On Thu, 21 Oct 2004, Ann Garvin wrote: > that is very interesting. I am reconsidering my vote! Thank you!! > And, actually, Larry Kestenbaum is the creator of the Political > Graveyard website. Yes, that's me. :-) And I have been a member of this list for some time. Larry --- Lawrence Kestenbaum, polygon@potifos.com Candidate for County Clerk/Register, http://KestenbaumCampaign.com The Political Graveyard, http://politicalgraveyard.com Mailing address: P.O. Box 2563, Ann Arbor MI 48106

On Thu, 21 Oct 2004, mlh wrote: > Anyhow, if there are any Washtenaw County voters on > this list, you might be interested to know that the > long reigning County Clerk, Peggy Haines, is finally > being challenged for this elected position by Lawrence > Kestenbaum. Mr. Kestenbaum seemed to take an > interest in the genealogy issue back in 2002, and I > would have to believe he would make more of an effort > to assist genealogical researchers. You might want to > keep this issue in mind when you vote for the County > Clerk if you are a registered Washtenaw Co. voter. I very much appreciate this endorsement, and I welcome the support of genealogists who are concerned about access. I myself have been very frustrated by the County Clerk's policy on death records. I tried to change the policy while I was a county commissioner, but as you know, the Clerk has final authority. Of course, there are other issues in this election. Given the push to get more services and records online, I believe the Clerk should be someone with some background on computers, networks, and computer security. The incumbent county clerk has never faced a serious challenger before. Moreover, I am running on the Democratic ticket, and in Washtenaw County, this will be the most Democratic year in modern times. Again, many thanks! Larry --- Lawrence Kestenbaum, polygon@potifos.com Candidate for County Clerk/Register, http://KestenbaumCampaign.com The Political Graveyard, http://politicalgraveyard.com Mailing address: P.O. Box 2563, Ann Arbor MI 48106

In a message dated 10/21/04 5:59:09 PM Eastern Daylight Time, mhendersona2@yahoo.com writes: > genealogist, I think he's perfectly suited to being > the Washtenaw County Clerk. > if it's OK with you, I'll send your original message to some of my Ann Arbor friends. Thanks!

Mary, thanks for the heads up about this issue. I'm an Ann Arbor resident, just getting started in geneological research. I'll spread the word about the potential to vote in a change. Barb ----- Original Message ----- From: "mlh" <mhendersona2@yahoo.com> To: <MIWASHTE-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Thursday, October 21, 2004 2:01 PM Subject: [MIWASHTE] County lookups in Washtenaw > Hi, all! > > If you do any research in Washtenaw Co. you probably > know that it's not an easy county to do genealogy in, > due to the County Clerk's refusal to let people look > at the "public" records. You have to pay for a > certified copy - you can't just look at, say, a death > certificate and write down the information. > > There was a long thread on this topic on this list in > March and April 2002. I had volunteered to help > someone on this list by looking up a death record, and > was met with all sorts of resistance, to put it > mildly, by the County. > > Anyhow, if there are any Washtenaw County voters on > this list, you might be interested to know that the > long reigning County Clerk, Peggy Haines, is finally > being challenged for this elected position by Lawrence > Kestenbaum. Mr. Kestenbaum seemed to take an > interest in the genealogy issue back in 2002, and I > would have to believe he would make more of an effort > to assist genealogical researchers. You might want to > keep this issue in mind when you vote for the County > Clerk if you are a registered Washtenaw Co. voter. > > To reinforce my point, I find it of note that the > Randon Acts of Genealogical Kindness site (raogk.com) > lists only one lookup volunteer for Washtenaw Co., and > that volunteer specifically states "I will not do > look-ups at the Clerk's office as they will not let me > make copies for folks." It's a pretty sorry state of > affairs when a county like Washtenaw, home of the > University of Michigan, can boast only one lookup > volunteer, and one that has to plainly state that they > can't do any courthouse lookups. > > Mary > > __________________________________________________ > Do You Yahoo!? > Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around > http://mail.yahoo.com > >

Yes - I'd be delighted to get the word out on him! Mary --- AGarvin224@aol.com wrote: > In a message dated 10/21/04 5:59:09 PM Eastern > Daylight Time, > mhendersona2@yahoo.com writes: > > > > genealogist, I think he's perfectly suited to > being > > the Washtenaw County Clerk. > > > > if it's OK with you, I'll send your original message > to some of my Ann Arbor > friends. Thanks! > > _______________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Declare Yourself - Register online to vote today! http://vote.yahoo.com

Hi, Ann! Thanks for your response! If you want to know more about why I feel the way I do, you can go to the archives for this list at: http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/index/MIWASHTE/ and then look at the March and April 2002 threads. It shows the specific issues I ran into with the County Clerk, as well as her e mail response, and, interestingly, the response of Larry Kestenbaum, who was on the Board of Commissioners at the time. Yes, Larry created the impressive Political Graveyards site, indicating his interest not only in genealogy, but also using technology to share information, so, as a genealogist, I think he's perfectly suited to being the Washtenaw County Clerk. Mary --- Ann Garvin <GarvinA@michigan.gov> wrote: > that is very interesting. I am reconsidering my > vote! Thank you!! > And, actually, Larry Kestenbaum is the creator of > the Political > Graveyard website. > > >>> mhendersona2@yahoo.com 10/21/2004 2:01:44 PM >>> > Hi, all! > > If you do any research in Washtenaw Co. you probably > know that it's not an easy county to do genealogy > in, > due to the County Clerk's refusal to let people look > at the "public" records. You have to pay for a > certified copy - you can't just look at, say, a > death > certificate and write down the information. > > There was a long thread on this topic on this list > in > March and April 2002. I had volunteered to help > someone on this list by looking up a death record, > and > was met with all sorts of resistance, to put it > mildly, by the County. > > Anyhow, if there are any Washtenaw County voters on > this list, you might be interested to know that the > long reigning County Clerk, Peggy Haines, is finally > being challenged for this elected position by > Lawrence > Kestenbaum. Mr. Kestenbaum seemed to take an > interest in the genealogy issue back in 2002, and I > would have to believe he would make more of an > effort > to assist genealogical researchers. You might want > to > keep this issue in mind when you vote for the County > Clerk if you are a registered Washtenaw Co. voter. > > To reinforce my point, I find it of note that the > Randon Acts of Genealogical Kindness site > (raogk.com) > lists only one lookup volunteer for Washtenaw Co., > and > that volunteer specifically states "I will not do > look-ups at the Clerk's office as they will not let > me > make copies for folks." It's a pretty sorry state > of > affairs when a county like Washtenaw, home of the > University of Michigan, can boast only one lookup > volunteer, and one that has to plainly state that > they > can't do any courthouse lookups. > > Mary > > __________________________________________________ > Do You Yahoo!? > Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam > protection around > http://mail.yahoo.com > >

that is very interesting. I am reconsidering my vote! Thank you!! And, actually, Larry Kestenbaum is the creator of the Political Graveyard website. >>> mhendersona2@yahoo.com 10/21/2004 2:01:44 PM >>> Hi, all! If you do any research in Washtenaw Co. you probably know that it's not an easy county to do genealogy in, due to the County Clerk's refusal to let people look at the "public" records. You have to pay for a certified copy - you can't just look at, say, a death certificate and write down the information. There was a long thread on this topic on this list in March and April 2002. I had volunteered to help someone on this list by looking up a death record, and was met with all sorts of resistance, to put it mildly, by the County. Anyhow, if there are any Washtenaw County voters on this list, you might be interested to know that the long reigning County Clerk, Peggy Haines, is finally being challenged for this elected position by Lawrence Kestenbaum. Mr. Kestenbaum seemed to take an interest in the genealogy issue back in 2002, and I would have to believe he would make more of an effort to assist genealogical researchers. You might want to keep this issue in mind when you vote for the County Clerk if you are a registered Washtenaw Co. voter. To reinforce my point, I find it of note that the Randon Acts of Genealogical Kindness site (raogk.com) lists only one lookup volunteer for Washtenaw Co., and that volunteer specifically states "I will not do look-ups at the Clerk's office as they will not let me make copies for folks." It's a pretty sorry state of affairs when a county like Washtenaw, home of the University of Michigan, can boast only one lookup volunteer, and one that has to plainly state that they can't do any courthouse lookups. Mary __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

Hi, all! If you do any research in Washtenaw Co. you probably know that it's not an easy county to do genealogy in, due to the County Clerk's refusal to let people look at the "public" records. You have to pay for a certified copy - you can't just look at, say, a death certificate and write down the information. There was a long thread on this topic on this list in March and April 2002. I had volunteered to help someone on this list by looking up a death record, and was met with all sorts of resistance, to put it mildly, by the County. Anyhow, if there are any Washtenaw County voters on this list, you might be interested to know that the long reigning County Clerk, Peggy Haines, is finally being challenged for this elected position by Lawrence Kestenbaum. Mr. Kestenbaum seemed to take an interest in the genealogy issue back in 2002, and I would have to believe he would make more of an effort to assist genealogical researchers. You might want to keep this issue in mind when you vote for the County Clerk if you are a registered Washtenaw Co. voter. To reinforce my point, I find it of note that the Randon Acts of Genealogical Kindness site (raogk.com) lists only one lookup volunteer for Washtenaw Co., and that volunteer specifically states "I will not do look-ups at the Clerk's office as they will not let me make copies for folks." It's a pretty sorry state of affairs when a county like Washtenaw, home of the University of Michigan, can boast only one lookup volunteer, and one that has to plainly state that they can't do any courthouse lookups. Mary __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

Washtenaw County MIGenWeb is up for adoption. If anyone is interested and has roots in the area and the ability to do websites, please let me know. http://www.rootsweb.com/~miwashte/ Jan Cortez MI State Coordinator

Grove Barker was in Bridgewater in the early 1830's - I found one measly little reference to him and a land sale. Does anyone have info?

IS THERE ANYONE IN THIS GROUP THAT CAN TELL ME ANYTHING ABOUT THE FOLLOWING FAMILY? ONE OF THE THINGS I'M LOOKING FOR IS THE ANCESTORS OF JAMES H. DAVIS. MARTHA E. IS MY MATERNAL GREAT-GRANDMOTHER, ROSE E. IS MY GRANDMOTHER. THANK YOU, ROSE-MARIE From the 1920 census - Name: James H. Davis Age: 53 years Estimated birth year: 1866 Birthplace: Michigan Race: White Home in 1920: Ypsilanti, Washtenaw, Michigan Page: 5A; ED: 170 Martha E. - wife, 30 b. Mi Margaret M. - 5, b. Mi Rosie E. - 4 1/2, b. Mi James F. 2 5/12, b. Mi Daughter - 3 months, b. Mi 1930 census - James Davis has died and Martha has re-married a Mr. La Rouch. He is not listed in the census. La Rouch, Martha - 40, married, b.Mi., she has no occupation La Rouch, Greta? - daughter, 2.5, b. Mi Davis, Margater M. - 15, b. Mi Davis, Rose E. - 14, b. Mi Davis, James F. - 13, b. Mi Davis, Clifford D. - 8, b. Mi Davis, Eva J. - 10, b. Mi --- [This E-mail Scanned for viruses by Onlinemac.com]

To whom I was helping with Mary Hoover please email me agian. Thank you Vicki

Hi David, I checked GENDIS (http://www.mdch.state.mi.us/gendisx/search.htm) for Ephraim's and Martha's deaths, but could not find them in that time period. Do you already know the dates of death and where they may have died? You will need both. I know of a few online sources for old Michigan obituaries, but they are limited to a specific county or region. Also, I checked http://www.Familysearch.org, which is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' website for genealogy. Ephraim Cummings of Ypsilanti is listed as having been born in 1813 in Virginia. His parents are listed as John Cummings and Mollie Furr. Since the website shows that this information was submitted by a member of the LDS Church, and there is no other proof, I don't know if this is reliable, but perhaps it is something to consider in your search. Good luck, Charla Kurtz -----Original Message----- From: Dcmngs44@aol.com [mailto:Dcmngs44@aol.com] Sent: Sunday, September 12, 2004 1:04 PM To: MIWASHTE-L@rootsweb.com Subject: [MIWASHTE] (no subject) I have a GGGGrandfather, Ephraim (Ephriam?) Cummings who I believe to be living in Ypsilanti (2d Ward). I found his name and the name of his second wife, Martha (widow of Albert Seymour) in the 1880 Mich census. He is 67 yrs old and Martha is 79 yrs old. A 63-yr old woman was sharing the household (her name was Laurella Derby). Martha had a couple sons living in the Detroit area about this time. They all emigrated from Cayuga County, NY. I would like to search some resource that would give me confirmation that this is indeed my ancestor. Can anyone suggest an online source for obituaries or other? Besides an obit, what other source might he helpful to look at? Cheers, David A. Cummings Portland, OR (Researching Cummings, Seymour, Case, Thomas, and Miller) --- Incoming mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.752 / Virus Database: 503 - Release Date: 9/3/2004 --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.752 / Virus Database: 503 - Release Date: 9/3/2004

Smith genealogy from the Latson side. I have in my position the Smith family bible, which Paulina Fish Smith, (wife of Andrew) was given when whe went to MI from NY state. Recorded in this bible is the following information David Smith (the earliest entry) born 1785, married Sally Tuttle, b: 1794, married in 1818 in NY. They had 4 boys, Hart, Amos, Joseph S., and Andrew. Hart married Electa Chittenden and they had 3 boys, Charles H, David Dwight and Daniel W. David married Lottie Burgin, and they had 3 children, Seward, Florence E., and Warren S. (that is all I have on these lines) Then the son, Andrew, who is my gg grandfather, married Paulina Fish in NY, they had 3 children, Austin, Elizabeth and Katie (my grandmother). The bible was carried down thru 3 generations, from Sally, David's wife, to Paulina, Andrews wife, and then to Katie. We don't know where David Smith was born in NY, family history has related that they were from an area "in the mountians" north of Rochester, NY. He had farm machinery mfg. business, and it burned down, it was about that time that Andrew left NY and came to MI. If any one has any Smith connections I would be happy to share my information on them. I have found many Smith's in searching thru NY records in the north central part of NY state. Good luck. John in KS maproski@aol.com

I have a GGGGrandfather, Ephraim (Ephriam?) Cummings who I believe to be living in Ypsilanti (2d Ward). I found his name and the name of his second wife, Martha (widow of Albert Seymour) in the 1880 Mich census. He is 67 yrs old and Martha is 79 yrs old. A 63-yr old woman was sharing the household (her name was Laurella Derby). Martha had a couple sons living in the Detroit area about this time. They all emigrated from Cayuga County, NY. I would like to search some resource that would give me confirmation that this is indeed my ancestor. Can anyone suggest an online source for obituaries or other? Besides an obit, what other source might he helpful to look at? Cheers, David A. Cummings Portland, OR (Researching Cummings, Seymour, Case, Thomas, and Miller)

Shirley, Your Charity Smith and and John's Andrew Smith were born in neighboring towns. You should compare notes with him. Judith

Thanks for the tip, Judith! Shirley ----- Original Message ----- From: <jaltug@juno.com> To: <MIWASHTE-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Sunday, September 12, 2004 6:22 AM Subject: Re: [MIWASHTE] Andrew Smith > Shirley, > Your Charity Smith and and John's Andrew Smith were born in neighboring > towns. You should compare notes with him. > Judith > >

I'd like to add my SMITH information: Charity SMITH, born 8/16/1830, in Bloomfield, New York, married Warren Fenton 7/10/1853 in Washtenaw County, MI, died 3/28/1887 in Marshall, Calhoun County, MI. According to her death record, her parents were Peter and Anna Smith. In 1860, Charity and Warren lived in Saline, Washtenaw Co. In 1850, I find a 15-year-old Charity Smith from New York, domestic in the household of John E. Mitchell. This is certainly her--her age fluctuated greatly in the census records. In Augusta, Washtenaw Co. is a 66-year-old Peter Smith from New York, living alone, between two Childs families. Does this connect with another person? Shirley in Tucson ----- Original Message ----- From: <jaltug@juno.com> To: <MIWASHTE-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Thursday, September 09, 2004 5:38 PM Subject: Re: [MIWASHTE] Andrew Smith > I have been collecting information about the all of the Smiths in the > area (no easy task as you may know) trying to find connected persons and > looking for information about the parents of Israel Smith. > > Thanks again for responding. > Judith > >

FYI Henry Ford Comm. College is sponsoring two all-day genealogy computer workshops on their Dearborn campus, presented by Michael John Neill. One is on Word and Excel for Genealogists (15 October 2005) and the other one is Getting the Most from the Family Search Website (16 Octover 2005). There is more information at: http://www.rootdig.com/michiganoctober2004.html Kevin _______________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Shop for Back-to-School deals on Yahoo! Shopping. http://shopping.yahoo.com/backtoschool

John, Thank you for answering me with information about your Andrew and David Smith. I have Smiths in Jackson County who also seem to have ties in Washtenaw County. My ggg grandfather Israel Smith (1781-1874) came to MI from Long Island, NY with his family about 1833 and settled in Napoleon, Jackson County. Israel had children living in Jackson, Grass Lake, and Napoleon that I know of for sure. A Chancy C. Smith also settled in Napoleon about the same time. Chancy was born abt 1815 in NY and his parents were David and Tamaisa Smith. I suspect that Chancy and my Israel are related but have no proof. I have been collecting information about the all of the Smiths in the area (no easy task as you may know) trying to find connected persons and looking for information about the parents of Israel Smith. Thanks again for responding. Judith