.surnames.com/nags/.The annual Genealogy Seminar hosted by the Pinellas Genealogy Society, Pinellas County, Florida will be held on Saturday, 27 January 2001 in Largo. Twenty classes are offered. Registration fee includes lunch, a "goody bag" and a chance to win a door prize from a group of prizes valued at several hundred dollars. Seating is limited, so register early. For full information, look at: http://www.geocities.com/pinellasgensoc/y2ksen.htmlThe Genealogical Workshop of Mesa has scheduled a seminar by Arlene Eakle in Mesa on February 3, 2001. More information on topics, etc. is on their website: http://members.home.net/gwom/.The West Valley Genealogical Society seminar will be held February 17, 2001 in Sun City, Arizona. Birdie Monk Holsclaw will be the guest speaker. For information, contact jmcraewh@earthlink.netThe Texas Research Ramblers announces its 7th Annual Genealogical Seminar featuring Lloyd D. Bockstruck, M.S., F.N.G.S., supervisor of the Genealogy Section of the Dallas Public Library. The seminar will be on Saturday February 17, 2001 in Bryan, Texas. Topics include: Identifying Maiden Names, Finding Substitutes for Birth and Death Records, Researching Pennsylvania, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas. You can download an application form from: http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~elacey/ramblers.pdfThe Whittier (California) Area Genealogical Society will host their annual seminar on 24 Feb 2001. This year's speaker will be Richard Wilson, author of computer books for genealogist and articles for national genealogy magazines. He will present a summary of some of the popular genealogy programs, how to use the Internet for effective genealogical research, and on to some of the more advanced techniques, such as using a scanner to add photographs to your printed genealogy. Details are available at: http://www.compuology.com/wagsThe Lake Havasu (Arizona) Genealogical Society, Inc will hold its 8th Annual Seminar on February 24, 2001. The guest speaker will be Arlene Eakle. For details, send an e-mail to: wb7alo@ctaz.com *Carl Sandburg College in Galesburg, IL is again hosting a series of hands-on genealogy computing workshops in March of 2001. All workshops cost $35 per day and are presented by Michael John Neill. Topics include: "Your Own Genealogy On the Web," "Intermediate Personal Ancestral File," "Windows for Genealogists," "Platting and Mapping Properties with DeedMapper," "Computer Genealogy Topics," "Fifty Web Sites for Genealogists," "Online Search Strategies" and "Family Tree Maker Topics." More information is available at: http://www.rootdig.com/sandburg.htmlThe Williamson County Genealogical Society (Texas) announces their annual seminar will be held on Saturday, March 10, 2001 in Round Rock, Texas. The featured speaker will be Cyndi Howells, proprietor of "Cyndi's List of Genealogy Sites on the Internet" Seminar Announcement and registration information is available at: http://geocities.com/scwcgs/The Sonoma County Genealogical Society in Santa Rosa, CA, will feature Helen F.M. Leary at their meeting on 24 March 2001. Details are available at: http://www.rootsweb.com/~cascgs/leary.htmThe Massachusetts Genealogical Council Annual Meeting and Seminar will be held on Saturday, 31 March 2001 in Lexington, MA. The featured speakers will be: Roger D. Joslyn, CG, FUGA, FASG; Helaine Davis, MLIS; George B. Handran, JD, CG; and Sandra MacLean Clunies, CG. For information, contact: MBManzella@rcn.com *The Slippery Rock (Pennsylvania) Heritage Association Annual Workshop will be held on March 31, 2001. The speaker will be Leslie Smith Collier. Details are available at: http://www.geniespeak.com/event.html*The Iowa Genealogical Society will hold its Spring Conference "Precious Land, A Migration to the Prairie" on April 27 and 28, 2001 in Sioux City, Iowa. Featured speakers will be Nancy J. Emmert, CG and Representatives of the American Historical Society of the Germans to Russia. For further information, look at: http://www.iowagenealogy.orgThe Indiana Genealogical Society annual meeting and conference will feature Dr. John Philip Colletta. The conference is April 28, 2001 in Kokomo, Indiana. Information is available at the IGS Web site: http://www.IndGenSoc.org.The Coffey Cousins' Convention will be held May 4-6, 2001 in Vicksburg, Mississippi. More information can be found at the CC website: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~coffeycousins/coffeycousins.htmlThe 15th Annual Meeting of the Wingfield Family Society will be held May 24 - 27, 2001 in Denver, Colorado. Details are available from: vajones@aol.com . On Saturday, June 23, 2001, the French-Canadian Heritage Society of Michigan is celebrating the 300th anniversary of the Detroit River Region by presenting an all-day seminar, "Three Centuries, Two Nations, One French-Canadian Heritage - 21st Century Explorations In Genealogy." The seminar is being held in Belle River, Ontario. The seminar will feature speakers Denis Beauregard, John DuLong, Peter Halford and Sylvie Tremblay. Music of the Detroit River Region will be provided by Marcel Beneteau. For details visit the society’s web site at http://habitant.org/fchsmThe International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies' 21st International Conference on Jewish Genealogy will be hosted by the Jewish Genealogical Society of Great Britain, on July 8-13, 2001 in London, England. Information is available at: http://www.jewishgen.org/london2001*(update) The Gregg Family Reunion will bring together descendants of Hugh and Sarah (Leslie) Gregg, who lived in both Londonderry and New Boston, New Hampshire during the 1700s. The Reunion will be held Saturday, July 21st, 2001, in New Boston, NH. For information, please contact: robgregg@ma.ultranet.com*(update) A reunion for anyone who has an interest in, or ancestors from, the Dutch island of Goeree-Overflakkee (province of Zuid-Holland), will be held Sept. 4, to Sept.9, 2001. This reunion will take place in or near the village of Ouddorp. A farewell-dinner is planned in the house where Adriaan Florisz Boeyens (1459-1523), a priest of Goedereede, once lived. In 1522 he became Pope Adrianus VI, the only Dutchman to reach that office. Details regarding this reunion are available at: http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Lake/1588/If you would like to see your event listed in future newsletters, 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. Are you interested in the articles in this newsletter? Would you like to learn more or ask questions or make comments about these articles? Join this newsletter’s online discussion group on CompuServe’s Genealogy Techniques Forum. The CompuServe forums are free and are available to anyone using Netscape, Internet Explorer or CompuServe’s own software Go to: http://www.rootsforum.com.If you would like to submit news, information or press releases for possible inclusion in future newsletters, send them to richard@eastman.net. 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: The contents of this newsletter are copyright by Richard W. Eastman with the following exception:
You are hereby granted rights, unless otherwise specified, to re-distribute articles from this newsletter to other parties provided:
Also, please include the following statement with any articles you re-distribute:
Thank you for your cooperation. Subscription information: There are two different methods to subscribe to this free newsletter: http://www.rootsforum.com/newsletter.htm Method #2: Send an e-mail to rootscomputing-subscribe@listbot.comPlease 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. About the author: Dick Eastman is the forum manager of the three Genealogy Forums on CompuServe. He also is the author of "YOUR ROOTS: Total Genealogy Planning On Your Computer" published by Ziff-Davis Press. He can be reached at: richard@eastman.net
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