A Little History of
TNGenWeb
It is impossible to discuss the history of the TNGenWeb
project without discussing our parent project, USGenweb.
began in 1996, as a group of genealogists who
organized the Kentucky Comprehensive Genealogy Database Project, known
as the KYGenWeb Project. It began as a discussion group on the mailing
list, KYROOTS-L, hosted by the University of Kentucky and coordinated by
Roseann Hogan of Frankfort, Ky. Roseann Hogan is the author of "Kentucky
Ancestry."
The KYGenWeb was designed to provide a single entry
point for all counties in Kentucky where researchers could find Genealogical
data. In addition all county sites would be indexed and cross-linked, so
that a single search in the master index could locate all references to
a given surname across all pages and databases associated with the project.
The discussion quickly turned into a reality; by mid
July all Kentucky counties were represented. The project was so successful
that it was decided to extend the concept to all U.S. States and the USGenWeb
Project was born. More information about USGenweb can be found on the USGenWeb
page.
TNGenWeb, Tennessee's branch of USGenWeb came into
existence on June 29th, 1996, when the first page was uploaded. TNGenWeb
was created as an all volunteer project, under the visionary direction
of its founding state coordinator, Billie McNamara. Space for the project
was generously donated by US Internet.
In December, 1997, Bridgett Smith became the second
State Coordinator and Nancy Cole was appointed Assistant State Coordinator.
Under their able leadership, TNGenWeb continued to grow. Many new historical
Special Projects were developed and nearly 1,000,000 folks visited the
main page alone. TNGenWeb was also incorporated as a non-profit organization
during Bridgett's tenure. In July, 1999 Bridgett declined to run for re-election,
instead choosing to work in other areas of the genealogical community and
begin a web design business.
State Coordinator, Fred Smoot and Assistant State Coordinator,
Nancy Cole, were elected in July, 1999. In October, 1999 Nancy Cole resigned
her ASC postion to become the Technical Coordinator for the TNGenWeb Project
and was replaced by Noel Matthews. Subsequently, the tngenweb.org domain
was moved from U.S. Internet to a proprietary server. In July, 2000, Noel
resigned and Cathy Hall was elected to the ASC position.
The TNGenWeb Project and its volunteer coordinators
continue to be dedicated to providing the best Tennessee Genealogical and
Historical resources on the Internet ... for you, our guests and fellow
researchers.
Questions?
If you have questions or comments about the TNGenWeb
Project or have discovered a link that no longer works, please contact
the Project Coordinator.
Submissions?
If you have county resources that you would like to
share with the project. please contact the County Coordinator who is listed
on the County Selection Table. If the resources you would like to share
are regional or state wide, please contact the Project Coordinator.
County Adoptions?
If you are interested in adopting a county or working
with a county coordinator as a member of the TNGenWeb team, please check
the County Selection Table for available counties, visit the county and
write to the coordinator. For adopting a county, check out how to do so
by visiting our adoption page. If you still need assistance or have further
questions please write to th e Project Coordinator.
You will find a warm welcome at TNGenWeb.
