Hi Pat and Listers I am not going to comment on behalf of the Mweb website but I do think that from being almost inaccessible to many, it is a step in the right direction to have the St John's, Long Street registers transcribed. If other churches were done too we would be getting somewhere. In Britain for instance, there is a huge drive to capture documents digitally (many of these are only available on pay-to-view sites eg. 1837online and 1901 Census etc.) because one day they will disappear - disintegrate as so many of these things do. If we sit back and let it happen to our precious heritage here in SA we will have a lot to answer for to furure generations. The debate as to whether they should be freely available in digital format or pay-to-view is a thorny issue but let's face it, I do not see massive government funding being thrown in this direction for free access to actual primary sources, so it is left to private enterprise or extremely dedicated individuals. What are the alternatives? Maybe it would be worth contacting FamilyTree to see what incentives they are offering volunteers. Regards Sharon South African Genealogy - Lots of links, passenger lists, Immigrants and more - www.sagenealogy.co.za Scribes Publishing - South African historical resources on CD www.sagenealogy.co.za/scribes.htm ----- Original Message ----- From: "patfryk" <patfryk@clear.net.nz> To: <SOUTH-AFRICA-CAPE-TOWN-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Saturday, June 18, 2005 5:49 PM Subject: Re: [South-Africa-Cape-Town] St John's Long Street, Cape Town, registers > It is good news but will it too be restricted as so much of that mweb site > is? > Pat > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Sharon Warr" <snw@absamail.co.za> > To: <SOUTH-AFRICA-CAPE-TOWN-L@rootsweb.com> > Sent: Saturday, June 18, 2005 9:40 PM > Subject: [South-Africa-Cape-Town] St John's Long Street, Cape Town, > registers > > >> Good day All >> I have the following exciting piece of news. The FamilyTree and MWeb >> Ancestry have been given permission by the LDS in Salt Lake City and Wits >> University to be the official transcribers of the Anglican Church >> Registers in South Africa. They are starting off with the Old St. Johns >> church in Long Street, Cape Town which was demolished in 1971.The >> registers cover more than a hundred years and might contain some of our >> 'missing' ancestors. FamilyTree / Mweb Ancestry are looking for >> volunteers to help transcribe these records. The successful applicant >> needs to have Microsoft Access, be able to decipher old handwriting, pay >> attention to detail and, most of all, have a love of genealogy. For more >> information on how to get involved please contact >> info@learningonline.co.za or heather@ancestors.co.za >> >> Regards >> Sharon Warr >> List Administrator >> >> South African Genealogy - Lots of links, passenger lists, Immigrants and >> more - www.sagenealogy.co.za >> Scribes Publishing - South African historical resources on CD >> www.sagenealogy.co.za/scribes.htm >> >> >> >> ==== SOUTH-AFRICA-CAPE-TOWN Mailing List ==== >> www.sagenealogy.co.za - passenger lists, genealogy links,CDs and books >> >> ============================== >> Search Family and Local Histories for stories about your family and the >> areas they lived. Over 85 million names added in the last 12 months. >> Learn more: http://www.ancestry.com/s13966/rd.ashx >> >> >> >> -- >> No virus found in this incoming message. >> Checked by AVG Anti-Virus. >> Version: 7.0.323 / Virus Database: 267.7.1 - Release Date: 13/06/2005 >> >> > > > ==== SOUTH-AFRICA-CAPE-TOWN Mailing List ==== > Cape Town Family History Society > www.genealogy.co.za/society/socweb.htm > > ============================== > Search the US Census Collection. Over 140 million records added in the > last 12 months. Largest online collection in the world. Learn more: > http://www.ancestry.com/s13965/rd.ashx > > >