Getting access to old, out-of-print maps on the internet has been a very frustrating experience for me. Every time I thought that I had found a map source, what I actually found was someone wanting to sell me something; a subscription to their website, reproduction maps (usually of marginal quality), or some other scheme to transfer my money from my pocket to the pocket of someone else. Even government websites do not make available maps of their boundaries from previous years. If they have a map link on their website, it is usually to Google Maps, which is not what the genealogist is looking for. Well, today I finally must have held my mouth just right, because I stumbled onto a wonderful, FREE, map archive. Ran by the University of South Florida, they have many many maps available to you the researcher, and all free. I have downloaded color pdf maps of 1892 Arkansas, 1892 Missouri, 1909 Oklahoma, 1891 Indiana (the 1892 colored map of Indiana is what I really wanted, as it showed counties in color. But the link it broken for those maps, I have sent an email reporting the broken links). And when I open them on my big monitor, I am able to blow them up several times to see even the smallest detail. These maps have been scanned at a very high level. So today, I used the 1909 Oklahoma to find Catale, which no longer exists, and also Whiteoak, which barely exists, to find where my wife's grandparents were living and married in 1906. I am so excited about this find. I have since found several communities referenced in Arkansas and Missouri where her family lived that no longer exist, but do on these maps. If you need an older map, go to this website and get as many as you need! http://etc.usf.edu/maps/galleries/us/index.htm Rick Beitler rabone@gmail.com http://chertyrock.blogspot.com Golf is a good walk spoiled. ~Mark Twain

Here are a few resources that might interest you if you like old maps Michael Diamant: http://www.retromap.ru/ http://maps.nypl.org/warper/ http://maps.nls.uk/ http://mapy.mzk.cz/hledat/ http://www.bl.uk/reshelp/findhelprestype/webres/scanned http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/maps/ http://www.davidrumsey.com/ On Tue, Jul 17, 2012 at 1:06 PM, Rick Beitler <rabone@gmail.com> wrote: > Getting access to old, out-of-print maps on the internet has been a very frustrating experience for me. > Every time I thought that I had found a map source, what I actually found was someone wanting to sell me something; a subscription to their website, reproduction maps (usually of marginal quality), or some other scheme to transfer my money from my pocket to the pocket of someone else. > > Even government websites do not make available maps of their boundaries from previous years. If they have a map link on their website, it is usually to Google Maps, which is not what the genealogist is looking for. > > Well, today I finally must have held my mouth just right, because I stumbled onto a wonderful, FREE, map archive. > Ran by the University of South Florida, they have many many maps available to you the researcher, and all free. > I have downloaded color pdf maps of 1892 Arkansas, 1892 Missouri, 1909 Oklahoma, 1891 Indiana (the 1892 colored map of Indiana is what I really wanted, as it showed counties in color. But the link it broken for those maps, I have sent an email reporting the broken links). And when I open them on my big monitor, I am able to blow them up several times to see even the smallest detail. These maps have been scanned at a very high level. > > So today, I used the 1909 Oklahoma to find Catale, which no longer exists, and also Whiteoak, which barely exists, to find where my wife's grandparents were living and married in 1906. I am so excited about this find. I have since found several communities referenced in Arkansas and Missouri where her family lived that no longer exist, but do on these maps. > > If you need an older map, go to this website and get as many as you need! > > http://etc.usf.edu/maps/galleries/us/index.htm > > > Rick Beitler > rabone@gmail.com > http://chertyrock.blogspot.com > > Golf is a good walk spoiled. ~Mark Twain > > Remember - Use the Archives at http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/search > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to BK-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Rick, Thank you for sharing the link. It is so frustrating trying to pinpoint those places that don't exist now and maybe were never more than a "spot in the road" but were so very important to our ancestors. From Oklahoma Place Names, 2nd Edition, George H. Shirk, copyright 1965, 1974, University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, OK. Catale, Oklahoma is in Rogers County, 3 miles NE of Chelsea. It had a post office from October 6, 1894 to February 1933. Whiteoak, Oklahoma is in Craig County 7 miles west of Vinita. It had a post office from October 31, 1898 to October 31, 1957. I have several Oklahoma History oriented books like the above so feel free to email me if you think I might be able to help with a look up. lyn On 7/16/2012 4:06 PM, Rick Beitler wrote: > Getting access to old, out-of-print maps on the internet has been a > very frustrating experience for me. Every time I thought that I had > found a map source, what I actually found was someone wanting to sell > me something; a subscription to their website, reproduction maps > (usually of marginal quality), or some other scheme to transfer my > money from my pocket to the pocket of someone else. > > Even government websites do not make available maps of their > boundaries from previous years. If they have a map link on their > website, it is usually to Google Maps, which is not what the > genealogist is looking for. > > Well, today I finally must have held my mouth just right, because I > stumbled onto a wonderful, FREE, map archive. Ran by the University > of South Florida, they have many many maps available to you the > researcher, and all free. I have downloaded color pdf maps of 1892 > Arkansas, 1892 Missouri, 1909 Oklahoma, 1891 Indiana (the 1892 > colored map of Indiana is what I really wanted, as it showed counties > in color. But the link it broken for those maps, I have sent an email > reporting the broken links). And when I open them on my big monitor, > I am able to blow them up several times to see even the smallest > detail. These maps have been scanned at a very high level. > > So today, I used the 1909 Oklahoma to find Catale, which no longer > exists, and also Whiteoak, which barely exists, to find where my > wife's grandparents were living and married in 1906. I am so excited > about this find. I have since found several communities referenced in > Arkansas and Missouri where her family lived that no longer exist, > but do on these maps. > > If you need an older map, go to this website and get as many as you > need! > > http://etc.usf.edu/maps/galleries/us/index.htm > > > Rick Beitler rabone@gmail.com http://chertyrock.blogspot.com > > Golf is a good walk spoiled. ~Mark Twain > > Remember - Use the Archives at > http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/search > ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please > send an email to BK-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' > without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message >