>Hi all; >Time for our weekly update on the project. I think we are still sane. We want to thank all those that have made donations to the project. They are GREATLY appreciated and much needed. > >We now have over 80 transcriptionists. They are typing as fast as the records are coming in the door. It definitely has kept Laura, Steve and I busy staying on top of everything. This project is moving so much faster than we ever dreamed. We could not do it without all of those transcriptionists, volunteers and my wonderful #2s, Steve and Laura. > >For those of you who are reading this update for the first time, this is the online pre-1905 death records for all counties in California. Later, we hope to do the marriages and births, but right now, our goal is to complete the deaths. > >We have had several people that have emailed me with the wonderful stories of finding relatives on the lists...some having searched for several years for death dates of ancestors. It is really fantastic to get these stories and makes it worth all the work that is entailed in this project. We have shared some of them with all the volunteers so that they can appreciate them as well. Thank you to those of you that have shared your stories. > >We currently have the following counties distributed and in transcription: > >San Bernardino County Book Two >Los Angeles County, Books One, Two, Three, Four, Five and Six >Marin County Book Two >Colusa County Book Two >Humboldt County Book One and Two >Butte County Book Two >Mendocino County >San Luis Obispo >Placer County >El Dorado County >Amador County >Nevada County >Klamath County >Mariposa County >City of Oakland >San Benito County >Siskiyou County >Kern County > > >The website address is: >http://www.rootsweb.com/~cabf1905 > >We have the following already online: > >Butte County Book One >Colusa County Book One >Madera County >Marin County Book One >Riverside County >San Bernardino County Book One >San Diego County > >The following counties are on the verge of being placed online and should be online really soon: > >San Bernardino County Book Two >Colusa County Book Two >Marin County Book Two >Mendocino County > >We have received funding for the following counties which have been ordered and should be in transcription phase soon: > >Modoc County >Shasta County > >Undesignated donations are currently being collected for San Francisco County which is a very large number of files. As soon as we get enough to get these records, they will be distributed for transcription. Other counties that are in various pending stages are: > >Del Norte County >Fresno County >Lake County >Monterey County >Orange County >San Francisco County >Tehama County > >DONATIONS: Desperately needed. We pay about .35 - .50 per page of about 40 names for the death registers. When you calculate how many records are in a given county, you can easily see the costs factors involved. We need all the help we can get. We have some people who are sponsoring whole counties and we have others sending small checks to help. Every little bit helps and all is greatly appreciated. ALSO, postage to get the files to the transcribers is wonderful. Each packet that we send out to be transcribed averages about $1.25 in postage. This adds up to alot of postage. We have sent out over 100 packets. Please send donations to me. I am keeping accountings of all the funds for those that have any questions. These records are updated daily. We are still in the red, although, thanks to the donations received to date, there might be a light at the end of the tunnel. > >Based on the information that we have received from those that have responded to previous updates, we will be making CDs of the information that we have. Although we do not know yet, the cost for these CDs, the sale of these will be helping to fund future counties and records. We, as yet, have not determined how many counties or whether by region or alphabetically they will be placed on the CDs. This is still in the determination phase. > >I have received hundreds of emails from those that want information or just to say thank you for the project. These are all great to receive as they help us determine what you, the users, want on this website. Thank you all for your input. This project is for your FREE use. That's all for now. Till next week.... > >Donna Bradley >Pre-1905 Project Coordinator >P. O. Box 391368 >Anza, CA 92539-1368 >mbs@inland.net >http://www.rootsweb.com/~cabf1905 > >