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Midwest Computer Genealogists Volume 10 Number 1
The Midwest Computer Genealogy group usually meets the 3rd Saturday of
each month. Our January 18th meeting will be at Foxwood Springs in
Raymore. Foxwood Springs is about a mile east of highway 71 on highway
58. Foxwood's web site is http://www.foxwoodsprings.org
Ken Sokel will be giving a presentation at the January meeting on how
to collect family history using a cam corder and how to conduct
interviews with family members.
Other groups:
For information on The Family Origins users group which usually
meets at the Blue Valley Library, 151st and Antioch on the first
Saturday of each mont from 9 AM to 11 AM. The new Blue Valley Library
address is 9000 W. 151st St please contact Jim Stout at jimstout@earthlink.com
or Rowena Shaffer at snowtop@juno.com.
To check on the status of FOG use this revised URL: http://chezjacq.com/fog
and to check on MCG use: http://chezjacq.com/mcg.
The TMG (The Master Genealogist) group Meeting is held the 2nd
Thursday of each month starting at 10:00 AM. The meeting is at the
Cedar-Roe Library at 5120 Cedar in Roeland Park KS this is (West of
the shopping center). For questions contact Judy Revare at
913-491-1768 or email to judy@revare.com.
You can also check the these web sites for TMG for upcoming
news ; http://chezjacq.com/tmg
and http://jacq.org/tmg.
Combination Secretary and President's Comments for the month.
Well here we are in a new year and still in very dry conditions in the
area. Was out watering the yard a bit this past week to see if I can
keep what is left of the grass after the house repairs were done to
come up next year.
Had a different type call this past week from someone whose genealogy
software was telling him that it would not allow him to input any more
names into it as 30,000 names was it limit. He wanted to know what he
could get for a replacement without buying a new Mac computer. He had
Reunion and another requirement was that it would show any photo of
the person he was reviewing on the regular review screen of the
software. As far as I know it lets FTM out as yes it takes photos but
it does not allow that on the information screen. Don't think Family
Orgins will either. Looked at a book on Legacy and it appears that it
will put up a small photo as you look at the standard screen of each
person.
It is not too early too start thinking of new officers for the group
even if it is about 5 months away before elections or if you desire to
keep the group together. I don't hear much from the members so not
sure what your wishes are as to the future. Also I have the two 30 cup
coffe pots that MCG had and I need to find a new home for them or
dispose of them somehow. Basement is getting full with all my model
ships in kit or building form plus some model airplanes and kits and
quite a few books etc.
Anyone have ideas for programs to help out the program committee and
also how often should be meeting and where. We need some input on what
the group wants to do to continue as a group.
My sister in Minnesota and a cousin in Canada tell me they are having
a lot of funerals in each of the areas now guess winter is hard on
people, up there it has been a lot colder than we have had it.
Don
For those doing Ellis Island database checks this is suppose to
be a better web site and easier to use. http://www.jewishgen.org/databases/EIDB/ellis.html
a Jewish genealogy web site, which allows you to enter all your search
criteria in one step, then it pops you over to the Ellis Island site
with all the matching records displayed. It's a wonderful time-saver,
and it makes it easy to try spelling variations using the back button
of your browser. This information is from an email message and I have
not checked it out. Anyone want to do a review of it?
I found this web site while surfing the Net today. It is the American
Memory page of the Library of Congress. Click on search and
American Memory is a gateway to rich primary source materials relating
to the history and culture of the United States. The site offers more
than 7 million digital items from more than 100 historical
collections. You may not find your ancestors here, but you may find
the area they lived in. And for example, if you type in Ellis Island
there is a film of Immigrants arriving in 1903. http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/amhome.html.
This is also from a email list message. Let me know it turns out if
anyone tries it please.
Maybe this an indication of things to come.
Here is the url for the database for death certificates. It is
wonderful! Many of the Family History Libraries and larger public
libraries supplied the list on microfiche. But the on-line list is so
much easier and we were able to order uncertified copies of the death
certificates free of charge over the Internet. Before the list went
on-line, we used to be able to order copies by mail for 50 cents. Now,
all by mail service from the State of Illinois will be discontinued.
They will maintain the list but no longer send out free copies. They
are backed up from May 2002, and apparently experience requests of 12
million. The next budget of the State of Illinois will have a
shortfall of several billion $USD. The archives will shortly
discontinue taking request. See the web page for further information.
http://www2.sos.state.il.us/departments/archives/databases.html
Information from email listing.
Here is a tidbit from J. Suman on how to dress up your family history
with a write up from GenHumor.
An amateur genealogical researcher discovered that his great-great
uncle, Remus Starr, a fellow lacking in character, was hanged for
horse stealing and train robbery in Montana in 1889. The only known
photograph of Remus shows him standing on the gallows. On the back of
the picture is this inscription: "Remus Starr; horse thief, sent
to Montana Territorial Prison 1885, escaped 1887, robbed the Montana
Flyer six times. Caught by Pinkerton detectives, convicted and hanged
in 1889." In a Family History subsequently written by his
descendant, Remus's picture is cropped, scanned in as an enlarged
image, and edited with image processing software so that all that's
seen is a head shot. The accompanying biographical sketch is as
follows:
Revisionist history? "Remus Starr was a famous cowboy in the
Montana Territory. His business empire grew to include acquisition of
valuable equestrian assets and intimate dealings with the Montana
railroad. Beginning in 1883, he devoted several years of his life to
service at a government facility, finally taking leave to resume his
dealings with the railroad. In 1887, he was a key player in a vital
investigation run by the renowned Pinkerton Detective Agency. In 1889,
Remus passed away during an important civic function held in his honor
when the platform upon which he was standing collapsed."
Genealogy.com has a newsletter that you can subscribe too and it
contains quite a bit of genealogy how to tidbits for you
consideration. Site should tell you how to subscribe if you want too.
For those interested in information on CD and DVD details you
may take a look at http://www.dvdplusrw.org/.
I did take a quick look but there was a lot of material to look over
and didn't spend much time but it looks like it could answer a lot of
questions. Have fun with it and can we get a report on it.
For those looking for sites to look over ships your ancestors may have
come over on here is one that maybe can be of use and it is from
Canada but it has many links to ship lists. http://www.ist.uwaterloo.ca/~marj/genealogy/thevoyage.html
For those who might be interested- The state of Missouri has just
added two databases to the on-line archives. A Civil War
"Index" and a WWI card image database.
These are from an email list posting.
I have left a quite a few names on the email mailing list that records
show have not updated their membership for 2003 and as such when I get
a reject on their email address I am removing them from the database
instead of tracking them down and finding out why the mail rejected.
So if you have not updated membership to 2003 and you stop getting
this newsletter that maybe the reason. Also if anyone is getting this
mailing and do not wish to see future ones let me know and I will
remove your name from the mail list. Also I hear that my try at
letting people know who records showed had paid for 2003 didn't work
with some internet servers, I did try my server with a test message
and the coding I put in front of the name in the address came back to
me. Oh well can't win them all I guess.
Here is a site from Judy Revare on vital records and ordering
of such http://vitalcheck.com/.
From an email list here is some census sites to look at that are
recently released census of 1880's of Canada and USA.
I do miss the use of Word in my computer because it would do
some things that Star Office 6 does not do or else at least in
Word could turn off some functions if I didn't like them or could
change some things but I find that Star Office has a mind of its own
or else I can't as of now find the turn on or off switch. Reason I
have to use Star Office is I could an update from Microsoft to the
operating system and a few days when I went to use Word it would lock
up the machine when I tried to start Word in so could. Nothing I tried
would get it back working have thought of getting a newer version of
Word but not sure if that would do it either.
Enough for now see you all the meeting as can make it this month don't
have the construction people to work on the house scheduled for this
Saturday like we had in November.
Contact members of the MCG group are as follows:
Don Bjuland (editor) dbjuland@att.net
Group dues are still $12 a year and the year runs from June
30th to July 1st of the following year. New member dues are prorated
at a dollar a month for balance of club year remaining. You may send
your dues payment to
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