The NBGS site is a marvel and I am certainly grateful for the First Families content. However, I am not sure the caveats in the Introduction are sufficiently clear to the amateur genealogist. The Currie family, mine, is a prime example. Philip Horne's works which were used as a base starting in the Hudson Valley contains numerous and serious flaws and this should be noted. I know this because, not only are there many many errors on my own and my parents' generation, I recall when he came to interview my grandmother who was the family historian. When she finally bought the book, she was very taken aback at the volume of things he got wrong, in spite of her careful explanations. She actually knew the people and wasn't just guessing. A child at the time, I dont know what the errors were but my grandmother was not given to dramatics, so her emphasis on the errors stayed with me 50 years later. And virtually everything she told me that I later confirmed through PANB and censuses was accurate, so her credibility is sound. For me this casts into doubt everything else he says, and by inference the site that uses his work. I am not suggesting that NBGS remove or even discredit the work, just that there should be a stronger warning on a respectable site that one is inclined to take as pretty accurate. And perhaps some suggestions as to how one might verify the statements. Beverley Clarkson Halifax, NS On 4/26/07, Dan MacDonald <brikwall@nbnet.nb.ca> wrote: > > Hi, > > I apologize for being a little late jumping into this thread. > > First, I'd like to inform everyone that the correct address for the New > Brunswick Genealogical website and all of its subsidiary pages is > http://www.nbgs.ca and NOT http://nbgs.automatedgenealogy.com as someone > else provided. Although the latter address will take you to the site, it is > not the correct address and should not be referenced, bookmarked or > otherwise linked to. Please use http://www.nbgs.ca > > Second, this is not the first time I've heard of people having trouble > downloading the First Families PDF files (I've received two other complaints > so far). I'm not certain about the cause of this as I have been unable to > replicate the problems at my end. I suspect that a number of factors may be > involved, depending on the individual user in question. These range from > internet connection speed (dial-up vs. high-speed) to browser security > settings to other security software and hardware. File sizes may be an > issue, too, as some of the First Family files are rather large and may cause > slower connections to bog down or, during times of peak traffic, may cause > all connections to time-out. Because almost every computer is unique in its > hardware and software setups, it is impossible for me to determine what the > problems may be on an individual basis. Unless I can somehow replicate it on > my own, I'm at a loss to explain why a few people are having problems. > > Third, the free Acrobat Reader software does not, to my knowledge, allow > users to cut-and-paste sections of the file. Those with full versions of > Adobe Acrobat can do so, however. > > Fourth, for those who have wondered why the files are not available in MS > Word or some other format, it is because PDF is cross-platform compatible > and the file sizes are greatly reduced. Word files would be significantly > larger, causing further problems for those with slow conections. Further, > those without MS Word or another word-processing program would not have > access to these files. Acrobat Reader, though, is fairly standard on most > new computers. > > Finally, as with every other genealogical source, publication, or > compilation, the First Family file comes with a caveat. This is explained in > the Introduction file which is also available on the First Families website > (www.nbgs.ca/firstfamilies.html). Indeed, this Introduction is the FIRST > file listed! The Introduction also lists the sources used in the compilation > of the First Family data. > > Regards, > > Dan MacDonald > NBGS Webmaster > malpeque@nbnet.nb.ca > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > NEWBRUNSWICK-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message >