Mr. Vires, Your email to Breathitt County was forwarded to me as a member of their mailing list. Is there any other place on earth that keeps it's hold on people's hearts as does Breathitt County? I never even lived there and still I feel the pull. My father was born at Rousseau and I still have family around Jackson. I was able to visit at the end of June and met Stephen Bowling and the others at that time. Young Mr. Bowling is quite remarkable. I was amazed that several of the volunteers could quote my family history from memory. All of the library staff was quite helpful. I didn't make it to the courthouse this trip. My lines are Back, McIntosh, Russell, & Clemmons. We are trying to organize the first ever reunion of the Back cousins (there were over 40 of us) for next year. That will be my excuse for returning next year. Even though I am past 50, my cousins persuaded me to go up into the hills on an ATV for several hours. It was my first time on an ATV but what sites I saw! Those hills are even more beautiful than I remembered. It was the only way I could have returned to the cemetery where my grandparents are buried. Happy hunting from a Southern Illinois Hillbilly. Karen Back Simmons ----- Original Message ----- From: "R. Edward Vires" <waya_unega@hotmail.com> To: <KYBREATH-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Wednesday, August 08, 2001 1:20 PM Subject: [KYBREATH-L] A VERY WARM THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!! > I would like to THANK profusely the members of the Breathitt County > Genealogical Society and the County Clerks of Breathitt County for all their > PATIENCE and INFORMATION shared during my recent visit. Especially Stephen > Bowling and Raymond Moore. Steve, I am sorry we could not talk more but WE > WILL TALK, I promise you. Ray, I am glad to have made your aquaintance and I > plan on picking your mind more. I would have like to have met with Bertha > Noble but I was unable to. I will meet her though. I made numerous copies > and the County Clerks got to know me by name ( I wonder if that is Good or > Ill. I have returned from Jackson to my "Home" here in Texas but my HOME > forever shall be in Breathitt. Thanks again for your friendly greetings and > making this "Transplanted" Hillbilly feel right at home. > > Warm Regards, > > R. Edward Vires > > " The Sacred Rights of Mankind are not to be rummaged for among old > parchments or musty records. They are written, as with a sunbeam in the > whole of Nature, by the hand of the Divinity himself; and can never be > erased by Mortal Power. " ...... Alexander Hamilton > > > _________________________________________________________________ > Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp > > > ==== KYBREATH Mailing List ==== > > >