Hi ALL,
It's always a close call whether to offer an endorsement for a product on
our Lists. It is my judgment that whatever could be useful to help us find
our ancestors is at least eligible for consideration.
In this case, there are actually 2 products I want to offer for your
consideration (neither of which do I rec any consideration myself, darn-it).
Perhaps the most impor long term one is to subscribe to Dick Eastman's Free
Gen Newsletter:
This weekly newsletter is available in both HTML and ASCII text editions.
Details are available at:
http://www.RootsForum.com/newsletter
Past issues of this Newsletter are available at:
http://www.ancestry.com/library/view/columns/eastman/eastman.asp
I think there is none better for our purposes. 'Nuff on that.
The second endorsement is based upon Mr Eastman's own endorsememt, of the
newest Mormon Church production:
- British Isles Vital Records Index on CD-ROM - Second Edition
I'm pasting his analysis here FYI. You'll find it very informative for
any English ancestors you might have (and I'm sending this to those who
probably do), going back to mid-1500s. I particularly point you to Dick's
discussion of his success w/his own family & surname, a discussion which
made me want to jump on this pub ASAP, and which offers a roadmap of at
least one excellent approach for using the resource.
Hope it has the same effect on you.
Barry
Late in 1998, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons)
released a set of five CD-ROM data disks, called the "British Isles Vital
Records Index." The set also included a sixth disk containing the necessary
software. These disks contain nearly five million names from parish
registers, civil registrations and other record collections in England,
Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The records on the index span more than three
centuries, from 1538 to 1888. The CD set sold for $15.00 (U.S. funds). In
the three- plus years since the release, this set of valuable genealogy
records has become a "best seller" for the Family History Department of the
Mormon Church.
In the original announcement written in 1998, the Mormon Church's Family
History Department wrote, "This vital records index will be an ongoing
project which will also be updated periodically." Now the Department has
lived up to that promise: a few days ago they released a "second edition" of
these records. The new 2nd edition of British Vital Records contains 13
million records, compared to the previous edition's five million. The new
release also includes the latest version of Resource File Viewer software,
which has numerous improvements over the 1998 edition. I had a chance to use
the new Second Edition this week and am pleased with it.
These British Isles Vital Records Index disks are created from millions of
hours of volunteer labor. Since 1978, thousands of Latter-day Saints
volunteers and others have spent millions of hours carefully reading and
examining microfilmed records. The volunteers "extract" from these original
records the most necessary and useful information, such as names, dates,
places, and family relationships. The resulting data is then indexed, and
the end result is a set of CD-ROM disks that improve ease of access and save
time for family history devotees.
Records that appear in this index generally contain names of the
individuals, parents' names, the date and place where the birth, christening
or marriage took place, the name of a person's spouse, and reference
information which allows you to locate the original record on a microfilm.
Names in this index have been standardized. This means that variant name
spellings are listed under a common name. For example, Smyth, Smithe,
Smeith, would all be indexed under the name Smith. This allows you to
search a name without knowing the exact spelling. However, you are still
able to search under the exact spelling of an individual's name if you wish.
The records that comprise the index are extracted records, which means that
someone copied selected pieces of information from the original record.
However, not all of the genealogically important information was extracted.
Therefore, you should use the reference information provided in this index
to locate the original record on microfilm and evaluate the original record
yourself.
Index Limitations
Be aware that this is not a complete index. Your ancestor may not appear in
this CD-ROM set even though you know that he or she lived in a time and
place covered by the index. The Vital Records Index will continue to be
updated, adding millions of new names with each update.
The British Isles, by definition, comprises the countries of England, Wales,
Scotland, Ireland, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islands. This index
includes records from all these places, except the Channel Islands. It
includes names taken from records that date from as early as 1530 and as
late as 1906. Time spans vary greatly from parish to parish. For one
parish, the period 1538-1598 may be extracted, while another parish may only
include the names from 1850 to 1875. It never contains all the records,
simply those that have been found and indexed. Some areas have been
extracted more heavily than others.
Installation of the required Resource File Viewer version 4.0 software was
easy; I was looking at records within a few minutes after unwrapping the
package. I generally look for my own surname first when using any new
genealogy resource - which is exactly what I did three and a half years ago
when I wrote a review of the First Edition of these records on CD-ROM. This
year I entered my own last name, clicked on "Birth/Christening" records, and
was soon looking at a long list of individuals. In fact, it was too long a
list: 904 people. Three and a half years ago the same exercise produced a
list of only 251 records. Obviously the number of records available in the
Second Edition has increased dramatically: in my limited test it jumped from
251 to 904 records of the surname I am seeking!
Looking at 904 records was a bit overwhelming; so I backed up and narrowed
the search down to only display those records for Wiltshire, the county
where my ancestors reportedly originated. Again, a lengthy list appeared:
230 individuals (versus 56 individuals listed in the First Edition). I then
backed up again and specified to search only those Eastman records for
Downton, Wiltshire, a rather small village. To my surprise, 123 matches were
displayed. I could have specified a first name and/or date range or even the
names of the parents. However, I elected to simply scroll through the list
of names. I quickly found the one I was looking for:
EASTMAN, Roger Christening
Gender: Male
Christening Date: 4 Apr 1610
Recorded in: Downton, Wiltshire, England
Father: Nicholas EASTMAN
Source: FHL Film 1279375
Dates: 1601 - 1904
This record is rather typical of those found in the British Isles Vital
Records Index: the name of the individual, the type of event (this was for a
christening), date, location, names of the parents (only the father is
listed in this case) and a reference to where the original record may be
found. In this case, Family History Library microfilm #1279375 has an image
of the original record. To obtain all the details found on the original
record, I can rent that microfilm for about three dollars at any local
Family History Center. There are thousands of such centers around the world,
including one that is about a 20-minute drive from where I live. Most urban
areas in North America have one or more Family History Centers that are open
to everyone, regardless of religious affiliation.
In short, these CD-ROM disks are exactly what the name claims: an index.
Like an index in the back of a book, it allows you to locate information
quickly and easily. However, also like the book, you will always want to
turn to the information cited in order to read all the details and to ensure
that this is really the information that you want. The British Isles Vital
Records Index itself is not the source of the information and should not be
listed as a source. Instead, it is a pointer to the true source as recorded
on microfilm.
While looking at the record I mentioned earlier, I clicked on the father's
name: Nicholas Eastman. My computer then showed me a list of all the men of
that name available on the CD-ROM disks. I was able to find many of Roger
Eastman's siblings, as there were a number of christenings in the same
village for babies with that surname, all showing the father's name as Roger
Eastman. Again, all referred to the same reel of microfilm, so I assume I
can rent that one reel and find records on the entire family.
The above is only one small example of a search on the new British Isles
Vital Records Index CD-ROM disks. There are 13 million more examples to be
found, including marriage records as well as birth and christening records.
There are no death records listed, however, as the Mormon religion does not
consider death to be as significant as some others would believe. The LDS
religion apparently teaches that death is not the end of life. Rather, it is
a transition from one state to another, a transition from life on earth to
life in heaven. Members of the LDS Church therefore do not place as much
significance on death dates as others would and often do not record those
dates in their databases. The Vital Records Indexes focus solely on births,
christenings, and marriage dates.
I found it impossible to simply copy-and-paste records using the normal
Windows commands. However, I found that records from the Vital Records
Indexes can be saved as a GEDCOM (GEnealogical Data COMmunication) file.
Creating a GEDCOM file allows you to electronically copy records from the
index to your own personal genealogy system, assuming that your program can
read GEDCOM files (All the more popular modern genealogy programs have this
capability.).
To create a GEDCOM file, all I had to do was display a record and then SAVE
it, using commands on the toolbar. I could save up to 100 records at any
time. When ready, I simply selected CREATE GEDCOM FILE from the toolbar
again and followed the menus. The end result was a new file that I can
import into most any modern genealogy program. That can save a lot of
keystrokes!
The British Isles Vital Records Index software operates on Windows 95, 98,
ME, XP, NT, or 2000. It will not operate on Windows 3.1. It probably will
operate on Linux or on a Macintosh with a Windows emulator although that is
not guaranteed and certainly is not supported by the CD-ROM's producers. You
will also need a modest amount of disk space and at least 8 megabytes of
memory with 16 megabytes strongly recommended (probably more on Windows XP,
NT, or 2000). You will also need a VGA monitor with a video card capable of
producing 256 colors or more.
The British Isles Vital Records Index on CD-ROM - Second Edition is so new
that it is not yet for sale on the FamilySearch Web site. However, I suspect
it will appear there soon. The LDS Church has distribution centers in Utah,
England, and many other locations around the world. Once the set becomes
available, you can order it online and have it shipped from the distribution
center nearest you. To order your own copy, keep an eye open at:
http://www.familysearch.org/ =================================
From : Dick Eastman <richard(a)eastman.net>
To :
newsletter(a)eastman.biglist.com
Subject : Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter, ASCII text edition
Date : Sun, 24 Mar 2002 19:29:01 -0500
Do not reply to this message. This is a post-only mailing.
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==========================================================
Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter
A Weekly Summary of Events and
Topics of Interest to Online Genealogists
Vol. 7 No. 12 - March 25, 2002
This newsletter is sponsored by
Ancestry.com,
a leader in providing print and electronic
research information to genealogists.
To learn about Ancestry.com's
state-of-the-art online genealogy databases
and other fine products,
visit the company's three Internet properties,
MyFamily.com,
Ancestry.com, and
RootsWeb.com
Past issues of this Newsletter
are available at:
http://www.ancestry.com/library/view/columns/eastman/eastman.asp
This weekly newsletter is available in both HTML and ASCII text
editions. Details are available at:
http://www.RootsForum.com/newsletter
==========================================================
Copyright (C) 2002 by Richard W. Eastman. All rights reserved.
If you do contact any of the companies or societies mentioned in this
newsletter, please tell them that you read about their services in this
newsletter.
==============================================================
IN THIS ISSUE:
- British Isles Vital Records Index on CD-ROM - Second Edition
- 1881 Canadian Census on CD-ROM
- Your Guide to the Federal Census
- The Family History Library on Video
- BLM Land Patent Records Are Back Online
- Free Content for Your Genealogy Newsletter/Web Site
- And More Free Content for Your Genealogy Newsletter/Web Site
-
MyFamily.com Expands Growth
- Mormon Database Experts To Help FBI Track Terrorists
- A Painless Introduction To LINUX
- Home Pages Highlighted
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