I have been mainly lurking as 99% of the research I do is from German Parish records on film. But here is what I do. 1. On every scrap of paper that I write on I have the number of the film that the info came from. As I have no one to ask questions of, the really only errors will be in my ability to read the old German Script. [families came to US in 1850 and 1870] I regularly go back over the same films for two reasons a. I couldn't read it at the time and my ability to read the old German has improved with time b. to find the people I left out c. to make corrections, as I now can read it better than I could 25 years ago. 2. I keep a record of the films that have info and the ones that don't. 3. I seldom make copies of the film frames because the families seem to stay in the same are for 0ver two hundred years and it would just be to many copies. By using this method I have found about 7000 people who are some kind of kin to me, granted some are very distant cousins, but for an only child that is a lot of family!! Charlotte utdoody@xpressweb.com

Hi, I have been working on the Hand line in Kentucky. Rebecca hand married a Paddock. I don't have the date with me but it was around 1780. Niki

Donna, Thanks for your reply, The only Hoffman I have run into is 6 gen back ggggm Elizabeth Hoffman bon on a ship from Amsterdam and md William Berrit Powley 16 Nov 11807 in Schenectady NY. That is all I have! kind Regards Bonnie Ferguson jacboni@aol.com

Dear Dianne, Como esta usted? I tried to put the http (hypertest transfer protocol) address for BYU on my favorite places by clicking on the hyperlink but it was not found. Help. This is a great challenge for all of us to take!!! :-) Thank you. Lula in Layton

First - what is an onry LOL? (I get onry, but not LOL). I, too, spent years trusting the work of others, not documenting, not thinking it was necessary in order to get my ancestors temple work done. Only recently, when I pulled some r-e-a-l-l-y bad stuff from the Ancestral file, have I realized what mistakes I could have made. I am now in the process of almost starting from scratch, at least regarding documentation. Thankfully, many other researchers out there working on my lines were more dedicated and exacting than I, so my work will be easier thanks to them. But what we have done is not all bad or corrupted for lack of documentation! My great-grandparents and their 7 children are sealed as a family unit, even though I can't tell you the name of the cemetary where we found their baby's gravestone. They, in turn, are still sealed to their parents, even though I was unable to copy records in Jackson County, MN. What am I trying to say is that, our work has not been for nothing. But we need to improve our methods so that those that research after us will not have cause to doubt what we have done. Love you all! Diane in Austin

Dianne Curry Morris, Do you Live in Tanner Al. I sold a MH there to a person by the same name. Bonnie Ferguson jacboni@aol.com

Hi Everyone, I have spent the last 12 hours thinking about what Jim wrote. He is a wise man in many ways. I know this because we talk often. He is also onry LOL. He had a lot of good points in his letter. I think that we need to address these issues and try to get down to some real discussions. I have prayerfully considered what to suggest and dont know what I am going to say until its written so we will all be surprised. :-) The first thing I think we need to consider and discuss is the fundimentals of Genealogy Online, Habits we need to get down pat to make our research worthy of our ancestors. Jim speaks of being bitten by Elijah- I know exactly what he means. I feel all the ancestors prodding me along- get to work -they say. They haunt my waking and sleeping hours. Its not just my ancestors that cry out for their work to be done- It is your ancestors too. I love this work and feel it is my life's work. I feel useful, but I have let you all down by not teaching and sharing and getting you to share the things we all need to "Free the Birdies". This is all about to change. You all joined this list to get help with your genealogy work online and off. You are about to be put to the task!! I have no definite lesson plan or idea of what we are going to do. It is not for just me to say. We will get started and I will try to figure out what to do next and so forth. I welcome any and all suggestions. Lets get this list up and doing what it is meant to do. Discussion 1: Getting Started. Do you keep a research log?? Do you keep all sources for each scrap of information? Do you write who said what and where you posted your information? Where did you post that Query? Who sent that E-Mail that gave you Cousin George's date of birth? Who have you sent e-mails to for information so you can follow it up if you dont hear something?? We are all forgetful!! I know I certainly am and sometimes have to be reminded to send some information or a picture or whatever because it gets pushed under the mountain of papers I am currently working on. It doesn't hurt to check back after a week or two. That person may have just the information you really need. It would be sad to miss an opportunity to solve a puzzle because we didn't follow up on a request. Then too, send some kind of acknowledgement of receiving a request for information. I am bad about this. I print every thing out- that is how I get mountains of paper and have had to go back to check up on emails from Jan. to see if I got the info. We all need to work on this. I challenge each and every one of you to become involved in the discussions and share your knowledge so we can learn too. There is a page on the net called 20 Ways to avoid Genealogy Grief- <A HREF="http://www.rootsweb.com/roots-l/20ways.html">20 Ways to Avoid Genealogical Grief</A> . Lets start there and go thru it. There is a copy of a research form at: <A HREF="http://www2.kbyu.byu.edu/ancestors/teachersguide/tg- images/resrchlg.gif">resrchlg.gif at www2.kbyu.byu.edu</A> It is easily printable and will give you the basics. I suggest that all of you get in the habit of recording every piece of information and its source NOW. This is so very important!! Let me know what you think of my suggestion on the mailing list and lets talk about the twenty ways. Then we will start on something else- the subject will become clear as we have discussions on the list. Please use the correct Subject line for what you are writing about and answer on the list, not to one person unless it is of a personal nature. We can all learn from the questions that the discussions raise. I for one look forward to learning from you. Love to all my Sisters and Brothers, Dianne Curry Morris

Hi there, I have to be honest and say they so often I delete letters without reading them. When I opened your letter I was instantly drawn in and read til the very end. Thank you for the words that you took so long to write. It makes me ponder and think. I too would like to learn how to do things better. I'm still pretty new to this genealogy stuff. I am a member of the Church, but don't know how to use all the facilities that are offered. Anyway, I guess it's silly that I'm writing anything. I just wanted to let you know that I did read your letter.......and I enjoyed it. I hope we can learn more on topics to help better our research. Thanks, Dusti Lines

My first suggestion is to get instructions from the Family History Center on "How to do your genealogy". It lists the primary source materials you should have on hand, like a BC "Birth Certificate". I'm afraid I agree with you that we are not doing our Genealogy, we are just collecting names. Don't you want to know more about your ancestors than just their name? I do, but I am not interested in having a printed copy of every bit of information I can find on them. I am quite satisfied to know where the "primary" documentation resides. As an example, I know my mother has the birth certificate and military service papers on my grandfather, I have seen them, so I know what state I could get them from, etc. I don't need to "prove" my ancestors by having "ALL", I just need a good index that lists where.

Jim, Thank you for reminding us all that we have to be better at what we are trying to do. When you first start on this project of family history, all you can do is start "collecting". At some point in time you have to come up with a workable plan to keep track of your "finds". Because some family members do not spell very well, from the beginning we had to collect all the documentation on our own. It costs a lot but is worth it in the end. A year ago my grandmother died and I really began to want to KNOW who these people are. Where and how they lived, what their children did and why they died so young, and on and on. I wanted copies of pictures so when I saw their names I would see them. Pictures are the hardest to get. To keep track of all this info each person has a file folder with his/her info even if it is in another's file ---- parent marriage cert. etc. In that file is a paper to keep track of what has been looked for and where. Then I have a note book - alphabetized - to keep track of the e-mail help I've received. You are right, if we are to be a record keeping people we need to be more careful in our accuracy. The Anceatral File is a good example of inaccuracy. It is a very good place to start. Sometimes the only place to start but we have to check each bit of info we obtain from it. Thanks for your reminder. Annette

http://www.ohiohistory.org/dindex/search.cfm Here is the site that I found for Ohio. There may be similar sites in other states. I haven't checked yet as most of the information I have been researching is in Ohio still. http://www.ancestry.com/ssdi/advanced.htm This is the other site that I was able to find a lot of information on. Sorry for not sending it sooner.

I found the SSDI on a http://www.ancestry.com/ssdi/advanced.htm There are also SSDI list at Family History Center at LDS chapels it is a good idea to check several of them as the seem to vary from one list to the other.

To the Rooters I have joined the local Genealogy Society and I have come to find out the I have some really poor habits about family history work. These poor habits have come about by the fact I started Family History work to do the temple work for grandparents. I got PAF and I learned how to use Family Search. I called some relatives, non members, I had never met and I started to get information. I submitted names and I have had wonderful experiences at the temple and then reality has set in, I'm hooked. I am one of those "Mormon wonders". Too often I submited information and now I hope it's right. I spent a long time searching before keeping a research log. I flit from source to source searching for anything that looks like it belongs to me, after all I do this in between work and church and family and teenagers and weddings and having a real world life. I should get points just for trying. I am bitten by Elijah, I see family members in my dreams. I spend prayerful hours searching. The members of my ward come to me for advice. Then after countless hours I find out all the work I have done needs to be redone because I never recorded sources, my conscious forces me to start over, right this time. Most of us on the list are LDS and we do this work for a different reason than everyone else, you guys understand that. I showed a lady at the Genealogy Society my family book that was done years ago by the family organization, she looked at it a bit and said "It's tract to convince all the family members to stay Mormons, this is just a book listing their church jobs". I hate to say it but she was right. I need a family book that has more than the testimonies of grand parents in it. I need to include his physical description from his military papers or a copy of her drivers license. We need a picture of the ship they arrived on, or a description of the family farm from the property records. And guys I'm really poor at the things I need to know to make that happen. I would like to ask the list to change what we are doing presently to become a point of discussion and sharing the details. What I'm asking will be tough because I know how hard this letter was to post. I have to admit I really don't know how to do some basic things and I need to change. Could we take the time and really discuss topics in depth? Could we have a multitude of solutions to choose from with a discussion of all suggestions. I don't just want the address to write to for a BC, I would like to see words of advise to make it easier to deal with the clerks, I would like to see copies of letters that have proven to be successful. I would love to hear from people that have had problems and how they are working to solve them. I would like to hear if the list members keep copies of their letters in a binder or a file or on their computer. I would like to have someone share with me how you keep up with this work and still have room on the kitchen table to eat. What do I keep and what do I throw away? And by the way what is a BC and should I order more than one? Dianne tells me there are 200 subscribers to the list and if that is the case the information is here for the sharing, but we don't. Why? Well there I have said it. Out of the 200 here someone is doing it right, and I want to know that from you, and I want you to be willing to discuss that in front of the group. I need an atmosphere around the list that would allow me to ask anyone why, without them taking offense, and cheerfully answering. The church has the greatest archive in the world and most of us have trouble using it, if we use it. It gets used by non members so they can do their work and then chuckle behind my back at the Mormon wanna be Family book I have, and they are right. I have to learn to do this work right. How I can fail make my families Book of Remembrance a worthy work? It is too important not to give it my best. What really bothers me is that I read the mail from the best everyday and we hide our lights by sharing quick one liners to each other or replying to the person directly. So Dianne I challenge you. Pick a topic and lets really discuss it for say two weeks, lets take it apart and get 25 different suggestions, and 10 successes and I'll Print them out and start my training manual. When that is done lets choose another topic and beat it till we ALL know about it. There is another reason for this, one of those smug folks at the Genealogy Society told me if really want to learn how to do this I better go somewhere beside my church, because "No One There Knows A Thing About What They Are Doing". I want to rub her nose in something deserving so bad, but you guys have to teach me. Come on list, give in, give up your knowledge, and give me somewhere to get training that comes from church members that know why the testimonies need to be there too. Jim Belnap Phoenix, AZ

>>In a message dated 8/5/98 1:30:46 AM Mountain Daylight Time, >>turtleusn@MCI2000.com writes: >>I found death certificate cites that enabled me confirm and find dates I >>didn't have. >> At 05:52 PM 8/5/98 SHLOOL@aol.comwrote: >Please send me e-mail and let me know where these death cert. sites are. Any word yet??? I think we are all anxiously awaiting this URL (web address). Please hurry ;=) --John -------------------------------------------------------------------- John D. Stone jdstone@erols.com http://www.erols.com/jdstone Visit the "Latter-day Saints' Resources on the Internet" -------------------------------------------------------------------- "Don't forget your coat. How's anybody supposed to recognize you without your disguise" -- Clint Eastwood in the Eiger Sanction --------------------------------------------------------------------

hi! I found someone searching my line of MOLLIE BEAN...unfortunately her listed email is no longer valid. I am DESPERATE to locate this person, KELLIE BRADDOCK as we are definately searching the same line. Can anyone help? Carole

I'm looking forward to this! Hopefully, it will help me become a better researcher. I'm more or less self-taught. I've read pamphlets, attended a few classes, and read your messages. Someone along my travels mentioned that I needed to write down the sources of my information. So, I began doing that--but it was a hard habit to get into (and I still forget occasionally). Then, I discovered that I was looking at films, books, etc. over and over again. I finally figured out that I was recording sources of information that I'd found, but I didn't record sources of "not finding information"! If I had listed a specific film and written "no luck" or whatever, I wouldn't have searched through that film again months later. I look forward to sharing some great ideas and learning from all of you. Annette in Utah

The Social Security Death Index lists many deceased persons who had Social Security # and whose deaths were reported to the SS Adm. Most names (more than 38 mil.) are for people who died from 1962 - 1988. The file also lists millions who died from 1937 thru 1962. It lists birth and death dates for over 40 mil. people, information on place of last residence, address of recipients of benefits, etc.. The SSDI is listed in the "Family Search Program" found at any LDS Family History Library, or can be purchased anywhere. I think it is on line, but I'll have to find my urls in my umpteen reams of paper yet to be filed. Send for a social securitiy packet, which may contain a copy of the social security application, a full copy of the SS-5. This could contain the applicant's parents' names, etc.. There is a charge for this service. It used to be, if you know the name and correct SS#, the cost was $7. If you don't know the # or it is incorrect the cost was $16.50. (But that was a while ago and it may be more now.) Send check or money order, made payable to the Social Security Adm.. Attn: Freedom of Information Officer, 4-H-8 Annex. Bldg., Baltimore, MD 21235. I hope this info is still in effect. Remember: Railroad and Gov't workers assigned the area numbers (first three digits) 700-728. Since 1963, railroad workers have been assigned SS#'s with the same area number as other workers, according to where they live. Good Luck. Linda Kay- From: DClark4204@aol.com <DClark4204@aol.com> To: GEN-ROOTERS-L@rootsweb.com <GEN-ROOTERS-L@rootsweb.com> Date: Wednesday, August 05, 1998 10:40 PM Subject: [GEN-ROOTERS-L] Re: Social Security Death Index???? >I am very new to genealogy, and even newer to on-line genealogy, so please >excuse my ignorance. What is the Social Security Death Index mentioned here? >Where do you get it? Is it on-line? How do you search it? Do you have to >know someone's SSN to find them on it? And how long after their death (I'm >assuming that you can't information on living people) is their information >available? > >Any info is more than I have now! Thanks.... Heidi > >Oh, I didn't get any takers the other day, but it never hurts to try again: I >am looking for GIBSON's (North Carolina and South Carolina), and RIPPY's >(same). Thanks and good hunting! > > >==== GEN-ROOTERS Mailing List ==== >To Post items on one of the mailing lists send it to GEN-ROOTERS-L@rootsweb.com > >listowner questions to AZDEE@aol.com > > > >

Hi Everyone, I hadn't thought about sending info on the archives because I don't know how to use them (LOL) Here is info on them. I got these instructions from a welcome message I got from a mailing list. Are messages archived (saved) somewhere? All messages are archived and they are searchable. This is a work of kindly advice so please take it in that spirit. A lot of this (not just archived messages - everything about the Internet) seems difficult, especially to a novice user. We all had to learn it at some time. Print out instructions; don't try to read them on-line and digest it all in 30 seconds. Be systematic; until you learn how to do it, have the instructions right there by your side - that's how I learned to do it. Be patient; your first search (of whatever it is) may take longer, but you'll get faster. Be persistent; didn't get it right? Try again. With all that said, searching the archives is pretty easy, but too involved to explain here. Got to this URL for instructions: http://www.rootsweb.com/rootsweb/members/archives.html If you get an error message from rootsweb, it will tell you what the error is. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------ I have also been getting mailer errors lately for attachments and html coding in a message. Please do not use this. below is info I got. DO NOT SEND ANY ATTACHMENTS OR GED's to the list. If you have someone you are sending an attachment to, make sure it goes to them personally and that you have their permission. These can cause some subscribers' machines to lock up, make them lose all their mail, even crash their hard drive! 0mJ1VQJKUT8goR/QCHA+oBzTSjFhZzsLcUShSV3mSfAV8G9rB16iX/E9gElCU09O2VnxKE4WAR6Q > QwrABvC/C4AjkCYCUPBr8HBYKUtkYFJJUFBZWfAKhSj+c0ngYYBnomcUJfMmsARwt2yhUtEYECEh > XAqFPXbh7z2KBdBjgV6iTAQABUB24v8KhTuQOWAlMFUCWwAEIGBj/SKhZlCjAMB4FCZQJNAEIP8R > 8CYRVaEc4T2PPp8KhXuyeyQRTEFxClAk0CLxHMNB8FpERUUyzYGfgq9Hny8ZGCzmCoUVgQCHAAMA > EBAAAAAAAwAREAAAAABAAAcwQOkAVUHBvQFAAAgwQOkAVUHBvQEeAD0AAQAAAAUAAABSRTogAAAA > AAMADTT9NwAA68k= > ------ =_NextPart_000_01BDC10F.70A3DFE0-- Hi -- The message you submitted to this list (included above) wasn't sent to the list subscribers. RootsWeb accepts only plain text mail. That means that HTML mail, attachments, ``enriched text'', and a few other formats can't be sent to RootsWeb mailing lists. You can post your message if you send it in plain text; turn off the ``Post in HTML'' or ``Enriched Text'' features of your mail reader, or don't use any attachments. See http://www.rootsweb.com/rootsweb/listowners/html-off.htm for instructions on turning off HTML in most of the popular mail programs, or ask your ISP's technical support line for help. We've had to institute this policy because of the problems that accompany these fancy mail formats. Some people don't have mail programs that are capable of processing the special file formats. Even among those who do, different mail programs handle these special formats in very different and confusing ways. HTML messages pose special problems to our digested mailing lists. Most of all, HTML-ified mail and attachments place a considerable burden on RootsWeb's overworked machines. All in all, mail in this format produces a lot of problems for RootsWeb's servers and subscribers, so we find it's best just to use plain text. -- The RootsWeb staff Thanks All, Dianne

http://www.ohiohistory.org/dindex/search.cfm It has list from all counties from 1908 -1937. They are divided up in groups of years and you can search a single county or all. They are working on more years. I also used a Social Security Death Index for a lot of them also.

Heidi, You can find the SSDI at www.ancestry.com (What a lovely name!) from, Heidi dpetty@juno.com Researching ELLIS (MA,NY,MI, WI, IA, ND) and HERRICK (NY, WI, IA) _____________________________________________________________________ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com Or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866]