Stumbling Along in a Cemetery

As anyone that has known me for very long, they know I do not often stumble when I am walking through a cemetery.  However, yesterday (23 April 2016), I was in a cemetery I have never been in before.  I was not there looking for family members.  I could not help myself, though, to look around at the tombstones and marvel at the history behind each and every stone.

My wife, Becky, and I traveled to Logan County, Kentucky to honor a Revolutionary War Patriot who fought in that war.  I do this as a member of the Sons of the American Revolution Color Guard.  We are generally invited by the family of a RW patriot to honor and mark the grave as an American hero.  We carry many Colonial flags and place wreaths as part of the ceremony.  A well-documented biography is read to those in attendance.  With much fanfare including music and musket salute, we honor that true patriot of American Independence.  I belong to the Ohio Valley Chapter that meets at Willard Library in Evansville, Indiana.  I descend from a Revolutionary War Patriot Thomas West, Jr. who migrated from Chatham County, NC around 1807 and settled in northeastern Christian Co., KY in the area known as the Ovil Community.  My father, Gaither Glennis West, was born there in 1918.

Logan County & Christian County are separated by Todd County.  There are some of Dad's family buried in Logan County, but not in the area of where we went yesterday, at least as far as I knew.  With my family being in Christian County since the very early 1800s, I have many relatives with many surnames living there with some buried in Christian, Todd & Logan counties.  Some of the surnames of my direct ancestors are: Ragers, Phipps, Flatt, Martin, Williams, Rogers, Woodis, Blalock, Black, Buckner, Simpson, as well as West.  In addition I have kinfolks with surnames of Henderson, Cannon, Powell, O'Daniel, Tucker, Dossett, Hightower, Morris, Perkins - just to name a few!  Okay, I need to get to the point of this blog.  My 2nd. great grandmother was Margaret G. Woodis the daughter of William H. Woodis who was 95 when he died in 1913.

Now, back to yesterday's trip to Lewisburg, KY in the Mt. Pleasant Cemetery where we were honoring Reuben Browning of the Rev. War, we parked a little distance away from where the ceremony was to be held.  Becky and I carried several items like the wreaths and the Indiana State Flag that I would be carrying as part of the Color Guard of 16 SAR men from Tennessee and Kentucky (I was the only Hoosier).  We walked along this one roll of graves several times to get everything to where it was needed. One trip, I stumbled as I stepped into a mole trail.  As I recovered, I almost stumbled over a grave marker with the name Woodis!!!  Thomas A. Woodis (and his wife Martha C. Woodis) born in 1852 making him about the right age to be Margaret's brother.  I would have to check my records!  This Thomas died in 1950 making him 98 years old when he died!!!

When I got home I checked my files finding many years earlier I had discovered that Thomas A. Woodis was living in Lewisburg, KY when his father had died.  And, that I found where he had died in 1950 and was buried in Mt. Pleasant Cemetery!  I had this information for over 20 years and did not realize that he or any of my family would be buried in this cemetery.  I am known as Indiana Bones, a cemetery geek... I guess that is why I nearly stumbled over this grave marker!  Indiana Bones (AKA: John G. West)

Tales from a Civil War Prison: Reverend Doctor James Durham West - Archaeology Magazine Archive

Tales from a Civil War Prison: Reverend Doctor James Durham West - Archaeology Magazine Archive

This article is an interesting account of a confederate Lieutenant that was captured in 1864 and paroled at the end of the war and made an oath of allegiance to the United States Government.  His daughter said he was a good fighter and a good loser!

Reverend Doctor James Durham West is a distant cousin through our various West lines discovered through y-DNA.  Read the full article by clicking on the link above.

Cemetery Geek

Cemetery Geek by John G. West

What is a “Cemetery Geek?”  In the last year or two I had to research this term, since theEvansville Courier & Press my city’s newspaper labeled me a Cemetery Geek on the front page of the Sunday edition.  I remember some years back that being any kind of geek was considered not the best label.  I had noticed that the stigma was becoming less significant in recent years.  I believe that this change was due to the popularity of computer geek’s who could save the day for you when something went wrong with your computer.  But, do people think positively about a cemetery geek?  Too many people still look at cemeteries as a negative place to visit or even talk about.

This is probably a good time to define what a “geek” actually is all about.  A geek is somewhat obsessive about their generally single subject like computers, science or even movie series like Star Trek or Dr. Who.  Most geeks are sociable and outgoing (these parts I seem to possess a large dose).  Geeks are generally of average intelligence, but become very knowledgeable within their geekdom.  I suppose that one reason I was concerned about being labeled as a geek was because a few people thought of me as a “nerd” in my youth.  A nerd really got a bad rap over the years.  Nerds are smart people who lack much of a social life. They often have very few friends. Nerds don't talk much, and don't expect others to talk much to them. They are usually nice people, but don't have the social skills to go out and meet new friends.  Actually, nerds are very smart, intelligent people.  This was probably why the other kids around me thought I was a nerd… I was just too darn smart!  I generally have never been accused of not talking!  In fact, I have always been accused of talking too much!  Tell me how can anyone talk too much?

So, I guess I could be a smart geek, but a cemetery geek?  I know I am obsessed with genealogy.  I have researched my family history for over 55 years.  I talk about genealogy, I present workshops about genealogy, I have worked with people to help them learn to document their history.  I spent many years working with the 4-H genealogy project in Indiana.  Call me a Genealogy Geek.

Of course while researching my family history, I have visited quite a few cemeteries.  I was talking about how many cemeteries have I actually walked around to study and photograph tombstones or searched for relatives, etc.  I was able to name 78 cemeteries without notes or thinking about it much (almost all had family buried there or I had other special connections).  I suspect several were forgotten at the time, I have thought about two others since that day.  I feel like I could say that I have been in at least 80-100 cemeteries.  To me, cemeteries are places of serenity and a place to think about life.  Each grave marker is a monument to the person it records.  Often a little history can become known by the marker or a group of markers.  There are many, many different types & shapes of these grave stones.  The statues,  carvings and ornate sculpturing are so beautiful like an outdoor art gallery.  OK, I am a “Cemetery Geek” – I admit it.  I cannot help it!

I am also a geek of many other pursuits, as well.  Are you a cemetery geek?  If you are, let’s talk about our passion.

I am also known as Indiana Bones, a cemetery geek!

Indiana Stone Carver Lewis Baker

This is a really cool grave marker and so is the "Ballad of Lewis Baker."

Janet S Endris

April 15 at 2:33pm

This coming Friday I will be taking the 7th grade students of the Lawrence County, Indiana Shawswick School through the Green Hill Cemetery. It is an annual field trip event. Their favorite grave marker is always that of stone carver Lewis Baker.This link is to the "Ballad" written in his honor: Take a minute to listen to it http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_songInfo.cfm?bandID=395734&songID=3139373

Ballad of Lewis Baker 

Lyrics: Tim Brown. Music: Graham Snow 

Vocal, guitars and programming: Graham Snow 

In the early nineteen hundreds down Lawrence County way 

Working in the quarries was how you earned your pay 

Lewis Baker was a carver and a good one so it’s told 

The stress of carving took him when he was twenty one years old 

Bedford, Indiana was the place that he called home 

And Lewis earned his living making carvings out of stone 

It was limestone work that killed him, and limestone gave him fame 

For the monument in Bedford, that bears young Baker’s name 

The other carvers liked him, and mourned that he was gone 

They took the block of limestone that he’d been working on 

They carved a fitting tribute, so we’d remember him 

A copy of his workbench, just the way that it had been 

His blueprints and carving tools the way he’d left them there 

Even little mounds of dust, reproduced with loving care 

From far and wide, people come, to see this work of art 

And remember Lewis Baker, a man of noble heart 

Bedford, Indiana was the place that he called home 

And Lewis earned his living making carvings out of stone 

It was limestone work that killed him, and limestone gave him fame 

For the monumental tombstone, that bears young Baker’s name 

At night in Greenhill Cemetary, when a chill is in the air 

You might see a ghostly figure, standing near his workbench there 

Lewis Baker was a carver and a good one so it’s told 

The stress of carving took him when he was twenty one years old 

Bedford, Indiana was the place that he called home 

And Lewis earned his living making carvings out of stone 

It was limestone work that killed him, and limestone gave him fame 

For the monumental tombstone, that bears young Baker’s name 

For the monument in Bedford, that bears young Baker’s name

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_songInfo.cfm?bandID=395734&songID=3139373

65th. Wedding Anniversary

Congrats to TSGS Members...

        Jim & Mary Lou Bevers!!!

[Evansville Courier & Press 02/16/2014, Page D06]

Jim & Mary Lou

are Charter Members

of the Tri-State Genealogical Society

Mary Lou has served in many different offices and committees including the Annual TSGS Seminars Chairperson.  She has served on the society's Board of Directors for many years.  Mary Lou has presented numerous programs and workshops... always emphasizing the importance of citing sources for your family history.  She has contributed significant articles to the Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter and she has been very active for many years with the Indiana Historical & Genealogical Society.

Jim has always helped with the TSGS events with May Lou helping everyone become a better family historian.  Over my 35 years involvement with TSGS, I believe that Mary Lou has helped me the most of any other TSGS member!  For several years Mary Lou helped judge the Vanderburgh County 4-H Fair notebook exhibits.

Anyone making it to their 50th. wedding anniversary has a lot to celebrate, but this couple has reached 65 years of marriage... that is a major achievement!  TSGS is very happy for the two of you and we wish you a very special anniversary celebration!

Unmarked Graves at the Evansville State Hospital

Unmarked cemetery found at State Hospital larger than originally thought

Posted: Oct 08, 2013 4:32 PM CDTUpdated: Oct 08, 2013 4:33 PM CDT

By Nicole Niziolek - email

Posted by Kara Mattingly - bio | email

 

EVANSVILLE, IN (WFIE) -

An unmarked cemetery was discovered at the Old State Hospital grounds in Evansville last January.

As it turns out, it's a bigger find than originally thought. 

The cemetery was found somewhere on the State Hospital grounds near Vann Avenue, just as preliminary research was being done on a project to build a pedestrian bridge across the Lloyd Expressway. 

Evansville City Engineer Patrick Keepes tells 14 News that, at first, the city thought there were 10 to 15 unmarked graves, but with more research, archeologists discovered there are closer to 70 graves. 

The Board of Public Works recently approved a plan to move the remains to a final resting place at Oak Hill Cemetery. We're told that plan should be finalized some time before the end of this year. 

So far, archeologists don't know much about the people who were buried there. What they do know is that the bodies date back to the early 1900's and were most likely people who once lived in the Old State Hospital. 

Keepes says it will be a very interesting process to relocate those individuals. 

"They will take them back to their laboratory, their facilities and they will do their research to see if they can put any names to these individuals. They'll prepare them and give them individual resting places," Keepes says. 

The total cost to relocate the remains is $270,000. INDOT will pay 80 percent of that.

Keepes tells 14 News that this will not delay the start of the pedestrian bridge project which is still set to begin in 2015.

Oak Hill Cemetery Tour (Today 25 Aug 2013)

The Vanderburgh County Historical Society is sponsoring...

an Oak Hill Cemetery tour "Captains of Industry."

Sorry for the late posting, but if you can make it - the effort will be worth your time.  It begins at 2 PM.  Hope to see you there!

- Indiana Bones

Some Genealogy Humor

The 12-Step Program for Recovering Genealogists is strict; and, it will be hard for me to overcome my addiction to the overpowering, all consuming desire to look for dead people!!!

There is lots of genealogical humor on the Internet... this site has lots of humor!  Twisted Twigs and Snarled Branches!  https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.278071112258211.62427.269836083081714&type=3  I especially like the 12-Step Program for Recovering Genealogists.  https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=520634304668556&set=a.278071112258211.62427.269836083081714&type=3&theater

Here are a few of the steps: # 9.  Family picnics will no longer be held in cemeteries! # 10.  My family will no longer be referred to as the "live ones!"  # 5.  I promise to no longer refer to "dead people" with my few remaining friends... # 6. I promise to take photos of other things than just tombstones!

To help me, I will spend time in quite places like libraries, cemeteries, courthouses.

BTW, if you happen to know anything about the West, Woodis, Flatt, Phipps, Long, Wood, Wheatley, Mays, Martin, Williams, Buckner, Haynes, Lewis, Huff lines please email me!

- Compiled by Indiana Bones

I Have Found 2 Super Great Resources!

Genealogists everywhere need to know about these new genealogical resources... I was shocked at how much I was able to find about my family lines that I have been researching for years.

The first source, although not very well organized, had file folders that were in alphabetical order... at least for the most part.  Some of the information I was well aware of, but a lot seemed to be all new!!!

The second source, was extremely haphazard with all kinds of other non-genealogical material mixed in with it.  This source would be the last place I would send any of our bloggers, but when I sorted through the stacks of hundreds of pages of paper - I found so much great material on many of my lines.  Just a gold mine of information: U.S. census images, deeds, wills, family stories, family photos, old correspondence.  Although some seemed to be known to me, most every page seemed to be totally new material!

Back to the first source - one that was widely used by genealogists prior to the explosion of computerized databases. It was something I used to the best of my ability.  It was not always easy to retrieve or locate information, but if you kept at it, you usually could find what you wanted.  The bad part of this system was when something got into the wrong folder.  Computer databases could have the same problem with an item being placed in the wrong place, as well... with the exception of being able to use a search engine to find it.  This source has been around for a very long time... I used to say that I decided to do some "original research" in my file cabinet drawers!  I said this because over the years, I would forget what was in many of the file folders.  This is similar to loose-leaf notebooks sitting on shelves or worse under the bed or in a box hidden from view. One big bonus of checking this source is that something you kept that its connection to your family had been dubious, may now be the missing link to prove your latest findings.  The longer you have been researching the more "forgotten" information are in those old filing cabinets or notebooks... go through what you have accumulated over the years to find some new gems of information that could be just the "treasure" you have been looking for!

Now for that second "gold mine," it is the curse of the Internet of a busy genealogist, especially one that tends to procrastinate a little too often.  I am speaking of when you print out great info from all types of sources from your computer.  You find some census images of many in your family and you print out these to review later.  You get great emails from another researcher or distant cousin that you print out... because you do not want to "lose it" among all of those less relevant messages.  However, you tend to print out that great joke and the cool information on how to make something cool out of paper clips and old floppy disks that end up mixed between you genealogy data in the tray.  Then, when your tray gets too full, you take the pages out and set them aside to be sorted out at a later time as you dutifully print out more volumes of all kinds of cool things and genealogy items.  What a disorganized mess it will soon become.  It amazes me that three or four months can quickly pass by before I even think about sorting out my "great new genealogical finds" from all of the other things.  I guess I should confess and admit sometimes these stacks do not get sorted for a year or longer before I take the time to go through them.  I generally will not let anymore time go past then when the stacks of printouts are as tall as my computer desk... I do have standards!

The last week or two, I have been going through these unsorted stacks of printouts finding all kinds of great stuff that I do not even remember ever finding.  Then I look into the filing cabinet to file it safely away and find some other material neatly hidden in my filing cabinet folders!!!

I hate to admit my haphazard genealogical habits, but when you have so much to do and so many things to distract you, it can become easy to "print & file" or "print & stack!"  I am currently working on a major project to put all of my papers into file folders and then go through these files gleaning new information into my computer database (and then to back it up on a flash drive).

Does anyone else find these two resources being overlooked in their own homes?  If you do, have you found any significant revelations for your family history? Like the TV commercial states: "Don't have stacks of printouts and buried info in filing cabinets! Get rid of cable TV!"  Or as I suggest, don't let your genealogy stack up or get buried in files! 

Hey, let me tell you about the greatest find in over 50 years of my researching... well, maybe in another blog, someday.

- Compiled by JGWest

WEST Surname y-DNA Family Reunion

 

FamilyTreeDNA

West Surname y-DNA Project

Family Reunion

St. Louis. MO

2013

 

 

Becky & I attended this year's y-DNA reunion.  We are Group # 5 in the West Surname Project at FamilyTreeDNA (known as the leader with the largest database of participants). We now have Y-DNA results for 310 WEST-surnamed males, identifying 113 unrelated WEST lines. We are a very diverse genetic group. Our surname was adopted many times by people in different locations. As more WESTs participate in the project, the benefit to all WEST researchers increases. We have 39 unrelated groups.  West is a somewhat common name.  We have learned that odds are not in our favor that we are related when we meet someone new by the name of WEST.

We stayed at the Renaissance Airport Hotel.  We were welcomed and honored by the city of St. Louis with a plaque, special cake, flowers and a very nice reception in the city hall.  Our reunion was covered on TV and in the newspapers.  We were treated as celebrities and everyone we met knew we were in town.  You would think we were some kind of very large International Convention.  There were about 20 or so of us.  We are a "colorful" and interesting family as we were described.  We all had a great time and discussed a lot of genealogy!

- submitted by JGWest

Happy Birthday, America!

Have you wondered...

if you had a Revolutionary War Patriot or Soldier in your ancestry?  Dick Eastman posted on his newsletter a good article that may be of help. [Not mentioned was the 1840 U.S. Federal Census list those living in the household that are getting military pensions.  - JGW]

See his article at: http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2013/07/how-to-find-a-revolutionary-war-patriot.html

Happy July 4th.!

From TSGS

- Graphic created by Steve Oberlin, copyright 2009 by the Indiana Society Sons of the American Revolution.

Irish Researchers - Take Notice!

Released by findmypast.com (copied from Eastman's Online Genealogical Newsletter [EOGN]):

On June 30, 1922, the Public Records Office of Ireland, located at the historic Four Courts in Dublin, caught fire during the Irish Civil War. Tragically a considerable amount of Irish records were destroyed. The fire has had lasting effects – still felt today – as Irish family history requires a unique approach to research than other heritages. To commemorate this anniversary and encourage exploration of Irish genealogy, findmypast.com will offer its full collection of Irish Birth, Marriage and Death indexes free of charge from June 27 to June 30. Anyone searching for their Irish ancestors can access the full Irish record collection by registering for free at findmypast.com.

Despite a great loss of records in the historic fire, there are still many opportunities to discover Irish heritage, with countless fascinating stories to be found from the records that survived.

FGS 2013 Conference in Fort Wayne, Indiana

The Federation of Genealogical Societies’ 2013 Conference is quickly approaching. As most of you know, this year the conference is in Fort Wayne! It will be held August 21-24 at the Grand Wayne Convention Center, which is just a block away from the Allen County Public Library (ACPL). On top of the great lectures, workshops and luncheons, this year’s conference features extended research hours at The Genealogy Center at ACPL.

Conference details and registration are available online at https://www.fgsconference.org. The deadline for the Early Bird Discount is July 1st. Make sure to purchase your tickets to luncheons (especially the IGS luncheon), workshops and special events early to guarantee your spot.

If you would like a print brochure or need some for your local society or library, please fill out the form at http://tinyurl.com/bjhaeok.

The Society Showcase is a great, affordable way for societies to highlight what they offer. FGS Member Societies can reserve a table in the Exhibit Hall for only $25. These tables are for promotional purposes and selling memberships and may not be used for other sales. Learn more about the Society Showcase at https://www.fgsconference.org/exhibits/society-showcase/. If your society would like to sell other items, there are still 1 booth available in the Exhibit Hall (https://www.fgsconference.org/exhibits/).

Society Publicity Contest – FGS Member Societies are also eligible to win a free conference registration to FGS 2014 in San Antonio, Texas if they help publicize FGS 2013 in print and online publications. You can find graphics and articles to use in society publications at https://www.fgsconference.org/media/society-publicity-contest/. You’ll also want to make sure you fill out the contest form and let us know each time your society publicizes the conference in order to be entered to win.

Indiana Librarians will be excited to learn that all conference sessions qualify for LEUs. Librarians’ Day is Tuesday, August 20 with sessions for librarians who serve genealogists. Visit https://www.fgsconference.org/program/librarians-day/ to find out more.

The FGS 2013 Publicity Committee would appreciate your help spreading the word about the conference to your local societies and fellow genealogists.

We hope to see you in Fort Wayne in August!

Tina Lyons
FGS 2013 Publicity Chair
conferencepublicity@fgs.org

- Submitted by Don Counts, TSGS President

Family Reunions and y-DNA

Going to St. Louis this month.

My WEST Family Surname Group # 5 will hold their annual family reunion this year in St. Louis.  Those in attendance will be related to each other proven by matches in their y-DNA.  Many of us have found the documentation of records to confirm the y-DNA results.  In many cases it was the y-DNA that confirmed the documentation.

Our group used FamilyTreeDNA for our testing... Group #5 is still the largest of 39 groups of West families with 19 individuals.  Below is a table of the current status of the West Surname Project.

Number of Y-DNA participants	339
Test kits returned	311
Y-DNA results posted to web page	310
Number of Family groups identified by DNA	39

We now have Y-DNA results for 310 WEST-surname males, identifying 113 unrelated WEST lines. We are a very diverse genetic group. Our surname was adopted many times by people in different locations. As more WEST's participate in the project, the benefit to all WEST researchers increases. 

With so many West families being unrelated, it makes it more difficult to find cousins and very hard to find ancestors.  There are many tools to help us in our research... the more we can use the better chances we will have to break down "brick walls" and to find new cousins to help us research records in courthouses and libraries.  We have been able to resolve many long standing questions for researchers in our line of the West's and we are beginning to coordinate and focus our research more to solve other mysteries concerning our family history.

Our West family reunion is a great opportunity to get together in person and discuss approaches to zero in on issues that we can attack at different levels & directions.

If you have not yet tried DNA testing, check it out... you may be very much surprised at what you might learn.  Long-time TSGS member Chris Myers just recently took a y-DNA test.  Let us all wish him success in what he might learn!

- Compiled by JGWest (AKA: Nate Flynn, the Librarian)

Evansville's Oak Hill Cemetery Tour May 2013

Panoramic view of the crowd attending this interesting tour of Evansville's largest cemetery.

Dennis Au & Chris Cooke conducts this tour on an annual basis.

Click on the photo above for a larger image.

On the left side you can see Indiana Bones in the yellow shirt and hat.

Next to Indiana to the right in the blue blouse is Becky West.

On the other side of Indy in the red blouse is Deb Travers.

Many TSGS members were present: John & Becky West, Deb Travers, Sue Newcom, Irvin & Connie Conrad, Karin Kirsch, Kathy Wilson, plus at least 3 more.

DNA News

From Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter

FamilyTreeDNA has offered the following announcement:

With the end of the DNA Day promotion, we (Bennett and Max), considered how to continue offering the best prices, yet keep control in the lab to avoid delays from high volume. Since demand is directly related to prices, we decided to implement a temporary price rollback whenever lab capacity allows us to do so.

Despite an extremely successful sale, we believe that with our increased lab capacity, we are able to continue offering reduced prices on several tests. While the prices are not as low as they were for the DNA Day promotion, you will notice that these temporary reductions are extremely attractive, and should be a real incentive to anyone that did not take advantage of the sale to order now, while the prices are reduced. With this system in place, prices may go up on different tests at any time based on lab volume.

Additionally, on April 1st when we permanently reduced the price of the Y-DNA12 to $49, we mentioned that our R&D team was working towards a price reduction for the equivalent mtDNA basic test. Good news! Not only did we manage to achieve this goal, but we did it for the mtDNAPlus test that covers both HVR1 and HVR2. Therefore, we're discontinuing the HVR1-only test. Our basic mtDNA test will now be the mtDNAPlus (HVR1+2) at the $49 price point! We hope that with the basic Y-DNA and mtDNA tests very reasonably priced, a whole new group of people will be tempted to begin their own DNA experience and increase the size of your projects!
You are welcome to spread the news, and as always, we thank you for your continued support.

(signed)
Max Blankfeld
Bennett Greenspan
Family Tree DNA

You can learn more at http://www.familytreedna.com/. 

West, Texas Explosion

Last week was a very bad week in the United States.  The Boston bombings and the fertilizer plant explosions in West, Texas will long be in our memories as a nation prayed for the families of those who died or were injured.  My family has a connection to the town of West, Texas.

Thomas Marion West was born November 5th, 1834 in Christian County, Kentucky. After moving to Texas he fought in the civil war becoming a Captain in the 19th Texas Cavalry Regiment. After the war he married Martha Jame Adams Steele in McLennan County, Texas. He was a farmer and later became the Postmaster at the Bold Springs train depot. The train depot was built on land originally owned by Thomas West. Later the depot with Thomas West as postmaster became known as the West Depot and in 1892 the area was incorporated as the town of West. Thomas West died on January 27, 1912 and is buried in Rock Creek Cemetery in Ross, Texas, about 5 miles south of West.

Thomas West was born in Christian Co., KY, the son of William Ellis West and Narcissa Stroud.  William Ellis West was a brother to my 3rd. great grandfather Jesse West, their father Charles H. West is a common ancestor for Thomas M. West and myself.  My 2nd. great grandfather was named for Thomas' father, William Ellis West.  He and Thomas M. West were first cousins.

Another son of Charles H. West was Thomas Allen West who also went to Texas settling in Denton County.

- Compiled by JGWest  [some of the above info was obtained from a web site supplied by Sandra Abbott yesterday http://www.west-tx.c­om/genealogy/ThomasWe­st/ including the grave marker photo (photo taken 7/5/2008 by bvm)... no contact info was available.]

Social Security Database - New Links

This from the KYGENWEB List:

Happy Easter everyone! One of our coordinators emailed me yesterday about
an email she received from Rootsweb/Ancestry. Wesley Exon is a content
marketing manager for RW and is trying to reach coordinators who have their
sites on RW. The Social Security database link has changed and he wants yo
to be aware of it! If you get an email from him, please answer! For the
rest of the coordinators (no matter where your site is), if you have a link
on your site to the SSI Database, please make sure the link is correct. The
new link is:  http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=3693


Thanks,
Suzanne Shephard
Assistant State Coordinator
KYGenWeb is part of the
USGenWeb Project

Just got this after posting the above!

FYI: RW's (Ancestry.com's) Social Security Death Index (SSDI) is no
longer free.  It was moved over to their subscriber's side many
months ago.  I believe they sited privacy concerns, if you can
believe that.  I changed my link to the SSDI at FamilySearch.org (
https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1202535 ).  The main thing
that I miss is being able to search by exact birth or death dates;
with FamilySearch's SSDI database you can only specify by year or a
range of years.  There are a few other free SSDI databases out there,
but I found this one to be the most reliable and easy to use.

Brian K. Caudill
Malabar, FL

Special Memorial for Easter

A very special child who loved to swing and sing her favorite song "Jesus Loves Me."

Samantha Ann McDonald

Located in Cave Hill Cemetery, Louisville KY is the most beautiful monument for a sweet little child who loved Jesus.  Photos come from a great blog "Save A Grave" http://saveagrave.net/sami 

Go to Save A Grave for more and also visit

Find-A-Grave http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=16477414

 The stone portion of this monument was designed by Terry Joy of Joy Monuments out of Louisville, KY. Tom White of Bethel, Maine was the sculptor of the bronze parts of the monument.

 "Sami"

 Visit Sam's Rock to learn about Sami and the work of her family to help others... http://www.samsrock.net/

The LORD is my ROCK - 2 Samuel 22:2

 Sami and Jesus

 A beautiful, innocent child swings with joy with Jesus!

 "This is a monument of Jesus holding the rope of a 3 year old Sami McDonald, who is swinging in a swing. They both have a smile and look like they are having a great time. Words to her favorite song “Jesus Loves Me” are etched into the granite rock. Along side her hand print are the hand prints of her Brother Jacob and her sister Becca."

"Jesus loves me, this I know... Let His little child come in... For the Bible tells me so!"

- Indiana Bones and the Tri-State Genealogical Society wishes everyone a very Happy Easter!

Interesting Hobby- Genealogy!

Genealogy is such an interesting hobby (or profession).  There are so many different levels of doing research and different goals of the researchers.  Some individuals pursue researching with a passion for learning more about their family in general, while others have the goal of learning about one specific person, line or even one event.  Some research is done in an un-organized manner picking up information with a more haphazard approach.  Many will use professional standards in citing sources and acceptance of facts.  It seems a large number dream of writing a book.  There are some that basically hoard their research for fear that others will use their research for their own or possibly for a book.

When I see the work of others, I have enjoyed most because they include iron-clad facts or in some cases pure fiction, but all are stories (true or not) of people and families.  There are the ones that are like the “begats” of the Holy Bible [King James Version: Genesis]… you know, “Eber begat Peleg, Peleg begat Reu, Reu begat Serug, etc.”  I have seen a lot of histories that are simply organized into charts, family group sheets with some documents and photos.  Then there are the ones that are written in story form with few notes or citations, some with many footnotes.

But what I find that really makes this hobby interesting, educational and fun – is that it is YOUR family and YOU are the one doing it (even if you have help).  Whatever way you do it, is your business!  Now, if you are doing it for other people, then, you might have to do it in a way that is appropriate for the intended audience.  This is the history YOU discovered and report to others.

Now, that I have spent over 50 years of learning about my family, gathering information and acquiring research techniques to improve my efforts and increase results; I, now, realize that I am just beginning to learn about my family.  I have researched mostly with the idea of discovering the parents and siblings along with facts like birth & death, plus anything else I could learn.  However, in the last few years I have been attempting to answer questions about these families and looking at people that are not so much in that direct line, like some of the more distant cousins.  One reason for looking at more of these cousins is that I have been finding many “new” cousins learning about how their families relate to mine.  Back to answering questions… this requires some intensive research into a very large area of documents and sources.  Often, it leads to new questions and new information that is unrelated to my original question.  This type of research lends itself well to putting “meat” onto the bones of my history.  Now, I must warn you that you might discover facts that are different than what has been passed down, especially something that might be considered negative or bad.  Realize that the more people you learn about in the family, the more you will encounter the ones that are not of the best character along with the heroes and saints.  It’s just family, YOURS!

Genealogy is the study of families and their stories are what make up the fabric of the history of a community, a nation and the world… through the ages.  And that is why genealogy is such an interesting hobby!

Written by Indiana Bones