) ( ) Good Morning Family! .-.,--^--. ( Come on in. . . \\|`----'| - The coffee pot's on. . . \| |// ...and we even have decaf, | |/ tea, and hot chocolate! \ / ------ Today's topics include: 1. Welcome to new cousins 2. Virtual lecturing, an innovative step on the Web 3. Are you a newbie? ... new to genealogy? If you've been with the family for at least three weeks, you'll probably want to skip the following paragraph… TO OUR NEWEST COUSINS ~~ On behalf of the entire family, I'd like to extend a most hearty welcome to those cousins who came into the family fold this past week. We are very glad to have you with us and hope you'll stay and remain a part of our online family. As soon as you're comfortable with us and the list, please send in your Bower[s]/Bauer/Baur/Bro[u]wer lines so we can all see how we're related to you. We do not have a fancy format for sending in records or queries to the list. Post as many as you wish! If the data has anything to do with Bower[s]/Bau[e]r/Bro[u]wer lines or any of the 81+ variant spellings that might help someone, please feel free to post it. Every scrap of information is appreciated. If you haven't visited the homesite of this list yet, you are encouraged to do so. The Bower Family Homestead [a.k.a., the Homestead] is our homesite and the gathering place for much of our information. It waits to join us all in welcoming you into the family at <http://www.crosswinds.net/~bowerhomestead>, or you can use our shortcut URL of <http://embark.to/Homestead>. We also have a newly opened sister site, the Bower Cottage, that we've begun to fill. There are currently only a few names there, but give us time... :) The Cottage is at <http://www.crosswinds.net/~bowercottage>, or you can use the shortcut URL of <http://embark.to/bowercottage>. VIRTUAL LECTURING, AN INNOVATIVE STEP ON THE WEB An innovative idea has come to the Web. On Friday night I participated in cyberspace's first-ever, virtual genealogical lecture which was held at <http://www.genealogy.about.com>. It was a beta-test sponsored by the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania and the topic was "Life in Mid-18th Century Pennsylvania." The guest speaker was John Humphrey, a nationally known genealogist. He posted his lecture on the Web and followed it a week later by an "event chat" in which John answered questions one at a time from individuals logged-on across the world. I missed the first hour and 15 minutes because of timezone differences (it started at 6 p.m. Mountain time - our dinner hour), however, what I did catch was enough to whet my whistle for more! I was taking notes fast and feverishly that night so I could tell all of you about it, however Kimberly Powell, about.com's genealogy webmistress has put the entire transcript of the evening online so I'll just pass the link along where you can read it for yourselves. To read John's lecture (which is very interesting and informative) go to <http://genealogy.about.com/hobbies/genealogy/library/authors/uchumphreya.htm>. The transcript is at <http://genealogy.about.com/hobbies/genealogy/library/blchattrans4.htm>. While not all of us have lines extending from Pennsylvania, just the read alone is fascinating and one can easily visualize from John's lecture a good part of our U.S. immigrant ancestors' lives. This is definitely a want-to-read for everyone! :) ARE YOU A NEWBIE ... NEW TO GENEALOGY? I've received at least nine messages in the last two weeks from cousins new to genealogy apologizing for how little they know or to please excuse them if they've done something wrong in posting. If you're rather new to genealogy, computers and/or computing genealogy then this next section is just for you ... I already know (because you've told me) that some of you have been yelled at (called flaming) or ridiculed by people on other lists and now, are afraid to post here, too. I want to tell all of you that life runs a LOT differently here than it does on many of your other lists. You do NOT have to worry about being humiliated here! WE ARE A FAMILY here ~ cousins who treat each other with respect and dignity. We are a caring lot and we share our information across the board. We HELP our newbies; we will NOT criticize you if you foul up (I do it all the time!), but will gently help you toward the correction ~ whether it be your own data (a transposed date, for example), your procedures and/or methodology. You newbies are vitally important to the family and whether you realize it or not, it's true. You may not be experienced in the "how-to" aspect of genealogical research or list netiquette, but you bring valuable information into the group by way of your lineages, even if that knowledge goes no further than your grandparents or great-grandparents. Those ancestors could very well be another cousin's great aunt or uncle they've been searching for or, even better, could be their (heretofore unknown) great-grandparents, too! Additionally, ANY little scrap of information offered to the family is valuable. Even scraps, once pulled together, will help create a family's quilt of ancestry. That's another reason why you newbies are so important. You tend to provide many of those tiny bits of family data that a lot of us long-time researchers haven't been able to locate in records. ["Oh this? It was just a page Grannie wrote up and stuck in her Bible ~ nothing important, really." Looking at it I see a handwritten paper showing the immigrant family that came from England, and I sit there dumbfounded!] So you see, tender newbie, you ARE important to the family and we desperately need you to not give up or be afraid to say anything. Remain with us, read the way messages are formatted by everyone else, and do the same thing! The ONLY two things you need to remember are: 1.) In the first line of your message, tell us you're a newbie so we can give you special attention; and 2.) Never post information about living relatives. This is for their protection against identity thieves. There is not a single cousin here who will "dump" on you ~ criticize you, put you down for your lack of knowledge, ridicule you ... or do any other hatefully negative thing you might think can/will happen here. Family takes care of family, and we take care of our newbies, our novices, and each other. Criticism is always constructive and gentle. And, in case you're wondering ... the penalty for flaming in the family is immediate removal. PLEASE, dear newbie, take that first step and try the waters. Send in your posts and let us know who you are and who you're looking for. You won't be able to trust us until you take that initial leap. After all, we're family ... and that's what we're all about. To those cousins with October birthdays, the family and I wish you a very happy and special day. You are loved!! :) My cup runs empty one more time. I so enjoyed this time with each of you. Before I end for this week, may I share a link with you that was sent to me last night? Please share the majestic beauty of fall with me at <http://www.link4u.com/colors.htm>. I wish you all a week filled with health, productivity, fun, and above all ... filled with love. ) ( ) _.-~~-. (@\'--'/. Colleen ('``.__.'`) `..____.'