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From:
Subject: GEN-NEWBIE-D Digest V97 #41
------------------------------
GEN-NEWBIE-D DigestVolume 97 : Issue 41
Today's Topics:
Search Engines [ Jim Moore <> ]
Finding Missing Person Through SSA [ Jim Moore <> ]
Re: Dates [ "Renaud (Ron) OLGIATI" <rolgiati@pr ]
As If It Mattered [ dabrat <> ]
Temper, temper! [ Terry Beck <> ]
SUBSCRIBE [ June R Goff <> ]
to all who ans. my call for help [ "Jacques J. Comeau" <"jacques.j.com ]
FTM [ "Don B. Dale" <> ]
turn off signature file [ Barbara Mangum < ]
subscribing to lists [ Barbara Mangum < ]
Re: Family Tree Maker [ Judi Montgomery < ]
SS information [ Vallerie Jane Valentine < ]
Re: FTM [ "Bill Fox" <> ]
Re: Dates [ "K Doerksen" < ]
Re: SS information [ Jo Garzelloni <> ]
Re: WAS Comments on FTM [ "K Doerksen" < ]
Introducing FAMILY PAPERS [ Jim Hier <> ]
subscribing to lists [ ]
Mortality list [ (Ruth Barton) ]
Re: Posting Problem [ Carole Rohrings <> ]
Re: De-fragging a computer [ (judith murphy) ]
Re: need info [ (judith murphy) ]
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 29 Jan 1997 11:31:19 -0500
From: Jim Moore <>
Subject: Search Engines
Ginger Hayes wrote:
>
> I don't know about 1 URL in particular. I've done ok just going to a good
> search engine and putting in a particular topic. If it's more than one word
> just use "and" between your words, that eliminates a lot of answers that
> don't really apply.
>
Each search engine has its own vocabulary. You need to read the
instructions for each search engine to learn how it works. For example,
the Altavista search engine requires a "+" between words to achieve the
same thing that "and" does in other search engines. Sometimes the
instructions are hard to find, but they are there if you keep clicking.
Jim Moore
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 29 Jan 1997 13:19:49 -0500
From: Jim Moore <>
Subject: Finding Missing Person Through SSA
Ellen E. Hokanson wrote:
>
> Hi, All; for those who are searching for family, a friend found her sister
> when she heard from SS that they had her in file but wouldn't release the
> address.
> She sent a letter to her sister % the SS office. They forwarded it and her
> long search has been ended. A letter written the day her letter was
> delivered started her new year out right!
>
Hi,
The SSA requirements pertaining to this are given below.
>From URL http://www.ssa.gov/faq_services.html
Jim Moore
====================================================================================
Q. How can I search for a lost relative or friend through SSA?
A. Social Security's records are confidential and the Privacy Act of
1974 precludes our releasing information about a person without the
written authorization of the individual in question. SSA only has
current address information on individuals who have applied for or are
receiving benefits. We also have address information from employer
reports of earnings but that information is protected by the Internal
Revenue Code and we are
prohibited from releasing information that we have obtained from IRS
records.
SSA does provide a letter-forwarding service in certain situations. See
the next question for more information on letter-forwarding.
Q. Will SSA forward a letter to an individual?
A. Yes, we will attempt to forward a letter to a missing person under
circumstances involving a matter of great importance, such as a death or
serious illness in the missing person's immediate family, or a sizeable
amount of money that is due the missing person. Also, the circumstances
must concern a matter about which the missing person is unaware and
would undoubtedly want to be informed. (Generally, when a son, daughter,
brother, or sister wishes to establish contact, we write to the missing
person, rather than forward a letter from the relative.) Because this
service is not related in any way to a Social Security program, its use
must be limited so that it does not interfere with our regular program
activities.
There is no charge for forwarding letters that have a humanitarian
purpose. However, we must charge a $3 fee to cover our costs when the
letter is to inform the missing person of money or property due him or
her. This fee is not refundable. The fee should be paid by a check that
is made payable to the Social Security Administration.
We must read each letter we forward to ensure that it contains nothing
that could prove embarrassing to the missing person if read by a third
party. We do not believe that it would be proper to open a sealed
letter; therefore, a letter that is sent to us for forwarding should be
in a plain, unstamped, unsealed envelope showing only the missing
person's name. Nothing of value should be enclosed.
To try to locate an address in our records, we need the missing person's
Social Security number or identifying information to help us find the
number. The identifying information needed is the person's date and
place of birth, the father's name, and the mother's full birth name.
Usually, we forward a letter in care of the employer who most recently
reported earnings for the missing person. We normally would have the
current home address only if the person is receiving benefits.
Therefore, we cannot assure that a letter will be delivered or that a
reply will be received. Also, we cannot send a second letter.
Requests for letter forwarding should be sent to:
Social Security Administration
Office of Public Inquiries
6401 Security Blvd.
Room 4-C-5 Annex
Baltimore, MD 21235
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 29 Jan 1997 19:32:40 +0100
From: "Renaud (Ron) OLGIATI" <>
Subject: Re: Dates
Ruth Barton wrote:
>What's the big fuss about dates that are hundreds of years ago? The person
>is just as dead whether he died on the 21st or 22nd. Ruth
On the other hand, the death (birth or other event) might refer to a
different John Smith, who happened to be around at the same time.
This is most prevalent when you find two dates of birth 12 or 18 months
apart: in days of high infant mortality, it was often done to use again the
same christian name which the dead child had borne.
It may also point to different individuals: I remember one ancestor, one
James the 2nd Hamilton, who had from various ladies no less than four sons,
all baptised "John"; the dates then become primordial to differentiate
between individual.
So you see, dates are worth looking at !
Ron.
Renaud (Ron) OLGIATI I notice a daily increase
26 Rue de l'Audience in the number of things
95390 Saint Prix France I know nothing about.
________________________ ________________________
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 29 Jan 1997 12:33:50 -0600
From: dabrat <>
Subject: As If It Mattered
Please stop the nit-picking and stick with what matters.
Your opinions will die with you and not be remembered but your
help and your written research will be remembered.
DEBBIE
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 29 Jan 1997 13:49:11 -0600
From: Terry Beck <>
Subject: Temper, temper!
You know, folks, I've been watching the debates over FTM, Broderbund,
dates, computers, email, and everything else. Like all of you, I have
opinions. But I try very hard to think twice before I press my opinions on
someone else. Or press the send button, for that matter.
This is a public forum, with close to 750 people participating in one form
or another. Think before you send anything, because we'll all see it. I'd
like you all to take a step back and re-read your message before you send
it. The whole purpose of this list is to be tolerant. This means no
flames or hints of flames, on the list. These last three words are the
key: on the list.
Enough said.
Off the soapbox.
Terry
(the List manager)
Terry Beck, Reference Coordinator
Morton Grove Public Library
http://www.nslsilus.org/mgkhome/
Morton Grove, IL (847)
965-4220
Opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect
official Library policy.
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 29 Jan 1997 14:45:45 -0600 (CST)
From: June R Goff <>
Subject: SUBSCRIBE
SUBSCRIBE -
June R. Goff
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 29 Jan 1997 15:52:06 -0800
From: "Jacques J. Comeau" <""@snet.net>
Subject: to all who ans. my call for help
Thanks a lot for all the advice. Never knew I had so many friends that
would come to my aid. Also never knew I would be having so many pen
pals without using a pen. Thanks again, and I will plug away at this toy
of mine until I get things right. Betty
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 29 Jan 1997 12:58:19 -0800
From: "Don B. Dale" <>
Subject: FTM
I've been a critic of FTM to the Company but that's because I paid for
it .I've also used PAF and was introduced by PAF supporters to FTM when
it was just v1.2 or 1.0....At the annual computer convention in San
Diego 1996, I had the occasion to meet and speak to the Broderbund
people at their booth. It's still a new division for them and changes
will take time. Continued queries of their customer support staff will
make and keep them aware that the Genealogy crowd is one of the biggest
there is. There's also a range of knowledge by people using FTM that
goes from 0 to 100%, much of the time if not most, the complaints are in
direct relationship to the level of expertise. Those that have
questions, join the tech on-line group, those that have bitches, make
them to the company not this listserv group. I spent my money and called
management before my third upgrade to 3.4, the things I'd like to see
(they've all been covered in this list) the Company knows about, is
working on them and will or won't make the changes. If they don't, and
if I - like you - can find something better I have the option to
change. Let's end the gripes.
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 29 Jan 1997 05:49:17 -0800
From: Barbara Mangum <>
Subject: turn off signature file
How do you turn off your signature file? Someone has suggested that I
do this in order to subscribe to a list. Do I then put my address under
the command to subscribe? Thanks for any help!!!!
Barbara
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 29 Jan 1997 05:39:27 -0800
From: Barbara Mangum <>
Subject: subscribing to lists
Need help, please!!!!
There must be a secret of which I am unaware. I have tried many times
to subscribe to lists and either I do not ever hear from them or I get
an error message back. Are you supposed to put anything in the subject
line? One example is Another example
is I get back an error message. Is
this list limited to subscribers or members of a group? Any help would
be appreciated.
Barbara
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 29 Jan 1997 17:34:41 -0600
From: Judi Montgomery <>
Subject: Re: Family Tree Maker
And now lets hear a word in favor of Family Tree Maker. I have been using
it since I got my computer and have never had a problem with it. If
anything, I keep finding things I did not know it could do and it was there
all the time, I just had to look for it in the right place. The instruction
book is well designed and easy to read (even for me, who hates 'how to'
books). If you did not received an instruction book, you probably got your
FTM second hand and that could be causing a lot of the problems I see on line.
I don't suggest an avalanch of letters for or against FTM, but I
felt someone who is a satisfied customer (not connected to the Company in
any way) should speak up and say so. Judi
At 11:07 PM 1/28/97 -0800, you wrote:
>On Tue, 28 Jan 1997, Peggy Dolan wrote:
>>
>>Btw, does anyone else find it annoying that Broderbund offers on-line
>>help only on 2 major providers? (Or am I reading that wrong?) Why don't they
>>just give an e-mail address and post questions and answers on their site?
>
>Uh, yes, it can even be annoying to people who don't use FTM. <G> They
>do have a mailing list for FTM, but they don't seem to publicize it much.
>That may be why users ask questions elsewhere. I don't know if they
>maintain an archive of past messages.
>
>>To subscribe to the FTMTECH-L mailing list, send a message to the
>>following e-mail address:
>>.
>>Leave the subject line of your e-mail message blank, but in the body of the
>>message type the word "subscribe."
>
>The dynamics of the whole FTM package are fascinating to me. Paul
>Burchfield also can (and does) use the facilities of various genealogy
>lists to answer questions. It's one of several great marketing techniques
>Broderbund uses, although not always popular with the non-FTM readers of
>these lists. <g> Even though most of the posts about FTM seem to be about
>problems or difficulties with the program, that old adage about "no
>publicity is bad publicity, as long as the name is spelled right" seems to
>hold true. People keep buying the program because they've "seen it
>mentioned *everywhere*". The public doesn't seem to care that most of the
>"mentioning" is because of problems the users are having. I've seen a lot
>of posts where people say they bought the program because it "a lot of
>people seem to use it". Plus, it's available for sale everywhere - even in
>supermarkets, for all I know. More good marketing. By the time a buyer
>finds out about the level of support from the company, the buyer has
>invested too much time & effort to want to change programs. You all have
>to get answers wherever you can. I'm just sorry so many seem to have
>difficulty getting help from the company. It must be very frustrating.
>
>One doesn't see a lot of posts about other genealogy programs; possibly
>because they either don't have as many problems, or they provide their own
>useful forums for discussion, or the companies/authors are easily
>accessible.
>
>Disclaimer: I have no connection with Broderbund, have not used FTM, and
>probably never will. Seems like too much trouble to me. <G> I do
>appreciate and have used their educational programs. These are my own
>observations and opinions. And, all I know about the program itself is
>from the posts people write. I do have to admire Broderbund's marketing
>techniques from a purely academic viewpoint. They obviously have some
>brilliant people on staff who really know how to work a target market and
>how to get high visibility for their product; which, in turn, generates
>income and more product (free material for their CDs), which can only be
>used by those who own their products. Brilliant! Gotta admit, that's the
>"American Way". <G>
>
>Terri
>
>Terri (Bible) Strotman
>
>
>(Alhambra, So. Calif.)
>
>
>
>
- ------------------------------
Judi Montgomery
CompuBilling
- ------------------------------
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 29 Jan 1997 18:31:23 -0500
From: Vallerie Jane Valentine <>
Subject: SS information
Judith,
Why would one report the death of spouse if they weren't receiving social
security?
I think the marriage duration was 20 years and was changed to 10 years.
I have a friend who receives divorced spouses payments under social security.
Vall
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 29 Jan 1997 17:44:50 -0600
From: "Bill Fox" <>
Subject: Re: FTM
----------
> From: Don B. Dale <>
> To:
> Subject: FTM
> Date: Wednesday, January 29, 1997 2:58 PM
>
> I've been a critic of FTM to the Company but that's because I paid for
> it .I've also used PAF and was introduced by PAF supporters to FTM when
> it was just v1.2 or 1.0....At the annual computer convention in San
> Diego 1996, I had the occasion to meet and speak to the Broderbund
> people at their booth. It's still a new division for them and changes
> will take time. Continued queries of their customer support staff will
> make and keep them aware that the Genealogy crowd is one of the biggest
> there is. There's also a range of knowledge by people using FTM that
> goes from 0 to 100%, much of the time if not most, the complaints are in
> direct relationship to the level of expertise. Those that have
> questions, join the tech on-line group, those that have bitches, make
> them to the company not this listserv group. I spent my money and called
> management before my third upgrade to 3.4, the things I'd like to see
> (they've all been covered in this list) the Company knows about, is
> working on them and will or won't make the changes. If they don't, and
> if I - like you - can find something better I have the option to
> change. Let's end the gripes.
Don,
While I like your analytical approach, I also believe that the most
important tool the buying public has is the "spotlight" of publicity, good
or bad. I also believe that it would be incredulous to think that a
Company like Broderbund is not aware of what is being said
about them in the Chat rooms and Lists of the Net.
Bill Fox
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 29 Jan 1997 17:00:58 -0600
From: "K Doerksen" <>
Subject: Re: Dates
Anyone asking this question (see below) about dates,
obviously hasn't been researching names like
PETER AENEAS BOOTH or MARIJA VARGA (8-))
Kathy Doerksen
----------
> From: Renaud (Ron) OLGIATI <>
> To:
> Subject: Re: Dates
> Date: January 29, 1997 12:32 PM
>
> Ruth Barton wrote:
>
> >What's the big fuss about dates that are hundreds of years ago? The
person
> >is just as dead whether he died on the 21st or 22nd. Ruth
>
> On the other hand, the death (birth or other event) might refer to a
> different John Smith, who happened to be around at the same time.
>
<snip>
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 29 Jan 1997 19:03:08 -0500
From: Jo Garzelloni <>
Subject: Re: SS information
Vallerie Jane Valentine wrote:
>
> Judith,
>
> Why would one report the death of spouse if they weren't receiving social
> security?
>
> I think the marriage duration was 20 years and was changed to 10 years.
>
> I have a friend who receives divorced spouses payments under social security.
>
> Vall
>
====================================Hi Everyone, My very best friend of
a lifetime receives social security widow payments on a husband she was
divorced from for over twenty years when he died two years ago BUT
because she was married to him for at least ten years, she qualifies for
the payment. Something just under six hundred dollars. josie
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 29 Jan 1997 17:50:19 -0600
From: "K Doerksen" <>
Subject: Re: WAS Comments on FTM
----------
> From: Vicky Bair <>
> To:
> Subject: Re: Comments on Family Tree Maker
> Date: January 29, 1997 2:09 PM
<MAJOR SNIP>
> So let's not ASSUME or JUDGE anyone. I have learned alot from all the
> lists that I am on and hopefully I have helped in returned.
==And I am sure you have and will continue to be helpful to the ones that
are interested enough to let your words of wisdom sink in, Vicky.
There are a lotof us here with nothing but genealogy on our minds.That,
and being able to keep our computers in operation WITHOUT having to
leave it on the shelf for two days at the shop.
(which once turned out to be two weeks for me!)
Vicky,
Thank you for trying to diffuse what could turn out to be another
long drawn out battle, which only wastes our time and energy. I for one
have better things to do than wade through a lot of thoughtless mail.
There are a few territorial newsgroups set up JUST for that purpose!
And for those people who open mouth, then insert foot and choke:
Did you know that the word ASSUME is self explanatory?
It makes an ASS out of U and ME!
Now, can we just get back on track? Let's do genealogy! & fix our
computers!
(Mine's messed up again! My curious mind won't let it keep on ticking!)
Anybody out there want to CRAWL me through a format? With the
REASONS behind doing such a thing? I'm sure a lot of us would like
to know IF?,WHY?,HOW OFTEN, and RESULTS of doing such a thing!
(Yes, I've read the manuals,but they don't want to sink in!)
I'm looking for step-by-step instructions,
NOT something written for a rocket scientist! Any takers?
Kathy Doerksen
(Glutten for Punishment)
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 29 Jan 1997 15:00:24 -0800
From: Jim Hier <>
Subject: Introducing FAMILY PAPERS
This e-mail is to introduce FAMILY PAPERS.
FAMILY PAPERS has been formed to help family historians/genealogists =
locate, own and preserve authentic documents and letters pertaining to =
their ancestors.
While there are significant collections of records available to =
genealogists in government institutions and libraries around the =
country, there remain hundreds of thousands of vintage documents =
available for private ownership. Unfortunately most of these documents =
are lying forgotten and ignored due to the lack of an organized market. =
Recently some home shopping catalog have tried marketing these documents =
as home decoration accent pieces!! At FAMILY PAPERS we feel the =
appropriate place for these documents is with the descendants of the =
people mentioned or signing these documents.
The mission of FAMILY PAPERS is to help identify those vintage documents =
and reunite them with people interested in preserving their family's =
history. Over the past few years we have built a significant archive of =
these documents which we are adding to regularly.
It would be most appreciated if you could take a moment to look at our =
Web Site (http://www.familypapers.com/~jimren) and, if you think it =
appropriate, please tell members of your society/association about =
FAMILY PAPERS.
Thank you in advance for your consideration. I would welcome any =
comments or suggestions you may have.
Jim Hier
FOR MORE INFORMATION
E-mail:
Phone: 503.968.6595
Fax: 503.968.6365
Web Site: http://www.familypapers.com/~jimren
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 29 Jan 1997 19:16:26 GMT
From:
Subject: subscribing to lists
In subscribing to list - leave SUBJECT line blank
Text line - Type in the word "SUBSCRIBE" leave space and then type the name
of the list you are subscribing to. Make sure you turn off the signature.
You are not dealing with a person and the computer does not recognize these
extra lines.
>
>Need help, please!!!!
>
>There must be a secret of which I am unaware. I have tried many times
>to subscribe to lists and either I do not ever hear from them or I get
>an error message back. Are you supposed to put anything in the subject
>line? One example is Another example
>is I get back an error message. Is
>this list limited to subscribers or members of a group? Any help would
>be appreciated.
>Barbara
>
>
>
Bill Takacs - KB8ZW
Chagrin Falls, Ohio
216-543-4991
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 29 Jan 1997 20:05:42 -0500 (EST)
From: (Ruth Barton)
Subject: Mortality list
What is it? Thanks, Ruth
Ruth Barton
Westminster, Vt
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 29 Jan 1997 17:23:18 -0800
From: Carole Rohrings <>
Subject: Re: Posting Problem
So, I miss Harry Huntsman! Did he get his posting problem fixed? Is that
why he doesn't write to us anymore?
)~;
Carole Rohrings
_______________________________
Researching Bell Boyd Chapman Cronk Curcie Delamarre Drake Gray Hayhurst
Himes Jennings Kearns Kuykendall Mather Post Stark StJohn StLouis
Sullivan Thrush Wheeler
USGenWeb Coordinator for Lake and Sutter Counties in California
Listowner for Cronk Curcie Delamarre Hayhurst Himes Jennings Kearns
Kuykendall Love Mather Post StJohn StLouis Thrush Wheeler surname
discussion lists
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 29 Jan 1997 19:58:49 -0500 (EST)
From: (judith murphy)
Subject: Re: De-fragging a computer
Yes -- see if anyone has some of the programs (like Norton Utility, PCTools,
etc which does this for you. I don't think MS Office has this type of
thing, but I don't use it, so not sure. Some of the newer DOS and Windows
was supposed to have a program to do this in them, but not sure, again,
whether they do or not as I had problems off and on with some of the newer
Windows and DOS, so went back to the ones which had everything I needed and
worked without all the glitches. (My nerves won't take them even though I
know work-arounds and how to get through them usually).
If you can't find anyone who has these programs, you can do a complete
backup of your harddrive (if partitioned, do one at a time), format that
drive, then do a restore -- when it does a backup it takes one complete file
at a time, and when restored it will lay it down in a contiguous manner.
If you have partitions (like drives C:, D:, E:, etc) you should do one
partition at a time, preferably.
BTW -- putting things in a compressed form WON'T cause this problem as the
compressed form only removes extraneous spaces and multiples of the same
character. For instance, if you have 3 lines of spaces each space takes up
disk space -- so if 1 space is 1 byte, 3 lines of 80 characters = 240 bytes,
so the compression program will just say to computer: "character space times
240" which would equal to about 6 bytes of harddrive space used as opposed
to the 240 (that is simplified way to understand compression). What it
amounts to is compression is a "shorthand method" of saying the same thing
in fewer bytes, which can result in HUGE numbers of k savings on your
harddrive. But, it is STILL written in the same form on the harddrive as a
regular file -- so it wouldn't be fragmented anymore than a file the same
size and needing the same addresses, and could be actually fragmented LESS
(after all, if you have a 500k file and compress it down to 250k, and there
is an address space of 260k available it wouldn't be fragmented at all while
the 500k one would be in 2 or more pieces.
I can't understand why he would make a comment like this, unless he is
taking into account the original file which is now deleted, and still on
disk until another program overlays it with new data.
Judy M.
>Your explanation on the Newbie GenWeb list about defragmenting was very
>thorough and enlightening. It hit home for me because I am having a problem
>with my computer now, apparently related to "defragging".
>
>I have an IMB PS/1 486 model and use it at home with Microsoft Office
>software, Quicken, and Netscape for web access.
>
>Recently it started churning/processing very slowly. So slow that I cannot
>completely open a complex file or application.
>
>I took it to a service technician and he said the problem is my hard drive
>has everything in compressed form, which was causing the fragmenting
>problem. Is there a way to "clean up" my hard drive myself? Any thoughts
>would be appreciated.
>
>Tom Woodbery
>
>
>
>
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 29 Jan 1997 20:30:52 -0500 (EST)
From: (judith murphy)
Subject: Re: need info
Sometimes you get this error if it gets a bit of static in the line and
reads something other than what you are asking; when you try it again it
will take.
Sometimes it meets with a "road-block" where the lines are busy and it will
give you this, even though the URL is good. Sometimes trying again 2 or 3
times will end up getting the connection for you. This is one of the most
usual causes of this to occur.
Sometimes it is a space or another character that is not in the proper
capital /noncapital letter that it doesn't like. Sometimes these spaces can
barely be seen and one doesn't realize they even put them in, double periods
are also sometimes hard to see (depends on machine and how set up), and the
capital/noncapital MUST be the same as it wants -- hello is NOT the same as
Hello on Unix and other machines. This is the second most often reason to
get this error message.
And, then sometimes they just gave it to you wrong, you misheard them, etc.
If you know the name try using a search engine (like webcrawler, lycos, etc)
and search on that name and/or subject -- see if it doesn't show up. I find
I have better results with using the plus sign + as opposed to the word AND
on these search engines, too.
Judy M.
>Help! So many times I have copied a URL given by someone and when I try
>to get it on this blankety blank toy, I get a message from my server that
>says there is no DNA (oops!) I mean DNS. So, where can I punch in the
>info to get these URLs? Boy, it is tough learning so late in life! Betty
>
>
>
This thread: