14 Day Free Trial - Annual US Deluxe Membership
Connect with genealogists that live in the cities of your ancestors for FREE!
CAPTAIN'S LOG
14 Day Free Trial - Annual US Deluxe Membership
Connect with genealogists that live in the cities of your ancestors for FREE!
CAPTAIN'S LOG
Site Contents
Includes sites to research emigration, immigration and naturalization, 100+ passenger list sites, ethnic research, libraries and archives, passenger ship types, descriptions and images, and additional worldwide maritime information available both on-line and off-line.
|
Captain's Log 3 August 2008My Dad is 85 years old today and while this photo was taken almost five years ago, he still pretty much looks the same. I'm the one who has aged! He is throwing himself a big birthday bash and I'm sorry I can't be there with him. Instead I'll be at my son's wedding rehearsal, followed by the rehearsal dinner and bridal shower. The wedding, a traditional Scottish wedding, is on August 7th. I probably won't be answering mail most of the week with so much to do and as always with ISTG, family comes first!!!
As for ships and their passenger manifests, which is what this site is partially all about, we are proud to say we will be moving into Volume 10 very soon. It's amazing to me that we are still going strong after ten years and that's only been possible because I have a dedicated crew. The volunteer transcribers continue to crank out about 1000 passenger lists per year in spite of the fact that we have fewer volunteers now than we had five years ago. And, newbies are always welcome so if you have an interest and some free time, please let me know. We work at our own pace, we don't pressure or rush folks because we are not big and powerful, we are a family.
Below is a photo of Harry, Libby and I when we met in Florida last October. Harry had been working on ships arriving Philadelphia carrying a wide variety of cargo but they often carried a few passengers as well and that's why we have decided to include them. I'm proud to say he has learned to format his own transcriptions. Way to go, Harry!
Beverly is still heading up the ISTG Research Team and sending out manifests to those who cannot get their own. It's been a busy year for her as well as Lore Lee and Pat who continue to transcribe with awesome speed and success.
Richard is doing a wonderful job on the the ISTG Compass which is truly a treasure of information and well worth browsing through. Richard has been answering a lot of my mail lately and adding your correspondence to the manifests for which I am eternally grateful. Richard, you should send me a photo so I can include you in this little hall of fame!
I realize it gets risky to begin naming names because someone is bound to be left out - never intentionally. So let me say a special "thank you from the bottom on my heart" to Pam who uploads our surname lists while also working full time, to Ines who is wherever I need her to be, to Betts who formats the lists once they roll in and to Libby who puts it all together on the web site. The same heartfelt "thank you" goes out to all those hard-working transcribers who never get mentioned here but I'd sure like some new pictures so you can see exactly who is helping you find your ancestors.
So that's the good news. The bad news is that Genalogical Publishing Company, which is the last of genealogy publishers still standing after something like 58 years, is having to trim expenses and ISTG is one of them. Genealogical Publishers has sponsored our web site for the past five or more years and we are more than sorry the business we sent them did not cover the cost of the web site. We know the competition is stiff out there and we are grateful for the relationship we had with them and that they were willing to hang in there with us for as long as they did.
What that actually means is that I will have to find another sponsor or figure out a way to pay for the web space. We have always promised to keep this site free to anyone who wants to search it and I am hoping that we can continue to do so. I'm working on this now and will keep you posted.
I've said this before, but it's worth repeating. You can receive the list of our passenger lists and passenger records as they are uploaded to our site if you have signed up to receive our digest. If you haven't signed up, you can do so by send an email to ISTG-D-request@rootsweb.com that contains in the body of the message the command SUBSCRIBE and no other text. No subject line is necessary, but if your software requires one, just use subscribe in the subject, too. While our digest will never replace the ShipsList, we do hope it will become a more reader participating board.
You can do more than just find out what's been uploaded recently. You can ask questions about your personal research and get help from the ISTG Staff and Volunteers. Additionally, you can help us with questions we have and we do have them.
If you have found an ancestor or someone you think may be an ancestor on one of our passenger lists, we will be happy to highlight that name (or many names as is often the case) and add your correspondence to it. You can also add diaries or journals, pictures, family trees and pedigrees on our site and while it can take a while to get uploaded, it's all at no cost to you.
I am thankful for all my Guild members, their energy, their loyalty and their patience with me.
There is so much that goes on "behind the scenes" that it would be impossible for me to thank everyone individually.
My sincere apologies to Hugh Tornabene as the Jacobite Rebellion Ships he has contributed have been in dry dock far too long. It is my hopes that they will be the first uploaded into Volume 10.
Hugh began his "mission" when he was researching his wife's ancestors; that lead him to London where he found the "motherlode" which he was able to scan, transcribe and pass on to the rest of the world.
Some websites you can just visit, on others you can interact in one way or another with the data. ISTG is one such site where you can contribute what you know about any passenger on any of our ships to make the data richer for others.
Another interactive genealogy website is Footnote.com. You can annotate documents you find there and when you do, the information you add will then come up in a search. Adding your 2 cents worth, with a simple annotation, will help the next person just as those annotations made before your visit will help you.
Your family tree is your unique piece of history to be passed down through the ages and enjoyed by great-grandchildren you have yet to meet.
Peace to you and those you love,
Patty McCormack, Founder/Coordinator
If you find an ancestor on a ship on ISTG and would like to
link to your email address or home page, please submit a short
paragraph about the passenger, where settled, children, etc.,
with the name of the ship and date of arrival, and send to
the transcriber at the bottom of the manifest or to the
ISTG Production Coordinator. Be sure to include the name of the ship.
Website search technology courtesy of FreeFind.com
The new Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild logo was designed by Patricia McCormack, June 2007. The old logo, which continues to be used in part on this website, was designed and contributed by Pat Walker and Sheila Tate. The logo and other genealogical graphics are available on tee shirts, mousepads and tote bags from: AncesTees. ISTG does not profit in any way from the sale of these items. Copyrights, Trade Marks, & Registered Trade Marks within this web site are protected under international copyright law. All rights reserved by the respective holders of any ™ © ® included within this site. 1998-2008 ISTG™ NOTICE: These electronic pages are Copyright 1998-2008 and MAY NOT be reproduced in whole or part in any format for presentation, distribution or profit by anyone without the express written consent of the Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild. Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild is independently owned.
Created & Maintained by the ISTG™Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild