Hello and welcome to all of you. Actually I was going to wait until tomorrow to send out our first welcome letter, but it looks like you guys are ready to go. I wish I could say the same. I don't even have the tag lines ready yet. I received notice that my request for the Irvin mail list was approved at about 9 am Wednesday. I figured OK, its such an unusual surname it will probably be a couple of months before there are very many people working on it. So I busied myself with another list I have and looked at the Irvin list about 2 pm. And believe it or not, Jim McAndrew had already subscribed. I wasn't even on the list yet. So I dropped him a line and we chatted. Then I posted a message to GenForum about 4 pm. I am not sure where all of you came from, but we already have 21 people. Quite a crowd for a new born list. And today Alica and Julia have generously gotten us off to a good start. Thanks. I want to welcome all of you to our new Irvin family list. I have a tool through RootsWeb called a "Smart-List" that's supposed to notify me when someone subscribes, however I'm missing the names of 4 of you. So if I miss your name in the next paragraph, forgive me, the "Smart-List" doesn't work as well as I would like. I want to extend a warm welcome to: Jim McAndrews, Dr. Madalyn Brand-Teal, John F. Eisenberg, Harry A Ide, John T. Layman, Casey Williams, Richard Mason, Julia Christianson, Steve and Donna Fletcher, Jon Martin, Heather Shaw, Bob and Jane Rogers, Ross Irwin, Alica D. Anderson, and Richard Allen. I'd also like to offer a special thanks to Julia who has generously offered to share her mother's research with us. Hope to hear from you all soon. donna brand higgins dbrand@hpnc.com

I know this is a new list so I don't suppose there are many others out there but I just thought I'd introduce myself ... I am Julia Ervin Christianson; my father was John Witherspoon ERVIN and his 5g-grandfather was James IRVINE, who came from Belfast to South Carolina in 1732. My mother did all the research on my father's line; she spent about 40 years on it and it is extensive. At present I only have access to what she got typed into the computer, which is really just a skeleton of everything that's there. But I do have her papers in storage and would be glad to share with any cousins out there ... -= Julia Christianson =-

My g-grandmother was Sarah Jane "Jennie" Irvin b:Jun 08, 1876 in TN d: Aug 06, 1949 buried in Crossville, TN. She married Thomas Adolphus Castleman in 1894. Her death certificate lists her parents as Alexander Irvin and Mary Smith. Does anyone recognize this family? Alica Anderson in Crockett, CA