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[http://www.usgenweb.org/ The USGenWeb Project] (the full, proper name of the project) consists of volunteers working together to provide free genealogy websites for genealogical research in every county and every state of the United States. This Project is non-commercial and fully committed to free genealogy access for everyone. | |||
Though many project sites were hosted on the RootsWeb server, The USGenWeb Project has never been owned by RootsWeb or Ancestry.com. Also, despite the similarity of their names, The USGenWeb Project is not affiliated with The WorldGenWeb Project. The USGenWeb Project has been proudly independent since its beginnings back in 1996. | |||
<br> | |||
'''History''' | |||
The idea that would become The USGenWeb Project was born in March and April of 1996, when a group of genealogists organized the Kentucky Comprehensive Genealogy Database Project. The idea was to provide a single entry point for all counties in Kentucky, where collected databases would be stored. In addition, the databases would be indexed and cross-linked, so even if an individual were found in more than one county, they could be located in the index. At the same time, volunteers were found who were willing to coordinate the collection of databases and generally oversee the contents of the web page. Since that time, The USGenWeb Project has grown to include sites covering the entire nation. The national site provides links to state sites, which, in turn, provide gateways to the counties. The USGenWeb Special Projects are another important aspect of USGenWeb's offerings, gathering useful data you can access for free. | |||
The following article was written on the occasion of The USGenWeb Project's 10th anniversary held at the Boston, Massachusetts 2006 Federation of Genealogical Societies. It is posted with the permission of Linda Haas Davenport. The article was originally printed in Evertons Publishers' Genealogical Helper. | |||
:10th Anniversary<br>USGenWeb Project™<br>Land of the Free ... Genealogy | :10th Anniversary<br>USGenWeb Project™<br>Land of the Free ... Genealogy | ||
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At a recent genealogy convention hundreds of attendees stopped by the USGenWeb Project's booth. For four days the volunteers manning the booth heard stories about how one of the Project's websites or county coordinators had been instrumental in helping to knock down a brick wall or how a long sought piece of information had been found on one of the Project's websites. Visitor after visitor not only said, "Thank you for what you do," most also said, "Thank you for keeping your information free." | At a recent genealogy convention hundreds of attendees stopped by the USGenWeb Project's booth. For four days the volunteers manning the booth heard stories about how one of the Project's websites or county coordinators had been instrumental in helping to knock down a brick wall or how a long sought piece of information had been found on one of the Project's websites. Visitor after visitor not only said, "Thank you for what you do," most also said, "Thank you for keeping your information free." | ||
As the National Coordinator of | As the National Coordinator of The USGenWeb Project™ I attended this conference and at a reception a gentleman at the table said, "I've been curious for a long time now - how has the Project avoided a take-over?" From across the table a lady remarked, "Or being bought out by Ancestry." The conversation quickly turned to a question that seemed to be uppermost in everyone's minds: How can the Project, in this day and age when most genealogy sites charge a fee to access their information, afford to offer its wealth of information for free? | ||
The next day I stopped by the Everton booth to say Hi to Leland Meitzler and he said, "Linda! Just the person I want to see. I'm always being asked if RootsWeb owns the Project or the Project owns RootsWeb. Clear that up for me, will you?" The upshot of this conversation was the decision for me to write an article (for Genealogical Helper) on the history of the USGenWeb Project to celebrate its10th anniversary and along the way to hopefully clear up some confusion and answer the question - " | The next day I stopped by the Everton booth to say Hi to Leland Meitzler and he said, "Linda! Just the person I want to see. I'm always being asked if RootsWeb owns the Project or the Project owns RootsWeb. Clear that up for me, will you?" The upshot of this conversation was the decision for me to write an article (for Genealogical Helper) on the history of the USGenWeb Project to celebrate its10th anniversary and along the way to hopefully clear up some confusion and answer the question - "How can they do it for free?" | ||
Come take a stroll with me through the past as I explore the roots of | Come take a stroll with me through the past as I explore the roots of The USGenWeb Project and the thing it is so intertwined with - Internet Genealogy. | ||
=== Looking Back === | === Looking Back === | ||
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For many years the large IBM mainframe dominated the computer industry. With its astronomical high cost, its requirement for "key punch departments" and support staff only the largest businesses and universities could afford a computer. However, that changed in the early 1970s when Wang and DataGeneral came out with smaller, more affordable "mini-mainframes" (or mini-processors). As mid-sized businesses purchased these computers the large back room key-punch departments gave way to a computer monitor on the average employee's desk. (This was the start of the love/hate relationship between people and computers). | For many years the large IBM mainframe dominated the computer industry. With its astronomical high cost, its requirement for "key punch departments" and support staff only the largest businesses and universities could afford a computer. However, that changed in the early 1970s when Wang and DataGeneral came out with smaller, more affordable "mini-mainframes" (or mini-processors). As mid-sized businesses purchased these computers the large back room key-punch departments gave way to a computer monitor on the average employee's desk. (This was the start of the love/hate relationship between people and computers). | ||
In 1981 IBM released its "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_computer Personal Computer]," but at a cost of $8,000+ it wasn't something the average person ran right out to buy. It wouldn't be until 1995 that the "personal computer" would become our well-known PC and, though still taking a chunk out of our budget, many of us would purchased one. | In 1981 IBM released its "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_computer Personal Computer]," but at a cost of $8,000+ it wasn't something the average person ran right out to buy. It wouldn't be until 1995 that the "personal computer" would become our well-known PC and, though still taking a chunk out of our budget, many of us would purchased one. | ||
=== The Internet === | === The Internet === | ||
In 1969 what would later be called the Internet began when four computers in different locations were hooked together. In the beginning this network of computers was used mostly by the defense department (ARPAnet) and by universities (BITNET) and ran on IBM mainframe computers. (1) It would take several years and the development of many tools before the Internet, as we know it today, would be taken for granted by the average family historian.<br>Karen Isaacson, in her article in the National Genealogical Society Computer Interest Group magazine,(2) tells us that genealogy first appeared on the Internet in 1983 when a USENET newsgroup called net.roots, named after the popular Roots miniseries, was launched. She goes on to say, "Access, if you could get it at all, was | In 1969 what would later be called the Internet began when four computers in different locations were hooked together. In the beginning this network of computers was used mostly by the defense department (ARPAnet) and by universities (BITNET) and ran on IBM mainframe computers. <sup>(1)</sup> It would take several years and the development of many tools before the Internet, as we know it today, would be taken for granted by the average family historian.<br>Karen Isaacson, in her article in the National Genealogical Society Computer Interest Group magazine,<sup>(2)</sup> tells us that genealogy first appeared on the Internet in 1983 when a USENET newsgroup called net.roots, named after the popular Roots miniseries, was launched. She goes on to say, "Access, if you could get it at all, was 'free' from an employer, from a university, perhaps (later) from a community-based Freenet. There was a culture of volunteers working together, to make resources freely available to the general community. There was no World Wide Web. The tools used by most netizens were email, FTP, and perhaps telnet." | ||
By 1987 CompuServe and Prodigy were popular places for family historians. These early bulletin boards allowed them to exchange information and chat about their favorite subject (much to the relief of their family members). These early meeting places, were in turn, about to be replaced by a more exciting tool - email lists. Eric Thomas (1) | By 1987 CompuServe and Prodigy were popular places for family historians. These early bulletin boards allowed them to exchange information and chat about their favorite subject (much to the relief of their family members). These early meeting places, were in turn, about to be replaced by a more exciting tool - email lists. Eric Thomas <sup>(1)</sup> refined his LISTSERV software in 1986 and it quickly became the standard for email. LISTSERV made it possible for Alf Christophersen of Norway, and Marty Hoag of North Dakota State University, in 1987, to start the ROOTS-L mailing list, and with this list genealogy on the internet began in earnest. | ||
Karen talks about those early days: "With the creation of ROOTS-L, things began to happen. John Wilson proposed a database of surnames people were searching in late 1988. About the same time, Cliff Manis got permission from Marty Hoag to start a library of genealogy files on the NDSU FTP server and, with help from various ROOTS-L participants, made hundreds of files freely available to anyone on the network." (2) | Karen talks about those early days: "With the creation of ROOTS-L, things began to happen. John Wilson proposed a database of surnames people were searching in late 1988. About the same time, Cliff Manis got permission from Marty Hoag to start a library of genealogy files on the NDSU FTP server and, with help from various ROOTS-L participants, made hundreds of files freely available to anyone on the network." <sup>(2)</sup> | ||
Family historians are and have always been a sharing group. It is the one hobby in which there is no competition. As we can see from the above history this sharing of information was carried over to the | Family historians are and have always been a sharing group. It is the one hobby in which there is no competition. As we can see from the above history this sharing of information was carried over to the Internet from the very beginning. | ||
=== The Pivotal Years === | === The Pivotal Years === | ||
The amount of genealogical information available on the | The amount of genealogical information available on the Internet grew slowly until several things came together during 1993-1995. In1993 AOL and Delphi began to connect their proprietary email systems to the internet and to offer a small amount of server space to their subscribers for personal webpages. In 1994 Netscape, the first user-friendly browser, was released. 1994 ushered in many local ISPs, and affordable dial-up modems hit the electronics stores. In 1995 Microsoft released its Internet Explorer browser and included it in the 1995 release of Windows. By 1995 several IBM PC clones were on the market and the price had fallen enough that purchasing one was feasible for many of us. | ||
=== Internet Genealogy Takes a Giant Step Forward === | === Internet Genealogy Takes a Giant Step Forward === | ||
In 1995 genealogy on the | In 1995 genealogy on the Internet took a giant step forward when two events occurred. | ||
In early 1995, Larry Stephens, a family historian with the University of Indiana, was on a genealogy email list for KY. He was impressed with the list and wanted one like it for his state of interest, Indiana. Receiving permission to use the university's email server he set up the IN list. At the time, email lists weren't free and the number of messages that could be sent was very limited, but this wasn't the case for Larry's lists. As people heard about the IN list Larry started receiving requests to set up lists for other states and areas. Before long hundreds of email lists were being run, under Larry's direction, on the university's server. Through Larry's lists hundreds of family historians joined the on-line genealogy community. | In early 1995, Larry Stephens, a family historian with the University of Indiana, was on a genealogy email list for KY. He was impressed with the list and wanted one like it for his state of interest, Indiana. Receiving permission to use the university's email server he set up the IN list. At the time, email lists weren't free and the number of messages that could be sent was very limited, but this wasn't the case for Larry's lists. As people heard about the IN list Larry started receiving requests to set up lists for other states and areas. Before long hundreds of email lists were being run, under Larry's direction, on the university's server. Through Larry's lists hundreds of family historians joined the on-line genealogy community. | ||
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The news of the KY websites traveled like wildfire to other lists and the question of whether other states would become available became the topic of the day. The answer wasn't long in coming. | The news of the KY websites traveled like wildfire to other lists and the question of whether other states would become available became the topic of the day. The answer wasn't long in coming. | ||
Bill Couch was on the KY list and his main interest was in the state of AR. Bill followed Jeff's example and in May 1996 uploaded an AR state site and a site for every AR county. It didn't take long before volunteers stepped forward to adopt an AR county site. | Bill Couch was on the KY list and his main interest was in the state of AR. Bill followed Jeff's example and in May 1996 uploaded an AR state site and a site for every AR county. It didn't take long before volunteers stepped forward to adopt an AR county site. | ||
=== The Birth of The USGenWeb Project === | === The Birth of The USGenWeb Project === | ||
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Very few of the new state and county coordinators were interested in sites containing nothing but queries and links. Adding information became the order of the day: information from their own family history files, information donated by visitors, information on the state or county's history, information on state and local genealogy societies and whatever other genealogy or historical information came their way. In a short period of time 45GB of information was stored on the RootsWeb servers - an unheard of amount of web space at the time. | Very few of the new state and county coordinators were interested in sites containing nothing but queries and links. Adding information became the order of the day: information from their own family history files, information donated by visitors, information on the state or county's history, information on state and local genealogy societies and whatever other genealogy or historical information came their way. In a short period of time 45GB of information was stored on the RootsWeb servers - an unheard of amount of web space at the time. | ||
By early 1997 the USGenWeb was in full operation and the family historians on the Internet flocked to the Project's websites. By Jan 1997 RootsWeb had clocked | By early 1997 the USGenWeb was in full operation and the family historians on the Internet flocked to the Project's websites. By Jan 1997 RootsWeb had clocked 7,548,846 page views of USGenWeb pages. By Jan 1998 the total had reached 15,506,224 and by Jan 1999, 21,910,869 - not too shabby for a group only three years old. | ||
=== Free === | === Free === | ||
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End Notes: | End Notes: | ||
*(1) "History of LISTSERV" http://www.lsoft.com/products/listserv-history.asp: 2006 | *<sup>(1)</sup> "History of LISTSERV" http://www.lsoft.com/products/listserv-history.asp: 2006 | ||
*(2) Karen Isaacson. "RootsWeb and USGenWeb Working Together for Genealogy on the Internet." National Genealogical Society Computer Interest Group; Volume 17 Number 5 September/October 1998. http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/articles/6.htm. 2006 | *<sup>(2)</sup> Karen Isaacson. "RootsWeb and USGenWeb Working Together for Genealogy on the Internet." National Genealogical Society Computer Interest Group; Volume 17 Number 5 September/October 1998. http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/articles/6.htm. 2006 | ||
Author's Notes: | |||
:Although are many bits & pieces of information (along with lots of rumors and myths) on the early days of the Project, I've never been able to find a complete history of its beginning. Much of the information in this article was found on the web and in list archives | :Although there are many bits & pieces of information (along with lots of rumors and myths) on the early days of the Project, I've never been able to find a complete history of its beginning. Much of the information in this article was found on the web and in list archives. However, I'm indebted to several people who made available old emails, old files, shared with me their memories and read, corrected and made suggestions though out the writing process: John Rigdon, Larry Stephens, Betsy Mills, Joy Fisher, Ellen Pack, Linda Lewis, Brian Leverich and Karen Isaacson. | ||
== External Links == | == External Links == | ||
Organization is by state and county. Some state projects | Organization is by state and county. Some state projects have state-level special projects. | ||
The USGenWeb Project also sponsors important Special Projects at the national level. They are: | The USGenWeb Project also sponsors important Special Projects at the national level. They are: | ||
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*[http://www.usgwarchives.net/court/ The Court Cases Project] | *[http://www.usgwarchives.net/court/ The Court Cases Project] | ||
The projects outside of The USGenWeb Project. Both call themselves The USGenWeb Census Project but neither are affiliated with The USGenWeb Project. | The following projects are outside of The USGenWeb Project. Both call themselves The USGenWeb Census Project but neither are affiliated with The USGenWeb Project. | ||
*[http://www.us-census.org http://www.us-census.org/] | *[http://www.us-census.org http://www.us-census.org/] | ||