The following article is from Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter and is copyright 2003 by Richard W. Eastman. It is re-published here with the permission of the author. Information about the newsletter is available at http://www.eogn.com. [new domain - go there to get your own FREE subscription] I am often asked about long-term storage of digital data. Many people are worried about the expected lifetime of CD-ROM disks and other storage media. Others like to point out that we may not have the required hardware to read such data, outside of a few systems housed in museums. I will suggest that the expected lifetimes of the storage media are unimportant. As the previous article about the Domesday Book shows, a little planning easily sidesteps these concerns. The original BBC Domesday project stored its output on storage media that is rare only seventeen years later. Yet the conversion to modern data storage technologies was accomplished with little fanfare. In almost all cases, storage of electronic data rarely needs to exceed twenty years. In fact, ten years is probably good enough for planning purposes; twenty years probably is an extreme case. One major advantage of electronic data is that it can be copied time and time again with absolutely no loss of quality from the original imprint. Unlike printed books and magazines, a copy of a copy of a copy of a copy of the original documents still looks as good as the original. If the storage media change, who cares? I originally stored my genealogy data on 8-inch floppy disks that held about 90 kilobytes of data. Do you remember those? Very few home computer users have ever seen 8-inch floppies. My genealogy data at that time didn't fill a single 90 kilobyte disk. Five and a quarter inch floppies became the standard of choice about 1980. I copied my data to the new, smaller floppies that contained 360 kilobytes of data. By 1990 or so, the three and a half inch floppies became predominant. Each stored up to 1.4 megabytes of data. I copied my data to three and a half inch floppies. By late in the twentieth century, CD-ROM began to dominate, each able to store about 600 megabytes of data. Again, I copied my data to CD-ROM. A few months ago I purchased a DVD-ROM writer that stores up to 4.7 gigabytes of data on a single disk. I haven't copied my data over to DVD yet, but I now have the capability to move my data to this latest storage medium. Even after more than twenty years' of research, I can only fill a tiny fraction of the 4.7 gigabytes available on each DVD disk. As I stated earlier, the expected lifetimes of the storage media are unimportant. A little planning easily sidesteps those concerns. In my case and in the case of almost everyone I know, data gets copied from old storage media to new every few years. The important thing is the plan to keep copying data to new media every few years. Not only is the physical media important, but so is the electronic format. My data on the 8-inch floppies was stored in both ASCII text and in DB2 format, the predominant database standard of the time. Luckily, ASCII is still quite common; but when was the last time you saw a program that could read DB2 data? The same issue may hold true in future years. If you store your data today in the internal format of some genealogy program or as a GEDCOM file or as an Adobe Acrobat PDF file, will there be software available 50 or 100 years from now to read it? Probably not. Instead, each time you copy the data to new storage medium, you also need to make sure that you are converting it to current software standards. You need to be proactive. You need to make sure you copy your data and convert its format every few years. If you are an active genealogist with a computer available, this will be easy. However, you also need to plan for the same conversions after you lose interest or after your death. Make sure you give copies of your data to someone else who cares, preferably a family member with a similar interest to yours. You might also donate copies to a family society, to local genealogy societies, or to other organizations who will keep an eye on it for you. I do not know of any national or international society that collects such data with the intention of preserving it and converting the data to new formats every few years. Obviously, the LDS Church and a number of commercial companies would like you to donate your data to them so that they can add it to their databases and store it for many years. Doing so will preserve your data for generations. However, you probably want to also preserve data on a more local scale.

October 11, Illinois, Pekin The Tazewell County Genealogical & Historical Society announces "Harvest Time for Genealogists" - This all-day conference will feature Sandra Hargreaves Luebking, a nationally recognized author, lecturer, and instructor. A buffet lunch will be included. National and local vendors will be present. More information can be obtained by calling 309 477-3044, emailing conference@tchgs.org, or visiting the conference website at http://www.tcghs.org/conf2003.htm Thanks, Mike Dickson TCGHS Conference Chair Thanks, Mike Dickson TCGHS Webmaster P.S. - If you'd like to receive our free electronic newsletter (including being notified when our web site is changed), send an email to TCGHSNews-subscribe@topica.com

It is now being widely reported that Juno is blocking Rootsweb list mail. If you have Juno you probably aren't seeing this. If you know someone who has Juno you might want to let them know what is happening. Apparently it is a poorly structured attempt at spam filtering and may affect other mail they should be receiving. They should complain directly to Juno. It may be useful to find another provider. Cheryl Rothwell logancty@mindspring.com Logan County, IL, Coordinator, ILGenWeb www.rootsweb.com/~illogan Central IL Regional Coordinator, ILGenWeb Clark, Downing, Harding, Lucas et al

Here's a permanent calendar when you need to check a day, figure out what day of the week a date fell on or whatever you can find it at: http://www.calendarhome.com/tyc/ Another useful calendar is this one designed to calculate the birth date from the death date or the age at death given in months, days and years: http://longislandgenealogy.com/birth.html There are other birth date calculators including this one: http://www.progenealogists.com/birthfromdeath.htm which does the same thing and has some other links of interest. I chose these because such web sites come and go but, hopefully, these genealogy based versions will be with us for awhile. Cheryl Rothwell logancty@mindspring.com Logan County, IL, Coordinator, ILGenWeb www.rootsweb.com/~illogan Central IL Regional Coordinator, ILGenWeb Clark, Downing, Harding, Lucas et al

The following article is from Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter and is copyright 2003 by Richard W. Eastman. It is re-published here with the permission of the author. Information about the newsletter is available at http://www.RootsForum.com. - Were You Victimized by This Genealogy Scam Artist? I have written a number of times about GenSeekers. This site is owned and operated by Mr. Elias Abodeely of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Mr. Abodeely is a 21-year-old who has operated a number of Web sites, using various business names, including genealogydevelopments.com, familydiscovery.com, genealogyfinders.net, genlocator.com, genseeker.com, genseekers.com, genealogy-express.com, and probably many others. Most of these are Web sites that remain online for a few weeks while the owner collects money from would-be customers. The sites then get shut down as the complaints mount, but new ones appear with similar wording. Elias Abodeely has advertised his Web sites with thousands of spam e-mails. These messages claim to offer access to millions of online genealogy records for about $60.00 a year. (The price varies a bit from one ad to another.) Once signed up for this "service," the hapless victim is given access to a few pages of menus that point to other Web sites, all of which are free of charge for everyone. The links on Abodeely's sites point to FamilySearch.org, RootsWeb, and lots of other sites that you can access right now at no charge. Your sixty dollars buys access to a list of links, nothing else. And those links are not nearly as complete as those on Cyndi's List, a free site. Elias Abodeely has accepted credit cards and checks by various means. For a while, he used a PayPal account. However, clicking on the link in an old spam mail from GenSeekers now displays a PayPal page that says, "This recipient is currently unable to receive money." PayPal apparently shut down that account. In the spam mail ads, GenSeekers and the other names being used all offer a five-day, money-back guarantee. GenSeekers' online check acceptance form at https://fs6.formsite.com/genseekers/form093061282/secure_index.html says, "The 5 Day Trial is 100 % Free for the First 5 Days Cancel Before End of Trial and Nothing will ever be billed." (That is an exact quote with the original grammar errors left intact.) A customer service e-mail address to be used for cancellations is supplied when you subscribe. However, e-mails sent to that address bounce back as "addressee unknown" Or "mailbox full." Once charged, there is no method for the victim to cancel or obtain a refund. To read my past articles about this scam, look at: http://www.rootsforum.com/archives/news0310.htm, http://www.rootsforum.com/archives/news0320.htm, http://www.rootsforum.com/archives/news0237.htm and at http://www.rootsforum.com/archives/news0129.htm. The Better Business Bureau's report is particularly strong. The BBB is usually rather conservative in its reports, but this time says, "It has come to the bureau's attention that consumers are unable to unsubscribe through web site and email correspondences are not returned by company. Credit card users who have been unable to obtain a refund from the company may wish to contact their credit card company." You can find many more references on Google. You can also find quite a few messages about this on the Discussion Board for this newsletter. When I started writing this article, the Web page at http://www.GenSeekers.com was in operation. However, before I finished the article a few days later, that Web page seemed to have disappeared. An attempt to go to that page now generates the common error message, "The page you are looking for is currently unavailable." In the meantime, you can see Google's cached copy. Copies of other now-defunct Web sites operated by Elias Abodeely are also available at: http://www.archive.org. Some months ago, the spam mail messages listed a telephone number, but later e-mail ads do not. That number was disconnected and later re-assigned to someone else (who reportedly is really angry at all the phone calls they have received from unhappy people looking for GenSeekers.com!). When looking at the domain registrations for Abodeely's Web sites, I found several addresses and telephone numbers used. The registration for FamilyDiscovery.com lists a Technical Contact of Elias Abodeely at 9843 Cambridge Drive, Cedar Rapids, IA 52404 and a different telephone number. I called the number but was connected to an answering machine that gave no clue as to the current owner's name. I searched several online telephone directories for a current address and telephone number. Most of the searches came up empty, except for AnyWho at http://www.anywho.com. That online service does show a listing for a Mr. Elias A Abodeely at still a different address in Cedar Rapids and with a different phone number. There is no way to tell if this is the same person or not. A search on USSearch.com turned up references to two men of the same name in Cedar Rapids. One is listed as being 92 years old, obviously not the same person. By the way, you can see a five-year-old partially obscured picture of then 16-year-old Elias Abodeely. Look at the Cedar Rapids GazetteOnline at: http://www.gazetteonline.com/special/neighbor/mmhp/mmhpp003.htm. Have you been a victim of one of these scams? You may be able to get your money back. Even better, you may be able to help stop this operation now before others become victims. If you have been victimized by GenSeekers or any of the other names being used in this operation, please do several things: If you paid by credit card, contact your credit card company now! Your credit card is insured against online fraud. The phone number to call probably is on the back of the credit card. Ask for a refund. Credit card companies are very experienced at these scams and are quick to refund a victim's money if they receive such a request promptly. The credit card companies then go after the business owners for reimbursement. (Sadly, many people paid by checks, at the suggestion of Mr. Abodeely's various spam mails. Personal checks should never be used for online purchases as they do not have fraud protection. Credit cards are fully insured against online fraud, but personal checks carry no protection at all. If you paid by credit card, you can get your money back! If you paid by check or money order, you probably are out of luck.) File a complaint with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C). You can easily do this at http://www1.ifccfbi.gov. File a consumer complaint form with the Federal Trade Commission. Selling on the Internet constitutes interstate commerce, so the FTC has jurisdiction. You can do this easily at https://rn.ftc.gov/pls/dod/wsolcq$.startup?Z_SUBMIT_FLAG=Y. Download and fill out an Iowa Attorney General Consumer Complaint Form. You can obtain this form at http://www.state.ia.us/government/ag/forminfo.htm. You can also send e-mail complaints to consumer@ag.state.ia.us. However, I suspect that a written complaint form sent via regular mail will be more effective. Contact the Cedar Rapids Police Department. The department's Web page at http://www.cedar-rapids.org/police/ and the department's Financial Crimes division page at http://www.cedar-rapids.org/police/financial_crimes.asp lists Lieutenant Ken Washburn as the contact person for any financial crimes. You can reach him at (319) 286-5413 or at k.washburn@cedar-rapids.org. The time to act is now. If victims do not take speedy action to shut down this operation, how many more people will be victimized?

Thanks Cheryl for the warning and also for so complete an amount of information. Ken Wiltz in CA

Do you have living relatives in Illinois? You need them. Here's the latest from the State Archives thanks to the budget crunch. Effective July 1, 2003, the Illinois State Archives is required to receive, from all out-of-state or non-Illinois residents, a $10 fee, prepaid and nonrefundable, along with all research requests before those requests may be honored. That fee will entitle the requester to up to 2 unofficial, non-certified copies of the records requested if those records exist. We hope to have a means to accommodate payment for out-of-state or non-Illinois residents on our Web site in the near future. Until an online form is available, out-of-state or non-Illinois residents should mail requests along with the appropriate fee to: Illinois State Archives Reference Unit Margaret Cross Norton Building Capitol Complex Springfield, IL 62756 Checks and money orders should be made payable to the Illinois Secretary of State.

From: "Laura Gottesman" <lgot@loc.gov> To: "Multiple recipients of list" <web4lib@sunsite.berkeley.edu> Sent: Thursday, July 03, 2003 4:27 PM Subject: [WEB4LIB] National Digital Library: The Stars and Stripes: The American Greetings: This announcement is being sent to a number of lists. Please accept our apologies for any duplicate postings: The Library of Congress' Serial & Government Publications Division is pleased to announce the release of a new addition to the National Digital Library - the online collection The Stars and Stripes: The American Soldiers' Newspaper of World War I, 1918-1919, available on the American Memory website at: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/sgphtml/sashtml/. At the direction of General John J. Pershing, The Stars and Stripes newspaper was published in France by the United States Army from February 8, 1918 to June 13, 1919. By early 1918, American forces were dispersed throughout the western front, often mixed at the unit level with British, French and Italian forces. The primary mission of The Stars and Stripes was to provide these scattered troops with a sense of unity and an understanding of their part in the overall war effort. The eight-page weekly featured news from home, poetry, cartoons and sports news, with a staff that included journalists Alexander Woollcott, Harold Wallace Ross and Grantland Rice. On borrowed printing presses, using a delivery network that combined trains, automobiles (including three Cadillacs) and one motorcycle, the staff produced a newspaper with a circulation that peaked at 526,000 copies. This new online collection presents the complete run - 71 weeks - of the World War I edition. The collection also includes special presentations that discuss the newspaper's content: its illustrations and advertising, its publication of soldiers' poetry, its coverage of women. Brief biographies of editorial staff members and their later careers hint at the level of journalistic talent within The Stars and Stripes. A timeline and map place the newspaper within the greater historical and geographical context of the war. The collection was processed with optical character recognition (OCR) software to allow users to search the full text of the newspaper for a word or phrase. This feature expands the collection's usefulness to historians and genealogists researching names and details that do not appear in the headlines. The Stars and Stripes collection served as a pilot project in the development of search and display capabilities to be utilized on future releases of historic newspapers. Please direct all general inquiries to: http://www.loc.gov/rr/askalib/ask-contactus2.html

In a message dated 6/27/03 5:18:18 PM Central Daylight Time, Plpe4maurice@cs.com writes: << living with her parents George Maurice and Mary Reed Maurice >> Maybe the reference to Mary Whetsel/Wetsel that I mentioned in Fulton County was the wife of George Maurice, Jr.? Lyde

I am looking for some help in finding any information for an Annie Maurice (Anna) who was b. abt 1863 in Peoria Co. IL - most likely Trivoli Township. I have her on the 1870 and 1880 census for Trivoli, living with her parents George Maurice and Mary Reed Maurice - but after that I have lost her. She was age 7 on the 1870 and age 16 on the 1880. There is one Annie Maurice on the online marriage record but further investigation by a very kind lady, she found that this is NOT my Annie Maurice. I am wondering if she possibly could have passed away by 1900?? Would anyone out there have any cemetery listings for Trivoli cemeteries that might list her on them or any other info that might help me find out where my Annie Maurice went? Thanks for any help or advice. Leslie Maurice

I just discovered on the SS Death Index that a cousin died in Peoria on October 23, 2002. Does anyone have access to obits from that time period? Robert C Bostwick, age 83, died in Peoria on Oct 23, 2002. I am wondering if perhaps he was buried with his parents in Farmington, IL. Any assistance would be appreciated. Thank you. Karen

William Brattain lived in Farmington, Van Buren, IA. Born 13 Oct 1810 in Indiana. md 28 Feb 1836 to Martha A. Croxil or Cropstill. Died 26 Feb 1889 in Jefferson Twp., Mahaska, Iowa. Oskoloosa Weekly Herald 1889 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE LATE REV. WILLIAM BRATTAIN, BY HIS OLD FRIEND, REV. THOMAS BALLINGER In writing this sketch, the object will be to present, not only an outline of MR. BRATTAIN, but "whence, what and where," that will embrace his early boyhood days, circumstances connected with his early manhood, his wonderful ability to learn by both observation and books. Mr. Brattain was born in the State of Indiana, October 13, 1810. Died, in Jefferson township, Mahaska county, Iowa, at the home of his son-in-law and daughter Mary, Mrs. Thomas Havener, of Bright's disease, after much patient suffering, February 25, 1889, at the advanced age of 79 years. Mr. Brattain was married in Van Buren county, Iowa, to Miss Martha A. Croxil, in 1836. They had five children born to them-three boys and two daughters, namely Humphrey, Lemuel and Charley. The daughters Mrs. Thomas Havener lives in this County; May, now Mrs. Dr. G.N. Beechler, lives in Oskaloosa. Mr. B.'s father moved from Indiana to Lake Peoria, Illinois, about 1816, and settled on very near where the populous city of Peoria now stands. That was several years before the Indians were removed. At that time it was an Indian town and a French trading post. The Brattain family had no neighbors by Indians; their children no playmates but young Indians. They got acquainted, and from necessity, soon, began to learn to talk together. There being no war with the whites at that time, the Indians were very friendly to them. Mr. Brattain told the writer that their children soon became attached to their young neighbors, and they would unite in songs, children's plays, and the boys in running footraces and other sports. Here he said, is where I first learned by experience, that I could run fast. The short races were from fifty to four hundred steps; said he smiling, "I have run all the distances named hundreds of times, and never run with an Indian but to beat him. Don't think me vain, Brother Ballinger; but I have never been outrun by any boy or man." We believed every word of it, knowing how strong and active he was for a man so slender. But, brother, we asked how about getting along friendly with those young Indians. "There was no trouble, never saw children get along better together, they would join in with us to learn our plays; and we with them, making our pleasures as mutual as possible." Mr. Brattain learned to speak the Indian dialect here so well, that he said he never saw an Indian of any tribe, but that he could talk without difficulty; but he learned the art of hunting, and could as easily beat them at that as he could outrun them. From Illinois the Brattain family moved to Iowa, then a territory, and occupied by Indians; and M. B., being well acquainted with the Indian tongue, soon made new acquaintances, got well acquainted with the celebrated Chiefs, Black Hawk, Keokuk, and the prophet Wabahespeck. He gave it as his opinion, that Black Hawk was the greatest Indian he ever saw, equal to any mentioned in the past history of the country. In the interval between his boyhood days at Lake Peoria and his immigration to Iowa and for several years afterward, he was employed at different things. He made several trips down the Mississippi river to New Orleans, getting good wages for his services, a portion of which he put into books, for further educating himself, in order to be more useful to himself and others. He taught school for some time, the better to prepare himself for a law student, read law and was admitted to the bar, and practiced his profession for a year or two, but was too reserved and diffident to be a lawyer. He told the writer that all through these years from a boy his mind had been more or less engaged in the study of religious subjects. He quit law and took up his old trade, having worked at the carpenter business at intervals before. There was not work enough to keep him employed all the time; and every hour he had to spare, he put in reading the Bible until he read it through and through. From its teaching he came to the conclusion, that if God in infinite in wisdom, He must have clearly foreseen the results, that would follow man's existence. A reasonable conclusion on the supposition that his existence would turn out to be a source of endless wretchedness. Mr. Brattain was a man who never arrived at a conclusion without first carefully considering the premises. If God created mankind for a good purpose, nothing but good will be the final result. If any portion of mankind should suffer endless chastisement it would be difficult to see how such could end in goos; and there being no comparison between any man's transgressions and endless suffering, it is safe to assume that such punishment can not, under God's government be true. We must then, of course, interpret the Scriptures to correspond and harmonize with infinite wisdom, love and good results Mercy would ask all that and even more. It was this kind of reasoning that made Mr. Brattain a believer in the final triumph of good over evil, light over darkness, heaven over hell. The Scriptures say, "For as much then, as the children are partaker of flesh and blood, he (Christ) likewise took part of the same, that through death he might destroy him and hat the power of death, that is the devil, and those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage." Then good cheer to the world. T he devil, i.e., evil will be destroyed by Christ, and hell overthrown; all sighing and sorrow shall flee away, and tears shall be wiped from off all faces; "For the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it." With charity for all, and malice toward none, the writer has no object in this sketch, in alluding to the beliefs of others than to help all up to a higher doctrinal standpoint, and broader view of our holy religion. "Behold how good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity." In conclusion, Mr. Brattain was a great student, and had the law suited him would have made a great jurist. He never got credit for this great ability. He wrote more than three thousand sermons, the greater part of which are left with his daughter, Mrs. Havener. Some 600 of them were never delivered. They would make thirty large volumes if printed and bound that would be a valuable addition to the world's knowledge of theology, by their advanced thoughts and deep scientific research. At One P.M. on the day of the funeral the friends in the city, who had gathered at Dr. Beechler's joined the procession as it came from the country, and proceeded to Forest cemetery, where he was laid to rest beside his wife, whom he married over fifty years ago. Farewell, dear brother, thou hast gone the way of all the earth.

I am making headway on my Brattain line with some great helpers. I have two brothers, William and Lemmons both born in IN. William born 13 oct 1810 and Lemmons born 20 Mar 1850 in Wayne Co., IN. I found a land record for William stating he was William Brattain Jr. in Farmington, Van Buren, IA, where he and Lemmons lived in 1830-1840's. Williams obit states that his father moved from Indiana to Lake Peoria(now Peoria) in 1816 then later they moved to Iowa about 1836. William moved later to Mt. Pleasant, Henry, Iowa and then Mahaska, IA where he died 26 Feb 1889. He married Martha Croxil or Cropstill in 1836 in Farmington, IA and had the following children: Humphrey L., Mary, Lemmons W., May S., and Charles. Humphrey married Cordelia A. Dawson, Mary married Thomas Havener, Lemmons W. married Caroline Seeker, May married William M. Burton and George Beechler, Lemmons moved from Farmington to Polk, Adair, MO in 1860, to Eden Decatur, Iowa in 1870's, to Lindley, Mercer, MO in 1880's where he died in Mercer Co., MO or Pleasanton, Decatur, IA on 15 Mar 1885. He married Sibyl Cooper 6 Apr 1865 in Van Buren Co., IA. He had the following children: Stephen? , Nancy Catherine, Georgianna, William Thomas, Emma Jane, Lemmons W., and Mary. Nancy Catherine married Joseph Wheeler, Georgianna married John J. Eastin, Emma Jane married William or M.F. Richardson, Lemmons W. married Mary Ann Hawthorne. I have a lot of information besides this to share. Betseylee Browning(Mrs. Deven K.), 4301 Daisy Dr., Mt. Green, UT 84050 dbrown@webpipe.net , 801-876-2524,

I am looking for descendants of OTIS WILLET/T "WILLIE," "SKILLET," "PEDRO" BURNETT/E, b. April 17, c. 1880, in Sangamon County, IL. His was the s/o GEORGE W. BURNETT, also from IL. His mother may have been EMMA JENNINGS. OTIS WILLET BURNETT m. EVA DONEHUE in Springfield, IL, on June 26, 1902. He died on June 20, 1928, in Peoria, at 48 years of age, and had been a resident of that city for 14 years, according to his obit. He is buried in Springdale Cemetery, Peoria. He had two surviving siblings at that time: ANNA C. BURNETT m. JOE KELLY, of Tulsa, OK, and CHARLES ISHAM BURNETT of Springfield, IL (later of Decateur, IL). OTIS W. and EVA BURNETT had 10 children together, eight surviving him, which are listed below: IZETTA BURNETT BASTION, Peoria, IL LOREN E. BURNETT, Peoria, IL ESTER BURNETT GIRARD, Peoria, IL ROLLAND L. BURNETT, Peoria, IL VIRGIL O. BURNETT, Peoria, IL RICHARD M. BURNETT, Peoria, IL A. "WILSON" BURNETT, Peoria, IL CHARLES ROSCOE BURNETT, Peoria, IL I have more info to share on the Burnetts, plus some pictures. Otis Willet Burnett, my g. uncle, has been a mystery for years, so any additional information, plus additional pictures would be most welcome. We have no pictures of Otis, or of his wife, Eva. Thank you, Patricia

The following article is from Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter and is copyright 2003 by Richard W. Eastman. It is re-published here with the permission of the author. Information about the newsletter is available at http://www.RootsForum.com. New SSDI Search Engine Another free Social Security Death Index online database has been announced. This might appear to be "ho-hum news" as there are already several such databases available. However, a closer examination shows that this one is different. Family Tree Legends is a genealogy program for Windows that I reviewed in the November 11, 2002 edition of this newsletter. You can read that article at: http://www.rootsforum.com/archives/news0245.htm. Cliff Shaw, one of the developers of Family Tree legends, has now announced the newest and most powerful SSDI search engine yet. It has all the features of every other SSDI search engine, plus 4 entirely unique ones: Name Prefix Search - Enter from 3 to 5 characters for the last name and select the Prefix option... it will search on that last name prefix. Year Range Searches - For both the Death Year and Birth Year, you can select to search a range of years instead of the year needing to be exactly right. Age at Death Search - You can enter the age at which the person died. This is really effective if you don't have any idea what year they were born or died but you do know their age at death. You can click on the places that are returned in the results and get latitude and longitude, region information, aerial photos, maps, and more. I tried the new database and can confirm that it works well. I really liked the feature that will automatically generate a letter to the Social Security Administration asking for a copy of the deceased person's Form SS-5, an application for a Social Security number. You can directly print the letter, stuff it into an envelope, along with a check, and mail it to the address indicated. In a few weeks you will receive the copy of the original SS-5. The Family Tree Legends Social Security Death Index will also automatically search the millions of records on GenCircles, looking for any records of the same individual. Cliff also states, "I want it to be known that this SSDI search engine will ALWAYS be free." That is an important statement in this day and age of formerly-free services disappearing into for-pay sites. You can access the free Family Tree Legends Social Security Death Index database at: http://www.familytreelegends.com/ssdi

I don't know how many folks this affects but here's the information thanks to Dorothy Falk: > > The Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild has moved, > > and our 3 million plus visitors need to know where we have gone. > > > > We currently have nearly 6,000 passenger lists transcribed and still > > have totally free access to our data. If you wish to visit us, again > > or for the first time, please do so at: > > > > http://immigrantships.org > > > > Be sure to also stop by the ISTG Compass - a source for many links > > to help > > you in your research: > > > > http://immigrantships.org/newcompass/pcindex.html > > > > It will take google another month to catch up with us, so if you are > > so inclined, please spread the word! Thanks! > > > > Sincerely, > > Don Schmalbeck (also at: ShipLists@aol.com) > > Archives Research Coordinator > > Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild http://immigrantships.org > >

Can anyone tell me where I might look for marriage records between 1904 - 1920? Thanks G Swoik

Hi Donna, HeritageQuest online 1910 Census. . . April 18, 1910, Kansas,Topeka (City, Ward 4), (Shawnee County), ED 176, Sheet 2A 1318 W. 8th Street Norton, David W, 34, bp OH; Ethel, wife, 31, bp NY; married 11 yr (3 of 3 children living) David is a Credit Manager of a Clothing Store. Lenna, dau 9, bp KS; Ethel, dau 3 1/2, bp KS; Alice, dau 2, bp KS Hope this is helpful. Let me know if you need further lookups. Karen

Seeking info on David W. Norton, born 1876 Napoleon, Henry Co., Ohio. Married Ethel, born in New York.. David W. Norton listed in 1920 & 1930 census for Peoria City, Peoria Co., Illinois with the following children: 1. Lenna M. Norton - age 19 in 1920 2. David Norton jr. - age 13 in 1920 3. Alice S.Norton - age 11 in 1920 4. John S. Norton - age 5 in 1920. 5. Edward Norton - not listed in 1920, but listed as age 13 in 1930. Thank you, Donna

Hi Donna, 1927 Peoria City Directory lists: Norton, David W. (Ethel S) h518 W. Armstrong av., Tel 2-1816 (note: no occupation listed) Norton, David W. jr student r 518 W. Armstrong av. Norton, Edward T (Mae L) pres-treas Midland Baking Co h416 E Republic Norton, Alice S student r518 W Armstrong av Karen AHGP Peoria County Coordinator http://freepages.history.rootsweb.com/~karensfamilyfiles/PeoriaIndex.html --- DCuillard@aol.com wrote: > Seeking info on David W. Norton, born 1876 > Napoleon, Henry Co., Ohio. > Married Ethel, born in New York.. > David W. Norton listed in 1920 & 1930 census > for Peoria City, Peoria Co., > Illinois with the following children: > 1. Lenna M. Norton - age 19 in 1920 > 2. David Norton jr. - age 13 in 1920 > 3. Alice S.Norton - age 11 in 1920 > 4. John S. Norton - age 5 in 1920. > 5. Edward Norton - not listed in 1920, but > listed as age 13 in 1930. > Thank you, > Donna > > > ==== ILPEORIA Mailing List ==== > Visit the Peoria County ILGenWeb Home Page! > http://www.usgennet.org/~ilpeoria/index.html > __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? The New Yahoo! Search - Faster. Easier. Bingo. http://search.yahoo.com