Growing Web Site Gets Better - And Cheaper

By SHARON TATE MOODY Tribune correspondent

Published: Jun 10, 2007

It's a trite but true adage that if something is too good to be true, it probably isn't. So a few months ago, when a Web site called Footnote.com emerged, I was wary. The organizers said they would digitize millions of records and make them available at reasonable prices to all us genealogists eager to view copies of actual records.

I mentioned this site in a column in February, when I used it to access records of the Southern Claims Commission. At that time, users could subscribe to the site for $9.99 a month or $99 a year. Still skeptical, I wasn't willing to pay for a year.

I was wrong.

Not only is Footnote.com surviving, it's thriving. And when was the last time something got better - and cheaper - at the same time? The number of records online has grown consistently and the annual fee is down to $59. Those who paid $99 have received extensions.

I met with some of the people from Footnote.com when I was at the National Genealogical Society conference last month in Richmond, Va. When they said they have digitized 9 million documents and are adding 2 million more a month, I believed them. The growth in the site from March through May has been amazing.

They've also begun a project with FamilySearch, the nonprofit organization sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and the world's largest repository of genealogical information. They've begun publishing online the 3 million U.S. Revolutionary War Pension files.

Pension files of any war are valuable, but these files are particularly so because records from the era are sparse in many areas. Pension files often provide evidence or proof of marriages and other family relationships, proof of death of a soldier and even of his widow.

The files often are the only surviving records of a soldier's birth date. I have already been able to scratch off one of the tasks on my to-do list - something that would have required a trip to a facility that houses National Archives microfilm series M804.

Instead, sitting right here at my computer, I learned that John Blankenship of Virginia "was born in the county of Lunenburg in the state of Virginia I suppose in the year of 1760. I have no record of my age but know that I was about 20 years old when I first entered the service of the United States." Elsewhere in this affidavit, created as part of a pension claim, Blankenship reveals that his father's name also was John Blankenship. After the war, he returned to Lunenburg County, but three or four years later moved to Pittsylvania County, Va.

Footnote.com and FamilySearch have agreed the site will be accessible at no charge at more than 4,500 LDS Family History Centers in 70 countries. Footnote.com is offering a free seven-day membership, which you can get at footnote .com/freetrial.php.

One of the advantages of Footnote.com is a subscriber can annotate any document, and the annotation is instantly indexed. Typically, when documents are digitized, only the person named in the file title is indexed. At Footnote.com,researchers can go into the file and, using simple tools on the site, pull out other names mentioned in the various documents and annotate those. That allows researchers to find names of individuals listed in files they might not otherwise know to search. These annotations do not alter the digitized record and do not appear on the document when it is downloaded.

In Blankenship's file, other users had annotated the names of Wilson Vadon, Elisha Burch and Jacob Anderson, whom John said could verify that he served in the Revolutionary Army. In the annotation process, a box is drawn around a person's name, place, date or block of text. Another box appears, and the reader can transcribe the material. This is very valuable when text is difficult to read - another set of eyes on what you are reading can be helpful.

When the viewer is in the original documents section and opens a series of records, a description of the source is given. For example, "The Revolutionary War Rolls of 1775-1783 digitized from the National Archives microfilm M246." It also indicates what percentage of the records are available so far.

I can't wait to see what shows up next at Footnote .com.

Jewish Research Conference

There's still time to register for the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies' 27th annual Jewish Genealogical Conference, which is scheduled for July 15-20 in Salt Lake City.

In addition to lecturers, the conference will include a film festival, a DNA and genetics track, computer workshops, breakfast with the experts and a resource room. Free wireless access will be available.

Although sponsored by a Jewish organization and focused on Jewish research, this conference historically attracts non-Jewish researchers because of the quality of the programs that apply to all ethnic research.

For information or to register, go to www.slc2007.org.

National Group Sponsors Trip

The National Genealogical Society has announced its 2008 Research Trip to Salt Lake City will be Feb. 24 through March 2.

Registration deadline is Oct. 31, but space is limited to the first 30 registrants.

Full payment of $925 (single room, member), $974 (single room, nonmember), $595 (shared room, member) or $645 (shared room, nonmember) is due by Dec. 1.

The price includes seven nights at the Salt Lake Plaza Hotel, adjacent to the Family History Library, and several social events.

Researchers will be assisted by Shirley Wilcox and Dereka Smith, both experienced and leaders with previous research trips.

For information, call 1-800-473-0060, Ext.119, or go to www.ngsgenealogy.org/edutripsaltlake.cfm.

Sharon Tate Moody is president of the Association of Professional Genealogists. Send your genealogy questions and event announcements to her in care of BayLife, The Tampa Tribune, 200 S. Parker St., Tampa FL 33606; or wmoody3@tampabay.rr.com. She regrets that she is unable to assist with personal research.