I know a Lanny Hibbs 401 N. 7th. St., Cambridge, Ohio 43725. He was a printer and was married to my 1st cousin. Perhaps he can help you with this line. Just me, Eda ----- Original Message ----- From: <hrarmstrong@juno.com> To: <OHADAMS-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Thursday, February 10, 2000 9:13 AM Subject: [OHADAMS] HIBBS, BEEDLE, MERSHON > Rebecca, > I have a HIBBS line. What's yours? > My ggg grandmother was Cassandra HIBBS b. abt 1795/6 PA who married 1. > George BEEDLE in 1811 and married 2. Henry MERSHON 8 Aug 1819. (both > Adams Co.) Cassie's father was Aaron HIBBS, who came to the Locust Grove > area abt. 1796. Cassie and Henry moved to Scioto Co. Union Twp. Their > daughter Jerusha MERSHON m. 1. David HOLT m. 2. John SHAW is my gg > grandmother. > Cassie's siblings were Jacob Hibbs, Aaron Hibbs Jr., Samuel Sweeney > Hibbs, and Mary Hibbs. Another source adds Joseph, Sarah, and Priscilla > Hibbs as 3 more children in the family. Who was Aaron's wife? One source > I have gives Catherine HUMPHREYS and a couple of others give Catherine > CRAFT. Was he married twice or is one of them wrong? Which children > belong to which Catherine? So far, I haven't been able to find a marriage > for Aaron in SW PA. > Does anyone have a death or burial for George BEEDLE? Possibly in Meigs > Twp.? > > Herma Armstrong > hrarmstrong@juno.com > > > On Sun, 6 Feb 2000 04:22:38 -0500 "chare1" <chare1@zoomnet.net> writes: > > I am going to try to travel to Adams County this week to try to find > > a marrige record for a Hibbs. Is there a particular time I should > > go? Also, does the Adams County Court House house marriage, death > > etc. records from the early to mid-1800's or does some place else? > > Any info might help me in my search. Thank you. > > > > Rebecca Stapleton > > >

Rebecca, I have a HIBBS line. What's yours? My ggg grandmother was Cassandra HIBBS b. abt 1795/6 PA who married 1. George BEEDLE in 1811 and married 2. Henry MERSHON 8 Aug 1819. (both Adams Co.) Cassie's father was Aaron HIBBS, who came to the Locust Grove area abt. 1796. Cassie and Henry moved to Scioto Co. Union Twp. Their daughter Jerusha MERSHON m. 1. David HOLT m. 2. John SHAW is my gg grandmother. Cassie's siblings were Jacob Hibbs, Aaron Hibbs Jr., Samuel Sweeney Hibbs, and Mary Hibbs. Another source adds Joseph, Sarah, and Priscilla Hibbs as 3 more children in the family. Who was Aaron's wife? One source I have gives Catherine HUMPHREYS and a couple of others give Catherine CRAFT. Was he married twice or is one of them wrong? Which children belong to which Catherine? So far, I haven't been able to find a marriage for Aaron in SW PA. Does anyone have a death or burial for George BEEDLE? Possibly in Meigs Twp.? Herma Armstrong hrarmstrong@juno.com On Sun, 6 Feb 2000 04:22:38 -0500 "chare1" <chare1@zoomnet.net> writes: > I am going to try to travel to Adams County this week to try to find > a marrige record for a Hibbs. Is there a particular time I should > go? Also, does the Adams County Court House house marriage, death > etc. records from the early to mid-1800's or does some place else? > Any info might help me in my search. Thank you. > > Rebecca Stapleton >

Carleene-Sara Herd/Hurd/Heard b. 1800 married Levi Kerkendall they had a daughter Sarah A. Kirkendall b. 9/27/1824 that m. James Bealor Dement/DeMint in 10/22/1847 in Adams Co. Ohio..Looking for info. on the Kirkendall - Do you think there is a connection to your Kirkendall? Carol Jean

AARON PETTYJOHN: b. 1785 in Maryland. D. 12 Sep 1852 in Delaware County Ohio. Married Hester Ann (?). Searching Aaron's mother and father, brothers, sisters and ancestors. Thanks. Paul

I think my wife's great granpaents Lafayette and Nancy Walker Mahaffey are buried in [Ohio] Brush Creek Baptist cemetary east of Dunkinsville, at Faucett[?] On Tue, 8 Feb 2000 08:44:16 -0800 (PST) Toireasa Brownlee <tghobson@yahoo.com> writes: > Hi I am new to this list. I am interested in hearing > from anyone that has any information about the > Brownlee family from Adams county Ohio. My > g.g.g.g.grandfather Samuel Brownlee settled there > around 1820. I am looking for any info on this family > big or small. Also I am looking for information about, > Brush Creek Cemetery. Please email me with > anything!!!! > Thanks, Toireasa Brownlee > > > > ===== > let your past branches grow > __________________________________________________ > Do You Yahoo!? > Talk to your friends online with Yahoo! Messenger. > http://im.yahoo.com > ________________________________________________________________ YOU'RE PAYING TOO MUCH FOR THE INTERNET! Juno now offers FREE Internet Access! Try it today - there's no risk! For your FREE software, visit: http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj.

Hi I am new to this list. I am interested in hearing from anyone that has any information about the Brownlee family from Adams county Ohio. My g.g.g.g.grandfather Samuel Brownlee settled there around 1820. I am looking for any info on this family big or small. Also I am looking for information about, Brush Creek Cemetery. Please email me with anything!!!! Thanks, Toireasa Brownlee ===== let your past branches grow __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Talk to your friends online with Yahoo! Messenger. http://im.yahoo.com

Paula, There are two other children in that family group. Joseph/Joab P. and Isadora/Eldora/Dora Dement. Eldora was my husband's grandmother. Eldora married 1.) John C. Swords; 2.) Samuel Henry Roe; 3.) Leonard Smith; 4.) Thomas Edington. William Smith Dement married 2.) 3, January 1873, Elizabeth Kirkendall and they had a son Ulisses Grant Dement. Carleene (Olds) Roe Kettering, Ohio carleeneroe@prodigy.net

Carleene hello, the spelling for your Dement is De Mint. That is the correct way. Your William Smith De Mint was born DEC 11 1819, Ohio died 1891, Ohio and Malinda Thornburg born abt 1820 Ohio died 1871, Ohio. They had John r. De Mint born 1845 in west union Adams Co... Ohio, Leonides De Mint Born 1847 in west union, Clarinda De Mint Born in 1849 in west union, and Samuel Thomas De Mint. that's all I have found so far for you. I will continue to look and if I find anything in my records I will let you know. Paula

Malinda Thornburg married William Smith Dement before 1845 in (probably Adams Co., Ohio?). Malinda had a brother, John Thornburg, who married Rebecca Ellison in Adams Co., Ohio. Rebecca was William S. Dement's first cousin. Ann Thornburg signed consent for John, and William S. Dement witnessed. Need marriage date and place for Malinda and William and; any information on the Thornburg's. This group lived in Tiffin Twp., Adams Co and Union Twp., Scioto Co., Ohio. Thank you in advance. Carleene Roe Carleene (Olds) Roe Kettering, Ohio carleeneroe@prodigy.net

TO MY KNOWLEDGE, SOME MARRIAGE AND DEATH RECORDS ARE AT ADAMS CO COURT HOUSE IN WEST UNION, BUT 1910 FIRE DESTROYED MANY RECORDS. IT'S WORTH A TRY TO CHECK IF YOUR RECORDS ARE THERE. I'M NOT SURE OF THE HOURS BUT I WENT THERE DURING REGULAR BUSINESS HOURS AND FOUND A COUSIN, I DIDN'T KNOW I HAD WORKING AT THE RECORDS WINDOW! MY FATHER'S FAMILY RECORDS WERE MOSTLY DESTROYED BY THE FIRE, BUT HIS BIRTH CERTIFICATE WAS AT THE HEALTH DEPT, (FIRE 1910, HE WAS BORN 1909), GOD BLESS YOUR SEARCH PAT in Az.

Hi, The best thing to do is perhaps check the index at the Ohio Co Genealogical Society, then go to the courthouse and pick up a photocopy. They are open on Thur and Sat only from 12-4. The library is located in the Adams County Heritage Center, about 1/12 blocks from the County Courthouse on St. Rt. 247, North in West Union. It is a log cabin - quite new. I have telephone number and if you want it let me know - I will not send it out to the list. I would suggest joining-dues are only 10.00year and it is money well spent. Jan <>< --- Jeanne McClanahan <jeannemac@worldnet.att.net> wrote: > > > chare1 wrote: > > > I am going to try to travel to Adams County this > week to try to find a marrige record for a Hibbs. > Is there a particular time I should go? Also, does > ===== Janice L. Gillespie Still living in East Central Illinois, wanting to be in Adams Co., OH or Lewis Co., KY Coordinator Ky/Lewis Co. Obits, Deeds, Pensions Coordinator Ky/Lewis County Newspaper List Researching OSBORNE,SOWERS and a few others __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Talk to your friends online with Yahoo! Messenger. http://im.yahoo.com

chare1 wrote: > I am going to try to travel to Adams County this week to try to find a marrige record for a Hibbs. Is there a particular time I should go? Also, does the Adams County Court House house marriage, death etc. records from the early to mid-1800's or does some place else? Any info might help me in my search. Thank you. > > Rebecca Stapleton Rebecca, Someone else will have to give you the above information but if you don't have any luck there try Lewis County, Kentucky and Bracken County, Kentucky. They are across the river from Adams County and I found some of my people that lived in Adams County went across the river and got married. jeannemac

I am going to try to travel to Adams County this week to try to find a marrige record for a Hibbs. Is there a particular time I should go? Also, does the Adams County Court House house marriage, death etc. records from the early to mid-1800's or does some place else? Any info might help me in my search. Thank you. Rebecca Stapleton

Do you happen to know the website address? Janell >The Perry County(PA) Historians have a library and a web site. They are very >helpful. >Good luck, >Delsa >

I wrote only 1 of two. You may, but let's wait awhile for Mr Sexton to cool down. I did not post to one of your lists for fear of setting him off. On Sat, 5 Feb 2000 11:49:26 -0700 "Jean Dalrymple" <motherd@theriver.com> writes: > Hermon, can I pass this on to my many lists? Jeannie <>< > > -----Original Message----- > From: HERMON B FAGLEY [mailto:hermfagley@juno.com] > Sent: Saturday, February 05, 2000 9:14 AM > To: OHADAMS-L@rootsweb.com > Subject: [OHADAMS] Accurate genealogy on the web > > > NTERNET GENEALOGY - WHAT'S GOOD! WHAT'S NOT! > . . . AND WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO ABOUT IT? > > by Bettie Cummings Cook, CG > > [Published in The Packet, Tri-State Genealogical Society, > Evansville, IN, vol.XXII, no. 2 (Dec. 1998)] > > > > Before computers there were two kinds of genealogists. The > experienced > and > the beginners. The experienced passed their knowledge to the > beginners. > The > "experienced" covered degrees of knowledge from more than a beginner > to > years > of work in the field. The work was too new to the beginner to do > much > adventuring except acquire blank family charts, work at finding > dates and > > places, and take advantage of seminars, classes, and advice from > friendly > > experienced genealogists. They learned as they went along about > where, > and > how, to look for dates and places. If they did rush to judgment > those who > had > worked at the problem longer quickly called them to task. They were > usually > chastised sufficiently to be more careful with future endeavors. > Still--they > learned and eventually passed into being experienced. Enter the > undeserving > villain . . . Internet Genealogy! > > > > What's Good! > > With the addition of the computer to the home the experienced > genealogist > > became a computer-user and continued to apply his work habits and > expertise > with the aid of the computer. The world of the Internet opened > boundless > possibilities of accessing records to the genealogist. Email is an > amazing > convenience to make contact with others and receive an answer within > minutes. > The knowledge to be gained on subjects without leaving your chair is > > staggering. The genealogical sites of interest range from very > interesting to > ho-hum. There are records of federal, state, and local levels of > government, > library card catalogs, resource files that are easily downloaded, > and > sites > dedicated to specific records such as land, marriages, etc. If you > have > great > grandpa's gun he carried in the Civil War, you can learn about its > make, > model, and manufacturer by consulting a website on Civil War guns. > An > antique > piece of furniture handed down in the family may be identified as to > its > age > and maker from sites that discuss descriptive markings, styles, and > time > periods. You are not confined to US searches. Research on a family > said > to > have owned and operated a winery in Germany led to a list on a > German web > > site of existing wineries. Think of a subject and, except in rare > instances, > Internet has some data. > > > > What's Not! > > The Internet has developed a new group of family searchers. > Unfortunately, > the experienced genealogist is in the minority. There is new group > of > persons > who know first how to use a computer and second want to locate > others who > can > give them information about their families. Notice I do not call the > second > group genealogists because they are lacking in the skills to prepare > them > for > productive research. Before Internet this person would have been the > beginner > genealogist sitting across the table from you in a library. The > computer-user/researcher cruises the Internet hoping to find his > family > tree, > unaware there is a more accurate way to find it using primary > records. > The > cruiser, who in the past would have had no recourse except to go a > genealogical library and learn the skills, now sets up a webpage or > a > newsgroup in quest of the answers. He contributes uncited > "merry-go-round" > bits to others. His heart is in the right place but his ability to > do > research is not. He is totally oblivious to the fact he is doing > more > harm > than good both to himself and others. > > > > Is it ever safe to use undocumented material found on the Internet? > Not > unless you verify it first with proper sources. Some of it may be > right > but > how much faith can you put in rehashed, regurgitated, uncited data? > A > typical > appeal looks like . . . > > > > "my grandfather died July 4, 1920. Does anyone know who his parents > were?" > > or > > "my Great Grandfather was John Right born 1848. He married Jane ?. > They > lived > in New County and had seven children. I don't know their names . . . > ." > > > > Most of us quickly assess these queries as being from beginners. And > ask > ourselves why haven't you looked in a census? Why don't you write > for a > marriage bond? Why don't you get a death certificate? Why are you > taking > up > byte space and my time to read this unskilled query? It is easier to > ignore > this query than deal with it. But where will this searcher turn > next? To > undocumented websites, forums, and various tree programs on the > 'Net. He > finds and records incorrect data and passes it to another person. > Thus, > the > data is repeated in the name of "helping"for the next twenty-five > years. > No > one knows the data's origins but will not discard it because "it > might be > > something." > > > > Recently a friend was horrified to learn an ancestor, to whom she > devoted > > years of work in order to identify his parents, had been added to a > different > set of parents with the same surname on an Internet site. The data > was > added > by a computer-user/searcher because his ancestor had a son by the > same > name. > Now if you have any experience at all, you know how many times > several > men > can have the same name! After a number of determined phone calls to > everyone > responsible for the error, she succeeded in having it removed. But > not > until > she proved to the website her ancestor was a different man and sent > an > obituary for the correct man to prove he had died in another state. > And > worse, her well-documented work on the son and his descendants was > included > on the website. It had been contributed by still another person > without > giving credit to her for the work. It gave every appearance of being > a > good > genealogy with citations . . . except for the one link between > parents > and > the right son. This example of assuming and combining data to make a > family > "fit" ought to make you shudder. > > > > What Are We Going to Do About It? > > One of the most agreeable attributes of genealogists is their > willingness > and > unselfishness in sharing data. Some of the nicest people one could > ever > hope > to meet share my enthusiasm for research. We regale each other > endlessly > with > our "finds." The faceless aspect of the Internet keeps us from the > personal > evaluation of others that takes place in a face to face encounter. > The > truth > is, there are a very few unpleasant folks in genealogy. So it is > hard to > think ill of those pursuing their families on the Internet without > research > experience. If we could talk to them, we would treat them as we > would the > > beginner sitting next to us in the library. So how do we treat a > faceless > > beginner on the Internet? WE HELP THEM. Not by sending all the > answers > but by > pointing out where they should look to find the answers. This person > needs > the experience of looking at a microfilmed census. Don't deny him > the > thrill > of finding grandfather's death certificate for himself. There's no > better > way > to convert the beginner to learning research skills than for him to > make > an > exciting discovery. > > > > TELL them data must have citations. Let your data be good examples > by > always > clearly citing your source. Give county, book, and page from which > the > record > was taken. Cite published book sources with title, compiler, > publisher, > year > published, and page. INSIST on receiving the same citations from > others. > Contact the websites, newsgroups, and databases and encourage them > to ask > for > citations. Kindly and tactfully point out to web searchers > information is > > useless without documentation. Direct them to local libraries and > genealogical collections. Tell them what genealogical societies have > to > offer. Beginners are often under the mistaken notion that because > they > live > far away from their ancestor's residence there is nothing in their > locale > of > any use. Net-cruisers who are interested in genealogy must be made > aware > of > how much they accomplish by using source records and learning skills > > necessary to locate family data. Finding a cousin is fine but no > matter > how > much the cousin can tell you it still has to be verified. My posting > to a > > surname website encourages everyone to cite his or her data. 1 am > careful > to > post cited items and explain there is more to be found by examining > that > record. It is beginning to show results. The web master was > reluctant to > post > my first message regarding citations for fear it might offend > someone. > Surprisingly (to him) some readers of the site wrote and agreed. The > surname > site is developing into a source of information. It is a website of > various > documented records on the same surname from many states and, if you > share > > that surname, is one worth visiting because most postings bear > citations. > One > of the main features of Internet is the broad coverage of the > county. For > the > experienced genealogist, it is this aspect of reachable records in > many > states that is most useful and one that needs to be developed. Let > us > think > past the materials found on the bookshelf of any genealogical > collection > and > begin to build sites that represent our county's records. > > > > The flood of incorrect data making the rounds on the 'Net is > growing. It > is > comparable to undocumented family genealogies, early DAR records, > and > early > LDS family files. Both DAR and LDS are making efforts to correct > their > early > files. The 'Net has no one to guide it except experienced > genealogists > who > care. We can no longer afford to ignore the unskilled query. Few of > us > have > the inclination, or want to take the time, to deal with the > unskilled and > the > inexperienced 'Net searchers. Someone is going to have to step up to > the > flood and help with the sandbags. If each of us concentrates on > improving > the > site concerning our surname, or a site under the sponsorship of our > local > > group, together we can make a difference. We must make an effort to > deal > with > this growing problem. Get on your soapbox for the sake of good > genealogy > on > the Internet! > > ________________________________________________________________ > YOU'RE PAYING TOO MUCH FOR THE INTERNET! > Juno now offers FREE Internet Access! > Try it today - there's no risk! For your FREE software, visit: > http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj. > > ________________________________________________________________ YOU'RE PAYING TOO MUCH FOR THE INTERNET! Juno now offers FREE Internet Access! Try it today - there's no risk! For your FREE software, visit: http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj.

Hermon, can I pass this on to my many lists? Jeannie <>< -----Original Message----- From: HERMON B FAGLEY [mailto:hermfagley@juno.com] Sent: Saturday, February 05, 2000 9:14 AM To: OHADAMS-L@rootsweb.com Subject: [OHADAMS] Accurate genealogy on the web NTERNET GENEALOGY - WHAT'S GOOD! WHAT'S NOT! . . . AND WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO ABOUT IT? by Bettie Cummings Cook, CG [Published in The Packet, Tri-State Genealogical Society, Evansville, IN, vol.XXII, no. 2 (Dec. 1998)] Before computers there were two kinds of genealogists. The experienced and the beginners. The experienced passed their knowledge to the beginners. The "experienced" covered degrees of knowledge from more than a beginner to years of work in the field. The work was too new to the beginner to do much adventuring except acquire blank family charts, work at finding dates and places, and take advantage of seminars, classes, and advice from friendly experienced genealogists. They learned as they went along about where, and how, to look for dates and places. If they did rush to judgment those who had worked at the problem longer quickly called them to task. They were usually chastised sufficiently to be more careful with future endeavors. Still--they learned and eventually passed into being experienced. Enter the undeserving villain . . . Internet Genealogy! What's Good! With the addition of the computer to the home the experienced genealogist became a computer-user and continued to apply his work habits and expertise with the aid of the computer. The world of the Internet opened boundless possibilities of accessing records to the genealogist. Email is an amazing convenience to make contact with others and receive an answer within minutes. The knowledge to be gained on subjects without leaving your chair is staggering. The genealogical sites of interest range from very interesting to ho-hum. There are records of federal, state, and local levels of government, library card catalogs, resource files that are easily downloaded, and sites dedicated to specific records such as land, marriages, etc. If you have great grandpa's gun he carried in the Civil War, you can learn about its make, model, and manufacturer by consulting a website on Civil War guns. An antique piece of furniture handed down in the family may be identified as to its age and maker from sites that discuss descriptive markings, styles, and time periods. You are not confined to US searches. Research on a family said to have owned and operated a winery in Germany led to a list on a German web site of existing wineries. Think of a subject and, except in rare instances, Internet has some data. What's Not! The Internet has developed a new group of family searchers. Unfortunately, the experienced genealogist is in the minority. There is new group of persons who know first how to use a computer and second want to locate others who can give them information about their families. Notice I do not call the second group genealogists because they are lacking in the skills to prepare them for productive research. Before Internet this person would have been the beginner genealogist sitting across the table from you in a library. The computer-user/researcher cruises the Internet hoping to find his family tree, unaware there is a more accurate way to find it using primary records. The cruiser, who in the past would have had no recourse except to go a genealogical library and learn the skills, now sets up a webpage or a newsgroup in quest of the answers. He contributes uncited "merry-go-round" bits to others. His heart is in the right place but his ability to do research is not. He is totally oblivious to the fact he is doing more harm than good both to himself and others. Is it ever safe to use undocumented material found on the Internet? Not unless you verify it first with proper sources. Some of it may be right but how much faith can you put in rehashed, regurgitated, uncited data? A typical appeal looks like . . . "my grandfather died July 4, 1920. Does anyone know who his parents were?" or "my Great Grandfather was John Right born 1848. He married Jane ?. They lived in New County and had seven children. I don't know their names . . . ." Most of us quickly assess these queries as being from beginners. And ask ourselves why haven't you looked in a census? Why don't you write for a marriage bond? Why don't you get a death certificate? Why are you taking up byte space and my time to read this unskilled query? It is easier to ignore this query than deal with it. But where will this searcher turn next? To undocumented websites, forums, and various tree programs on the 'Net. He finds and records incorrect data and passes it to another person. Thus, the data is repeated in the name of "helping"for the next twenty-five years. No one knows the data's origins but will not discard it because "it might be something." Recently a friend was horrified to learn an ancestor, to whom she devoted years of work in order to identify his parents, had been added to a different set of parents with the same surname on an Internet site. The data was added by a computer-user/searcher because his ancestor had a son by the same name. Now if you have any experience at all, you know how many times several men can have the same name! After a number of determined phone calls to everyone responsible for the error, she succeeded in having it removed. But not until she proved to the website her ancestor was a different man and sent an obituary for the correct man to prove he had died in another state. And worse, her well-documented work on the son and his descendants was included on the website. It had been contributed by still another person without giving credit to her for the work. It gave every appearance of being a good genealogy with citations . . . except for the one link between parents and the right son. This example of assuming and combining data to make a family "fit" ought to make you shudder. What Are We Going to Do About It? One of the most agreeable attributes of genealogists is their willingness and unselfishness in sharing data. Some of the nicest people one could ever hope to meet share my enthusiasm for research. We regale each other endlessly with our "finds." The faceless aspect of the Internet keeps us from the personal evaluation of others that takes place in a face to face encounter. The truth is, there are a very few unpleasant folks in genealogy. So it is hard to think ill of those pursuing their families on the Internet without research experience. If we could talk to them, we would treat them as we would the beginner sitting next to us in the library. So how do we treat a faceless beginner on the Internet? WE HELP THEM. Not by sending all the answers but by pointing out where they should look to find the answers. This person needs the experience of looking at a microfilmed census. Don't deny him the thrill of finding grandfather's death certificate for himself. There's no better way to convert the beginner to learning research skills than for him to make an exciting discovery. TELL them data must have citations. Let your data be good examples by always clearly citing your source. Give county, book, and page from which the record was taken. Cite published book sources with title, compiler, publisher, year published, and page. INSIST on receiving the same citations from others. Contact the websites, newsgroups, and databases and encourage them to ask for citations. Kindly and tactfully point out to web searchers information is useless without documentation. Direct them to local libraries and genealogical collections. Tell them what genealogical societies have to offer. Beginners are often under the mistaken notion that because they live far away from their ancestor's residence there is nothing in their locale of any use. Net-cruisers who are interested in genealogy must be made aware of how much they accomplish by using source records and learning skills necessary to locate family data. Finding a cousin is fine but no matter how much the cousin can tell you it still has to be verified. My posting to a surname website encourages everyone to cite his or her data. 1 am careful to post cited items and explain there is more to be found by examining that record. It is beginning to show results. The web master was reluctant to post my first message regarding citations for fear it might offend someone. Surprisingly (to him) some readers of the site wrote and agreed. The surname site is developing into a source of information. It is a website of various documented records on the same surname from many states and, if you share that surname, is one worth visiting because most postings bear citations. One of the main features of Internet is the broad coverage of the county. For the experienced genealogist, it is this aspect of reachable records in many states that is most useful and one that needs to be developed. Let us think past the materials found on the bookshelf of any genealogical collection and begin to build sites that represent our county's records. The flood of incorrect data making the rounds on the 'Net is growing. It is comparable to undocumented family genealogies, early DAR records, and early LDS family files. Both DAR and LDS are making efforts to correct their early files. The 'Net has no one to guide it except experienced genealogists who care. We can no longer afford to ignore the unskilled query. Few of us have the inclination, or want to take the time, to deal with the unskilled and the inexperienced 'Net searchers. Someone is going to have to step up to the flood and help with the sandbags. If each of us concentrates on improving the site concerning our surname, or a site under the sponsorship of our local group, together we can make a difference. We must make an effort to deal with this growing problem. Get on your soapbox for the sake of good genealogy on the Internet! ________________________________________________________________ YOU'RE PAYING TOO MUCH FOR THE INTERNET! Juno now offers FREE Internet Access! Try it today - there's no risk! For your FREE software, visit: http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj.

I posted Ms Cook's article 1st to stand on it's own. I have some thoughts of my own,as a long time genealogist,who has been on-line daily since late 1991. I do not search the web looking for errors, but there are very many. Document your research! Are there a higher % of errors on the web,than old fashioned paper research. Likely, because no experienced editors are reviewing web pages before they are posted, while books are edited. I heard the nationally know Everton GENEALOGIST family speak at a Clermont Co Genealogy meeting once promoting,among other things, newspaper research. How accurate are newspapers,or other media? If thing I noticed when joining Prodigy genealogy message boards in Jan, 1992, was experienced genealogists aiding others. EarlRoss@prodigy.net and AnnaW9241@aol.com answered my very 1st querie. They were aiding others then,and still do. When I left Prodigy,and moved to AOL.com, I couldn't believe how much worse the queries were,on average. We had mostly been un-timed on Prodigy;on AOL,they had been paying by the minute,til the time I JOINED. Queries made no attempt at who,what,where,why,and ?, but sometimes were just 1 word,the surname. Or,the surname,and a date,or a surname and a location. Anyway,much of the on-line genealogy I have been involved with since Jan 1992 has been of a "party-line' nature, as these rootsweb.com lists are. I seldom find myself checking individual's web sites, but I know some good ones. I rarely will import a gedcom of 1,000,000 bytes to get 1 name. Luckily, many experienced genealogists bought computers to run their genealogy programs. And they used them as typewriters and databases, but not as communications devices,and,now,not as research assistants. If you know experienced genealogists owning computers, who are not active in on-line genealogy,urge them to join us. In "the old days",research from an experienced genealogist traved often by US Mails, ans was seen by few. Get the experienced genealogists active in the world of "party-line" genealogy. Get them to be active "givers" to this hobby [addiction] of ours. Speaking for myself only, experienced simply means I have had more time to make more mistakes. Ms Cook wrote of many resources that have rarely been available to me, but this Internet thing has opened up many new things for me,nearly shut-in,to research. Use the best resources available to you. Likely ,the sources MS Cook has available pales to the researcher whose EMAIL to me mentioned her reserved parking places at the National Archives,and at the Va State Library. . Regardless of your sources,it means nothing if you do not document them for others. Many of you make rush trips to distant libraries. That is 1 time,for sure,that I would hire a genealogist long experience with that library,to aid me research. And I would tell her-him of my research problem beforehand. I'm not so sure family ledgends aren't sometimes the worst source. Every Davis family is akin to Jefferson Davis. Every Ball family from George Washington's mother. my own Hamilton's from Alexander Hamilton. And ,here in the Va Military District, many pioneer families have the ledgend the farm came from the pioneer originally fighting in the Rev War for Va. Few did. Worst, these ledgends are told us by our beloved ,sweet, grandmothers. And grandmother wouldn't tell us a fib. Must quit because a heavy Great Danes HEAD IS RESTING on my typing hand. ________________________________________________________________ YOU'RE PAYING TOO MUCH FOR THE INTERNET! Juno now offers FREE Internet Access! Try it today - there's no risk! For your FREE software, visit: http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj.

NTERNET GENEALOGY - WHAT'S GOOD! WHAT'S NOT! . . . AND WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO ABOUT IT? by Bettie Cummings Cook, CG [Published in The Packet, Tri-State Genealogical Society, Evansville, IN, vol.XXII, no. 2 (Dec. 1998)] Before computers there were two kinds of genealogists. The experienced and the beginners. The experienced passed their knowledge to the beginners. The "experienced" covered degrees of knowledge from more than a beginner to years of work in the field. The work was too new to the beginner to do much adventuring except acquire blank family charts, work at finding dates and places, and take advantage of seminars, classes, and advice from friendly experienced genealogists. They learned as they went along about where, and how, to look for dates and places. If they did rush to judgment those who had worked at the problem longer quickly called them to task. They were usually chastised sufficiently to be more careful with future endeavors. Still--they learned and eventually passed into being experienced. Enter the undeserving villain . . . Internet Genealogy! What's Good! With the addition of the computer to the home the experienced genealogist became a computer-user and continued to apply his work habits and expertise with the aid of the computer. The world of the Internet opened boundless possibilities of accessing records to the genealogist. Email is an amazing convenience to make contact with others and receive an answer within minutes. The knowledge to be gained on subjects without leaving your chair is staggering. The genealogical sites of interest range from very interesting to ho-hum. There are records of federal, state, and local levels of government, library card catalogs, resource files that are easily downloaded, and sites dedicated to specific records such as land, marriages, etc. If you have great grandpa's gun he carried in the Civil War, you can learn about its make, model, and manufacturer by consulting a website on Civil War guns. An antique piece of furniture handed down in the family may be identified as to its age and maker from sites that discuss descriptive markings, styles, and time periods. You are not confined to US searches. Research on a family said to have owned and operated a winery in Germany led to a list on a German web site of existing wineries. Think of a subject and, except in rare instances, Internet has some data. What's Not! The Internet has developed a new group of family searchers. Unfortunately, the experienced genealogist is in the minority. There is new group of persons who know first how to use a computer and second want to locate others who can give them information about their families. Notice I do not call the second group genealogists because they are lacking in the skills to prepare them for productive research. Before Internet this person would have been the beginner genealogist sitting across the table from you in a library. The computer-user/researcher cruises the Internet hoping to find his family tree, unaware there is a more accurate way to find it using primary records. The cruiser, who in the past would have had no recourse except to go a genealogical library and learn the skills, now sets up a webpage or a newsgroup in quest of the answers. He contributes uncited "merry-go-round" bits to others. His heart is in the right place but his ability to do research is not. He is totally oblivious to the fact he is doing more harm than good both to himself and others. Is it ever safe to use undocumented material found on the Internet? Not unless you verify it first with proper sources. Some of it may be right but how much faith can you put in rehashed, regurgitated, uncited data? A typical appeal looks like . . . "my grandfather died July 4, 1920. Does anyone know who his parents were?" or "my Great Grandfather was John Right born 1848. He married Jane ?. They lived in New County and had seven children. I don't know their names . . . ." Most of us quickly assess these queries as being from beginners. And ask ourselves why haven't you looked in a census? Why don't you write for a marriage bond? Why don't you get a death certificate? Why are you taking up byte space and my time to read this unskilled query? It is easier to ignore this query than deal with it. But where will this searcher turn next? To undocumented websites, forums, and various tree programs on the 'Net. He finds and records incorrect data and passes it to another person. Thus, the data is repeated in the name of "helping"for the next twenty-five years. No one knows the data's origins but will not discard it because "it might be something." Recently a friend was horrified to learn an ancestor, to whom she devoted years of work in order to identify his parents, had been added to a different set of parents with the same surname on an Internet site. The data was added by a computer-user/searcher because his ancestor had a son by the same name. Now if you have any experience at all, you know how many times several men can have the same name! After a number of determined phone calls to everyone responsible for the error, she succeeded in having it removed. But not until she proved to the website her ancestor was a different man and sent an obituary for the correct man to prove he had died in another state. And worse, her well-documented work on the son and his descendants was included on the website. It had been contributed by still another person without giving credit to her for the work. It gave every appearance of being a good genealogy with citations . . . except for the one link between parents and the right son. This example of assuming and combining data to make a family "fit" ought to make you shudder. What Are We Going to Do About It? One of the most agreeable attributes of genealogists is their willingness and unselfishness in sharing data. Some of the nicest people one could ever hope to meet share my enthusiasm for research. We regale each other endlessly with our "finds." The faceless aspect of the Internet keeps us from the personal evaluation of others that takes place in a face to face encounter. The truth is, there are a very few unpleasant folks in genealogy. So it is hard to think ill of those pursuing their families on the Internet without research experience. If we could talk to them, we would treat them as we would the beginner sitting next to us in the library. So how do we treat a faceless beginner on the Internet? WE HELP THEM. Not by sending all the answers but by pointing out where they should look to find the answers. This person needs the experience of looking at a microfilmed census. Don't deny him the thrill of finding grandfather's death certificate for himself. There's no better way to convert the beginner to learning research skills than for him to make an exciting discovery. TELL them data must have citations. Let your data be good examples by always clearly citing your source. Give county, book, and page from which the record was taken. Cite published book sources with title, compiler, publisher, year published, and page. INSIST on receiving the same citations from others. Contact the websites, newsgroups, and databases and encourage them to ask for citations. Kindly and tactfully point out to web searchers information is useless without documentation. Direct them to local libraries and genealogical collections. Tell them what genealogical societies have to offer. Beginners are often under the mistaken notion that because they live far away from their ancestor's residence there is nothing in their locale of any use. Net-cruisers who are interested in genealogy must be made aware of how much they accomplish by using source records and learning skills necessary to locate family data. Finding a cousin is fine but no matter how much the cousin can tell you it still has to be verified. My posting to a surname website encourages everyone to cite his or her data. 1 am careful to post cited items and explain there is more to be found by examining that record. It is beginning to show results. The web master was reluctant to post my first message regarding citations for fear it might offend someone. Surprisingly (to him) some readers of the site wrote and agreed. The surname site is developing into a source of information. It is a website of various documented records on the same surname from many states and, if you share that surname, is one worth visiting because most postings bear citations. One of the main features of Internet is the broad coverage of the county. For the experienced genealogist, it is this aspect of reachable records in many states that is most useful and one that needs to be developed. Let us think past the materials found on the bookshelf of any genealogical collection and begin to build sites that represent our county's records. The flood of incorrect data making the rounds on the 'Net is growing. It is comparable to undocumented family genealogies, early DAR records, and early LDS family files. Both DAR and LDS are making efforts to correct their early files. The 'Net has no one to guide it except experienced genealogists who care. We can no longer afford to ignore the unskilled query. Few of us have the inclination, or want to take the time, to deal with the unskilled and the inexperienced 'Net searchers. Someone is going to have to step up to the flood and help with the sandbags. If each of us concentrates on improving the site concerning our surname, or a site under the sponsorship of our local group, together we can make a difference. We must make an effort to deal with this growing problem. Get on your soapbox for the sake of good genealogy on the Internet! ________________________________________________________________ YOU'RE PAYING TOO MUCH FOR THE INTERNET! Juno now offers FREE Internet Access! Try it today - there's no risk! For your FREE software, visit: http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj.

Thanks for all the good tips! Darla Dunkin Ushler

I don't know how many books I just discovered! Many ! I'd known of some digital libraries-I have several aleady book-marked. But pal,Jeanne Barton had sent me an url [web address] of the U.Pittsburg's digital library to research French and Indian war times. And the url did not work,in any combo I could try. So,I went to my favorite search engine,which right now is www.google.com and ,in quotes l like I use to search a name like "JOHN DOE" ,I typed " digital library" and had a mass of hits. Digital libraries are all over the place. I've come to prefer digital works to normal works because of search engines. I have a little shareware search engine on my own hard drive called 'BOOL.exe".I'm sure there are many,and no,I don't remember where I found it,on-line 4-5 years ago. But I love to research with it. I'm not limited by the index the author of the work prepared. Search for unusual 1st names, or locations, or dates, or whatever. And quickly. I do the same at on-line libraries like www.ancestry.com. Their search engine form may have blanks labeled 1st name and last name, but I might type FORT for 1st name and PITT for last name. Or LOCH for 1st name,and NESS for last name, or ship Welcome, or BULL RUN,or Marlboro furnace. Experiment. Genealogists,on www.google.com and likely more,type a surname DOE and add the word genealogy. Search for DOE genealogy,or SIMMONS genealogy,AND,OF THE HITS, CLICK ON DOE FAMILY FORUM, or simmons family forum .