By visiting http://www.familysearch.org I searched for the given name of Francis and the surname FERGUS. Thirty-seven listings were generated. And of those 37 there were only 2 submitters! (A little bit like this mailng list;) Earl Crosby posted the lineage of Francis FERGUS, b. 8 Sept 1752, Co Tyrone, Ireland>PA>VA and Leslie Gerard Bundy of Ogden, UT posted the lineage of Francis FERGUS, b. ca 1770 Newtown Twp, Cumberland, PA and also associated with the FERGUS families of Dunstable, Lycoming, PA. Does anyone on this list have an e-mail address for Leslie Gerard Bundy? It would be EVERY so handy! And also I would like to know if there are subscribers who are related to this particular line? I am beginning to put some connections together with this line and a connection to Co Tyrone, Ireland. At this point it is conjecture, but perhaps some darn good guesses that I would like to pursue . . . but not alone. Fact: In Co Tyrone records I have found Alexander FERGUS, Francis FERGUS, James FERGUS, Samuel FERGUS, and Andrew FERGUS. In the Lycoming, PA FERGUS people I see the name of Francis FERGUS whose son was Andrew Alexander FARGUS, whose son was Francis FERGUS and James FERGUS, also Margaret FERGUS(FERGUSON). Are you paying attention? No, I did not mistype the above spellings. But, somewhere along the way in record keeping the FERGUS was listed as FARGUS, and FERGUS changed to FERGUSON! The very same thing is true of the records in Ireland. FERGUS changes to FERGEYS for the exact same people! When I began this research I had decided that I had never seen any name other than FERGUS and so I discounted the variations . . . well, I have had to change my mind and say to all those "I-told-you-so" people that indeed they were right. In my recent research I doubled back through all of the records I had so carefully "cleaned" through and searched for the variations. There were not many, but in the long run it may make a difference. You see, I am wondering if perhaps the father of the Lycoming, PA Francis FERGUS was a brother to "my" Francis FERGUS from Co Tyrone. . . if so, we will have found a missing piece of the puzzle! Anyone want to come along on this adventure? Yes, you may even if you don't have all of the information needed . . . at this point. You could help with the research on the Lycoming, PA FERGUS people as I continue putting pieces together. I think it is definitely worth the investigation! Please, please, please join in and begin to post your lineage and information so that someone may begin to make one of those monumental connections, or even a wee one:) I have spent 8 hrs. today on this one project and didn't begin to put a pattern together until after 7 hrs. I was simply accumulating and printing pages of information from the LDS site, when a light went on. You see, this is not genius work, but I would certainly welcome one aboard;) My best to all on this American Memorial Holiday weekend when we honor (honour) those soldiers who have died for our freedom through the ages. Yes, we would like to post any FERGUS names to our website where we have a Military page for these listings. Please send the information that you have. Cynthia Russell

56% Fergus - Fergus is the 11,711th most popular last name (surname) in the United States; frequency is 0.001%; percentile is 72.774 [SourceCBN] Fergus, Montana, United States [County]; population was 12,083 in 1990; housing units was 5,732 in 1990; location is 47°16'N 109°13'W; land area is 11,238,831,000 km^2; water area is 29,001,000 km^2; FIPS code is 27 [SourceCBP] http://extra.entisoft.com/F/e/Fergus.HTM ^.^.^. N E W FERGUS Research Worldwide website http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~fergus00/ ^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.

56% Fergus - Fergus is the 11,711th most popular last name (surname) in the United States; frequency is 0.001%; percentile is 72.774 [SourceCBN] Fergus, Montana, United States [County]; population was 12,083 in 1990; housing units was 5,732 in 1990; location is 47°16'N 109°13'W; land area is 11,238,831,000 km^2; water area is 29,001,000 km^2; FIPS code is 27 [SourceCBP] http://extra.entisoft.com/F/e/Fergus.HTM ^.^.^. N E W FERGUS Research Worldwide website http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~fergus00/ ^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.

I would like to thank SHIRLEY FERGUS for maintaining our FERGUS mailing list for the past month. She has done a stellar job! And, in addition we now have 49 list subscribers and 4 digest subscribers to total 53! So WELCOME new subscribers. You will find that this is a quiet list - doesn't need to be, so join in when you wish. After researching in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland for three weeks I have been quietly trying to re-enter the faster pace in the U.S., although I do prefer the more peaceful pace of the Emerald Isle! And, I have been cataloging my photos that I received by download from Seattle Filmworks. I have sent a few out and will try to put together an album of photos for all to access from the Internet. I really struggle understanding the "how to" of computer instructions and so I probably spend 3 times the amount of time that others would . . . unless you are computer-disadvantaged, as I am:0 Already, I have sent some of the photos to Jim Fergus, a FERGUS-L subscriber who lives in London. Jim arranged for me to meet his family in Dundalk, Co Louth, Republic of Ireland. Also, Jim came to London Heathrow Airport to meet with me where a kind traveller snapped a couple of pictures of the two of us - however, they are on a roll still in my camera. I'll soon be back inputting additional information on the FERGUS Research Worldwide site . . . as soon as I can get my notes sorted out! I searched records beginning in 1708 through 1910 for ALL of the FERGUS listings! And, there were not many for the 200 year time span. Would any of you who have not yet personally sent me your name(s), snail mail address, and telephone number please do so? I will not share these but I do not want to lose any FERGUS! as time goes on. E-mail addresses become obsolete, expire, and change - I already have lost several that I may have additional information to share with them . . . it is too bad not to be able to mail them the info. Hoping to hear from each of you! Yes, I do enjoy receiving e-mail, even a hello! And, while I was in Northern Ireland I did follow the devastating tornadoes that devastated Oklahoma - and I was most anxious to make sure that nothing had happened to another James Fergus - glad all is well! My best, Cynthia Russell ^.^.^. N E W FERGUS Research Worldwide website http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~fergus00/ ^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.

http://c-23.rootsweb.com/usgenweb/archives/co/chaffee/cemeteries/faircemF.tx t FAIRVIEW CEMETERY -Salida, Chaffee County, Colorado FERGUS, Elaine L. 1913 - 19 Apr 1920 (Marker; Sec. G, Blk 23) (Salida Mail 20 & 27 Apr 1920) FERGUS, Ellen 1860 - 19 Aug 1922 (Marker; Cem Rec: 1 2 Aug 1922, Sec. G, Blk 23) (Salida Mail 11 Aug 1922) FERGUS, J. M. d. 21 Sep 1930 (Cem Rec: 25 Sep 1930) (Salida Mail 23 Sep 1930) (Pine?) FERGUS, Ruth E. 1919 - 4 Apr 1920 (Marker; Sec. G, Blk 23) (Salida Mail 9 Apr 1920)

http://c-23.rootsweb.com/usgenweb/archives/in/grant/cemetery/shiloh.txt Grant County Indiana Shiloh Cemetery Shiloh Cemetery lies across the road from the site of the Methodist Episcopal Church of that same name. The church house "was erected in 1854 or 1855 on land obtained from Elias Lyon. He and his wife Nancy McVicker were charter members of this church." The building has been removed from its original site and only the foundation stones and cement steps give evidence of the once thriving church. Elias Lyon is said to have killed the last deer in Jefferson Township. Michael Pugh came to Jefferson Township in 1834 and located in Sect. 13, he made a gift of three acres for this cemetery. He was a member of the Methodist Protestant church but his wife Elizabeth Caudy Pugh was a charter member of the Shiloh Methodist Episcopal Church. This cemetery is two and a half miles south of Upland and a half mile east. It is a beautiful, well kept place and is in present day use. The earliest date is on that of Mary S. McHenry age 17-Feb. 15, 1841. The above was written by the DAR in the 1940's. Fergus, Ada E. dau of E. & L. Fergus died Aug. 27, 1877 aged 6m.16d. Edwin died Apr. 5, 1894 aged 58y.2m.4d. Infant son of S.B. & J. Fergus born & died Feb. 20, 185- Julia W. wife of Sawyer B. Fergus died Apr. 7, 1883 aged 73y.3m.7d. Samuel son of S.B. & Julia Fergus died May 3, 1857 aged 26y.7m.2d. Sawyer B. died June 21, 1864 aged 62y.3m.3d. File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Sheila D. Watson <tdtw98a@comteck.com>(© 1998 Sheila D. Watson)

Here's a little something to brighten your day. See it while you can, it's good. Cynthia http://deseretnews.com/edt_toon/wed.htm

Hi folks, as announced in the RootsWeb Review, Vol. 2, No. 21 Rootsweb has announced a number of new services. >ROOTSWEB PUTS IT TOGETHER. Have you ever wished you could look up >*everything* at RootsWeb that relates to a particular surname? >Now you can! > >Click on the new option SURNAME RESOURCES at RootsWeb's main page ><http://www.rootsweb.com/> or go directly to: ><http://resources.rootsweb.com/surnames/>. Click on the letter of >the alphabet for the surname of interest, and then select it from >the list that appears. This will take you to a "surname resource >cluster," where you can search for your surname in numerous >databases. For example, using BANKSTON you would find: ><http://resources.rootsweb.com/surnames/b/a/BANKSTON/>, where you >could search "B" WEB SITES, the OBITUARY DAILY TIMES, or: > > o The ROOTSWEB SURNAME LIST (RSL). RSL search options are by > surname, Soundex, or Metaphone (the latter two are "sounds- > like" matches). You can search for updates from the past two > months, last month, last week, or for any mention. > > o TRANSCRIPTION PROJECTS. You might check to see if your > immigrant ancestors' names are listed at the Immigrant Ship > Transcribers Guild (ISTG). > > o PRIMARY RECORDS AT ROOTSWEB (from USGenWeb Archives and > RootsWeb Searchable Databases). > > o GENERAL LINKS AND SEARCH ENGINES. There are three options. > > o ROOTSLINK link registry. You can add a new link also. > > o SEEKER search engine, which returns surname matches from > Web pages -- there is much "hidden genealogy" that this > search will help you find. > > o SURNAME HELPER search engine finds queries and surname > registrations posted at various genealogically-related > sites on the Web, with participating sites including many > USGenWeb and WorldGenWeb sites. All GenConnect boards are > indexed in Surname Helper. > > o MAILING LISTS. Descriptions of lists that relate to this > surname, subscription instructions, and links to the > archives so you can search or browse past postings. > > o GENCONNECT. Click on GLOBAL SURNAME SEARCH to find queries > that mention the surname of interest that are posted in > connection with any county, state, or country in the world. > Or click an icon for one of the seven automated boards that > together make up a "suite" of boards available for surnames > and localities (Queries, Bible records, Biographies, Deeds, > Obituaries, Pensions, and Wills). > >RootsWeb hopes that putting these links under one SURNAME >RESOURCES roof will help everyone find all the buried treasure. > > * * * > >LATE-BREAKING NEWS. Late in the day on 26 May 1999, Pam Carey >Durstock announced: "All done! Complete list of cluster surnames >can be found at <http://resources.rootsweb.com/namelist.txt>" > >41,000+ GenConnect boards created. >3,000+ Mailing lists created. >6,692 Calendars created. >6,692 Guestbooks created. >6,692 Cluster pages created and (re)generated. > > * * * > >GLOBAL SEARCH ENGINE FOR GENCONNECT. Randy Winch just installed >the latest upgrade to the Global Search Engine for GenConnect. >New Features: expanded search capabilities, including ability to >restrict the search to a certain "type" (query, Bible record, >bio, deed, obit, pension, will). Sort by date, location, person >posting, or subject (and also by ascending or descending order); >Posted in the last: day, two days, week, two weeks, month, two >months, three months, six months, year, two years, or millennium; >Search all of GenConnect, just one country, or just one state. >All of these can be used in conjunction with each other in order >to fine-tune your search. But, if you want it all, the results >are now split into first 50, next 50, etc. Powerful! ><http://cgi.rootsweb.com/~genbbs/genbbs.cgi?search> > Those of you who like to chat ....here is a chat service: > >INTERNET RELAY CHAT (IRC) (SERVER: irc.rootsweb.com; PORT: 6667) ><http://www.iigs.org/irc/index.htm.en/> For links to instructions >on using IRC, including special instructions for AOL users and >Unix users, go to <http://www.iigs.org/irc/irclinks.htm.en/>. > >At <http://www.iigs.org/cgi/ircthemes/ircthemes/> you will find >a SCHEDULE OF MEETINGS by day, time given as Greenwich Mean Time >(GMT), channel, and description. To convert the scheduled GMT to >your local time, at the top of the page select the relevant GMT >and change the next box, Selected Local Time. to your time zone. > >Among the meetings scheduled are HTML Discussion, German >Genealogy, Canadian Genealogy, UK and Ireland Information >Channel, IIGS University Chat, FreeBMD Information Channel, >Colorado Genealogy, New England Genealogy, Ontario Genealogy, >Canadian Genealogy, Australia, German-Russian Genealogy, French >Genealogy, and Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg. An addition to >the schedule now posted is DearMyrtle's Monday evening sessions >(Channel: dearmyrtle) starting at 2200 Eastern Daylight time, on >U.S. Federal Census Records (31 May) and Organization (7 June). > > * * * > >ROOTSWEB DEMOGRAPHICS. Recently one RootsWeb user mentioned she >is age 99 while another volunteered that she is age 87. The >Internet is a great leveler. Ages are irrelevant when we share an >interest and are able to communicate. Still, we're curious. If >you are willing to participate in this ANONYMOUS survey, please >visit <http://www.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/age-survey> to record in >which age group you find yourself: less than 20, 20-29, 30-39, >40-49, 50-59, 60-69, 70-79, 80-89, 90-99, 100-109, 110-119, or >120 and counting. > > * * * > >ROOTSWEB REPORT ON TALKSPOT. On Saturdays (1600 to 1800 >Pacific Daylight Time (PDT) or 2300 to 0100 Greenwich Mean Time >(GMT)) participate in "Generations -- Find Your Roots" ><http://www.talkspot.com/shows/Generations/>. The RootsWeb Report >by Myra Vanderpool Gormley is given between 1630 and 1700 PDT. >You also can join TalkSpot.com shows in progress from: ><http://www.talkspot.com/chan_lifeExpo.html>. > >To join TALKSPOT and the Generations -- Find Your Roots program >you need: (1) a computer with a sound board and speakers; (2) a >web browser (Explorer, Netscape, AOL, etc.); and (3) Real Audio >software for listening to audio files. > >If you don't have Real Audio, download a free copy at: ><http://www.real.com/products/player/index.html> > >Then visit this Web site a day or two ahead of the schedule >program and register a user name with TalkSpot (it's free). ><http://www.talkspot.com/register.html>. > > * * * * * > > QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS > >Q. What is a "board"? >A. A board is a Web-based query and data system, where > information is automatically input with a form, instantly > displayed, and fully indexed and searchable. Which means that > users can input a query or piece of data on a GenConnect > board, and not only can they see it instantly, but so can > anyone else searching our system for that surname. > >Q. What are the advantages of using these boards instead of other > things on the Web? >A. Both your data and your questions will receive an extremely > wide amount of coverage on the Web, greatly increasing your > chances of making connections. It's instant and fully > automated, and will even send you an e-mail to let you know > that someone has either answered your question, or has added > additional data to yours. > >Q. When you refer to a "cluster" -- what is meant? >A. Cluster is the name given to a grouping of individual > resources for a single surname or a single location, including > include a mailing list (and its archives), a GenConnect suite > (one suite equals seven boards), a home page -- USGenWeb > (USGW), WorldGenWeb (WGW), or personal pages, possibly a USGW > archives directory, RootsWeb Surname List (RSL) submissions, > etc. All of these resources are searchable. Each surname and > each location has some sort of resources (information) > available on them. Cluster pages bring together all those > resources and provide both links and search boxes so that > RootsWeb users don't get lost. If a user wants to know what > is available at RootsWeb for his/her particular genealogical > interest -- it is all there in one spot. > >Q. How do I find the surname boards? >A. Visit the index located at: > <http://cgi.rootsweb.com/~genbbs/indx/FamAssoc.html> > >Q. Why were these particular surnames selected? >A. We used the most common surnames in the RootsWeb Surname List > >Q. How many boards does RootsWeb have? >A. There are 45,557 right now -- 14,985 pre-existing boards and > 30,572 just added. The goal is to have about 90,000 to 100,000 > boards within a month. > >Q. Are all of the boards and lists new? >A. No. Many of the lists and boards already existed. No change in > the administration of those lists and boards is being made. > RootsWeb staff is only administering the new boards and lists. > >Q. Who administers the new lists and GenConnect boards? >A. RootsWeb staff members, but eventually they will be available > for adoption by volunteer administrators. > >Q. How can users best utilize these new boards? >A. The original concept comes from the KyGenWeb (Kentucky > GenWeb), which made the databases on the county level > cross-linked so you can find John Doe wherever he is. > GenConnect provides the database and the means of linking, > between counties, states, countries, and now with the surname > boards, linking the names to any place they are found in one > central place. > >Q. What are calendars and how can I use them? >A. The calendars, which resemble a typical wall calendar, are > there for you to log important events such as family reunions, > speaking schedules, conferences, or conventions. As we develop > the county and country clusters, I expect there'll be more > entries along the lines of local genealogical society > meetings, founders' day, major dates in history and other > items. > >Q. What purpose do guestbooks serve? >A. They allow feedback that can be used to improve services > and resources, and you may make a genealogy connection or two > from them. > >Q. What is "Doc's RootsLink?" Where do I find it? How do I use > it? >A. RootsLink is yet another automated, powerful searchable > resource. It collects, stores, organizes and displays user- > input URLs -- ones for home pages that the users either > maintain themselves, or have found to be worth mentioning to > others. The links are searchable by either topic or by > keyword. > >ROOTSWEB GENEALOGICAL DATA COOPERATIVE >P.O. Box 6798, Frazier Park, CA 93222-6798 ><http://www.rootsweb.com/> >

Mailing List archives There are 2,368 mailing lists being archived here. As of midnight, there were 290,072 available messages in 2,456,734,734 searchable bytes of data -- that is over 2 GIGABYTES of information! NOTE: The plan for the Threaded Archives is to provide access to all the old messages of genealogy mailing lists hosted on at Rootsweb. Take a visit to this site which is also under construction: http://archiver.rootsweb.com/ ^.^.^. N E W FERGUS Research Worldwide website http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~fergus00/ ^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.

Patrick, I just tried to send a post to you in response to a post you made to this FERGUS list - came back as undeliverable - will you please contact me as listowner? Thank you Cynthia Russell ^.^.^. N E W FERGUS Research Worldwide website http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~fergus00/ ^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.

Hi everyone, I have the 1881 British census on CD that I bought from the LDS if anyone wants me to look anything up for them. This includes everything except Ireland of course. There's lots of Fergus'. Jill Fergus McGirr

In case anyone is interested in information on Ireland/Northern Ireland it is vital to understand these administrative divisions in Ireland. I will be posting information with these divisions, for a better understanding of the system take a look here: http://www.rootsweb.com/~fianna/guide/land-div.html ^.^.^. N E W FERGUS Research Worldwide website http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~fergus00/ ^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.

<Just a quick question I hope an experienced hand can answer...How and where do I access the mailing lists archives? I went to the webpage and couldn't find them. Is it at Rootsweb instead? Thanks> Go here: http://searches.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/listsearch.pl Then type in FERGUS-L. This will bring up the page where you can enter your query to search the list for a specific topic. Or Go to main page at Rootsweb. Click on "searches" in the index on the left of the page. This will bring up the search page where you can click on the hyper-text which says: a million messages from over four thousand geneaolgy mailing lists. There is also a hyper link to an index of the mailing lists which are available if you wish to search for another surname, country, county or subject. Read on about the many uses of a mailing list. Sometimes I subscribe to another list for a day or two to find out or inquire about specific information. On a recent trip to California I subscribed to the Northern California Genealogy List (NORCAL-L) by sending a message to Norcal-L-request@rootsweb.com I sent an inquiry to find out what/where the BEST genealogy resources/libraries were in Northern California. Since that is a particularly "active" list I received 3 different replies. Two were OK and one was spectacular! The gentleman sent me a list of the 2 best + directions to each + the list of genealogy holdings! Now, that is not the end of the story - he and a lady, both familiar with the particular library I was searching in, met me during their lunch hour to help me "use" the Irish section. Oh, yes, genealogists are an incredible group of people who help other people to help themselves. I had mentioned that I also wished to go to the other library he had recommended but would need to go by public transit. This gentleman came with written/drawn public transportation directions to the next library I wished to search. I had not asked him for these. There are many uses for a list. Try them out. Use the same method to either subscribe or unsubscribe from a list. To subscribe to ANY Rootsweb list type in (the name of the)list-L-request@rootsweb.com and send ONLY the one word SUBSCRIBE in the message and you will receive that list's mailings. Happy searching! ^.^.^. N E W FERGUS Research Worldwide website http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~fergus00/ ^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.

Ancestry.com http://www.ancestry.com/ancestry/search/3626.htm Headline: DEATH AND FUNERAL NOTICES Publication Date: December 09, 1998 Source: The San Diego Union-Tribune Page: Subjects: Region: Obituary: SWEENEY -- M. Kevin, 85, passed away December 7 at his home in Solana Beach. He was born in Napa, CA June 16, 1913, and has been a resident of San Diego County for the past 36 years. He is survived by his wife, Esther of 55 years, daughter, Kathleen of Incline Village, NV, sons, Kevin of Fairfield and Sean of San Juan Capistrano, sisters, Evelyn FERGUS of San Clemente, Patricia Truxaw of Morro Bay, Milo Le Vecke of Newport Beach and Joyce Schumacher of Placentia, brother, Noel of Anaheim and ten grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his son Patrick, sisters Maureen Sweeney and Ailish McGraw. Viewing will be at 10:30 a.m. Dec. 11 with Mass following at 11:30 a.m. at Church of the Nativity, 6309 El Apajo Rd, Rancho Santa Fe. Memorial contributions may be made to St. Vincent de Paul Village, 3350 E Street, San Diego, CA 92102-3332. Arrangements by Encinitas Mortuary 760-753-1143. - -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- Headline: Fern Z. Grizzle Publication Date: May 10, 1991 Source: The San Diego Union-Tribune Page: AA-8 Subjects: Region: Pacific Rim; Southern California Obituary: Fern Z. Grizzle, 71, of Meyer, Ariz., formerly of San Diego, died Sunday in a hospital in Prescott, Ariz. Burial was in Meyer Cemetery. Services were yesterday in Humbolt, Ariz. Mrs. Grizzle was born in Oklahoma, lived in the county for 40 years before moving to Arizona in 1988 and was a homemaker. She was a member of Humbolt Bible Church in Arizona. Survivors include a son, John FERGUS of San Diego; two daughters, Sharon Nichols of Maryland and Danielle Grizzle of San Diego; four sisters, Faye Ratucki, Arcola Taylor and Maxine McGaraty, all of San Diego, and Sue Hoff of Arizona; a brother, J.V. House of Arizona; nine grandchildren; and a great-grandchild. The family suggested donations to the church's memorial fund. - -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----

You may be interested in taking a look at this site to list the surnames you are researching so that others searching for the same name or variations can contact you. This is an excellent resource to search and to be listed on. Take a look about and do search for FERGUS to see what you will find - then add yourself to RSL! I have listed my top 10 research names! By the way, this is the same Rootsweb who has posted our FERGUS Research Worldwide to the Internet! http://rsl.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/rsledit.cgi Cynthia Russell

Thank you Jim Fergus for posting such an interesting discourse on life in the 1500's and the phrases that originated from the various daily routines. Would you share the resource from which this was found. I am interested in the title, author, publisher, and date of publication. This does make me appreciate the time frame in which I live! Cynthia Russell ^.^.^. N E W FERGUS Research Worldwide website http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~fergus00/ ^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.

HOOKED ON ONOMASTIKONS by Myra Vanderpool Gormley, CG <myravg@prodigy.net> <http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~gormleym/> Tracing a surname and the family who used it is one of the most fascinating pursuits in genealogy. Your surname can be a clue to your paternal ethnic origins, assuming it has been a hereditary one for some time. However, because so many of our names have been "Americanized" through the years, there are many Americans bearing British-sounding names whose ancestors never set foot in the British Isles. Do you know how long your family has used its surname? Have you traced its origins as far back as possible (perhaps to the Middle Ages)? Names have their own histories, just as families do. How many variant spellings of your name have you found? You know you can always recognize a brand-new genealogist by their insistence that "Our name has ALWAYS been spelled this way." It simply is not so. Some of us descend from an ancestor who was adopted or reared by another family and took their surname. Many of us bear surnames that were simply taken by our ancestors for various reasons. Others had their names officially changed. Most of the hereditary surnames of Europe derive from: o Patronymics, from the father's first name; John's son became Johnson. o Occupations, like Carpenter, Cartwright or Smith. o Place or topographical names such as London, Atwater. or Hill. o Nicknames, such as Goodall ("good ale") for an ale-taster or brewer; or Crookshanks, a bowlegged man or one with a crooked leg. Larger libraries usually have several surname dictionaries. Peruse them all. A DICTIONARY OF SURNAMES, by Hanks and Hodges, is helpful, but not all American surnames appear in it. Be sure to check its index where you will find, for example, the surname Eyers referenced to Ayer. Then look up Ayer in the main section for information. For those with suspected German names, consult GERMAN-AMERICAN NAMES, by George F. Jones, and see Elsdon C. Smith's NEW DICTIONARY OF AMERICAN FAMILY NAMES. Curious where other people with your surname live in the United States? There is a database on the Web with 50,000 of the most common U.S. surnames at this website: <http://hamrick.com/names/> The top 50 surnames of England and Wales are listed at: <http://www.fairacre.demon.co.uk/England-Surnames/Top50.htm> Check out An Onomastikon (Dictonary of Names) <http://www.fairacre.demon.co.uk/>. This collection of names around the world entertains and educates. Permission to reprint: Previously published by Julia M. Case and Myra Vanderpool Gormley, CG, Missing Links: A Weekly Newsletter for Genealogists, Vol. 4, No. 20, 14 May 1999. Please visit the MISSING LINKS Web page at <http://www.rootsweb.com/~mlnews/index.htm>.

Hello Fergus group! Yesterday upon passing through London's Heathrow Airport upon my flight from Belfast and on to Chicago I did meet (James) Jim Fergus! My plane was early, his subway ride was delayed and still we managed to connect at the information desk on the first floor of Terminal 1. I had arrived on the upper level and looked for Jim, who was to be holding an arrival sign of "FERGUS" on it. I had my camera in hand to record this moment, but unfortunately the timing was off. I was afraid to leave the area in case he would arrive but then the paging desk was one floor below. I travelled between the two and when I saw a young man making an inquiry I asked "Jim Fergus?" Indeed it was. Between transferring to another departure terminal and paper processing we did not have much time to visit, but we did become acquainted. As a FERGUS mailing list subscriber Jim had contacted me and then had arranged for me to meet his family in Dundalk on my way through to Dublin. Last Sunday his parents served tea and shared the information that they had on the family. I recorded it in an attempt to be less confused and to begin to tie the various FERGUS families living on the Emerald Isle together. Of course, there is still a lot to do, but we are on the way. It was indeed a thrill for me to meet and become acquainted with Jim. And, he had to travel for 1½ hrs. each way! I wish that there had been more time between my flights to visit. But, we e-mail back and forth and so we will continue our dialogue and research on his family lineage which did begin in Belfast and is traceable to the mid-1800's. Not bad for a beginning! All for now, Cynthia Russell ^.^.^. N E W FERGUS Research Worldwide website http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~fergus00/ ^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.

>From today's free data base at Ancestry.com http://www.ancestry.com/ancestry/search/3619.htm Headline: OBITUARIES Publication Date: September 20, 1994 Source: Rocky Mountain News Page: 61a Subjects: Region: Colorado Obituary: * BETTE L. SAUER, 66, of Brighton died Sept. 7 at Alpine Manor Health Care Center in Thornton. Services were Sept. 10 at Rice Mortuary. The body was cremated. Mrs. Sauer was born June 2, 1928, in Hastings, Neb. She married John Sauer on April 2, 1978, in Greeley. She worked for Valley Steel and Wire in Fort Collins and Wheeler Realty in Fort Collins and Greeley. She helped found the Colorado Association of Certified Closers and served a year as its president. She later worked for Western American Exploration in Brighton, retiring in 1991. She was a member of Elmwood Baptist Church. Survivors include her husband; a son, William Edmondson of Ashford, Wash., a daughter, Jane Kittleson of Minneapolis; a sister, Virginia Bogart of Grand Junction; a brother, Raymond Fergus of Alma, Neb.; and six grandchildren. Contributions: Multiple Sclerosis Society, 455 Sherman St., No. 180, Denver 80203.

Hello FERGUS researchers! I'm wondering what posts I have been missing while I have been here the last two weeks! I'm gathering ALL of the FERGUS information I am able to find, copy, and transcribe while I am here - all day long Monday to Friday. At this point in time I have gleaned all of the FERGUS information from the very old historical Linen Hall Library in the heart of Belfast across the street from the spectacular City Hall built by Queen Victoria. Both buildings are incredibly beautiful. The ground level entrance for the Linen Hall Library opens to a very long staircase with well-worn wooden steps and an iron handrail dividing them in the middle. Wonderful reprints of historical engraving line the walls of the staircase which leads to a desk from the 1800's. Upon making a right hand turn another grand circular staircase leads to the next floor where the genealogy records are housed behind glass bookcase doors or wooden doors with chicken wire fencing protecting the covers and aged books. I began by searching through the wooden drawers of loose 3x5 index cards which one can remove to look at more closely. I did find an article on microfilm from the Belfast Tattler published in the 1800's of a young lady with the surname of FERGUS marrying. My mind is too weary to remember all of the particulars, but I will be adding it to the FERGUS Research website under the marriage section upon my return. I used my time at the Linen Hall Library to research the documents that are only found in this repository. Also, I searched and transcribed all of the FERGUS listings of passengers who emigrated from Ireland through Belfast, Londonderry, and Liverpool. Those also will be added to the website. There were few listings. Both the Linen Hall Library and the Belfast City Hall (it takes up an entire city block) will be on the FERGUS Y2K Tour, along with a reception by the Lord Mayor of Belfast! Tomorrow, Sunday, I will be travelling to Dundalk, Republic of Ireland to meet with the parents and family of one of our FERGUS mailing list members! I am looking forward to this with great anticipation. Following our afternoon visit I will be travelling on with friends to Dublin to research there all day on Monday, again looking for FERGUS records. If anyone needs to contact me, it is all right to reply to this e-mail address until Monday evening U. S. time. Wish you well. Ready, Aye, Ready, Cynthia