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)

Find-A-Grave Search by State

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My buddy, Chris Myers, always sends me some of the neatest links or photos! We both submit memorials & photos to Find-A-Grave to help those who, for whatever reasons, can not visit relatives & ancestors graves (usually they live too far away). Many times people do not know where someone is buried, but you can search Find-A-Grave to see if you can find them across America. Now, you can search by state (we often know that they were buried near where they lived in a certain state). Not all states are included yet (17 to-date), but here is the link for what states are available:

http://search.ancestry.com/search/CardCatalog.aspx#ccat=hc%3D25%26dbSort%3D1%26title%3Dfind%20a%20grave%26keyword%3D%26

Here is the link to Indiana's search site: http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=70510 Indiana, Find A Grave Index, 1800-2011

Here are some related links you can find on the above web site:

Indiana Births, 1880-1920

Indiana Marriage Collection, 1800-1941

Indiana Deaths, 1882-1920

Indiana Spanish American War Records

Listing of over 7800 men who volunteered for military service from Indiana in 1898

Join the Face Book site for Find-A-Grave: http://www.facebook.com/groups/2275168731/

1940 U.S. Federal Census

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Join IGS In Indexing 1940 Census

The Indiana Genealogical Society has joined forces with genealogy societies and organizations around the country as part of the1940 U.S. Census Community Project. The initiative aims to publish a free, online searchable name index of the 1940 U.S. Federal Census after images of the census are released to the public on Monday, April 2, 2012. This online index will be free forever, offering family history researchers a rich genealogical data set for their ongoing use. Three leading genealogy organizations, Archives.com, FamilySearch International, and FindMyPast.com, launched the initiative at the end of last year.

[Above submitted by Chris Myers]

[The following was submitted by TSGS President Don Counts]

Dear TSGS President,

Thank you again for your participation in the 1940 US Census Community Project. Your leadership in this effort will be a key to getting the entire 1940 census online and searchable.

In an effort to provide you with tools to help your group members get started with the 1940 U.S. census project, we have put together an email template you can send to new members. The email covers the basics of getting started and includes links to handouts and videos that provides instruction on the signup process, downloading the software, and specifying in the software which society or group they belong to. You can download a copy of the email template from the project website.

You can find additional group administrator training materials online.

Thank you again for all you are doing to further this project. For questions and support, please contact the 1940 U.S. Census Community Project Team:

• Phone: 1-855-IDX-1940
• Email: support@the1940census.com

Warm Regards,
1940 U.S. Census Community Project Team

**************************************************************

Time is drawing close for the release of the 1940 census records.

The 1940 Census will be made available for Free at 9AM April 2 at the

following site.

_http://www.archives.com/1940census_ (http://www.archives.com/1940census)

Sharon Tabor KYGenWeb Project

"Obsolete Occupations"

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Here is a great example of local obsolete occupations involving street cars found on the grave marker of Frank T. Lefler buried in Section 67 of Evansville's Oak Hill Cemetery. Wonder if the local paid for the marker or was he an official of the Local?

This photo & a nice link to other obsolete jobs was submitted by Christopher Myers (March 2010). Check this site for photos of some workers performing some obsolete jobs: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124251060

Here is a great list of job titles from "yesteryear" that genealogists & historians encounter and wonder just what was that job: (Found on Cyndi's List http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~wiashlan/occupations.html

This reminds me of a joke... there were these two country cousins of mine that were very patriotic and with all of the strife in the world today, these two strappy young men decided to enlist in the military to help the good ol' USA fight aginst its enemies. The recruiter took one look at these two hillbillies and thought "no way!" He told them they were only accepting those that had needed skills. Oh, boy, this sure excited my cousins! Elroy excitedly stated that he was a "pilot" which really impressed & surprised the recruiter. He told Elroy to go in the other room to fill out enlistment papers. Clem with a big grin proudly stated that he was the best firewood cutter in Jenkins County. Well, the recruiter said that they really did not need firewood cut or otherwise. Clem retorted: "Well, you took Elroy and you have to cut it before he can pile it!" - JGWest

Marker/Plaque/Monument Monday

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Fulton Park, at Fulton and Franklin.

These monuments were rededicated on Friday, 22 July 2011. Germania Maennerchor club members rededicated this monument in the park, originally placed there in 1987 to honor the German heritage of the Lamasco area and Evansville's West Side.

"The rededication is a celebration of our 50th. consecutive Volksfest," said Paul Bockstege, a past president of Germania Maennerchor. "The monument was originally there to celebrate 300 years of Germans coming to America. And we had some new singers and members put on the monument this year." http://twitter.com/courierpress/status/94560632019492864

- Photos taken & submitted by Christopher Myers

S.A.R. Applications Free Access!

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Submitted by Christopher D. Myers via Ancestry.com In celebration of the 4th of July, Ancestry.com’s new collection – the Sons of the American Revolution applications – will be available FREE this weekend. These records can take a family back two centuries in just one document, and shed light on our forbearers’ brave actions that founded the United States.

4th of July - Ancestry.com
www.ancestry.com

"Happy Easter"

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Rock Chapel... Jasper, Indiana

Thanks to Ernie Payne, on our way home from Spring Mill, we stopped in Jasper to see the open rock chapel on the grounds of St. Joseph Catholic Church. It is made up of round (ball-shaped) rock formations called geodes that are cemented together. Ernie & I share a love of geology and fossil collecting. Don Counts took this photo. Others in the SUV were driver Ken Gilkey, Chris Myers & J.D. Strouth.

The six of us (plus Robert Hall, Rex Legler, & Ed Hitchcock) of the Ohio Valley Chapter of SAR attended the Indiana Society of SAR Annual Meeting in Spring Mill Park on Saturday. J.D., Don & I were re-elected to our State SAR Offices


Easter Blessings to All!


- Photo of Rock Chapel taken & submitted by Donald R. Counts

THE CAPTAIN'S LOG –TSGS News

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Today is one of those rare days when there is two blogs for one day!

Just like our wide-eyed frog seems to be saying, "Oh my, I almost forgot our March TSGS Meeting is coming up this Tuesday night at 7:30 PM at Willard Library!"

I hope none of you forget. Spring is almost here and it is time to get out and enjoy some better weather with some warm sunshine. Yesterday on Facebook several of my friends were running out to take photos in cemeteries for Find-A-Grave... Vannetta McDowell, Christopher Myers & Cheri Baumberger. My West Y-DNA cousins were fine-tuning a time line of some information that we plan to research in depth to dig out new leads for our common ancestor (yet to be discovered). My earlier post today was about the 2010 National Genealogical Society Conference. Yesterday I posted my preview of the new NBC TV series called "Who Do You Think You Are?" with a link to watch it online if you missed it. Spring always brings out a new flurry of genealogical activity as it does bringing out leaves, flowers and wildlife.

So, why not attend this month's TSGS meeting? After a brief business meeting, we will break-up into 3 groups for general discussions on the following topics: Discussion Groups (choose one) A) Court Cases, led by Brenda Jerome, B) Posey County Research, led by Connie Conrad, C) Vital Records, led by Mary Lou Bevers.

John G. West, TSGS President

ENGINEER'S Report - Tech Info

This new piece of technology is being used by the Evansville Public Library system to digitalize books & records.

BookDrive Pro

The Ultimate Solution For Mass Digitization.

* Scan anything up to A2 size.
* Natively captures flat images so there is no need for page curvature correction software.
* Provides the user with the ability to scan 1,000 pages per hour.
* Scan easily without pushing buttons with Auto Capture Switch.
* Advanced lighting system produces well, evenly lit images.
* Supports any Canon SLR camera so the product will never become obsolete - if your needs change or if newer better cameras are introduced just upgrade your cameras while keeping your scanning platform and software package.

BookDrive Pro is the most powerful model of the successful BookDrive line of scanners. BookDrive solution solves typical problems found in overhead scanners: page curvature, damage to book spine, and low productivity. Learn more at the Atiz web page: http://pro.atiz.com/

-Submitted by Chris Myers

Marker/Plaque/Monument Monday

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Willard Library Flag Pole & Dedication Plaque...
Please click on photos to enlarge the image. Because of the flowered foliage, the date is hidden. The last line partially covered states: "Dedicated October 1, 1989."
Below: A few years ago before one of the Sat. morning Ohio Valley Chapter, the library staff (on duty that morning) did not know how to put the flag at half mast. So, our Color Guard members did the honors of putting the flag at half mast. It had been ordered by the Mayor for a funeral of a young soldier that had been killed in the war.

SAR members (L-R): J.D. Stouth, Don Counts, Ken Gilkey.

- Photos taken by Chris Myers

"What is a Hero?"

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What is a Hero?

In history and genealogy, we sometimes come upon a person that is listed as a hero. So, just what is a hero? I thought I would look this up and the following is my summary of the many definitions of “hero” ~ 1. The second album “Hero” by Divinefire, a Swedish Christian Symphonic Power metal music group. 2. A person known for special abilities or courage, admired for brave deeds or noble qualities, often saving someone's life... one who performs heroic, unselfish acts. The second definition was what I was looking for.

I have known such a person for quite some time... he is a friend. This guy unselfishly helped me cut up limbs in my back yard after this year's ice storm. The whole back yard was covered with fallen limbs the size of trees. We worked all day long. He called several times to volunteer and even brought a chain saw and some cutters. Then months later, when the city condemned part of the garage, he volunteered again. With his help we got that half of the garage tore down in two days. Becky & I call this guy a hero.


However, these are the type of things a hero does when he is not being a Super Hero! Our friend, Christopher Myers, is a true “Super Hero!” This past week, Chris went to Indianapolis to donate bone marrow for someone he did not know because he was a match and that person needed it to live. This qualifies for a brave & noble deed... an unselfish act that will save someone's life!
Chris created our TSGS Web Site for us when he was not even a member... he did it because he thought we needed a presence on the Internet. I talked him into joining the society and appointed him our first Official TSGS Webmaster. He developed a great web site that Cydi Howell (of “Cydi's List” a huge genealogical links site) at a national genealogical conference stated was one of the best she had seen. Our local Ohio Valley SAR Chapter asked Chris to be our Newsletter Editor... it had been a simple one-page fact sheet to let members know what we were doing as part of a meeting notice. He developed for his first edition a full-color, eight-page newsletter with photos called the “Ohio Valley Arsenal.”

Chris continues to surprise me of all of the unselfish deeds he quietly does for others... he is a hero!

-Photos saved from Christopher D. Myers' Facebook site.
- Article written by JGWest.

Marker/Plaque/Monument Monday

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This surprises me somehow...
so it is a special historical fact about southwest Indiana

First SWCD in Indiana

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The first Soil & Water Conservation

District in Indiana was organized

here in 1940... the last in Tipton

County in 1974.

The citizens of Vanderburgh County

are recognized for their

Pioneering Leadership!

- Photo taken & submitted by Chris Myers

From the FIRST MATE's PHOTO ALBUM...

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Photo taken at the 2006 Evansville Central High School for their JROTC Awards Banquet by Ruth Hall. This was the photo that Ruth was taking when Chris Myers caught her in his photo giving the impression that Ruth was addressing everyone at the Banquet... see the September 18 TSGS blog "A Photo is Worth a Thousand Words." (http://tsgsblog.blogspot.com/2009/09/photo-is-better-than-thousand-words.html)

In this photo seated at table is (L-R) Bob Hall (Ruth's husband), John G. West, Becky West, and Peggy Gilkey's elbow is to the far right (in white blouse & blue vest). [Click on photo to get a larger image.] We were there to present the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution's JROTC Medal, Ribbon & Certificate to an Outstanding Cadet. Representatives of the US Military Branches, DAR, etc. along with SAR present awards to deserving cadets for various achievements. We do the same thing for Evansville Harrison High School.

- Photo taken by Ruth Hall

"A Photo is Worth a Thousand Words!"

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They say (you know who "they" are)... "That a photo is worth a thousand words!" or is it?

Here is a photo of Ruth Hall (with the purple Colonial dress and her back is to the camera) giving a speech before a large crowd at Central High School. The event was the Junior ROTC Awards night and our Ohio Valley SAR Chapter was to present an award to a deserving cadet... DAR does the same along with each of the branches of the military and other groups. In this "standing room" only crowd, you can see the interest everyone has in Ruth's speech.


This photo is a fooler... Ruth is not giving a speech - she is taking a photo of some of us that came to present the award after the meal. Those standing were in line to get food! So, a photo may be worth a thousand words, that is, if you know what the photo represents. If we put a caption to this picture as: "Ruth Hall addresses large crowd at CHS JROTC Awards Banquet" - you would think that she actually did address this big group back in 2006!

- Photo taken by Chris Myers

From the FIRST MATE's PHOTO ALBUM...

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Frog Follies Photos...
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Here they are - the winners in the first-ever TSGS Cruiser Blog Photo Contest! Ended up with seven categories (could have had as many as 10 more!). These are the best for each category in my humble opinion. It was very hard to pick the best of some really great photos of some super antique vehicles. Be sure to click on the photos to get a larger image.

Best Past Frog Follies Photo: goes to Don Counts. This was my favorite! See it in yesterday's TSGS Cruiser Blog

Best Color: goes to Christopher Myers. As Chris stated, the camera did not give the color justice!

Best Touring Car: goes to Linda L. Young-Niemeier

Best Interaction of Car & Admirer: goes to Tom Goodman. Tom's Grandson Camron "is was all smiles sitting in the car!"

Here is a full view of Camron's car. The full view is also a winner!

Best Engine: goes to John G. West. "I really liked this "true hot rod!"

Most Unusual Vehicle: goes to Linda L. Young-Niemeier. This is a neat mini-bus!

Front view of the above mini-bus taken at night by John G. West.

Best Flames: goes to Linda L. Young-Niemeier. Flames cut-out of the metal hood cover... very hot!

Best Hood Ornament: goes to Linda L. Young-Niemeier. There were many cool hood ornaments submitted... this was the best photo.

Thanks to everyone that participated in this photo contest!

John G. West, TSGS President

TSGS Cruiser Blog Master

TSGS Web Site Web Master

From the FIRST MATE's PHOTO ALBUM...

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Life on the Ohio River...

(click on photo to enlarge)

Tug boat pushing a coal barge upstream just down river from the Newburgh Lock & Dam.

-Photo taken by Chris Myers (05 Jul 2008)

Photo Contest...

Just for fun and to preserve a little history of the Evansville Frog Follies in its 35th. annual event at the Vanderburgh County 4-H Center on North U.S. 41, I have initiated a photo contest of anything to do with the Frog Follies - cars, people, whatever! You may enter as many photos as you wish and from any year... provide a note of what year photo was taken and if needed comments about photo. There is no monetary award, just credit for taking the photo & the honor to be posted on this blog. I will pick about 6 photos (maybe more) to be posted between now and Wed. Send your photos (3 or less at a time) to me at jgw.mylines@gmail.com I have some photos, too. I will pick only one from my collection, if any. I already have some good ones from several people. So, submit your photos and join in on the fun! - JGWest

A visit from a blog contributor from Nashville...

Taneya Koonce came to Willard Library to meet me & Brenda Jerome on Sunday 09 Aug 2009. Brenda along with Taneya, Don Counts & Chris Myers are the major contributors to our TSGS Cruiser Blog. Below is a photo of us in Willard's Special Collection floor.

Left to right: Brenda Jerome, Taneya Koonce and John G. West.

We had a very nice visit that we cut short because Taneya is a genealogist (just like us) that wanted to do some research in Willard's fantastic genealogical collection. Taneya is a very nice young lady with five young children: four boys and the cutest little girl that I have a photo on this blog on an earlier date. She has promised me that she will submit for the blog the interesting story behind her name and another lady plus her sons' names.

Marker/Plaque/Monument Monday

Patriotic 1923 Plaques

Found in Garvin Park, Evansville, Indiana

by Chris Myers

Dedicated on Flag Day... 14 June 1923

In Memorium for Joseph Copello

"United We Stand, Divided We Fall"

"Stars and Stripes Forever"

-Photos taken & submitted by Chris Myers

Marker/Plaque/Monument Monday

Evansville's Joe Cook ~ Entertainer

This is very nice memorial plaque to a guy that entertained others and promoted his city. I wished that I knew more about him... or even the corner where he lived in Evansville where this plaque once adorned. Maybe someone will have the time to check some of the city's early directories to find his home. If anyone knows more about Joe Cook, please share it with us.

- Photographer unknown, photo submitted by Chris Myers

From the FIRST MATE's PHOTO ALBUM...

Oak Hill Cemetery

Evansville, Indiana

Civil War Union Soldiers Section

Eagle Scout Project

Ohio Valley SAR Chapter ~

Community Service Project

My Sons of the American Revolution chapter volunteered to help with this Eagle Scout Project to clean these Civil War Markers. Wearing a tie-dye shirt, cap & googles is Christopher Myers, to his right is me (John G. West). Becky West & J.D. Strouth helped us. April 2006.

- Submitted by JGWest