RootsWeb Review: RootsWeb's Free Weekly E-zine Vol. 5, No. 27, 3 July 2002, Circulation: 959,956+ (c) 1998-2002 RootsWeb.com, Inc. http://www.rootsweb.com/ Editor: Myra Vanderpool Gormley, Certified Genealogist RWR-Editor@rootsweb.com Advertising: Scott Brenay sbrenay@myfamilyinc.com THIS IT IS A POST-ONLY MAILING. Please do not send any subscription requests to the editor. To UNSUBSCRIBE: Send plain text e-mail message to: Rootsweb-Review-unsubscribe@rootsweb.com To SUBSCRIBE: Send plain text e-mail message to: Rootsweb-Review-subscribe@rootsweb.com Need to do an e-mail address change? See: http://helpdesk.rootsweb.com/addresses/#newsletters ====================================================================== IN THIS ISSUE 1. Connecting through RootsWeb: "Massachusetts Driver"; "Family Lore Turns up in the News" 2. News and Notes. (2a. Glitches and Gremlins; 2b. Message Board Display Options; 2c. Chesire Parish and Probate Records Added; 2d. Klez Worm Wriggles On; 2e. Summer School Starting) 3. Spotlighted Webpages at RootsWeb: Clallam Disaster; Family Newsletter News; Kiwi Konnections; Upper St. John River Valley 4. New User-contributed Databases 5. New Webpages at RootsWeb 6. New RootsWeb Mailing Lists 7. New FreePages and HomePages (personal webpages at RootsWeb) 8. RootsWeb Review's Bottomless Mailbag: "Making Brick Walls"; "Islands of my Ancestors" 9. Humor: Double Dose: "Slimmed Down Version"; "Politically Incorrect" 10. RWR Policies and Submissions Guidelines; RWR Archives ================================================================ 1. CONNECTING THROUGH ROOTSWEB. Thanks for sharing your stories. ---------------------------------------------------------------- One of Those Massachusetts Drivers By Judy Lubinski judylu47@aol.com A couple of weeks ago a friend and I went to Old Orchard Beach, Maine for a mini-vacation. I also had made arrangements to meet two 3rd cousins who had recently contacted me on the Internet, thanks to my GEDCOM being part of RootsWeb's World Connect Project. These cousins told us of the burial place of my grandaunt and the next day after church we went on a cemetery search. The Mount Pleasant Cemetery in South Portland, Maine has narrow roads and there is only room for one car to pass at a time. At one point I heard a car honking and started back toward my car to see what the commotion was all about. A man approached me yelling something about "those Massachusetts drivers" blah, blah, blah . . . He obviously wanted me to move my car. I was walking with a cane due to recent knee surgery and was a little slow moving over the uneven terrain of the cemetery, which further annoyed him. My friend also heard the noise and returned to the car. We moved out of his way and actually had to leave the cemetery and come in another entrance. I was tired out at this point so I parked under a shade tree to relax for awhile. My friend, Cecile, still having lots of energy hopped out to keep on searching. Within five minutes I heard her yell that she had found the graves! What a thrill to see the old stones still in good repair. My grandaunt Lestinia (LIBBY) WILLARD and her husband, Seth WILLARD, were there, with their first little baby -- Flora WILLARD -- beside them. We had a good laugh when we thought of the old windbag that had forced us to move to another spot. Thanks to him we found the stones much sooner and could move on to the Bay View Cemetery nearby where other cousins were waiting to be found. Thanks to RootsWeb for again helping me find my ancestors. * * * Family Lore Turns up in the News By: Robert E. Kuffel bobjudy@uscom.com Recently I did a search at Ancestry.com for Bruno KUFFEL -- my grandfather's name -- and the following newspaper article from the "The Fort Wayne (Indiana) News" dated July 31, 1912 resulted. A Bad Dream CHICAGO, July 31 -- Dreaming that he heard a fire alarm. Bruno Kuffel, thirty, a city fireman, leaped for a visionary sliding pole and struck the ground below his third story apartment. His injuries may prove fatal, Physicians at the Norwegian Deaconess hospital said today. I am glad to say he lived and had two more sons -- Bennon Louis KUFFEL and Norman Stanley KUFFEL. This story was family lore that I heard for the first time at grandmother's (Frances Flavia (Norman)[Niemczewski] Kuffel) funeral. The written account was most welcome and I must give a great deal of thanks to Ancestry.com and Rootsweb for making this find possible. Since I never knew the date or any other factual information, only a search engine could turn up the story in a paper one state away. This is a good example of how as more information comes available online we should rerun our searches from time to time to possibly find new gems. 2. NEWS AND NOTES ----------------- 2a.ROOTSWEB SERVER UPGRADE CONTINUES. To improve site performance, RootsWeb is upgrading its servers. As a result there will be times when you will not be able to access various portions of RootsWeb and you might discover some anomalies here and there. When you encounter such things, just try again later. It is not necessary to inform the editor or the HelpDesk. Thank you for understanding, and please excuse all this dust and some mail gremlins that got loose in the process. 2b. DISCOVERING DISPLAY OPTIONS ON THE MESSAGE BOARDS. Thread collapsed/expanded and date collapsed/expanded are display modes for the Message Boards http://boards.rootsweb.com/ and they are means of customizing the display of messages so that you can view them in any manner you prefer. In all display modes posts are listed with 25 messages per page. Here's how the display options work: --THREAD COLLAPSED: Posts are displayed on the board in an outline format (collapsed) with the most recent original post listed first, and additional posts listed in descending order down to the oldest original post. Original post means one that starts a new thread. Replies to a post are always listed below, and indented from, the original post in a thread and are attached to the post to which they are replying. If there is a reply to a message that was posted a year ago the new response will be tacked onto the original post in its original location on the message board (i.e. it will not appear at the top of the message board as the most recent post). To view the full text of any message in thread-collapsed mode click on it and that message will be displayed so that you can reply, if desired. In thread-collapsed display mode when you view the text of a message any responses to the message you are viewing in the thread are listed below the message in outline format, and must each be clicked in order to view the entire text of that response. --THREAD EXPANDED: Posts are displayed in the same order as above (with responses to an original post in a thread tacked onto the original post) but the full text of the posts is visible on the board, allowing you to scan the full text of 25 messages at a time. If you wish to reply to a post, you still must click on it to access the "Post a Reply" button. --DATE COLLAPSED: Posts are displayed from most recent to earliest without regard to whether they are original posts in a thread or responses to previous posts. Collapsed means that you are viewing only an outline of the posts, but they are not threaded, and that they are in reverse date order. To view the full text of a message in date-collapsed mode, click on it. Any responses in the thread to the post you are viewing will be listed in outline (collapsed) mode below the post you are viewing. Click each response individually to view its text. --DATE EXPANDED: Posts are displayed showing the full text of 25 messages per page, without regard to threading and in reverse date order. To reply to a message click on it. This accesses the "Post a Reply" button. After clicking to view/reply to the message, you will see any responses in the thread listed in expanded, full text format below the post. When you open your web browser in a new session the default selection of thread-collapsed mode will be used unless/until you select a different mode. Once you have selected a display mode your selection will be remembered for the duration of your browser session. 2c. NEW PARISH AND PROBATE RECORDS. Parish and Probate records provide invaluable tools in discovering your ancestors. Prior to 1837, registration of vital records was not required in Great Britain. As a result, these parish and tax records remain particularly important to British genealogy. In recognizing this great value, Ancestry.com continues to add various parish and probate record databases regularly. One of the most recent additions is for Cheshire. As one of the largest counties in England, Cheshire includes a significant portion of the population as well as more than 500 parishes. Because of this, many genealogists will find Cheshire parish records to be instrumental in locating their ancestors. Records included range from the early 1500s to the mid-1800s. Click here to view the latest addition to the United Kingdom Parish Records. http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?sourceid=1380&targetid=3647 2d. KLEZ WORM WRIGGLES ON. Just when you think there is a break from Klez, it raises its ugly head in your e-mailbox. Many unsuspecting genealogists around the world have infected computers and continue to spread this worm. The W32.Klez.E (one of its variants) has a payload trigger for the sixth of every odd-numbered month. This means that if your computer is infected on July 6 it will disable common anti-virus products, do large-scale mailings to addresses it finds in your local files, in Outlook and ICQ address books. It also will modify your files by overwriting them with zeroes. Your precious genealogy (and other priceless) files are at risk. Anti-virus software is invaluable, provided you keep it updated and use it regularly. Obtain anti-virus software in stores and shops or download it online. http://housecall.antivirus.com/pc_housecall/ http://www.grisoft.com/ http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/ http://www.mcafee.com/anti-virus/ http://www.europe.f-secure.com/v-descs/ Also see "Internet Stuff You Need to Know" on Cyndi's List: http://www.cyndislist.com/internet.htm#Viruses 2e. SUMMER SCHOOL STARTING -- SIGN UP TODAY. Class fees include a 30-day subscription (including online census images) to Ancestry.com. BEGINNING GENEALOGY COMPUTER CLASS ($29.95). Starts 8 July. http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=3562&sourceid=481 HOW TO WRITE YOUR FAMILY HISTORY CLASS ($29.95) Starts 15 July. http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=3559&sourceid=481 LEARN TO TRACE YOUR ENGLISH ANCESTRY ($29.95). Starts 18 July. http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=3567&sourceid=481 GERMAN RESEARCH CLASS ($29.95) Starts 22 July. http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=3667&sourceid=481 3. SPOTLIGHT ON SOME DISTINCTIVE WEBPAGES AT ROOTSWEB ----------------------------------------------------- CLALLAM DISASTER. On the 8th of January 1904 the ferry "Clallam" left Port Townsend, Washington just before noon for Victoria, British Columbia. It foundered several hours later with the loss of 54 persons. This is an account of the story as told through newspapers. http://www.rootsweb.com/~canbc/clallam/clallam_intro.htm FAMILY NEWSLETTER NEWS. Excellent tips and advice on creating and publishing your family's newsletter. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~bruce/FamNewsNews.htm KIWI KONNECTIONS. Families being researched (from England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland) include: CALDWELL, CHOAK, COBUN, DITTON, GILCHRIST, IDDENDEN, JAMES, LAWRY, McGREGOR, MUIR, PETRIE, SAMPSON, TAGGART, TRELOAR, WATERMAN, and WATERS. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~patricia/ UPPER ST. JOHN RIVER VALLEY. A history of the communities and people of northern Aroostook County, Maine (USA) and Madawaska County, New Brunswick (Canada). Includes communities in the valleys of the Allagash and the Fish rivers in northern Aroostook and the valleys of the Green and Madawaska rivers in Madawaska County. Documents and transcriptions include 1790 and 1794 British land grants and owners in 1831 (both banks of the river), various U.S. censuses, early missionaries of Madawaska Territory, and some early (pre-1860 marriages) of Ste-Luce Church, Frenchville. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~upperstjohn/ 4. NEW FREE USER-CONTRIBUTED DATABASES AT ROOTSWEB --------------------------------------------------- RootsWeb thanks the individuals and groups who contribute their material to share with the worldwide genealogical community. Currently there's more than 9.3 million records that can be searched. See the full list of contributors at: http://userdb.rootsweb.com/contributors.html The following new user-contributed databases have come online recently (these are name searchable, but are not browseable): ITALY. Sicily. World War I Deaths, Santa Caterina Villarmosa, Caltanissetta, Sicily' 66 records; Richard Danca http://userdb.rootsweb.com/italy/ USA Census: 1880 Census -- LEFTWICH Surname 2,123 records; Glenda McKenzie http://userdb.rootsweb.com/census/index/ USA Book Indexes: Every Name Index to "Echos from the Past: Centennial of Richmond, Minnesota 1890-1990" 242 records; Pamela (Willenbring) Drake http://userdb.rootsweb.com/bookindexes/ ALABAMA. Covington County. 1850 Census 3,075 records; Tammy Barg http://userdb.rootsweb.com/census/index/ ARKANSAS. Index to Defendant Jacket Files for U.S. District Court, Western Division of Arkansas, Fort Smith Division, 1866-1900 50,987 records; Myra Vanderpool Gormley for National Archives Staff http://userdb.rootsweb.com/courtrecords/ [Editor's note: These so-called Fort Smith criminal cases in the federal court records include such famed Western characters as Wyatt Earp and Belle Starr. If you find an ancestor's name, click on the View/Add Notes option to learn more about obtaining a copy of these files from the National Archives in Fort Worth, Texas. See also "Search Hints for Genealogical Data in NAIL" at: http://www.archives.gov/research_room/nail/ search_hints_for_genealogy.html (This is a two-line URL -- copy and paste carefully)] FLORIDA. Marion County. Ocala High School Class of 1959 219 records; Thelma Kifer http://userdb.rootsweb.com/alumni/ MINNESOTA. Stearns County. Selected Surnames Death Record Index 91 records; Pamela (Willenbring) Drake http://userdb.rootsweb.com/deaths/ MISSOURI. Greene County. Obituaries/Death Notices from the Springfield, News Leader 12-17-2000; 27 records; Greene County Volunteers http://userdb.rootsweb.com/obituaries/ MISSOURI. Greene County. Obituaries/Death Notices from the Springfield, News Leader 4-28-2002; 27 records; Greene County Volunteers http://userdb.rootsweb.com/obituaries/ MISSOURI. Greene County. Obituaries/Death Notices from the Springfield, News Leader 5-19-02; 23 records; Greene County Volunteers http://userdb.rootsweb.com/obituaries/ MISSOURI. Greene County. Obituaries/Death Notices from the Springfield, News Leader 5-26-2002; 36 records; Greene County Volunteers http://userdb.rootsweb.com/obituaries/ MISSOURI. Greene County. Obituaries/Death Notices from the Springfield, News Leader 6-16-2002; 36 records; Greene County Volunteers http://userdb.rootsweb.com/obituaries/ MISSOURI. Greene County. Obituaries/Death Notices from the Springfield, News Leader 6-23-2002; 30 records; Greene County Volunteers http://userdb.rootsweb.com/obituaries/ NEBRASKA. Washington County. 1880 Census; 8,665 records; Glenda McKenzie http://userdb.rootsweb.com/census/index/ NEW JERSEY. Passaic County. 1870 Census, Ward 2; 3,206 records; Susan Clark http://userdb.rootsweb.com/census/index/ OHIO. Crawford County. 1880 Census, Crestline, Ohio 2,844 records; Glenda McKenzie http://userdb.rootsweb.com/census/index/ OHIO. Cuyahoga County. 1880 Census-- Independence; 1,993 records; Glenda McKenzie http://userdb.rootsweb.com/census/index/ OKLAHOMA. Cleveland County. St. Joseph's Catholic Cemetery 1,119 records; Jim Woodruff http://userdb.rootsweb.com/cemeteries/ OKLAHOMA. Oklahoma County. St. Teresa's Catholic Cemetery, Harrah; 860 records; Jim Woodruff http://userdb.rootsweb.com/cemeteries/ OKLAHOMA. Oklahoma County. Sunny Lane Cemetery Section 5, Del City; 2,087 records; Jim Woodruff http://userdb.rootsweb.com/cemeteries/ WASHINGTON. Clark County. Vancouver High School 1919-1920 yearbook; 374 records; Patricia L. Dunn-Hanning http://userdb.rootsweb.com/alumni/ WASHINGTON. Clark County. Vancouver High School, 1919-1920 faculty; 21 records; Patricia L. Dunn-Hanning http://userdb.rootsweb.com/alumni/ 5. NEW WEBPAGES AT ROOTSWEB ---------------------------- Due to the move to new servers, no web page accounts were created this week. To request a free Web account: http://accounts.rootsweb.com/ 6. NEW ROOTSWEB MAILING LISTS ----------------------------- Due to the move to new servers, no mailing lists were created this week. For more information and an index to the more than 25,000 RootsWeb- hosted genealogy mailing lists and the subscribing options, please go to: http://lists.rootsweb.com/ To subscribe or unsubscribe to/from any RootsWeb-hosted mailing list, send a plain text (not HTML) e-mail message with only the word SUBSCRIBE (or UNSUBSCRIBE) in the message body to: [name of list]-L-request@rootsweb.com (for mail mode) or to: [name of list]-D-request@rootsweb.com (for digest mode) To request a new mailing list: http://resources.rootsweb.com/adopt/ 7. NEW PERSONAL FREEPAGES AND HOMEPAGES AT ROOTSWEB --------------------------------------------------- [Note: When your new personal webpages located at RootsWeb are up and ready for visitors, please send the URL (Web address) along with a brief description to: rwr-editor@rootsweb.com Comments and questions about any of these independently authored webpages should be directed to their respective compilers/webmasters.] CHINN. Family histories of CHINN (Dorset, UK), BUCHANAN (County Tyrone Northern Ireland), SKELTON (Cumberland, UK), SVENCESKI or SWIECICKI (Grand Duchy, Lithuania). http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~ancestorsofcedric/ McKENDRICK -- A ONE-NAME STUDY. A 15-year collection of MCKENDRICK and MACKENDRICK surname information. Includes databases covering MCKENDRICK births, marriages and deaths in Scotland from 1855 to April 2002 and the same for England and Wales (1837 to 1984). Also collected census records, west of Scotland "Poor Law Applications" (1845-1910), newspaper intimations from the "Glasgow Herald," and sundry information from many sources. http://freepages.rootsweb.com/~mckendrick * * * PAID ADVERTISEMENTS * * * Click here to get your FREE Personalized Health Report. And, for a limited time, you can also request a free weight loss sample. http://www.trimlife.com/traffic/redirect.asp?offerID=1200 * * * Enter now and win these prizes in the Family Chronicle Genealogy Treasure Chest Contest . . . Ancestry Membership, Professional Genealogist Book, Clooz software, Willow Bend Books, Five-year set Family Chronicle, Jonathan Sheppard books gift certificate, Fun Stuff for Genealogists from Petersen, Genesaver DNA kit, Membership NGS, Master Genealogist software, Heritage Books CDs, two-year set History Magazine, Global Genealogy gift certificate, Geneweaver family health history software, Heritage Quest Research Club membership and lots more. Visit http://www.familychronicle.com to see complete prize list and how to enter the contest. * * * BIG-CONTENT CDs from http://www.genealogical.com/ Each of the following CDs contains between 300,000-500,000 entries and equals a fully searchable, shelf of books by itself. MASSACHUSETTS GENEALOGICAL RECORDS (570,000) http://www.genealogical.com/item_detail.cfm?ID=7526 LINEAGES OF HEREDITARY SOCIETY MEMBERS (440,000) http://www.genealogical.com/item_detail.cfm?ID=7506 COLONIAL VIRGINIA SOURCE RECORDS (350,000) http://www.genealogical.com/item_detail.cfm?ID=7510 EARLY NEW YORK FAMILIES (350,000) http://www.genealogical.com/item_detail.cfm?ID=7157 PENNSYLVANIA BIOGRAPHIES AND GENEALOGIES, 1600s-1800s (315,000) http://www.genealogical.com/item_detail.cfm?ID=7530 Check out the 13 terrific IMMIGRATION/PASSENGER LIST CDs we've just added to www.genealogical.com. Click on the following link and browse the first two pages of titles! http://www.genealogical.com/search_gen.cfm?Cat_ID=IM * * * FREE Home Paternity DNA Test Kit from GeneTree. Get an answer to your paternity questions by ordering a FREE kit from GeneTree, the first and best provider of home DNA test kits. Results are ACCURATE, LOW COST, and COMPLETELY CONFIDENTIAL. Order your free paternity DNA testing kit today! http://www.genetree.com/myfamily-paternity.html * * * Examine a complete free issue of HISTORY MAGAZINE online and see articles like "The 1580s a Volatile Decade," "Volcanoes, Eruptions that Changed the World," "Bicycles, History of Two-Wheeled Vehicles," "The History of Early Navigation," " Domesday Book, England's Greatest Medieval Record," "History of the Circus in America," and many others at http://www.history-magazine.com/ * * * END OF PAID ADVERTISEMENTS * * * 8. FROM ROOTSWEB REVIEW'S BOTTOMLESS MAILBAG -------------------------------------------- Making Brick Walls By Delores Rochelle Walls" derowa@att.net On behalf of myself and, I'm sure, those researching the BRICK surname, I'd like to suggest to those who post about their "brick walls" on message boards and mailing lists that they would please combine the two words into one. It sure would make database searching easier for us with these surnames. I'm sure those with surnames such as DEED(S), WILL(S) and DAY are acquainted with this frustration. My usual database search results in thousands upon thousands of "WALLS," but when I go to the link, I find it's not a family member but, rather, someone having trouble with an elusive relative and a "brick wall" or "brick walls." The WALLS, WALL, and BRICK researchers would really appreciate having less of these "brick walls" to go through. * * * Islands of my Ancestors By Margaret Lynch meglyn2015@yahoo.com Genealogy has been one of my favorite hobbies for many years. I have two very different sides to research -- Irish and Spanish -- and over the years have alternated between the two. In Ireland a few years ago, while doing research, a distant relative gave me a copy of a lengthy manuscript written by a cousin -- a priest named Rody KENNEDY who died in New South Wales in 1995. It was such a thorough documentation of the history of our family going back several centuries that it basically completed my research on that side. Recently I've intensified my research on the Spanish side and have been fortunate to discover a wealth of information. My maternal grandfather was born in Puerto Rico and my grandmother told me that his ancestors came from the Canary Islands. My grandparents lived in St. Croix, Virgin Islands in the 1930s, where my mother was born before her father was transferred to the Great Lakes Naval Base when World War II broke out. I've read everything I could get my hands on about the Canary Islands and learned some fascinating facts, such as the ancient Greeks called them "Isles of the Blest" and believed they were the remnants of Atlantis, that the climate of Las Palmas is considered number one in the world. Columbus stopped there on his way to the New World and made his departure on August 3rd (my mother's birthday), and that the first sailor to see land on that voyage was a Canarian. My grandfather's last name was ALAMO, which is a rare name -- there are only 372 on the Social Security Death Index, In March 2001, I took a trip with a friend to Austin, Texas to visit a mutual friend and while there we drove to San Antonio to see the Alamo. I had learned on the Internet that the founders of the Alamo and San Antonio were Canary Islanders so I thought there might be a connection. I also found on the Internet a beautifully translated document from 1730 called "Title of nobility given to the male Canary Islanders of San Antonio, Texas and their descendants in perpetuum (forever)." There were no ALAMOs listed, but one of the founders was a LEAL, which was my grandfather's grandmother's name. My great-grandfather was Alamo LEAL. At the church of San Fernando in San Antonio there is a plaque engraved with the names of the 16 founders including this LEAL. In the 1940s my grandfather took my mother and her sisters to see the Alamo and when I told her about this connection she said "I wish my father had known that." Last year I had joined the PRHG (Puerto Rican Hispanic Genealogical) Society, which sent a wealth of information on how to go about doing research in Puerto Rico including a list of all the Catholic churches along with guidelines to obtain a letter of permission from the bishop of the diocese in order to look at parish records. I obtained my letter and through correspondence with the church in the town my grandfather was from obtained the marriage certificate of his parents. It included the names of their parents, which was wonderful -- I then had the names of all of four great-great-grandparents. Through the PRGS newsletter I learned about a book by Dr. Estelle LOUBRIEL about the Canary Islanders that came to Puerto Rico. It contains on lengthy index and catalog of names. I recognized a lot of French names and found this a mystery. I had read in a book on the history of the Caribbean that during the main uprising in Haiti in the 1700s the French fled Haiti for Puerto Rico. I discovered several ALAMOS and one LEAL -- Diego LEAL, who was born in 1792 in the Canary Islands and died in the same small town that my grandfather was born in. I was sure he was a related but didn't know how. I went to Puerto Rico this past February and drove to Gurabo and with my letter of permission from the bishop in hand went to the parish office. My Spanish is minimal and the secretary did not speak English so we had quite a time communicating. She let me examine the records, which were indexed and I found a marriage certificate of one of the great-great- grandparents, which contained the names of their parents -- one of whom was Diego LEAL. I screamed with joy. Then I wanted to find his death certificate, but that was a painstaking, laborious process since it was in the oldest book, which was unfortunately not indexed and was in fragile condition. However, his name eventually jumped out at me and the secretary transcribed the document for me and put the seal on it. It contained the names of his parents -- Ana HERNANDEZ and Agustin LEAL. In one year I had discovered three generations. 9. HUMOR: Double Dose -------------------------------------- Slimmed Down Version Thanks to: Hugh Norwood gen@hnorwood.demon.co.uk http://www.hnorwood.demon.co.uk/ A Yorkshireman gave instructions for the headstone for his recently departed wife. He wanted the words "She was Thine" on the stone. A short time later he was told the headstone had been erected, so he went to the cemetery to check. He was horrified to read "She was Thin." Naturally, he went straight to the monumental masons to complain that they had left the "E" off his wife's headstone. He was assured the matter would be dealt with immediately. A day or so later he returned to the cemetery to view the corrected inscription, only to read: "EE, She was Thin" * * * Politically Incorrect Thanks to: Julie Dalton jdalton@thedaltongang.com After the American Civil War (1861-1865), men who were suspected of aiding the South [the losing side] weren't allowed to vote or to register to vote. The editor of the "Liberty Tribune" (Liberty, Clay County, Missouri) asked residents who were over 60 to send their name, age and prominent circumstances of their lives for publication in the paper. The biography of John McCORMICK caught my eye. Liberty Tribune, 14 Oct 1870 John McCORMICK. I was born in Bourbon County, Kentucky, in 1804; moved to Andrew County, Missouri, in 1854; from there to DeKalb County in 1855, and to Clay County in 1869. I have always been a State Rights Democrat; never voted any other ticket, and am, of course, disfranchised. (P.S. The McCormick Distillery still operates in the region and still makes Kentucky bourbon). * * * LOVE OLD NEWSPAPERS? To see what's available and to subscribe to the growing Historical Newspaper Collection at Ancestry.com, go to: http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=3514&sourceid=2134 Click here to view a sample newspaper: http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=3547&sourceid=2134 10. SUBMISSION GUIDELINES, REPRINT POLICY, RWR ARCHIVES --------------------------------------------------------------------- We welcome short (500 words or less) articles, stories, or letters for publication in the RootsWeb Review. They should be sent as a plain text e-mail message (no attachments) to: rwr-editor@rootsweb.com We reserve the right to edit all submissions. RootsWeb Review does not publish or answer genealogical queries, and the editor regrets that she is unable to provide any personal research assistance or advice. Post genealogical queries on all relevant surname, locality and topic boards and lists: message boards: http://boards.rootsweb.com/ mailing lists: http://lists.rootsweb.com/ RootsWeb's Guide to Tracing Family Trees http://rwguide.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: Previously published in RootsWeb Review: Vol. 5, No. 27, 3 July 2002. Search/download all back issues of RootsWeb Review: http://e-zine.rootsweb.com/ ========================================================================