TSGS Cruiser Blog

Saturday, March 21, 2009

NAVIGATING ALONG the RIVER -
Research Tips

Cyndi's
List of Genealogy Sites on the Internet


I can remember when Cyndi Howell was first getting started with her fanatasic list of genealogical sites on the Internet. She had just requested KYGenWeb County Coordinator's to list their web sites on her list. She had about 4,000 or so on her list in 1996. This morning she has over 264,000 links with over 180 categories. If you have never used her list, you should. If you are like a lot of us, we need to re-visit the page.

I love her "Genealogy Webpage Construction Kit!" Cyndi's List is the first place researchers should go. There is so much on her site, I could write for hours and not do this site justice. Go visit it!

- Submitted by JGWest

Friday, March 20, 2009

"Spring Has Sprung!"


First Day of Spring!


Flowers that were in the Locust Hill Cemetery Mausoleum, Evansville, Indiana. I have a lot of real flower pictures, but they are all summer photos. I thought these were nice and decided to share this nice arrangement.
Photo taken January 2005 and submitted by JGWest

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Tombstone Thursday - William H. Small



William H. Small
Born about 1848, Died 29 Jun 1925
(Age 76 years, 7 months, 29 days)
Oak Hill Cemetery, Evansville, Indiana
Section 36, Lot 44, Grave 2
Mary B. Small is listed on the opposite side of this tombstone. She was 92 when she died in 1950, buried in Grave 3.
This stone varies in color from the light tan to the dark gray depending on the time of day or sunlight. It is beautifully polished.
Photo taken & submitted by JGWest
[Tombstone Thursday is dedicated in memory of Donald G. West 1952-2000]

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

From the FIRST MATE's
PHOTO ALBUM...


Beautiful stained glass window in the Locust Hill Cemetery Mausoleum, Evansville, Indiana.
Photo taken & submitted by JGWest

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

From My Email Box - "Vanderburgh Co. Death Records"

Vanderburgh County Commissioners may assist genealogy research
By Thomas B. Langhorne (Contact)Monday, March 16, 2009
Evansville Courier & Press

The Vanderburgh County Commissioners announced today they will consider a request from the Special Collections Section of Willard Library Tuesday for the Evansville-Vanderburgh County death record index from 1919 until 1947.

The Vanderburgh County Health Department's Vital Records section has the original index and back up microfiche index. With the Commissioners' approval, the Health Department will provide Willard Library with a microfiche copy of the index.

Approval would allow Willard Library to continue to provide the public with free access to records that will assist in genealogy research. - Emailed by Christopher D. Myers

Monday, March 16, 2009

Marker/Plaque/Monument Monday


This plaque is in Alexander Memorial Park Cemetery, Evansville, Indiana. Garden of Christus is the area that my mother and father are buried. My father is the Gaither G. West second to bottom on the right column. I am not sure, but this is the only section in the cemetery to have this type of Family Memorial. I will have to confirm that. Photo taken & submitted by JGWest

Sunday, March 15, 2009

"A Little Kentucky Trivia"

This was sent to the KYGenWeb Coordinator's list today.

* The bloodiest civil war battle was fought in Perryville, Kentucky.
*The first town in the United States to be named for the first president was Washington, Ky. It was named in 1780.
*1792 - Kentucky was the first state on the western frontier to join the Union.
*In the War of 1812 more than half of all Americans killed in action were Kentuckians.
*1816 - (first promoted) Mammoth Cave, with 336+ miles of mapped passages, is the world's longest cave. It is 379 feet deep and contains at least 5 levels of passages. It's second only to Niagara Falls as the most popular tourist attraction in the US. It became a National Park on July 1, 1941.
*The first American performance of a Beethoven symphony was in Lexington in 1817.
*Begun in 1819 the first commercial oil well was on the Cumberland River in McCreary County.
*Kentucky is the state where both Abraham Lincoln, President of the Union, and Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederacy, were born. They were born less than one hundred miles and one year apart.
*1856 - The first enamel bathtub was made in Louisville.
*In 1873, Louisville druggist John Colgan invented something that you can find in any just about every grocery store in the world, chewing gum.
*1883 - The first electric light bulb was shown in Louisville. Thomas Alva Edison introduced his invention to crowds at the Southern Exposition.
*1887 - Mother's Day was first observed in Henderson by teacher Mary S. Wilson. It became a national holiday in 1916.
*The radio was invented by a Kentuckian named Nathan B. Stubblefield of Murray in 1892. It was three years before Marconi made his claim to the invention.
*Pike County the world's largest producer of coal is famous for the Hatfield-McCoy feud, an Appalachian vendetta that lasted from the Civil War to the 1890s.
*1893 - 'Happy Birthday to You', probably the most sung song in the world, was written by two Louisville sisters - Mildred and Patricia Hill.
*Late 19th century - Bibb lettuce was first cultivated by Jack Bibb in Frankfort, Kentucky.
*1896 - The first (known) set of all male quintuplets was born in Paducah.
*Carrie Nation the spokesperson against rum, tobacco, pornography, and corsets was born near Lancaster in Garrard County.
*1926 - A Hot Brown is a hot sandwich originally created at the Brown Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky, by Fred K. Schmidt.
*1934 - Cheeseburgers were first tasted at Kaelin's Restaurant in
Louisville.
*1937 - The first Wigwam Village Motel, with units in the shape of a 'teepee', was built by Frank A. Redford in Cave City .
*The "Old Fashion" drink was created in Louisville, KY.
*The world's largest baseball bat, a full one hundred twenty (120) feet tall and weighing 68,000 pounds, can be seen at the Louisville Slugger Museum in Louisville (Jefferson Co.).
*Chevrolet Corvettes are manufactured only in Bowling Green.
*Covington (St. Mary's Cathedral-Basilica of the Assumption) is home to the world's largest hand blown stained glass window in existence. It measures an astounding 24 feet by 67 feet and contains 117 different figures.
*The world's largest crucifix, standing at sixty feet tall, is in Bardstown (Nelson Co.).
*Fort Knox holds more than $6 billion worth of gold - the largest amount stored anywhere in the world.
*The JIF plant in Lexington is the world's largest peanut butter producing facility.
*Kentucky has more resort parks than any other state in the nation.
*Middlesboro is the only United States city built inside a meteor crater.
*Newport is home to The World Peace Bell, the world's largest free-swinging bell.
*Pikeville annually leads the nation (per capita) in consumption of Pepsi-Cola.
*Post-It Notes are made exclusively in Cynthiana, Ky.
*Shaker Village (Pleasant Hill) is the largest historic community of its kind in the U.S.
*Christian County is 'wet', while Bourbon County is 'dry'. ('wet 'sells liquor; 'dry' does not).
*Barren County has the most fertile land in the state.
*Lake Cumberland has more miles of shoreline than the state of Florida.
*Kentucky is best known for its beautiful blue grass.
*Cumberland is the only waterfall in the world to regularly display a Moonbow. It is located just southwest of Corbin.
*Thunder Over Louisville is the opening ceremony for the Kentucky Derby Festival and is the world's largest fireworks display.
*The only monument south of the Ohio River dedicated to Union Soldiers who died in the Civil War is located in Vanceburg.
*High Bridge located near Nicholasville is the highest railroad bridge over navigable water in the United States.
*The Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption in Covington has 82 stained-glass windows including the world's largest hand-blown one. The window neasures 24 feet wide by 67 feet high and depicts the Council of Ephesus with 134 life-sized figures.
*The Lost River Cave and Valley Bowling Green includes a cave with the shortest and deepest underground river in the world. It contains the largest cave opening east of the Mississippi.
*The Kentucky Derby is the oldest continuously held horse race in the country. It is held at Churchill Downs in Louisville on the first Saturday in May.
*Kentucky is the horse capitol of the world.
*Mohammed Ali, The Greatest and most recognized face in the world was born in Louisville, KY.
*There are only three things that matter in the state of Kentucky - Bourbon, Basketball, and Horseracing.