Are you familiar with the resources for a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire?
Have you researched genealogical and/or historical records of a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire?  Would you like to volunteer to assist with one of the Hillsborough County, NH Towns?

While county and state NHGenWeb pages contain helpful information and resources, since they cover larger areas, and larger populations, they tend to be more general.  Town pages, on the other hand, since they are typically covering a smaller geographic area, can often include a great deal more detailed information, records, and local resources, thereby helping to give online visitors a better "feel" for the place that their ancestors called home.

Please read the following guidelines and tips.  Then, if you are interested in becoming a town coordinator, for a Hillsborough County, New Hampshire town, please contact: Ann Mensch

If you do not wish to become a town coordinator, but would still like to help, you may volunteer assistance in a number of ways by:  gathering information, transcribing specific records, indexing specific records, donating materials, and so forth.  If you are interested in volunteering your assistance, please  contact: Ann Mensch.
 

1.  GATHER INFORMATION and RESOURCES which may be helpful to online researchers of a chosen Hillsborough County, New Hampshire town.  Some of the basic information which may be helpful to online genealogy and history research may include the following: Where are birth, marriage and death records for the town located?      Have any records been microfilmed or published, so they may be researched at another location as well? How could a researcher obtain a copy of a birth, marriage or death record?       In Person?  By Mail?  Online?  What is the fee for a record?  Are there restrictions concerning which records are available or who may request them? What are the earliest birth, marriage and death records available for the town? What are the names and locations of the cemeteries within the town?  Have the gravestones or cemetery records been published? Where are land, deeds, Will, probate, or other related records for the town held?      Have any records been microfilmed or published, so they may be researched at another location as well? How could a researcher obtain a copy of such other records?       In Person?  By Mail?  Online?  Were there early newspapers in the town?  Are they available for research?  Where? Are there history or genealogy books concerning the town which have been published?      A bibliography of past and present resources may be helpful to researchers. Is there a local historical and/or genealogical society? Are there other resources which may be helpful to researchers? Be creative!       Use your own research experience to decide what would be nice to add to the pages.  Keep your own limits in mind...If you do not have a great deal of free time, you may find it frustrating to try to abstract the 1920 Census for your town, for instance, so it would be better to add something smaller and more in line with your own time-limits.  If you really, really have your heart set on adding something which you cannot do yourself, then you may want to instead post a request, on your town page, to ask for volunteer assistance (many hands make light work).

2. CREATE / AUTHOR and POST your web page(s) online to the information you have compiled and follows the remaining guidelines (#3-11) on this page.     Though you may make the pages as fancy as you wish, it may be helpful to keep in mind that online visitors do not always have the most current browsers, etc.  Bells and Whistles may be nice, but they may also defeat the purpose if they limit the visitors which can actually view your pages.  It is also helpful to keep in mind that not everyone has exceptional eyesight, so posting  print which is too small  or  does not contrast with the background   may not be advisable.     You may choose where you would like to post the page online.  You may request free space from Rootsweb, etc., or you may want to post it in your own home page space at your internet provider, etc.  One thing to keep in mind is that some of the "free" web hosting servers require extensive and/or offensive pop-ups...It would be preferable to avoid these.      If you need help, just ask.  I'm not a computer wiz, but I will try to help.

3.  Each page should include prominent text & graphic LINKS back to the GenWeb page for HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, NH at <http://home.att.net/~family-history/NH-Hillsborough_Co.htm> near the top and bottom of the pages.  This allows visitors to easily navigate throughout the county, and easily return to the county page if they mistakenly clicked on the wrong town.    You may simply copy the graphic logo below, so you may use it as you are building your page.

4. The main page should include a LINK to the NHGenWeb STATE PAGE at <http://www.usroots.com/usgwnhus/>

5. The main page should include the genweb logo from the page at http://www.usgenweb.org/volunteers/logos.shtml, and link to http://www.usgenweb.org/

6.  As the Town Coordinator, each page should include YOUR own NAME and E-MAIL contact information.  If your e-mail address changes, please keep this information current on your pages.  If you receive e-mail from visitors to your town site, please try to acknowledge or answer, as necessary, in a timely fashion.

7. The pages may include a link to the county's QUERY PAGE, at <http://home.att.net/~family-history/Hillsboroqueries.htm>, but you may also create a town query page if you wish.

8.  You may also, then post additional information and resources which you believe helpful - first ensuring that it does NOT INFRINGE on any COPYRIGHT and be respectful of the privacy of living people.      With regard to copyright, I find it helpful to keep in mind that materials published prior to ca. 1923 are generally NOT within copyright, and would be expected to be safe to use.  For example, you may find an 1890 History of Mont Vernon, and may want to transcribe the information to post on your page...This would be wonderful!  However, you may NOT do this with a 1975 History of Mont Vernon without the written permission of the copyright holder.     By the way, copyright protection exists for most materials, including photos and e-mails.  If you would like to learn more about this, the following links may be helpful: USGenWeb Copyright Info - http://www.usgenweb.org/volunteers/copyright.html  The Copyright Website - http://www.benedict.com/

9.  The County Coordinator maintains a mailing list (e-mail) of Town Coordinators and Volunteers, so that you may be informed of updates to guidelines, new information, current links, and so forth.  Necessary UPDATES and changes, requested by the county coordinator, are expected to be made in a TIMELY manner.

10.  Have FUN!!!  If you enjoy working on your site, this will be felt by visitors!

Summary GATHER RESOURCES and INFORMATION CREATE a WEB PAGE which RESPECTS COPYRIGHTS and PRIVACY and includes the following: Required links to the Hillsborough County, NH History & Genealogy page A link to the Hillsborough County Queries page  A link to the NHGenWeb page on your main page A genweb logo .gif and link to http://www.usgenweb.org/ Your current name and e-mail on each page THEN - Update pages and answer e-mail in a timely manner.

If you have any questions, would like assistance, etc., so please DO NOT hesitate to ask.

[Return to NHGenWeb for Hillsborough County, New Hampshire Main Page]

Copyright 2002, by Ann Mensch