This is just to let you know the RootsWeb mailing lists are functioning again. You may now post any questions you may have been sitting on while they were not. The Archives are being re-populated, but due to their size, it is going to take some time to complete. This post should initiate that process. For detailed information on working with the new list software, see <http://home.rootsweb.ancestry.com/listindexes/listsHelp>

This is a test of the Rootsweb lists I am on. It is also some information for the list administrator if they feel the list is not running as expected. And finally it is an attempt to get something posted to the list so Rootsweb does not turn the list off. The list admin should probably go to this page: http://home.rootsweb.ancestry.com/ and try to set up a new mailman login, if not already done. If you do that you will probably get to this page eventually: https://mailinglists.rootsweb.ancestry.com/lists/setupmail Then you might want to sign up for this list: https://mailinglists.rootsweb.ancestry.com/listindexes/search/Listowners But be warned, you will receive postings from that list almost every day.  May 8 a day at times. Another option that I do not encourage is to turn the list over to me - at least temporarily.  Again, I do not want that done if you are willing to keep the list. Mike Flannigan

Hello- I'm a former resident of Nebraska now living in Minnesota. I'm interested the the "ghost towns" of Washington County, Nebraska--the following three in particular: DeSoto, Cuming City & the little known "Summer Quarters" settlement which served as the farm to produce food for the Mormon pioneers at "Winter Quarters" and their pilgrimage westward. DeSoto: Settled ca. 1854; at one time had several banks, steamboat landing, hotels, saloons at was home to 700 residents and county seat for a few years. It's decine began in ca. 1860 when most of the men left for the gold fields of Colorado. Further decline came when the railroad tracks were laid and a bridge across the Missouri River went to the north of the settlement and by-passed DeSoto. The new town of Blair, Nebraska was created (1869) where the railroad went through. It was located about 8 miles south of present day Blair on HW 75. The Fort Calhoun nuclear power plant is located about where the townsite was, although I think much of the land was reclaimed by the river. Nothing left of the original townsite. There is a cemetery which is on private land and it's my understanding that many of the remains moved to other locations. Cuming City: Settled ca. 1854-55; once on the river I believe, but is several miles to the west now. Had two newspapers, several boarding houses, three hotels, ferry company, three stores, several saloons, a stage coach line and a population of several hundred. It's demise came, too, when the railroad came through. The businesses either closed or moved to Blair which was about four miles south on HW 75. There is a cemetery and it is maintained, somewhat. I believe it has been designated with a sign and example of native prairie and may be under the care of Dana College. There is one building left and that is the stage/livery building on private property. To my knowledge there is no sign for the settlement. It's possible that if there is a sign at the cemetery it serves that purpose. Summer Quarters: Settled April 1847 under the orders of Brigham Young; John Doyle Lee served as superintendent of the farming operation. Abandoned in May of 1848. According to Mormon journals, there could have been upward to one hundred men, women and children there. There was a cemetery (Fairview) as many died there. It no longer exists and has been reclaimed to agriculture. I think the location has been identified, but I don't know the legal description. There is no sign. Note: I have been extracting names from journals of those who died and were buried there. I know there is a group that is trying to get a grant to do GPR to find the exact location. We'd welcome any information regarding a reputable group in the midwest who does work with GPR of this nature. References: Andreas, History of Nebraska: Washington Co, NE 1882 Bell, John T, History of Washington Co, NE 1876 Buss & Ostermann, History of Dodge & Washington Co, NE 1921 Shrader, F.B., A History of Washington Co, NE, ?1936-40 (pg missing) Vinton, Merri Allen, Family Records and Personal Research, Unpublished. Lee, John D, Mormon Journal parts of which are available online Multiple journals of Mormon pioneers too numerous to mention On Feb 15, 2008, at 8:28 AM, Dittmar, Frederick M. wrote: > Greetings to all Nebraska GhostTowners. > > In order to stimulate my quiet lists I'm writing to ask some > questions of you the subscribers. > > No one on the list bites or says Boo to any questions or comments > so feel free to write and talk with others. There are 27 > subscribers to this list at the moment. > Where do you live? > What Ghost Town or area are you interested in? > What county was your Ghost Town located in? > Are there any remnants left of the town? > Foundations? Buildings? Cemeteries? > Do you have any information about the time line of the town? > Did it have a post office? > If a cemetery is there is it currently maintained? > Has it been surveyed and is it posted on the internet? > What's the link? > Do you know if the State has posted a Historic Sign or Marker > noting the town or area? > > Please cite any sources (book, publication, family history) you > find the information in. > > Thank you all. This is your mail list and it only works when you > post and others answer and add to it. > > Fred - Mail List Administrator > > > > > Frederick M. Dittmar > Diggin' Deep Genealogy Research Service > PO Box 2601 Norman, Oklahoma 73070 http://frederick.dittmar.org > > Member: Association of Professional Genealogy - http://www.apgen.org > Board Member - Oklahoma Genealogical Society - http:// > rootsweb.com/~okgs > Board Member - OKOLHA - http://www.okolha.net > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to NE-GHOSTTOWNS- > request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes > in the subject and the body of the message

Greetings to all Nebraska GhostTowners. In order to stimulate my quiet lists I'm writing to ask some questions of you the subscribers. No one on the list bites or says Boo to any questions or comments so feel free to write and talk with others. There are 27 subscribers to this list at the moment. Where do you live? What Ghost Town or area are you interested in? What county was your Ghost Town located in? Are there any remnants left of the town? Foundations? Buildings? Cemeteries? Do you have any information about the time line of the town? Did it have a post office? If a cemetery is there is it currently maintained? Has it been surveyed and is it posted on the internet? What's the link? Do you know if the State has posted a Historic Sign or Marker noting the town or area? Please cite any sources (book, publication, family history) you find the information in. Thank you all. This is your mail list and it only works when you post and others answer and add to it. Fred - Mail List Administrator Frederick M. Dittmar Diggin' Deep Genealogy Research Service PO Box 2601 Norman, Oklahoma 73070 http://frederick.dittmar.org Member: Association of Professional Genealogy - http://www.apgen.org Board Member - Oklahoma Genealogical Society - http://rootsweb.com/~okgs Board Member - OKOLHA - http://www.okolha.net

RootsWeb is in the process of switching over to new upgraded list management software. This list has been switched. For list subscribers, the changeover should be smooth. The changes primarily involve the administration tools that keep the list running behind the scenes. The list name is changing from LISTNAME-L to just LISTNAME. So you may subscribe or unsub by sending your request to: LISTNAME-request@rootsweb.com with one exception. If you wish to subscribe in Digest mode you must send your subscribe request to LISTNAME-D-request@rootsweb.com . You may also continue sending your requests as you always have--either will work. The word SUBSCRIBE or UNSUBSCRIBE must be included in the subject and may also be included in the message body. Digest subscribers will notice some changes to the list digests. New instructions will be added to the digests -- please read them. In addition, the digest volume and issue number may be different (out of sequence) from what you had been receiving. If your digests arrive in a different format than you are used to and you would like it changed, contact me privately at the list admin address: LISTNAME-admin@rootsweb.com. Also, if you run into any unusual or confusing occurrences with mail from this list that could possibly be related to the changeover, let me know. If you use email headers to filter list mail to a special folder in your email program you may need to check whether your filters will need tweaking under the new system. If you previously subscribed to the list in both L and D modes using the same email address you will find that you are no longer subbed in Digest mode. The new software doesn't permit the same address to be subbed in both L and D modes. Therefore, if you wish to receive both modes, you will need to subscribe to the digests using a different email address. Please continue to send your queries, data, and responses to the list as usual. It is a great time to post a new query to try to break down those brick walls. Thanks! Written by Joan Young and used with her permission. Fred - NE-GhostTowns Administrator Frederick M. Dittmar, Diggin' Deep Genealogy Research Service PO Box 2601 Norman, Oklahoma  73026 http://frederick.dittmar.org   Member: Association of Professional Genealogy http://www.apgen.org Mail List Administrator: 65 Mail Lists 2 Message Board - County Coordinator - Beckham County Oklahoma Web Page   Board Member & Genealogical Assistant Oklahoma Genealogy Society http://www.rootsweb.com/~okgs 22 Ghost Town mail lists.

Greetings to all GhostTown subscribers from Norman, Oklahoma. I'm Frederick Dittmar and I'd like to introduce myself as your new Mail List Administrator of the Nebraska ( NE-Ghosttown ) mail list. I'm a member of the Association of Professional Genealogist, Genealogy Speakers Guild, NEHGS, & NGS nationally, on a local level the Plymouth County Genealogical Society, MA., & I'm on the Board of the Oklahoma Genealogical Society and the OKOLHA - Oklahoma Outlaw Lawmen History Association. I administrator 20 Ghosttown, 15 Surname and 27 miscellaneous mail lists. I would like to stimulate this mail list by asking if anyone has any GhostTown books for your state or other states? Would you be willing to list them and do lookups for fellow subscribers? BTW, there are 25 subscribers on this mail list. Do you live near a location that would be considered a Ghost Town? Would you be interested in writing a short story about it? Facts, History, Superstitions etc. Where do you live (State/Town/ your First name)? What is your Ghost Town interest? These are the Ghost Town books that I have: 1. 'Ghost Towns of the West' by Lambert Florin Promontory Press 1970 2. 'Ghost Towns of Oklahoma' by John W. Morris, University of Oklahoma Press 1977/80 3. 'Ghost Towns of Arizona" by John E & Barbara H Sherman, University of Oklahoma Press 1969 4. 'Small Town Ghost Memories of Oklahoma' OECO www.OK-Living.org 5. 'Oklahoma Post Offices' by Richard Helbock - Raven Press Lake Oswego, Or. 6. 'Oklahoma Place Names" by George Shirk - University of Oklahoma Press 3rd 1980 http://www.oupress.com/ Enjoy and Let's talk. Mail lists only work if the subscribers post. Fred Frederick M. Dittmar, Diggin' Deep Genealogy Research Service PO Box 2601 Norman, Oklahoma  73026 http://frederick.dittmar.org   Member: Association of Professional Genealogy http://www.apgen.org Mail List Administrator: 63 Mail Lists 2 Message Board - County Coordinator - Beckham County Oklahoma Web Page   Board Member & Genealogical Assistant Oklahoma Genealogy Society http://www.rootsweb.com/~okgs 20 Ghost Town mail lists.

Does anyone have a telephone number or a better e-mail address than diane@sowden8945.freeserve.co.uk for List Owner Diane Sowden? Mail sent to the address she was using in January is returned marked "Over quota". Please reply to me direct, not via the List. Vic List Caretaker.

Monday, March 13, 2006 Dear Friends, This is Angela Thornburg, Diane Gleason's daughter writing to you at her request. All the people on this list my mom considered to be her family and/or friends. I wanted to let you all know that mom passed away today around 2 p.m. Many of you may be surprised by this, as she really seemed to perk up last week and even took a day to call many of you regarding family tree stuff. Mom was diagnosed with colon cancer about a year ago. She took Chemo until late last year, when after being so sick following her chemo she finally decided to go for quality of life. The last few months passed by way to quickly and the last month had been pretty rough on her. As most of you know she loved her computer and keeping in contact with everyone, but it just got to be too much for her. So many emails, cards, and gifts came to her via the internet and snail mail. She treasured all of it, and I read her email to her - even if most the time we didn't respond. Thank you for cheering her, comforting her, encouraging her and for reminding her how many people have been touched by her. Of course she's my mom, so I'm going to tell you that I knew her to be a generous person and her final gift was to donate her body to UAB, in the hopes that someone would be able to benefit from her illness. Of the many places we went to seek treatment, UAB was the only facility to not only offer her quality care, but also treated her respect and hope. Due to her donation, there will not be a burial. I'm sure most of you know, she hated the cold. When it get warmer in Nebraska we will have a service in Lexington for her. Please feel free to email me if you have any questions. My email address is angela_nebraska@yahoo.com<http://us.f302.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=angela_nebraska@yahoo.com> Thanks again for all you did for her. Angela Thornburg

Dear list, Has anyone had problems with the company called RESEARCH UK for getting Birth, Marriage or Death certificates. There has been a problem with this company taking more money then it should between the dates of 26th February 2005 and 1st March 2005. If you also have had problems with this company, please do let me know and I shall get in touch with the police who are investigating this matter. Thanking you all in anticipation of this matter. Diane list admin

Diane, PLEASE contact me. It looks like we have some common roots with the name SPECK! Gary Speck (GTUSA@aol.com) "Enjoy life in the past lane - visit a ghost town" Author of the book: "Dust in the Wind -- A Guide to American Ghost Towns" _http://freepages.history.rootsweb.com/~gtusa/_ (http://freepages.history.rootsweb.com/~gtusa/) In a message dated 3/3/2005 7:00:36 AM Pacific Standard Time, NE-GHOSTTOWNS-D-request@rootsweb.com writes: Names I am researching are: WILLETS, FASTEANU, SPECK they are from the Gosper & Dawson County area. Diane

Names I am researching are: WILLETS, FASTEANU, SPECK they are from the Gosper & Dawson County area. Diane > Could we please have a roll call of your names that you are researching, I > would like to do this kind of thing about once a month for any newbies on > the list. > > Thanking you in anticipation. > > Diane List admin > > ============================== > View and search Historical Newspapers. Read about your ancestors, find > marriage announcements and more. Learn more: > http://www.ancestry.com/s13969/rd.ashx > >

The only part of my family that spent any time in Nebraska was the SPECK line in the late 1890s. They moved from Tingley, IA and settled in the Goshen area around 1897. They then moved on to Loveland CO around 1904. I am mostly looking for information on Nebraska Ghost Towns. Gary Speck "Enjoy life in the past lane - visit a ghost town" Author of the book: "Dust in the Wind -- A Guide to American Ghost Towns" _http://freepages.history.rootsweb.com/~gtusa/_ (http://freepages.history.rootsweb.com/~gtusa/)

----- Original Message ----- From: "shelly piper" <halfpint@bbc.net> To: "Diane Sowden" <diane@sowden8945.freeserve.co.uk> Sent: Saturday, February 26, 2005 5:31 AM Subject: Re: [NE-GHOSTTOWNS] Roll call please > Hello, > Am still trying to find a town (maybe even the county) called Telabaster, > Nebraska. I was told it could even be Telbasta, NE. > Either way I would like to know where it is/was and if it still exists or when > it went off the map and why. If someone has the county seat that it came from > maybe I could contact them and ask these questions. Thanks for any and all > help. > > Diane Sowden wrote: > > > Hiya folks, > > > > Could we please have a roll call of your names that you are researching, I > > would like to do this kind of thing about once a month for any newbies on > > the list. > > > > Thanking you in anticipation. > > > > Diane List admin > > > > ============================== > > View and search Historical Newspapers. Read about your ancestors, find > > marriage announcements and more. Learn more: > > http://www.ancestry.com/s13969/rd.ashx > > >

----- Original Message ----- From: "Roy English" <roylbe@scinternet.net> To: "'Diane Sowden'" <diane@sowden8945.freeserve.co.uk> Sent: Friday, February 25, 2005 10:31 PM Subject: RE: [NE-GHOSTTOWNS] Roll call please > Diane > > Thanks for the opportunity to add my names to the list. All names listed > are from the area > Around Peters, (Sheridan) Nebr. > > KOLLER, JAHN, ZLABINGER, ALT, CHAMBERLAIN, LECHER, LETCHER, PETERS. > > Thank You > > Roy English > > -----Original Message----- > From: Diane Sowden [mailto:diane@sowden8945.freeserve.co.uk] > Sent: Friday, February 25, 2005 6:27 AM > To: NE-GHOSTTOWNS-L@rootsweb.com > Subject: [NE-GHOSTTOWNS] Roll call please > > > Hiya folks, > > Could we please have a roll call of your names that you are researching, I > would like to do this kind of thing about once a month for any newbies on > the list. > > Thanking you in anticipation. > > Diane List admin > > > ============================== > View and search Historical Newspapers. Read about your ancestors, find > marriage announcements and more. Learn more: > http://www.ancestry.com/s13969/rd.ashx > > > > >

Hiya folks, Could we please have a roll call of your names that you are researching, I would like to do this kind of thing about once a month for any newbies on the list. Thanking you in anticipation. Diane List admin

I would like any information on the town of Bradish, Boone County, Nebraska. My mother-in-law was born there and a sister of hers died while they lived there. I can find no records of this town so far. There was a brief tidbit in the Albion newspaper stating that she died but no other info on cemetery or funeral. Thank you for your help. Karen

Hi all, Just found a great Nebraska history resource from the University of Lincoln that I didn't know about: http://www.casde.unl.edu/history/search_frame.html It has a nice brief history on each of the main towns in each of the counties. Just click on map of Nebraska or choose a town from the menu on the left. Other Nebraska resources: Nebraska Obituary Links Page http://obit.obitlinkspage.com/nb.htm Nebraska Hist & Gen Societies http://hs.obitlinkspage.com/ne.htm GenealogyBuff.com http://www.genealogybuff.com Hope this helps. Bill

Hiya list, Just to say that after Christmas we MIGHT have newbies on our list, and I would like you to be patient with them while they learn the ropes of genealogy and how to use their computers for genealogy work. I am sure that you will give them all the help that they needs, and be VERY PATIENT with them. Thanking you in anticipation. Diane (list mum)

Hi, Can anyone tell me if there is or was a town in Nebraska by the name of Beloit. I see the one in Wisconsin, but I am certain my family was born in Nebraska. I can't find a Beloit, NE on any map. Could it be a ghost town or a dead town now?? Thanks, Margaret

In the spirit of Halloween, from now through Oct. 31 please feel free to post any spooky tales related to your family research. Found a grave with the help of that ancestor? Tell us about it. Share a family tradition with us. What did your ancestor's do for a holiday? A special family recipe? Get your creative juices flowing and share with us today! It works every October and is fun for many list members who may have been afraid to post before. It tends to get them talking anyway! I set the time limit for this topic so that after Oct.31 we can get down to some really good researching... Diane (List mum)