Not a good way to start off

Just about everyone has blogged about last week's launch of a new genealogy search site called Mocavo, whose creator calls it The Largest Free Genealogy and Family Tree Search Engine.

But Cliff Shaw does not seem to like much of the feedback he's getting on those blogs from veteran researchers who are used to having to dig in some fairly obscure places for family history information and who take exception to Shaw's definition of sources of "non-genealogy results" from that *other* search engine.

Kerry Scott over at Clue Wagon gave her review of Mocavo and went, as she said, "Debbie Downer" on it, and gave specific examples of where it missed the mark.

Other commenters, including I, have added to those.

Shaw keeps coming back with a challenge to commenters to add to his database for him, and consistently fails to answer one of Kerry's questions...what's his business model and does he have a sponsor?

Huh? Not what I would expect from a dot com.

I haven't dug through musty vaults and dodged snakes in cemeteries, or spent hours and hours online, chasing internet leads to give it away to someone to line their pockets.

He needs better answers than he's giving.

Tombstone Tuesday: Don't I wish...

There's no tombstone for Martha L Dunn of which I am aware. I have no idea where she is buried, and the places I would customarily look have left me empty handed.

I think Martha was the sister of my g-g-grandmother, Mary C Dunn.

As with Mary, and the man I suspect is her brother, Bob Dunn, I can't find her in the census as a child.

Martha L Dunn was married to David Andrew Williams in 1869. According to her obituary, she bore him two children, although I have been able only to account for one.


Martha L Dunn Williams' obituary as published in
The Southern Standard in Arkadelphia, Clark County, Arkansas
on 11 Nov 1876, on page 3 column 3.

Died,
At Hollywood, in this county, on the 2d inst. Mrs. Martha L., wife of Mr. David Williams, of this city, in the 28th year of her age.

She had been a severe sufferer, with that dread disease, consumption, for the past eighteen months, but bore her sufferings with that patience and fortitude known only to the truly religious, and died in the full triumphs of a well grounded faith. She leaves a husband, two children and numerous friends to mourn her loss.

Getting a generation behind these Dunns is one of my biggest brick walls.