GRAVES FAMILY BULLETIN
Vol. 16, No. 3, March 30,
2014
A
Free, Occasional, Online Summary of Items of Interest to Descendants of all
Families of Graves, Greaves, Grieves, Grave, and other spelling variations
Worldwide
===============================================================
Copyright
© 2014 by the Graves Family Association and Kenneth V. Graves. All rights reserved.
Information
on how to be removed from the subscription list is at the end of this
bulletin. If you received this
bulletin directly, then you are already subscribed. If you received it from a friend and want to subscribe, send
an email message with your full name to ken.graves@gravesfa.org.
Click
on these links to visit the GFA website
and our Facebook page.
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CONTENTS
**
General Comments
**
Graves Gatherings in Texas and Washington, DC
**
GFA Facebook Page
**
More Things You Need to Do On Your Family Tree DNA Home Page
**
Upgrades to Family Tree DNA Website
**
Latest News on the Big Y Test from Family Tree DNA
**
Four-Day Sale on Mitochondrial DNA Tests from Family Tree DNA
**
Using Autosomal DNA Testing Results to Prove Specific Native American Ancestry
**
Indigenous Peoples and Languages of the Americas
**
Ten Great Places to Trace Family Roots
**
The Graves Hotel and Chris Graves of Harlowton, MT
**
Given Names and Naming Patterns in the U.S.
**
Preserving Family History By Recording Memories of Living Relatives
**
To Submit Material to this Bulletin & Other Things
===============================================================
GENERAL
COMMENTS
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GRAVES GATHERINGS
IN TEXAS AND WASHINGTON, DC
Two
Graves family gatherings are in the planning stage, one in Texas in July and
the second in Arlington, VA in August.
JULY MEETING IN TEXAS
Ron
Graves wrote in the GFA Facebook group: ÒGraves Family Association meeting in San Antonio, Texas, July
26, 2014. Ken Graves, Executive Director, GFA, will attend and make several
presentations, answer questions, and in general get to know more of the GFA
members. Email me of your interest. We will coordinate most with email and
private FB messages rather than have the entire process on FB. Details coming
soon but make your plans now to attend starting Friday evening 7/25 and all day
7/26. THIS IS FOR ANY GRAVES DESCENDENT. Come share your family with others. My
email is gravesronn@cs.com.
Let me know your interest in the GFA meeting 7/26.Ó
AUGUST MEETING IN
WASHINGTON, DC/ARLINGTON, VA
John Graves
recently wrote that Ken Graves is planning to attend the International Genetic
Genealogy Conference in Washington, DC, Aug. 15-17, Òand so he and I have
recently discussed the possibility of our hosting a GFAMAC (Graves Family
Association Mid-Atlantic chapter) meeting in the area while he is here and
having Ken be our invited guest speaker. This would be a late afternoon/early
evening meeting on either Friday,
August 15th or Sunday, August
17th.Ó If you are
interested in attending a meeting at either of those times, contact John
Graves, GFAMAC Coordinator, johngtmti@aol.com.Ó
===============================================================
GFA FACEBOOK
PAGE
Our
GFA Facebook group continues to grow.
There were 1078 members as of March 24 and 1095 as of March 28. A graph of the growth is below. This non-stop growth is great and itÕs
nice to have all these members, but I am wondering what we can do to better
meet their needs. How can we
better help more people to connect with each other, learn more about their
relatives and ancestors, understand how to use traditional research and DNA
testing to help, and do whatever else they want to do. Are there other tools that would be
helpful, links to other sites that should be added, etc.? Do you have ideas about this, and can
you help make them happen?
A
list in Excel of members of the GFA Facebook group was created last year to
help people find others related to them and others living near them. The four versions of this file were
recently updated and uploaded to the GFA Facebook page. One list is by name, one by genealogy
number, one by genealogy group, and one by place of residence. This is an update of the last list
created Jan. 26, 2014, and includes place of residence and birth, ancestral
genealogy number (the number of the genealogy on the GFA website), and the genealogy group that
contains all genealogies that are descended from the same common Graves/Greaves
ancestor. These files can be seen
by clicking on the Files link at the top of the GFA Facebook page. You can see more information about this
on the Facebook page of the
GFA website. If you find this and the other versions of this file helpful,
please be sure all your pertinent information is included in the file, and
encourage others to provide me with their information also. Finally, as the
number of members of this group continues to grow, I doubt that I will be able
to spend the time needed to continue to update it. A volunteer to take over the
task of updating this file is needed.
Some
of the statistics regarding this Facebook group are:
Genealogies most represented
Gen.
270 – 50
Gen.
169 – 48
Gen.
168 – 30
Gen.
166 – 25
Gen.
220 -- 12
Places of residence most
represented
Texas
(TX) – 85
California
(CA) -- 57
Florida
(FL) – 53
North
Carolina (NC) – 39
Georgia
(GA) – 28
Tennessee
(TN) -- 27
Michigan
(MI) – 25
Virginia
(VA) – 25
Illinois
(IL) -- 24
Non-U.S. Places of Residence
Australia
– 7
Brazil
– 1
Canada
– 13
England
– 14
Ireland
– 1
Mexico
– 2
Spain
– 1
Sweden
-- 1
Missing information most
needed
664
of 1070 donÕt have genealogy numbers listed
356
of 1070 donÕt have place of residence listed
704
of 1070 have no email listed in separate contact file
===============================================================
MORE THINGS
YOU NEED TO DO ON YOUR FAMILY TREE DNA HOME PAGE
POST YOUR FAMILY TREE ON
YOUR FTDNA HOME PAGE
In
last monthÕs bulletin I discussed the importance of posting your family tree
(by uploading a Gedcom) on your Family Tree DNA home page (assuming that you
have been tested at FTDNA). If you
donÕt do that, none of those you match will be able to figure out how you may
be related to them. In addition, some
people who have tested at FTDNA need to take the following actions.
OTHER ACTIONS TO CONSIDER
¤ Be sure you are part of the
Graves/Greaves DNA project. Not
everyone who has Graves/Greaves ancestry and has tested at FTDNA has joined our
project. This is not just a Y-DNA
project; it is for everyone with Graves/Greaves ancestry, especially if you
have taken an autosomal DNA test.
¤ Consider taking an autosomal
DNA test (preferably Family Finder at FTDNA), if you have not already done so.
¤ Once you have taken an
autosomal DNA test, download the results and then upload the results to
gedmatch.com.
¤ For males with the Graves or
Greaves surname, if you have not already done this, consider taking a Y-DNA37
test or upgrading your Y-DNA test to 111 markers, and consider taking the Big Y
test. We only have 2
Graves/Greaves males who have taken this test so far, and we need many more.
¤ Be sure your personal
profile page has all requested contact information.
¤ Be sure you have signed the
release form to allow your contact information to be seen by those you
match. There are only 12 people
who have not done this, and 10 of them were tested in 2007 or before, 8 of them
in 2001 and 2002.
¤ Complete your beneficiary
information so that your account and its information will be available to other
family members in case you die or are unable to function normally.
¤ Consider adding a family member
to help you manage your test results.
You can also change the access a project manager has to manage your
account. The default is Read Only,
but you can change that to Limited or Full. For a description of what those settings mean, see the FTDNA help.
===============================================================
UPGRADES TO
FAMILY TREE DNA WEBSITE
On March 13,
Rebekah Canada announced: This week Family Tree DNA is launching a new shopping
cart. Ordinarily, a shopping cart is not something to get excited about, but
the circumstances behind this one and the need for innovation in DNA test
packaging has made this one a major landmark in FTDNA's website
history.
As you all know, FTDNA offers multiple types of tests
(mtDNA, autosomal, Y-DNA) and multiple testing levels (Y-DNA37, Y-DNA67, etc.).
We also store DNA, allowing customers to upgrade kits over many years.
Technology changes and our customers' research goals change. We work to meet
those changing needs. However, our current shopping cart has only allowed one
test or upgrade at a time in most cases. Before beginning work, we collected
both feedback from the community and project administrators and feedback
through thousands of post order surveys.
Key Features
¥ Order multiple kits with different test or
combinations of tests at once.
¥ Choose the test combinations you want without
needing preset choices.
¥ Order upgrades to current kits at the same time
as new kits.
¥ Easily add and remove tests from any kit in the
cart.
¥ Leave the shopping cart to browse the site and
come back to it later.
Planned
Improvements
¥ In coming months, we will add the ability to ship
multiple kits in an order to multiple addresses.
¥ What would you like?
===============================================================
LATEST NEWS ON
THE BIG Y TEST FROM FAMILY TREE DNA
The
first test results from this test were promised on Feb. 28. Here is the latest news, received March
21.
As promised, here
is an update on our progress. We are processing approximately 5 times the
number of Big Y samples we initially anticipated. As of today, 30% of the
samples ordered have been processed, scored, and uploaded to individual
accounts.
We know we were
late in delivery, and that we failed to properly communicate the delay. We are
working to get samples to customers as fast as possible. Our update letters are
an attempt to improve our communication with the community.
Of the remaining
samples, approximately 10% will be uploaded to customer accounts early next
week. Another 10-15% of the order backlog will be off our sequencers for upload
by the end of next week. An additional 20% of the total number of ordered
samples will be available early the week of March 31.
Samples that will
remain uncompleted by the end of March include:
¥ Samples that failed QC and required a 2nd vial,
either from existing inventory or from a new collection kit which is already in
the mail.
¥ Samples whose coverage was less than what we had
promised and are being sequenced further to add coverage.
¥ The last 20% of orders that we expect to deliver by
the middle of April.
We expect to
deliver all outstanding samples (for which kits were not sent out) by the
middle of April. We have greatly upgraded and improved our processing pipeline
to facilitate the unexpectedly high demand for Big Y, but as a result we are
happy to announce that new orders (as well as orders filled by new kits) have a
newly reduced turn-around-time of 8 weeks.
We want to thank
everyone for their support and we hope to deliver new improvements and products
to everyone on a better timeline, with better messaging for the future.
Best Regards
Bennett Greenspan,
President,
Family
Tree DNA
===============================================================
FOUR-DAY SALE
ON MITOCHONDRIAL DNA TESTS FROM FAMILY TREE DNA
On
March 28, Family Tree DNA sent the following notice about a special DNA testing
sale.
Are
you ready to test someone new and explore another family line? For four days
only we are offering our customers the chance to order the mtDNA full sequence
at greatly reduced prices. To take advantage of the outstanding prices below,
place your order and pay before 11:59 PM Central Time, April 1, 2014.
Savings
mtDNAFullSequence
Addon and New Kits - Was $199 US, Now $139 US
mtHVR1toMEGA
Upgrade - Was $149 US, Now $99 US
mtHVR2toMEGA
Upgrade - Was $159 US, Now $89 US
Reasons
to get the mtDNA Full Sequence:
¥ Unlock the full potential of
mtDNA testing.
¥ Enjoy the definitive test
for your direct maternal line.
¥ Compare to others at the
highest mtDNA testing level.
You can order by clicking here. To see more explanation of this offer, Roberta Estes has
written an
article and then a follow-up
article on benefits of mtDNA testing, and CeCe Moore has also written an article. If you
need help determining if this test is applicable to your research question, you
can read about mtDNA basics here.
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USING
AUTOSOMAL DNA TESTING RESULTS TO PROVE SPECIFIC NATIVE AMERICAN ANCESTRY
USING MINORITY ADMIXTURE
MAPPING WITH AUTOSOMAL DNA
Roberta
Estes, in her DNAeXplained blog, has given an interesting account of
using the Minority
Admixture Mapping technique she developed and
published to find the daughters of Mary Kittamaquund. She was a daughter of the paramount chief of the Piscataway
Indians in what became Maryland.
She married Giles Brent, and Englishman, and there has long been dispute
about how many children she had and whether she was an ancestor of particular
lines. Shawn and Carol Potter not
only conducted an extensive study to answer some of the questions, but have
published a book, Daughters of Princess
Mary Kittamaquund, about their efforts and the people and culture of that
time.
Roberta
previously described in a blog
article the use of her technique to prove the Cherokee mother of John Red
Bank Payne.
This
is a technique that may also be helpful in finding ancestors who are not Native
American.
OTHER SUGGESTIONS FROM
ANCESTRY.COM
Some
other suggestions for tracing Native American ancestry were included in a
recent Ancestry.com blog article.
===============================================================
INDIGENOUS
PEOPLES AND LANGUAGES OF THE AMERICAS
Those
of you who are descended from Native American ancestors may be interested in
the various groups of indigenous peoples and the languages they spoke. Keep in mind that all the published
literature is incomplete, may contain some errors, and is subject to revision
as more is learned. A population
history of the indigenous peoples of the Americas can be found on Wikipedia here. There is a brief summary of the
indigenous languages of the Americas in another Wikipedia
article.
A
discussion and map of Native American societies in North America (and
especially that part that became the U.S.) about 1600 can be found here. A history of pre-colonial North America is here.
North
AmericaÕs languages before colonialism are shown on a map
on the Native Heritage Project blog.
Many other interesting posts relating to Native American Ancestry are on
this blog.
One
of the most recent articles on this subject is an article on Smithsonian.com
titled ÒAncient Migration Patterns to
North America Are Hidden in Languages Spoken Today,Ó by Joseph Stromberg, dated
March 12, 2014. It discusses the
relationship of languages spoken in North America and Siberia, and what that
tells us about the first Americans.
The conclusion of the authors of the study is that the languages of both
regions are descended from that of Beringia (on the land bridge between Asia
and North America), where people may have lived for as long as 10,000 years
until the ice shelf covering Alaska receded and sea levels began to rise.
===============================================================
TEN GREAT
PLACES TO TRACE FAMILY ROOTS
An article written by Larry Bleiberg was
published in January in USA Today. In it, Jennifer Utley, head of research
at Ancestry.com shares ten places to trace family routes. These are:
Salt Lake City, UT
This Mormon Church-sponsored
research facility is the world's largest with records from 110 countries. The
staff is in the process of digitizing all the records, but often the best way
to get family information is to visit.
Washington, DC
The federal government's
extensive files provide a motherlode of information for family research. From
military to maritime, to land and pension documents, they all can help piece
together a family tree, Utley says. It's also one of the best places for Native
American family information.
New York, NY
Many families trace their
history to Ellis Island, the first stop in the country for more than 20 million
Americans.
Hilton Head, SC
The center focuses on local
history and culture, including African-American research materials that date
from before the Civil War, Utley says. The library contains resources such as
plantation and smugglers' records.
New England Historic Genealogical Society
Boston, MA
The nation's first
family-history society dates to 1845 and contains more than 12 million
documents, manuscripts, records, books, microfilms, photographs and other
artifacts dating to the 14th century.
Chicago, IL
Utley wrote a book about
using the resources at this renowned research repository, founded in 1887.
There are materials from across the country, but it's especially good for
regional research.
Family history cruise
You can learn how to trace
your family tree on the high seas on a variety of family-history cruises, Utley
says. Trips usually feature top genealogists and provide a chance to meet
others who are piecing together their pasts. The trips are also a way to learn
about the latest research tools and resources. One company,Unlock the Past Cruises, specializes in
genealogy trips, and Cruise Everything also plans one for 2014.
Local experts in Poland can
help plan a family-research trip, booking hotels, arranging transportation and
perhaps finding a living relative. "These people already know where to
find records in each town and can get you in and facilitate and help you find
places easier," Utley says.
Clayton Library Center for
Genealogical Research
Houston, TX
The library is one of the
nation's most extensive for family research. In addition to material on the southwestern U.S., it also
has information for every state, along with 100,000 books and 70,000 rolls of
microfilm.
Ireland
This five-star resort in
County Clare on the Atlantic coast has an on-site genealogist to help guests
track down their Irish family roots. "He might be able to help you find
the ancestral village or an ancestral home," Utley says. She notes that
many people have a connection to Ireland, the second- most-common family
ancestry in the USA.
GOOD SUGGESTIONS FROM DICK
EASTMAN
When
Dick Eastman recently reviewed this article, he agreed that these were great
places for research, but he said that the place we should always start is at
home. Talk to your older
relatives, and check out local resources such as libraries, courthouses,
genealogy societies, and your local Family History Center. Always do your homework and prepare
before taking a trip to a distant archive or other resource. He also suggested reading the article
at FamilySearch.org titled ÒGetting Started With Your
Family HistoryÓ before making any genealogy research trip.
Other
good places to research suggested by Dick EastmanÕs readers were: Wisconsin
Historical Society, Madison, WI; Allen County Public Library, Fort Wayne, IN;
Mid-Continent Public LibraryÕs Midwest Genealogy Center, Independence, MO; and
DAR Library, Washington, DC.
Obviously, for those researching in Europe or elsewhere than the U.S.,
there are many other important genealogy researching facilities not in the U.S.
===============================================================
THE GRAVES
HOTEL AND CHRIS GRAVES OF HARLOWTON, MT
Peggy
Graves on the GFA Facebook page, wife of Mike Graves, mentioned running across
the Graves Hotel in Harlowton, Montana, during a road trip. This Graves Hotel was named for Andrew
C. Graves from Denmark (see information about him at the end of this article),
and he is not included in any GFA genealogy.
According
to Wikipedia, ÒThe Graves Hotel is a
National
Registered Historic Place located in Harlowton, Montana.
It was added to the Register on August 6, 1980.
A
placard at the hotel reads:
In
June of 1907 fire swept through HarlowtonÕs Main Street, consuming twenty-four
buildings, among them the townÕs only hotel. Prominent businessman A. C.
ÒChrisÓ Graves resolved to build a new hotel, but relocated it on the bluff
between the old Main Street and the depot. As others quickly followed suit, the
focus of HarlowtonÕs commercial district turned ninety degrees. The fire also
prompted a city ordinance requiring fireproof construction, and the Graves
Hotel was the first building of locally quarried sandstone erected after the
disaster. Stonemason August Pollman and his crew of local workmen cut the stone
from the cliff beneath the new building and laid each block following the plans
of architects Kent and Shanley. The three-story hotel held its grand opening on
June 19, 1909. Illuminated by one hundred fifty electric lights, the hotel was
dazzling with the ÒÉmost elaborate electrical display in this section of
Montana.Ó The GravesÕ forty-five rooms offered travelers, homesteaders, and
visiting railroad dignitaries the most modern accommodations. The hotel still
welcomes guests with its second-floor veranda, exquisite interior oak
detailing, and sweeping views of the Musselshell Valley.Ó
According
to Haunted
Places, ÒIt is said that the former owner, an elderly man, used to sit in
his rocking chair on the top floors and look out the window at the river. After
he passed away, his chair was stored in the closet, but the chair mysteriously
appears at the window, even when the door is locked. Maids there have reported
hearing footsteps in the hall and feeling something tug playfully at their
hair.Ó
Other
sources on the Internet say: ÒOld Graves Hotel (Harlowton, Montana). This National Register of Historic
Places property was designed by Kent & Shanley and built by A. C. Graves in
1906.Ó And ÒIn Harlowton, Montana is the former "Graves Hotel" Once a
grand place in the days of the Milwaukee Road. When the railroad abandoned it's
line across the west the hotel fell on hard times. It looks like neither the
hotel nor the cafe is open.
Still
a gorgeous building it needs someone with a ton of money to restore and
preserve it. It looks like the current owners are doing a nice job keeping the
exterior looking handsome. Ò
ÒThe Graves Hotel was built in 1909, out of sandstone
quarried at the site, by A.E. Graves. The building is three stories with a
corner turret and a wrap-around verandah offering views of the Old Milwaukee
Depot, the Crazy Mountains, and vast lands.
Directions: The Graves Hotel is
located on Central Avenue in Harlowton, off Highway 12. Harlowton is located at
the crossroads of Highway 12 and Highway 191. Central Avenue is the main street
of the downtown business district.Ó
From
GenForum on Genealogy.com: Andrew C. Graves, b. 1865,
Denmark>1881 MI>MN>WA>1891 MT - Bio
Date:
May 02, 2008
A
biography of Andrew C. "Chris" Graves, "father of Harlowton,
MT" is included in "Montana, Its Story and Biography", Vol. 3,
page 1038. Father: Jens Graves.
From
the age of 8, Andrew was contributing his labor and earnings to the family. At
age 16 he came to the U.S. and spent his first two years at Grand Rapids, MI,
later moving to St. Paul and Duluth, MN, doing manual labor there until 1890
when he moved to Seattle, WA. In 1891, he came to Helena, MT, where he made his
home until 1898. He set up a meat market business at Cassell in Meagher county,
and did a large business in hides and wool. In 1900, he moved his business to
Harlowton, where he built the second building in that town, and rapidly
increased his holdings and interests until he was one of the wealthiest men in
the region. He invested in land, developed several ranches, and aggregated many
thousands of acres, much of it irrigated. For a number of years he was a
leading cattle and sheep man.
On
16 Aug 1904, St. Paul, MN, Chris married Mrs. Louise (Barquint) Digobich, born
in Minnesota, daughter of John Berquint. She was the mother of one daughter,
Mary.
Andrew
C. "Chris" Graves died, 3 Mar 1913, Harlowton, MT.
He
was in the 1900 census for Castle Mountain, Meagher Co., MT, born about 1865,
with his wife Mary and 3 stepchildren by her first marriage to Mr.
Connell. He and Mary had married
about 1898. He and both parents
were born in Denmark. She was born
about 1869 in Indiana, with both her parents born in France. He was in the 1910 census for
Harlowton, Meagher Co., MT, with his wife Louise. (Meagher Co., pronounced Marr, borders Wheatland Co., and
Wheatland Co. was created in 1917 from parts of Meagher and Sweet Grass
counties.) She was born about 1873
in Minnesota, with both parents born in Sweden. They had one daughter, Mary Graves, born about 1894, so she
must have been MaryÕs by a previous marriage.
===============================================================
GIVEN NAMES
AND NAMING PATTERNS IN THE U.S.
Although
the patterns of naming and the changes in naming patterns arenÕt strictly part
of genealogy, they can be helpful.
The several studies mentioned below are some of the recent studies on
names given to babies over the last century in the U.S.
INTERACTIVE MAP SHOWING HOW
BABY NAMES SPREAD ACROSS THE U.S.
Using
U.S. census data, Brian Lee Yung Rose has developed an interactive
map showing how names have changed in popularity in different states of the
U.S. since the early 1900s. It is
also interesting to see how some names are geographically clustered. The interactive map can be seen here.
MAPS SHOWING SIX DECADES OF
THE MOST POPULAR NAMES FOR GIRLS
The
state-by-state
maps from 1960 through 2012 show the most popular name in the U.S. for
girls going from Mary to Lisa in the mid-1960s to Jennifer in the 1970s and
early 1980 to Jessica and Ashley in the mid 1980s through the first half of the
1990s. Then Emily, Madison and
Hannah gained favor. After 2000,
Emma, Isabella, and Sophia became popular.
VISUALIZING THE MOST UNISEX
NAMES IN U.S. HISTORY
Androgynous
or unisex names are ones that work just as well for both boys and girls. This blog
article considers a name as unisex if there is somewhere between a 60/40
and 50/50 split between the sexes.
The popularity of these names is plotted from 1930 to 2012. The top five unisex names during this
period are Jessie, Marion, Jackie, Alva, and Ollie (in that order).
===============================================================
PRESERVING
FAMILY HISTORY BY RECORDING MEMORIES OF LIVING RELATIVES
StoryWorth
is one of a handful of new companies focused on enabling people to collect
their family histories. A story
about it can be seen here. StoryWorth provides a selection of
question for a subscriber to answer each week. The questions can be answered by email or voicemail via
telephone. The answers go to
family members and are also stored on a website where they can be read
privately.
This
concept can be partly traced to the StoryCorps
project that started in 2003.
Interest in preserving personal family history has also been spurred by
renewed interest in genealogy and the increased availability and power of DNA testing.
Another
website, Memloom,
allows its users to upload video, audio, photos, and their own written stories.
===============================================================
ABOUT
THIS BULLETIN:
This
bulletin is written and edited by Kenneth V. Graves, ken.graves@gravesfa.org.
TO SUBMIT MATERIAL TO THIS
BULLETIN:
Send
any material you would like to have included in this bulletin to
ken.graves@gravesfa.org. The
editor reserves the right to accept, edit or reject any material submitted.
TO JOIN THE GRAVES FAMILY
ASSOCIATION:
If
you do not already belong to the GFA, you can join by sending $20 per year to
Graves Family Association, 20 Binney Circle, Wrentham, MA 02093 (more details
on GFA website). Payment may also
be sent electronically to gfa@gravesfa.org via PayPal.
COPYRIGHTS:
Although
the contents of this bulletin are copyrighted by the Graves Family Association
and Kenneth V. Graves, you are hereby granted permission, unless otherwise
specified, to re-distribute part or all to other parties for non-commercial
purposes only.