FYI. You never know you might see someone! Cindy >-----Original Message----- >From: Bob Harter <soilchem@nh.ultranet.com> >To: BRETHREN@rootsweb.com <BRETHREN@rootsweb.com> >Date: Friday, July 24, 1998 6:13 PM >Subject: Old Photo Album > > >>- Of primary interest to anyone who may have been associated with the >>Church of the Brethren in Randolph County, Indiana or Darke County, Ohio >>prior to about 1930 -1940. >> >> I have placed my Grandmother's (Clarinda Onkst Baker) photo album onto web >>pages at: >> http://www.nh.ultranet.com/~soilchem/pictures.htm >> >>I estimate the pictures were probably all taken between about 1890 and >>1910. >>I can only identify a couple of the subjects. I realize it is a real >>"streach" to expect someone to know who they are, but if anyone does >>recognize one of the subjects please let me know. >> >>(Clarinda's father was an deacon in the Union City Church.) >> >>Bob Harter >>rharter@bigfoot.com >> >> >>==== BRETHREN Mailing List ==== >>8 ---------------------------------------------- >> This is the Brethren Genealogy and History Network >> we are sponsored by >> The Fellowship Of Brethren Genealogists >> You are invited to join the membership of FOBG >> For further information e-mail >> McAdams@udayton.edu >> ------------------------ >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> > >

Anna, Thanks! I made a copy for my gym kids and forwarded it to lots of folks. Margie R. Pearce Genealogy URL: http://www.angelfire.com/la/ancestors LaUSAG URL: http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Arena/4808 M&M Gymnastics URL: http://www.swiftsite.com/MnMGym -----Original Message----- From: Anna M. Langley [SMTP:alangley@hiwaay.net] Sent: Friday, July 10, 1998 12:04 PM To: Amanda Taylor; Margaret Ory; Alan & Jean Mitchell; JD & Beverly Norris; Shirley Hornbeck; Theresa Blake; Sue Brunot; Starlene Oary; Sande Gregg Parks; Percy Brignac; Mary Peoples; Maria Elena Keller; Margie Ory Pearce; Margie Myers; Lynn Owrey; Lois & Marlin Glasgow; Ladonna Owrey; Kevin & Ann Ory; John Getz,M D; John Gaglione; Jerry Schrecengost; Jean Hopper; Jan Schoen; Horace Ory; Greg Lesser; Glenn & Claire Ory; Gary Orey; Christian Renee Watts; Charles Crank; Carla Miller; Bill Martin; Janice Altman; Jim T Ory; JB & Carol Kliebert; Michelle "Maia" Jahn; Janet Stanko; Howard Urick; Mary Garner Metzger; Marge Luke; Harry M Clyde Subject: Poem Gang, Got this last pm and thought it very appropo for us struggling through w/ genealogy, family, school, et. ENJOY!!!!! Anna Don't Quit When things go wrong, as they sometimes will, When the road you're trudging seems all up hill, When the funds are low, and the debts are high, And you want to smile, but you have to sigh, When care is pressing you down a bit, Rest if you must, but don't you quit. Life is queer with its twists and turns, As everyone of us sometimes learns, And many a failure turns about, When he might have won had he stuck it out. Don't give up though the pace seems slow, You may succeed with another blow. Success is failure turned inside out, The silver tint of the clouds of doubt, And you never can tell how close you are, It may be near when it seems so far, So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit, It's when things seem worse, that you must not quit.

Hi everyone, I hope your summer is not as crazy as mine is turning out to be! In case you weren't aware, you can purchase copies of the 1979 History of Adams County, parts I and II from the Adams Co. Historical Society. Email Gordon Gregg (historian@decaturnet.com) for details if you're interested. I've also located a company that has reproductions of many of the county histories published at the end of the last century, including Adams Co. It is the Higginson Book Co., PO Box 778, Salem, MA 01970, 508-745-7170 or their web site is www.higginsonbooks.com. This is not a recommendation, as there may be others who also publish reproductions, but merely for your information. The copy at the Decatur Public Library was published by them, and I recently ordered a copy for my own library. Tim Singleton, tsingleton@iclub.org 105 Nancy Drive Richmond, KY 40475-8613 USGenWeb Coordinator Adams Co., Indiana - http://www.rootsweb.com/~inadams/ Randolph Co., Indiana - http://www.rootsweb.com/~inrandol/

Greetings to Adams County friends, Does anyone recignize this family of Jonathan KELLY/KELLEY. They were all closely associated with Adams and Jay Co IN. Jonathan KELLY b 1797 PA>1816 HarrisonCo OH>1849 Adams Co IN. Died 1870 in Adams Co. Married Sarah KERRIGAN. Children: Justus 1817; Jonathan 1823; Isaac 1826; Daniel 1827; Washington 1829;Charles 1831; William 1834. QUESTION; Did Jonathan KELLY have a daughter named Margaret KELLY who married John T BURK 1850 in Carroll Co OH? They moved to Jay/Adams Co in 1850. Margaret died in 1852. They lived just a few miles from Jonathan KELLY. There is circumstancial evidence Margaret is Jonathan's daughter, but we really need to know for sure. Perhaps KELLY descendants still live in the area. If anyone can help us we will be very grateful. Any little piece of information will be appreciated. Jean Christian jchrist756@aol.com 1559 Asbury St St Paul, MN 55108

Here's a message I got from the Decatur Daily Democrat today: ---------- > From: Decatur Daily Democrat <dailydemo@decaturnet.com> > To: tsingleton@iclub.org > Subject: Re: About Your Site > Date: Monday, June 22, 1998 11:52 AM > > Tim Singleton > > We are experiencing major difficulties getting our web site back on > line. Links on the pages and programs associated with the updating > process are not functioning properly. We apologize for our slow > correction process and understand your frustration. > > Decatur Daily Democrat Tim Singleton, tsingleton@iclub.org 105 Nancy Drive Richmond, KY 40475-8613 USGenWeb Coordinator Adams Co., Indiana - http://www.rootsweb.com/~inadams/ Randolph Co., Indiana - http://www.rootsweb.com/~inrandol/

Hi everyone, This might be my 1st. post to this list. Jacob AUTEN(0N), listed in Cen. 1860 Adams Co IN. Root twp. wf. name Martha. her mdn.name FOSTER. Seeking location, probably in OH, for Jacob in 1850 Census yr. Their dau. Elizabeth Auten md. Jacob FONNER 1869 in Adams Co..he b.in PA. Jacob FONNER fa. was John FONNER b in NJ & the mother was Mary CROUSE b. in Lancaster Co PA. Her fa. given as John CROUSE who might have gone to MO. Seeking any info on CROUSE family in PA or MO. Jacob ABNET, b.1781 MD., d. in Adams Co.1853. Seeking his MD birthplace and name of his father, siblings. He md Sarah BAKER in Shenandoah Co. VA 1806. Sorry for the long post and thanks for any leads or help you can give. Believe there might still be some ABNETS in Berne area. Lou Moses loumoses@indy.net Carmel IN 317-571-9664

Hi folks, Just thought I'd let you know that due to computer problems at Rootsweb, which hosts the Adams and Randolph Co. Web sites, I have been unable to upload any new or updated material since Monday night. Latest word is that they hope to be back to normal on Friday, but I will be out of town Friday through Monday. That means that you probably won't be seeing any updates before Monday or Tuesday. sorry for any inconvenience. You may have noticed that the counters and copyright notice at the bottom of the Adams Co. and Randolph Co. web pages aren't working either, for the same reasons. Tim Singleton, tsingleton@iclub.org 105 Nancy Drive Richmond, KY 40475-8613 USGenWeb Coordinator Adams Co., Indiana - http://www.rootsweb.com/~inadams/ Randolph Co., Indiana - http://www.rootsweb.com/~inrandol/

Hello everyone, I've added links, on the Adams Co. Web page, to obituaries in the Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette and News-Sentinel. Apparently the Decatur Daily Democrat is not keeping their web site up to date any longer and the Fort Wayne papers often carry obituaries of Adams Co. residents. Tim Singleton, tsingleton@iclub.org 105 Nancy Drive Richmond, KY 40475-8613 USGenWeb Coordinator Adams Co., Indiana - http://www.rootsweb.com/~inadams/ Randolph Co., Indiana - http://www.rootsweb.com/~inrandol/

Hi All, > http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/ > > This is an excellent site! I can't get away from it as I've found so much. > You can print out actual copies of your relatives land deeds from the > government. You can search by name or once you find out what twp/sec. your > relative lived in you can search & see his neighbors! Check it out!!! > Cindy Yes, it's a great discovery. I had an original land patent for my g-g-grandfather Joseph Mann, which I had discovered recently at my mother's home. The first thing I did at the BLM site was to check that patent, and when I did the search, found a second patent for him. If you haven't had a chance, take a look. Tim Singleton, tsingleton@iclub.org 105 Nancy Drive Richmond, KY 40475-8613 USGenWeb Coordinator Adams Co., Indiana - http://www.rootsweb.com/~inadams/ Randolph Co., Indiana - http://www.rootsweb.com/~inrandol/

http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/ This is an excellent site! I can't get away from it as I've found so much. You can print out actual copies of your relatives land deeds from the government. You can search by name or once you find out what twp/sec. your relative lived in you can search & see his neighbors! Check it out!!! Cindy Cindy Torres Owens 1023 Aquia Dr Stafford, VA 22554-1940 http://www.familytreemaker.com/users/o/w/e/Cindy-L-Owens/index.html

Tim, This came at a perfect time! I would really like a search done for a will/estate settlement for my Andrew Scoles who died 1855. They didn't start keeping death certificates until later. I say this is a GREAT suggestion! Cindy Torres Owens 1023 Aquia Dr Stafford, VA 22554-1940 http://www.familytreemaker.com/users/o/w/e/Cindy-L-Owens/index.html

I've had a good suggestion which I'll try to implement. If you're an Adams Co. Indiana researcher who will conduct research in the county for a fee, send me a private email with your name, email address and what areas you're available to research (courthouse records, cemeteries, library etc). After I get some responses I'll create a web page, similar to the volunteer lookup page providing that information. I'll place some sort of statement that the list is only informational, and not a recommendation of any given individual, that fees for research are to be determined by the researcher, and that the entire responsibility for payment and the quality of the research is determined by the two parties (or something to that effect). Let me know if that's helpful to you. Tim Singleton, tsingleton@iclub.org 105 Nancy Drive Richmond, KY 40475-8613 USGenWeb Coordinator Adams Co., Indiana - http://www.rootsweb.com/~inadams/ Randolph Co., Indiana - http://www.rootsweb.com/~inrandol/

Sorry to bother the list with this, but my mind needs to be refreshed as to how to unsubscribe from the list. I only have 'net & email for a few more days & so will need to say goodbye to all of you. I'm glad for the list & the help it offers...blessings to you all as you research family histories. Thanks. TTFN!!!! Karrie P.

Got this from the Huntingdon Co, PA mail list and thought it might help someone. Margie R. Pearce Genealogy URL: http://www.angelfire.com/la/ancestors LaUSAG URL: http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Arena/4808 M&M Gymnastics URL: http://www.swiftsite.com/MnMGym -----Original Message----- From: Ken Boonie [SMTP:kab9@apollo.vicon.net] Sent: Tuesday, May 05, 1998 8:42 AM To: PAHUNTIN-L@rootsweb.com Subject: Tombstone reading I received the following from Claudia Garner who is subbed to Bradford county mailinglist. Thought it would be helpful. Gravestone reading/ I am passing along an item that I saw in the Hints From Heloise column this morning. A Use for Baking Soda "I am a genealogist, and I go to old cemeteries seeking gravestone of family members who have passed on. I rub baking soda on writing that is unclear. A handful rubbed over the writing brings out the lettering and numbers. You can brush it off and it does no harm to the stone or grass around it. It is as good as charcoal rubbing and takes a lot less time. If I photograph the stone, it comes out well. I buy a large box and it is relatively inexpensive." Jane, New Jersey Reply from Heloise- "To be on the safe side, it's not recommended to use dry baking soda on highly polished stones for fear of scratching them. You are right about no harm to other headstone surfaces and the environment. It's a handy thing to keep around and use for all kinds of projects." Jodi Roper Virginia Referring to the baking soda trick for enhancing gravestone lettering when photographing them....I have heard of a similar trick: use shaving cream and a squeegee to fill in the depressions of the letters. It works very well. Since it's a soap product, I would think the shaving cream is biodegradable, but it may be more expensive. Linda O'Halloran -- Ken Boonie Coordinator USGenWeb Project Huntingdon County PA http://www.rootsweb.com/~pahuntin/

Norman, Do you have an Elizabeth Sours in your file? She was born in 1804, OH and married John Roop (1807-1850, Van Wert Co, OH). The couple had 5 children, surname Roop: Elizabeth, Samuel, Martha E., Angeline and Thomas. I would love to find out more about her. Margie R. Pearce Genealogy URL: http://www.angelfire.com/la/ancestors LaUSAG URL: http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Arena/4808 M&M Gymnastics URL: http://www.swiftsite.com/MnMGym -----Original Message----- From: Norman L. Runyon [SMTP:nrunyon@voyager.net] Sent: Saturday, May 02, 1998 6:00 PM To: INADAMS-L@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [INADAMS-L] Anybody There? Ask and ye shall receive: Norman L. Runyon, nrunyon@voyager.net 207 Saint Joseph Street Sturgis, MI 49091-1441 John Runyon, III came to Adams County in October 1841 with his wife Mary (Price) and most of their family. A few more surnames have been added to the family since then. I am working on the following - to varying degrees depending on the name: RUNYON, AMSTUTZ, ANDREWS, ASPY, BALDUC, BORROR, BOZE, BROWN, BUCKMASTER, CLARK, CRUMRINE, DAVIS, DUFF, EGLEY, ELLIOTT, FIELDS, FISCHER, FRYBACK, FUHRMAN, GARTON, GAYLORD, GILBERT, HAINES, HALL, HARMON, HART, HASSON, HILL, HILTON, HIRSCHY, HUFFMAN, JACOBS, KEITHLEY, KIMBEL, KIZER, LAISURE, LANDIS, LANG, LEHMAN, LHAMON, MATHER, MESHBERGER, MILHOLLAND, MONTGOMERY, MORGRET, NESBAUM, NUSBAUM, OWENS, PARNELL, PARRISH, PEEL, RALSTON, REYNOLDS, RICKETTS, SHANKS, SMITH, SOURS, SPILTER, SPRUNGER, TUCKER, VAMPNER, WECHTER, WOLLEY, WOODWARD.

Hello everyone, The searchable cemetery listings index is now available from the Adams Co. Web Site. Just follow the links. To start with I have primarily the Monmouth Cemetery thanks to Nola Rains. I've added a couple of other burials just to test the system. If you have additions you would like to make to this system, please email me directly and I'll let you know the format necessary. Anything posted to this index will automatically be indexed in Surname Helper, which means that anyone looking for a specific surname will be directed to this page, if that surname exists there. They won't need to know which cemetery an individual is buried in once all the cemeteries are on line, which is my goal. Let me know if you find any problems, or if you have any suggestions on how to improve the site. Thanks. Tim Singleton, tsingleton@iclub.org 105 Nancy Drive Richmond, KY 40475-8613 USGenWeb Coordinator Adams Co., Indiana - http://www.rootsweb.com/~inadams/ Randolph Co., Indiana - http://www.rootsweb.com/~inrandol/

Ask and ye shall receive: Norman L. Runyon, nrunyon@voyager.net 207 Saint Joseph Street Sturgis, MI 49091-1441 John Runyon, III came to Adams County in October 1841 with his wife Mary (Price) and most of their family. A few more surnames have been added to the family since then. I am working on the following - to varying degrees depending on the name: RUNYON, AMSTUTZ, ANDREWS, ASPY, BALDUC, BORROR, BOZE, BROWN, BUCKMASTER, CLARK, CRUMRINE, DAVIS, DUFF, EGLEY, ELLIOTT, FIELDS, FISCHER, FRYBACK, FUHRMAN, GARTON, GAYLORD, GILBERT, HAINES, HALL, HARMON, HART, HASSON, HILL, HILTON, HIRSCHY, HUFFMAN, JACOBS, KEITHLEY, KIMBEL, KIZER, LAISURE, LANDIS, LANG, LEHMAN, LHAMON, MATHER, MESHBERGER, MILHOLLAND, MONTGOMERY, MORGRET, NESBAUM, NUSBAUM, OWENS, PARNELL, PARRISH, PEEL, RALSTON, REYNOLDS, RICKETTS, SHANKS, SMITH, SOURS, SPILTER, SPRUNGER, TUCKER, VAMPNER, WECHTER, WOLLEY, WOODWARD.

Hello everyone, Samuel WHITRIGHT born 17 Dec 1818 in Columbiana Co Ohio, he is the son of Peter Whitright and Elizabeth SHOEMAKER. Samuel married Nancy COBLE born 15 Apr 1821 in Franklin Co PA., she is the daughter of Abraham and Christina ? Coble. Samuel and Nancy lived in Adams County 1860-1880 Their son Elias Whitright married Elizabeth HARDEN on 22 Nov 1870 in Adams Co. Elizabeth is the daughter of William and Jane (Burrell) HARDEN. Their children are: Dalton born 1872 Adams Co Indiana Thomas born 1873 Adams Co Indiana Died 1890 Samuel Leslie born 4 May 1876 Van Vert County Ohio Look forward to hearing from anyone researching these names. Thank you, Jean

Good Day All, I am looking for any and all information on Joseph Hudson; b. Va., m. to Barbara Feasel(sp?), b. Oh.. They resided in Washington Twp. according to the 1870 Adams Co. census. In the 1870 census with Joseph and Barbara were: Kylburn, 20, b. Oh; Joel, 17, b. Oh.; William, 8, b. Oh.. I don't know if these were all children of Joseph & Barbara-the ages seem wrong. I do know there is a son named Thomas Hudson, m. to Judy E. Ellis. My husband is descended from Joel Hudson & Mary Ann Whitehurst. We can't seem to find Joel after 1893, when he and Mary Ann's last child was born. Mary Ann is listed in the 1900 St.Mary's Twp. census as divorced. Joel is nowhere to be found at that time. Any help along any of these lines would be greatly appreciated. Thanx -- Judy Hudson GENEALOGY: The 'Real Theory Of Relativity'. Sturgis, Mi. mailto:royh@voyager.net web page http://www.familytreemaker.com/users/h/u/d/Judith-L-Hudson/

In response to Tim's request for a roll call, I thought I would submit an account of a trip that a cousin of mine wrote of a trip to Germany in the 1970's. Bill Borns was from Decatur, Adams County, Indiana, and he mentions many Decatur names in his account. He visited the Northern Germany area (Bersenbrück) where our ancestors who eventually migrated to Decatur were from. I spoke recently to Bill, and he said that much of the history in the account (including some of the "family stories") were also gained from his uncle who visited the same area of Germany in 1910. Therefore, I do not have sources for all the names and accounts, but it does make for good reading. There also may be misspellings, since this was translated from handwritten notes. Names Mentioned: Voglewede (also Vogelwedde, Vogelwede, Rüsse-Vogelwedde), Holthouse (Holzhaus), Meyers, Wëstmann, Kreke, Korfhaugen, Breckhaus, Höne, Borns Mike Egan http://home.fuse.net/egan/ http://www.familytreemaker.com/users/e/g/a/Michael-G-Egan/ Bersenbrück The Voglewedes, the Holthouses, the Meyers' and a lot of other Decatur families migrated in 1835-1845 to Decatur from two small parishes in lower Saxony, Bersenbrück and Ankum. Their land, up to 1648, was owned by the Catholic diocese of Osnabrück, the only large town nearby. The farmers and their craftsmen paid a tithe for their rent. The people were converted from heathenism quite late, 900-1000 AD. The parish at Bersenbrück has a church window commemorating its seven hundredth anniversary in the 1930s. About all that is left of the early times is a part of the wall of the Cistercian Abbey going back to about 1200 AD near the church. Common people did not have family names in those days; you were known as the daughter or son of a father or from a town or estate. I did not find any useful cemeteries for tracing families, although there may be some. This is not tourist country; there are no mountains, big rivers, castles or lakes. This is farm country with a lot of new small factories scattered around. The people are like the rural Dutch. They raised cows for milk and cheese, rye and barley for pumpernickel and beer, pasture and hay, and flax for linen. In the olden days, there was no wheat with a short enough growing season for this far north. Nowadays, cotton has just about killed the flax/linen industry. There still are dozens of good breweries. This is the land of the Grimm's Fairy Tales: Snow White, Rapunzel, Cinderella, Rumpelstiltzkin, Hansel and Gretel, Red Riding Hood, the Piper of Hameln, etc.; also Roland the giant (statue in Bremen) and all kinds of dwarfs, gnomes and wicked witches. The big change came with the Reformation. The Church lands were gradually turned over to the political states, in this case, the dukes, kings, electors or whatever at Hanover and Oldenburg. The rents [sp?] rival faiths tried to get along. There were any number of churches which Catholics and Evangelicals (whom we call Lutherans) shared, some parts of Sunday service together, some parts separate. The kings and the generals, and sad to say, some of the bishops too, could not let things alone. The thirty-year war between protestant and Catholic states destroyed a large part of lower Saxony. There are very few buildings that survived this period. Records of family histories were completely interrupted. Finally, a sharp division of territory was drawn up in 1648, the Treaty of Westphalia. Of interest to us is that the line dividing protestants from Catholics runs right along the eastern edge at Vogelwedde. Everyone east of this line had to be Evangelical, everyone west had to be Catholic. The line is, of course, no longer a boundary between faiths, but it still can be seen as a weed overgrown canal running along the Vogelwedde estate. We came within a half mile of being Lutherans. A lot of them came pretty close to being Catholics. People started to go back into this country in the 1700s. The king of Hanover were also the king Georges of Great Britain. They killed most of the linen business with their cotton grown in America by slave labor. The Saxons switched to the extent they could to fruit trees, tobacco and of course, potatoes. Then came Napoleon and the French army. They changed the government completely. They are also blamed for the fever which was brought into this country about then which killed a lot of the cattle. They gradually had to develop new breeds of cows which were resistant to the fever. The last straw was the cholera, which struck in the 1820s. Unfortunately, many of the people who emigrated to America found the cholera here too, especially in 1847 & 1848. For most people the outlook was pretty bad. The oldest son always inherited the whole farm. The other boys could join the army, be hired hands or work in the coal mines. There was room for some in the church, in civil service, in skilled trades, in merchandising, and in teaching school. However the government was so restrictive that the economy could not grow and there were not enough jobs. Even some of the girls had to work in the coal mines. For the times prior to the 1800s, the people of Lower Saxony had always lived a relatively free and democratic life. Now they had essentially no say in their government and they lost all hope for more liberal laws. Millions left their homes and moved to new countries, Argentina, Brazil, Canada and of course the USA. After Germany was unified under a single central government, in 1871, things got much better for the Saxon people. The country was industrialized and very advanced social programs made them secure and prosperous. Then, of course, along came Kaiser Wilhelm II and Adolf Hitler. The oldest mention of the name Vogelwedde that I have been able to find is the poet Walther von der Vogelwedde. He came from Tirol, Austria, where there are still a couple of places named "meadow of the songbirds." This was back in about 1200. There is no record of Walther's family, but he was given an estate in Wurzburg which he called Vogelwedde. No one to my knowledge has connected our Vogelwedde ancestry with Herr Walther back to 1200 AD. My own theory is that our great great grandfather, Johann Hermann, who was a rather wealthy and educated man, liked the poetry of Herr Walther. After Johann Hermann purchased the estate in Bersenbrück, he named it "Vogelwedde," after the estate of Herr Walther in Wurzburg. He acquired a title, "Colon," and his wife became a "Colonnat [sp?]” Johann Hermann's family name was Wëstmann -- and he was a well-off manufacturer of shoes, among other things. His wife was Maria Elizabetha Kreke. The family is still prominent in Ankum. Colon Johann Hermann Wëstmann von der Vogelwedde was ambitious to build a larger landed estate. He wanted his first son, Johann Gerhard Heinrich to marry another colonnat, Carolina Korfhaugen, who would inherit substantially. However, our great grandfather, Johann Gerhard Heinrich, was already involved with Maria Catharina Holzhaus, a landless commoner, but who was by tradition a gorgeous blonde. Johann Gerhard Heinrich refused to obey his father, married Maria Catharina, was disinherited and banished to American in 1840. They migrated to Decatur, where her brother Bernhard had already settled. Romance, huh! Old Groszpop would not be pushed around! Johann Hermann then pressured No. 2 son, Johann Anton, into marrying Colonnat Carolina Korfhaugen. They had to get a special dispensation, as they were cousins. This was of course, true also of Johann Gerhard and Carolina, her mother being a Kreke, probably. That's really keeping it all in the family. Johann Anton and Carolina's family was a disaster. Four of their five children died in infancy. A son, Johann August, lived for 48 years; he was a "waterhead." Johann Anton himself died suddenly, July 22, 1857, after he ate "spoiled fish" at a wedding in Löninzen. Carolina then married Johann Heinrich Albert Breckhaus in 1861 and Johann Hermann's estate probably passed to their heirs, although there were at least two other children of Johann Hermann and Maria Elizabetha; they may be the ancestors of the other Vogelwedde families in the area, such as the Rüsse-Vogelweddes. Enclosed is a picture which I took about 5 years ago of the main house at Vogelwedde. This is a fancy, four-story brick house, landscaped and everything. It replaced the older house in 1920. There are also two beautiful brick barns on the estate. The main house has an inscription on it, as do most of the fancy houses in this part of Germany. If you magnify it on the picture you can read it. Translated, it says, "The work by us, the blessings from God; this house built in the year of our Lord, 1920. Theodor zu Höne and wife Rosa, born Vogelwedde.” · How to get there: >From Frankfurt -- Autobahn E-5 to Dusseldorf, then E-3, getting off at route 211 to Bersenbrück; or I think it is better to go on up the E-3 to Cloppenburg (see map enclosed) >From Hamburg -- Autobahn E-3 to Cloppenburg, going the other way · Where to stay - Bersenbrück is a relatively small city and its hotels are rather ordinary - Osnabrück is a city like Ft. Wayne and has hotels and motels - I liked best staying at Deckers Inn in Cloppenburg: magnificent breakfasts and good dinners. Fine beer but almost no English. - Remember, it is hard to find people around here who speak English · What to see - Vogelwedde: about 2 miles east on highway 214; beautiful four-story brick country house, gorgeous landscaping, with the inscription. No one was home when I was there. See the lovely brick barns. Go to the eastern boundary, where the weed overgrown canal once marked the reformation line. - Bersenbrück: the church where the Vogelweddes and the Holthaus’ were baptized, married and buried. Don’t miss the Shrine of the Sorrowful Mother, to the right as you face the altar. Read the names of all the young men of the parish killed in World Wars I and II. About half of them are the names you are familiar with in St. Mary’s, Decatur, German spellings, of course. Note the church window which commemorates the 700th anniversary of the founding of the parish Note the crucifix on the main altar - the nails are through the outside of the church. There is the old convent and abbey wall and the “Kreismuseum,” the county museum. There is a lovely picnic woods across the river in back of the church. - Ankum - a town about 4 miles west of Bersenbrück, where great great grandfather Johann Hermann came from. Don’t miss the Shrine of the Sorrowful Mother here also; more names you will be familiar with. If there is a Holyday while you are there, don’t miss the celebration: bands, choirs, congregational marches around town, men and women dressed in formal clothes! Guns fired! - Cloppenburg Don’t miss: Museumsdorf, the museum of the old village, a collection of 300 year old houses, barns, windmills, shops, etc. You can really see how people used to live. Also the old Baroque church in center of town, contrasted to the glitzy new church on the outskirts Also the high school, which has everything. According to tradition, Wesley Meyers’ grandfather was the mayor of Cloppenburg in the 1700s.