Wheeler

There's been a change in Grandma, we've noticed her of late, She's reading History or jotting down some date. She's tracking back the family,we'll all have pedigrees. Oh! Grandma's got a hobby, she's climbing Family Trees. Poor Grandpa does the cooking and now,or so he states, That worst of all, he has to wash the cups and Dinner plates. Grandma can't be bothered, she's busy as a bee, Compiling Genealogy, for The Family Tree. She has no time to baby-sit, the curtains are a fright. No buttons left on Granddad's shirt, the flower bed's a sight. She's given up her club work, the serials on TV, The only thing she does nowadays is climb the Family Tree. She goes down to the Court House and studies ancient lore, We know more about of forebears than we ever knew before. The books are old and dusty,they make poor Grandma sneeze, A minor irritation when you're climbing Family Trees. The mail is all for Grandma, it comes from near and far, Last week she got the proof she needs to join the DAR. A worthwhile avocation, to that we all agree, A monumental project, to climb The Family Tree. Now some folks came form Scotland and some from Galway Bay, Some were French as pastry, some German, all the way. Some went on West to stake their claim.Some stayed nearby the sea. Grandma hopes to find them all as she climbs The Family Tree. She wanders through the graveyard in search of date or name, The rich, the poor, the in-between, all sleeping there the same. She pauses now and then to rest, fanned by a gentle breeze, That blows above the Fathers of all our Family Trees. There were pioneers and patriots mixed in our kith and kin, Who blazed the paths of wilderness and fought through thick and thin. But none more staunch than Grandma, whose eyes light up with glee, Each time she finds a missing branch for The Family Tree. Their skills were wide and varied, from Carpenter to Cook, And one (Alas) the record shows was hopelessly a crook. Blacksmith, weaver,farmer,judge,some tutored for a fee. Long lost in time. now all recorded on The Family Tree. To some it's just a hobby, to Grandma it's much more, She knows the joys and heartaches of those who went before. They loved, they lost,they laughed ,they wept,and now for you and me, They live again in spirit, around The Family Tree. At last she's nearly finished and we are each exposed. Life will be the same again, this we supposed!! Grandma will cook and sew,serve cookies with our tea. We'll all be fat, just as before that wretched Family Tree. Sad to relate, The Preacher called and visited for a spell, We talked about the Gospel, and other things as well, The heathen folk, the poor - and then - 'twas fate fate, it had to be. Somehow the conversation turned to Grandma and the Family Tree. We tried to change the subject, we talked of everything, But then in Grandma's voice we heard that old familiar ring. She told him all about the past and soon was plain to see, The Preacher, too, was nearly snared by Grandma and The Family Tree. He never knew his Grandpa, his Mother's maiden name was ....Clark? He and Grandma talked and talked, outside it grew quite. We'd hoped our fears were groundless, but just like some disease, Grandma's become an addict ---She's hooked on Family Trees. Our souls were filled with sorrow, out hearts sank with dismay, our ears could scarce believe the words we heard our Grandma say, "It sure is a lucky thing that you have come to me, I know exactly how it's done, I'll climb your Family Tree". Author Unknown

The Michigan County Histories collection is a combined effort of Michigan's Council of Library Directors. The collection provides access to 192 histories dating from 1866 to 1926. There are 172 volumes in 146 titles currently online. http://www.hti.umich.edu/m/micounty/

Hi Pansy, Can you give us more information on the June family? Where they lived... dates of birth and death... first names, etc! Do you have information on your grandfather June? Great grandfather, etc. Have you posted a query on a message board or subscribed to a mailing list? I'm glad to see that you are a 'little' interested... that's the way the genealogy bug gets started, and once it starts it's hard to pull away! You wouldn't believe how much fun it is to find ancestors... there's a June message board at http://genforum.genealogy.com/june/?priority=0000900 where you can post a message and see what you get! I'm hoping that you'll get a responce from a distant relative!

How & Where to Find Birth Certificates, Death Certificates, Marriage Certificates, Divorce Certificates & Adoption Records Vital records - birth certificates, marriage certificates, death certificates, divorce certificates and adoption records - are one of the best resources to help you as a genealogist build your family tree. Learn how to obtain vital records ( birth certificates, death certificates, marriage certificates, etc. ) for each state and territory in the United States by clicking on the location of your choice for vital records addresses, fees, and Web sites for state Vital Records departments, plus links to free vital records indexes (online) of birth records, adoption records, marriage records and death records. http://genealogy.about.com/library/blvitalus.htm

I use the GNIS -- http://geonames.usgs.gov/ -- to find out county names. Click on "U.S. and territories" in the section marked "Query GNIS" and you'll get a form. Fill out the name of the town and select the state. Usually if you want a city, you should select "populated place" in the feature list. GNIS is an outstanding resource that everyone should bookmark and learn to take full advantage of its capabilities. Be sure to click on "GNIS Query Help Page" below the search form to learn all about it. As you can see by clicking through the "Feature Type" list, it covers about every geographic feature in the U.S imaginable. By checking "yes" on the form for "Query Variant Name" you can often (but not always) locate a place even if it has been renamed and you only have the original, obsolete name. You can even do nationwide wildcard searches.

This might not work, but it won't hurt to try... Click on Start>search>Files or Folders>All Files or Folders> then type in *.ftw and see what you get!!! I don't know what version of Windows you have. I have XP... Hope it works for you...

Adjusts any given amount of money for inflation, according to the Consumer Price Index, from 1800 to 2002 http://www.westegg.com/inflation/ Example: What cost $10000 in 1800 would cost $101580.58 in 2002.

If so, you should be able to find lots of records because the Quakers kept very good records. Here's a site that lists frequently used abbreviations that you may find in Quaker documents... http://home.att.net/~Pendroy/qkrterms.html

Listed at this website are the names of the officers, enlisted men and conscripts of the armies of the Confederate States of America who died of smallpox while being held as prisoners of war at the Federal Military Prison located across the Mississippi River from Alton, Illinois. Some of you may have ancestors buried here... God rest their souls... http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/mo/civilwar/smallpox.htm

I've found that sometimes all of the names of participants are not listed and should be. My great great great grandfather was in the battle of King's Mountain here in South Carolina, during the Revolutionary War and is not listed in any of the books that I have, but he received a pension and that battle was listed on those papers... We just have to keep searching! If I can help let me know! My ancestors came through the area where I now live and it just gives me a thrill to think that I'm walking in their footprints... Good luck with your searches...

See if you have ancestors listed: "Medal of Honor Citations" http://www.army.mil/cmh/Moh1.htm

This site will tell you all that you need to know about eggs... Hope this helps somebody... http://www.aeb.org/recipes/index.html

Well aren't you lucky Momo! I've tilled my garden but haven't planted anything in the ground yet! The nights are still too cold around here. I have tomatoes planted in trays and they're really showing their stuff!!! I plan to get some green beans planted if we don't have rain in the next couple of days... We had a frost this morning... take care~

Have you found old wills, letters or other documents that are hard to read? If so, this site may help you... http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/special/.../oldenglish.htm

Who lived in a house near the sea...

I just want to let everyone know about a free interactive tutorial on researching family history information. The tutorial is for beginners interested in using the Internet for genealogy research, but it's a big help for even the more experienced genealogist. It provides a demonstration of each Internet resource, and it allows users to practice with the resource while following step-by-step instructions. The address for the tutorial is: http://www.learnwebskills.com/family/intro.html

Bears? Bears?? Did somebody say Bears??? I'll tell you what... there is no way that I could stay in an area where there were bears!!! I would be soooo afraid to go out at night.. oh no!!! I'd be afraid to go out during the day too... Man!!! you girls are brave! Do you walk around with a gun in your hands all the time? Now I know why I live in South Carolina!!!

Now that I'm here this should put a stop to it!!! Whatchathink?

Jiffy Mix is offering a nice little cookbook to anyone in the United States... and it's free http://jiffymix.com/

Enjoy--- http://americanbridge.com/dontworry2.htm

Wanted to pass this along, I found it very helpful with locating dates and places in the United States. http://www.genealogyinc.com/maps/uscm.htm

Do you have a box, or several boxes of pictures that were taken over the years? Or maybe your mother had those pictures but did not identify the people on them. Start going through them now, a few at a time, because someday you will forget who those people are. We all get that way when we get older. You say "I'll never forget which baby that is." But you do!!! When several years pass you look at these pictures and these babies all look alike. So when you have pictures developed at least put the date on them... A name would help, but if there's a date you can figure out which one of the children it is. If you do not take the time to put names on pictures, you commit the sin of omission and all that you have done as a genealogist will be lessened with that omission.... so get the box, and put it next to the place where you spend a lot of time and when things are slow, or you get tired of what you're doing, identify the picture, people... place... occasion... date one at a time, then the next the next and the next and pretty soon they will all be done..... If you are not going to do this, then give the box to someone in your family who will and do not delay..... dont cheat those that follow you of the knowledge that you can give to them for free.... and let the person in that picture live just that much longer in someones memory....

Thank you Snowmom... I come in now and then and look around. Seems like there are not too many MrsS members doing much with their genealogy anymore... Are they just not interested, don't have time, or are they not old enough? If you wait until you're old enough all of those people who can give you the answers you need will be gone! Don't wait too long! Subscribe to your surname mailing lists, post on your surname, state, county, etc. message boards. I've found so much help by doing this. I have a subscription to ancestry.com and godfrey.org also so that I can get to Heritage Quest and search the census pages... I just love Genealogy! Try it, you will too... Now, somebody help this old lady get down off of this box!!!

Y'all go ahead... I'm staying right here. I don't like wind and I sure don't like it when it's going in circles!!!

The STATE archive page for the state of interest.... http://vitalrecords.accessgenealogy.com/ but LOOK at this page... there are links for genealogy pages AND the STATE PAGES direct.... explore them all.