|
|
|
|
Questions and Answers
Q: What kind of genealogy information is included in the biographies? A: The biographies were usually written while the subject was still living and will frequently include date and place of birth, name of father and mother (often including her maiden name), name of spouse (in some cases, successive spouses after the death of a spouse), name of children (in some cases including the names of their spouses if they were married), occupation, military service (a high percentage of the biographies are of Civil War soldiers and often include military unit and battles involved in.) Other information that is sometimes included are organization memberships, church membership, and political party affiliated with. Below is an example of a biography from the 1888 Goodspeed's History of Newton County, Missouri (note: some biographies are considerably longer and more detailed than this example): William H. Wheeler, farmer and stock dealer, and the son of Sanders and Mahalath (Holcomb) Wheeler, was born in McDonald County, Mo., December 19, 1846. The father, who was a merchant and sold goods at Enterprise, was born in Virginia, and died in 1856, while on his way to California; the mother, who is now a resident of McDonald County, was born in Jackson, Mo. William H. was reared in his native county, and received a fair education in the common schools. He then engaged in tilling the soil. During the last two years of the struggle between the North and South he was in the Confederate service, and after that he moved to Newtonia Township, where he has since remained. He married Elizabeth Annette Huffman, daughter of James Huffman, whose sketch appears elsewhere. To Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler were born the following named children: James Sanders, Eleanor, Edward H., William Morrow, Mary Jane, Oliver Price, Henry Lee, Minnie Huldah, David Cleveland, Weems and John. Mr. Wheeler has a small but good farm of forty acres, and, in connection with farming and stock raising, has raised some nursery stock. He is a member of the Farmers' Alliance, and has been a member of the school board of his district for the third term. Thousands of additional sample family biographies can be viewed here: My Genealogy Hound Q: Do the books on the CDs include Civil War history? A: Yes, they do. The amount of information included will vary widely depending on the Civil War military history that occurred within a particular county. Some include very detail accounts of military campaigns, others will include very lengthy lists of soldiers (both Union and Confederate) from the county. Since the books were usually written within 20 to 30 years after the end of the Civil War, a very large number of the biographies are of former Civil War soldiers.
Q: Will the CDs/DVDs work on a MAC computer? A: The files on our CDs/DVDs are in pdf format which is fully cross platform compatible. We do NOT however recommend them for MAC computers that have a slot loading CD/DVD drive. The best solution is to purchase the download version which eliminates the need for the CD and any issue with the CD/DVD drive.
Q: What is an Ebook? A: An Ebook (means electronic book) is simply a book that has been scanned and placed on a CD so that you can view and read the pages on your computer screen. The pages on your computer will look just like the original book pages. The books are on a CD which makes it easy and convenient to safely transport and store plus it is much less expensive than buying the actual printed book. Some of the original books can cost $350 or more (if you are lucky enough to find) while the CD can be purchased for only $9.95 (or less, depending on the county) and usually includes maps and other materials that were not included in the original books.
Q: Are the CDs available as downloads over the internet? A: Yes, most of our the CDs/DVDs that we offer are available as downloads over the internet. Since many of our products are rather large files, you will need a high speed internet connection. For further details: High Speed Downloads
Q: Can the pages be printed out on my desktop printer? A: Yes, you may print out any or all pages without restriction. You will find that you are able to print out centered, nice looking pages when compared to the difficulty in trying to copy from a regular book on a copier at a library. Many libraries do not allow copies to be made from the books.
Q: Is any special software required? A: The files require Adobe Acrobat Reader, version 5 or newer. This is a free program which is probably already installed on your computer. A full copy of version 6 is on each of CDs and should be installed on you computer if you do not have the program or if you have an older version.
Q: When Ebook 1, Ebook 2, Ebook 3, etc. is listed, do I order each separately? A: No, all of the Ebooks listed for any particular county are included on one CD for one price. For example, the Jasper County, Missouri CD has 5 separate Ebooks, all on one CD for a total of $9.95.
Q: Do the books have an index? A: Most of the books were originally published without an index. Many of the books have the biographies in alphabetical order. For the books that have the biographies in another order (such as by township), we have constructed an index to the primary biography subjects. All of the history books have a table of contents and a series of bookmarks to the major sections of the book. These are designed so that by clicking on the page number in the table of contents or by clicking on a bookmark will take you instantly to that page. All of the books are searchable so it is fast and easy to locate any name or location that is included.
Q: How can I tell if a CD listed is in stock? A: All of the CDs / DVD's listed are always in stock and available for immediate shipment. This is also true for the Southeast Missouri, Ozark Region, and Median Iris titles.
Q: Why does it take so long for a book to be scanned and placed on CD? A: Actually, it is possible to quickly scan a book and place on CD in only a few days. The result of such quick scanning is that it can result in an inferior product. Our process takes longer due to the additional steps that we take. After scanning all of the pages, we individually straighten, crop, and clean each of the pages. Pages that were substantially darker or lighter than normal are optimized for the best quality possible. The result is a book that looks as near as possible to the original printing. We then add such features as a table of contents, bookmarks and in some cases, an index to the biographies. While these steps take considerable time, the result is a far superior product to book that has been merely quick scanned.
Q: Will County History CD's be available for other states? A: Yes, they will. All counties in Missouri and Arkansas are now available. We are currently working on the states of: Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Texas, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. We will also offer CD's for additional states in the future. If you would like to be notified of new publications as they become available, sign up for our FREE newsletter: click here
Do you have a question not answered here? Call us at 816-204-7593 or write us at question@hearthstonelegacy.com
Additional Free Genealogy and Map Resources
|
|
This site features a growing collection of more than 375 Arkansas Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Massachusetts Missouri North Carolina Ohio Tennessee Texas County History and Genealogy titles. Click on the links above or the navigation buttons on the upper left sidebar to view other titles available. Click on the SEARCH tab to search our entire inventory.* * * * * Free Newsletter Would you like to be notified of new publications, new features, upcoming genealogy conferences, plus exclusive special offers and promotions available only to our newsletter subscribers? Subscribers to our FREE newsletter are always the first to know! Sign up for our free newsletter by clicking here Do you enjoy History and Genealogy? Visit: The Lives of Our AncestorsDo you like free? Check out the FREE genealogy and map resources at My Genealogy Hound
Send mail to
Webmaster with
questions or comments about this web site.
|
