Are you looking for free online translations?

            The Alta Vista Website Babel Fish Translation allows you to translate blocks of test (up to 150 words) “from and to” a number of languages, including German/English.  You can also translate other Websites. 

            There is a World Keyboard feature that allows you to enter accented or Cyrillic characters.  The translation service is free.  Check it out at http://babelfish.altavists.com/translate.dyn

Thanks for this information go to YVSG Family Finders, Yucaipa Valley Genealogical Society, PO Box 32, Yucaipa, CA 92399-0032.

If you’re tracing your Cherokee roots, this book is for you

            Cherokee Proud is a second edition, paperback cover, book of 308 pages by Tony Mack McClure, Ph.D.  It is a guide for tracing and honoring your Cherokee ancestors.  The price is $22.95, plus $5.37 postage. 

            Make your money order out to Prin. Chief  William “Rattlesnake” Jackson, in care of the American Cherokee Confederacy, National Tribe Office, 619 Pine Cone Road, Albany, GA 31705.

 

Want to know what culverin, kill grief, and rumfustian really mean?

            We hear the terms steer clear of, hit the deck, don’t rock the boat, and to harbor a grudge and give little thought to their origin.  Left together on ships for months, and often for years, pirate crews developed expressions that made their way into common usage.  Terms for things related to life at sea became idioms used by land lubbers, a term derived from the holes in the platforms surrounding the mast that allowed sailors to avoid climbing the rigging around the platforms.  A lubber was someone who was very clumsy, so a land lubber is someone who knows nothing about sailing and rigging.

            Terry Breverton has written a delightful book titled The Pirate Dictionary that tells you the origin of these little quips and many other words.  Reading through these words and phrases is an abbreviated trip through history, with lists of major naval mutinies, a summary of the slave trade, and even jokes.  This dictionary is written to be entertaining as well as informative, to give a flavor of the interesting times from the 15^th to 18^th centuries when pirates controlled many sea lanes.  It also contains a treasure trove of factual information about life aboard the ship, important pirate haunts, and technical terms.

            Terry Breverton is the author of fourteen books, including: Black Bart Roberts: The Greatest Pirate of Them All ($14.95 pb), the forthcoming book Admiral Sir Henry Morgan ($14.95 pb), and numerous articles.  Mr. Breverton is a recipient of the Helm Fellowship at the University of Indiana.  He lives in Wales and is a senior lecturer in marketing and management at UWIC Business School in Cardiff.

            The Pirate Dictionary is 192 pages with 28 illustrations, 5 maps and 3 tables.  The price is $14.95 pb original, ISBN: 1-58980-243-8.  Readers may order toll free from Pelican at 1-800-843-1724 or 1-888-5-PELICAN.  For more information, contact the Promotion Department at 504-368-1175.  Or you can write to Pelican Publishing Company, Inc. at 1000 Burmaster St., Gretna, LA 70053-2246.

 

Mineral Point, Wisconsin is the site for the
12^th Annual Cornish Festival, September 24 – 26, 2004

            The Southwest Wisconsin Cornish Society and the Greater Milwaukee Cornish Society will again co-sponsor a Genealogy Seminar in conjunction with the Cornish Festival in Mineral Point.

            The Seminar will be Friday and Saturday September 24-25,  2004, at the conference room of the Comfort Inn in Mineral Point.

            Genealogy Seminar:

Friday, September 24, 2004

            8:30-9:00         Registration and Browsing (coffee, juice & rolls)

            9:00-9:15         Welcome & announcements

9:15-10:15       “California Cornish Heritage: Welcome to Grass Valley’s Wisconsin Hotel”, Gage McKinney

10:30-11:30     “Cornwall Family History Society, The Future of Exploring the Past”, Mike Morrish

11:30-1:00       Lunch on your own; be sure to take time to browse

1:00-1:45         “Gold in Mineral Point”, Jim Jewell

2:00-2:45         “Cornish Records at the Wisconsin Room”, James Hibbard

3:00-4:00         “Family History Sources in California”, Gage McKinney

Saturday, September 25, 2004

            9:00-9:45         “Migration by our Ethnic Ancestors”, Mary Freymiller

            10:00-10:45     “Cornish in Racine County Wisconsin”, Jean Jolliffe

11:00-11:45     “When Miners Sang: A Cornish Musical Heritage”, Gage McKinney

Some of the planned events of the Festival:

Friday, September 24, 2004

            Cornish Genealogy Seminar

            Pub Night at the Kiddlywink, Pendarvis Historical Site

            Quilt show, Iowa Co. Fair Grounds

Saturday, September 25, 2004

            Pancake Breakfast, Masonic Temple

            Continuing Genealogy Seminar, Opera House, 9:00-11:45 a.m.

            Bus Tours of Mineral Point

            Village Green Faire

            Taste of Mineral Point

            Cornish Afternoon at Opera House

            Pasty Banquet

            “Crowdy Crawn” at Pendarvis Historic Site

            Mineral Point Room, Open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

            Quilt Show, Iowa Co. Fair Grounds

Sunday, September 26, 2004

            Special Church Services at Trinity Episcopal and United Methodist Churches

            Bagpipe Procession on High Street

            Bus Tours

            Music, games and refreshments at Liberty Park

            Pendarvis Historic Site Tours, all days 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.  Last tour at 4 p.m.

            Orchard Lawn (Gundry House) Tours, Friday & Saturday 1-5 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

For more information about the seminar and festival, contact Tom Rowe, 4525 S. River Ridge Blvd., Greenfield, WI 53228, phone 414-529-2518, or by email trowe@milwpc.com

Ethnic/international news

 of vital  Interest to genealogists…

 

Jewish

            Yizkor books (Holocaust memorial books) are classified as rare books.  When copies become available, they often cost hundreds of dollars.  The Yiddish Book Center is now selling reprints of hundreds of yizkor books at a cost of $90.00 for Yiddish Book Center members and $120.00 for non-members.  Tax-deductible membership is only $36 per year.

            The reprints were made using the new digital printing technology.  Original yizkor books were scanned using high resolution equipment, and the images were then used to reproduce the reprints.  Samples were on display at the re International Conference on Jewish Genealogy last summer in Washington.  The quality of the text was quite good; the picture reproduction only fair.  The Center’s Website is at http://www.nationalyiddishbookcenter.org/+10151

            Meanwhile, the New York Public Library (NYPL) announced plans to put digitized images of its complete collection of yizkor books – more than 700 books – on the Internet.  It has already placed nine of these books representing twelve towns at their site.  The portal to this collection is at http://www.nyl.org/research/chss/jws/yizkorbooks_intro.cfm

Polish

            What is the oldest permanent Polish settlement in the United States?  According to the American Record of Historical Places, it is Panna Maria, Texas.  Panna Maria was established December 24, 1854, making this its 150^th anniversary. 

            In 1854, about 100 families came to America from villages in the southwestern part of present-day Poland known as Upper Silesia.  A Franciscan monk and missionary from Silesia, Father Leopold Moczygemba, had worked in Texas since 1852.  He encouraged the immigration which was made by train to Bremen, Germany, then by ship to Galveston, by smaller boat to Indianola, and finally, by walking nearly 200 miles to San Antonio.  They eventually settled at what became Panna Maria, about 55 miles southeast of San Antonio, now in Karnes County.

            A museum and historical society seek to retain the history of Panna Maria.  Contact Panna Maria Historical Society by email to pannamarie@karnesec.net; write to them at PO Box 52, Panna Marie, TX 78144; or visit their Website at http://www.pannamarie.tx for information on the community’s history and special events celebrating the area.

Scottish

            The Scottish Archives has launched the Ordinance Survey large-scale Scottish town plans Website, featuring over 1,900 high-resolution zoomable map images.  http://www.nls.org.maps   Included are maps of Scotland 1560-1929, Pont’s Maps of Scotland c.1583-ca.1596, 18^th century military maps of Scotland, and Ordinance Survey Town Plans 1847-1895.

            The National Library of Scotland houses one of the ten largest map collections in the world.  The National Library is the world center for the study of Scotland and the Scots.  The library has United Kingdom deposit status, making it a vast reference library covering all topics from art to mountaineering, and from the earliest times to the digital age. 

            To contact the library visit the Web page at http://www.nls.uk/contact/index.html or write National Library of Scotland, George IV Bridge, Edinburgh, EH1 1EW, Scotland, UK.

Source:  Federation of Genealogical Societies FORUM, PO Box 200940, Austin, TX 78720-0940.

Happy Halloween

 from

Narra

The Wonder Cat

And her assistants,

Jinx and Beth

Narra says,

“Meooobooo!”
 

Check out this calendar of events!

October 2, Georgia, Atlanta:  The Georgia Genealogical Society announces its quarterly meeting “A Day with George G. Morgan.”  More information can be found at the society Web site http://www.gagensociety.org or by emailing ggs@gagensociety.org.

October 7-9, Missouri, Kansas City:  POINT (Pursuing Our Italian Names Together) will hold its 4^th Biennial National Conference.  Speakers will be Sharon DeBartolo Carmack, Suzanne Russo, Dan Neimiec, Lou Alfano, Joseph Mastrangelo, Ugo Perego, Mrs. V. G. Johnson, Gary Toms, Mary Burtzloff, and Marilyn Finke.  Further information is available by contacting Danny Zangara at PO Box 2441, Kansas City, KS 66110-0441; by email at pointkc_2004@yahoo.com or see the Web site at http://www.point-pointers.net.

October 8-11, Texas, Arlington:  The 2004 Bobo Family Reunion has been announced.  Featured speaker will be Bill Hocutt.  For more information on this reunion of descendants of Gabriel Baubeau, contact Chuck Bobo, FamilyBobo@aol.com or see the Web site at http://www.familybobo.org.  In addition, the group can be contacted by phone at 256-468-5059.

October 9, Wisconsin, Elkhorn:  The Walworth County Genealogy Society announces its annual Family History Month Genealogy Fair.  More information can be found by contacting Donna Kjendlie at 608-363-0554 or Peggy Gleich at pgleich@sbcglobal.net.

October 10-16, Utah, Salt Lake City:  The International Society for British Genealogy and Family History announces its 4^th Annual British Institute, featuring Anne Wuehler, Claire Smith-Burns, and Sherry Irvine.  Three tracks will be offered in this week-long learning event.  More information and registration can be found at the society’s Web site http://www.isbgfh.org, send an email to isbgfh@yahoo.com or write to ISBGFH, PO Box 350459, Westminster, CO 80035-0459.

October 15-16, California, San Diego:  The San Diego African American Genealogy Research Groups will present its 4^th Annual West Coast Summit on African American Genealogy “Looking to the Past to Create the Future” featuring William B. Gould.  More details can be found by phoning Margaret Lewis at 619-262-5810 or email at ibemarti@aol.com.

October 16, New Mexico, Roswell:  The Wilson-Cobb History and Genealogy Research will present its fall workshop featuring John Sellers.  For information, contact the library at 505-622-3322, or email Wilsoncobb@zianet, or write to PO Box 1216, Roswell, NM 88202.

October 16, Pennsylvania, Gettysburg:  The Mid-Atlantic Germanic Society’s fall meeting “Researching German Ancestors: Vital and Church Records, Names and Marriage Customs!” will feature Robert Minert.  Contact the meeting registrar, Diane M. Kuster at 732-606-6032 or see the society’s Web site at http://www.rootsweb.com/~usmags for more information.

October 23, Illinois, Bloomington:  The McLean County Genealogical Society (MCGS) announces its Fall Conference featuring Marion Schuetz.  More information can be found by emailing the society at mcgs488@hotmail.com, by writing to the society at PO Box 488, Normal, IL 61761, or see the society’s Web site at http://www.mcgs.org

October 23, Indiana, Bristol:  The Elkhart County Genealogical Society announces its Fall Workshop featuring Curt B. Witcher.  More information can be obtained by writing to the Society at PO Box 1031, Elkhart, IN 46515-1031; or see the society’s Web site at http://www.rootsweb.com/~inelkhar/.

October 23, Kansas, Lenaxa:  The Johnson County Genealogical Society announces its Annual Seminar featuring Christine Rose.  More information about this event can be found by sending an email to Carrie Kirk at carriekirk@everestkc.net.

October 30, Oklahoma, Tahlequah:  The Cherokee National Historical Society, Inc. announces a fall workshop “Preserving Your Family Photographs.”  For more information, see the society’s Web site at http://www.cherokeeheritage.org or email genealogy@cherokeeheritage.org.

November 6, Illinois, Grayslake:  Lake County Genealogical Society announces its 12^th Annual Workshop with speakers Sandra Luebking, Dan Niemiec, and Beverly Smallwood.  More information can be obtained from the society’s Web site at http://www.rootsweb.com/~illcgs, by sending an email to the society at LCIGS@yahoo.com, or by contacting Carol Knigg at 8206 Penny Lane, Richmond, IL 60071.

Thanks again for this information from Federation of Genealogical Societies FORUM, PO Box 200940, Austin, TX 78720-0940.

 A Gift from the Soul (The Comyns’ First Role Models)                                          Reverend Scott C. Hall

Contact Reverend Hall at 5508 South 37^th Terrace,

 St. Joseph, MO 64503

            The serene looking village of West Linton, Peeblesshire, some eighteen miles southwest of Edinburgh on the A 702, has a significant niche in the story of Clan Comyn (Cumming).  It is not very evident, however, because traffic from/or to Edinburgh pushes one along so fast it is difficult to see anything!  Nevertheless, the significance is secure in Comyn lore; namely: Here may have been the family’s first recorded charitable gift to the Christian Church within Scotland.

            Having said that, even tough evidence may show another was the first, this act was very early in the recordings of such gifts.  The date was about 1160.

            The Comyns were following an established religious pattern of the Middle Ages in contributing properties and income from them to the Roman Catholic Church.  They were given to specific churches or Christian institutions such as monasteries.  The reasons were varied:  Charity from a sense of piety; in thanksgiving for restored health; a celebration of family events; as an act of penance for sins; or to honor the memory of someone’s life.  Advance payment for regular masses for their souls after death was also a common Christian practice.  Such gifts should be seen in the context of the times, wherein the reality of hell and purgatory created a pragmatic motivation.  In other words, gifts to the Church could purchase spiritual insurance – a blunt way to put it, but a useable definition of a way to ease the transition from this world to the next.  Again, when seen in that theology, the intent is understandable.

            In this case, Richard Comyn and his wife, Hextilda, about 1160, gave the Church of Lynton – Roderick – now the site of St. Andrews Church of Scotland (Presbyterian) – to the Abbey of the Blessed Virgin and St. John at Kelso.  There was already a long history here as a place of Christian worship, dating back to the missionary work of St. Mungo’s disciples in the 6^th century.  Roderick refers to the Christian King of Strathclyde, Rydderich Hael – Roderick the Liberal – who supported the saint’s work.  Lynton carries the name of the small river, Lyne Water, which flows through West Linton.

            At this time the village and its lands were owned by the Comyns, Richard and Hextilda, who received them by a grant from Henry, son of David I, King of Scots.  They, in turn, later gave the church to the abbey, St. Mary of Kelso, along with a “half-ploughgate of land” for its support.  Their grant was the first mention of Lynton – Roderick (West Linton) in historical records.  (T. C. Atkinson)

            “West” was added to Linton in the 18^th century.  And a “half-ploughgate” of land is twenty to forty Scots acres.  This is as close as I could understand the definitions which changed over the years and varied between Scottish and Norman English measurement!

            A brief mention of this place and the gift of its church by Richard and Hextilda are found in Mrs. M. E. Cumming-Bruce’s The Bruces and Cumyns, pages 395-396.  A footnote in the text indicated the church “with its burying ground was on the banks of the Lyne, on the west side of the village, at a place called Linton.”  When we found ourselves driving through West Linton, we stopped to see if we could find that church’s site.  Time was too short for us to do much more than photograph the two churches we found: St. Mungo’s and St. Andrews’s.  We did, however, record the minister’s name for the former and wrote him from Missouri to see more information about this story.  He gave our letter to Mr. Colin Baxter before transferring to another parish and so began an arm and interesting correspondence!  And, even though we thought St. Mungo’s was the church site from Mrs. Cumming-Bruce’s book, he kindly secured a book about West Linton by Atkinson as quoted above, material on St. Andrew’s and the name of their parish clerk!  And she graciously confirmed permission to copy photographs and/or text from their church leaflet!  Through this very pleasant correspondence, we learned the basic information was indeed true.

            Back to that story:  Richard and Hextilda gave the church and land in its support to the monastery at Kelso for “the weal” (or well-being) of Earl Henry’s soul.  Sine he had given this area of Peeblesshire to the Comyns he had died.  Secondly, it was given on behalf of the soul of John Comyn, a son of Richard and Hextilda who was deceased before 1159.  Both Earl Henry, who would have been King of Scots, and John were interred at the abbey.  Thirdly, the gift was on behalf of Richard, Hextilda and their family’s souls.

            Some six hundred years later, in 1781, a new church was built on the site and then it was extensively remodeled in 1871.  Remnants of earlier structures have been found in these rebuildings: stones with carvings of a cross and shears in relief.  (M. E. Cumming-Bruce, page 395; Mr. Baxter suggests the shears were symbols of the wool industry.)  A colorful brochure of St. Andrew’s speaks of a pre-Reformation church and manse remains in the old churchyard and it notes that there are two holes in the wall where the ministers kept bees.

            In 1929 portions of the baptismal font from the pre-Reformation church were salvaged from Lyne Water.  They were combined with other pieces held by the parish and set on a wrought iron stand.  In use once again, it creates a meaningful tie to the worshippers of yesteryear.

            When the Comyns conveyed the church to St. Mary’s of Kelso, it was moved from the supervision of the Bishop of Glasgow to the Abbot of Kelso until the Reformation of 1560.  The abbey was virtually destroyed in 1544 and 1545 by troops under the orders from England’s King Henry VIII, who sent them with “fyre and sworde”!  (The Intelligent Traveler’s Guide to Historic Scotland by P. A. Crowl, page 197.)  Therefore, the chances are nil that any trace exists of the burials of Earl Henry, John Comyn (or Richard and Hextilda?) at Kelso.

            Even though the church building of 1160 is long gone from this small Victorian flavored village with narrow streets, its legacy, in a Christian sense, still undergirds St. Andrew’s.  Its heritage also lives in the village through a deep rooted Scottish identity.  And the gift of Lynton – Roderick was a model to succeeding Cummings who contributed to the spiritual life of Scotland.

            I wish to give a word of thanks to Mrs. Margaret Ramsay for permission to use information from the church’s brochure and to copy its photographs; also to Mr. Colin Baxter for his many letters responding to questions from 2 Americans who made an unscheduled stop in West Linton one March day.

 

 

We need your help with these queries!!!

I need family portraits!  Ancestors known ISAAC BEESON 1729-1802 and PHEBE STROUD (Quaker).  Harpers Ferry and Hopewell, Virginia.  Slaves?  Also MARY ADELINE WHEELER who married JOHN DURKEE, 8 April, 1823, Baltimore, Maryland news Archbishop MARECHAL.  Please contact Richard Morrissey, 26209 Chambers, Sun City, California 92586.

 

J. CLAUDE RABISCHUNG (1610-1666), wife KLARA SHERMAN, glass workers and blowers, St. Amarin, France may have been parents of CHRISTOPHE RABISCHUNG, 2 March, 1672.  He wedded ANNE MUELLER.   Proof-Suspicion?   If you have any information, contact Richard Morrissey, 26209 Chambers, Sun City, California 92586.

Hal Lewis of 124 Cumberland Avenue, Buffalo, New York 14220 is looking for information on JAMES and ELIZABETH TURLEY CREMEANS son, JOHN THOMAS CREMEANS, wife ALTOC CREAMEANS.  May 26, 1895.  CREAMEANS, J. T.,  23; CAZAD ALTOC, 17, b. Cabell County, Massachusetts.  CREMEANS, JAMES, 21; TURLEY, ELIZABETH, 19, and information on surname TURLEY, and funeral of LILLIE S. LEWIS 1886-1973, Dalton, IL., buried Woodmere, Huntington, WV.  Who attended funeral and where her family is buried.  ISABELL LEWIS, born 1906, Chicago, IL.  LESLIE THOMAS LEWIS, JOHN & ISABELL.

Pat Carby, 7285 32^nd Avenue, Crystal, Minnesota 55427 (email: User770295@aol.com) is seeking information on a WILLIAM CALHOUN that was born in 1773 in East Pennsboro, Pennsylvania to SAMUEL CALHOUN (b.1721 d.1773) and MARY CLENDENNIN/CLENDENNING?  SAMUEL was the son of HUGH CALHOUN (b.1692 d.1753) and AGNES JANE McCLEARY?  They are descendents of ADAM CALHOUN 9b.1601 d.1634) and LADY CHRISTIAN LINDSEY.  The information appears in ORVAL CALHOUN’s books.  ORVAL has written quite a bit of information about most all of the other children of SAMUAL and MARY CALHOUN, but it only shows a birth year of 1773 for their son WILLIAM.

McDANIEL/McDONALD.  Calling all McDANIELS – if your line is in North Carolina back of 1830.  My line is NEIL ARCHIBALD; DANIEL; JAMES; JOHN; ARCHIBALD; DANIEL.  Counties Moore, Richmond, Onslow, Duplin, Edgecombe.  Send charts.  I hope to get book out within the year.  Please contact Wimberley Winden, 1511 Buckmann Court, Houston, Texas 77043-3301.