Hi Florence: Thank you for the article about your families life in IT. My husband's family also lived in IT and leased the land they farmed on. I had realized, until your article, that this land was leased from NA tribes. Do you know if there were records kept about the land leasing and where I might go to find some documentation? They lived in Okfuskee County. Thanks, Mary Lou Rosson MRosson178@aol.com

Florence, I really appreciate you posting "LIfe in Indian Terriroty." I'm sure there are a lot of us on the list whose ancestors could have described there early lives in a similar way; you are fortunate your aunt took the time to write the article. I have seen the Business College in Fort Smith mentioned before, I wish I knew more about it--whether or not there are records for attendees & graduates? Does anyone know? Florence, thanks again. Sharolyn

In going through material collected by my mother, I came across an article written by my aunt, Ora GEREN Watson (b. 1898, now deceased), concerning my grandparents and their life in the Indian Territory. Perhaps these excerpts will be of interest to some of you: George Franklin GEREN and Florence CAMPBELL were married at Webbers Falls, Indian Territory, on July 6, 1890. When they came West in early 1881, they settled in Indian Territory, near Fort Smith, Arkansas. We have some of his school books with a Fort Smith address, which indicate that he was in Fort Smith schools in the upper grades or high school. There were no public schools in Indian Territory. Then he attended Business College in Fort Smith and received his diploma August 1889. He also attended Bacone College in 1889, -- I believe that was beginning the fall term after he graduated from business college, -- the handwriting was the kind he learned there. [Florence Campbell from Uniontown, Arkansas] went over into the Territory to visit her sister and her family. There she and my father met, and after a brief courtship were married. They lived at Webbers Falls for the first several years; my father owned and operated a dray or freight business. I was born in Creek Nation, November 19, 1898, on leased Indian land. I vaguely remember the inside of the house, --it was of hewn logs with wide board floors. I think it was in 1901, when we moved to another Indian lease; the land belonged to the son of NIFFY TIGER, - his English name, - CORNELIUS GRANT. My father built a house and barn, drilled a well, and cleared the land, for which he was to receive all the land produced rent free for five years. For lumber to build the house he took the logs from the clearing and had the sawmill saw them for a percentage of the lumber. At first we had no neighbors, but later they built a railroad through that part of the country and the little town called Paden, which was about four miles from us. The roads were better and we bought a hack and I think they were very happy to be able to have friends near enough to socialize a little. The town built a combination church and school building, and Sidney, my brother, went to school there. It was not a public school. They called it a subscription school; the pupils paid tuition. I was not old enough to go. The coming of the railroad and building of the town enabled my parents to have a better market for their produce and other crops, and they were able to save enough to buy a farm, but the Indians were not allowed to sell their land, and my father's health was not good there. For some reason he was having pneumonia every winter, and they decided they had better go elsewhere. That was in 1905; so they sold the remaining year's lease. [The family moved to Wheeler County in the Texas Panhandle.) Florence H. King fking@pipeline.com

Ann, I am not connected to the family, but you can see where the Canadian District was located by going to http://www.rootsweb.com/~cherokee/1890map.html . Jim Granger >My grandmother said that she was born in the Indian-Territory in 1897. The >records that I found has her born in Minco, Canadian, OK. Her name is Stella >Daisy Sawyers, dau of Samuel Franklin Sawyers and Mintie Cora Taylor. Anyone >connected to this family? And where is it located? >Thanks, >Ann

>From the . . . Ancestry Weekly Digest Brought to you by the publishers of "The Source" and "Ancestry" Magazine http://www.ancestry.com For the Week ending 7 May 1999 ======================================================= <<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>> ======================================================= NEWS ITEMS <<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>> ======================================================= LAST BATCH OF DATA ADDED TO NAIL The National Archives has posted the 18th and last batch of digitized documents to the NAIL Project. Below are some of the new items that may be of interest to family historians. ~ Wallace Roll of Cherokee Freedmen in Indian Territory, 1890 ~ Kern-Clifton Roll of Cherokee Freedmen, January 16, 1867 ~ Applications for Enrollment in the Five Civilized Tribes, 1898 - 1914 ~ General Correspondence (Formerly Classified) from the Office of the Commandant, U. S. Navy, 12th Naval District (documents relate to attacks on the SS John A. Johnson; the SS Jeremiah M. Daily; the SS Morrison R. Waite; and the SS Alexander Majors) ~ Criminal Case photographs relate to the Eastland disaster of July 24, 1915 (Chicago, Illinois) ~ Genealogy File: Fitzgerald Genealogy and Selections from the Massachusetts Registry of Vital Statistics, 1858 - 1996 ~ Samuel H. Beer Papers: U. S. Military Government in Germany (These documents relate to the attitudes of the German People immediately following World War II.) To see a list of all the new data, with descriptions and search hints, go to: http://www.nara.gov/nara/recdata.html Or search NAIL at: http://www.nara.gov/nara/searchnail.html <<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>>-- IN THE NEWS ONLINE UnclaimedPersons.com: Searching for Loved Ones (Newsweek) http://www.newsweek.com/nw-srv/tnw/today/cs/cs01mo_1.htm <<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>> Flo. ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ Flo. Day <flodon@mail.usa.com> NORTHINGTON Researchers ~ Northing@onelist.com <http://www.onelist.com/subscribe/Northing> - ------------------------------------------------------------- Get free personalized email from USA.com at http://mail.usa.com

My grandmother said that she was born in the Indian-Territory in 1897. The records that I found has her born in Minco, Canadian, OK. Her name is Stella Daisy Sawyers, dau of Samuel Franklin Sawyers and Mintie Cora Taylor. Anyone connected to this family? And where is it located? Thanks, Ann Ann Waite-Tepe crtepe@email.msn.com Reaching: Aldridge, Core, Holden, Ireland, Peterson, Workman, Sawyers, Taylor. -----Original Message----- From: Sharon Hunter <one-horse@webtv.net> To: Indian-Territory-Roots-L@rootsweb.com <Indian-Territory-Roots-L@rootsweb.com> Date: Friday, April 16, 1999 9:28 PM Subject: Goodwater, Ok Has anyone ever heard of a Goodwater, Ok. If so where is it...I would appreciate any help in locating this town if it still exist or what it was renamed or is it an Indian ghost town.??? Thanks in advance Sharon

TLNEALY@aol.com wrote: > > The Cherokee gave up their last lands in AR by a treaty made in 1828. > Any settlement would have been before that date. > A copy of a document I have shows that May 10, 1866, the Cherokee sold 3400 acres in Township 7, Range 21, AR, the former agency land and residue of tract disposed of by the Cherokee in the treaty of 1828, to John Brown Wright, of Washington, D.C. for $5,000. Perhaps there were settlements on this land? Document does not say. Just a tidbit, FYI Ethel Taylor <bandony@ucinet.com>

I haven't done a lot of research on the Cherokee side of my family, and I have a couple of novice questions. I am from Oklahoma but my Indian descendants didn't move there until @1910. Their migration is Ky>ILL>Mo>Ark. I don't think they were moved from their land by the white man. In all the census records my NA Gggrandmother is listed as white. Does anyone know about NA in ILL @ 1800? Were NA not brought to the Indian Territory on any of the rolls? Is there some separate registration for these people? Thanks, Annette Nicholson

I have a 24kt gold medallion from St. Joseph's School, Oklahoma City, Okalhoma, dated 1916. On the reverse side is the name Daniel F. O'Rourke. I just wanted to know if someone could claim it. Bernie Moore-Knowles Tulsa, Oklahoma

The Cherokee gave up their last lands in AR by a treaty made in 1828. Any settlement would have been before that date.

>I remember a post some time back by someone inquiring about a possible >Cherokee settlement at Mulberry, Arkansas. I didn't have any information at >the time, but saw this in our local paper this week: Diane, I would also like to know more about this Cherokee settlement. My ggrandmother, Emaline Mikells/Mikels/Michaels was supposedly a full blood Cherokee indian and she married John Burell Dobson in Sebastain county in 1879. In 1880 they were living in Mulberry. She died @ 1886 & I have NO info on her family except their names. Cannot find anything on the Mikells family. June Terry Johnson Oklahoma aggran@chickasaw.com --

--part1_29ea189c.2467d806_boundary Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit I too would love to have some information on Mulberry, Sebastain or Crawford County, Arkansas. My dad Dave Curtis was born at Mulberry, Arkansas in 1903. Any information would be wonderful to have and it would help to learn about the life of my grandparents as they lived in 1903. Thanks, Johnnie Ward --part1_29ea189c.2467d806_boundary Content-Type: message/rfc822 Content-Disposition: inline Return-Path: <Indian-Territory-Roots-L-request@rootsweb.com> Received: from rly-yg04.mx.aol.com (rly-yg04.mail.aol.com [172.18.147.4]) by air-yg05.mail.aol.com (v59.4) with SMTP; Mon, 10 May 1999 00:33:46 -0400 Received: from bl-14.rootsweb.com (bl-14.rootsweb.com [204.212.38.30]) by rly-yg04.mx.aol.com (8.8.8/8.8.5/AOL-4.0.0) with ESMTP id AAA09216; Mon, 10 May 1999 00:33:40 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from slist@localhost) by bl-14.rootsweb.com (8.9.3/8.9.3) id VAA27872; Sun, 9 May 1999 21:33:16 -0700 (PDT) Resent-Date: Sun, 9 May 1999 21:33:16 -0700 (PDT) Message-ID: <001201be9a9e$2fe06d20$abeacccf@aggran.chickasaw.com> From: "aggran" <aggran@chickasaw.com> Old-To: <diane@ozip.net>, <Indian-Territory-Roots-L@rootsweb.com> Subject: Re: Mulberry Settlement Date: Sun, 9 May 1999 23:32:55 -0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 4.72.3110.1 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V4.72.3110.3 Resent-Message-ID: <pRWnUC.A.TzG.LGmN3@bl-14.rootsweb.com> To: Indian-Territory-Roots-L@rootsweb.com Resent-From: Indian-Territory-Roots-L@rootsweb.com X-Mailing-List: <Indian-Territory-Roots-L@rootsweb.com> archive/latest/2800 X-Loop: Indian-Territory-Roots-L@rootsweb.com Precedence: list Resent-Sender: Indian-Territory-Roots-L-request@rootsweb.com >I remember a post some time back by someone inquiring about a possible >Cherokee settlement at Mulberry, Arkansas. I didn't have any information at >the time, but saw this in our local paper this week: Diane, I would also like to know more about this Cherokee settlement. My ggrandmother, Emaline Mikells/Mikels/Michaels was supposedly a full blood Cherokee indian and she married John Burell Dobson in Sebastain county in 1879. In 1880 they were living in Mulberry. She died @ 1886 & I have NO info on her family except their names. Cannot find anything on the Mikells family. June Terry Johnson Oklahoma aggran@chickasaw.com -- --part1_29ea189c.2467d806_boundary--

I remember a post some time back by someone inquiring about a possible Cherokee settlement at Mulberry, Arkansas. I didn't have any information at the time, but saw this in our local paper this week: This is from the May 5, 1999 issue of the Ozark Spectator, Ozark, Arkansas: Ozark Trail of Tears Association Meeting The Ozark Trail of Tears Association will meet Tuesday, May 11, at the National Forest Service Building, Highway 23 North in Ozark, at 6:30 p.m. Robin Toole, Forest Service archaeologist, will present a program for the group. The public is welcome. President Leonard Bland will share some of the latest information on the Mulberry Settlement and the Cherokee connection. He will also give an update on the branch of Dwight Mission, which was located at the Mulberry Settlement.

FANTASTIC IDEA, I LIKE IT BOB BENTON

Excellent Idea!! I would go further and say visit the elderly neighbor BEFORE they go to the nursing home. Indian-Territory-Roots-D-request@rootsweb.com wrote: > Subject: > > Indian-Territory-Roots-D Digest Volume 99 : Issue 167 > > Today's Topics: > #1 Indian Pioneer Papers Index-Vol.22 [Gay & Tim Wall <t31892@nidlink.com] > #2 Living Ancestors--What do you thin [Leona Kollman Garcia <lgarcia@ncia] > > Administrivia: > To unsubscribe from Indian-Territory-Roots-D, send a message to > > Indian-Territory-Roots-D-request@rootsweb.com > > that contains in the body of the message the command > > unsubscribe > > and no other text. No subject line is necessary, but if your software > requires one, just use unsubscribe in the subject, too. > > ______________________________ > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > Subject: Indian Pioneer Papers Index-Vol.22 > Date: Fri, 07 May 1999 20:59:47 -0700 > From: Gay & Tim Wall <t31892@nidlink.com> > To: Indian-Territory-Roots-L@rootsweb.com > > Here is the continuing...index of the Indian Pioneer Papers--Western > History Collection---University of Oklahoma. The Indian Pioneer History > Papers is a collection of interviews done in 1937 & 1938, which includes > biographical data on both living and deceased persons of Indian and pioneer > heritage whose lives have been important in the history of Oklahoma. There > is also a collection of information on family customs, tribal histories, > social organizations, folklore, legends, cemeteries, old trails, ferries, > forts, trading centers and other unrecorded facts known only to oral > tradition. > > VOLUME 22--------MICROFICHE #6016887----9 FICHE------ > NAME ADDRESS > CROCKET, Susie Altus, OK > CROCKETT, J.H.(Dr.) Durant, OK > CROCKRAN, Van Wynnewood, OK > CROMWELL, William Oliver Enid, OK > CRO?M, W.E. McAlester, OK > CROSS, Eliza Hugo, OK > CROSS, J.B. Dustin, OK > CROSS, Lou Belle Geary, OK > CROSS, Molly Sentinel, OK > CROSSLIN, E.B. Tonkawa, OK > CROTZER, Emma Fairview, OK > CROTZER, John L. Wyandotte, OK > CROU???, Stella Evelyn Carselowey Vinita, OK > CROW, George W. Okay, OK > CROW, Mary Hicks Blackwell, OK > CROW, Melissa Red Fork, OK > CROW, Nelson T. Watonga, OK > CROWELL, George Alva, OK > CROWELL, J.H. Orlando, OK > CROWLY, Ray Calumet, OK > CR?DUP, R.L. Durant, OK > CUBIT, ???? Eagletown, OK > CULBERSON, Elijah W. McAlester, OK > CULBERSON, James Durant, OK > CULBERTSON, C.E., Sr. Kiowa, OK > CULBERTSON, William T. Kiowa, OK > CULLAR, William W. Woodward, OK > CULLINS, D.H. Mangum, OK > CULLINS, Dan (Mrs) " " > CULLISON, James B.(Mrs) Enid, OK > CULWELL, Johnathan Gano Jester, OK > CUMMINGS, Alice E. Tulsa, OK > CUMMINS, George Vincent Alva, OK > CUMMINS, Julia Medford, OK > CUMMINS, Mary E. Sulphur, OK > CUMMINS, William Anthony Tulsa, OK > CUMSEY, Lonie Salpulpa, OK > CUMSEY, Louis " " > CUNARD, Anna Belle Okmulgee, OK > CUNES, Elizabeth Thomas Oklahoma City, OK > CUN???UBBY, Ida Davis, OK > CUNNINGHAM, Alpha Edmond, OK > CUNNINGHAM, Ellen Bartlesville, OK > CUNNINGHAM, G.C. Mill Creek, OK > CUNNINGHAM, Ivan Oklahoma City, OK > CUNNINGHAM, Roy (Mrs) Bartlesville, OK > CUNNINGHAM, T.F. no place given > CURL, W.S. Clinton, OK > CURLEON, Samuel Cardin, OK > CURRIE, Dona Anaconda, Montana > CURRY, Alice Pauls Valley, OK > CURRY, Barney P. Blanchard, OK > CURTIS, Joe Frederick, OK > CUSSINS, Frank (Mrs) Anadarko, OK > CUSTER, W.H.(Mrs) Pawnee, OK > CUTLER, Bud Red Oak, OK > CUTLER, Nellie Hoover Tulsa, OK > CYPERT, W.R. Ardmore, OK > CYRUS, Carrie Wewoka, OK > > TO BE CONTINUED....... > > > ______________________________ > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > Subject: Living Ancestors--What do you think? > Date: Sat, 08 May 1999 09:34:47 -0700 > From: Leona Kollman Garcia <lgarcia@ncia.com> > To: Indian-Territory-Roots-L@rootsweb.com > > This post may come to you more than once, as I am posting it on the > listserves that I belong to. If it does, I apologize in advance. > > I work in a profession in Washington State that led me to an idea. I > would love opinions, but criticism,etc is out. I only want opinions and > feedback to make or break the idea once and for all. > > In my profession, the information I have is confidential. I will not > disclose it and DO NOT ask me to. Last night alone I had over 100 people > (this is an everday occurance) that were in the age ranges of 95 to 100 > that had all of their vital information including ancestors, place of > birth, mother, father, social security, other information, and next of > kin in their records. > > The thought that has been ocurring to me over and over as I see > obituaries posted with, hopefully providing, information on next of > kin. Why not interview these people while they are still living. Most > are in nursing homes, but many are not. Of the ones that are in nursing > homes, only a small portion seem to be there (less than 1%) for memory > problems. What I am suggesting is this: > > 1] If everyone who is interested would go to their local nursing homes, > retirement communities, rehabilitation centers (persons recovering from > surgeries,etc..) and meet the people, there is a goldmine of information > available. > > 2] Many of these people are lonely and would love to share their > ancestors and family with you. Be up front and tell them you would like > to talk to people who want to discuss their families, both current and > past. > > 3] Come armed with pencil and paper as well as a tape recorder to back > you up. Ask permission to record it and tell them why. Just don't do it > secretly. > > 4] If someone does not want to talk to you about it, you have not lost > anything but a little time and you hopefull will have made life a little > better for someone that day. > > 5] I always leave my phone number with them in case they change their > mind. Many have, and I run right up there. > > 6] I have tried this for awhile now and I have come across many of the > names you are all researching. They may not be your relatives, but they > are someones. Many are Germans and Volga Germans, but there are many > other nationalities as well. I am going to continue this project for > myself no matter what. > > 7] If everyone who is interested would do the same and post the > information (with the person's permission and excluding their living > relatives) we would all get somewhere a heck of a lot faster. > > 8] Because the person who is providing the information is LIVING, they > could be contacted for information regarding other living relatives. > Anyone who is worried about invading their private information could do > like I did and contact the nearest living relative or emergency contact > to verify there is not a problem pursuing their ancestry and posting > the results on the internet and in email. > > 9] Because the homes,etc are local there is not an expense involved in > calling, faxing, visiting or contacting relatives. > > 10] The surname boards could carry a new heading of Living Ancestors or > something like that and every one could post their info to it by > State,County, Surname or whatever. Follow up names could be checked > with these people for verification and possible trigger even more new > information. > > 11] Perhaps if we listed ourselves (those who are willing) as volunteers > in the community in which we live to go back and follow up for people, > we would be doing a service to someone. Someone else in turn in their > community may do this service for you. > > 12] Many of these senior citizens I have found out are trying to find > living descendants because they have lost contact. > > 13] The advantage here is that you can finally break that 100 year > privacy barrier and do it with the ancestors permission. If you are > worried about it , make a form, have them sign that you have permission > to post it. If you are still worried, have their living descendant > emergency contact sign it too. That way you are not preying on these > people. They really want to help I have found. > > 14] If you really care about these people, take a grandchild, child, or > pet with you. They can spend the entire day just reliving their past. > Children, grandchildren, and animals trigger many more memories for > them. > > What does everyone think? > > Lee > -- > Mailto:lgarcia@ncia.com > > http://www.angelfire.com/wa/Lineage/index.html > http://www.familytreemaker.com/users/g/a/r/Leona--GarciaWA/ > http://www.gensource.com/common/ Common Threads Database Search Engine > > DENMARK: Bach > GERMANY Kollman, Kollmansberger, Kollmansperger, > Leipsig: Thaßler, Thassler > Hessen: Herman, Herrman, Hermann, Herrmann > HOLLAND: Warnaar, Warner > NORWAY: Kvalsund, Qualsund > RUSSIA: > Frank: Batt, Flath, Floth, Frick, Fuchs, Gettig, Gettman, Greif, Groth, > Heimbigner, Herman, Hermann, Herrman, Herrmann, Knopf, Leonhardt, > Schmidt, Stroh,Wagner > Grimm: Rasch > Hussenbach: Fuchs, Gettig, Herman, Hermann, Herrman, Herrmann > Kautz: Weber > Kolb: Frickel, Koch, Muntz > UNKNOWN: Adkins, Atkins, Amen, Amend, Betz, Boardman, Boedigheimer, > Erwin, Graetz, Henson, Holder, Ils, Kollman, Kollmansberger, > Kollmansperger, Gettman, Ore, Orr, McCae, McCay, McKay, McCoy, Muntz, > Rayburn, Stroh, Talley, Waller, Warner

I've done something similar with one of my area studies, although the oldsters I've interviewed haven't been in nursing homes. Those who are accustomed to dealing with the elderly already know this, but for those who might be interested in trying this idea I'd like to offer my "Prime Directive": Concentrate on what they DO remember and allow them to ramble; treat anything they DON'T remember as unimportant and move on. I realize that the tidbit they don't remember may be the very one you're after, but pressing the matter will only get them agitated and they'll remember less, not more. Get them to talking, and they may well come full circle back to the question they originally couldn't answer. One of my more lucid 90-something friends said it was like his memory was a basement crammed full of files and sometimes he had to send 'the boy' down to look something up -- but if we'd just keep talking he'd probably come back with the answer. My own mother is 80. She survived cancer, but the chemotherapy did a real number on her short-term memory. Her long-term memories are phenomenal, though, if I can just access them. For example, I've learned through other sources that "Jane Doe" was about the age of my mother's grandmother and belonged to their church when Mother was a child. If I ask "what was Jane Doe's maiden name?" -- I'll get an "I can't remember" and agitated silence. But if I ask "do you remember Jane Doe?" -- she'll start telling me about the woman, her children, who they married, and any brothers and sisters she remembers. Often, I DO get that maiden name. Sharon McAllister 73372.1745@compuserve.com

I also think this is a great idea. Many people don't even know of relatives who may be in nursing homes. This could be a great way for someone to find that long lost Great-Aunt or Uncle that they assumed were passed on or had just lost contact with. Not to mention the benefit to the person who gets the chance to tell a story to someone who has time and really wants to hear it. You are doing something wonderful, keep it up. Thanks for the ideas. Shelley

I have worked in nursing homes for 2.5 years as an NAC [Nursing Assistant - Ceritfied] and think that this is a wonderful idea as long as it is all voluntary and with appropriate permission. The homes I worked in had a higher percent of "memory cases" and full care cases, but that would make this all the better. In facilities such as those, the majority of the care is focused on the full care residents, so independant and semi-independant residents were often left to their own devices. Even those with the earlier stages of Alzeimer's can "remember when" and tell you stories, though in those cases one should most definately talk to the guardian/next of kin for permission, and possibly provide a text copy of your interview. Reason one would be for them to okay it and make sure there are no skeletons revealed. Reason two is that they (if it is their children, siblings, whatever) would probably like the anecdotes and stories what their elders pass on. As I said, I worked in a nursing home. I knew of residents who would have dearly loved a project like this. People bedbound, their relatives scattered to the four winds who just want to talk, to have more to life than their TV set. In facilities where there are 10-15 residents per aide and half of those are full care, the aides do not have the time to stop and chat. One activity worker for the whole facility cannot give these people the attention they need. I think it is a wonderful idea. Go visit your mother. It is Mother's Day this weekend. Jeanna Snell Ellensburg, WA ---------- > From: Leona Kollman Garcia <lgarcia@ncia.com> > To: Indian-Territory-Roots-L@rootsweb.com > Subject: Living Ancestors--What do you think? > Date: Saturday, May 08, 1999 9:34 AM > > This post may come to you more than once, as I am posting it on the > listserves that I belong to. If it does, I apologize in advance. > > I work in a profession in Washington State that led me to an idea. I > would love opinions, but criticism,etc is out. I only want opinions and > feedback to make or break the idea once and for all. > > In my profession, the information I have is confidential. I will not > disclose it and DO NOT ask me to. Last night alone I had over 100 people > (this is an everday occurance) that were in the age ranges of 95 to 100 > that had all of their vital information including ancestors, place of > birth, mother, father, social security, other information, and next of > kin in their records. > > The thought that has been ocurring to me over and over as I see > obituaries posted with, hopefully providing, information on next of > kin. Why not interview these people while they are still living. Most > are in nursing homes, but many are not. Of the ones that are in nursing > homes, only a small portion seem to be there (less than 1%) for memory > problems. What I am suggesting is this: > > 1] If everyone who is interested would go to their local nursing homes, > retirement communities, rehabilitation centers (persons recovering from > surgeries,etc..) and meet the people, there is a goldmine of information > available. > > 2] Many of these people are lonely and would love to share their > ancestors and family with you. Be up front and tell them you would like > to talk to people who want to discuss their families, both current and > past. > > 3] Come armed with pencil and paper as well as a tape recorder to back > you up. Ask permission to record it and tell them why. Just don't do it > secretly. > > 4] If someone does not want to talk to you about it, you have not lost > anything but a little time and you hopefull will have made life a little > better for someone that day. > > 5] I always leave my phone number with them in case they change their > mind. Many have, and I run right up there. > > 6] I have tried this for awhile now and I have come across many of the > names you are all researching. They may not be your relatives, but they > are someones. Many are Germans and Volga Germans, but there are many > other nationalities as well. I am going to continue this project for > myself no matter what. > > 7] If everyone who is interested would do the same and post the > information (with the person's permission and excluding their living > relatives) we would all get somewhere a heck of a lot faster. > > 8] Because the person who is providing the information is LIVING, they > could be contacted for information regarding other living relatives. > Anyone who is worried about invading their private information could do > like I did and contact the nearest living relative or emergency contact > to verify there is not a problem pursuing their ancestry and posting > the results on the internet and in email. > > 9] Because the homes,etc are local there is not an expense involved in > calling, faxing, visiting or contacting relatives. > > 10] The surname boards could carry a new heading of Living Ancestors or > something like that and every one could post their info to it by > State,County, Surname or whatever. Follow up names could be checked > with these people for verification and possible trigger even more new > information. > > 11] Perhaps if we listed ourselves (those who are willing) as volunteers > in the community in which we live to go back and follow up for people, > we would be doing a service to someone. Someone else in turn in their > community may do this service for you. > > 12] Many of these senior citizens I have found out are trying to find > living descendants because they have lost contact. > > 13] The advantage here is that you can finally break that 100 year > privacy barrier and do it with the ancestors permission. If you are > worried about it , make a form, have them sign that you have permission > to post it. If you are still worried, have their living descendant > emergency contact sign it too. That way you are not preying on these > people. They really want to help I have found. > > 14] If you really care about these people, take a grandchild, child, or > pet with you. They can spend the entire day just reliving their past. > Children, grandchildren, and animals trigger many more memories for > them. > > What does everyone think? > > > > Lee > -- > Mailto:lgarcia@ncia.com > > http://www.angelfire.com/wa/Lineage/index.html > http://www.familytreemaker.com/users/g/a/r/Leona--GarciaWA/ > http://www.gensource.com/common/ Common Threads Database Search Engine > > DENMARK: Bach > GERMANY Kollman, Kollmansberger, Kollmansperger, > Leipsig: Thaßler, Thassler > Hessen: Herman, Herrman, Hermann, Herrmann > HOLLAND: Warnaar, Warner > NORWAY: Kvalsund, Qualsund > RUSSIA: > Frank: Batt, Flath, Floth, Frick, Fuchs, Gettig, Gettman, Greif, Groth, > Heimbigner, Herman, Hermann, Herrman, Herrmann, Knopf, Leonhardt, > Schmidt, Stroh,Wagner > Grimm: Rasch > Hussenbach: Fuchs, Gettig, Herman, Hermann, Herrman, Herrmann > Kautz: Weber > Kolb: Frickel, Koch, Muntz > UNKNOWN: Adkins, Atkins, Amen, Amend, Betz, Boardman, Boedigheimer, > Erwin, Graetz, Henson, Holder, Ils, Kollman, Kollmansberger, > Kollmansperger, Gettman, Ore, Orr, McCae, McCay, McKay, McCoy, Muntz, > Rayburn, Stroh, Talley, Waller, Warner

This post may come to you more than once, as I am posting it on the listserves that I belong to. If it does, I apologize in advance. I work in a profession in Washington State that led me to an idea. I would love opinions, but criticism,etc is out. I only want opinions and feedback to make or break the idea once and for all. In my profession, the information I have is confidential. I will not disclose it and DO NOT ask me to. Last night alone I had over 100 people (this is an everday occurance) that were in the age ranges of 95 to 100 that had all of their vital information including ancestors, place of birth, mother, father, social security, other information, and next of kin in their records. The thought that has been ocurring to me over and over as I see obituaries posted with, hopefully providing, information on next of kin. Why not interview these people while they are still living. Most are in nursing homes, but many are not. Of the ones that are in nursing homes, only a small portion seem to be there (less than 1%) for memory problems. What I am suggesting is this: 1] If everyone who is interested would go to their local nursing homes, retirement communities, rehabilitation centers (persons recovering from surgeries,etc..) and meet the people, there is a goldmine of information available. 2] Many of these people are lonely and would love to share their ancestors and family with you. Be up front and tell them you would like to talk to people who want to discuss their families, both current and past. 3] Come armed with pencil and paper as well as a tape recorder to back you up. Ask permission to record it and tell them why. Just don't do it secretly. 4] If someone does not want to talk to you about it, you have not lost anything but a little time and you hopefull will have made life a little better for someone that day. 5] I always leave my phone number with them in case they change their mind. Many have, and I run right up there. 6] I have tried this for awhile now and I have come across many of the names you are all researching. They may not be your relatives, but they are someones. Many are Germans and Volga Germans, but there are many other nationalities as well. I am going to continue this project for myself no matter what. 7] If everyone who is interested would do the same and post the information (with the person's permission and excluding their living relatives) we would all get somewhere a heck of a lot faster. 8] Because the person who is providing the information is LIVING, they could be contacted for information regarding other living relatives. Anyone who is worried about invading their private information could do like I did and contact the nearest living relative or emergency contact to verify there is not a problem pursuing their ancestry and posting the results on the internet and in email. 9] Because the homes,etc are local there is not an expense involved in calling, faxing, visiting or contacting relatives. 10] The surname boards could carry a new heading of Living Ancestors or something like that and every one could post their info to it by State,County, Surname or whatever. Follow up names could be checked with these people for verification and possible trigger even more new information. 11] Perhaps if we listed ourselves (those who are willing) as volunteers in the community in which we live to go back and follow up for people, we would be doing a service to someone. Someone else in turn in their community may do this service for you. 12] Many of these senior citizens I have found out are trying to find living descendants because they have lost contact. 13] The advantage here is that you can finally break that 100 year privacy barrier and do it with the ancestors permission. If you are worried about it , make a form, have them sign that you have permission to post it. If you are still worried, have their living descendant emergency contact sign it too. That way you are not preying on these people. They really want to help I have found. 14] If you really care about these people, take a grandchild, child, or pet with you. They can spend the entire day just reliving their past. Children, grandchildren, and animals trigger many more memories for them. What does everyone think? Lee -- Mailto:lgarcia@ncia.com http://www.angelfire.com/wa/Lineage/index.html http://www.familytreemaker.com/users/g/a/r/Leona--GarciaWA/ http://www.gensource.com/common/ Common Threads Database Search Engine DENMARK: Bach GERMANY Kollman, Kollmansberger, Kollmansperger, Leipsig: Thaßler, Thassler Hessen: Herman, Herrman, Hermann, Herrmann HOLLAND: Warnaar, Warner NORWAY: Kvalsund, Qualsund RUSSIA: Frank: Batt, Flath, Floth, Frick, Fuchs, Gettig, Gettman, Greif, Groth, Heimbigner, Herman, Hermann, Herrman, Herrmann, Knopf, Leonhardt, Schmidt, Stroh,Wagner Grimm: Rasch Hussenbach: Fuchs, Gettig, Herman, Hermann, Herrman, Herrmann Kautz: Weber Kolb: Frickel, Koch, Muntz UNKNOWN: Adkins, Atkins, Amen, Amend, Betz, Boardman, Boedigheimer, Erwin, Graetz, Henson, Holder, Ils, Kollman, Kollmansberger, Kollmansperger, Gettman, Ore, Orr, McCae, McCay, McKay, McCoy, Muntz, Rayburn, Stroh, Talley, Waller, Warner

Although your idea is well intentioned and would provide a service on multiple levels. I would not be inclined to join the ranks. I tried this very thing with my own 87 year old grandmother. It was a disastrous under taking, although she was of sound mind. She couldn't remember things she felt she should have been able too. She became agitated over this. Little of the information I was able to obtain, was correct. It wasn't a pleasant experience for either of us. Even though I personally think that it was just a bad day for her. Anjee