In a message dated 2/16/00 9:01:13 PM, [email protected] writes: >Michael, > I'm sending this to you because I don't know how to get it to the list. >Can you or someone else recommend any books on the history of our family? >Any suggestions would be appreciated. >Thanks A Bunch, >Raina Raina, To send anything to the entire group you can email directly to: [email protected] It's okay to ask me questions in a private email, but I hope people don't mind if I answer some of your questions by sending copies directly to the entire group. I'll only do this if I feel it may benefit some of our other cousins. This question about RAGAN history books has come up here before, but I don't mind covering it again since we now have so many new members. As for recommendations - I have found many books over the years, each pertaining to different lines of RAGAN/RAGON/REAGAN (...etc.) families. Well some do go back to a common ancestor, just through a different branch. Some, not all, are still in print. The following list is in no particular order, and I don't neccesarily endorse any or all of them (well maybe some). I have enjoyed reading all of them for the genealogical value. I just enjoy researching our common surname. This is just my list of all known RAGAN books. And when I spell the surname RAGAN I don't mean to exclude all our other variations. So please don't be offended if I don't spell it right. ;-) It's just the spelling I'm most used to. I've become so accustomed to variations that whenever I read RAGAIN/RAGAN/RAGON/REAGAN/REGAN/RIGGIN (or whatever) I pronounce them all as "RAY-GUN". Now here's the list: 1. "The Book of RAGAN/REAGAN" by Donald B. REAGAN, (c) 1993 (801 Henrietta Drive, Knoxville, TN 37912). It's a softbound book. The price is $28.50 including shipping. I'm not sure how many pages, probably 400-500 I guess. It is a thick one. Donald can trace his roots back to Timothy RAGAN/REAGAN (ca 1750-abt 1825/30) and Elizabeth TRIGG (ca 1760-abt 1825/30). We suspect Timothy's parents were John RAGAN & Mary MORRICE. This actual link hasn't yet been proven and there's a lot of disagreement among RAGAN researchers on this point. Donald's book is very well researched and has *lots* of family information. It does cover some other RAGAN family branches too. He spent many years doing the work for this publication. And I think the price is well worth it. It should be in all RAGAN researchers library (there's my endorsement). Unfortunatley it isn't indexed, but if you ask he may be able to provide a separate one for you (someone else did one for him). I spoke to Donald this evening and he says he still has several copies of the book on hand. 2. "RAGAN and RAGANS" by Jack RAGAN (c) 1991 (522 Collins Drive, Tallahassee, FL 32303), hardbound. I don't remember how much I paid for this one. Seems like it was around $25. It traces his ancestors back to Philip RAGAN (1784-1880) and Catherine Waters PAULK (1801-1883). 3. "REAGAN History" by Willa Dean REAGAN/COMBS and Rudy REAGAN, softbound. (c) 1993 (Rt 2 Bx 415, Fredericktown, MO., 63645. Seems like her book was about $40. My wife & I made a trip to one of their family reunions a few years ago and met so many nice people. (Well of course they were nice since they're all REAGAN descendants. ;-) Willa Dean is a real gem! We also met a 5th cousin of mine there (Seth RAGAN) and also one of our RAGAN-ROOTer cousins (James Hugh RAGON). Willa Dean's book traces her lineage back to Timothy REAGAN and Elizabeth TRIGG. 4. "Philip REAGAN (1743-1848)" by Della REAGAN/FISCHER. Her book was written back abt 1968 and is no longer in print (as far as I know). This is the Revolutionary War soldier who made his home in Westmoreland Co., PA. He was a prominent figure during the famous 'Whiskey Rebellion' (he was the tax man), and is buried in Reagantown, PA. One of our RAGAN-ROOTer cousins (thanks Marty) sent me a copy of this book a couple years ago. All the publications, newspapers (...etc.) on Philip claim he was 105 years old at his death, but this is one point on which I disagree. Having read a copy of his application for a Rev. War Pension, I calculated his age to be different. I can't remember now, I think it was just under 100, not 105 though. (But then you all know how some of us RAGANs tend to exagerate sometimes ;-) 5. "Tennessee Roots Volume 2, Descendants of Charles REAGAN" by Betty Dean HAMBY/COOPER, (c) 1994 (Rt 10 Bx 133, Crossville, TN., 38555), hardbound. I think I paid around $35 for it. This goes back to Charles REAGAN (1799-1823) and Anna DENTON (1804-1849). Charle's parents were Henry REAGAN & Phebe _?_ (possibly). Another possibility is John RAGAN & Mary MORRICE (again we have no actual proof on their descendants). This appears to be a very well researched book. 6. "The Lineage of the Amos RAGAN Family" by Elizabeth H. RAGAN (c) 1976, hardbound. I believe it's out of print now. I found mine at Barbara Green's used book store on the Internet a few years ago. 7. "A Quaker Headmaster, The Life and Times of Chester L. REAGAN" by John H. Hobart (c) 1980, hardbound. I discovered this one on the Net in a used bookstore. This book mentions the 'Two REAGAN Brothers' that we've discussed before. And claims to name one of the original immigrants as Thomas. 8. "The Town Crier: The Descendants of Timothy & Elizabeth REAGAN" by Linda Green, (c) 1995, hardbound. Her address used to be in Huntsville, AL, but she moved to NC or SC several years ago and I haven't heard from her since. 9. "The RAGON's 1800-1969" by Jack RAGON, 1969. Someone gave me a copy of this one and I'm not sure I have the entire book. It goes back to Absalom RAGON (1801-1830) and his wife Jane _?_ (1800-1875). 10. "Escape from east Tennessee" by Capt. Robert A. RAGAN, (c) 1910. I received a copy of this one a couple days ago. It came from one of our RAGAN-ROOTer cousins, Judy BROWN (thanks Judy!). This is a very small book. I read it last night in a couple hours (including all my normal evening interuptions). The actual size is abt 4" x 6", so it's really more of a booklet than a book. I found it *very* interesting indeed. Robert served in the Union Army during the Civil War. He lived in East Tennessee when the war broke out and had to escape to the north, leaving his family behind. He later returned, under cover, and lead close to 100 men from east Tennessee to the north. then later he came back to the south and served during and in Sherman's famous (around here we say infamous ;-) "March to the Sea". The book doesn't cover much on Robert's genealogy, but I found it to be a very interesting read. It does name his siblings as: Alexander, Laura, Creed, Mary and James RAGAN. He says that he was the oldest of the six. It also says he was born in Green Co., TN near the banks of the Nola Chucky River, and that his (unamed) father moved to the banks of the French Broad River in Cocke Co., TN in 1843. Donald REAGAN tells me that this Robert A. RAGAN was the son of Jacob P. Ragan and grandson of Robert Allen Ragan. ===>End of list<=== That's about all I have at this time. There may be some I missed, if so please let me know. Or if you have any copies of books that you'd like to donate to our research please send them to me at: Michael Ragan, 118 Main St., Stevenson, AL 35772. This book discussion comes up every now and then and I have to pull out all my books and type a new list. I suppose I should just create a file of our known family books and save it here on my hard drive somewhere. This is all due to my poor organizational skills I suppose. Oh well ... I PROMISE to do this tonight y'all! In today's mail I got a copy of our cousin Robert RAGAN's book titled: The "How to Easily Organize Your Genealogy Stuff and Find it Fast" Guide. (Thank you Robert.) I read several pages today during lunch and feel it will be a *big* help to me. I know I should be better organized than I am, but what can I say ... I'm a RAGAN! Later everyone, Michael W. RAGAN ============= RAGAN-ROOTS List Moderator ============= Someone who thinks logically is a nice contrast to the real world. ============= If there is a 50/50 chance of something going wrong, nine times out of ten it will. ==========