Volunteer Spotlight
RootsWeb.com values each individual and organization that volunteers their time and talents to making our site one of the best on the Internet. We hope you enjoy meeting some of these outstanding volunteers whose dedication have made a difference to RootsWeb.com and other researchers.
Leith Hutton
Webmaster and New Zealand Genealogist
Leith Hutton is a genealogist whose personal research and contribution to the genealogical community has not gone unnoticed. Concentrating on New Zealand, Australia and other islands in the South Pacific, this hobby has grown into a free service dedicated to helping others find their roots.
As a long time participant of RootsWeb.com, Leith is involved with a variety of volunteer services hosted by RootsWeb. He currently acts as the administrator of the Pacific_Islands and PAF-5-USERS mailing lists and is a subscriber to several others. He also contributed to the World Connect Project and the Rootsweb Surname List by submitting his personal GEDCOM files as well as other data he has researched.
Hutton's most noted contributions are the many websites he created and maintains. In all, Leith maintains fifteen RootsWeb.com hosted websites that provide resources for those searching their Pacific Islander, Australian, and New Zealander ancestors.
The majority of these websites were established in conjunction with the WorldGenWeb Project. Leith is the webmaster of twelve PacificGenWeb Project websites that each focus on a different island or region in the Pacific. They contain essential information to genealogical research in each area, as well as links to other helpful resources. Click on the following links to visit these sites.
Cook Island GenWeb
Midway Island GenWeb
Niue Island GenWeb
Auckland, New ZealandGenWeb
Hawke's Bay, East Coast & Wairarapa
GenWeb Project
Nelson and Bays GenWeb, New ZealandGenWeb
Project
Otago, New ZealandGenWeb Project
Wellington, New ZealandGenWeb
Project
New ZealandGenWeb Project
Pacific GenWebProject
Pitcairn IslandGenWeb Project
PolynesiaGenWeb
In addition to the twelve PacificGenWeb websites Leith administrates, he is the creator of three sites that provide a free resource for genealogists to share information they have gathered. These genealogical forums provide invaluable resources for those searching their Australian and New Zealander family.
The Australasia Births, Deaths and Marriages Exchange is the most noted of these sites. Genealogists are encouraged to submit birth, death, and marriage records registered in the Australian and New Zealand civil registrations. It has had over 300,000 hits since its creation in August of 1998, and provides an invaluable resource for genealogists.
The second of these sites is the Australasia Genealogical Look Up Exchange. This site was designed to allow an easy way for genealogists to help each other. Those who have access to genealogical or historical records in New Zealand or Australia can volunteer to complete specific lookups for those who need assistance. Although it is not as active as the Australasian Births, Deaths and Marriages Exchange, it proves especially helpful for those who are unable to access particular records.
Created in February of 2001, Australasia Church Albums is the most recent site Leith has founded. Genealogists are encouraged to submit unique images of churches in Australia and New Zealand. These images from the past and present each contain a description or history, and can provide a visual document for locations of historical significance in your family legacy.
Leith provides a great deal of service to genealogists. His knowledge and dedication to genealogical research in the Pacific Island regions makes him a valuable help to RootsWeb.com users.
On behalf of the genealogical community, we thank you for your contribution.