In a message dated 12/1/00 11:21:12 PM Central Standard Time, [email protected] writes: > http://bowercommunity.com/homestead > Colleen, I just checked it out and it took just moments to download and it perfect. Living in the South I loved the snow. It is nice to have a cousin who is so talented. Makes me think you got all those genes. Dianne BOWERS-Turner

The Christmas page is outstanding and took on a few seconds to download. Congratulations. Dan Bowers

Colleen, You have out done your self! The Bower Homestead is Gorgeous!! I had no problem with the down loading. Lureigne ----- Original Message ----- From: "Colleen Pustola" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, December 01, 2000 9:19 PM Subject: [BOWERS] CHAT: CHRISTMAS PAGES AT THE HOMESTEAD > Hi cousins, > > Well, the new front page has been online nearly 24 hours now and I still > haven't heard from anyone regarding its look or loadtime. Do you not > like it? Is it taking too long to load? What? > > Please talk to me. If the majority doesn't like the page, I'll redesign > it but will need time to do so. If you like it but it's taking a > fortnight to pull up, then that most definitely needs addressing right > away. > > I've been playing with the graphics again all day and cut one of the > larger ones in half so it will also cut load time. I hope it works out > well. > > I realized after sending my last message that I neglected to add our > URL. For those of you who are new and wondering what I've been talking > about, go to: > > http://bowercommunity.com/homestead > > There, you'll see the front page. However, you need to go inside the > site for the other Christmas pages which start in the parlor, then > clicking on the Christmas tree once the page has fully loaded. > > Comments ... good or bad ... please? Since the site stands for all of > us, you certainly have a voice in how it looks, too. > > Thanks everyone. > > Colleen > > > ==== BOWERS Mailing List ==== > To post messages to the Bowers discussion list, send them to > [email protected] > > ============================== > The only real-time collaboration tool that allows you and other family > members to create a FREE, password-protected family tree. > http://www.ancestry.com/oft/login.asp > > ____________NetZero Free Internet Access and Email_________ Download Now http://www.netzero.net/download/index.html Request a CDROM 1-800-333-3633 ___________________________________________________________

Colleen, The page loads great and is: STUNNING absolutely STUNNING Bill Colleen Pustola wrote: > Hi cousins, > > Well, the new front page has been online nearly 24 hours now and I still > haven't heard from anyone regarding its look or loadtime. Do you not > like it? Is it taking too long to load? What? > > Please talk to me. If the majority doesn't like the page, I'll redesign > it but will need time to do so. If you like it but it's taking a > fortnight to pull up, then that most definitely needs addressing right > away. > > I've been playing with the graphics again all day and cut one of the > larger ones in half so it will also cut load time. I hope it works out > well. > > I realized after sending my last message that I neglected to add our > URL. For those of you who are new and wondering what I've been talking > about, go to: > > http://bowercommunity.com/homestead > > There, you'll see the front page. However, you need to go inside the > site for the other Christmas pages which start in the parlor, then > clicking on the Christmas tree once the page has fully loaded. > > Comments ... good or bad ... please? Since the site stands for all of > us, you certainly have a voice in how it looks, too. > > Thanks everyone. > > Colleen > > ==== BOWERS Mailing List ==== > To post messages to the Bowers discussion list, send them to > [email protected] > > ============================== > The only real-time collaboration tool that allows you and other family > members to create a FREE, password-protected family tree. > http://www.ancestry.com/oft/login.asp

Hi cousins, Well, the new front page has been online nearly 24 hours now and I still haven't heard from anyone regarding its look or loadtime. Do you not like it? Is it taking too long to load? What? Please talk to me. If the majority doesn't like the page, I'll redesign it but will need time to do so. If you like it but it's taking a fortnight to pull up, then that most definitely needs addressing right away. I've been playing with the graphics again all day and cut one of the larger ones in half so it will also cut load time. I hope it works out well. I realized after sending my last message that I neglected to add our URL. For those of you who are new and wondering what I've been talking about, go to: http://bowercommunity.com/homestead There, you'll see the front page. However, you need to go inside the site for the other Christmas pages which start in the parlor, then clicking on the Christmas tree once the page has fully loaded. Comments ... good or bad ... please? Since the site stands for all of us, you certainly have a voice in how it looks, too. Thanks everyone. Colleen

Hi All; Is thir any on out their doing Morris Bowers Born December 20 1735 in Middlesex County Virginia. He served in Capt. Anthony Singleton's Company No. 3, 1st Artillery Regiment, Continental Troops, commanded by Col. Charles Harrison, serving with Gen. George Washington at Valley Forge, June 3, 1778. Vol.I, page 55, Revolutionary Soldiers of Virginia. Morris was appointed September 8, 1777 and served for the duration of the war. He drew no pension. Bill Walker

Good Friday morning cousins, I thought you'd like to know our competition pages are online ... * the front, index page to the Homestead * the parlor Christmas tree page * the family Christmas page Music is playing on the index and family tree pages. Will some of you with slower systems please tell me how long it takes the front page to load? Thanks. Also, you might like to know that Donna Hinson <[email protected]> submitted the 1840 census of Mississippi, including a slew of variant spellings. It's at the Homestead now. I hope you all have a FANTASTIC Friday! :) Colleen

Hi family, The following update was in Dick Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter today: " - Best Genealogy Site on the Web? "There are only a few days left to vote for your favorite genealogy site on the World Wide Web. The readers of this newsletter will decide which site qualifies for the title of "The Best Genealogy Site on the Web." "The votes end on November 30, and results will be published in next week's newsletter. I can report that more than 500 votes have been received so far, but I deliberately have not counted them. That will be done after November 30. "You still have time to cast your vote for your favorite genealogy Web site. There is a special e-mail address set-up just for the purpose of counting the votes, and you must put the URL in the message subject line. Complete instructions can be found at: http://www.ancestry.com/library/view/columns/eastman/2915.asp#1 " ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Dick announced the start of this year's vote for the best genealogy web site in his November 12 newsletter. If you think Bower Community or either of its sites, Bower Family Homestead or Bower Cottage is deserving of such an honor, won't you please take a moment to let Mr. Eastman know? The full directions and information about the election can be found using the links included in this email. The deadline for placing your vote is midnight EST 30 November, 2000. - Send an email to [email protected] - In the subject line type the full URL (including the http:// part) of the site you wish to vote for; for example: http://www.bowercommunity.com Do not include any other words or symbols in the subject of the email... only the URL. Once you've sent your email, you'll receive a message back letting you know that your vote has been tallied. In the body of the email, Dick has invited voters to post reasons why you think the site you are voting for deserves to be known as the best genealogy web site online. Going up against sites like Cyndi's List and Ancestry, I wouldn't expect our home to take first place as "the best," however an honorable mention would certainly give our material additional exposure. :) (Yes cousins, her mind is always cranking for new ways to publicize! :) ) I hope you all have a magical, mystical, MARVELOUS Monday! :) Colleen --------------------------- Link to Vote for Genealogy Today [email protected]?subject=http://www.genealogytoday.com Link to Dick Eastman's Updated Vote Article http://www.ancestry.com/library/view/columns/eastman/eastman.asp#3

) ( ) Good Morning Family! .-.,--^--. ( Come on in. . . \\|`----'| - The coffee pot's on. . . \| |// ...and we even have decaf, | |/ tea, and hot chocolate! \ / ------ Today's topics include: 1. Welcome to new cousins 2. Bower Community Queries 3. The Retreat 4. Christmas Potpourri: A History of Christmas **** REMINDER: GIFTS FOR OUR FAMILY CHRISTMAS ARE DUE TO ME BY DECEMBER 9th **** If you've been with the family for at least three weeks, you'll probably want to skip the following paragraph… TO OUR NEWEST COUSINS ~~ On behalf of the entire family, I'd like to extend a most hearty welcome to those cousins who came into the family fold this past week. We are very glad to have you with us and hope you'll stay and remain a part of our online family. As soon as you're comfortable with us and the list, please send in your Bower[s]/Bauer or Baur lines so we can all see how we're related to you. We do not have a fancy format for sending in records or queries to the list. Post as many as you wish! If the data has anything to do with Bower[s]/Bauer or Baur ancestors or any of the 81+ variant spellings we research that might help someone, please feel free to post it. Every scrap of information is appreciated. If you haven't visited the homesite of this list yet, you are encouraged to do so. Our home is Bower Community, located at <http://bowercommunity.com>. There, we currently have two sites: The Bower Family Homestead [a.k.a., the Homestead] is our primary homesite and the gathering place for much of our information. It waits to join us all in welcoming you into the family at <http://bowercommunity.com/homestead>. Smaller and just opened this year, our sister site, the Bower Cottage, houses most of our projects including an online GEDCOM fed by quite a few cousins from our lists. The Cottage is still small as far as material goes, however give us time and we'll have it filled really soon. The Cottage is at <http://bowercommunity.com/cottage>. BOWER COMMUNITY QUERIES There are two ways for you to get a query placed at Bower Community. The first is through the Bower Family Homestead. You send your query directly to me, where I put it online for you. But, did you also know there is a forum in place at the Cottage where you can enter a query yourself? It can be as long or short as you please, and it will be published on the Web immediately after you submit it. This little-used tool is one you won't want to overlook. THE RETREAT Due to a lack of security at our myfamily.com Retreat, our haven coordinator, Vicky Bowers-Gielau, found a new non-genealogical, secure location for us at <http://bowersretreat.intranets.com>. The fact that it's a non-genealogy site is good because the site server will have no interest in our data and we won't have to worry about it being sold. Have you been to the intranets.com Retreat yet? Vicky needs your opinion in her efforts to improve our get-away-spot and the amenities there. She has been in contact with the server and they're very impressed that she's brought a genealogy group to them. Also, they're working with her all they can to come up to the secure standards we need/expect. But, Vicky needs to know from the Retreat members how you feel about what's already in place? Do you like the new move? If so, please tell her. Do you like the new surrounds? If so, let her know that, too. Vicky has worked pretty hard to establish the new Retreat location and expects to be able to reopen the doors right after the holidays in January. You can reach Vicky at <[email protected]>. CHRISTMAS POTPOURRI Everyone enjoyed the Thanksgiving trivia so much, I thought that with the advent of the Christmas holiday season, it would be nice to use December's Coffees to relate holiday historical facts and trivia. To that point, all the upcoming Coffees until January, 2001 will focus primarily on Hanukkah, Christmas and New Year's customs and traditions under the above subheading. I have a lot of material here and this way you won't be pummelled with it all in one message! :) We begin with .... A HISTORY OF CHRISTMAS Our current stories, customs and traditions of holidays, just as in our genealogy, are passed down from generation to generation, from one interpretation to another, from one translation to another, one conflicting with another ... but all lending an aura around the lives of our ancestors. Though you may believe one story about Christmas, there are many many others you may not know .... If we go back far enough in history, to the period of paganism, you'll find the origins of many Christmas traditions. The early missionary monks of St. Benedict under St. Augustine, and following rules set down by the then, pope St. Gregory, "christianized" many of the customs which evolved into today's celebratory activities. St. Gregory realized the church would make more converts from paganism by "adding on" to customs already in accepted practice, rather than trying to eliminate everything as "wrong" or "bad." He encouraged the people of Britain to decorate their temples for the saints rather than to their earlier dieties. Pope St. Gregory encouraged the people to eat the animals they'd slain for celebrations ~ to use the meat as food for themselves rather than as sacrifices. Over the centuries, these actions became confused and corrupted, bringing about (particularly Roman) debauchery and excesses of Saturnalian feastings. The ancient Romans held year-end celebrations to honor Saturn, their harvest god; and Mithras, the god of light (more on Mithra below). The first mention of the feast of nativity on December 25th is in the Philocalian Calendar in the year 354. In 388, St. Chrysostom wrote that observing of the festival of the Nativity (on December 25th) was not yet ten years old. Another source states that the first mention of December 25th as the birth date of Jesus occurred in AD 336 in an early Roman calendar. However, according to another story, the first December 25th Christmas was initiated in 375 AD in Rome, under the instruction of Pope Liberius. Prior to that time, the nativity was celebrated only by Egyptian Christians, on January 6th ~ the traditional time of the Magi's visit. The date also coincided with the Egyptian celebration of the new Aion, a personification of Osiris. Aion was birthed by Kore, a "maiden." The birth was presaged by the rising of a star (Sirius), and signaled the flooding of the Nile. This flood was thought to renew the land via the spirit of Osiris. A ceremony occurred the night before that involved descending into a crypt and brining up a wooden idol adored with a cross and star of gold. This represented the birth process of the "the Aion." The Greeks, Persians, and Zoroastrians were among those pre-Christians who claimed virgin births for their gods. The Etruscans worshipped Virgin and child. Krishna and Buddha also shared similar elements to the story of the birth of the Christian Messiah. However, Mithra, a popular Persian deity, had the story most similar to Jesus Christ. Mithra emerged from the virgin mother rock into the world of men. Shepherds witnessed it while tending their flocks. A Mithraic monument found in Oxford, England, shows the Goddess of the Year nursing the God Day, on a memorial to the birth of Mithra "in the night of light," resembling the Madonna and child. Mithraism, with its rituals and quest for moral purity and immortality, was the biggest competitor for Christianity in Asia and Europe. It reached into England, and on into Scotland. Mithra's birth was supposedly December 25th. This then, was the movitivation for the decision made by Pope Liberius to officially make the Christmas celebration date December 25th per the Julian calendar. The more common reason we celebrate on December 25th is the winter solstice. By celebrating on the 25th, Christ became the risen sun as well as the risen son. The winter solstice is considered the lowest point of the sun's degradation below our himisphere. The increase and ascension of the sun begins at that moment. Through the generations, Christian leaders implored their followers to celebrate the nativity rather than "worship" the sun. Winter solstice celebrations were not confined to any one pagan religion. One of the most noted of them, however, was the Druids. Their antiquity is validated at least as far back as Pliny, the Roman philosopher, at some point between 24 and 67 AD. In the British territories, much of the rest of Europe, and Ireland, the winter solstice was celebrated by burning large fires upon hilltops on December 25th, and repeated on January 6th. In these countries and others, the Christmas season custom of decorating with evergreens and mistletoe remains -- a practice purely Druidic in origin. Whatever the origins of stories from our distant past, each tradition and legend holds this as a time of great joy, peace, and celebration. As part of all these celebrations, the people prepared special foods, decorated their homes with greenery, and joined in singing and gift-giving ~ all of which became part of today's Christmas celebration. Did you know? ... *** The first records of Britain show that St. Augustine arrived with his monks from Rome, and on Christmas Day 598, is said to have baptized more than 10,000 English people into the Christian faith? *** In the year 816, the Council of Chelsea, enforced the observance of Christmas on December 25th? This date was formerly called 'Mothers Night,' a vigil in honor of the rebirth of new sun, so it had been deemed easy to replace it with the birth of the Son of God. *** During the reign of the Saxon King Ethelred [991-1016] a law was made that the season of the Nativity should be a time of peace and goodwill, when all strife must end? *** Until about 1170, the festival was always referred to as "in Festis Nativitiatis' or "Natalis' ~ the Feast of the Nativity? The anglicized 'Cristes-Maesse' did not appear until after the Norman invasion. *** In 1644 the puritan parliament first sat on Christmas Day, setting a trend of 'no Christmas'? The Period of No Christmas in England: King Henry VIII's Reformation (mid-1500's) brought Christmas events to a stop. During the Reformation, many Christians began to consider Christmas a pagan celebration because it included nonreligious customs. Christmas, the chosen time for cornonation, decrees and all manner of important events was halted, and the holiday was outlawed in England and in parts of the English colonies in America. In 1645 the puritan parliament declared Christmas a working day. Anyone found making Christmas pies was arrested. It was during this time that all the customs began to die out. Priests were in hiding and few people managed to attend the old 'Cristes-Maesse.' There was no feasting or decorating of houses or streets. During the reign of King Charles II in 1660, things improved, but after more than 100 years of puritan restraint, many of the old customs were not restored in their former style. It was not until the Victorian scholars began to research into old documents, and talk to ancient elders in villages and hidden areas of northern England (where things changed more slowly) that the old customs were to be practiced again. However, many of the symbolisms and reasons behind the christianized versions of these customs was lost. As I finish this piece, I wonder about those holidays in times of the far past ... Family ... it's what we're all about. Thank you for allowing me to spend this time with you. I hope your upcoming week is filled with health, productivity, fun, and above all, filled with love. ) ( ) _.-~~-. (@\'--'/. Colleen ('``.__.'`) `..____.'

Hi family, Please hit the following link to read a Thanksgiving message from me to all of you: http://www2.bluemountain.com/cards/box8634c/iszs7jvt3t85irs.html Colleen

Robert & Enola of Alaska sent me a query regarding Harry Bowers, and I have tried twice to return the email, but it was returned to me both times. I will respond here and that way share with our BOWERS family. As much as I wish I did, I don't think I have a match for you on Harry Bowers. I did dig thru some paperwork and also found the following from my uncles' (Edward Robbins ORDWAY) memoirs: "Ellen's (Ellen Maria BOWERS b. 27 March, 1848) brother, William BOWERS, had a son, Harry - Dad's (Alonzo Benton ORDWAY) cousin - who later was a successful and wealthy New York financier as a partner in the investment banking firm, Goldman, Sachs & Co. " I don't have a birthdate for my Harry BOWERS father, William BOWERS, but he was still alive in 1912 when he attended Ellen's funeral. He was then living in Hudson, MASS. I imagine that Harry was in NY at this time. That is all I have at the moment. I think that that branch of the family stayed East for the most part, and were reluctant to even come "west" to Iowa to visit the cousins there. But.... I need to do more research still and if I do make a connection or hear of another Harry BOWERS while doing my research - I'll be in touch. Meantime - does any of this ring a bell for any of you others out there? Chris Klukkert in Santa Barbara

Hi family, I just uploaded the new queries that have come in so far this month. There are 11 of them, enough that it warranted my getting them online now. If you placed a query, please be sure to check it for clarity as I have to edit all queries to make sure load times on that page are kept to a screaming level. I hope you've all had a TERRIFIC Tuesday! Just two more days till THE FEAST!!! :) Colleen

Hi family, I just received a message from WHOPBOF (site fight regulators) that you all may want to read since it impacts directly on us and our home. I have to do a cut and paste here because they've attached a voting banner to the message. No, we won't be using it on our competition page as I will be here all day with you to help you vote and find the place to do so. ~~ -------- Original Message -------- Subject: YEAR END STARTS December 5th (final reminder) Date: Sun, 19 Nov 2000 10:45:48 -0500 From: Whopbof1 -Lyn <[email protected]> This is the final reminder about yearly competition. START DATE IS BELOW in case you forgot. Get your sites ready now. Make sure your award is easily shown. Vote button is attached for those that wish to use it. (not required) GOOD LUCK !!!! http://members.aol.com/whopbof2/maincontest.html (make sure awards link back to the above page) §¤§*´`*`*§¤§*´`*`*§¤§*´`*`*§¤§*´`*`*§¤§*´`*`*§¤ Warehouse of Pages & A Blend of the Future Contest THE YEARLY COMPETITION Contest Starts: December 5th thru the 9th. Member vote day: Wednesday Dec 6th ONLY!!! (PLEASE note these dates, the last email was incorrect) Final Results for Member voting & Judges votes will be posted on MONDAY 12/11 or before. DO NOT EXPECT to see the final scores on Saturday. John works at a retail store, and xmas is a busy time, so I want to give him ample time to carefully count votes and place them by Monday evening. If it goes to Tuesday and you don't hear from us, contact myself or John. §¤§*´`*`*§¤§*´`*`*§¤§*´`*`*§¤§*´`*`*§¤§*´`*`*§¤ Well, this is it...the big time is SOON here. John and myself wish to thank everyone again joining our contest, and CONGRATS for making it this far. John and myself are sooo proud of you all. Your site is now ready to go to the LAST OF THE AWARDS...THE YEAR END AWARD. The contest will be held on the above dates. If you cannot make this date, let us know NOW, so we can remove you from the contest. TO REFRESH B4 contest, please read the below rules......... 1) Your award for the quarter finals MUST be displayed on your page. (We suggest you put the award on your page NOW, immediately, so you do not forget, the weekly award is not necessary, unless you wish to keep the weekly on, BUT THE QTR FINAL AWARD MUST BE PLACED ON YOUR SITE. ) NO ONE in the yearly finals will get any warnings that the award is missing. If we see the weekly, but no qtr final award, YOU ARE REMOVED. If we see NO AWARD, you are removed !!! THE AWARD MUST LINK BACK TO OUR CONTEST HOMEPAGE, or you will be removed from the yearly contest. PLEASE DO NOT ALTER OR CHANGE YOUR SITE DURING THE ABOVE CONTEST DATES. Anyone changing their site, will be disqualified. 2) We will NOT preview your site before the contest. If you left your site AS IS from the quarter finals, you should be okay. But be warned, if there is any adult links, harsh language, etc, you will be removed from the contest. SOOO it is up to you to make sure your site is free of all this adult material. 3) During and after the contest, you will not harass/send hateful email, etc to other participants or judges/owners of the contest with the outcome of the contest. This includes any email that doesn't involve questions directed to the contest itself. Any email slamming the contest, or the outcome of voting/problems with server, or whatever, you will be disqualified...NO EXCEPTIONS and NO MORE WARNINGS. This includes you personally, or any friends/families/co-workers that were helping you to get member votes. We get ONE complaint, whether from you, or a friend about your site, WE WILL IMMEDIATELY REMOVE YOU AND STRIP YOU OF ALL AWARDS. So I would suggest you forewarn everyone to this important rule to the contest. We are all adults, and we know there can only be one winner. We have 18 judges viewing all sites, and final say is per the judges/owners. .......We don't wish to have people upset and upsetting others. In other words, please keep your anger and disappointment to yourselves. If you do have any suggestions that could help the contest, please feel free to share that with us though. As with the quarter finals, you will get a special award. It will distinctly say YEAR END to let everyone know how far you came. 4) Some tips to winning......The quarter finals as you know, are very cut-throat, so to speak in member votes. Everyone tries to get as many member votes as possible to help them. We urge you to let as many friends as you know to vote, and even contact newsletters on line to place an ad for you, etc, etc. We want everyone to have a fair chance at winning, so we are reminding everyone of this. THERE IS ONLY ONE MEMBER VOTE DAY ... WEDNESDAY !!!! Any votes received before Wed 12:00am EST, will not be counted and any votes after Wed 11:59pm EST will not be counted. So make sure your friends are aware of this. There is an old fashion way of submitting your vote if the vote link does not work. That info is on the voting page. Just make sure a counter number is displayed when you vote and that you refresh the counter number to get a new one. If you cannot get a new number....We suggest you go into your temporary internet folder and purge (DELETE OR REMOVE) all those folders. They not only take up space, but makes your server run soooo slow for you. NOTE::: Remind friends/etc voting for you on member vote day, that if they cannot use the submit button or are getting error readings when they click it, that there is another option on voting from the vote page...please make sure to read that page. 5) More emails and reminders will be coming to you as the time gets closer. ******NOTE:******** 6) Member vote day as in # 5 is very important. Scores will be 10.00 for highest vote and proceed down to 8.50 (lowest we will go).......A 8.50 could really hurt a score, to which is why we say it can be a CUT THROAT vote day.....sooo, make sure to start preparing NOW on who to contact, etc. -- SCORING FROM THE JUDGES WILL BE VERY HARD and judges will be instructed to do so. ******************* VOTE --> http://members.aol.com/whopbof2/vote.html Welcome to the Voting Page (URL ABOVE) We all wish you luck. To those that don't place 1st, you are more than welcome to TRY AGAIN, and start all over. Again, if at any time we try to send you email and you lost your acct, we will remove you. It will be up to you to contact us AT ONCE B4 the contest start date to be put back in. If you do not contact us a week before the contest, or lose your account a week before or during the contest, you will be disqualified. GOOD LUCK EVERYONE. PS -- If you haven't yet entered the webring for 1st place winners and wish to do so now b4 the contest begins, please do so......NOTE::: This is not required !! http://members.aol.com/whopbof2/webrings.html Warehouse of Pages/Blend of Future Webring §¤§*´`*`*§¤§*´`*`*§¤§*´`*`*§¤§*´`*`*§¤§*´`*`*§¤§*´`*`*§¤ Updated::: 11/19/2000

) ( ) Good Morning Family! .-.,--^--. ( Come on in. . . \\|`----'| - The coffee pot's on. . . \| |// ...and we even have decaf, | |/ tea, and hot chocolate! \ / ------ Today's topics include: 1. Welcome to new cousins 2. Christmas gifts reminder 3. The truth about Thanksgiving If you've been with the family for at least three weeks, you'll probably want to skip the following paragraph… TO OUR NEWEST COUSINS ~~ On behalf of the entire family, I'd like to extend a most hearty welcome to those cousins who came into the family fold this past week. We are very glad to have you with us and hope you'll stay and remain a part of our online family. As soon as you're comfortable with us and the list, please send in your Bower[s]/Bauer or Baur lines so we can all see how we're related to you. We do not have a fancy format for sending in records or queries to the list. Post as many as you wish! If the data has anything to do with Bower[s]/Bauer or Baur ancestors or any of the 81+ variant spellings we research that might help someone, please feel free to post it. Every scrap of information is appreciated. If you haven't visited the homesite of this list yet, you are encouraged to do so. Our home is Bower Community, located at <http://bowercommunity.com>. There, we currently have two sites: The Bower Family Homestead [a.k.a., the Homestead] is our primary homesite and the gathering place for much of our information. It waits to join us all in welcoming you into the family at <http://bowercommunity.com/homestead>. Smaller and just opened this year, our sister site, the Bower Cottage, houses most of our projects including an online GEDCOM fed by quite a few cousins from our lists. The Cottage is still small as far as material goes, however give us time and we'll have it filled really soon. The Cottage is at <http://bowercommunity.com/cottage>. CHRISTMAS GIFTS REMINDER (AND, IN CASE YOU'RE NEW TO THE FAMILY) To those of you who are new, we have Christmas together ~ something we've done the past two years. Yes, even in cyberspace we have this family day together ... We'll have a Christmas tree at the Homestead, complete with gifts. It will be set up as a page off the parlor just after Thanksgiving. Gifts won't be available for opening until Christmas Day and will remain online throughout December into early January. Gifts are genealogy files sent directly to me <[email protected]> for "wrapping" and placing under the tree. We all benefit when you give a gift, enjoy a family Christmas together, and some even feel the childhood magic and excitment of the Christmas season return ~ if even for a little while. Gifts can be anything genealogy-related. Here are some suggestions: a list of names from a given year's tax records; a biography; 3-4 generations of a family; a few wills; photographs; deeds; a county's/country's obituaries for a given period; immigration/emigration records; copies of vital records certificates ... and the list goes on. The point is you can be as creative as you'd like. Records can come from any source, and you can give as many gifts as you'd like. Gifts should be submitted DIRECTLY TO ME <[email protected]> ~ NOT TO THE LIST. Deadline for submissions is December 9th so I'll have enough time to "wrap" everything. Questions? Send me an email and make your subject line read RE: CHRISTMAS PRESENTS so I'll be sure to spot it. THE TRUTH ABOUT THANKSGIVING I don't know where the year went so quickly. It seems like just about two months ago that we were welcoming in the new year and saying 'good-bye' to the years 19__. But, Thanksgiving is just four days away and I thought, in keeping with the holiday (and since genealogy is also history), that I'd pass along a few truths to all of you: 1. The Pilgrims were not celebrating a great harvest during what we, today, consider the first Thanksgiving. The harvest of 1621 (when legends of the American Thanksgiving began) was rather poor. The barley, wheat and peas the Pilgrims brought with them from England had failed. Thanks to Squanto, a member of the Wampanoag tribe, the Pilgrims' corn crop did so well they were able to double their weekly food rations. 2. The guests, members of the Wampanoag tribe, brought most of the food. Though the Pilgrims invited their new friends, they weren't prepared to feed everyone who showed up! Massasoit, the Wampanoag chief, had to send his men home for supplies. 3. The following foods, all considered staples of the modern Thanksgiving meal, were not present at the Pilgrim's feast: ham, chicken or eggs, sweet potatoes, corn-on-the-cob, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, milk. 4. Foods that probably appeared on the table were: seafood (cod, eel, clams, lobster); fowl (turkey, goose, duck, partridge); meat (venison); vegetables (pumpkin, peas, beans, onions, lettuce, radishes, carrots); fruit (plums, grapes); nuts (walnuts, chestnuts, acorns); herbs and seasonings (leeks, dried currants, parsnips, liverwort). 5. The Pilgrims didn't eat with forks. They used spoons, knives and their fingers. Did you know ...? ** ... the first Thanksgiving did not begin the tradition, as it wasn't repeated. (The second feast was held two years later to celebrate the end of a drought.) ** ... the first feast wasn't called 'Thanksgiving'? (The Pilgrims were just happy to be alive. Forty-seven people died during the first winter ~ nearly half their community.) ** ... the original feast in 1621 took place sometime between September 21st and November 11th and lasted for three days? (The celebration was based on English harvest festivals, traditionally occuring around September 29th. President Franklin D. Roosevelt established Thanksgiving as the fourth Thursday of November in 1939. Previously, Abraham Lincoln had the date designated as the last Thursday in November ~ a date which might have been determined by the anchoring of the Mayflower at Cape Code on November 21st, 1621.) ** ... that, unlike what you see in the pictures, the Pilgrims did not wear only black and white clothing nor did they have buckles on their shoes? (Buckles didn't come into fashion until later in the seventeenth century; black and white was reserved for Sundays and formal occasions. Women normally wore clothing of red, green, blue, violet, brown and gray; the men wore green, beige, white, brown and black.) ** ... that the Pilgrims, who are said to have been heading for Virginia, but ended up in Cape Cod, Massachusetts due to navigational error had actually intended to go to the Hudson River region in New York State? (The Pilgrims were part of the Virginia Company, which had the rights to most of the U.S. eastern seaboard. New York would have been considered "Northern Virginia." Storms and buffeting seas prevented them from going further south.) ** ... that Squanto, the Wampanoag who showed the Pilgrims how to grow corn, had earlier been captured and sold into slavery in Spain by slave traders? (A Spanish priest helped him return to his homeland. But, by the time he returned to his ancestral home, his village had been wiped out by the plague, brought by the slave traders. It was later that Squanto help the Pilgrims when he saw them suffering and struggling.) Family ... it's what we're all about ... Thank you for allowing me to spend this time with you. I hope your upcoming week is filled with health, productivity, fun, and above all, filled with love. Cousins, as we step into our holiday season, I'd like to wish you all a happy and bountiful Thanksgiving! It's nearly time to PIG OUT!!! :) ) ( ) _.-~~-. (@\'--'/. Colleen ('``.__.'`) `..____.'

«:*´`³¤³´`*:»§«:*´`³¤³´`*:»«:*´`³¤³´`*:»§«:*´`³¤³´`*:» THIS MESSAGE IS FORWARDED TO YOU FROM THE BOWER-L. PLEASE DO NOT HIT REPLY TO RESPOND TO IT. Instead, please address your reply to Merry Ann Simmons <[email protected]> «:*´`³¤³´`*:»§«:*´`³¤³´`*:»«:*´`³¤³´`*:»§«:*´`³¤³´`*:» -------- Original Message -------- Subject: [BOWER] Thank you for all the letters and help Resent-Date: Thu, 16 Nov 2000 22:11:11 -0800 Resent-From: [email protected] Date: Fri, 17 Nov 2000 23:09:00 -0700 From: Merry Ann Simmons <[email protected]> To: [email protected] I just want to thank all the wonderful people who have replied to my posting for help with answers and web sites for research. I just wanted to let you know how far we have made it into this dark hole, haha. This is what I have : Edna May Bowers was born 10-5-1933 she died 9-3-1966 and is buried in Sunset Cemetery at Canton Ohio. (Another one of her sons is going to see if he can find her grave the weekend after Thanksgiving). She married Richard Ellington Sr. who died in Ft. Nalton Beach Fla and maybe buried there. We don't know if she was married to Charles Bailey or just had the three kids by him at this time. He is believed to have died around 1963 burial location unknown. She then married Charles Longwell from the Clarksburg WV area. He died within the last 4 years in NY. Edna's mother was Bertha Louise Bibie who married Jewell Bowers on January 7, 1932 in Spencer WV. She then married a man with the last name Ball and then another with the last name Purcell. The Purcell was possible a police officer in Moundsville Wv at one time. Bertha had two other daughters by the Ball gentleman and they were named Virginia and Viola. We believe that Bertha's mothers name was Ella Fay Freeland(probably maiden name) and is buried in the Moundsville area. Apparently Bertha married the Purcell and moved back to the Ellenville area. Edna May had nine children by the age of 33 when she died of an aneurysm. I was able to reach the oldest sibling who is trying to track down the baby of the family Waymond Paul who's dob is 12-16-1964. She is driving from little town to little town in WV, talking to any lead she might have on him. She said the best Christmas gift they could have would be to know their baby brother was all right. For those who suggested the Social Services, I called Wetzel Co office since that was the last county that the foster family was in where Andy was placed. They said that since that family was not with them and had not been with them for almost 20 years they wouldn't have anything there but he was entitled to what info they would have if they could find it. They suggested Charleston. Placed a call and was told that they would have "no idea" where his record would be in storage, that the county would have to find out "how" they stored it so they would know where to look. Also said it might have been purged. I suggested that they might consider giving each child when they turned 18 a copy of his file in the future so this wouldn't happen again. He said there were alot of foster kids placed in WV that were in the system until adulthood. Comforting thought. The sister, Kathy, that I talked to said her foster parents burned any correspondence from her grandparents, mother, aunts, etc, that they received. She had one letter that they found where apparently there was a Aunt questioning the care that they were getting from this foster family. The mildest complaint was they reported locking the one boy in the trunk as punishment. I questioned Andy and he said that was true. Said he was raised by the "Bible belt" method, Bible in one hand and Belt in another. I am just sick to think that this was a small community that I grew up in and no one knew what was going on or worse they knew and chose to ignore it. Talk about falling through the cracks. The good thing is the kids have connected, live within driving distance of each other and have established a some what functional family unit. Except for "Paul" whom they want for a Christmas gift. Reminded me of asking Santa for the horse one year, I would have stood a better chance at a sister. So I am enclosing a Christmas wish along with this email, one lost brother, birth name Waymond (certificate has typo of Wazmond) Paul born in Glendale WV on December 16, l964 and adopted in May of 1967. There is a possibility he was adopted by a family with the last name Dunn. Kathy was able to track down the sister-in-law of the Longwell who said he told them he was adopted by Dunn's. Why none of these kids were placed with family is a good question and one Kathy even asked me why. Wouldn't even want to hazard a guess at that. So I want to thank all of my genealogy "family" for the help that you have given me. My husband jokingly tells all my friends that I am "addicted" to genealogy, well I couldn't pick a better bunch of "addicts" to hang out with! God bless you all, Merry Ann ==== BOWER Mailing List ==== The Bower Family Homestead, homesite of the Bower mailing list -- http://bowercommunity.com/homestead

«:*´`³¤³´`*:»§«:*´`³¤³´`*:»«:*´`³¤³´`*:»§«:*´`³¤³´`*:» THIS MESSAGE IS FORWARDED TO YOU FROM THE BOWERS-L. PLEASE DO NOT HIT REPLY TO RESPOND TO IT. Instead, please address your reply to "Fran Baldwin" <[email protected]> «:*´`³¤³´`*:»§«:*´`³¤³´`*:»«:*´`³¤³´`*:»§«:*´`³¤³´`*:» -------- Original Message -------- Subject: [BOWER] ROLL CALL - BOWERS, William C -Indiana to NJ Resent-Date: Thu, 16 Nov 2000 05:05:24 -0800 Resent-From: [email protected] Date: Thu, 16 Nov 2000 08:05:12 EST From: [email protected] To: [email protected] Still searching for ancestors of William Clayton BOWERS. Maternal grandfather William Clayton BOWERS. b. 29 Sep. 1884, Eckerty, Indiana (Crawford County) died 30 June 1959 Camden, NJ. His Father: Clifford Tillman BOWERS, birthplace Indiana His Mother: Clara Adelia LARKIN, birthplace Indiana or Missouri 1906 William married Blanche LAZRO in Camden, NJ. He listed his address as Evansville, Indiana, occupation Sailor USN, birthplace Eckerty, Indiana. Fran Baldwin Hayes, Virginia ==== BOWER Mailing List ==== Bower Cottage, sister site to the Bower Family Homestead, homesites of the Bower research group -- http://bowercommunity.com/cottage

«:*´`³¤³´`*:»§«:*´`³¤³´`*:»«:*´`³¤³´`*:»§«:*´`³¤³´`*:» THIS IS A FORWARDED MESSAGE. PLEASE DO NOT HIT REPLY TO RESPOND TO IT. Instead, please address your reply to "Jeff Bowers" <[email protected]> «:*´`³¤³´`*:»§«:*´`³¤³´`*:»«:*´`³¤³´`*:»§«:*´`³¤³´`*:» -------- Original Message -------- Subject: Roll Call Peter Bauer 1770-? Ger.>N.Y. Date: Wed, 15 Nov 2000 17:49:00 -0800 From: [email protected] To: [email protected] Hello, I'm researching my Family lines ,as they started out as Bauer then changed to Bower then on to Bowers, Heres what i know for sure. Peter Bauer had a son Joseph who was born 3/19/1803-d.3/26/1887. Joseph immigrated to Niagara county, New York in June 1844. His death certificate lists his father as Peter Bauer, sometime after arriving he changed the spelling of his last name to bower. Josephs son Joseph jrs 50th wedding article states they had lived in a town called Schwekes, Germany.I do not believe that Peter ever immigrated to the U.S, thats as far back as i've been able to document so far. If anybody has any info that they would like to share it would be greatly appreciated. Joseph Bower (b.3/19/1803- d.3/26/1887) he married Barbara Kelch (b.1/20/1800 - d.10/20/1885) Children John (b.3/1840-d.10/10/1910) Joseph (b.1834-d.1912) Nicholas (b.1836-d.1913) Frederick(b.1837- d.? ) John Bower (b.3/1840-d.10/10/1910) he married Elizabeth Spoth ( b.6/1845-d.1920) Children Elizabeth (b.1874-d.?) Louise (b.3/1874-d.?) John Jacob (b.7/1884- d.12/23/1963 Nicholas (b.1872-d.?) Celia(b.3/12/1876-d.2/17/1895) Barbara(b.1868-d.?) Theresa(b.1869-d.?) Albert(b.7/1886-d.8/1948) Albert Bowers (b.7/1886-8/1948) he married Nora Seitz (b.7/18/1885-d.5/3/1945) Children Layton( b.1915-d.1995) Norine (b.1919-d.1981) Robert (b.1917-d.1986) Robert Bowers (b.1917-d.1986) he married Irene Heary (b.1919-d.1999) Jeff Bowers

Hi Robert, While I can't answer your question re: Maryland's records, I do wonder if you've tried looking at church records? Perhaps you can find a baptism or christening date from them. Just a thought that might help ... Colleen Robert Bowers wrote: > > Does anyone have information on a George Bowers born April 09, 1850 in Hagerstown, Maryland. I have called the birth records office and had a representative from the records office call back and tell me that the date 1850 would not be in the archives. Any info would be great. > Robert Bowers > 138 Bluegrass Circle > Rossville, GA 30741 > [email protected] > > ==== BOWERS Mailing List ==== > To post messages to the Bowers discussion list, send them to > [email protected] > > ============================== > The only real-time collaboration tool that allows you and other family > members to create a FREE, password-protected family tree. > http://www.ancestry.com/oft/login.asp

Does anyone have information on a George Bowers born April 09, 1850 in Hagerstown, Maryland. I have called the birth records office and had a representative from the records office call back and tell me that the date 1850 would not be in the archives. Any info would be great. Robert Bowers 138 Bluegrass Circle Rossville, GA 30741 [email protected]

«:*´`³¤³´`*:»§«:*´`³¤³´`*:»«:*´`³¤³´`*:»§«:*´`³¤³´`*:» THIS MESSAGE IS FORWARDED TO YOU FROM THE BOWER-L. PLEASE DO NOT HIT REPLY TO RESPOND TO IT. Instead, please address your reply to Jak Daniels <[email protected]> «:*´`³¤³´`*:»§«:*´`³¤³´`*:»«:*´`³¤³´`*:»§«:*´`³¤³´`*:» Jak Daniels wrote: > > Yes we are here - just very quite at the moment. > > My Bowers are from Barnham, Suffolk, England - my earliest record is in 1347 > until around 1740. I posted a Gedcom with all the confirmed information I > have on this family at the Homestead. > > I've sent in my roll-call a few times before, but as I have no new > information I didn't bother this time around. > > This was just to let you know that you are not alone, the Union Jack is > flying high! :) > > Regards > > Jak Daniels