Volume 21; Number 3
Fall 2000

The Rochester Genealogical Society meets monthly except in December, July and August on the third Thursday in the Fellowship Hall of Asbury United Methodist Church, 1050 East Avenue, Rochester, New York. The meeting starts at 7 PM with a half-hour mini-workshop followed by a short business meeting and a refreshment break before an hour-long main program. Except for the joint meeting with Kodak in April, we have arranged for a full slate of main speakers for the program year 2000-2001. We still need speakers for some of the mini-workshop presentations. If you have any suggestions, please call Larry Schongar at 716-226-3462. The speakers for the first three meetings, September through November, are detailed below.

For the year 2001, here is a brief preview of the first three speakers. In January, E. Regina Stewart, Director of the Westfall Road Family History Center, will talk on what a first time visitor might expect to find. In February, Paul Blake, RGS Vice President for the Computer Interest Group, will discuss selecting a computer and a software program for genealogy. March features Steve Clarke reviewing documentation.

We welcome your suggestions and look forward to seeing you at the meetings.

The following article first appeared in the June 2000 issue of The Virginia Genealogical Society Newsletter.

by Lowell ("Ozzie") Salyards

Introduction
In 1995, the University of Michigan/Ann Arbor and Cornell University in Ithaca, New York started a joint project called THE MAKING OF AMERICA (The MOA). This project was funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Its goal was to put on the Internet publications, primarily 19^th century, dealing with various social, religious and historical topics. This past year, Cornell scanned the entire contents of War of the Rebellion: A compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies (the OR).

What is the OR?
The Preface for the Series tells us that by an act approved June 23, 1874, Congress made an appropriation "to enable the Secretary of War to begin the publication of the Official Records of the War of the Rebellion, both of the Union and Confederate Armies." These would include "all reports, letters, telegrams, and general orders." The result was 70 volumes divided among four series. At that time, 10,000 sets were printed and these have been available in various public, private and academic libraries. It was reprinted a number of years ago. In more recent years, it was released on a CD. With Cornell's use of The MOA, it is now available on the Internet. More details about the series can be found in the Preface, its access being described below.

Why Use the OR?
First of all, the OR does not, in general, contain rosters of troops. The individuals that are mentioned are the different officers sending various communications to subordinate and superior officers. If some private showed great valor in some battle, then he may be mentioned. There are lists of winners of the Medal of Honor which would include such people. If one is interested in some particular military unit, then one can follow that unit through the war. After a battle, the frontline officer sent a summary of his unit's participation, win or lose, to his commanding officer.

How to Use the OR:
Indexes do exist for the OR: each volume has its own index and then the final volume, Series IV, No. 4, has a comprehensive or General Index for the entire set and this is where one begins.

1. Log onto the MOA website:

2. This brings up Cornell's collection in The MOA. Scroll down to the end of the listings and click onto the OR listed there. Note that the previous listing is for the OR for the navies.

3. You will see some options for doing Searches. You will use these later. Go to the next section entitled Browse and scroll down to the last entry, Series IV, No. 4, and click on it.

4. This will bring up some options for "Go To" and click on the Table of Contents. Later, you may want to view some of the other options.

5. You will note that the upper part of the screen has some operational options. Bring the Table of Contents into view on the lower part of the screen with the side bar on the right. Several choices are available. A first time user should read the Explanations and probably scan the Synopsis of Contents of Volumes sections. Note that the Preface is not listed but is found by entering the Roman numeral iii in the "Go to Page #" box at the top. It describes the generation of the Series and the contents of each Series of volumes. Finally, after getting oriented with the Explanations, Preface and Synopsis sections, one can then go the General Index which is 1087 pages long. Click on it and read the introductory material there.

Hints on Finding a Subject:
There are two ways of finding a subject, using the Search options and "fishing" in the General Index. If one is looking for an individual person, then the Search option is a place to start. Go to the upper part of the screen and bring the bottom of the image into view with the side bar. There you will see the subject of "Browse." Click on it and this will bring you back to Step 3 above. Scroll down to the Search section and click on "simple search." Enter the name of the individual of interest, surname first and then given name, in the box and click the "Submit" box. This will give a list of volume(s) that the person appears in. You then look in each volume's index. It can be difficult to look for a military unit this way as you may not know the exact listing.

This brings you back to using the General Index. Note in the Table of Contents how long an index is. Then make estimates of where your subject is listed by inserting page numbers in the box at the top. State military units will be listed under that state's name while national units will be listed under United States Colored Troops (p983ff), United States Regulars (p986ff) and Confederate Troops (p196). Once you find your subject in the General Index, it will show a Series number and a Volume number. If the volume has more than one part, you may have to look in each one until you find your subject listed with appropriate page numbers for that volume. The Search method described above does show the part number. This is not an easy set of volumes to navigate around in but it becomes easier with some practice.

Other MOA Material:
The University of Michigan has some items in their contribution to The MOA in which some readers may be interested. Their listing is accessed by logging onto this address: http://www.hti.umich.edu/m/moagrp/

For example, they have scanned some 19th century issues of the Southern Literary Messenger and the Southern Quarterly Review. In Volume 2, Issue 2 (Feb. 1857) of this latter one, there is a 23 page article on John Randolph of Roanoke.

As noted above, the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies are available also.

Recommended by the National Genealogical Society

Recognizing that how they use unique original records and fragile publications will affect other users, both current and future, family history researchers habitually -

• are courteous to research facility personnel and other researchers, and respect the staff's other daily tasks, not expecting the records custodian to listen to their family histories nor provide constant or immediate attention.
• dress appropriately, converse with others in a low voice, and supervise children appropriately.
• do their homework in advance, know what is available and what they need, and avoid ever asking for "everything" on their ancestors.
• use only designated work space areas, respect off-limits areas, and request permission before using photocopy or microform equipment, asking for assistance if needed.
• treat original records at all times with great respect and work with only a few records at a time, recognizing that they are irreplaceable and that each user must help preserve them for future use.
• treat books with care, never forcing their spines, and handle photographs properly, preferably wearing archival gloves.
• never mark, mutilate, rearrange, relocate, or remove from the repository any original, printed, microform, or electronic document or artifact.
• use only procedures prescribed by the repository for noting corrections to any errors or omissions found in published works, never marking the work itself.
• keep note-taking paper or other objects from covering records or books, and avoid placing any pressure upon them, particularly with a pencil or pen.
• use only the method specifically designated for identifying records for duplication, avoiding use of paper clips, adhesive notes, or other means not approved by the facility, unless instructed otherwise, replace volumes and files in their proper locations, before departure, thank the records custodians for their courtesy in making the materials available.
• follow the rules of the records repository without protest, even if they have changed since a previous visit or differ from those of another facility.

© 1997 by National Genealogical Society; includes material © 1995 by Joy Reisinger, CGRSSM. Both copyright owners grant permission to copy or publish these standards, provided they are reproduced in their entirety, including this notice.

Recommended by the National Genealogical Society

Mindful that computers are tools, genealogists take full responsibility for their work, and therefore they -

• learn the capabilities and limits of their equipment and software, and use them only when they are the most appropriate tools for a purpose.
• refuse to let computer software automatically embellish their work.
• treat compiled information from on-line sources or digital data bases like that from other published sources, useful primarily as a guide to locating original records, but not as evidence for a conclusion or assertion.
• accept digital images or enhancements of an original record as a satisfactory substitute for the original only when there is reasonable assurance that the image accurately reproduces the unaltered original.
• cite sources for data obtained on-line or from digital media with the same care that is appropriate for sources on paper and other traditional media, and enter data into a digital database only when its source can remain associated with it.
• always cite the sources for information or data posted on-line or sent to others, naming the author of a digital file as its immediate source, while crediting original sources cited within the file.
• preserve the integrity of their own data bases by evaluating the reliability of downloaded data before incorporating it into their own files.
• provide, whenever they alter data received in digital form, a description of the change that will accompany the altered data whenever it is shared with others.
• actively oppose the proliferation of error, rumor and fraud by personally verifying or correcting information, or noting it as unverified, before passing it on to others.
• treat people on-line as courteously and civilly as they would treat them face-to-face, not separated by networks and anonymity.
• accept that technology has not changed the principles of genealogical research, only some of the procedures.

© 1997 by National Genealogical Society. Permission is granted to copy or publish this material provided it is reproduced in its entirety, including this notice.

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