Corner on the Web

When I joined the Fiske three years ago, I volunteered to become the webmaster because of my experience with my own genealogical website. I'm no expert, but I've learned on the go.

Why bother with a personal website? It can be a lot of work -- a Frankenstein at times, since it's tough to keep the pages updated, but I still find it valuable. I'm good at collecting information, but have always had difficulty writing up the reports. 

The problem with genealogy is that one never feels "finished". When I decided to have a website, I thought it would be a place to publish my ongoing research, finished or not. My home page is: http://www.geocities.com/mjjodoin/  

I didn't even have a computer in the beginning. I started out with a WebTV unit. I couldn't upload files, but Geocities offered hosting with a built-in editor. That worked well in the beginning. Eventually, I got a laptop; I was able to upload files and photos. I stayed with Geocities because I found it easy-to-use and convenient. It was also a great "backup" for my material--beyond computer failure or household disaster.

I found several uses for my website. I could publish my genealogy "as is". Many websites focus solely on the family tree. But I wanted to do more than that.

I enjoy history. One of the thrills of genealogy is using family stories to explore historical themes. I have found that history/genealogy is a two-way street. Knowing I had family in Oregon in 1843 led me to research early Oregon history so I could embellish their stories; but their stories also revealed things not discussed in the history books. All my relations came to Oregon around the Horn in Yankee clippers, not by wagon train. I was also surprised to see several instances of divorce in the 19th c., usually brought to court by the women. 

So history illuminates our experience, but our experience can undercut the cultural generalizations and assumptions of history. Some family documents -- if not too recent to be considered private -- can provide important historical insight. A cousin posted correspondence outlining our family's emigration to Canada which is illuminating for anyone researching that time and place: http://www.geocities.com/mjjodoin/l27.htm  

I have a section called “Topics” where I post revealing pages: http://www.geocities.com/mjjodoin/topicsct.htm  Often, especially when traveling, I've collected anything that might be relevant, whether or not it is. I continually find notebooks of material kept in a box and moldering in closets -- useless to me, and certainly useless to anyone else.

I've put wills and other documents not belonging to me onto my website and have been pleased to have descendants of those people email me with thanks. Sometimes, all I can post is an index to material I have, but will give the details to people if contacted: http://www.geocities.com/mjjodoin/kinrag.htm  

I use the internet to provide background on my family pages. Using a good search engine -- I like www.google.com  -- I have found sites on locations, historical events, and famous people which I can link to my pages. Such sites may provide photos and maps. There is no copyright infringement in linking to a site, only in incorporating the material: http://www.geocities.com/mjjodoin/hell/hellname.htm 

I have found my WebPages especially helpful in discovering new material. I posted a question underneath the name of a collateral relation in my Ralston/Cunningham line. A cousin emailed me and connected me with several others, eventually expanding my descendancy page considerably: http://www.geocities.com/mjjodoin/l98.htm  

My Indiana Ralstons and New Zealand Cunningham/Macaulays came to me through emails. So did the breakthrough to France in my Hellenbrand line and to Kinross in my Robertson line.

Now there are several hosting networks. Rootsweb is one of the best. Lycos offers up to 50 mb free. Yahoo/Geocities offers 20 mb free, and I have found that to be plenty even with a large photo directory.

What have you done with a personal website? We’d like to know what our Fiske members are up to. Send your web address to me at: mjjodoin@yahoo.com 

Marge Jodoin 

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