dissettj@macatawa.org
Winter is always a special time for me. Growing up in Holland I always looked forward to those all-day visits to my grandparents home on Thanksgiving Day. Not only could I explore old family photo albums but I could ask questions about their early memories
I was always fascinated by my grandmother’s tale that some of our relatives “came over in the Mayflower”. I later discovered that those kinds of stories are tossed about in many families but most people simply never find out if it’s true. I wanted to know. Not for any elitist reason, since it’s estimated that several million people are descended from the earliest pilgrims to America, but for historical purposes.
In my case, there was some documentation handed down from past generations. My pilgrim ancestors were Elder William Brewster and Thomas Rogers.
How about you? And where does one start? Here are a few sites to begin with:
http://members.aol.com/calebj/mayflower.html
Caleb Johnson’s
Mayflower Page is the best Mayflower research page available. Even the
kids love this one. It’s a great place to gather information for school
projects regarding the pilgrims.
http://wwx.media3.net/plymouth/
America’s Homepage
is a promotional page for Plymouth, MA with lots of links.
http://www.nehgs.org/
The New England
Historical and Genealogical Society’s web site.
http://pilgrims.net/bbs/4.0/bbs_forum.cgi?forum=mayflower
The Mayflower Message
Board is a forum to post questions and receive answers.
http://www.mayflower.org/
The General Society
of Mayflower Descendents.
http://www.rootsweb.com/~ote/indexshp.htm
…and the ship you
came in on!…
Plus all the search sites I pointed you to last month.
You can also join (for free) the Mayflower listserv. It’s an online gathering of over 500 people researching their Mayflower roots. Just send the one-word message “subscribe” to Mayflower-L-request@rootsweb.com and you’ll be subscribed. Then, you’ll begin receiving several messages a day from others who are asking questions and giving answers. Once you feel comfortable, send your question to the group by e-mailing it to: Mayflower-L@rootsweb.com. That’s all there is to it!
And remember, the past is important, but it’s how you live your life today that will give your descendents something to be proud of!
That’s it for now.
Let me know what future topics you’d like to see covered by writing me
at: crich@macatawa.org
November 17, 1998
Davenport College
We had a great
time with presenters Allision Rich, Cathy Benedict, John Greenlaugh
and myself. We learned how to find all sorts of fun stuff from greeting
cards to virtual meals. Please join us for our next meeting:
MacNet Newsletter
submissions for publication should be made by the 10th of the month to:
dissettj@macatawa.org
Previous Newsletters:
Perhaps you recall the first time you went online. I remember watching lines of text slowly appear (white on black) on my screen over a 2400bps connection. To my amazement, I learned which books were on a local library shelf, viewed an index of state and federal documents and shared e-mail with only a couple of acquaintances also on line. Retrieving information was accomplished by using Archie, Gopher or ftp, methods predating the Web.
Today’s newbie signs on with the anticipation of color graphics, fanciful animation, and instant access to an overwhelming supply of information of all sorts. Connections are made using high speed modems, ISDN or sometimes via dedicated lines. For thousands of us, the Macnet has been the first exposure to the on-line world. It has been and continues to be a part of our mission, i.e., to provide free or low cost access to the internet.
The change from a simple character based interface to the internet to an enhanced graphical interface to the World Wide Web has taken only a few years – and more change is imminent. Let me point your attention to two issues that are unfolding, one national and one local.
On the national front, The Oregon Public Network is being challenged by the United States Internal Revenue Service. The Oregon Freenet is a nonprofit organization, just like Macnet. At issue is whether the community network should pay taxes just like any other commercial provider of internet service. The outcome of this case may have major financial impact on community networks across the country, including Macnet. Will it drive a wedge between the have and have nots in an age of information? If you would like more information, check out http://www.opn.org .
Closer to home, there will be ballot proposal November 3rd questioning whether the Holland Board of Public Works should operate a new utility that would provide high speed access via fiber optic cable. The exciting potential of this opportunity could have far reaching effect on community communication and information sharing. I encourage you to study the ballot issue and consider the value this utility will bring.
In the meantime, please ponder what these issues mean. I wonder if these issues should not be the wake up call for us all to examine the future of Macnet? Should the Macnet merely provide internet connectivity? What services should your community network provide?
Please let us know
your response. For those willing to publicly express themselves on
these important issues, we will post them on the Macnet web site.
With darkness coming earlier each day, why not fill these long fall and winter evenings by tracing your roots? As I stated last month, getting started is simply a matter of sitting down and beginning a family tree. But, once you’re past your parents, grandparents and maybe even your great-grandparents, where do you go from there?
Your local library is a good bet. In Holland, the Herrick District Library has a great genealogy department – especially if you have Dutch roots – but even if you don’t! Ralph Haan is a great guy and always pleased to help.
Today’s column is about using the Internet to find others who are researching a similar line. Here are just a few of the best places to begin:
Rootsweb – http://searches.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/Genea/rsl – is updated monthly. Simply enter your surname (last name) and you’ll be whisked away to a list of others who are researching that name. Then enter your list of surnames so others can contact you by using the online submission form on the same page.
GenForum – http://www.genforum.com – is an interactive forum for just about any surname you can think of. If you don’t find yours…start one!
Ancestry.com has a searchable social security database at --http://www.ancestry.com/ssdi/advanced.htm – It’s helped me discover “lost” relatives. Just remember, it’s a database of people who’ve passed away while collecting social security.
GenWeb’s Online Genealogical Database – http://www.gentree.com -- is a repository for people who have created web pages with their genealogies. Scan down for a familiar link and visit a personal web site. You never know what you’ll find.
Next month, being November, we’ll talk about your Pilgrim ancestry. We’ll visit a number of web sites that will help you trace your potential links back to the first English settlers in America.
That’s it for now.
Let me know what future topics you’d like to see covered by writing me
at: crich@macatawa.org
October 20, 1998
Center for Community
Education, Room 213
96 West 15th
Street (parking lot on 16th Street) between River and Pine
7:00 p.m. - 7:45
p.m.
Questions, Answers, Discussion
7:45 p.m. - 8:00
p.m.
Cookies and Coffee
8:00 p.m. - 9:00
p.m.
Netscape with Pete Hoffswell
Pete Hoffswell
is a Network Engineer for NETCOM in Grand Rapids, MI and a MacNet Board
Member. He serves on the Technical Steering Committee for the MacNet.
MacNet Newsletter
submissions for publication should be made by the 10th of the month to:
dissettj@macatawa.org
Tuesday, September
15, 1998
Davenport College
Room 214
6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. New Users Orientation
7:00 p.m. - 7:45 p.m. MacNet Users Group
7:45 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. Coffee and Cookies
8:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. Presentation
History of MacNet,
Current Status, Vision, User Feedback
The following is a list of topics we are
proposing for presentations this year:
E-Mail, Browsers (both Netscape and Internet
Explorer), Investment Tracking, Genealogy, How to Design Web Pages, Search
Engines, Year 2000, sending Christmas Cards and Other Free Stuff.
We need our community to attend this meeting so we can set up the presentations for the year. We want to hear from you before we proceed. Send any comments to dissettj@macatawa.org.
For further information check the User Group Page
Hackers are always among us. Hackers are folks who enjoy breaking into computers and disrupting service, mostly over the Internet. There are many ways to break into a computer system, and hackers know most of them. There are even Web sites dedicated to showcasing easy ways to hack into computers.
The MacNet has been a victim of our share of hackers, especially recently. We have been hacked in two ways. First, our computers were broken into. that means that someone on the Internet gained access to someone's account and was able to do some damage on our computers. They have deleted files, stolen a few passwords, and ran programs that shut out other (legitimate) users from using our system. We have successfully plugged many holes that these type of hackers have used and we have not had an attack like this in about 8 months.
The second way we have been attacked is through what is called "denial of service" attacks. Here, a hacker ties up our computers in a way that makes them so busy that they cannot perform their normal tasks. For example, we have had hackers send us hundreds of e-mails every minutes, which keeps OUR Users from sending e-mail. Recently, we have had some network attacks where a hacker sent data over the Internet to us so fast that it looked like the Internet was shut down. These types of attacks are very hard to fix, and new ways to attack in this way are invented each day.
Rest assured that we are doing all we can
to keep up with how hackers work. This means constant reading and participating
in discussions through e-mail and over the Web. It's like staying awake
all night to guard your house, and , while we are a little tired, our eyes
are always open!
This has been a very active month. We now have approximately 2400 Users.
This will be a month of deletions. We have started to delete Users who have not paid the yearly subscription fee and plan to remove all non-paying accounts by October 10, 1998.
Windows 98 is starting to show some e-mail
bugs in Outlook Express.
Getting started... always the most difficult
part of any project. With genealogy, it's the same way. So here's how to
begin:
Use the standard "4 generation chart"
(available in most genealogy books or from the Herrick District Library
web site at:
http://www.macatawa.org/~herrick/page50.html
Always start with yourself, then write in the information about your spouse, and your parents. Number yourself #1, your father #2 and your mother #3. Now would be a good time to begin gathering information (proof) which may be needed later to prove your descendency. Birth certificates, marriage licenses and death certificates are the most common, although family bible pages and past genealogical work are a good start.
The next generations, your grandparents, may be a little more difficult. Of course, you will need your grandmothers' maiden names and the dates of birth, marriage and death for each individual.
The numbering system above continues ad
infinitum, with each father receiving a number twice his child, and the
mother being given the next number. Here's how mine looks through a few
generations:
1. Craig Rich
2. Charles Edward Rich
3. Grace Virginia Lehigh
4. Charles Loase Rich
5. Gertrude Eloise Veeder
6. Cyrus Milton Lehigh
7. Amanda Jane Malehorn
As you can see, it's a system that allows genealogists anywhere to read your chart. The numbered list above is called an "Ahnentafel". It follows that #8 would be another "Rich" -- my great grandfather, Edward Belden Rich. You can take a look at my entire Ahnentafel here: http://www.macatawa.org/~crich/famtree.htm
Here's a warning though... once you get started, you may be hooked!
Next month, we'll talk about places on
the Internet to find others who are researching your same surnames. That's
it for now. Let me know what future topics you'd like to see covered by
writing me at: crich@macatawa.org
We had a rough start with the newsletter and have learned a lot from that. I appreciated all communications received from Users as they showed interest in our producing this newsletter. We are currently organizing and working on the delivery. Articles for submission should be placed by the 10th of the month to dissettj@macatawa.org
We are a community. We live in a place – a place called the Macatawa Area and, as such, fulfill one criterion that defines a community.
Of course a community is much more than a place. Everyday we come together at church, work, school and play to be involved in common interests. We share ideals and we work toward common goals. We communicate with one another about issues both important and trivial. We become a community!
In this the first electronic newsletter from MacNet, I’d like to stress one primary message – MacNet is a community network. MacNet’s board of directors strives to guide the network to a point of becoming a place where we can communicate, provide information and to learn about each other and the issues that affect our community. To one degree or another, virtually every organization in the area has an information dissemination function of some kind - a need to tell others about itself and share its knowledge. A community computer network makes it possible for any and all of us to utilize a new medium to accomplish that goal. From artistic and cultural organizations to nonprofit agencies to hobbyists of all kinds, all can find a place on a community computer system.
Several years ago, when the system was organized, the Macatawa Area Free-net (MacNet) was the only local point to connect to the Internet. MacNet still provides an opportunity to a population that would otherwise not be able to afford it. That has been and is an important part of our mission. But one of the most important points in our mission statement is that MacNet should represent,”…, local culture, local relevance, local pride, and a strong sense of community ownership within the Macatawa area.” Now it is time to push harder toward that goal. To do so, we must understand that almost everything that appears on our network is there because there are individuals or organizations in the community who are prepared to contribute their time, effort, and expertise to place it there and help operate MacNet over time.
We appreciate very much our community support.
With a growing membership and increasing volunteer assistance, we evolve
every day toward a more valuable public resource.
We are excited to be starting out the fall of 1998 with a new night and an addition to the meeting. We will be meeting with New Users at 6:00 p.m. and it would be great for some current Users to be there to help with the questions and answers. We are in the process of scheduling a new round of meetings and we want you feedback. Please feel free to send your comments and ideas to dissettj@macatawa.org. Your feedback is important and we would not have these great meetings without you. The first meeting is to get us oriented to where the MACnet has been, where it is now and where we want to go. The direction we take will require a lot of input on the part of the Users. Before we determine the year’s topics, we need to hear from the Users!
September
15, 1998
Davenport
College
643
South Waverly Road
New Users Orientation 6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
MacNet Users Group 7:00 p.m. – 7:45 p.m.
Coffee and Cookies 7:45 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Presentation 8:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
If ever there was a perfect match between something old and something new, something old-fashioned and something new-fangled, and something that bridges the gap between looking back and looking forward…it’s computers and genealogy. It seems the two were made for each other!
What is genealogy but the orderly compilation of historical information of ones family history? Sure there’s a lot more to it than that. But the ability to organize your family’s historical records within a database that’s as easy to use as most genealogy programs are today makes what used to be a laborious task an enjoyable and sometimes inspiring hobby.
This month, let’s take a tour of some software company sites on the Internet through Cyndi Howes who has cataloged over 30,000 URL’s that you can travel to. On just one of her pages, you can jump to nearly every genealogy software company. Let’s make a quick visit: http://www.cyndislist.com/software.htm - Software
Basically, plan on spending $39 - $149 for software, read the manual, then start entering data. If you are a beginner, you’ll probably want to start with your self, your spouse, your children, your parents and in-laws, and so on. Most people do fairly well right up to their own grandparents. Then, it gets a bit tougher!
Plus, to do it right, you’ll need “proof” of every birth, marriage, and death. You may have to contact county clerks, visit cemeteries and perhaps even call great aunt Matilda to get to the bottom of some mysteries!
The Herrick District Library’s genealogy department and web site is a great place to start. There’s even a 4-generation chart you can download or copy. It’s at: http://www.macatawa.org/~herrick/page50.html
That’s it for now. Let me know what future
topics you’d like to see covered by writing me at: crich@macatawa.org.
The Herrick District Library expansion
and renovation project is approximately eight months from completion, with
the building at the corner of River Avenue and 12th Street slated for reopening
on June 1, 1999. The Christman Co., the project’s general contractor, reported
July 30 the work is on schedule, with structural steel-frame erection about
85 percent complete, concrete work 90 percent done and the stone-panel
exterior material slated for installation beginning in mid-August. The
plan is to have the entire building enclosed by December 1 in order to
allow for the interior work and building and fixture installation to be
substantially completed by April 15, 1999. This will allow for a several-week
move-in process and reopening on or about June 1, 1999. The 38-year-old
building is being completely remodeled and expanded following area voter
approval of an $11.5 million millage levy in May, 1997. The $10.5 million
project calls for adding 45,629 square feet to the west of the building,
nearly tripling its former size. Also planned is the construction of a
$1.5 million, 5,000-square-foot branch outlet on Holland’s northside, with
construction slated to begin before May 1, 1999. In the interim, the library
has been relocated to 661 E. 24th St. in the former Witmark store building.
Full details of the library’s construction progress, as well as a wealth
of library-related information and reference search functions, can be found
on the library’s newly-renovated web site: http://www.macatawa.org/~herrick/
For the fourth summer in a row, Davenport College - Holland offered Summer Computer Camp for students aged 8 to 80+. These camps, designed for students third through sixth grades (along with their parents) and a separate Summer Computer Camp for older adults began the week of June 15. A choice of nine sessions was offered from June through August 27 at the Davenport - Holland Campus at 643 South Waverly Road. Each session lasted four days, 2 ½ hours a day, Monday through Thursday. Classes were held either in morning sessions (9 to 11:30 a.m.) or in afternoon sessions (1 to 3:30 p.m.).
Students had the opportunity to learn beginning
and basic computer knowledge: word processing, desktop publishing, spreadsheets,
data base, graphics, Windows 95, Internet/Email (Netiquette), Web Page
construction and games. The fee for children is $65; their parents
$60 and the special Senior Summer Computer Camp fee is $50. The class sizes
were limited to 16 “campers” per session.
For further information contact Davenport
- Holland, 395-4600 or (800) 643-4630.
The mission of Davenport College - Holland is to prepare the work force of this area to meet the challenges and opportunities presented by the corporations and industries in a constantly changing environment and to play a significant role in the overall welfare of the community.
Bruce Collins is a computer instructor (CIS Department Head) at Davenport. He created and directs the Camp. He developed the course curriculum while teaching at a Davenport location in Grand Rapids.