From My Email Box - "Tri-State Packet Artist"

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The Tri-State Packet...
the membership journal of the
Tri-State Genealogical Society (TSGS)

Since the first quarterly issue was published in 1977, the yellow cover has featured a sketched drawing by Barbara Simpson. She recently discovered that her drawing is still being used. Last week, I got this email from her.

Hi,
I am Barbara (maiden name) Barrows. Married name in the 1970’s, Simpson. I now live in Denver, Colorado, soon to retire and return to Evansville. I was looking at the Willard Library website and came across the Tri-State Packet for the Tri-State Genealogy Society !!!! I was excited to see the yellow cover of the Packet. I am the artist who drew the riverboat packet for the cover. When I first submitted the drawing it was just a draft and expected to draw it again following approval from the leadership at that time. But, to my surprise, they used the “draft” version of my drawing.
My mother, Mary Barrows, has continued family history and research in Evansville, and when I return to EVV, I plan to re-establish myself with the Society and historical events.
Thanks for the wonderful surprise of seeing my drawing !!!!!
Barb Barrows barb.barrows@yahoo.com

From My Email Box - "Links from Friends"

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Don Counts sent me this one to post ~ Our Shared Legacy: World War II and “The Joint” http://archives.jdc.org/sharedlegacy/
"Welcome to our extraordinary collection of documents and photographs from the World War II era. Explore our shared legacy of ' The Joint’s' work rescuing and providing relief during and after the Holocaust."

Bill Cook sent me another link to post ~ Teen Makes Digital Record of Arlington Graves http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-arlington-graves-20110427,0,5940894,full.story
"Ricky Gilleland, a tech-savvy 11th-grader, has created the only digitized record of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery."

From My Email Box - "The Hart Island Project"

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Karin Marie Kirsch, a former TSGS President...
sent me this link http://www.hartisland.net/ about

The Hart Island Project

[Below is the introduction on the web site]

Welcome to the Hart Island Project, an interdisciplinary artist and community collaboration. Please register to search the database and to access the film, posthumous blog and burial records. You are invited to participate in relocating a diverse, international community of people who died in New York City.

The City Cemetery occupies 101 acres in the Long Island Sound on the eastern edge of New York City. It is the largest tax funded cemetery in the world. Prison labor is used to perform the mass burials that now number over 850,000. Relatives must enter the prison system to visit the grave of a baby. There is no map of the burials and no one is permitted to visit a specific grave. The Department of Correction restricts visitation to those who can document the burial of a family member buried on Hart Island. Records at this location consist of intact mass graves since 1985.

The mission of the Hart Island Project is to make the largest cemetery in the United States visible and accessible so that no one is omitted from history. The process of reclaiming the identities of those buried is a global, community effort. A system has been created for volunteers to enter data from pages acquired through Freedom of Information Law. Older records are available at the Municipal Archives. A FOIL request for records from the 1970s was submitted in January 2010.

Registered visitors to this site may search the expanding database and submit stories, poetry, images and links to this emerging image of a global community.

From My Email Box - "Abbott & Costello - Just for Fun!"

You have to be old enough to remember Abbott and Costello, and too old to REALLY understand computers, to fully appreciate this. For those of us who sometimes get flustered by our computers, please read on...
If Bud Abbott and Lou Costello were alive today, their infamous sketch, 'Who's on First?' might have turned out something like this:
COSTELLO CALLS TO BUY A COMPUTER FROM ABBOTT
ABBOTT: Super Duper computer store. Can I help you?
COSTELLO: Thanks I'm setting up an office in my den and I'm thinking about buying a computer.
ABBOTT: Mac?
COSTELLO: No, the name's Lou.
ABBOTT: Your computer?
COSTELLO: I don't own a computer. I want to buy one.
ABBOTT: Mac?
COSTELLO: I told you, my name's Lou.
ABBOTT: What about Windows?
COSTELLO: Why? Will it get stuffy in here?
ABBOTT: Do you want a computer with Windows?
COSTELLO: I don't know. What will I see when I look at the windows?
ABBOTT: Wallpaper.
COSTELLO: Never mind the windows. I need a computer and software.
ABBOTT: Software for Windows?
COSTELLO: No. On the computer! I need something I can use to write proposals, track expenses and run my business. What do you have?
ABBOTT: Office.
COSTELLO: Yeah, for my office. Can you recommend anything?
ABBOTT: I just did.
COSTELLO: You just did what?
ABBOTT: Recommend something.
COSTELLO: You recommended something?
ABBOTT: Yes.
COSTELLO: For my office?
ABBOTT: Yes..
COSTELLO: OK, what did you recommend for my office?
ABBOTT: Office.
COSTELLO: Yes, for my office!
ABBOTT: I recommend Office with Windows.
COSTELLO: I already have an office with windows! OK, let's just say I'm sitting at my computer and I want to type a proposal. What do I need?
ABBOTT: Word.
COSTELLO: What word?
ABBOTT: Word in Office.
COSTELLO: The only word in office is office.
ABBOTT: The Word in Office for Windows.
COSTELLO: Which word in office for windows?
ABBOTT: The Word you get when you click the blue 'W'.
COSTELLO: I'm going to click your blue 'w' if you don't start with some straight answers. What about financial bookkeeping? You have anything I can track my money with?
ABBOTT: Money.
COSTELLO: That's right. What do you have?
ABBOTT: Money.
COSTELLO: I need money to track my money?
ABBOTT: It comes bundled with your computer.
COSTELLO: What's bundled with my computer?
ABBOTT: Money.
COSTELLO: Money comes with my computer?
ABBOTT: Yes.. No extra charge.
COSTELLO: I get a bundle of money with my computer? How much?
ABBOTT: One copy.
COSTELLO: Isn't it illegal to copy money?
ABBOTT: Microsoft gave us a license to copy Money.
COSTELLO: They can give you a license to copy money?
ABBOTT: Why not? THEY OWN IT!
(A few days later)
ABBOTT: Super Duper computer store. Can I help you?
COSTELLO: How do I turn my computer off?
ABBOTT: Click on 'START'.......….…

- Sent to me by Graham Denby Morey

From My Email Box - "Unusual Grave Markers - Just for Fun!"

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Don Counts has sent me these photos from "Funpic" twice in the last 10 days... so for Don and all of us who find tombstones a work of art, interesting, humorous at times, beautiful & unusual - here are some good ones with added remarks by me...

[If you find anything like these in the tri-state area, consider submitting it for "Tombstone Thursday" for this blog - we will give you the photo credit. - JGW]

We have all seen this type before.
There are lots of variations of this sort of humor (or maybe not so funny!)

There are many markers reflecting hobbies: golf, fishing, etc. This one is somewhat unusual!

This one is taking the love of one's life and making it into a work of art in stone.

This may be my favorite of all time... really cool!

This is the most elaborate and unique I have ever seen.

-Submitted by Don Counts

From My Email Box - "1930 Census on Footnote.com"

Gilbert Schmitt sent me this:

Hey John,

Enjoying the blog. Here is something for it.

I went to Footnote to try out the free census deal for August. I don't belong to any paid genealogy sites but will try out their special offers. I wanted to look up my parents and step father and make some copies for mom.

My father showed right away but was living with someone called William Dietty and his wife that was illegible as the note said. Going to the census page and zooming in a few clicks I could see that it was transcribed wrong. The lines clearly state the name Deitz and the wife's name Wilhelmina was clear. Both became very good family friends while still alive. Also the transcribed estimated birth dates for dad were two years off.

Looking over the entire page, as other relatives lived near them, I found 14 transcription errors of the names from what was actually written compared to what notes were showing as the cursor moved over the lines. That's 14 errors on just one page. I had a lot of trouble in Henderson Co., KY for this same reason. In my opinion the 1930 census at Footnote.com is worthless. Gilbert

[Has anyone else experienced similar error problems with transcription of the 1930 Census on Footnote.com? - JGW]

From My Email Box - "Puzzles - Just for Fun!"

Genealogists are detectives... puzzle solvers! I thought it might be fun for visitors to have a few puzzles to sharpen their puzzle solving skills.

Telephone Mathematical Puzzle

Grab a calculator. (You won't be able to do this one in your head)

1. Key in the first three digits of your phone number(NOT the Area
code...)
2. Multiply by 80
3. Add 1
4. Multiply by 250
5. Add to this the last 4 digits of your phone number
6. Add to this the last 4 digits of your phone number again.
7. Subtract 250
8. Divide number by 2

Do you recognize the answer?
- Submitted by Sherri Bradley

From Alice Warner comes the mathematical explanation how the above puzzle was developed and how it works... she makes it all quite simple!

When done properly, it should concatenate the two numbers used (the
first three digits, and the last 4 digits) so that you wind up with
your 7 digit phone number.

The way this works is through algebra. Assume the first three digits
to be "x" and the last 4 to be "y". The instructions lead you to this:

Step 1: x
Step 2: 80x
Step 3: 80x+1
Step 4: (80x+1)*250 = 2000x+250
Step 5: 2000x+250+y
Step 6: 2000x+250+2y
Step 7: 2000x+250+2y-250 = 2000x+2y
Step 8: (2000x+2y)/2 = 1000x+y

Then, since multiplying by multiples of 10 shifts the decimal point
one number, 1000x means that your three digit exchange becomes
###0000. Then by adding the last 4 digits you wind up with #######,
which will always be the first three digits concatenated by the last 4
digits, on the assumption that the first number x is ALWAYS a 3 digit
number and the second number y is ALWAYS a 4 digit number.

My cousin Beverly Justus Jones sent me this great puzzle that will help you learn the locations of exactly where each state fits in our country - it is kind of a geography puzzle.

Place the States!

This is fun, lets see how good you are.!!!

Place exactly on the spot....

Wonder how a high school senior would do on this one. See how you do in placing the states of the United States of America. All you do is look at the top of the page and "drag'n'drop" the state where it belongs. Smart map, varies the order of the states' placement with each new try! Look across from the word Place to see the state!

It isn't easy mostly because placing a state in the precise location when it as yet has no boundaries in place is a bit tricky! No half credit for close but over a tad....If you get it wrong, click and drag to the correct area which will show up in red.

http://jimspages.com/States.htm
Click on the above site.

Have some fun and improve some of your genealogical skills! - JGWest

From My Email Box - "100 Years Ago!"

THE YEAR 1909
One hundred years ago.
What a difference a century makes!
Here are some statistics for the Year 1909 :
************ ********* ********* ******

The average life expectancy was 47 years.

Only 14 percent of the homes had a bathtub.

Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone.

There were only 8,000 cars and only 144 miles
Of paved roads.

The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.

The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower!

The average wage in 1909 was 22 cents per hour.

The average worker made between $200 and $400 per year

A competent accountant could expect to earn $2000 per year,
A dentist $2,500 per year, a veterinarian between $1,500 and $4,000 per year, and a mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year.

More than 95 percent of all births took place at HOME .

Ninety percent of all doctors had NO COLLEGE EDUCATION!
Instead, they attended so-called medical schools, many of which
Were condemned in the press AND the government as 'substandard. '

Sugar cost four cents a pound.

Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen.

Coffee was fifteen cents a pound.

Most women only washed their hair once a month, and used
Borax or egg yolks for shampoo.

Canada passed a law that prohibited poor people from
Entering into their country for any reason.

Five leading causes of death were:
1. Pneumonia and influenza
2. Tuberculosis
3. Diarrhea
4. Heart disease
5. Stroke

The American flag had 45 stars.

The population of Las Vegas , Nevada, was only 30!!!!

Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and ice tea
Hadn't been invented yet.

There was no Mother's Day or Father's Day.

Two out of every 10 adults couldn't read or write.
Only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated from high school.

Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at the local corner drugstores. Back then pharmacists said, 'Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind, regulates the stomach and bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health'

- Sent by Ed Hitchcock

From My Email Box - "Grave Houses?"

Grave Houses, Dowsing Rods!

Have you ever heard of a "grave house?" Apparently, this was something that some folks did to protect the graves of loved ones. These were like sheds that were built around the grave site(s). It was a custom of southern states from around the Civil War to the early 1900's. Peggy Gilkey sent me this link for a very interesting story about John Waggoner, Jr. who is recording the location of these grave houses and he uses dowsing rods to find where graves are located within a cemetery. Below is a look inside a grave house all decorated with flowers.

Read this story at http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2009/mar/30/man-locates-obscure-burial-grounds/ There is a video and a photo gallery. - JGWest

From My Email Box - "ATHS Book Fair & Workshop"

Ancestral Trails Historical Society Book Fair & Workshop will be held 18 April 2009 from 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. EDT at the Pritchard Community Center in Elizabethtown, KY.

Workshops:
Brandon Slone (10:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m. War of 1812 ancestors with emphasis on KY resources)
Kandie Adkinson (1:00 p.m.-2:00 p.m. Researching land patents, land warrants & land grants on line)

Workshops are $10.00 each.
Contact person - rosyogreaty@aol.com

- Submitted by JGWest

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

NAVIGATING ALONG the RIVER - Research Tips

ENGINEER'S Report - Tech Info

Have you ever found what looked like a possible great site from another site? So, in great anticipation you click on the link and get that unwanted "HTTP 404 Not Found" error page! Now, what... you really wanted to see this page! Well here is one way to, hopefully, find your site!

This was an email pointing out that the Grayson County, KYGenWeb page had a bad link to "Millerstown and It's People" with my email response. After reading my hint, try it yourself!

From Patsy Andrews:

We have just discovered your site and found the link to “Millerstown and It’s People” has been broken. We are very interested in the Hornback, McCrady, Wooten & Logsden families of Millerstown. Is there another way to view this information?
Patsy Andrews
The site I’m referring to is : http://www.kygenweb.org/grayson/graysonlinks/index.html

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This is my response:
Patsy, this link has apparently changed to http://www.mcclure-landis.com/millerstown/index.html Thanks for including the URL to the page where you found this bad link. Believe it or not 99% of people do not even list what general web site the bad link came from, not even the bad link!

This is the bad link: http://www.golocal.com/misc/genealogy/millerstown/index.html When I find a bad link, I first add or delete the "l" in "htm(l)" that is often where the error is found. If not, then I delete the html file name (in this case, "index.html") to see if I can get to the site page one-level back. Since that did not work, I removed "millerstown" and got an instant redirect to: http://www.mcclure-landis.com/ which had a new link to "Millerstown and It's People." If you have never done this before, try it out yourself... go back to the bad link, and work your way back. Sometimes people change servers and this may not work, but sometimes they will have a auto-redirect or a "Site has moved, click here" statement.

I gave you the new link and a hint to, hopefully, find the correct link when one has changed and gives you that dreaded "HTTP 404 Not Found" error. This query from you, prompted my TSGS Cruiser Blog article for today...check it out (second link below) ~ I give you credit for the idea to explain this Internet trick I learned from others on the Internet 12 years or so ago!

John G. West,
President, Tri-State Genealogical Society (TSGS)
Treasurer, Ohio Valley Chapter Indiana Society Sons of the American Revolution (OVC INSSAR)
State Historian, Indiana Society Sons of the American Revolution (INSSAR)
State Fair 4-H Judge, Indiana State Fair (4-H Genealogy Project)

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Tri-State Genealogical Society (TSGS) - http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~intsgs/index.html
TSGS Cruiser Blog - http://tsgsblog.blogspot.com/
Ohio Valley Chapter INSSAR - http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~inovcsar/

Patsy Andrews prompted this article to be written as submitted by JGWest

“It's just one more scam!"

TSGS Director Larry Goss got this in his email box and passed it on to us to watch out for this type of scam.

Dear Goss,

I will like to seek your help in a business proposal , which although is sensitive by nature and not what I should discuss with someone I don’t know and have not met using a medium such as this but I do not have a choice .

I am Mr. Eric Mack, personal attorney to late Dr. Edward Goss, who died of a cardiac arrest a few years ago leaving behind a large sum of money with a commercial bank in the Island of Seychelles which is a tax free zone, a place where plenty of rich people tend to hide away funds not ready to be used or invested. I will not mention the amount of money which runs into several millions in United States Dollars and name of bank presently until we have agreed to deal. I trust you will understand the need for such precautions.

So far, valuable efforts has been made to get to his people but to no avail, as he had no known relatives more because he left his next of kin column in his account opening forms blank and he has no known relative. Due to this development the bank has come forward to ask us as his personal attorneys to bring forward a close relative to claim the funds otherwise as the Seychelles national laws would have it, any dormant account for five years will be declared unclaimed and then paid into the government purse.

To avert this negative development my colleagues and I have decided to look for a reputable person to act as the next of kin to late Dr. Goss. So that the funds could be processed and released into his account, which is where you come in. my law firm will also act as your personal attorneys since we will be portraying you as being directly related to our late client being from the same country.

All legal documents to aid your claim for this fund and to prove your relationship with the deceased will be provided by us. Your help will be appreciated with 30% of the total sum which I would disclose in my next email Please accept my apologies, keep my confidence and disregard this letter if you do not appreciate this proposition I have offered you.

I wait anxiously for your response.

Yours Faithfully,
Eric Mack

From My Email Box - "Patriotism”

NOTE: I equate patriotism & citizenship as qualities of a nation's culture; and, thereby, of significance to history; and, thus, of importance to genealogy. Below is a bipartisan email essay on inaugurations of our United States Presidents. - JGWest

My Fellow Compatriots,

I want to share a few thoughts of mine with you, as fellow patriots. On Tuesday we will all witness a historic event. Indeed, the first Black man becoming President of the United States is a momentous occasion in our country's history, but I will watch for another reason as well. Any man becoming President of the United States is a momentous occasion. I will be honest here, I did not vote for Mr. Obama. That was purely an ideological choice on my part. But I am not sorry he is President. He appears to be a good and earnest man, and I hope he serves the country well. I am proud that my nation -- so often divided by race -- could put that aside and show the world just how far this country has come. I wish only the best for the new President. He is not just "the" President. He is "my" President. He is "our" President. That doesn't mean we have to agree with him after he takes office. Dissent and debate are part of our history. There are Presidents I have not liked one bit and have even been disgusted with the way they acted in office. But they were still the President, and as a true patriot I would have gladly given my life to protect theirs and protect the office. One can be a patriot and still disagree, but in the end a patriot defends the sanctity of the nation.

I remember some inauguration from years past. Frankly, it could have been Reagan's or Bush 41's, or even Clinton's, I don't remember. But I will always remember what Peter Jennings, the commentator (and Canadian at that) for the station I was watching said. Shortly before the swearing in, he said, "What you are about to witness is the envy of the entire world. The free transfer of government." Those words have always stuck with me. And that is why I have always revered the swearing in of a President, regardless if I voted for that person or not. About 150 years ago there were a number of people who didn't like the results of the 1860 election, and as you know that election led to the secession of the South. Abraham Lincoln has been referenced much of late, and rightfully so. Lincoln ended slavery and saved the Union. But the subtlety of what he achieved is often lost, and is much deeper. It's about the nature of democracy. We as a nation cannot hold a popular election, and if some of us don't like the result choose to "opt out". Regardless of beliefs or ideology, we respect the outcome and acknowledge the leader of our nation. That, in my opinion, is Lincoln's greatest legacy. Many countries hold elections for presidents now. It isn't a novel thing anymore. But people who don't know history fail to realize that when polls opened in December 1788 it was a truly radical concept -- that a populace comprised of simple farmers, merchants and fishermen could actually govern themselves and choose who would be their leader. We often take that for granted today, but in the 18th-century it was unheard of. Yet, a group of men from an outpost of a great empire decided that they and their fellow citizens could decide their own destiny, and they were willing to give their lives for that ideal. And through their efforts they shook the foundation of world history.

We hold elections. We disagree. We fight. We argue. But in the end we acknowledge and accept the results. No palace coups. No bloody military takeovers. We respect our system of government and the system our forefathers in their infinite wisdom created. We swear in a new President. That is why I watch an Inauguration. That is why I am Patriot. That is what my ancestors fought for.

Gregg Branum President-Elect,
Alexander Hamilton Chapter
Indiana Society Sons of the American Revolution

Copyright 2009 by Gregg Branum
*****************************************
This from Don Counts (an excellent photo collection of all U.S Presidents and you can click on their biographies): http://www.whitehouse.gov/slideshows/presidents/ and Don just sent me this link: http://www.bornagainamerican.org/ it is a patriotic song/video that is an excellent example how music has helped shape America.

From My Email Box - "Spin Humor"

We all get far too many of the forwarded items in our email that purport to be true and generally relays information we just absolutely need to know. Often it warns us of the “sinful” actions of certain businesses, groups or persons. Usually with a political overtone or aimed at certain elements of society that some people deem unacceptable. We should be careful not to forward false messages of this manner or any other, as far as that goes. Just like we should avoid “unproven” genealogical data. What genealogy we send out needs to be verified, documented. I suspect that we are all guilty of forwarding messages & information before we fully check out its validity. Here are two very good sites to verify before forwarding messages:

Snopes.com Rumors has it
http://www.snopes.com/
About.com – Urban Legends by David Emery
Internet hoaxes, email rumors and urban legends http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/internet/a/current_netlore.htm
Another one is:
Hoax-Slayer
http://www.hoax-slayer.com/

In some cases the message is humorous, despite its intent to deceive or mislead. I got one of these yesterday from a friend. This one can be found on Snopes & About.com by typing in “horse thief” in their search engines. Snopes is best on this one: http://www.snopes.com/politics/humor/horsethief.asp

I have used fictitious names to protect the innocent!

Ibee A. Rumor, a professional genealogy researcher here in Heilman, IN, was doing some personal work on her own family tree. She discovered that John West's [See photo below] great-great uncle, Sigmund West, was hanged for horse stealing and train robbery in Montana in 1889. Both Ibee and John West share this common ancestor. The only known photograph of Sigmund shows him standing on the gallows in Montana territory. On the back of the picture Ibee obtained during her research is this inscription: ''Sigmund West, horse thief, sent to Montana Territorial Prison 1885, escaped 1887, robbed the 'Montana Flyer' six times. Caught by Pinkerton detectives, convicted and hanged in 1889.” [See photo below] So Ibee recently e-mailed Blogger John G. West for information about their great-great uncle.

Believe it or not, John West's staff sent back the following biographical sketch for her genealogy research: “Sigmund West was a famous cowboy in the Montana Territory. His business empire grew to include acquisition of valuable equestrian assets and intimate dealings with the Montana railroad. Beginning in 1883, he devoted several years of his life to government service, finally taking leave to resume his dealings with the railroad. In 1887, he was a key player in a vital investigation run by the renowned Pinkerton Detective Agency. In 1889, Sigmund passed away during an important civic function held in his honor when the platform upon which he was standing collapsed.”

NOW THAT is how it's done folks! That's real SPIN.

- Compiled & edited by JGWest

John G. West [above], who is related [alleged, no documentation offered] to the hanged horse thief, Sigmund West [below].