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.

On Mondays please visit us to see photos of A FEW OF FR'S VETERANS AND ACTIVE MILITARY

If you have a suggestion, or an idea, or if there's a FReeper you would like to see featured, please drop one of us a note in FR mail.

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!

[JustAmy]

LOL

Then you must be related to MamaBear.

MamaBear ..... we would love to hear the story of your witch ancestor who is buried in Salem.

[JustAmy]

It is wonderful to see you again, Borax Queen.

I’m well but have been busy with a 7 year old and two knee replacement surgeries

It seems that I never get to FR until everyone has logged off for the evening. School will start soon ..... yeah, more time for me. :)

[Borax Queen]

Ouch and ouch!!

Thank you so much, ditto :) I took a semi-leave from politics after a brutal campaign season last fall... so I wasn’t around much. Back on the saddle now, lol.

[JustAmy]

A census taker in a rural area went up to a farmhouse and knocked.

When a woman came to the door, he asked her how many children they had and their ages.

She said, "Les' see now, there's the twins, Sally and Billy, they're thirty two. And the twins , Seth and Beth, they're twenty six. And the twins, Penny and Jenny, they're twenty four ... "

"Hold on!" said the census taker. "Did you get twins EVERY time?"

The woman answered, " Heck no, there were hundreds of times we didn't get nothin'."


Hello Grammy.
Hope you can share more of your family tree with us later.
Have a wonderful Wednesday!

[JustAmy]

Congratulations to your family for coming to the greatest of all countries. My husband is also first generation American. His ancestors are from Italy. His mom came here as a young child but his father immigrated here as a young man.

I hope your brother is successful in locating your ancestors graves.

[Borax Queen]

Ohhhh, very cool about your husband; I didn’t know that!! He must be fluent in Italian... English is my second language - and we all still speak our native language “at home.” My parents and grandparents all had to know English before being admitted, back then of course.

Thanks... my sister and brother-in-law tried to find my grandfather’s grave. He died here but my grandmother took him back to where he was born. Anyway, it’s a little tricky with some of the cemeteries.

[JustAmy]

Hey Cousin.

Come over to the Finest and share some of our family history. :)

[JustAmy]

Hi, Utah Girl. Hope you are having a Warm Fuzzy Wednesday!

[JustAmy]

Happy Warm, Fuzzy Wednesday!!!

Genealogy can be very addicting.
I used to ask my Dad about our family name ..... his stock answer was ...
Go to Jack County, Texas and you will find all the info you want.
I finally made it to Jack County about 10 years ago.
It was wonderful to meet unknown relatives and hear the stories they told.

[JustAmy]

Hey Pippin. Hope you are having a great day.

A family tree can wither if no one tends to it’s Roots.
After 30 days, unclaimed ancestors will be adopted.
Genealogists are Time Unravelers.
Genealogy - tracing yourself back to better people.
A Pack Rat is hard to live with, but makes a Fine Ancestor.
I should have asked them before they died.
I am always late - my ancestors arrived on the JuneFlower.
Only a Genealogist regards a step backwards as Progress.

Hope you can share some of your findings later.

[JustAmy]

I find Genealogy very interesting. Finding grave sites and realizing that some of your ancestors stood and shed tears at that spot so many years ago.

[JustAmy]

Wow ... thanks for the link, Blam. Wouldn’t it be great to be able to find an ancestor from that time. He probably has no documentation to carry the line forward but it would still be exciting to pass that info to your children. I think the article says he has no children but he may have nieces and nephews that can enjoy the info.

Thanks for coming by the Finest this morning and sharing one of your favorite posts.

[JustAmy]

Hi Little Bill. Nice to see you at the Finest this morning.

Hope you are having a wonderful Wednesday.

[JustAmy]

Good morning, Jaycee. Thank you! Nice to see you this Warm Fuzzy Wednesday.

Genealogy information is much easier to find now that we have the Internet. Tho I am always happy to find something online, the biggest thrill for me is either finding a tombstone or hard copies of documents.

[Darksheare]

Hello!
I know, I’ve been wandering at random.

There’s a pic of some of my forebears from roughly around 1840’s or so, and they look like horse thieves..

[JustAmy]

Good afternoon, Lori. Hope you enjoyed your time at the assisted living center. I know that the residents enjoyed having you join them.

Looking forward to seeing you later. I need to leave for a couple of hours. PrissyMissy spent the night with my sister last night.

Genealogists live life in the Past Lane.
Cousins marrying cousins : Very Tangled Roots.
Documentation - the hardest part of genealogy.
Genealogy - Chasing your own tale!
SOOOOO Many Ancestors - So little time!

[JustAmy]

LOL

I have a couple of pics that look like they belonged to the Jesse James clan. They were from Missouri so they could have been a part of his band of merry thieves. :)

[JustAmy]

Thank you, GeeBee. This was a fun thread to work on.

If you start doing research, be forewarned that it can be very addicting!! :)

My ancestors must be in a Witness Protection Plan.
Shake your family tree and watch the nuts fall out!
How can ONE ancestor cause so much trouble?
I looked into my family tree and found out I was a sap.
If only people came with pull down menus and online help.
Isn't Genealogy Fun? The answer to one problem leads to two more.

[jaycee]

I mentioned my nephew, he did everything. He loved visiting old cemetaries when he could locate one or if he found an ancestor’s name he would dig deep to try to find the cemetary.
As I used the “dig deep” language it sounded punnish! LOL~~~

[JustAmy]

Good afternoon and thank you, Conor.

Do you have any family info or pictures you would like to share? If Genealogy is not your thing ...... Have a Warm Fuzzy Wednesday!!

We don’t object to warm fuzzy graphics today.