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Interested in Silesian
dialects
Silesia, sometimes under Germany and now under Poland, is a difficult
place to research ancestors. While it is no longer part of Germany,
earlier settlers were mostly Germans. With considerable contact with the
Polish language, the German Dialects in that area show the Polish Language
influence. The first-ever book about Silesian dialects, titled Confusion
of the Idioms of the Polish Dialect by Robert Fiedler, was written in the
early 19th Century. Further developments of Silesian dialects are
mentioned in an article in The German Connection, 26:3:54 ff. The author
gives helpful suggestions to researchers in Silesia. We received a list of
three new Multilingual Genealogical Home Pages for Silesia via the FEEFHS
Newsletter. You may wish to explore these:
http://free.ngo.pl/alleum the Alleum Genealogical Society,
http://free.ngo.pl/gento the Silesian Genealogical Society, and
http://free.ngo.pl/worsten the Worsten Genealogical Society.
Thanks to The Immigrant Genealogical Society, PO Box 7369, Burbank, CA
91510-7369,
http://feefhs.org/igs/frg-igs.html.
Watch out for the Austrian trap
A letter was published in German Life magazine (Aug./Sept. '02) from a
Floridian who traveled in Europe. He and his family were driving a rental
car and were fined 120 Euros for not having a "Vignette" sticker on the
car window. They had not been warned by their friends or the car rental
company of the need for such a sticker. According to a five-year-old
Austrian law, you must pay 4 Euros to travel in Austria for 10 days or
less, and the Vignette sticker shows you have paid. There is no sign at
the border warning of this necessity. It appears that Austrian officials
are taking advantage of travelers deliberately, since the borders between
European Union states were opened about ten years ago. Beware, if you plan
to travel in Austria.
Thanks to The Immigrant Genealogical Society, PO Box 7369, Burbank, CA
91510-7369,
http://feefhs.org/igs/frg-igs.html.
Don't let phone scams get you!
Don't dial "90#" if instructed to do so - it will allow the caller to bill
you for their calls. Now comes a warning from AT&T and Verizon. If a
message on your answering machine instructs you to return a call for a
dire emergency, family problems, unexpected winnings, etc. that include a
return call to these area code prefixes - 809, 284, 876 - don't respond.
The 809 area is in the Bahamas, 284 and 876 are in the Caribbean, outside
control of U.S. laws. Blocking of US 900 numbers will NOT prevent this
sort of calls from these prefixes. You may be charged over $24,000 with no
legal recourse, if you call these areal codes. Be careful! If you wish to
check on telephone fraud, you can go to
http://www.att.com/fraud/home.html.
Thanks to The Immigrant Genealogical Society, PO Box 7369, Burbank, CA
91510-7369,
http://feefhs.org/igs/frg-igs.html.
A hint for traveling with film
A note in the Temecula Valley Genealogical Society Newsletter, October
2002, warns that the new Invision CTX-5000 X-ray units now being installed
in airports to detect explosives in checked luggage can be deadly to film.
Put film in your carry-on bag, or into a small plastic bag that you can
hand to the checker to examine. Better Safe than Sorry.
Thanks to The Immigrant Genealogical Society, PO Box 7369, Burbank, CA
91510-7369,
http://feefhs.org/igs/frg-igs.html.
Rare Stewart of Galloway tartan for sale...only 13 yards!
For sale, 13 yards hard to find Stewart of Galloway tartan. To have
it woven in Scotland, had to order 20 yards. It is 28 inches wide, both
edges selvaged, ideal for gent's kilt, lightweight, best quality. Takes 7
yards for average size kilt. If your Stewarts are from the District of
Galloway, this is your tartan. Similar to Royal Stewart.
Call or write J. S. Coltrane, Jr., 2240 Meadow Hill Road, Winston-Salem,
NC 27106, or 336-924-5150. Excellent price.
Tartan afghan to be given away at Scottish Weekend wins at Minnesota
State Fair
Afghans have always been an interest of mine especially since my
husband and I share a Scottish heritage and activities within our Scottish
community. About two years ago I started searching the Internet and
finally found a person in Australia who was interested in helping me. I
ordered her book and began making Tartan Afghans. For her book I was able
to figure out the formula for the color thread count for any tartan afghan
so that the sett repeats evenly and properly.
In January of 2002, my
husband suggested that I enter one of my crocheted Tartan Afghans in the
Minnesota State Fair. I told him I couldn't do that - "I'd never entered
any contest of any type in my life so how could I start now and at the
State Fair level?"
Entering the State Fair
competition was an experience in itself. I had the rule book in hand,
reading and rereading the categories and rules. My Tartan Afghan was
finished but I wasn't sure I was ready. I simply didn't know what to
expect but I knew one thing for sure - I had better have consistency
throughout, as I knew the judges would be examining every stitch with a
magnifying glass, looking for each and every flaw they could find. As
crocheting has always been a most relaxing hobby, I couldn't believe I'd
taken it into competition making it anything but relaxing!
To compete, all handcrafted
items had to be delivered a week in advance of the Fair. I read in the
rule book that now calls would be accepted at the fair office for
inquiries of how individuals placed. Winners were to be posted on the
Internet but they were not. I would simply have to wait until the fair
opened to attend and see how my Tartan Afghan placed, if at all.
My husband and I went to
the Fair on the second day after opening. I was so anxious I could hardly
eat. We left ear in the morning so as not to get tied up in traffic.
However the line of traffic going into the Fair was already two miles long
at 8:30 am - there we were, slowly making our way to the entrance, moving
about an inch every twenty minutes on a very hot, humid day in Minnesota.
Just as we got to the gate
entrance, smoke started billowing out from under the hood of our car - it
had overheated. All we could do was turn away from the gate and head for
the nearest gas station! Leaving our car at the gas station, we walked the
rest of the way to the fair and headed straight for the Creative
Activities building where all of the handcrafted items would be on
display.
Inside the Creative
Activities building we wove our way round the windowed showcases. The
handmade items on display were absolutely gorgeous, divided into various
categories and entered by thousands of participants. What a horrendous job
for the judges.
All of the sudden there was
my Tartan Afghan "The Patriot" (which was adapted for afghans from the
American St. Andrews (Bicentennial) tartan from 1976), with a
prize-winning ribbon attached. Since I didn't have my glasses on I
couldn't read the printing so I asked three young boys standing near if
they could read the ribbon to me. In unison they read: "Third Place -
Premium Class - Minnesota State Fair 2002"! I was absolutely gob-smacked!
I guess it pays to listen to one's husband once in a while.
By Alice L. Henry, FSA Scot, "Afghans by Alice"
UT Genealogical Association names Fellows
The Utah Genealogical Association has named Kory Meyerink, AG and Tony
Burroughs as Fellows of UGA (FUGA). This award honors living individuals
whose distinguished contributions and on-going commitment to the field of
genealogy are of national or international scope.
Thanks to Federation of Genealogical Societies Forum, PO Box 200940,
Austin, TX 78720-0940.
Self Familyplans event
The Self, Selph, and Selfe Family is having its sixth annual national
gathering of researchers and descendants on April 26, 2003 in Shelby,
North Carolina. For more information contact the Self Family Newsletter,
106 Northside Drive, Calhoun, GA 30701-2919,
SelfFamLtr@aol.com, or
http://www.self-family.com.
Euro stamps are now required for the Deutsche Post
If you have left over from years past any German stamps that specify their
value in German pfennigs, you should know that since July 1, 2002, they
are no longer valid. Now, only letters, postcards and parcels with stamps
that bear the value in euro or cents will be transported by the German
postal service Deutsche Post. Stamps that specify both currencies can
still be used. The deadline for exchanging for free the older stamps
(designated by marks or pfennigs) at Deutsche Post branches passed on
September 30. Old deutsche mark stamps are best kept for nostalgia's sake.
Thanks to Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, July 5, 2002 via Der Blumenbaum,
Sacramento German Genealogy Society, PO Box 660061, Sacramento, CA
95866-0061.
Germany has a new World Heritages Sites
On June 27, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO) added nine cultural sites to the World Heritage
List. Included in the nine were Germany's central Rhein Valley, with its
Lorelei rock and romantic castles, and the Hanseatic cities of Stralsund
and Wismar. The central Rhein Valley, stretching some 40 miles between
Bingen and Koblenz, shows off dozens of castles and fortresses scattered
along the vineyard-clad embankments of the Rhein in the region. Both
Stralsund and Wismar were founded in the early 13th century and retain
their medieval layouts. A group of six monumental brick churches, three in
each city offer a singular cross-section of the sacred architecture of the
Hanseatic era. Other major UNESCO sites in Germany include the cathedrals
in Cologne, Trier and Speyer, the house where Martin Luther lived and died
in Saxony-Anhalt, the rococo pilgrimage church Die Wies in Bavaria, and
Museum Island in Berlin. With the two recent additions, Germany now has 27
UNESCO sites.
For more information, go to
http://whc.unesco.org/nwhc/pages/sites/main.htm and scroll down to
Germany.
Thanks to The Week in Germany via Der Blumenbaum, Sacramento German
Genealogy Society, PO Box 660061, Sacramento, CA 95866-0061.
Do you need information on emigration Myths?
In a recent article from Der Blumenbaum an article by Roger P. Minert,
Ph.D., A.G., discussed bursting emigration myths. It talked about among
other things some of the common beliefs of the families in the United
States regarding their ancestors who left Northwest German for the new
world.
If you would live a copy of this article send a SASE to: Bursting
Emigration Myths, The Family Tree, PO Box 2828, Moultrie, GA 31766-2828.
Searching for information on the parents of WILLIAM STEWART, SR.
born January 5, 1756 in Botetourt County, Virginia who was married to MARY
(last name not confirmed, but possibly - MONTGOMERY) in Virginia where
they lived until late 1700s when they migrated to Tennessee, Davidson
County and later, Hickman County. He died December 12, 1833 in Madison
County, Tennessee. WILLIAM enlisted at the very beginning of the
Revolutionary War in Capt. Thomas Posey's company and sent northward to
join Col. Daniel Morgan's regiment of riflemen. In 1777 he took part in
the battles of White Plains and Saratoga and the taking of Gen. Burgoyne.
Contact Jeanette West at
bjw806@monticello.net.
Once removed? Twice Once Once removed? Twice removed? Taking the
cufusion from cousins!
The term "removed" is a cause for confusion when determining
relationships. What is really meant is that two people are from different
generations. For example, you and your first cousin in the same
generation. The term "removed" would no apply to your relationship. The
term "once removed" means that there is a difference of one generation
between related family members. Your mother's first cousin s your first
cousin "once removed." This difference in relationship is the fact that
you are one generation removed from the cousin. Think of it this way. The
generation starts with your maternal grandparents. Your mother and her
cousin are one generation younger than their parents (your grandparents).
Travelers on the Gordon 2000 tour might have thought of Frank
Garrison of Chico as the quiet, long suffering husband of the effervescent
Dona but nothing was further from the truth. Oh, Dona is the outgoing girl
we all know and love and Frank remained happily in the background but they
were a team. A team than garnered the amazing strength necessary for Frank
to even make that 2000 trip. It looked all but hopeless that they could
join us but, together, they somehow pulled it off and had the trip of a
lifetime and then gave Frank two more years of what you could call bonus
time. The House of Gordon is glad for all the times spent with these
worthy gentlemen.
The ancient ways are recreated at Huntly (Alistair Beaton)
A scene from ancient times could be seen at Huntly yesterday as an
experimental archaeology group called Celtic Knotworks recreated a Bronze
Age setting by the banks of the River Deveron. In a living history
demonstration, staged as part of Scottish Archaeology Month, the
enthusiasts from across Aberdeenshire set up a riverside camp.
While some of the 10-strong
team completed a wickerwork shelter at the water's edge, others in ancient
costume cooked fish over an open fire. Throughout the afternoon,
spectators watched as the group took to the river with both a coracle
(small boat), made from branches and animal hides, and a copy of a local
log boat, which has proven to be one of the earliest found in Scotland.
The replica log craft was
copied from a prehistoric vessel uncovered during drainage work near
Turriff in 1897. Carbon dating revealed that the craft had been built
between 1770 and 1670 BC - and a copy was recently created from a
newly-felled oak tree trunk.
"The log was cut using only
traditional ancient adze and axe tools," said Hilary Murray, one of the
team who built the log boat. "It is also amazing - and exciting to
discover - just how well it handles in the water." Ms. Murray added: "The
response from local people has been wonderful. It is by using ancient
tools and methods to recreate what has been found from the past that we
can bring alive and fully understand our heritage."
Thanks to the Cock's Crow,
House of Gordon, 9654 Kessler Avenue, Chatsworth, CA 91311.
Scottish trades/occupations
collier - coal miner, coal merchant, or one who works on coal barges
couper - one who buys and sells; could also be cooper or cuper - a barrel
maker
cutler - knife seller or sharpener
fermourer - farmer
litster - dyer
maltman - brewer
scheirsmyth - shearsmith: maker of shears or scissors
wobster - weaver
Also, I have sometimes see whitesmith (tinsmith) written as whiteironsmith
or whyteironsmith
Thanks to Loretta Layman, 20 Persimmon Trail, Carroll Valley, PA. |
