For those who may be interested, we live in Frederick County, Maryland, about 35 miles northwest of Washington D.C.
Research...
I've been shaking the family tree since 1992, and was able to do much of my research within a two hour drive from where I live. I've tried to be meticulous in my efforts, and my professional training has taught me to be critical in evaluating new information. Because I choose quality over quantity, my database is not nearly as extensive as many I've seen...but I feel it is more accurate then most, and still growing. It's a lifelong pursuit....and I'm in no particular rush.
I am fortunate that I live in the same region in which my family has lived for many generations, and I have benefitted greatly from close proximity to many key resources for genealogy research, including the Virginia State Library & Archives in Richmond, Maryland State Archives in Annapolis, the National Archives in Washington, D.C. and the LDS Family History Center in Kensington, Maryland. In addition to these extensive state, federal and international collections, I have also utilized many local and regional resources such as the Old Charles Town Library (Thorton Perry Room), Culpeper County Library in Culpeper, Fairfax County Library's Virginia Room in Fairfax, Handley Library in Winchester, Shenandoah County Library in Edinburg, Thomas Balch Library in Leesburg, Rappahannock Historical Society, Warren Heritage Society's Laura Virginia Hale Archives, Fauquier Heritage Society, and the Howard County Historical Society, just to highlight a few. Additionally, I've sifted through the dusty records of many a county court house in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia. Also, I've tried to learn as much as possible regarding the historical context in which our ancestors lived. This has improved my research skills immensely, and has provided me with a richer and more complete portrait of those individuals. For compiling and organizing my growing genealogy database, I currently use Family Tree Maker Version 16, a commercial genealogy software package with which I've been very satisfied. FTW is compatible with GEDCOM format (Genealogical Data Communications) for import and export of data, and produces nicely designed family trees, genealogical reports and descendant outlines.
The web site...
The indexed HTML database was generated from a GEDCOM file using GED4WEB© version 3.32. Photographs in my collection were scanned into high resolution TIFF or Bitmap files for archival purposes, and subsequently converted into more compact JPEG or GIF format for the web. All graphics were created using Adobe Photoshop 3. Hyperlinked maps are generated on the fly using the Digital Map Database at Tiger Mapping Service. Many of the web pages were laid out initially using Microsoft Front Page, and subsequently modified at the HTML code level using a text editor. Most of the pages conform to the HTML 2.0 standard, with extensions for Microsoft Internet Explorer 4+. The pages are best viewed with IE, but should work with Netscape 4+. A few cross-browser Java scripts are also incorporated into Hackley's X Roads to provide some interesting effects and useful navigational tools. I will continue to improve and update this site, and to add information as time permits and new data becomes available (keeping in mind that I am limited to 10 MBs of server space).
Acknowledgments...
A portion of my family information was gleaned from the memories and written records of various relatives, both close and distant. I would like to thank them all for their contributions and encouragement. I'd also like to acknowledge two people who were instrumental in this work: Ed Begley, for his help and encouragement while learning the basics of HTML code, and for his critical evaluation during the early development of this web site, and Tim Friel, who helped me get started on this genealogy quest back in 1992 and provided much appreciated advice and direction to a then novice.
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