ALABAMA-L Archives

From: "Jeff and Debbie Bein" <>
Subject: [ALABAMA-L] Good News for researchers (fwd.)]
Date: Sat, 6 Feb 1999 08:05:04 -0600

I got this from another list. Thought others would like to know.
>

>>>From: "Carolyn R. Green" <>
>>>Subject: Good News for researchers..Rec'd from another List..
>>
>>>ARCHIVE PUTS HUDDLED MASSES ON-LINE - Volunteers scanning Ellis Island
>>>Records. (SF Examiner 2/2/99)
>>>
>>>Climbing the family tree will take a lot less clawing as soon as a
nonprofit
>>>foundation finishes a more than $15 million project to post Ellis Island
>>>immigration records on the internet.
>>> By helping people to access information instantly that previously was
>>buried
>>>in a bureaucratic quagmire, the project will revolutionize genealogicial
>>>research for many of the more than 113 million Americans who already
>actively
>>>pursue their family histories.
>>> Officials at the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation in NY, the
>same
>>>organization that gave Lady Liberty a face lift in 1986 without any
public
>>>funding, estimate that more than 40% of Americans can trace their
European
>>>ancestry back to Ellis Island.
>>> "This is going to be a reference point", said Vern Deubler, Pres. of
the
>>>Calif. Genealogical Society, which was based in San Francisco for a
century
>>>before moving to Oakland this year. "It's going to provide people with
very
>>>important leads".
>>> By the end of next year, the foundation hopes, people will be able to
>>enter
>>>any information they know about a progenitor and the program will search
>more
>>>than 20 million records for a match. The software will even be able to
>>>tolerate misspellings.
>>> If a match is found, the researcher can choose to print out a photo of
the
>>>ship and a copy of the original manifesto that marked the immigrant's
>>arrival.
>>> At Fisherman's Wharf on Monday, Stephen Briganti, Chairman of the
>>>foundation, said the new database would especially help Bay Area
>researchers.
>>> He said the Bay Area remains one of the major hubs for Eliis Island
>>>immigrants and their descendants. Tens of thousands of immigrants came
here
>>>after arriving through the port, first to fuel the Industrial revolution
and
>>>later to farm wine grapes. He said first generation travelers from the
main
>>>Ellis Island years - 1892 to 1924 - still live in the area.
>>> Briganti added that Californians' interest in Ellis Island immigration
>>>research, based on requests for the foundation's resources, is
outstripped
>>>only by New yorkers'.
>>> The database - which organizers say could be ready by the end of
2000 -
>>>will catalog records of almost 20 million immigrants who flooded the tiny
NY
>>>Harbor island. Until now, those documents have been stored at the
National
>>>Archives and Immigration and Naturalization Service in the clunky
microfilm
>>>format.
>>> The first phase of the project was to collect and digitize records and
>>>install computers at the museum.
>>> Now, Briganti said, putting the information on the Internet has become
a
>>top
>>>goal as well.
>>> "We're pretty confident this is going to work," Briganti said. "It's
not
>>>perfect, but it's light years ahead of going to the Archives."
>>> A demonstration of the system showed that a reseacher can enter
>information
>>>in any or all of 11 fields, which ask for personal information such as
the
>>>subject's name and country of birth, and immigration, like the subject's
>port
>>>of entry.
>>> Foundation spokeswoman Peg Zitko said the project got off the ground
when
>>a
>>>nationwide network of Mormon volunteers agreed to digitize the microfilm
>>>information for free. Thousands of volunteers have logged more than 2
>million
>>>hours; they've entered 3/5's of the data so far.
>>> A spokesman for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt
>>Lake
>>>City said the project was important to the church's mission. "We've
always
>>>been involved in genealogy," said Dan Rascon, "because linking to our
family
>>>helps us understand who we are and what we may become."
>>> Information on the project may be found at www.ellisisland.org on the
>>>internet.
>>>
>>>(And I just want you all to know that I typed this, not scanned, so I
hope I
>>>get some appreciation out there!!!!!!!! Best, and good night! Terry in
>>>Calif.) PS, Please feel free to pass this along to other genealogy
lists.
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>>==== ARWASHIN Mailing List ====
>>
>>
>>
>
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• [ALABAMA-L] Good News for researchers (fwd.)] by "Jeff and Debbie Bein" <>