The Roots Tracer is a quarterly publication with articles of interest to the genealogist. Members are encouraged to submit their "Profiles" as well as articles of general interest. Queries are free to members, $1.00 to non-members.
Copyright Notice: No articles may be reproduced for profit or commercial gain without
the express written consent of the authors, the editors, or the Livermore-Amador
Genealogical Society.
In the past the Meet the Members page has been featured as a full length page. However, in recent months the Livermore-Amador Genealogical Society (L-AGS) has seen such an increase in membership that we had to rethink the format of that page.
This issue will show a new format and we would like to hear from you as to whether it is a "yea or nay". If you do not care for it please say so, but give us an alternative format.
The summer has passed and most of us have taken the typical "genealogy research" or "reunion" trip. We have come home with wonderful research material, tips and stories. Your editors would like you to share these great things with all of our members. You can either write it for us, allowing us to edit it. Or you can call us and we will either take the information over the telephone or come to your home to interview you. The bottom line is "we need your stories".
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those members of L-AGS who helped to make our September Seminar a huge success. On behalf of L-AGS, we also owe a debt of gratitude to our good friends at the Mormon Church. This year's seminar was held at the Church on Mocho Street in Livermore. The co-chairs, Dean Lee and Jolene Abrahams, did an outstanding job of getting the committee together, which consisted of Dave and Linda Curry, Rose and Garth Ludwig, Karen Banta, Lucille Kusko, Warren White, John Walden, and Codie Ridgwell.
The reputations of the speakers preceded them to the point that we filled all of our classes - and often had to turn people away because there was no more room.
Welcome to New Members
Richard Finn
Donna Nelson
Carmen and Ann Della Vecchia
Lois J. Halunen
Robin Kanno
CALENDAR OF SELECTED GENEALOGICAL EVENTS
OCT 8 Livermore-Amador Gen. Soc. (L-AGS) meeting, 7:30 p.m. Congregation Beth Emek, corner of College Ave. & South "M" St., Livermore (925-447-9386)
OCT 9 East Bay Gen. Soc., Grace-Marie Moore Hackwell presents "Memories Are Forever." Painless Autobiographies. 10:00 a.m. at the Mormon Center, 4780 Lincoln Ave. Oakland, CA.
OCT 17 L-AGS Study Group, 7:30 p.m., Mormon Church, 950 Mocho St., Livermore.
OCT 24 L-AGS Computer Interest Group, 7:00 p.m., Mormon Church, 950 Mocho St., Livermore.
OCT 19 Gen. Soc. of Stanislaus Co., seminar featuring James Hansen who will speak on four topics. 8:30 a.m.- 4:00 p.m. at the Modesto Centre Plaza (Pistache - Ginko Room).
OCT 26 Silicon Valley PAF Users Group Seminar '96, 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., 875 Quince Ave., Santa Clara, CA. Entire seminar will be taught by Paul Smart, Supervisor of the British section of the Salt Lake City Family History Library. Advance registration $15 plus $7.50 for a syllabus.
OCT 26 Santa Clara FHC Seminar: Family Research in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., 875 Quince Ave., Santa Clara, CA.
NOV 9 San Mateo Co. Gen. Soc., German Gen. Seminar. "A Day of German Genealogy" with Larry Jensen. At the Redwood City Main Library Community Rm., 1044 Middlefield Rd., Redwood City, CA. 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
NOV 12 Livermore-Amador Gen. Soc. meeting, 7:30 p.m. Congregation Beth Emek, corner of College Ave. & South "M" St., Livermore.
NOV 17 11th Annual Jewish Genealogy Workshop. Four-hour program beginning at 12:00 Noon will feature small working groups, each with an expert leader. Fort Mason Center, SF, Bldg. C, Rm. 205.
NOV 21 L-AGS Study Group, 7:30 p.m., Mormon Church, 950 Mocho St., Livermore.
NOV 28 L-AGS Computer Interest Group, 7:00 p.m., Mormon Church, 950 Mocho St., Livermore.
DEC 10 Livermore-Amador Gen. Soc. meeting, 7:30 p.m. Congregation Beth Emek, corner of College Ave. & South "M" St., Livermore.
APRIL 25-26, 1997 California Gen. Soc., 12th Annual Family History Fair, "The Golden Gateway to Your Ancestry." Fort Mason Center, Herbst Pavilion, San Francisco. Friday Noon to 8:00 p.m.; Saturday 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
"Secrets of the Internet"
Internet novices may especially appreciate this three-part miniseries hosted by Richard Karn. It takes a look at entertaining and informative sites on the World Wide Web portion of the Internet. (Premieres Nov. 18 through 20 on the Discovery Channel.) Newspaper, August 1996
Allen County Public Library
The card catalog of the Allen Co. Public Library is now accessible by computer modem. Set your software at 1200 baud, 8 data bits, 1 stop bit, no parity. VT emulation, and dial 219-424-1300. Press ENTER AND CONTROL O twice to get the Welcome Screen, then press CONTROL O to log off. There is no access charge, just long distance charge. From San Ramon Valley Gen. Newsletter, Vol. XI, #6, Jan '96, Pg. 46.
New at Sutro
Manny Lindner reports that Sutro now has on CD-ROM master census name index that is especially valuable for research before 1880. You can use a "wild card" by inserting a # to generate a list of possible spellings of family names. From San Ramon Gen. Society Newsletter, Vol. XI, #8, Mar "96, Pg. 60.
Bancroft Library Newspaper Update
Until now, the Bancroft Library on the UC Berkeley campus has had the newspapers prior to 1906, and the Newspaper Room in the Main Library had the newspapers after 1906. This has changed. The Newspaper Room has moved to the first floor of the Main Library (Doe Library), where it joined the Periodical Room. The pre-1906 newspapers * have been transferred to the Periodical/Newspaper Room. This is good news because of the ready availability to copiers, and the longer open hours of the Periodical/Newspaper Room. From Contra Costa Co., Gen. Society, Vol. 11, #3, March 1996, Pg. 26.
East Bay Polish-American Assoc.
Another source for Polish information is the East Bay Polish-American Association. They meet once a week at the Our Lady of Immigrants Catholic Church in Martinez, CA. The President is Gabriel Michta.
The Polish Genealogical Society of California
This group was established in 1989 as a non-profit educational organization to promote the research of Polish heritage throughout the world. They are also interested in the study of the ancestral villages of ancestors and the history of the families. They publish a quarterly called the Bulletin. For more information write to Polish Gen. Society of California, P O Box 713, Midway City, CA, 92655-0713. From Bev Ales
War Between the States
If you have a picture of your ancestor who served in the War Between the States - either North or South - the U.S. Military History Institute would like to borrow it for copying. The goal is to have a photo of every soldier and sailor no matter when taken - 1861 or thereafter. Your photo will be returned to you with a complimentary copy. No Charge.
You should sandwich your photo between 2 pieces of cardboard. If the photo is small, insert it into an appropriate sized envelope and tape that envelope to one of the pieces of cardboard to ensure safe travel through the mail. Attach to the picture and/or envelope - Name, Military Unit (Company, Regiment, State) and Where Buried, if known, and Death Date. Send to : Mr. Michael J. Winey, Curator, Dept. of the Army, U.S. Military History Institute, Carlisle Barracks, PA 17013. From Mildred Kirkwood
No No's
The National Archives has recommended that no removable self-stick notes be used on any paper that has permanent value. The lab examined 3M Scotch Post-It Notes and AMB brand Note Pads and found that adhesive remained on papers to which the notes were adhered - even when they were removed immediately. This remaining adhesive could cause important records to stick together. In addition, as the chemicals in the adhesive break down over time, they can deteriorate the paper and make printing illegible. The lab also found that the adhesive lifted photocopied images after two weeks of aging and that some of the colors of the notes run when wet. From Mildred Kirkwood
Some good friends of L-AGS are adding a codicil to their wills to ensure that their pursuit of genealogy and family history has not been done in vain or is lost to future generations. They have suggested that we publish the codicil, in a generic format, in the Roots Tracer. What follows is their suggested document.
We wish to ensure that the results of our long genealogical research efforts are preserved. These results are recorded in printed and handwritten material, photographs and on computer disks. With expenses paid by our estate, but not exceeding $X or Y% of the estate, whichever is smaller, we request that our executor arrange for the following actions: (1) A qualified genealogist, recommended by a local genealogical society, is to (a) sort through our genealogical collection to remove material that has been previously published, is copyrighted, is redundant, or holds no interest to other genealogists, our descendants or relatives; (b) contact the Mormon Family History Library (FHL) in Salt Lake City to determine what is required to make a private genealogical collection acceptable as a donation to the FHL; (c) catalog and index the remaining material in accordance with the FHL criteria; (d) microfilm or otherwise copy the material, the catalog and the index in accordance with the FHL criteria. (2) At least one copy of the film is to be donated to the Mormon FHL, one to the (fill in name of your favorite genealogy society), and one to each of our heirs. (3) Copies of the film are to be given to immediate relatives on request, subject to the expense limitation stated. (4) Availability of the filmed collection is to be announced in a genealogical journal, and copies of the film are to be made available for sale at cost. (5) The original material, including that not filmed, is to be made available to heirs, immediate relatives and to (fill in name of your favorite genealogy society), in that order, and the remainder is to be disposed of by the executor, with the advice of the genealogist.
YOUR PERSONAL LIBRARY AND YOUR WILL
Of deep concern to most family historians and genealogists is what will become of the collection of books and magazines acquired during the better part of a lifetime of research after the researcher's death. Too frequently, friends and relatives are unaware of our specific wishes in this regard. There is, however, a simple solution. Have a short paragraph added to your will leaving no doubt as to your wishes regarding both your personal library and the product of your research - the family histories you have compiled but never got around to publishing. The following paragraph can serve, or your attorney can quickly modify it to be in compliance with local laws:
I direct my executor/executrix to box the following genealogical publications and compilations for donation to the _________ Genealogical Society for appropriate disposition/retention by that Society for the benefit of family history researchers in ____________
County, _____________:
( ) All family history materials of which I die possessed.
( ) Only my library of printed reference books & materials.
( ) The unpublished family history manuscript materials on which I was working.
( ) Other [specify below]:
The Society's address is: _________________________________
From CSGA Newsletter, Vol. 14, #2 (Feb 1996)
By Lucille Vinsant
The old man died, and the kids rushed in.
His house was gutted by his kin.
They all agreed so loud and clear.
That poor man was surely queer.
"What are these things, what's that there?
Whose junk is stuffed behind the chair?
Get a box, " became the shout.
"Lets throw these old things out."
Grandma's vase, of glass so fine,
Had no chance in the cast-offs line.
Grandpa's pipe went in the box
Along with keys to some old locks.
His favorite saw was next to go,
And his hammer, too, that helped him so.
Now came his hat, old with stain.
It had sheltered his eyes from years of rain
His slippers then were thrown away,
With no one there to gainsay
The fact that he had taken care
To gather these things for a future heir.
But no one wanted his precious horde.
In fact the heirs soon became bored.
Papers left loose were shown no apology,
Including, of course, the man's genealogy.
And this is the way, as the story is told,
History is lost when generations grow old.
So heed the warning you kin of young years,
Your turn is coming as your certain end nears.
Preserve all you can, for the future to see,
For this is the goal of our genealogy.
UNDER THE GENEALOGY TREE WITH JOLENE
Jolene Abrahams
Goals
It's never too late to think about what you want to do with all the information you have and will gather. Here are a few ideas you may want to consider.
No matter which goal you choose, ask for documents from your family members. Collecting the originals or getting copies of the originals will save you valuable research time. But keep in mind that some people don't keep these things, misplace them or don't want to share. In a lot of cases they are packed, stored and forgotten.
Judy Person
Connecting to Connecticut, by Betty Jean Morrison. Purchased by LAGS.
Town by town, this book lists offices and addresses, phone numbers and hours and what each
place has. Includes offices and cemeteries and other sources with information for their
access.
A History of Essex, by A.C. Edwards. Donated by Judy Person.
Part of a series on each English county. Skimming through the geology and how it affected
settlement, it ranges from pre-history to the present London overflow and Stansted
Airport. There are also short biographies of prominent Essex people, including Oglethorpe
who led the settlement of the English in Savannah, Georgia.
A History of Fayette County, Illinois, 1878. Donated by William Lake.
A beautiful example of the history of this county, home of Kaskaskia, where the first
state constitution was written, and a later capitol, Vandalia. It includes a biography and
a list of Civil War (called The Late Rebellion) soldiers and a full index.
Latin for Local and Family Historians, by Denis Stuart. Donated by Judy Person.
With this book, a person who has had some Latin long ago could piece together the kind of
old text or phrases which might be found in research. Grammar, examples from the kinds of
records we might see, and a glossary of 800 words are included. It could still be used
with no previous Latin.
National Genealogical Society, 1995 Conference in the States: Program and Syllabus,
Volumes 1 and 2. Donated by Jolene and David Abrahams.
Outlines and supporting materials. These are so full of good information you could keep
busy for months. How to decipher old writing, Portuguese research, using maps, using PAF,
using naval records, and preservation are a few of the topics.
Phillimoreís Atlas and Index of Parish Registers. Edited by Cecil
Humphrey-Smith. Owned by LAGS.
The speaker on English research at our 1995 seminar considers this book essential. It now
includes the location of records for England, Wales and Scotland. The parish registers
contained the only records for many, those of baptism, marriage and burial, and their
location is complex because of the many divisions of parishes. This includes two maps of
each county, then an exhaustive guide to the records of each parish, plus marriage indexes
and non-Church-of-England records for each small locality. It even tells which records
have been added to the LDS churchís International Genealogical Index, or IGI.
City Directories at Sutro Library, by Bette Kot and Shirley Thompson. Indices
Publishing, 228 Sandy Neck Way, Vallejo, CA 94591-7850. Donated by the authors.
This book is an index and listing of all the City Directories that may be found in the
Sutro Library in San Francisco. The introduction contains a short dissertation on the
value of City Directories to genealogical researchers and information on how to use the
book. The index itself is laid out alphabetically by state and city. With each city are
the years and location of the Directories that Sutro has available and their exact
location, whether on the shelves, on microfilm, or on fiche.
Massachusetts Vital Records at Sutro Library, by Bette Kot and Shirley
Thompson. Indices Publishing, 228 Sandy Neck Way, Vallejo, CA 94591-7850. Donated by the
authors.
From the introduction to this book, we learn that the Sutro Library "is an important
resource for Massachusetts vital records". Not only are the locations (shelves,
microfilm or fiche) of birth, marriage and death records identified in the index, but the
authors have also listed where town records may be found. For those readers researching
Massachusetts records, this book will be an invaluable aid in guiding them to the correct
area of the library - instead of trying to use the card catalog upon arrival at Sutro.
Editor's note: Both of these books are available for purchase from Bette Kot. City Directories at Sutro Library is priced at $17.59, including tax and postage; Massachusetts Vital Records at Sutro Library is priced at $14.37, including tax and postage. Both books may be purchased together for $28.81, including tax and postage.
Thanks to those who have donated major runs of journals recently, including OH
from Isabel Nolte, Mennonites from Doug Mumma, and Mayflower Quarterly from
Vicki Renz. These journals are heavily used by browsers, judging from the state they get
in.
NOT AN EARTHQUAKE AT THE PLEASANTON LIBRARY:
Early this year a big shift occurred at the Pleasanton Library; not an earthquake, but of great importance. The Pleasanton Library League bought 30 new shelves to supplement those in some "genre" areas: Science Fiction, Mysteries, Westerns and Short Stories, freeing space for expansion of the crowded Genealogy collection. The work of shifting the 4,000 books, many more than once, was done by Livermore-Amador Genealogy Society member Mildred Kirkwood and L-AGS and Library League members George and Harriet Anderson and Donald and Judy Person. The shift made it possible to shelve about six feet of books which had been waiting for space.
The Livermore-Amador Genealogy Society/Pleasanton Library collection has recently grown by many books, including several on various ethnic groups. A few of those are Jews, Italians, Swiss, African Americans and Hispanics. Those doing research in any of these ethnic groups will find more research sources dedicated to their specialties. Judy Person also hosted a study group from the San Ramon Valley Genealogical Society who were studying the southern United States.
WARNING FOR ALL GENEALOGISTS:
There is a potential firebomb in your house! Fire marshalls across the country have been alerted. Between 1889 and the mid 1950s all film contained nitric acid. This means all film - negatives, slides, and home movies. With age, this film will self-combust, especially in attics and basements.
What can you do about this very real danger? You can have each piece of film tested or do it yourself with a special "pen" from an archival products company. Your best bet with old film, however, is to have new copies made on modern film. Then, the old film should be destroyed carefully because nitric acid fumes are highly toxic. As an example of what could happen, that 1890 census we miss so much was destroyed by a fire caused by such old film. The National Archives now stores its old film in steel drums immersed in water.
Don't let old film destroy your treasures, your house and even yourself. Take care of this hazard today. From: VA DAR News 1995.
Wes Nelson
Nestling in amongst the paragraphs of Mark Twain's hilarious 1907 short story "Captain Stormfield's Visit to Heaven" is the comment: "This barkeeper got converted at a Moody and Sankey meeting, in New York...". This naturally brought me up short and immediately stopped my reading, for I recalled that my grandmother Effie Estella (Davis) Lamka had relatives of those names. It took only a few minutes to locate that branch of the family in my records. George Groves Davis was an older brother of Grandma's father (Jackson Davis) and thus was her uncle. George and his wife Minerva (Fleeman) Davis gave two of their sons those same names. Moody C. Davis, their fifth child and fourth son, was born 1877 or 1878, and their next child, Sankey Boyd Davis, was born 12 July 1879.
The hint was clear; almost surely, Moody and Sankey were evangelists during the latter half of the 19th century and exerted a strong influence on George and Minerva.
Gordon Langley Hall, in chapter 3 of his book "The Sawdust Trail", Macrae Smith Company, Philadelphia 1964, tells us almost all of the story. Dwight Lyman Moody was born in 1837 at Northfield, Massachusetts. While still fairly young, he developed a strong religious bent, though his early years had been difficult and not particularly devout. He was becoming an important revivalist by 1870, when he met up with Ira David Sankey, who was a civil servant at the time, working for the U.S. Government. Moody, himself known as a less-than-mediocre singer, instantly recognized in the honey-voiced Sankey a valuable asset, if he could but recruit him for the program. In 1870, Sankey left his secure job to join Moody, and the team moved into international prominence. Moody & Sankey became household words on both sides of the Atlantic in the great wave of religious revivalism which permeated the next two decades. Moody the preacher, Sankey the singer. They held a major campaign in New York during early 1876, and an extensive revival in Chicago from the autumn of that year into early 1877.
I have not pursued this subject to any depth, and so cannot say just how the Davis family might have been exposed to the evangelist pair. Whether this contact was through word-of-mouth, or by reading, or perhaps by attendance at a revival meeting, who knows? Did M&S swing through Missouri before the birth of Moody Davis? One might imagine that it would take much more than just casual or fleeting contact to lead George and Minerva to name their sons so.
Wes Nelson
While vainly looking for mention of my wife's ancestors (Stubbles) in microfilm of a May, 1852 Belmont Chronicle, a weekly paper published at St. Clairsville, Belmont County, Ohio, I found these two items, which I've have copied verbatim. As they were extracted from other publications, the editor of the Chronicle ran them together, as shown.
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DIED
On the 26th day of April, ult., in Marion county, Ohio, of measles, Mary Jane, daughter of C. W. and H. M. Neff, aged 11 years and 26 days.
On the 30th day of April, ult., in Marion county, Ohio, measels, C. W. Neff, father of the above named Mary Jane, aged 38 years, 9 months, and 20 days.
On the 1st inst., Susan Amanda, in the same place, of measles, daughter of C. W. and H. M. Neff, aged 3 years, 3 months, and 24 days.
On the 1st inst., a lovely little boy, son of the same parents, and of the same disease, while the friends were at the grave-yard bury-ing his father, a distance of three hundred yards, aged 7 months and 25 days.
On the 2d inst., Cynthia Hellen, child of the same parents, and of the same complaint, aged 5 years, 8 months and 3 days.
On the same day, Eliza Ann, daughter of the same parents, and of the same disease, aged 7 years, 11 months, and 24 days.
I was present most of the time during the sickness of this fanily, and saw the father and three of the children die, and closed their eyes in death; and also saw five out of the six buried.
The mother and one child, her oldest son, are all that are left of a family numbering eight. They arrived in Marion county on the 14th day of last April, from Missouri, and in the short space of 6 days, lacking three hours, six out of this once happy family left this stage of action for a happier clime.
But who can depict the agony, deep distress and severe affliction of the mother, as one by one, she witnessed her loved ones depart, and saw them laid in the cold and silent grave. Heart rending, indeed, was the scene, and may it never be my lot to witness the like again. None but those that have experienced similar afflictions, can realize the scene.
A. FRIEND
Freemont Freeman
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Strange. -- We notice the marriage of Mr. John H. Strange to Miss Elizabeth Strange. It is a little strange, but we think the next event will be a little stranger. -- St. Louis Signal.
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Remember, someone doesn't have to be dead to be an ancestor. Webster's defines an ancestor as "One that goes before."
Jolene and David Abrahams
It was announced in June 1995 that the Knowles/Knoles Family Association would celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the first family Reunion in June 1996. Given that Jolene's maiden name was Knoles we marked the calendar to attend and started planning our trip. The Reunion would be held in Princeton, Gibson County, Indiana (10,000 population). Princeton has one motel so we made our reservations early.
While Jolene was in Princeton in June 1995 to help plan the Reunion, she had time to do some research. She found a lot of wonderful information and brought home a "ton" of paper. But there were still places to see and things she needed to do. So this is where we started planning the 1996 trip.
Jolene started by making a list of libraries and courthouses where she did Research and what she got in the way of documents. Then she made a list of libraries and courthouses she hadn't had time for, and what she needed from them. One such place was the Willard Library in Evansville, Indiana. Another was the library in Owensville, Indiana (population 3000). She also made a list, which was small, thank goodness, of things she still needed from the Princeton Library and the Gibson County Courthouse (located in Princeton). We were beginning to see that sightseeing was going to have to be done from the car while driving from point A to point B.
Then it was on to figuring out what she needed to take in the way of her family history to share with others at the Reunion, keeping in mind that she had never met most of these people before. David kept an eye on the "piles" of papers/binders she put in the spare bedroom and helped to keep them organized.
We flew into St. Louis, Missouri, got our rental car and headed towards Evansville, Indiana. Princeton is 30 minutes north of Evansville. The area is mostly flat land with very few rolling hills. But the land is rich in a beautiful green from the corn fields and golden from the wheat fields. The farms are spread out with miles between them and very few fences. Most of the farms you see are more than 100 years old. That is because they are passed down from generation to generation in most cases. As an example, Jolene has a "cousin" Jimmy who lives in Poseyville, Indiana, who has a farm that was passed on to him from his grandfather and now on to Jimmy's son - keeping it in the fourth generation of the family. And we have to say something about the weather. As soon as we walked to our car at the airport we were hit with 97% humidity and 100 degree temperature!
On Monday, our first day in Princeton, we went to the local newspaper so Jolene could finish up some last minute publicity for the Reunion. While David drove, she pointed out the old homes and buildings she discovered the year before. This town has preserved a great many of the old homes and buildings, which was refreshing to see. The first white settlers arrived in 1789. Jolene's ancestors settled in this area as early as 1809, with the remainder coming the night of the Great Madrid Earthquake (December 1811). Gibson County was formed in 1813 with Princeton being chosen as the County Seat in 1814. The courthouse was added to the National Historic Register in 1984. So the courthouse was one of the first stops. As soon as we said we were doing research on the Knowles/Knoles family everyone asked if we were in town to attend the Reunion. Because each of us was looking up different vital information, it didn't take us to long to go through every book and file they had. Then it was time to get copies of everything we needed. David approached the clerk to ask their policy and price on copies and she said, "the magic word is Please". And the cost was minimal, probably due to our big smiles and lightheartedness.
On Tuesday we went to the Willard Library in Evansville. This was the week they decided to open the Genealogy Department, the entire second floor, from 9:00 a.m. to Midnight for the entire week. We arrived at 10:00 a.m. and left at 5:00 p.m., without a lunch break. We were completely inundated with material on the Knowles/Knoles family. This old building, which looks like a Victorian house but was built as a library, houses collections of books and papers about genealogy and other aspects of local history. It has grown to include The Regional and Family History collection, which is the largest of the component collections, and is the third largest of such collections in Indiana. It also includes the International Genealogical Index, and a variety of specialized indices on CD-ROM. The Government Archives include records of Vanderburgh County dating back to 1818, when the county was created. Other special collections contain photographs, books about abolition and slavery, books about transportation and railroads, a large collection of books about Abraham Lincoln, and other materials contributed by local scholars, businesses and organizations. We then went back on Wednesday for another full day, but this time we stopped for lunch.
Thursday we visited four Knowles/Knoles Cemeteries, the Knowles railroad station (now gone) and the site of the first Knowles Family Reunion in 1896 where 1500 people attended. On the way back to Princeton we stopped in Owensville to see what they had in the library. There was so much material to copy we spent four hours there.
We then had the week-end for the Reunion. While we didn't have the 1500 people like the first reunion, we did register over 150 family members. There were the usual introductions, followed by people exchanging information. David was a hit with our laptop computer, which has the family database Jolene has assembled. Several attendees added or corrected information about their families. As a highlight of the reunion, Jolene helped arrange a tour of the Knowles/Knoles Cemeteries. By the end of the day she had been voted the new President of the Knowles/Knoles Family Association!
The second week was just as fast paced as the first. We headed for Frankfort, Kentucky but about 25 miles away we decided to head north for Fort Wayne, Allen County, Indiana. Allen County Library here we come! This library has the third largest Genealogy Department in a public library and is second only to the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah. The collection contains more than 220,000 printed volumes and 253,000 items of microfilm and microfiche. You can have online access to the library's computerized catalog, which can be gained by dialing up their number through a modem on your computer, or through the library's Internet Homepage. More than 40,000 volumes are of compiled genealogies, ranging from brief typescripts to multi-volume works. In addition, nearly 5000 genealogies on microfiche are included in the collection, as well as many family newsletters. And there is much more. But, we were so tired from the first week of research and family reunion that we didn't get from this great library that which we should have. The bottom line is, if you go to the Allen County Library, and we strongly suggest you do, be fresh and rested.
The end of the second week found us just a few miles north of Springfield, Illinois, at the town of Petersburg, Menard County, Illinois. A great deal of Jolene's family settled here a few years before the Civil War. This town is similar to Princeton. The people have saved and restored the old homes, many of which are in the Victorian style. Abraham Lincoln finished his survey for the town of Petersburg on 17 Feb. 1836. It is about this time period that Jolene's direct line changed the spelling of the surname from Knowles to Knoles and settled in Petersburg. The story goes that her 3 times great-grandfather, Prettyman Marvel Knowles, never liked his name. So to get even with his parents, as each of his 13 children were born he took out the "w", thus starting the Knoles line! Once again, Jolene had made a list of what she needed in the way of vital documents etc., before we left home. So it was very easy for us to go right to the courthouse and request copies of information we needed. We also spent a great deal of time at the local library. And let's not forget the great deal of money in the copy machine at each library and courthouse.
Into our third week, we spent Sunday, Monday and Tuesday in St. Louis doing some sightseeing. If you go to St. Louis you must see the Great Saint Louis Cathedral and the St. Louis Union Station, besides the Peace Arch and the breweries.
The last three days and two nights of our trip were spent relaxing on the train from St. Louis to Chicago, and then west across Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado, Utah, Nevada and California to Jack London Square, Oakland, California.
If David had been RETIRED we could have stayed longer to do RESEARCH and have had more small REUNIONS with family members we met during the trip.
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