FAQs

Q: Who is D&C Research Group?
A: That's me! Using my full name at the bottom of each page (so you'd know who builds and maintains everything) made it hard for anyone to search for the names "Dawn" or "Watson", because each search would pull up every page on this site. So, instead, I'm using "D&C Research Group" next to the copyright. The "D" stands for me (Dawn), and the "C" is for my son.

Q: Are you a professional genealogist?
A: No. Genealogy is my hobby, although I do spend as much (or more) time researching and transcribing records as I would at a full-time job.

Q: Can I print a record out?
A: As long as my name and the date of copyright remain on all pages, feel free to print these records for your own personal use. You may also copy and paste part of the records into your database, as long as you source the material by placing my name, the date of copyright, and the URL next to the record. You may not, however, distribute any part of this web site to anyone at any time for any reason. If someone else needs to use the records found here, please give them the URL and allow them to do their own research. Please respect the work that I've put into this site by not violating the copyright.

Q: Can I put a record online?
A: You don't need my permission or approval to transcribe a record and put it online. If you need assistance doing so, just let me know and I'll be glad to help.

Q: Darn! You have a record online that I wanted to put online!
A: Yes, I've really received an e-mail like this. :-) As I said in a previous Q/A, you don't need my permission to put any record online. If you see a record here that you have the original of, and that you would like to transcribe for placement on your own web site, by all means do so (be sure to send me the URL so I can link to it). Because transcribing records is often a matter of interpretation, two transcriptions of the same record can be different. That's not to say that one is better than the other, but it does allow researchers who may not have access to the original to get a better feel for the document. Do not, however, put my work on your web site. That would be a clear-cut copyright violation. Not to mention rude.

Q: Did you transcribe every document on your web site?
A: Most of them, yes. A few, such as cemetery surveys, may have been done by other researchers and placed here with their permission. Other researchers have also contributed bits and pieces to the reconstructed 1820 Census of Rabun Co., GA and to the various military sites I maintain; just look for the name of the researcher beside the information they've contributed.

Q: Do I have to pay to access these records?
A: Absolutely not! You will never have to pay any money to access any of my web sites. If you arrive here via a for-pay site, please let me know so that I can sue them for selling my work. Hey, my lawyer needs the money! :-)

Q: Do you have information on my family?
A: That depends. If you found my name on the web associated with a particular family/surname, or if your family is from Rabun Co., GA or Macon Co., NC, I can probably help you in some way. Otherwise, chances are that I don't have information on your family. I will, however, be glad to put your name on the surname researchers pages for the county sites I maintain.

Q: Do you use any standards or criteria when transcribing records?
A: I use the guidelines set forth by the Board for the Certification of Genealogists and the National Genealogical Society. These standards are drawn primarily from common genealogical practice and/or scientific research methodology. In certain cases I have adapted my own method of dealing with a particular situation, transcribing-wise. My way isn't necessarily the right way; it's just what I feel comfortable with.

Q: How do you choose which records to put online?
A: Many of the records you see here contain information on my ancestors, which is why I have them. Others contain information on people that lived in a certain area or who were affiliated in some way with families that I've researched. I've been fortunate enough to obtain census records via CD-ROM, but I've also photocopied those from the original. I also admit to picking up records simply because they appeared interesting at the time I was viewing them.

Q: I didn't find a certain record on your site. Where is it and when will you have it online?
A: First, check to see if I have a copy of the original by looking through the records lists (I update those each time I obtain records). If you don't see what you need on one of those lists, then I don't have the original and won't be putting it online. If you see it listed but there's no active link, then it's on my waiting list and will be online when I get a chance to transcribe it (which might be tomorrow or ten years from now). Please be polite when asking after a record; remember, I'm doing this on my own time and am under no obligation to anyone to maintain or update this web site.

Q: I found a discrepancy between a record you have on your web site and the same record you placed in the USGenWeb Archives. Which one is correct?
A: The records on this web site will always be more up to date than the records I've placed in the USGenWeb Archives.

Q: These dates cannot be right!
A: Generally speaking, they probably are. Remember that I do my best to transcribe records exactly as they appear in the original document. Occasionally, errors do creep in (such as, in a cemetery survey, a person's birth date coming after their date of death). This in spite of hours spent proofreading each record. If you see that type of error, please let me know and I'll try to fix it.

Q: What will happen to your research if something happens to you?
A: I'm pretty young now, so hopefully I have many, many years of research ahead of me. If something unforeseen should happen, this web site will remain right where it is for as long as USGenNet can maintain it. My work on Yahoo! Geocities will probably be lost. But, whatever research material is around the house will most likely go to one of the local libraries or to a person in the family who will maintain it. I am planning to donate some material, such as cemetery surveys and census transcriptions, to the libraries and historical societies in Rabun Co., GA and Macon Co., NC.

Q: Why are you so touchy about copyright issues?
A: Because I put so much time into this web site. Hours and hours are spent on each record: photocopying it, transcribing it, formatting it into HTML, and proofreading it. Also, I've had people send my own research back to me, verbatim, without using me as the original source. I've also seen paragraphs of my work lifted directly from one of my sites and placed on someone else's site without any credit being given as to who did the research and/or wrote the material. If this happened to you, wouldn't you get a little crabby?

Q: Why do you spend so much time putting records online?
A: There are a couple of reasons. First, so many researchers have helped me over the years; this is, I feel, a good way to repay their kindness. Second, I receive many, many e-mails each month from people who need help finding their ancestors. I don't have time to answer all of them (although I do answer as many as I can), but placing records online does cut down on the number of e-mails that I have to give long, detailed responses to. Besides, I use these records in my own research. Why not take a little time to make them available to everyone else?

Q: Why haven't you answered my e-mail?
A: Probably because I hate answering e-mail. Seriously, I do receive a lot of e-mail every day that I have to sort through. Sometimes I can help people, sometimes I can't. Either way, I try to answer everyone. If you haven't heard from me in 30 days, try e-mailing me again and I'll see what I can do to help you.

Q: Will you look my family up in a record?
A: Probably not. That's why I have this web site. I do try to keep researchers in mind when I take trips back home, and often carry printed copies of e-mails so that I can search for certain families. From time to time, I will also offer to do look ups for certain people or groups of people, primarily researchers that I've corresponded with in the past or those subscribed to the mailing lists for certain areas. I do occasionally get requests for certain records, especially cemetery surveys; in those cases, I try to put that record on my mental list of records to obtain, but I can't guarantee that I'll get around to actually transcribing it.

Q: Will you put my transcribed document on your web site?
A: No. I will help you find a place for it, though.

Q: You didn't spell my ancestor's name right on a record. Will you correct it?
A: That depends. I transcribe records according to the original document. If a word is spelled a certain way in the document, that's the way I transcribe it. Of course, as I said before, it's all a matter of interpretation. If you've looked at the original and you feel that I've misinterpreted something, give me a holler and I'll look the original over again. Occasionally, researchers contact me with alternate spellings, and I will add these to the records (as an addendum) to make the family easier to find, especially if the two spellings are radically different. Otherwise, no, I won't correct a name.

Q: You left my ancestor out of a cemetery survey!!
A: There are a number of reasons why your ancestor may not be included in a certain survey. For instance, if the only indication of a grave site was a small fieldstone or a rusted funeral home marker, or if the tombstone was eroded to the point of illegibility, you may not find their name. Keep in mind that a headstone may not have been placed prior to the date the cemetery was walked, even if someone was buried there well before then. If you are certain that your ancestor was buried in a particular cemetery and that there is a legible marker of some kind placed near their grave, let me know and I'll try to figure out how I missed them and/or why they're not listed in the survey.

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