) ( ) 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. FamilyDiscovery.com (an update) 3. A new thought If you've been with the family for at least three weeks, you'll probably want to skip the following paragraphÂ… 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/Baur/Bro[u]wer 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]/Bau[e]r/Bro[u]wer lines or any of the 81+ variant spellings 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. The Bower Family Homestead [a.k.a., the Homestead] is our homesite and the gathering place for much of our information. It waits to join us all in welcoming you into the family at <http://www.crosswinds.net/~bowerhomestead>, or you can use our shortcut URL of <http://embark.to/Homestead>. We also have a newly opened sister site, the Bower Cottage, that we've begun to fill. There are currently only a few names there, but give us time... :) The Cottage is at <http://www.crosswinds.net/~bowercottage>, or you can use the shortcut URL of <http://embark.to/bowercottage>. FAMILYDISCOVERY.COM In case you're new or have forgotten, familydiscovery.com was a Website that offered all kinds of records that look great when you first see them. What subscribers (and the rest of the unsuspecting public) didn't know was that the webmaster was using shrink-wrapped (hidden) frames, making it appear that the pages a viewer was reading were on his site and not someone else's. In fact, the opposite was true. He was linking to other sites, especially US GenWeb Project sites, and charging a "special rate" and "one-time access fee" of $49.95 for free material. An update: At last word, familydiscovery.com has since been closed down and is now under investigation by legal authorities. I received a message a couple days ago from a Mr. Gene Olson who is privately investigating familydiscovery. If you have had any involvement with this company - specifically, if you have paid money to them or have had your sites linked to by familydiscovery, he would like to hear from you. Please contact me at <[email protected]> for a copy of his message. A NEW THOUGHT I've been going back over many, many of the messages in our archives at Rootsweb and something occurred to me. I was able to see where over half of us have gone in circles and more circles on finding our lines. We have spent years searching, yet we are still right where we were when we first started. Sounds defeating, doesn't it? One thing I noticed nobody doing though, including me. We submit one query after another, many of us either giving the same information or adding a few new pieces here and there ... still with the same results ~ nothing. It's time for yet another tack ... Do you know where you lines came from? If so, have you queried the family to see if anyone is researching in the same state as you? If all Bower[s]/Bau[e]r/Bro[u]wer researchers from (for example) South Carolina were to start talking with each other, chances are that new information will begin to come out and with that, a possible connection. A small idea that could very well bring a few bingos ... Family ... it's what we're all about. My coffee cup is empty for this week. I really enjoyed this time with you. I hope your upcoming week is filled with health, productivity, fun, and above all, filled with love. ) ( ) _.-~~-. (@\'--'/. Colleen ('``.__.'`) `..____.'