> Do the methods which Joan Young and R616A passed on to the list take leap >years into account? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Joan, Thank you for responding. I should have clarified my question , though. What I was wondering was how one accounts for the leap years which occur BETWEEN the person's birth and death. Shouldn't there be a formula or rule of thumb to follow? If a person lives for 80 years, leap years would change a birth date significantly. Thanks for your help, Elaine Pennell ==== PENNA-DUTCH Mailing List ==== New? Looking for a quick connection? Visit the surnames list associated with this mail list at http://members.aol.com/PennaDutch/pdlsurnames.html

I am new to this so please forgive me if I don't post this quite correctly. I am wondering if any one knows if the newsletter/magazine entitled 'Our Keystone Families' is still in existence. If so, how would I make contact with the publisher regarding availability? I would appreciate any help that anyone could provide. Thanks in advance, Carolyn Herron

Sam Pirtle wrote: > > Wanda, > > tell her to contact the coast guard. She needs to have his Z number and > the approximate dates he was on the ship. He should have gotten a > discharge. If it was just lost, the federal records will have copies. > The coast guard can tell her how to find them. The coast guard has > compiled a list of Merchant Mariners who have been awarded the WWII > service metal. If he was a seaman He should be on that list and she > should be able to get his service metal. > > Sandra > > On Wed, 15 Oct 1997 14:28:42 -0400 Wanda Pirtle <pirtlew@Bellsouth.net> > writes: > >Deborah Kent wrote: > >> > >> Deborah Kent wrote: > >> > > >> > My father-in-law served in the Merchant Marines in 1945 and 1946. > >He > >> > served on the SS Thomas La Guardia. He was never issued any type > >of > >> > discharge records. Very recently, he passed away. I am > >wondering if > >> > someone can provide information or insight on how I can obtain > >> > information that will prove that he did serve, possible discharge > >> > records, etc. > >> > > >> > Thanks in advance for all help. > >> > > >> > Deb > >> > >Sandy, > > > >Can you help her? > > > >Wanda > > > > > > ==== PENNA-DUTCH Mailing List ==== Have you visited the webpage associated with this mail list? If not go to http://members.aol.com/PennaDutch/pennadutch.html

>I am new to this so please forgive me if I don't post this quite correctly. >I am wondering if any one knows if the newsletter/magazine entitled 'Our >Keystone Families' is still in existence. If so, how would I make contact >with the publisher regarding availability? >I would appreciate any help that anyone could provide. > >Thanks in advance, > >Carolyn Herron Hi! Our Keystone Families is a weekly newspaper column by Schuyler Brossman, a well-known Berks Co PA genealogist. It is still in publication and the weekly column can be found on Middletown Press & Journal's homepage: <http://www.harrisburg.com/root.html> (make sure you check each week!) You can also get there through some of the PA GenWeb pages. I do not know if the older issues are held as "archives" on-line (which I have written to request.) I'm sure some of the local-to Berks Co Historical Societies keep this column (I know the Lebanon Co Historical Society has them.) -Linnea ==== PENNA-DUTCH Mailing List ==== Have you visited the webpage associated with this mail list? If not go to http://members.aol.com/PennaDutch/pennadutch.html

A person I just met is researching the name Letke and believes it to be German. If anyone is researching this name, I would appreciate hearing from you. Also if anyone thinks it may have been spelled with a different variation, please let me know. sincerely Yvonne Wyrick MW626@aol.com

Do the methods which Joan Young and R616A passed on to the list take leap years into account? Thanks, Elaine Pennell

Hi-saw the inquiry about date calculations and want to pass along an easy method that's also free for anyone who might like to use it. Gravestones often list the death date and the age at death expressed in years, months, and days. The "8870" method is a simple way to calculate the birth date. Example: Date of death is listed as May 6,1889 and the age at death given as 78 years, 3 months, and 27 days. Death date expressed as 18890506 Age is expressed as 780327 Difference 18110179 Subtract the correction factor 8870 Result 18101309 This translates as the 9th day of the 13 month in the year 1810. Since there isn't a 13th month, add 1 to the year and subtract 12 from the months. The true birthdate then becomes Jan 9,1811. Hope this will help some of you to find it easier calculating dates. RICK. ==== PENNA-DUTCH Mailing List ==== New? Looking for a quick connection? Visit the surnames list associated with this mail list at http://members.aol.com/PennaDutch/pdlsurnames.html

Oh, you have no idea how difficult it was for me to finally come to the conclusion that, for the time being, I've just GOTTA unscribe to the PD list! Oh, LORDY, I'm gonna miss reading all of your queries and discussions, etc. But the list is just too tempting for me in that I continue to want to respond to so many messages posted to the group in general. I didn't realize what a PD list "addict" I've become! :-D The reason for the decision is that my email inbox just topped 100 messages (just as I was composing this message!) that need me to pay serious attention to. There are lovely warm messages there from a great number of you in response to my various stories that I really want to reply to; there are queries from cousins of mine on the list that I really want to reply to, there are queries from individuals interested in their family roots up here in NY, and---well, frankly, I have to just take "time out" to see what is really there! In addition, I continue to be inspired to write, I am becoming more and more involved in the local Historical Society Museum and I guess what just tipped me over the edge today was the discovery of a small monthly newspaper just starting up in the Village of Youngstown that just may be in need of a columnist on the subject of local history or genealogy or just plain good ole memories of how things useta be! (BTW, that very last comment was directed to the person who suggested it and I just want to say to her/him that your's is one of the messages I want to reply to!) I can't find the top of my desk, the house is in a mess, the men have finally installed the new carpeting in the three rooms, stairs and hallway, furniture is in the process of constant rearrangement, the painter needs to be called in, I'm awaiting the arrival of the new living room chairs, the glass-block cellar windows have been installed, I've been harvesting the English walnuts, the pears are rotting on my kitchen counter top, and, and, and, I don't know if I even made the bed this morning! In fact, do I really know where I moved the bed to??? I won't be gone from the list for long. Feel free to send me personal email messages. I would love to hear from you but just be aware that I may be off and running somewhere or t'other! Who knows but what I will be checking out Conversion Vans so that Audrey Risser and I can finally have our very OWN "Thelma and Louise" adventure armed with laptops loaded with genealogy information, sitting around campfires toasting marshmallows, and spreading "hate and discontent" among the library and historical society folks we meet along the way! Is this living, or what???? I'll still be here--I just won't be monitoring the list. LORDY, I'm gonna miss y'ouns! luvya, vee

In a message dated 97-10-16 16:44:33 EDT, jrinscheid@lucent.com writes: > does anybody have a cheap (okay, maybe free) site/calculator they know of for > using death date & age to back into birthdate? How to Figure Dates From Tombstones Let us say you have found the tombstone of an ancestor, and on that stone you find the date of his death and his age at death. You want to determine the date of his birth. He died April 16, 1904. 1904 (year) 4 (month) 16 (days) he was aged - 61 (years) 1 (month) 10 (days) ___________________________ 1843 3 6 =March 6, 1843 But too often it is more complicated than that. He died April 16, 1904. 1904 (years) 4 (months) 16 (days) his age was 83 8 21 So what you do is borow 30 days from April (because April has only 30 days) for a total of 46 days--and borrow 12 months from 1904 for a total of 15 months, having already borrowed a month, so you get: 1904 (year) 4 (months) 16 (days) +12 (months) +30 (days) (take away 1 yr.) (+12 mo., -30 days=1 mo.) (+30 days) ________________________________ 1903 (year) 15 (months) 46 (days) He was born July 25, 1820 in the above case. This was originally from the Sun City Genealogist, publication of Sun City Genealogical Society, Sun City, AZ (summer 1983) Hope they don't mind my posting it here. I have found it useful. Joan Myers Young ==== PENNA-DUTCH Mailing List ==== Forgot how to SUBSCRIBE or UNSUBSCRIBE? Send the appropriate one word message to PENNA-DUTCH-L-REQUEST@ROOTSWEB.COM

SHEELY - a new mailing list. A mailing list for the discussion and sharing of information regarding the Sheely surname and variations (e.g., SHEELEY, SHEALY, SCHIEL, SCHIELE, SCHIEHL, SCHIELL,) in any place and at any time. Mailing address for postings is sheely-l@rootsweb.com. To subscribe send the word "subscribe" (without the quotes) as the only text in the body of a message to sheely-l-request@rootsweb.com (mail mode) or sheely-d-request@rootsweb.com (digest mode). Best Regards, Dave Schubert =================================================================== _____ Dave Schubert * Box 451 * Pomona NJ 08240 .---|_____ Home Page users.jerseycape.com/schubert/ ----+ _____ REPLY-TO: mailto:schubert1@usa.net `---|_____ http://users.jerseycape.com/schubert/surnames.htm ==== PENNA-DUTCH Mailing List ==== Forgot how to SUBSCRIBE or UNSUBSCRIBE? Send the appropriate one word message to PENNA-DUTCH-L-REQUEST@ROOTSWEB.COM

Dennis, Don't beat yourself up over this. Even if it is a hoax, you have to admit it's a very cute story. And to top it off the recipe looks like it will taste good!!! Have a good day! Sally ==== PENNA-DUTCH Mailing List ==== Forgot how to SUBSCRIBE or UNSUBSCRIBE? Send the appropriate one word message to PENNA-DUTCH-L-REQUEST@ROOTSWEB.COM

In a message dated 97-10-16 10:03:54 EDT, you write: << -many people then, just as now, had a difficult time figuring out the exact number of days, months, and years, and some of those inscriptions were wrong. In many cases they are a day off--but one in my own family was off by many years. We never could figure out how that happened until someone found the person who had the family Bible. In pencil, written in the inside cover, was the calculation done to arrive at the dates. The person had subtracted wrong by about 20 years!!!! >> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ --------------------------------------- BEWARE the Gregorian calendar change of 1752!! rod ==== PENNA-DUTCH Mailing List ==== Haven't found a post of interest? Why not generate one of your own?

In a message dated 97-10-16 11:34:19 EDT, Jeff R wrote: This is *almost* off topic, and I've seen it discussed in alternate forums, but never with a straightforward answer: does anybody have a cheap (okay, maybe free) site/calculator they know of for using death date & age to back into birthdate? Here is a list of sites that may be of assistance: Calculating Birth Year Calculating Birth Year Based on Census Information  http://www.usit.net/tngenweb/census/cenindx.htm Birthdate Form Calculates birthdate from death date and age of death in year-month-day format. http://enws347.eas.asu.edu:8000/~buckner/bdform.html Calculation of the Ecclesiastical Calendar http://cssa.stanford.edu/~marcos/ec-cal.html DETERMINING DATE OF BIRTH Determining Date Of Birth - "Formula 8870"  http://www.rootsweb.com/~hcpd/formula.htm And a more complete list of various dating and chronology systems may be found at: Cyndi's List of Genealogy Sites on the Internet Calendars & Dates http://www.oz.net/~cyndihow/calendar.htm Dennis

Hi there, Went to the PENNA DUTCH home page and found a link to a Geocites address on someone researching HAFER. I wanted to visit the page but Geocities says there is no such page. Anyway, if the person researching HAFER is still on this list, I am trying to find a connection to a female Hafer marrying William RENNER. Either HAFER of William RENNER would have been born sometime 1700-1750... I show this female HAFER marrying (no date) and having the following children: John, William, Kate, Annie and Abraham (b. 1768). William was from Germany and after the marriage, they lived in Lanc. Co, PA...Noah went to IN...Abraham went to Fred Co. MD...where the others went is beyond me... I am hoping someone can help me narrow down William RENNER's DOb, and just exactly where he came from in GERMANY, which ship he arrived on, and when he declared his intent....(I believe in Santa Clause, the Easter Bunny, The Great Pumpkin and the Tooth Fairy, TOO!) I have been stumped on this for about a year and I would like to go into the Holiday season "stumpless" for once. Thank you for your time and patience with me in this, Sincerely, Janet "Rip the hair out by the roots" Davis goob@innova.net http://www.innova.net/~goob/genealogy.html ==== PENNA-DUTCH Mailing List ==== Forgot how to SUBSCRIBE or UNSUBSCRIBE? Send the appropriate one word message to PENNA-DUTCH-L-REQUEST@ROOTSWEB.COM

Is there a possible list of indenture servants that were bought when they came off the ship? My ancestor Henrich ECKERT, was on the ship Pleasant and landed in Philadelphia on October 11, 1732. He was 40 years old. He may have brought with him his family (a son WIlhelm Eckert). I can not find these two men anywhere!!!! It is like they dropped off the face of the earth! I am wondering if Henrich and maybe his son, Wilhelm (William), became indenture servants to pay off their voyage. Any help out there would be great. It was mentioned in the family history that Henrich was in Germantown for awhile, but again, I can not find evidence of this. David Eckert ==== PENNA-DUTCH Mailing List ==== Forgot how to SUBSCRIBE or UNSUBSCRIBE? Send the appropriate one word message to PENNA-DUTCH-L-REQUEST@ROOTSWEB.COM

Hi Linnea, Why don't you do more of this type of translation since many of us are doing German work. I think most on the list will find it to be very helpful. I for one would like to thank you. :) Linda ==== PENNA-DUTCH Mailing List ==== Have you visited the webpage associated with this mail list? If not go to http://members.aol.com/PennaDutch/pennadutch.html

In a message dated 97-10-16 11:34:19 EDT, you write: << This is *almost* off topic, and I've seen it discussed in alternate forums, but never with a straightforward answer: does anybody have a cheap (okay, maybe free) site/calculator they know of for using death date & age to back into birthdate? >> Cumberland family tree shareware/software has a calculator as a built in feature. It makes the conversion to gregorian and has several calc features including auto field entry, calcing 1st or 2nd dates, interim period etc. rod ==== PENNA-DUTCH Mailing List ==== Abbreviations---PD=Pennsylvania Dutch, PMH=Pennsylvania Mennonite Heritage magazine, MFH=Mennonite family History magazine, MRJ=Mennonite Research Journal, LMHS=Lancaster Mennonite Hist. Society. This and more list info at: http://members.aol.com/PennaDutch/pennadutch.html

This is *almost* off topic, and I've seen it discussed in alternate forums, but never with a straightforward answer: does anybody have a cheap (okay, maybe free) site/calculator they know of for using death date & age to back into birthdate? I use the nominal, but ultimate neuronet procedure (i.e., I just my brain), but I've been known to be wrong. :-) Is there a site or something that would help out? - Jeff R ---------- [snip] > In a message dated 97-10-16 08:00:05 EDT, janiceaf@ix.netcom.com writes: > > > My question is, does > > anyone know why so often on these old stones it gives the date of birth > > and then instead of the date of death, "at the age of nn years, nn > > months, and nn days." ==== PENNA-DUTCH Mailing List ==== Have you visited the webpage associated with this mail list? If not go to http://members.aol.com/PennaDutch/pennadutch.html

A MODERN MOTHER EXPLAINING TO HER LITTLE GIRL THE PICTURES IN THE FAMILY PHOTO ALBUM: "This is the geneticist with your surrogate mother and here's your sperm donor and your father's clone. This is me holding you when you were just a frozen embryo. The lady with the very troubled look on her face is your aunt, a genealogist." (From the Lake Havasu Genealogical Society newsletter) and we think our ancestors were hard to follow. Buren

(I think the old one is just a *bit* tired). My question is, does anyone know why so often on these old stones it gives the date of birth and then instead of the date of death, "at the age of nn years, nn months, and nn days." Was there some theological reason to count up the number of days a person had? Or was it superstitious resistance to mentioning the actual date of death? Or some other reason I haven't thought of? I feel there must have been a reason because it takes more stone-carving and hence more expense to do it that way than it would to just give the date of death, as is usual now. -- jan <janiceaf@ix.netcom.com> Researching names: FRANK, KELLER, LUPHER, PENROSE, SCHULTZ, TAYLOR ==== PENNA-DUTCH Mailing List ==== New? Looking for a quick connection? Visit the surnames list associated with this mail list at http://members.aol.com/PennaDutch/pdlsurnames.html