About the COGenWeb Project

March/April 1996

In March and April 1996, a group of genealogists organized the Kentucky Comprehensive Genealogy Database Project. The idea, originated by Jeff Murphy, was to provide a single entry point for all counties in Kentucky, where collected databases would be stored. In addition, the databases would be indexed and cross-linked, so that even if an individual were found in more than one county, they could be located in the index. This pilot project became known as KYGenWeb.

June 1996

In June, as the Kentucky Project was coming to completion, it was decided to expand the project to include all states and USGenWeb was born. Volunteers were found who were willing to coordinate the collection of county pages for each state page. Also in June, just 2 weeks or so after the beginning of The US GenWeb project, the World GenWeb project was begun, and several other countries become involved in the project.

July/August 1996

In July and August, the work progressed with many volunteers coming forward to assist. The USGenWeb domain was established, and many new state mailing lists were generated. Through collaboration with RootsWeb, server space was found for the files produced as a result of the project. Also, a standardized Query and Surname entry form was established there. A number of state and county pages were put on-line there. Other servers and key personalities involved in the project include Gene Stark at Gendex and the folks at Gensource.

September 1996

As more volunteers came forward, some of the original cadre were able to pass the reins of some of their responsibilities on to new enthusiastic helpers, freeing time for them to more fully concentrate on their other GenWeb states and counties. The leadership of the US GenWeb project also changed hands, but the original goal of the project remains unchanged. A USGenWeb Bulletin Board was established, and many new county pages came on-line, especially the hard work of the state coordinators.

Into the Future

On the USGenWeb Project you'll find a well organized effort to place genealogy materials on the Internet. This project is supported by hundreds of volunteers all across the county. The system is organized by states, and counties with each county having a coordinator responsible for maintaining a site of resources which are available for that county. You'll also find archives of genealogy records, also organized by state and county.

The COGenWeb Project is an outgrowth of this effort. If the county in which you are interested does not have a page and you wish to participate, please contact us.

Volunteers are needed in all phases of the project including creating and maintaining home pages, and organizing archives submitted by volunteers and transcribing public records for inclusion in our archives.

Won't you join us?
Colleen Pustola, COGenWeb Assistant State Coordinator