FIRST ANNUAL REPORT 1997
INTRODUCTION:
The Hugh Stone Family Association was organized in 1996 in conjunction with the development of a web site. The Hugh Stone Family Home Page was first published October 15, 1996. THE FIRST ANNUAL REPORT 1997, will cover the activities and accomplishments during the period of October 15, 1996 thru DECEMBER 31, 1997.
BACKGROUND:
Byron Stone retired December 1, 1991 and decided to write a family history for the benefit of his grandchildren. He knew little about his ancestors. He learned that a genealogy of Hugh Stone of Rhode Island had been written by Richard Cecil Stone and published in 1866. He ordered a copy of this book from Tuttle Antiquarian Books in Rutland, Vermont.
Roger Stone, a first cousin, living in Reston, Virginia was known to have an interest in genealogy, as did his father, Bergen Browe Stone. Since, I knew almost nothing about my grandparents, and since my own father died in 1989, I decided to establish contact with my father's only brother "Uncle Browe", with whom I had, had no contact with in over 40 years. I traveled from my home in Baroda, Michigan, to my birthplace, Montrose, Pennsylvania, where "Uncle Browe" was living at 94 years of age. I taped an interview with him about the family. He died three months later.
After transcribing the interview tapes, I sent a copy to Roger Stone for verification and added detail. That is how I learned that Roger had compiled the genealogical database for his father. Roger had also been thinking of writing a family history for his grandchildren when he retired. We decided the project should be a joint effort.
I then discovered that another cousin, James Allison Stone, a retired social studies teacher, from the Binghamton, New York schools, was also actively doing genealogical research, so the family history project became a three way effort. Technically, James is a third cousin, once removed. James' great, great, grandfather, and Roger and my great, great, grandfather, Milo Stone, were brothers.
As a result of personal visits and correspondence, a number of others researching The Hugh Stone family were identified. These included Virginia Meadowcroft, Fred Sherwood, Nancy Cooper and H. Andrew Brown. They each contributed a great deal to our knowledge base and the names of many others who were interested in this family.
As a beginning genealogist, it came as somewhat of a shock to discover that different researchers often had a different set of facts concerning various family members, and that very little was known about many descendants. It was at this point that I proposed to Roger and James that we publish a Hugh Stone family web page on the internet, to which corrections and additions could be made much easier than in a printed book. We agreed and I volunteered to develop the web site.
Of course, I did not know what I was getting into but I had the interest and the time. The first thing I did was to send out an e-mail requesting help to three local individuals who had genealogical home pages with Quantum Connections, my Internet Service Provider. All three volunteered to help me. I selected Ed Tokarz, who was a disabled worker from the Whirlpool Corporation, living in Coloma, Michigan area, who not only had a most comprehensive and attractive home page but was also a certified computer specialist. Ed has been, from the beginning and continues to be a volunteer tutor and problem solver.
While it would have been easy to have someone do all the work involved in developing and maintaining our web site and home pages, I wanted to learn the process, so, with Ed's guiding hand and mind, I learned HTML programs, GEDCOM, GED2HTML, WS-FTP, Data base searching programs, etc. It has been a great and exciting, and yes, frustrating at times, learning experience.
The "pay off" has been in helping the members of the "FAMILY ASSOCIATION" and many others to connect, complete and correct their lineage back to Hugh Stone through making available the on line searchable data base, the narratives, the exchange of information between our members and research guidance.
OUR FIRST YEAR ACHIEVEMENTS
Publishing the Hugh Stone Home Page, October 15, 1996.
Over 2,000 "Hits" to our home page.
Publishing 3 versions of a searchable data base, with now over 10,000 names. Each version compiled by Roger Stone. 30 people contributed their data.
Using three different search programs, until we found one easy and quick to use, thanks to our member Randy Winch, who wrote the programs.
Complete revision of the home page graphics and content Nov. 15, 1997. Thanks to Ed Tokarz.
Publishing 87 pages of R.C. Stone's notes in MSWord so you can "CUT AND PASTE", thanks to Roger Stone who scanned in the 87 pages.
Enrolling 43 members, to date, into the "HUGH STONE FAMILY ASSOCIATION".
Expanding the membership to include anyone with the surname "STONE".
Providing basic information on the Colonial Stone Families before 1660.
Locating reports of the Stone Family Association organized in 1897. 10 years of annual reunions were held prior to organizing a "FAMILY ASSOCIATION". Locating the catalog of 323 members between 1897 and 1901.
Many, many discoveries of connections because of the "HOME PAGE".
Focused research on the "COAT OF ARMS", English origins and the 1st three generations of Hugh Stone Descendants and the Peter Busecot family.
Research which identified three Hugh Stone's of Barbados, Hugh of Andover and Hugh of Warwick which now makes possible the assigning of documents to the correct person, reducing many errors.
Registering our "HUGH STONE WEB SITE" with all the major search engines and establishing links to and from other home pages and research resources.
Establishing our "HUGH STONE HOME PAGES" as a credible, first class operation, using various new technologies and updating frequently.
Concluding our first year of operation with specific plans and goals for our second year, such as version 4 of the master data base; expanded inclusion of source documentation in the data base; increased use of pictures and notes and research "BREAK-THRU" on the early history of Hugh Stone and his 10 children [thanks to very concentrated work in this area by Lois Richardson, Andy Brown, Newman Hall and Byron Stone].
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