I forget exactly how it happened ... Some message I saw on a list that I responded to. It turned out that her ancestor was buried half a world away from her, in a church yard a kilometer from my house that I drove by every day on my way to work. I'd always admired the little country church, and wondered about its tippy stones and who they belonged to. So, I was pleased for the excuse to go traipsing about the stones in search of her ancestor. I took a dozen pictures of the church, the cemetery, and many of the stones related to her family, and, with great pleasure, sent them off to her, 3,500 miles away. There were some church ladies there that day, and I asked them if they knew the family name, and they did. This sent me off, down the road, in search of some vague place. I stopped at a farm and asked for more directions, and the wife pointed up to a house on a hill above her and offered to call her neighbour to see if the person under the stone belonged to her. Wrong family. But, I've been back to that farm many times to buy eggs and chicken and turkey and watch the sheep shearing. In fact, I bumped into an old friend there that I hadn't seen since I lived in another town 20 years ago, and we've had good fun a few times since then. Finding and old friend can be a lot of fun. So, Aggie, despite the response from acfullam ... You live among the descendants of some of my own ancestors where you are, and, if ever I get 'round to the branch of my Irish family, I know, if there is some small favour we can exchange, some cemetery you drive by on the way to work, you will take some photos for me. And, if there is something I can do where I am, on the west coast of Canada, I will try to do so. After-all, that's what it's about, isn't it? Janice

Hi Janice! Thank you so much for your wonderful reply! Yes, that is what it's all about! I guess some people just don't understand that! I've also been struck by the serendipity I've encountered while helping others. Sometimes I've actually felt "a bigger high" helping someone else break through a brick wall than finding info on my own line! And please do holler if there is anything I can find for you here! Cheers Aggi-Rose On 12/7/06, Janice Tanche <[email protected]> wrote: > > I forget exactly how it happened ... Some message I saw on a list that I > responded to. It turned out that her ancestor was buried half a world > away > from her, in a church yard a kilometer from my house that I drove by every > day on my way to work. I'd always admired the little country church, and > wondered about its tippy stones and who they belonged to. So, I was > pleased > for the excuse to go traipsing about the stones in search of her ancestor. > I took a dozen pictures of the church, the cemetery, and many of the > stones > related to her family, and, with great pleasure, sent them off to her, > 3,500 > miles away. > > There were some church ladies there that day, and I asked them if they > knew > the family name, and they did. This sent me off, down the road, in search > of some vague place. I stopped at a farm and asked for more directions, > and > the wife pointed up to a house on a hill above her and offered to call her > neighbour to see if the person under the stone belonged to her. Wrong > family. > > But, I've been back to that farm many times to buy eggs and chicken and > turkey and watch the sheep shearing. In fact, I bumped into an old friend > there that I hadn't seen since I lived in another town 20 years ago, and > we've had good fun a few times since then. Finding and old friend can be > a > lot of fun. > > So, Aggie, despite the response from acfullam ... > > You live among the descendants of some of my own ancestors where you are, > and, if ever I get 'round to the branch of my Irish family, I know, if > there > is some small favour we can exchange, some cemetery you drive by on the > way > to work, you will take some photos for me. And, if there is something I > can > do where I am, on the west coast of Canada, I will try to do so. > > After-all, that's what it's about, isn't it? > > Janice > > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without > the quotes in the subject and the body of the message >