good point, Mary Jo. Charlene Patton ----- Original Message ----- From: "Mary Jo C. Martin" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, February 16, 2001 4:04 PM Subject: Citing countries in publications and databases > Below is a copy of an email that I recently sent to the editors of the > Ancestry.com online magazine. I thought it might be useful to others, so > I'm forwarding it to this list. Thanks! > > Mary Jo C. Martin > Melbourne, Australia > [email protected] > > -----Original Message----- > From: Mary Jo C. Martin <[email protected]> > To: [email protected] <[email protected]> > Date: Saturday, 6 January 2001 10:54 > Subject: Citing countries as well > > > >Your Ancestry Quick Tip of 2 Jan 2001 about including the state of > >reference, by Ruth Dunlap, inspired me to write to you about something that > >I've been aware of for many years, but never seen discussed elsewhere. It > >is not only desirable to indicate the state of reference, but the country > as > >well. There are a few issues involved in this reminder: > > > >Not Just a US Phenomenon > >As someone who has moved away from my country of origin -- the United > >States -- I can attest to the fact that genealogy is not just a US > >phenomenon. Many people all over the world are pursuing this hobby with > >vigor. As in so many other areas, however, the US -- by virtue of its > >demographic size, wealth, educated citizenry, and perhaps its status as an > >immigrant nation -- leads the way in genealogical research, especially > >electronic. The great majority of genealogical e-zines, websites, and > >electronic bulletin boards and lists originate in the US, but American > >contributors and users have to remember that they are not the only ones > >using them. Anyone whose native language is English -- and a great many > who > >consider it a second or third language -- also use these valuable > resources. > >There are 322,000,000 English first language speakers in the world, but a > >third of them are not American. English is the modern lingua franca, so > >imagine how many other hundreds of millions of people worldwide are able to > >access and contribute to online genealogical materials. > > > >Spell Out States' Names > >US citizens save time by writing postal abbreviations instead of the full > >names of states. This is appropriate in private correspondence with other > >Americans, but even then, it can be confusing. Is MO Missouri or Montana? > >Imagine the frustration of non-American users of electronic data. Spelling > >out states' names in full will endear a US writer to a great many potential > >overseas correspondents. > > > >Town Names are not Unique > >It is also important to remember that American town names are not unique. > >When the first immigrants settled what they considered virgin country, they > >naturally looked to their countries of origin as a source of names for > their > >new homes -- think Plymouth, think New England, think Toledo. They also > >looked to saints, mythology, geologic formations, the Bible, etc. But this > >is also how many Old Country locations got their names. The vast majority > >of town names can be found elsewhere in the world, so it's important to > >indicate the country as well as the town in any reference citation. > > > >Entering Countries in Databases > >Most genealogists have immigrant ancestors -- indeed, that's one of the > most > >fascinating things about the hobby -- and they are quite happy to add the > >"foreign" country name to their genealogical databases where necessary. > But > >I would argue that ALL country names should be entered, even the United > >States of America. My genealogical software is sprinkled liberally with > >entries such as "Milford, Hunterdon Co., New Jersey, USA" because I am a > >living example that people don't always stay put. > > > >In years to come, as my grandchildren emigrate to yet another country (or > >off this planet?!), will their great-grandchildren be able to figure out > >what Milford, NJ means? There are three towns of that name in New Jersey: > >Milford, New Milford and West Milford. West Milford is nowhere near the > >others, but it's 33.8 miles from New Milford, NY. There are also Milfords > >in CT, DE, MA, MI, NH, OH and UT in the USA. Imagine trying to decipher > >these abbreviations 200 years from now in a time of exponential change. > Was > >this town even in America, or was it one of the five in the United Kingdom, > >or Milford-on-Sea or Milford Haven there; Millford or either of the two > >Milfords in the Republic of Ireland; Mt. Milford or the other two Milfords > >in Australia; Milford, Jamaica; Milford Sound, New Zealand; or elsewhere? > > > >Researchers who are serious about sharing their work with others and > >preserving their heritage for future generations, and formal publications > >that exist for this purpose, would be well advised to take the time to > >indicate country of origin, even if it's the USA. Thanks. > > > >Sincerely, > >Mary Jo C. Martin > >Melbourne, Australia > >[email protected] > > > >References: > > > >Ethnologue USA > >http://www.sil.org/ethnologue/countries/USA.html > > > >Worldwide Directory of Cities & Towns > >http://www.calle.com/world/index.html > > > >AAA Central-West Jersey > >http://www.aaacwj.com/ > > > > > > > > > ============================== > Search more than 150 million free records at RootsWeb! > http://searches.rootsweb.com/ > >