Dear All: This Post was created by Sue Swiggum from the The Ships List. She has a creative writing ability and creates these really wonderful posts every 3 months or so. She has gracefully agreed to let us publish her memo. I'd like to see her publish a book on the subject but until then the rest of the admins will just continue to plead with her to let us send her memos to our lists :-). I've modified her memo slightly to cover our particular situation as compared to her list. So thanks again Sue. Best Regards John A Hansen List Admin Subject Lines -- Subject Lines -- Subject Lines -- Subject Lines -- plus ... a few tidbits and gentle reminders which you might find useful. Regarding "Subject Lines" .... you'll see my other comments for Digest members below. Do include your surnames ( in Caps) in the subject line > location > dates and then include them again in the body of your message where you give the full details of your ancestor. If your details are sketchy at this point, then just put what ever you do have; sometimes the most minor of details can often provide the breakthrough. Subject lines such as "HELP" may not get you any HELP ... "PASSENGER LIST" may not get you any PASSENGER LIST ... "NEW SUBSCRIBER" may only get you a HELLO if you are lucky. The reason is not because you are being intentionally ignored, but rather because our wonderful members with the resources to help you are VERY busy, so they scan the subject lines looking for a subject about which they have knowledge. Sometimes they have no time to open every message and peek to see if they can help, so do yourselves a big favor by drawing the right kind of attention to yourself and giving an assist to those with the resources and knowledge who are able to help. If you are making a general or other emigration/immigration inquiry, take a moment to read your own subject line first, to check if it is meaningful for your query. Put as much info in the subject line as can be reasonably done. Try not to _begin_ your subject line with numbers, as the robot handling the list mail sometimes rejects those. ps. A list member (who is one of our big helpers) has also suggested that when any of us respond to a message with an inappropriate subject line, that we alter it slightly. I do this sometimes, but on a busy day I sometimes overlook this step. ++ Answering: If you able to answer another member's query, then please share that answer with other list members ... UNLESS, the reply is very specifically directed to the poster [such as, "we have a Bill Smith living next door ... could he be yours?"] If your answer will be of interest to other list members, such as ship movements, dates, ports, microfilm numbers, "how-to" research immigration/emigration related sources etc., etc., then please share that with the list. ++ Quoting: When responding to a query on the list, by all means quote the original message so that we ALL know what you are talking about. BUT, edit <snip> the original message to just illustrate the part which you have answered. On my recent roll call for instance, the actual post for the roll call should have been snipped. ++ <snip>'s: As mentioned above, "snipping" [editing] is recommended, to save from excessive "quoting" and wasting band-width by filling up the Digests. List Mode members, also <snip> the 'tag-lines' from the original post, and refrain from sending any "piggy-backed" messages with your post unless they follow the thread. ++ Forwarding Mail: When forwarding mail [Fwd:] because you may have mis-addressed the original or you are sending a repeat of an earlier query, take a moment to edit all the unnecessary 'headers' and taglines etc. They take up too much room, and serve no purpose. Some may just "delete" rather than paging down to find your message. Consider copy/paste into a new message, rather than "Fwd:". ++ CAPS: Do not write your message in "CAPS" [Capital letters]. Messages/Queries written ALL in CAPS tend to be difficult to read, for most of us. In the "world" of cyber-space, CAPS are considered the equivalent of SHOUTING! Save CAPS for ship names, surnames, or anything else you wish to stress. (CAPS are okay from vision-impaired members) ++ WebPages: Do not "quote" an entire web page, rather, POST the URL and give a brief description of the site, and an explanation of why you found it useful. ++ Citing: When quoting any information found elsewhere, eg. ... a web page, a book, a document ... always cite (give credit) to the website, and/or the author, the publication etc. Apart from being common courtesy, it can also cover many possible copyright infringements when you quote an excerpt from an original document/publication. Content from a public document is not copyright, but the compilation of those facts can be. ++ Subject Lines: These are SO important as this is your "headline" to attract the attention of those who may be able to help you. Digest members ..... remember to change the subject line to reflect the topic. If you send a subject which says ... Re: Surname-D Digest V02 #xx ... then this is meaningless, and may go unread. Also, include your year of interest. ++ Thank you: Please NEVER forget to send a thank you to someone who has answered your query. It is so nice to send some appreciation to those who have helped you. These should be in the form of a PRIVATE message, but I won't mind if you have been totally overwhelmed by the number of responses, and you wish to thank everyone by means of the list. :-) It only takes a moment, and shows that you don't take any contribution for granted. ++ Reply Most often any info request etc should be posted to the list Surname-L@rootsweb.com. Do not reply to me as list admin because I then just forward to the list. Please reply to the List even if you are on the Digest Surname-D@rootsweb.com. ++ Not A Subscriber. You will sometimes get a "Not A Subscriber" notice. These are posts that get bounced to me because the poster is sending from a different address than they are subscribed with. I forward these to the list. The address that you are registered with can be just slightly different, sometimes the ISP inserts a extra server or other identification in the email id. To check your own address, send your self a email and look at the headers to look at your "from" address. Make sure your email program inserts this address in your post and then subscribe to the mailing lists of your choice. ++ Virus alerts Please just send these directly to me and keep the discussion off the mailing list. ++ Signature Blocks Signature Blocks and Lines are your address at the bottom of your message. No signatures lines over 4 lines. The VLF will automatically put anybody on moderate that can't seem to get their sig line down. Large sig lines clog up the search engine and the archives. VLF is a patented system from Piglet (the Listowners admin) and she rents it out for a royalty fee per use. VLF = Very Large Flyswatter to keep posters in line :-) ++ Be Nice No Flames, No Selling, No Religion, No Politics These are all interesting and emotional items. Trying to admin a list under those circumstance just takes to much time from my Genealogy and my Grandchildren :-) Hope all this helps. Best Regards John A Hansen jahansen@qwest.net List Admin

These are the earliest COWPER in my tree. I am descended from John COWPER and Margery NEWSON of Benhall. The other lines are all "dead ends". Is there anyone out there that may fit in. Phil Cooper (the name changed along the way) in Jakarta, Indonesia Descendants of John Cowper 1 John COWPER, b: Abt. 1546, d: 12 Sep 1612 in Ufford, Suffolk . +Margaret, b: Abt. 1546, d: 21 Apr 1616 in Ufford, Suffolk .... 2 Edward COWPER, b: Abt. 1568 .... 2 Margaret COWPER, b: 17 Dec 1569 in Ufford, Suffolk .... 2 Mary COWPER, b: 15 Jul 1571 in Ufford, Suffolk .... 2 Elizabeth COWPER, b: 20 Jul 1573 in Ufford, Suffolk ........ +Thomas UFFORD, b: , m: 02 Apr 1593 in Ufford, Suffolk .... 2 Agnes COWPER, b: 12 Oct 1575 in Ufford, Suffolk, d: 20 Oct 1575 in Ufford, Suffolk .... 2 Simon COWPER, b: 22 Sep 1576 in Ufford, Suffolk .... 2 Maria COWPER, b: 26 Nov 1578 in Ufford, Suffolk .... 2 Thomas COWPER, b: 01 Nov 1580 in Ufford, Suffolk ........ +Margaret, b: .... 2 John COWPER, b: 24 Mar 1581/82 in Ufford, Suffolk ........ +Margery NEWSON, b: 10 Jul 1582 in Benhall, Suffolk, m: 22 Dec 1604 in Benhall, Suffolk, d: 12 Nov 1638 in Benhall, Suffolk .... *2nd Wife of John COWPER: ........ +Mary CHAPLIN, b: , m: 05 Aug 1641 in Benhall, Suffolk .... 2 William COWPER, b: 03 Oct 1585 in Ufford, Suffolk ........ +Maria SMITH, b: , m: 01 Oct 1617 in Ufford, Suffolk .... 2 Ann COWPER, b: 14 Jul 1588 in Ufford, Suffolk ........ +William BIRKE, b:

Dear All: Generally speaking a roll call does not do much for the genealogy of our list. However, once a year seems to be an appropriate timing to dust off those brick walls and see where things stand. I know from the various emails that I receive that many of you have made great strides this year due to new databases on line and new web sites etc. So what I propose is as follows: A: Post the brick wall ancestor and other ancestors that seem to have been created to give you a a hard time. Some ancestors of mine have covered their tracks so well, it must have been deliberate :-) Please use the standard format in the subject line for everyone's benefit. This standard has been used and was created in order to allow many people to skim the subject lines and then determine if there is any interest or should the delete key be used. So one ancestor per message. The format is : SURNAME > location > time Note the surname is in Caps. The new search engines here in Rootsweb are coming on line and are working well. Then give the pertinent details in the message body. B: No signatures lines over 4 lines. The VLF will automatically put anybody on moderate that can't seem to get their sig line down. Large sig lines clog up the search engine and the archives. VLF is a patented system from Piglet (the Listowners admin) and she rents it out for a royalty fee per use. VLF = Very Large Flyswatter to keep posters in line :-) C: Also post any great web sites that you've found that really helped. I may put some of these in the taglines for future reference. Lets Go! Best Regards John A Hansen jahansen@qwest.net List Admin

Dear All: This is a one-time heads up notice. There are 3 new and one oldie and toughie virii out "in the wild" Three are rated level 2 and one is rated level 1 ( low risk) Please don't start numerous threads on the mailing list on this subject. If there are more warning please send direct to me for checking. Lets keep these lists focused on genealogy. If you get an infected message from someone then let me know so they can be removed temporarily from the list. All the AV software companies have updated their databases. Norton just released their latest updates this morning and could be more soon. A: Get your virus definitions updated as of today ( and everyday) B: They are purely an attachment virus ( so simpler to handle) "don't open attachments" Let's get ahead of this one and avoid the mess we had two weeks ago :-) See the following AV web pages describing the three http://www3.ca.com/Virus/ http://vil.nai.com/vil/ http://www.sarc.com/avcenter/ http://www.antivirus.com/vinfo/ http://vil.mcafee.com/newVirus.asp Best Regards John A Hansen List Admin.

Dear All: This is a one-time heads up notice. Please don't start numerous threads on this subject. The new virus Gokar is out "in the wild" today. All the AV software companies have updated their databases. Get it now! See the following AV web pages describing Gokar: http://www3.ca.com/Virus/Virus.asp?ID=10606 http://vil.nai.com/vil/virusSummary.asp?virus_k=99282 http://www.sarc.com/avcenter/venc/data/w32.gokar.a@mm.html http://www.antivirus.com/vinfo/virusencyclo/default5.asp?VName=WORM_GOKAR.A Best Regards John A Hansen List Admin.

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/an/jMQ.2ACIB/12.62.1.1.1.1 Message Board Post: I don't have any COWPER'S in Niagara Falls, ON area. My COWPER'S lived in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, England and from there emigrated to St. Louis, MO. From there, some branches went to Illinois while another went to California during the 1849 Gold Rush, continuing up to Victoria, BC, Canada in 1860. More of the COWPER family emigrated directly from England to Victoria, Canada in the late 1860's. Sorry I can't connect to your line!

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/jMQ.2ACIB/12.62.1.1.1 Message Board Post: SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG TO GET BACK AT YOU. MY GEORGE S. COWPER WAS MARRIED TO MELISSA M. SMITH FIRST WIFE. LIVE IN NIAGARA FALLS. HE WAS A MERCHANT..... HIS FATHER WAS GEORGE COWPER OF ENGLAND,SCOTLAND... GEORGE S. MOTHER WAS CHARLOTTE PETERKIN SHE WAS FROM ONTARTO. THEY WERE MARRIED 12-9-1974. IF ANY THING HOOK UP EMAIL ME AT WAY2SANDY@AOL.COM THANK SANDY

Dear All: There is a new virus announced as being out as of 7.30 am this morning Dec 4th. The general announcement from www.sarc.com is below. It is not a really serious virus except for it's wide distribution already this morning. A couple of significant points. A: get your virus definitions updated as of today B: It's purely an attachment virus ( so simpler to handle) Let's get ahead of this one and avoid the mess we had two weeks ago :-) Best Regards John A Hansen jahansen@qwest.net W32.Goner.A@mm Discovered on: December 4, 2001 Last Updated on: December 4, 2001 at 11:21:17 AM PST W32.Goner.A@mm is a mass-mailing worm that is written in Visual Basic. The worm has been compressed using a known Portable Executable (PE)* file compressor. The worm can spread its infection using the ICQ network as well as by email using Microsoft Outlook. If IRC is installed, this worm can also insert mIRC scripts that will enable the computer to be used in Denial of Service (DOS) attacks. Type: Worm Infection Length: 38,912 bytes Virus Definitions: December 4, 2001

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/an/jMQ.2ACIB/12.62.1.1 Message Board Post: It would help to know more about where your COWPER family lived and some dates, in order to help you with your questions.

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: cowper Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/an/jMQ.2ACIB/12.62.1 Message Board Post: hoping that you could help me. my mother in law is a cowper , george cower was her father. george s cowper was grandfather but we have nothing before him we would like to know if you do. and if so, their wife name and birth. thanks for listening.

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: cowper. Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/an/jMQ.2ACIB/12.63 Message Board Post: could you tell me if his father was augustus p. cowper and if he is do you have anything on him,been looking for 5 years. thanks, sandy

Dear All: The message below is from Sue on the TSL list and she states the situation quite clearly. The difficulty is that the attachment may not show or there is a false extension. It appears to have xxx.doc or xx.txt but the real extension ( .scr.or .exe) is 59 spaces to the right. So even if you get a email from a trusted source ( me or others) and there is no message etc, be very careful. It will also show about 29 or 30k as the size of the message. So that is a dead giveaway in that there is 30 k of message and it doesn't show up anyway . I have also received a mumber of these and have advised some of you of the problem. We will correspond to make sure your computer is clean before resubscribing. If anyone receives one of these virus transmissions from a member: A: advise the list of the name B: send me the name and email address and mail list. Best Regards John A Hansen jahansen@qwest.net List Admin Forwarded message Many of you will remember the "badtrans" virus last August. People seemed to wise-up about that one, but now there is another _strain_ of the badtrans virus called W32.Badtrans.B@mm and I have received quite a few of them ... some from current list members. I am Bcc'ing those list members whose computers are infected, so if you receive a copy of this message without the [TSL] prepend, please quickly go to the link below to learn how to clean the virus out of your computer. You will NEVER receive a virus through the list, but if listmembers get infected, their computer may send you the virus, which _may_ have a list subject line. My Norton "anti-virus" program is doing a very good job of detecting, but Norton doesn't seem to have a complete write-up about this one. They do mention the file extensions etc., but they don't mention how the email will appear or whether there is a message or not. My experience has been that only one has arrived with a subject line from a list post, the others simply have a "Re:" in the subject line. I have seen no message (but maybe Norton is deleting that too) Most of those I have received have come from Australian or New Zealand email addresses, so they must have gotten it first. Also, I don't know whether my Norton is doing this (the write-up doesn't say) but the email addresses of the sending computers is altered by having an underline character preceeding the address, such as <_emailaddress@optusnet.com.au> PLEASE remember to make sure you have up-to-date Anti Virus software, AND remember to update the Virus definitions regularly. There are a lot of good Anti Virus programs out there (I use Norton) but they aren't any good unless you update them. You can read about this virus and how to remove it from your system on the Norton Symantec site ... http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/ http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/w32.badtrans.b@mm.html Sue --

Dear All: Some volunteers from the society of the Daughters of the American Revolution ( DAR) have established a wonderful new program for users of Rootsweb. These volunteers will do lookups in their database and records if you think one of your ancestors served in some capacity during the American Revolution. These volunteers have more databases that are available to them than the ones commonly used by the search engines. The process is fairly simple : Go to the DAR message board: There are two ways to do that: > www.rootsweb.com > message boards > topics > organizations and societies > DAR Or if you want the easy way :-) http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec?htx=board&r=rw&p=topics.organizations.dar Address your message as follows: subject : DAR Lookup > surname> location > dates In the body of the message put the information regarding the person, Be sure to fill out the surnames box at the bottom since the new search engine will be keying on that item. Leave the email response box checked and you will be notified when the DAR volunteers respond . Give them a week or so to get to your request. We really appreciate their efforts. This info can be key for: a: joining these prestigious organizations ( DAR & SAR) b: sending a request for the copies of the files that were submitted and the information they have available. Many thanks to: Glenda Thompson DAR VIS Volunteer Vice Chrm. Patriot Lookup for organizing this effort and all the many volunteers that are donating their time and effort to us instead of pursuing their own ancestors, Best Regards John A Hansen DAR board admin. BTW: Please forward this message to other lists and boards that each of you are involved in. A word of thanks to each volunteer that does this work and especially the one that responds to your post would probably be highly appreciated.

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/an/jMQ.2ACIB/1.2.35 Message Board Post: Is it possible that your grandfathers siblings include : JOHN COWPER b.c.1864 - d.c.1939 who had links with both Penrith & Newcastlte-Upon-Tyne. If poss., then pls. contact me a2z@blueyonder.co.uk

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/an/jMQ.2ACIB/35.37.1.1 Message Board Post: Peter, Thank you for your response and I will definitely give these sites a try. Harold

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: Cowper, Murphy, Mackay, Howes Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/an/jMQ.2ACIB/69 Message Board Post: My mother : Vera Cowper b.28.02.1921 at St Pancras, London. married : Edward (Ted) Robert Murphy of Shoreditch (Hoxton), London b.12.06.1920- d.05.05.1985 Vera was the (illegitimate) dau. of : Marie Elizabeth Cowper b.13.10.1902 at Penrith, dau. of : John Cowper b.c.1864 & d.c.1939 John married a lady whose name is unknown, who d.c.1915. John moved to Newcastle Upon Tyne (date unknown) John Cowper was a Steam Locomotive Engineer & travelled between Newcastle and London (employer unknown) John Cowper's children included : Amy, (emigrated to Australia) known to live in/around Darwin Sadie, married : Murdoch Mackay (River Policeman) Margaret b.c.1895, married : George Howes (River Policeman) John, married : Norah (surname unknown) Anne b.c.Sept.1890 Marie b.13.10.1902 (see above) If you have any knowledge, connection or are related with any named here, then please contact me, will share info. My Regards Peter Murphy

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/an/jMQ.2ACIB/35.37.1 Message Board Post: England genealogy sources : http://familyrecords.gov.uk/ http://genealogy.com/englandcountry/ http://familia.org.uk/sevices Anyone of these sites will give you many sources. A good start for you, would be to apply for your ancestors 'Full Birth Certificate', which will give you the address, parish, & parents. The cost is negligable. Best wishes, Peter

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/an/jMQ.2ACIB/43.45.60.1 Message Board Post: England genealogy sources : http://familyrecords.gov.uk/ http://genealogy.com/englandcountry/ http://familia.org.uk/sevices Anyone of these sites will give you many sources. A good start for you, would be to apply for your ancestors 'Full Birth Certificate', which will give you the address, parish, & parents. The cost is negligable. Best wishes, Peter

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/an/jMQ.2ACIB/21.40.44.49.1.1.1 Message Board Post: The Cowpers many times married into powerfull families and would use the wifes maddan name as a middle name for their children. My line is of the Earl Cowper and William Cowper the poet. Many of the Cowpers of my line were ministers, millitary, and in politics. They do not alway stay in the same county for many generation. The Earls line can be found in Warwickshire, London, and Hertfordshire. The family estate was called Panshanger Hall and was in Hertforshire. They also had a house in London in the St. James park area, which now is embassy role. Sir Charles Spenser Cowper also owned the what is today call Sanderingham. Queen Victoria bought the property in 1862 from him for 260K pounds. Park House was another family house. It is now the home of the Spensers. By all of this you can see the difficulty in tracing with such a mobile family with births, marriages and deaths in different counties. I had to make certain assumption in tracing my line because I ran into a ! dead end in Warwickshire. In 1990 my wife and I visited England. What we found there was My father looked like the 2nd Earl Cowper, My Grandfather looked like the 3rd Earl Cowper and I am have the likeness of the 6th Earl. My youngest sister looks like Lady Desburough, the last of the Cowpers to live at the Family Estate. She was also the Grandmother of the current Lord Gage. Lord Gage inherited family painting and furniture. I have not checked to see how close your search is to these areas but, if you are close you may want to check these other counties. Larry Cowper ltcowper@yahoo.com

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/an/jMQ.2ACIB/21.40.44.49.1.1 Message Board Post: I am searching for any info about a William Sedgewick Cowper born abt 1800. He md.Jane Esther Shipley 15 Feb 1829. He lived in Bishopwearmouth, Durham Co.Eng. and I believe he died abt.1846. He is my g.g.grandfather. His son Matthew b.1836 is my g.father. Perhaps we can exchange info.if there is a connection. He may have been a son of Mathew Cowper and Hannah Sedgewick, but I have no proof.His wife died before 1846 and I believe Mathew must have been raised by relatives.