User talk:Beth/Archive 2008

making contact - Janie Kimble [27 June 2008]

Hi Beth!

I received your email at AOL but thought it would be fun to contact you this way. I've been seeing your comments at the watercooler for awhile. You are much further along with using WeRelate than I am!! I am very wiki-challenged! On this site I am going by the name janiejac, if you happen to see it.

I have not posted my database here yet. I'm intrigued by the concept but there is so much I don't know yet about making things look right. I posted a small Jackson chart that I had worked on just for fun - I had been hoping to find a connection to my Jacksons but that hasn't happened yet. That chart is the family of David Jackson and Jane Carlock of Overton County, TN. Both were born in NC but married and lived in TN.

So it looks like if I post my database here, we could probably connect at the family of Berry T. and his brother Clairborne/Clarborn. I'll try to explore your chart to see where else we might connect. But I have so much to learn on how this works. My PAF program is so easy and intuitive compared to this. And I can explore here only when I take time away from working on my Jackson site. But I'm so intrigued with the concept that I keep coming back to read.

That's all for now as I want to go explore. Feel free to delete this; I don't know how much of this kind of rambling should be saved on this site. Any further communication will be by email. --Janiejac 21:59, 23 January 2008 (EST)

Further questions

Beth, awhile back there was an excellent discussion about the different attitude required by werelate compared to having 'your' chart posted somewhere; that when you upload to werelate it no longer should be considered your tree or your chart. I'd like to point someone to that discussion, but don't know where to find it. Do you? Seems like that concept should be given a prominent place somewhere, somehow. --Janiejac 11:53, 27 June 2008 (EDT)

Hi Janie; I am trying to merge two gedcoms and the process is giving me a headache. I just messed the thing up and am now deleting duplicates. Oh well. I am not sure where the discussion was but I would check first under the special discussions at the Watercolor for merging and downloading trees to see if it was there. --Beth 12:21, 27 June 2008 (EDT)

You could try the watercooler page under the "Discredited Genealogy" section.--Dallan 11:29, 29 June 2008 (EDT)

A family tree is... [29 January 2008]

I'll take a swing at your remarks about what's the point of a person/family page not being attached to a tree...

Mostly, I think about werelate as a great big pool of pages. Everyone has access to the same humongous pool of stuff. We're all constantly working on a huge common web of relationships. For some limited purposes, the family tree explorer and (eventually, GEDCOM download), it's helpful to be able to specify a subset of pages from the entire werelate pool. That's what a tree is. A tree doesn't actually "contain" any of the family or person page information - it's only a list of the person or family pages. So, potentially, any number of trees (0 or more) can point at a particular person or family page. When a tree is deleted then, all that goes away is that "tree page" that is a list of people that a particular user can treat as a tree. The pages referenced by the tree remain permanently in werelate space...

When you're not navigating via the tree explorer, which I generally don't do, I don't even notice the issue of what page is or is not in a particular tree. The standard person and family page links traverse through overall werelate global space...

I hope this helps...--Jrm03063 13:50, 28 January 2008 (EST)

Yes, it does help and since I can track down these loose pages through contributions and Dallan has something new coming in the spring I feel better about the situation. --Beth 17:39, 28 January 2008 (EST)

I have been corrected. It turns out that deleting a tree, that references pages not otherwise referened, results in those pages likewise being deleted. Never the less, a "tree" is still only a page of references. The secondary affect of deleting pages must be an engineered secondary affect that Dallan decided was necessary. -jrm--Jrm03063 20:47, 28 January 2008 (EST)

My understanding is that watched pages are not deleted; so I am watching all of the Coker family pages that I found of possible interest, but have not checked for new ones in about one month. It would be great if one could elect to watch newly added surname pages. --Beth 17:30, 29 January 2008 (EST)

[16 February 2008]

Hi Beth,

I exported my tree from ancestry.com as a GEDCOM file (9.1MB). However, after importing it to FTE there are no people shown. I've tried doing this five or six times with the same result. Help!

Thanks,

Mark--Bmarkjones 12:28, 16 February 2008 (EST)

Hi Mark,

You exported your tree from Ancestry and saved it as a gedcom; it has the extension .ged correct? Then did you follow these instructions:

Click on the Add tab at the top of the page, then on the Import GEDCOM link. Click on the Browse button to select the GEDCOM file that you just exported, select a tree to import it into, and click on the Import GEDCOM button.

If you have followed the above instructions; then when the gedcom upload is processed; you will receive a message from Dallan on your talk page. This sometimes takes 2 or more hours depending on the gedcom content. --Beth 16:51, 16 February 2008 (EST)

You'll also want to know, that most of the source information from "ancestry.com" will be triplicated upon import. This is because ancestry replicates things insanely in the GEDCOM format. You'll want to walk through all the people you upload in order to resolve that. You'll also want to do that because ancestry.com place names are just strings - they don't attempt to correct them or proof them. You also get some reasonable but unreasonable place names - city ward numbers for example - that you'll also want to resolve. In the latter case, I add the "ward <n>" to my werelate place description. The string left is usually close enough to match at that point. The way that I handle some of this stuff, now that I'm past my initial large upload, is to upload the gedcom into a temporary holding tree. Then I work through all the elements of the tree, adding them to my Default tree and removing them from the working tree as I go through them. Good luck...--Jrm03063 18:03, 16 February 2008 (EST)

What is the size limit on gedcom? Mark first uploaded the gedcom on the 14th. --Beth 18:14, 16 February 2008 (EST)

The instructions say 10MB. The file I uploaded was 9.1MB. By the way, the shows zero people in it.

Sorry for the problems Mark; but I am sure that all will be sorted out. I cannot find your tree; it does not show up on your user page. What is the name of your tree? How are you accessing the tree? --Beth 18:56, 16 February 2008 (EST)

It's jones-brown-oates-carlton, Beth. Thanks.

Mark, I think you better ask Dallan for help. While you are waiting, you can setup your profile and user preferences and read some of the tutorials. --Beth 19:20, 16 February 2008 (EST)

This was my fault. An old settings file had somehow gotten installed that limited uploaded GEDCOM's to 5MB (and failed without a warning to boot). I apologize for the trouble. It's fixed now so you should be able to upload it. Please let me know if the pages still don't show up after an hour after you upload it.--Dallan 21:39, 16 February 2008 (EST)

Thanks [24 February 2008]

Thanks for fixing up the Phillips in Texas page. Are we related?--sq 22:24, 24 February 2008 (EST)

Hi, not that I know of. I edited the research tutorial help page and your page is the example. Tonight I reviewed my shared research pages that I setup initially from the example and realized that I could remedy some of the red links. I then wandered over to your page and did the same; although i did not finish either page. Some of your pages have duplicates by other people or maybe through testing. Some of them are not being watched by anyone. I mean there are mutiple numbers for the pages.

While editing the shared research pages; I decided that this is an excellent place to discuss disputes over linking pages, when WeRelate activates the linking of pages. --Beth 22:35, 24 February 2008 (EST)

adoptions [7 March 2008]

Something I've heard about adoptions. In the old days, there were a lot of informal adoptions. An aunt and uncle in the extended family without children of their own, would care for one or more children from a couple who were overly blessed in that regard. There were also plenty of cases of young girls winding up pregnant by a long-gone beau. Such children were often silently adopted into the Mother's family. Many of those cases, we'll never quite know about, because no records were kept and the girl's parents would always claim the grandchild as their child.

But at any rate, I would consider it an adoption for our purposes if the parties involved considered it an adoption. I wouldn't worry about the lack of legal formalities.

--Jrm03063 20:29, 7 March 2008 (EST)

I agree but I do intend to check and see if any legal records do exist. The "adoptive" father was murdered; I haven't had time to enter that data yet. --Beth 21:13, 7 March 2008 (EST)

[8 March 2008]

People don't always "watch" other user's pages, so they don't know about it. Also, if you get a message on your own "talk" page, you get a big bar on the top of your next screen so it's easy to see.--Jrm03063 21:21, 7 March 2008 (EST)

Missouri/Arkansas Cokers [13 March 2008]

I have a little bit of information about these Cokers on the Missouri/Arkansas border: Herron Almos Bill Edmund Edward Ned Jess Katie--Sorghumgrass 17:09, 13 March 2008 (EDT)

Cokers [17 March 2008]

See new listings for these Cokers: Almos Bill Edmond Edmond "Ned" Herron Jess Katie Maudie

The family seems to intersect mine at least twice in the Taney County, Missouri area.--Sorghumgrass 17:28, 17 March 2008 (EDT)

Digital library testing [20 March 2008]

Alright Beth, here you go! Thank-you for offering to test the digital library and give feedback! To see it, go to http://www.werelate.org/dlib . You log in by clicking on "My DSpace" in the lower left-hand corner. Enter your WeRelate user name and password. From "My DSpace" you can submit items: either to the "Sandbox" collection (a collection for testing - items submitted to the sandbox will eventually be deleted), or to your personal collection (items submitted to your personal collection won't be deleted). As can can see, there is still quite a bit to do:

• The "skin" (look and feel) need to be customized. I haven't spent any time on this.
• When you submit an item, you're asked to enter the title of a WeRelate Source page. There needs to be a "Search Sources / Add New Source" button that will pop open a window where you can search the Source wiki for your source and add it if it doesn't exist. (Also, see the WeRelate talk:Source Committee for proposed, soon-to-be-implemented changes to the Source wiki.)
• It needs to be integrated with the wiki. Currently you have to log in separately to the digital library, searching the digital library is separate from searching the wiki, etc.

Any feedback is appreciated. The Search/Add Source button should be added in the next few days, and a new skin sometime next week. I'd like to hold off on integrating with the wiki for a couple of months though while you and others get more experience using it and we can decide what the best integration points should be.

P.S., when you submit an item, the coverage information (places, subject, ethnicity, occupation, and religion) will eventually default to what's on the Source wiki page so that you don't have to re-enter it unless you want to change or add to the defaults).

Also, if you find any problems (you certainly will :-) or if you have any suggestions, please let me know. You can either send me an email (preferred) or leave a message on my talk page.

Thanks again!--Dallan 02:02, 20 March 2008 (EDT)

ELDER DNA project - Do you have ELDER relatives? [27 June 2009]

Hi Beth,

I'm researching ELDER surname. 

Do you have ELDER relatives?

Nancy Elder Petersen Host, ELDER DNA project--Nancyelderpetersen 22:28, 28 March 2008 (EDT)

Replied on Nancy's talk page.

Re: Methodist History by Thrall [3 April 2008]

Beth -- In February you asked me a question about this history. Sorry I'm late, and also sorry that I don't own a copy of this book. I'm not even sure that it has an index! I can say that he does name a lot of names, but if it is there that one didn't stick in my mind. Good luck with your research! -- Harold AKA Hh219--Hh219 12:57, 3 April 2008 (EDT)

Google Books et alia

There are a number of these sites that contain useful works. I suspect that Google is the largest, most coherent, but there are others. Some are subscription free through libraries (Heritage Quest), some are subscription for a fee (Ancestry), and some are just plain free for walking up to the site (Google Books, and Million Books Project.) Re the latter---Million Books is related in someway to Project Gutenburg---the first of these free sites that I became aware of.) At some point I'll probably put out an article that points to the homepages of these sites. Q 11:02, 4 April 2008 (EDT)

Thanks, Beth, and a question.... [27 June 2009]

Thanks for the welcome, Beth. I'm very excited about the potentials of WeRelate! I've been looking at it for a longish bit now, and have been working at 'studying up' [grin].

I do have a problem I could use some direction on. I'm not usually this much of a ditz, but in all the exploring and figuring out over over the last weeks, I realized last night that I had registered twice.... [Good Grief!] Luckily, there is little material info added under either user id, but before I upload a gedcom or add other info, I would like to clean this up.

I have user ID#s, user names, passwords, for both accounts, and both are via the same email address. I haven't found a way to delete one of the accounts. Is this something I can do? If so, then how? Is this something you can help with? Or is this a 'holler for Dallan or Solveig' thing?

I would appreciate any help. I would like to start contributing 'clean', and can't do that with registration confusions......

Thanks, LindaS--LindaS 20:24, 24 April 2008 (EDT) Replied on Linda's talk page.

ftm into gedcom [27 June 2009]

I need help to change Family Tree Maker file into a gedcom file so I can enter it into this program gemwood@msn.com--Gemwood 12:57, 2 May 2008 (EDT) Replied on Gemwood's talk page.

ftm into gedcom [2 May 2008]

I need help to change Family Tree Maker file into a gedcom file so I can enter it into this program MY versioon is 8 gemwood@msn.com--Gemwood 13:00, 2 May 2008 (EDT)

Navigation from page to page [20 May 2008]

Hello Beth,

I am a 61 year old man with enough computer experience to do almost anything on the Internet, however, the learning curve of each new thing seems to become longer and more difficult as I age! I just took a good look at this exciting new Internet concept for genealogy. I congratulate everyone that is making this site possible. I have gone through most of the tutorials and made my first family page late last night. Now, today I have come back to the main site and clicked on "My Relate" in the main tool bar. I typed in the male name of my family and got what I put up last night. I am a little confused about how to navigate around from one place to another and will I need to create something else for my cousins to find the page(s) I have put up. I guess I had figured there would be a single URL to where my family could be found and then you could go from one individual in the family and then jump to a cousin in a different generation, etc. So, I am basically asking about how to get around the entire database and how do you get around in my specific family group? I will await your answer and listen to a few more tutorials and try to put others family names and families into the site. Thanks for your time. John G. West--JgWEST2008 10:28, 18 May 2008 (EDT)

Hi, this is Solveig. I'm an admin for WeRelate. There are two ways to share the pages with your cousins. The easiest is to just copy the page(s) urls on an email. They can click through and see the page(s). If they register, they can add to the pages. The second is to click on MyRelate in the blue menu bar at the top of the page and select trees. You can then email the url for the fte, assuming all your pages are linked to their family groups, your cousins should have access to all your pages. Hope this helps :)

Please excuse the temporary awkwardness. We are currently revising the FTE to make this easier. WeRelate is still in Beta and going through developmental changes as the various layers come on-line. If you have any more technical please don't hesitate to leave me a message.--sq 14:48, 20 May 2008 (EDT)

Cokers's in Georgia [11 January 2009]

Hi Beth

I took some liberties with your Coker's in Georgia page. Feel free to revert anything that I'ved done.

Specifically added an index to the 1820 GA census for Coker Heads of Household, and a couple of references to "Source needed" in a couple of places on the main article page. I see where someone has added some additional information on one of the Coker marriages, but didn't give their source of information. For an effective collaboration I think getting folks to give you that kind of information is going to be critical. Q 21:42, 20 May 2008 (EDT)

Hi Beth, I just looked at your Cokers in GA page. I have info on a 1854 marriage in Cherokee, GA of Elizabeth Coker to Larkin B. Payne. This was rec'd from another researcher, Tina Nix Near. Elizabeth and Larkin's 7th child, Marion Dallas Payne connects to my Jackson line. Since I'm unsure if or how you want to use this info, I'll attach the FGS she sent me to an email to you. --Janiejac 21:24, 10 January 2009 (EST)

Thanks Janie; haven't had time to look at the FGS sheet yet but the name Payne interests me. On a Rootsweb family tree, it states that her grandfather said that John Rufus Coker was not a Coker but a Payne. That he was found crying on a road and his parents had died and that the Coker family took him in. However, he is included in the heirs that sold land owned by James Andrew Jackson Coker after his murder. So for now I have him listed as a Coker. Certainly a good candidate for DNA testing to clear up this mystery.--Beth 09:07, 11 January 2009 (EST)

Thanks [23 May 2008]

Sorry this has taken so long. You are the first non-tech message I have gotten here. I have been having to cut back and learn to relax. Health problems. I have given up all but my home county site and have been cleaning up my lists. Somehow I have more than I could ever read. All the dead ones are gone and most of the others as well. I will have to join as I work each line.

As far as wiki, I just am not sure about this. I thought it could be a nice slow learning experience. Do you know how many newbies get the "junk" label thrown at them making them feel like just quitting? There seems to be 2 types; the ones that say your work is junk unless you have all the sources available for them to take and claim, and those who play the game of mines better than yours, I have 92 kings and Jesus. What are the sources for that, I wonder?  :o) The new FamilySearch is supposed to be a wiki type format but safe guarded against permanent changes to your material. I sure hope it is everything I have heard. An open wiki has a lot of disadvantages. I probably should have stayed with your list and put this there huh? LOL

I notice your work is in AL. My Dad's line is in AL. Half my family is still there. I had 2 ALgenweb counties until just recently. I'll go see if I can have a better look at your family names. Thanks, Beth. I haven't decided what to do yet. Are you happy with this place?--Twigs 11:59, 23 May 2008 (EDT)

Hope you don't mind me jumping in for a second. Hi, btw Twigs. :)

The "junk genealogy" conversation you are referring to started as the result of four users who uploaded rather large GEDCOMs and somehow between the four of them they managed to create 100+ duplicate medieval families. Surnames weren't in existence during that period, so it made the duplicates even more daunting to track down as each user gave these persons varying names. There was of course no source material associated with it and the general feeling was that pages of this sort really had no useful purpose on WeRelate. It's not like we are going to collaborate on who Jesus' siblings were now are we? :) As conversations go, the "junk genealogy" discussion started branching out into discussing users who upload their GEDCOMs and then do nothing else on the site for any number of reasons. Most of these GEDCOMs are fine as far as the data go, but there are some that are not and when these get uploaded they create a mess for the community to clean up because the user that uploaded it hasn't been back to either work on it or delete it. The phrase "junk" ended up being a catchall phrase for these kinds of problems.

Your comment Twigs -- "There seems to be 2 types; the ones that say your work is junk unless you have all the sources available for them to take and claim" -- certainly does NOT apply to anyone here at WeRelate. I realize your comment was probably just a general statement of the genealogy world as a whole and as such, I would have to agree with you in some respects based on personal experiences I've had. But let me assure you that is not the case here. I've already explained the "junk" phrase and I can say without a doubt, there is a core set of members here that have given much more than they have taken. Thousands of duplicate pages have been merged, creating numerous opportunities for collaboration where perhaps it was difficult for the newbies to see who to collaborate with. I know that for those users who have ancestors in the New England area that excellent source citations and comments have been provided by one particular user. As a volunteer, I see comments all the time thanking this user for providing and updating their pages. Also as a volunteer and because I see a variety of pages each day, I can tell you that the majority of GEDCOMs that are uploaded are not sourced, so there's nothing for the community to "take and claim." As far as "mine is better than yours" I see none of that here either.

I'm sorry that reading the "junk genealogy" discussion left a bad taste in your mouth. If I didn't know how the discussion began or who these people were discussing the matter, I would probably feel the same way as you. All I can say is, stick around. :) View the Recent Changes to see what users are doing each day and you'll get a greater sense of community and see how others are working, not only for themselves, but for others members as well. --Ronni 13:27, 23 May 2008 (EDT)

Hi Twigs

I hope Beth doesn't mind some of us jumping in, but I thought it important to add my thoughts on this. I agree with everything that Ronnies said. I thought your comments were very much on target, and you expressed a view that I share as well. I think some folks got a bit carried away with that topic. While I understand their concerns, I don't think they thought through the implications of what they were saying. Q 14:40, 23 May 2008 (EDT)

gedcom upload [24 May 2008]

Hi Beth, I did upload a gedcom, then didn't like all the personal information that showed up in my notes. Then I deleted that tree. I would like to know if there is a way for me to upload a gedcom in a ( private) space so I could make changes to my notes and or sources that I don't want published in my final tree? I like the ability to see a lot of the information on one page and link to free sources on the internet. joe--Jmp 16:17, 23 May 2008 (EDT)

Hi Joe. My name is Ronni, one of the volunteers here and I think Beth may be busy with a son graduating from school so I'm gonna jump in here and try to answer your question if that's ok.

As to private space, no, I'm sorry there is no area that I'm aware of on WeRelate (or wikis in general I would say) where the pages are hidden from public view (except those associated with your account e.g., preferences, password, email, etc.). The only thing I can suggest as to making sure private notes do not get uploaded to the site is to toggle that particular setting in your genealogy program when creating the GEDCOM. Depending on what kind of private information your notes have, you may have to exclude all your notes when uploading your GEDCOM and then go back and add them manually. I actually had the same concerns when uploading my GEDCOM here (and why I had never previously uploaded a GEDCOM anywhere else). I was afraid I may have tucked a personal comment in there somewhere. As a result, I only uploaded names and dates. I didn't upload any notes or sources (sources because mine were a shameful mess!). I now go back and add notes and sources when I can. This is probably not the answer you hoped for. --Ronni 01:42, 24 May 2008 (EDT)

Questions about WeRelate.org and how things work. [25 May 2008]

Beth, I listened to most of the tutorials and still have some questions.

One of the most important in my mind is... can a visitor to the family pages, that I have created, delete or erase all or part of my contributions? In other words if someone has something to contribute and it contradicts what I have posted or others have posted is it just somehow added or does it replace what is there?

Does a visitor to my family pages need Adobe Flash Player to make a contribution to my site? Can a visitor just view my site without registering and downloading Adobe Flash Player?

Thanks for your time, John--JgWEST2008 21:50, 23 May 2008 (EDT)

Hi John. My name is Ronni. I'm also a volunteer here and I'll try to answer your question.

A visitor to the site can view the pages, but has to be registered to edit pages. As a result, any registered member can edit your page. They can edit it, erase it and change it anyway they want. They can't actually delete the page though. Although the text can be edited or even "erased", the data is not lost. Each time a page is created a "snapshot" is created of the previous version so it's just a matter of going back in time to retrieve anything that was lost. Nothing truly gets deleted on WeRelate. Everything is saved and can easily be retrieved. Each page has a "history log" that shows you who edited the page, when and what changes occurred. BTW, spam and vandalism is very minimal on WeRelate and if it does occur, the community catches it fairly quickly and corrects it.

If someone adds something that is contradictory to what you have added, the nice thing that hopefully the other member would do would be to document where they got the information and discuss the contradiction in the talk page. There are many pages on WeRelate that have contradictory data listed, e.g. alt birth, alt death, etc. and I have seen no arguments or conflicts as a result. Sometimes the data is obviously wrong (a baptism date before a birth, for instance) where removing the data is no big deal. Other times the data is the result of conflicting sources where there is no clear right or wrong, in which case, from what I have observed, the user is adding the info and not overwriting the previous data. In other words, from what I can tell, folks are playing nice. :)

Visitors do not need to have Adobe Flash Player to make a contribution or see one of your pages unless they view your pages through the Family Tree Explorer. The only thing required of a visitor to the site is that they have to register if they wish to contribute.

Hope this has helped some John. If we can be of further assistance, just let us know. --Ronni 12:54, 24 May 2008 (EDT)

Ronni, you have answered my questions very clearly. I have one visitor that uses the computer at work, but is not authorized to download programs on it. So, he will still be able to view the site and if he registers he will be able to contribute, as well. Thank you for your answers!--JgWEST2008 20:30, 24 May 2008 (EDT)

User talk:Kapajoy50 has been changed by Beth [28 May 2008]

I recieved this message today and do not understand it nor can I find what you have modified

You are receiving this notification because you have chosen to be notified via e-mail when a page in your Watchlist has been modified by another user.

The page User talk:Kapajoy50 has been changed by Beth at 08:16, 25 May

2008.
Edit summary: welcome--Kapajoy50 13:28, 25 May 2008 (EDT)

It's just telling you Beth left a message on your talk page. You get a message like this when ever someone adds information to one of your pages. :)--sq 14:35, 26 May 2008 (EDT)

Solveig, I don't mind in the least you answering these questions also, but just wanted to let you know that I was not ignoring my questions. I posted the answers on their talk pages. Where one replies is not clear to me. --Beth 16:30, 26 May 2008 (EDT)

Beth, I think the replies should be on the page where the question/comment was first raised. Otherwise, it's a bit difficult to follow a discussion from all the jumping back and forth we'd have to do between user pages. Or, as in Solveig's case, it looked like the question hadn't been addressed. When I reply to a comment on my user page, I look to make sure the person who posted the question is also a watcher so they'll be notified. Likewise, if I make a comment on someone's user page, I make sure I become a watcher as well. If for some reason a user wasn't watching my page after they had left a comment, I would copy and move the entire comment to that user's page and then make a note on my page that the conversation had been moved. Since important questions and problems are addressed here, we need to make it easy for the others to follow the conversations as best we can. --Ronni 10:56, 27 May 2008 (EDT)

Hi Ronni, thanks for clearing that up. I will add this to the FAQ page that I am supposedly helping with. Haven't done much to date. By the way, what questions were most frequently asked of you by newbies after your welcome message? I will probably read your archived messages to see if any questions are there that we need to add to the FAQ page. --Beth 11:09, 27 May 2008 (EDT)

I don't see near as many questions as when I first started. I attribute that, for the most part, to the video tutorials. I don't really remember a "most often asked question" I'm afraid. And most of the questions I get now are in the help files somewhere so we still need to further organize these files so folks can find the info they want. --Ronni 00:59, 28 May 2008 (EDT)

Shared Research page Template [27 May 2008]

Beth would you like a template that points to your "Coker in Georgia" page? You could place it on any relevant article and signal folks that they might want to look at the shared research page. Q 12:55, 27 May 2008 (EDT)

Yes and fantastic! Thanks Q. --Beth 15:57, 27 May 2008 (EDT)

Here's your template:

{{Template:Coker in Georgia}}

it looks like this:

A Collaborative Research Page for the Coker surname in Georgia is available at: Coker in Georgia. Y'll come down, y'hear!

If you'd like it to say something different, let me know and I'll change it. Also you might prefer a different color. Most anything is possible but its best to go with browser safe colors. YOu can see these at User:Quolla6/Color_Table

You'll probably want to remove the template from the actual Coker in Georgia page. Just put it anywhere you want to link to that page. Q 16:33, 27 May 2008 (EDT)

Added a "Georgia Peach". Actually, its a photo of a peach tree in germany, but it will do. Let me know what changes you'd like to see. Q 16:43, 27 May 2008 (EDT)

I love it! Thanks bunches. --Beth 16:59, 27 May 2008 (EDT)

What to do with unconnected folks [29 May 2008]

Beth, I noticed your questions about this at the watercooler and I'm just waiting some someone to reply because that's a good question! I'm wondering if when you create a GEDCOM file, it would even include someone who is not connected - or maybe they are connected in some way, but not just to a parent.

I run onto so much Jackson info that I'd like to keep track of but they have no connection (yet) to the folks in my data base. I'd like to be able to 'dump' the family somewhere that it can be found again. And maybe somebody would find a connection to it. But if we all did that, there would be an awful lot of single families floating around out there.

At times folks will send me maybe 2 or 3 generations of their Jackson family. They don't know how to put the info on rootsweb, and I can't use it, but it shouldn't be lost. I don't feel I can take the time to input the info into a separate file and upload it or work on it - but I'd take the time to put it as info in an article if I could just copy and paste it. But would names on an article page be found since they would not be in a tree?

Anyway, I'll be interested when someone answers your question. I'm still just keeping an eye on things. Right now I get too frustrated with it but hoping it will get easier as they continue to work on it. As the fellow said, my stars aren't lined up just right yet. --Janiejac 01:56, 28 May 2008 (EDT)

I have 3 ideas. 1)What if we just had a Jackson Research article page. You could dump everything there. As long as you put Jackson in the surname field, it will be picked up by the new search system. 2) Or, you could make pages for individuals and not link them to any other pages. The pages would be indexed and information available for search. 3) Or from your user page, create a Surname in Place page for Jackson in United States or just Jackson and don't specify a place. This last option is my preference. Surname in Place pages were set up for this purpose, see Phillips in Texas--sq 08:54, 29 May 2008 (EDT)

Your duplicated family page... [31 May 2008]

I trust your immediate difficulty is resolved. I'll share more details about how I go about merging next chance I get to sit down and work here if you want to know more...--Jrm03063 23:59, 30 May 2008 (EDT)

Please do share more details when you find the time. Perhaps you could use these pages and write a step by step and add this to the tutorial on merging. Does this change, if you edit a page and make it a #redirect to another page, the people/families and images that the page links to will be added automatically to the redirect target, that Dallan made work properly?--Beth 10:21, 31 May 2008 (EDT)

Too late in the evening to absorb everything but thanks and will examine everything in the morning. --Beth 01:57, 31 May 2008 (EDT)

Shotwell info [5 June 2008]

Hi Beth, I see this is turning out to be a good means of keeping track of what 'connected' folks are doing. There could be a connection up the line somewhere with our Shotwells, but mine were probably earlier. Abraham married Mary Jackson in 1741. They were New Jersey Quakers.

I just accidently ran onto his family page for Abraham and Mary and made the connection. So I saw that one page and haven't figured out yet how to see his whole tree. Likely because I haven't worked with the actual tree side, just the pages. But I don't think there is a way to see someone's chart as a register like you can at rootsweb is there? --Janiejac 11:28, 5 June 2008 (EDT)

Janie, the pedi-map should show his tree or you can get a list of the people in the tree by selecting show list under the tree on the user's profile page.--Beth 12:45, 5 June 2008 (EDT)

[6 June 2008]

Hi Beth, I can't figure out how to add something to the WeRelate talk page so will answer you here. My comment about being friendlier simply meant that it would be more of a courtesy to contact some one (rather than just taking the information) and then it would leave a door open for further communication. I don't have any strong leanings towards any resolution on the question. Sheri--Sheri 21:35, 6 June 2008 (EDT)

Hi Sheri,

Thanks Sheri, I agree that one should communicate with a fellow researcher, that is what collaboration is all about. I just was not clear on what you were referring to. If you wish to add your reply under my response you can either select add comment or edit the topic. Sometimes edit the topic is easier for me because I can see the entire thread and select exactly where I want my response to go and read the text for a reference in my reply. --Beth 21:50, 6 June 2008 (EDT)

Thanks for the Welcome [8 June 2008]

Hi:

Thanks for the welcome...I will take your advice and study the tutorials. Hopefully, I'll learn how to do this properly!

Cheryle Hoover Davis--CHooverDavis 20:06, 7 June 2008 (EDT)

Hi Cheryle. I hope that you enjoy WeRelate as much as I do. I did read the tutorials. I learned the most by creating my person and family pages with events and sources. I also asked a lot of questions on the WaterCooler. Be sure and ask if you need assistance. One day soon you may be welcoming new users. --Beth 17:10, 8 June 2008 (EDT)

Thank you for your welcome [8 June 2008]

Hello Beth and thank you for welcoming me here. My father is actually a Jones, but I have not started researching his lines yet. I believe they come from DC and northern VA but my sister is in a better position to find out about that side of the family, though unfortunately too busy at the moment. I hope to do much more research once I finish my studies here in England. Wishing you a wonderful weekend, Shir.--ShiirDUnivHealthCare 10:36, 8 June 2008 (EDT)

Hi Shir. You are studying in England; how exciting. I traced my Jones to South Carolina around 1810 or so. He was born in North Carolina; but I do not know the names of his parents. I hope that you enjoy WeRelate and good luck with your research. --Beth 17:14, 8 June 2008 (EDT)

adding a second spouse from another's file [10 June 2008]

Hi,

As I am getting the feel of how to use WeRelate, I have entered a couple, Daniel Potter and wife Lois Clarke. Lois died and Daniel remarried widow Sarah (Bailey) Irish who is listed in another person's GEDCOM. How can I link my Daniel Potter to the existing Sarah Bailey?

Thanks, Susan--Susan Irish 17:47, 10 June 2008 (EDT)

Susan you are doing fantastic. You actually have discovered an omission on WeRelate. There seems to be no option on the spouse window to select an existing person. We are discussing your question on the Watercooler and I have posted the question to Dallan. There is a workaround but rather complicated to explain. If you would like I can try an explain or add Sarah Bailey Irish for you. --Beth 20:45, 10 June 2008 (EDT)

Hi Susan. I'm Ronni, another volunteer at WeRelate. I'm going to try to explain how to add an additional spouse that's already present on WeRelate.

1. Edit Daniel Potter's PERSON page and click on "Add new family page" and put in Sarah Bailey's (or Irish's) name.
2. Save the page
3. You should have a red link now on Daniel Potter's page for the new family. Click on it.
4. Now click on edit and you'll see something like "Sarah Bailey (new)". Change the "new" to whatever ID number matches the Sarah Bailey you are wanting to add and then save.

That should do it. I think. :) If you have any more questions, let us know. This is how the site becomes better by adding these types of questions to help page and FAQs. --Ronni 21:09, 10 June 2008 (EDT)

Sources [15 June 2008]

Hi Beth,

Thanks for the welcome. I do have a question. I was wondering if there is a way to tell who has added and edited information on the genealogy records. I would like to know how the current info was added.

Thanks!

Jeni--Heygirler 18:06, 15 June 2008 (EDT)

Hi Jeni,

Select history on the menu button below the blue bar. That displays the log for the current page and will show all of the contributors. Hope that you enjoy WeRelate. Read the basic tutorials and enter person and family pages with sources and images. That will give you a boost in understanding WeRelate. Glad to try and answer any of your questions, and there is also the Watercooler on the home page for asking questions or discussing anything about WeRelate. --Beth 18:16, 15 June 2008 (EDT)

Consolidating duplicate family pages [19 June 2008]

Hi,

I am not able to see any way to consolidate duplicate family pages.

I find my James Babcock and Sarah Vose (1)

 James Babcock and Sarah Vose (2)

and James Babcock and Sarah Vose (3) are all identical people.

I really don't want to add my ancestor as a child to all three family pages.

Is there a process to combine these families so that there won't be 100 files of the same people as there is in WorldConnect?

Thanks, Susan--Susan Irish 23:29, 19 June 2008 (EDT)

Yes there is. Read this tutorial and give it a try. Help:Merging_pages. Also read WeRelate talk:Merging and downloading trees. The expert mergers have topics there and if you need any additional help ask one of them. --Beth 23:59, 19 June 2008 (EDT)

Thanks [25 June 2008]

Thanks Beth for the Alabama Jackson info. And yes, that was a good place to put it, where it will rest until I find time to do something with it. I'm still not spending a lot of time on WeRelate but I keep reading it and come back with bits and pieces of info. Just found a whole new Jackson branch via DNA so that will keep me busy for quite some time!--Janiejac 00:29, 25 June 2008 (EDT)

Link to Kentucky GenWeb (Hardin Co.) [28 June 2008]

Thanks for fixing that, Beth.--Maggie 14:17, 28 June 2008 (EDT)

Re: St. Petersburg, Russia. [1 July 2008]

Dear Beth,

I looked at all the places in St. Petersburg, Russia, and I didn't see the box-like characters in the place names. I did, however, see question mark (?) characters in the place names. We probably just have different browsers. My question mark characters are probably the box-like characters you are talking about. Many of the places in the place database came directly from the FHLC. Unfortunately, many of these places have faulty characters. When I find faulty characters, I try to locate the proper name for the place and just fix it. Please let me know if there is some you can't identify.

Thanks for all your help, we really appreciate you.

   --Taylor Quass--Taylor 11:15, 1 July 2008 (EDT)

Multiple Pages [2 July 2008]

I am having a problem with too many pages for the same person. I put documents and pictures on one page and when I try to get the FTE tree, it shows another page without the pictures. I just keep doing the same thing over and over again. For example, when I started, I added the maiden name and the married name of my grandmother. I now have four pages for her and can't delete them. I changed the names thinking that it would be easier to identify the right page, but that hasn't helped either. When asked to identify the picture for other families or people, I do not know which one to say. What am I doing wrong? Thanks for your help.

Carol (Suzyq)--Suzyq 22:31, 1 July 2008 (EDT)

Carol, I am not sure what you are doing. Could you give me a link to your grandmother's page with her maiden and married name? --Beth 23:05, 1 July 2008 (EDT)

Carol, in reviewing some of your pages; it seems that your are entering the name incorrectly but I may be mistaken. You enter the person's name with their first given name and surname and then WeRelate will assign them a number. Their married surname is shown on the family page when you add this person as a spouse. --Beth 23:16, 1 July 2008 (EDT)

Carol, I edited Hattie Peterson and related pages; let me know if I messed up something. I will be happy to help you more tomorrow. --Beth 23:39, 1 July 2008 (EDT)

Carol, which spelling do you prefer for Isaac Standifer? Issac or Isaac? --Beth 11:16, 2 July 2008 (EDT)

Isaac Standifer [2 July 2008]

I mispelled Isaac on the first page. The Standefer is a problem because they spell it both ways: Standifer, Standefer, Standiford. I finally just started putting in a note to explain.

I am particularly interested in straightening out the Grandparents: Helen Peterson and Williaim Gibson Hooper. I tried the merge pages but am not sure how long that takes. I have more documentation on them to upload.

I removed the extra Violet Hendrix. I hope that fixed it.

Thanks for all your help.

Carol--Suzyq 11:37, 2 July 2008 (EDT)

Hi Carol, I believe that I have the grandparents sorted out. Still need to work on the other duplicates. Let me know if I messed anything up when I sorted the grandparents. --Beth 13:48, 2 July 2008 (EDT)

Will Hooper Changes [2 July 2008]

The database did not find the text of a page that it should have found, named "Person:Will Hooper (2) (Diff: 8602867, 0)".

This is usually caused by following an outdated diff or history link to a page that has been deleted.

If this is not the case, you may have found a bug in the software. Please report this to an administrator, making note of the URL

What exactly does this mean? What do I need to do? Sorry to be so dense.

Carol--Suzyq 12:06, 2 July 2008 (EDT)

Hi Carol, You are not dense. I am sneaking around making some changes. I deleted Will Hooper (2). There was nothing on that page. I am still working on this family. I will have one page named William Hooper before long. I am just trying to figure out what number to use for him. William Hooper (1) already exists.

What we want in your tree is one person page for an individual; not more than one. This page should be named the person's first given name and surname (maiden name if the person is female). So I am going to combine William G. Hooper and William Gibson Hooper into one page. Then I will rename the page to William Hooper and some number. I am checking on the appropriate number. Then I will combine the multiple of family pages of William and Anna. The correct title should be William Hooper and Anna Gay.

You should enter an individual's other names on the edit page under the name section. If you are adding a person as a spouse or child who already has a page make sure that you select from existing; do not add a new page.

This may take me awhile. --Beth 12:22, 2 July 2008 (EDT)

Beth you said "If you are adding a person as a spouse or child who already has a page make sure that you select from existing; do not add a new page." I understand that, but find it not so easy to discover if there is already a page for a person I want to enter. I can do a search, but there are so many to look through! Will it get easier if/when they start to include birth dates of the individual in the search results? This has stymied me. --Janiejac 13:42, 2 July 2008 (EDT)

Hi Janie; I was referring to someone already entered in "your" tree. I am afraid that I rarely check to see if a page has been created by someone else. I am waiting on the new merge function. When I remember to check; I usually check under the family name. I use the search window where you select the namespace and enter the family name and search.

Dink Copeland [2 July 2008]

Could you removed the person files for Dink Copeland. I have a Dank Copeland that is primary. I will just leave a note in that one to say some spell his name Dink. This will not change the family page for Dank and Almedia, will it. Right now, I am not real sure which family page has all the data.

Thanks.

Carol--Suzyq 17:50, 2 July 2008 (EDT)

Hi Carol, Done. I believe everything transferred just fine. --Beth 18:03, 2 July 2008 (EDT)

Col. George Hooper [2 July 2008]

Everyone refers to him as Col. George Hooper. He is the beginning of our branch in America. (DNA testing) There are several George Hoopers that come after him. What do you want me to do about his record. I didn't understand. Also there is a Capt. George who is his son and my direct relative who is George S. Hooper. Keeping them separated has been a problem. Also there are George's in other branches of the family. It is really confusing. Colonel really should identify him some way in the search fields.

Thanks.

Carol--Suzyq 20:39, 2 July 2008 (EDT)

Hi Carol, Dallan is working on improving our search function now. The instructions are that one only enter the first given name and surname for the title of the person page. You need to enter the prefix or suffix on the edit page for the person in the name section.

This is a section from the Help:Person pages tutorial.

Enter the first given name and surname of the person you want to create. Enter only the surname in the surname field. Do not enter a number. See person index numbers. If the surname is not known either leave the surname field blank or type in Unknown. Do not enter other information such as suffixes, prefixes, titles, nick or middle name(s). For example, to create a page for Captain Robert Harold Townsend III, enter "Robert" as the given name and "Townsend" as the surname. There will be an opportunity to enter the other information later. Because of names such as "St. John," "de la Vega," and "Von Monfrans," the match/merge function(coming soon) considers all words after the first space as the surname.

I am sorry but I will not have the time to work on your pages the rest of this week; so I need to instruct you on how to correct them. So give the Colonel a try and let me know if you understand the procedure. Then you can change the other people that you have entered with a prefix, suffix or middle name. --Beth 21:00, 2 July 2008 (EDT)

Another item that is easy to do is to correct all of your family page titles by renaming the title to include the husband's first given name and surname and the wife's first given and maiden surname. I have corrected many of them today; but I know that you can do this. Many of the family page titles in your trees have the wife's married surname. --Beth 21:27, 2 July 2008 (EDT)

Thanks for your help [3 July 2008]

Beth, Thanks for your help fixing my New Kent place. Please check two places & see if I'm doing it right. I created Camp Creek Monthly Meeting and tried to edit Green Springs, Louisa to add a redirection to the Wikipedia article on Green Springs National Historic Landmark District. Mary--Mstewart 09:35, 3 July 2008 (EDT)

Hi Mary,

You are doing fantastic. For your external links add the pipe and a space and then type in the text that you wish to have displayed. Highlight the entire link and select the globe on the format menu and that should do it. To read more about formatting check the tutorial Help:Formatting. This page has good information. --Beth 09:52, 3 July 2008 (EDT)

Edited place: Brookville, Campbell County, Virginia [4 July 2008]

Beth,

I see that you edited Brookville where my GGGrandparents were living in the 1880 Census. Today Brookville is within the city limits of Lynchburg, in 1880 it was not. Also Lynchburg is an Independent City in Virginia and as such, it is not part of Campbell County. The place titles are not correct which say "xxx, Lynchburg, Campbell, Virginia, United States." The title should be "xxx, Lynchburg, Virginia, United States." The same is true of all the Independent Cities in Virginia. It's confusing to non-Virginians but it's an important distinction when you go looking for the records. Campbell County's records are at the courthouse in Rustburg, Lynchburg's are in the courthouse downtown. It's also important to know when the boundaries changed, as they have several times, to know where to look for records.

Thanks for all you help. I'm having fun doing this.

Mary--Mstewart 23:38, 3 July 2008 (EDT)

Hi Mary,

Well great, when you have the time you can edit the incorrect independent cities for Virginia. Someone else setup those places; but it is certainly confusing. Isn't the independent city located in a county? They may not share any governmental jurisdiction but as far as the actual location; well I am afraid I certainly do not understand but there is probably a user on here who does.

I am happy that your are enjoying WeRelate. I love it. --Beth 01:25, 4 July 2008 (EDT)

Virginia's Independent Cities [4 July 2008]

Beth, I'll see what I can do with the Independent Cities. They are the equivalent of counties and ost of them have complicated histories and a timeline would help.

In some cases a county has become extinct when a city encompassed it. Princess Anne County became extinct when it consolidated with Virginia Beach in 1963

Others start in one county and change to another as county boundaries change. Lynchburg, for instance, was established in 1756 in Bedford County. Campbell County did not exist until 1782 when it was cut off from Bedford placing Lynchburg then in Campbell County. In 1805 it was incorporated as a town, still in Campbell County. It became a city in 1852 and was then separate from Campbell. In 1976 Lynchburg grew by annexing parts of Bedford and Campbell counties. And this is just one!

This is a pretty good article explaining how it works here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_subdivisions_of_Virginia#References

Mary--Mstewart 08:24, 4 July 2008 (EDT)

Mary,

I checked with Dallan Quass, the developer of WeRelate. This his response regarding the independent cities.

Also, for independent cities: independent cities aren't under the jurisdiction of any county, yet we put them under the surrounding county anyway. I did this for two reasons: (1) by doing this, when searching the surrounding county you'll pick up people in the independent city (under the upcoming search algorithm), and (2) the people at the Allen County Library recommended this approach. I know it's technically not correct, but I think it's ok. We could add redirects from Independent City, State, United States to Independent City, Surrounding County, State, United States if people wanted. --Beth 12:34, 4 July 2008 (EDT)

Beth (and Dallan) - Thanks for the information and your consideration. Is there any reason why there can't be multiple place names as the jurisdiction changes over time? I have specialized in Colonial Virginia research for the past 27 years and have taught it for about 20 years. In Virginia it is as necessary to understand the genealogy of the land as of the people. If the location of an event is not correctly identified at the time it took place, it becomes very difficult if not impossible to find the records. For instance, one family I have researched extensively settled on land that was first patented in Lunenburg County. That land fell into Bedford County when it was created in 1753, and later into Campbell County when that was created. Now the same land is within the city limits of Lynchburg. The family never moved but their records are in four different courthouses. Consolidating all these places into one would make research more difficult IMHO. Mary--Mstewart 14:40, 4 July 2008 (EDT)

Mary, I am not sure of the rationale behind the present system. I did not begin using WeRelate until December 2007 and the place project discussion was finished. New ideas are always welcomed; but Dallan would know about the additional problems if one added multiple place names. I recommend that you ask Dallan and you could move this topic to the WaterCooler for discussion.

Users are encouraged to add historical data to places. See Place:Bedford, Virginia, United States. --Beth 15:35, 4 July 2008 (EDT)

Hi, places can have multiple names. That's what the "redirects" do. A redirect is another title for a place. For example, Place:Baar, Baden-Württemberg is another name for Place:Baar, Baden, Germany, and "redirects" you to that Place page.

Also, each place page can have a list of places that the place has been located in over time, as well as a list of "see-also" places that should be researched. We don't currently have a lot of historical information about place migrations, but you're welcome to add it. Let me know if you have any questions.--Dallan 01:28, 6 July 2008 (EDT)

copyright help? [6 July 2008]

Hi Beth,

I'm writing because you were the contact person listed on the welcome page.

I got to the end of my first person page, and saw the copyright notice. The work I intended to submit was compiled by Alfred B. Rondot in 1971-1978. I've seen it in the Mormon Church files at their local Family Center (probably not the correct terms) but I don't actually know if it's copyrighted. My copy of the volume I'm in just says "compiled" with no copyright notice.

I intended this as a service for Rondots anywhere, and I actually added a note giving Mr. Alfred B. Rondot credit, adding that I only typed it and perhaps updated (or will update) some people's info.

I see from your profile that you're not in Ft. Wayne, so you probably have never seen the volumes for the various Rondot branches. Do you know if the library/volunteers will be transcribing those volumes (and others)?

Am I violating copyright laws?

Please pass this on if it isn't something you can answer, or tell me who to ask.

Thanks so much, Suzi Rondot--Srondot1 18:01, 6 July 2008 (EDT)

Hi Suzi,

With that date it probably is copyrighted. I do know that you cannot copyright facts. For instance, if Mr. Rondot created a table for the facts you would violate the copyright if you copied the entire table in the format that he used; but you would not if you only extract the facts from the table. I am not familiar with his work. Contact User:Solveig. --Beth 18:27, 6 July 2008 (EDT)

Thanks Beth. I've sent this on to Solveig. Suzi--Srondot1 19:17, 6 July 2008 (EDT)

Thanks [16 July 2008]

Beth, Thanks for the pointers on People and Family page names. I'll conform to the convention of only first given and then surname, but it does seem to me that reducing the amount of detail in the page names would, in the long run, reduce the effectiveness of searches and merging. Of course, I'm not familiar with the werelate.org infrastructure, and of course an intelligent search engine/merger could look inside the content of the pages to get the remaining given names, but it does strike me as odd. Thanks again, though, I think the site is great! --JoshHansen 18:07, 16 July 2008 (EDT)

Hi Josh, I have been an avid user of WeRelate since Dec 2007. I just love it. Glad you like it. It took me a couple of weekends to grasp how most things work; and I asked many questions. The Watercooler is a great place to ask questions and feel free to enter into discussions.

The new search engine and the merge feature assumes that any entry after the first word in a name title is the surname. This is to accomodate surnames with multiple words like Van Gogh. But this is only necessary for the page title. You can enter the name anyway you like for the preferred name.

Also for family pages if I wish to see if the family is already on WeRelate; it is much easier if I know to search for Harold Anderson and Mary Givhan than trying to guess how someone entered the page title. If one enters Colonel Harold P. Anderson and Mary Frances Givhan or Col. Harold Harry Phillip Anderson and Mary F. Givhan it just complicates the search.

Of course, this is a dynamic site and still in beta and Dallan Quass considers everyone's opinions; so decisions made today may change in the future if a better method is determined.

One question, can you see the changes that I made to your pages? I could only see them on the page history. I sent Dallan a message about this; but have not received an answer.

If you can see the changes; I guess I was just in the wrong mode or something. --Beth 18:46, 16 July 2008 (EDT)

Family exchange [23 July 2008]

Beth,

Forgive me for being dense, but I don't quite understand the function of the Coleman Family exchange. It seems to consist of a bunch of empty pages on a myriad of possible events. The only information I could see was on Coleman deaths in Texas with a lot more than just death information and one entry on a marriage in Ohio, and this only after checking a dozen or so pages.

What service does this provide that couldn't be found on the Coleman Surname category pages? I have a number of Coleman's in my data. The Coleman category has 9 pages with almost 1800 articles pertaining to the Coleman surname. What benefit is there for me to enter data on your page that is already on the site?--Scot 19:12, 16 July 2008 (EDT)

Hi Scot,

The Coleman Family Exchange is not working yet and the idea may never work. I patterned the site after the Gay Family Exchange on Rootsweb which I like; although this site has only one person entering the data.

The idea is for different people to enter data that they have collected over years of research that does not pertain to their family. It would also be a central site for negative searches. I entered some data as examples. I suppose the Coleman deaths in Texas that I entered is alot more than death information; maybe you would like to rename the entire section?

Using it is a Wiki it is not my site; I created it with alot of help from Bill for everyone to use.

I do find the surname in place category confusing. I checked your user page and there is no mention of your Coleman articles. I also searched for Coleman in and could not find them. I guess I don't know how to find the surname in place pages; which could be a definite problem for new users.

If your articles are already on the site; I see no reason for you to move them; but perhaps you could add a link.

Feel free to edit the site or make suggestions. I always get sidetracked on my projects and my family is having a Coker family reunion and I have been diverted once again.

All suggestions etc. are welcome. --Beth 20:00, 16 July 2008 (EDT)

My Coleman's descend from Robert Coleman of Gloucester Co., VA. If you click the Search button on the blue tool bar and select people and Families enter Coleman in the surname space and Virginia in th space labeled "located in" and search. Scrolldown the results and you will find Robert Coleman and Elizabeth Grizzell. Click on that and bring up the family page at the bottom of that page you will see categories "Coleman surname" an "Coleman's in Virginia" All of my Coleman's are among the latter.--Scot 20:52, 16 July 2008 (EDT)

Hi Scot,

Yes I see. I don't expect people to enter their family data on the Coleman Family Exchange if they have family or person pages for them on WeRelate. It is for the purpose of entering the odd will or other data. For example on one of my research trips I copied a will for a John Coleman in Georgia; presently I don't know which family he belongs to so I would post the copy of the will on the Coleman Family Exchange. If someone enters his family then they could create a link and one mystery would be solved.

I am not descended from your line. --Beth 21:10, 16 July 2008 (EDT)

Hi,

Just a quick note -- the automatically-created categories for surnames and surname-in-places haven't worked out that well. With the new search engine it's now pretty easy to construct a search to get back all Coleman pages or Coleman in Virginia pages, so in the future I'm thinking I'll remove the automatically-created "Coleman surname" and "Coleman in Virginia" categories and instead have "More like this" links on Person and Family pages to search result pages that list all Coleman's in Virginia or all Coleman's.--Dallan 15:15, 23 July 2008 (EDT)

Family Member Joining [23 July 2008]

A family member is joining and I want her to be able to get my trees and my pages just like I do. She could add to my trees also. How do I do this?--Suzyq 15:22, 23 July 2008 (EDT)

Great!

1. Your family member should go to your user page.
2. At the left there is a list of your trees. They should click on the launch FTE link next to the tree they wish to edit.
3. The FTE will boot up on the left side of the screen with the index for the tree.

• After opening the tree, select on File in the upper left corner of the FTE window and click on copy tree.
• Type a name for the tree in the My Tree Name field and click copy. Now you and your cousins are really working on the same pages in the same tree! --Beth 16:35, 23 July 2008 (EDT)

New Albany, Union, Mississippi, United States [24 July 2008]

Hi Beth, I redirected you Pontotoc page to the current location name. This way the redirect will show on the index but all the information will be kept on the same page. Thanks for all your help. :)--sq 14:23, 24 July 2008 (EDT)

Okay, thanks Solveig. --Beth 14:28, 24 July 2008 (EDT)

Thanks Beth [27 July 2008]

I just found out about this site from a genealogy group in Pacso Cty Fl. I have been searching off and on for my family for more than five years and am a dead end again....I know i am not adopted...ha ha. I am married and older than you, have 3 married sons living in Charlotte, Tampa and LA. Have 2 precious grand baby's Nicholas and Emily and 2 grand horses, 3 grand dogs and a grand cat. Any suggestions are appreciated, thanks, Beth--Bethb06 13:13, 27 July 2008 (EDT)

Hi Beth, Welcome to WeRelate; now we have 2 Beths. I can answer some questions about the use of WeRelate; not sure that I can help with your dead end. Give me more details about the dead end. --Beth 13:16, 27 July 2008 (EDT)

Overwhelmed! [29 July 2008]

This looks like such a great idea for genealogical sharing, but I cannot even figure out how to get started searching to see if someone has anyone on my tree or figuring out how to upload my Gedcom. I guess I am just out of my league and will have to stick with rootsweb until ancestry figures out how to keep my old version of FTM from working on rootsweb. I love the idea of the sharing. Nancy Smith--NancyMSmith 12:15, 29 July 2008 (EDT)

Hi Nancy,

That is rather the way I felt last July, but I started seriously in December and could understand most of it after 3 weekends or so. For uploading your gedcom read this tutorial, Help:GEDCOM. To search, select search on the blue menu bar. Then WeRelate, Select Person or Family and type in your information and search. Feel free to ask for help anytime. --Beth 16:22, 29 July 2008 (EDT)

Benton County, MO [29 July 2008]

Hi Beth, Do you have people in Benton County? I have Boones, Brians, Kincaid, Grey, Phillips. Thanks for all you do.:)--sq 21:04, 29 July 2008 (EDT)

Solveig, no sorry, it would be nice to connect at some point; maybe we will in the future. I was patroling the place pages and fixed that one; have not fixed the other ones yet.--Beth 21:29, 29 July 2008 (EDT)

Coker Family [11 August 2008]

I see you have Coker. I have little info on the family but one of my Parker cousin's is married to a Coker in Kennard,Texas.--Jevetteduncan 12:13, 11 August 2008 (EDT)

Thanks Jevette, what Coker?--Beth 19:24, 11 August 2008 (EDT)

Cloud Family [12 August 2008]

Hi Beth,

Could you tell me a little about your Cloud ancestors? Are they from the South Carolina area?--dellabeaver 21:08, 11 August 2008 (EDT)

Yes, but I cannot prove the connection other than circumstantial evidence. My ancestor that I can prove is Joseph Sebastian Cloud. He married Mary Frances Evins in South Carolina. Although Mary Frances Evins is believed to from Marion County, Alabama. Evidently they married at the home of some Congressman or Senater Evins in South Carolina. Mary Frances Evins died and I have her will and evidently she owned the house in Spartanburg not Joseph Cloud. Anyway I am sure that Joseph Sebastian Cloud is the son of Austin N. Cloud and Mary Ruff. Mary Ruff's father was Sebastian Ruff and his will is in Lowndes County, Alabama. I have not found any probate records for Austin Cloud. I obtained the records for Joseph cloud who married Martha Nettles but they don't tell me any relationships; the estate records have no distribution records. I also have the records for William Cloud but the original will is not in the estate file. At the rate I am going it will probably be at least a year before I have time to enter the data. There are probably at least 100 oversized pages of info that I obtained from the SC Archives. --Beth 22:12, 11 August 2008 (EDT)

coker family texas [12 August 2008]

Bennie Darrell  coker

Born: 19 Jul 1935 Anderson, Texas--Jevetteduncan 21:52, 11 August 2008 (EDT)

deleting a page from a tree [12 August 2008]

Hi,

Somehow I managed to get 3 "Family talk:" pages into my tree. How can I remove them? There is a message with each one saying "waiting to be cached."

Thanks for your help.

Susan--Susan Irish 22:33, 11 August 2008 (EDT)

Hi, Go to the page and select the "tree -" menu item in the second menu bar on the top right of the page.

This will remove both the talk page as well as the corresponding Family page. If you want to keep the corresponding Family page, then don't do anything. The "waiting to be cached" message is a bug. You should be able to ignore it.--Dallan 13:54, 12 August 2008 (EDT)

Hello Beth [12 August 2008]

Thank you for introducing yourself. I am a good friend of Dallan and Solveig. I am happy to help them with this project WeRelate. Much geneology has been done on both my husband's and my sides by family relatives. I am new at this so please be patient with me as I find my way around.

~Lisa--Lisamd 23:14, 12 August 2008 (EDT)

Hi Lisa, Great to have you on WeRelate. It want take you long to learn the program. --Beth 00:59, 13 August 2008 (EDT)

Thanks [19 August 2008]

Thanks Beth for your offer of help. Only new tonight and have been busy entering names. Gone around in a couple of cirlces but getting there. Come back tomorrow night and check for my mistakes ;-) Should be in bed not doing this. Pamela - Australia--Pamela 06:48, 19 August 2008 (EDT)

Hi Pamela,

Looks like you are doing great; but if you run into problems just ask. --Beth 21:09, 19 August 2008 (EDT)

JohnCokerandMarthaDoyalfamily.ged Imported Successfully [23 August 2008]

The pages from your GEDCOM have been generated successfully. You may view them by launching the Family Tree Explorer and opening the family tree into which this GEDCOM was imported.

For questions or problems, leave a message for Dallan or send an email to dallan@WeRelate.org.

--WeRelate agent 21:17, 23 August 2008 (EDT)

Solomon and Keziah Coker.ged Imported Successfully [24 August 2008]

The pages from your GEDCOM have been generated successfully. You may view them by launching the Family Tree Explorer and opening the family tree into which this GEDCOM was imported.

For questions or problems, leave a message for Dallan or send an email to dallan@WeRelate.org.

--WeRelate agent 12:27, 24 August 2008 (EDT)

Family Surname pages [27 August 2008]

Beth

here's something that might be useful if done for your Coker in Albama project. I've used the modern county boundaries for convenience.

Willis VA 1820 Q 13:40, 27 August 2008 (EDT)

Hi Bill,

Thanks for the great table. How is your project coming? About 1 month ago I was cleaning out my inbox and noticed that we communicated long ago when I began my Rootsweb Wiki list. I knew very little about wikis at the time. You and Robin Patterson and I were having an email discussion about different issues. I had not realized that you were the very same person that I had discussed Wikis with earlier. I originally planned to enter one family on WeRelate and then one on the Wikia. I have since changed my mind and plan to enter all of my lines on WeRelate. --Beth 15:27, 27 August 2008 (EDT)

Coker in GA [28 August 2008]

FYI

Coker HOH GA 1810

Heads of Household with the "Coker" surname, in 1810. Mapped against modern County Boundaries.--Q 22:18, 28 August 2008 (EDT)

Hi Bill,

Thanks so much for helping with my pages; I doubt I will ever have the time to add the graphics. However; if you can produce the Georgia U.S. census for 1810 you will probably have millions of people pounding on your door. <g> I believe that the date should be 1830.--Beth 22:31, 28 August 2008 (EDT)

The weird Slammin is Soloman or Solomon. --Beth 22:31, 28 August 2008 (EDT)

Newpaper Article re a Murder [5 September 2008]

I have received two news articles of the front page of the Waco Times Herald in 1935 from the Librarian in Waco regarding the murder of my Great Aunt Minnie Hooper by her husband Arthur. I would like to put them on the site but am not sure how you want them done. The first article is five pages. She scanned them large enough to read and sent the hard copies. I could cut them up and put them on one or two pages or I could leave them and scan each page as I did for my family tree maker. The second article is a follow up having two pages. How is the best way to get this info on the site? What about the source? Do I set it up with all the scans and then make a note on the person page referring to it?--Suzyq 15:15, 5 September 2008 (EDT)

Hi Susy, I am not sure about this, but I believe that you should be able to setup a page like this [[User:Name]]/Title of Image page. Then you can upload the images to this page; and follow instructions from the help file under images/image gallery. Try scanning each page and uploading the images. I would put the original article and follow up article on the same page. You can add a footnote for the source on the image gallery page and also add a source on your main person page. --Beth 18:52, 5 September 2008 (EDT)

Davol and Devol surnames [8 September 2008]

Hi Beth,

The Devol and Davol surnames from Dartmouth, MA and Newport, RI are the same family. It looks like there is a growing duplication of people who are listed under both surnames. Is there a remedy for this? I started to do a redirect for a few people and now realize that this process is not the way to go.

Thanks, Susan--Susan Irish 23:09, 7 September 2008 (EDT)

Hi Susan,

Unfortunately I don't think there is another way besides merging the pages, or wait until Dallan implements the automated merge and then there will still be clean up. Ask User:Dallan on his talk page just to make sure. --Beth 08:21, 8 September 2008 (EDT)

Will [8 September 2008]

I entered a will today for my Grandfather. After I did, it occurred to me that a couple of people named were still alive. Is that a problem or should I delete the whole thing. Since it had been typed I just added it in History section. I am not sure if that is how that type of document should be entered. It was copied from the records by another party and sent to me. Thanks for any input.--Suzyq 15:15, 8 September 2008 (EDT)

Hi Susy. I don't think the living people are a problem as long as there are no dates or addresses for them. If someone complains just replace the first name with the word living. The history section is fine.--Beth 16:37, 8 September 2008 (EDT)

merging source pages [12 September 2008]

Hi Beth,

I have found two source pages for the same book.

http://www.werelate.org/wiki/Source:Genealogical_notes_of_Barnstable_families_:_being_a_reprint_of_the_Amos_Otis_papers_originally_published_in_the_Barnstable_Patriot

http://www.werelate.org/wiki/Source:Genealogical_Notes_of_Barnstable_families_:_being_a_reprint_of_the_Amos_Otis_papers_originally_published_in_the_Barnstable_Patriot

I tried renaming one but that didn't work. So someone at your end could put this merge on their "to do" list.

Susan--Susan Irish 18:20, 12 September 2008 (EDT)

Okay thanks Susan; I will do a redirect on Monday. --Beth 19:52, 12 September 2008 (EDT)

Morrow DNA Results [11 October 2008]

Hi Beth,

I'm way behind on the public updates on the results, so the best link is the auto-generated table at FTDNA: https://www.familytreedna.com/public/morrowdna&fixed_columns=on

There are older tables with more info linked here http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~amorrow/morrowdnalines.htm --Amelia 12:18, 11 October 2008 (EDT)

Thomas Coker of Bibb County, Alabama.ged Imported Successfully [13 October 2008]

The pages from your GEDCOM have been generated successfully. You may view them by launching the Family Tree Explorer and opening the family tree into which this GEDCOM was imported.

For questions or problems, leave a message for Dallan or send an email to dallan@WeRelate.org.

--WeRelate agent 12:22, 13 October 2008 (EDT)

2 Questions [16 October 2008]

Hi Beth,

I have two questions and wondered if you could steer me in the right direction:

1. Two of my person pages are VERY long and I have searched all over to find out how I can break my pages into 2 consecutive pages each - is there some magic button I'm missing?

2. I would like to include the Launch FTE on the left side of my direct ancestors' pages; again is there a tutorial on this I've not found?

Thank you so much. I chose werelate because it is a wonderful vehicle to display my work and in which to encourage others to collaborate; sometimes, though the Watercooler discussions seem to be a bit on the technical side of things at the expense of more basic language to inform myself and others who are all about genealogy but not so much the HTML side; I have really encouraged others to join this but they all have had bad experiences with navigating. I also wanted to say that of all the regular contributors to Watercooler you speak in a down-to-earth language which I really appreciate - this is in part why I have turned to you for help as I have noticed others who ask questions appear to receive rather condescending feedback.

Thank you,

Pam--Oxford6 13:48, 16 October 2008 (EDT)

Hi Pam,

So glad you joined us on WeRelate. Dallan is working very hard to make WeRelate easier for new users and has great plans for the future so don't be discouraged. There is no dumb question; I asked all sorts of question everywhere when I joined WeRelate; didn't know any HTML or Wiki and received very helpful answers to all of my "dumb" questions.

The best way to split a long person page into two pages is to create a separate article, put the extra content in the article, and link to the article from the person page. Also, unlike person pages articles can have subpages (e.g., [1] has half a dozen subpages) so you can split a large article into multiple subpages. (Person pages can't have subpages because they'd be difficult to move around as a Person page gets renamed/merged.) See Help:Articles.

You can launch the FTE by clicking on MyRelate in the main menu and then on "Launch FTE". There's no way to add a button to your pages to launch the FTE. *But*, by the end of November, the FTE should be part of every person/family page. You won't need to launch it anymore.

We are interested in feedback from new users on problems; improving the site, etc. so please encourage your friends to add comments, suggestions, etc.

Thanks for the kind comments; please ask if you need more information. --Beth 00:04, 17 October 2008 (EDT)

Apphia Brown [31 October 2008]

Beth, Thanks for the input. This my first glimpse of the match/mere function, so I have not figured out how to use it yet. Apphia is half sister of my ancestor, Perley, by Capt. John's second wife. She was born in Leicester, Mass. not Maine and I suspect her husband was b 1762 not 1752. They are not persons of particular interest to me. However I will be glad to merge them eventually if no one else does. Currently, I am up to my ears working on Portugal Places, but eventually will get back to merging activities.--Scot 13:11, 18 October 2008 (EDT)

Hi Scot, I am sure that someone will merge the pages, if they are not already merged. Thanks for all of your hard work on Portugal places.--Beth 17:19, 31 October 2008 (EDT)

--Beth 17:27, 31 October 2008 (EDT)== Happy Birthday? [31 October 2008] ==

Hmmm... you aged a year. :) Happy Birthday! --Ronni 11:51, 31 October 2008 (EDT)

Hi Ronni, Thanks, my birthday was actually in August, but noticed I had aged a year when I selected my user page to add a surname in place. I have been using the surname in place pages to add research targets, but I am still not sure of the future of these pages. I thought if I ever have any additional active online collaborators we could coordinate our current research plans on those pages; but presently I have no such person using WeRelate. Several Coker researchers have registered, but none are active. I don't believe there are many nuts like me who are interested in researching entire lines who may or may not have been related to one another. --Beth 17:27, 31 October 2008 (EDT)

Merging Appha Brown [13 November 2008]

I found a page of yours in the new Probable Duplicate Families Report. Thought you would prefer to merge your own pages. Here is the link . [2] Yours is the first one on the C list. --Beth 07:53, 18 October 2008 (EDT)

Apphia is half sister to my ancestor Perley Brown, a Rev. War Patriot. I have only included such siblings to provide possible links for others. I don't trace them downward. I have been to busy with Portugal to start in on merger activities yet. --Scot 17:32, 13 November 2008 (EST)

Category Cemeteries [20 November 2008]

(follows from User talk:Ceyockey, "Category Cemeteries") (see also Help talk:Categories)

The whole category system is a bit inconsistent, but here's where I was going ... The subcategories under Category:Cemeteries are alphabetized by country and there are only two right now — Australia and United States. The second appears when you go to the next page of entries. My thinking is that Places themselves are not sources ... and I have been planning on being bold at some point (or going to see consensus) for an overhaul along the lines of a) creating Category:Locations under Category:Browse, b) sub'ing Category:Continents and oceans under the new 'Location' category and c) placing Category:Cemeteries directly under Category:Locations as a class of locations. This would leave Category:Cemetery records properly under Category:Sources and it could also appear under Category:Cemeteries. I think that people have in general been classing things as a Source/Repository that actual are neither, but the primacy of Category:Sources is an offshoot of the emphasis of much work on WeRelate at this stage of its development.

On the question of how to advertise categories - that's a toughy. We can add categories to our watchlist right now, but that does not alert us (presently) when sub-categories are added or subtracted or when articles are added to the category, which makes watching them a bit useless in a low vandalism environment like this one. One alerting method for people who are interested in the category structure would be to create a set of master category map pages; this page set could be watched and could go hand in hand with as much or as little process as people desire (or can stand) regarding revisions to the categorization scheme. This method is doable because of the relatively small core category set required — we are dealing with only one sub-corner of human knowledge, unlike Wikipedia or DMOZ; most categories would fall into either "place expansion" or "time expansion" so that information type X would have below it a relatively large place and time branch set, but that place and time arborization would be essentially the same for other information types (e.g. Cemetery, School, Library/Archive).

Those are the thoughts I'm working with right now. The reason why I've not proposed a grand scheme for categorization is that I've simply not time to support that effort. Right now, I would rather do a little bit of demonstrative work - thus what I've done under the Libraries category and Cemeteries category.

--ceyockey 19:47, 19 November 2008 (EST)

Thanks for the explanation except that I had to look up the meaning of arborization; I believe that was initially only a medical term. You and user Q are attempting to broaden my vocabulary; probably not a bad thing. <g>

My preference is that all of the subcategory titles appear directly under the category. --Beth 21:12, 19 November 2008 (EST)

"Directly under the category" depends upon how many articles vs. categories are in a particular category, which is a matter of style and convenience. Category:Cemeteries isn't that bad as categories go, having <400 items in total; if we set out a goal to have categorization sufficiently detailed to have <200 items at any one level, then all categories would have only one page of content. I'm not sure whether that is a good goal or just an arbitrarily convenient one. I would welcome comments you have on the explanation I provided. --ceyockey 04:54, 20 November 2008 (EST)

I've created WeRelate:Category index so that a watchable page of Root+2 categories exists. --ceyockey 05:26, 20 November 2008 (EST)

Ceyockey, I had no knowledge about WeRelate or Wikis a year ago; so what is this Root stuff, 1 and 2? I signed up to watch the page of Root+2 categories and left a message on the talk page. I need to finish my source page and then I can return to my normal volunteer hours. I don't even know the purpose of categories; however I assume one could use the contents of categories in demography.--Beth 19:41, 20 November 2008 (EST)

The terminology isn't specifically related to wikis. "Root" can refer to the most fundamental category, of which there is usually one, the parent of all other categories. In the case of WeRelate that is Category:Browse. "+1" and "+2" are levels of the category hierarchy. --ceyockey 20:59, 20 November 2008 (EST)

If I create a new category; then the new category is classified as Root+2 and automatically subbed to the Root+1 which on this site is Category:Browse, correct? Thanks, I am happy that it is not necessary to learn more about the Root subject.--Beth 21:08, 20 November 2008 (EST)

I dropped the whole Root+ terminology as unnecessary for the purpose at hand. --ceyockey 21:19, 20 November 2008 (EST)

Message [10 December 2008]

Hi Beth. Check out WeRelate talk:Collaborate where there looks like there's a message to you. It probably should be moved either to here or Bea's user page. As to the other message you found on an Image talk page, if he's not addressing anyone in particular, I think the surname page would probably be the best bet. --Ronni 01:02, 10 December 2008 (EST)

Message from Bea [27 June 2009]

Beth,

I am a Coker from TX. Have been to Comanche, and other countys around there. I live out side od Houston. I just got an e-mail from Sandra Hayes forwarding your info. I'm on my way out the door right now. Will contact you when I get home this afternoon. Bea Replied on Bea's talk page.

Category:Coker in Georgia [14 December 2008]

I am really curious about what your rationale was for making this an orphan category again after I'd categorized it. --ceyockey 17:19, 14 December 2008 (EST)

Pleading ignorant; exactly where, when and how did I do that? Possibly unintentional since I don't recall making it an orphan category. Sorry but you will need to refresh my memory, which is obviously in dire straits, and then maybe I can provide a rationale. There is so much data whirling around in my 58 year old brain, my processor just routinely throws unimportant matters out; another words they are not remembered; there is not enough room; I think my brain needs some more capacity.--Beth 17:52, 14 December 2008 (EST)

I know the feeling :-) ... see http://www.werelate.org/w/index.php?title=Category:Coker_in_Georgia&action=history; you might not have intended to orphan the category while removing the "Volunteer to write..." passage. --ceyockey 18:37, 14 December 2008 (EST)

Aha! I now remember removing my volunteer offer; realizing that I don't have enough time to complete such a project in the next 10 years. Sorry about orphaning the category. Please unorphan.--Beth 18:46, 14 December 2008 (EST)