Thursday, January 27, 2005

Making Most of Message Boards

After a short learning period spent reading the RootsWeb Review
articles to which she had been referred and lurking and listening to
advice, Nancy NEWCOMER began to feel like an old pro in using the
RootsWeb mailing lists. She soon learned that some of her favorite
lists were those that were "gatewayed" to a corresponding message board.

Gateways are a one-way passage where message board posts are
automatically forwarded onto mailing lists. Nancy noted that the best
method of replying to a gatewayed message was to click on the link in
the message and reply on the message board. However, she soon realized
that she still had a lot to learn about message boards and how they
might be able to assist her in her research in a slightly different way
than mailing lists.

An article -- "Making Most of Message Boards and Mailing Lists" -- in
the RootsWeb Review archives explained the difference between mailing
lists and message boards as well as their similarities.
http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/review/20040128.txt

This gave Nancy an idea of when it might be more appropriate to post a
message to a message board rather than a mailing list, but she still
wanted to learn more about message boards and how they functioned. She
had learned the hard way when she barged onto mailing lists without
taking the time to investigate them before she jumped on board. She
wasn't about to make that mistake a second time.

So she searched in the RootsWeb Review archives again and located many
articles that explained what she needed to know to use the message
boards effectively -- finding and navigating boards, posting messages,
and searching among the myriad of already-posted queries and data.

MEANDERING THROUGH THE MESSAGE BOARDS
(locating boards, navigation -- the basics):
http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/review/20020710.txt

MAXIMIZING SEARCHES ON MESSAGE BOARDS
(using the advanced search feature):
http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/review/20030108.txt

MESSAGE BOARDS. UTILIZING SURNAME-SPECIFIC SEARCHES
(searching for those difficult surnames):
http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/review/20030924.txt

PORTALS TO SUCCESS
(message board gateway):
http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/review/20020731.txt

MESSAGE BOARD ICONS:
http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/review/20020529.txt

VISUAL AIDS ON MESSAGE BOARDS
(more message board icons):
http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/review/20020814.txt

WHERE AND HOW TO POST ON MESSAGE BOARDS:
http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/review/20020904.txt

EFFECTIVE MESSAGE BOARD POSTING:
http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/review/20020911.txt

MESSAGE BOARD QUERIES
(using the Subject, Surname, and Classification fields):
http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/review/20020724.txt

MESSAGE BOARD ATTACHMENTS:
http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/review/20020605.txt

MESSAGE BOARDS OPTIONS -- SAY IT WITH PICTURES
(more about attachments):
http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/review/20030528.txt

WILL THE MYSTERY GUEST SIGN IN, PLEASE?
(Message Board Registration and Login):
http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/review/20040303.txt

Nancy was most intrigued by the option of adding a picture to a message
board post, something she couldn't do in her use of the mailing lists.
She thought of the photo she had found in her maiden grandaunt Bertha
BLANK's attic when she was cleaning out the old house to be sold after
her relative's death.

Who was the dapper gentleman with a mustache -- wearing his Sunday best
suit? She couldn't identify the picture and it nagged at her for many
years. She decided to scan the photo and attach it to a query on the
BLANK surname message board to see if anyone could identify the unknown
family member she suspected, but couldn't prove, belonged in the BLANK
family -- somewhere.

She knew not to expect instantaneous responses from message board posts
as many new visitors checked the boards over a period of time and
replies were often delayed. So, Nancy was a bit shocked when she
received a notice that she had a reply to her query the very first
week after she posted the message and uploaded the picture of the
dapper dude.

It was from a man in Houston, Texas named Beau BLANK, who was the great-
grandson of the man in the photo. He told her he had an identical photo
hanging on the wall of his home. The man in the photo was Winthrop
BLANK, the brother of grandaunt Bertha BLANK and Nancy's maternal grand-
mother, Wilma BLANK.

Now Nancy was not only able to place a name and relationship to the
photo but she had also found a new cousin in the bargain who had
additional family information to share. She was rapidly learning that
much can be gained in the world of Internet genealogical research when
one is willing to share and reach out to others.

Nancy hoped other new family history researchers would learn this
valuable lesson, but she giggled when she thought that probably few of
them would be able to literally fill in the BLANKs as she had.


from

RootsWeb Review: RootsWeb's Weekly E-zine
26 January 2005, Vol. 8, No. 4, Circulation: 816,285+
(c) 1998-2005 RootsWeb.com, Inc. http://www.rootsweb.com/


RootsWeb Review Archives - 2005

Friday, January 21, 2005

Award-Winning NoteTab Text Editors and HTML Editors

Google Search: site:www.rootsweb.com created "Hugh Watkins"

Google Search: site:www.rootsweb.com created "Hugh Watkins"

Results 1 - 23 of 23 from www.rootsweb.com for created "Hugh Watkins".
and
Results 1 - 44 of about 68 from www.rootsweb.com for updated "Hugh Watkins".

Google Search: site:www.rootsweb.com updated "Hugh Watkins"

- 91 web pages
which is what I do with my time when I am not blogging my 12 blogs
why so many blogs ?
to try and sort my scriblings by subject, and as an inexpensive way of self publishing

HTML-- the Basics: Webpages are NOT Created Equal

HTML-- the Basics: Webpages are NOT Created Equal a very nice example of why not to use XHTML
Code written by MSWord2000
File size=3,436 bytes compared with a basic page
VERSUS
Basic HTML Code
File size=1,015 bytes * LOADS 3 TIMES AS QUICKLY

Wednesday, January 19, 2005

Help with HTML Tags

SweGGate CoGenRes (CO-operative GENealogical RESearch)

SweGGate = Sweden Genealogical Gate
: "Your Main Gate to Genealogical Research in Sweden
Member of the WorldGenWeb Project as SwedenGenWeb "

HTML-- the Basics

HTML-- the Basics

Where do I start?
What is this HTML stuff?
Do I have to learn HTML?
How do I add pictures?
How do I get my pages online?
How do I (insert any of a dozen other questions here)
Is there an easy way?

Pat Asher is the moderator of RootsWeb: Freepages-Help-L LIST

Web Pages Design and Structure

Web Pages Design and Structure by the great Rod Neep

Pitzner Jørgensen slægtssider

Pitzner Jørgensen slægtssider

netscape 7.2
and notepad

were used to make this little site

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~hedvig/

together with RootsWeb Online Editor system
and a drag and drop in Windows XP to upload the picture
which I first resized in IrfanView

~hedvig/sitemap.html
(which was"stolen" from dnkcen Site Map http://www.rootsweb.com/~dnkcen/sitemap.html
the text was edited - but need to fix the colour )

and an images folder
~hedvig/images/

oops needs an index file to "shut the door"
in english -
Hedvig's Family Pages
~hedvig/images/Blegdamsvej.jpg
~hedvig/en/index.html


And here is a story worth reading about this russian lady
who fled to USA in 1918 - Countess Maria Koutousova
~hedvig/en/koutousova.html

It took two evenings

I do cheat by using the Blog This button
on the Google toolbar to create instant HREF tags
which I copy paste into the Online Editor

Setting up a new website on Rootsweb

The purpose of this site is my family history concerning mainly ØRUM, MEYER and PITZNER surnames in Denmark, Norway, Germany, Latvia, Estonia and Russia.

- which is what my friend Hedvig wrote in her application for free space to http://www.rootsweb.com/

start here Requests for Web Space

Freepages Accounts - personal web space - which is paid for by advertising.

together we made 5 pages
using Notepad and Netscape 7.2

Our first effort was not put on the web but was just experimenting with tags and colors .

Then I showed Hedvig how to use the RootsWeb Online Editor system



Web Sites at RootsWeb & Web Authoring Tools

FAQs: Betsy's Basic Help: Homepages

FAQs: Betsy's Basic Help: Virtual Domains

FAQs: Betsy's Basic Help: All Other


Help/FAQs: Webmaster: Freepages Questions
Help/FAQs: Webmaster: Wizard Pages
Help/FAQs: Webmaster: General Questions

List: RootsWeb-Help Mailing List
List: Freepages-Help Mailing List
List: Freepages-Advanced Mailing List

Suggestions Board: Freepages

Request Form: Requesting a Website

Web Authoring Tools

Help/FAQs: OnLine Editor Help Pages
Instructions: Counters
Instructions: Guestbooks
Instructions: Mail Merge Basics
or Mail Merge for Freepages

Saturday, January 15, 2005

W3C HTML Home Page

W3C HTML Home Page: "W3C's home page for the HTML Activity. Here you will find pointers to our specifications for HTML/XHTML, guidelines on how to use HTML/XHTML to the best effect, and pointers to related work at W3C"

Thursday, January 06, 2005

from RootsWeb Review, 5 January 2005

Mailing Lists: More Than Names and Places

If you are like most genealogists you search by surnames and localities.
While RootsWeb offers thousands of mailing lists on these topics, there
are some excellent mailing lists pertaining to other categories, such as
how to operate and get the most out of your genealogy software.

Among the popular genealogy software programs with mailing lists devoted to
them are: AFT (Ancestry Family Tree), BK (Brother's Keeper), FTM (Family
Tree Maker), LEGACY, PAF (Personal Ancestral File; various versions),
ROOTSMAGIC, and TMG (The Master Genealogist), plus various other
software-related topics available. Check them out here http://lists.rootsweb.com/index/other/Software/


============0

Using RootsWeb: Address Changes: Getting Up-to-Date

It is often said that it is a woman's prerogative to change her mind but
Philip Flexmore can give most women a run for their money when it comes
to making changes. Phil has had five different e-mail addresses in the
past year!

The first change wasn't by choice -- his small local ISP (Internet
Service Provider) was bought out by a large national company and his e-
mail address changed as a result. Since the ISP was good about
forwarding mail temporarily from the old to new address, Phil wasn't
overly meticulous at the time in updating his address with all of
his correspondents.

However, Phil soon decided that the new provider was not to his liking
and he switched to another company--hence another e-mail address change.
Then, midyear, Phil purchased a new computer and received six months
free with yet another service provider necessitating yet another change
of e-mail address. The final blow came at Christmastime when Phil's
wife surprised him with a super-fast cable modem and broadband service.
Yet another e-mail address change!

The situation wouldn't be so bad if all Phil needed to do was to notify
a few friends in his address book of his current e-mail address. But,
Phil is a family history researcher and has placed his various and
sundry e-mail addresses in many places around the Internet in hopes of
being contacted by cousins and others with information on the ancestors
for whom he is looking.

Additionally, Phil has used (and is still using) many RootsWeb resources
and he just assumed (oh, no!) that RootsWeb would know about his address
changes automatically. Not so. RootsWeb does not keep track of its
users' e-mail addresses and has no magical tool to locate a new address
for someone. So, if someone is trying to contact Phil with several
generations of "newly discovered" ancestors, they are probably hitting a
dead end and giving up when the e-mails are returned as "user unknown."
someone is looking for you with lots of information to share. Is your e-
mail address current on all the RootsWeb resources? For instructions in
updating your address, see: http://helpdesk.rootsweb.com/addresses/

==============0

* * *
Seeing Double in Colorado
By David C Abernathy

My father Charles and Uncle Harold were counted twice in the 1930 Rio
Grande County, Colorado census. It appears that both a SPENCER and a
WALLACE household had them for roomers.

Since this is a very small town in the mountains of Colorado I know that
there were not two people with the same names, plus the wives' names
match correctly. This is just an example how the records were and still
today are not very accurate.

* * *
Shotgun Wedding -- Perhaps?
By David W. Coffey

My 3-great-grandfather, Golson Wilson COFFEY, obviously had a strange
sense of humor. In 1860 he granted permission for his 16-year-old son,
(my 2-great-grandfather), William F. COFFEY, to marry.

Here is the transcription of the record as recorded in the book "Russell
County, Kentucky Marriage Records, 1826-1860," compiled by Mrs. Carol
Sanders:

"William F. Coffey and Elizabeth A. Brown, daughter of Harvey Brown of
Russell Co., married on 2 Jan. 1860 at the home of her father in the
presence of John W. Coffey and William Coffey, signed M. W. Wilson.
Bond signed William (X) Coffey and Napolean B. Brown.

Consent as follows: Jan 2, 1860 authoriase [sic] the clerk of the
court to isue [sic] a death warnt [sic] to William Coffey.
Signed G.W. (X) Coffey"

* * *
Hilarious Names Upon Our Trees
By Mike Knoll

Contributor Denny Shirer did not say if the people named Hilarious in
the censuses were enumerated by the same person, but I wonder if the
name was not the result of the census enumerator's misunderstanding of
Hieronymous, a fairly common German given name, way back when.

* * *
Ancient Roots of Hilarious Name
By Bill Hansen

I was amused (no pun intended) on the forename Hilarious and its
variations (Hilarus/Hilarious) mentioned in a recent RootsWeb Review.
The only persons I have found with that forename are of either Swiss or
German origin. The name is derived from St. Hilarius, a native of
Sardinia, who was elected Pope in 461 and died 28 Feb. 468. The name
appears to be prominent in both German and Swiss families due to the
works of another saint, St. Fridolin. Fridolin or a variation is a name
is also a semi-common forename in Switzerland and lower Germany. I have
several ancestors of Swiss origin who were named either Hilarius or
Fridolin.

According to Catholic text, St. Fridolin, was founder of the Monastery
of Säckingen, Baden, in the sixth century. In accordance with a
later tradition, St. Fridolin is venerated as the first Irish missionary
who labored among the Alamanni on the Upper Rhine [an ecclesiastical
province that included the Archdiocese of Freiburg and the suffragan
Dioceses of Fulda, Mainz, Limburg, and Rottenburg] in the time of the
Merovingians. Fridolin (or Fridold) belonged to a noble family in
Ireland and at first labored as a missionary in his native land.
Afterwards crossing to France, he came to Poitiers, where in answer to a
vision, he sought the relics of St. Hilarius, and built a church for
their reception. See: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06303c.htm

* * *
Greek, Latin, and Mythological Names
By Frank Grenfell

Denny Shirer's article about the given name "Hilarious" is less
surprising if one realises that it comes straight from Greek and means
Cheerful. The modern version is, of course, Hilary.

In the 19th century names were often chosen for their meaning, many
taken from Greek or Latin, or classical mythology, or the Old Testament.
For instance, Agatha and Ophelia are Greek for Good and Help. Many of
them sound very dated these days, while others are still in common use
-- Andrew and Margaret mean Manly and Pearl.

The seventh, eighth and ninth sons of a large family, and cousins of
mine, were respectively Robert Septimus, Francis Octavius and
Riversdale Nonus, taken from the Latin numbers. Sadly Robert died at
Omdurman, Sudan in 1898 at the age of 23, and both Francis and
Riversdale in World War I, Francis receiving the Victoria Cross --
Britain's highest military honour.

* * *
Finding a Few NUTTY Ones on the Family Tree
By James Blair

In reference to: "Hilarious (et al)," I have one, I am descended from
Isabelle Grant NUTTY, the wife of my great-grandfather, Thomas H. BLAIR.
During my research I met a lot of NUTTY people.

==============00

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REPRINTS. Permission to reprint articles from RootsWeb Review is granted
unless specifically stated otherwise, provided: (1) the reprint is used
for non-commercial, educational purposes; and (2) the following notice
appears at the end of the article: Previously published in RootsWeb
Review: 5 January 2005, Vol. 8, No. 1