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The Ellen Payne Odom Genealogy Library Family Tree
The Family Tree - December/January 2003
Wee Snippets (5)


Skeleton is found by Teresa Taylor, Inez Steed, Paula R. Gunnels and Ted Kelly! 
Great prizes go to those who seek the boney person!  Ms. Teresa Taylor of Seattle, Washington, has won the tartan dog collar from Bonbright Woolens.  She is a Henderson, so soon her dog will be fashionably attired in Henderson glory!. Mrs. Inez Steed of Artesia, New Mexico has won Scotland Remembers the Alamo,  a CD by Carl Peterson. The premium quality haggis from Caledonian Kitchen goes to Ted Kelly of Gray Court, South Carolina. From North Little Rock, Arkansas, Paula R. Gunnels gets the Celtic Goodies from German Hill Farms. Subscriptions to Reunions Magazine go to Dr. Thomas Kimes of Corpus Christi, Texas, Mrs. Lois Mann of Knife River, Minnesota, Diane Black of Gearhart, Oregon, Evelyn Ross Hill of St. Marys, Georgia, Mrs. Dorothy E. Millen of Vincent, Ohio, Mae Knight of Park Forest, Illinois, Richard C. Hill of Chattanooga, Tennessee, Marva Ogle of Howell, Michigan, Kay Fioreatino of Merritt Island, Florida and Mr. Carl H. McCourtney of Gardiner, Maine.

How does one hunt a skeleton?
Skeleton hunting is the easiest sport since Remote Control Racing.  All you have to do is search these pages for our little guy who is running from his closet.  Last time, he was in the Southwest Georgia Bank ad, page 24B! When you find him, you just send a pretty postcard to us with your name, address and Clan affiliation (in case you win the tartan dog collar).   Send the location in The Family Tree where you espied the elusive little guy.

Mail your postcard to: Skeleton, PO Box 2828, Moultrie, GA 31776-2828.

Why would one want to hunt a skeleton?
Some beginning genealogists fear finding "a skeleton" in their genealogical closet.  We just take the scary out of it...and let you find him right away. In truth, everybody except Mrs. MacLeod, has not only skeletons, but black sheep, n'er-do-wells, horse thieves and worse in their family history.  If you don't think so, just think about how we have over 1,400,000 direct ancestors by the time we only go back 20 generations!  It's just not possible for everyone to be a lace encrusted aristocrat! We also have some really nice prizes at the end of this hunt...and you don't have to wear bulky clothes and rubber boots or get up before dawn.

Great prizes next time
Next time, we have a very nice array of goodies!  One fortunate hunter will receive a Competitors Gift Portfolio from D. Bruce Bennett Celtic Art! (This is a really lovely prize!  There are three Competitors prints bound in a dark green, heavy cover stock wrapper, with a vertical, metallic gold strip of paper around it.) Another very lucky skeleton hunter will  win an unmatted and unframed Columba Hotel Flowers color print from D. Bruce Bennett Celtic Art.  Please visit www.bennettcelticart.com to see samples of Mr. Bennett's work!  You'll get started hunting the boney fella right away when you see the beautiful things he creates! We'll have another tartan dog collar from our friends at Bonbright Woolens.  (Be sure and include our favorite tartan on your Skeleton hunt postcard!) Carl Peterson has been kind enough to let us give away another one of his Scotland Remembers the Alamo CDs. Ten hunters will receive subscriptions to Edith Wagner's most interesting reunions magazine! And, as a special treat, we'll be able to award a package of the famous and delicious Caledonian Kitchen Haggis to one of our hungry hunters! So, intrepid hunters...now is the time to find the boney guy.

Letter to the Editor
Dear Editor,
Enclosed is a clipping from a recent Family Tree warning about film damage in checked through luggage.  This article refers to information in 1999 issues of Popular Photography Magazine.  The photocopies enclosed are from the more recent 2002 August issue of the same publication (For a copy of the article referred to please send a SASE to Film Travel Tips, The Family Tree, PO Box 2828, Moultrie, GA 31776-2828.

There are several points worth noting about film transportation in this article.  The use of lead containers to protect film is defeated by the increase in power by the X-ray machines to penetrate the lead.  Film (without lead shield) with ISO of 1000 or lower passes unharmed through the security conveyor belts for X-ray scanning whether once or twenty times (this has been confirmed by the International Imaging Industry Association.  Moreover no reports of damage have been reported for ISO 1600. The bottom line is that exposed film of genealogical importance whether of documents, tombstones, family pictures, landscapes, etc. can be transported safely through airport security systems in hand-carried luggage.
Sincerely, William K. Elwood, 755 Bravington Way, Lexington, KY 40503.

A new language emerges in the United Kingdom
When someone mentions the word Celtic, what do you think of in terms of geographic places?  Most will say Ireland or Scotland.  Actually there are seven Celtic nations today harboring the remnants and ancestors of the once mighty Celtic race.  At their peak the Celts dominated most of Europe (except for Scandinavian) and countries as far east as modern-day Turkey.  In addition to Scotland and Ireland, there is the Isle of Man, Wales, Cornwall in Southwest England, Brittany in Northwest France, and Galicia in Northwest Spain. The language in each "nation" is a form a Gaelic, somewhat archaic and removed from the typical Gaelic of Scotland and Ireland.  In recent years, there has been a resurgence of ancient Celtic tongue around the British Isles.  Based on the research, Britain is about to get a new official language.  It dates back to the 9th century and is hundreds of years older than Modern English.  What language am I referring to?  Cornish. Don't hold your breath if you are expecting bilingual road signs around Southwest England, as is the case in Wales.  Rather, public bodies will have to protect and promote the use of Cornish.  It will be illegal for them to discriminate against Cornish speakers and they will have a duty not to suppress the language. Its new status is not yet official but St. Ives MP Andrew George says he has been given the governmental nod and an announcement is forthcoming.
Thanks to The Palmetto and Thistle, PO Box 3325, Melbourne, FL 32902-3325.

Did you know?
True or false?  The New York Yankees baseball team were originally known as the Highlanders.
Answer: True.  Hilltop Park, their first stadium, was built on one of Manhattan's highest points.
Thanks to The Palmetto and Thistle, PO Box 3325, Melbourne, FL 32902-3325.

What letter is it?
One of the strangest letters is------which is actually a capital C.  A misreading of it lead to a controversy as to whether John Durant's wife was Sarah Jooke or Sarah Tooke.  Although the initial letter of her surname in the 1684 marriage record did resemble both J and T it was nonetheless C; her name was Sarah Cooke.  Such misreading of records are obviously disastrous to research.
Other early letter forms included: There is a chart with this!

Certain letters were formerly used interchangeably: i and j, i and y, and u and v.  Others could be easily confused: a and o, e and i, e and o, L and S, and m and n.  Whole words like seventy and twenty were often look a likes.  Numerals, too, resembled each other in certain forms, especially the 1 and the 7.
Thanks to the Fairfield Genealogy Society Newsletter, Pampa, Texas.

Eleven days that disappeared
In 1752, everyone in the British Empire (including the colonies that would soon become the United States) went to bed on September 2nd and woke up on September 14th.  September 2, 1752 was the day the British government set to change the calendar that had been wrong since the time of Julius Caesar.

In 46 B.C., Caesar's chief astronomer determined that there were exactly 365 1/4 days each year.  Caesar then devised a calendar of 12 months totaling 365 days and, to take care of the 1/4 day, he invented the leap year which added an extra day every four years. The problem was that the earth does not take exactly 365.25 days to orbit the sun but rather 365.2422 days.  After several centuries, the calendar was seriously out of whack.  Pope Gregory XIII devised a correction in 1582 that solved the problem for most Catholic countries, but the British refused to adopt the Gregorian calendar for another 170 years by which time the deviation amounted to 11 days.

Those 11 days vanished when the British Calendar Act decreed that September 2, 1752 would be followed by September 14, 1752.  It appears there was rioting in the streets by those who felt they had been cheated of 11 days.  But the earth continued orbiting around the sun just the same.
Adapted from an article by William Russell, Ed.D. in the Sacramento Bee, September 1, 1990.

RICHARD MORRISEY (1793 - 1866) was born where?  Arrival in Boston, Mass., 23 December, 1823, craft George and Henry.  Wedded JOHANNA HOLLAHAN August, 1825 St. John, N.B., Canada.  Also, MARTHA BAGLEY 1847, Clinton, Maine!  Constructed Holy Cross Cemetery, (Halifax, N.S., Canada) there buried.  RICHARD MORRISEY (1856 - 1929) wed MARGARET MANSFIELD, Canada.  Contact Richard Morrissey, 28656 Murrieta, Sun City, CA 92586.

The cup that cheers
Duncan Forbes of Culloden called it a "vile drug" and a "contemptible beverage."  The ministers of the Kirk were worried that it would corrupt the morals of the poor.  Doctors alleged that it caused tremblings and shakings of the head and hands and nervous diseases.  Of what were they all talking?

TEA!

It's as much a part of Scottish life now as whisky, but when it was first introduced it was extremely expensive, exotic and a slightly dangerous drink.  The Scottish Establishment's objections to it made it the object of desire in the early 1700s, particularly with women. The afternoon break was then taken at four o'clock, and Scottish ladies would invite their friends to take "the four hours" with them.  They sat in the best bed chamber - parlors being a much later innovation - and drank the fancy foreign drink out of china cups, sweetening it with honey.  Scotland being known as "the land of cakes," they ate "teabread,", (fancy baking), as well.

Tea was hideously expensive, costing four times as much as coffee beans.  Much of this cost was tax, introduced to protect Scottish brewers.  The every day drink at the time was ale, drunk by everyone at all times of the day, usually warmed up for breakfast in the winter. Scotland's smugglers were quick to see the opportunity offered by tea and the coasts of Ayrshire and East Lothian quickly became busy.  Although smuggling seems very romantic at a distance, there was a great deal of violence associated with it and people became concerned at its escalation to satisfy the taste for tea.

Times changed.  Tea came down in price, and became what is it is now, one of Scotland's national drinks.  The legendary Miss Cranston must take a great deal of credit for that.  By the end of the 19th century, Glasgow had become a great center for the sale of tea. One of the tea merchants was a young man named Stuart Cranston.  He was very interested in blending different teas and became known as the "Wizard of the Leaf."  He decided that he would sell more tea if he offered tastings of different blends at two pence per cup.  His sister Kate took up the idea and ran with it.

Miss Cranston built up an empire of tea rooms in the city.  Men had always been able to meet their friends in pubs.  Now women had someplace to go too.  Tea at Miss Cranston's became a Glasgow institution and is still enjoyed today at Miss Cranston's Willow Tearooms. Glasgow was also the birthplace of Sir Thomas Lipton who prospered and built up a fleet of 500 ships.  His name is still synonymous with tea in continental Europe.  He had the water of major cities in the British Isles analyzed so that the right blend could be made for each place, corresponding to the different taste of the water.

A vile drug?  Not any more.  It is definitely the cup that cheers.  Duncan Forbes didn't know what he was missing!
Thanks to Maggie Craig, Celtic Heritage, via The Bagpiper, PO Box 1364, Easton, MD 21601-1364.

Jack Kelso Curry, 66, of Irving, formerly of Denton, died Tuesday, August 6, 2002, at Baylor Medical Center in Irving.  He was born September 4, 1935 in Milam County to O.J. and Mary Kelso Curry.  On August 16, 1958 he married Louise Davis in Denton. He graduated from Denton High School, the University of North Texas and Southern Methodist University Law School.  Mr. Curry practiced law for more than 20 years in Irving.  He was active in amateur theater, commercials and movies in the Dallas and Irving areas. He will be missed by family and friends.

Herbert Earle Blackstock, 91, a farmer, died Monday, September 16, 2002, in Abilene, Texas.  Herbert Blackstock was born April 15, 1911, in Johnson County.  He was a member of the Masonic Lodge No. 1114 in Fort Worth and was a highly-decorated retired Air Force major. His friend and family will miss him.

The Caledonain Society of Mississippi was saddened to learn of the death of Sherwood Willing Wise on October 15, 2002.  Sherwood and Tay have been long time members of the Society and great supporters of the Society's various efforts. He was involved in the Society, had a distinguished academic career, worked for civil rights, had an exemplary professional career, was involved in the community and his church, his life has been on of service.  On behalf of the Caledonian Society, sincere condolences are offered to Tay and the rest of his family.

Seek birthplace of MALCOM MORRISON b. 1772 Scotland, d. 1852 Alabama.  Was he born on the Isle of Skye?  Was his father NORMAN MORRISON?  Ms. Claire Dixon, 120 Oakridge Dr., Warner Robins, GA 31093-2143.

MALCOM MORRISON b. 1772 Scotland, d. 1852 Alabama, married ELIZABETH WILLIAMS.  Was he the MALCOM MORRISON in Richmond Co., North Carolina, 1812, as emigrated to America in 1802 (Scots in Carolinas, David Dobson 1986)??  Dobson States he was naturalized 20 September 1813 Richmond Co. North Carolina.  Where is record of naturalization?  Ms. Claire Dixon, 120 Oakridge Dr., Warner Robins, GA 31093-2143.

The South Central Clan MacLeod Piping Scholarship awarded to Jeremy Freeman & Jeffrey Chapman.
The South Central Region of Clan MacLeod Society, USA, Inc., presented its 11th and 12th Piping Scholarship to the St. Thomas Episcopal School in Houston, Texas, on October 17, 2002.  The recipients of these awards were Jeremy Freeman and Jeffrey Chapman. 

The original scholarship at St. Thomas Episcopal School was established by the late Harry M. McLeod and his wife Gloria, through the Dunvegan Foundation, the charitable arms of Clan MacLeod Society.  In 2001, the South Central Region donated funds to establish a second piping scholarship and a dance scholarship at St. Thomas Episcopal School through the Dunvegan Foundation.

Jeremy Freeman was the winner of the first scholarship in 1993.  He graduated from St. Thomas, attended Lyon College in Batesville, Arkansas, where he was in the award winning Lyon College Pipe Band.  Jeremy received his degree and returned to St. Thomas to teach. Jeremy was the deserving 11th winner of the 2002 South Central Clan MacLeod Scholarship.  In the summer of 2002, Jeremy competed in the U.S. Piping Foundation competition in Newark, Maryland, where he won 1st place in piobaireachd and 4th in march, strathspey and reel. Jeremy also competed at the Nicol-Brown Invitational Amateur Competition in Hartford, Connecticut, where he won 1st place in piobaireachd, 2nd in march, strathspey and reel, and 3rd in 6/8 marches.  He topped off the summer by competing in the Newton-More Highland Games in Scotland where he won 2nd in the jigs and 4th in piobaireachd, strathspey and reel.

Jeffrey Chapman was the 12th winner of the 2002 South Central Clan MacLeod Society scholarship.  Jeffery is in the 9th grade at St. Thomas and is working hard to become a participant in the World Championships in Glasgow where the band travels to the competition in Glasgow again.  The St. Thomas Pipe Band under the direction of Michael Cusack has been a consistent winner in this competition for several years.
The Clan MacLeod Society is honored to be associated with St. Thomas Episcopal School  and their outstanding dance and piping program.

The Harry M. McLeod Dance Scholarship awarded to Cumagun and Baras
The South Central Region of the Clan MacLeod Society, USA, Inc., through their charitable arm, the Dunvegan Foundation, awarded their third annual Harry M. McLeod Dance Scholarship at St. Thomas Episcopal School, Houston, to Carla Gardner on October 17, 2002.  This scholarship was established in 2000 to honor the late Harry M. McLeod, Past Regional Vice President of the South Central Region.  The previous award winners were Michelle Cumagun and Katherine Baras.

Carla Gardner is in the 7th grade at St. Thomas Episcopal School and lives in Ballaire, Texas.  She has had a very successful year in 2002, traveling to many competitions all over the U.S.  In these she either won the Championship or was in the top 3 with competitors from all over the U.S. and Canada. In April she won the 13 and under Championship at the Loch Norman Highland Games in North Carolina.  In May she was 2nd Runner Up at the Alma Highland Games in Michigan, then at the U.S. Championship in August in Denver, she won the 13 and Under age group with a First in the Sword, Seann Truibhas, and Strathspey and Highland Reel, and a Second in the Highland Fling.  Carla competed at three major Championships in Scotland where she returned home with 10 medals and a trophy.
The Clan MacLeod Society is proud to add the Harry M. McLeod Dance Scholarship to Carla's other accomplishments.

More of ...Was your grandpa a "howdie" or a "leerie"?
Here are a few more old trades and occupations defined.  Collier was a coal miner, coal merchant, or one who works on a coal barges.  A couper is one who buys and sells; and could also be cooper or cuper, a barrel maker. A cutler is a knife seller or sharpener.  A fermourer was a farmer.  A litster was a dyer.  Brewers were called maltman.  The maker of shears or scissors, a shearsmith, was called a scheirsmyth.  A wobster was a weaver.  Also sometimes seen, is whitesmith (tinsmith) written as whiteironsmith or whyteironsmith.
Thanks to Loretta Layman, 20 Persimmon Trail, Carroll Valley, Pennsylvania.

William G.A. Shaw new Clan Shaw Armiger
On May 1, 2002, William G. A. Shaw of Issaquah, Washington was granted the Name, Arms and Territorial Designation as the Representor of the House of Shaw of Easter Lair by H. M. Court of the Lord Lyon, King of Arms for Scotland.  Mr. Shaw inherits the title and arms as the Tanist of his uncle, the late William Iain Gordon Shaw of Easter Lair and is the twelfth of his line.

The Shaws of Easter Lair are the senior armigerous family of the Shaws of Crathienaird, a branch of the Scottish Highland Clan Shaw that settled in the Balmoral area of Aberdeenshire at Crathienaird in 1633.  In 1710 most of the clan had emigrated en masse to the Glen Shee and Glen Isla area of Perthshire.  Clan Shaw is also a part of the great Clan Chattan, an ancient tribal and military confederacy that lasted from 1291 to 1746.

This Clan Shaw branch fought with the Jocobites uprising in 1715 and 1745 against the Hanoverian government of both King George I and II. Emigrating from Scotland to Canada in 1910 and to the Pacific Northwest of the USA a few years later, the Shaw of Easter Lair family continues to maintain their Celtic and Scottish Highland culture, history, traditions and links to their clan lands of old.

Aside from tribal duties as a gentleman of his Clan and now head of his Territorial House, William Shaw of Easter Lair was appointed by John Charles Shaw of Tordarroch, 22nd Chief of the worldwide Highland Clan, Family and Name of Shaw as the Seannachaid or principal Bard, Poet and Historian in 1995.
Mr. Shaw is the GGG grandson of the Reverend William G. Shaw, Minister of Forfar, who also served as Seannachaidh, 1860-1874.
Thanks to The Clan Shaw Society Newsletter, 1583 Huntington Dr. NW, Marietta, GA 30066-5932.

Interested in Florida pioneers?
The Florida Pioneer Index is now online at Florida State Genealogical Society's website: http://www.rootsweb.com/~flsgs/pioneers/2001index.html.  It lists all recipients of a Florida Pioneer Certificate from 1979 - 2001.  Each Florida Pioneer who has been verified is listed by name along with the name of the descendant who received the certificate, the year awarded, the certificate number, and the FHL (Family History Library in Salt Lake City) film number.
Thanks to The Heritage, PO Box 162905, Miami, FL 33116-2905.

Now you can buy yummy haggis at The Family Tree office in Moultrie!
Now, when you visit The Odom Library in Moultrie you may also purchase some of the delicious Haggis made by Jim Walters and the Caledonian Kitchen!  You'll find a display just outside of Beth's office...and a good supply of  The Caledonian Kitchen's outstanding haggis just waiting for you. At just $9.99 for three cans in a handsome box it's just right for any Scottish gifting occasion or for just snacking at your own home!

Caledonian Kitchen has also made an offer that will help The Family Tree!  When you visit their website http://www.caledoniankitchen.com and order haggis and mention The Family Tree, that earns our little paper $1.00 for each box o' haggis purchased.
Thanks to Jim and The Caledonian Kitchen!

Matau book presented in memory of Dennis Garland Matau
Helen M. Powell, PO Box 068, Teaticket, MA 02536-2068  has donated, in loving memory of her brother, Dennis Garland Matau, a copy  of her book, Matau Family and Related Lineages, with a Brief History of Romania 82 BC to 1990 AD to The Odom Library in Moultrie. The book is hardcover, 291 pages, printed on acid-free paper with an appendix, bibliography and index.  It was typewritten by the compiler.  Regular price is $39 which includes shipping.  Please send check or US Postal Money Order.  Please be sure and print name and address.

The book includes Mataus in Indiana, Massachusetts and Washington State.  There are also Matau -Powell family photos.  The Powell family came in the 19th century from Wales. In the book you'll find information on the families Newman, Elmore, Gibson, Huffman, Carson - from Virginia and Missouri.  You'll find the Trest and Ulmer families from South Carolina and Mississippi. If you would like to order a copy of the book, contact Mrs. Powell at the above address.


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