ANCESTRAL ENDEAVORS A MONTHLY NEWSLETTER OF THE LAFAYETTE GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY FOLLOW UP TO NOTES SENT IN TO PASS ON. _www.nettally.com/lgsla_ (http://www.nettally.com/lgsla) Volume 2004 Issue 5a May 2004 Our Lafayette Genealogy Society Meetings for June 17, 2004 and July 15, 2004, 6:30 - 9:00 will be at the Dupree Library. Family History Center Hours: Will be closed Tue and Wed for maintenance and will be open again Sat 12 June. The National Archives has recently made its indexes and abstracts to the records of World War II Army service men abailable on its website. Here is the web address: _http://aad.archives.gov/aad/title_list.jsp_ (http://aad.archives.gov/aad/title_list.jsp) You can search online for VETERANS' BURIAL SITES _http://gravelocator.cem.va.gov/j2ee/servlet/NGL_v1_ (http://gravelocator.cem.va.gov/j2ee/servlet/NGL_v1) _http://www.cem.va.gov_ (http://www.cem.va.gov) Arlington National Cemetery _http://www.cem.va.gov/arlington.htm_ (http://www.cem.va.gov/arlington.htm) Recording Ages on Tombstones By Bill Churchill in the USA I don't know why gravestones contained the age at death rather than the birth date, but prior to 1776 or so in the United States and 1837 in England there was no civil registration of births. In England Parish records contained baptism, marriage, and burial records, but exact birth and death dates were not recorded. This can be seen in early Plymouth Colony gravestones where the age of individuals at death are given. Oftentimes the age is only in years, sometimes months and years. It has been said that in early times many people did not actually know their exact birth dates but recokoned births to some reference such as the first week of Easter in 1770, a month before the king's coronation,etc. I would speculate that the giving of ages on gravestones in years, months and days simply developed into a customary practive. Very obviously, when an age at death is given down to the day the exact birth date was known so it is logical that this simply came to be the custom. * * * Calendar Change Created Problems By Jeff Hamilton, Minister at the La Vista Church of Christ In regard to "Tombstone Recording Customs," by Bill Bambach, the practice probably came about because there was a shift in dates in the mid-1700s. It causes genealogists plenty of headaches trying to figure out if a date given was under the old system or the new. I'm sure it caused families plenty of headaches as well. It was easier just to state the age at death. Once the practice entered the culture, it remained long after it was needed. * * * Thanks to Wayne Vial, you have a list of the Catholic churches of New Orleans and the dates of their founding. Another list is here: _http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/la/orleans/directry/churches.txt_ (http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/la/orleans/directry/churches.txt) A list of the German-language churches (Catholic and Protestant) can be found here: _http://freepages.religions.rootsweb.com/~neworleans/german_church_records/inv entory.html_ (http://freepages.religions.rootsweb.com/~neworleans/german_church_records/inventory.html) I'm not aware of a comprehensive list of other Protestant churches. (My understanding is that there were no Protestant churches in colonial New Orleans prior to the Louisiana Purchase in 1803.) Colleen Fitzpatrick posted a list of al the churches in the 1859 ciry directory here: _http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/la/orleans/directry/chur1859.txt_ (http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/la/orleans/directry/chur1859.txt) Remember that this list is not comprehensive and the names of many churches have changed. * * * ACADIAN TALL SHIP SAIL... At last the tall ship EUROPA has given us the go-ahead for the Acadian sail to Nova Scotia from France. Could you please include this as a news feature/event on your site? We are hoping to have as many Acadians as possible join the voyage and already have interest from folks in Nova Soctia, New Brunswick and Louisiana. CBC's Land and Sea will be along to film and I will be writing a series on the sail for the Halifax Chronicle Herald and others. Thank you so much, Vaughne Madden. from Todd Jarrell, acadia_nsail@earthlink.net_ (mailto:acadiansail@earthlink.net) from _guidryrm@cox.net_ (mailto:guidryrm@cox.net) * * * The New Orleans newspaper know as L'Abeille(The Bee), 1827-1923, is now online in Adobe Acrobat format. It is available on the website of the Jefferson Parish Library System: _http://www.jefferson.lib.la.us/genealogy/NewOrleansBeeMain.htm_ (http://www.jefferson.lib.la.us/genealogy/NewOrleansBeeMain.htm) or if that doesn't work, then go to _http://www.jefferson.lib.la.us/_ (http://www.jefferson.lib.la.us/) Choose "Reference" then, "Genealogy", then "New Orleans Bee." The English editions are also included, although it is best to check both, as the English is not an exact translation of the French. From Jean Kiesel * * * A Genealogical codicil to my last will and testament To my spouse, children or guardian: Upon my demise it is requested that you DO NOT dispose of any or all of my Genealogical records, books, files, notebooks, photos or computer programs for a period of two years. During this time period, please attempt to identify one or more persons who would be willing to take custody of the said materials and the responsibility of maintaining and continuing the family history. In the event you do not find anyone to accept these materials, please contact the various genealogical organizations that I have been a member of and determine if they will accept some parts or all of my genealogical materials. Please remember that my genealogical endeavors consumed a great deal of time, travel and money. Therefore, please do not ignore my requests. Signed Date Witness: Witness: From Dorothy Burleigh * * * Earl Gates _GatesEarlG@aol.com_ (mailto:GatesEarlG@aol.com) Lafayette Genealogy Society P.O. Box 52041 Lafayette, Louisiana 70505