Security Bill Could Threaten Records Access
A sweeping antiterrorism bill that's making its way through Congress with lightning speed has genealogists worried about records access. HR 10—a.k.a. the 9/11 Recommendations Implementation Act— was introduced by Rep. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.)
on Sept. 24. It passed the House 282 to 134 votes last Friday, and now heads to the Senate.
Among its provisions, the bill would create a National Intelligence Director, National Counterterrorism Center and Joint Intelligence Community Council; change immigration laws; and impose regulations on state records—which is where genealogy comes
in.
Section 3603 of HR 10 would require states to "restrict public access to birth certificates and information gathered in the issuance process to ensure that access is restricted to entities with which the State has a binding privacy protection agreement,"
and "subject all persons with access to vital records to appropriate security clearance requirements." Go to http://thomas.loc.gov and type in HR 10 to see the entire bill and get status updates.
Should genealogists be worried that states will comply with the provision by cutting off public records access entirely?
"I think just about any genealogist is willing to agree that access to birth certificates should carry with it reasonable restrictions to prevent those certificates from being used in any criminal manner," says Jim Beidler, Pennsylvania liaison for the
Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) Records Preservation and Access Committee. "However, the unreasonable part of this bill is when its logic is expanded beyond its limits under the umbrella of 'vital records.' HR 10 as currently written goes far
further
than needed for the protection of Americans."
Brian Andersson, commissioner of New York City's department of records, doesn't think the legislation would affect the archival birth and death certificates his office keeps. "But," he adds, "how this will impact later birth records and my [department's]
ultimately obtaining more recent years will remain to be seen. Sounds like one for the lawyers."
FGS (http://www.fgs.org) urges family historians to contact their senators and request that the bill make specific exceptions for uncertified copies of birth certificates, as well as birth records older than 100 years.
The contention over HR 10 is the latest in a series of events spurring genealogists to write politicians. Visit the E-Mail Update Archives at http://www.
familytreemagazine.com/newsletter/archive.html
to read more in these newsletters:
- Oct. 23 and Nov. 20, 2003: An Ohio county health department seizes microfilmed birth records from a library; the state considers recalling microfilmed records.
- April 3, 2003: Massachusetts doubles fees.
- May 15, 2003: Ohio hikes fees and outlaws uncertified copies.
- April 24, 2003: Texas legislation threatens to restrict access.
- Dec. 6 and 13, 2001: RootsWeb removes several states' databases; California temporarily stops selling vital records.
Celebrate Family History Month
We're in the midst of Family History Month and libraries across the country are offering opportunities to nurture your genealogy know-how. Call your library or check its Web site for special events. Here's a sampling:
• Visit the Allen County Public Library (http://www.acpl.lib.in.us) in Fort Wayne, Ind., for seminars on topics such as Indiana Civil War soldiers (Oct. 15), and Revolutionary War records (Oct. 18).
• New York City's Family History Fair (http://www.nycarchivists.org/fhf.html) takes place Oct. 17 from noon to 5 p.m. at the City University of New York Graduate Center. Read about the fair's workshops
and Ancestors Road Show in the Sept. 30 E-mail Update at http://net.fwpublications.com/newsletters/NewsletterArchive/
Family_Tree_Magazine_E-Mail_Update/9_30_2004.htm.
• The Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County (http://www.cincinnatilibrary.org) "Halloween and Your Hallowed Ancestors" cemetery-research class Oct. 31.
Digital Age
Washington State launched its Digital Archives Archival Management System Web site at http://www.digitalarchives.wa.gov on Oct. 4 to preserve both historic records and today's electronically generated
ones.
The site debuted with marriage records from three pilot counties—Chelan, Snohomish and Spokane—which join the state's already-online census, naturalization, physician and prison records. (In fact, Washington's state archives is one of our 101
Best Web Sites this year. See the August 2004 Family Tree Magazine or http://www.
familytreemagazine.com/101sites/2004.) You'll also find birth and death records as well as a list of
nearly
16,000 elected officials who took oaths of office between 1854 and 1978.
You can do a simple name search, or perform a detailed Soundex search by name and location. Some images are available (to see them, you'll need the free DjVu plugin, available from http://www.lizardtech.com/solutions/doc/djvu_plugin.php),
or you can order copies of the records.
The system is still in startup phase, so expect some kinks. We found a message-board posting that said you have to turn on your cookies for searches to work (though we haven't tested the theory). State archivists say the site should be in full swing by
the end of the year.
Modern electronic records from government agencies are next to be preserved. The system will index them, creating Web-viewable versions and storing the originals. Within 15 years, the digital archives system could contain up to 800 terabytes (the equivalent
of 200 billion pages) worth of public records.
Glory, Glory, Hallelujah
Volunteers for the National Park Service's Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System Web site (CWSS; http://www.itd.nps.gov/cwss) have completed the Name Index Project to post 6.3 million soldier records from
44 US states and territories. After the final million names—belonging to soldiers from Virginia and Pennsylvania—were added last month, a ceremony at Ford's Theatre marked the milestone.
Next up for indexing are naval personnel records, but that'll take awhile, according to the CWSS site: "Given that the records sources for the Navy are not as well organized as the Army records, nor are they microfilmed, the target date for this is still
to be determined." About 18,000 African-American sailors are already cataloged on CWSS, thanks to Department of Defense funding and work by Howard University.
The soldier data came from the General Index Cards in the National Archives and Records Administration's Compiled Military Service Records. CWSS also has Civil War information such as regimental histories and links to descriptions of nearly 400 significant
battles.
Genetic Genealogy 101
The growing popularity of genetic genealogy may inspire Webster's to add genetealogy to its next edition. Genetealogy (http://www.genetealogy.com) is a new online clearinghouse for genetic genealogy
information. The site links to online articles; resources such as testing companies, message boards, results logs (which help you compare your results to others') and surname projects; recommended books and videos; and an events calendar.
The site's webmaster is Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak, author of Trace Your Roots With DNA (Rodale, $14.95). Look for her article on what DNA can (and can't) tell you about your family history in the February 2005 Family Tree Magazine.
Better Letters
Having trouble tracking down those elusive ancestors? In this biweekly, Web-exclusive column, contributing editor Nancy Hendrickson points to new and helpful ways to do your computer-related genealogy research. This week, she writes about preserving your
precious old letters. Read more at http://www.familytreemagazine.com/ancestornews/current.html.
Hendrickson is a family historian, freelance writer and the author of the book Finding Your Roots Online, on sale now at http://www.familytreemagazine.com/store/display.asp?id=70583.
Browse the archive of her AncestorNews columns at http://www.familytreemagazine.com/ancestornews/previous.html.
Cemetery Shortcut
This week's tip comes from Lisa Cole of Allentown, Pa.:
"I carry a small pair of binoculars. When visiting cemeteries, I can eliminate a lot of walking by using them to scan gravestones. Although it doesn't work for flat stones or ones that barely stick out of the ground, I can peruse many of the headstones
from my car. If you have trouble getting around or you're tired from a long day of research, you can cover some ground with your eyes rather than your legs."
Do you have a great idea for discovering, preserving or
celebrating family history? E-mail us your tip at
ftmnews-editor@fwpubs.com with "TIP OF THE WEEK"
in the subject line. If we publish it, you'll win a free
copy of Finding Your Famous (& Infamous) Ancestors
by Rhonda McClure (Betterway Books, $21.99), available for purchase online at http://www.familytreemagazine.com/store/display.asp?id=70604.
Overwhelmed by the number of family history-related Web sites popping up? FamilyTreeMagazine.com sorts through them all—whew!—to bring you only the very best. We recently recommended the following as Sites of the Week:
• Expert Genealogy
http://expertgenealogy.com
Find professional genealogists by geographic or topical specialty.
• Folklore and Mythology
http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/folktexts.html
This directory of folklore and mythology is arranged alphabetically by theme.
• American on the Move
http://www.americanhistory.si.edu/onthemove
Explore the role of transportation in American history.
• NYC Death Records
http://www.italiangen.org/NYCDeath.stm
Look up Big Apple ancestors in this database of death records—1.4 million of them—from 1891 to 1911.
Hard Copy
Got copyright conundrums? Here's a quick-and-dirty way to tell whether that old diary or photo is covered. For more genealogist-friendly copyright advice, see the December 2004 Family Tree Magazine, on newsstands Oct. 19.
Due to complicated, changing laws, copyright duration depends on when a work was created and if it was published. Here are simplified guidelines (although exceptions apply). See http://www.copyright.cornell.edu/training/Hirtle_
Public_Domain.htm for details:
Works published before Jan. 1, 1923, are in the public domain (meaning anyone can use, adapt or copy them freely).
Works published between 1923 and 1963 were protected for 28 years—but the copyright could be renewed for 47 years, then extended for another 20. If the copyright wasn't renewed, the work is in the public domain. About 85 percent of works published
during this period aren't protected anymore.
If a work was published between 1964 and 1977, the copyright lasts a total of 95 years.
Any published or unpublished work created on or after Jan. 1, 1978, is protected for the life of the creator plus 70 years.
A work created before Jan. 1, 1978, and published between that date and Dec. 31, 2002, is protected for the life of the creator plus 70 years or until Dec. 31, 2047, whichever is greater.
Confused? You can assume that anything published within the past 75 years is protected by copyright.
—Sharon Debartolo Carmack
Sharon DeBartolo Carmack is a Family Tree Magazine contributing editor.
Physical Evidence
Expert photo historian Maureen A. Taylor helps readers analyze old family pictures in her Web-exclusive column Identifying Family Photographs. This week, This week, she tries to prove the identity of a man in a Civil War-era tintype.
http://www.familytreemagazine.com/photos/current.htm.
If you have a family photo mystery for Taylor to solve, check out our Submission Guidelines at http://www.familytreemagazine.com/photos/photohelp.htm.
Moorhead, Minn.
Rick Crume
Oct. 19
Moorhead Public Library seminar
Topic:
- Immigration & Naturalization Resources Online
For more information, see www.larl.org/branch/moorhead_events.html. Call (218) 233-7594 to register.
Lake Charles, La.
Emily Anne Croom
Nov. 20
Southwest Louisiana Genealogical Society
Topics:
- Timely Tools for Genealogists: Using Timelines
- You're Known by the Company You Keep: Cluster Genealogy, an Essential Tool in Research
Contact Pat Huffaker at phuffaker@xspedius.net.
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