A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day.....July 25, 2007.... Getting to Know Your Ancestors

7-25-2007 | Just Amy & MamaBear

[JustAmy]

A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day

Free Republic made its debut in September, 1996, and the forum was added in early 1997.   Over 100,000 people have registered for posting privileges on Free Republic, and the forum is read daily by tens of thousands of concerned citizens and patriots from all around the country and the world.

A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day was introduced on June 24, 2002. It's only a small room in JimRob's house where we can get to know one another a little better; salute and support our military and our leaders; pray for those in need; and congratulate those deserving. We strive to keep our threads entertaining, fun, and pleasing to look at, and often have guest writers contribute an essay, or a profile of another FReeper.

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We're having fun and hope you are!
~ Billie, Dutchess, DollyCali, GodBlessUSA ~

Sometime during the twelfth century the concept of heraldry came into prominent use. Knights began to have their shields and other equipment decorated with marks of identification. These marks and colors evolved into a way to identify the bearer as a member of a certain family, clan, or allegiance to a feudal lord.

The lords, and their knights and all their followers displayed the lord's coat of arms on pennants, shields, and battle dress. Families and clans of families were identified by these symbols.

"If You Could See Your Ancestors"

If you could see your ancestors,
All standing in a row,
Would you be proud of them,
Or don't you really know?

Some strange discoveries are made
In climbing family trees;
And some of them, you know,
Do not particularly please.

If you could see your ancestors,
All standing in a row,
There might be some of them, perhaps,
You wouldn't care to know.

But there's another question
Which requires a different view ...
If you could "meet" your ancestors,
Would they be proud of you?

~ Author Unknown ~

Do not use a wire brush on stonework. It will do much damage to the surface of the stone and encourage the growth of moss and lichen.

Do not apply any proprietary sealer to the stone. Stone must be able to breath and allow air and water to pass through.

Gravestone rubbing is not recommended because so many gravestones are made from soft sandstones and limestone that are easily damaged.

Do not apply shaving cream, chalk or other chemicals to the stones, as this can also cause damage.

If you are planning on visiting cemeteries remember to treat the headstones and markers with care. Many of these grave markers are very fragile, and even the pressure used to take a tombstone rubbing could cause damage to some stones.


Good light will always produce a better photograph. If you wish to photograph the headstone and inscription in a shaded position and you want the lettering to be readable it may be necessary to provide additional lighting. This can be done on a sunny day by using a mirror at an appropriate angle.

"Pay Heed, Now!"

I’ve done it! Yes I have! I’ve tracked my ancestry.
I tracked it back beyond the start, of modern history.
And even further back than that! (No, not an easy task!)
The records were quite hard to find, (but, Thanks that you did ask!)

The story that was written, before the ink and quill,
Excited me when first I learned, I guess it always will.
You’ve heard about some fossils? No, not your Gramps and Mum,
Those stony skeletons they found, beloved and then some!

“These were our ancestors,” they cry. Now, let me tell you true.
The critters they discovered had no children in my view.
At least from that flat landscape, from which they stare, agape,
You’ll have no progeny at all of either Man, or Ape.

For they were dead, you see, demised. Deceased and obfuscated,
In a word, obliterized. Corried and quarried, they had been Terminated!
The ones who walked around that mess, averting fearful eyes,
Are quite the ones I wish to note, my own survivor guys.

The studious type, I’m proud to say, note-takers with an eye,
To leaving danger, and small brains, to a luckless other guy.
You may have doubts that this could work, I’m sure you’d like it shown,
But we were record record-keepers, ( I still have all my own!)

The stacks of notes are towering, they go back quite a ways,
To warmer weather in the past, and somewhat warmer days.
Now that was handy, you’ll admit, for when you had some itches,
You didn’t have to slow down much for fasteners on britches.

Well, anyway, I did the work. The place we got our start,
Was almost just what they described, (describing is an art!),
It was a lovely Garden. (You knew I’d say that, right?)
But did you know what else I found, in digging out that site?

The very first last testament, and will of that first writer,
Who lived so long, so long ago, you know he was a fighter!
Well, anyway, I want to say, you guys are all in trouble.
You owe back rent, to me of course, and penalties are double.

NicknamedBob . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . June 21, 2007

You know you are a Genealogy
addict when...

~ You brake for libraries.
~ You hyperventilate at the sight of an old cemetery.
~ You would rather browse in a cemetery than a shopping mall.
~ You would rather read census schedules than a good book.
~ You are more interested in what happened in 1699 than in 1999.
~ Eenrum, Baflo and Groningen are household names, but you can't remember what to call the dog.
~ You store your clothes under the bed (or wear the same two outfits to save space), because your closet is full of books and papers.
~ All your correspondence begins with "Dear Cousin".
~ You have traced every one of your ancestral lines back to Adam and Eve, you have it documented and still don't want to quit.
~ Your most important social life is meeting people who you run into while searching a family line.

The USGenWeb Project

Census Online

Some Basic Links

RootsWeb.com

Civil War Soldiers & Sailors

Ellis Island Records

03-27-07 ~ Hall of Fame #19

THIS WEEK'S THREADS July 23-24,07 Military Tribute

Opinions by our own 'King of Ping' Every Thursday at the Finest The guy's good, folks!

[Borax Queen]

That family tree is amazing!!

[Utah Girl]

Thanks for the ping. I’ve been to that cemetery. I’m not really into Genealogy, but my mom and 2 of my sisters are. However, since I love to study history, I do enjoy reading the journals of those who crossed the plains on the Mormon Trail to Utah and those who continued onto California or Oregon.

[MEG33]

Great thread,Amy!..My son has done a lot of searching and I have his work and my mother's when she did her DAR application papers.
I love reading the tales of my father's family from early Texas days best because it all happened near where I grew up.There is a Texas Historical marker on the family cemetary.
One relative was a signee of the Declaration of Independence..He was in Virginia. I should get it all out and look at it again..It's been awhile since I read it.

[The Mayor]

WOW! Very cool... We have been here for a very long time.

[The Mayor]

I know, my Grand Mother put it together then my father took over from where she left off. I have the disc my father sent me with pictures that would blow your socks off. If I have time later I will try to upload some.

[Borax Queen]

That is really neat. I’m surprised by how many people I meet or know online who have relatives going back that far. Amazing.

[Pippin]

Hellow, Amy!

I need to bookmark this thread for sur now!

great links!

I've been researching my family history on both my mom and my dad's side for a little over 30 years. On my mom's side, (Relative new-comers to these shores, coming to the US around the 1850's) back to Bavaria and Prussia.

My dad's family I'v only been able to trace in this country, all I know about them is they came from a corner of North Carolina close to the Tennesse/NC line, in the Blue Ridge MTS. Before that, in the late 1790's they immigrated to NC from Virginia, but I've yet to determine when the came to Virgina or even to America.

There are several lines of this family group (this particular name) than I ever knew existed!

All I know right now about my dad's family is they may havr origanally came from England.

[Pippin]

Interesting to anyone (like me) who is a history buff! :o)

[blam]

One of my favorite posts:

Descendant Of Stone Age Skeleton Found (Cheddar Man - 9,000 Years Old)

"LONDON (Reuter) British scientists Saturday celebrated their feat of tracing a living descendant of a 9,000-year-old skeleton and establishing the world's oldest known family tree.

[Pippin]

If you ancestors are out haunting something, you're probably out helping them :o)

Hi, Darks!

[Little Bill]

We supposedly come from the Bray Wilkins clan, collateral, we got the hell out of Massachusetts and went to Conn and later to Upper NY State.

I have a cousin who is a Mayflower type and refuses to spell Wilkins correctly. ENS which is German.

[Borax Queen]

Morning, Pippin! Long time...

[jaycee]

Very interesting reading this morning. I enjoyed it very much. Also loved the pledge this morning~~~~

Know my ancestry back so far but not far enough. One of my nephews worked on ours a lot and did fairly well. It is truly hard work and takes a lot of discipline and dedicated work! I may not be that person~~~~~~~~LOL!

[Mama_Bear]

Good morning, Amy and Finest FRiends all. I sure wish I could stay and help host the thread this morning, but I have mom-in-law duties to take care of. Every Wednesday I go over to the assisted living center and have lunch and then, after lunch, I help some of the ladies with their craft projects. Also have Lowe’s delivering my new dryer this morning and the pest control guy is here to spray and keeps asking me questions. LOL. Busy morning.

I will be back this afternoon when I have more time to stay and chat.

[GodBlessUSA]

Such a wonderful thread! :) Very beautiful too!

I was thinking about going back and research my ancestors. I only go as far back as my great grandparents.

[ConorMacNessa]

Great thread, JustAmy! Thanks!

[Pippin]

Good afternoon!

[JustAmy]

Good morning, Visualops. Great to see you this morning.

So far, the ancestors I have found have been here forever. I have Reed’s and Niepman’s arrived from Germany about 1787. My Swetnam line goes back to Stafford, VA. I have a copy of church records showing a marriage in 1765. From all I can find this family came from Cheshire, England.

I wish I had time to do more genealogy traveling. A great memory was of time spend in Iowa doing research and meeting very distant relatives.

Hope you find time to share some of your pictures tonight.

[JustAmy]

Good morning, Rus. Thank you for bringing us our Daily Scripture lesson ..... breakfast for the soul.

[JustAmy]

Genealogy begins as an interest,
Becomes a hobby;
Continues as an avocation,
Takes over as an obsession,
And in its last stages,
Is an incurable disease.


Wow! Rus, your family tree is impressive.
I have two lines of Thompson's but I'm sure we are not related.
I have a James Logan who was born in Lincoln County,Tennessee in 1834. He was a confederate soldier.

I also have a William Charles Thompson who was born in Smith County, Tennessee in 1848.

The family swears the two Thompson's were not related but I suspect they were. At one time it was common practice to marry one's relatives.

Hope you can share more info later.