Archives Guidelines

Last Updated: Monday, 13 October 2014 Print Email

Types of files for the Archives include:

  • Census Records
  • Vital Records (Marriage, Birth, Death, Divorce)
  • Court records (county, federal, civil, circuit, probate....)
  • Church records (members lists, baptisms...)
  • Bible Records
  • Newspapers (obits, marriage & birth announcements, local events...)
  • Prison Records
  • Military Records (rosters, muster rolls, service records, pension applications...)
  • Land Records (deeds, land transfers, federal land grants, surveyor's records...)
  • Tax Records (land, property, state, federal, local....)
  • Local Histories
  • Local Directories (phone books, old county and city directories....)
  • Occupational (?) (Mining inspector's reports, Accident reports, railroad reports, company newsletters....)
  • Educational (?) (school histories, newsletters, school census, yearbooks?)
  • Cemeteries
  • Deeds/grants
  • Misc*
  • Newspapers/obits
  • Ship Lists
  • Tax lists
  • Wills

 

The WorldGenWeb Project Archives Notice

The following notice must be placed on every file submitted:

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The WorldGenWeb Project ARCHIVES NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed WorldGenWeb Project archivist with proof of this consent.

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File Submissions

1. Only virus-checked files will be accepted.

2. Ascii text (.txt) files are preferred. Non-text will be converted to text before storing. If you have created a .doc, .wri, .xls, .dbf, etc. file, please save it "as text" in your software program, and assign a ".txt" extension to the filename. Hard "tabs" are not encouraged, as they do not translate the same on all browsers. Please use "5 hard spaces" in place of tabs. Large files may be split. We may, at our discretion, store the same data in several formats. Scanned documents will be considered, depending on their content.

3. All data is free to the public, and The WorldGenWeb Project Archives  will not pay royalties on any submissions.

4. Data is provided for downloading "as is" -- no guarantees of anything. The transcriptions in The WorldGenWeb Project Archives should be used as clues in your research, and we strongly recommend referring to the original documents.

5. File contributors must use their own discretion regarding the inclusion of data on living people.

6. We can not store gedcoms on our server due to space considerations. We suggest submitting your gedcom file to GeneaNet.

7. No executable files will be accepted.

8. Do not send copyrighted material, unless it is your own, and you include a statement of permission to use in the document.
Note: Public domain records cannot be copyrighted.

9. Scanned images of genealogical documents may be posted in the Archives. Such documents should have "heirloom" or sentimental value, such as marriage certificates, Bible records, hand written wills, etc. These documents should be accompanied by a transcription. Images which consist of a list of names should be posted in their transcribed form only.

Every effort should be made to post scanned images in the smallest size possible. Contributors should be asked to submit images which meet the following criteria:

  • Use GIF and JPEG images instead of BMP
  • Limit the width of the files to 500 pixels or 7 inches
  • Scan images at 300 dpi or less
  • Use 16 shades of gray or less

10. We cannot guarantee permanency, in the event data is lost.

11. Any obviously false, malicious, libelous, or copyrighted data will be erased. We do not guarantee the validity of any files. Always check the original document.

12. These guidelines are subject to change.

13. Copyright to data contributed resides with the contributor.

14. We retain the right to refuse any submission.

15. Files in The WorldGenWeb Project Archives may not be copied for selling in any format.

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