Note: The Web version of this issue of The Roots Tracer contains all of the words and all of the non-decorative graphics of the original paper version, but does not preserve the original typographical formatting.
INDEX VOLUME XII NUMBER 3 Message from the President 406 Welcome to New Members 406 The Bookshelf 407 Reader Notes 411 Meet the Members 412 Kawlewski Family Reunion 414 What Good is a Computer in Genealogy? 416 London Jews and the Jewish West End Project 419 L-AGS Members who are Members of Other Genealogical Organizations 420 This Week in History 422 Tidbits 423
LIVERMORE-AMADOR GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY P. 0. Box 901, Livermore, CA 94551 President David ABRAHAMS 510-447-9386 1st VP and Membership Virginia MOORE 510-447-8316 2nd VP and Programs Jolene ABRAHAMS 510-447-9386 Recording Secretary John WALDEN 510-443-2057 Corresponding Secretary Dixie NEWBURY 510-447-1868 Business Manager Clarence PARKISON 510-449-8656 Publications Chairman George ANDERSON 510-846-4265 Publicity (acting) Jolene ABRAHAMS 510-447-9386 Livermore Cultural Arts Council Rep Don JOHNSON 510-447-4746 The Livermore-Amador Genealogical Society is exempt from Federal Income Tax under Section 501(c)(3) (literary and educational) of the Internal Revenue Code and California Taxation Code 237020.
The Roots Tracer is a quarterly publication with articles of interest to the genealogist. Members are encouraged to submit their "Profiles" as well as articles of general interest. Queries are free to members, $1.00 to non-members. The deadline for each quarterly is the 15th of June, September, December, and March. Send to: Roots Tracer, P. 0. Box 901, Livermore, CA 94551 Any book presented to the Society will be reviewed in the quarterly along with the purchase price and address of the publisher. Our Library is located in the Pleasanton Public Library building, 400 Old Bernal Ave., Pleasanton, CA. Meetings are held on the 2nd Tuesday, monthly, at Congregation Beth Emek, 1866 College Ave., Livermore, CA. Membership in LAGS is open to any individual, library, or society. Our fiscal year is September 1 through August 31. Membership includes a subscription to the quarterly Roots Tracer. Publications (Prices are postage paid) Surname Index (1988) $7.00 Livermore Cemeteries (1988) $19.00 Pleasanton, Dublin Cemeteries (1990) $14.00 The Bookshelf (1992) $3.00 Roots Tracer Index $6.00 Livermore Cemetery Index $6.00 Prices subject to change Send check or money order to: Livermore-Amador Genealogical Society P. 0. Box 901, Livermore, CA 94551
MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT David Abrahams It is with great sadness that I must announce that Dixie Newbury, long- time editor of the Roots Tracer, has asked the board to find a replacement for her. As all of you know, for the past several years, Dixie has done a wonderful job of collecting, editing and assembling the Roots Tracer for printing and distribution. On behalf of the entire membership of L-AGS, I want to thank you, Dixie, for the great job you have done. Now, with Dixie's retirement, L-AGS needs a new editor to keep the Roots Tracer going as the official publication of the Society. I would dearly love it if several of our members stepped forward to form a committee to take on this worthwhile task. As I promised in the last issue of the Roots Tracer, I have assembled a data base of members of L-AGS who belong to other genealogical and historical societies. The data has been published in this edition. It is absolutely amazing to see how many of our members belong to so many societies. I'm sure that now that this list has been started, others may wish to add to it. Please feel free to tell us, or send us, the names of the societies you belong to. We will publish updates of the data base as space permits in the Roots Tracer. The time is drawing closer for our 2nd Genealogy Seminar (24 April). The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is our co-sponsor. I want to take this opportunity to thank in advance all of the wonderful committee members from L-AGS and the Church who worked so hard to put this Seminar together: Mary Lynne Horton, Jolene Abrahams, Don Powell, Beverly Ales, Kellee Smith, Lucille Bruskin, Jim Ruff, Merle Atkinson, Kathie Brough, Doug Beckstand, and Keith Mortensen. Many, many thanks are also due to the members of L-AGS and the Church who gave up their time to volunteer to "work" at the Seminar.
WELCOME TO NEW MEMBERS Doug and Joan Mumma Mildred Doucette 2123 Farmington Place 954 Lambaren Avenue Livermore, CA 94550 Livermore, CA 94550
The Bookshelf The title of the column for this issue should be, not "the Bookshelf," but "the Microfilm Cabinet." Genealogists love and hate microfilm - love it because that's where most of the data they want is found, and hate it because it is so bo-o-o-ring to look at. I decided on the microfilm topic this time because the LAGS Library has just acquired all seven rolls of the 1920 census for Alameda County. It seems appropriate at this time to remind our members of all of our microform holdings. I will also describe briefly what is available to us at the Pleasanton Library and the local LDS Family History Center. The contents of our newly - acquired rolls of 1920 census film are described on the next page. The LAGS Library now owns all census films that exist for the Livermore and Amador Valleys. The first one is 1860 and the others are 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910 and 1920. Of course, later censuses exist in print, but they are still considered private and will be kept from the public until 72 years after the date of taking. The 1850 census was the first taken in California. Sadly, the data for the Bay Area has been lost. As for the 1890 census, you may remember that the returns for all but a few counties in the East were destroyed in a fire. LAGS bought all of these local census films even though we know that few of our members have local roots. The reason is that one of the purposes of our society, according to the by-laws, is to perform genealogy-related public services for our community. Making local source materials available to the public helps fulfill this purpose. We hope that someday we will be able to transcribe and publish all of the local censuses, as a further public service, and as a money-making project for the club. Other than these 13 census films - 7 for 1920 and 6 for the other years - LAGS has only one other roll of film (the 1860 census for Contra Costa County) and 5 microfiche. Two fiche are for a printed and indexed transcription of the 1860 Contra Costa County census. The others are for the 1890 Louisiana Veterans' Census index, Records of the Church of Christ in Bristol, Rhode Island for 1687-1775, and a bibliography of Massachusetts vital records, 1620-1895. In contrast to the very modest LAGS collection, the Pleasanton Library's holdings of microfiche are huge. The box on this page gives details. In keeping with our close partnership with the Pleasanton Library, their fiche and ours are interfiled in the same box. The Pleasanton Library collection of fiche is very respectable, but the Livermore LDS Family History Center's collection is at least an order of magnitude larger. Add to that their computerized CD-ROM files, and you're talking serious data. I won't attempt to describe their holdings in detail, but I urge LAGS members to become acquainted with this marvelous resource. It includes the IGI, Accelerated Index System indexes, and a large new acquisition, the Church of Scotland Christening and Marriage Records. In all, there are thousands of fiche at the FHC. For the next year, while the Mocho Street church is being remodeled, the FHC is housed in the LDS church at 1501 Hillcrest Avenue in Livermore. The hours are from noon to 3 pm on Mondays, and from 6 to 9 pm on Wednesdays, or by appointment with Mary Lynne Horton, 443-5407, at other times.
Genealogy Microfiche at the Pleasanton Library Genealogical Helper "Roots Cellar" Computerized Family File Index, Vol.1, 48 fiche, 6143 pages Family Group Sheets, 203 fiche, 23,351 sheets Submitters' List, 3 fiche, 29,833 names Ancestor List, 15 fiche, 1863 pages Sutro Library Catalog Localities, 68 fiche Surnames, 110 fiche Miscellaneous, 4 fiche American Genealogical Lending Library Catalog Census, Military, Passenger Lists, Locality, etc., 8 fiche Supplement, August 1992, 1 fiche California Death Records (see sample on later page) 1950-1959, 73 fiche 1960-1969, 99 fiche 1970-1979, 111 fiche 1980-1986, 88 fiche California Marriage Records (see sample on later page) 1980-1985, 73 fiche for groom, 73 fiche for bride
Guide to 1920 Federal Census for Alameda County, California Microfilm Series T625, Rolls 87-93 The census information for Alameda County is organized as follows: There are 7 rolls of microfilm, numbered from 87 to 93. Each roll has 2 volumes of data; the volumes are numbered sequentially from 1 to 14 on the 7 rolls of film, i.e., Roll 87 has Volumes 1 and 2, Roll 88 has Volumes 3 and 4, etc. Volume 13 is the last for Alameda County; Volume 14 on Roll 93 covers Alpine, Amador, Eldorado and Glenn Counties. Each volume is divided into Enumeration Districts (EDs). There are 231 EDs in Alameda County. The EDs numbered from 1 to 199 are sequential within the county and within each volume, but that sequence is interrupted in an irregular way by insertion of EDs 200-231. The EDs contained in each volume are listed in order on the film at the start of the volume. Within in each ED the pages of information are numbered sequentially. It is actually the sheets of paper that are numbered, and each sheet has side A and side B, so the pages appear to be numbered 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, etc. The lines on each sheet are numbered from 1 to 100, with 1-50 on side A, 51-100 on side B. Roll Vol. EDs Localities 87 1 1-21 Alameda 87 2 22, 219, 227, 23-35 Oakland 88 3 36-51 Oakland 88 4 52-57, 223, 58-66 Oakland 89 5 67-84 Oakland 89 6 85-97, 99 Oakland 90 7 98, 100-103, 222, 104, 105, 221, 231, 106-112 Oakland 90 8 113, 226, 114-126, 218, 127 Oakland 91 9 128-131, 224, 132-139, 225, 140, 220, 141, 142 Oakland 91 10 143-150, 228, 151-156 Oakland, Castro Valley, Hayward, San Lorenzo, San Leandro 92 11 157, 158, 229, 159, 230, 160-162, 200-217 Murray Township, Albany, Emeryville, Piedmont, Pleasanton Township, Washington Township (See next chart for more detail) 92 12 163-180 Berkeley 93 13 181-199 Berkeley 93 14 Alpine, Amador, Eldorado and Glenn Counties Guide to Roll 92, Volume 11 of the 1920 Census of Alameda County, California This volume includes Murray and Pleasanton Townships ED Sheets Township Precinct 157 1-4 Murray Altamont 158 1-4 Murray 229 1-3 Murray Murray 159 1-5 Murray Mocho 230 1-6 Murray Mocho 160 1-7 Murray Livermore-1 160 8-15 Murray Livermore-2 160 16-21 Murray Livermore-3 205 1-8 Pleasanton Amador 205 9-11 Pleasanton Dublin 206 1-4 Pleasanton Sunol Glen 206 5 Pleasanton Calaveras 207 1-5 Pleasanton Pleasanton-2 207 6-11 Pleasanton Pleasanton-1
A Sample of the 1920 Census - a Local Family
A sample of the 1920 census. This is the family of Carl Wente, founder of the famous local winery. For some reason, Mrs. Carl H. Wente is listed first, as head of the family (was she an early feminist?). The seven family members are the last, except for one, on page 3B, but the page heading for page 4A is used for illustration. To allow each entry to appear straight across on one line, as it is in the original, the image from the microfilm printer has been reduced. The headings, no longer readable after this reduction, are as follows, illustrated with the entries for Mrs. Wente: PLACE OF ABODE: Street, Avenue, Road, etc. (blank), House number or farm, etc. (X), Number of dwelling house in order of visitation (106), Number of family in order of visitation (106); NAME: Name of each person whose place of abode on January 1, 1920, was in this family. ... Include every person living on January 1, 1920. Omit children born since January 1, 1920 (Wente, Mrs. C. H.); RELATION: Relationship of this person to the head of the family (Head): TENURE: Home owned or rented (O), If owned, free or mortgaged (F); PERSONAL DESCRIPTION: Sex (F), Color or race (W), Age at last birthday (59), Single, married, widowed or divorced (M); CITIZENSHIP: Year of immigration to the United States (1882), Naturalized or alien (na), If naturalized, year of naturalization (1892); EDUCATION: Attended school any time since Sept. 1, 1919 (blank), Whether able to read (yes), Whether able to write (yes); NATIVITY AND MOTHER TONGUE: Place of birth of each person and parents of each person enumerated. If born in the United States, give the state or territory. If of foreign birth, give the place of birth and, in addition, the mother tongue. PERSON: Place of birth (Germany), Mother tongue (German); FATHER: Place of birth (Germany), Mother tongue (German); MOTHER: Place of birth (Germany), Mother tongue (German); Whether able to speak English (yes); OCCUPATION: Trade, profession, or particular kind of work done, as spinner, salesman, laborer, etc. (none), Industry, business or establishment in which at work, as cotton mill, dry goods store, farm, etc. (blank), Employer, salary or wage worker, or working on own account (blank), Number of farm schedule (blank). The entry "85" in the last column for the Ernest Wente farm means that a detailed description of the farm will be found in the farm schedules for the 1920 census. LAGS does not have these farm schedules.
Example of California Marriage Records
A sample of California Marriage Records, from the microfiche for 1980- 1985. This section of the records is alphabetized by the name of the bride. The two columns headed "CO" give a code for the county; this number is decoded in information accompanying the fiche. The sample chosen here is for the marriage of our daughter, Gail L. Anderson. She and Donavin D. Dressler were married in Davis, Yolo County (code "57"). We were amazed that there were 22 Gail Andersons married in California in that five-year period.
Example of California Death Records
A sample of California Death Records, from the microfiche for 1970-1979. The column headed "CO" is a code for the county where death occurred; this number is decoded in the information accompanying the fiche. The example chosen shows the death of my uncle, Abraham Label, who died in Marin County (code "21"). He was a famous prize fighter in his youth. He was a young man of 21 living in San Francisco at the time of the great earthquake. The column "SP INIT" gives the initials of his wife, Elva B. Label, who is still healthy at age 98.
TO ALL L-AGS MEMBERS AND READERS I have recently acquired the following information about Upshur County in West Virginia: 1. Five volumes of cemetery readings that include all cemeteries in the county. Some are indexed and some are not. 2. A listing of marriages in the county from 1851 to 1896. This is indexed for both male and female surnames. I am currently working with some others to publish a list of births from 1853 to 1897. I have compiled an alphabetized list of births from 1887 to 1897. I will have the years 1853 to 1887 available as soon as my fellow genealogists complete their compilations. If I can be of assistance to anyone, please give me a call: John Walden, (510) 443-2057, in Livermore, California
NEW PUBLICATION One of our members, Charles J. Michels, has just published a family genealogy entitled: The GENEALOGY of the MICHELS-FOERSTER and IAMMARINO-DePAUL FAMILIES With related lines of KLORER, PAULUS, ELKAS, SCHMITT, JACKLIN, GENARO, ZANGRANDI, TERNES, HIESFELD, RITZENHOFFEN, MANCINE and COPPOLONE by Charles J Michels and Jeanne Michels Library of Congress Catalogue Card No. 93-70238 The book has twelve pages of photographs, two hundred pages of text, sixteen pedigree charts, a Surname Index and a Citations Index. Notes are added by the authors and nine informational appendices are provided.
KAWLEWSKI FAMILY REUNION Jeanne V. Tanghe I spent a good part of four years doing scattered genealogical research about my family. At first it was for fun. Then the need to find and know relatives increased. My husband and I started on my journey into the past. I was very lucky to have a family that took pictures of everything, and to have a large family base in Wisconsin. Those family members were strangers to me, but some were names left in the memories of my childhood. As I encountered family members, I found they were warm and giving, but held back pictures and information. After two year of visiting, they began to trust me. I became very close to a second cousin, Agnes Golla. She and I made quite a team! We visited, talked to and questioned people. We searched old trunks and boxes. We made copies of everything and shared with everyone. A sense of competition and being part of a wonderful family was born. The idea of a family reunion came out of the fun we were having with our visits, phone calls, letters, and all the information and clues we were getting. The elders in our family would become young again - just reliving those moments in the old pictures. They became the most valuable members of the family, our connection with our history. In October, 1991, the committee of two (Agnes and me) set July 11, 1992 as the BIG DAY. We reserved a park in Steven Point, designed T-shirts, and sent out 150 letters. The response was overwhelming. Information poured in, and 300 letters were sent out in the second mailing! I entered the family names, dates and places as I received them daily into My Brother's Keeper program, and sent copies to a cousin in Illinois. She created a family tree book. Another cousin printed an address/telephone book, and yet another put together a family history book, with pictures, articles and stories. My gift to the family reunion was a video tape with a collection of 208 pictures of our family, with the appropriate music as an accompaniment. The tape included the wedding pictures of our great- grand parents and their eleven children. A small theatre was set up for the people to view the tape at the reunion. The showing resulted in many tears being shed. Numerous articles were published in the Steven Point Journal, including a front page feature with a picture of my grandparents, Frank and Frances Kawlewski. We collected prizes for an auction. The Wisla Polish Folk Dancers and the Country Musicians in authentic costumes were hired to perform. A local historian spoke about the village in Poland where our great-grandparents came from, and then presented us with a container of soil she brought back from her trip there. Another cousin spoke to us about the contributions Polish people have made to the history of the United States. We thought 350 family members would attend this first reunion, but the final count showed that 550 paid to come to the party - and some sneaked in without paying! The food was incredible. Have you ever attended a pot luck for 550? The women took charge of the kitchen; non-alcoholic beer in kegs and cold drinks were provided. Special parking signs were painted by an artist cousin, and the men directed traffic. At one point I stood in amazement as I looked at the cars in the parking areas and the people in line for food. I was very proud of our accomplishments. The morning of the reunion a special Mass was held at the Catholic Church for the Kawlewski Family. Literally hundreds of Kawlewskis have been married, baptized and buried there. All of the participants except the priest were related. The choir, the altar boy, the flagbearers, speakers and communion givers all were relatives. Songs were specially chosen for the service - some of which were in Polish. I was given a large Polish flag by the family as thanks for my efforts in doing the family history and chairing the first Kawlewski Family Reunion. We now have a large committee to plan the next reunion. My sister is co- chairperson. A larger park has been reserved. A cookbook is in the process of being written and assembled for the next reunion. Two large branches of the family have been located in Chester, Illinois, and in Gulcz, Poland. A Polish cousin just sent us her wedding picture which included everyone who attended. At least half could be our relatives! The date of our next reunion is August 21, 1993. We would not be surprised if 600 or 700 attend this next pot luck dinner.
The Kawleski Family Our grandfather and great-grandfather, Frank Kawlewski/Kawleski, his wife, Frances Surma, and four children, Antone, Michael, William and Pauline, arrived in the United States on June 22, 1881 (111 years ago), leaving family and friends behind in Gulcz, Poland. A half-brother, Mikoloj Gollon, and his family also came to Portage County about that time. In researching records in Poland, we learned that families suffered many hardships and illnesses (a lot of diphtheria and deaths in childbirth), with no medical supplies, etc. We found the same suffering on the ships coming over also. The Kawleskis went to Chicago, where Anna and Ella were born. The Stevens Point area was their destination, especially since the land was much like the land in Poland, also along a river. In 1886, the family settled in Junction City, where they farmed and had five more children, Joseph, Peter, Max, Mary and Frank Jr. Frank and Frances Kawleski acquired two farms, one on River Road and one on Ridge Road in Junction City. The farms are still owned by Kawleskis, namely Louis and Edwin Kawleski. We now have over 1,000 descendants recorded in our genealogy. There are still a lot of descendants living in Portage County, on both sides of the river, and have acquired more property in Portage County, carrying on the Kawleski name. In the early years, life was simple and a lot of hard work for survival. There was no running water or electricity and money was scarce. Many items were gotten on the barter system. Families worked together and helped each other. Barn-raising by family and friends made the job easier. Women made their own soap, churned their own butter, had quilting and husking bees, mattresses were made from corn husks or hay, stuffed into ticking or material. Wow, were these noisy! A summer house was a necessity to cook huge amounts of food and for canning and where meat was processed. This kept the main house cooler, where there were no conveniences. When fish were in abundance, the men brought them in for the women to smoke for the winter. Pork was salted in barrels, as this was the only way to preserve the meat. The farmers worked the fields with horses and a lot of work was done by hand in planting and harvesting. The first automobile accident case was held in Portage County on March 21, 1908, against Dr. Gregory, by Frank Kawleski. The accident occurred on Sunday afternoon, Sept. 1, 1907, when Dr. Gregory's automobile frightened the Kawleski team and the wagon overturned with Frank, Frances and two daughters and two sons in the wagon, suffering injuries. For entertainment, we remember barn dances, card parties and the grain threshing was a big event. Weddings were a big family affair, The children were baptized at St. Casimir's Church and most were married at the same church. The Kawleski family was instrumental in the construction of St. Casimir's Church. The descendants, numbering over 1,000 at present, are planning a family reunion at Iverson Park on July 11, 1992, starting with a family Mass at St. Casimir's Church. Submitted by Agnes Kawleski Golla Ogdensburg Jeanne Cyra Tanghe Livermore, Calif.
FRANK AND FRANCES KAWLEWSKI ON THEIR WEDDING DAY
The following article is reprinted as it originally appeared in the California Genealogical Society publication, Summer 1992. It has also been printed in various other Bay Area genealogical publications, so we thought we would print it as well! WHAT GOOD IS A COMPUTER IN GENEALOGY? Madly hunting for a strayed ancestor in a welter of papers, certificates, pedigree charts, and family group sheets, you are bound to wonder whether it might be worthwhile to apply a computer to the problem of organizing all that genealogical information - especially if carrying papers is giving you a backache and your patient spouse is worried because you asked for a filing cabinet as a holiday gift. Members of the CGS Computer Interest Group obviously think it is worthwhile, and they've put together some answers to basic questions you may not have even formulated yet. Q. Can a computer really help me deal with the welter of genealogical details I've collected or plan to find? A. Yes! Computers and genealogy are perfect partners! Genealogy software programs that record the results of your research are readily available. You enter information about individuals and link them as spouses and to their parents and children. These are specialized data-base management programs, similar to the kind you'd use for an address file. Where your address file provides the same information - name, address, phone, number - for everyone in it, a genealogy program includes name plus date and place of birth, marriage, and death. The most important difference, however, is that in a standard database program, all the records are independent of each other. If the Smiths move, the Browns aren't affected. But a genealogy program has to link records to each other internally, spouses to each other, and parents to children. Another difference is that a genealogy program needs to know about the change from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar, and has to be able to handle dates in the mixed form "23 March 1699/1700. " A genealogy program should: Have unlimited file size. If you want to include all the relatives or everyone in town, showing all the intermarriages, you should be able to do so. Be able to use the full ASCII character set to record names in their original spelling. Be able to read from and write to a file that can be read by another genealogical program. The standard of exchange is a plain-text File in GEDCOM (GEnealogical Data COMmuriications) format. Be able to furnish you with satisfactory output. It should print pedigree charts and family group sheets - the staples of research - but should also give you sorted lists on any field you choose. Be able to let you do most or all your data entry and updating from the "lineage-link" mode, which shows you onscreen an individual, his parents, and grandparents, and allows you to move up, down, and around his immediate family tree. A genealogy program can also offer other useful features: It can let you build other types of charts, such as one that shows all someone's ancestors, or all someone's descendants, either indented by generation or in the ahnentafel format. (Ahnentafel is a German word for a family chart on which #1 is the person whose genealogy is being traced, #2 is his or her father, #3 is the mother, etc. in a numbered list.) A program named Tracer automatically writes a short biography on request. Another program, Roots III, allows you to tag individual records. For instance, if you tag everyone in the family who had some particular trait or disease, such as cancer or alcoholism, you can print a chart (a genogram) that highlights the tagged relatives to give you a visual display worth more than 1,000 words. Various programs also handle dates in special forms, such as Jewish notation for bar Mitzvahs, which is something to look for when you select a program. Q. How can I find the program that's right for me? A. A number of popular programs are available for the various brands of personal computers. If you already have a computer, some of the decisions are already made. Some programs are suitable for several brands of computer, whereas others specialize in a particular "platform." The best way to find the right program is probably to try them out at a genealogical fair, where several programs will probably be on display for potential customers to try out. You can also read reviews about genealogy programs in the general-audience genealogical magazines, or in Genealogical Computing. (If you are already a computer user and might be interested in testing and reviewing new programs, Genealogical Computing is looking for volunteers.) The most popular programs right now are the LDS Personal Ancestor File (current version PAF2.1) and its derivatives, and Commsoft Software's Roots (current version Roots III). Both are excellent; neither is perfect. PAF costs about $40; Roots III costs about $200. PAF is available for IBM PC-compatible computers and the Apple Macintosh; Roots III is available only for the PC, but Commsoft has released Sesame, a program available in both PC and Mac versions. Other programs include Tracer, a program for PCs written by Wayne Shepard, production editor of The Nugget, and Family Roots, one written in Massachusetts by Quinsept for the PC, Apple II, and Commodore computers, to name just a few. Q. What other programs would be useful? A. Lots. A standard data-base management program can keep track of all the libraries you've ever visited in your genealogical research, all the reference books and microfilm you've ever consulted, all the useful (and irrelevant) material that was in them... Well you have the idea. What better than a word processing program to continually revise the life story of great-great-grandmother Gertrude, or to keep the texts of wills, obituaries, letters, and diaries? And what better gift than a neatly bound transcription of these same letters and diaries? When you ask a relative for information, it's customary to offer to share any additional information that you may acquire. If a distant relative has gone to a great deal of trouble and expense to copy information for you, you have a moral obligation to share new information, so keep an address book. Having updated your own file with the newest discoveries, you can use the mail merge features of your word processor to write a single form letter covering the new information, then send off individually addressed copies to each interested cousin. A program intended to produce organization charts for a Board of Directors will product descendency charts for your ancestor or relationship charts showing how distant a cousin you are to George Washington or the Prince of Wales. Q. What's available beyond my desktop computer? A. If you acquire a modem and locate the right phone number, you can connect with bulletin boards for genealogical users and with networks that have genealogical discussion topics. The on-line giants such as CompuServe and GEnie have genealogical bulletin boards and on-line conferences. The National Genealogical Conference system (actually international) not only circulates your queries around the world in 24 hours, but also runs its own Tafel Matching Service. To use the matching service, you upload a "Tiny Tafel," and every name in it is matched with every other name on the system. Soon you receive a report that lists all the matching names and the patrons who are researching them. If they look like your own family, you can get in touch with the other patrons via the board, by electronic mail, or by the post office (good-naturedly called "snail mail" by aficionados). Some genealogy programs, such as Roots III and Tracer, will compile the Tiny-Tafel from your data files. Alternatively, you can write one yourself with a word processor. Also available are stand-alone utility programs, such as TinyTafel for the Macintosh, that will compile a Tiny-Tafel from your input. The chart on this page shows a sample entry. The first three lines identify the user, and the next three identify her computer hardware and software. The rest of the lines give genealogical data, each one providing; first, the Soundex code for the name; second, the earliest date for anyone of that name; third, the latest date for anyone of that name; fourth, the name itself followed by the earliest place it occurs/latest place it occurs. Q. Wbat does the future of genealogical computing 1cok like? A. We eagerly await the perfect Hypercard genealogy program (or "stack") with multimedia storage of words, graphs, pictures, and sound. It would enable a researcher to go from a screen of a pedigree chart to individual information on any person on the chart; or start with a family group sheet showing a person as either parent or child, then hop to a screen of biography for that person, then to copies of any written records (deeds, wills, military information, etc.), then to maps or portraits, or to a timeline of events of the day, or to a picture of the family home or tombstones - perhaps with recorded voices telling family stories. We eagerly await ancestral information available on-line from genealogy libraries by modem, or on CD-ROM disks. We eagerly await more and more indexes readily available for computer search, of which we could ask, "Give me all the Spencers you have in Maryland, please." Eventually a scanner/digitizer will be available that can read original records and interpret worst-case cacography (bad penmanship). Many historical societies are indexing local records. We'd like to see those indexes available not just locally, or centrally, but generally. According to some experts, 36 square feet of CD-ROM disk is enough space to record the entire written output of mankind. Oh, were it recorded and accessible! - Ann SHARP and Ted SWIFT
SAMPLE TINY-TAFEL FCR JANE DOE N Jane Doe A 1234 Elm Street A Anytown, CA 91234 D F Tracer Z 16 Al64 1790 1820 AVERILL/POMFRET, WINDHAM, CT 1536 1562 1592 ANTROBUS, ST. ALBANS, ENGLAND B200 1518 1518 BOWCHIEW\HUNDREIDGE, ENGLAND/HUNDRIDGE, ENGLAND B210 1543 1543 BISHOP\HUNDREIDGE, ENGLAND/HUNDRIDGE, ENGLAND B530 1625 1655 BOND/NEWBUR, ESSEX, MA B622 1822 1852 BURGESS\PROVIDENCE, PROVIDENCE, RI/PROVIDENCE, PROVIDENCE, RI B650 1691 1777 BROWN/DANVERS,ESSEX,MA F612 1824 1945 FORBES\WALTHAM, MA/LYNE,ESSEX,MA H322 1810 1884 HODGES\RICHMOND, CHITTENDEN, VT/SOMERVILLE,MIDDLESEX, MA L553 1853 1913 LAMONT,MEDFORD,MIDDLESEX,MA
LONDON JEWS and THE JEWISH WEST END PROJECT The Jewish West End Project has been formed to gather information, memories and memorabilia in order to provide a history of the background and everyday life of the Jewish community in London's West End from late 1800's until recent times. The objectives are to hold a Major Exhibition in 1994 and to assemble a permanent collection of material within the Museum, and to produce a written account of the findings as an authentic record of life in the Jewish West End. (Popular interest in the history of the Jewish East End of London has burgeoned over the past decade. However, the existence of an equivalent Jewish immigrant community in the West End has been largely overlooked.) The area defined as the "West End" for the purposes of the Project lies within the boundaries of Euston Road - Grays Inn Road - Theobalds Road - New Oxford Street - Shaftesbury Avenue - Cambridge Circus - Charing Cross Road - Leicester Square - Regents Street - Oxford Street - Marble Arch and Gloucester Place. A Research Committee has been established under the auspices of The London Museum of Jewish Life. Some of the members are historians, but most are Westenders, enthusiasts who are devoting many hours on a voluntary basis to research and capture the story of our heritage. This fascinating and rewarding project is being fueled by wonderful material from the Westenders in the form of photos and memorabilia relating to all aspects of life. The Research Committee is chaired by Mrs. Sally Fiber, 8 New Farm Lane, Northwood, Middlesex, HA6 1HD, England. She would like to hear from anyone interested in contributing ANY family history information that can be used in the exhibit. Moreover, Mrs. Fiber is particularly interested in tracing all former Jewish West Enders who attended the Jews Westminster Free School, the West Central Boys Club (which was in Fitzroy Square), and the West Central Girls Club (which was run by Lily Montagu). I have a personal interest in seeing that the Project goes forth, as my father's grandparents, Joseph and Rosa VICTOR and Solomon and Hannah ABRAHAMS, emigrated from Russia in the 1880s and were vibrant forces in this community. If any of you think you have anything to contribute to the Project, I, too, would be pleased to hear from you and offer guidance in preparation of materials to be sent to England. David Abrahams OTHER ORGANIZATIONS: PLEASE COPY
T I D B I T DEED OF GIFT BOOK Disowned? Maybe not. If your ancestor wasn't listed in his Father's will, he may have been given land as a wedding gift or given his portion of the inheritance during his father's lifetime, and then not mentioned in the will. Write to the County Clerk and ask if the ancestor is listed in the Deed of Gift Book. You may have to try several counties if they moved around. (From Orange Co, CA Gen. Soc. NL, 1989)
THIS WEEK IN HISTORY The following news notes are copied from various editions of the Livermore Herald and the Livermore Echo newspapers. L-AGS wishes to thank Barbara Bunshah of the Livermore Heritage Guild for providing these interesting personal news bits. From the Livermore Echo, week of 15 January 1893: The reception given on last Fri. night by Angelita PARLOR, NDGW in honor of Mrs. Daniel INMAN who enjoys the distinction of being the oldest Native Daughter in the state, was a highly successful affair. (Dancing, supper, speeches and more dancing - until 4 A.M.! constituted the evening's program). From the Livermore Echo, week of 1 February 1893: Jas. L. BRUCE, who is an expert at the business, now has several dogs in hand which he is training for hunting purposes, and expects to receive a number of others from San Francisco during the next few days. Among the grand jurors selected from Murray Township were A. J. McLEOD and H. H. PITCHER of Livermore. From the Livermore Echo, week of 22 February 1893: Fred SCHOENSTEDT is putting steam power into his blacksmith and machine shop. The boiler, etc. arrived Tuesday. L. C. CULL has pulled up his 9-acre vineyard and sown the ground with Chevalier barley. From the Livermore Echo, week of 22 March 1893: Mr. J. J. ADAMS of the Candy Palace is enlarging his premises with the addition of a brick building large enough to allow commercial manufacture of candy. The front portion of the old building will become an ice-cream parlor and soda fountain. From the Livermore Herald, week of 1 February 1918: First Women Jurors in County Are Drawn: Mrs. Nelly FARLEY of this place headed list of initial panel. Miss Beatrice HARVEY of this place took the examination for yeomanette in the naval service last Friday. She passed the examination successfully and was assigned to the second class. (Her) duties will be those of file clerk and stenographer at one of the recruiting stations in San Francisco. From the Livermore Herald, week of 8 February 1918: Mrs. Minna MALLY, a pioneer resident of Livermore died after a short illness. From the Livermore Herald, week of 8 March 1918: Miss Beatrice HARVEY, the only Livermore girl actively in naval service and entitled to wear a uniform, was at home on a brief furlough last week. Yeomanette HARVEY in her uniform was the envy of all the girls and the young men found her equally attractive. From the Livermore Herald, week of 22 March 1918: N. D. DUTCHER, Jr. has purchased a new Chandler "Six" touring car. From the Livermore Herald, week of 22 April, 1943: High School principal Vernon J. STOLTZ began a series of discussions of the High School in War Time as part of Public Schools Week celebrations.
L-AGS MEMBERS WHO ARE MEMBERS OF OTHER GENEALOGICAL ORGANIZATIONS (3/28/93) MEMBERS NAMES ORGANIZATIONS ABRAHAMS, David Jewish Genealogical Society of Great Britain ABRAHAMS, David SF Bay Area Jewish Genealogical Society ABRAHAMS, Jolene Knowles/Knoles Family Association ANDERSON, George & Harriet Blue Earth County, MN, Historical Society ANDERSON, George & Harriet Eastern Kentucky Genealogical Society ANDERSON, George & Harriet National Genealogical Society BEVARD, Dorothy Arkansas Historical Society BEVARD, Dorothy Arkansas Professional Genealogists BEVARD, Dorothy Bevard Family Association BEVARD, Dorothy Clark Co., Arkansas, Historical Society BEVARD, Dorothy Hard-E-Facts Bolivar, Hardeman Co., Tenn. BEVARD, Dorothy Pike Co., Arkansas, Historical Society CONVERSE, Louise Carroll County, Virginia, Historical Society CONVERSE, Louise Fayette/Raleigh County, West Virginia, G. S. CONVERSE, Louise Russell County, Virginia, Historical Society CONVERSE, Louise Southwestern Virginia Genealogical Society ELM, Kathleen Hamilton National Genealogical Society HELMS, Dorothy Howard Co. Genealogical Society, Kokomo, IN HELMS, Dorothy Kane Co. Genealogical Society, Geneva, IL HELMS, Dorothy Kaufman Co. Genealogical Society, Terrell, TX HELMS, Dorothy Marshall Co. Historical Society, N. Lewisburg, TN HELMS, Dorothy Miami Co. Genealogical Society, Paola, KS HELMS, Dorothy Nevada Co. Genealogical Society, Cedar Ridge, CA HELMS, Dorothy Newton Co. H. S., Neosha, Missouri HELMS, Dorothy Placer Co. Genealogical Society, Auburn, CA HOLBROOK, Elmond The Castor Association of America JAMIESON, Burna Centre Co., PA, Genealogical Society JAMIESON, Burna Dodge Co., MN, Genealogical Society JAMIESON, Burna Glasgow & West of Scotland Family History Society LIGHTFOOT, Mary Clan Hamilton Society, Missouri LIGHTFOOT, Mary Data Diggers, Johnson Co., TX LIGHTFOOT, Mary Dixon Family Newsletter, MD LIGHTFOOT, Mary Hamilton Nat'l Genealogical Society, Missouri LIGHTFOOT, Mary Hill County, TX, Genealogical Society LIGHTFOOT, Mary South Central Kentucky Genealogical Society LIGHTFOOT, Mary Southside Virginian LINDSEY, David Dallas County East Genealogical Society McCUE, Erma San Ramon, CA, Genealogical Society McCUE, Erma Western Pennsylvania Genealogical Society MICHELS, Charles Cuyahoga West Chapter, Ohio Genealgocial Society MICHELS, Charles The Newberry Library, Chicago, IL MOORE, Virginia Fresno, CA, Genealogical Society MORRIS, Beverly Osman Family News MORRIS, Beverly Twin Tiers Genealogical Society, Elmira, NY MORRIS, Beverly Western PA Genealogical Society, Pittsburgh NEWBURY, Dixie Bradford Co., Pennsylvania, Historcial Society NEWBURY, Dixie Calhoun Family Genealogical Society NEWBURY, Dixie Hamilton Family Genealogical Society NEWBURY, Dixie Lancaster Co., PA, Genealogical Society NEWBURY, Dixie New Hampshire Genealogical Society NEWBURY, Dixie Newbury/ Newberry Family Genealogical Society NEWBURY, Dixie Scott Family Genealogical Society NEWBURY, Dixie Washington Co., NC, Genealogical Society NEWBURY, Dixie Western Pennsylvania Genealogical Society NEWBURY, Dixie York Co., PA, Genealogical Society PERSON, Judy Cooke Family Association PERSON, Judy DeKalb County Genealogical Society, Sycamore Grove, IL PERSON, Judy McLean County Genealogical Society, Bloomington, IL PERSON, Judy Rowley Family Association PERSON, Judy Sabin Family Association PERSON, Judy Sharp Family Association ROCKHOLD, Chuck International PAF Users Group ROCKHOLD, Chuck National Genealogy Society STOUT, Marge American Historical Society of Germans from Russia STOUT, Marge Germans from Russia Heritage Society WALDEN, John Upshur Co. Genealogical Society, Buckhannm, WV ZIOMEK, Felicia American Genealogical Lending Library ZIOMEK, Felicia Chicago Genealogical Society ZIOMEK, Felicia Czechoslovakia Genealogical Society ZIOMEK, Felicia Heritage Quest ZIOMEK, Felicia Irish Genealogical Society ZIOMEK, Felicia Polish Genealogical Society
T I D B I T S TIDBITS have been copied from several other publications. Reader contributions, both original and copies, are hereby solicited. They will be published in future Roots Tracers as space permits. Look for them throughout the publication!
FOR FASTER MAIL SERVICE Did you know? Usually an addressed envelope that is typed reaches the address in a large city one day earlier than does a hand-written envelope. The optical scanners read the address starting with the Zip Code, the state, then city, with street address or box number just above. If there is an "attn" at the bottom left, the envelope will be kicked out by the scanner and held until a human eye can sort it. If the box number is where all mail should be sent, put it after the street address and just before the city, state, and Zip Code. Whenever possible, use the Zip plus 4 digits, which may give a day earlier service as the 4 digits pinpoint your location more precisely. (From Prince George Co. Bulletin, Pas. Gen. Soc. NI and Williams Co, O Gen. Soc. NL)
OUT-OF-PRINT BOOKS UMI out-of-print Books on Demand is a service that reprints genealogy books no longer available. You may order a catalog of titles from UMI, A Bell & Howell Co., 300 N. Zeeb Rd., Ann Arbor, MI 48106-1346 or call toll-free 1-800-521-3042. They have over 114,000 titles and the cost for paperback or hard cover is fairly reasonable. Good Luck. (From Ruth Betts on the Prodigy genealogy bulletin board, 01/12/93)
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