Taken from the Eastmans Genealogical Newsletter ...... ============================================================== - An Old Genealogy Scam Reappears There is a Web site that sends out unsolicited e-mails offering to give you access to the world's largest genealogy database for only $44.95. At first, that might sound like a good deal. However, the e-mails don't mention the source of this "world's largest" genealogy database. It is the Internet and is free to everyone -- except for the gullible folks who fall for these e-mails. What the e-mails do not tell you is that your money only buys you access to a list of links. These links on the Web site present the other sites inside HTML frames, making it look like the other sites are a part of original site's "service." They do this without telling you that the contents are not created by them, but actually are the intellectual property of the originators. FamilyDiscovery.com was one source of these misleading e-mails. The site was in business for a year or so and gained notoriety within the genealogy community. Their Web site disappeared recently, apparently being shut down by the Internet service provider that hosted the online "service" after complaints by many users. However, a new Web site has recently appeared, operating a site that looks like FamilyDiscovery.com but under a different name. It appears that the owner of the new Web site is the same person who owned the earlier one. The new Web site is Genealogy- Developments.com. The new Web site proclaims that you can "Search Over 23 Billion Genealogy Records Right From This Website." That claim is absolutely correct. Of course, you can search the same 23 billion records without going to that Web site and without paying $44.95. If you read the fine print at http://www.genealogy- developments.com/faqs.html, you will note that it says, "We do not offer access to a database of records but we do offer the ability to search billions of online records spanned across the Internet." The reality is that you can find all those links, and more, elsewhere on the Web. I suspect that most of them are available on Cyndi's List at http://www.cyndislist.com. Of course, Cyndi's List is free of charge. There are a couple of "watchdog sites" that watch for Web sites like FamilyDiscovery.com and Genealogy-Developments.com. The International Blacksheep Society of Genealogists maintains a "Genealogy Hall of Shame" at: http://blacksheep.rootsweb.com/familydiscovery.htm. The Watchdog Committee maintains the "Genealogical Web Site Watchdog" at: http://www.ancestordetective.com/watchdog.htm. You might also want to check Cyndi's List at: http://www.cyndislist.com/myths.htm#Consumer. If you ever have a question about an online genealogy "service," I'd suggest that you check these sites before spending any money. You can also check some of my past articles about genealogy scams, both online and off, at: http://www.ancestry.com/library/view/columns/eastman/3538.asp and at http://www.ancestry.com/library/view/columns/eastman/4251.asp.

Interesting .. kinda sounds like they're mimicing Micorshaft .... errrr soft Dick S. Ink imbroglio: Printer firms vs. recyclers Is the printer industry trying to corner the market? NEW YORK (AP) --Brian Evans thought he'd gotten a good deal on a Canon inkjet printer -- until it ran out of ink. "I paid 80 bucks for the printer, and the ink was 52 bucks," Evans said, pausing on his way out of a Manhattan office supply store. "It's incredible," said Evans, a 33-year-old bank employee, holding aloft a plastic bag with his latest purchase -- another ink cartridge. Companies like Lexmark, Hewlett-Packard, Canon and Epson have coupled low-priced inkjet and laser printers to high-priced disposable ink cartridges for years. But that business model sprung a leak. Wily entrepreneurs started refilling and rebuilding toner and ink cartridges and selling them for about half the price -- building a $3 billion yearly business that has carved away an 11 percent chunk of the lucrative refill market. So the printer giants are battling back, using clever techniques aimed at clawing back market share. They are also facing something of a backlash -- legislation in some states that's designed to protect the refillers. One method employed by the printer giants is a so-called "killer" computer chip installed on ink cartridges that makes it tough for the cartridges to be refilled. Some chips warn refill users that the cartridge is "invalid." Sometimes they even disable the printer. Another means of protecting refills is a "prebate" agreement that Lexmark uses to sell discounted refills. In return, the buyer promises to return the cartridge to Lexmark for remanufacturing -- and not to sell it to anyone else. John Jackson, sales manager at TonerPlus, an Austin, Texas re-manufacturer that buys and fills empties, says it seems to him the printer industry is trying to corner the market. "If you buy a Chevrolet and you pull it out of the lot, Chevrolet can't make you drive back and buy their gasoline," Jackson said. "It's the same with printers. We consider toner the fuel for the printer industry." Printer companies say neither effort is aimed at thwarting re-manufacturers. "We're really giving customers a benefit they didn't have before," said Epson marketing manager Rajeev Mishra, whose company has installed smart chips on many replacement cartridges. Mishra says it's done so customers can track ink use and other printing statistics. Printer firm: Pricing is 'very competitive' HP and Lexmark declined telephone interviews, opting to answer questions through e-mail and declining to address many of the complaints. Neither company had much to say about the price differential between printers and ink. For instance, a Lexmark Z22 color inkjet printer was selling on OfficeMax.com recently for $49.98 while its replacement ink cartridges cost $32.97 for black and $37.87 for color. Meanwhile, remanufactured cartridges for the Lexmark Z22 were selling on InkSell.com for $19.95. Asked about their rationale for selling printers at a low cost and ink at a high one, Lexmark's Tim King said the company's pricing was calibrated to "provide customers with compelling value in both hardware and supplies." HP's Bob Major wrote that the company's pricing was "very competitive based on cost per page." Lexmark's use of chips and legal agreements "is intended to enforce the customer's agreement to return the cartridge to Lexmark for remanufacturing so they don't wind up in landfills," King wrote. To Gerald Chamales, chairman of Carson, California-based Rhinotek Computer Products, it sounds more like a way to protect "the ultimate cash cow." "There's only one reason. It's to prevent erosion of their market share," said Chamales, whose customers for re-manufactured cartridges include Wal-Mart and the White House. Government is doing more than just buying refills from independents. Legislation promoting or requiring the purchase of re-manufactured cartridges has been adopted or proposed in North Carolina, Wisconsin, New Hampshire and other states -- while the European Union has a measure pending. Lexmark says it, too, recycles recovered cartridges. Using technology to an advantage But the printer company's hardball moves have kept its cartridges out of the hands of re-manufacturers, who have been able to duplicate the Lexmark chip and resell some Lexmark cartridges, said Jim Forrest, managing editor of the Hard Copy Supplies Journal, which covers the printing supply industry. "Lexmark is the toughest," Forrest said. "There's always a shortage of Lexmark empties." Lexmark has surrendered just 6 percent of its market to re-manufacturers, less than any other big printer company, according to market data from Lyra Research of Newtonville, Massachusetts. Along with HP, Lexmark also fuses printer heads to its disposable inkjet cartridges, another method for making them tougher to duplicate, analysts say. Epson and Canon, whose inkjet cartridges are simpler, have been hit the hardest by re-manufacturers. They've lost 14 percent of their ink refill market, Lyra found. Re-manufacturers are also using technology to their advantage. In addition to duplicating some of the smart chips on their rebuilt cartridges, they've used the Internet to help them sell. Sites like empties.com, run by Jackson's TonerPlus, match buyers and sellers of empty and refilled cartridges. "It's a cat and mouse game, totally," Jackson said. "So far, we've been able to counter. We're sitting here with our fingers crossed, waiting to see what comes next."

I just recently found out there there are several Wagners in Brown county, that were distantly related to Engelbert Wagner. Is anybody out here researching the Sebastian Wagner B. June 25, 1864? I understand a couple of his brothers also moved to Minnesota, Joseph and Michael. I have researched their connection through their grandfather, Michael Wagner, who is my 2nd great grandfather. Please contact me and we can share information. Thankyou, Pamela (Wagner) Kebis

Hi All I just received this from the RootsWeb people Thanks Dick Schweiss (List Admin. for) Brown County, MN Mail List ... [email protected] Researching surnames: SCHWEISS .. MEIER .. SCHMITT/SCHMIDT .. STADTHER(R) .. MEHLTRATER My Genealogy Site: http://www.harbornet.com/folks/dick/SchweissFamilyHistory.htm XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX "In order to improve the Message Boards performance, we will be replacing one of its database servers on Tuesday, 30 April 2002 at 9:00 am MDT (Mountain Daylight Time). The server replacement may impact people's ability to log into the Message Boards. If all goes as planned, we expect the Message Boards to be back at peak performance by mid-afternoon (Mountain Daylight Time). We thank you for your patience during this time. Sincerely, RootsWeb Message Board Team"

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: Schaefer, Neutholur Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/HGB.2ACE/91 Message Board Post: Looking for family of a Ferdinand Schaefer that married Gretchen Neutholur in Hessendorf. They had a son Henry C. Schaefer born in May 1852 and then migrated to Minnesota, USA.

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/HGB.2ACE/19.38.1.1 Message Board Post: Pamela, thank you for your reply. I cannot find Mary Otto (b. 8 Jul 1897) or Edwin Bauermeister in my Otto family tree. Perhaps they belong to another Otto family.

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/HGB.2ACE/19.38.1 Message Board Post: Unfortunately, the only information I have is on Mary Otto b. July 8, 1897, who married Edwin Bauermeister. I do not know any other information on her, including her parents. If you have that, I would love the information. They only thing I can provide to you is information on their children. Unfortunatley, their son (my uncle) is dead, and I have not been able to get much futher. Though, since it is family by marriage, I have not spent too much time researching either.

Taken from the latest issue of EASTMANS GENEALOGY NEWSLETTER - XML version of GEDCOM About a year ago, I wrote two articles about the LDS Church's adoption of XML for use in future GEDCOM releases. I wrote, "Randy Bryson of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced that the Church is now standardizing on the XML programming language for all future software products." You can read those two articles at: http://www.ancestry.com/library/view/columns/eastman/3396.asp and http://www.ancestry.com/library/view/columns/eastman/3438.asp. In the first of those two articles, I wrote, "None of this exists today. Randy Bryson's announcement simply indicates a future course. I suspect it will be two years or even longer before the new XML format is in place and in use. However, the benefits will justify the wait." It has been a bit more than a year since those words were written. Now the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has posted a draft of the specification on the Internet for review and comment. This draft is not a complete document, which is still under development. It should not be considered as a working specification. The authors of the draft welcome comments and suggestions. The contact information is contained with the document. The GEDCOM 6.0 draft is in Adobe Acrobat format. You can access it at: http://www.familysearch.org/GEDCOM/GedXML60.pdf Radio

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/HGB.2ACE/70.1 Message Board Post: I'm looking for a death certificate on a Dayton Brown, born Feb. 1863, according to 1900 census he was in Hubbard County, White Oak Township. His wife was Jennie, daughter Nora & Son, Jesse. Any info would be appreciated. Thank You!

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: Altermatt, Wagner, Schumacher Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/HGB.2ACE/90 Message Board Post: I am trying to locate any descendants from the Schumacher-Altermatt-Wagner line that might have photos of the old Schumacher family, mainly Jacob and Maria "Lucy" Schumacher. Please contact me if anyone knows of any Altermatt descendants in the Brown County area. Two generations of Altermatts married Schumacher daughters. I am a descendant of Joseph Schumacher.

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: Otto Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/an/HGB.2ACE/19.38 Message Board Post: I believe your OTTO family is also part of my family tree, and if so, I would be interested in exchanging information. My great-great-grandparents were Carl and Albertine Otto, who immigrated from Kratzig, Pomerania, in 1875. Their children were August, Carl, Louise, Mathilde and Albert. What is your connection and what information do you have?

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/HGB.2ACE/33.36.1.1.1.1 Message Board Post: Hi, who are (were) your O'Briens? I have a Robert O'Brien, from Olivia, MN. see my website for more on him .. http://www.harbornet.com/folks/dick/SchweissFamilyHistory ..... Thanks

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: Grimes, O'Brien Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/HGB.2ACE/33.36.1.1.1 Message Board Post: There were two Grimes families that lived in the Sleepy Eye area. They were related. Both came from Tipperary, Ireland. My line came to Susquehanna, PA in 1835, then moved to Sibley, MN in 1852-53, then to Broiwn County in late 1860s. The other line came to Sullivan County, NY (next to Susquehanna) in about 1850, then moved to Sibley, MN in 1867, then to Brown in 1868. They lived next to each other. The confusing part is that both families were headed by a Michael Grimes Sr, one born in 1800 the other in 1801. Both had their three oldest sons named Edward, William, and Michael Jr. All six sons were born between 1832-40. Both sons William in turn had sons named William. William P b. 1869 and my grandfather William L. born 1870. The only O'Briens that I am aware of lived in Sibley County.

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: Grimes/O'Brien Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/HGB.2ACE/33.36.1.1 Message Board Post: A William P. Grimes b. 6 Jul 1869, Eden Twp Brown Co., lived & worked in Mankato, MN before moving to CA. D. Los Angeles CA 26 Nov 1942. Mar. M. V. (Margaret ?) O'Brien, dau of Daniel, Sleepy Eye farmer, 14 Oct 1890. Looking for info on Margaret.

Help!! Does anyone know this person ... Jean .. ?? The email address for her keeps bouncing as "no such subscriber". Thanks Dick Schweiss ----- Original Message ----- From: Jean Van Eps To: [email protected] Sent: Friday, April 12, 2002 19:54 Subject: Hillary Brunner Hi, I found a little bit of information about the Brunner family in my book about Belgrade, from 1988. Hilary, Sr. and Mary had 3 children, 2 daughters and 1 son. My book doesn't mention what the girls' names were, though. He did have a brother by the name of Ben. There is a list of Hilary Brunner, Jr.'s children--7 girls and 3 boys. There is a little bit more in the book about them, not a lot. If you like, I will copy it down for you. Are there any other people from Belgrade, MN that you are interested in? I am originally from Belgrade. I'm looking for Boie/Quisberg/Rose/Spaeth family information. Jean

For those of you that haven't heard of this site ... http://mapping.usgs.gov/www/gnis/ ... I recommend you take a look at it. Thanks Dick Schweiss (List Admin. for) Brown County, MN Mail List ... [email protected]web.com Researching surnames: SCHWEISS .. MEIER .. SCHMITT/SCHMIDT .. STADTHER(R) .. MEHLTRATER My Genealogy Site: http://www.harbornet.com/folks/dick/SchweissFamilyHistory.htm

YOU BETCHA! Application for Minnesota Citizenship Personal Information: Name ___________-son Sex: ___ Ole ___ Lena Home Address ______________ Cabin Address ________________ Religion: _____ Lutheran ______ Other Income: ___We do OK ____We're Blessed___None of your beeswax Qualifications: (check all that apply) ___ I own a gas-powered ice auger. ___ Fargo hit a little close to home. ___ I can name a dozen celebrities who've stayed at the Mayo. ___ I can name a dozen celebrities who've stayed at Hazelden. ___ I¹ve been trick-or-treating in two feet of snow. ___ My grandmother made me eat lutefisk. ___ I liked it! ___ I¹ve been to a block party. ___ My first beer was a Hamm¹s. ___ My snowmobile has more miles on it than my car. ___ I have a back-up set of jumper cables in my trunk. ___ Despite what everyone else says, I DO NOT HAVE AN ACCENT! True/False: ___ I actually listen to telemarketers. ___ Have a Nice Day is an ORDER! ___ TV news anchors are celebrities. ___ Grumpy Old Men is a documentary. ___ Part of my tongue is on a flagpole somewhere. ___ It's not a rubber binder! It's a rubber band. Multiple Choice: It's time to wear a hat when: A) The temperature is below 10 degrees. B) The temperature is 10 and the wind chill is in negative double-digits. C) Your mother tells you to! Essay Questions: Why I think eelpout makes a good festival. _________________________ What "uff-da" means to me. ___________________ What "oopsey-daisey" really means __________________________

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: Blass, Klossner, Scheppard Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/an/HGB.2ACE/89 Message Board Post: I have a death cert. for Lillian Scheppard. She died in 1911 at the age of 34, the certificate says she both was born and died in New Ulm. Father's name Jac. Klossner, born in Switzerland, mother's maiden name was Kloss, born in Germany. No where does it list a spouse name. She was born 29 May 1877 and died 14 Jul 1911 of Tuberculosis of the Lungs, which she suffered for two years. It lists that she was buried 17 Jul 1911 in the City Cemetery in New Ulm. If anyone has any information about this family, or who her husband could have been, I would greatly appreciate it if you contact me either here or via email. The Scheppard part of my family is a real mystery. Thanks! Jessica Scheppard

Hi all Looking for information on a Walburga ALTMAN(N) ... possible sister of Frank ALTMANN. I need to verify if Frank was her brother .. His parents were Moetzalius and Walthbergia (PREISINGER) ALTMANN Her stats .. dob 12 August 1870 ... died 16 September 1931 .. buried in the St George Cemetery Was married to Joseph KIENLEN Thanks Dick Schweiss Researching surnames: SCHWEISS .. MEIER .. SCHMITT/SCHMIDT .. STADTHER(R) .. MEHLTRATER My Genealogy Site: http://www.harbornet.com/folks/dick/SchweissFamilyHistory.htm

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/HGB.2ACE/71.1.1 Message Board Post: I don't have the names you are looking for, but I do have info on others from Brown County. Is there another first name that I might have? Deborah