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Archiver > PAF-5-USERS > 2003-09 > 1063665969


From: "Robert G. Lewis" <>
Subject: Re: [PAF-5] State Abbreviations and USA
Date: Mon, 15 Sep 2003 18:46:09 -0400
References: <IJEIKFMIIHDKKBFPGGGIIEHOCAAA.rhaldy@comcast.net> <01d801c37ba7$a3396b70$c0adfd0c@CazierOffice>
In-Reply-To: <01d801c37ba7$a3396b70$c0adfd0c@CazierOffice>


Dick:

If you decide to use the 'global search and replace' feature of
PAF, then be SURE to PRECEDE and FOLLOW your abbrevation entry in
the search routine with a space. Otherwise the feature will change
every occurance of that combination of letters as a place to change.
This action/proceedure might not correct/change all abbrevations
to the properly complete spelled out names but it will get most of
them. Examples that might not be changed are 'NC.', where the
period is part of your abbrevation and other like instances.

If you have a small database, use it as a test base. If not then
you should make one, and then try your search and replace routine on
that to see what it will do and how to recover from any mistakes.
Understand, you cannot tell it to change all abbrevations at once
but must enter each abbreviation one at the time. It is a time
consumeing operation. PAFPAL might be a better choice but I have
not used it and cannot comment on how it works.

Be careful using global search and replace. It can cause you some
major headaches.

Rob

Dick Cazier wrote:
> I have been following this subject with great interest. I'm now convinced
> that the use of two letter state abbreviation postal codes is a bad idea.
> But, almost all of my states are coded that way. My database contains over
> 30,000 individuals. All of my place entries are in the smaller to larger
> place sequence (i.e. Decatur, Macon, IL as City, County and State). I some
> cases I have added a township name between the city and county or have
> entered only the township name (followed by the abbreviation of Twp.) or if
> the city is not known but township is, by omitting the city. All have comma
> separations, so if any of the info is not known, there is a blank comma in
> that spot. There are exceptions for some burials. All of my recent ones
> are listed as Xyz Cemetery, City, County, State, but some of my older ones
> are entered as City, County, State, Xyz Cemetery or Cem period.
>
> I am concerned about using a global find and replace approach. I'm
> wondering first if it is case sensitive. And will it replace place names
> that start with the same two letters with the state name. As an example, I
> have a place entered as Illiopolis, Macon, IL. Will that come out as
> Illinois, Macon, Illinois if I try to use a global replacement of comma IL
> to comma Illinois? Or what will happen to a cemetery entry when the
> cemetery name is at the end of the entry?
>
> Obviously, with the size of my database, it is an unsurmountable task to
> review each entry after a conversion to make sure it came out the way I
> wanted it to.
> Dick Cazier
> Lakewood, CO
> To: <>
> Sent: Thursday, September 11, 2003 10:19 AM
> Subject: RE: [PAF-5] State Abbreviations and USA
>
>
>
>>And Greetings to you Richard R;
>>
>>Your point is valid and well stated. Abbreviations are dangerous things.
>>
>>In partial support of your stated case you may remember the time, perhaps
>>forty years ago, when we were encourage to abbreviate place names. The
>
> rule
>
>>was to delete all vowels and truncate the name if it exceeded a specified
>>number of letters (about fourteen letters, I think). I suspect that this
>>was done to accommodate the limited length of the fields in the IBM cards
>>that were used at that time to record information. As a result the
>
> section
>
>>of the IGI labeled World Miscellaneous is cluttered with those entries
>>because the computer cannot decipher those abbreviations. Further, I have
>>heard that a team is working on expanding those abbreviations and moving
>>those entries to the correct categories.
>>
>>In addition I have heard the suggestion that "shire" should be added to
>
> all
>
>>of the county names in England. While I do not support the use of any of
>>those county names abbreviated (e.g., Notts [or whatever the current
>>abbreviation is] for Nottinghamshire). Neither do I automatically add
>>"shire" to all of the county names because not all counties in England are
>>Shire counties. For example in Northern England York is a shire county
>>(Yorkshire) Durham (which is always written as "County Durham" is not.
>>
>>Personally I spent more than thirty years puzzling over the occupation of
>>one of my great grandfathers. His occupation was shown as "FWK", I found
>>this in censuses and other documents. It must have been widely understood
>>at that time (the early to middle 1800s). It was not until I visited the
>>Lace Museum in Nottingham, England that I discovered it meant FrameWork
>>Knitter, a worker in the lace industry. Lace was then produced on large
>>machines that were constructed on cast iron frames.
>>
>>Abbreviations can be deliberately misused. The most egregious misuse of
>
> an
>
>>abbreviation that I can remember occurred prior to WWII. At that time
>
> Japan
>
>>was well known for producing shoddy goods. Products coming into the
>
> United
>
>>States were required to be labeled with the place of origin. The Japanese
>>renamed an island Usa. They then transshipped products through that place
>>and labeled them "MADE IN USA" to deliberately obscure the origin.
>>
>>Another problem with place names that occasionally confuses the Family
>>History Department computers is using Europe or a similar continental
>>appellation following place names in a continent (e.g., Paris, France,
>>Europe) (and, yes, I do know that Paris sprawls over about seven
>
> counties).
>
>>In spite of the potential problems, I will continue to append USA to the
>>place names of all localities in the United States of America. I will do
>>this for several reasons. A major problem with using "United States of
>>America" is its length. Even though PAF will accommodate a name of that
>>length this forces it to truncate or abbreviate other parts of the place
>>name when they are displayed. It will make the pattern of the place names
>>consistent (i.e., the entry following the last comma will be a national
>>name). I was unaware, and it is true that I should have realized, that
>
> the
>
>>abbreviation for the Union of South Africa is U. S. A. I have two friends
>>who lived there and my recollection is that they used "South Africa"
>
> rather
>
>>than the formal "Union of South Africa". Even so in my limited traveling
>>(some in the Far East, Middle East, North Africa, Europe and North
>
> America)
>
>>I have not found any English speaking person (my knowledge of other
>>languages is limited to a smattering of Spanish) who failed to recognize
>
> USA
>
>>and being the United States of America. Actually, I wish that we had
>>adopted the suggested name Columbia while it was still available. Further
>
> I
>
>>am uncomfortable calling myself an American meaning a citizen of the US
>
> when
>
>>everyone born in North or South America is an American.
>>
>>Richard Halliday
>>
>>-----Original Message-----
>>From: Richard Rands [mailto:]
>>Sent: Wednesday, September 10, 2003 12:50 PM
>>To: Richard L. Halliday
>>Subject: Re: [PAF-5] State Abbreviations and USA
>>
>>
>>Hi Richard,
>>
>>> When I am teaching beginner classes I tell the students to never use
>>>place name abbreviations. I then ask them "What does the abbreviation
>
> 'AL'
>
>>>stand for; Alaska, Alabama or Alberta, Canada?". Another treacherous one
>>
>>is
>>
>>>'Aust.' Is it Austria or Australia? Next I tell them to always follow
>>>state names with USA.
>>
>>I wasn't going to raise an issue, but in the end couldn't hold back. I
>>whole heartily endorse your instructions to never use place name
>>abbreviations. So much so that I gulped when you advocate the use of the
>>abbreviation USA following state names. I have already encountered
>>confusion with USA between US of America and Union of South Africa. I
>
> have
>
>>already seen that there is a United States of Africa on the drawing board
>>that was a topic of discussion during Bush's recent visit to Aftrica.
>>
>>In my mind, using the abbreviation USA does not improve the place name
>>designation any more than it adds to potential confusion, as long as the
>>remaining place names are not abbreviated either. The only exception I am
>>aware of so far is Georgia.
>>
>>I served a mission for the Church many years ago in Brazil. When we sent
>>mail home to the USA, we were instructed to append the address with the
>>abbreviation EEUU. I was told that it was the Brazilian abbreviation for
>>USA. Once I learned enough of the language to wonder what EEUU stood for,
>>it didn't make sense because the translation for USA is Estados Unidos
>>d'America. I would have thought that the correct abbreviation should be
>>EUA. I discovered that a letter with the abbreviation EUA would be sent
>
> to
>
>>the United Emirates of Arabia. But why the double E and the double U?
>>
>>The explanation was not logical. Since the actual name for Brazil is the
>>United States of Brazil, they refused to use the single letters EU for the
>>US. So their postal service specified that EEUU would be for the USA. I
>>have traveled extensively around the world, and have yet to encounter
>>someone who did not immediately understand "the United States" as being
>>the USA. Even in foreign countries, a reference in the local language to
>>"the United States" is still automatically assumed to mean the
>>USA. (Estados Unidos, Etas Unis, etc.) But the abbreviation EU is now
>>widely used to mean the European Union. So you can understand why I am
>>reluctant to advocate the use of USA in place names.
>>
>>The problem is tricky. I still believe that adding USA to a place name
>>that contains a state name is not going to contribute anything, and will
>>potentially cause confusion. Only when it stands alone, should it be
>
> used,
>
>>and then I recommend spelling it out.
>>
>>Just my opinion
>>
>>Richard Rands
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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>>http://www.familysearch.org/
>>
>
>
>
>
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>
>

--
ROB

Robert G. Lewis
EMAIL:
Searching: LEWIS; ALFORD; FINCH; HOGG; WINBORNE; VOLIVA and
others
Member: The National Genealogical Society; The North
Carolina Genealogical Society; New England Historic Genealogical
Society; The Tar River Connections Genealogical Society; The Alford
American Family Association

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