Good Morning Degruy-L, I'm forwarding to the list this first message from our new list member, Karma De Gruy, who signed up yesterday. Welcome, Karma! [Actually several people signed up yesterday.... so greetings to them all.... hope y'all will introduce yourselves.] It's nice to get a look at all the various reasons people have to join a list and all the various ways people get started in doing family history. Personally I feel that you are very fortunate, Karma, in coming to family history research so early in life. I came very late, long after many family members had passed away, taking their stories and their recipes with them [although I do have a great oyster dressing for stuffing recipe from my Gramma Boolie!]. So congratulations on getting a head start. I'm convinced that this family history study can be a fantastic way to get children involved in the love of history. Done correctly, it can make the past "come alive" and take history out of the realm of boring facts and dates of battles. For example, I have an Evans ancestor [Israel] who was a physician on the Ky. side of the river across from the Cincinnati area. In his basement was a tunnel. He was a link in the underground railroad, and he helped the slaves escape to a free state where his father [Richard] waited to help them take the next step of their dangerous journey. Now, I can promise you that I would have paid closer attention in history class, had I been able to make that personal connection...... and it would have set my imagination free. I'm sure all of you out there have similar stories! ok... may I introduce Karma DeGruy: >>>It might be nice to baptize this list by having each of us send a message to the list in which we introduce ourselves; describe the areas in which we are currently working or folks we are currently searching. If you'd like to say what city you are located in or how long you've been doing family history, that might help us to get to know you. I'm Karma de Gruy of Mobile, Alabama. I am only a dabbler in between semesters as I'm in grad school right now, but I got started with the family history because a complete stranger emailed me asking for information about deGruys in Louisiana and I got curious. Also because I write stories and I hope to tell some lost and forgotten ones if they can be unearthed. My secret pet project which I'm usually too embarrassed to admit is a compilation of family stories and RECIPES somehow related to those stories. As yet, I've only gotten much on the other side of the family who not only seem to cook more but also to talk more. Looking forward to "meeting" you all, Karma de Gruy ------------------------------------------------------------------------ By the way, new list members,.... keep in mind that if you are sending a message to the entire list, address your e-mail to : Degruy-L@rootsweb.com and not to me personally at degruylist@rootsweb.com

Hi - I'm Shelley, or actually, Michele Dedman. Karma and I are fairly closely related in this family. My grandmother was Irene Verloin de Gruy Junqua, of New Orleans, and her younger brother was my Uncle Frank (Francois) Verloin de Gruy III, who married Aunt Era and lived in Mobile, AL. I believe he was your great-grandfather, Karma. I currently live in Arkansas and as I started getting older, realized all the family history keepers and story tellers were already gone or getting much older. I used to love to listen to my grandmother talk about her childhood and the family. The stories she and other's told, and the memories I have are some of my most precious posessions. So I've begun putting together our family tree and what an experience that's been. I wish I had started much younger. However, I can devote much more time to this project now, and it seems to be addictive. I, too, have started a book about this great family. It is quite slow going, but putting the stories down on paper for my grandsons, and children, has become a mission. I would love to swap family stories with you, Karma, and anyone else. I'm probably, at least your father's age. I'm really looking forward to this new way of communicating. What a great idea! Shelley -----Original Message----- From: Degruy List Admin [mailto:degruylist@earthlink.net] Sent: Wednesday, August 18, 2004 8:23 AM To: DEGRUY-L@rootsweb.com Subject: Welcome to Karma and all new Degruy-L list members! Good Morning Degruy-L, I'm forwarding to the list this first message from our new list member, Karma De Gruy, who signed up yesterday. Welcome, Karma! [Actually several people signed up yesterday.... so greetings to them all.... hope y'all will introduce yourselves.] It's nice to get a look at all the various reasons people have to join a list and all the various ways people get started in doing family history. Personally I feel that you are very fortunate, Karma, in coming to family history research so early in life. I came very late, long after many family members had passed away, taking their stories and their recipes with them [although I do have a great oyster dressing for stuffing recipe from my Gramma Boolie!]. So congratulations on getting a head start. I'm convinced that this family history study can be a fantastic way to get children involved in the love of history. Done correctly, it can make the past "come alive" and take history out of the realm of boring facts and dates of battles. For example, I have an Evans ancestor [Israel] who was a physician on the Ky. side of the river across from the Cincinnati area. In his basement was a tunnel. He was a link in the underground railroad, and he helped the slaves escape to a free state where his father [Richard] waited to help them take the next step of their dangerous journey. Now, I can promise you that I would have paid closer attention in history class, had I been able to make that personal connection...... and it would have set my imagination free. I'm sure all of you out there have similar stories! ok... may I introduce Karma DeGruy: >>>It might be nice to baptize this list by having each of us send a message to the list in which we introduce ourselves; describe the areas in which we are currently working or folks we are currently searching. If you'd like to say what city you are located in or how long you've been doing family history, that might help us to get to know you. I'm Karma de Gruy of Mobile, Alabama. I am only a dabbler in between semesters as I'm in grad school right now, but I got started with the family history because a complete stranger emailed me asking for information about deGruys in Louisiana and I got curious. Also because I write stories and I hope to tell some lost and forgotten ones if they can be unearthed. My secret pet project which I'm usually too embarrassed to admit is a compilation of family stories and RECIPES somehow related to those stories. As yet, I've only gotten much on the other side of the family who not only seem to cook more but also to talk more. Looking forward to "meeting" you all, Karma de Gruy ------------------------------------------------------------------------ By the way, new list members,.... keep in mind that if you are sending a message to the entire list, address your e-mail to : Degruy-L@rootsweb.com and not to me personally at degruylist@rootsweb.com ============================== Gain access to over two billion names including the new Immigration Collection with an Ancestry.com free trial. Click to learn more. http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=4930&sourceid=1237

Shelley Dedman wrote: >Hi - I'm Shelley, or actually, Michele Dedman. Karma and I are fairly >closely related in this family. My grandmother was Irene Verloin de Gruy >Junqua, of New Orleans, and her younger brother was my Uncle Frank >(Francois) Verloin de Gruy III, who married Aunt Era and lived in Mobile, >AL. I believe he was your great-grandfather, Karma. > > He was, and we called him PaPa, which I think you knew, but as I'm not sure what everybody is here for yet, I'm taking liberties with "family tidbits" on the list and I welcome the same, personally. I like to feel the life in our memories. Pardon me for my original post going to "sender only" instead of "all." I don't have the list details/protocol imbedded into my fingertips yet :-) Thanks for forwarding it, frequently-unthanked-admin-folks (whose proper names I never caught). >I, too, have started a book about this great family. It is quite slow >going, but putting the stories down on paper for my grandsons, and children, >has become a mission. I would love to swap family stories with you, Karma, >and anyone else. I'm probably, at least your father's age. > > I'd love to contribute what I can for you, Shelley, and hear yours. Papa (Frank) and DeeDee (Era) both died when I was still pretty young, but I do have some stories. There is a sense of urgency about this sort of project for me right now that I will save for a personal email if you want to write me ~~ but really the personal-ness of it is just that it's like you guys wrote -- you look around one day at the passing of time and realize the stories will go with your parents and grandparents if you don't get them. I noted in family history where the female de Gruys stopped getting the original patronym of Verloin as a middle name, and I'm now seeing where the males aren't -- it's a symbol that piques my interest and increases my sense of urgency. Then I found a deGruy in Atlanta who adopted the name legally but has no blood ties to it and that too piques my curiousity. Well, everything does, truth be told :-) >>> I came very late, long >after many family members had passed away, taking their stories and >their recipes with them [although I do have a great oyster dressing for >stuffing recipe from my Gramma Boolie!]. > Oooh.. oyster dressing.... you know, a recipe/story thing could get a jumpstart in a group like this.. (wheels spinning furiously)... > >>>For example, I have an Evans ancestor >[Israel] who was a physician on the Ky. side of the river across from >the Cincinnati area. In his basement was a tunnel. He was a link in >the underground railroad, and he helped the slaves escape to a free >state where his father [Richard] waited to help them take the next step >of their dangerous journey. Now, I can promise you that I would have >paid closer attention in history class, had I been able to make that >personal connection...... and it would have set my imagination free. > > Historical fiction fingers are itching... I am so glad I came to this list. That is fascinating. I have a personal anecdote about where history intersects with my lineage that I think I might save for a later time when we've all gotten to know each other a bit better, but it ties to the idea you have that family history can make a real difference in the way a child perceives the world, especially when that child spends too much time in front of the TV like my daughter does (grin).. telling family stories at bedtime is a way to "catch her back" from the cartoons and the books filled with cartoons. And you know your family is great when your kid thinks what you're telling her is fiction because it's too exciting/interesting to be a day in the life of someone they're RELATED to :-) It's good stuff! Karma