Welcome to all our new listmembers! I hope you will find the spirit of this page as gratifying as we "oldsters" have! There are currently about 50 of us joining resources to reconnect our Kirwin/Kirwan/Kerwin/Curwin lines. As Carole recently suggested, we come from "true Irish" stock. We may not be gentry but we are definitely coooool! Bonnybeth has plans for a 1st Annual Reunion underway, email her at Bonnybeth.Hyde@UCHSC.edu or enbbhyde@hotmail.com Just think, this is the time of the year where all over the world, brand new computers have come out of boxes to be put into the hands of new potential Kirwin (etc.) researchers! We have had 6 new subscribers in this last week to our little list alone! This is the time for us to all be extra generous with our patience and our online help as all these newbies will need it! Remember when you first tried and felt "oh-so-dumb" in front of the screen! THIS IS ALSO THE TIME TO REPOST YOUR LINES SO WE CAN ALL REFRESH OUR MEMORIES AS TO WHOM WE HAVE LOOKING FOR WHOM HERE! To post: email <KIRWIN-L@rootsweb.com> (do NOT put the word "request" into the address as you did to subscribe because the post won't post that way!) GENERAL REMINDERS: * We all gather here voluntarily for the free exchange of genealogical information * Please do share, please be nice, please stay on topic, please feel free to email each other off the list if your communication needs to go beyond the scope of the list (note ;] let us know if any of you start dating sucessfully, we Irish are quite curious and we love weddings!) * NOT ALLOWED is any flaming or intimidation (put downs, controversy-creating statements, etc.). If ever you are the recipient (on or off the list as a result of the list) of correspondence which makes you feel personally uncomfortable, EMAIL ME IMMEDIATELY <jblack@marin.k12.ca.us> and I will handle it! * NOT ALLOWED is spamming (use of the list to advertise anything for sale or use of any information found offered on this list for personal gain) I try to keep things pretty casual and this has been a very friendly, trouble free list. I intend to keep it this way! I'm planning my first trip to Ireland for the Spring, I turn 50 in April and IT IS TIME! (sure, send me all your favorite B&B addresses between Dublin and Galway!)......... I look forward to sharing my search efforts for good old Patrick supposedly born March 17, 1801 in Dublin to maybe parents John and Mary Carter Kirwin emigrated 17 August 1848 to New York. He listed different ages on different papers and certainly couldn't write, but he built a good barn, a good family and we are determined to "land him back in Ireland!" I have all descendency info.......;] ENJOY ENJOY ENJOY ENJOY ENJOY ENJOY ENJOY ENJOY ENJOY Hapyy New Year and Happy Hunting! Jana Black Listowner, KIRWIN-L