Hi Jan, Thought I'd drop a line, and remind you that I'm still here! Now, don't mutter that, I'm really a nice person! <VBG> Just letting you know that I'm still anxiously awaiting for all your snow to disappear, no more so than you, huh? I'm still wondering about the mysterious date inscription on tombstone of Mary Anderson DIBELL at Pine Plains Cemetery. And, eager to find out when Decker Cemetery in Millbrook Twp. will finally get transcribed. Those two hold so many of my family members. I know, but it is so hard to be patient, especially when you want the info 5 minutes ago, at least! I did make a gigantic breakthrough in my tree. Got information on my elusive ancestors of the Dibell side. Lady wrote me and said she had them in her tree also, and told me my Stewart originated in Scotland, moved to Ireland, thence to US and met and married her husband in NY. He (Anderson) did NOT come from Ireland as I'd been told, but from England! Well, geez that cleared up a lot. Was able to find them through the 1880 census roll at my nearest LDS Family History Center and got scads of info. Made me very happy. Cannot believe how much mis-information we're given by family members with either faulty memories or using guesswork, etc. Did find that my Staffords did NOT live always in Mecosta Co, as I'd been given to understand. They lived in Chase (isn't that Lake Co.?), so assume (dangerous word) that my grand-mother and great-grandmother may be buried in one of the cemeteries there, not in BR as I'd guessed! Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we prac! tice to conceive!. Cute, huh? Oh, I'm just full of that kind of silliness! Am beginning to plump out my family tree so it doesn't look so sparse any more. Did discover my Stafford family clear back to 1066 to 1st Baron de Stafford who came with William the Conqueror to England, then chased his line back to 586. Yes, your eyes aren't deceiving you, that is actually 586! I was astounded as it is an unbroken line. Am in touch with Stafford relatives all over the country, in England, Ireland, Wales, etc. Wonderful! Am trying to sort out all these people now - what a job! Did get invitation from DAR to join them, as they found that I had umpteen relatives who'd fought in Revolutionary War, and am descended from at least 3 of the Mayflower passengers: Richard Warren, John and Richard Cooke, and William Brewster. Well, don't know why not, who else was around for them to marry, except Indians?!!!!Somehow I can't see these Puritans being anxious to do that! Well, I've yakked your ear off and had best get busy sorting out some more of these people. Take care. Hope snow melts soon. Warmest wishes, Bonnie Connell ----- Original Message ----- From: Jan Cortez Sent: Monday, February 04, 2002 9:37 PM To: BONNIE CONNELL Subject: Re: [MIMECOST] Mecosta Updates ----- Original Message ----- From: BONNIE CONNELL Dear Jan, I have just gone through all your wonderful pages on the Web and, before anything else, I want to thank all of yhou for your time and effort at making it possible for me, and others, to 'look' at the things we can no longer go to visit in person. Glad you enjoyed the site..... I was born and raised in Big Rapids, and moved to PA at 15, back again for short time, then on to Lansing where I met and married my wonderful husband. After 27 years of marriage and 2 children later, wee lost him to cancer in May '89. So sorry to hear that, but great to know that you found something you enjoyed doing to help fill the loss. When our youngest daughter graduated in '90, she wanted me to move to FL with her and attend college with her, which we did. Yes, we graduated together (me with honors!) and here we are today. I have since retired, we are roommates once again and I have been busy working on my family tree for her. Reading through the Cemetery listings, I was confounded to find that the wife of Asa John Dibell, Mary (Eliza Anderson) has a death date of 1886. Guess this would be something that would be needed to be checked when the snow is gone. I really don't know at this point. The cemetery is very close to my home and something I can do in the spring. As she was born in 1866, this would make her 20 at death, and 11 years BEFORE my grandfather was born! Is there something I should know, is this date correct? I do know that Asa John was born in September 1863 in Ashtabula Co., OH, moved to NY, married and moved to Normel, Normel Co., IL where my grandfather was born, and then to MI. I remember my mother saying that he was married twice, I don't know to whom, when, for how long, nor what happened to her. My grandmother (father's mother) remembered her mothr-in-law VERY well (guess she was everyone's worst thought of mothers-in-law!), so who is this Mary at Pine Plains Cemetery? I'm also gratful that so many of the cemeteries are being listed as I have so many family and friends in them. Am eagerly awaiting Millbrook Twp.'s Decker Cemetery to be done, as the majority of them are there. Do you know when that will be finished? I do have the burial records of the Decker Cemetery - so it should be over the next year. We have quite a few to do, plus a 1905 directory. If I have several cemeteries at a time - the ones who help are given the option of which ones they want to type, as many are looking for their own relatives. Again, thank you for the listings - they've been invaluable in helping me with dates, first names, etc. I hope you can help me with my 'mystery'. Please remind me in the spring to be sure and go take a look - so we can get the info right. Kindest regards, Bonnie Ann Dibell Connell I can be contacted at: badibella@Hotmail.com or bconnell@cfl.rr.com. Jan ----- Original Message ----- From: Jan Cortez Sent: Saturday, February 02, 2002 8:35 PM To: MIMECOST-L@rootsweb.com Subject: [MIMECOST] Mecosta Updates Have just uploaded the Aetna Township Cemetery, which is on the west side of the Village of Morley. This is a very large file that I have broken down into four pages. I hope that you are able to view them - they take awhile to load. If there are alot of problems - I'll divide all the pages again. Thanks to Wanda Hinojosa for all her typing, Monica Erickson for her help in setting up the file, which I have been playing with in my new Windows XP forever, and to the Mecosta County Genealogical Society for the transcription. Also please note that Jan Ramos is working on Hinton Township and that is online A-K. So stop in and take a look. http://www.rootsweb.com/~mimecost/ Jan Cortez Mecosta County Coordinator ==== MIMECOST Mailing List ==== Visit Jans Digs to see how we are growing. http://www.jansdigs.com Get more from the Web. FREE MSN Explorer download : http://explorer.msn.comGet more from the Web. FREE MSN Explorer download : http://explorer.msn.com