PEOPLE

CONTENTS:

• Burke's Peerage & Gentry
• To the Contrary: Women and Philanthropy
• The Heroism Project

There are few resources with finer pedigrees than Burke's Landed Gentry. The company has undergone some changes and is now known as Burke's Peerage & Gentry. Since the 1830s, Burke's genealogists have been compiling the lineages of the titled families of Great Britain. They are updating their records and working on the 107th edition of their premiere publication, Burke's Peerage & Baronetage next year.

Full database access is available through subscription only. Information includes births, marriages, deaths, residences, estates, clubs and more. Many if not most family histories go back hundreds of years.

For the researcher with an eye for freebies, however, there is limited information available with a free search feature. Type in a family name and get a tantalizing glimpse of the record, plus a family history page that shows brief biographical information including education, career history and lineage. Records include the lineage of Americans whose ancestors emigrated from Great Britain. For example:

Lineage-CAPTAIN LEWIS JONES left the Port of London 13 Oct 1635, aboard the Amitic, George Downes, Master, bound for St Christopher; b 1615; m Ann, dau of Simon Stone, of Watertown Mass ...

This quick glimpse might be enough information to get you started on your search or you might find yourself paying the subscription fee to explore hundreds of years of genealogical history.

http://www.burkes-peerage.net

TO THE CONTRARY: WOMEN AND PHILANTHROPY

Women are becoming increasingly involved in philanthropy as fund raisers, volunteers and major donors. In 1999, the Public Broadcasting program "To The Contrary" sponsored a poll of 1000 voters on their views of women and philanthropy and the results are summarized on the site.

The page also provides links to Women and Philanthropy, the Council on Foundations and the Global Fund for Women.

http://www.pbs.org/ttc/society/philanthropy.html

For a link to quotes from women in philanthropy, on this page click on the word "interviewed" or go directly to

http://www.pbs.org/ttc/society/philanquotes.html

THE HEROISM PROJECT

There has been a lot of talk in the U.S. about heroism lately. Who are our heroes? What is the difference between a hero and a celebrity? How have our notions of heroism changed throughout history?

The Heroism Project will attempt to answer these questions in a Public Broadcasting television series, a book, school curricula and DVDs. In addition, the Web site is now online and more content will be added in the future. The site promises an interactive, multimedia time line featuring biographies, interviews and archival documents, created by students at the University of California Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism.

From the home page, click on The Hero Chronicles and select a decade from 1940 to 1980. There are no listings for the 1990s and beyond. Each decade's time line is formatted differently and each provides an excellent overview of the people and history of the era. It might be interesting to research how the concept of heroism has changed over the decades. The 1980s' time line includes bios of Carl Sagan, Sally Ride and Steve Wozniak, as well as several lesser-known figures. Events such as the Challenger explosion and AIDS are discussed, too.

http://www.heroism.org/

Pam Patton