<genmail@1st.net> wrote: > Heritage Quest Online is only a subscriber service for > 'professional' institutions, such as libraries (free for you if you > find a library with it). It may also be accessible from your home > computer by signing on with your library card through your library > website, if your library has it set up for remote access. Check with > your library and work on them to get it. They haven't finished > indexing the 1920 or 1930 census, but I've encountered far fewer > mistakes in Heritage Quest than in the other two, and it offers all > the census images. It also has over 25,000 family and local history > books available online. A good summary of the indexing approach for Heritage Quest (summary deleted). Two additional points: 1. If your library does not have access to ProQuest / Heritage Quest, you can gain access to it (both the census images and the book images) by joining the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society ($60 a year). 2. The Heritage Quest indexes do not have fewer errors than Genealogy.com - the indexes at Genealogy.com ARE the Heritage Quest indexes. <g> Regards, Richard Pence "Richard A. Pence" <richardpence@pipeline.com>

Just ran across the article http://www.ancestry.com/learn/start/famgroupsheets.htm?rc=locale%7E&us=0 in LEGACY NEWS that describes the way I started keeping track of sources 20 years ago. The problem I'm having is trying to find a practical way of inputing this information into the source documentation of Legacy or PAF. If all I had was one source for each piece of information, I guess it wouldn't be overly difficult. The problem is having perhaps a dozen or more group sheets for an individual documenting census records, church records, birth/death/marriage certificates, family interviews, etc., many with differing dates, names, places, etc. How do you pull all this information together using the source documentation features of these programs to document how you arrived at your conclusions for the names and dates used as well as documenting conflicting information in case additional data shows that your original conclusion was wrong? I'd like to have a complete set of electronic information to make it easier to transmit in one package rather than having various sets of binders and folders, but haven't been able to see a practical way of doing that. Seems like I could spend the next few years just entering data with no time left for further research. Have the majority of users of the various genealogy programs actually found it practical to use them for source documentation? If someone offers an online course for use of these programs to help me see an easier way, I'd sure appreciate the info. "Mark Granback" <NoGranmarkSpam@yahoo.com>

All, For locations in Germany, past and present, are the following descriptions accurate as well as the level of importance: Detail (Address, if known or existed) Village / Town / City / Area Oberamt (Similar to a township in the US) Kreis (Similar to a county in the US) State / Duchy / Kingdom Country / Empire / Nation I'm trying to setup a consistent "style" of entering in locations in Germany both past and present, so any additional suggestions would be helpful. rdrunner@siscom.net

I'm working some personal property tax lists. I can't find the boiler-plate that tells me the tax rates. I've got the one for the 1860s, but not the ones for the 1700s. :( I'm noticing something I think is VERY strange: from information on the tax lists, I can deduce the tax rate for a white tithable, for one horse, and for one "cattle". However, where the tithable owns many horses and/or cattle, the rates multipled by the number of animals don't work out to the amount of the tax. Opinions -- would these be math errors on the part of the assessor, ceilings on the number of horses/cattle taxed, variable rates for quality of animal, or what? Cheryl singhals@erols.com

> Can anyone tell us when U.S. Social Security came into being? > > Bunny Turner > Halifax, Nova Scotia > Canada > bunnypat@eastlink.ca The answer depends on *exactly* what you're needing to know. (g) SSA was authorized by an Act of Congress in 1935; in 1936 they began collecting payments; in 1937, they paid their first benefit; in Oct 1962, they began computerizing their records, resulting in what we know today as the SSDI. If you're looking at the SSDI for the death of someone who died before Oct 1962, the odds are against it being there. HOWEVER -- if you're looking for someone who died after 1963 and they're not there, that's reasonable too. For a fairly long period, Railroad workers had a separate pension plan which didn't report to SSA; so did the military, the Federal, state, and local governments. My GF a retired Railroader died in 1964; his pension checks said Railroad Retirement and his death isn't on the SSDI, even though I personally filed the death-benefits papers on his widow's behalf. Hope this helps! Cheryl singhals@erols.com

Maria Kelley wrote: > > > You are correct in your thinking. When naming started one name was > > all they had so to distingish it became NAME SON OF NAME or NAME AP > > NAME or Johnson or Johnsdatter or Name Verch Name. Actually it was > > a good way as you always knew the fathers name that way. > > > > Deana Smith "Dora Smith" <deanae@alltel.net> > > Boy, wouldn't that make our researching easier now??? > > Jane Hodges-Kuebler Uh, no, not really, according to several of my friends who are researching in patronymic-usage countries. :( Karin is Jansdottar, but there are 8 Jans in the Parish. WHICH one is her father? Of the 8, 4 are married to women named Maria, which of the 4 sets are her parents? Patronymics change the shape of the problem, they don't change the basic problem itself. Cheryl singhals@erols.com

Kathy wrote: > Is there an every name 1870 census available? To answer your question as it is posed, the 1870 US Census contains the names of all people as do the 1850 and later Census. If you are asking if there is an on-line Census or an every name index, others have probably answered you. bob gillis bob gillis <rpgillis@bellatlantic.net>

> Lisa wrote: > > > When I started this project, I noted > > there were about a dozen pages from a different district [ED 177] > > appearing here and there, and I wrote them all down also. When I > > went back to double check, these image #'s now refer to different > > pages of the census - at the moment they are all in ED 176 - some > > still missing, some duplicates. > > > > I am looking at ED 176 for 1910 Providence RI, The missing street > > numbers seem to be between 113-138, 140-142, 144-210 Langdon St - > > I'm looking for 189 Langdon. > > It's not you. Evidently when the pages were scanned they were > mixed. The same thing happened to me. I was looking in the > Marshall County Alabam cemsus of 1920 and all of a sudden pages from > Cullman County Alabama came up. > > I reported it to ancestry.com, but they didn't seem to care. > > Ruth "Rh Domino" <rhdomino@hotmail.com> Ruth, Thanks for confirming my sanity - I understand there will be missing pages, and poor copies. What I don't understand is that every time I look at that district I see something different! Amazingly, right now all the pages are there, in order. [Of course my section of Langdon Street is missing] I noticed a comment on the bottom of my screen that says javascript click, or goto image. Is it possible this is a java error, and not an ancestry error? If so, what do I do about that? Lisa llepore@juno.com

> Lisa wrote: > > > Someone looked up my ancestor and gave me the location in the 1910 > > census. I went to the ancestry site, and found him. Another > > ancestor was not found in the index, however, this same census > > district had his street, so I decided to read through all of it. I > > found some of the pages from this district were missing. Scrolling > > through the ED, I noticed that this district included pages for > > other districts, and some pages for my district were missing. > > > > <snip> > > It's not you. Evidently when the pages were scanned they were > mixed. The same thing happened to me. I was looking in the > Marshall County Alabam census of 1920 and all of a sudden pages from > Cullman County Alabama came up. > > I reported it to ancestry.com, but they didn't seem to care. > > Ruth "Rh Domino" <rhdomino@hotmail.com> Likewise, regarding ancestry.com's lack of response to detailed feedback about the census indexing errors. Some time ago, we found that a whole section of a Georgia county in a federal census was listed as being in another decade. We figured it out, gave ancestry.com detailed information on several occasions (both on the phone and in e-mails) about what was awry, and nothing was ever changed. Aarrggh! There were many surnames affected, or I would've posted a message on a surname board in an attempt to try to notify others. (Maybe I should post it on one of the county's boards.) Mike Harris <mik_harr@swbell.net>

> Can anyone tell us when U.S. Social Security came into being? > > Bunny Turner > Halifax, Nova Scotia > Canada > bunnypat@eastlink.ca As this newsgroup is all about "methods" and because I believe in an old saying, I would prefer to teach you how to fish rather than give you a fish. Go to Google at: http://www.google.com/ and give it the keywords that were in your question, along with any variations you may think of, and you will find all you care to know. You will also find Google to be helpful with other questions you may have. Bob Robert Heiling <robheil@attbi.com>

bcombs@efn.org wrote: > > > > In an old (1934) family letter there is reference to "Uncle Wicta". > > > > It is written quite legibly, but it certainly seems like an unusual > > > > first name. So I'm wondering if it is right, or if I'm mis-reading > > > > it somehow. If not actually 'Wicta" what could it be, or is it some > > > > kind of nickname? > > > > > > > > "Uncle Wicta" was born Abt 1820 and came from Prussia Bef 1850. > > > > > > > > jsents@stny.rr.com (John Sents) > > > > > > It's certainly not a common name, but is a name in its own right and > > > has some spelling variations. See: > > > > > > http://www.cyberstudia.com/ogmios/texts/simpson/catstane/catstane.html > > > > > > for some information. > > > > > > Robert Heiling <robheil@attbi.com> > > > > Do you know how some people get nicknames given by children learning > > to talk? Perhaps this is a child learning to call someone Uncle > > Victor and hasn't learned to say his "v's" and "r's" well? That > > would certainly account for Wicta. People carry those nicknames all > > their lives to the exasperation of other family members.....! > > (Usually the kid that gave them!) ;) > > > > "Amie Peoples" <hismsg@cros.net> > > Why not Victor? I would encourage readers to at least <sigh> take a look at the link I posted earlier: http://www.cyberstudia.com/ogmios/texts/simpson/catstane/catstane.html in which it says in describing a pedigree: ""Cujus pater fuit Wihtgels avus Wicta ; proavus WITHER, atavus Wothen," &c." and where the "avus Wicta" means "Grandfather Wicta". The article is all about a mixture of Latin, Angle, & Saxon talk, but the name Wicta and its spelling variations has validity. Is it really all that too much to ask that people take a look at evidence that has been presented? Bob Robert Heiling <robheil@attbi.com>

Joan Best wrote: > As a lawyer, I am going to side with Richard and the other Joan. > The documents we are talking about are legal documents: wills and > other probate records, marriage consents filed with the state, and > so on. For these documents one must apply the legal definition. > The be all and end all of legal definitions is Black's Law > Dictionary. This was quoted in full in a previous post. Basically > it says intermarriage is equal to our modern definition of marriage > without any subplots. That's fine and therefore let's remind ourselves of just what Black's said, which for the *legal* part was: "But, in law, it is sometimes used (and with propriety) to empahsize the mutuality of the marriage contract and as importing a reciprocal engagement by which each of the parties "marries" the other. Thus, in a pleading, instead of averring that "the plaintiff was married to the defendant," it would be proper to allege that "the parties intermarried" at such a time and place." pg 952, Black's Law Dictionary, 4th ed, 1951. We didn't hear what Black's has to say about "marriage", but kindly note that the above says in regard to "intermarriage" that:" it is *sometimes* used" (emphasis added). Why only "sometimes"? and what occasioned the use of "intermarriage" or "marriage" in any give case? > If the word is used in a lay or social sense then it may take on the > other connotations given in the various other posts. > > "Joan Best" <joanbest1@earthlink.net> I, for one, would appreciate a legal explanation of the above questions. Bob

Richard F Strait at rfstrait@juno.com wrote: > I have used 'intermarry' to indicate that several members of one > family married members of another family thus making the > relationships in more than one way such as "double cousins" such as > brothers marrying sisters in another family!!! Strictly speacking, this relationship should be called an "interfamily marriage", not an intermarriage. Cheers - -- <><><><><><><><><><><> Arrowhead Images <aepalmer@a-znet.com> <><><><><><><><><><><> Iv'e found a long lost and obscure Scottish connection ­ Clan Destine !!

> Can anyone tell us when U.S. Social Security came into being? > > Bunny Turner > Halifax, Nova Scotia > Canada <bunnypat@eastlink.ca> Social Security Act of 1935 is its beginning according to the SSA website. They have a brief history online at: http://www.ssa.gov/history/brief.html Elizabeth Richardson "Elizabeth Richardson" <erichktn@worldnet.att.net>

"Stinger" <tsting321@yahoo.com> wrote: > > I am 22 years young and I have been told that my last name isn't > what it is. I haven't got much information cause nobody seems to > know or willing to talk, but is there a way that I can work back > from the name I have now to find what it was originally? I think it > is kind of a stretch, but shouldn't it be registered with the > government when it was changed? I have no idea what I am talking > about, so any help on researching and what not would be greatly > appreciated. historically last names are a new invention in Iceland everybody is someone's son or daughter no new family names allowed since 1911 get your birth certificate find out if your parents were married Hugh W "Hugh Watkins" <hugh_watkins@net.dialog.dk>

> > > In an old (1934) family letter there is reference to "Uncle Wicta". > > > It is written quite legibly, but it certainly seems like an unusual > > > first name. So I'm wondering if it is right, or if I'm mis-reading > > > it somehow. If not actually 'Wicta" what could it be, or is it some > > > kind of nickname? > > > > > > "Uncle Wicta" was born Abt 1820 and came from Prussia Bef 1850. > > > > > > jsents@stny.rr.com (John Sents) > > > > It's certainly not a common name, but is a name in its own right and > > has some spelling variations. See: > > > > http://www.cyberstudia.com/ogmios/texts/simpson/catstane/catstane.html > > > > for some information. > > > > Robert Heiling <robheil@attbi.com> > > Do you know how some people get nicknames given by children learning > to talk? Perhaps this is a child learning to call someone Uncle > Victor and hasn't learned to say his "v's" and "r's" well? That > would certainly account for Wicta. People carry those nicknames all > their lives to the exasperation of other family members.....! > (Usually the kid that gave them!) ;) > > "Amie Peoples" <hismsg@cros.net> Why not Victor?

Hi there, Can anyone tell us when U.S. Social Security came into being? Bunny Turner Halifax, Nova Scotia Canada bunnypat@eastlink.ca

Lisa wrote: > Someone looked up my ancestor and gave me the location in the 1910 > census. I went to the ancestry site, and found him. Another > ancestor was not found in the index, however, this same census > district had his street, so I decided to read through all of it. I > found some of the pages from this district were missing. Scrolling > through the ED, I noticed that this district included pages for > other districts, and some pages for my district were missing. > > I made a list of the census page numbers 1a,1b, 2a, 2b etc, and > marked the image # where they could be found, in an effort to see > which pages were missing. When I started this project, I noted that > there were about a dozen pages from a different district [ED 177] > appearing here and there, and I wrote them all down also. When I > went back to double check, these image #'s now refer to different > pages of the census - at the moment they are all in ED 176 - some > still missing, some duplicates. > > I am looking at ED 176 for 1910 Providence RI, The missing street > numbers seem to be between 113-138, 140-142, 144-210 Langdon St - > I'm looking for 189 Langdon. Lisa, It's not you. Evidently when the pages were scanned they were mixed. The same thing happened to me. I was looking in the Marshall County Alabam cemsus of 1920 and all of a sudden pages from Cullman County Alabama came up. I reported it to ancestry.com, but they didn't seem to care. Ruth "Rh Domino" <rhdomino@hotmail.com>

Bob, Thanks for the info and the link to that dictionary site. Not only did I find the words I was looking for, but I found a bunch of other great info! Great site! I've added it to my favorites list! [ The site was: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~randyj2222/gendict.html I think, Mod ] Carrie in Colorado Carrie Marsh <carrie1@attglobal.net>

> You are correct in your thinking. When naming started one name was > all they had so to distingish it became NAME SON OF NAME or NAME AP > NAME or Johnson or Johnsdatter or Name Verch Name. Actually it was > a good way as you always knew the fathers name that way. > > Deana Smith "Dora Smith" <deanae@alltel.net> Boy, wouldn't that make our researching easier now??? Jane Hodges-Kuebler