Your privacy
The web server hosting this site operates like most. It routinely records information about your visit: the time, the pages you looked at, the kind of web browser and operating system you use, whether a file transfer was interrupted, and your connection's Internet Protocol address (I.P. Number). This information remains in a server log file which an administrator can use to count visits, determine which pages are popular, investigate problems visitors are having, and sometimes get a vague idea of where in the world some visitors are.

It's not possible for anyone to analyze only the server log to conclusively determine who has visited a site, unless the visitor has provided specific identifying information. You will be asked to identify yourself and provide a return email address if you use the email form. If this is a problem for you, don't use the form. In any case, your communications to me via the form are private unless you're providing family history information you want to share. I believe strongly in accrediting information to sources. If you provide such information, I intend to say who provided it.

It's possible that law enforcement authorities could obtain the server log while investigating a case--even a case ultimately determined to have no connection to this web site. This could be done under provisions of an international treaty, Federal law, the laws of the state of Florida (where the web server's located), and possibly other laws.

Living people named on this site have legitimate concerns about their privacy. I'm keeping mention of them to a minimum in the absence of their written permission to say more. I feel that without their permission, it would be reckless to provide their birth dates and mothers' maiden names in a world facing a growing problem of identity theft. I hope that other people creating their own genealogy and family history sites will learn to give the same consideration to their relatives.

Rick Wiegmann Koshko