I’ve been reading a book on the history of the Oxford English Dictionary and could not help noticing some parallels with that masterwork and Roots and Recall. I may sound a bit presumptuous, but please bear me out. The dictionary started as dream of the Philological Society of London in 1857 and was completed 70 years later after jumping many hurtles. It was made possible by assigning the research to volunteer readers who were assigned books to read from the 9th century onward. These generations of readers, sent millions of words used in every context they could find. These were then compiled and edited into the greatest dictionary in the world on the English language.
Wade and I started Roots and Recall 3 years ago with the intention of building an architectural and genealogical history South Carolina one address at a time. At this writing we have in excess of 20,000 addresses in the database with varying degrees of information on each, including photos when available. We also, depend heavily on volunteers to provide information and we are fortunate to have several excellent researchers and photographers sharing on a regular basis. I admit that comparing our humble site to the OED is a bit of a stretch so call me a dreamer. In my dreams, I can see Roots and Recall doing for architectural and family history what the OED does for the language. If you would like to be part of our dream let us know there is always room for more.
PS, I apologize for any grammatical errors my editor has the night off. Thanks Rusty
We at Roots and Recall would like to wish all a Happy Thanksgiving.