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National Archives Launches New Web Site
Be sure to point your browser to www.archives.gov.
That's where the National Archives and Records Administration
has its new and improved Web site (formerly www.nara.gov). The
enhanced site will have improved navigation, better graphics and
layouts, and new features such as printer-friendly pages, news
and event notices, drop-down boxes to directly access key pages,
a site index and an FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) page. Archives.gov
will also have improved accessibility for people with visual,
auditory and motor impairments.
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Will the Real Christopher Columbus Stand Up?
The body of the Spanish explorer Christopher
Columbus, or Cristobal Colon as he is known in Spain, rests in
peace in a church in Seville. Or is it in Santo Domingo? Authorities
from both places claim they have the "real" Colon. Because
Columbus' remains were moved so many times since his death in
1506 (just 14 years after he sailed to America), historians are
now grappling with the true location of the explorer's tomb. According
to the New York Times, two Spanish teachers from Andalusia
have teamed up with scientists to resolve the dispute with DNA
tests. They hope to compare DNA from the skeleton of Columbus'
illegitimate son with the bones from disputed Columbus burial
sites. The team first must get approval from Spanish and Dominican
authorities and the Roman Catholic church before going ahead,
but they hope to get results by 2006, the 500th anniversary of
Columbus' death.
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Traveling in Regency/Victorian England
Did your ancestors live in England during the Regency or Victorian periods (1811 to 1901)? Here are some ways they might have traveled during that time:
· Private
Coaches
Those who had carriages of their own, or hired them, could go
"post," meaning that they could have fresh horses at
certain recognized stations. This form of travel, known as going
post chaise, was decidedly the favored means of travel. The chaise
was a light and comfortable vehicle with two or, more commonly,
four wheels and was drawn by two or four horses ridden by post
boys. For great haste, four horses with two postilions were used.
As with a coach, the horses were changed at stages. There was
room for only two passengers in a post chaise, but most carriages
had a dickey, or platform, at back for a groom.
· The
Omnibus
The horse-drawn omnibus, used for travel within major cities,
was introduced to England in 1829 by George Shillibeer. Originally,
these carried 12 inside passengers, three outside, but eventually
carried 22 passengers inside, with a team of three horses. The
floors were covered with straw, and the average ride cost sixpence.
By 1838, omnibuses and their drivers had to be licensed. In the
1890s, there were about 1,700 omnibuses in London, with tickets
first introduced during the same period. The first motor bus,
with an omnibus body fitted atop a Cannstall-Daimler chassis,
was introduced in October 1899.
· The
Railroad
The railway from Liverpool to Manchester was opened on Sept. 15,
1830, but rail travel did not come to the forefront until a decade
later. Like any other innovation, it took some time for the notion
to catch on. Northampton, for example, refused to allow the London
and Birmingham Railway to build tracks anywhere near the town
center, fearing that the smoke of the engines would affect the
wool of grazing sheep. Needless to say, the railroad companies
pressed on, and those towns that did allow the railway to enter
reaped so many benefits that by the mid-1840s most of the opposition
had been won over.
By 1844, a veritable railroad mania gripped the nation. Prospective companies offered the public the opportunity to buy into the new venture at ground level, and hinted at the promise of big money to be made. Capital was easily raised, prompting the government to institute a Railway commission. One of its suggestions, which soon became law, was that every railway should arrange for at least one train to pass each way, every weekday, traveling at a speed of 12 miles per hour, to be furnished with closed third-class railway coach at a fare not to exceed a penny per mile: These were later known as Parliamentary Trains.
-Excerpted from The Writer's Guide to Everyday Life in Regency and Victorian England by Kristine Hughes, $18.99. Reprinted here with permission from the publisher, Betterway Books. Available in bookstores or online at www.familytreemagazine.com/store/display.asp?id=10545.
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History Channel Aims Younger
Come next year, you might be surprised to see
your kids or grandkids joining you to watch the History Channel.
It may be because the network is expanding its focus on ancient
worlds and early American history to include more recent history-an
effort to attract younger, mostly male viewers. According to Mediaweek,
next year's lineup includes the History Channel's first "reality"
series, "Basic Training," which follows a group of Army
recruits through basic training. You'll also see "Fire on
the Mountain," a special about a 1994 Colorado fire, and
"The Ship," which re-enacts one of Capt. James Cook's
journeys in the Pacific. Network executives call this expanded
focus an "opportunity to show history in contemporary life."
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In Memoriam
A tip from Paula Schuler of Anderson, Mo.:
"I sat here at my computer doing Internet
research and visited local libraries every chance I could, when
the whole time a valuable genealogical source was right under
my nose! It's not a cheery topic, but the flower cards, sympathy
cards and visitation registers from deceased relatives can help
fill in a lot of blanks for some of your more recent generations.
Never could remember your second cousin's wife's name? The names
of your grandparents' cousins and their spouses? I was able to
fill in a lot of my blank spots by going through the flower cards,
lists of those who brought food and all the other cards and things
that had been saved from my grandfather's and great-grandmother's
funerals. Who knows how many months of research I saved by going
through those two boxes in one evening's time? If I had done it
six months ago, who knows how much further ahead I would be by
now? Don't overlook the obvious sources that you might have in
your own house!"