We need volunteers to work on a variety of current projects:
1) TRANSCRIBING HAND-WRITTEN RECORDS by Brian Newton
Good news! Many of you, especially those who live out of town, have been wondering
how you can help your genealogical society. We have a way. Do you have asthma or allergies like me
and cannot go to the courthouse or look through old documents? Well, we have started scanning
some of our hand-written documents into the computer and this results in a clearer image than a or 3rd
generation photocopy. We can also enlarge the writing so that even I can read the words. I have been
nearsighted most of my life and the print sometimes gets so small that all I see are smudges. Now,
I can enlarge the pages to 11 x 17 size and can read most anything. On the computer screen I can go
even larger, even to the point of just one letter filling the entire screen! I don’t know if this
ualifies as High Tech, but it sure helps sometimes. It certainly qualifies as “large print”.
Back to how you can help the Society. We can send you the enlarged copies on paper (11 x 17)
or we can send you the electronic version on disk and you can enlarge it to any size you want on your
computer screen. You can even use a split screen with the hand-written version on top and your typed
version below. Now it looks like I am getting something out of order. We need you to read the
hand-written records and prepare a typed copy of the same. This saves Dr. Russel oodles of time
as he prepares a Traveler for the printer. It also gives you experience in reading old handwriting
and it gives you a chance to be a part of the Traveler team. If you are willing to help, let me
know. I will not over-load you. We plan to send you no more than 10 pages of hand-written records
at a time. You can request either the 11 x 17 size pages or the electronic version on disk. Someone
else will receive the same 10 pages. This is not to see if you made any errors but it is the easiest
way to come up with a final correct version. Oh yes, if there is a disagreement in the two versions,
Dr. Russel will have to decide what to print in the Traveler.
Now, when you contact me, let me know exactly what you want. I can send electronic copies by e-mail
or on a CD. Paper copies must go by U.S. mail. We will send you a short instruction sheet to help
in transcribing the documents. For example, we want surnames, but not given names, in bold;
however, if there is a slave with just a single name, it is in bold type. If the manuscript uses
capital letters some times in the middle of a sentence, you also use a capital. If there is no
punctuation, or punctuation not used correctly, you type your version exactly like the original.
We also will tell you what to do with misspelled words and words that you just cannot read. There
is no deadline for returning the pages, but please don’t keep them for a year.
My address is: Brian Newton, 838 County Road 328, Moulton, AL 35650
Telephone: 256-350-7444
My e-mail address is on the Officers page.
Other projects needed:
2) compile a list of pre-1900 ministers and their churches
3) compile a list of pre-1900 teachers in the area
4) Pre-1900 death notices from old newspapers on microfilm
5) pre-1900 court records
6) list of public officials in each county
7) cleaning and cataloging the court records in the Colbert basement
If you feel you might like to contribute "time and effort"
please contact our president Darrell Russel. Darrell's e-mail address is on the
Officers page.