Poland

The up-to-date version of this post will be maintained at: http://genweblog.blogspot.com/2006/07/poland.html

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Maps

Shtetl Seeker: http://www.jewishgen.org/ShtetlSeeker/

Maps of Poland, provinces and towns: http://maxpages.com/poland/Maps_and_Towns_Poland

Polish Historical Maps: http://www.horlacher.org/poland/

Maps of Poland: http://www.masterpage.com.pl/maps/mapsofpoland.html

Polish Maps 1921, 1939: http://www.pgsa.org/polishmaps.htm

Poltran for translations in Polish: http://www.poltran.com/

POLISH GENEALOGY - directory to Polish genealogy resources, databases and websites related to Polish ancestry and research of roots with links to Austrian, Belarusian, German, Jewish, Russian, Ukrainian and
worldwide genealogy-related sites: http://polishroots.netfirms.com/


He who possesses the source of enthusiasm will achieve great things. Doubt not. You will gather friends around you as a hair clasp gathers the hair. - I Ching

Books

OK, I've finally read something other than Diana Gabaldon or Joseph Hansen. Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell gets its own post, however! The delights of that wonderful novel are still swirling about in my brain. Next, I gobbled, in the most greedy manner, a novel penned in 1913 & 1914, but only published in 1971, a year after E.M. Forster's death. Maurice: A novel was as fresh as if written yesterday, as far as the writing goes. However, it is an amazing picture of England in the early 20th century. Until 1967, homosexuality was illegal, and the social sanctions were very strong against homosexual feelings, much less sexual acts! "In 1980, the Criminal Justice Act brought Scots law in line with English law, decriminalizing sex between men in private. In 1994, the age of consent for homosexual acts was reduced from 21 to 18. In 2000, it was reduced to 16 (which is also the age of consent for heterosexual acts)." Maurice is in no way a screed, or about the social conditions or the law. It is about HAPPINESS, and three men, and their choices. Great book -- too bad it could not have been published in 1914, but since it did not end with the punishment of the men involved in an proscribed activity and mindset, it could not be published then. I'm glad some progress has been made.

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I happened across The Green Knight by Iris Murdoch (1994) at the library. This is the first novel by Murdoch I've read, and I didn't know what to expect. Puzzling, creative, fascinating, thoughtful -- good read. Slow, but then -- you see the story from almost ALL viewpoints, and there are lots of characters in this group. What a wealth of imagination Miss Murdoch had. The characters were so well-drawn, I felt I was in 'the family,' a group of close friends in London. Although the book was surely set in the 80s or 90s, I kept feeling that I was in Edwardian London. Murdoch can really play with your mind! I can't think of another novel where the action was seen through so many pairs of eyes. Almost dizzying, at times. I have such admiration for the skill of Iris Murdoch. What a treasure we have lost!

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Now reading Exuberance by Kay Redfield Jamison (2004), who also wrote An Unquiet Mind. It was an interesting read -- lots of interesting character sketches, intermixed with scientific studies of brain chemicals, moods and emotions, and more. Written in an exuberant style, fittingly.

I also got books for Christmas! Professional Genealogy leads the list, and I'm sure I'll be studying that one for YEARS. Also got the Social History of the Scotch-Irish by Leyburn, and a fascinating-looking Bold Spirit: Helga Estby's Forgotten Walk Across Victorian America by Linda Lawrence Hunt. Finally, got 2 Diana Gabaldons and London by Edward Rutherfurd. After Xmas bonus: Monarch of the Glen. :-)

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Paul Herrick wanted me to read Taking Sex Differences Seriously by Steven E. Rhoads. I guess this is supposed to be a provocative polemic for some imagined good old days when women were pure and men were tamed by 'em, but it had several serious weaknesses for me, although I had to agree with half of his points. Rather than drawing a logical conclusion, however, he just begged the question! I kept thinking, "yeah, yeah, yeah..... HUH?"

The research was good, and some of the studies were new to me. The writing was decent, for a non-fiction treatment of an important topic. The thinking, however, was seriously flawed. Rhoads sets up the straw-man (straw woman?) of feminism over and over again, of course to knock it down. A serious consideration of the conundrum that faces all of us moderns would have been much more valuable. Many women want to work for a living, and many more feel they have to for financial reasons. (And thus it has always been.) On the other hand, women want to stay home with their babies and young children more than men do. If they follow their hearts and stay home, they lose pay, of course, but more important, they lose TIME. They lose career momentum, and years worked. When they do return to work, their earning power is seriously compromised. Plus, the months or years at home with no paying work weakens women's power in our monetistic society.

If, on the other hand, women continue working, both they and their children suffer. Women who do not want children, or want to have them but continue working, are injured by the choices of the women who choose to stay home. Their pay will be depressed, they will be less likely to have wide choices of good day care, and they will suffer the loss of power even though they continue to work. I have no answers for this, but at least I can pose the question. I wish Rhoads had thought about this.

Instead, I waded through silly arguments about "The Rules" and such trash, Title IX moaning about the loss of wrestling, and who wants to hold babies more. Sheesh. Rhoads does not even discuss homosexuality in his arguments! Perhaps he can offer some serious thought on the issues, but they will not be found in this book. Steve, read some anthropology, dude! US society does not represent all humans though all of time. I'm glad I didn't spend any money on this turkey.

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Free Books Online:

Project Gutenberg: http://gutenberg.net/

The Online Books Page: http://digital.library.upenn.edu/books/

Classics: http://www.bartleby.com

Fantasy and Science Fiction: http://www.baen.com/library/

Novels: http://www.freeonlinereading.com/links.htm

If you happen to own a dangerous science book, you may need one of these warning labels: http://www.swarthmore.edu/NatSci/cpurrin1/textbookdisclaimers/

Just finished a wonderful kid's book,The B.F.G. by Roald Dahl, who is always a good bet for a quick read. The most amazing created words -- especially wonderful insults. I love Matilda, and Witches, and James and the Giant Peach also.


Future file: James Morrow - Only Begotten Daughter & The Jehovah trilogy. Paul de Kruif - Microbe Hunter. Arrowsmith.


There is only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that's your own self. - Aldous Huxley

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Latest and Favorite Films

Watched He Knew He Was Right (2004) on Masterpiece Theater (PBS). I understand from IMDb that an hour was cut by PBS from the original BBC version. I wish they had not done that. Good, but not great as viewed.

Finally, I got to see Bend It Like Beckham (2002). It was worth the wait! Not a "chick flick" as my son Thomas dismissed it, but a wonderfully rich look at Indian immigrant society in England, as well as a look at women's sports in the UK. You have probably seen Parminder Nagra on E.R. (tv), and she was very good. I loved the Indian music and the engagement and wedding preparations. A wonderful little movie. I probably would have enjoyed it even more if I knew anything about football (soccer).

House of Sand and Fog (2003) - I *love* this film. Everybody should have gotten Oscars, really. Kingsley and Connelly for sure, and Ron Eldard, Shohreh Aghdashloo and first-time actor, young Jonathan Ahdout were all just wonderful. Although I haven't read the novel, the screenplay adaptation was GREAT, as was the directing, lighting, cinematography and score. I loved everything about this tragic, moving masterpiece. Heartbreakingly wonderful.

A fun romp - The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988). Terry Gilliam's vision is just wonderful. Imagine a hot air balloon made entirely of women's ...knickers! Wonderful whimsical fantasy. Jonathan Pryce as the bad guy is just priceless. "We're out of virgins."

Recorded The Three Faces of Eve (1957) a while back, and finally watched it. I read the book last fall. Bob had tears in his eyes at the end, when Eve finally regains her health. What a great story, and a tour-de-force for Joanne Woodward.

What a wonderful experience! I got the DVD of Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002) from the library, and watched the film and all the special bits. I'm an American, and know that the US Government followed a sad parallel course with the Native American people to that of the Australian government and the aboriginal people. Amazing acting, photography, writing. A true story really brought to life. Don't get caught up in the politics or history; humans have done horrifying things to other humans over and over again. The beauty of this film is the strength of love shown by these girls, and the power that gives them. This must be one of the most under-rated and under-appreciated films I've ever had the privilege of seeing.

Next up -- 21 Grams (2003). Difficult to write about so soon after watching. The quick cuts were bewildering, but made sense, too. The story, though -- redemption? Healing? Paul Rivers was the character I don't understand. Maybe because he was trying to understand life and himself through his mystical take on math. "21 grams", indeed.

The kids talked me into Napoleon Dynamite (2004) which was surprisingly charming. Maybe the advertising was bad. The IMDB reviewer who called it absurdist comedy was right, but the determination of Napoleon D. was endearing. He lived through the embarrassments of his life, and kept going. "So what did you do again this summer, Napoleon?"
"I was in Alaska hunting wolverines with my uncle."

Debra rented Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003). The DVD was a disappointment -- no extras at ALL. However, the film itself was great. I think I'll buy the DVD, in spite of the lack of extras! (Bought it for Bob for Xmas. Hee hee) Russell Crowe was perfectly cast, and I enjoyed the interplay between his character and that of Dr. Stephen Maturin, Surgeon, played by Paul Bettany (John Nash's imaginary friend in A Beautiful Mind). Peter Wier made a wonderful film; too bad it didn't make buckets of money. Some of the other books in the series might have made great films too.

We also watched The Magdalene Sisters (2002) and the TV documentary Sex in a Cold Climate (1998). Completely horrifying, both of them. Also completely absorbing. It is easy to blame the Catholic Church for what happened, or even the specific (and monstrous) priests and nuns who ran these prisons, but the wider society created and supported these places until the late 1960s. I wonder what modern Irish think about these films today?

Wow. Watched Touching the Void (2003) tonight. On the strength of it, I've bought the DVD for my dad, and a DVD player to watch it on! What an amazing story, and so realistic I kept fearing to watch bits of it. Beauty and horror are so close to one another sometimes.

I forgot to put Mystic River (2003) in here. Thinking back, I am not as impressed as I was immediately after watching it. The mysteries of the past and present are developed well, and the acting is good. Perhaps because it is such a depressing plot, and such a cynical ending, it doesn't last well in my mind.

Well, now. Finally watched Sexy Beast (2000). Hmmmmm. I don't see the humor, dark or not. On the other hand, it was original, and memorable. After reading some of the Cockney dialog translated on the IMDB board, I feel less foggy about THAT. Interesting, interesting. Both Ray Winstone and Ben Kingsley were great.

Onmyoji (2001) - beautiful and intriguing. It was rather difficult to follow the plot, but might be worth another watching to get more of the layers. I was constantly struck by the similarities of the ancient Japanese Buddhist culture to that of some Native American culture. The final shots of Mansai Nomura dancing reminded me *so much* of the dream-like dancing scenes in The Business of Fancydancing (2002). Brothers of a common father, I guess.

Johnny Belinda (1948) was much better than I expected. The setting on Cape Breton in Canada was interesting, and the place was a character of the film. Jane Wyman as Belinda was perfect, and the rest of the acting was fine, too. Ya gotta love any film with a pipe band!

Henry V, or "The Chronicle History of King Henry the Fift with His Battell Fought at Agincourt in France" (1944) - Laurence Olivier's creative Henry V, made during the fire-bombing of London under what must have been trying circumstances. I loved the conceit of beginning and ending in the old Globe Theatre, and the segue into "movie" was seamless and magical. The use of stage sets in the movie part were just perfect. Overall, I prefer Branagh's Henry V (1989), but Olivier is a powerful actor, director, and producer.

"And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remember'd;
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother."

Forever Amber (1947) seems like a typical Otto Preminger film. She's pretty, the costumes are big, etc. I liked the book better.

So darn cute and sweet I almost maxed out my blood sugar. The Adventures of Milo and Otis or Koneko monogatari (1986) is a bit controversial under all that cuteness. Filmed in Hokkaido over 4 years, it was an art film in Japan, but re-edited as a children's film here in the US. Narrated by Dudley Moore. The treatment of the animals is the controversial part -- how did Hata get the animals to "act," and were any animals harmed in the making of the film? Read conflicting opinions on the IMDB board.

Unusual, mesmerizing, fun, and horrifying. IFC presented Gray's Anatomy (1996), directed by Steven Soderburgh. Spalding Gray is a GREAT storyteller. The few other characters are a nice black and white change from Gray's neurotic intensity.

Wow. I just saw not just a great film, but a movie that spoke to me, spoke to my LIFE. Educating Rita (1983) has breath-taking performances by not only Michael Caine, but also Julie Walters (Mrs. Weasley in the Harry Potter films). What is education FOR? Why bother to learn? Does one have to abandon one's true self, one's own voice, to be truly educated? And, what are the roles of teacher and student in all this? I sympathized so with Rita/Julie, who was a working-class woman yearning for education even while it made her a fish out of water. I hope that they restore this movie somewhat -- the version I saw on TV looked and sounded pretty bad.

Coal Miner's Daughter (1980) also exceeded expectations. Wonderful biography of Loretta Lynn, from her childhood to success as the world-famous country-western music star. This is not a film about country music, but completely focussed on Lynn's roots, life, and music. Sissy Spacek IS Lynn, and Beverly D'Angelo as her friend Patsy Cline is just super. Tommy Lee Jones as her husband, and Levon Helm as father, are also perfectly cast.

From Here to Eternity (1953): Better than I thought it would be. Montgomery Clift was great, Burt Lancaster, Deborah Kerr and Donna Read were also really good. Frank Sinatra had a nice little part, and Ernest Borgnine was great as the bad guy. "The kiss" has lost a bit of its fire in 50 years, but this was still a great film.

Finally saw all of Trainspotting (1996) -- thanks, Debra! So cynical and depressing, but still enjoyable, thanks to great performances by Ewan McGregor and his mates. Sparkling bit by Kelly Macdonald as his under-age girlfried Diane, also. I watched the DVD and turned on the subtitles -- the Scottish accent is a bit thick! There are lots of references to other films and books; IMDB has a nice summation under Trivia.

Gunga Din (1939): The blatant racism bothered me, but I have to admit I'm a sucker for the buddy movie, even when it's a jolly olde slap at women, peace, and indeed -- everything but men and their games. This game is about murder, religion, war, and empire.

Ghost World (2000): Definately for everybody, but I loved it. One of the best movie beginnings of all time. Nice ending, too. And how can you top Thora Birch and Steve Buscemi?

A Star is Born (1954): Isn't Judy amazing? I loved the bit where Norman makes her remove the studio makeup and take the screen test as *herself*. Flawed, but unforgettable.

The Last Detail: Jack Nicholson was great, of course, but so were Randy Quaid and Otis Young. Gritty, touching.

Quills (2000) - Quite the fin de siècle film! Strong performances by Rush, Winslett, Joaquin Phoenix, and Caine. The argument for freedom of speech and thought might be weakened by the demonstration of the pain, violence and even death which can result.

The Quiet American (2002): I haven't seen the 1958 original, so I can't compare. Pretty decent film, however. Michael Caine is always wonderful, and Brendan Fraser is very strong.

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) Jimmy Stewart is always great, and this is "the last of the great black and white Westerns." John Wayne as a supporting character? and Lee Marvin as the baddest of the bad of the West. :-)

Devil in a Blue Dress
The Apartment
Scarface
Singin' in the Rain
Nosferatu
Kiss of the Vampire
The Nun's Story
Secret Window
Road to Perdition
Gallipoli (1981)
Silverado
Adaptation

Previous favorites:
Katherine Hepburn
Philadelphia Story
Bringing Up Baby
Stage Door
Mary of Scotland
The African Queen
State of the Union
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
The Lion in Winter
On Golden Pond
Love Among the Ruins
Audrey Hepburn
Breakfast at Tiffany's
Sabrina
Charade
Philadelphia
Ran
Seven Samurai
Johnny Depp
Pirates of the Caribbean - The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
Benny & Joon (1993)
Chocolat (2001)
Edward Scissorhands (1990)
What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993)

Bridget Jones' Diary
Unforgiven
Shakespeare in Love
Antwone Fisher
Glory
Malcolm X
Braveheart
Dancing with Wolves
Good Will Hunting
Mrs. Doubtfire
Tootsie
Pleasantville
Marathon Man
The Graduate
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Jeremiah Johnson
The Way We Were
Funny Girl
Dr. Zhivago
Lawrence of Arabia
Saving Private Ryan
Forrest Gump
Apollo 13
Big
Catch Me If you Can
Romeo + Juliet
"Amelie" - Le Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain (2001)
To Kill a Mockingbird
Toy Story
The Sixth Sense
Liar Liar
Castaway
Three Amigos
Raiders of the Lost Ark
First Blood
The Shawshank Redemption
Pinocchio
Bambi
Sleeping Beauty
Pay It Forward
A Beautiful Mind
Gladiator
Mask
Seven
The Usual Suspects
Star Wars (Episodes 4-6)
Spaceballs
Young Frankenstein
Finding Nemo
Titanic
Harry Potter (all so far)
E.T.
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
The Last Samurai
Back to the Future
Schindler's List
The Piano
The Pianist
Memento
Requiem for a Dream
Pi
American Beauty
Donnie Darko
Being John Malkovitch
Magnolia
Pulp Fiction
Get Shorty
K-Pax
Don Juan DiMarco
Waking Life
L.A. Confidential
Jack Nicholson......
A Beautiful Mind
Traffic
Office Space
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Five Easy Pieces
China Town
Taxi Driver
The Truman Show
Unforgiven
Dogma
This is Spinal Tap
Patton
Planet of the Apes
2001
"Rafifi" - Du rififi chez les hommes (1955)
High Fidelity
The Lost Boys
"Man on a Train" - L'Homme du train (2002)
Some Like It Hot
Muriel's Wedding
Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Ed Wood
How could I forget Citizen Kane? I really did love it.
Casablanca
Everything You Wanted to Know About Sex *But Were Afraid to Ask
On The Waterfront
The Great Escape
The Wizard of Oz
Blade Runner
All Quiet On the Western Front (1930)
The Conversation
Hannah and Her Sisters
Dogtown and Z-Boys
Pollock
The Lion in Winter
King Kong
The Iron Giant (1999)

Gluck - Dance of the Blessed Spirits (flute)

Luxembourg

Places, villages, towns (Localités du Grand Duché de Luxembourg): http://www.luxalbum.com/villages.htm
or search: http://www.luxalbum.com/search.htm

Localites du Luxembourg: http://genhames.free.fr/villeslux.htm

Genealogy in Luxembourg: http://www.deltgen.com

Genealogical Data from Luxembourg: http://www.roots.lu

Généalogie au Grand-Duché de Luxembourg / Ahnenforschung im Grossherzogtum Luxembourg: http://www.st2000.lu

Archives Nationales du Grand-Duché de Luxembourg: http://www.an.etat.lu/index2.htm
Films listed here are also available through the FHL, and are often better quality through the LDS.

Institut Grand-Ducal: http://www.igd-leo.lu/

Thanks to François from the Trier-Roots-L for these links. Many Luxembourg place-names appear with spelling variations. According to the Onomastics page, because Luxembourg is on language borders between germanic and romanic languages, "place names may have diverging German, French or Luxembourgish versions.... Luxembourg place names that can be found on the road maps and official modern documents are the French ones. In older records the German names can be found frequently. Signposts at the entrance of villages and towns bear the French name and underneath in italics the Luxembourgish name in case it differs. The Luxembourg place names are those used by the Luxembourgers in everyday life. Frequently records abroad regarding emigrated Luxembourgers bear the place names in Luxembourgish language." Consult the Institut Grand-Ducal pages for all the village name variations.

Luxembourg Message Board: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/board/rw/localities.weurope.luxembourg.general

Luxembourg on My Mind: http://members.aol.com/VailCorp/lux11.html

Luxembourg: http://www.rootsweb.com/~luxwgw/

GeneLux: http://www.eskimo.com/~lisanne/


The merit of originality is not novelty, it is sincerity. The believing man is the original man; he believes for himself, not for another. - Thomas Carlyle

H.R. 10 Records Access; now S.2845

UPDATE! The latest from Rootsweb Review:

New Bill Will Close Records to Genealogists
HR10, which was mentioned in the 13 October issue of RootsWeb Review, has passed out of the U.S. House of Representatives and is now part of S.2845. The amendments suggested by David Rencher in his letter to the bill's sponsor, Congressman J. Dennis Hastert, were NOT incorporated into this legislation. Thus, the terms of HR10 will now be considered by the Senate, as part of S.2845.

If S.2845 becomes law, as now written, family historians will face some real challenges in attempts to obtain birth records, even on long-deceased individuals. Specifically, what genealogists need to do issuggest to their lawmakers the addition of Sec. 3061(b)(1)(A)(iii) that
would read: "who is alive on the date that access to their birth certificate is requested."

This addition would clarify that the legislation (soon to be law) applies ONLY to birth certificates of CURRENTLY LIVING PERSONS. If you do not know your U.S. Senator's e-mail address, you can find it at http://www.senate.gov/

This bill can be found online at http://thomas.loc.gov/
Put in S.2845 (in the bill number window) and then select item No. 3; and go to Subtitle B--Identity Management Security; Chapter 2--Improved Security for Birth Certificates.

Latest insanity using the excuse of "Homeland Security":

H.R. 10 Records Access. This is an issue for the genealogical community, and anyone else who needs access to vital records in their research. More information: http://www.rootdig.com/hr10.html

There is an election campaign going on, but the Congress is still churning out bad laws. Pay attention! To find the email address for your Members of Congress, see: http://www.congress.org/. Be aware that a hand-written and mailed letter carries much more weight than an email does. Addresses and phone numbers of Senators: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm and Representatives: http://www.house.gov/house/MemberWWW.shtml

Get involved!


Discontent is the first step in the progress of a man or a nation. - Oscar Wilde

Canadian Provincial Archives

Alberta: http://www.cd.gov.ab.ca/preserving/paa_2002/index.asp
Provincial Archives of Alberta
8555 Roper Road, Edmonton, AB T6E 5W1
Phone 780-427-1750  FAX 780-427-4646  Email paa@gov.ab.ca

British Columbia: http://www.bcarchives.gov.bc.ca/index.htm
British Columbia Archives
PO Box 9419, Stn. PROV GOVT, Victoria, BC V8W 9V1
Phone 250-387-1952  FAX 250-387-2072

Manitoba: http://www.gov.mb.ca/chc/archives/index.html
Archives of Manitoba
200 Vaughan Street, Winnipeg, MB R3C 1T5
Phone 204-945-3971  FAX 204-948-2672  Email archives@chc.gov.mb.ca

New Brunswick: http://archives.gnb.ca/Archives/Default.aspx
Provincial Archives of New Brunswick
PO Box 6000, Fredericton, NB E3B 5H1
Phone 506-453-2122  FAX 506-453-3288  Email provincial.archives@gnb.ca

Newfoundland and Labrador: http://www.gov.nf.ca/panl/
Provincial Archives of Newfoundland and Labrador
Colonial Building, Military Road, St. John's, NF A1C 2C9
Phone 709-729-3065  FAX 709-729-0578  Email panl@mail.gov.nf.ca">panl@mail.gov.nf.ca

Northwest Territories: http://pwnhc.learnnet.nt.ca/programs/archive.htm
Northwest Territories Archives
PO Box 1320, Yellowknife, NT X1A 2L9
Phone 867-873-7698  FAX 867-873-0205  Email nwtarchives@ece.learnnet.nt.ca

Nova Scotia: http://www.gov.ns.ca/nsarm/
Nova Scotia Archives and Records Management
6016 University Avenue, Halifax, NS B3H 1W4
Phone 902-424-6060  FAX 902-424-0628

Nunavut: There is no Nunavut Archives online yet, but Department of Culture, Language, Elders and Youth: http://www.gov.nu.ca/Nunavut/English/departments/CLEY/index.shtml
Nunavut Archives
PO Box 310, Igloolik, NU X0A 0L0
Phone 867-934-8626  Email eatkinson@gov.nu.ca

Ontario: http://www.archives.gov.on.ca/
Archives of Ontario
77 Grenville Street, Unit 300, Toronto, ON M7A 2R9
Phone 416-327-1600 or 1-800-668-9933 (Toll-Free Number – Ontario only)   FAX 416-327-1999  Email reference@archives.gov.on.ca

Prince Edward Island: http://www.edu.pe.ca/paro/
Public Archives and Records Office
PO Box 1000, Charlottetown, PE C1A 7M4
Phone 902-368-4290  FAX 902-368-6327  Email archives@edu.pe.ca

Quebec: http://www.anq.gouv.qc.ca/
Archives nationales du Québec
Pavillon Louis-Jacques-Casault, Cité universitaire CP 10450, Sainte-Foy, QC G1V 4N1
Phone 418-643-8904  FAX 418-646-0868  Email anq.quebec@mcc.gouv.qc.ca

Saskatchewan: http://www.saskarchives.com/
Saskatchewan Archives Board, Regina Office
University of Regina, Regina, SK S4S 0A2
Phone 306-787-4068  FAX 306-787-1197  Email info.regina@archives.gov.sk.ca

Saskatchewan Archives Board, Saskatoon Office
Murray Building, University of Saskatchewan, 3 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5A4
Phone 306-933-5832  FAX 306-933-7305  Email info.saskatoon@archives.gov.sk.ca

Yukon:
Yukon Archives
Box 2703, Whitehorse, YT Y1A 2C6
Phone 867-667-5321  FAX 867-393-6253  Email yukon.archives@gov.yk.ca

Canadian Archival Resources on the Internet: http://www.usask.ca/archives/menu.html

Library and Archives Canada: http://www.collectionscanada.ca/index-e.html


In all of us there is a hunger, marrow deep, to know our heritage, to know who we are and where we have come from. Without this enriching knowledge, there is a hollow yearning. No matter what our attainments in life, there is a most disquieting loneliness. - Alex Haley

Call to Action

Let's get moving!

Quote from Despair Is a Lie We Tell Ourselves:

I do not believe the wicked always win. I believe our despair is a lie we are telling ourselves. In many other periods of history, people, ordinary citizens, routinely set aside hours, days, time in their lives for doing the work of politics, some of which is glam and revolutionary and some of which is dull and electoral and tedious and not especially pure – and the world changed because of the work they did. That's what we're starting now. It requires setting aside the time to do it, and then doing it. Not any single one of us has to or possibly can save the world, but together in some sort of concert, in even not-especially-coordinated concert, with all of us working where we see work to be done, the world will change. And we have to do it by showing up places, our bodies in places, turn off the fucking computers, leave the Web and the Net – and show up, our bodies at meetings and demos and rallies and leafletting corners.

Because this is a moment in history that needs us to begin, each of us every day at her or his own pace, slowly and surely rediscovering how to be politically active, how to organize our disparate energies into effective group action – and I choose to believe we will do what is required. Act. Organize. Assemble. Oppose. Resist. Find a place a cause a group a friend and start, today, now now now, continue continue continue. Being politically active is for the citizens of a democracy maybe the best way of speaking to God and hearing Her answer: You exist. If we are active, if we are activist, She replies to us: You specifically exist. Mazel tov. Now get busy, She replies. Maintain the world by changing the world.

Read then entire essay at http://www.alternet.org/story/19867. See Michael Moore's take on the same subject - Put Away Your Hankies!: http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/092204W.shtml. More on Politics: http://valoriez.blogspot.com/2004/01/politics.html

Action Item: Alert the Senate Judiciary Committee to Reject the Nomination of Thomas Griffith to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit

In the next four years, Americans can expect to see lifetime appointments to many of the vacancies in our country's highest courts including, potentially three vacancies in the Supreme Court. ...A progressive judiciary is key to securing the safety and equality of our loved ones. ...

Now is the time to act to help defeat an extremist judicial nomination. President Bush has nominated Thomas Griffith, General Counsel of Brigham Young University, to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, widely considered the second most important court in the U.S. after the Supreme Court. As a member of the 2002 Commission on Opportunity in Athletics, Griffith not only supported the Commission recommendations that would have reduced opportunities for women and girls, but he also opposed Title IX which since 1972 has been instrumental in expanding opportunities for women and girls in education and sports. Griffith's opposition to Title IX, which seeks to compensate for societal discrimination against women, puts into question his ability to enforce and expand civil right's law. Griffith's stance on the separation of church and state is equally troubling. According to Alliance for Justice, "His (Griffith) record indicates that he believes that the rule of law is based in faith and that lawyers should work to build a religious community."

Write your Senators to oppose Griffith's confirmation. You may find your senators' email address and telephone number at http://www.senate.gov. More information here: http://www.capwiz.com/pfaw/issues/alert/?alertid=6653076


Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage. - Anais Nin

Win PC Essentials

Running your computer with the Windows operating system, and connected to the Internet? If so, you will find the following products necessary to the safe operation of your machine.

1. Virus protection. If you cannot afford a commercial program, try AVG: http://free.grisoft.com/freeweb.php/doc/2/. Occasionally stop by Pandasoft, and run their free scanner, also: http://www.pandasoftware.com/activescan/. This is a great backup between updates of your main virus software. If you have a suspect file or two, try Kaspersky Lab: http://www.kaspersky.com/scanforvirus. Another free antivirus program is Avast Home Edition: http://www.avast.com/eng/avast_4_home.html.

2. Firewall. If you have no firewall hardware, use software: http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/company/products/znalm/freeDownload.jsp

3. Popup blocker. Makes web browsing safer, and easier. Google makes an effective one, built into their Toolbar: http://toolbar.google.com/

4. Spyware tools. I've found that one is not enough. Run both Ad-Aware and Spybot Search and Destroy: http://www.lavasoftusa.com/support/download/ and http://www.safer-networking.org/en/download/index.html. They will catch different junk. A good new one is BHODemon: http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/file_download.asp?fid=23611&fileidx=1

5.  Download and install a safe web-browser! Try Firefox: http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox or Opera: http://www.opera.com. Both Opera and Mozilla offer an integrated safe email program, which is also important. Other secure email programs are Eudora: http://www.eudora.com, Thunderbird: http://www.mozilla.org/products/thunderbird and Pegasus: http://www.pmail.com/.

If every Windows computer connected to the Internet was regularly using (and keeping updated) these programs, the virus/worm/spam load would be reduced to nothing. Imagine how pleasant THAT would be! For more in-depth information, see Computer Internet Security Class: http://members2.1stnetusa.com/~a/comintsec.

In trouble, and need a boot disk? FreePCTech has all the MS operating systems: http://freepctech.com/pc/002/files010.shtml

Enough about safety. If you want to USE your computer, here are some great FREE programs:

1. Genealogy - Legacy: http://www.legacyfamilytree.com/, Ancestry Family Tree: http://www.ancestry.com/ Embla Family Treasures: http://www.embla.us and of course the venerable PAF (Personal Ancestral File): http://www.familysearch.org

Genealogical Research Note-Keeping - Bygones: http://www.bygonessoftware.com/

General note-taking, to-do lists and so forth -EverNote: http://www.evernote.com/en/

2. Office - OpenOffice.org, hands down!: http://www.OpenOffice.org. Tutorials for OpenOffice: http://www.tutorialsforopenoffice.org

3. Graphics and Graphics Editing - Picasa: http://www.picasa.com/
IrfanView is also popular: http://www.irfanview.com/. The Gimp: http://www.gimp.org/~tml/gimp/win32 cross-platform.

4. Web Authoring - New! NVU: http://www.nvu.com/ (Win, Mac, Linux)

5. RSS Newsreaders - I use Bloglines online, but if you prefer to download a free program, there is SharpReader for Windows: http://www.sharpreader.com. More about RSS and readers: http://www.lights.com/weblogs/rss.html

6. Backup and Storage: Karen's Replicator: http://www.karenware.com, Yahoo Briefcase: http://briefcase.yahoo.com/ - 30 MB.

7. Have a website? You will need to up and download files. DataFreeway will FTP, SecureFTP, and SSH in an intuitive interface: http://www.enginsite.com/download/DataFreeway.exe

8. To Do lists: What To Do

9. File sharing (P2P), chatting/IM, voice over IP, even video-conferencing: Qnext at http://www.qnext.com

Many good free programs for the Windows OS are available from The OpenCD: http://www.theopencd.org

PCMag reviews 26 freeware packages, some of which are listed above: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,1864515,00.asp


If your computer is hopelessly compromised by viruses, worms or spyware, it can be recovered with a Knoppix (Linux) disk: http://www.shockfamily.net/cedric/knoppix/


We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit. - Aristotle

Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen

This document was published by the National Assembly of France, August 1789. English translation from http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/town/terrace/adw03/c-eight/france/decman.htm

The representatives of the French people, sitting in the National Assembly considering that ignorance of, neglect of, and contempt for the rights of man are the sole causes of public misfortune and the corruption of governments, have resolved to set out in a solemn declaration the natural, inalienable and sacred rights of man, in order that this declaration, constantly before all members of the civic body, will constantly remind them of their rights and duties, in order that acts of legislative and executive power can be frequently compared with the purpose of every political institution, thus making them more respected; in order that the demands of the citizens, hence forth founded on simple and irrefutable principles, will always tend towards the maintenance of the constitution and the happiness of everyone.

Consequently the National Assembly recognises and declares, in the presence of, and under the auspices of, the Supreme Being, the following rights of man and of the citizen:

I. Men are born and remain free and equal in rights. Social distinctions can only be founded on communal utility.

II. The purpose of all political associations is the preservation of the natural and imprescriptible rights of man. These rights are liberty, property, security and resistance to oppression.

III. The principle of all sovereignty emanates essentially from the nation. No group of men, no individual, can exercise any authority which does not specifically emanate from it.

IV. Liberty consists in being able to do whatever does not harm others. Hence the exercise of the natural rights of every man is limited only by the need for other members of society to exercise the same rights. These limits can only be determined by the law.

V. The law only has the right to prohibit actions harmful to society. What is not prohibited by law cannot be forbidden, and nobody can be forced to do what the law does not require.

VI. The law is the expression of the general will. All citizens have the right to take part personally, or through their representatives, in the making of the law. It should be the same for everyone, whether it protects or punishes. All citizens, being equal in the eyes of the law, are equally admissible to all honours, offices and public employment, according to their capacity and without any distinction other than those of their integrity and talents.

VII. A man can only be accused, arrested or detained in cases determined by law, and according to the procedure it requires. Those who solicit, encourage, execute, or cause to be executed, arbitrary orders, must be punished, but every citizen called upon or arrested in the name of the law must obey instantly; resistance renders him culpable

VIII. The law must only require punishments that are strictly and evidently necessary, and a person can only be punished according to a established law passed before the offence and legally applied.

IX. Every man being presumed innocent until he has been declared guilty, if it is necessary to arrest him, all severity beyond what is necessary to secure his arrest shall be severely punished by law

X. No man ought to be uneasy about his opinions, even his religious beliefs, provided that their manifestation does not interfere with the public order established by the law.

XI. The free communication of thought and opinion is one of the most precious rights of man: every citizen can therefore talk, write and publish freely, except that he is responsible for abuses of this liberty in cases determined by the law.

XII. The guaranteeing of the rights of man and the citizen requires public force: this force is therefore established for everybody’s advantage and not for the particular benefit of the persons who are entrusted with it.

XIII. A common contribution is necessary for the maintenance of the public force and for administrative expenses; it must be equally apportioned. between all citizens, according to their means.

XIV. All citizens have the right, personally or by means of their representatives, to have demonstrated to them the necessity of public taxes. so that they can consent freely to them, can check how they are used, and can determine the shares to be paid, their assessment, collection and duration.

XV. The community has the right to hold accountable every public official in its administration.

XVI. Every society which has no assured guarantee of rights, nor a separation of powers, does not possess a constitution.

XVII. Property being a sacred and inviolable right, nobody can be deprived of it, except when the public interest, legally defined, evidently requires it, and then on condition there is just compensation in advance.


When one door closes, another opens. But we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we fail to see the one that has opened for us. - Alexander Graham Bell

My Country Awake

My Country Awake

Where the mind is without fear and the head held high;
Where knowledge is free;
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls;
Where words come out from the depth of truth;
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection;
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit;
Where the mind is led forward by Thee into ever-widening thought and action;
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.

- Rabindranath Tagore (Recited by Martin Sheen on The Actor's Studio)


We can throw stones, complain about them, stumble on them, climb over them, or build with them. - William Arthur Ward

The Privilege of Voting

This has been zipping around the 'Net at the speed of email. Reflect a moment, and pay attention. Thanks to Deane for passing it along to me.

A short history lesson on the privilege of voting

The women were innocent and defenseless. And by the end of the night, they were barely alive. Forty prison guards wielding clubs and their warden's blessing went on a rampage against the 33 women wrongly convicted of "obstructing sidewalk traffic."

They beat Lucy Burn, chained her hands to the cell bars above her head and left her hanging for the night, bleeding and gasping for air. They hurled Dora Lewis into a dark cell, smashed her head against an iron bed and knocked her out cold. Her cellmate, Alice Cosu, thought Lewis was dead and suffered a heart attack. Additional affidavits describe the guards grabbing, dragging, beating, choking, slamming, pinching, twisting and kicking the women.

Thus unfolded the "Night of Terror" on Nov. 15, 1917, when the warden at the Occoquan Workhouse in Virginia ordered his guards to teach a lesson to the suffragists imprisoned there because they dared to picket Woodrow Wilson's White House for the right to vote. For weeks, the women's only water came from an open pail. Their food--all of it colorless slop--was infested with worms. When one of the leaders, Alice Paul, embarked on a hunger strike, they tied her to a chair, forced a tube down her throat and poured liquid into her until she vomited. She was tortured like this for weeks until word was smuggled out to the press.

So, refresh my memory. Some women won't vote this year because--why, exactly? We have carpool duties? We have to get to work? Our vote doesn't matter? It's raining? Last week, I went to a sparsely attended screening of HBO's new movie Iron Jawed Angels. It is a graphic depiction of the battle these women waged so that I could pull the curtain at the polling booth and have my say. I am ashamed to say I needed the reminder. All these years later, voter registration is still my passion. But the actual act of voting had become less personal for me, more rote. Frankly, voting often felt more like an obligation than a privilege. Sometimes it was inconvenient.

My friend Wendy, who is my age and studied women's history, saw the HBO movie, too. When she stopped by my desk to talk about it, she looked angry. She was--with herself. "One thought kept coming back to me as I watched that movie," she said. "What would those women think of the way I use--or don't use--my right to vote? All of us take it for granted now, not just younger women, but those of us who did seek to learn." The right to vote, she said, had become valuable to her "all over again."

HBO will run the movie periodically before releasing it on video and DVD. I wish all history, social studies and government teachers would include the movie in their curriculum. I want it shown on Bunko night, too, and anywhere else women gather. I realize this isn't our usual idea of socializing, but we are not voting in the numbers that we should be, and I think a little shock therapy is in order.

It is jarring to watch Woodrow Wilson and his cronies try to persuade a psychiatrist to declare Alice Paul insane so that she could be permanently institutionalized. And it is inspiring to watch the doctor refuse. Alice Paul was strong, he said, and brave. That didn't make her crazy. The doctor admonished the men: "Courage in women is often mistaken for insanity."

Please pass this on to all the women you know. We need to get out and vote and use this right that was fought so hard for by these very courageous women.

The young women of today, free to study, to speak, to write, to choose their occupation, should remember that every inch of this freedom was bought for them at a great price. It is for them to show their gratitude by helping onward the reforms of their own times, by spreading the light of freedom and of truth still wider. The debt that each generation owes to the past it must pay to the future. - Abigail Scott Duniway, suffrage organizer in the Pacific Northwest

Slavery Era Insurance Policies Registry

Current version of this page is now at: http://genweblog.blogspot.com/2006/02/slavery-research.html

The State of Illinois has put their report of the policies issued to slaveholders for death or damage of their slaves during the slavery era from every licensed insurer (or predecessor company): http://www.ins.state.il.us/Consumer/SlaveryReporting.nsf

Listed are compiled reports by slave name, and by slave holder name. The slaves and slave holders aren't just in Illinois, but all over the United States. A sample finding for the search "walters":

Slave Holder Name: Wm Bowen
Slave Holder County/Parish: Fredricksburg
Slave Holder State: VA
Slave Name: John Walters
Slave County/Parish: Fredricksburg
Slave State: VA
Slave Other: Policy Number(s): 453
Slave Job/Skill:
Machine builder and pattern maker

Clicking on Wm Bowen's name, I get a bit more information:

Name of Slave: John Walters
County/Parish: Fredricksburg
State: VA
Other Identifying Info (policy no. etc): Policy Number(s): 453
Job/Occupation/Skill (optional if known): Machine builder and pattern maker

Slave Holder Name: Wm Bowen
County/Parish: Fredricksburg
State: VA
Reporting Insurer: New York Life Insurance Company

California Slavery Era Insurance Registry: http://www.insurance.ca.gov/SEIR/main.htm
Alphabetical lists by name of slave, and slave holder. No search, but entire database is available.


AfriGeneas is the place to start African American genealogy, slave or free: http://www.afrigeneas.com/

NARA has federal records: http://www.archives.gov/research_room/genealogy/research_topics/african_american_research.html

Also essential is the Freedman's Bureau Online: http://freedmensbureau.com/

New initiatives just in time for Black History Month - African-American Migration from the Schomburg Center: http://www.inmotionaame.org/

A partnership between leading black media placement firms has been created to digitize back-issues from more than 200 black newspapers throughout the US to create an Internet-searchable database. For more info, see: http://eogn.typepad.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2005/02/new_collaborati.html

Africa WorldGenWeb Page: http://www.worldgenweb.org/africa.html

African-Native American History and Genealogy Home Page: http://www.african-nativeamerican.com/

African American Research Center: http://www.ancestry.com/aahistory

Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System - US Colored Troops: http://www.itd.nps.gov/cwss/


Exploitation and oppression is not a matter of race. It is the system, the apparatus of world-wide brigandage called imperialism, which made the Powers behave the way they did. - Han Suyin, 1917-, Chinese writer, feminist, physician

The Süss Collection

Die Sammlung Süss of Henri Süss have been microfilmed by the LDS. Here is their description of the 44 volumes: "The Süss Collection contains the genealogies from Bühl, Niederrödern, Hatten, Oberbetschdorf, Rittershofen, Birlenbach, Cröttweiler, Fröschweiler, Kutzenhausen, Langensulzbach, Nehweiler bei Wörth, Preuschdorf, Rothbach, Sulz, Westhofen, Wörth, and Zutzendorf complied from parish registers and civil records. The families are arranged alphabetically within each community. Some of the volumes are indexed by family surname. Text in German."

To find all 14 films, do an Author search in the Family History Library Catalog: http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Library/FHLC/frameset_fhlc.asp on "Suss, Henri". Daniel Debus has integrated the surnames into Alsabase: http://ddebus.free.fr/, giving you an finding aid to the Süss Collection. See contact N°900002.


If one is lucky, a solitary fantasy can totally transform one million realities. - Maya Angelou

Travels in Alsace & Lorraine Articles Online

Source: Post by Robert Behra to the Alsace-Lorraine list 27 Jun 2004

Among the journals that have been digitized by the Bibliothèque Nationale is one called Le Tour du monde : nouveau journal des voyages, published in Paris between 1860 and 1914. In the mid-1880s this journal ran a series of articles by Charles Grad, an Alsatian deputy to the German Reichstag, that documented his travels through Alsace and Lorraine. These articles formed the base for Charles Grad's book L'Alsace : le pays et ses habitants (Paris : Hachette, 1889; and later editions). That book has also been digitized by the BnF. Below I give links to the serialized articles and then to the book.

Article A travers l'Alsace et la Lorraine (this is probably not a complete set, since the BnF's collection of Le Tour du monde seems to be missing some volumes during this period)

1) http://visualiseur.bnf.fr/Image/CadresPage?O=NUMM-104974&I=149&Y=Image

2) http://visualiseur.bnf.fr/Image/CadresPage?O=NUMM-104976&I=84&Y=Image

3) http://visualiseur.bnf.fr/Image/CadresPage?O=NUMM-104977&I=372&Y=Image

4) http://visualiseur.bnf.fr/Image/CadresPage?O=NUMM-104978&I=148&Y=Image

5) http://visualiseur.bnf.fr/Image/CadresPage?O=NUMM-34420&I=84&Y=Image

6) http://visualiseur.bnf.fr/Image/CadresPage?O=NUMM-34421&I=244&Y=Image

7) http://visualiseur.bnf.fr/Image/CadresPage?O=NUMM-104979&I=276&Y=Image

8) http://visualiseur.bnf.fr/Image/CadresPage?O=NUMM-104980&I=211&Y=Image

If you initially get an error message saying the content isn't available ("Le document que vous avez demandé n'est pas accessible") just hit the reload button and it should come up.

The book L'Alsace : le pays et ses habitants: http://visualiseur.bnf.fr/Image/CadresPage?O=NUMM-37434&M=pageseule&Y=Image

You can navigate within these resources using the < [back] and > [forward] buttons, or by going to the table of contents ("Aller Table des Matières") in the book and then putting a specific page number into the Aller Page box.

Nothing is more fairly distributed than common sense; no one thinks he needs more of it than he already has. - Rene Descartes

Graphics Sites for Website Building

Fonts: http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2007/11/08/40-excellent-freefonts-for-professional-design/

Clip Art

Clip art of civilizations, cultures and eras: http://webclipart.about.com/od/civilizations/

Pennsylvania Department Clip Art: http://www.einpgh.org/clp/exhibit/pahomex5.html

Graphic Maps clipart and maps: http://www.graphicmaps.com/custmaps.htm

Clip Art and Banners: http://geneasearch.com/st7.htm

J.O.D's Old Fashioned Black and White Clip Art Collection: http://www.oldfashionedclipart.com/clip.htm or http://www.users.fl.net.au/~joanod/clip.htm

ImageMagick Studio: http://www.imagemagick.org/MagickStudio/scripts/MagickStudio.cgi/
   Resize, rotate, sharpen, color reduce, paint on or add special effects to your image and save the completed work in the same or differing image format on the web.

Digital Blasphemy 3D Wallpaper: http://www.digitalblasphemy.com/dbhome.shtml

Color

VisiBone Webmaster's Color Lab: http://www.visibone.com/colorlab/

Web Safe Colors Chart: http://seurat.art.udel.edu/Site/InfoDocs/WebColor/WebColors.html

HTML Tutorial - 216 web safe colors: http://www.pagetutor.com/pagetutor/makapage/picker/index.html

Clickable RGB "Safe Colors":
http://freepages.computers.rootsweb.com/~moorecrossing/color/other_links.htm


We belong someplace. The day we are given a name we are also given a place which no one but us can fill. - Maya Angelou

---

Ain't I A Woman?

That man over there says that women need to be helped into carriages, and lifted over ditches, and to have the best place everywhere. Nobody ever helps me into carriages, or over mud-puddles, or gives me any best place! And ain't I a woman? Look at me! Look at my arm! I have ploughed and planted, and gathered into barns, and no man could head me! And ain't I a woman? I could work as much and eat as much as a man - when I could get it - and bear the lash as well! And ain't I a woman? I have borne thirteen children, and seen most all sold off to slavery, and when I cried out with my mother's grief, none but Jesus heard me! And ain't I a woman? - Sojourner Truth, c1797-1883

Washington State Historical Records

Washington Census, Naturalization records, and Social Security Death Index: http://www.secstate.wa.gov/history/search.aspx

Census Records: 1847 Lewis County Heads of Family, 1851 Lewis County, 1854 & 1857 Pierce County, 1857 & 1871 Clallam County.

1857 King, Kitsap, Lewis, Mason, & Wahkiakum Counties.

1871 Cowlitz, Grays Harbor, Island, Jefferson, Kitsap, Klickitat, Lewis, Mason, Skamania, Snohomish, Stevens, Thurston, Whatcom, & Yakima Counties.

1875 & 1877 Jefferson County.

1878 Jefferson & Stevens County.

1879 Grays Harbor, Mason, & Pierce Counties.

1880 Mason County

1883 Clallam, Clark, Cowlitz, Island, Klickitat, & Yakima Counties.

1885 Asotin, Cowlitz, Douglas, Franklin, Grays Harbor, Kittitas, Skagit, Stevens, Thurston, Wahkiakum, Walla Walla County (Partial), Whatcom, & Yakima Counties.

1887 Asotin, Cowlitz, Douglas, Garfield, Island, Kittitas, San Juan, Skagit, Skamania, Spokane County (Partial), Stevens, & Yakima Counties.

1889 Clallam, Island, & Skagit Counties.

1892 Columbia, Douglas, Island, & Walla Walla County (Partial).

1860 Federal Census (Partial), 1910 Federal Census, 1910 Federal Census Clear Lake Precinct

Naturalization Records: Adams, Benton, Chelan, Columbia, Douglas, Ferry, Franklin, Grant, Island, Kitsap, Kittitas, Klickitat, Lincoln, Mason, Okanogan, Pacific, San Juan, Skamania, Spokane, Wahkiakum, Walla Walla, Whatcom and Yakima Counties. Supreme Court Register.

Additional/Miscellaneous Records: Brinnon Cemetery;

McNeil Island Area Burial Removal Permits 1917-1938, Burial Transit Permits 1944-1961, Register of Births 1914-1923, Register of Deaths 1914-1935;

McNeil Island Death Records 1940-1943, Disinterment Permits 1937-1938.

Oaths of Office, Physicians, Seatco Prison at Bucoda, Soldier's Home & Colony.

Spokane County Birth Index 1890-1906, Marriage Index 1880-1903, World War I Soldiers Veterans Home.

Walla Walla City Register of Births 1907, Register of Deaths 1907

Walla Walla County Death Returns 1903-1906

Walla Walla Penitentiary, World War I Serviceman Cards (Aaberg - Baukol only

Social Security Death Index: http://www.secstate.wa.gov/history/search_ssdiwa.aspx
Social Security card issued in Washington State, last residence in Washington state, or last benefit payment mailed to an address in Washington State just prior to death. The database contains approximately 1,434,000 records (as of July 2004).


Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family. Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one. - Jane Howard, 1935-1996, US journalist, writer

Preserve Your Research

The key to preserving research is publishing. Not just your GEDCOM online, not just on CD-ROM, but in actual book form. Who will buy your book? What is the best way to organize your book? Where will you get the time to do the work?

There are two main types of family histories; the descendancy book, which is all the descendants of one or a couple of ancestors, and the ancestral book, which is all the ancestors of a person or family. Think about how you have done your research, and you'll know which form to choose.

The question of who will buy your book is important, because the wider the scope of your book, the more possible buyers you will have. If you choose to research all of the descendants of a seventeenth century couple, you will have a LARGE book, and hundreds or even thousands of potential purchasers. How will you find all these people? Hopefully your research has led you to contacts with many cousins, with whom you have shared research tasks. These cousins will become your partners in the writing and publishing, right along with the research. If you have not found cousins yet, start posting data and queries to the genealogy mail lists and message boards! See How to Use Rootsweb for some ideas on getting started. Become the beautiful flower drawing the bees and butterflies to you, with the nectar of your shared research and queries.

No matter what type of book you write, or how large it is, be sure to include an index. As you write and compile your book, you will find the word processor to be your best friend. Even if you use your genealogy program to "write" your book, you will want to use that automatically generated text as a rough draft only. Family stories and your own voice are what bring a book to life, and the stories are worth telling even if your research has proven parts or all of them incorrect or mistaken. If you can't put the story in your own words, quote a family member, with their permission. The more you speak in your own voice, and allow family members to be heard, the better your book will be. Let the past come alive! I use the word processor Open Office, which is open source and FREE. It is available for Windows and Linux.

I hope you will consider including copies of documents and photographs in your book. Also, you should explain your reasoning, your proof for the relationships you assert. Notice I said YOUR proof, not the documents' proof. Documents can only document; it is your task to prove your arguments. If some relationships are cloudy, it is even more important to include copies of documents, and your explanation of various possibilities. Remember, your book will not be the last word. Once your fellow researchers have your book in their hands, your reasoning will be tested, and perhaps disputed. Isn't that great?

Where will you get the time to do the book? You are already writing your book! You are finding documents, pondering their implications, and writing queries based upon your findings. Your book is just the organized collection of these parts. In fact, some people choose to write small books - say, 3 generations of one family - so that this task is manageable. Once you have the text, included documents and pictures, and index just the way you want them, visit your local copy shop, and ask their advice about publishing. You may be able to print out the text and index on one of their printers to make the best possible copy for reproduction. Even if you decide to write a major work and publish in hard-cover, your copy shop will be able to help you in pre-press and photograph preparation.

Once you have a master copy, it's time to reproduce and bind. Consider having a few extra master copies made, because with family history, there are some interesting possibilities open to you. One is the Allen County Public Library, who will photocopy your unbound master copy, and bind the photocopied book to place on their shelves. They will return your master copy, along with a free bound photocopy! Pretty cool offer. I found this mentioned in the Genealogy Blog, here: http://genealogyblog.com/index.php?p=2490. To use this service, "mail your unbound 'master copy' to Steve Myers, Assistant Manager, Historical Genealogy Department, PO Box 2270, Fort Wayne, IN 46801-2270. Include a note that reads, 'Photocopy Exchange Program.'" Thanks to Curt Witcher for writing about this great service to genealogists all over the world.

Another way to get your book circulated is to donate a copy to the Family History Library. If you permit them to microfilm your book, you will get a free microfilmed copy of your own, along with your original master copy back. For more information about this service, see: http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Library/FHL/frameset_library.asp?PAGE=library_donations.asp
Of course, you can also donate a bound copy of your book. People will be able to consult your bound copy only at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. Books do not circulate to the Family History Centers unless they are microfilmed.

You may want to donate a copy to your local library, or libraries local to the subject family. Your book will become much better known if researchers who travel to the localities where your family lived are able to consult your book. Be sure to include contact information in the book, if you want to continue to sell copies!

I haven't written my first book yet. This collection of ideas has come from my history as the newsletter editor of my local genealogy society, The South King County Genealogy Society, as well as speeches and workshops I've attended, and good genealogy books published by fellow researchers. As I refine my ideas, this post will be updated.

As always, comments and suggestions are welcome.


When you put your hand to the plow, you can't put it down until you get to the end of the row. - Alice Paul, 1885-1977, US lawyer; founded the World Woman's Party, 1913; author of proposed Equal Rights Amendment to the US Constitution

The Future, as seen in the Past

Transportation Futuristics: http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/news_events/exhibits/futuristics/

Worth more than a glance; this is a great site! What happened to all that optimism?


There is no king who has not had a slave among his ancestors and no slave who has not had a king among his. - Helen Keller

French Emigration Indexes

The up-to-date copy of this post will be maintained at: http://genweblog.blogspot.com/2006/07/french-emigration-indexes.html

From the Research Outline at http://familysearch.org: http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search/Rg/guide/Germany14.asp#emigration_and_immigration

Many Germans beither lived in Elsaß-Lothringen (Alsace-Lorraine) or passed through it to emigrate. The following sources help identify many of them.

Alsace Emigration Index. The Family History Library has compiled an index of persons who emigrated from or through Elsaß-Lothringen from 1817 to 1866. About half the names are from southern Germany. The alphabetical index gives the emigrant's name, age, occupation, place of origin, residence, destination, passport date, and source microfilm number. Not everyone who emigrated via Alsace is in this index. The index is easiest to find in the Author/Title Search of the Family History Library Catalog under Alsace Emigration Index.Look this term up in the glossary. It is also listed as:

France. Ministre de l'Intrieur. Registres des émigrés, 1817-1866 (Index of emigrants, 1817-1866). Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1977. (FHL films 1125002-7; computer number 403094.)

Alsace Emigration Books. Cornelia Schrader-Muggenthaler used the Alsace Emigration Index, other emigration records, passenger lists, genealogies, genealogy periodicals, and newspaper articles to compile the following index:

Schrader-Muggenthaler, Cornelia. The Alsace Emigration Book. 2 vols. Apollo, Penn.: Closson Press, 1989-1991. (FHL book 944.38 W2s; computer number 549007.) This index has over 20,000 entries, mostly of 1817 to 1870 emigrants.

More books on the subject:

• Burgert, Annette Kunselman. Eighteenth Century Emigrants from the Northern Alsace to America. Camden, Maine: Picton Press, 1992. (FHL book 974.8 B4pgp v. 26; computer number 684917.) This book is still for sale from the publisher, Picton Press, and as such are not available on microfilm or microfiche through the FHL lending system. It is also available directly from the author,at: AKB Publications, 691 Weavertown Road, Myerstown, PA 17067. *** Excellent book! ***


• Alsatian Connections, by Doris Wesner. Covers 5 villages in Krumme Elsass (Hilly Alsace): Dehlingen, Diemeringen, Butten, Waldhambach, and Ratzwiller. Closson Press, 1995


• Emigrants from France (Haut-Rhin Department) to America. Part 1 (1837-1844) and Part 2 (1845-1847) by Clifford Neal Smith. 84 pages. Republished 2004, ISBN 0806352329. Available from Genealogical Publishing Company.


• Liste nominative des Haut-Rhinois ayant émigré en Amérique (1800-1870) by Dominique DREYER

The books may be available via Interlibrary Loan; ask your local librarian. Support your local author -- buy genealogy books! Read the entire Research Guide, too. :-)


Every now and then, go away, have a little relaxation, for when you come back to your work your judgment will be surer. - Leonardo da Vinci, 1452-1519