"Tracing Our Roots" Newsletter Archive (A monthly genealogy newsletter written by the late Brenda Kellow, dec'd, for the Plano Star Courier newspaper. We've included all the ones we could recover.)
The Internet is important to genealogists, but many are not skilled in the use and depth of the better sites. If you are one of those, then there is help in the newly published guide by Nancy Hendrickson titled “Finding Your Roots Online.” This book is important because it gives instruction on how to navigate through various favorite sites. Unlike some others, it does not give sites of interest and search engines without any hint on how to use it to your best advantage. Hendrickson’s search strategies are excellent whether for the genealogist new to the Web or for the person new to genealogy. To quote a passage from her book, “If you’re new to Internet genealogy, you’re in for the ride of your life.”
Chapter one is a thorough introduction to the basics while the second chapter deals with the Internet. Here she discusses bookmarks, signatures, e-mail etiquette, viruses and firewalls. A full discussion follows on variations relating to sites and directions for using draft registration sites, military information, census, maps and books, etc. The second chapter alone contains a wealth of information.
If computer filing and organization is foreign to you, then you will benefit from chapter three. It also covers navigating through FamilySearch, WorldConnect, splitting GEDCOMs, creating research groups, building Web sites, sharing your findings, creating electronic newsletters, and ends with an introduction to using the Palm (PDR) to give your research the pièce de resistance. There is also an index, glossary, and several blank forms for your use.
“Finding Your Roots Online,” is available at your local bookstore for $19.99.
SCAM SUCKERS GENEALOGISTS AGAIN
Once again the scam is working to catch the uninformed. It goes by many names, but in the past two years it appeared as GenSeekers, FamilyDiscovery, Genealogy-Developments, GenLocator and Genealogy-Express. It seems to originate from a Cedar Rapids, Iowa address. In the new one working at this time, GenSeekers asks for a blank check number saying they will debit your account, but they do not tell you the cost! At the completion of the transaction, the unsuspecting subscriber receives an E-mail saying the E-mail account is unavailable. Then the victim finds that GenSeekers did indeed receive the personal information and cashed the check, leaving the naive genealogist $55 poorer. Never give your banking information to anyone sending a spam E-mail. Instead, use your credit card because it does protect you. For more information on spam mail, visit the Federal Trade Commission site at www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/spam/.
DAR BIBLE AND CEMETERY TRANSCRIPTIONS
The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) have posted online an index to unpublished genealogical materials collected since 1910, and called the Genealogical Records Committee Reports. Eric G. Grundset,
library director, says the DAR library is the only collection with all the compilations and the volume numbering. It is now searchable on the DAR Web site at www.dar.org. To access it, Grundset says after accessing Home, click on the top bar where it says “DAR Library” and then click on “GRC National Index” located in the left column just below the link to the library catalog. He says the page will open for the index search screen. Eventually, the index will link to the actual text, but that will be in the near future.
INDEX COMPLETE FOR 1920-1930 CENSUS
The complete every name index for 1920 and 1930 is now online at Ancestry.com. Eventually, subscribers will be able to access an every name index for the decades 1790-1930. To try the free access, go to www.ancestry.com/subscribe/subscribetrial2y.asp?sourcecode=2216. The subscription costs $39.95 and includes Annual Historical Newspapers; U.S. Records Collection; and the U.S. Census Images and Indexes. The 1900 census index is not on Ancestry.com, but it is on Genealogy.com at www.genealogy.com/cgi-bin/my_main.cgi?Welcome=1054518037.
Brenda Kellow, dec'd, Certified Genealogist and Certified Genealogical Instructor, had a Bachelor’s Degree in history and taught genealogy courses at the local Community College and computer genealogy at the University.
