> > Can anyone offer any suggestions for finding landmarks and place > > names featuring a particular surname? > > > > Jen <jmckemie@mindspring.com> > > You might try the Getty Thesaurus of Geographical names on line: > > http://www.getty.edu/research/tools/vocabulary/tgn/index.html > > glee Go here http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnis/web_query.gnis_web_query_form and search by your surnames. You will probably find many features and locations with any given name. -- Ron Stockton Derby, KS,USA My mind not only wanders, sometimes it leaves completely! Ron Stockton <rons1942@att.net>

> In an old (1934) family letter there is reference to "Uncle Wicta". > It is written quite legibly, but it certainly seems like an unusual > first name. So I'm wondering if it is right, or if I'm mis-reading > it somehow. If not actually 'Wicta" what could it be, or is it some > kind of nickname? > > "Uncle Wicta" was born Abt 1820 and came from Prussia Bef 1850. > > jsents@stny.rr.com (John Sents) John: I had hopes that someone who could provide a definitive answer would help you out........ I can't, but if you haven't seen this web site of Prussian given names, you might want to do some looking. It will certainly give you some possibilities: http://www.sca.org/heraldry/paul/vl-y.html I assume that you have already posted a query to the Prussia-Roots mailing list at: http://lists.rootsweb.com/index/intl/DEU/PRUSSIA-ROOTS.html The other suggestion I have is to look at gensource.com. I believe this is the site of Dr. Schweitzer. I don't know whether or not he takes personal email regarding such questions, but you might give it a shot. I'm still hopeful you might get a response from someone with a real answer <g> "Glee" <gleemc@earthlink.net>

> I am having a problem discovering the origin of my great- > grandfather, Joseph Kwiatkowski. He was born in Germany on February > 24, 1867 and supposedly immigrated to the US on January 13, 1892. I > have his Naturalization Papers and they state that he was born in a > town named Blato or Bilato, Germany. > > <snip> > > AMREINKR@aol.com Have your tried: http://www.avotaynu.com/ellis.html for your Ellis Island search? It is much better and more flexible than the main web site. bob gillis bob gillis <rpgillis@bellatlantic.net>

> Herschell R. Spears wrote: > > >My Maternal Great Grandfather, James Henry Ray, was shot and killed > >by a neighbor in Blossom, Lamar County, Texas sometime in the year > >1900. The name of the neighbor, according to family history, was > >Gossett (probably John Gossett). > > > >There was a fire in the county seat, Paris, Texas, in the year 1916. > >All records pertinent to this case were destroyed. > > <snip> > > As I mentioned before, I know next to nothing about Texas records, > but I just checked two versions of the Handybook for Genealogists > and Redbook, and none of them mention a significant record loss in > Lamar Co., TX. While there are no death records before 1903, and it > is entirely possible there are no remaining criminal records, these > references indicate that marriage, probate, civil court, and land > records exist from 1843. I'd sure be checking probate, civil court, > and land records for any possible clues. Unless I lived nearby in > Texas, my first step would be to check the online FHLC at > www.familysearch.com to see what might be on microfilm that I could > order for a very small fee at a local Family History Center). > > Often, when there were courthouse fires/floods, many records were > saved. There are persistent rumors, for example, that two court > house fires in Harrison Co., MO destroyed all records, and that > could not be farther from the truth. Though some records were lost, > there are many, many types of records that were saved and still > exist back to the founding of the county in the late 1840s. > > County clerks are not hired to do genealogy, so they may not always > be willing to go dust them off in the basement (or attic) unless > you're there in person to look (or you pay or beg a local person > they know to look at them for you). > > Connie <clsheets1@prodigy.net> Here is a quick and dirty look at the indexes for 1900. Gossett, John Lived in: 4 Justice Precinct District 78, Lamar County, Texas Series: T623 Microfilm: 1652 Book: 2 Page: 10 James Ray found in: Lived in: 3 Precinct District 77, Lamar County, Texas Series: T623 Microfilm: 1652 Book: 1 Page: 297 John Gossett was a chicken peddler. Kevin "Kevin Wornell" <wornell1@attbi.com>

> <snip> > > Moreover, the papers state that he came on the ship Dresden from > Bremen to New York on January 13, 1892, but the Dresden did not > commence voyages from Bremen to New York until MAY of 1892. I had > someone do a lookup in the Germans to America books and was told > that he is not there. I wrote to NARA in Washington and he was not > found in their January 13, 1892 passenger lists. > > <snip> > > AMREINKR@aol.com Just a thought, I have seen Jan for January in many old records being confused with Jun for June and vice versa Kevin "Kevin Wornell" <wornell1@attbi.com>

My father uses Family Tree Maker ver. 8, and he is having a disappointing and puzzling problem. When he does Kinship reports on 90% or more of his relatives, he'll get a very complete long list including my father's name in the report (just like it should be). He has some, just a few descendant that a Kinship report will only show perhaps 10 names, when the report should be very long. He has checked his submission of data, and he can not figure why the reports are not complete. He is 79 and frustrated. He swears there must be a bug in the program, but I said it's probably some way some data must have been entered (such as a comma , initially, space, or other slight difference in a data entry) in a way which makes this program act screwy when giving a proper complete Kinship report. Has anyone had this problem, and what was the solution? The poor guy had a heart attack abt. 3 mo. ago, and this is main entertainment and hobby. Please help! I may cross post this message to other groups because he has worked so hard on the genealogy, and he is very disappointed right now. Thanks -- if you read and consider this query> Sincerely - Randy O =+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ NOTE: Remove removeremove and the _ and ( or ) marks in my email address to reply. Hope you have a great week! "Randy O." <emguy@execpc.com>

I suspect it was a nickname, which can come about in unusual ways. For instance, perhaps his name was Victor and some small child pronounced it "Wicta" and it stuck. Patscga@aol.com

I had three great-aunts who were Nuns. I didn't put down that they were married, which would confound those who will look at your file later. In FTM you can add "Vocation" but I don't know what software you are using. Surely there must be a place where you can indicate that. Patscga@aol.com

"Jennifer McKemie" <jmckemie@mindspring.com> wrote: > Can anyone offer any suggestions for finding landmarks and place > names featuring a particular surname? Go to the U.S. Geological Survey's Geographic Names Information System at: http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnis/web_query.gnis_web_query_form Type in the surname and you'll get a list of geographic features containing the name. You can see a sample at this page of my web site: http://www.pipeline.com/~richardpence/places.htm I see that my page needs updating. I had linked each of the places to the USGS page giving full details on each feature, but these seem to no longer be accurate. Regards, Richard "Richard A. Pence" <richardpence@pipeline.com>

> How's the best way to handle entering multiple surname spelling > variations in my genealogy program... when the person used different > ones or the records show different ones? > > jsents@stny.rr.com (John Sents) Try search engines that allow wildcard searches. One can get fairly creative with the Surname Helper web site. Try Soundex searches, too. Also, check handwriting of that place/era to see how a letter may have been misinterpreted. For example, the letter "S" looked very much like an "L" in the late 1700s Virginia, so SANTONI may have been written as LANTONI. A lower case letter "s" looked like an "f" in France in the same period, so Corsica may have read as Corfica. "venezia10" <venezia10@cox.net>

<Landmoffat@aol.com> wrote: > Hi - In some of the early marriage records in Kentucky (1800-1860), > it shows the word intermarriage between the two persons. Exactly > what did that mean in that time period - does anyone know? Lorraine: It means they were planning to or had married each other. I suspect you are referring to the wording on early marriage bonds, similar in many states for that period. The phrase is sometimes rendered something like "if there be no lawful reason why they should not intermarry .." As stated above, intermarry or intermarriage simply means they were intending to or had married each other. The purpose of the marriage bond was to have the groom's pledge that there was no legal reason why he and his intended could not be married. The usual impediments were: Either or both of them were under the legal age, either or both of them were already married or the couple was to closely related to be married under the laws of the jurisdiction. If there were no such impediments, then they would "intermarry" - get married. Regards, Richard Pence "Richard A. Pence" <richardpence@pipeline.com>

jsents@stny.rr.com (John Sents) wrote: > In an old (1934) family letter there is reference to "Uncle Wicta". > It is written quite legibly, but it certainly seems like an unusual > first name. So I'm wondering if it is right, or if I'm mis-reading > it somehow. If not actually 'Wicta" what could it be, or is it some > kind of nickname? It's confused spelling by a native german speaker. He was uncle victor, of course. NO_SPAM_TO_dpharris@gci.net (Dennis P. Harris)

> > > County clerks are not hired to do genealogy, so they may not always > > > be willing to go dust them off in the basement (or attic) unless > > > you're there in person to look (or you pay or beg a local person > > > they know to look at them for you). > > > > > > Connie > > > clsheets1@prodigy.net > > > > My question has always been, if the clerks are telling you that the > > records do not exist because of some disaster, how do you find out > > if some records actually remain? And if you find out that they do, > > how do you get the personnel working in the the repository to admit > > that and to let you look for them? > > > > [ There are a number of approaches to courthouse record access: > > (1) Go in person and be *extremely* polite while being persistent. > > (2) Find a local gen/hist society which knows the courthouse well. > > (3) Hire a local professional who knows the courthouse well. > > (4) Local librarians sometimes know records better than courthouse > > staff. - Mod ] > > > > Polly > > phheld@twcny.rr.com > > I'll agree with the Mod. It is pitifully poor planning to accuse a > man of not knowing his job and to insist you know better than he > does about what he's supposed to be overseeing. > > "Cheryl Singhals" <singhals@erols.com> To add a bit to two excellent responses: Anyone searious about genealogy should have access to a general reference of available records. Two of these are The Redbook from Ancestry and The Handy Book from Everton Publishers. These give basic information about the records in each county as well as necessary addresses and other information. When I have need for information in a county I am not familiar with, I first check The Redbook. Then I go to the USGenWeb site for the county to see what is there (these range from sites with hardly any information to sites which have posted many vital, cemetery, probate and other records. The next step, if I still have questions, is to join the mailing list for that county and then probe a bit with those familiar with it and its records. Today a brief phone call can be as cheap as the postage for a letter, so I often call the clerk's office and inquire about the availability of the record I am looking for. You get a range of responses. Catch them on a slow day and they will run and look it up! Catch the wrong person and they won't talk to you until you send the requisite fee. But usually you can a feel for what will happen when you letter arrives. As experience researchers know, in some court houses researchers get a warm welcome. In others, you are treated as if you are a trespasser. One county - bless it - has a "volunteer genealogist" who is constantly available to assist researchers and, when no one is around to help, she busily creates indexes and hanging files for various surnames! At the other end of the scale is the clerk who begins the conversation by saying that "the law says we must ...." by way of denying your request. As Brian and Cheryl suggest, your approach can affect which treatment you get - and being properly prepared is essential. Regards, Richard "Richard A. Pence" <richardpence@pipeline.com>

My guess is Victor. Judy lewisjgrandma@webtv.net (Judith Lewis)

"John Kantzer" <mkdoc@frognet.net> wrote: > The best and largest one that I know of is Everton's > Genealogical Helper. As previously noted, The Genealogical Helper no longer exists. The one - and largely only - thing it was "the best" at was that it carried a large number of genealogical queries (enough so it could also be considered "the largest"). The reason it no longer exists is easy to figure out: The one thing The Genealogical Helper did very well is to help you make contacts with like-minded researchers. It was, as they say, the only game in town. That job is now done much faster, much more effectively and efficiently and at much less cost by the Internet. In short, it has been replaced by soc.genealogy.*! I sometimes wonder if those who claim The Genealogical Helper was the "best" ever stopped to read any of the articles. If they had, they would have surely noticed that they were quite rudimentary and largely just routine "how-to" fodder used to take up the space between the advertisements (albeit ads that one was quite willing to pay for!). Regards, Richard A. Pence, Fairfax, VA 22030 Pence Family History <http://www.pipeline.com/~richardpence/> "Richard A. Pence" <richardpence@pipeline.com>

> In an old (1934) family letter there is reference to "Uncle Wicta". > It is written quite legibly, but it certainly seems like an unusual > first name. So I'm wondering if it is right, or if I'm mis-reading > it somehow. If not actually 'Wicta" what could it be, or is it some > kind of nickname? > > "Uncle Wicta" was born Abt 1820 and came from Prussia Bef 1850. > > jsents@stny.rr.com (John Sents) Viktor, Victor

> In an old (1934) family letter there is reference to "Uncle Wicta". > It is written quite legibly, but it certainly seems like an unusual > first name. So I'm wondering if it is right, or if I'm mis-reading > it somehow. If not actually 'Wicta" what could it be, or is it some > kind of nickname? > > "Uncle Wicta" was born Abt 1820 and came from Prussia Bef 1850. > > jsents@stny.rr.com (John Sents) It sounds very much like a nickname or a child's interpretation of Victor.

"Singhals" <singhals@erols.com> wrote: > Was it Jefferson or Franklin who didn't trust a man who could > spell his name only one way? Actually, Jefferson and Franklin were literate. It was Andrew Jackson who said he didn't truest a man who couldn't spell a *word* more than one way. <vbg> IN response to the original question, rephrased by John as follows: > what I was wondering is: if there is some accepted 'scheme' > for entering the applicable Surname variations, such as: > SENTS/Sentz/Zentz or SENTS (Sentz Zentz)? This way, > someone doing a SEARCH on any one of the variations > gets my data. My treatment close approximates the approach you have taken, Cheryl. I use the name as currently used by the family and carry that back to the original immigrant, who usually is carried with the name he was given as it may have been recorded in "the old country and, in some instances. From there, I go down the generations using the spellings as generally used by the family. I have two or three illustrations. First, my fourth great grandfather, Johann Georg Bentz, and four of his sons - Johann Ludwig Bentz, Johann Jacob Bentz, Johann Adam Bentz and Johann Heinrich Bentz. Georg disappears after his arrival in Pennsylvania with his family in 1749. There are a couple of Pennsylvania records that apparently refer to his sons, but by 1754 they were all in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Once in Virginia the four sons are almost universally referred to as Lewis Pence, Jacob Pence, Adam Pence and Henry Pence. There are records in Shenandoah County which sometimes mention a Pentz or a Bentz, but if you go to the rather extensive records in the court house in Woodstock and look through the indexes you will find no person named Bentz, one person named Pentz (and I can't figure out why this index entry, as the name is clearly rendered as Pence in the original!) and all the rest of the entries are indexed as Pence. (And here I need to says that I have not found very satisfactory at all the solution suggested by others; "Use the spelling you find in the record." My experience there is that I often find two or more spellings of the same name in the same record! What do I do then? Flip a coin?) A second example is another family I cam currently working on in my one-name PENCE surname study. This related to a Johannes Bentz who emigrated with his brother Michael from Germany to Pennsylvania in the early 1780s. These two still have many descendants in York County and elsewhere in Pennsylvania. In recent months, however, I discovered - with the help of a letter in a probate file in Warren County, Ohio - that one Jacob Pence of that county was a grandson of the immigrant Johannes Bentz. The letter, incidentally, is from Michael Bentz of York County to his cousin John Pence of Warren County and is in reference to the estate of the grandfather of the cousins. In it Michael says "the English" call him Pence but he prefers to spell the name the way his ancestors did. Jacob Bentz is the original entry for the grandson, who went first to Virginia and then to Ohio, but all of his descendants are listed as Pence, the name they used. Third, I will mention some anomalies. One family spelled its name as Pence from the 1700s, but a large group of them went to Arkansas as "Pence" before 1850 - but after 1850 the name almost always appears as "Pense." A man whose father and grandfather used the name Pence in Virginia moved to Ohio, where his name is always rendered as Pentz. The children and grandchildren are Pence sometimes and Pentz at other times; these I enter under the name they apparently preferred. Just today I found the marriage of one Horace Pence to Hortense Ridgeway (a marriage made in heaven! <g>). His great-great grandfather and his great grandfather used the name Pence, his grandfather used the name Pentz, his father used the name Pence and Horace himself was married under the name Pence and in 1900 his is listed as Pence - but in 1910, 1920 and 1930 he is Horace Pentz! There are a couple of other families whose immigrant ancestors came as Bentz and who quickly became Pence now have descendants named Pentz. and in cases similar to the Arkansas group, a single son of a family known as Pence for some reason became Pense and are so today. In each of the above instances, I try to use the name used today by the family and to carry that back into the generations until the change occured. With respect to John's query, like others have suggested, there is no clear path to follow. However, since the name Zentz, Sents, etc., presents some parallels to Bemtz, Pentz and Pence or Pense, I would suggest to him that if he follows a pattern similar to what I have outlined above, then the chances are good that several of the variations he has encountered will also appear in his database, where others will find them. I also suggest that those researching that name no doubt realize they have to cover all the bases in their research by checking all the variations in spelling. Finally, I think it was Bob Gillis who pointed out that TMG allows entry of multiple names - all searchable. While this doesn't help others looking at hour online entry, it does help you! Regards, Richard "Richard A. Pence" <richardpence@pipeline.com>

Hello, I have been trying to find information on this surname: Bairentine. I haven't been able to find any information on this name at all in this spelling that is. I have found it spelled Barentine. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks, Willow "Willow" <rickandrobin@alltel.net>

> In an old (1934) family letter there is reference to "Uncle Wicta". > It is written quite legibly, but it certainly seems like an unusual > first name. So I'm wondering if it is right, or if I'm mis-reading > it somehow. If not actually 'Wicta" what could it be, or is it some > kind of nickname? > > "Uncle Wicta" was born Abt 1820 and came from Prussia Bef 1850. > > jsents@stny.rr.com (John Sents) John.... Go to google.com and in the search box type in "Wicta+name" without the quotes. There is quite a bit there, including a whole genealogy of a family in which the first name of Wicta was used. JoanC JCastenada@aol.com