I am going through some old (very old) emails and found this. A wonderful website with thousands of surnames connected to Kentucky. “More Than Just A Cemetery -- This site is an online resource for the ancestry of Bruce Eugene Shirey and Gloria Julene Hughey, and Dr. LeRoy Cecil Mims and Nancy Grace Blackistone. This resource encompasses over 15,000 individuals including direct, collateral, and allied lines. The site also presents over 10,000 scanned images.” http://morethanjustacemetery.com/index.php In the category of surnames, be sure to click the link to show all surnames. (My Wilkins/Ky, connection is James Albert Wilkins; Melissa Annie Wilkins; Clarissa Annie Fisher Wilkins, etc.) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Researching: Beasley, Cobb, Dargan, Fetner, Harrison, Higgins, Gill, Martin, McCants, Porter, Rawlinson, Rutledge and Scott. (mostly SC) Baxter, Bryant, Carson, Dillard, Eaves, Hampton, Huey, Lee, McDade, McDowell, Tolleson, Wells, Yancey. (mostly NC) Dismukes, Harmon, Hubbard, Jenkins, Kinard, Latta (Branch 28), Long/Lang, Mauldin, McFadden, Thaxton, Wilkins, Wise. (mostly Ga., La, Tx and Ark.) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I understand that there is a McNEILL Cemetery near Mayfield. Does any know if there has been any tombstone transcriptions made there? Regards, Lance

In Search of David T. McNEILL and wife Malinda (Reed) McNEILL. In the 1870 census they were living in District 4 of McCracken Co. I do not know where District 4 is and since they cannot be found in the 1880 Census, I believe they may have died between 1870 and 1880. Does anybody know: 1. Where is District 4? 2. Are their any death records available? 3. Is their a cemetery listing for them? Kind Regards, Lance

Seeking where Peter died and is buried. Worked on River while living in Livingston co KY. had 3 children. Wife Amy Bishop died giving birth to twins, one twin and Amy died in 1846. Peter was to have died in a river boat accident. Looking for obit or info.

Hi folks, I hope you can help me with with a ggg uncle I'm searching: Pierce Jones b: 1811 Tennessee d: 1837 Paducah, McCracken county, Kentucky b: Oak Grove Cemetery, Paducah, McCracken county, KY The story goes he was murdered-shot by Theophilus Cooksey in 1837. In January, 1838, Cooksey appealed for a change of venue to Caldwell County Circuit Court (info from Martha Toman). Now I am looking for info about the murder. The biggest question is always "Why?" And I'm wondering where I search knowing that McCracken was such a new foundling county in 1838 - are there records? newspapers? stories? Pierce was related to the following people in Paducah: Mary Jones Hewitt Wilson (sister) John Wilson, steamboat pilot (brother-in-law) Malinda Jones Peters (sister) David C. Peters (brother-in-law) Lucinda Jones Joyce (sister) Lemuel Joyce (brother-in-law) Hope you can help - thanks Linda K. Jones

My friends - The lists which I host have been spared from a nuisance problem which has been inundating other RootsWeb lists, and it now appears it is starting to reach the JP region. This message consists of one sentence with a URL(link) after it. Please DO NOT click on the link. If you do so, this virus will enter the recipient(your) computer's e-mail program and resend the same message to every address in the address book of that e-mail program. It gets past RootsWeb's spam filter because the address passes through the mail servers as legitimate, and RootsWeb's spam filters are not set to catch spam of this nature, as the contents are so short and often not obscene or offensive. So far, we have had three occurrences of this message on two of my 12 lists. The e-mails of those folks whose computers sent the message(without their knowledge, of course)will be placed on moderation while I contact the subscriber to let the person know that he/she is infected. Normally, changing passwords will solve the problem, but the virus still needs to be eradicated from the computer's system. I understand the fix is relatively simple. For those of you on the private "Beasley List", the addresses are *not* contained in my e-mail program, and are encrypted, so there is no danger of this nuisance getting into any of those 400 addresses. On another subject, those on the private Beasley List have received parts 8 and 9 of the index segments of the Beasley Marble & Granite Monument Co. of Wayne Co.,TN and later, of Paducah, KY. We are now approaching 3000 individual packets indexed, which puts us more than halfway through the project. We found what is now the earliest inscription birth year to date(which had been 1784). An order was placed about 1898 for a monument indicating a birth year of 1767, placed by a descendant of this early settler from South Carolina(which fact[that he came from SC] was inscribed on the stone). This man died in 1856 - when Joseph Willis Beasley, the founder of the Beasley firm - was three years old. We also found our first order from Union Co.,KY in the group we are currently indexing. I will continue to keep the lists posted. -B ========================================================================================================

My friends - For those who have been following the indexing of the Beasley Monument Company of Clifton, TN, and then Paducah, Kentucky, Part 7 is now ready for distribution. As a result, it has already been sent to those who are on the private list to automatically receive it. I have tried another approach to get around the AOL problems which were preventing AOL users from receiving their messages as they came out. Hopefully, that was successful. I think I should point out that if you received Part 7 yesterday, there is no need for any action on your part. The messages, such as this one, are being sent to the associated regional and county mail lists for the benefit of new subscribers who may not be familiar with the project, and want to be added to the private list(which is not a RootsWeb listserve - it is just a private collection of address - now numbering over 400 - who wish to receive the continuing segments of this indexing projects as it goes forward - all segments will be combined into a single index at the end of the project, which will encompass over 4000 names - these addresses are not in an address book within my e-mail program, so there is no danger of someone hacking into them from that approach). I have also received a number of messages from folks who say they see the list message, but have not received anything. But when I look at my inbox messages for some weeks past, I find no message from the parties asking to be placed on the "Beasley List", as we can call it. So, I *do* need to receive a request from those interested in receiving this material, and the request should be made using *private e-mail*, and not sent through the Lists. We have now completed about 2200 indexed names, with probably about 2000 more to go. We are making progress, albeit slowly, due to the need to be extraordinarily careful with these old records, especially those which were singed in the 1930's fire. We have found an order for a marker for a Revolutionary War soldier, which will have the earliest birth year yet encountered - it appears to be 1754, when examined with a loupe, but, unfortunately, this order was apparently allowed to become damp(not wet, but damp) at some point(perhaps in the 1937 Paducah flood), and the order had been filled out in ink(probably a replacement marker ordered by a descendant in the 1890's), which has faded badly, and made the handwriting almost illegible. We are going to try to bring it out, but it may be deteriorated to the point that such will be impossible. I will continue to keep the lists informed of progress. -B ==========================================================================================================

My friends - I have received, from the 14 mail lists to which I posted the message yesterday about the latest index segment of the Beasley Monument Company's records being ready to distribute, some 35 bounces - all from AOL addresses. All indicate that the "Receiving computer[AOL] is not responding". If you have an AOL address, and are either on the private list to receive the segments as they are ready, or requested to be placed on the private list, and to receive the set of the six completed segments, and they have not yet arrived, please be aware that I have responded to all requests I have thusfar received(although they are still coming in), and you should have received them. It is an AOL issue of some sort, apparently, and, until they correct it, these segments may not get through. It is possible that AOL has started blocking my address, due to the attachments(for which they are famous for doing), but I believe that if such was the case, I would have had bounces on *all* AOL addresses, which has not happened. Please let me know if you are with AOL and you have not received either Part 6 of the index alone(if you are on the private list), or a long response, with all six segments attached for those of you who placed new requests to be added to the private list. I don't know that I can do anything from my end, but I will, at least, know how many people are *not* receiving the material. Thanks........... -B =========================================================================================================

My friends - For those who have been following the indexing of the Beasley Monument Company of Clifton, TN(known as the Clifton Marble & Granite Works until the move to Paducah, when the name was changed), and then Paducah, Kentucky, Part 6 is now ready for distribution. I have tried to build a list of those who have requested these before, but I may have missed a few, and if you have not already received a copy of Part 6, then your address has yet to be included on the list of those to automatically receive each segment as it is completed. With the completion of segment 6, we have now indexed just over 2000 or the 4000-5000 records in this collection. Please let me know *off list* - via *private* e-mail - if you are not on the private list and would like to have this newest segment, and the previous segments, and I will get it/them to you, and add you to the list of those who will receive them automatically as they are ready. -B ===========================================================================================================

Have found the information I need; he actually died just across the border in Illinois; he was calling himself Edwin Reno. Thanks. Michele Begin forwarded message: > From: Michele/Steve Heiderer <kellen2000@seanet.com> > Date: October 6, 2011 6:57:08 PM PDT > To: KYMCCRAC@rootsweb.com > Subject: [KYMCCRAC] Edward Louis DeRenault > > Searching for information on EDWARD LOUIS DERENAULT; born in > Illinois, where and when unknown. May have been Paducah's postmaster > in the early 1900s. He supposedly committed suicide in 1907. His > wife was Anna Harris Robertson DeRenault born 1865 KY, and they had > one son, Lee Robertson DeRenault born 1890 in IL. > > The surname is sometimes indexed under RENAULT and occasionally even > spelled RENO. I could not find them on the 1900 census. Any help > will be appreciated. > > By 1910, Lee is living with relatives in Tennessee but his mother's > whereabouts are unclear. He moved to Los Angeles around 1915 and she > joined him around 1921 or so. I have this information verified; I am > mostly interested in the death of Edward and finding them on the KY > census for 1900. > > Any help will be appreciated. Thank you. > > Michele > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to KYMCCRAC- > request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes > in the subject and the body of the message

William Jones married Jane L. Larrison 1834 Christian Co., KY; Susan Hammons c1852 Ballard/McCracken? Co., KY; and Jane McArthur 1857 McCracken Co., KY. I would like to know more about William and his wives. Jane McArthur may have been a widow. William was Presbyterian. Any help or suggestions will be appreciated. Good hunting, Laurel Dickinson, Castle Rock, WA

My friends - For those who have been following the indexing of the Beasley Monument Company of Clifton, TN, and then Paducah, Kentucky, Part 5 is now ready for distribution. I have tried to build a list of those who have requested these before, but I may have missed a few, and if you have not already received a copy of Part 5, then your address has yet to be included on the list of those to automatically receive each segment as it is completed. Please let me know *off list* - via *private* e-mail - that you would like to have this newest segment, and I will get it to you, and add you to the list of those who will receive them automatically as they are ready. Just as a side note, we have a new birth year as being the earliest one found in the records so far - 1784 - which was on a replacement stone ordered by the deceased granddaughter - again, an example of the type of genealogical material these records can contain. -B ===========================================================================================================

I am interested in William Jones who lived in Paducah. In 1857 he married Jane McArthur and the family later moved to Clinton Co. IA Any help or suggestions will be appreciated. Laurel A. Dickinson, Castle Rock, WA “161 Jones, William, Jane McArthur 21 Feb. 1857. Surety, Samuel Purcell. In the presence of Samuel Purcell and Dr. Brownell. Married on Feb. 22, by W. B. Walker.” – McCracken County, KY Marriage Records Vol. 3. Marriages: 1857 : McCracken County, Kentucky Date: February 22, 1857 Groom: Wm. Jones Bride: Jane McArthur Residence: Paducah Residence: Paducah Age: 50 , marriage 4th Age: 37 , marriage 2nd Condition: Widow Condition: Widow Place of Birth: Virginia Place of Birth: Alabama http://www.rootsweb.com/~kymccrac/1857mc.html

Searching for information on EDWARD LOUIS DERENAULT; born in Illinois, where and when unknown. May have been Paducah's postmaster in the early 1900s. He supposedly committed suicide in 1907. His wife was Anna Harris Robertson DeRenault born 1865 KY, and they had one son, Lee Robertson DeRenault born 1890 in IL. The surname is sometimes indexed under RENAULT and occasionally even spelled RENO. I could not find them on the 1900 census. Any help will be appreciated. By 1910, Lee is living with relatives in Tennessee but his mother's whereabouts are unclear. He moved to Los Angeles around 1915 and she joined him around 1921 or so. I have this information verified; I am mostly interested in the death of Edward and finding them on the KY census for 1900. Any help will be appreciated. Thank you. Michele

My friends - I have been discussing with you recently the fact that I have obtained the grave marker sales records from the Beasley Monument Company of Paducah(formerly of Wayne Co.,TN until 1905 when they moved to Paducah). There are, as I have mentioned before, at least 5000 individual records(perhaps more) in this collection. We are transcribing the names of the individuals that were placed on the grave markers, along with the location(normally the county and state) and have now completed the transcription of over 1100. As this is done, I am trying to get these into segmented index form, and the segments will eventually be combined into a comprehensive index which will go into my webstore at www.shopgbs.com, where digital copies of the actual records will be available. Part 3 of this partial index is now available, which contains about another 300 names. If you would like a copy of this latest segment, please contact me *off list*, and I will provide it. I am building an address book of those who have asked for the previous parts of the segments, with the view to setting up a special mailing just to those addresses who wish to have these segments. However, there is always the chance that others who have been away from home, or missed the introduction to this series could be out there, so I am, for now, going to ask you to send me a note if you wish this latest segment. The interest in this collection has been unprecedented. I have probably received 150-200 requests for each segment of the index. I am also receiving inquiries about what the records look like, how much information do they provide, etc. I have decided to set up a special website(on which I am working now), to which I will supply a link shortly to the lists, so that you can see what may be contained in these records.It varies widely, from a single page contract showing who purchased the marker, the location, the type of stone, measurements and technical details, and, most importantly, the inscription to be carved on the stone, all the way to as many as 6-10 pages of items, such as correspondence between the purchasers and the Beasley Company, precise drawings of the monument, and, in addition, correspondence sometimes dealing with disagreements over costs, payments, delivery, etc., between the Beasley Company and some customers, including, on some rare occasions, rather frank remarks written by people at Beasley describing the customers personalities. These records begin in the early 1890's and run to about 1935, but, interestingly, the later ones show more wear than do the earlier ones, primarily because they often used a blue ink pen for the cover sheet, which, with the poor ink quality of that era, has faded badly over the years. They also extensively used paper clips, which, some of them having been in place for 100 years, have practically "melded" into the paper,and removing them always also removes an area of paper, leaving an elongated "U" shape. Fortunately, almost none of these paper clips were ever placed in any area that contains data which we, as genealogists need. Thusfar, out of about 1100 packets transcribed, we have had to only set aside five as so illegible that we cannot use them. By about 1905, Beasley began to use a "Blue Sheet", which was a typewritten confirmation of an order(which was usually handwritten with a bold #1 pencil[thankfully] in the field by a Beasley agent), and which asked the customer to verify the names and dates to be engraved, and if that was not returned, Beasley sent a "Yellow Sheet", more insistently requesting verification of the inscriptions. As a result, we have redundancy, in that we have the original Contract for the sale of the stone, with the name(s) and date(s), as well as the Blue Sheet, and sometimes the Yellow Sheet, as a double check, and which aids me in digitization greatly. You will be able to see this as soon as I can get the site up for you to view. It may have several pages, so you can see the many various combinations of documents(including the wonderful Woodmen of the World documents) that may be in a packet. Of course, there are some packet pages which have tears and folds, and other imperfections which naturally occur with 100 years of wear and storage. Some even have burn marks at the folds only(how this happened I have not yet been able to determine), but, so far, we have been able to find the inscriptions legible on all of those. So luck is with us. I must admit to finding this project to be one of the most enjoyable - and I think valuable - ones that I have undertaken in years. I have run across several packets pertaining to my own families in the JP region of both KY and TN, and Beasley reached all the way to AL, MS and IL, as well. I will continue to keep the lists in KY and TN advised of progress. A Genealogical Books Super Store Newsletter will be issued toward the end of the month with an announcement about the collection, as I have mentioned earlier. -B ====================================================================================================

I noticed that part of my original message of a couple of weeks ago was accidentally left at the bottrom of the new message I just sent out. I used the first message as a template, to avoid retyping all of the list addresses. So please ignore those repetitive paragraphs at the bottom. Also, I failed to mention that, for those of you who ask for this Part 2 of the partial index, please ignore the <br> HTML character you will see at the end of each line. That is a requirement for when the full index goes into the www.shopgbs.com store catalog, and means nothing insofar as each record is concerned, and will be invisible in the store catalog version of the entire index. -B ======================================================================================================

My friends - A couple of weeks ago, I brought to your attention that, through the good offices of our friend Don Howell, I have acquired the Beasley Monument Company of Paducah grave marker order records, which extend back into the early 1890's and run up to about 1933. The Company had a long record of monument preparation, starting in Wayne Co., TN in the 1870's, and, in 1905, removing to Paducah. They created thousands of grave markers for Tennessee and Kentucky families in counties such as Wayne, Perry, Hardin, Hickman,Lewis, Decatur, Benton, Stewart, Henderson, Carroll, Henry, Weakley, Obion, Gibson, Carroll, Montgomery, Robertson, and others. In Kentucky, the counties most often mentioned include all 8 counties of the Jackson Purchase region, as well as Trigg, Lyon, Livingston, Caldwell, Christian, Logan, Todd, Hopkins, Webster, Union and others. So these records are valuable to both the TN and KY Jackson Purchase area, and to other areas as well, even in other states than TN and KY, although the majority of the firm's business was in TN and KY, but we find orders from IL, AL, MS and GA, as well. I made available the first part of the index that is being prepared for these records, which number close to 5000, in my earlier message. However, that first part did not have the locations of the burials. Beginning with Part 2, the locations are included, and the first 175 names are ready for distribution to anyone who would like to have it. If you would like a copy, please let me know by *private* e-mail, and one will be forwarded to you. A few additional names were added to Part 1, which will also have the locations added after the entire index is completed. As this point, we have completed indexing about 15% of the collection. These records are valuable, because they show who purchased the stone(almost always a relative), and often have drawings of the stones(which, in the case of some of the older ones, the stones themselves may now be gone), the names of the cemeteries in most cases, as well as letters between the Beasley company and those purchasing the stones. Some of these records had not been opened in over 100 years and are quite fragile. Some have been slightly wet, and a few seem to have somehow been burned around the edge at some point, but 95% of the data is legible, and a fair number, after 1905, are typewritten. Unfortunately, the company chose to use paper clips to hold sheets of an order together, which, in most cases, have been in place so long that they have literally become a part of the paper, and removing them takes the little shred of paper where they were placed away with the clip. However, nearly all of these clips were placed in locations which do not affect the data contained in the documents. I am making these partial indices available to our lists subscribers before the complete index is placed in my web store (The Genealogical Books Super Store), so that if anyone sees a name for which they would like to get a digital copy of the documents associated with it, they can do so ahead of the general public. An announcement will be made this month in the GBBS Newsletter about the project. We are trying to index from 200 - 500 names per week, although this rate has been slowed by having to show the locations, which takes more time, but is worth the effort for researchers to have a better idea of whether *that* particular person is theirs, especially if the name is a common one. Another note of interest from the Library of Congress is this announcement: "The Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps Online Checklist/ provides a searchable database of the fire insurance maps published by the Sanborn Map Company housed in the collections of the Geography and Map Division. The online checklist is based upon the Library's 1981 publication /Fire Insurance Maps in the Library of Congress/ and will be continually updated to reflect new acquisitions. The online checklist also contains links to existing digital images from our collection and will be updated as new images are added." The library has more than 4000 scanned maps online. Navigate to http://www.loc.gov/rr/geogmap/ and explore the tab "Guides to the Collections." They have added numerous additional maps in the past year, which are interesting, since most are late 19th century. And, from the U.S. Geological Survey people: "USGS will shortly announce major additions to the USGS map store. All of the published topographic maps for the states of Kansas, Iowa, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Colorado have been scanned. Included are all the editions of the historic topographic maps (1882-1940) in the USGS collection. There are holes in the collection as the USGS allowed it to circulate up until about 30 years ago. Also included are the various modern editions of the traditional topographic maps, of varying scales, of the US that many of us have used for finding cemeteries and other applications. Included in this category are the venerable "topo quads" Finally, the most modern USGS topographic maps, termed US Topos, are coming on line. These are true GIS applications with the ability to toggle layers on and off. All versions are free and downloadable as GeoPDF files. Check it out at http://store.usgs.gov <http://store.usgs.gov/>. Click on the map locator tab. More maps are expected to be posted soon." I did not find many maps for the JP region available as yet, but they will be forthcoming soon. An announcement concerning these records will be in the September edition of the Genealogical Books Super Store newsletter, and I am now in the process of indexing them, which is a tremendous undertaking. About a thousand records have been annotated(and my estimate is that there are perhaps 5000 individual records in this collection), and about 700 are in draft form for the Index, which will eventually appear in the GBBS catalog. The purpose of the project is to make digital copies of these records available through the Store at a very minimal cost, whether the record contains two pages or twenty. The records are old and brittle, some have been in or near moisture, and a few have had some burns inflicted on them over the years, but, in general, they are in remarkably good condition for their age. Some are even typewritten, especially the later ones. In keeping with my long time practice of advance notice to the subscribers of the lists I host in the JP region, I wanted to let our subscribers know that if any of you would like to see the draft of the index *so far completed* - with thousands more names to be added - if you will contact me *off list*, I will be glad to send a copy to you. Please bear in mind that the draft index now contains probably only about 10% of the names it will eventually hold, but since it covers many counties in both TN and KY, it may be of interest to those of you pursuing TN lines as well as JP and KY lines. This project has caused me to place the Graves County Circuit Court Order books work on temporary hold, since these records offer so many opportunities for genealogical clues, and in so many different places. Many thanks to our good friend, Don Howell, for saving these records from going to the landfill. -B ===================================================================================================== ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to KYJACKSONPURCHASE-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

My friends - Through an arrangement with our good friend, Don Howell(our JP artifact "finder"), I have acquired the monument order records for the Beasley Monument Company of Paducah, which had its origins in Tennessee in the 1870's. The company moved from Clifton, Tennessee(Wayne County) to Paducah in 1905. This business remained in the same family for three generations, and created many thousands of grave markers, as well as grave covers, and even large mausoleums, for their customers. They were a first class operation which produced fine work. The records to which I refer are the actual orders placed by a relative(usually), for a grave marker for one of their family members. These orders can contain everything from a single page contract giving the dimensions of the marker, the epitaph, the location to be placed, the name of the deceased, dates of birth and death(and sometimes other information, such as the parents of a married woman). There are some which contain actual drawings of the monuments themselves, and many contain letters from the relatives about details of the monuments, dates to be inscribed - wonderful genealogical material, to say the least. The records which I have begin in 1890 and continue until 1935. The earliest year of birth I have yet found is 1798, used on a marker ordered, very likely by a son or grandson of the deceased. The signatures of the purchasers very often give evidence of the relationship(e.g., if the marker is for Eva Edwards, and she was 60 years old at the time of her death, with the purchaser being a William T.Edwards, the chances are very high that William is her husband). These records cover several states - Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Mississippi and an occasional one in Illinois, especially after the firm removed to Paducah in 1905. In Tennessee, the counties generally mentioned include Wayne, Perry, Hardin, Hickman,Lewis, Decatur, Benton, Stewart, Henderson, Carroll, Henry, Weakley, Obion, Gibson, Carroll, Montgomery, Robertson, and others. In Kentucky, the counties most often mentioned include all 8 counties of the Jackson Purchase region, as well as Trigg, Lyon, Livingston, Caldwell, Christian, Logan, Todd, Hopkins, Webster, Union and others. So these records are valuable to both the TN and KY Jackson Purchase area, and to other areas as well, even in other states than TN and KY, although the majority of the firm's business was in TN and KY. An announcement concerning these records will be in the September edition of the Genealogical Books Super Store newsletter, and I am now in the process of indexing them, which is a tremendous undertaking. About a thousand records have been annotated(and my estimate is that there are perhaps 5000 individual records in this collection), and about 700 are in draft form for the Index, which will eventually appear in the GBBS catalog. The purpose of the project is to make digital copies of these records available through the Store at a very minimal cost, whether the record contains two pages or twenty. The records are old and brittle, some have been in or near moisture, and a few have had some burns inflicted on them over the years, but, in general, they are in remarkably good condition for their age. Some are even typewritten, especially the later ones. In keeping with my long time practice of advance notice to the subscribers of the lists I host in the JP region, I wanted to let our subscribers know that if any of you would like to see the draft of the index *so far completed* - with thousands more names to be added - if you will contact me *off list*, I will be glad to send a copy to you. Please bear in mind that the draft index now contains probably only about 10% of the names it will eventually hold, but since it covers many counties in both TN and KY, it may be of interest to those of you pursuing TN lines as well as JP and KY lines. This project has caused me to place the Graves County Circuit Court Order books work on temporary hold, since these records offer so many opportunities for genealogical clues, and in so many different places. Many thanks to our good friend, Don Howell, for saving these records from going to the landfill. -B =====================================================================================================

My friends - One of our subscribers asked a question in response to my recent posting to the JP and Graves lists about the progress of the digitization of the only remaining county based records for Graves County prior to the disastrous fire of December 1887, when 99% of the records prior to that date were destroyed. These records which survived the fire are a number of Graves County Circuit Court Order Books, covering the period 1853-1890 (with some years missing). As I mentioned in my message of a few days ago, Order Book G had already been digitized some years ago, and remains available on CD. The others, excepting Order Books I(eye) and K (J, M ,and N are missing, and it appears that books H and Q were never created, based on the known dates of coverage as reported), which are now being digitized, are almost finished, as I said earlier, insofar as proofing and enhancing is concerned. The question raised was whether these order books could be offered singly, as well as in a group. That is, if a researcher is interested in only a certain period for Graves County, such as, for example, 1878 - 1885, could the order book(s) that cover that period be obtained individually, rather than having to get the entire package. I had not considered that option earlier, but, from a technical standpoint, I can see nothing that would obstruct such being done. So, my question to those of you who are researching Graves County and are looking forward to seeing these records is this: would you be interested in seeing these order books offered individually, or perhaps in groups of two consecutive books(realizing, in the latter case, that we do have missing, or uncreated books, so, in a group of two, it might be books L and O, since M and N are missing), or would you prefer that that the entire set only be created, as was my original plan, or both? Please let me know your preference *OFF LIST*, so we do not cause a flood of messages to hit the subscribers' inboxes. The plus to individual or the two-grouped set would be a reduction in cost and not having additional records which some researchers might not need if their people of interest left the County in, say, the late 1870's, as well as the fact that several of these would be available almost immediately(within the next 2-3 weeks). The minus part is that if the individual or two-group sets are the only offering, someone with a continuing interest in Graves County would need to acquire all of the books individually, or all two-set groups to have complete coverage, unless I also prepare that full coverage as has been my plan. Perhaps having both available is the best solution. In any event, I will abide by the majority wishes of those who respond within the next three or four days, and I will bring the results to the lists so you can see how they turned out. Many thanks............ -B =====================================================================================================

FIND YOUR FAMILY DAY - MARCH 26 2011 SATURDAY Did you know that Genealogy is the most popular hobby in America? Its also considered an "underground" hobby since so many people do not know much about this fascinating pastime so many of us enjoy. With the popular new TV series "Who Do You Think You Are" genealogy has rised into the spotlight & generated much interest for many seeking to break down their families unknown "brick walls". West Ky Travelers decided to do a day study trip at one of the local facilities that specializes in this type of research. Willard Library located in Evansville Indiana hosts one of the largest collections of genealogical research materials in the country ! The library has so thoughtfully offered professional help to be on-hand that day specifically for our group in locating information along with valuable help & research information. Please bring your notebooks & plan to enjoy a memorable day, you might also catch a glimpse of one of their local ghosts looking over your shoulder that are said to haunt the magnificient Willard Library ! Later the group will be treated to an ALL YOU CAN EAT Amish buffett dinner before departing for home. (PLEASE FEEL FREE TO FORWARD TO YOUR OTHER LISTS). Primary pickup locations will be in Paducah & Mayfield, however other stops may be available so please call to inquire for your area. Price of $79 Includes: Round Trip motorcoach transportation, Professional Research & Library Guide & Amish Dinner Buffet included WEST KY TRAVELERS GROUP TOURS 270-554-7690 Email: westkytravelers@yahoo.com Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/people/West-Ky-Travelers/1395333988