|
| 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. Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter A Weekly Summary of Events and Vol. 5 No. 19 May 6, 2000 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: - Legacy 3.0 - Legacy 3.0 A few weeks ago I wrote about the new announcement of Legacy 3.0 for Windows. This week I had a chance to use the program and check out its new features. Im glad that I did. Legacy has always been a great genealogy program, but I am surprised that it doesnt obtain the publicity that it deserves. Previous releases have featured a very powerful genealogy program and a user interface that is easy to use. In fact, I wish that some of the more popular genealogy programs would emulate this user interface! I certainly had high expectations when I opened the box containing the latest version of Legacy. Unlike some of its competitors, Legacy does not include dozens of genealogy data CD-ROM disks in the box. Legacy 3.0 does not claim to be an all-encompassing "genealogy resource." Instead, it focuses on only one thing: being a top-notch program for tracking and recording your genealogy research. Installing Legacy 3.0 was a snap. If you have installed other Windows programs, you can install this one. Legacy 3.0 includes a sample genealogy file showing the relatives of John F. Kennedy. This sample database is an excellent tool for getting started with the program. Not only does the sample database have the essential data elements filled in, but it also has pictures, full source documentation, a digital scrapbook and even a mini slide show of three pictures already available. This sample database serves as an excellent tutorial for learning the program as you get to see "how to do it the right way." I found the new version 3.0 to be as easy to use as previous versions. In fact, while reviewing the program, I never found any reason to open the 328-page users manual! At first glance, version 3.0 appeared to be the same program as the earlier version. However, as I started moving around the menus, I noticed numerous additions and improvements. Legacys interface is a bit difficult to describe. It manages to present a lot of information on the screen at one time, yet does so in a manner that always seems intuitive and easily understood. To see Legacys typical screen displays, take the online tour at: http://www.legacyfamilytree.com/Tour.asp. You will see much of the programs interface in that online tour. Entering data on individuals is easy; simply fill in the blanks. I added a few fictitious members to the sample Kennedy database and found that I could easily link the newly-entered individuals to existing family members. Later I imported a GEDCOM file of more than 4,000 people, which had been created with a competitive genealogy program. The import was fast and almost error-free. (No GEDCOM import is ever completely error-free on any genealogy program, due to inconsistencies in the GEDCOM standard.) What I like best is the Sources feature. In my opinion, Legacy is one of the top two or three genealogy programs when it comes to recording sources of genealogy information. When you press the Sources button from the Individual Information, the Assigned Sources window appears. This form shows all the sources that have been assigned to the various pieces of information for the current individual. This includes an Unassigned source, which applies to the individual as a whole as well as specific source assignments that have been made to each event for the individual. Also included are any sources assigned to any marriages for the current person. As you scroll up and down in the list, the full information of each master source and its individual detail appear in the bottom half of the window on the tabs labeled Source Information, Published Facts, Text, Detail and Output. I wish that all genealogy programs would have a sources database as complete and easy to use as Legacys! Legacy 3.0 has a long list of printed reports, including:
These reports are generally attractive in print. Many of the reports have the option to include photographs. The pictures in the sample Kennedy database were in color; I only had a black and white printer available when testing the program, but this produced reasonable pictures. I suspect the pictures are gorgeous when printed on a good color printer. You can see samples of the printouts when taking the online tour mentioned earlier. Legacy has the best merge capability of any genealogy program I have used. A merge probably isnt something that you will use every day. However, when you do use it, you will quickly appreciate the flexibility available. A merge is used when you wish to combine two databases. Lets say that you have a primary database of 1,000 or so people that you have entered as a result of your own genealogy research. You then discover a distant cousin via the Internet, and he or she has additional data that you would like. The cousin sends you a GEDCOM file of that data. You then create a brand new database on your Legacy system and import the cousins database. After some examination, you decide that the cousins data looks good; it is properly documented and has source citations as to where each piece of information was obtained. You decide to add your cousins information to your primary database. There is one problem: your cousins database contains data on about 250 individuals. About half of them are new to you, but the other half are individuals whom you already recorded in your primary database. In some cases an individual may be shown in your database with only a date of birth, while your cousins database shows the same individual with only a death date. How do you add the new folks without duplicating the existing individuals? And how do you combine two different records about one individual? Now the fun begins First, make a backup of your primary database. I repeat: first make a backup. Next, open your primary database; then import the new database. This will create lots of duplicates in the newly-expanded database, which you will want to eliminate by merging the data.To do this, click on the MERGE icon, and then select FIND DUPLICATES. Legacy 3.0 searches for all potentially duplicate individuals in the database. For example: Let's say the program finds two men in your family file that potentially could be the same person, William Johnson and Will Johnson. Legacy compares the two individuals and shows you the differences, if any, between the information contained in the two records. The data in your primary database is shown on the left while the data from your distant cousins database is shown on the right. After looking the information over, you decide that they are indeed the same person and press the Merge Right Individual into Left Individual button to combine them. Legacy takes a look around and notices that William has two parents linked to him named Daniel Johnson and Mary Anderson. Will Johnson also has two parents named D. Johnson and Mrs. Anderson. These two sets of names look like they could be the same parents, so Legacy adds them into the merge process. The next two people to be displayed are Daniel Johnson and D. Johnson, and then Mary Anderson and Mrs. Anderson. The process is continued until all possible duplicates in that line are presented, including ancestors, siblings, spouses and children. The end result is a combination of names, information and links for everyone in the line who is related. When searching for individuals in your database that might be duplicates, Legacy compares the following information by default:
However, if you do not want the above defaults, you can easily change them. I would turn off the option that requires given names be exactly the same. I want to find duplicates even if one shows the first name as William while another record says Will or Wilbur or Bill. Legacy has a feature called IntelliShare that is very useful for people involved in "group efforts." IntelliShare that makes it easy for groups of two or more people to coordinate their works and stay caught up on each other's changes. The following explanation is from the programs support Web pages:
Most of the features I have already described were in earlier versions of Legacy, with the exception of a few of the printed reports. However, Millennia Corporation has added a bunch of new capabilities to the latest version, including the following:
Actually, there are a lot more improvements than what I listed above. For the sake of brevity, I only listed the ones that seemed most important to me. However, you can find a longer list of all the improvements on Millennia Corporations Web site. I finally opened the users manual, even though I didnt see a need for it. All I can say is that it looked good in my brief scan. It is full of pictures, graphics and examples and appears to be easy to read. It has a large index in the back of the book, so I suspect you can find anything easily. I really dont know as I didnt find a need to use the manual with this intuitive program. Legacy has always been one of my favorite genealogy programs since the first day that I saw it in operation. The new version didnt let me down; it improves on an already top-notch program. If you are thinking about moving up to a more powerful genealogy program, I would suggest that you consider Legacy 3.0. You can download a free demo copy of Legacy 3.0 online. You can do everything with this demo that you can do with the full retail version. You can import existing data, print reports and even merge individuals. Everything is available with just one limitation: when your family file contains more than 50 individuals, you will not be able to save changes made to individuals; however, everything else continues to work as normal. Like the full program, the demo version will import PAF and GEDCOM files so that you can try Legacy's features with your existing family information. Even if you have more than 50 individuals in your present database, you can still import all of them, print reports, create Web pages and do almost everything that the full version can do. You will have hundreds or perhaps thousands of individuals in the demo database, but you simply will not be able to add new individuals. Legacy 3.0 sells for $49.95 (U.S. funds). Users of earlier versions of Legacy can purchase an upgrade for $24.95. You will need to add shipping charges onto those prices, of course. To learn more about Legacy 3.0, to download the demo version, or to order the program online, go to: http://www.legacyfamilytree.com - The Society of Genealogists Records Online Four weeks ago I wrote an article entitled "Society of Genealogists Data to be Online." In that article I wrote, "I suspect a formal announcement of this new agreement will be made at the Society of Genealogists' Family History Fair in London on May 6 and 7." I was close; the following announcement was made on May 5:
The information to be made available online includes:
The first of these databases will probably appear online late this year. There is more information about this new offering available at the Society of Genealogists Web site at http://www.sog.org.uk and at Origins.nets Web site: http://www.Origins.net. - Devon 1891 Census Transcription Project Update A major project involving the 1891 Devon (England) census is underway. Quoting from the projects Web page:
The project was initiated and planned largely by John Lerwill, with the assistance of a number of people, in particular, Bob Muchamore and Sue Kinsella (Australia), Nick Mayne, Brian Randell and Phil Stringer (U.K.), and Ray Osborn (New Zealand). John Lerwill remains in charge of the overall technical aspects of the project, while Brian Randell handles the project coordination. In order to spread the workload and reduce postal expenses, much of the organization of volunteers is handled on a regional basis by the following people:
This is a great "grass roots" cooperative genealogy project. A Web page describing the present status of this project, including a list of all the completed 1891 census transcriptions that are already available in GENUKI/Devon, is available at: http://www.cs.ncl.ac.uk/genuki/DEV/censusproject.html - PAF 4.0: the Videos This week I watched some videotapes. In fact, I watched more than three and a half hours of videos on how to use the Windows version of Personal Ancestral File version 4.0. I must say that I learned a number of things about the program that I didnt know previously. Personal Ancestral File is a very popular genealogy program that is offered by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. One reason for its popularity is its price: the program is free. You can download it directly from http://www.ldscatalog.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/ProductDisplay?prrfnbr=369179&prmenbr=1402&CGRY_NUM=373032&RowStart=1&LocCode=FH. The Mormon Church does not produce the videotapes that I watched. Instead, these videotapes are produced by "The Studio," a commercial video and multimedia production facility based in Utah. Two different videos for Personal Ancestral File are available now: "Getting Started Video Training" and "Intermediate Video Training." These videos tend to go deeper into various topics than the available manuals or the programs built-in help files. Best of all, you can watch as an experienced instructor demonstrates the use of the program, something you will not obtain from a users manual. The Personal Ancestral File "Getting Started Video Training" video features host Steve Lemmon, who spends roughly an hour and 45 minutes showing the basics of the program. He starts off with such topics as how to use the mouse, how to enter names and other basics. Very early in the video he shows how to insert multimedia files into the database. This surprised me a bit, as I didnt think the use of multimedia was an elementary topic to be used at the beginning of a "Getting Started" videotape. However, Steve only spends a brief amount of time on the subject and then moves onto other topics that I expected. He shows how to enter data, how to insert European characters (umlauts, accents, etc.) and how to use the LDS-specific fields in the database. He also discusses protecting the privacy of living individuals. Near the end of the tape, Mr. Lemmon spends time showing how to use the programs built-in help files and also how to make backups of the database. This "getting started" video lives up to its name; Steve Lemmon does an excellent job of covering the basics. The "Intermediate Video Training" features Alan Mann. Alan is an Accredited Genealogist who is well known in genealogy circles. He is a prolific writer and lecturer on a wide variety of genealogy topics. The intermediate tape is almost two hours long and shows Alan demonstrating features of the program not shown on the earlier tape. He demonstrates several ways of navigating around the program, both with and without the use of a mouse. Alan also demonstrates quite a few of the hotkeys PAF version 4.0 utilizes as shortcuts to many functions. He also covers many of the advanced preferences, such as "auto-completion" and the use of the address book. I was especially pleased to see him spend quite a bit of time on recording sources. Not only does he show the keyboard commands, but he also discusses why every genealogist needs to record the source of every piece of information recorded. The "Intermediate Video Training" also covers image file formats, how to import data from other sources and especially how to import data into a new database so that you do not insert possibly erroneous data into your own! The videotape spends quite a bit of time showing how to merge two datasets together. That is, when a newly received database contains information about individuals that are already recorded in the main database, the merge feature allows the user to identify these "duplicate" individuals and combine the data on them, preserving all the links to their relatives. The "Intermediate Video Training" tape also covers many of the printed reports available and then spends quite a bit of time on creating computer-generated Web pages. Again, the Intermediate tape does a great job of covering the topics involved. The "Getting Started" videotape is aimed at the complete novice, while the intermediate tape is aimed at the user who has been using Personal Ancestral File for a few hours and is already comfortable with the basics. Near the end of the intermediate tape, there is a hint that an "Advanced Topics" videotape will be available some day, but apparently this third video has not yet been released. The Personal Ancestral File videotapes apparently are only available in NTSC format and therefore can only be used on North American television sets. They will not play properly on U.K. or European television systems. The Personal Ancestral File version 4.0 for Windows "Getting Started Video Training" sells for $12.95 and the "Intermediate Video Training" costs $14.95. Both prices are in U.S. funds. You will also have to pay for shipping charges. You can obtain more information about these videotapes or even order them online at: http://www.pafvideo.com - My Least Favorite Genealogy Web Site This week I decided to publish a "reprint" of an article that I wrote almost three years ago. The reason that I am publishing it again is because of all the e-mails I have been receiving lately on this topic. I have written a lot over the past few years about Halberts, a company that claimed to publish "the story of your family name." Halberts sent hundreds of millions of advertisements showing a Bath, Ohio return address even though the company was actually located in nearby Akron, Ohio. While the advertisements seemed to describe books full of valuable genealogy data, the hapless buyer paid $30.00 or $40.00 for a cheaply-produced booklet full of names and addresses extracted from telephone books, along with some generic information on how to get started in genealogy. Halberts also sold so-called "family coats of arms" suitable for framing. They also sold coats of arms on coffee cups, golf shirts and even on key chains. (Please note that there is no such thing as a "family coat of arms" in the British Isles or in Western Europe, but people keep buying this junk anyway.) Late last year I wrote several articles about Halberts. One described an announcement that the company was for sale, and then, a few weeks later, another article described the shut down of Halberts. In fact, last fall the company laid off all the employees and even sold the office furniture. I was told recently that Halberts parent company, NUMA Corporation, has also ceased operations within the past few weeks. I havent verified that, but I did dial NUMAs published telephone number at 330-923-5000 this week. I got a recording that says the number has been changed to 330-945-8228. When I dialed the second number, I got a recording that said that number was disconnected. If NUMA is still in business, then they certainly are hard to find. Ever since I wrote that Halberts has been shut down, I have received e-mails from people saying that the company only moved or perhaps was sold to new owners. Apparently the Internet newsgroups frequently contain wildly speculative messages claiming that Halberts has been reincarnated elsewhere. These e-mails report "new operations" from various locations in Colorado, Florida and/or Canada. In fact, all of the companies mentioned so far were in business for several years before Halberts was shut down and are not affiliated with Halberts in any way. While Halberts was the best-known or most notorious company in this business, they always had competitors, other companies that sell the same or similar "products." Some of these competitors have been in business for years. The following is an article that I published in the July 7, 1997 newsletter describing one of these companies. Little has changed since then, except that they now have new URLs, which I have updated in this article:
Little has changed since I wrote the above words nearly three years ago. The International Hall of Names also sells "franchises" to others. Apparently some of these are the pushcart businesses that you sometimes see in shopping malls. Private individuals can license the database and some software to make printouts on demand. A "franchise" costs $5,000, according the International Hall of Names Web site. I also found a number of other Web sites peddling similar products. While they were doing business under several different business names, every one of them had the statement "Copyright by the International Hall of Names" on their pages. If you receive solicitations from any company that claims to deliver the history of your family name or your so-called family coat of arms, check with the National Genealogical Society's Consumer Protection Committee. They keep tabs on all of these companies as part of their genealogical consumer protection activities. If you would like to learn more about legitimate coats of arms, look at The Feudal Herald at http://www.baronage.co.uk or at the American College Of Heraldry Web site at: http://users.aol.com/ballywoodn/acheraldry.html or at the Institute of Heraldic and Genealogical Studies Web site at: http://www.ihgs.ac.uk. The information found on these sites will be far more accurate than that from someone peddling coffee cups, key chains and golf shirts. Caveat Emptor! - Upcoming Events The Upcoming Events section of the newsletter is published once per 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. 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. The list of events is published once a month, usually in the first newsletter of each month. 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:
*The Society of Australian Genealogists is holding its 5th annual Showcase on May 26th and 27th. There will be lectures, Internet and genealogical software demonstrations as well as representatives from various organizations, government departments, churches, and more. For more information see http://www.sag.org.au The National Genealogical Societys "Conference in the States" will be held in Providence, Rhode Island from May 31 through June 3, 2000. This is the largest genealogy conference in the United States each year. This years event will feature more than 100 presentations, seminars and meetings. Details are available at: http://www.ngsgenealogy.org The first all-inclusive McCleskey Families of Texas Reunion is planned for June 3-4, 2000 in Dublin, Texas. These are generally the descendants and allied families of James and Joseph McCleskey of Georgia (1700s), who made their way to Texas after the Civil War. For more information, look at: http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~peggyjbr/index.htm The Cape Cod Genealogical Society will hold their Annual Meeting and Luncheon on 7 June 2000 in Orleans, Massachusetts. This meeting features a presentation by Kyle Betit on "Sources & Strategies for Finding Immigrant Origins." For information, contact: jwb@mailman.c4.net. The Lay Family Genealogical Association will be meeting June 15-17 at Indian Rocks Beach, FL. All Lay, Leigh. Ley. Lea, Loy, etc. genealogy researchers are welcome. Lay research will be shared, and genealogy classes offered, at a beach location. For information, contact: ovlay@aol.com and Loyal_Lay@yahoo.com The first national Ory/Owrey (and various other spellings) reunion will be held June 16-18, 2000, in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. For more information, contact tblake@iolinc.net The Kansas Council of Genealogical Societies will hold its Silver Anniversary Conference in Wichita, Kansas on June 16. The conference will consist of genealogical workshops, an awards dinner, and a Silver Anniversary Reception. Dr. George K. Schweitzer, nationally known lecturer and author, will be the featured speaker on Saturday, June 17. For additional information, look at: http://skyways.lib.ks.us/genweb/kcgs/conf.htm The Wayne County (PA) Historical Society will host a Genealogy Fair on June 17, 2000, featuring speakers and experts from twelve regional historical/genealogical organizations. For information, send an email to wchspa@ptd.net *St. Louis, Missouri: The St. Louis Genealogical Society will hold its 30th Annual Fair on Saturday, June 17, 2000 in St. Louis, Missouri. The all-day fair will feature Pamela Porter, CGRS, Craig Scott, CGRS and Curt Witcher, MLS. For more information, look at: http://www.rootsweb.org/~mostlogs/STINDEX.HTM *The Florence Siuslaw Genealogical Society will sponsor a one-day Genealogy Seminar on Saturday, June 17 in Florence, Oregon. Four beginning classes will be offered, including "How to Begin," "Documentation," "Census Records," and "Pedigree Analysis." The four intermediate sessions are "Indian Rolls," "Genealogy and the Internet," "Irish Research," and "County Records." Details are available from: panama@presys.com Descendants of two SISSON kindred, Richard and Mary SISSON of colonial Rhode Island and Massachusetts, and Robert and Amye SISSON of colonial Virginia, will meet near Cincinnati, Ohio, from June 22 to 24, 2000. More information is available at: http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~dasisson/ *The Gann Historical Society & Library, Inc. Annual Meeting and Conference is scheduled for Englewood, Colorado on June 23 and 24. To receive a registration packet and a schedule of events, or any other information about the organization, contact: Crjagann@aol.com. The McCraw Family Association biannual family reunion will be held 23, 24, 25 June 2000 in Bradenton, FL. All descendants of William McCraw, immigrant from Scotland, are invited to attend. For information, contact audraem@aol.com *The first Dennis Family Reunion will convene June 23, 24 and 25, 2000 in Newport, RI. For more information, contact: Serge317@aol.com The Connaughton Family Reunion will be held July 4th and 5th, 2000 in Clonark, Athlone, Co. Roscommon, Ireland. Information is available at: http://homepage.eircom.net/~connaughton/reunion2000/ The CASSELMAN Ancestral Society will be holding an international family reunion July 7-8-9 2000 in Morrisburg, Ontario, Canada, open to all members and friends of the Casselman/Castleman (and other spellings) family. For info, look at: http://www.glen-net.ca/casselman The Lloyd-Jones Reunion 2000 will be held near Spring Green, Wisconsin, July 7-9th. The family reunion is held every five years. For more information see the website at http://www.unitychapel.org The Newberry Library's Friends of Genealogy will hold their Annual Open House and "Internet Genealogy 101" evening lecture with Bruce Gillis, Rhonda Frevert, June Buller & Marsha Peterson-Maass on July 12 in Chicago. Details are available at: http://www.newberry.org/nl/genealogy/L3gfriends.html The Germans From Russia Heritage Society (GRHS) will celebrate its 30th anniversary at its year 2000 convention in Bismarck, North Dakota, July 13-16, 2000. Additional details are available at: http://www.grhs.com. The William & Antonia Plooster Family Reunion "2000" will take place on July 14, 15 and 16, 2000 in Mitchell, South Dakota. All descendants of the William and Antonia Plooster family are invited to attend. Information is available from: mplooste@du.edu The Crandall Family Association will hold its biennial meeting on Saturday 15 Jul 2000 at the First Hopkinton Seventh Day Baptist Church Parish House in Hopkinton, Rhode Island. The theme of this year's reunion will be "Prudence Crandall of Hopkinton". For further details go to: http://www.cfa.net/cfa/reunion.html The German Interest Group is hosting "Improving Your German Research" on 15 July 2000 in Whitewater, Wisconsin. The speaker is Shirley J. Reimer from Sacramento, CA, who is the author of "The German Research Companion". For more information see: http://www.angelfire.com/biz/origins1/gig.html The Allen County Public Library and the Allen County Public Library Foundation, through the Historical Genealogy Department, will hold a national conference to be held at the Grand Wayne Center in Fort Wayne, Indiana, July 20-22, 2000. Details are available at: http://www.acpl.lib.in.us/genealogy/graphics/year2000.html The Cherry-Krisher Family Reunion 2000 will be held July 27-28-29, 2000 in Fort Steele, British Columbia, Canada. All descendants, relatives and allied families of William Henery Krisher and Charlotte (Dot) Elizabeth Cherry are invited to attend. More information is available at http://www.cherry-krisher.i-p.com/. The Alden Kindred of America will hold its 100th meeting in Duxbury, Massachusetts, August 2-6, 2000. Events include a cruise to Provincetown, the Centennial address by The Reverend Professor Peter Gomes at the First Parish Church, Duxbury, a 1620 Theme Dinner at Plimoth Plantation, and the 100th Reunion Celebration at the historic John Alden House Museum. Full details are at: http://www.alden.org The National Association of the Van Valkenburg Family will hold its annual reunion in Indianapolis, IN on Aug. 9-13, 2000. All Van Valkenburgs, or descendants of VVs, regardless of spelling (VanVolkenburgh, Van Velkingburg, etc.) are welcome. For more information contact: renflod@azstarnet.com. The 110th annual Storrs Family Reunion will be held on 13 August 2000 in Storrs, Connecticut. All Storrs and related family members are invited to attend. For registration or questions, please contact: mstorrs@neca.com The Timen Stiddem Society, a family association for the descendants of this immigrant from Sweden in the 17th century, is holding a "Reunion of the Descendants of Timen Stiddem," August 18-20, 2000, in Wilmington, Delaware, site of the origin of the Stidham family in America. Surname variations include: Stidam, Stidom, Steadham, Stedham, Steddom, and Stedum. More information can be found at: http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~tstiddem/index.html The "Hooked on Genealogy Tour" will leave New Zealand and Australia on their round-the-world tour on August 19, 2000. The first stop will be for nearly 3 weeks in Salt Lake City, to be followed by one week in London (with an optional second week) and then a trip to Perth for the Australasian Genealogical Congress. Americans are especially invited to join this round-the-world genealogy trip. Details are available at: http://HookedonGenealogyTours.bizland.com The British Isles Family History Society - U.S.A. will present its 13th Annual Seminar on the legendary Queen Mary, docked in Long Beach Harbor, August 24-26 2000, Long Beach, CA. The three days will include a variety of topics by national and international experts, including: Peter Wilson Coldham, Kathleen B. Kory, Cyndi Howells, Brian Mitchell and Darris Williams. For details, visit the Society website at: http://www.rootsweb.com/~bifhsusa *The Twentieth Annual Meeting for the Towne Family Association, Inc. to be held September 14-17, 2000 in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The Towne Family Association is a genealogical organization whose members are the descendants of William and Joanna who came to America from Great Yarmouth, England and settled in Salem, MA about 1640. For information on the annual meeting or Association membership please contact: BRBAYLIS@aol.com The Colorado Council of Genealogical Societies will host its Annual Rocky Mountain Regional Conference, 22-23 September 2000, Lakewood CO. Featured speakers will be Cyndi Howells, Henry "Hank" Jones, and Christina Schaefer. For details, contact: pakemper@aol.com. The Fov Valley (Illinois) Genealogical Society's September 30, 2000 Conference will feature Dr. George K. Schweitzer (who dresses in appropriate period costume). Topics will include "Migration Routes and Settlement Patterns," "Finding Your Ancestors Parents," and "Civil War Genealogy." Early registration is strongly suggested. Details are available at: http://www.members.aol.com/fvgs1/index.html/ *A Family History & Genealogy fair will be held at Heritage Square in Phoenix, Arizona on October 7. For information, see the Family History Society web site at http://www.fhsa.org/. The Newberry Library's Friends of Genealogy will hold their 4th annual "Ask The Experts: On Military Records" panel discussion on October 11 Chicago. Details are available at: http://www.newberry.org/nl/genealogy/L3gfriends.html The Dragoo Family Association (DFA) Biennial Reunion will be held October 12-15, 2000 in San Antonio, Texas. For more information, contact: GWatson3@Compuserve.com An O'Mahony get-together to be held in Ottawa, Ontario Canada on October 13-15, 2000. This will be the first Canadian gathering. For information about the society and fall gathering, contact: grandpre@global2000.net The Alford American Family Association will hold its 13th annual meeting and national Alford family reunion in Augusta, GA Oct 13-15, 2000. The association is for all spelling variations such as Alvord, Halford, Alfred, etc. Membership is not required for attendance, but registration is required and pre-registration is recommended. For more information go to: http://www.alford.com/alford/aafa/homepage.html. *Preserving Our Past (POP) Fair will be held in Phoenix, Arizona on October 14. The Fair features historical organizations and repositories from Central Arizona. For additional information, contact the Arizona Archives at: msturgeo@dlapr.lib.az.us *The Family History Society of Arizona will host an Annual Seminar on October 27 and 28, 2000. Guest speaker will be Kellee Blake, Director, National Archives, Mid-Atlantic Region. The seminar will be held at Arizona State University Memorial Union. For information, see FHSA website http://www.fhsa.org/ The Ingham County Genealogical Society (of Mason, Michigan) holds its annual fall seminar on October 28, 2000. Speakers are Curt B. Witcher and Shirley J. Hodges. For information go to: http://userdata.acd.net/mmgs/icgs.html *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.net A reunion for anyone who has an interest in, or ancestors from, the Dutch island of Goeree-Overflakkee in the province of Zuid, Holland, will be held in September 2001. This reunion will take place in or near the village of Ouddorp, which has been inhabited since before 300 BC. Participants will not only visit the Genealogical Center in Middelharnis, but also the annual genealogical day, organized by the Zeeland chapter of the NGV, (Dutch Genealogical Society). Details are available at: http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Lake/1588/ 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 newsletters online discussion group on CompuServes Genealogy Techniques Forum. CompuServe members using Netscape, Internet Explorer or CompuServe 2000 can go to http://go.compuserve.com/GenealogyForum. If you are using Classic CompuServe, you can GO ROOTS. 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. You are hereby granted rights, unless otherwise specified, to re-distribute articles from this newsletter to other parties provided you do so strictly for non-commercial purposes. Please limit your re-distribution to one or two articles per newsletter; do not re-distribute the newsletter in its entirety. Also, please include the following words with any articles you re-distribute: The following article is from Eastmans Online Genealogy Newsletter and is copyright 2000 by Richard W. Eastman. It is re-published here with the permission of the author. Thank you for your cooperation. Subscription information: To subscribe to this free newsletter, to cancel an existing subscription or to modify an existing subscription in any way, go to: If you want to see the current issue as well as back issues of the newsletter, look on the World Wide Web at: http://www.ancestry.com/learn/columns/eastman.htm Please 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 four 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
| |||||||||||||||||||||