i'm looking for any information that anyone has on the pyron name located in texas from 1850-1899 specifically for the father of ernest rayford pyron (ernest was my great grandfather and lived in either smith or van zandt county but any information would be helpful. thanks cindy kirscht email address: ckskrk@hotmail.com ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com

To access the new Rootsweb Archives System, follow this procedure (at least this works for me): Go to: http://lists.rootsweb.com/~archiver/lists.html Find the surname of interest & click on the year or the month you want. Choices are: All Years, 1997, Oct, Nov. If you click on 1997, you will get a screen something like this: Parent Directory 11/ 10/ 5/ 6/ 7/ 8/ 9/ Each number relates to a month's worth of messages. Click on one of these months, and then click on the last choice of the next screen: threads.html That will give you a chronological listing of posts by title. Then you can access those you choose. All the lists I manage were transferred from MAISER in May 1997, so that is the first month available. I'm hoping the MAISER lists will also be transferred over to this screen soon. This procedure is much easier than the earlier way that was set up to look up previous postings. Sincerely, Glenn Gohr (List Manager) ggohr01@mail.orion.org

Good News! Rootsweb has revamped the way they organize past postings on each of the family surname lists. It is also MUCH easier to access these records. Currently they only have the postings of the last few days, but as soon as possible, they will include the postings from the past months going back as far as the last week of May of this year. Hopefully they will also include the postings from when the list was on MAISER from March through May of this year. The URL address to look up to access the archives files is: http://lists.rootsweb.com/~archiver/lists.html Glenn Gohr (List Manager) ggohr01@mail.orion.org

Here are the 11 different Pyron lines given in the book JOSHUA AND HIS SON WILLIAM RILEY PYRON, c1987: A few paragraphs or more are given on each of these lines in the book if anyone needs more information. But the bulk of the book covers line 2. Line 1. Thomas b. 1810 NC to Tenn. to Ill, d. 1870; md. Martha Jane Cole.; descendants in TX & AZ now. Line 2. Joshua b. ca. 1770 Orange Co., NC to Tenn, d. aft. 1850 McNairy Co., TN; md. Susannah _________; with 2nd generation descendants in Arkansas (my line) (Note: Joshua has now been shown to be the son of John Pyron, b. ca. 1750 NC who md. Margery Cate.) Line 3. Hezekiah b. 1810 NC to KY or TN to Ill, d. ?; md. 1st, Martha; md. 2nd, Nancy M. Rickett; descendants in TN, MS & TX now Line 4. William C. (Rev. War Soldier) b. 1756 VA to NC, d. 6/27/1844; md. Mary Powell; descendants all over U.S. Line 5. Charles b. ca. 1740s VA or NC to GA, d. ca. 1823; md. unknown; descendants mostly in GA now Line 6. Lewis b. 1793 SC to GA, d. 8/13/1842; md. Mary _____; descendants in TN now (*Note: Possibly a son of Charles Pyron of Line 5 above) Line 7. John B. b. possibly 1840s; lived in middle TN ca. 1850s; d. 1860s Clay Co., TN; md. Eliza _______; descendants in OK now Line 8. Thomas J. b. ? lived in TX, then on to OK, d. 1929 Clinton, OK; md. May Higgs; descendants in OK & MO Line 9. Isaiah b. 1775 NC to TN, d. ? Macon Co., TN; md. Lydia Stewart; descendants in TN & UT Line 10. William Montgomery Pyron b. 1/11/1821 Mecklenburg Co., NC, d. 8/24/1897 AL; md. 1st, Unice A. Williams; md. wnd, Martha Jane Cogburn Line 11. John b. 1762 NC or SC, d. ca. 1838 Lowndes Co., MS; md. Delpha Stokes, a Choctaw Indian.; descendants in MS, TX & CA Glenn Gohr (Pyron List Manager) ggohr01@mail.orion.org

Claudine: Thanks SO MUCH for your post regarding Susannah (Kerns) Brown-Pyron. I was not aware of the divorce suit you mentioned. And neither is any of my family. It makes quite an interesting story to see where she came from. I do want to order the record from NC. I'll try to find someone who lives there to order the original record. Now I have her maiden name and previous husband's name. I am curious as to what may have become of her other children by Joshua Pyron--we only know of William Riley Pyron, but we always assumed that they had other children. Now at least we know they did. You are a blessing. Yes, I'm interested in the early records in Virginia regarding Pyrons and anything from the 1700s in NC. Our families must be connected, and I'd sure like to know how. Please do send me your lineage. Glenn Gohr 1040 E. McCanse St. Springfield, MO 65803-3613 ggohr01@mail.orion.org

Thought I'd forward this to the list as it is pretty important--at least to me. Thanks to Claudine I now know my Susannah Pyron's maiden name and prior married name. Glenn Gohr (Pyron List Manager) ggohr01@mail.orion.org ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Sun, 12 Oct 1997 16:45:23 -0500 From: A B & Claudine <grand4@flash.net> To: ggohr01@mail.orion.org Subject: Joshua Pyron Glenn have you read the Petition of Bond V. Brown? It reads: BRONW,Bond V. and wife, Susannah. Bond V. Brown of Caswell County, North Carolina, "sheweth that he intermarried with a certain Susannah Kerns in the month of August one thousand seven hundred & ninety one. (W)e lived in Peace & harmony until the yar (1800) when without any provocation whatever that I had any knowledge of ...the said Susannah left my bed and board leaving with me four chjildren - one of which was at the breast, and went of(f) with a man by the name of Joshua PYRON to the State of Tennessee with whom she has lived in a state of adultery & abandonment ever since." Your petitioner has been credibly informed the said Susannah is still living with said PYRON and has had five children by him. "Your petitioner has some property which may be serviceable to his said children at his death & having a wish that the said Susannah nor her children should enjoy any lawful title or claim to the same ...," he prays a law securing to him what property he now has or hereaafter may acquire. (On reverse:"rejected.") (GASR Nov.-Dec. 1811, Box 3:folder "Petitions - Divorces".) This was printed in the book "Divorces and Separations from Petitions to the North Carolina Geneeral Assembly from 1779, by Ransom McBride P. O. Bob 4723, Cary, NC 27519. I do not have a copy of the Petition but you could order it from the NC State Archives in Raleigh, NC. I can tel you from experience that it is costly to order anything from another state to NC. I am not from your direct line of Pyrons but I am a direct line from William Pyron, Revoutionary Soldier, from Mecklenburg NC. He was born in 1757 in Louisa Co. VA and came to Orange Co. NC when he was "a small babe" according to his pension application. I have some copies of records of the St. Paul Parish records in Kent Co. VA. I am sure we tie in somewhere with the other Pyrons but I don't know how at this time. I am in contact with a Thelma Pyrant Dix who lives in the "Flat River" area in Caswell county, NC that all the Pyrons from VA settled . Notice the spelling of her maiden name. It seems her line retained the older spelling. I can send you a copy of my ancestor chart if you would like and see if any of your Pyrons tie into mine. Claudine Pyron Morgan Humble, TX grand4@flash.net

Dear Glenn, Thank you for answering my query about whether or not PERRINE is a variation of the PYRON surname. From what you told me, I think there is an excellent chance that it is. I own a book titled "Daniel Perrin, The Huegenot, And His Descendants". It was written in 1910 by Howland Delano Perrine. He prefaces it with a little ancient family history and then proceeds to follow the lineage of Daniel Perrin's family in America. This book includes my great grandfather. Mr. Perrine felt that the family was in Normandy and later fled to one of the coastal islands, possibly Jersey. He said the family name appears as early as 1440 in old pedigree charts of families who lived on the Islands of Jersey and Guernsey which are part of the Channel Islands off the coast of Normandy. My 6 g grandfather, Daniel Perrin, came to America on the ship "Phillip" in 1665. Mr Perrine also states that variations of the name in this country are: Parain, Parayn, Pareyn, Parine, Parrin, Pering, Peroyne, and Perrin. I have read that many surnames have 50 or more different spellings; so I suspect the the list you sent me could very possibly be more variations. Do you know where the PYRON name is first documented in France? Also, do you know who your immigrant ancestor was and when he arrived in America? Sharon K. Newby newby@indy.net

On Fri, 10 Oct 1997, R & S Newby wrote: > I'm new to the list. Is my maiden name of PERRINE one of the variations > of PYRON? If not, I'll unsubscribe. > > Sharon K. Newby > newby@indy.net Sharon, Pyron is a name of Franch derivation, so there is a possibility that PERRINE could be connected, but if so, it is likely back in France somewhere. Other variations I have noted are: PERON PERONNE PERRON PIRAN PIRENT PIERENT PRYON PYRAIN PYRAM PYRANT PYROM PYRONT PYRUM PYRUN Some of these are due to census takers and those not versed in spelling taking the initiative to change the original spelling. Others may be variations in France or some early place of origin. You are welcome to post a query. Someone out there may be able to help. So far there are only a handful of people on the PYRON list. Glenn Gohr (Pyron List Manager) ggohr01@mail.orion.org

I'm new to the list. Is my maiden name of PERRINE one of the variations of PYRON? If not, I'll unsubscribe. Sharon K. Newby newby@indy.net

Dear Subscribers, Rootsweb has always had a generic welcome message that is sent out to new subscribes. I have altered this to make it a little easier to understand and also to let each new subscriber know who the list manager is. For the benefit of those who have been on the list awhile, here is the new Welcome Message. Hope it helps. Glenn Gohr (Pyron List Manager) ggohr01@mail.orion.org ________________________________ *~* ~*~*~*~*~*~* WELCOME TO *~*~*~*~*~*~*~* *~*~* THE PYRON FAMILY GENEALOGY LIST *~~* ~~~~List Manager~~~ Glenn Gohr ggohr01@mail.orion.org Welcome to the PYRON Family Genealogy List, a discussion area for genealogy and/or family history related to the PYRON surname and variant spellings. Although this is an unmoderated list, I am responsible for keeping it running as smoothly as possible and setting some rules for its operation. ~~~~~IT IS IMPORTANT THAT YOU READ THE ENTIRE MESSAGE~~~~~ PLEASE read the message thoroughly, and SAVE it for future reference. Transfer this note to a special SAVE file or better yet, print it out and put it in a safe place, because it contains the information you will need for subscribing to the list, unsubscribing from the list, for changing the manner in which you receive mail, for correcting any error conditions, and for posting messages to the PYRON discussion list. If you have received this Welcome message, then you are subscribed to the discussion list. It may take a couple of days before you begin to receive mail. Some of the lists are slow, so give your mail at least a couple of days to begin. If you do not start to receive your PYRON mail within a week, then try sending a message to the list and see if you receive a copy. If you still are concerned that you are not receiving mail properly, please contact me at: ggohr01@mail.orion.org and together we will find the solution. You are currently subscribed in "mail mode," which means that you will receive every posting made to PYRON as a separate e- mail. The directions on how to change to digest mode are given below. 1. How to unsubscribe. Send a message to PYRON-L-request@rootsweb.com that contains (in the body of the message) the command unsubscribe and no additional text. 2. How to subscribe. For future reference (for instance, if your subscription is cancelled for whatever reason and you want to resubscribe), just send the command "subscribe" to PYRON-L-request@rootsweb.com. 3. How to change to digest mode (several postings are combined and sent to you together as a single large message). There are two steps. First, send the command "unsubscribe" to PYRON-L-request@rootsweb.com to discontinue mail mode. Second, send the command "subscribe" to PYRON-D-request@rootsweb.com to start receiving digests. 4. How to change to NOMAIL mode. There is no formal NOMAIL mode. All you have to do is follow the directions above and unsubscribe when you want the messages to stop, and then when you want them to start again, simply subscribe again. 5. To post a genealogical or historical message, question, or notice to the entire list, please send it to: PYRON-L@rootsweb.com We ask that you give some thought to a meaningful subject line so that other subscribers may tell at a glance if the message is of interest to them. One suggestion is to include dates and geographical references. For example: PYRON, John b. abt 1750 NC Then list your message in the body of the E-mail. (It is also polite to sign your name and include your E-mail or other address at the close of your message as some computer hookups do not include the sender's name and address in the header.) It will then be sent on to everyone in both mail and digest mode. You don't need to send it explicitly to both. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* A FEW OTHER COMMENTS If replying to someone on the list, remember that the system is set by default to automatically address all replies to everyone on the list. If you have a personal message for someone, please send it to their address, not the list server address. Any mail sent to PYRON-L@rootsweb.com will automatically be sent to everyone on the list. Do NOT, under any circumstances, append attachments to any E-mail addressed to the PYRON List. ALWAYS ask the intended recipient by prior personal E-mail if they are able to accept an attachment because many mail readers cannot handle attachments. You can even cause some systems to crash simply by sending attachments. Rootsweb also requests that you not list surnames along with your signature line as their computer indexes EVERY word that appears in an E-mail message. As the moderator of this list, I intend to send announcements from time to time, along with other messages and queries of interest to the group. I also will reserve the right to step in if a flame war, personal attack, or other abuse should occur on the PYRON Family Genealogy List. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* IN CONCLUSION: Remember three addresses: 1) IF YOU NEED HELP, CONTACT ME. My address is ggohr01@mail.orion.org 2) To post a message to this list (so it goes to all other subscribers) send it to PYRON-L@rootsweb.com 3) To send one of the commands concerning your subscription, send the message (either <subscribe> or <unsubscribe> to PYRON-L-request@rootsweb.com ============================= Happy hunting. Glenn Gohr (Pyron List Manager) 1040 E. McCanse St. Springfield, MO 65803-3613 Ph. 417-833-2814 ggohr01@mail.orion.org

I have some information on Alabama Pyrons and Georgia Pyrons. My line remained in NC until 1893 and then came to Texas. In my research I have come upon information on Alabama Pyrons. I do not know how to send it to you only by snail mail. If you want to send me an address I will send you copies of what I have. Claudine Morgan Texas grand4@flash.net ---------- > From: Joyce Irvine <Me-Too@webtv.net> > To: PYRON-L@rootsweb.com > Subject: Pyron > Date: Wednesday, September 17, 1997 5:04 PM > > looking for info on my ggrandfather John Henry Pyron b.1836 in AL not > sure about county. His children (among others) my grandfather John Andy > Pyron b.1864 in MS, Chickasaw Co. I think? Any info on this line of > Pyrons would be appreciated. Thanks, J >

looking for info on my ggrandfather John Henry Pyron b.1836 in AL not sure about county. His children (among others) my grandfather John Andy Pyron b.1864 in MS, Chickasaw Co. I think? Any info on this line of Pyrons would be appreciated. Thanks, J

A few weeks ago I posted a warning about a new website called GenForum. I still have some questions about the site, but I feel I should inform people of its existence. It may prove helpful to someone. The List Owner, Cliff Shaw, appears to be a novice at genealogy as the only listing he has on the Roots Surname List is a listing for the surname of SHAW. He says he will not use this new site for commercial purposes, although others have questioned his motives. He sent a message to every one of the 1500+ surname lists that Rootsweb offers and caused their system to be down for awhile. Just previous to this, most of the lists added a feature so that outside people could not post to the list--only members who have signed up. His notice never actually appeared on the Pyron List. Anyway, here is a copy of his original post: An online genealogy forum has been setup specifically for the Pyron family. It can be found at the following address: http://www.genforum.com/pyron GenForum <mailroom@genforum.com> He did not identify himself in his posting, and his website gives no credentials or background information on Cliff Shaw or GenForum. He is not working with Rootsweb or any other established genealogical group, so you can arrive at your own conclusions. Even so, I think you will want to look up this site to see the query notices people have been placing there. Their e-mail addresses are listed, so you can contact them if interested. These new postings do seem to be a good place to put queries, but I wonder what the sites will look like after hundreds of people have posted queries? I will leave it up to your own judgment whether or not you want to place a query at Cliff Shaw's web page. The main web page for GenForum is: http://www.genforum.com The web page for the Pyron Surname is: http://www.genforum.com/pyron Sincerely, Glenn Gohr (Pyron List Manager) ggohr01@mail.orion.org

Recently, spammers have again attacked Rootsweb by sending unsolicited e-mails to various Rootsweb mailing lists. This has caused many problems for the folks at Rootsweb as well as being an irritant to subscribers. Our mailing list has been put in protective mode in that all postings must be made by subscribed members only. This may affect some folks if you sometimes receive mail at one address but post to the list from another. If this is the case, please let me know. The folks at Rootsweb have a plan in place whereby they could add those addresses for an "ok to post" list. It's a shame we have to go to such extents to avoid these things, but it seems to be the case. If you are not aware of what "spamming" is, you may wish to consult the following website for further information: http://spam.abuse.net/spam/ Please let me know if you have questions regarding this change. Glenn Gohr (Pyron List Manager) ggohr01@mail.orion.org

Hello, I hope some of the member�s of this group can help me. Who are Esther Chase�s parents? I would like to learn more about these families. A cousin thinks Esther Chase and Eliza Chase are sisters, so I�m including data of the McKibbin and other related families as well. Dedrick Peron immigrated to the US from France and his wife Regina or Richina (surname unknown) immigrated from Germany. They settled in Kinderhook, Columbia Co NY. Their first son, James Henry Peron, was born ~1835 in NY. Their last child was born in NY ~1849. The family is next found in the 1856 Delaware Co IA census. Dedrick died ~October, 1859. James Henry Peron married Esther Chase in Cedar Co IA in February, 1865. Their son Willian Henry Peron was born September, 1865, in Cedar Co IA. James Peron probably died in Guthrie Co IA after February, 1901. (He is referred to in newspaper articles as being ill around this period.) Esther Chase died ~1895 in Plymouth Co IA. Her obit states she lived in the county 13 years. The Peron�s are buried next to Mary Chase. Mary Chase died ~1885. Is she Esther�s mother? They are buried in the Lincoln Twp Cemetary, Plymouth Co IA. The cemetary records do not provide any clues to the family links, only that Jimmy Peron purchased the plots. The Peron�s do not have a stone. ******************************* Joseph McKibbin, native of Scotland, immigrated to US from Scotlad age 6. Joseph�s family first settled in Michigan. He worked on sailing vessels and lumber camps. Around 1850 he moved to Cedar Co IA, purchasing a quarter section of land. He enlisted in the Civil War and served in the infantry. Joseph married Eliza Chase, in Cedar Co IA. Eliza Chase is the daughter of James Chase and unnamed wife. Joseph died in Cedar Co IA in 1880, age 44. Children of Joseph McKibbin and Eliza Chase are Anna McKibbin married William Gilsman, moved to Washington State. Mary McKibbin married Sylvanus Speed, farmer, moved to Minnesota. Libbie McKibbin married Bert Dibbel, a Kansas farmer. William Sherman McKibbin (b) June 4, 1873 Cedar Co IA. Eliza Chase married 2nd, Michael Schweitzberger, of Cedar Co IA. He is a native of Germany. In 1885 the couple move to NW Kansas. Children of Michael Schweitzberger and Eliza Chase are Arthur Schweitzberger farming in eastern Kansas. Ernest Schweitzberger farming in Colorado. Maude Schweitzberger married Roy Van Pelt, a farmer in western Kansas. William Sherman McKibbin moved to Lincoln Twp, Plymouth Co IA and purchased 80 acres in section 34. In 1894, William married Hattie Peron. Hattie is daughter of William Peron and Mary Franklin. William Peron�s parents are Dedrick Peron and Regina or Richina (surname unknown). William Sherman McKibbin and Hattie Peron have three children: LeRoy McKibbin (b) April 17, 1896. Joseph McKibbin (b) February 1, 1899. Gladys McKibbin (b) September 19, 1902. Source of McKibbin family: Plymouth County Iowa History.

At 18:28 21/07/1997 -0500, you wrote: >I am a new subscriber and interested in exchanging information on Pyron >surname. Especially Wiliam Pyron married to Mary Powell. William Pyron was >born in VA and moved to NC shortly thereafter. He served in the American >Revolution and settled in Mecklenburg Co. later Union Co. NC. >Claudine Pyron Morgan > I don't have all my Pyron stuff out and organized now, because I'm currently working on some other branches. What I'm able to dig out at this time is of interest and may represent a fit for us. My great-great-great grandfather was Jackson Hudspeth Pyron, who lived in Alabama. His parents were William Pyron and Sarah Hudspeth. I have an entry alluding to William Piron, son of John and Delphia Piron of Mecklenberg Co NC. I'm not sure at this time what links I have between William that married Sarah and William, son of John and Delphia. Please bear with me till I get back onto that line and sort through all my data. I have noted that people may have married several times, given the death rates then. So I don't conclude that our Williams are necessarily different. I'm curious about the Pyron name. I've been to countless sources, including some commercial ones. I can't find any information about the origin of the Pyron surname. I'm about ready to conclude that, if you have a Pyron in your woodpile, we must be cousins! My descent from Jackson Pyron is Charles Milton Pyron, Marion Co., AL (m. Essie McKay) Charles Madison Pyron, AL, TX (m. Georgia Flurry) Lula Pyron Donaghey (m. John Donaghey) Lena Donaghey Courtney (m. Marion Courtney) Max Courtney I hope we'll be able to provide useful information to each other. Thanks for your reply. I'll look forward to hearing from you to learn if I may have anything of use to you. >

I am a new subscriber and interested in exchanging information on Pyron surname. Especially Wiliam Pyron married to Mary Powell. William Pyron was born in VA and moved to NC shortly thereafter. He served in the American Revolution and settled in Mecklenburg Co. later Union Co. NC. Claudine Pyron Morgan

At 23:55 15/07/1997 -0400, you wrote: >Diedrick Peron arrived in the US prior to 1835. He married Rechina or Regina >(surname unknown). I'm not sure if he was married prior to immigrating. He >was from Bordeaux France and his wife from Germany. Their first child was >born ~ 1835 and the last child in 1849, probably all born around Kinderhook, >Columbia Co, New York. They are living in Delaware Co, Iowa according to the >1856 IOWA state census. This family is very difficult to trace. I know >Diederick died in October 1859, in Iowa. I can not locate death records or >obits for Diedrick, Richina, or their son James Henry, all are my direct >ancestors. James Henry Peron married Esther Chase in Cedar Co, Iowa in 1864 >and are listed in the 1880 census for Cedar Co. Any info appreciated. > Thanks for your reply. I'm not sure I have any connecting points for you. The surname I'm searching is Pyron. I have had no luck in getting an origin for that name, even with those who commercially sell surname information. But the Peron might be an interesting approach, since I've had no luck on Pyron or Piron. > >

Diedrick Peron arrived in the US prior to 1835. He married Rechina or Regina (surname unknown). I'm not sure if he was married prior to immigrating. He was from Bordeaux France and his wife from Germany. Their first child was born ~ 1835 and the last child in 1849, probably all born around Kinderhook, Columbia Co, New York. They are living in Delaware Co, Iowa according to the 1856 IOWA state census. This family is very difficult to trace. I know Diederick died in October 1859, in Iowa. I can not locate death records or obits for Diedrick, Richina, or their son James Henry, all are my direct ancestors. James Henry Peron married Esther Chase in Cedar Co, Iowa in 1864 and are listed in the 1880 census for Cedar Co. Any info appreciated.

For your interest, here is the article about the Maiser shutdown that appeared in the ATLANTA CONSTITUTION newspaper on Wednesday, May 14th: E-mail mishap halts genealogy service Researchers, buffs lose a valuable tool by Art Kramer STAFF WRITER A Dunwoody retailer said he unwittingly started a chain of junk e-mail that undermined one of the most popular exchanges of genealogy information on the Intenet. The shutdown is depriving tens of thousands of genealogy buffs of their most effective online research tool, said John Rigdon, national coordinator of The USGenWeb Project, a genealogy clearinghouse on the World Wide Web. The exchange, called Maiser, is a collection of mailing lists for those trading research about their ancestors. Many genealogy buffs subscribe to several lists, keyed to cities, towns, regions or family surnames. It's not unusual for a genealogy hobbyist to sift through several hundred list-sent messages daily, in search of a clue that points to a distant ancestor. Maiser, the largest collection of detailed lists with 40,000 subscribers, was forced off the Net last week after being used as a fake return address to hide the identity of a junk e-mailer. The disaster began when Sam Khuri, general manager of Benchmart Print Supply, sent a $100 money order to the post office box of a company that promised to advertise his service to 50,000 potential customers. "If I knew what they were going to do, I never would have sent the money," said Khuri, whose company recycles toner cartridges for copiers. The contractor, whose identity Khuri said he lost in a computer crash of his own, e-mailed thousands of ads touting Khuri's service last week. The junk e-mail was routed through Indiana University computers, making it appear the ads had come from the same computers that are home to the genealogy lists. The tactic of forging return addresses, making an uninvolved third party appear to be the sender of junk e-mail, is a common one. Such practices prompted several online services, including CompuServe and Prodigy, to get federal courts to help them bar junk e-mailers from their services. Larry Stephens, an Indiana University official who organized the groups as a hobby over the past three years, was forced to shut them down Friday rather than let them appear to be the source of the junk e-mail. Stephens said he couldn't risk furthering the perception that the junk e-mail was somehow connected to the university. "The loss of these mailing lists is devastating," Rigdon said. "We've lost approximately one-third of our backbone for genealogy research. About 20,000 daily users of the Internet have been effectively left with no communication." Stephens may reopen some of the regional lists this week if he can find software that can't be commandeered by junk e- mailers, but with the added security burden, he said it's unlikely he will revive the surname lists. Robert Turner, 52, a postal clerk in Huntsville, Ala., and a descendant of traveling blacksmith David Turner, bemoaned the demise of the surname lists. Turner and his wife, Winona Turner, added 4,000 ancestors to their family tree in the 30 years before they computerized their search, but 20,000 more in just 16 months online. Without the surname lists, said Turner, looking for his ancestors "will be akin to driving down a dark country road with no headlights."