Genealogy Guru

Favorite Search Method

2011-01-03T11:45:00.002-07:00

Happy New Year Everyone. With this being the first entry for the new year I have a request from everyone. I am trying to take a little "unofficial" poll to determine what search methods people prefer to use.
This started after a heated debate with a fellow genealogist over the weekend so I would like to know what search method you prefer and why. Examples are Ancestry, Rootsweb, Google or whatever source you use. So if you could drop me a line with you favorite search method and why I would really appreciate it.

Back To Work

2010-12-16T14:55:00.002-07:00

Well, for the first time in 4 years I have taken a freelance assignment. I am very excited. I haven't found anything in a long time that seemed like a challenge, but I think that this one will stimulate me. I will keep everyone posted.
In the meantime I hope everyone has a Happy, Healthy and Safe Holiday Season.

Vital Check Network

2010-06-14T15:57:00.002-06:00

Has anyone had any recent contact with Vital Check, the company that provides copies of birth and death certificates? I used to use them when I first began doing genealogy research but haven't dealt with them in a while. I recently requested a copy of my own birth certificate and I have had nothing but problems with them. It has been 4 weeks and I still don't have my birth certificate, at this rate I could have requested it in the mail from my state vital records and already had it but I choose to go with Vital Check because it was supposed to be faster. Does anyone know how to get someone to respond to an email or phone call???

Cemetery in Eastern Tennessee Bulldozed

2010-05-11T15:24:00.001-06:00

This came to me from a mailing list, very sad, hopefully they will get this taken care of.

Dorothy Lingar couldn't believe what she saw - a bulldozer shoving familygraves, both marked and unmarked, over a hill.Lingar and other family members were upset last week when the bulldozer,contracted to Vinland Energy of London, Ky., plowed through a familycemetery near Fourmile, in southeastern Kentucky. "We have never wentthrough anything like this. We're shocked," said Lingar, as she recalledwalking through the family cemetery as a child. "That's our history, ourflesh and blood, and we are upset. These were good people and they don'tdeserve to be treated this way."The incident happened Wednesday, as the bulldozer cleared land for a Vinland project in the area. Vinland Energy Vice President of Operations ScottGilbert told the Middlesboro Daily News the company is aware of whathappened at the cemetery."We're sorry that we disturbed it," Gilbert said. "We're going to do what wecan."You can read more about this crime in an article in the WKYT web site at www.wkyt.com/home/headlines/93239714.html

Changing of Names

2010-05-06T11:06:00.003-06:00

After just cruising through some message boards I came across a post that irritated me somewhat so I would like to review the changing of family names after immigrating to America.
We will use the last name of DeBusk as an example. The DeBusk family is of French orgin, emmigrating to America a little bit before the Revolutionary War. DeBusk is the American version of the name, obviously DeBusk is not actually French. As stated before the variations of the DeBusk name are DuBosc, DuBois, DeBois, and DeBose, which are all obviously French.
The specific post that I read was in response to someone asking where the DeBusk family was from and the response was that De means from and Busk is a town in France. The De part is correct, it does mean from but with a simple Google search you can see that there is no town in France called Busk, and why would there be, that is an Americanization of the original name.
So, remember when you are requesting information, the information you receive always needs to be researched, even if the person giving the information states that they have been researching for years. People are only human and many mistakes are made when you have been sitting in front of the computer or in front of a pile of papers for hours and hours.

Fabricated Genealogy

2010-05-05T10:15:00.001-06:00

GRAFTING FAMILY TREES
by Myra Vanderpool Gormley, CG

Not even your family histories are safe from those who want to make a quick buck at your expense. Moreover, you might have been hoodwinked with a fabricated genealogy and your relatives might have been victims of estate frauds -- an old con game, and you might not even realize it.
Early in the 20th century, about 200 fabricated genealogies were produced by Gustav Anjou (1863-1942), a Staten Island, New York forger of genealogical records. Anjou developed a profitable business in mail-order ancestors for wealthy clients willing to pay about $9,000 for a family history. More than 100 genealogies compiled by Anjou have been located. They are widely accessible in most large libraries and have been reprinted many times, and probably are being used today by genealogists who are not aware that the pedigrees are false. Anjou, and others like him, simply grafted noble and royal ancestors onto their client's trees, sometimes by using invented European parishes and forged wills and vital records.
Not only did Anjou falsify many genealogies, evidently he fabricated his own pedigree and credentials, according to Gordon L. Remington, Fellow of the Utah Genealogical Association and editor of GENEALOGICAL JOURNAL OF THE UTAH GENEALOGICAL ASSOCIATION, in an article that appeared in Volume 19, Nos. 1 & 2 (1991) of that periodical. In the same issue also appears an excellent article on estate frauds by Helen Hinchliff, and one by Robert Charles Anderson on the Anjou pedigrees.
According to Anderson, a certified genealogist and Fellow of the American Society of Genealogists, a typical Anjou pedigree displays four recognizable (at least to the more experienced researcher) features:
-- A dazzling range of connections among dozens of immigrants (mostly to New England).
-- Many wild geographical leaps, outside the normal range of migration patterns.
-- An overwhelming number of citations to documents that actually exist, and include what Anjou says they include.
-- Here and there an "invented" document, without citation, which appears to support the many connections.
Among the genealogies compiled by Anjou are those for: BEACH, BELL, CALDWELL, DENT, FREEMAN, GRANT, HENDERSON, HOUSTON, MARSHALL, McCORMICK, NOWELL/NOELL, ORMOND, ROCKWELL, SEAMAN, TER BUSH, WELLING, and WHEELER. For an extensive listing along with the call numbers of the Anjou genealogies available at the Family History Library, see FRAUDULENT LINEAGES: http://www.linkline.com/personal/xymox/fraud/fraud223.htm http://www.linkline.com/personal/xymox/fraud/fraud224.htm
See also "Watch Out for Fake Family Trees," by James Pylant, editor of AMERICAN GENEALOGY MAGAZINE: http://www.genealogymagazine.com/watoutforfak.html
Estate frauds touched hundreds of thousands of American families. If you uncover references to a fortune or estate that some of your relatives tried to obtain years ago, be wary. Also, you may encounter family members who will not admit that they or their parents were defrauded and who still believe there is a lost family fortune out there somewhere.
The bulk of estate frauds has been associated with common surnames. These scams -- many of which occurred about 75 to 100 years ago -- worked like this. Confidence men sought "missing heirs" by placing advertisements in the personal ads or legal notices of newspapers. Then they planted stories in newspapers about huge estates that were soon to be awarded to rightful heirs. Naturally many people responded. Then these "heirs" -- at the urging of the swindlers -- would form associations as estate claimants, incorporate under the laws of their state and write letters to their cousins encouraging them to join the association, and pay the membership dues and special assessments for legal fees to fight for their "estates."
Newspaper wire services picked up dozens of such items about meetings of these various "heirs groups" in small towns. Eventually these stories began to appear in major newspapers such as THE NEW YORK TIMES. Naturally, appearance in prestigious newspapers gave credence to the stories of the estates. Among the well-known estate frauds are those for these surnames: BAKER, DRAKE, EDWARDS, EDWARDS-HALL, FISHER, HARPER, HYDE, JANS, KOHLER, MERCER, SPRINGER, and VAN HORN.
Read more about the "Baker Land Hoax," "Buchanan Estate Scams," "Halberts' Clone," "False and Faked Mayflower Genealogy," "Faked Seminoles in the Confederate Army," and "Hoax of the Century," by following the links from the International Black Sheep Society of Genealogists' Genealogy Hall of Shame: http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~blksheep/shame/index.htm
See also: Baronage's "Caveat Emptor" http://www.baronage.co.uk/bphtm-01/caveat02.html in re name histories and family crests; Cyndi's List: Myths, Hoaxes & Scams: http://www.cyndislist.com/myths.htm ; and Genealogical Web Site Watchdog, which lists many Web sites that provide misleading or inaccurate genealogical information: http://www.ancestordetective.com/watchdog.htm
You might want to take a closer look at your family tree to see if some illustrious or phony ancestors have been grafted onto it and, if so, by whom. Before you brag to your grandchildren about those noble or royal lines, or those famous connections, be sure you are not perpetuating a myth, passing along a hoax, or barking up the wrong tree.
* * * * *
Written by Myra Vanderpool Gormley, CG; RWR-Editors@rootsweb.com. Previously published by RootsWeb.com, Inc., RootsWeb Review: RootsWeb's Genealogy News, Vol. 3, No. 17, 26 April 2000. RootsWeb: http://www.rootsweb.com/
* * * * *
PERMISSION TO REPRINT articles from ROOTSWEB REVIEW is granted unless specifically stated otherwise, PROVIDED: (1) the reprint is used for non-commercial, educational purposes; and (2) the following notice appears at the end of the article: Written by [author's name, e-mail address, and URL, if given]. Previously published by RootsWeb.com, Inc., RootsWeb Review: RootsWeb's Genealogy News, Vol. 3, No. 17, 26 April 2000. RootsWeb: http://www.rootsweb.com/

New Websites

2010-04-19T15:27:00.001-06:00

I have a few comments that people sent with new websites to try out. Please be patient if you sent me the link, I prefer to check out each website before I post it. I will be checking them out and if they seem like they would be helpful then I will post them.

Forest Park Cemetery, Joplin, MO

2010-04-19T14:59:00.002-06:00

I have received a few comments from people asking if I know how they can get photos of headstones at this cemetery. I do not believe that there is an actual on-line inventory of graves with photos, I haven't even been able a complete list of all the graves online. Having an on-line photo database is nearly impossible when you see the size of the cemetery.
There are a couple of ways to get photos of your families headstones. First of course is visit there, which for most people doesn't work. Another way is to find someone who is willing to take photos for you. There is a website called "Random Acts of Genealogy Kindness" which is a bunch of volunteers that are willing to go and get info or photos for people in the area where they live.
You will need to sign up as a volunteer and offer to do some volunterring of your own but it is worth it.
For information and photos of Forest Park specifically, you will need to contact the cemetery and get the location or section your family member is buried in. This can be done by sending a letter with a self-addressed, stamped evelope enclosed. Be sure to include your family members complete name, do not ask for them to look up everyone with a specific last name. If possible also include dates. This is how I originally found my family members in the cemetery.
Once you get that information back from the cemetery then visit "Random Acts of Genealogy Kindness" at www.roagk.org.
Once you are on their home page scroll down about halfway to the place where it says "Guidelines for making a request", click that link. This will take you to a page that lists all the rules for requesting a lookup, once you read those rules and you are at the bottom of the page you will see a box with "Let's Go Find a Volunteer" click on that.
Then you can enter the city and state you are looking for and it will give you a list of volunteers and what they are willing to do, for different cities, ect. Please remember that these people are volunteers, don't be greedy, impatient or rude. Also, return the favor and volunteer yourself. I used to make 2 trips a month to my local library to do newspaper lookups and I got a warm fuzzy feeling known that I was helping someone find something they probably wouldn't have gotten elsewhere.
Happy Hunting.

Today in History

2008-12-02T10:34:00.000-07:00

1777 : Philadelphia nurse overhears British plans to attack Washington

Legend has it that on the night of December 2, 1777, Philadelphia housewife
and nurse Lydia Darragh single-handedly saves the lives of General George
Washington and his Continental Army when she overhears the British planning
a surprise attack on Washington’s army for the following day.

During the occupation of Philadelphia, British General William Howe
stationed his headquarters across the street from the Darragh home, and when
Howe’s headquarters proved too small to hold meetings, he commandeered a
large upstairs room in the Darraghs’ house. Although uncorroborated, family
legend holds that Mrs. Darragh would eavesdrop and take notes on the British
meetings from an adjoining room and would conceal the notes by sewing them
into her coat before passing them onto American troops stationed outside the
city.

On the evening of December 2, 1777, Darragh overheard the British commanders
planning a surprise attack on Washington’s army at Whitemarsh, Pennsylvania,
for December 4 and 5. Using a cover story that she needed to buy flour from
a nearby mill just outside the British line, Darragh passed the information
to American Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Craig the following day.

The British marched towards Whitemarsh on the evening of December 4, 1777,
and were surprised to find General Washington and the Continental Army
waiting for them. After three inconclusive days of skirmishing, General Howe
chose to return his troops to Philadelphia.

It is said that members of the Central Intelligence Agency still tell the
story of Lydia Darragh, one of the first spies in American history.

Today in History

2008-11-17T13:02:00.000-07:00

1777 : ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION SUBMITTED TO THE STATES
On this day in 1777, Congress submits the Articles of Confederation to the
states for ratification.

The Articles had been signed by Congress two days earlier, after 16 months
of debate. Bickering over land claims between Virginia and Maryland delayed
final ratification for almost four more years. Maryland became the last
state to approve the Articles on March 1, 1781, affirming them as the
outline of the official government of the United States. The nation was
guided by the document until the implementation of the current U.S.
Constitution in 1789.

The critical distinction between the Articles of Confederation and the U.S.
Constitution--the primacy of the states under the Articles--is best
understood by comparing the following lines.

The Articles of Confederation begin:
"To all to whom these Present shall come, we the undersigned Delegates of
the States…"

By contrast, the Constitution begins:
"We the People of the United States…do ordain and establish this
Constitution for the United States of America."
The predominance of the states under the Articles of Confederation is made
even more explicit by the claims of Article II:
"Each state retains its sovereignty, freedom, and independence, and every
power, jurisdiction, and right, which is not by this Confederation expressly

delegated to the United States, in Congress assembled."

Less than five years after the ratification of the Articles of Confederation

enough leading Americans decided that the system was inadequate to the task
of governance that they peacefully overthrew their second government in just

over 20 years. The difference between a collection of sovereign states
forming a confederation and a federal government created by a sovereign
people lay at the heart of the debate as the new American people decided
what form their government would take.

Between 1776 and 1787, Americans went from living under a sovereign king, to

living in sovereign states, to becoming a sovereign people. That
transformation defined the American Revolution.


1863 : SIEGE OF KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE, BEGINS
Confederate General James Longstreet places the city of Knoxville, Tennessee

under siege. After two weeks and one failed attack, he abandoned the siege
and rejoined General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia.

The Knoxville campaign began in November when Longstreet took 17,000 troops
from Chattanooga and moved to secure eastern Tennessee for the Confederates.

Longstreet's corps was normally part of Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern
Virginia, but after the Battle of Gettysburg in July, Longstreet took two of

his divisions to shore up the Confederate effort in the West. He and his
troops participated in the victory at Chickamauga in September and the siege

of Chattanooga in October and November. Longstreet quarreled with Braxton
Bragg, the Confederate commander in the West, and he was given independent
command of the Department of East Tennessee.

Longstreet took his 17,000 troops and moved toward Knoxville. Facing him was

General Ambrose Burnside and 5,000 Yankees. Burnside fought a delaying
action at Campbell Station on November 16 before retreating into the
Knoxville defenses. The next day, Longstreet pulled into position around the

north side of the city, but he could not cut off supplies to the Union
troops. Longstreet waited for reinforcements to arrive, which they did on
November 28. He attacked, but was repulsed with heavy loses. Longstreet
continued the siege in order to draw troops away from Chattanooga. The ruse
worked, and 25,000 Union troops were dispatched from Chattanooga to chase
Longstreet's force away.

Ultimately, Longstreet retreated back to Virginia. His Knoxville campaign
was disappointing for the Confederates, who had hoped to secure eastern
Tennessee. Longstreet rejoined Lee in the spring after his disappointing
turn as head of an independent command.


1914 : GERMANS MAKE LAST STAB AT YPRES
On November 17, 1914, the German 15th Corps makes a final, desperate attempt

to advance against Allied positions in the Ypres Salient, the much-contested

region in Flanders, Belgium.

After advancing relatively quickly through Belgium and eastern France during

the first weeks of World War I, the Germans were defeated by the Allies in
late September 1914 in the Battle of the Marne. The two enemies then began
the so-called "Race to the Sea," moving northwards at a hectic pace in order

to establish positions with access to the English Channel and the North Sea
beyond. On October 19, the Germans launched an offensive aimed at seizing
control of Ypres--the fortress city blocking the ports of the English
Channel in Flanders--from the British, French and Belgian forces guarding it


For their part, the Allies held fast in their resistance, knowing a defeat
would mean the loss of a crucial advantage.

On the last day of October, German cavalry units began a more concentrated
attack, kicking the First Battle of Ypres into high gear. Over the next
three weeks, the chaotic nature of the fighting only increased its bloody
nature, with casualty figures on both sides mounting as the weather grew
colder and more blustery. The attempt by the 15th Corps on November
17--which Allied forces repulsed--marked the last movement of the battle, as

the Germans thereafter confined themselves to intermittent cannon blasts
against the Allied lines. Five days later, amid high winds and blizzards,
fighting was suspended completely, and the First Battle of Ypres came to an
end after taking the lives of more than 5,000 British and 5,000 German
soldiers.

Today in History

2008-11-10T14:23:00.001-07:00

November 10, 1775 .. Birth of the U.S. Marine Corps

During the American Revolution, the Continental Congress passes a resolution
stating that "two Battalions of Marines be raised" for service as landing
forces for the recently formed Continental Navy. The resolution, drafted by
future U.S. President John Adams and adopted in Philadelphia, created the
Continental Marines and is now observed as the birth date of the United
States Marine Corps.

Serving on land and at sea, the original U.S. Marines distinguished
themselves in a number of important operations during the Revolutionary War.
The first Marine landing on a hostile shore occurred when a force of Marines
under Captain Samuel Nicholas captured New Province Island in the Bahamas
from the British in March 1776. Nicholas was the first commissioned officer
in the Continental Marines and is celebrated as the first Marine commandant.
After American independence was achieved in 1783, the Continental Navy was
demobilized and its Marines disbanded.

In the next decade, however, increasing conflict at sea with Revolutionary
France led the U.S. Congress to establish formally the U.S. Navy in May 1798
Two months later, on July 11, President John Adams signed the bill
establishing the U.S. Marine Corps as a permanent military force under the
jurisdiction of the Department of Navy. U.S. Marines saw action in the
so-called Quasi-War with France and then fought against the Barbary pirates
of North Africa during the first years of the 19th century. Since then,
Marines have participated in all the wars of the United States and in most
cases were the first soldiers to fight. In all, Marines have executed more
than 300 landings on foreign shores.

Today, there are more than 200,000 active-duty and reserve Marines, divided
into three divisions stationed at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina; Camp
Pendleton, California; and Okinawa, Japan. Each division has one or more
expeditionary units, ready to launch major operations anywhere in the world
on two weeks' notice. Marines expeditionary units are self-sufficient, with
their own tanks, artillery, and air forces. The motto of the service is
Semper Fidelis, meaning "Always Faithful" in Latin.

Sally Rolls Pavia

Nothing new to Rave About

2008-10-21T16:00:00.002-06:00

Well, it has been a while since I've posted anything, I just haven't been able to find any good websites worth sharing with you. So, if someone knows of one not already mentioned then please send me a message.
Anyway, until I find something worth talking about I thought we could us this down-time to try and help each other out with our research. So, if you have any brick walls or genealogy questions in general please send me a message and I will post it so others who read this blog might be able to help you or give you ideas. Please do not post your email address in you message unless you want it posted for the whole world to see. I figure that I will post the first help blog to get the ball rolling so here goes:

I am hoping that someone might have pictures of the headstones in the Spring Hill Cemetery that is located on the Cullers Family property south of Stella, MO. It is a small cemetery with maybe 15 graves. I have found the list of all the people buried there but I have been unable to find anyone who has photographs of the cemetery. Thanks in advance for any help.

Keep in touch with your family

2008-08-07T21:05:00.002-06:00

I have a story to tell everyone that might end up being long and rambling but there is a point at the end of this story, or should I say a new website for you to check out, so here goes.
The first thing to remember is that I have a very, very large family and when I first started doing genealogy research everyone wanted information from me and thought that I would be a good "messenger" between different branches of the family who hadn't kept in touch but I was. So I spent months looking around for a website that I could set up for family members to keep in touch and keep family information posted for everyone to read. I was looking for something where only family members could access keeping everyone's information secure from all the eyes on the internet. I eventually found a website, I can't even remember the name now, but it was such a pain to set up and then after I got it partially set up I realized that I could only have 5 other people sign on, if I wanted to add someone new I had to kick someone off. Not a good situation if you are trying to promote family communication, can you imagine, "I'm sorry Aunt Gertie but I have to kick you off of our family site so Uncle George can log on". Obviously, I just quit posting on that site.
But then yesterday I received an email about a website called Geni.com, I checked out the site and I fell in love. This is the site I was looking for all those years ago. I got so excited that I started entering all of my personal information so I can get my family member added right away.
This site is such a nice site, even if you aren't really thinking about sharing with family members right now, start your page and keep it updated so you can eventually start inviting family members when you are ready. The amount of information that you can post here is amazing.
There is a very expanded profile that you can fill out only the parts you want to. There is a section for family news, photos and tons of other stuff, you can also upload your family tree. Then you can invite your friends and family members to log on and keep in touch. There is one part that made me laugh on the profile and I added to my own, you can specify if you want you family members to be notified of your birthday, "well, of course", maybe I will generate some cards that way.
So, here's what you should do, go to www.geni.com and enter your name and email. That will open your account. Once the home page comes up click on Update profile on the left and get to work.
Check out this site and let me know what you think, I think that everyone will love it as much as I do.
I'm sorry if this post seems a little giddy but I get that way when I have an excellent find.
Good luck and happy hunting.

P.S. If anyone finds my other family sharing site can you let me know where I left it???

Jewish Genealogy Research

2008-08-01T10:56:00.002-06:00

For those of you researching you Jewish roots I have a few websites that might be worth checking out. These sites were actually listed on the "Family Tree Magazine" annual list of the "101 Best Genealogy Sites for 2008", under the category "Best for Jewish Researchers".
I haven't checked them out yet, I know of no Jewish ancestors in my tree but check them out and let me know what you think about these sites so I can let everyone know. The websites are:
Avotaynu http://www.avotaynu.com
a publisher of products for Jewish genealogy

JewishGen: The Home of Jewish Genealogy http://www.jewishgen.org

Schelly Talalay Dardashti's "Tracing the Tribe: The Jewish Genealogy Blog" http://tracingthetribe.blogspot.com
created in August 2006 under theJewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) umbrella and now independent.
Good Luck.

Claiborne County, TN

2008-07-18T13:04:00.001-06:00

I have been using a new site for research and thought I would like to sharewith those of you doing research in Claiborne County, Tennessee.
The site is called Claiborne County Pioneer Project (CCPP). They have a wonderful database of Claiborne County Pioneer families. With birthdates, death dates and spouses.
The people who run the site are very friendly and helpful. Yoou can send an email and they will get right back to you. Check it out and let me know what you think.
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~ccpp/pioneer/index.htm

Sandusky Library Archives

2008-07-17T16:36:00.002-06:00

I received an email tell me about the Archives of the Sandusky Library blog, what an interesting site, definately worth taking a look at and spending some time looking around.
I was so excited that I plan one digging out my mom's family tree and doing a little research using the information in this blog. The site is very easy to navigate, which is nice because I hate websites that are complicated. Take a look and let me know what you think. I think you are going to find it a very useful site for your Ohio research.
This is the url of the blog http://sanduskyhistory.blogspot.com/

Thanks for the information Dorene, it's very much appreciated.

Train Wrecks, Fires, Explosions and Other Disasters

2008-07-11T09:36:00.003-06:00

I received an email from a genealogy message board and thought some of you might be interested. I gives us an idea of what was going on during our ancestors' lifetimes.
It is very interesting reading.

Train Wrecks, Fires, Explosions and other disaster http://www.gendisasters.com
Events That Touched Our Ancestors' Lives --
Aladdin, MO Train Wreck, Jan 1892
Aliceville, AL Cotton Warehouse Fire, May 1908
Allings Siding, CT Train Wreck, Sept 1907
Andover, OH Restaurant Explosion Kills 21, Aug 1955
Aspen, CO Delta S Mine Accident, Sept 1894
Augusta, KY Tornado Ravages Town, Apr 1857
Barrington Hills, IL Air Balloon Crash Kills Five, Aug 1981
Battle Creek, MI Train Wreck, Oct 1893
Berne, IN Fatal Train - Buggy Wreck, Jul 1896
Birmingham, MO Train Wreck, Sept 1902
Blacksburg, SC Depot Fire, Jun 1905
Blakely, PA Trolley Accident, Mar 1904
Bluff Point, NY Hotel Champlain Fire, May 1910
Bridgeport, CT Train - Auto Wreck, Jun 1923
Brownwood, TX Drownings, May 1908
Brownwood, TX Train Wreck, May 1908
Buffalo, KS Stock Train And Work Trains Collide, Apr 1903
Camden, NJ Disastrous Factory Fire, July 1940
Carbondale, IL Train Wreck, Apr 1909
Champaign, IL Devastating Downtown Fire, Mar 1915
Chicago, IL Fire In Transient Hotel, Mar 1981
Chicago, IL Hydroplane Wreck, Aug 1915
Chillicothe, MO Train Accident, May 1909
Chunchula, AL Train Wreck, Nov 1901
Connellsville, PA Elderly Boarding Home Fire, Apr 1979
Conway, MO Train Wreck, Oct 1892
Cornwall, ON Rossmore Hotel Fire, Apr 1910
Dallas, TX Explosion At Baker Hotel, June 1946
Death Valley, CA Earthquake Hits Mojave Area, Jan 1961
Des Plaines, IL Train Wreck, May 1899
Dongola, IL Train Wreck, Feb 1896
Dothan, AL PT19 Plane Crash, Mar 1952
Dubuque, IA Devastating Fire At Hotel Canfield, June 1946
Duluth, MN Bunnell Building Fire, Jun 1893
Duluth, MN St Louis Hotel Fire, Jan 1893
Durham, NC Hotel Carolina Fire, May 1907
Eagle Grove, IA Explosion In Downtown, Feb 1973
Earlville, IL Train Wreck, Sept 1917
El Reno, OK train wreck, Jan 1912
Elgin, IL Interurban Wreck, Jul 1902
Elgin, IL Streetcar Wreck, Aug 1902
Elkins, WV Box Co Plant Fire, Nov 1918
Excelsior, Lake Minnetonka, MN Fire, Dec 1894
Farmington, MO Nursing Home Blaze Kills 26, Apr 1979
Ferndale, CA Cannon Explosion, May 1908
Floriston, CA Forest Fires Rage In California, July 1924
Fonda, NY Hotel Roy Fire, Jan 1909
Forestville, CT Train Wreck, Mar 1896
Fort Wayne, IN Fell From a Street Car, Aug 1896
Fort Wayne, IN Street Car - Buggy Accident, May 1895
Fort Wayne, IN Struck by Nickle Plate Engine, Apr 1896
Fort Wayne, IN Train - Wagon Accident, Dec 1896
Fullerton, ND Depot Fire, Dec 1915
Gadsden, AL Buggy Accident, Nov 1901
Gasconade, MO Train Wreck, Nov 1855
Geneseo, IL Train Wreck, Jun 1899
Georgetown, MO Train Wreck, Aug 1902
Gloversville, NY Keystone Hotel Fire, Dec 1909
Granite, IL Train Wreck, May 1881
Groesbeck, TX High School Fire, Feb 1910
Halifax, NS Fire Destroys Poor Asylum Building, Nov 1882
Hamlet, NC Train Wreck, Jul 1906
Hamlet, NC Train Wreck, Jul 1911
Harrisons Landing, CT Train Wreck, Oct 1892
Hartford, CT Flood, Mar 1936
Hartland, WI Tornado in Waukesha 1853
Herrin, IL Muddy Coal & Iron Co Mine Explosion, May 1904
Hibbard, IN Fell Under the Wheels of the Train, Sept 1896
Hinsdale, IL Train Wreck, Jul 1912
Homewood, IL Train Wreck, Oct 1891
Hopwood, PA Fatal Auto Accident, 1937
Horseshoe, NY Hotel Fire, Mar 1910
Hot Springs, VA hotel fire, Aug 1910
Huntersville, NC Train Wreck, Jul 1917
Jefferson City, MO Train Wreck, Dec 1913
Johnson's Switch, MO Trolley Wreck, Dec 1911
Kalamazoo, MI Fire Destroys Part Of City, Dec 1909
Kalamazoo, MI Y. M. C. A. Fire, Jan 1911
Kansas City, MO Street Car Wreck, Aug 1902
Kewanee, IL Trolley Accident, Sept 1909
Keytesville, MO Train Wreck, Sept 1897
Kingman, AZ Tank Car Explodes In Town, July 1973
Kouts, IN Killed by Train's Mailsack, Sept 1896
Kusa, OK Wind Storm, Sept 1915
Lake George, NY Fort William Henry Hotel Fire, Jun 1909
Lake Placid, NY Hotel Ruisseaumont Fire, Jul 1909
Lamont, AB Train And School Bus Accident, Nov 1960
Lebanon, IL Train Wreck, Apr 1902
Lenzburg, IL Train Wreck, Jul 1899
Lincoln, NE heating plant explosion, Jan 1912
Litchfield, CT United States Hotel Fire, Apr 1910
Litchfield, IL Train Wreck, Feb 1902
Livingston, IL Train Wreck, Feb 1929
Long Island, NY Auto Wreck, Jul 1908
Long Island, NY Schooner Carrie A Lane Runs Ashore, Sept 1911
Long Island, NY Shelter Island Manhanset Hotel Fire, Aug 1896
Long Island, NY Shelter Island New Prospect House Hotel Fire, Jun 1942
Lorenzo, IL Train Wreck, Apr 1889
Los Angeles, CA Belmont Hotel Fire, Dec 1887
Louisville, NE Small Hotel Burns, Nov 1910
Loveland, CO Devastating Canyon Flooding, Aug 1976
Lumberton, NC Airplane Crash, Dec 1943
Lumberton, NC Train Wreck, Dec 1943
Lyndhurst, WI Train Wreck Kills Seven, Sep 1912
Madison, IL Train Accident, Feb 1929
Madison, IL Train Accident, Jan 1909
Mays Landing, NJ Forest Fire, May 1896
Melby, MN Train Wreck, Sept 1895
Mertens, TX Lightning Destroys Church, May 1908
Mexia, TX Cafe & Opera House Fire, May 1908
Milbank, SD Fire, Jan 1912
Milwaukee, WI Flames Destroy Orphanage, May 1930
Minneapolis, MN Brunswick Hotel Fire, Dec 1910
Minneapolis, MN carbon monoxide poisoning, Jan 1912
Minneapolis, MN Mill Fire, Dec 1881
Minneapolis, MN Security Company Warehouse Fire, Jul 1890
Mobile, AL Ferry Boat Ocean Wave Explosion, Aug 1871
Montreal, QB Tank Plunges Through Herald Building, June 1910
Moro, IL Train Accident, Jul 1892
Mount Summit, IN Fell Under the Train, Nov 1896
Mt. Hood, OR Hikers Fall Into 40 Foot Crevasse, July 1956
Muskegon, MI fire May 1891
Narragansett, RI Massasoit House Hotel Fire, Jul 1910
New Haven, CT Fire Destroys Four-Story Loft, Jan 1957
New Haven, CT Jail Fire Claims Six Firemen, Apr 1910
New Haven, CT Train Wreck, Sept 1913
New Rochelle, NY Lake View Hotel Stable Fire, Nov 1910
New York City, NY Deadly Fire On Ward's Island Asylum, Feb 1923
New York, NY Park Avenue Hotel Fire, Feb 1902
New York, NY Pearl Street Explosion and Fire, Nov 1882
New York, NY Truck - Cab Wreck, Sept 1899
New York, NY Vesey Street Wine Cellar Explosion and Fire, Sept 1898
Newark, OH Stove Company Destroyed By Fire, May 1909
Norwalk, CT Train Wreck, May 1853
Odessa, MN Train Wreck, Dec 1911
Odessa, MO Train Wreck, May 1909
Off Quonset Naval Air Station, RI Disaster Hits U.S.S. BENNINGTON, May 1954
Ottawa, IL Train Wreck, Aug 1870
Palatine, IL Train Wreck & Water Tank Collapse, Apr 1887
Pembroke, NC Hunt Hatchery Fire, Dec 1943
Philadelphia, PA "Pennsylvania Hall" Burns, May 1838
Pittsburgh, PA Excursion Steamer ISLAND QUEEN Explodes, Sep 1947
Portland, OR Sleet Storm, Jan 1912Portsmouth, NH Explosion, Nov 1878
Pulaski, IL Train Wreck, Jan 1903
Quebec, QB St. Charles Orphanage Fire Disaster, Dec 1927
Revere, MO Train Wreck, May 1892
Rib Mountain, WI tornado, Sept 1984
Ricohoc, LA Railroad Collision In Fog, Mar 1925
Rockford, IL Fire, Mar 1908
Salisbury, NC Train Wreck, Aug 1884
Salvia, NV Freight Trains Collide, Nov 1893
San Francisco, CA Cliff House Famous Landmark Burns, Sep 1907
Sand Bank, OH Train Wreck, May 1908
Seneca Falls, NY Seneca House Hotel Fire, Jun 1910
South Chicago, IL Theatre Train - Street Car Wreck, Feb 1906
St Paul, MN Mackubin's Block Fire, Apr 1868
St. John's, NF Terrible Catastrophe At Recreation Hall, Dec 1942
St. Louis, MO Glider Crash Kills Ten, Aug 1943
St. Louis, MO Missouri Athletic Club Fire, Mar 1914
Staples, MN Fire, May 1899
Stillman Valley, IL Train Wreck, Jun 1894
Stonington, IL Mine Accident, Jan 1908
Thompson Station, MN Train Wreck, Oct 1891
Tillamook, OR schooner damaged, Jan 1912
Tofte, MN Forest Fire, May 1910
Toronto, ON Airliner Crashes On Landing, July 1970
Town of Quincy, WI tornado Jul 1984
Underwood, MN Train Wreck, Feb 1906
Union Springs, AL Depot Fire, Nov 1915
Valparaiso, IN Train Accident, Apr 1896
Vivian, Byron & Wilton, MN Fire, Oct 1871
Wann, IL Train Wreck & Oil Tank Explosion "The Wann Disaster", Jan 1893
Waseca, MN Clear Lake House Fire, Jan 1868
Waseca, MN Depot Fire, Jan 1869
Waseca, MN Western House Hotel Fire, Apr 1872
Washington, DC Hotel Harris Fire, Feb 1910
Waterbury, CT Train Wreck, Mar 1907
Waterbury, CT Train Wreck, Oct 1895
Waterloo, IN Collision Kills One And Injures Several, Mar 1917
Waterloo, SC Fire, Jun 1905
Waukegan, IL Sukes Automotive Railway Equipment Co Explosion, Jul 1923
Westport - Saugatuck, CT Train Wreck, Oct 1912
White Horse, YT Fire Destroys Two Blocks, May 1905
Wilpin, MN powder plant explosion, Jan 1912
Wilton, MN Fire, Apr 1869
Winchester, TX Train Wreck, Dec 1893
Winnfield, LA Winn Parish Court House Fire, Jan 1917
Winnipeg, MN Theatre Fire Destroyed, Feb 1952
Winona, MN Flood, Jun 1899Yuma, AZ Rowboat Overturns, Woman Rescued, Jan 1912
Various States, NC, PA, NY, CT, VA, RI, NJ, MA Hurricane DIANE, Aug 1955Various Towns, IA, NE, IL Tornado Damage, May 1899

To view any of these articles, visit http://www.gendisasters.comand click on "Browse by State" or "Browse by Disaster" in the leftside bar,to navigate to the article - or just type the information into the searchbox, also located near the top of the left sidebar

The Year was 1828

2008-06-24T10:11:00.001-06:00

The Year Was 1828
By Juliana Smith
22 June 2008

The year was 1828 and in the United States, it was an election year. Following Andrew Jackson's loss to John Quincy Adams in 1824, the presidential campaign for 1828 began as soon as Adams took office in 1825 and lasted the entire length of his presidency. In 1824, neither candidate won a majority of electoral votes, so the election was decided in the House of Representatives. With support of House Speaker Henry Clay, Adams won and promptly named Clay his Secretary of State. This raised a public outcry that a "corrupt bargain" had tainted the election and kicked off the 1828 election very early. The campaigning on both sides was vicious and filled with personal attacks. Improved communication with the public through newspapers and events aimed at getting out the vote captured the attention of the American public. In fact, the number of voters in 1828 tripled that of the election of 1824.

One of the major issues at stake in the election of 1828 was that of Indian removal. In 1828, the Cherokees were proving proficient at a more agrarian style of living, farming and raising cattle. Schools were set up and Sequoyah invented a written version of the Cherokee language called "Talking Leaves." In February of 1828 Cherokee Phoenix became the first Native American newspaper to be published. But there was a demand for their land and the election of Andrew Jackson spelled disaster for the Cherokees and their Native American counterparts. In the still young and fast-growing country, there was also the need for improved means of transportation, and on the Fourth of July ceremonies were held to break ground for the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad.

When the railroad first took passengers, it was powered by horses. It wasn't until August of 1830, that the line would begin its conversion to steam.On that same day in Little Falls, Maryland, outgoing President John Quincy Adams broke ground on the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal. Construction on this route wouldn't be completed until 1850 when it reached Cumberland, Maryland. The Delaware & Hudson Canal opened for business in 1828 and provided a route for coal to be delivered from Pennsylvania coal fields to the port of New York via the Hudson River. The canal extended 108 miles from Honesdale, Pennsylvania to Kingston, New York. Smallpox was reported in the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

On 12 November 1828, The Adams Centinel (Gettysburg, Pa.) reported that "at least four human beings [had] fallen victim to this scourge of our race, and from 20 to 30 others are infected with the disease." The article goes on to encourage vaccinations, particularly to those exposed to the disease, and it appears that quite a few people heeded this advice. In the 3 December issue of that same newspaper, it was reported that "no less than 3,000 persons have been vaccinated within the past three weeks" and that "the Small Pox has been checked."

Across the ocean in London, the London Zoological Society opened the doors to its new zoo. The zoo wasn't intended as a way to display animals to the public but to learn ways of domesticating foreign animals. In fact, the zoo wasn't open to the public for the first three years; visitors were invited by society members. Nonetheless, 112,226 visitors managed to get in to get a peek at the exotic animals during that first year.

Ireland Obits

2008-06-20T14:38:00.002-06:00

For those of you researching in Ireland here is a site that looks like it has tons of useful info. It has Obituary brief listed from 1800-2004 for Ireland and parts Ireland and the US. The website is http://www.irelandoldnews.com/obits/

I just quickly glanced at it but I will definately be returning to research my Irish families. If you check it out let me know what you think.

June 14th in History - Flag Day

2008-06-16T10:18:00.002-06:00

June 14: 1777

Congress adopts the Stars and Stripes During the American Revolution, the Continental Congress adopts a resolution stating that "the flag of the United States be thirteen alternate stripesred and white" and that "the Union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field,representing a new Constellation."
The national flag, which became known as the "Stars and Stripes," was based on the "Grand Union" flag, a bannercarried by the Continental Army in 1776 that also consisted of 13 red and white stripes. According to legend, Philadelphia seamstress Betsy Rossdesigned the new canton for the Stars and Stripes, which consisted of acircle of 13 stars and a blue background, at the request of General GeorgeWashington.
Historians have been unable to conclusively prove or disprove this legend. With the entrance of new states into the United States after independence,new stripes and stars were added to represent new additions to the Union. In1818, however, Congress enacted a law stipulating that the 13 originalstripes be restored and that only stars be added to represent new states.
On June 14, 1877, the first Flag Day observance was held on the 100thanniversary of the adoption of the Stars and Stripes. As instructed byCongress, the U.S. flag was flown from all public buildings across the country. In the years after the first Flag Day, several states continued to observe the anniversary, and in 1949 Congress officially designated June 14 as Flag Day, a national day of observance.

Source: Genealogy Bits and Pieces List, by Sally Rolls Pavia.

DeBusk/DeBose/DuBosc Ancestors Part 2

2008-06-10T21:23:00.003-06:00

Well, here are the remaining ancestors that I haven't posted on my DeBusk line. I have been unable to document this information, I am still researching but this is how I believe the line goes. Antonie DuBose/DuBosc married Ann, he was the some of Isaac DuBose and Suzanne Couillandeau.
Isaac was the son of Louis Francis Boint DuBosc and Ann Salovay/Sanborne. He was the son of Pierre "Peter" DuBosc and Francoise Olivier DeLanville.
Pierre was the son of Antonie DuBosc who was "the King's Counsellor and the French Ambassador to the Netherlands. He was the son of Astronomies DuBosc. Astonomies was the son of Jean DuBosc and Ann Jubert.
Jean DuBosc was the son of Jean DuBosc, "Lord of Coquereaumont" and was Fecamp Steward to King Charles VIII of France, he married Margueritta LeCauchois.
Jean DuBosc was the son of Gueffin/Queffin DuBosc.
Gueffin/Queffin was "Lord of Coquereaumont" and in 1452 "Sheriff of Rouen". He married Isabelle DiFot/DuFot. Gueffin/Queffin was the son of Guillaume DuBosc and Perrette LeTourneur. Guillaume was known as "Sieur de Tendos de la Chapelle and Emendreville".
Guillaume was the son of Guillaume DuBosc Senior and Perronnelle. Guillaume Senior was "Sieur de Tendos de la Chappelle". He was the son of Jean DuBosc and Isabeau Mustel.
Jean was "Lord of Coquereaumont" and "Lord of Tondas de la Chappelle". Jean's father was Martin DuBosc, "Lord of Coquereaumont" and "DuBosc de Tondas", he married Marie Mustel.
Martin was the son of Geoffrey DuBosc, "Lord of Tondas de la Chappelle" and "DuBosc de Tondas", and Elizabeth D'Orbel.
Geoffrey was the son of Claude DuBosc, "Lord of Tondas de la Chappelle", and "DuBosc de Tondos". Claude married Jeanne DeCormeilles.

That is the end of the road for this branch. I hope this will help someone. If you are researching this line please email me.

The Next Family will be Pickle starting with Rachel Pickle my great-great-great grandmother who married Charles Martin DeBusk.

Civil War Information

2008-06-10T12:15:00.002-06:00

If you have ancestors that fought in the Civil War or if you want to check and see if they fought in the Civil War then you have to try this site. It is usually a pay site but through the month of June they are offering free access. I logged on to it last night just to check it out and make sure the link worked, I ended up spending 3 hours looking around. You can search by soldier, regiment, or battles. I was inpressed by the amount of information the site contains. I search by name and it brought up the date and place of enlistment, age, regiment, ect. Then if you click on regiment it will give you the history of that regiment including the battles they fought.
Here's the link:
http://alexanderstreet.com/resources/civilwar.access.htm
Once this page came up I picked the "American Civil War Research Database". I haven't had a chance to look over the other links but I will take a look tonight.
Good Luck.

Please help save our access to records

2008-06-06T16:32:00.001-06:00

Please help save our access to records:

The Humanities Advocacy Network ( http://www.humanitiesadvocacy.org/action_ctr.html ) is asking people to contact their representatives (through its website) to prevent the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC), the grant-making arm of NARA, from having a budget of *ZERO* for Fiscal Year 2009. A description of the NHPRC is at http://www.archives.gov/nhprc , and a state-by-state list of projects it has funded is at http://www.archives.gov/nhprc/projects/states-territories .

Great Website Find

2008-06-05T14:31:00.003-06:00

Well, I have stumbled on another great website for those of you researching families of The New River Valley of Virginia and North Carolina. It's called The New River Notes and has a load of interesting documents, death indexes, ect. The Virginia Counties included are: Bland, Carroll, Floyd, Giles, Grayson, Montgomery, Patrick, Roanoke, Smyth, Tazewell, Washington and Wythe.
The North Carolina counties include: Allehany, Ashe, Johnson, Surry, Waluaga, Wilker, and Yadkin. If you are doing research in any of these counties then you need to take a look at this website.

Here's the link:
http://www.newrivernotes.com/nrv.htm

Missouri Research

2008-06-04T13:19:00.002-06:00

If you are doing Missouri Research you definately need to check out the Missouri Digital Heritage website. They have scanned death certificates for 1910-1957. The file seems pretty complete, out of the 14 people I searched for that died during that time there were only 2 that I couldn't find and for one I don't have they exact date of death and could actually have been in 1909. The other one is a common name so I will just need to research a bit more. But it is a great website, make sure if you are doing Missouri Research you check it out. Here's the link:
http://www.sos.mo.gov/archives/resources/deathcertificates/
Let me know what you think.

Poorhouse Website

2008-06-03T16:32:00.001-06:00

Here is a link for an interesting website: http://www.poorhousestory.com/other_poorhouses.htm

You can search through poorhouses by state.

Back from Vacation

2008-06-02T14:10:00.002-06:00

Well, I am back from vacation and have been bitten again by the genealogy bug. Now, this doesn't mean that I haven't been working on my genealogy during this time, it actually means that I have again become obsessed with my research again. So, on that note I should have some good blogs coming up so stay tuned.

Today in History Part 2

2008-04-24T10:38:00.000-06:00

Another mailing list post from Sally Rolls Pavia.

1863 : General Orders No. 100 issued The Union army issues General Orders No. 100, which provided a code ofconduct for Federal soldiers and officers when dealing with Confederateprisoners and civilians. The code was borrowed by many European nations, andits influence can be seen on the Geneva Convention. The orders were the brainchild of Francis Lieber, a Prussian immigrant whosethree sons had served during the Civil War. One son was mortally woundedwhile fighting for the Confederacy at the Battle of Williamsburg, Virginia,in 1862. Lieber's other two sons fought for the Union. Lieber was a scholarof international law who took a keen interest in the treatment of combatantsand civilians. He wrote many essays and newspaper articles on the subjectearly in the war, and he advised General Henry Halleck, general-in-chief ofthe Union armies, on how to treat guerilla fighters captured by Federalforces. Halleck appointed a committee of four generals and Lieber to draft rules ofcombat for the Civil War. The final document consisted of 157 articleswritten almost entirely by Lieber. The orders established policies for,among other things, the treatment of prisoners, exchanges, and flags oftruce. There was no document like it in the world at the time, and othercountries soon adopted the code. It became the standard for internationalmilitary law, and the Germans adopted it by 1870. Lieber's concepts arestill very influential today. ********************************************
1940 : Britain begins its evacuation of Greece in Operation Demon On this day in 1940, British forces, along with Australian, New Zealand, andPolish troops, begin to withdraw from Greece in light of the Greek army'ssurrender to the Axis invaders. A total of 50,732 men are evacuated quicklyover a six-day period, leaving behind weapons, trucks, and aircraft.

Today in History April 24th

2008-04-24T10:36:00.002-06:00

I received this post from a mailing list, I thought it was interesting. Thanks to Sally Rolls Pavia.

April 24, 1781Battle of Petersburg beginsOn the evening of April 24, 1781, British General William Phillips lands onthe banks of the James River at City Port, Virginia. Once there, he combinedforces with British General Benedict Arnold, the former American general andnotorious traitor, to launch an attack on the town of Petersburg, Virginia,located about 12 miles away. Defending the town of Petersburg from the approaching British troops was acontingent of 1,000 troops from the Virginia militia led by Major GeneralFriedrich Wilhelm von Steuben. General von Steuben had set up defensivelines of resistance, but had no real hope of victory as the Americans wereseverely outnumbered by the British army of 2,500 troops. After severalhours of fighting, von Steuben ordered a full-scale retreat of the Virginiamilitia as the city of Petersburg fell into British hands. AlthoughPetersburg was lost, General von Steuben and the Virginia militia were ableto resist the British force long enough for Patriot troops to assemble andset up defensive positions in nearby towns. General Phillips had survived three years of captivity after being taken prisoner by the Americans at Saratoga in 1777 and marching with the so-called “Convention Army”--dubbed as such because the British and Americans signed a short-lived convention that the prisoners would be released to Europe if they agreed not to fight in North America again--700 miles from Saratoga, New York, to Charlottesville, Virginia, in November 1778 (after the revocation of the Convention of Saratoga). He was released in exchange for Patriot Major General Benjamin Lincoln in 1780. Despite such earlier fortitude, Phillips died of typhus on May 13 in Petersburg, less than a month after his victory .

My DeBusk Ancestors

2008-04-18T14:17:00.002-06:00

I am going to use this first blog to list my direct ancestors on my DeBusk family tree. Then I will try to do a short biography in other blogs on the people I have mentioned. So we will start with my DeBusk relatives. I have excluded any information of living individuals unless they have given their permission.

My dad: Living DeBusk

Son of: Kenneth Elvin DeBusk &
Living Branham

Kenneth is the son of: Charles Martin DeBusk &
Bessie Virginia Murphy

Charles is the son of: Ezra Newton Sheffield DeBusk &
Sarah Ann Lucinda Butcher
(Ezra married 2nd Priscilla Jane Richardson)

Ezra is the son of: John Gross DeBusk &
Rachel Pickle

John is the son of: Elijah DeBusk Jr. &
Margaret "Peggy" Gross

Elijah Jr. is the son of: Elijah DeBusk Sr. &
Katherine "Caty" Rouse

Family Stories say that Elijah Sr. was the son of: Jacob DeBusk &
Unknown
(but this has been unproven)

Jacob DeBusk is the son of: Antonie DeBusk/DeBose/DuBose/DuBosc
& Unknown

Antonie is the son of: Issac DuBose/DuBosc &
Suzanne Couillandeau

This traces the family to them arriving in America from France. I will continue with the French line next week.

2008-04-18T13:46:00.002-06:00

I received this link from one of the mailing list I subscribe to. It has Civil War Information.
I've only checked a few of the things so far but it looks very interesting. Check it out.
www.sonofthesouth.net
This site has copies of the "Harper's Weekly" during the Civil War.

I am back

2008-04-08T16:53:00.002-06:00

Hi everyone, it's been a while. I was going to stop writing this blog but here in the last few weeks I have received numerous emails asking questions so I have decided to continue with my blog. I haven't done much genealogy research lately, I have been in the process of starting my own mail order/web site/farmers market nursery, so that has taken up most of my time but, now that it is getting hot here (I'm in Arizona) the farmers markets are dying out until fall. I can't wait to get back to my genealogy research, without a market every weekend I will have tons of time, even with my web site and mail order buisness. So, it's back to genealogy for me.
I will be continuing with my family of the month program within the next month so if there's a family you want to see let me know.
Until later.

Seasons Greetings

2007-12-21T09:28:00.000-07:00

Well, this will be my last post before the holidays. I just wanted to wish everyone a Happy and Safe Holiday Season.
Spend time with your family and be safe.

Upcoming Surname Showcases

2007-12-13T12:41:00.000-07:00

Well, here is the tentative list of up coming month surnames that I will be showcasing. These families are all in my family tree. If you have any iformation you have on that specific family please email me with the surname in the subject line, my email is: genealogyguru@aol.com

January DeBusk
February Branham
March Murphy
April Hannah
May Ditsch
June Schreiner/Schrainer

I will wait until later in the New Year to figure out the surnames for the second half of 2008, that way if someone has a family they want me to research and post I can add it there.

Coming Up in 2008!!!

2007-12-12T13:57:00.000-07:00

I will be starting something new starting in January 2008. Each month I will "showcase" a different surname. I will include some family tree information, historical information, stories, and/or anything else I can find. I will be starting with the names on my family tree but if you have a name you're researching and would like some informaion let me know and I will add it to my list and we'll see what I can find, I am not promising that I will be able to post something but I will give it a look and see what I can find. So, you're probably wondering what surname with be the first, of course it will be my own surname, DeBusk. I haven't figured out which surname I'll do for February, I think I will post a schedule for the first few months so check back later in the week.

Start the New Year Out Right

2007-12-10T12:39:00.000-07:00

Well, this year is coming to a close here in a few weeks and I thought a good way to start the new year would be to exchange websites that we find helpful in our research. I will be compiling a list of websites that other researchers enjoy using and I will post them here in my first post for 2008. So, if you have a favorite or helpful website you want to share just email me with the web address, title, a short summary of the info on that page, and why you like using that website. You can email me at genealogyguru@aol.com .
I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season and I can't wait to hear from you.

Genealogy/History Web Sites

2007-11-29T14:05:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone, this is a list of genealogy and history web sites that I received from another mailing list. I haven't had a chance to try them out so if you try one let me know how you like it and if it was helpful.

Al Beagan's "Genealogy Notes"©1996http://members.tripod.com/~Al_Beagan/start.htm

Archaeology in Nova Scotiahttp://museum.gov.ns.ca/arch/index.htm

Kansas (KS) History Web Sites: Native American Tribes, KS Trails, Forts,Cattletowns, Trails, Old West, Territorial KS Histor..http://www.kansashistory.us/

HISTORY of DECATUR COUNTY KANSAShttp://www.oberlinkansas.org/hist/index.htm

Cowley County, KansasBill Bottorff's Home Pagehttp://www.ausbcomp.com/~bbott/index.html Links.

In English.DUTCH PORTUGUESE COLONIAL HISTORY. Portugese en Nederlandse KolonialeGeschiedenis. Historia Colonial de Portugal e Holanda. ..http://www.colonialvoyage.com/

Guide and Index to Lists of Rulershttp://www.friesian.com/histindx.htm History and info.

Native American Rhymeshttp://nativeamericanrhymes.com/index.htm

Genealogy links.1st Choice Genealogy Ecards - weblattitudes.comhttp://www.angelfire.com/ks/windshipgenhelp/

US State Library Linkshttp://www.angelfire.com/ks/windshipgenhelp/statelib.html

This meta search engine spiders three book search engines.I put in " History of the Town of " and got back quite a lot.Booksearch x 3 - Search Inside Books with A9.com, Google & MSN Livehttp://kokogiak.com/booksearch/?q=History+of+the+Town+of+

Ireland - Search List of Signers, September 28, 1912.Ulster Covenant - Searchhttp://www.proni.gov.uk/ulstercovenantsearch/

Irish Diaspora Studieshttp://www.brad.ac.uk/acad/diaspora/

Executions, Derby, England, UK, United Kingdom.http://www.derbycity.com/derby/execute.html

EnglandHistory of Guernsey Butchershttp://history.foote-family.com/butchers/index.htm

West Virginia Archives and History - Native Americanshttp://www.wvculture.org/hiStory/nativeamericans.html

Jewish Records Indexing Polandhttp://www.jewishgen.org/JRI-PL/

Equivalent Christian or Given Names in English,Polish and Germanhttp://www.sggee.org/AlternateChristianNames.pdf

Historical Map Archivehttp://alabamamaps.ua.edu/historicalmaps/index.html

History of Private LifeDigital Historyhttp://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/historyonline/private_life.cfm

Ethnic AmericaDigital Historyhttp://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/historyonline/ethnic_am.cfm

American Historical ImagesDigital Historyhttp://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/images.cfm

Irish Potato FamineAN GORTA MOR - The Great Hunger Archivehttp://www.thegreathunger.org/html/main/indexa.htm

InformationDartmoor Press. Devon's Premier Genealogical, Family & Local History Websitehttp://www.dartmoorpress.clara.net/indexinf.html

18th century cost of living - redcoats historyhttp://footguards.tripod.com/08HISTORY/08_costofliving.htm **************************************

I'm Back to Genealogy

2007-11-26T13:47:00.000-07:00

Well, its been a while, I had decided to take a few months off of my genealogy research, I was driving myself crazy, not to mention in circles. But I am back at it now, I've dug out all the papers, the forms, and all of the other required equipment, my table and desk look like a cyclone hit them. For some reason I always end up back at the family tree work around the holidays, maybe because it's a time to spend with the family, who know, it's just my internal clock. So, I told my self that I would finish entering info from the spring into my laptop before I would allow myself to look up any new info, well didn't last too long because I found myself surfing the Rootsweb Message Boards today, which is what prompted this post.
I was looking through all of the recent posts for my numerous families and I came across a post that just irritated me. I will not mention which message board it was on (it is one of the surnames mentioned by me in my first post), anyway there was a researcher we will call "Person 1" who had posted a post listing who she was looking for and asking for help.
The next post was a response from "Person 2" attempting to assist by offering to look info up in a book they have for Person 1. And this was Person 1's response to Person 2's attemp to assist them:
"Hi,I have the book you mentioned, along with a few more. I have collected, and in many cases documented, about 6300 names of descendants of John and Mary, son of Jacob and Maria Magdalena. I also have another 5500 names of descendants of John's brother, Michael, and nearly a thousand descendants of the younger brother, Jacob. The H... book is somewhat helpful, but has many errors in it, so don't take it too seriously. I've been working on the family lines for about 12 years, and have found a lot of information that is available to anyone who is interested enough to look for it. I have also found a lot of cousins I never knew I had, and have enjoyed meeting some of them."
I was offended when I read this, I mean here is someone who asked for help then when someone offers to help them by looking up information in a family book, the person who needs the help answers back talking about all of the info she already has and doesn't even thank the person who offers to help her. If she knows so much about this family then maybe she shouldn't be posting questions on the message boards since she knows everything already about that family, and then after someone has taken them time to respond to you question you don't tell them thank you.
It is researchers like this that give us all a bad reputation, please remember that when you ask for help be respectful of the person who offers to help you because they don't have to help and if they offer you info from a source that you've already search in, just say thank you, an autobiography of your genealogy expertise is not required.
The person 1 in this story is actually writing a book on this family, I am tempted to post which family name it is on so everyone will know before they purchase her book, I will have to keep thinking on that one, I know I won't be purchasing it even if she is an expert.
Well, that I my rant for the month, I promise only happy thoughts.

Forest Park Cemetery, Joplin, Missouri

2007-07-19T12:08:00.000-06:00

As I stated before, I just returned from a research/visit family trip to Missouri. We took one day and traveled all around Southwest Missouri, tying up a few family tree loose ends. One of the cemeteries we visited was Forest Park Cemetery in Joplin, Missouri. This cemetery has a wonderful resource for genealogist search for specific headstones and graves. It would be nice to see other large cemeteries follow their example and make it a little easier for genealogist to find what their looking for.
When you enter the Forest Park Cemetery the first thing you notice is that this cemetery is absolutely huge, I would guess and say that it must be 7-10 acres or more, when you're standing in the center the only thing you see when you look around is green grass and headstones. Anyway, the cemetery is divided into sections with each one being numbered. In front of each section there is a sign with a plexi-glass box. Inside that box and protected from the elements is a list for that section of the cemetery with names, plots and graves of the people buried in that section.
So, to find out what section your person is in you go to the center of the cemetery to the caretakers building and there is another sign with plexi-glass box that has the master list for the entire cemetery. This list is in alphabetical order and tells you what section and plot your person is in. Then you can go to that section and look up your person in the listing for the section and find out exactly where they are buried.
We had a little argument about how helpful the listing in each section really was once you had found the section on the master list. I preferred just cruising through that section on finding the headstone, my dad(who was helping me) thought it was more efficient to use the section list and then walk right to the headstone. The only problem with this was that only the master list was in alphabetical order, not the list for each section, these were in plot order so you spent more time looking at the list with more chance of missing someone.
Anyway, in the long run it definately speeded up our search, it only took us 1 hour to find and photograph 23 graves of family members and without their lists we would have spent the whole day there.
So, I want to thank the management and people of Forest Park Cemetery for taking the time to assemble this list and keeping it updated, it really makes genealogy research much less time consuming.

Back from Research Trip

2007-07-18T17:19:00.000-06:00

Well, It's been a while. I took a research trip to Missouri. Found lots of "dead people" but had awful weather, rained everyday. I will post more on my trip later, I just wanted to let everyone know that I am back.

MA Records

2007-05-22T12:12:00.000-06:00

Massachusetts records have been open and unrestricted for 365 years. HelpUs to keep it that way by supporting the work of MGC with your letters tothe legislators in this state. Information follows for both residents andNon-residents of Massachusetts. The 1641 Massachusetts Body of Liberties states:"Every Inhabitant of the Countrie shall have free libertie to search andveewe any Rooles, Records, or Regesters of any Court or office except theCouncell, And to have a transcript or exemplification thereof writtenexamined, and signed by the hand of the officer of the office paying theappointed fees therefore." The current bills in the legislature call for restricting access to allbirth records since 1910 and all marriage and death records since 1950.These records are currently open public records and are the entry point forgenealogical and medical history research. Closure of these records is indirect opposition to the Surgeon General’s Family History Initiative. Seehttp://www.hhs.gov/ familyhistory for more information. The indexes to these records are restricted in the same manner. This isunprecedented in our state. It will deny use by all non-governmentalindividuals: researchers in genealogy, medical history, probate heirs, banksjournalists, and historians. Contact should be made immediately. We stopped these bills in 2003 – but nowsupport for them in the legislature is formidable. If YOU don’t speak now,these bills will change the face of genealogy in Massachusetts and beyond.MOST EFFECTIVE: a signed letter with your reasons for opposing theseclosures, using your own words. ALSO: telephone calls, face to face meetings, and e-mails. SHARE THIS ANNOUNCEMENT: urge your sympathetic relatives, friends,neighbors, and the professionals listed above to do the same.Contact information for your representatives and senators is available from:http://www.mass.gov/legis/
Your town clerk’s office
The state house at (617) 722-2000
The postal address is:
Representative (or Senator) _______, State House, Room _______, Boston, MA02133.
If you are out of state, please send your letters to:
The Honorable Robert A. DeLeo, Chairman,
House Ways and Means Committee,Room 243, The State House,
Boston, MA 02133; Tel: 6i7-722-2990; Fax:617-722-2998; Email: Robert.DeLeo@state.ma.us Sally Rolls Paviasallypavia2001@yahoo.com

LDS Family History Announcement

2007-05-22T12:10:00.000-06:00

This is perhaps the most important genealogy announcement of the past fewyears. The following announcement was written by The Church of Jesus Christof Latter-day Saints:FamilySearch Unveils Program to Increase Access to World's Genealogical Records Tidal Wave of Online Databases Will Result
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH-FamilySearch announced today its Records Access programto increase public access to massive genealogy collections worldwide. Forthe first time ever, FamilySearch will provide free services to archives andother records custodians who wish to digitize, index, publish, and preservetheir collections. The program expands FamiliySearch's previously announceddecision to digitize and provide online access to over 2 million rolls ofcopyrighted microfilm preserved in the Granite Mountain Records Vault. A keycomponent of the program allows FamilySearch and archives to team withGenealogy websites to provide unprecedented access to microfilm in the vaultThe combined results ensure a flood of new record indexes and images onlineat www.FamilySearch.org and affiliated websites. The plan combines the assets and experience of the Genealogical Society ofUtah with the state-of-the-art technology resources of FamilySearch-allunder the single brand name of FamilySearch. The Records Access programallows records custodians to publish their data online by themselves or withthe assistance of FamilySearch or affiliate genealogical websites andHistorical societies. "Records custodians worldwide are experiencing growing pressure to provideaccess to their records online while maintaining control and ownership. Atthe same time, websites that provide digitizing and publishing services arestruggling with the staggering costs," said Wayne Metcalfe, director ofRecords Services for FamilySearch. "The new Record Access program takesadvantage of FamilySearch's resources and creates an economical andeffective forum where record custodians and genealogical websites can worktogether to accomplish their respective objectives," added Metcalfe.Working with the records custodians, FamilySearch can leverage its extensivemicrofilm and growing digital image collection to create digital images foraffiliate genealogical websites at a fraction of the cost. The affiliategenealogy organization will create indices of the digital images and thenpublish the images and the indices on its own website, the archive's websiteor a jointly published site. A copy of the index will also be madeavailable for free on the popular FamilySearch website, which will helpdrive traffic to record images on the custodians' or affiliates' sites. Fullfree access to both the indices and images will be provided to familyhistory centers, FamilySearch managed facilities, and the archives. If therecord custodian seeks revenue to sustain operations, a small fee may berequired to access images outside FamilySearch managed facilities or theArchive.For archives and heritage societies, the new program benefits include:Digitally capture, preserve, and publish records onlineIncrease access to records while maintaining control and ownershipIncrease patronage and business viabilityOver 100 years of archival and publishing experienceFor genealogy websites, the new program helps them:· Benefit from the knowledge and relationships of FamilySearch with thearchival community worldwide· Significantly lower costs associated with acquiring, preserving, orproviding access to data· Increase business viability and website traffic· Leverage an open platform that develops value-added services aroundFamilySearch, the world's largest repository of genealogical data.Under the program, FamilySearch will also provide tools and assistance torecords custodians who want to publish parts of their collection usingstate-of-the-art digital cameras, software, and web-based applications.The archive can work with an affiliate, historical society, or FamilySearchto index the images or host a website for the records custodian. The indexof the record collection will be available for free on FamilySearch, and therecords custodian's site will provide access to the images for free or a feedepending on the needs of the archive and those assisting in theDigitization.One example of the tools FamilySearch can provide is FamilySearch Indexing,a web-based application that engages tens of thousands of volunteersworldwide to create searchable indexes linked to the digital images createdby FamilySearch. "Through mere word-of-mouth promotions, literally tens ofthousands of volunteers are already joining this effort to index the world'srecords by registering at FamilySearchIndexing.org and donating a fewminutes a week online to the effort. Over 100,000 volunteers are expected toenlist in the initiative by year end with the numbers increasing as moreprojects-particularly international projects-are added," said Paul Nauta,manager of Public Affairs for FamilySearch.FamilySearch will announce the first collaborative projects of its newRecords Access program during the National Genealogical Society (NGS)Convention in Richmond, Virginia, the week of May 14, 2007. Many moreProject announcements are expected in the following months.Record custodians and archives that would like additional informationregarding the FamilySearch Records Services can contact Wayne Metcalfe(metcalfewj@gensocietyofutah.org) and genealogy web service providers shouldcontact Dave Harding (hardingdp@ldschurch.org).FamilySearch (historically known as the Genealogical Society of Utah) is anonprofit organization sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-daySaints. FamilySearch maintains the world's largest repository ofgenealogical resources accessed through FamilySearch.org, the Family HistoryLibrary in Salt Lake City, and over 4,500 family history centers in 70countries.
Sally Rolls Pavia

New Research Website

2007-05-18T14:00:00.000-06:00

Here's another website for people researching their New England Ancestors. I took a look around but really had nothing to research there because I have no New England Ancestors. But for someone who does you might find some useful information. Let me know how you like it and if you find anything. Here's the link: www.rays-place.com.

Hawkins County, TN Genealogy Meeting

2007-05-11T14:49:00.000-06:00

The Hawkins County folks would welcome anyone from Claiborne that would liketo attend. I'd love to see some folks I know and meet some that I only knowvia e-mail.Bobbi EstesDNA and GenealogyRoberta EstesRogersville TNHawkins County7:00 P.M.June 12th 2007955 East McKinney AvenueRogersville, TN 37857The Hawkins County Historical and Genealogy Society in Rogersville Tennesseeinvites you to a presentation by Roberta Estes on "DNA and Genealogy." Itwill be held Tuesday, 7:00 P.M., June 12th, at the Rescue Squad Buildingnext door to the Hawkins County Archives. Roberta Estes is on the speakerslist for ISOGG (International Society for Genetics Genealogy). Robertaspoke at "The Third International Conference on Genetic Genealogy" presentedby Family Tree DNA in Houston Texas, and also on the Voice of America. Sheis the founder of the Cumberland Gap DNA Projects both Y and mtDNA andshe is advisor for the Melungeon_DNA Projects. Roberta has ancestors inHawkins, Hancock, Claiborne and surrounding counties, and other areas ofcentral Appalachia. She will explain about the different DNA tests and howto use them with genealogy, and show the importance of testing mtDNA, thefemale line. Kits will be available. This educational presentation isoffered at no cost to the public. Penny Ferguson

Settling of Jamestown

2007-05-11T14:48:00.000-06:00

See site: www.smgf.org
In conjunction with the 400th anniversary of the settling of Jamestown, theSorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation is offering an opportunity todiscover possible ancestors who helped settle the colony. You do need tohave an all-male (Y-chromosome) or an all-female (mtDNA) line of descent toBe able to use this service. The following announcement was written by the Sorenson Molecular GenealogyFoundation: Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation Invites Curious to Search World’sLargest Genetic-Genealogy Database for Jamestown Ancestors During 400thAnniversary For Anyone Who Ever Wondered Whether They Had Ancestors Living in America’sFirst Permanent European Settlement: Non-Profit Research OrganizationBuilding the World’s Only Genetic Database Specifically for GenealogicalPurposes Offers to Help People Answer That Question for Themselves SALT LAKE CITY--Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation (SMGF), a non-profitscientific organization with the world’s largest correlated genetic andgenealogy catalog of more than 4 million records from 172 countries, isinviting anyone who is curious about their family history to search its freeonline database to learn if they had forebears in Jamestown—Europeancolonists’ first permanent settlement in North America—during itsQuadricentennial celebration. Four hundred years ago, on May 14, 1607, three small, leaky wooden shipscarrying 108 settlers landed on a bank of the James River in what is nowVirginia. These first arrivals were English, but the settlement of Jamestownsoon became a genetic and genealogical crossroads of European, NativeAmerican and African people. Today Jamestown is celebrated as the wellspringof modern America because it had representative government, a freeEnterprise economy and culturally diverse population. “To commemorate the 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown, we wouldlike to invite everyone who is interested in their ancestry to search ourdatabase to learn if they are related to any of those early Jamestowninhabitants,” said Scott Woodward, who is executive director of thefoundation and one of the world’s leading researchers in molecular genealogy “We know by reviewing the Register of 17th Century Ancestors provided byThe Jamestown Society that more than two-thirds of the family surnames inthe register are also in our database. Even better, through a combination ofgenetics and genealogy, we have multiple direct paternal lines from some ofthese first settlers, which gives us their exact Y-chromosome geneticProfile.” The free, online SMGF database (www.smgf.org) is unique because it can linkanindividual’s genetic profile to specific ancestors by name going back six toeight generations or further. The non-profit foundation was established bybiotech billionaire James LeVoy Sorenson to foster goodwill and fellowshipamong humankind by showing scientifically how closely related each person isTo every other. Of the settlers’ surnames from the first three groups to arrive in Jamestownin 1607 and 1608—only to face disease, starvation and attacks by localtribes—more than half are found on the SMGF database. Surnames in theY-chromosome, or paternal line, database include Wingfield, Archer, Herd,Love, Emry, Cantrill, Bayley, Bentley, May, Dole, Cotton and Graves.Surnames in the mtDNA, or maternal line, database include Gosnoll, Sands,Sudley, Waler, Midwinter, Wotton, Gore, Martin, Dowse and Hancock.Any individual can query the SMGF database for genetic-genealogy informationfor free by obtaining their DNA profile (usually by a swish of mouthwash)from a commercial genomics laboratory and then entering the results into theWeb site’s database search menu. For those who wish to participate byContributing their records to the foundation’s database, the process is freeconvenient and private. Simply request a kit on the SMGF website and thensubmit a DNA sample and an accompanying four-generation pedigree chart. About Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation (SMGF), a non-profit researchorganization, is the pioneer in the rapidly developing fields of geneticgenealogy and DNA analysis. Combining powerful new DNA research withconventional genealogy, SMGF has created a potent new “Rosetta Stone” ofgenetic understanding that connects individuals throughout the world withtheir ancestors and living relatives. SMGF has created the world’s largestrepository of correlated genetic and genealogical information—more than 4million total ancestors’ names representing linked DNA samples and pedigreecharts from 107 countries, or more than half of the nations of the world. Sally Rolls Paviasallypavia2001@yahoo.comList Owner: GENEALOGYBITSANDPIECES-L-request@rootsweb.comArchives: http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/index/GENEALOGYBITSANDPIECES"All incoming and outgoing email checked by Norton Anti-Virus"

Filles du Roi

2007-05-11T14:46:00.000-06:00

Ancestry Daily News Michael John Neill – 4/7/2004
An Introduction to the Filles du Roi
Promises of royal lineage attract the attention of many. There are millions of descendants of the “king's daughters” who arrived in Quebec between 1663 and 1673. Their relationship to the king is purely financial, not genetic.
When I purchased Peter Gagne's book King's Daughters and Founding Mothers: The Filles du Roi 1663-1673 last year at a conference, my knowledge was minimal. I knew two things: that one of my wife's ancestors was a fille du roi, and that these “king's daughters” were not literally daughters of the king. Over 700 of these women were brought from France to Quebec between 1663 and 1673. King Louis XIV was concerned about the growth of the colony and the subsidized importation of women was seen as a way to strengthen Quebec and increase its independence from France. In 1663 the population of Quebec was only 2,500 and the gender ratio was highly unbalanced. The state importation of women would help to balance the gender ratio and eventually increase the population of the colony through the resulting births of children. These women were called filles du roi as the French crown bore the responsibility for their transportation and settlement expenses, not because they were related to the French nobility. In many cases a dowry was also provided upon their marriage and women were given a chest containing needles, thread, and other supplies to help them begin their households. A quick look at several of my wife's forebears in the book cleared up some unspoken assumptions I had about these women.
Jeanne DenotBorn about 1645 in Paris, Jeanne left for Canada in 1666 after the death of her father. Her first husband in Quebec was actually not a Frenchman, but rather a Spaniard, Andre Robidou. Andre died after ten years of marriage and five children. Within five months of Andre's death in 1678, Jeanne married Jacques Suprenant and subsequently had eight more children. Many widows or widowers with small children would remarry quickly if another suitable spouse could be found--Jeanne was no exception.
Louise LecoutreLouise was born about 1648, but her specific origins in France are unknown. This is somewhat unusual, as the specific French origins are known for the majority of the filles du roi.
Marguerite ArdionMarguerite was born about 1638 into a Protestant family in La Rochelle. I had assumed (incorrectly) that all the filles du roi were Catholic. Marguerite came to Quebec in 1663, but she did not come alone. She was a widow with one child, Laurent Beaudet. In Quebec in October 1663, she married Jean Rabouin. They had several children. Marie ChevreauMarie was born in France about 1652 and came to Canada in 1665 after her father's death. In October of 1665 she married Rene Reaume. The King's Daughters and Founding Mothers includes a transcription and translation into English of the marriage contract between Marie and Rene. The contract was unusual because Governor Courcelles and several other notables signed it. The likely reason is that the Marie was thirteen at the time of her marriage. The couple had several children and Rene had several brushes with the authorities before his death in 1722.
Numerous DescendantsThese women have millions of descendants scattered throughout North America. Those of us with French-Canadian ancestry may be related to many of these early settlers. In fact, my wife descends from Jeanne Denot and both her husbands!
Back to The Introduction After reading about my wife's specific ancestors, I turned my attention to the book's preface and introduction. It was time to learn more before making any conclusions. Reading or photocopying only the portion of the book that “has my name on it” is not a good research practice. Responsibly using any reference text requires that the preface and introduction also be read, not just the information or pages on the desired individual. A book of biographies such as the one I was using should include an introduction to the topic and a discussion of how the individuals were chosen for inclusion in the reference. Additionally, the reader should determine if the book contains bibliographies or citations to specific documents. Introductions may also refer the reader to additional texts and more comprehensive background material. Gagne's book provided an excellent overview of the filles du roi, including why they were sent to Quebec, how they were chosen, what the trip was like, and how they chose their suitor. It was an extremely interesting history lesson.
Who?Not all the “king's daughters” were orphans. According to Gagne, only 11 percent of the women had lost both their parents before their emigration. One interesting distinction of the filles du roi was that only 11 percent of these women had other relatives who immigrated. They are one of the few groups of individuals who did immigrate to a new land as part of a larger chain migration. The women tended to be poor.
How?Women were generally taken from French institutions, recommended by various officials of the Catholic church, or (in a few cases) individuals who volunteered themselves. Most came willingly, but some probably felt they had no real choice and were hoping for a better life in Quebec. Women who wanted to immigrate to Quebec had to be of childbearing age and in good health. The majority of these women were from the northern part of France.
The MatchingThose suitors who were looking for a bride had to do more than simply knock on the door of residences housing the women. They would have to apply to the directress and indicate how they made a living, how much property they owned, and how many possessions they had. The men tried to select women who would adjust to the climate and lifestyle, and the women were also allowed to ask questions of the men. A man who had a suitable residence was at an advantage over those who did not. The majority of the women found suitors, but those who did not typically had to settle for a position as a household servant. Remember that descent from the “king's daughters” does not mean a royal lineage. What it does mean, though, is that genealogy continues to be a never-ending history lesson.
A Few LinksPeter Gagne's book, King's Daughters and Founding Mothers: The Filles du Roi: 1663-1673
Alphabetical List of the King's Daughters
La Société des Filles du Roi et soldats du Carignan, Inc.
Louis Hébert--The Filles du Roi
Those wishing to learn more about researching French-Canadian ancestors (including the “king's daughters”) may also refer to “-French Canadian Sources ” Chapter 25. Les Filles du Roi--The King's Daughters published by Ancestry in 2002.
Michael John Neill is the Course I Coordinator at the Genealogical Institute of Mid America (GIMA) held annually in Springfield, Illinois, and is also on the faculty of Carl Sandburg College in Galesburg, Illinois. Michael is the Web columnist for the FGS FORUM and is on the editorial board of the Illinois State Genealogical Society Quarterly. He conducts seminars and lectures on a wide variety of genealogical and computer topics and contributes to several genealogical publications, including Ancestry Magazine and Genealogical Computing. You can e-mail him at mjnrootdig@myfamily.com or visit his website at www.rootdig.com/, but he regrets that he is unable to assist with personal research.
Upcoming Events for Michael John Neill24 April 2004, Moline, IllinoisMichael will be the featured speaker at the annual Quad Cities Genealogy Conference, held in Moline, Illinois. Topics include: “Where did the Farm Go?” “Research on a Tight Budget,” “Researching the Entire Family,” and “Where Do I Go from Here?” For more information, e-mail den@revealed.net .
14 May 2004, St. Peters, MissouriMichael will present an all-day computer workshop on Family Tree Maker at St. Charles Community College in St. Peters, Missouri. For more information visit www.rootdig.com/stcharles.html
15 May 2004, St. Peters MissouriMichael will present an all day computer workshop on Online Genealogy Methods at St. Charles Community College in St. Peters, Missouri. For more information visit www.rootdig.com/stcharles.html
20 May 2004, Dearborn, MichiganAll day computer workshop, “Census Research Online,” at Henry Ford Community College in Dearborn, Michigan. For more information visit: www.rootdig.com/dearbornmay2004.html
21 May 2004, Dearborn, MichiganGenealogy Computer Workshop at Henry Ford Community College in Dearborn, Michigan (online trip preparation, introduction to European research online, using online card catalogs, and more). For more information visit: www.rootdig.com/dearbornmay2004.html
22 May 2004An all day Family Tree Maker computer workshop at Henry Ford Community College in Dearborn, Michigan. For more information visit: /www.rootdig.com/dearbornmay2004.html Copyright 2004, MyFamily.com.

Today in History

2007-05-08T12:30:00.000-06:00

Here is an article I received, it explains a little about the creation of militias and the men who were a part of them.

"1792: Militia Act establishes conscription under federal law On this day in 1792, Congress passes the second portion of the Militia Act,requiring that "every free able-bodied white male citizen of the respectiveStates, resident therein, who is or shall be of age eighteen years, andunder the age of forty-five years… be enrolled in the militia." Six days before, Congress had established the president's right to call outthe militia. The outbreak of Shay's Rebellion, a protest against taxationand debt prosecution in western Massachusetts in 1786-87, had firstconvinced many Americans that the federal government should be given thepower to put down rebellions within the states. The inability of theContinental Congress under the Articles of Confederation to respond to thecrisis was a major motivation for the peaceful overthrow of the governmentand the drafting of a new federal Constitution. The Militia Act was tested shortly after its passage, when farmers inwestern Pennsylvania, angered by a federal excise tax on whiskey, attackedthe home of a tax collector and then, with their ranks swollen to 6,000camped outside Pittsburgh, threatened to march on the town. In response,President Washington, under the auspices of the Militia Act, assembled 15000 men from the surrounding states and eastern Pennsylvania as a federalmilitia commanded by Virginia's Henry Lee to march upon the Pittsburghencampment. Upon its arrival, the federal militia found none of the rebelswilling to fight. The mere threat of federal force had quelled the rebellionand established the supremacy of the federal government. 1864: Lee beats Grant to Spotsylvania On this day, Yankee troops arrive at Spotsylvania Court House to find theRebels already there. After the Battle of the Wilderness (May 5-6), UlyssesS. Grant's Army of the Potomac marched south in the drive to take Richmond.Grant hoped to control the strategic crossroads at Spotsylvania Court House,so he could draw Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia into open ground. Spotsylvania was important for a number of reasons. The crossroads weresituated between the Wilderness and Hanover Junction, where the tworailroads that supplied Lee's army met. The area also lay past Lee's leftflank, so if Grant beat him there he would not only have a head start towardRichmond, but also the clearest path. Lee would then be forced to attackGrant or race him to Richmond along poor roads. Unbeknownst to Grant, Lee had received reports of Union cavalry movements tothe south of the Wilderness battle lines. On the evening of May 7, Leeordered James Longstreet's corps, which were under the direction of RichardAnderson after Longstreet had been shot the previous day, to march at nightto Spotsylvania. Anderson's men marched the 11 miles entirely in the dark,and won the race to the crossroads, where they took refuge behind hastilyconstructed breastworks and waited. Now it would be up to Grant to force theConfederates from their position. The stage was set for one of the bloodiestengagements of the war. 1919: New celebration of Armistice Day proposed On May 8, 1919, Edward George Honey, a journalist from Melbourne, Australia,living in London at the time, writes a letter to the London Evening Newsproposing that the first anniversary of the armistice ending World WarI-concluded on November 11, 1918-be commemorated by several moments ofsilence. Honey, who briefly served in the British army during World War I beforebeing discharged with a leg injury, had been concerned by the way people inLondon had celebrated on the streets on the actual day of the armistice. Inhis letter to the newspaper the following May, he wrote that a silentcommemoration of the sacrifices made and the lives lost during the war wouldbe a far more appropriate way to mark the first anniversary of its end. "Five little minutes only," Honey wrote. "Five silent minutes of nationalremembrance. A very sacred intercession. Communion with the Glorious Deadwho won us peace, and from the communion new strength, hope and faith in themorrow. Church services, too, if you will, but in the street, the home, thetheatre, anywhere, indeed, where Englishmen and their women chance to be,surely in this five minutes of bitter-sweet silence there will be serviceenough." Though Honey's letter did not immediately bring about a change, a similarsuggestion was made to Sir Percy Fitzpatrick that October and reached KingGeorge V, who on November 17, 1919, made an official proclamation that "atthe hour when the Armistice came into force, the 11th hour of the 11th dayof the 11th month, there may be for the brief space of two minutes acomplete suspension of all our normal activities … so that in perfectstillness, the thoughts of everyone may be concentrated on reverentremembrance of the glorious dead." Though it is not officially recorded thatthe king read and was influenced by Honey's letter, the journalist wasinvited by the king to a palace rehearsal of the two minutes of silence, atradition which is still honored in much of the former British empire. 1945: V-E Day is celebrated in American and Britain On this day in 1945, both Great Britain and the United States celebrateVictory in Europe Day. Cities in both nations, as well as formerly occupiedcities in Western Europe, put out flags and banners, rejoicing in the defeatof the Nazi war machine. The eighth of May spelled the day when German troops throughout Europefinally laid down their arms: In Prague, Germans surrendered to their Sovietantagonists, after the latter had lost more than 8,000 soldiers, and theGermans considerably more; in Copenhagen and Oslo; at Karlshorst, nearBerlin; in northern Latvia; on the Channel Island of Sark--the Germansurrender was realized in a final cease-fire. More surrender documents weresigned in Berlin and in eastern Germany. The main concern of many German soldiers was to elude the grasp of Sovietforces, to keep from being taken prisoner. About 1 million Germans attempteda mass exodus to the West when the fighting in Czechoslovakia ended, butwere stopped by the Russians and taken captive. The Russians tookapproximately 2 million prisoners in the period just before and after theGerman surrender. Meanwhile, more than 13,000 British POWs were released and sent back toGreat Britain. Pockets of German-Soviet confrontation would continue into the next day. OnMay 9, the Soviets would lose 600 more soldiers in Silesia before theGermans finally surrendered. Consequently, V-E Day was not celebrated untilthe ninth in Moscow, with a radio broadcast salute from Stalin himself: "Theage-long struggle of the Slav nations...has ended in victory. Your couragehas defeated the Nazis. The war is over." 1972: Mining of North Vietnamese harbors is announced President Richard Nixon announces that he has ordered the mining of majorNorth Vietnamese ports, as well as other measures, to prevent the flow ofarms and material to the communist forces that had invaded South Vietnam inMarch. Nixon said that foreign ships in North Vietnamese ports would havethree days to leave before the mines were activated; U.S. Navy ships wouldthen search or seize ships, and Allied forces would bomb rail lines fromChina and take whatever other measures were necessary to stem the flow ofmaterial. Nixon warned that these actions would stop only when all U.S.prisoners of war were returned and an internationally supervised cease-firewas initiated. If these conditions were met, the United States would "stopall acts of force throughout Indochina and proceed with the completewithdrawal of all forces within four months." Nixon's action was in response to the North Vietnamese Nguyen Hue Offensive.On March 30, the North Vietnamese had initiated a massive invasion of SouthVietnam. Committing almost their entire army to the offensive, the NorthVietnamese launched a three-pronged attack. In the initial attack, fourNorth Vietnamese divisions attacked directly across the Demilitarized Zoneinto Quang Tri province. Following that assault, the North Vietnameselaunched two more major attacks: at An Loc in Binh Long Province, 60 milesnorth of Saigon; and at Kontum in the Central Highlands. With the threeattacks, the North Vietnamese committed 500 tanks and 150,000 regular troops(as well as thousands of Viet Cong) supported by heavy rocket and artilleryfire. The North Vietnamese, enjoying much success on the battlefield, didnot respond to Nixon's demands. The announcement that North Vietnamese harbors would be mined led to a waveof antiwar demonstrations at home, which resulted in violent clashes withpolice and 1,800 arrests on college campuses and in cities from Boston toSan Jose, California. Police used wooden bullets and tear gas in Berkeley;three police officers were shot in Madison, Wisconsin; and 715 NationalGuardsmen were activated to quell violence in Minneapolis."
Sally Rolls Pavia sallypavia2001@yahoo.com
List Owner: GENEALOGYBITSANDPIECES-L-request@rootsweb.com
Archives: http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/index/GENEALOGYBITSANDPIECES

Chronicling America

2007-05-02T14:33:00.001-06:00

The Library of Congress and the NationalEndowment for the Humanities have debutedChronicling America, a collection of226,000 digitized newspaper pages datingBetween 1900 and 1910 from publicationsIn California, Florida, Kentucky, NewYork, Utah, Virginia and Washington, DC.Institutions in those states received theFirst grants from the National DigitalNewspaper Program, which eventually willPost historical newspapers from all states. You can search and browse the papers at:http://tinyurl.com/2h54q6Results show the entire page with yourSearch terms highlighted; to zoom, useThe + button or click and drag theMagnifying glass. Click More Options forThis Page to download a high-resolutionPage image or view it in PDF or textFormat (though the latter gives you aBaffling Optical Character RecognitionSoftware translation). The site also offers a directory ofNewspaper titles. Search by place, timePeriod, keyword and type (such as anEthnic publication or one preserved onMicrofilm). Results give you informationAbout the paper and where it's available. Sally Rolls Pavia

Destroyed Records

2007-04-25T10:01:00.000-06:00

I received this email and it about made me sick, what a waste. Hopefully they will be able to save some of these records.

"New Jersey Historical Documents and Artifacts Damaged in Flood Nearly 1,000 priceless Revolutionary War era historical objects anddocuments were damaged last week. Antique furniture is now being sprayed inan attempt to stop the mold, and soggy piles of documents from the late1700shave been frozen in an attempt to preserve them. Meanwhile, statebureaucrats are involved in a high-level blame game. A New Jersey's Department of Environmental Protection official defendedefforts to protect the museum collection at the state-owned Steuben House inRiver Edge, where rising floodwaters from the recent nor'easter caused anestimated $1.5 million in damages. State legislators and members of theBergen County Historical Society, which owns the collection, are blaming thedepartment's Division of Parks and Forestry, which operates the house and isresponsible for securing items during a storm. Amy Cradic, assistant commissioner of natural and historic resources withthe DEP, said the on-site employee, Andrew Anderson, spent two days movingfurniture and other artifacts to the second floor and the attic. "We tookappropriate action based on our experience with past floods and theinformation available about the storm," she said. "It was an extraordinaryweather event." Sadly, that was not enough. There was sufficient room to move the items to ahigher floor in the house. Tim Adriance of the historical society said,There were plenty of volunteers available." Members of the historicalsociety even offered to help April 15 during the storm, but the Division ofParks and Forestry said that no assistance was necessary.Once the storm was over, the finger-pointing began. You can read more about this sad story in the NorthJersey.com web site athttp://tinyurl.com/2d9a37."
Sally Rolls Pavia

Quote from Theodore Roosevelt

2007-04-17T12:43:00.000-06:00

I received this email after my last post and thought that it was the perfect quote for today's Ellis Island Anniversary. Enjoy.

Theodore Roosevelt's ideas on Immigrants and being an AMERICAN in 1907.
"In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person's becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American...There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag... We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language... and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people." Theodore Roosevelt 1907

Every American citizen needs to read this.

Ellis Island Anniversary

2007-04-17T11:12:00.000-06:00

[Downloaded from Eastman's Online Newsletter] Free Access to Ellis Island Records, 1892-1957 The following announcement was written by The Generations Network, the Parent company of Ancestry.com. Note that you must create a free account in Order to access these records: PROVO, Utah, April 12 -- To honor the 100th anniversaries of the largest Year and single day of immigration through Ellis Island, Ancestry.com, the world's largest online resource for family history, is offering free access To the only complete online set of Ellis Island passenger arrival records (1892-1957) FROM APRIL 12 TO APRIL 30. In addition, Ancestry.com is inviting users to relive the remarkable Journeys of their gateway ancestors at the click of a mouse at: http://www.ellisislandexperience.com/ -- an interactive, multimedia Tour of this national landmark. More than 11,500 immigrants passed through America's "Golden Door" on April 17, 1907, the single-day record. In total, some 1 million immigrants would Come through the island in 1907 alone, making it the busiest year in Ellis Island's 60 years of operation. Each ship that docked at Ellis Island was required to give island officials A list of people on board. Known as passenger lists, these records reveal Invaluable pieces of a family's immigration story, from place of origin and Intended destination in America to birth dates, names of family members and Even the amount of money in their possession. "For millions of Americans, Ellis Island is a monument to their ancestors' Hope, will and sacrifice -- not just a New York tourist site," said Megan Smolenyak, Chief Family Historian for Ancestry.com. "More than 12 million Immigrants came through Ellis Island and though some settled in New York, Most boarded trains bound for Minnesota and Colorado and other destinations Across the country. Ellis Island's influence is felt throughout America." >From cramped, unsanitary conditions during their Atlantic voyage, to long Lines and dreaded medical inspections, http://www.ellisislandexperience.com Brings the "Isle of Hope" to life, illustrating the story of this great Immigration station through oral histories, original photos, maps and First-hand accounts. At the click of a mouse, site visitors can now discoverThe legacies of immigrants' sacrifice, survival and success, learning what Drove so many millions of immigrants to leave everything they knew for a Country they had never seen. This 100th anniversary comes on the heels of the November launch of Ancestrycom's U.S. Passenger List Collection, the largest compilation of its kind, Which includes more than 100 million names of people who arrived at more Than 100 U.S. Ports of entry between 1820 and 1960, the height of Immigration. Ancestry.com's easy-to-use search and navigation tools help users find theirAncestors''s passenger lists. Users can view a digital image of the actual Passenger list document, save to their online personal family tree, print For future reference and share via email with their family members. From April 12 through April 30, Ancestry.com is offering free access to the Entire U.S. Passenger List Collection, which includes the Internet's most Comprehensive set of Ellis Island records. The U.S. Passenger List Collection complements and combines with Ancestry.com's eclectic and growing compilation of historical records, Which also includes birth, marriage and death records, military records And the exclusive online U.S. Federal Census Collection (1790-1930).

Wonderful Resource

2007-04-11T11:24:00.000-06:00

I everyone, sorry it's been awhile, I caught the flu, 3 weeks of misery, but I'm back now.
For anyone researching in Claiborne County, TN you have got to check out this resource I just found out about. It's the Clairbone County Pioneer Project and it is run by Denny and Marla Brubaker. They have tons of useful information about Claiborne County families. Take a look at it, I have found information on all of the family members I have from Claiborne County. A lot of it is info I already had but it only takes a few minutes, who knows you might find something. So, here's their address: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~ccpp/pioneer/index.htm
I plan on spending some more time on their site, so I will probably have more praise for it in a later blog. Check it out and let me know what you think.

More of my families

2007-03-19T20:16:00.000-07:00

Here are some more families that I am researching Braden, Rouse, Weddle, Couillandeau, Fougeraut, DeLanville, Jubert, LeCauchois, Mustel, Copenhaver, Irwin/Irvine, Brereton, Hulse, Corbet, Summerville, Blackburn, Halterman, Stewart, Carrick and Bohannon. Anyone who might be researching one ofr more of these families can contact me.

Introduction

2007-03-16T09:29:00.000-07:00

Hi, my name is Brandie. I have been addicted to genealogy for years. I have decided to use my blog to keep people updated on genealogy news and also updates on my own family research.
I am researching many branches of my family, some of the names I am researching are: DeBusk/DuBois/DuBose/DuBosc, Ditsch, Schreiner/Schrainer, Scheurich, Murphy, Branham, Hoffman(n), Moore, Cullers/Koller(s), Clem/Klem, Nelson, Quisenbury, Tate, Simmons, Pickle, Gross, Phillippi/Philippi, Hannah, Butcher, Turner, Cunningham, Alexander, Patton, and many others. I will continue posting my names on upcoming blogs, there are many, many more.
Please continue checking back, I will be posting blogs on all sorts of genealogy information. If you have a research idea or question send me a note and I will see if I can answer it. Thanks and Happy Hunting!!!