Topics Dr. George Schweitzer will present are: Scots-Irish Genealogical Research, Finding Your Ancestors’ Parents and Obscure Genealogical Sources. Mark your calendars now!. Complete seminar information and registration form will appear in the May newsletter.

GENEALOGY SAFARI

“Write a note to the address and a Request Form will be sent,” reports member, Bill Tosh. He obtained his grandfather’s war information by contacting the Department of Veterans Affairs, Regional Office, 2022 Camino Del Rio, San Diego, CA, 92108.

INTERNET SITES FOR GENEALOGY RESEARCHERS

New York State Archives: http://www.archives.nysed.gov/aindex.shtml (Click on Services, then on Research Assistance.)
Los Angeles Times Obituary Database: http://www.scgsgenealogy.com/ (Southern California Genealogical Society.)

Kentucky Vital Records Index: http://ukcc.uky.edu/~vitalrec/

Online Searchable New York Naturalization Records & Indexes:
http://home.att.net/~wee-monster/newyork.html

Roster of Wisconsin Volunteers, War of the Rebellion, 1861-1865, An Online Digital Book from the Wisconsin Historical Library: http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/roster/

17th, 18th & 19th Century Cape Cod Gravestones: http://www.capecodgravestones.com/

Online Searchable Death Indexes & Records:http://www.deathindexes.com/

California Death Records:http://vitals.rootsweb.com/ca/death/search.cgi

Newspaper Abstracts: http://www.newspaperabstracts.com/

Passenger Lists On The Internet: http://members.aol.com/rprost/passenger.html

1895 U. S. Atlas: http://www.livgenmi.com/1895/ (Scroll down to get to the individual state data, then click on the stage button.)

Illinois Civil War Soldiers and Much More: http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/archives/databases.html

U. S. Census Maps, 1790-1920:http://www.mycensusmaps.com/

Preservation FAQs & Tips: http://www.foreverkeeps.com/newcart/faqs.htm

Light Impressions - Archival Photo Storage and Presentation:
http://www.lightimpressionsdirect.com/servlet/OnlineShopping

Illustrated Family Trees for purchase: http://www.grillyourgranny.com

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A new chapter of DAUGHTERS OF UNION VETERANS OF THE CIVIL WAR is being formed in Tustin. Meeting place: 555 Main Street. For information contact Judy Waver: [email protected], (714)262-6913 or (714)639-0724.

They that can give up essential liberty
to obtain a little temporary safety
deserve neither liberty nor safety.
~Benjamin Franklin, Historical Review of Pennsylvania, 1759

LIBRARY ACQUISITIONS

Donations:
Willis Wyant
Central Pennsylvania Marriages, 1700-1896
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Marriages, 1803-1867
Early Occupations of Bedford County, Pennsylvania People
Naturalization Papers of Fulton & Bedford Counties, Pennsylvania
The Genesis of Mifflin County, Pennsylvania
Probate and Orphans Court Records of Snyder County Pennsylvania, 1772-1855

SOCCGS Purchases:

USING ROOTSWEB: Utilizing WorldConnect Wisely

Betty WISE has been uploading GEDCOMs to WorldConnect for several years now (http://wc.rootsweb.com). She takes the information in her family tree quite seriously. Betty is always careful to use the original user code and password when uploading an updated or corrected GEDCOM so that she doesn't create a duplicate file and accidentally leave the old one behind. Using the same user code and password ensures that Betty's updated data will remove the outdated file she wants to replace.
Betty knows that she has to be careful with her tree because her GEDCOM contains a lot of information about living relatives including Betty's grandaunt Martha who will be 102 next month. Betty's data include lots
of personal notes that she doesn't want in the publicly displayed file but which she does want to include in the GEDCOM she uploads. Why? Because Betty knows that WorldConnect is the perfect off-site backup for her data and for that reason she wants her complete unedited GEDCOM stored for her on the RootsWeb server in case she should need to replace her data in the event of catastrophic loss.
While Betty has never been a victim of fire, theft, or natural disasters she knows there could always be a first time. She also knows that in the event of some unforeseen tragedy her data would be safe at World-Connect -- unlike backups that are maintained in her house or on her own computer.
There is another "secret" about WorldConnect that Betty puts to good use. She knows that WorldConnect's superior living filters will protect the living relatives' privacy based on the cut-off date she selects on the advanced Set-up page when choosing her options. She sets the date in item 24 to 1902 so that even grandaunt Martha is listed as living with all personal information suppressed from public view.
Knowing that she has taken precautions to protect the living on the tree as publicly displayed at WorldConnect, Betty takes her knowledge of the features of WorldConnect one step further. She knows that after uploading a new or updated tree, she has overnight or possibly longer to review all the data to make certain it is publicly displayed as she wants it and before the world can find her new file through a search at WorldConnect.
During this lag time she checks the information listed for all her living family members and any other special options she has established before the updated GEDCOM is included in WorldConnect searches after the overnight updating process. This feature gives Betty an added sense of security in knowing she can find and fix any errors before searchers are likely to find the data.
In checking her living family members in her newly uploaded tree Betty noticed that using the 1902 cut-off date to accommodate the removal of personal information for grandaunt Martha has resulted in one undesirable side effect. Other individuals in the database who were born after 1902 and who are deceased (but for whom Betty has no specific death information) are being erroneously listed as living. Betty hadn't anticipated this and she would prefer that these entries provide complete information and not imply that these deceased family members are still living. By including the notes for these entries (as Betty had done for all of her deceased family members) others viewing her file will realize that these people are deceased but the year of death is not known.
So Betty decides to reprocess her new GEDCOM by setting the cut-off later -- to 1920, which will allow information for those born 1920 or earlier, but for whom no entry is listed in the death field, to be included with full information in the publicly displayed tree. Betty will still be able to remove all information about her aged grandaunt by entering the identification number for Martha found on her entry in the tree on the advanced Set-up page.
Betty uses WorldConnect to best advantage, sharing her tree with others, and yet protecting the data concerning living relatives. You might say that Betty is wise in more than name only when it comes to making the most of all the features of WorldConnect.

(Previously published in RootsWeb Review: 22 March 2006, Vol. 9, No. 12.)

"WEASELHEAD, DEVIL and DRUNKARD: Surnames Originating as Insults" - by James Pylant -- will amuse and enlighten. It's about the history of our surnames and how oftentimes our ancestors were saddled with surnames originating as uncomplimentary nicknames.

http://www.genealogymagazine.com/suorasin.html

MISSOURI. Jackson County Marriage Index (from 1831); includes scanned copies of the marriage licenses.

http://records.co.jackson.mo.us/search.asp?cabinet=marriage

"The first day of spring is one thing, and the first spring day is another. The difference between them is sometimes as great as a month."
~ Henry Van Dyke


ORANGE COUNTY FAIR GENEALOGY BOOTH

Help spread the word about how much fun family history can be!
Sign-up sheets will be available at your society meetings beginning in April 2006.
Questions? Or to volunteer now, please contact Norma Keating:
[email protected] or 714-319-5994

DONATION TO MISSISSIPPI HISTORICAL SOCIETY

We collected $300 in the Penny Basket in January, February and March. A check in that amount has been mailed to the Historical Society in Pass Christian, Mississippi. SOCCGS total donation is $800, which will help the society recover from the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina.

Unlocking the Vault: Conversion to Digital Records is Progressing
Excerpt from News Release ~Brittany Karford, Church Magazines

Members may not have to wonder what lies behind the 14-ton vault door at the Church's Granite Mountain Vault Records (GMRV) facility for much longer. In as little as 10 years, much of its genealogical collection may be at their fingertips.
The billions of names preserved on microfilmed records at the vault are being converted to digital images that can eventually be viewed online at FamilySearch.org and ultimately searched in and linked to an online index. The process of digitizing the microfilm is now faster than ever through a “bleeding edge” technology system called FamilySearch™ Scanning.

When that day comes, the records will be available to everyone, both Latter-day Saints and the public. “In the future individuals anywhere in the world through the Internet will be able to search the majority of the GMRV’s film collection and the billions of names currently hidden in them—all from the convenience of their homes or family history center.”
Read the entire news release at: http://www.lds.org/library/display/0,4945,40-1-3384-9,00.html

During training exercises, the lieutenant who was driving
down a muddy back road encountered another jeep stuck
in the mud with a red-faced colonel at the wheel.
"Your jeep stuck, sir?" asked the lieutenant as he pulled alongside.
"Nope," replied the colonel, coming over and handing him the keys,
"Yours is."

Cora CRABTREE has been doing genealogical research just about forever. She doesn't let anyone forget her 41 years of experience in family history research either. Instead of the usual stories about walking five miles to school -- uphill both ways -- Cora likes to dazzle anyone who will listen with her tales of traveling hundreds of miles to dusty courthouse basements where she would plow through thousands of volumes of will books, deeds, and orphans court records in her quest to locate original documents pertaining to her ancestors.
Cora claims this is the only way to do genealogical research -- even today, with all the newfangled computers and the Internet. And, don't get Ms. CRABTREE started on the subject of the Internet! She says "Internet" in the same tone of voice reserved for things she perceives to be creations of the devil -- things like cell phones and iPods. Try to talk with Cora about doing genealogical research on the Internet and you almost can see smoke pouring from her ears as she expounds on the subject of how the Internet is the worst thing to ever happen to genealogy.
"Just look at how rapidly incorrect data spreads on it," Cora says. "And, horror of horrors, once bad info begins to leap from person to person on the Internet there is no way to stop it.
"Not only that," according to Cora, "but no one checks or lists their sources. They never give credit to those who supplied them with information either. This isn't genealogy," she snorts, "it is mythology!"
Cora is so set in her ways that no one is likely to ever convince her that she is losing out on the best thing to ever happen to genealogical research. She will never know what she is missing.
With the digitization of many original records, transcriptions, and indexing of data on both free and subscription Internet sites such as Ancestry.com, Familysearch.org, and RootsWeb.com, there's new records
and improved search functionality coming along all the time. Anyone with a computer and Internet access (and in some cases a subscription) can search and find many of the records that previously required the lengthy and often expensive trips to distant courthouses and libraries.
At the very least Internet resources, such as the individually compiled family trees found at WorldConnect (http://wc.rootsweb.com/), are a starting point. We always should verify our sources, regardless of where we found them, but the Internet often saves us the trouble of knowing where to look. Finding a family tree that cites or mentions an 1896 Sandusky, Ohio marriage record gives us a clue to where we might obtain a copy of the record -- and another locality in which to look.
RootsWeb mailing lists and message boards at http://lists.rootsweb.com and http://boards.rootsweb.com respectively, provide us with a forum where we can post a query or request a lookup of specific information we seek.
The Internet, while it creates a means by which all data (warts and all) is shared and spread rapidly, also provides us with the means to correct inaccuracies more easily than data published in a book or other fixed medium. Webpages can be edited quickly; family trees on WorldConnect can be updated in minutes; and through the give and take on a message board or mailing list, errors and omissions can be rectified.
Even where it is impossible to have incorrect data removed from the Internet one can place the accurate data along side it or online somewhere -- so that researchers can decide for themselves what to accept and reject. Plus, many online resources make use of user-added notes or Post-em Notes (at RootsWeb) where you can attach a note explaining additional or corrected information.
However, the greatest resource made possible by the Internet -- even with all of the databases, lists and boards, and family trees -- is not the data itself, but rather other people. The Internet enables us to find others interested in the same families and to share our research. Thanks to online connections we can discuss ways to resolve long- standing roadblocks by piecing together what each cousin knows or has found about his family history.
What price can we attach to finding the person who holds our mutual great-great-grandparents' family Bible or making contact with a distant cousin in Australia who has a picture of your great-grandmother? You and I know such connections are priceless and would never happen without the Internet, but don't try to convince the Cora CRABTREEs out there -- they are not listening. Pity. It is their loss.
(Previously published in RootsWeb Review: 15 March 2006, Vol. 9, No. 11.)

"If you don't know history, you don't know anything.
You're a leaf that doesn't know it's part of a tree."
~Michael Crichton

GENEALOGICAL EVENT CALENDAR

“Capturing Your Past”
Orange County Family History Fair
April 29, 8 am to 5 pm, 674 S. Yorba Street, Orange, CA
Information: (714) 997-7710
Flyers are available at the SOCCGS Genealogy Library and also at the Mission Viejo Family History Center.

Southern California Genealogical Society's 37th Annual Genealogy Jamboree
Friday and Saturday, May 5 and 6, 2006 Burbank Airport Hilton Convention Center

Go to http://www.scgsgenealogy.com for speaker list and topics, vendors, registration information and online registration through our secure shopping cart.

The Questing Heirs Genealogical Society proudly presents Henry Z Jones, Jr., FASG as a speaker on Sunday, May 21, 2006 from 1:15 - 4 PM at Resurrection Lutheran Church, 1900 E Carson Street, Long Beach, CA.
First Presentation is: TRACING THE ORIGINS OF 18TH CENTURY GERMAN, AND OTHER EMIGRANTS. A lively discussion emphasizing the how-to's of pinpointing and fully tracing the European roots of our ancestors. A step-by-step plan of attack, showing how "They Came Together, They Stayed Together!"
2nd talk: GENEALOGY IN THE NEW MILLENIUM, An insightful talk about what's ahead in this amazing world of new genealogical technology, emphasizing how are new tools should never be allowed to divert us from celebrating the humanity of our ancestors.
This event is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served and donations are accepted. To reserve program notes, please contact Chuck Mitchell, at 572/961-8895 or at [email protected].

Orange County California Genealogical Society - Special Interest Group

The OCCGS New England SIG group meets on the first Saturday of each month, after the general meeting and lecture. The meeting place is in Room D at the Huntington Beach Library. For further information contact Marcia Huntley Maloney, [email protected] or Bob [email protected].

“Poor is the nation having no heroes.....
Shameful is the one having them that forgets.”
~Attributed to Union Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, 20th Maine

know an

Please notify the membership chairman if you have a change of address.
Newsletters are not forwarded, the cost is 70 cents for each one returned.
Membership: Verl Nash, (949) 859-1419, [email protected]

___________________________________________________________________________________

South Orange County California Genealogical Society Membership/Renewal Application

( ) New ( ) Renewal ( ) Individual, $20/yr. ( ) Jt. Members, same address $25/yr.

Renewal Membership Number(s) _________________________ _____________________

Name(s) _______________________________________________________________________________

Address _______________________________________________________________________________

City _____________________________ State_____Zip ____________Phone ______________________

Email address:__________________________________________________________________________

Make check payable to: SOCCGS (South Orange County CA Genealogical Society) Check No. __________________

Mail with application to: SOCCGS, P.O. Box 4513, Mission Viejo, CA 92690-4513

Soccgs Home Page

[email protected]

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