The Virtual Surname Wall pro- We welcome family information vides a worry-free way to post from any geographic area, not just information about your ancestors California, and not just from the US. online and find others who are To participate in the Virtual Surname al researching your families. Virtu Wally, you will be asked for the following As a participant, you would list general information. information, including surname, geogra- phy and time frame, for up to 10 family 1. Your family surnames, including names. Surname Wall information will be any spelling variations. maintained by SCGS and included in a 2. The geographic area(s) in which searchable online database that would be they lived, or the migration path. accessible to the public at no cost on the 3. The associated period of time. Wall SCGS website. Others can find you when using Google or other search engine, yet Of course, participation in the Virtual your personal information is protected. Surname Wall project is completely vol- Linking Offline SCGS cannot be responsible for incorrect untary. If you have questions at any time or outdated contact information. about the Virtual Surname Wall, please contact us at [email protected]. Researchers with Your identifying information will not be displayed. Should we receive an To add your names to the SCGS Virtual Online Cousins inquiry regarding a possible family connec- Surname Wall database, type the follow- tion, SCGS will forward the requestor’s ing URL into your browser. contact information to you. Alternately, http://tinyurl.com/25cp4c you can authorize SCGS to release either your email address or complete contact The URL will take you to the Virtual information. Surname Wall data entry screens on our Southern California partner site, SurveyConsole.com. There is no charge for this service, Genealogical Society and the offer is open to the public. If you would prefer to submit your infor- We encourage you to extend this invitation mation by mail, complete the reverse side and Family Research Library to your cousins, genealogy e-mail lists, of this page and mail to: other society members, and your family 417 Irving Drive history genealogy acquaintances. SCGS Virtual Surname Wall Burbank, CA 91504-2408 417 Irving Drive 818 843.7247 phone Participation in the project is your Burbank, CA 91504-2408 818 843.7263 fax authorization to include your surname information in any printed or searchable Here’s to finding www.scgsgenealogy.com online databases that may be developed. lots of cousins! [email protected] “It was the best of times, it was VIRTUAL SURNAME WALL REGISTRATION the worst of times.” Name

Obviously, Dickens was not thinking of Postal / Mailing Address online genealogy when he wrote those words, but they certainly fit. City, State, Zip Code

Phone Number Why is it the Best of Times...? • The internet provides an opportunity Email Address to reach thousands of people with a single posting or email. Surnames Geography / Migration / Area Dates • Messages remain available for years, Example: Oberhof > Neu Ulm, Bayern > Pinckney, Livingston Co., Michigan > Abt. 1806 to present ready to be seen by new cousins as DINKEL Sioux City, Woodbury Co., Iowa the popularity of genealogy grows. • Accurate information can be released to correct mistakes in electronic or print resources.

And why the Worst of Times...? • Even before the advent of the inter- net, inaccurate data has haunted family historians. However, the

speed and extent to which inaccurate data is distributed online is magni- fied many times over. • Unethical or inconsiderate research- ers have distributed another person’s data without giving credit or citing the source. • Concerns for privacy and methods to prevent identity theft discourage ge- I understand that SCGS will not be held responsible for outdated or incorrect contact information. My participation in this pro- nealogists from placing information ject provides my authorization to include my surname/geography/time period information in any publication, print or electronic, of Virtual Surname Wall data. You can also enter this information online at http://tinyurl.com/25cp4c online. Indicate your preference below: So how do you take advantage of ˆ SCGS should serve as intermediary, and not release any of my contact information the Best of Times and avoid the ˆ SCGS is authorized to release only my e-mail address when an inquiry is received. Worst of Times? By adding your ˆ SCGS is authorized to release all of my contact information when an inquiry is received. surnames to the Southern Cali- fornia Genealogical Society's ______Virtual Surname Wall. Signature Date