WOW....WOW...WOW. What a project...thank you a thousand times to all involved. Diana -----Original Message----- From: Terri & Chuck Menzel <menzel@coastalnet.com> To: OHJEFFER-L@rootsweb.com <OHJEFFER-L@rootsweb.com> Date: Saturday, February 06, 1999 5:01 PM Subject: ELLIS ISLAND >Gosh, won't this be great!!!!! >Terri >-----FORWARDED MESSAGE-------- >Received from a surname list. >diane > >ARCHIVE PUTS HUDDLED MASSES ON-LINE - Volunteers scanning Ellis Island >Records. (SF Examiner 2/2/99) > >Climbing the family tree will take a lot less clawing as soon as a >nonprofit >foundation finishes a more than $15 million project to post Ellis Island >immigration records on the internet. > By helping people to access information instantly that previously was >buried >in a bureaucratic quagmire, the project will revolutionize genealogical >research for many of the more than 113 million Americans who already >actively >pursue their family histories. > Officials at the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation in NY, the >same >organization that gave Lady Liberty a face lift in 1986 without any >public >funding, estimate that more than 40% of Americans can trace their >European >ancestry back to Ellis Island. > "This is going to be a reference point", said Vern Deubler, Pres. of >the >Calif. Genealogical Society, which was based in San Francisco for a >century >before moving to Oakland this year. "It's going to provide people with >very >important leads". > By the end of next year, the foundation hopes, people will be able to >enter >any information they know about a progenitor and the program will search >more >than 20 million records for a match. The software will even be able to >tolerate misspellings. > If a match is found, the researcher can choose to print out a photo of >the >ship and a copy of the original manifesto that marked the immigrant's >arrival. > At Fisherman's Wharf on Monday, Stephen Briganti, Chairman of the >foundation, said the new database would especially help Bay Area >researchers. > He said the Bay Area remains one of the major hubs for Eliis Island >immigrants and their descendants. Tens of thousands of immigrants came >here >after arriving through the port, first to fuel the Industrial revolution >and >later to farm wine grapes. He said first generation travelers from the >main >Ellis Island years - 1892 to 1924 - still live in the area. > Briganti added that Californians' interest in Ellis Island >immigration >research, based on requests for the foundation's resources, is >outstripped >only by New yorkers'. > The database - which organizers say could be ready by the end of 2000 >- >will catalog records of almost 20 million immigrants who flooded the >tiny NY >Harbor island. Until now, those documents have been stored at the >National >Archives and Immigration and Naturalization Service in the clunky >microfilm >format. > The first phase of the project was to collect and digitize records and >install computers at the museum. > Now, Briganti said, putting the information on the Internet has become >a >top >goal as well. > "We're pretty confident this is going to work," Briganti said. "It's >not >perfect, but it's light years ahead of going to the Archives." > A demonstration of the system showed that a researcher can enter >information >in any or all of 11 fields, which ask for personal information such as >the >subject's name and country of birth, and immigration, like the subject's >port >of entry. > Foundation spokeswoman Peg Zitko said the project got off the ground >when >a >nationwide network of Mormon volunteers agreed to digitize the microfilm >information for free. Thousands of volunteers have logged more than 2 >million >hours; they've entered 3/5's of the data so far. > A spokesman for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in >Salt >Lake >City said the project was important to the church's mission. "We've >always >been involved in genealogy," said Dan Rascon, "because linking to our >family >helps us understand who we are and what we may become." > Information on the project may be found at www.ellisisland.org on the >Internet. > >(And I just want you all to know that I typed this, not scanned, so I >hope I >get some appreciation out there!!!!!!!! Best, and good night! Terry in >Calif.) PS, Please feel free to pass this along to other genealogy >lists. >-- >+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ >Researching HUBBARD,LANAGHAN,JAMES,MENZEL,HAMROCK,GEARY, >My Family Tree http://www.geocities.com/heartland/1261/family.htm >Jefferson Co. OH. USGenWeb http://www.geocities.com/heartland/1261 >Jefferson CO. OH. OGS site http://www.rootsweb.com/~ohjefogs/ > > >==== OHJEFFER Mailing List ==== >This list is archived. To search the archives visit http://www.geocities.com/heartland/1261 >and scroll until you find the search "button". >