EOGN: Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter

A Weekly Summary of Events and
Topics of Interest to Online Genealogists

Vol. 6 No. 46 – November 12, 2001

This newsletter was sponsored by Ancestry.com,
a leader in providing print and electronic
research information to genealogists.

To learn about Ancestry.com’s
state-of-the-art online genealogy databases
and other fine products,
visit the company’s three Internet properties,
MyFamily.com, Ancestry.com, and RootsWeb.com

Copyright© 2001 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:

- Win4Lin

I have been using Linux off and on for several years. I recently built a new computer and loaded the Mandrake version 8.1 distribution of Linux on it. I was quite impressed with this new version of Mandrake Linux; it is user-friendly and easier to operate than the earlier implementations of Linux that I have used. However, I wanted to test Linux to see if I could really run Windows genealogy programs on this heavy-duty operating system. After all, Windows programs will not run on Linux with some sort of "middleware," a program that sits between the Linux operating system and the Windows application. I purchased Win4Lin, the Windows emulator for Linux that I mentioned in last week’s newsletter.

Win4Lin (Windows for Linux) by NeTraverse is a fully developed, robust, and reliable 32-bit emulation of Windows 95/98 that operates under Linux. It creates an environment into which you can load your copy of Windows 98 or Windows ME. Once that is installed, Win4Lin allows you to run most Windows applications on a Linux system as well as shares files and printers. You can run both Windows 98 and Linux applications simultaneously. All files on your hard drive are available both to Linux and to Windows simultaneously. I want to use Win4Lin so that I may use Windows genealogy programs as well as other Windows applications on my Linux system.

The installation of Win4Lin had a few minor glitches. The instructions were rather generic for all versions of Linux but the commands didn’t work correctly for the KDE desktop environment on Mandrake 8.1. Luckily, the errors were minor and any experienced Linux person could quickly figure them out. I was able to completely install Win4Lin within a few minutes after the first attempt.

Win4Lin’s installation is split into three phases. In Phase 1, Win4Lin sets up an environment into which you can install Windows 98. However, it doesn’t include the Windows 98 files. You must supply a regular Windows 98 CD-ROM disk as created by Microsoft. In the second phase of installation Win4Lin asks you to insert the Windows CD-ROM disk and then installs Windows in almost the same manner as on a regular PC. I have installed Windows 98 many times on a wide variety of computers. However, I must admit that it was a bit weird this time to watch the installation screens displayed inside an X-Window in the KDE desktop environment on Linux! Nonetheless, the installation went smoothly.

The third phase of Win4Lin’s installation configures Windows for the individual user. Again, it seemed to be a normal Microsoft Windows setup. About a half hour after I began, I was using Microsoft Windows on a Linux box.

Using Win4Lin, Microsoft Windows can run inside a Linux window or it can run as a full screen application. After experimenting a bit, I found that I preferred to keep Linux set to display its desktop at 1024-by-768 pixels and then to configure Microsoft Windows to display in an 800-by-600 "window" inside of the Linux desktop.

I experimented for a while with several of the normal Windows programs that are included with the operating system. I used Notepad, Wordpad and even played a game of Solitaire. All worked normally. Then I opened Internet Explorer and found that it also worked as expected; I was able to connect to the Internet and display Web pages. I was able to read and write Windows floppy disks as well as read Windows CD-ROM disks. Even the SoundBlaster board worked as expected, Windows sounds were heard through the Linux system’s speakers.

In my first couple of hours of use, I could not find anything in Windows that would not work under Linux using Win4Lin. I then went on to load genealogy programs, an experience that I will describe in a separate article.

I now have the best of both worlds: a stable operating system that never crashes and allows me to run almost all programs written for use on Linux systems as well as run almost any program written for Microsoft Windows. I can even run Linux programs and Windows programs simultaneously.

Win4Lin is a commercial product that costs $79.99 when downloaded online. If you prefer, you can buy a CD-ROM copy with a printed user’s manual for $89.99. Win4Lin requires:

• An Intel Pentium-class or compatible processor recommended (limited x86 support)
• At least 64 megabytes of RAM memory
• CD-ROM drive
• Floppy drive (if your Windows installation CD is not bootable)
• 20 megabytes of disk space for Win4Lin, 40 megabytes to 135 megabytes additional disk space for system-wide Windows installation; 40 megabytes to 200 megabytes for each additional user. Additional disk space is required for applications.

• Linux® kernel 2.2.X or 2.4.X installed and running
• Microsoft Windows® 95/98 (one license per user)
• Microsoft Windows 95/98 full installation CD and boot floppy disk if the CD drive is not bootable
• X-Window System (16-bit color recommended)
• Ability to run as root and install a kernel

Win4Lin has been tested with the following Linux distributions:

• Red Hat(r) Linux® - 6.0, 6.1, 6.2, 7.0, 7.1
• Caldera(tm) OpenLinux® - 2.3
• Caldera eDesktop - 2.4
• SuSE(tm) Linux® - 6.2, 6.3, 6.4, 7.0, 7.1, 7.2
• Linux-Mandrake(tm) - 7.0, 7.1, 7.2, 8.0 (although I also installed it on Mandrake release 8.1 with very minor difficulties)

In addition, Win4Lin should work with most generic Linux kernels using any of the following releases: 2.2.16, 2.2.17, 2.2.18, 2.2.19 and 2.4.3. In short, most of the popular Linux installations should work well if they have enough memory and a moderately fast Pentium-compatible processor.

- Using The Master Genealogist On Linux

Having installed Win4Lin on my Linux system, I decided to experiment to see if it is compatible with today’s Windows genealogy software. I decided to use The Master Genealogist as the first test as this powerhouse program is rather demanding of both hardware and operating system. Wholly Genes Software, producers of The Master Genealogist, states that the program will operate on an IBM-compatible PC running Windows 3.x, 95, 98 and NT. My suspicion is that if The Master Genealogist will function properly under Win4Lin and Linux, then probably most of the other Windows genealogy programs will do the same.

My test machine was a "Book PC," a complete PC built in an 8 ½ inch-by-11 inch-by- 2 inch box. It has a 533-MHz Celeron processor (Pentium compatible) and 128 megabytes of memory. It has the Mandrake 8.1 distribution of Linux installed as the operating system, along with Win4Lin as described in my earlier article.

I launched Win4Lin and then it loaded Windows 98 inside an X-Window on Linux. I inserted the CD-ROM containing The Master Genealogist installation package. I happened to be using TMG Gold Edition although I suspect the Silver Edition’s installation and operation would be the same. I double-clicked on "My Computer" and then on the CD-ROM drive and then on SETUP.EXE. In other words, I followed the instructions in the TMG installation guide.

The installation proceeded normally. The only thing unusual was the on-screen appearance: I was watching a program written for Microsoft Windows as it installed inside an X-Window with the Linux KDE desktop in the background.

At the end of the installation, TMG gave the same statement that many other Windows programs give: "Before you can use the program, you must restart Windows or your computer." This is hilarious to a Linux user, as Linux programs almost never require a restart of the operating system. Well, in this case Windows is a "slave" of Linux so I did restart Windows. That is, I shut down Windows and Win4Lin but not the entire Linux operating system. The Linux e-mail program and the Linux word processor I used to write this article continued running while Windows was shut down and restarted.

I will skip over all the details of the different things I tried with TMG. In summary, I will simply say that everything worked well. I was able to open a TMG database, import GEDCOM files, enter data and generate reports. I never saw anything unusual; everything worked the same under Linux and Win4Lin as it does on my Windows 2000 and Windows XP systems.

I did not directly print any of the reports, however. I do not have a printer installed on my Linux system yet and I have not yet been able to connect across the network to a printer on a Windows system. This lack of printing capability was my problem with Linux, not a problem with The Master Genealogist. However, I feel that I should point out that I didn’t test printing.

I did, however, create reports in TMG and save them as disk files in Microsoft Word format. I then opened the files with the StarOffice word processor on the Linux system. I also copied the files to a Windows system and opened them in Microsoft Word. Of course, I could print the reports from my Windows system even if I could not from Linux. Again, this is all unique to my Linux system. I do plan to get printing working on Linux one of these days. I do have to first stop playing with genealogy software, however.

Operation of any large Windows program under an emulator, such as Win4Lin, should be slower than it is on an equivalent system running the same program in native Windows. I am sure that TMG probably was running a bit slower than it would on my Windows systems. However, the difference was minor. I didn’t make any precise timing but my "gut feel" is that the combination of TMG, Win4Lin and Linux on a 533-MHz processor was probably about as fast as TMG on a 400-MHz Windows system running Windows 98. It all looked fine to me.

In summation, the purpose of this little experiment was to see if a Linux user could use state-of-the art Windows genealogy software. If that is possible, the result should be the best of both worlds: a stable operating system that never crashes coupled with a wide selection of free software plus the capability to use popular, commercial Windows software when the free programs aren’t up to the task. The test was successful; everything operated exactly as I hoped it would. I do believe that I now have the best of both worlds. You can do the same, if you wish.

Disclaimer: Please realize that the results described in this article are those of one person who is "pushing the envelope" beyond Wholly Genes’ specifications. Wholly Genes Software specifically states that The Master Genealogist is designed for operation on Windows 3.x, 95, 98 and NT. The company makes no claims for operation on a Windows emulator under Linux or other operating systems. If you attempt to use The Master Genealogist under Win4Lin and Linux and then encounter difficulties, please do not contact Wholly Genes Software for support. Anytime you use a piece of software outside of its intended environment, you are on your own!

- Locating Union & Confederate Records

Nancy Justus Morebeck has just written a new book, entitled "Locating Union & Confederate Records – A Guide to the Most Commonly Used Civil War Records of the National Archives and Family History Library," Published by Heritage Quest. I had a chance to read this new 152-page book this week.

The "Locating Union & Confederate Records" Table of Contents includes:

1. Enlistment Records – Regular Army, Union and Confederate Volunteers
2. Union Draft Records
3. Confederate Draft Records
4. Union Compiled Military Service Records
5. Confederate Compiled Military Service Records
6. National Archives Reproduction Schedules
7. Officers of the Union and the Confederacy
8. Compiled records Showing Service of Military Units in Volunteer Union Organizations
9. Compiled records Showing Service of Military Units in Volunteer Confederate Organizations
10. Regimental Histories
11. Union Prisoners of War
12. Confederate Prisoners of War
13. Union Pension Records
14. Confederate Pension records
15. Confederate Amnesty Records
16. Soldiers’ Homes
17. Veteran Organizations
18. Union Deaths and Burials
19. Confederate Deaths and Burials
20. Finding Aids
1. The National Archives and Regional Branches
2. Libraries & Archives for Genealogical and Civil War Research
3. Federal Census of Union Veterans 1890
4. Federal Census of 1910
5. State Censuses Listing Civil War Information
6. Civil War Web Sites
21. Further Reading

Morebeck gives rather brief descriptions of most of the topics covered in this book. She typically describes a record type and then tells why it is valuable. She usually gives references for the reader who wishes to find more detailed information.

Morebeck’s writing style is light and easy to read. The also book contains many pictures, drawings and maps. I found this new book to be an excellent introduction to the topics covered. I suspect this book will end up on many Christmas Wish Lists this year.

- More on Librarians' Day at GENTECH2002

Last week I carried an announcement about Librarians’ Day to be held at GENTECH2002 in Boston. There was one serious omission in that announcement: it never mentioned the date. GENTECH2002 Librarians' Day will be held 24 January 2002.

- GENTECH2002 Presentation: "How To Create Your Own Genealogy CD-ROM Disks"

If I may be permitted a bit of unabashed self-promotion, I would like to announce an addition to the published program for GENTECH2002. Session S49 at 5:00 PM on Saturday will be entitled, "How To Create Your Own Genealogy CD-ROM Disks" and I will be the speaker.

"How To Create Your Own Genealogy CD-ROM Disks" will be an overview of the hardware and software required to place your genealogy data onto CD-ROM disks, suitable for distribution to others. I will also discuss the pros and cons of the various electronic publishing formats, such as text files, word processing documents, HTML, Adobe Acrobat PDF files, etc. I will also mention cross-platform compatibility issues; you probably do want to have your data available to Windows, Macintosh and Linux users. I will also discuss ways to produce large quantities of disks and will tell how to create labels for your CD-ROM creations. Some of the information I will present has been described in past newsletters. However, I also plan to add quite a bit of new material that I have not published before.

I will have handouts during the presentation. These handouts will be on CD-ROM disks, not on paper. These CD-ROM "handouts" will contain all my presentation materials plus examples of each of the publishing formats discussed. I will also include a list of references to obtain more information about the topics presented.

See you in Boston! Again, the GENTECH2002 conference starts with Librarians’ Day on January 24, followed by two days of the regular conference on the 25^th and 26^th. I get to bat in the "clean-up" position with my presentation at the end of the conference at 5:00 PM on Saturday afternoon, the last day of the conference.

- All 1790 to 1920 U.S. Census Images Now Available Online

In the August 19, 2000 edition of this newsletter, I wrote:

The dream of many genealogists is about to come true: we will soon be able to view original hand-written census records on our PC screens while seated comfortably at home. In this case, it will be all of the U.S. census records that have been released by the government, including the years 1790 through 1920. Once completed, this online database will contain more than 450 million names.

I then went on to quote a press release from Ancestry.com (sponsors of this newsletter) that stated many things, including, "The first images will be posted this fall, and subsequent postings will bring hundreds of millions of images to the site throughout the year."

I will admit that I had doubts whether or not Ancestry.com could pull of this monumental feat in a year’s time. In fact, Ancestry.com did start that fall and did complete the project within the one year they predicted. The company has now completed digitizing all available U.S. census records and has placed all 10 million images online. Genealogists can now view these census records from the comfort of their own home. The collection includes more than 425 million names on the 10 million images.

The fact that the project was completed on time is remarkable. Most large online projects take much longer than the optimistic initial projections. I think that Andre Brummer, Jake Gehring and the many other folks at Ancestry.com who brought this project online are to be congratulated for their excellent work. The digitization of these 10 million images has been a monumental effort.

While all the images are available, not all of them have been indexed. The following list shows the current status of indexing:

• 1790 U.S. Census – All images available, fully indexed
• 1800 U.S. Census – All images available, fully indexed
• 1810 U.S. Census – All images available, fully indexed
• 1820 U.S. Census – All images available, fully indexed
• 1830 U.S. Census – All images available, fully indexed
• 1840 U.S. Census – All images available, partially indexed
• 1850 U.S. Census – All images available, not indexed yet, can browse to the county and township
• 1860 U.S. Census – All images available, not indexed yet, can browse to the county and township
• 1870 U.S. Census – All images available, not indexed yet, can browse to the county and township
• 1880 U.S. Census – All images available, not indexed yet, can browse through the images
• 1890 U.S. Census – Most of the 1890 census was lost in a fire, all images of the remaining fragments are available online
• 1900 U.S. Census – All images available, not indexed yet, can browse through the images
• 1910 U.S. Census – All images available, not indexed yet, can browse through the images
• 1920 U.S. Census – All images available, not indexed yet, can browse through the images

The U.S. Census images may be viewed in any normal Web browser, including those of Windows, Macintosh and Linux. Note that WebTV and most Internet Appliances are not supported, however. Windows and PowerMac users will want to obtain the free MrSID plug-in that adds the capability to zoom in or out, panning (moving) and magnification features. MrSID will also save files in JPEG or BMP formats as well as provide high-quality printing on local printers. MrSID also allows the user to view images much more quickly than the standard HTML format allows.

The U.S. Census images on Ancestry.com are available to current Ancestry.com annual subscribers for an additional $29.95 a year. Quarterly subscribers can purchase a Quarterly Census Images Subscription for $24.95. Those who are not current Ancestry.com subscribers can obtain access to only the Census images for $24.95 for three months, $69.95 a year. However, there is a "subscription bundle" available that offers twelve months’ access to both the databases on Ancestry.com plus the U.S. Census Images for $99.95 a year.

- Huntingdon, Beauharnois & Châteauguay Protestant Parish Registers Online

An excellent new online database will be a boon to anyone seeking genealogy information about Protestant, mostly English-speaking ancestors in the Eastern Townships of Québec Province. Thanks to the efforts of Norman & Shirley (Henderson) Valentine, Bill Henderson, Bill Brady and Warren Sadler, the Huntingdon, Beauharnois and Châteauguay Protestant Parish Registers are now online and fully searchable.

Anyone not familiar with Québec’s history would never realize that these present-day French-speaking communities were mostly founded by English-speaking American Revolutionary War refugees, seeking refuge from their neighbors to the south. Quoting from this new Web site which, in turn, quotes Robert Sellar, in "The History of the County of Huntingdon and of the Seigniories of Châteauguay & Beauharnois" 1888:

"....a community distinct from every other in the province of Quebec. With the Eastern Townships, with which they are often erroneously classed, the English-speaking settlements of the district of Beauharnois have no affinity. The first settlers of the Eastern Townships were Americans, and between the customs, speech, and habits of their descendants and those of the people who live to the south of them there is no material difference, but they who dwell by the Chateaugay and its tributaries are of Old Country stock, and in character, ways of life, and speech present nearly as striking a contrast to the Americans, who are divided from them by an imaginary boundary-line, as they do to the French Canadians who are found scattered among them and who hem them in to the north and east."

Over the following two centuries, many of these families moved on to other areas or else were assimilated into the newer wave of French-speaking Catholics who settled in the area. However, the records remain and thousands of present-day Canadians and Americans can trace their roots back to the English-speaking families of the Eastern Townships. Now the tracing of these roots is easier, thanks to the Huntingdon, Beauharnois & Châteauguay Protestant Parish Registers Online.

The Web site is super easy to use and also is free and open to everyone. I went there and searched for a few names, finding them quickly and easily. The records were all transcribed from old parish registers so the information varies a bit. Here is one example showing the information that typically may be found:

ID: 19682
Source: 3.238
Date: 1860
Event: Baptism
Surname: McWilliams
Given: Alexander
Spouse:
Father: James
Occupation: farmer
Residence: Hinchinbrook
Mother: Johnston, Ann
BrideResidence:
Birth: 1860-09-13
Baptism: 1860-10-03
Marriage:
Death:
Burial:
Witnesses: McWilliams, James; Johnston, Ann; Cameron, Daniel; McMaster, Alexander,;
Notes:
Church: Scotch Church, Huntingdon and Athelstan in connection with the Church of Scotland
Minister: Alexander Wallace

That’s a great deal of high-quality information, much of it not available elsewhere online. The site presently has more than 30,000 records in the database and that number is growing as more records are being extracted. The creators of this Web site have obviously devoted years of work on this project and are making it available to everyone at no charge.

My thanks to Dan Mark for letting me know about this genealogy treasure.

- Everton Publishers Names New Chairman Of The Board

Everton Publishers has a new Chairman of the Board. For the first time, the Chairman is an outside investor, not an Everton family member. R. Craig Hansen has extensive senior management experience and should be a valuable addition to the company.

The following is the announcement from Everton Publishers:

- American Society of Genealogists Elects New Fellows

This week the American Society of Genealogists announced the election of Joseph C. Anderson, II CG and Patricia Law Hatcher new fellows of the society. Mr. Anderson and Ms. Hatcher were elected at the ASG annual meeting held October 13, 2000 in Salt Lake City, Utah.

The society also bestowed the Donald Lines Jacobus award to David Watson Kruger for the excellent contribution to genealogy in the publication of Jonathan Watson of Dover, New Hampshire.

- Pirated Genealogy Software

Most people have heard of the Napster music-sharing network. Napster was developed as a peer-to-peer network in which users all over the world would place music MP3 files on their computers and allow others to download them. The Napster network used central servers with a directory of "who has what available." The new user would query the Napster servers for song titles. Napster’s servers would locate someone who had the titles available and redirect the inquiring user to the second user who had the music available. The music was downloaded from the second user, not from Napster’s servers. All of this was done seamlessly; the users never knew each other and didn’t know where the desired music came from. The music available at any given moment would vary, depending upon who was logged on with music to share.

Napster quickly became a very popular service for illegally copying of copyrighted music. The music industry moguls launched legal action and Napster lost in court. The service still exists but has become radically different, as various controls have been put in place. Illegal exchanges of copyrighted music still exist on Napster although at a much lower rate than a few months ago.

After Napster’s demise, a number of new services have sprung up that are somewhat similar to Napster but they vary widely in details. Most of them have instituted server-less file searches. Without a central server and without any one organization in control, it is harder to find a responsible organization to sue. Nonetheless, legal authorities are watching industry trends closely.

One of the more popular peer-to-peer file sharing programs is called Morpheus. Morpheus is a peer-to-peer file-sharing application that allows users to search for all types of digital media across the MusicCity, Grokster and Kazaa networks. Not only can users swap music files, they can also swap videos, text and even programs. Again, the material available changes from minute to minute as providers log on and off. Files that were available five minutes ago may not be available now. Then again, they may reappear again shortly as someone else logs on with that file available.

As you might expect, illegal copying of copyrighted material is rampant on Morpheus. This program is not central server-based, like Napster. Therefore no one organization is in control, making it difficult to take legal action.

I loaded Morpheus on my system and did some searches. As expected, I found all sorts of music available. I found music available that spanned all music interests; Perry Como to Led Zeppelin to Britney Spears to the latest heavy metal. All of it appears to be copyrighted and all of it is easy to download to my PC. Then I started looking at programs and other non-music files. I was amazed at the illegal stuff available. I found complete copies of the latest versions of Windows XP, Microsoft Office, Adobe Photoshop, Norton Antivirus and much, much more. All of the programs are easy to download. (I am told that many of the downloadable programs are virus-infested, a claim that I did not check out.)

I decided to look to see if any genealogy software was available. I typed in a search for "genealogy" and was pleasantly surprised to find nothing available. However, I know that the word "genealogy" is often misspelled so I decided to try a search for "geneology." Sure enough, I found two people offering complete copies of Family Treemaker version 7.0 and one offering Generations FamilyTree version 8.0.

Obviously, offering such copyrighted software is illegal in almost all countries. I am no lawyer but I believe that any person who downloads any of these programs is also breaking the law. It sure sounds like receipt of stolen goods! The software available on the MusicCity, Grokster and Kazaa networks may not be the latest versions but they are still protected by copyright laws.

MusicCity has already been sued. I suspect you will also see legal action taken before long against the individuals who provide the illegal music and program files and possibly even against the recipients of these copyrighted materials.

Beware of the files on these networks. Not only do you need virus protection, you may also need to contact your lawyer before someone knocks on your door with a warrant in hand.

- Home Pages Highlighted

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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